December fun and Costa Rica

 Christmas in Hawaii feels different. I'm not used to seeing surfing Santa and decorated palm trees. I however love it! The month started off with Ava getting her mission call! We were stressing all day about the call we couldn't focus on anything else! She was waiting to open it later that night when everyone was out of school and home from work on the mainland. We did a family Zoom call with everyone back home and her other friends from the island came to support. It was funny because everyone kept guessing Brazil and Ava did not want to serve in Brazil we loved our vacation there but we both agreed that living in Brazil full-time would be no bueno! 

A sigh of relief came when she read Washington DC South Mission! We both jumped for joy because Washington DC seems like the perfect fit for Ava. I feel like every time someone gets their mission call and they tell me where they are going I always gasp because the place always fits the person perfectly. Ava is going to kill it out there and I am super excited for her. Not looking forward to losing my adventure buddy and roommate. But I know how amazing missions are so I am looking forward to hearing about all her awesome experiences! 

Aubrianna also came for Christmas! I decided to stay in Hawaii for Christmas this year and do some traveling instead of going home. I am only young and in college once and I might as well make the most of it! My Christmas break started off with a visit from my childhood friend Aubrianna. We went on so many adventures when she was in town! We hiked to Lulumahu, the lighthouse, Pinkpill box, Sunset Pillbox, Crouching Lion, Chinamans hat, and Stairway to Heaven. On the days we weren't hiking we swam at China Walls, kayaked under the full moon, camped on the beach, made a sandman, and had a Christmas potluck with those who stayed on the island. In all honestly, it was a really fun Christmas. I loved going to the beach on Christmas and hanging out with Aubrianna. She is one of my dear friends and I love her so much. 

Other events this month: Gavin asked to me be his girlfriend so we are officially boyfriend-girlfriend! woot woot! I also was able to meet up with some members from my mission at the Shrimp Shack. I love catching up with old friends. 

 

The day after Christmas I flew to Costa Rica to meet up with Sarah, Anna, and Kadee! My first time going on a girl's trip! We were laughing from the start when our rental car was tiny and manual. We walked around San Jose before heading into the jungle to sleep in a tree house! 

We loved staying in our jungle tree house it was so cute and tiny! We had the best host who made us a traditional breakfast every morning with juice and fruit. we were in Heaven. We went on a night nature walk where we saw green tree frogs and all sorts of crazy bugs. Costa Rica has some freaky bugs! 

We loved pulling over and enjoying the fresh fruit stands that were on the side of the road. Nothing like a fresh smoothie! And they were so cheap only a few dollars. I think Costa Rica has the best food ever! We loved the patacones, banna's and fruit. I was in heaven! We stayed in La Fortuna which was next to the Arenal volcano! In this town, we swam in hot pots, went to the swinging bridges and watched monkeys, swam in waterfalls, and shopped around! 

We spent New Years on the Coast! We swam and rode horses on the beach. My horse's name was Bombi and he was a good one. Sarah and Anna's horses were fighting and Kadee got a slow mule. We were laughing so hard at the slow trot her horse was doing. The AirBnB we got was in this neighborhood with a crazy dog. The dog was jumping on the roof all night keeping us up. I was sure glad I had a roof to protect me from the crazy animals. 

I was super sick probably with the covid when I was here. But I tried to make the most of it. We got hounded one day on the beach by tons of ladies who wanted to give us a massage. They were so sweet we couldn't say no. But it was a little awkward because we had a crowd of men watching us. All for new experiences though right? We also were here during the height of covid so a lot of places were empty and free of visitors. Another perk to the Rona right? Great times in Costa Rica with my ladies. 

The family comes to Hawaii

Back in April, I got a call from my parents. On the call, they announced they were coming to Hawaii for Thanksgiving! I was seriously so excited when they told me. I have grown to love this island so much I was so excited to show my family all the beautiful parts of the island. Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, you have to land with a negative COVID test or quarantine for 14 days. And anytime during the 14 days the police could come by and check on you. If you aren't there you will get a $1,000 fine. So of course my family all tests negative but Grayson. So he had to stay home for 10 days all by himself. Our first stop with my family was a Mexican restaurant in town! My parents stayed for 5 days on the North Shore and a few days in Ko'olina. We got started right away doing all the fun island activities. We saw the turtles on the beach and went on some beautiful hikes. Alivia, Landrie, and Kate also flew in to visit for a few days! 

One afternoon we hung out with Gavin's family because they were also visiting from the mainland. One of Ava and I's favorite hikes is Sunset Pillbox. This hike is usually so easy and fun. Unfortunately, on this day, the trail was super muddy. We were slipping and sliding everywhere. We had a nice view at the top but wanted to head down so we could watch the Sunset from the beach. On the way down my dad was sliding like crazy. I felt bad because he could have gotten seriously hurt but in the moment it was hilarious. I was hurling over holding my stomach laughing so hard. At one point he was sliding down the mountain and Gavin grabbed him to stop him. My poor dad's clothes were stained and ruined. Gus Gavin's brother got equally as dirty. But I don't think that was an accident for him. The nice thing about muddy hikes in Hawaii is that you can just jump in the ocean to cool off. We all swam at Sunset Beach after. We caught the most amazing sunset! 

We hung out with Gavin's family at the banyan tree! This is the famous tree in the Hunger Games and Lost! We all took turns climbing different parts of the tree. Now that I am looking back at these pictures though I am not sure we were supposed to be climbing around crazy like were. 

We also celebrated Thanksgiving altogether! We ate in the preschool and feasted over lots of my mom's homemade recipes. I sure have missed her cooking. Ava and I have added Mac and Cheese to the Thanksgiving feast because one of our friends brought it to our Friendsgiving and it hit the spot! After we ate we went outside for a game. We weren't sure what the game was till Hank brought out a filled-up bucket of water balloons. So of course a full-on war broke out in the yard. We all thought the water was nice and refreshing. This is the first time I have ever had a water fight on Thanksgiving. I loved seeing the Chicken tree by the side of the house as I was running around. 

What else did we do? We walked on the reef to China Men's hat, watched the waves from Laie Point, pictures by Laie Temple, and saw the crazy coconut tree in Hauula. We also had a beach fire which ended up being really fun. We swam under the full moon before drying off by the fire.

More hiking on the East side of the island. We went to another pill box that overlooks the Mokes. We had the most beautiful watercolor that day. 

So many good times with my family. It was magical, sunny, and warm. I absolutely loved showing them around the island. We missed Grayson but then again he wouldn't have enjoyed anything that we were doing.  All great fun though!