Fall Semester

 This semester I was in the grind. Between working at the preschool, training for a full marathon, and taking 15 credits I didn't have much time for fun. BYU Hawaii has been online for the past 5 semesters. They finally started to resume schools in person as long as everyone was vaccinated and wore masks. I absolutely hate wearing my mask and am one of those people that doesn't wear it over my nose. I physically can't do it. I am constantly being told to pull it up. Let me just say I really miss online classes and am glad I only need to deal with this for one semester. The school is out of control with the convid policy and I am over it. I am going to miss online school. I loved the freedom of doing class work when I wanted to. I feel like I had more freedom and more time to spend with friends. Gavin and I have opposite schedules so we usually see each other in the morning on our run or for dinner. Other than that we are on the move. 

So many wonderful things did happen this semester. Sam and Jansen got married on Laie Point. It was a very small wedding. They didn't want anyone there but then sure enough some people flew out for it and they had no choice. They had a gorgeous morning and Jansen looked so beautiful. I could not think of anyone better for Sam. Jansen is sweet, beautiful, and kind. I was glad I was able to be there to see them married by Bishop C! 

Between all the marathon training I am doing with Gavin we haven't had a lot of time or energy for hiking. We were able to squeeze in just a few of our favorites this semester. Another trip up to Wiliwili Nui with the girls, and Moana Falls with Jaiden and Izzy. We did another campout at the beach in Sam Dome and Sam's friend Rob came from Sams's mission and he was an odd fella. He was laughing like a clown all night long and was giving us the creeper vibes. We also had to say goodbye to Kadee. She is moving to Austria for grad school. I am very sad she is moving to the other side of the world. I am not sure how often I will get to see her. She has been such an amazing friend. We both have the views on covid so that's been one thing we have bonded over. I will miss her laugh and that she is always down for an adventure.  

Jansen and Sam also had their baby! He is the cutest little guy ever. I saw him just three days after he was born. His name is Kaiwi-ola and I love him so much. Jansen says he has his dad's eyes and big beautiful lips. He will be a good-looking kid

Gavin had a Pirate Murder Mystery dinner at his house for Halloween. The Pirahna boys are always throwing parties. We were all given a script and we had to act in character for who we were. We were supposed to go around the room asking questions and gathering information to see who the murderer was. Not even Gavin knew who the murderer was. Spoil alter Gavin was the murderer. Ha! We laughed that he threw this party and gave himself the most important part. 

We had a lovely Friendsgiving in Heather's front yard in Hauula. We played Thanksgiving Trivia and ate the most delicious food. I am going to miss these fun gatherings. There are so many fun people on the island right now. 

I also went to my first protest! The COVID policies have been getting out of hand. You have to show your vaccination card to go inside any restaurant and you have to wear a mask when you are at a grocery store. The social distancing and mandates are driving the world crazy. The state wants to force the vaccine on everyone. We went to a protest basically for people to have their right to what goes into their bodies and stop these mandates. Sam forgot his flags so he bought two of them on the way for $110 each at the ABC store... He brought his huge poles that we tied the flags onto and we put tea leaves on top. Waikiki was insane. The honking and screaming was loud. We joined right with the crowd! Some people were waving flags that said Joe Biden sucks. And arrest Iga (the govonor). We held signs that read corruption in paradise and the truth will never be silenced. We had a lot of fun. The people in the megaphones were cracking us up. There was so much chaos going on. 

Gavin also turned 25! He had his golden birthday. We went to the beach, ate pizza/cake, and watched some of his favorite shows! His birthday was on Thanksgiving this year so we basically celebrated all weekend! 

Here is a picture of the girls in my education classes. We all have the same classes together at the same time because we are all on the same track to graduate together. There wasn't one boy in any of my classes my last semester. How crazy is that? BYU Hawaii is more of an all-girl school. I am looking forward to graduating and moving on to another phase of life. But I will be grateful always that I was able to get my education at BYU Hawaii. I don't know how I would have been able to pay for school if it weren't for the scholarships I got while I was here. I am so grateful for everything! Seasider forever! 

We went and did a tour of Iolani Place one afternoon and I was surprised at how wonderful the tour was. I learned so much about Hawaiian history and the queen. We had to wear our masks and social distance which was super annoying. We also went out to lunch one afternoon when we were feeling like we needed a mid-semester pick-me-up. We decided on this Mexican place in Haleiwa we were shocked at how big the portions were. I ordered nachos and didn't even make a dent in them.. We were laughing so hard at how big the mound of cheese was. Like what the heck? 

Jansen's sister came and threw Jansen the most beautiful shower at Aunty Tupu's house. We played games ate food and had the best time celebrating Sam and Jansen. Jansen is so beautiful inside and out. Can't wait to see her become a mom! 

The AMAZING proposal

A couple of months ago, Gavin had the idea of throwing an Amazing Race around the island for our friends. It was going to be his 25th birthday, and he said that is how he wanted to celebrate it. I thought this sounded fun and the perfect way to celebrate his golden birthday! He didn't want me to be involved with the planning because he wanted me to race in it. 

Gavin did all the prep for the race. He was working on this constantly, and I couldn't tell what he was planning. He was super good at keeping his notes a secret. We didn't do the race on his actual birthday, because it was Thanksgiving. Instead we did the big party on Saturday. 

On the day of the race I was getting ready at my the house. I put my hair in 2 braids because I thought that would be most comfortable to race in. I had no idea if I would be swimming in the ocean, hiking or what. I was looking forward to what ever fun challenges were coming my way. 

All of our friends were so so supportive and everyone showed up! We started the race at 1pm at the BYU Hawaii flag circle on campus. The teams were: The Twins (Sarah and Anna), College Friends (Kalia and Eugene), Room mates (Nikita, Mya), Teachers (Mallerie and Maddie), Brothers (Jonah and Wyatt), married couple (Izzy and Jaden), and the Bros (Trent and Seth). Amongst the racers we had Gavin's boss, Sione as Phil, Sam, Jansen, and Aunty Mel helping with the tasks. 

The race was fun from the start, and Gavin did the best job with the tasks! As soon Phil said let the race begin everyone went crazy and started sprinting to the clue. There were so many tasks I couldn't believe it. 

Maddie and I were immediately in the back with the twins and college friends because we couldn't kick a soccer goal from half field. We were literally laughing our heads off that we couldn't even muster the strength to kick the ball. Finally once we got scored we ended up at the flag circle where we were told to name 10 of the flags that Gavin had previously picked out. Maddie and I literally didn't know any and panicked. We started googling as fast as we could. 

Of course in every Amazing Race season you never know what's going happen. This time the bad luck fell onto me. My car's battery died and wouldn't even jump start. I thought I was going to forfeit the race. Gavin said no way am I letting that happen and found me another car. #thanksbrothers 

We raced around Laie for before heading into the windward mall in Kaneohe to look for some particular items. Gavin was offering 50$ cash to the winner so everyone was going nuts. That's a lot of money for a college student to win for having fun. One of the hardest tasks for me was memorizing a Hawaiian Ole. Sam Wasson was in charge of this task. Pretty much everyone caught up at this point. Kalia learned this Ole when she was a girl so she zoomed passed everyone. 

The whole group basically caught up at golf. None of us could hit the yardage Gavin wanted us too. So after some time we were all excused. We raced to South side to get pictures in front of certain signs before chugging a huge cup of soda. The race lasted for a good 5 hours. We seriously had a blast. Sam and Jansen were at so many of tasks with their brand new born baby. I couldn't believe how supportive they were being. Gavin was wearing his nice button up shirt and he wouldn't take off his blue backpack. I didn't think ANYTHING was going on besides the fact that our friends are awesome and we are having so much fun running around the island. 

Maddie was a good partner for me to have. We were both pretty chill but also super into the race. We had good time trying to solve all the clues and Maddie literally pulled the weight. She drank all the soda and memorized the Hawaiian Ole. 

We got our last clue which led us to the pit stop at spitting cave. Our clue was to search the land for Phil. I think we got there the same time as Jaden and Izzy because we were all laughing shoving each other around trying to beat each other. And that's when we saw Phil aka Sione. He checked us in and we watched the other teams scramble to the finish. It was so fun watching everyone come in. It was the perfect night. Not too cold, not too hot. And we had a beautiful view of the ocean. 

The sun was just starting to set when last team rolled in. Gavin decided he wanted to do some awards. He had his mat he got in Kiribiati on the ground and he slowly called teams down to get their prizes. As he was doing this he had his drone filming. In the middle of the award giving his phone died which meant, he wouldn't be able to land his drone. I was freaking out because I knew how much that drone meant to Gavin. But thankfully, someone there had the app downloaded and kept it flying. 

Once Gavin was done giving all the awards he called me to the mat. I was getting a little emotional because before he called me down he was basically telling everyone how much he loved them and that he was going to miss them as he moved to Kauai. So I was a little sad myself. 

When he called me down to the mat I had no idea what he was going to do. I thought he was just going to say something like thanks for showing me the Amazing Race show or something. But he didn't. Instead he grabbed his blue backpack and pulled something out. I had no idea what he pulled out till I heard a song in the back ground. Then all at once everything clicked. He was going to purpose. And before I finished my thought Gavin was down on one knee. 

I will never forget this moment. He got down on one knee and told me he loved me that this was just the start of our own Amazing race. Then he said Mallerie will you marry me? 

I was literally so surprised I was speechless. SPEECHLESS. I am pretty sure I just nodded my head and said yes so quietly. When Gavin opened the ring box I could not believe how beautiful my ring looked. The box had a light on the top that made the ring look extra shiny and glittery. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. He put it on and the opal fit just right! 

We embraced and kissed some more as the sun set behind us. It was so magical. I absolutely loved that all our closest friends and families were there. We all celebrated together and it was such a happy moment. Everyone was hugging and smiling. There was picture taking happening and tears shed. A beautiful moment for everyone there. Gavin was sneaky and didn't tell anyone what he was going to do besides Mya and Sam.

I think everyone was surprised because we kept our ring shopping hush hush. Sometimes I think it's fun to have a little secret like this. In fact I knew he had the ring but I didn't know when he was going to propose. I thought maybe he was going to do it when our families were here. When I told everyone how surprised I was they asked me if we even talked about marriage like was I surprised he asked me to marry him. Of course we talked about married I wouldn't have said yes if we hadn't ever talked about it. 

We were all hungry from the Amazing Race that we wanted to celebrate by going out to eat. We all went to PF Chang's to celebrate. Our favorite place. We are obsessed with the street noodle. Everyone came and it was the most glorious night. I couldn't stop looking at my finger and I was just so excited and couldn't believe that I was engaged!  

I absolutely loved everything about my proposal. I loved that Gavin planned it all by himself and that nobody knew when he was going to do it. I think it made the occasion feel extra special. I also loved that all of our friends were there, who were also there the same day we met. These friends saw us fall in love. I love that he picked out the ring. I told him what I wanted and we looked a couple of opal ones that I liked. But in end I wanted him to pick it out. I always pictured my man making the final choice. And let me jus say I am OBESSED WITH MY RING. OBESSED. I love it so so much. 

I just loved that we were us and in our natural setting in Hawaii and everything about the day was perfect. I didn't even care that I wasn't wearing makeup or that I was in my biker shorts. 

When we were in the car on our way to the restaurant, we called our families. My mom said she was so anxious all day she ate SO MUCH FOOD all day long. When Gavin on the other hand, was so stressed out he didn't eat anything. Both our families were happy for us which felt great. 

I love Gavin so much and would have never guessed in a million years that I would fall in love on such a beautiful Island. So so much to look forward too. We don't have a wedding date in mind or anything. We just know that we wanted to get married. So let's get married! 

 

PERU

 I was pretty nervous heading into this trip because we had to test negative to board the plane. Luckily we all did! But when we got to the airport we realized our test didn't say the words PCR. So after many phone calls, and some editing we did on our phones, we boarded the plane. The crew was Gavin and the girls again. Sarah, Anna, and Heather joined us. On the plane, we had to wear a double face mask. Boy were they Nazis about that. Luckily a few days before we flew they got rid of the face shield. It was a long journey. I think we flew from LA to Lima.. Long long flight. 

We landed in Lima after a 9-hour flight. We met Carlos at the Uber pick up who gave us a wonderful tour of Lima. We learned to never hold our phones visible for people to see at a red light, or we would get a smashed window and a stolen phone. 60% of Lima is unsafe if we were to walk around at any time we would die. We went to a part of Lima that was 10% percent safe, to eat the most amazing ceviche on the coast. Hands down the best ceviche ever. Lima has 11 million people living here. Lima was a dirty crowded city. The majority of the houses were not finished and you could see right through the windows. We went during winter and I was cold in my coat. I couldn't imagine living outside in the filth. It makes me so grateful for all the many blessings that I have. 

Carlos was willing to stop at the temple for us so we could get a picture of it. He said that was the only place he would stop. The temple sure did shine with beauty for all to see in the city. 

Our next stop was Cusco. We had a quick flight over the mountain. Our plane had a hard time landing because of a fire nearby... But we made it! Our Airbnb came with airport pick up so that was great! It is much higher in elevation than Hawaii. We enjoyed our first night walking around the city eating and shopping!

This was right outside our Airbnb. Cusco is just so beautiful. That night for dinner we enjoyed the traditional salchipapas that weren't that good and chicken and rice. We did however love the Chicha Morado. This is seriously one of the best jucies ever!

The next day we started early for our day trek on the Inca Trail. We had no idea what to expect but we were all for whatever was coming. We left our Airbnb around 3:45 am. We rode in a bus on a very bumpy road to the train station  There we were bombarded with the sweetest Peruvian ladies. They were selling all sorts of warm clothing. I bought some cute gloves and an earwarmer. We hopped on a train that was going to take us to the start of the Inca trail where we were going to hike to Machu Picchu. On the train, we all fell asleep and were woken up by a man shaking us telling us to grab our stuff because it was time to hike. I was so tired I couldn't even keep my eyes open. In my head, I was thinking there is no way I was going to be able to hike. We quickly scrambled for our things and jumped off the train. When I finally got myself to my senses I saw we were in these lush mountains with fresh rain falling. It was so dreamy. Our tour guide was Jorge and he was the best guide for us. We greeted him with a fish punch. #covidsafe. I guess when we were scrambling off the train Heather's water tipped over and the whole thing spilled on the ground.. 

Jorge kept saying things like "very easy" and "short and steep" he was the best. The twins speak Spanish so they were communicating with him that way. He has done this trial so many times. He said he could do the whole thing in like 2 hours. We took breaks along the way to look at the ancient Incan cities and beautiful mountains. He told us stories and it was honestly so magical. We lucked out with the weather because it was a little overcast. Which helped it not be so hot. I learned a little bit about the history of this beautiful place. I am amazed at how these people lived. It was just a magical day for all of us. We hiked for a couple of hours till we got to the Sun Gate. From there we could see Machu Picchu. It was so beautiful. There were no words to describe what it was like seeing a place I'd seen picture of for so long.

The mountains in the Andes are huge. Like 17,000 feet. The tops were snow caped with lush greenery at the bottom. We called Gavin Peruvian Moses because of his awesome poncho he found in Cusco. He looked like he belonged there.

 The Sun gate was the original path into Machu Picchu until the train was built. We had to push up one last hill till we got to the top. Once there we could see Machu Picchu and mountains. It was so beautiful! We stopped here to enjoy our lunch We couldn't believe how much rice and chicken they gave us.. Seriously so much. 

I mean look at these views? I can't believe this place is real. 

After our hike, we headed to Aguas Calientes. Where we had the most amazing quinoa soup and avocado dish. We shopped around at the markets and got sweaters to wear the next day up Machu Picchu. Gavin fell in love with the Alpaca blankets and bought 2! Good thing we weren't hiking back. 

The next morning we got up bright and early to watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu. We were the first ones inside which means we had the whole place to ourselves. The sunrise was amazing. We listened to Jorge tell us stories about the people who used to live here, how it was built, and who discovered it. As he was talking to us Llamas came right up. One of my favorite parts was learning about the different parts of the city and what each room was used for. One of the rooms was built to let a woman live in. This woman was to be raised only to be sacrificed. She was only let out of the room on the summer solstice each year. I couldn't imagine living a life in a room like this. There was also a stone that was carved that matched the mountain range behind Machu Picchu. The Incans built this rock as direction as they made their way around the neighboring mountains. One of my favorites was also the mail carrier. The messenger would run from city to city with this staff over his shoulder. The staff was full of different types of knots on the ropes. Each of the knots meant something. I thought that was awesome! 

This was a place of high royalty. Jorge was the. best and begged the security guard to let us into the Sunroom. I guess it has been closed because of covid but Jorge told the man we came from America and it should be open. Thank goodness for him because we were able to walk around the Sunroom. Everything here is just beautiful.

What a very sacred special place. I can see how this city is one of the seven wonders of the world.

 After we hung out in the town below were we went to some hot springs, ate gunne pig for the first time and dined and dashed by accident.

On our way back from Machu Picchu we had to take several bus's and trains. When we arrived at our last stop our tour guide told us to look for a guy holding my name. As soon as we walked out of the station there were tons of taxi cab drives yelling chica over here, chica I give you ride good deal, etc. We were so overwhelmed we were just trying to get through when we saw a tiny Peruvian man holding a sign that MALLERIE. Thank the Heavens. 

The next day I and Gav got up bright and early again for another tour. This was the Alpaca Llama trek experience in the Andes mountains. Honestly, this was the highlight of the trip. We had no idea what to expect but when we got out of the car and saw the tiny baby alpacas my heart melted. They were the sweetest things in the whole wide world. We couldn't stop looking at them or getting pictures of them. We were walking our own alpacas in the Andes mountains. It was amazing.

The couple that gave the tour were the sweetest people ever. The wife didn't speak any English but was just a doll. She made us homemade empanadas and tea. We took a break while Llamas ate so we could enjoy the view and sweet food. 

At one point Gavin's alpaca started running. The tour guide did not like.. he started yelling at him and chasing him. The point of the alpaca trip is to have a bonding experience with the alpacas and relax. It's like a mediation and therapy. 

See what I mean? We could not get enough pictures. Our tour guide was the sweetest. His wife made us the best empanadas and food. We ate corn, cheese, grapes, coca tea, and avocado and chatted with them during a picnic in the Andes. After the couple brought us to their home where we learned how to make alpaca! Gavin purchased his 3rd alpaca blanket.

The babies were our favorite ones. Katarina, Lunareho, and Chesca.

It was the hardest thing to say goodbye to these alpacas. We had the best time walking with them. At the end of the trek we had lunch in the mountains. The view and food were amazing with the alpacas near by. We were dying...  The wife somehow carried everything on her back including a boiling tea kettle with warm water. Gavins Alpacas' name was Inti and he was a little crazy at times. I looked back and saw Inti running and Gavin getting pulled behind. I had Panchito and she was so cute and chill. We were a great match.

After our tour, we met up with the girls in the city where we hiked to the Christo Blanco up on the hill. We ended the night with Papa Johns pizza. Who knew ordering a pizza was so hard in Peru? Gavin was a champ and ran a mile to pick it up.

The next day we got up at 4:30 am to head to the lake. We took an insane windy road for hours. We thought we were going to crush the hike because we were only the young ones. But I just about lost a lung. 

Is this not beautiful or what? We were definitely some of the last people up the mountain. We had no idea how much the elevation would affect us. Lake Humantay sits at about 13,600 ft. We were an easy bunch to spot because we were the only blond-haired people there. We had no idea who our guide was but he always found us.

Our last stop was Rainbow Mountain. We were pretty excited about this one because it was going to be the highest elevation point we had ever been to. If you don't want to hike it you can rent a mule. The locals run up and down the mountain all day with their mules to make money.

Some of the people were running up the mountain 3 or 4 times a day with their mules. Gavin and I chose to walk all the way up. While the twins and Heather sat on Mules. We ended up beating the mule because it was so tired. How sad... 

Wow, this trail was packed. It was like Disneyland. Hundreds and hundreds of people. Rainbow Moutain is also called the colored mountain or Vinicunca. It used to be covered in snow but since the snow has melted sediment of minerals throughout the area gives the mountain turquoise, lavendar, gold, and other colors giving it that rainbow look. 

Peru was hands down one of the best places I have ever visited. I will never forget the kindness they showed me. The beautiful mountains, tiny towns in the middle of nowhere. And the cute kids I saw running around outside. Peru you won't be forgotten!