This was the summer of weddings for us! We flew back over to Oahu for Sione's wedding. Sione and Gavin both grew up in San Diego and then both served in Kiribati where they became best friends. They were roommates at BYU Hawaii and Sione was one of Gavin's groomsmen for our wedding.
Gavin flew over a few days before me so he could help Sione with wedding things. It sounded like craziness. Gavin wanted to be there to help set up but they couldn't do that until after 10 pm the night before due to another wedding happening at the same venue. So I guess they were up until about 1am setting up and then after Gavin threw a bachelor party. Gavin bought a bunch of golf balls the boys hit into the ocean. I couldn't imagine being up until 4 am the night before my wedding but to each their own right? I am glad Gavin was able to be there for him.
It is super easy to Island hop when we have friends we can stay with. Sarah and Anna were so sweet and let Gavin crash on their couch for a couple of days before I came. I guess they hardly ever saw him because he was busy.
I landed the next morning pretty early at about 6:40 am. I had to get up around 4:30 to drive to the airport and catch my early flight. When I landed Sarah, Anna, and Mya picked me up. We went to the cutest breakfast place in Waikiki. We sat on the root on the cutest couches that sat around a cute coffee table with tons of tropical plants around. It was such a fun vibe! Mya and I got avacado toast. My only complaint was the wet cushions. I'm guessing it rained the night before so when we sat down it was like a sponge. My pants were sticking to me the rest of the day.
We decided to go hiking before we headed back to North Shore. We first tried Salt Ponds. But they have it so guarded and blocked these days with huge signs everywhere. The signs were saying "Kapuna watching," and "hikers not allowed." Along with a million cones and rocks making parking impossible. So we decided to skip out on that hike and try another one up North.
The hike we ended up doing was Hanauma Falls. I totally didn't know the name of it. I just knew there was a hike up there because Sam and I tried to go during covid but the cop said it was closed. I always love checking a new hike off my list. We weren't sure where to go so we started off by flowing some pink tags that were going up the stream. But slowly the path turned into a bush-whacking experience. We weren't sure if it was possible to keep going. We pushed just a little further till we made it to the main hiking trail. We followed that right to the waterfall! And I just got to say this waterfall might be one of my favorites on Oahu. It doesn't seem like most people go to it and I would never have expected it to be there.
Sarah and Anna found some ginger shampoo to rinse off in the falls with.
WEDDING TIME!
Sione's venue was very beautiful. They had this huge white party tent on the lawn area. It reminded me of Harry Potter because of the tall pillars in the middle, and the twinkle lights they had strung around.
We went to the venue pretty early so Gavin could help Sione with any last-minute preparations. It was a good thing he did because Sione seemed so stressed and frazzled. He forgot where he put his tie and his socks. Luckily he had two awesome friends because Gavin didn't even hesitate and gave Sione his tie and Nick gave Sione his socks. I would have never known that Sione was wearing Gavins and that Nick was walking with no socks in his dress shoes.
While we were eating dinner I realized that I had picked the wrong seat. The whole porch was covered with a white tarp which was good because it started pouring rain. I happened to be sitting in between the two tarps so I was the only one getting soaked and Gavin's back wasn't exactly under the tent either so his back side was soaking. None the less we just pushed on and enjoyed the evening.
I haven't been to very many weddings lately because usually they are on the mainland and I miss all of them. This wedding was extra fun because it full of Samoan and Tongan culture. There were some very nice speeches that were given by both parents welcoming the other family into theirs.
There were a ton of dances. I think the dancing went on for a couple of hours. Each dance was for the bride and groom. As the people danced family and friends came and gave them money. Gavin knew this would be happening so I am glad he brought some cash to throw at the bride and groom.
It was fun seeing how other cultures celebrate the joining of two families. I enjoyed watching each person get up and dance behind whoever was dancing for the couple. Gavin really enjoyed this part. He just kept talking about how much he loved Islands and how beautiful all the dancing was. I thought that was sweet.
The wedding ended with a Costco cake and dancing! We all know I am there for the cake and Gavin is there for the dancing. We weren't disappointed. We were both exhausted by the end of the night and only chatted with the twins for a few minutes before going to bed.
The next morning Gavin left at 4 am for his flight so he could make it back to work that afternoon. Bless his soul. He works so hard.
My flight wasn't until later that afternoon so I went hiking with the twins in the morning. We did Kailihi ridge in Kaaawa. This one might be one of my favorite hikes of all time. It's pretty steep but well worth the trek because the view from up top overlooks Kualoa ranch and the ocean. It's a view that just can't be beat.
After the hike, we had to stop at Tina's so I could get some Boba! Tina's Boba is my FAVORITE thing in the whole wide world. I tried coming the day before I got married but Tina was sick so she didn't come in that day. So I have been just itching to go back and I was not disappointed.
I surprised Jansen and had her meet Sarah and Anna there. It was so fun to chat with her and Sam. Little baby Kaiwiola is just getting so big and is the cutest thing. He is sure becoming a busy boy. He was putting everything in his mouth and Jansen was chasing him around. What a cutie.
A Hui Hou!