Christmas Card

So, we weren't on the ball this year, and we never got a Christmas Card printed and sent out. So, I made John go stand by the tree about 5 minutes ago, and we snapped a quick shot. So, consider this your Internet Christmas Card.

Have A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Non-Traditional Christmas

This year Christmas is a little different for my husband and me. Normally for Christmas I head to Minnesota to hang out with all of my extended family. Christmas Eve usually consists of heading to a Christmas Eve Program that my cousins are in, and then heading to my aunt and uncle's house to enjoy appetizers and munchies for the rest of the evening. Christmas day means going to church and then spending the rest of the day surrounded by family.

This Christmas has been nothing like that. First of all, being a nurse, I was scheduled to work the 24, 25, and 26. So needless to say, I did not plan anything for those day, anticipating that I would have to work. I was sort of bummed about it too, because this is my first Christmas with my husband, and I wouldn't even hardly get to see him. So, anyway, I worked a 12 hour shift on Friday (Christmas Eve) and hit the hay early last night to get ready for another long day.

At 5:00am, I got a phone call from work telling me I was mandated from work, meaning they didn't need me today because there were too few of patients. Immediately I felt some relief in the fact that I did not have to work on Christmas, and I went back to sleep for a couple more hours of rest. However, once John and I woke up, we realized we didn't have any plans for Christmas Day.

We ended up starting our day by watching White Christmas. A classic Christmas movie, although this is the first time I have ever watched it. Next we actually headed to Avera McKennan Hospital for lunch. On Thanksgiving and Christmas Avera offers a free meal to the public. We had turkey, ham, stuffing, corn, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie, coleslaw, and bread. It was actually really good, and free. Since we had no dinner plans, it worked out well.

After lunch we headed back to the apartment to play on our Wii. I bought John Mario Cart for Christmas and we have been having a lot of fun with the game. Basically now we are just hanging out and enjoying the holiday. It is a bit strange to not be surrounded by family and food today, but I have had an awesome Christmas with my husband, and couldn't ask for anything more.

Merry Christmas!

Hawaii Day 7

Our last day on Maui. We packed and brought all of our luggage to our rental car before heading to the farewell ceremony the hotel staff puts on. The hotel staff gives every guest a nut lei, and everytime you come back to the hotel, they exchange one of the dark nuts for a light colored nut, and then the lei represents how many times you have visited the island.

We walked around the beach for a while trying to soak everything in on our last day. We headed to Lahaina to look around and take another look at the ocean. We headed to Kahului next. We stopped at a historic park near the airport before heading for the airport. Our flight left at 8:00pm and we were there a few hours early. By this point, we were ready to head home. We flew all night and got into Sioux Falls at about 1:30 pm. It was a long night of flying! We had a great time and cannot wait for our next adventure.

Hawaii Day 6

On Monday, our last full day on Hawaii, we woke up at 2:30 am to  go to the top of a dormant volcano named Haleakala to watch the sunrise. We drove 2.5 hours to get to the top of the volcano and then stood in the complete darkness waiting for the sun to rise. It was about 35 degrees out and very windy on top of the volcano. It was pretty miserable waiting for the sun to rise, but once it rose, it was all worth it.

After we watched the sun rise, we went to a lookout tower on the top of the volcano to see the view. Then we headed to a beach called Big Beach. We swam in the ocean for a while, and then we stumbled across a nude beach. That was a little awkward, and not very pretty. Haha. We headed back to the hotel to take a nap since we were up so early, and then we headed down to our beach by our hotel. We watched the sunset for the last time on Maui and then went for another late night walk before watching live Hawaiian music and having a few drinks.

Hawaii Day 5

Day 5 was Sunday, and we did what all people should do on Sundays, and we just relaxed. First of all we went snorkeling around Black Rock, which is located on the same beach as our hotel. We snorkeled from about 8am-10am. We were told to get out early to snorkel as that is when we would see the most activity in the ocean. We saw plenty of fish and every some sea turtles.

After we were finished with our first set of snorkeling, I decided I wanted a break and I took to tanning on a lounge chair and reading one of the magazines I had brought along. John hadn't had enough snorkeling yet so he went back into the ocean. After 5 days of not being apart at all, it was nice for us to each have a couple hours of time to ourselves. After John was done with his next round of snorkeling, we ate lunch at a food court at Whaler's Village. In the afternoon, we got some drinks at an outdoor cafe. I got a $9 Pina Colada which was awesome, and John got a beer. We also had to have some Mai Tais of course. The drinks were expensive, but they were delicious!

 By the time we finished our drinks, we decided it was time to take a break from the sun and get out of our swimsuits for the day. By the time we emerged from our hotel room, the sun was setting and we went for a sunset walk along the board walk.  It was a wonderful, relaxing day that we spent on the same beach.

Hawaii Day 4

Wow, sorry I haven't blogged in a while. December gets to be a crazy month.

So, day 4, Saturday, on Hawaii. We got up early, around 5:30 am, to hit the road around 6. Today we decided to do the road to Hana. Let me just explain a little bit about what the road to Hana it.  It is what it sound like, in that it is a road that leads to a town called Hana. However, on this trip, it is the stops you make along the road to Hana that make the trip.

The road to Hana is about 68 miles long, and has 46 one lane bridges to pass through, and approximately 620 hair pin turns. Needless to say, it takes quite a while to travel this road, and beware if you are a person that gets carsick. Let me just say that the Hana Highway is the most beautiful, scenic road I have ever taken. The waterfalls, the lookout views of the ocean, the tropical flowers, it was gorgeous and well worth the trip!

We also came along a park called The Garden Of Eden where we discovered some beautiful flowers and scenic overlooks over the ocean.

We also stumbled across a black sand beach, which was pretty awesome. After the black sand beach we made it to Hana. Just past Hana we made a stop at the Haleakala National Park. We went here to see the Seven Sacred Pools. The sacred pools are a series of waterfalls and pools that trail through the O'heo Gulch and flows into the ocean. This was very beautiful to see as well. It actually rained for the first couple days on the island, so some of the park was marked off for us not to see because the water was so high. And, we pretty much had to walk though mudd the entire day, but it was well worth it.

Hawaii Day 3

Our third day on Maui started off with us talking a long walk along the Ocean. We walked for about two hours along the shore and got some beautiful shots.

 After our walk we headed to Lahaina, where our catamaran was scheduled to leave at 10:00 am. Before we left for our honeymoon, we booked a day with a company called Trilogy. This trip included a sailing trip to the island of Lanai, breakfast, lunch and snacks included, snorkeling on Lanai, and a tour of the island of Lanai. This trip was awesome.

We started off with some cinnamon rolls and juice, and we sailed to Lanai. It took about two hours to get there. On the trip there we saw some dolphins and had an awesome time.

After we arrived in Lanai, we immediately went snorkeling. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. We saw some awesome fish and coral.

When we were finished snorkeling we went on a van tour of the island. Next, they fed us some chicken, some kind of noodle mix, pineapple, peas, and bread. It was very good and there was a ton of food. After we were done eating, we headed back to Maui. We docked at Maui at about 7:00pm, it was a busy day. We walked around Lahaina for a while before heading back to Kaanapli to our hotel.
We went to bed physically exhausted, but we had had an awesome day (and possible had gotten a little sunburned).