26

Honestly, turning 25 was hard for me last year, and I was really not looking forward to turning 26.  I just don't feel old enough to be in my "late" twenties, closer to the big 3-0, etc.  

I can't complain, though. I had a great birthday. Not many people get to spend their birthday in Hawaii; how could it possibly be a bad day?! Dan made my day really special, as did family and friends.  I felt incredibly loved, so thank you!

We stopped by the apartment the day before my birthday (after Syd's big beach day) and came home to beautiful flowers from my parents and a package from Dan's parents. It was so special and a great way to kick off my birthday weekend.

My birthday fell on a Sunday so after church, we stopped at the Ala Moana Center and walked around until lunch.  We shopped a few sales, and used up a few gift cards I had been saving. 

We ate lunch at Wahoo's Fish Tacos.  Definitely a new favorite.  We've been there several times since then.  

[Side note: If it seems like we've been eating out often, it's because we have been. We're still on TLA waiting for household goods to arrive, which means we're still getting a daily allowance for meals. Breakfast + Lunch +Dinner = dining out almost every meal for over a month now. We are definitely appreciative, but we are also definitely looking forward to returning to some level of normalcy.]

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed our beach gear, and drove up to Kailua.  It's such a beautiful drive - I hope I don't ever get sick of it or fail to appreciate God's beautiful creation.  

Normally, when we go to Kailua, we just go to the Kailua Beach Park, but on my birthday, we decided to try the beach right next to it - Lanikai Beach. It's crazy how beaches that are so close to one another have such different characteristics. The sand is softer and the waves are calmer at Lanikai. We were excited to try the new beach, and are thankful that by living in Kailua, we will be close to several nice beaches.  

It was a picture-perfect beach afternoon and a great way to spend time with Dan + celebrate my birthday. 

At my parent's recommendation, we went to Nobu for dinner for probably one of the best dining experiences we've had. We had never eaten a full Japanese-style meal at a restaurant, and decided to try all (yes, all) of the waiter's suggestions.  So. Much. Food.

We're pretty sure it was real edible gold on the plate...

Back at home (aka our hotel), Dan and Sydney gave me my birthday present - a new Bose dock/speaker for my iPod. I was so excited! The one my parents had given me when I went away to college had sadly retired (aka broke) shortly before moving to Hawaii. It will be wonderful to have throughout the days of unpacking ahead of me.  

[I sure hope those days of unpacking come soon - still no word on our household goods - and I'm getting very antsy!]

Thanks again for a wonderful birthday! I have a feeling my 26th year in Hawaii will be pretty great.

Keep Smiling...

Sydney Goes to the Beach

Sydney (like most dogs) absolutely loves:

- People

- Going for walks

- Going for a ride

- Swimming

- Playing fetch

These things made us super excited about taking her to the beautiful (and many a pet-friendly) Hawaii beaches when we found out we were moving here.  They also made us super apprehensive.  When we first arrived, we hesitated taking Sydney to the beach for these exact reasons + a few others:

1. Sydney loves going for a walk almost to a fault - she pulls like you wouldn't believe.  She's been easy to train in so many ways, but there's something about her excitement getting in the way when she's in a new place. Not to mention when you add car rides and people in the mix. 

2. We were living in a hotel and all that that implies (one room/space, sandy/wet dog...no thank you)

3. We were renting a car at first (see #2)

Every time Dan and I went to the beach without Syd, we felt really guilty (especially because it meant she was stuck in the hotel room).  We knew she'd love it, but had no idea how she'd behave.  We'd enviously watch other dog owners and their dogs at the beach.  (I'm pretty sure one day we were obviously staring at this lady, jaws dropped) Perfectly trained dogs.  Totally ignored people walking by. Didn't take their eyes off their master.  Stayed nearby off the leash.  

After a while, we finally realized we had to try it.  We wouldn't ever know how she'd behave unless we took her.  We had it all planned out.  Our cars had made it safely to Hawaii, so we bought a sheet at Target and along with some towels, we covered the backseat of Dan's car.  We now had the apartment with a fenced in backyard + hose and planned to give her a bath before heading back to the hotel. And...Kailua beaches are pet-friendly!

So, here's a recap of Syd's first trip to the beach...

First, days prior, she sat very patiently while we switched out her old collar for a fun, surfer-dog, collar. She was pretty darn excited about it. 

Days later...arriving at Kailua Beach Park.  At this moment, we were regretting the decision.  The beach (sand+people+water) was now her sole focus. 

Nevertheless, we continued on.  But we knew taking her off the leash (or even letting go of the leash) was not an option.  

As I mentioned earlier, Sydney loves to swim. She would spend hours in my parent's pool during the summers, and we would frequently take her to Presque Isle in Erie (very far down where there were no people) and let her swim in the lake. She had also visited VA Beach, but never swam there. So even though she was a great swimmer, she had never swam in the ocean before. Her reaction to the waves (even though they were small) was so funny. You could tell she didn't know what to think of them at first. But eventually, she got used to them. She and Dan swam for a while and I sat with our stuff and took pictures. 

We could tell she started to get tired, so we all took a break to sit in the sand. Eventually, she calmed down, drank water, and rested. She even patiently sat while Dan buried her paws in the sand. So cute. 

After an exhausting (but better-than-we-had-expected) afternoon, we headed back to the apartment for her to get a bath. She loved her new backyard and ran around drying off for a bit.  

I think this will be her new favorite spot in the house...

After she was dry, we headed to our friends Kelly and Andy's house for dinner. They have a house in the same town as us, and they have two labs. One of my Erie co-workers had given me Kelly's name when she found out we were moving to Hawaii, and Kelly was an invaluable resource throughout the moving process. I emailed her a lot. With a lot of questions. And it was incredibly helpful because they made the exact same move (with dogs) just a few months before we did. Anyways, not only were they kind enough to invite us over for a home-cooked meal, but they also opened the invitation to Sydney so she could run around the yard with their dogs. Sydney definitely had a big day!

With Sydney's first Hawaii beach experience, we learned some things that worked and some that definitely didn't. We've since taken her back a couple of times, and each time she's done better and better. She's quite the wave-jumper now!

Keep Smiling...