Too long, but many adventures!

Aloha blog family! I know it's been way too long since we've posted. I'm hoping by getting it together today, that it will inspire me to keep it up more regularly. I've actually started a post a couple of times when I've been sitting somewhere on my nifty iPhone. Unfortunately I've lost those posts with a mere turn of the phone, and the formatting has switched off and deleted an entire post at a time. As I sit to write this time, it's a Saturday morning and I'm about to go up to the North Shore with some friends for some overdue snorkeling at Andy and I's favorite spot we found with the Putnam clan six years ago. It's called Three Tables and is a prime spot just next to the famous Waimea Bay. Here are sine overdue photos to start off the blog!

Our friends, Andrea and Ryan from Enid, came to visit us on their way to a seven day inter-island cruise
around Hawaii!









A few photos from Aunt Janet's visit to Hawaii to see her first grandson, Fritz. I had so much fun spending time with Janet. I can't wait for another visit.

Andy got to go on a deep sea fishing charter with our neighbors! He had a great time and wore himself out as he caught a 6-ft. long swordfish! Pretty cool.

Andy I got went to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a luau and amazing show ... on them! I really like my job.

To recap the past two months, we sure were busy! I'll try to add as many photos as possible, but that's the part that takes the longest to do.

During the month of April, we had the Kerrs visit from Nashville, Tennessee! For their first time to Hawaii, E.J. and Jenny enjoyed five days on the island of Oahu with us then three nights in Maui for a belated honeymoon. On Oahu, we went to Paradise Cove Luau, Hanauma Bay, and the north shore! A major highlight was our Whale Watch on the Star of Honolulu cruise ship! Jenny's main request was to see the humpback whales during her visit! I was excited too, never having seen any myself, but I was worried since it was the very "tail" end of whale season here. The whales had come from Alaska early this year in December and they typically head back in April/May. We went for a nice lunch cruise, and of course, I was researching the experience for my job too! Lo and behold, only 15 minutes out into the ocean and two to three whales decided to follow our boat for the next 45 minutes! It was absolutely amazing!! Jenny fell to the floor of the deck when the first baby decided to leap out of the water and flip onto his back! They circled each other and seemed to enjoy the ships' attention!

There was another whale cruise out too, but we by far had the best sight that day! Another jump really made the day for us! We will never forget that experience together. We were screaming with excitement. It was amazing and awe-inspiring! We enjoyed a nice lunch on the boat and ice cream at the Aloha Tower Marketplace after the cruise. With the exception of some illnesses that both E.J. and Jenny experienced here, we know that had a wonderful time with us on Oahu.

The photo above is at the Paradise Cove luau in Ko'olina.

During the Kerrs visit to Maui, Andy and I took the opportunity to see Maui too for the first time, since Aunt Carol and Uncle Lance were also vacationing there for their anniversary up at beautiful Napili Shores. I absolutely LOVED Maui and can not wait to go back. Each day at my travel agent job, I recommend Maui to many people. For the longest time, I wasn't sure what all the craze about Maui was. Tons of honeymoons and weddings take place there among the beautiful beaches and resorts along the northwest coast of the island. Now, I know, that seeing the gorgeous sunsets and other islands off the beaches are just breathtaking! You can see Molokai, Lanai, and Kahoolawe from Maui, closer than I thought, and much different from Oahu's views.

On the one above, there's a tiny sailboat on the horizon to the left of the shadow that is Moloka'i.

We loved our resort too. It's the Ka'anapali Shores hotel. I just can't wait to go back and scuba dive/snorkel the tiny crater isle of Molokini! We enjoyed our hotel suite along the Ka'anapali Beach, and we checked out E.J. and Jenny's Hyatt Resort and Spa ... boy, is that a gorgeous resort! We walked along the Ka'anapali Beach Walk so I could see all the hotels in order to better recommend to customers at my tickets and travel office.

It was so fun to have a mini-vacation during the Kerrs visit. It absolutely was wonderful to spend time with Carol and Lance as they treated us to a delicious meal at the Pineapple Grill up at the Kapalua golf resort area. It was so scrumptious!

The next day they picked us up to drive around the island over to the "upcountry" side. I just loved seeing the views and scenic outlooks! You can see both sides of the island, both coasts, from the hillsides of the upcountry! We visited the "Surfing Goat Farm" were a family, originally from Germany, opened a goat farm in Maui. The goats can play and walk up and down old surfboards donated by surfers from the islands. I tried lavender goat cheese, as there are famous lavender fields on Maui too, and Andy tried some goat milk. Carol and Lance use to raise goats, so of course this site popped out to them on the map, so we stopped by to visit. We had a wonderful lunch in a small country town and then took to some shopping in the whale/beach town of Lahaina. It was albsolutely wonderful to meet with family and share some time together. It made us really excited for more family to visit! We can't wait to host our parents and siblings sooner rather than later! Come on out!

May was full too! We shore dove at Shark's Cove on the north shore with some friends and that was incredible. There were lava tubes that Andy went though as I waited outside working on my buoyancy. I sure don't feel comfortable going through tight spaces yet, especially if I'm still balancing on my own in the first minutes of each dive trying to swim past reefs without touching them. It was a fun day. Lots of beautiful fish! We also scuba dove with Island Divers again off their boat (where we got certified) with a group of friends. We are averaging about once a month now. What a great time we always have! We end with some baja mexican food at Cha Cha Cha near the dive shop! Pineapple salsa and li hing mui margaritas all around! Can't wait to share those with some of you!

Andy went back to Japan and Korea for a mission, and spent some extra time there golfing and sightseeing! I'm so happy he really loves every aspect of his job! It makes the waiting at home (in Hawaii) much easier on me. During May, I helped out with a squadron spouses "coffee-themed" coffee and also with a baby shower for a dear friend (due this month with a baby girl). My gift to her was a pink and green diaper cake! Here are some fun pics from both events. 

 

 
To describe the diaper cake, diapers rolled with bows and placed in the shape of a cake is a popular gift and decoration for any baby shower these days. She absolutely loved it and I had a blast making it. Since January, I've now been to three baby showers. I can definitely tell my friends and I are "at that age." It's so much fun to learn from all the new moms and mommies-to-be here, in Andy's squadron and including cousin Alicia with baby Fritz. I must report little Fritz is doing very well and has to be the cutest and smartest five-month-old I know. ;-) In regards to the Hofmanns, Alicia and Grant have a visitor for the summer that arrived in May, and I couldn't be more happy about it. Alicia's sister, Vanessa, another cousin, is here visiting and nanny-ing for the summer for them at their abode downtown! She's here for her summer away from college, and both Andy and I are having a blast with more family here. We all love to get together at a beach and end up at our place for dinner. It's so fun to spend quality time with cousins now, since we all grew up out of state. Calling all the Steger cousins .... come on out to visit!! You have a place here at our house. I'd love to see each of you! =)

To end the month, our dear friend, Michael Eatmon came to visit us for 10 days! It was so wonderful to have such an awesome friend make the trip out, for HIS birthday, even! We gave him a thorough tour of Oahu. I don't want to spoil all the adventures for everyone else who's due to visit, so I'll just show with photographs! We had a blast and a nice mini-vacation again for us too. We stayed in a cabin on the beach, had a one-hour helicopter tour and scuba'd! Too fun. Thanks for the awesome time, buddy.

We had a fry at Eric's house for the Memorial Day holiday. Fried snickers, twinkies, hoho's, zucchini, a whole turkey, you name it.

Andy and I got to try out another luau at Germaine's. Gotta check them all out for my customers. ;-)

June has been a bit slower. I've been working hard and Andy has had some unexpected time at the office. They were due for some squadron-wide missions for the entire month, but after some cancellations military-wide, Andy had time at home to get some things done around the house and inside the squadron. AS of now, he's currently on a mission in Australia. I do have to say he's very excited about this one. We hope to try and visit the continent again for a vacation early next year with some of our closet friends here. Also on the same note, Patrick, my sister Julie's husband, has set out on his deployment today for 12 months to Afghanistan. I want to envelope both of them in my prayers and thoughts. A challenge for them to say the least. I know they are both so strong and will be better individuals and a super awesome couple because of it. Thanks for the all your hard work and journeys to come, Patrick, we're all rooting for you and love you.

I think that takes care of the highlights. Thanks for your patience in getting this update. I will try to make smaller updates more often! Love you all.