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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
