My Girl

Happy Birthday Gretel Olivia Haskell!

Today is Gretel's first birthday. So, Kurt and I will take her tonight to the fast food place of her choice and get her something yummy to eat! We love you Gretel! :).

Birthday Celebration

Today was my Grama's 80th birthday. We went to dinner in Canton to celebrate, at Max and Erma's which is one of her favorites. It was really good. I got her a really pretty light blue topaz ring.

Also, stopped at Old Navy and they had some awesome deals (Marla, if you are reading this, you MUST go. I know you wanted some long sleeve solid colored shirts). I bought three long sleeve shirts for myself for $4 each, and a sweater for Kurt for $4. Amazing deals. Old Navy is the best for buying in bulk for t-shirts.

The weather was AMAZING here today. It was 55 degress in Newport which is unheard of for January. We went out to look at a house and some property today and I did not wear a coat. It is very odd.

Not much else going on, night!

Day of Babes

Again, trying to get you to read. :). Babes does not equal hot men walking down the street, ;). But, since I am very happily married, that's OK. What babes does equal is Ben, Sara, Bodie, Nora and Maya. Three of my bestest friends little kiddies. Went to Kerry and max's in Ann Arbor today to meet Nora for the first time and also saw all the kiddies above, as well as Deanna and Marla and Kerry and Max. Which was awesome. I have not seen Kerry in forever, and it is very, very rare that we can all get together at the same time. Had fun playing with the kids, and holding the babies. My friends have the cutest kids!

After that, came home and Kurt and I drove around looking at different property for sale in the area. This is usually not a Winter activity, but since it feels like Spring here today, we decided to go anyway. Lots of stuff for sale in our area. There is one piece of property we are really interesting in, 30 acres on Lake Erie. But, we need the price to come down, which I think it will. Nobody has that kind of money right now with the economy, at least in michigan.

In Love With Another Man

Ok, just kidding, but I made you read the post, didn't I? Went tonight and got my hair highlighted and cut with my fav stylist ever--Roman, at Alex Emilio's salon in Royal Oak. Why do I love Roman?? He 'knows' my hair and what will look good. I basically just let him do whatever he wants. Today, it was lowlights, highlights, and cutting off 4 inches. I have not been there in a long time and my hair was just getting too long. I keep putting it in a ponytail to avoid it. And now, voila, all taken care of. Roman rocks. Anyone reading this in the southern MI area who appreciates a great stylist needs to visit him. I have been going for years, at the recommendation of a friend, and it was the best advice ever.

Afterwards, had dinner with Julia at Mongolian BBQ. Had grilled shrimp with veggies and spicy sauces and it was awesome. Great service too. And it was nice to have dinner with Julia and get to talk about some nonschool related subjects. :).

Tomorrow, I am seeing more friends. I have been doing so much this week for me! Heading to Ann Arbor, but I will save that post for tomorrow.

Heading home now, good night all!

Awesome Night

Tonight, I had plans to go see Sheryl Crow and have dinner with one of my bestest friends, Deanna. We met at Cuisine at 5:30 p.m. for dinner. The food there was amazing, to say the least. Some of the best I have ever had. For my meal, I had swordfish, and we split a seafood appetizer. Split chocolate souffle for dessert. The valet service at this place was the best ever too. Normally, your parking experience would not be one to talk about in a blog, but this guy rocked. He had our cars warmed up and waiting for us BEFORE we left the restaurant. Then, on the way back from the concert, he actually said he was sorry he did not have our cars warmed up!! I was like "How would you KNOW when we would return, LOL?" He was incredibly nice. Cuisine, give this guy a raise! :).

Anyway, the concert was at the Fox at 7:30 p.m. Did not start on time, of course, which was fine because I think Deanna and I could talk and catch up for an endless amount of time. We had great floor seats, and the crowd was kinda "old" so we did not have to stand throughout the entire concert (some parts only) so that was good. She sang all the songs that are mainstream, and some really good stuff that was not. Great concert.

Today, I had to go to the school to get my picture taken for the class composite. Also had to get measured for my cap and gown (which are pretty kewl since they are special 'doctoral' ones), pick up my tickets, and look at degree framing and rings. I had not decided for sure, but I ended up getting a ring. The name of my ring is inspiration, and I got it in antiqued white gold. Ordering one anyway, they take weeks to custom make. I never got one in college or high school and decided this would be a great reminder of law school. Plus, I got a really girly, non-class ringish looking one, so I will wear it all the time. I think I deserve it after the hell I have gone through for the last few years of school!

I told Deanna that I was making a new rule that we need to set aside one night a month (or more) to have dinner. When we don't, we don't see eachother enough. We have so much fun together and catching up in person is important (even though we email and call all the time). So, tomorrow I am emailing you and picking a date for February! :).

Night!

Insanity

This week has been crazy busy, for some reason. And it's only Wed! I am exhausted right now.

Tomorrow, I have an appointment at school to get my picture taken for the class composite photo, have to get measured for cap and gown, and meet with the others--invites, ring, etc. I am not sure what I am going to do with getting a ring or any extras. I never got a class ring in high school or college, and was glad of that decision with those. But, I am wondering if maybe I want one for law school? Kurt has one and wears his all the time. But guys are different. I guess I will wait and see how much they are. I am trying to save money right now, so don't want one if they are crazy expensive.

Toby had a bad night on Monday night. We thought he was taking a turn for the worse, but then we realized that he had thrown up his pill and therefore, the drugs were not in his system. So, even though he refused to eat it, Kurt made him take his pill and about 12 hours later or so, he seemed back to normal and now, he is totally better again, so that's good.

So, other than that, not much going on. I know, my life is boring, what can I say? :).

Oh, a friend wrote me today and made me realize that some of my random posts may seem like they are about somebody in my life currently, those who may read my blog. In particular, the last post I wrote about friends. If you are reading this blog, then any of my posts which don't name names are NOT about you. I would never write anything in a blog about anyone that actually reads this thing on a regular basis! So......anyone thinking my anonymous posts are about them, fret not! I love all my blog readers! :).

Have a great night, everyone!

The Difference Between Good Friends and Bad Friends.

Good Friends

So this afternoon, I went to visit with Marla, Bodie and the new baby, Maya Renae. Had a blast playing with Bodie, and visiting with Marla. Maya was such a little doll, slept a lot while I was there, but I still got to hold her and fall in love with her. I took some pics and will upload when I get a second. Bodie is SO funny too. He is a total mama's boy, and he does not like having Maya around. He was almost acting like she did not exist, like if he acted that way, she might disapear. But, when nobody else was paying attention, he would sneak little glances at her and smile. Too cute.

After that, I went to my Aunt's to have dinner with her and my Grama, and go to the Plymouth Ice Sculpture Show. Had dinner at Eastside Mario's (yum) but the Show was pretty much nonexistent because of the warm weather we have been having.

Bad Friends**

I was thinking tonight. During the past few years, I have slowly removed some people* from my life who I have moved into the category of "one-sided friendships." The reason? I don't have time to try and maintain relationships with those who are not trying in return. I have many friendships with understanding, intelligent, sweet, caring, compassionate and beautiful individuals who know what it's like to be a friend through thick and thin. I used to let my feelings get so hurt when these so-called friends* would suddenly have mood swings and decide they hated me, then the next week say they were sorry and want everything to be OK. while I would say I understand and that I forgave them, I don't think I truly could ever forget. The funny thing, these people do not even realize the way they behave. They proclaim to despise certain characteristics in others, and I find it hilarious that these traits they hate are totally obvious in their own personalities. So, all of you who are "faking" being friends with me because you find it mildly amusing or don't want to be the one to cut the ties. just stop. i am not as 'stupid' as you think i am and i get it. and i don't care whatsoever because that part of my personality was changed long ago because of you. i have been on to you all along.

Good Friends

My friend Deanna was glad, I think, when i finally came to this realization. I think she was getting sick of idiot girls* screwing with my mind by being so freaking bi-polar and psychologically immature. it is funny that the girls* who think they are the most intelligent, and who may in fact be very booksmart, are lacking so much in other ways. i know she thinks I am a strong independent person, so it was odd to her that i would place any value on a friendship where the other person was just plain rude. But she is a great friend. She never told me I was an idiot, just supported me and told me these people* did not deserve someone like me as a friend. So anyway, this was all long, long ago, but this is a lesson to everyone. don't forget the the little things your great friends say to you.

**names not used to protect the 'innocent'. ha. OK, maybe innocent was a bad choice of words.

Better Days

So, since my last post, the weather here has become totally fab! today, I think it must have been 40 degrees, and historically Jan 21 is supposed to be the coldest day of the year! We deserve this after the hellacious December southern MI suffered through.

The rest of my school week went well. Nothing too exciting in any of my classes.

I went and got a massage today at Blu Water, and had a new massage therapist. She was AWESOME. I am going to be requesting her again. her name is Megan. I am also psyched because I finally have time this semester to get up to Royal Oak and get my hair done at my favorite salon with the best stylist ever. The past two semesters have been crazy busy for me, and I have been getting my hair done elsewhere because I had no choice. I liked the new place as well, but nobody is the same as Roman (my stylist).

I was supposed to go visit Nora Beth tomorrow, but Kerry called tonight to move in until next weekend because Sara was sick all night. Poor thing! I am still going to see Marla tomorrow, and I have to call my Aunt because she wanted to go to the Plymouth Ice Sculpture show. I was wondering with this weather if that is still on.

Kurt built a bookshelf for me today (or part of it anyway) in our den/computer room (whatever you want to call it). There is an area where a built in bookcase was 'supposed' to go, but the previous homeowner never had one built. It is coming out really, really good. Now I need to find the perfect desk. There is one I really like at Pottery Barn, but I need to figure out which pieces I need and either go to Somerset to pick it up or order it. click here to see what I want. but, I want it in black.

BREAKING NEWS

Breaking news.................

My friend's Kerry and Marla BOTH had their babies today! Nora Beth Zain was born at around 12:55 a.m. in Ann Arbor and Maya Renae Wilson was born at 11:30 something (don't know exact, have not heard from Marla yet) today! Everyone is doing great! Already saw a pic of Nora and she is adorable, just like her sister, Sara. with my school schedule, I am going to wait until this weekend then visit both of them, if they are up to it. Hopefully! :). I can't wait to meet the babies.

More breaking news, my sister is engaged! Don't know any more details than that, my Mom broke the news to me tonight! Apparently, she has a ring AND he bought her a car today! Lucky girl! His name is Jim Bottorff. Congrats to Christie and Jim! (Shannon, are you reading this??)

Other than that, not too much going on really. Have been really busy with school and work. Almost two weeks down of classes though. Got the grades from all my classes for the semester and I passed everything. Yay! My high grade in Sports and the Law, which shocked me. That exam was pure hell and I was concerned about the grade. Thankfully, I did really well. And Julia, my bestest law school friend, had a great semester! Yay for Jules!

It snowed here today. I so hate this weather. The roads were horrendous on the way to work. I did have the urge to take some pics this morning, but once I felt the freezing cold wind on my face, I decided against that! ;).

We got Toby's DNA results back and of course, they STILL don't know. The lymphoma test came out negative, but they went on to say to not rule it out entirely because the disease is very difficult to detect in cats. Sigh. Why is animal science so not advanced? Toby is still doing really well on the meds they gave him, so I am thankful for that.

Finally Finished!

So, I finally finished an online photo album of my Hawaii pictures.

Click here to see the pics, and enjoy. :).

Haskell Updates

So....have been busy since classes started on Monday. So far, so good with the classes. I counted the other day, and I only have like 117 days until my last final, graduation is really going to be here before I know if even though 117 days seems like forever. It is all becoming really 'real', in that I received my bar application in the mail, have to go to a lecture about filling it out at school, have pictures this month for the wall at the school, and had to pay my fee for graduating. There is always something they want my money for there. LOL.

I still really like Evidence class. Kurt thinks I am really odd for liking it, but whatever. Maybe he had a boring prof? So, I asked Paul, the other attorney in our office, and he did not like it either. Hmm. Maybe I am odd. OK, I can deal with that.

My schedule is really nice this semester. I have Thursday nights off, and no school on Friday. So, I feel like I have more time that usual to relax. One night, to be exact, which I have to spend reading and studying, but still, one night of being at home and not being in Detroit.

We did not get Super Bowl tickets (in the drawing). So, we have decided not to go. Normally, I don't have a prob paying scalper prices, but they are SOO high, I could pretty much take my dream trip for the cost of the tickets, and it's not worth it. Especially since Detroit is not even in the game. If they were, I might think about it.

In other updated Haskell news, we hired another secretary at the office. Her name is Darlene and she just started on Friday. So far, so good! :). She seems really self-motivated, friendly, and great on the phone. She already put all the documents together on two probate cases for Kurt, which really needed to be done. And this was on her first day, way more than I would have expected. Hopefully, she likes us! With Misty about to have her baby any day, we really needed someone else in here. She is going to come back after her time off for the baby though, so then we will have two secretaries here.

Toby is still doing really well. The doctor sent his slide into that pathologist at Colorado State and they STILL could not figure out what was wrong with him for sure, so now they are doing a DNA test on the slide. If they can't figure it out from that, they would have to do exploratory surgery, removing one of his lymphnoids to see if it's cancer or not. I am hoping we don't have to go there since he is so old. But, the meds did wonders for him. He is gaining weight and acting like his old annoying kitty self.

Gretel is going through the terrible twos. She is only 11 months, but dogs age faster, so I guess I can technically say that. She is harassing her brothers nonstop all day. And us. She is so cute, it's hard to get mad, but sometimes the boys like to be lazy and relax and Gretel is not allowing that. She is quickly (or already has) become the boss of the animal kingdom at our house, and she makes sure everyone is aware of that all the time. I think I call her "brat" more often than her name. But I do so while kissing her, so it's all in love, ;).

Today, we are at the office. Kurt drafted a trust and some related documents for a couple and they are going out of town on Monday, so they needed them before then. After that, we are outta here and going home. I am going to try and do some of my reading for the week this weekend.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

In Love

OK, the new Treo is here. It's the Treo 700w, and although I have never seen one in person or used it (only my current phone the Treo 650), I am in LOVE. The only had news is it is currently only available with Verizon service, and I have Cingular, so I have to wait because I hate Verizon. Bummer.

But, check it out here. Broadband speed on your phone. Our current phone Internet is slower than that and Kurt would kill for broadband speed! Only, he won't have to kill, he will just have to shell out the funds for the 700w.

I should so be a spokesperson for this thing. :).

New Classes

So, I started my LAST semester of law school on Monday night. I cannot even really believe it. It does not seem real that I will be done soon. Crazy really, but let me say, I will be so psyched to never take another class, hear another lecture, take a final exam again....

So, this semester I am taking Evidence, Criminal Procedure I, Constitutional Law II, State and Local Tax. The last class was canceled this week and starts next week (yay), but I have attended one class each on the first three. And shockingly, Evidence was my favorite so far! Kurt told me I would not like the class, and maybe in the end he will be right, but so far, it is the best of the three I have gone to. I like rule based classes, and that is totally what Evidence is.

My Mom left this morning, but I got to spend Monday night with her, which was fun. We watched the first episode of The Bachelor, and were bummed when the controversial Allie was booted. She kept making comments about "reproduction" and then was shocked when he did not keep her around. LOL. I wish my Mom lived around here, I always have so much fun with her, :(. I hate how she lives so far away and I barely ever get to see her.

Gotta watch the end of Boston Legal! Michael J. Fox is starring, great episode.

Update on Toby

Well........very good, yet strange weekend with Toby. They gave him a shot of Prednisone when I was at the vet on Friday. The next morning, he suddenly seemed a TON better. We really thought it was a fluke, but he just kept getting better as the weekend went on. We have to give him the Prednisone in a pill form once per day. But each day, he ate more (he did not eat for like 2 days before I took him in again on Friday), walked around more (for about a day before the appt on Friday he just laid in my bed and did nothing), and started acting more like himself. It is pretty much like we have our "old" cat back again......

We are trying not to get our hopes up, because we still need the results from the pathologist which could be today or tomrrrow or Wed., but the Prednisone is really more of an effective treatment for the IBS and NOT the cancer. So, maybe he has the curable disease? That would be awesome.

Anyway, just wanted to update everyone who has been sending me their prayers.

On another note, my Mom and sister were in town this weekend. They got to the house on Sat night, and we went to dinner and did a little bit of shopping. Saturday morning, we went to the airport to pick up my sister's boyfriend who was arriving back from Iraq, his name is Jim. Very nice guy. We went to lunch with them, and then she and he left for a hotel near his base in clinton township. My Mom stayed with us, and she and I went shopping. I actually found some things I need---a new comforter set for one of the spare bedrooms, some airbake pans I have been wanting, shoes for Kurt, etc. I read my homework and then my Mom and I watched Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. It was fun to get to watch the shows with her, we always talk about them on the phone together afterwards!

This morning I woke up not feeling very well for some reason. Hopefully, I get better as the day goes on since I have to work AND go to school today. Blah. I wish I could call in once in a while. :(.

Waiting.....

So, I spent the afternoon at a vet clinic in Ann Arbor that our vet sent us to so Toby could get an ultrasound. Got there and waited 45 minutes for the vet to come in and talk to me. Took a short nap with Toby on my lap sleeping. Came in and did a short exam, asked some questions, took him back for the ultrasound. 20 minutes later came out and showed me the results, which showed his lymphnoids (sp?) enlarged. His guess was lymphoma or inflammatory bowel syndrome, but Toby's condition was not advanced enough to tell just from the ultrasound. So, they next did a biopsy on the lymphnoid to look at the cells under a microscope. Apparently, this was not conclusive either and it was sent to a pathologist in Colorado. Soooo, now we wait for that. If it is IBS, it is treatable with medication. if it is cancer, it is somewhat treatable, but not curable. And the treatment would make him suffer more than he already is right now, so most likely we will have to put him to sleep. Blah. so, I guess I will know more details once the biopsy comes back. Hopefully, it is good news, but I think both Kurt and I are expecting the worst, so either way we will get through it.

Sad News

My cat, Toby, has not been feeling well for a while. We took him to the vet last Friday and they ran all this bloodwork which all came out negative. No kidney probs, no thyroid probs, nothing. So, they gave us an antibiotic and sent us home. We gave it to him for the past week, but he really seemed to just get worse. So, we took him back tonight and they did xrays and some more tests. The vet is sending us to a place to get an ultrasound done because she could not figure anything out from the xrays. She thinks he has cancer of some sort, but he had no large tumors they could see in their xrays. Basically, between the lines, she was saying she thinks we are going to have to put him to sleep. :(. I just lost Daisy in March and this sucks that now I may lose Toby as well. I mean, Toby is 15, so this is not totally unexpected like it was with Daisy Lou, but it's still depressing. So, tomorrow, I am taking him to Ann Arbor for the additional tests. There is no way Kurt or I would ever put an animal down without exploring all alternatives and making sure there is no way we can help, but, I don't want to put Toby through a lot of chemo and stuff either because that in itself will probably kill him since he is in an advanced age. Sigh.

I'm Working On It, I Promise!

OK. I have been too busy since I got home from vacay to get all the pics posted with captions, but I am working on it, I promise. I have them all downloaded and cropped, etc. but I am now working on captions and since there are so many pics, it may take a while. You understand, I hope, ;).

But, I will take this opportunity to talk about the trip, in detail, with pictures to come.

Basically, this was the best vacation I have ever taken. Besides the fact that i got to relax and hang out with my husband, Hawaii is the definition of Paradise. It will be impossible for me to even begin to show you all in my pictures the beauty and awesome nature that was on the islands we visited. The only thing to bother me on this trip whatsoever was the wonderful delays of Northwest Airlines.

I will start with that aspect of the trip and get it out of the way. Our first flight was from Detroit to San Fran and was delayed 1 hour. No biggie. From San Fran to Honolulu, another 3 hour delay. Then, once we got to Honolulu, since it was so delayed everywhere else, we had to stay overnight in Honolulu and fly to Maui early the next morning. Then, from Kona to Seattle on our way home, delayed 2.5 hours. From Seattle to Detroit? Another 45 minute delay. Phew. For all this trouble, NW generously gave us $20 in free food, $70 in plane vouchers, 2 calling cards for 10 minutes in total. Woo hoo. Not. ;).

On to the better part of the trip.

We landed in Maui first thing in the morning. We drove to our resort, called the Royal Lahaina. We had a beautiful ocean front/view room on the top floor, with a great balcony. We immediately changed into shorts and our bathing suits. It was about 75-80 degrees every day we were there, literally the most perfect weather I have ever encountered. and it's like that all year round! The first day, we took a drive North or our resort and saw the Nakalele Blowhole, which was awesome. Click here to see exactly what the blowhole is. We ate lunch that day at this really cute local bar/hangout and I had the best shrimp ceasar salad. Yum. We did a lot of hiking that day and were exhausted by night. The time change really hits you flying this far away.....

Day two, we drove the famous drive to Hana. Probably my favorite part of the entire trip. We bought this great book, previous to the trip, called Maui Revealed. Best travel book EVER (at least for Hawaiian islands). Basically, the Road to Hana is less than 60 miles long, but can take all day to drive, depending on the amount of time you spend stopping, hiking, taking pics. Of course, Kurt and I had to stop at EVERY SINGLE waterfall and siteseeing type spot we possibly could. I could not believe some of the hikes we endured to see a waterfall, and every single hike and painful step/fall was worth it. We hiked over mile long streams of boulders, down slippery cliffs........We also had the best banana bread I have ever eaten. We saw some very kewl beaches on this road as well including black sand beaches and a red sand beach. It was at a stand located Half Way to Hana. Also got to swim in a waterfall for the first time, in one called Alelele Falls. It was kinda a hidden hike (had to have the book to know about it), so Kurt and I had the whole area to ourselves. I swam for a while and Kurt explored a nearby cave. That night we ate at a great seafood place called Roy's (click here).

The next day, we drove one of the mountains in Maui. We were on a mission to see the redwood forest in Maui. We have always wanted to see redwoods, and never thought they would be in Maui. Alas, we were not able to get there. After driving about 8000 feet up the mountain in REALLY dangerous conditions (i.e. road was about 10 feet across with no railings), the road turned into an all dirt road that was only about 8 feet across. Kurt is severely afraid of heights, and it really did not look safe to go much further in the convertible (non 4 wheel drive) we had rented. But, in those 8000 feet, I got some awesome pics of the scenery, mountains, ocean, trees. It was awesome (at least for me, LOL). That day, we also visited many of the great beaches in Maui, including Big Beach which is supposedly the nicest beach on the entire island. There, I went swimming for the first time in the ocean (by myself of course since Kurt does not swim). It was incredible how strong the ocean is, pulling you back and forth, the waves just flying over your head. I so wanted a boogie board after watching everyone, but it would really not be practical to bring back in the plane....Click here. Of course, while there, Kurt made me trek over this lava hill to the other side, conveniently named "Little Beach". One may want to know that this beach is 'clothing optional'. We were there a total of about 10 minutes to walk up and down the beach. I felt like I was wearing a bodysuit compared to the rest of the beachgoers. Even the surfers were wearing nothing. Totally odd experience. Click here.. That night we ate at another great place, on the grounds of the resort, called Basil's. The place was entirely open air, and we had a great table overlooking the resort's grounds. Great food.

Our last day in Maui, we had a midday flight, so we hung out at the beach all morning, watching surfers and relaxing. Then flew to Kona, Big Island, for the second half of our trip. Great non-Northwest flight. Here we rented a Jeep because there are many 4WD roads on the Big Island. We stayed at the King Kamahamaha Hotel. It was right on the water and very nice as well, but not as nice as the Royal Lahaina in Maui. Great room though on the top floot here as well. We lucked out with all the top floor rooms, my favorite, ;). Xmas night, we had dinner at the hotel, a Xmas seafood buffet. All my favs--grilled fish, shrimp, crab legs, etc.

The next day, we drove to the only active volcano in Hawaii. On the way, we stopped at South Point (southernmost point in the United States), and stopped at a State Park known for its huge turtles. The drive to South Point was incredible. It was so windy, that the trees were literally bending completely over. beautiful beaches there and views. And the turtles at the state park were so CUTE. We saw some on the beach and some in the water, which was also at a black sand beach. The volcano was probably Kurt's favorite part of the entire trip. Here we saw craters, steam vents, lava tubes, tons of cooled lava, as well as the lava flowing down the volcano as well as where it was oozing into the ocean. Words cannot even express how awesome it was so see this in person. Ate that day at a place overlooking a huge crater, and had dinner back in Kona at a nice place overlooking the downtown area. More seafood. I swear, I was meant to live in Hawaii for the seafood selections. It was hard to even find a nonseafood item on their menus! Yay!

The next day, we drove North out of town. We took an awesome hike through the clouds (literally) in a bamboo rainforest. That was one of the most interesting hikes I have ever taken. It was absolutely breathtaking. I felt like I was in some eerie movie. Drove further towards Hilo and stopped at various waterfalls and scenic drives/beaches. Did a lot of hiking this day as well. Ate dinner at the best place of the trip, called Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. It was located literlly on the ocean, the waves were crashing underneath the deck we were sitting on. Food was great as well.

The next day, exhausted from the hiking the past few days, we decided to do beaches. We went to one beach down an AWFUL 4WD road. Took an hour, I kid you not, to go like a mile. But, the beach was worth it. Totally secluded and beautiful. Next went to another fairly secluded beach where I went swimming and Kurt slept on teh sand.....Had lunch at a seafood Mexican place, then went back to Kona to walk the shops and relax. Bought Kurt an awesome ring which is being shipped to us. It is platinum and inlayed with Hawaiian Koa Wood. Absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to get it. They took a day to make, and we were leaving that day. Also bought my Aunt some peaberry coffee and some towels and a tank top, bathing suit at a local store.

I will post pictures soon. Overall, the trip was completely and totally relaxing and fun. We actually want to go back, and that is rare for us since we always want to try new places. Next trip, we are going to do Oahu and the Big Island again, as well as some of the smaller islands. I highly recommend Hawaii to everyone! :).