Hau`oli Lā Hānau to me!

Despite the fact that all of my friends and family weren't around, I had a fantastic birthday!

We woke up and went to breakfast at The Common Ground. Its a local spot that grows pretty much everything that they serve in their restaurant. We enjoyed our acai pancakes and bacon, egg, and cheese bagel then set off to go hiking on the Okolehao Trail.

The hike was super fun! We probably hiked about 2 miles up (and when I say "up", I mean it!) We were greeted by pretty flowers, tall trees and jaw-dropping views. Houston was in a silly mood and was doing a great job at distracting Mason and I from the burn in our thighs as we climbed the hills. We had a blast.

We went Rock Quarry (a beach) after hiking and I laid out while the guys got in the water. I was hoping to surf a bit some but the Summer-time waves are just so small. Some days a good swell will come in, otherwise it's like Daytona waves...almost non existent.
After getting sunburnt, we got some tacos at Pacos Tacos and I got an organic shave ice for dessert. Organic coconut/blueberry shave ice= dancing taste buds. Delish!

We were really tired after all that so we ...uhh....I took a nap for about 45 minutes.

For our last adventure, we set out to a place called Queen's Bath. I wish I would have taken better pictures of it but basically it is a place that has a bunch of natural "pools" made from lava rock. There is one pool that is called Queens Bath but we went further down the lava rock to get to a more secluded area. It is not packed with people at all, it's just easy to find a spot where you don't see a single person. We snorkeled a bit in a pool and a honu (turtle) wished me "Happy Birthday." :-) We enjoyed the sunset on the warm rocks after our snorkel an thanked God for giving us such a beautiful place and awesome day.

We were hungry after all that so we made breakfast for dinner while listening to some Jack Johnson.  Houston made me feel special with a chocolate chip banana pan"cake." So yummy!

Doesn't that just sound like a fantastic birthday?!?! I seriously had a blast and felt so blessed. God allowed the day to go so much better than I had even planned. He timed the gentle rain perfectly for our hike to cool us off and turned the sun on bright when we got to the beach. He even allowed for an unplanned nap so that I would feel refreshed while watching the sun go down.

SO. PERFECT

The only thing that would have made it better would be having all of you with me to experience this day!


Love you and miss you,
Houston and Brittany

Working Hard but Playing Harder

Well, we have certainly been busy lately!

I have been at my job now for about a week (working 4 of those days) and I really like it. I am catching on pretty quickly and I like all of my co-workers that I have been scheduled with. Just for you to have a bit of a background on where I work, the Prince Golf Course is one of America's Top 100 golf courses. Apparently that's a pretty big deal in the golf world. There have been many famous people to walk through the doors and people aren't shy when it comes to spending money. It's not uncommon to see people drop a grand or so on golf shirts at the shop. I work in the gift shop selling retail, but I also do all of the booking of tee times and getting people out on the course on time among other things. Knowing all of the pricing and package deals as well as learning the jargon has been the biggest challenge for me. I seriously couldn't tell you what a driver was until today...I still am not confident that I could pick you out one! I like the challenge of it all and am enjoying my time there.

Last Sunday one of the School Board members of the Christian school I'd like to work for got up to speak for a bit about the school. Apparently they are going through financial issues and tastefully asked for money and prayers. I don't know how promising it sounds that I would even be considered for the job or if there is even a spot. Enrollment is down and I still haven't heard back from anyone. I am not worried or won't be disappointed in any way if I don't get that job. I know God will provide. I would like to ask for your prayers though for Houston and James' lawn business...Paradise Lawn Care. So far everything is working out fine to be licensed and they are in the process of ordering more equipment but the hard part is getting accounts. They haven't tried to get accounts because they don't have everything they need quite yet but it's still something they are trusting God with. We would just like enough to pay for our bills, an occasional date night, and enough money to help entertain our guests. ;-)

We have had a lot of fun with Mason so far. I can't believe he has been here for a week!! Time really does fly when you are having fun! So far he has enjoyed a cookout on the beach during sunset, a swim at Turtle Cove, an insanely fun day boogie boarding, and surfing at sunset. We've done a few other fun things but those are the big things. Don't worry, we have put his muscles to work on our garden as well. No free stay when you visit us! :-) We still have a few more adventures up our sleeve before he goes home so I'll try to post pictures or at least tell you about them.

Turtle Cove was a blast as always.

Going to Hanalei Bay and surfing at sunset was seriously so awesome. We had to paddle out super far to go where the reef break was but it was totally worth it. The waves weren't the greatest that day but the view and the sunset was oh so gorgeous! God really decided to spoil us and throw in a rainbow a little before the sun set. Houston caught the rainbow as it was fading away in this shot. It was so fun. Mason did a great job on his first time surfing as well! I hope to do it again in the near future but it's going to take my arms a good week to recoup from that paddle!

We miss you and love you all!

Aloha,

The Brothers

Playing Catch Up

It's been a few days so I guess I should try and play catch up...

The Fourth of July was pretty awesome for us even though we missed being at the Brothers' house for fireworks. James' sister and brother and law are in town so they are staying at a beautiful home near us. We were invited to join them to celebrate the fourth and we gladly accepted the offer. We hung out, swam, ate too much food, and played with sparklers. The house is up on a mountain side so we were overlooking the beach scattered with people playing music and setting off fireworks. It was a really great time. I am embarrassed by the fact that my pictures do no justice to the beauty of the home or view, but you'll get the idea.

 

{This is the master bedroom that is detached from the house}

In other news, I got a job yesterday! Yay! Four interviews, paperwork and a drug test later I got the job at the Prince Golf Course Gift Shop. It's part time so that's good with me as long as it pays the bills. The main manager guy (I swear there are 3 managers or more)  asked a lot of questions about my Starbucks background. Apparently they are seriously considering putting a Starbucks in the building. Another manager asked how I would like being a manager of a Starbucks in Hawaii. It will take time to get it up and running because everything is slower here, but we will see if I'm still around by the time they have a Starbucks. It was a flattering offer nonetheless. I am still hoping for the teaching position as long as they let me have off to see my little niece be born!! :-)

Speaking of babies, I am so excited for Matt and Corinne and the new arrival of the sweet and beautiful Emma! I was fortunate enough to Facetime in so I could see her face....and even hear her cry a bit. :-) SO AWESOME! I wish we could have been there but I was happy to still feel like we were a part.

This past Saturday Houston and I decided we would compete in a rowing race! It was so much fun! The church was doing sign ups for it and this little old lady pressured us into doing it...and at the end of the day we were so glad she did! We had our whole team picked out but when we got there a ladies team needed one more girl so I got kicked off my team. :-( Apparently we had one too many people and they needed a girl...so I volunteered. It turned out great though because I was on a team of older (but fit!) ladies from the church and got to know them. They were all really sweet. My all ladies team and Houston's Co-ed team got second in our division. We even have medals to prove it! :-)

Houston's in there somewhere, I promise. :-)

Mason arrived yesterday and is staying a whole month!! I know he is going to have an awesome time here because here is just so much adventure to be had! Currently, Mason and Houston are out exploring the river behind the house. I wish I could have gone but I had to go into work to do paperwork. Bleh.

Houston and James are still trying to finish up all the paperwork, shopping for trailers and all before they actually have the lawn business up and running. They are trying to brainstorm names so if you have any suggestions text Houston. :-)

That's all I can think of for now!

Love you all and miss you,

The Brothers

Jobs

Well, I figured I'd give you an update on the job situation. As of now we don't have one. Simple right?
 I am very thankful that Matt sold our car because money goes by fast, especially when you aren't making any!

 Last Sunday I met a man who was on the school board for a Christian school right next to the church. I'm not sure if the school and church are connected in any way or not. Anyways, I had a semi interview right there in the church while we enjoyed our weekly pot luck. He asked me what my experience was and if we were involved in church back home. He asked our beliefs and what our church taught to make sure they lined up with what the school teaches. He told me to email my resume but I haven't heard back from him.  It would be a perfect job for me. At first, I wasn't wanting to work full time if i didn't need to, but I also didn't think I would have the option to teach. The school is super close to our house; which is perfect for us because we only have on vehicle. It is also a Christian school so there aren't many hoops to jump through to get a job, unlike the public school system. I have applied on Care.com which allows parents to look up people for tutoring, babysitting, nannying, etc. Those would most likely be short term jobs. I also had a phone interview with a Human Resources person to be a bank teller. It's not very close by which would make the one vehicle situation difficult. Not to mention I have to wait two weeks before I hear back from them. I have applied for numerous other jobs at golf courses, retail stores and restaurants so we will see what I get. My resume is obviously geared towards teaching so I'm not sure who will be interested in me. All I know is that God will provide!

Houston and James are getting work done to start up a lawn business so they are pretty busy with that. Landscaping is really big here and it is a year round thing. Unlike states on the mainland, Hawaii is practically spring/summer all year round (even more so than Florida). That means grass and plants never stop growing. This particular side of the island is very lush, so stuff just grows like crazy so they will always have work! They are actually off meeting with an accountant right now. I know they will do well because they are both very hard workers and will do a great job. Many people on the island are a bit lazy and don't complete things with excellence. That will make them stand out above the rest. They just need to think of a catchy company name. :-)

Well, I'm off....
We are going to till up the yard to start a garden. Fun, fun. :-)

Miss you all,
The Brothers


Oh, here is our church! Last Sunday was a great message so we are hoping for more of that! Otherwise, we will have to check out the other church we've been thinking about going to. They call it The Tent Church.....for obvious reasons. And no, it's not hot in there. :-)