Welcome to Paradise

So, I finally have a blog entry for our trip to Hawaii. Since the other entries have been text-heavy, get ready for some eye candy.

So, we stayed at the Maero's house, along with The Gibson family. The mom Lindsay is one of my best friends in the world, and this is her little daughter, Malia. The last time we saw Malia she was just a few months old, so it was exciting to meet her all decked out with personality.

There is a common misunderstanding that pineapples grow on trees. Well, this is just to set the record straight. Pineapples grow in big fields very low to the ground, with very spiky leaves. Random Fact: when you are preparing a pineapple for consumption, if you cut off the top and put the base into the ground, it will grow another pineapple out of the center of the leaves!

Auntie Gail and Mom at mom's graduation dinner! Yay, she finally finished her Masters degree! The ceremonies were really spectacular, and we really screamed when they called her name.

Marcos is amazing with kids. It's a real turn-on.

The girls started a Surf Club every Thursday morning. We joined in a few sessions on the days we were in Hawaii. Leslie definitely won the prize for "most pregnant surfer" at 8 months along.

I personally think I win the prize for "most brave" with bearing those big, white thighs. These pictures, by the way, motivated some fitness. I'm now running a few miles a day. I hadn't even realized how fatness creeps up on you when you're in grad school and not paying attention!

Heaven, anybody? Linds was adamant about doing a sunrise hike to the pillboxes above Lanikai. These are the legendary twin sister islands called the Mokuluas.

The hiking clan: Maero family, plus a few, minus a few.

Girl's Night Out! We started off with Happy Hour sushi, and migrated to the Cheesecake factory, where we more than compensated for being so healthy the first round.

Malia is such a heart-breaker!

Ah yes, and there was a waterfall.

This was a humbling experience. I thought I was a decent photographer, but I still have to hone my skills a bit with kids. Marcos must not have been making the monkey face in this one, because the whole series was rather unimpressive and the kids are disengaged. Better luck next time!

Linds and me at church.