Monday

Monday we went on a submarine ride! It was cool and Mike was super stoked about it, I was excited too.

This is the boat that took us out to the sub

 And there is the sub

 Gotta get a shot of Diamond Head from the sub

 The sub time that worked for us happened to be the Japanese tour so we got to wear cool head phones so we would understand everything

 Made me NOT want to take a trip to a country where I don't understand the language.

 Cool fish outside my porthole

 This is a sunken plane

 And a sunken ship

 A sea turtle on the sunken ship

 After the sub ride, we went shopping a little, then it was off to Lanikai Beach, again. We couldn't get enough of that beach!

 I didn't take very many pictures that are interesting to anyone but me. We just relaxed and enjoyed the sun, sea, and quiet.

This is a shot of the clouds moving in.



Sunday

I had a GREAT time in Hawaii, who wouldn't to be in paradise where it's so pretty and with your eternal companion? However, Sunday was probably the hardest day for me. It started when we got to church and I sat down with no kids, no bag with snacks and toys and stickers (my kids' favorite!). I know, I should be in heaven, right, well, I missed my kids like crazy. But the ward was awesome, great speakers in sacrament meeting, gospel doctrine was awesome, and the spirit and love from the sisters in relief society was overwhelming. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and that it doesn't matter where you go in the world, there is a ward there that teaches the same principles, the spirit is the same, and the love of the members is felt.

That being said, after church, we ate something, leftovers from a huge dinner at the Cheesecake Factory Saturday night, then we went on a drive to see more of the beauty of Hawaii.

This was one of our first stops. The waves are indescribable and the colors are just the right pop of color.

 Mike on the beach!

 There are birds EVERYWHERE in Hawaii...right next to you if you aren't watching closely, and they are interesting and some I have never seen before. I thought this one was pretty cool looking.

 I love the coral you can see in the water (all those dark shapes under the water). And just now, while looking at this picture, I can almost see the curve of the earth.

 I can't remember the name of this beach, same as above, H...... Bay, it was cool and almost closing time when we got there, 5 pm.

 Another shot of the ocean with rocks and not sandy beaches

 While beach hopping, we stopped and saw this. At this moment, I could feel an overwhelming feeling of love from my Heavenly Father and I truly knew, without a doubt, that my Heavenly Father knows me and loves me.

 The last beach we were able to see what Lanikai Beach, apparently a very famous beach, although not very busy, which is AWESOME! It's right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. We took a path between homes to get to it. It's a beautiful beach, white sand, and the picture of paradise!

These islands reminded me of the Twin Buttes I used to see every time we drove to Idaho to visit my grandparents so I had to take a picture of them for my own sake.

 Mike on Lanikai

 Me on Lanikai

 I had to get a shot of our feet in the water

 A SELFIE--many were taken, some were good

 The moon was up on our walk back to the car and I really wanted a picture of the moon and palm trees...this was the best one.

Saturday

Saturday we headed out to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. I heard it was fun, I heard it was so-so, but I LOVED it! I love pineapple and pineapples and I was really looking forward to going. I totally recommend going if you are on Oahu!

Ta-da! A GIANT pineapple that we got to climb into!

 We went on the Pineapple Express train tour of the plantation. Cool stuff. Did you know that pineapples are not native to Hawaii? They are imports from South America.

 I couldn't get a fun picture of us so Mike took this beaut!

 More pineapple fun

 Check out the tiny pineapple. I think it's cute!

 A random, pretty flower we came across-LOTS of them in Hawaii

 After the train ride, we went through the largest maze in the world! At the plantation. It was cool and fun.

After, we just had to get pineapple ice cream.

Delicious

 I got a pineapple float. Pineapple juice with pineapple ice cream.

(now I want more!)

 After the plantation, we headed to the North Shore to see it. It's beautiful!

 We got there just before sunset

 We also ran into sea turtles basking in the sun

 Sun setting behind the turtle

 There she goes

 It was very romantic and relaxing to walk the beach with Mike so we just HAD to have someone take our picture

 Another fun day in Hawaii!

Friday

This year Mike and I have been married 10 years! I can't believe it's been only 10 years, but at the same time, it feels like we have been together so long, in a good way. I love my life with Mike and can't imagine my life without him.

To celebrate our 10th anniversary we went away to Hawaii for a week.

I took a LOT of pictures so will post them a day at a time starting with Friday, the day after we arrived. (We landed in HI Thursday but only had time to get a car and head to the hotel in Waikiki before dinner and bed. It was a long day of travel and we were tired!!)

Friday!

We woke up at 3:30 am Friday morning, we thought it was 7:30 am. We dozed off and on then decided to get up just before 6 so we could watch the sun rise and eat breakfast on the balcony of our room.

The sun rising by Diamond Head, no we didn't hike it, we did a lot, but not Diamond Head. Next time for sure!

 After breakfast, we got ready and went to the temple.

Going to the temple was just what I needed that day.

The view right outside the temple doors looking towards the ocean.

 There were two fun couples from Minnesota that offered to take pictures of us in front of the temple. funny enough, they are in Mike's home stake!

 What a beautiful building, inside and out!

 10 years!!!

 After the temple, we headed to the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center) where lots of BYU-Hawaii students work to help pay for their schooling.

 We ran into this ugly duckling!

 Mike and I took poi ball lessons and mike was pretty good!!

 It rained on us and it was fun!

We survived for a while, then we decided to buy ponchos. It rained pretty hard all day.

 Lots of cool stuff to see and do at the PCC!

 The luau we went to that night had purple rolls for dinner! They were good, just tasted like a potato roll.

 Some of the dancers on stage!

At the luau, they asked who was there celebrating an engagement, marriage (honeymoon), or anniversary. Everyone who was, were invited to go on stage and dance! Woohoo! There were couples celebrating from 12 days of marriage to 60 years!

It was a GREAT first day!