Life Exposed: February 2017

Hello everyone! This post to going to be dedicated to the Hawaii trip that we just got home from a week ago. We haven't really gotten to even talk to family about our trip yet, let alone show that massive amount of pictures I took (I will spare you from seeing them ALL), so I figure this would be a nice way to tell you guys things as well as show the pictures.

First off, the reason we went is because my best friend, Ashley, who lives in Hawaii (lucky duck, I know) asked me to fly out and do some engagement photos and have some fun! After not thinking this was even going to happen, God put it all into place and we went! Not gonna lie, there were some stressful parts of even trying to get this planned out!

After rearranging babysitting arrangements, we drove to KC after work and stayed in a hotel right by the airport. We literally got to KC late, ate some dinner (being Valentine's night, we didn't get to eat where I wanted unfortunately) and went straight to bed because our flight was at 5:55am the next morning!

After waking up earlier than I EVER want to again, we got ready and drove over to the airport where we freaked a little about getting there on time and what we needed to do since we've only done this on our own once and that was for our honeymoon almost 7 years ago. We ended up getting settled at the gate waiting area a good hour and a half early. Whoever told you you can't take your own snacks past security is WRONG and so we ended up starving before we ended up in LAX to switch planes. Spent more money than we'd like on a deli sandwich at the airport which we split. Thank GOODNESS for Delta's tasty peanuts and coffee! I will say, I was pleasantly surprised that each seat had their own touch screen in front of them with newly released movies to choose from. Made the time go a lot faster! I only had to pee once the whole time on the dumb plane, which being by the window was horribly awkward to get out. I ended up sitting on Justin's lap and then the lady beside him just got up and let me out-thank goodness! lol! We only had 40 min to get off of the plane at LAX and to our next one. I really didn't think we were going to make it because seriously, everyone takes five million years to grab their bags and get off the plane and we were in the back, but we made it AND had time to buy that expensive deli sandwich! Woo! The next flight I fell asleep for maybe 30 min the whole 5 hours and 36 min of the flight. I ended up watching a couple of movies and tracked the flight (because you can do that on those nifty touch screens too!). Once we landed the excitement really hit me. Somewhere I never thought I'd go and I was there! We stepped off of the plane and it was HOT! We were in pants and sweatshirts. We grabbed our luggage (another thing I was worried about....losing it) and waited outside for Ashley. She found us and had some amazing Hawaiian cuisine waiting for us that smelled so good! She took us back to her place and we ate and got right into our swim suits and went off to the beach. It was amazing. Seriously guys, I've been to two beaches, Florida and California, and you just can't beat the view at Hawaii. Mountains and the most blue water. We stayed there until Devin (Ashley's fiance) got off of work and met us there and then went back to our place where we found out Devin is an absolutely amazing cool and made us shrimp tacos the first night!

Waking up to waves crashing on the shore was amazing. I got to see the sunrise every morning and felt so well rested! (I think it was the lack of a toddler being present as well as being 4 hours behind our normal time ;). This was the day Ashley had planned for us to head to Lahaina and go whale watching. She had already set it all up. I'm not going to lie at all, I for one was nervous that I was going to get sea sick on the boat, and also that it didn't sound too interesting. I thought, hm, maybe we'll see a whale but we'll have to look hard for it and we'll just be sitting on a boat the whole time wondering if they're going to come out. Justin felt the same way. Well we were totally wrong. These things started popping up all over as soon as we left shore. It was amazing! Left and right, they were all over. This is the end of mating season for the Humpback whales so there were few females left and lots of males, haha. So there were about 9 males following after this ONE female. She must've been pretty hott. I got some cool pictures!

After we got back to shore, we explored Lahaina and all of its cute little shops. We also ate at the Paia fish market. Oh I am drooling just thinking about it. Justin got fish and chips and I got fish tacos. Both were amazing but I was jealous of what Justin got! However, I tried tartar sauce for the very first time and it was delicious. I think it was just their's though. Fresh food, for sure!

We ended up at a different beach later that day and Devin joined again once getting off of work. One thing Justin and I were amazed by was that each beach was so different. The sand even felt different! It was so neat to experience it all.

Devin of course spoiled us again with an amazing supper of steak. That guy can cook.

The next day Ashley took us to Paia and we took a hike up to Twin Falls. I'm not going to lie, again, and tell you I was excited about "hiking". I'm not an outdoorsy girl OR a hiker. But I was ready to see beautiful things and that was worth it. We saw different flowers and trees and got all the way to the waterfall, which was beautiful. Worth it for sure! You'll have to see the pictures below.

One thing I know is that when Ashley told us to just pack tank tops and swim suits, she wasn't wrong. That's all we wore! Our swims under our clothes every day because we always ended up at a beach! This time she took us to one in Paia--also known as Hippie Town. Definitely was. The beach we went to was an entirely different culture. Some guy stopped Justin and asked him if he wanted to buy something "magical". These girls' swim bottoms here were thongs. I mean, how comfortable is that? Definitely a younger crowd for sure. We saw a lot there. Ashley then went to get ready for some pictures and we ended up venturing into Paia. They took us to the Ho'okipa lookout and it was the most breathtaking thing I've ever seen. While Devin got dressed there was this shady looking van selling smoothies and we decided to get one. Of course, lol. She made it only with fresh fruit, no other ingredients and it was awesome! Somehow the pants Devin was supposed to wear didn't end up with us to luckily Justin is the same size and he ended up wearing his! We took some amazing photos at the lookout. We even ended up trading clothes with Ashley and Devin right there just so Justin and I could have a photo-- :D. We also saw a ton of turtles here. The beach these turtles were on they just looked like rocks! You wouldn't even know they were turtles. We got some pictures of them trying to make it to shore too. So cool. We ended up eating at a mexican restaurant there which was amazing. And the most I've ever spent on a burrito. YOLO. :) We also went into a photography studio where this photographer literally takes absolutely breathtaking underwater photos of fish, turtles, you name it! And they're all printed on metal so they look just stunning! So cool to see.

The next day, we took a drive up the West mountains. One most tourists don't get to. These views were impeccable. You could see everything! I'm glad I wasn't the one driving these roads though. Half the time there was only room for one vehicle and it was two way traffic. You had to take the corners very carefully. We got to a little shop about halfway to our destination and I ended up buying a beautiful necklace made from Druzy Quartz. I haven't even gotten to wear it yet but I'm excited to. A lot of vendors of handmade items had their things in this store. We kept going and got to the where we were supposed to hike. Again, hike, I know. And I was wearing flip flops every time because you never knew when you were going to run into water. So we get to a point where we turn to go down to the tide pools (where Ashley and Devin want more pictures done), and we see a stone warning people from going down there because their son died just a month ago. He went onto one of the rocks and a wave swept him under and they never found him. At that point I was done, but that guy had also gone too far on a day the tide and waves were too fierce. We got to the top of this mountain and could see the tide pools and it was awesome. I had to be on a really tall rock to take a photo of Ashley and Devin. I'm terrified of heights so I crushed all fear while being in Hawaii. The photos are so worth it though. They went down a little farther and I took some from above, and finally I couldn't resist the photo op urge anymore and ended up all the way down there. We found a neat little cove to take photos in too. There were crabs EVERYWHERE!!

We went to a rainforest type thing on the way out of the west mountains and there were chickens all over. I can't tell you how many times I saw random chickens all over the place in Hawaii. They're like stray cats here.

We went back to Lahaina and I convinced them to eat Paia fish market again. This time I got my own fish and chips and it was delightful. I miss that place so much! We got to explore all of the shops since we didn't get to last time. There were having a little art festival (Kind of like Red Barn here) in the park and it was awesome to see all of the local arts and crafts. Justin had to stop back by the ice cream shop (that I forgot to mention before. He found a banana ice cream that was apparently to die for. I don't like banana but he and Ashley are fanatics) and Ashley and I got iced coffee. Coffee there is a big deal and I loved it. We ended up buying a few things at the shops and then headed toward another beach that Ashley wanted sunset photos at. Traffic got horrible and we thought we were going to miss it but we didn't! This place was beautiful. We didn't get the sunset that I was expecting but they are still great photos in my opinion. I made them sit in the sand and let the water hit them at the end. This was funny. And they were most likely picky sand out for days. Sorry guys. Whatever it takes for a good photo :).

The next morning Devin took us back to Paia to a little cafe for breakfast. I got a chai tea latte that was awesome and I took the rest to go while we looked at shops around there. One owner ripped my coffee out of my hand even though she didn't have a "no food or drink sign" which I was kind of taken back by--lol. Don't mess with my caffeine, woman! One thing I can tell you about Hawaii is that they do NOT wake up early. They open at 10, sometimes nine. Depends on what time they want to work. And close super early! 4 usually. Some don't even open until 11! Just depends on the day. Another interesting thing is that in Wailuku (where Ashley lives) we always woke to it being rainy and gloomy--which is not what you want in Hawaii. But you could always find a nearby town with a beach that was completely sunny and great. Always! Weirdest thing.

We ended up going to Costco and Wal-Mart, I know, but this is where you can get souvenirs! The coffee Ashley and Devin made every morning was like $15-$20 for a tiny bag and at Costco they could get a massive one for way way less! And macadamia nuts of course!

This day was super windy. Ashley had to work that day so Devin packed up to grill at the beach. We got there and I had to wear a sweatshirt and the wind was horrid. Devin grilled an insanely awesome meal again which was pork chops in this amazing lavender seasoning from the lavender farm. We had to hold the food down. Ashley got off and walked up the beach to us and literally like five minutes before she got there, her food flew off of the table. Horrible! And she hadn't eaten all day of course. We ended up going to this pie shop she wanted to try and it was great. The guy working there was originally from Rolla. Small world!

We ended up back at the same beach as the night before so we could take some more pictures at sunset of Justin and me. We just hung out at the beach for awhile. The wind was find there, thankfully. We decided to try snorkeling. We knew we wouldn't see much at this beach, but since I had never snorkeled before it was just a practice run. I was so nervous I almost didn't go out. But they ended up getting me out there and all I saw was a sea urchin. Which is NOT what you want to see. I had to stop swimming a lot and stand up and at one point Ashley freaked out because I was surrounded by sea urchins while standing up. I was pretty much done by that point--lol! But I did it!!

I changed at the beach and just got my hair wet from the salt water and let it down and went with it for our pictures. That night was the most epic sunset. I got some amazing photos of just the sunset. I will have to print at least one on metal!!

The next day was our last day. Ashley had to work again--sad. I tried a new coffee shop and got a "cookie butter" latte. It was great! Devin took us up another mountain and we went all the way up! We were above the clouds. 10,000 ft. An incredible view! After coming back down, we stopped at a cafe. Grandma's Coffeehouse. Justin and I had to pee and we saw a sign that said "Restroom at the park up the road", and thinking it was just right next to the place we left Devin and went for it while we waited for the lunch menu to come out. It ended up being like a flipping 3/4 mile walk up to this park and then a hike up a hill. By the time we got back poor Devin was done with his food. We got lunch and it was great. We kept driving heading to the Lavender Farm. Oprah has a beach house up that way. The Lavender farm was so cool and smelt awesome. There were tons of flowers there! At the gift shop I got some of that amazing lavender seasoning Devin used. :)

From there, we went to a beach in Wailea (again, total culture difference. This was a very fancy uppity part) and hung out for just a bit before heading to get Ashley. We soaked up the last little bit of our beach time. We got Ashley and head to "Beach Bum's". Our last Hawaiian meal. We then went back to their place and played a game and packed up before they dropped us off at the airport at 930pm. We had an overnight flight home. It was so bittersweet to leave! Knowing I probably won't see my best friend again until at least Christmas.

We got to the airport where they checked everything to see if we tried to smuggle fresh fruit--that's a big no-no. and had another 1.5 hours to spare. When only there waiting for about 30 min, they told us that our flight that was supposed to leaved at 11 was now leaving at 2am. Meaning, it was being pushed back 3 flipping hours and we would miss our next flight in LAX to get home. Of course, everyone loses their marbles. They're all at the front desk yelling and screaming at the poor two ladies that have nothing to do with it, they're just getting all the brunt. I hate that, seriously. It was not these girls' fault at all. You should never treat someone with that much disrespect no matter how angry you are at the situation. They said they wouldn't start rebooking until 1am because things could change. So they started passing out snacks to everyone and we found a corner and laid down. Not even twenty min later they said they were going to start boarding. Praise the Lord! They even said we'd get there way early. See people? After we were some of the last to board, I went over and thanked one of the women for all of her hard work and for dealing with all of that and I think she about cried. We got on our plane and there were some people from China who didn't speak any English sitting in many people's assigned seats and holding everything up. Being horribly rude again to the flight attendants. We had someone sitting by us but the attendant ended up moving him back a row since there was room so we could spread out and be more comfortable. That was so nice. We couldn't get comfortable on there for the longest time. I tried to listen to music from the touch screen to drown out the woman snoring behind us. We maybe got an hour of sleep on that flight. We got to LAX early and both took turns taking a snooze. We finally got on our flight home and made it safe and sound. The drive from KC home was a blur because I was so tired and I was the one driving, but I was so excited to see Quinn! We got to my parents house and the gator was gone and they were out for a ride. We sat on the swing and waited and once Quinn saw us her face is something I'll never forget! She lit right up and came running and said "Mommy! Daddy!" She hugged us to tight for so long. We missed her so much. We didn't call home because we didn't want to upset her. Luckily she did so great. Good thing, because when we left her the night we went to the airport I just crumbled into a million pieces and bawled while my dad hugged me.

This was a once in a lifetime trip that I'll NEVER forget! I'm so glad we had the opportunity to go. The four of us got along SO SO well and I wish that we could hang out all the time! Thank you Ashley and Devin for everything. I hope your engagement photos will be so worth it! :)

Enjoy all of the photos below!