Home, Sweet Home!

We are mostly moved into our new home in Hawai'i.  Our household goods finally arrived on the 14th September, closing the door on our stay at the Hilton Kuhio hotel.  I have to admit that 43 days in a hotel gets very, very old - even at a nice hotel like the Hilton.  The good news is we have a ton of reward points so our honeymoon should be covered!  :)

Our new house has not been without it's ups and downs.  We had our DirecTV installed only to have a rather large Hawaiian man fall *through* the top step of our first flight of stairs.  Less than optimal experience; the guy said he was okay which we were thankful for.  Now, 3 weeks later we still don't have our stairs completely fixed but at least they are safe(r) now.

We have also made some new friends with the local wildlife.  We have our fair share of ants, cockroaches and other less desirables, however we also have some happy little geckos to help with the insect population.  They are all over the place and super cute - we are happy to give them a home in our yards!

Our first furniture to be moved in was a patio furniture set and a gas grill.  The grill was a gift from Justin's grandma and we absolutely love it!  Being thrifty shoppers, we were able to get the upgraded model when all the grills went on sale for Labor Day weekend.  We invited over a few of my co-workers and their families to christen the new grill on Labor Day - it was fun although with no (other) furniture our options after lunch were a little limited.

Now that we have the furniture, we are trying to fill the 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom townhouse.  We probably could have brought the contents of both storage sheds and still had space to spare!  Our living room is completely done, including Ben's (Justin's dad) artwork on the walls.  The office and kitchen are mostly done as well.  It is a work in progress and will likely take another couple of weeks before we are totally out of boxes.

Justin is going to give his green thumb a test run.  We picked up an orchid for our dining room table as well as another big, tropical plant for our game room.  He is working on getting a palm going in our backyard - hopefully we'll be nice and green soon!  We are also hoping to plant a "window box" garden to help save some money on food.

Overall we are very excited to be in our new home and starting this next chapter of our life.  We miss our family and friends on the mainland however we are making new friends here on island.  It's a beautiful place to live and we'll be posting more pictures as we explore!

Cheers!
em and justin

Knot Tied!

May the merriment begin (or continue)!  Justin and I were married by the justice of the peace in an intimate ceremony on July 19th.  We wanted to begin our lives together before the big move to Hawai'i, so we asked our best man, Kris, and maid of honor, Robin, if they would join us at the courthouse.

The evening started off with a little more excitement than we had planned.  Cera (the Xterra) chose the drive to the courthouse to throw a radiator house.  Luckily we weren't far from the apartment, so we turned around and jumped in Ruby Sue (Robin's ride).  With Justin and I navigating, Robin swiftly motored us through downtown Seattle to make the appointment on time.  There were a couple of tense moments when we were stuck in traffic and not sure we would make it there on time.  No worries, all was well.


The three of us trooped upstairs and checked in.  Kris was stuck in a bit of traffic as well, so he met us a few minutes later.  The judge came and took Justin and I back for some pre-ceremony details.  She went through the basics of the ceremony with us and asked us if we had a preference on inside or outside.  It was sprinkling, so we choose inside - which turned out to be a lovely room with a (normally) beautiful view.

We went back to the reception area and Kris and Robin rejoined us to go upstairs.  I didn't actually know what to except from the ceremony; I honestly thought it would be dry, quick and rather impersonal.  It turns out that doing wedding ceremonies is apparently the highlight of a judge's day, so they try to make it special.  It was lovely with a thoughtful narrative before the vows, another one after and then the kiss followed by the pronouncement.  I can't wait to see the video Kris took so I can really hear what she was saying.  I have to admit that I was a bit on the nervous side - not about marrying Justin but about expressing my feelings publicly.  Good thing we got to practice on the real one so I won't be as nervous in front of all of our friends and family next year!  :)

Afterward, all four of us made a wish with pennies in the wishing pool next to the courthouse.  Seattle's courthouse is very modern, with black marble steps and reflecting pools.  It's a pretty building but certainly doesn't conjure up the typical image of a courthouse building.

Robin, Justin and I headed to Ray's for our celebration dinner.  Kris and Christina had already planned to go camping and wanted to beat the rain and darkness.  We got to show Robin where we would be holding the public ceremony next year as well as taste test the food.  I can never get enough of Ray's food - it's lovely.

It was a wonderful night and I'm so excited to be Mrs. Justin Paul!!  Now on to moving to Hawai'i and a new set of job responsibilities :)

Cheers,
em