We spent the Thanksgiving holiday with some friends who also moved to the islands for the project. It was a lot of fun to hang out with new friends, even if it was a little odd to sit on the lanai overlooking the ocean. We consumed all the traditional foods as well as some tasty treats like pulled pork! A little bit of football was on however it took a backseat to games and conversations with new friends. It was a lovely afternoon.
Christmas was refreshingly quiet and peaceful. We hung out at our house with the pup, watching football and basketball. We barbequed pork on our outdoor grill, with all the windows opening and sitting in our shorts on Christmas Eve. That was a little surreal and definitely a first for both of us. We opened the mountain of presents that our family sent our way; we are truly blessed. Christmas was spent watching the start of the NBA season, cooking a mini turkey and homemade apple pie and scruffing the dog! Absolutely wonderful although we missed our family and friends.
We also celebrated Justin's birthday - the end of the year/beginning of the new year bring lots of celebrations for us! We went on a mission to find a great steak, something that is rather elusive here on the islands. We settled on Ruth's Chris and it did not disappoint. Perhaps the most fun food of the evening was the flaming strawberry dessert they served Justin as a birthday "cake". We will be going back for sure!
At the end of January, Ben and Eileen came to escape the Seattle winter and spend some time with us. They were happy to have some sun and heat after leaving the snow in Seattle! They drove up to the North Shore a few times, went on some hikes and just relaxed while we went to work and school.
On Saturday we decided to venture out on a catamaran and go see some humpback whales. The waves were also going to be pretty cool as a storm was moving in although the truly huge waves showed up 2 days later. As you can see by the pictures, it was an amazing day. We saw more whales than we could keep count of! It was spectacular and Justin was able to capture several on film. I also took a couple of videos that turned out pretty cool although the triplets screaming in excitement in the background was a little much! :)Justin will have his ACL surgery on Monday, February 6th and will have him out of commission for the short term. He is hoping that by the summer visit to the mainland he will be back on his feet and maybe even playing some basketball! He is in his second semester and enjoying being a student.
I am working crazy hours for the short term in order to try to play catch-up from losing the 2nd software engineer in November. I am also ramping up my training in preparation for the 70.3 Ironman race I'm competing in June 2nd.
We hope this finds everyone well and surviving the winter weather on the mainland. Lots of love from Mililani!
