Oops, we did it again!!

You may wonder what I am referring to in the title of this post. Let me tell you. Courtney and I went on vacation for a month . . . again!!! Almost three weeks of that was spent in Hawaii!!! Not fair?! Yeah we know! People are starting to get upset with us for taking a month every summer to go travel and play. We figure that with Courtney having summers off as a school teacher and with me working summer jobs between semesters at school, we should take advantage of this while we are young and can get away. Now that I have graduated and we have a little one on the way we figure we won't have opportunities like this for a long time to come.

It was early this year that I was talking to my friend Nate and he suggested we come and visit him and his wife Deb on Oahu this summer. Little did he know we would seriously consider it. Courtney and I decided we would go as a graduation/anniversary/birthday present to ourselves. We spent ten glorious days with them on Oahu and then met up with Rachel and Cory Stuart on the Big Island for another seven days!!!

Ten days on Oahu was perfect. With Courtney having morning sickness and Deb being full term and ok to deliver at any time ten days gave us enough time to see everything we wanted and still relax and not have to rush ourselves. Diamond Head had amazing views, the Polynesian Cultural Center was fun and educational, Hanauma Bay was so fun and exciting being able to snorkel with the fish and Pearl Harbor was very eye opening and brought new humility and gratitude for our specific freedoms! We were lucky to have Nate and Deb as tour guides and hosts for our time there.

On the Big Island we were able to see the volcano along with its lava rock fields, craters and calderas! We did even more spectacular snorkeling and were able to see sea turtles! We loved having so many things, including beaches, so close by. The place we stayed in was amazing and hard to leave. We were able to eat some amazing food with Rachel and Cory would go back again if we ever got the chance.

The remaining part of our trip was spent in Washington with family and friends where we were able to catch up and enjoy time together. The 14 hour car trip there and back was fun but long especially when your wonderful wife is fighting being sick. It was an amazing vacation and we were able to do some unforgettable things. We are very lucky to have been able to do it and are very grateful. Below are some pictures. Enjoy!

Here we are at Kailua beach with Nate and Deb!

  We got leied at church on Sunday! The congregation there was so welcoming!

 

I just thought this was a cool tree.

Here is the view Honolulu from Diamond Head!

 

 Welcome to Waikiki beach! The water was so blue!

 This is the USS Arizona Memorial that we visited in Pearl Harbor.

 This next group is us at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Here we are playing tititorea(sticks).

 Courtney and Deb trying to beat the heat.

  

Samoans in the Samoan village preparing food.

Nate, Deb, Courtney and I enjoyed the fruits of their preparations!

 

This is the Laie Temple. We had time to go through. It was very beautiful inside and out! 

 These next few are of Hanauma Bay!

 Rachel and Cory on the Big Island!

 Rachel and Cory gone island crazy!

 What great stories this guy had to share.

 He was too cute, I couldn't help myself.

 This is one of the places we snorkeled.

 Another cool tree!

 Rachel and Cory's future home!

 Courtney and Rachel in a heated game.

 Good.

 Better.

 Best!

 This is one of the classic style beaches we visited! We loved it!

 These next one are at the volcano.

 Here is Cory and I in a lava tube!

 These next few are where the lave meets the ocean!

 Here is where the lava met the road . . . or took over it!

 View from our luau.

 Just before we left the Big Island we stopped by the temple in Kona. It is small and beautiful!

Kissing

Tonight we were having dinner with the Stuarts and the topic of kissing came up. How we got on this topic is a long story in itself. I just wanted to share this quote.

"Well, if you were to kiss yourself you probably wouldn't be very impressed." - Cory Stuart

Enough said.

Changes ...

Well, it's time for my first post on the blog. Shawn has decided that since our blog is titled "Shawn and Courtney's Blogspot" and he has had it for a couple of years now that it's about time the Courtney part actually writes something :) So it's my job to update you all on our crazy, changing lives!

Since graduation, Shawn has found a part-time summer internship at a company called Doba that was totally fine with the fact that we are going to be gone for a month on one of our epic vacations right in the middle of the summer. That was definitely a blessing. He is a Software Engineer Intern and has been been learning a lot. Some days he comes home frustrated because he's gotten stuck on something as he is working on the programming, but overall he is being stretched and growing and we hope it is all for the best! The plan is to have a full-time job with benefits in the fall, either with Doba if they offer it to him, or with someone else if not.

As Shawn's work life is beginning, mine as come to a close. Yes, that's right, after 4 years of teaching junior high math it is time for me to take a break (probably a permanent one). Back at the end of January I was talking with a friend at work about eventually going back to school getting a master's degree, and something just seemed to click. I decided that "eventually" was going to turn into "in the fall." In a week, I got all of my letters of recommendation, wrote my statement of intent, filled out my application, and had applied for grad school at BYU in the Instructional Psychology and Technology program. In March we found out that I had been accepted! In April I was offered a paid 20 hr/week research/teaching assistantship. A couple of weeks ago I was offered a scholarship that will cover a big part of tuition for the fall. Things seem to just be falling into place, leading me to grad school. I think often times in my life, the Lord needs to literally "push" me into the right path for me because I just don't seem to come up with that path myself. My plans are never the Lord's plans, which I struggle with at first but have learned to trust them because His plans for me are ALWAYS infinitely better.

Speaking of the Lord's plans for us, he has changed our path even more! After a year of frustration, tears, and then eventual patience and understanding, at the end of May Shawn and I found out that we have been blessed with a little one on the way! And since it's not April 1, be assured that this is not one of Shawn's April Fool's jokes :) We are so excited to have the opportunity to be parents and know that the Lord has saved this little child for us at this time. We had our first doctor's appointment this week and found out that my due date is January 31st. We had an early ultrasound and think our baby kind of resembles a little lizard at this point, and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat. Even with all of that, we've decided that it still doesn't seem real that we actually have a baby coming. Nevertheless, Shawn has begun "nesting" and has started cleaning/organizing some part of our apartment every day when he gets home from work. I've been feeling pretty nauseous and tired most days and Shawn is quickly learning that my eating schedule is not the same as his anymore, and usually consists of "I want to eat something fast that I don't have to cook right now." We've also learned why many fathers-to-be gain weight when their wives are pregnant, because oftentimes I can only eat half of my food, so Shawn ends up eating all of his and half of mine.

We'll keep you all updated as we find more out about the baby. Shawn's decided that it will be my job to post about the baby, so you should be hearing from me more often :) I'll leave you with a picture of our first ultrasound!