Koko Head

November 15, 2014

  This morning me and some of my friends from work packed up and made our way to Koko Head trail. We arrived relatively early to beat the Hawaiian heat. Beginning the trail you look and see TONS of stairs/railroad ties I mean TONS 1,050 to be exact, with a elevation of 1,200 feet. The stairs were made up of an old railroad that was once there. From what I found out the railroad ties were once part of an incline tram system during World War II, used to haul military personnel and supplies to the top of Koko Crater. For me I am VERY short and these steps kicked my butt. Starting out they are relatively close, but they begin to get farther and farther apart. Needless to say we stopped a few times for some water breaks. In the hike you will come to a bridge portion and let me tell you its a bit freaky. Especially when its super muddy and your slipping. I bear crawled it and felt much more comfortable. There is a way to go around it on the rocks, just be careful. I went around it when we were coming down. 

   We eventually made it to the top and continued to the side path that leads you to the very top to see all of the breath taking views. At the top don't forget to check out the prayer box, it is placed in a tree and if your going to do the trail bring some paper so you can put a prayer inside, they have pens beside it. Once you place the first platform you can keep continuing to a another platform that gives you even more views of the island. The views were defiantly worth the pain of the stairs ha. We took a break, and then begin going down. I enjoyed going down! A lot of people rather go up because when you going down you are very high up, and it can be scary. The trick is to go down at a angle, and make sure you take your time it's much easier that way. Do not rush, we slipped multiple times because it is muddy, but luckily caught ourselves. We made it to the bottom and were over joyed we tackled the trail! 

Here are just a few of the photos I took on the hike...

The view from the bottom


The stairs

The view halfway up

Almost there!

The view of Hananuma Bay

 The prayer box

 The girls

 Heading down

*** The above photo was not taken by me. I did not get a picture of the bridge, but wanted to show what it looked like. 

Aloha Y'all, 

Lauren

Happy Veterans Day!

November 11,2014

   Today marks Veterans Day, a day to remember our fallen soldiers, the soldiers that have served, and the soldiers that are currently serving. The military life defiantly is not the easiest one. You have to make every second count with your soldier, because unfortunately you are not given much of it. When Charlie finished college he was sent straight to flight school, and then to our first real duty station Hawaii. I have been lucky enough to go on this journey with him as we learn what military life truly is. 


   Military life is challenging to say the least. You rarely stay in one place very long, you can go months to years with out seeing your spouse, and you are away from family and friends. Along with these challenges military life is also very rewarding. You get to travel the world, know that your spouse is fighting for our freedom, and you get to meet amazing people and create a military family. With every challenge comes a greater reward. Life is what you make of it, especially a military life. So remember to cherish the moments you have with your spouse, enjoy where the lord sends you, seek refuge in new friendships, and always make the best out of every situation. 

   I am beyond honored to be able to stand by my husband Charlie as he fights for his country, and help lead him to complete his mission. I could not be more proud of the amazing man he is and the inspiring sacrifice he makes. I would also like to think all the other men and women who put their lives on the line for our freedom. Thank you for all you do, you will always be in my thoughts and prayers. Another big thank you to all the military spouses who unfortunately have it hardest of all. You stay behind and take care of everything at home so your spouse can do their job. You are all absolutely AMAZING for what you do. It takes powerful women and men to be able to be a military spouse, and I can defiantly say I have met many of them. Know your dedication does not go unnoticed and you will always be a hero. 

Happy Veterans Day my friends

Back in flight school

 When Charlie was still a butter bar

 Charlies promotion to 1LT

Aloha Y'all, 

Lauren

Makapu'u Point Lighthouse Trail

October 24, 2014

I joined the Hui 'O Na Wahine club a little after Charlie and I arrived and I have really enjoyed meeting some awesome military spouses and having fun doing it. I joined the adventure club and this friday we conquered the Makapu'u Lighthouse trail. The trail is on the far east side of the island in Honolulu. I bring my camera everywhere I go and this time I wish I would of brought a back pack to put it in, you will know why later. For hiking I highly recommend a back pack, camera if you are like me, a camelback because you are going to need LOTS of water especially if you live here in Hawaii, and some good hiking shoes because the trails can be a bit difficult. The lighthouse trail is a easy one with amazing views. There was no cloud cover that morning and we were able to see the other island, it was so beautiful. There is a area were you can free hike down to the tide pools. If you are not very athletic I probably would not recommend it. I myself love working out and it was difficult for me. It doesn't help me that I have small legs so climbing up the cliff was relatively hard for me. I forgot a back pack and a only had a nalgene filled with water and ran out relatively quickly(thus the camelback tip). Free hiking with my camera around my neck was extremely difficult, because if I would of scratched it up I would of been UPSET. Luckily I did not, and the camera some how made it scratch free. The tide pools were gorgeous and if I were you I would wear a swim suit under my hiking clothes so you can jump in the tide pools and swim with all the beautiful fish. There are also two blowholes called the dragons nostrils that you should watch out for I know some people have been hurt before not knowing what they were. 

Overall we had a amazing time and the hike was wonderful, I can not wait for the next adventure we will tackle. 

Aloha Y'all, 

Lauren

DIY Flower Crown

October 27,2014

   For Charlie and I's year anniversary I wanted to make myself a flower crown for the pictures. Now for me I am not the best at following directions, and always do my best when I just use my imagination and go for it. For this craft it turned out perfect.


First I started out with the supplies you will need: 

• Flowers of your choice
• Floral wiring
• Scissors
• Floral tape

Here in Ewa we currently do not have any florists so I went to safeway and found a beautiful bouquet of flowers for only 15 dollars. You are going to want to start by measuring your head with the wiring and then cut another piece of wiring and twist them so you are doubling it up to add more support. Do not put the two pieces of wiring side by side and twist to double it up, make sure you start in the middle of your first piece of wiring to ensure stability. (I hope that makes sense) Once I finished doubling up the wiring I secured it by going around it with the floral tape twice. 

I started by cutting the end of the flowers about one inch in length and putting them were I wanted them on the crown. Once I figured where I wanted them to go I used the floral tape and secured it to the wiring. Once you start going one way with the flowers you need to make sure you begin to go the other direction to ensure your crown is not just going one way. Adding larger flowers in between is a great way to hide any gaps that you may see. 

My finished Crown  

I made my crown the day before and stored it in a container by wetting napkins and placing them on the bottom and on the top of the crown and putting it in the refrigerator. It was perfect for the next morning and is still going strong in the fridge. 

Here is a awesome video tutorial I found.. Hope it helps!

Aloha Y'all,

Lauren

One year down and a life time to go

October 26, 2014

   Today marked Charlie and I's one year wedding anniversary. We started the morning driving to Halona Beach also known as Eternity beach were Pirates of the Caribbean 4, From here to Eternity, and some say Nicki Minaj's video starships, and a scene from 50 First Dates were also filmed here, but I am not certain. To get the beach you have to find the opening and climb down. It is sooooo worth it though! This beach is by far my most favorite on the island yet. 

  Charlie and I found the perfect spot and renewed our vows that we once said to each other on our wedding day. I can not even begin to say how much I love this man, I literally have no words... and if you know me, this does not happen often. We then drove to Kaneohe to enjoy a delicious breakfast at a tiny little cafe. Charlie and I have always loved miny golf, its our thing. So we played put put, and I gladly admit I won! Ha We spent the remainder of the day shopping and enjoying each others company. Charlie surprised me by taking me to the Top of Waikiki's Revolving Restaurant. This place is awesome. You go to the 21st floor of this building and step on to a revolving restaurant were you are able to see 360 degree views of Wikiki. We are both ordered the Filet Mignon and it was absolutely delicious! This is not a place you would just go to during the week its pretty expensive, but defiantly something that you should try for a date night. 

   My day was nothing short of amazing thanks to my wonderful husband, and I look forward to a life time of love and happiness.

Love is patient: love is kind: love does not envy: is not boastful: is not conceited: does not act improperly: is not selfish: is not provoked: does not keep a record of wrongs: finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth: bears all things: believes all things. hopes all things, endures all things

CORINTHIANS 13:17

** I also put up a DIY flower crown tutorial on my DIY page

                                                                                                                                                               

Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings

I got this recipe a few years ago from my very best friends mother, who was like another mother to me. 

This is by far the best chicken and dumplings I have ever had and it's super easy!

Ingredients: 

Whole chicken
1 containers Chicken Broth
Salt
Pepper

Directions: 

This process takes a few hours so make sure it's something you have time to do. Normally a sunday works best for me. 
First you want to simmer the whole chicken in a deep baking pan. The time varies, but normally I let it simmer for about two hours. Once the chicken is cooked you will want to remove it from the pot and begin shredding the chicken. Keep the natural broth from cooking the chicken and just take a strainer to it. Add in the shredded chicken, and the chicken broth. Take some of the chicken broth and put it in a bowl. Add flour and stir until it forms into a dough. Flour the surface you will be working on and lay the dough on it. Flour your rolling pin and flatten out the dough. Cut small vertical strips with a butter knife. You are going to want to turn your eye up to medium heat now and wait for it to warm up. Once its warmed up, drop your strips in one by one. The broth will cook them and your dumplings will be complete. Bring it back down to a low simmer and let cook for just a little bit longer, this is when I had a little salt and pepper for flavoring...That's it now bring out some bowls, and I like to make some homemade butter biscuits to dip it in! 

I just made this yesterday and completely forgot to take picture as I was making it. I am sure I will make it again soon, and will post the pictures with it. 

Aloha Y'all, 

Lauren

Joint Spouses' Conference Hawaii 2014

September 27, 2014
(Late Post)

  This morning I woke up super early to make my way to Kaneohe for the spouses' conference. We started the day getting our itinerary,and a awesome gift bag filled with a beach mat, snacks, and a water bottle. Once we all received our things we went to the dinning room were we began eating breakfast. It was such a beautiful buffet with several types of doughnuts, fruits, beignets, breads and so much more. We left the breakfast area to board the buses that took us to our first workshop. The first workshop I choose to participate in was painting your own mini surfboards with CeCe Caldwell's Paints. I loved this workshop I am a huge fan of chalk paint and here I learned how to layer, distress, and so much more, it was amazing! We were even given a swag bag that contained chalk paint, primer, and several brushes.... needless to say I was in heaven. 

  My second workshop was portrait photography. Last year Charlie and I purchased the Canon T3i Rebel and I LOVE it. It took me forever to find the camera that had everything I wanted, and this one defiantly does. Anyways, for the class you bring your camera and she teaches you cool tips and tricks to get professional photos. We even had some models their to practice on with some photography equipment. My pictures will never be the same! After the second workshop we all went back to the Officers Club to enjoy a wonderful lunch and listened to the guest speaker Jill Rutan Hoffman. She was awesome, and gave an inspiring speech! Once we finished lunch, the volunteers handed each one of us spouses one by one our very own military coin as a trinket to take home. After lunch I went to my third workshop were I learned Hula- Hawaii's Dance. It was great to laugh and have fun with all of the spouses as we were trying our best to accomplish this difficult lengthy dance we had to learn haha. Not to mention being watched by people walking by! 

  My final workshop for the day was yoga on the beach. If you did not know this about me yoga is my all time favorite thing to do. I try to always make it a morning ritual for me when I wake up, so for this class I was truly in love. The view was breath taking. Just imagine mediating while looking at the beautiful scenery here in Hawaii. Let me just say GOD is good. The instructor that was teaching was fantastic, I had not felt that relaxed in a very long time. My day had came to an end, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I met so many amazing military spouses who all understood the hardships and overall dedication it takes to be a military spouse, and I was able to participate in some amazing activities. This was such an amazing experience and I hope other military spouses can enjoy it in the future!

                Yoga on the Beach 

                                                    Walking to my workshop

Aloha Y'all, 

Lauren