Universal Studios with family

Randomly Angela's aunt and uncle from Washington State were in California for a conference so we got a message... Hey ... do you want to go to Universal with us on Sunday???  

How could we turn down a trip to Universal and meet up with family that had not been seen since Angela was living in Uganda.  

 We had a fun day exploring the back lot... Harry Potter's world... and walking with the Walking Dead... (yeah, Aunt Kimberly and Angela sat out of that one).  Now we have year passes to go back so if any one else would like to visit and go with us.... let us know!

A picture tour of Big Island with the Lawson's

The Lawson's will always hold a special place in our hearts as they not only are special friends to both of us individually but it was thanks to them that we met one another and this great adventure  started!  We had the opportunity to plan our delayed honeymoon around them visiting Hawaii with their family to celebrate monumental anniversaries!  

Ten days were spent cruising around the island in a jeep exploring all the beauty that Big Island, Hawaii has to offer! 

Spelunking in Kaumana Caves

Shave Ice at Da Hawaiian Brain Freeze

Akaka Falls

Crusing the lava fields with the top down

Wine tasting at the Volcano Winery

Southern Most Point of the USA

Picnic in the car at southpoint of shoyu chicken, rice, and veg

Mauna Kea Observatory

Molokai fun

In August as a late honeymoon we boarded a Hawaiian Airlines flight from LAX to HNL to MKK.  Angela lived on Molokai for 13 years before meeting Justin and she wanted to share this piece of her life with him.  

Four days were spent hitting most of the sights... from Kalaupapa lookout...

To musubis and mocha mamas...

To decorating a Ho'olehua Post A Nut to send to family on the mainland...

 We enjoyed lots of time on the beach with friends and Molokai Ohana... and were able to have lots of fellowship over ono grinds!!! 

Disney date nights

After getting married at Disneyland last October and spending the following 2 days with family and friends in the parks... we decided on yearly passes.  They have worked great for date nights and when friends are visiting.  We have had some great times with our favorite mouse and his friends!

Picnic at the Hollywood Bowl

The opportunity came up that a fellow coworker of Justin's had "extra" tickets for a group called "Pentatonix".  Over conversation at the water cooler... Justin said... "My wife loves pentatonix and her birthday is coming up."  

So long story short... we got tickets to go to Hollywood Bowl to see Pentatonix.  (Last year on this same day we went to see Chicago at this venue). We packed a picnic dinner and wine to share and enjoyed a beautiful evening under the Hollywood sign celebrating our nation's independence by hearing an amazing accapela group... watching fireworks... and making new friends!

At one point in the evening (before the concert began) Justin got up to use the restroom... and his "friend" from work got the entire section to sing happy birthday to Angela... even though her birthday was still weeks away!  Yeah... she turned every shade of red imaginable!

Weekend trip to Palm Springs

One of the many joys of living in Southern California are all of the short trips to see some pretty cool sights!  The end of June... when school got out ... we decided to drive the 70 miles on a whim and spend the weekend exploring Palm Springs.  

It was a cooler weekend in the 90's instead of the 120's like it had been the week before.  We took the Aeriel Tramway up to the top overlooking Palm Springs and enjoyed a lovely dinner.

Later that evening we walked "downtown" Palm Springs which was pretty much a ghost town.  There were a few shops open that we strolled into.  We looked at the stars and read up on the history of Palm Springs before turning in for the evening. 

The next morning we got up and explored the botanical gardens of desert plants and then looked at tiny homes before heading home.