Life of a Marine Wife: 2016

I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone, and the boxes of Christmas decorations in the garage have been taken down and dusted off. The sweet pine smell of a Christmas tree once again fills our home, and the subtle glow of strewn holiday lights warm the early morning and evening hours. Christmas music is on round-the-clock, as I try to savor every special day of this ever-so-special but fleeting season. Peppermint mochas in red Starbucks' holiday cups have once again made their debut and our bank account has been officially drained by two very expensive, but well worth it, flights home. We are now counting down the days until we are reunited with our loved ones and that wonderfully brisk-California winter air! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

In an attempt to take advantage of the post-Thanksgiving, Cyber Monday sales, I spent time online yesterday ordering our annual Christmas card. As I was looking back over pictures from this past year, trying to find a non-selfie picture of the two of us, I realized just how special of a year 2016 has been. We've had so many visitors, made many cherished memories, enjoyed the year-round beauty of the islands and even made some new discoveries... It was also a year of nearly complete blog-silence, which I blame primarily on the taxing demands of my schoolwork. However, I couldn't let this wonderful year, and all of it's special memories pass by without properly documenting some of the highlights!

January-March: Jordan and I attended a wonderful marriage retreat put on by the Marine Corps in Waikiki, we celebrated Jordan's birthday, and we spent our days rejoicing in the beautiful HI-life, embracing the "lucky we live Hawaii" motto of the islands. And yes, you did read that right, the saying is in fact "lucky we live Hawaii," not IN Hawaii, as Hawaii is more than a beautiful location, it's a way of living!

Waimanalo

Waimanlo

Lanikai Beach

Officer's Beach

Monk seals were a regular sight at Ft. Hase beach on base this year.

The Duke statue in Waikiki

Jordan taught (and continues to teach) me to golf!

The winter months mean big waves and the Triple Crown of Surfing on the North Shore

Kelly Slater surfing Pipeline

Jordan turned the big 3-1 this past year, a birthday I doubt he will soon to forget as the world famous Eddie "went" on his birthday that year, the ultimate big wave surf competition. There is a saying, "Eddie would go" in reference to Eddie Aikau, a North Shore legend, famous for braving the torrential, 20 ft plus, surf to save lives as a lifeguard at Waimea Bay and as a big wave surfer. The Eddie Aiku Surf Contest is "held" every year in his honor. However, held is intentionally placed in quotation marks, as The Eddie has only "gone" 9 times since its inception in 1985 (making it also the 31st year of the Eddie surf competition-which JUST HAPPENED to occur on the exact day of Jordan's 31st birthday). If you're confused, let me explain a bit more about the uniqueness of The Eddie. The tournament requires open-ocean swells to reach a minimum of 20 feet between the months of December and the end of February. If the conditions are not met during that three-month time window, the competition is not held. This year, as the time window was nearing it's end, the conditions were excitedly shaping up! The Eddie was called to "go" for February 10, 2016, and surfers were given 48 hours notice, flying in from all over the world. However, early on the morning of February 10th, the day of the event, the contest was called off as the conditions had changed. As you can see, the surf contest is not predictable and the most recent Eddie tournament was actually held an entire 6 years prior. However, nearly a week later, the wave conditions were big enough to once again green light the competition for a second time, and on February 25th, Jordan's 31st birthday, the 31st Eddie would "go." The timing of it all was pretty special for us, but as you can also imagine, it is quite the holiday here in Hawaii. People take off work to drive up to the North Shore to witness these massive waves, and the brave souls who dare to surf them, and even classrooms tune into the live broadcast of the competition. Unfortunately, after one false alarm a week earlier, neither Jordan nor I risked taking off work to go see the Eddie in person. We instead had a front row seat to the action as we watched the live broadcast all day (from work!).

The Birthday boy

Beautiful birthday rainbow

Watching the Eddie in the classrooms at work.

We officially celebrated Jordan's birthday later that weekend with a day trip to the beautiful lagoons in Koolina and dinner at Monkeypod.

We discovered new tucked away treasures and hiked to new heights. China Walls was a neat discovery, hidden in plain sight in the bustling town of Hawaii Kai. Koko head is a brutal hike, straight up the side of a crater by walking/climbing old railroad ties, but with the rewarding views of Hawaii Kai, world famous snorkel spot, Hanauma Bay, and the eastern coastline of Oahu. Kaena point was a longer-than-expected hike, with an ever-changing landscape of beauty, and glorious tide pools at the very end to cool off in, rest and rejuvenate in, before returning on the very long trek back.

China Walls

Koko Head

The eastern coast of Oahu

Kaena Point

With the spring came spring cleaning, or the sprucing up of our backyard and lanai, as well as a beautiful sunrise Easter service, done Hawaiian style.

April brought our first set of visitors of 2016, my mom, my grandma and my Aunt Marjo! I could not have been happier to have these wonderful women in my life here in Hawaii with us! We packed quite a lot in to the week they were here and shared so many laughs and wonderful adventures together.

Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Marjo

Always a fun and entertaining time at the Macadamia Nut Farm

A North Shore trip is always on the agenda! The coastline drive is my favorite!

First stop, the fruit stand!

Hanging with the locals, the littles of which appears to prefer McDonalds over the fresh fare being sold by her parents at the stand.

Oh Jordan!

Our chauffeur for the drive! "Get back in the car ladies, this bus is leaving!"

Next stop, Laie point!

Shrimp trucks!

The wild n' crazy train at the Dole Plantation

Dole Plantation

Rainbow Eucalyptus at the Dole Plantation

Heading out ~~on a 3 HOUR TOUR~~... to the Sandbar in Kaneohe Bay!

Myself, Grandma, and Mom, relaxing at the Sandbar

Back on solid ground, enjoying another beautiful view.

Sunset and Mai Tais in Waikiki

Chief's Luau

A romantic horseback riding adventure for two!

The Banyan Tree forest was magical!

One last dip in the warm Hawaiian waters for the trip!

May-Jordan's mom comes to visit and we didn't take nearly enough pictures!

We played a little golf, or more accurately, enjoyed riding around in golf carts!

Took a sunset catamaran cruise in Waikiki

Dinner at our favorite place, Halewia Joe's.

June- The Hoimes/Boulwares arrive! It is so neat looking back on these pictures, with the time that has elapsed since their visit, and see them from a third-person-perspective. I still vividly remember the day, or perhaps the retold memory of the day, that the Boulwares moved onto our street and as a 4-year old little girl, asking my mom if I could play with that girl. From barbies, and chalk-drawn streets for our bikes, and intense fights over hairbrushes or who could pull the red wagon with Meghan's little sister Amy in it, to standing atop the pillboxes in Lanikai, as two grown-up, 30-year-old women, in HAWAII...who would have thought? It's so neat envisioning the juxtaposition of these memories...

Mai Tais at Haleiwa Joes

Hike up to the pillboxes with views of Lanikai and the Mokes

Tree swing finds along our drive!

Trip out to the Kaneohe Sandbar

Birthday girl Amy at the sandbar

Pearl Harbor

Enjoying the Macadamia Nut Farm

The guys even braved the treacherous water at Sandy's, where every year multiple deaths are recorded. The girls enjoyed watching the littlest and cutest surfer around taking on the shorebreak with his equally little and adorable skimboard.

Lagoons at Koolina

Pina Coladas in Waikiki

Backyard 4th of July BBQ

Between sets of visitors, we attended a beautiful wedding, played lots of golf, went to the beach as much as possible, celebrated a beautiful mommy-to-be, and welcomed her baby boy a few short months later, celebrated friends we have made and goodbyes that had to be said. We celebrated our 7th anniversary, my own 31st, a day trip to Maui to see our long-time military friends the Reeds, made a short trip to California and had a quiet Thanksgiving for two!

A fun military wedding in Hawaii

The view from this hole on the golf course was my motivation to learn to play while living here in Hawaii.

So lucky this beautiful beach is just in our backyard!

Another beautiful day at the lagoons in Koolina

Moroccan anniversary dinner at Casablanca, we had the place to ourselves!

Sunset catamaran cruise, with a side of rainbow, celebrating a friend's promotion

Had to say goodbye to a few good friends this summer...

Brunch with the Brett, Sarena and baby Mila. Auf Wiedersehen, they are off to Germany!

Girls' staycation in Koolina before Jacque's move, she's off to California!

Girls' staycation in Koolina

Max, King of the Wild Things is on his way so we celebrated Katie, on this very special day!

So much fun throwing this "Wild Things" shower!

My 31st birthday-Jordan surprised me with a staycation in Waikiki

My 31st birthday in Waikiki

My 31st birthday in Waikiki!

Maui for the day! How lucky are we that we can just do that?! Pinch me!

Maui for the day!

Maui for the day to see the Reeds, our good friends we first met in Virginia, nearly 6 years ago!

Baby Max is finally here!

Jordan spent 6 weeks in CA for military training, I got to see him for a day or two on an impromptu trip home.

Riding bikes around San Diego is one of our favorite pastimes

Stopping to hydrate at the Hotel Del Coronado

Views of downtown San Diego

The swanky hotel in Little Italy that Jordan was living at during his training...so much for being a hard-charging Marine living in the dirt! haha

October-November- Fall in Hawaii! AKA 80 degree weather instead of 90 degree weather!

Just another fall day in Hawaii

Just another Fall day in Hawaii

Hawaiian pumpkin patch, with hardly any pumpkins!

Just another Fall day in Hawaii

Kellie Pickler and the USO put on a free concert on base

We celebrated the 241st birthday of Marine Corps with the annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball... Unfortunately, Jordan got hit by the Sabra Hummus recall and barely made it through the ceremony and dinner. Luckily, rest and relaxation don't require much energy, and we spent the remainder of the weekend relaxing poolside at the hotel!

Waikiki for the annual Marine Corps Ball

Waikiki for the annual Marine Corps Ball!

I was hit second by the deadly stomach bug a few days later, and so it was a quiet Thanksgiving dinner for two...Although I mustered up enough energy to do most of the cooking, Jordan was the only one doing any eating, haha.

A quiet Thanksgiving for two.

Time to deck the halls, once again!

What a wonderful year 2016 has been (well-minus that whole hummus part!)

Life of a Marine Wife

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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!