Hawaii Business Trip/Vacation lol


This past October I got to travel to Hawaii for my first "business trip" (I don't count PCC Promo trips). It was so nice to get to go back to one of the places I consider HOME!! The trip was super busy, but I was lucky enough to get to see some family and friends. 

Thursday (10/19)
I arrived in Hawaii, picked up my rental, and checked into Ala Moana hotel. I was super tired but had a hard time falling asleep and then ended up waking up suuuuper early. Jetlag was killing me. 

Friday (10/20)
Had a school visit at Kamehameha Kapalama Schools in the morning. Got to see Mary Ah Mu and my former Bosslady Sheena! Was sooo good to catch up!! After my presentations I went out to lunch with Mary at Yummy's (soooo yummy). 

P.s. Kam school campus is beautiful!!! And because it's on a hillside and super massive, it's kind of confusing to find places sometimes. 



 Afterwards I made my way to Laie. BYUH Career Services was so kind to offer me PCC tickets so I figured why not? I met up with the Princess (Brit) and stopped by to see Nina & Leta....but Leta was at her grandparent's house and Ben was working. So off I went with Brit to catch the luau and night show. 




Luau was nice. [honest review: it was kinda junk....food was blah and the show was kinda junk...like the whole line up didn't make sense] But aayyy things always taste better when it's free. 

 I was so tired (still jetlagged) and decided to just go back stage and then skip night show. We got a pic with Ian and then headed out. 

 I stopped by Aunty Janeen's house in Hauula and talked story until after midnight. I was pooped by the time I made it back to the hotel (yess I know alllllll the way in Waikiki).
Saturday (10/21)

So the plan was to wake up early and go swap meet but I slept in until 10am and then finally headed over to Aiea at noon. I eventually made it to the swapmeet and did my lap around the stadium, before heading over to Aunty Fola & Uncle Frank's house. 

 How about the second I walked in, Aunty Fola immediately starts heating up food and making my plate. I sat at the counter and ate my heart out lol. 

 I was soooo tired (my body clock was all out of sorts), but I did my best to sit down with Aunty Fola and go over family history. I eventually crashed out on their couch until Aunty Fola woke me up. She was nervous about me driving during night time, so I left around 7 (with the customary bag of plates and fresh fruit). 



Sunday (10/22)
Went to Teuila's ward and then got to hang out with Aunty Fu'a, Teuila, Bubu, and my two gorgeous little cutie patootie butterball nieces! Afterwards, I headed to Laie for to'ona'i at Uncle Ah Chu's house. 






Monday (10/23)
Then the week of non stop recruitment started. First thing in the morning was a college fair. It was so fun talking to Hawaii students and getting to see some of the students I taught as seniors!!! There were also a few from Hauula 5th ward.

 There was another UVU rep (from a different department) attending the fair with me. For lunch went to the Shirokiya- a Japanese Food Village at Ala Moana where they serve everthing bento style. It was overwhelmingly delicious. Then we hit up Liliha Bakery for some desserts.







Then it was back to the fair for the evening session. I was happy to make it back to my hotel and take advantage of the massage chairs in the lobby. 


Tuesday (10/24)
Tuesday morning was filled with high school visits before heading to BYUH for lunch and then tabling. I tabled right in front of the good ol counseling center. It was fun being able to check out the new facilities and changes. There are certainly many changes that I wasn't expecting. 

 Then it was family time! Got to catch up Arlene (who lives right across from Ben & Nina). And then we went to town for dinner. 



 Wednesday (10/25)
Checked out, caught my flight to Maui, landed and grabbed one of my favorite meals from Zippys- the Korean Chicken plate. Then it was check in just before having to head to the college fair. 




 Hotel pics




Thursday (10/26)
Woke up, grabbed a quick breakfast, checked out, and headed to the airport to catch my flight to Kona. 





 Once I got to Kona, I got a few school visits in before making a stop at the Kona Temple. 





Friday (10/27)
Final day!! I was waiting for this day!! I started the morning with a college fair and then had a few hours to kill before my final flight back home. I was craving something super healthy and came across this super healthy (and pricy) place. But how come this super healthy bowl kept me full for 3 hours. *That's impressive.* Now I want to recreate it!
So it was red onion, bacon, avocado, grilled fish, walnuts, soft egg, and sauteed greens over brown rice. They had a balsamic vinaigrette on top but I preferred without it. 


I killed time by taking a scenic drive down the Kona side. Kona is beeaauuutiiffull! I loved the drive. I also did a little shopping :)
Then it was back to the airport and on my way back to Utah. 
Aljay and the kids picked me up at 7am. It was nice to be back in the cool weather. We celebrated our reunion with breakfast at IHOP and then a nice loooooooong nap!

It was good to be back with these babies!



It was a good recruitment trip as well as a mini vacation (emphasis on the mini part). I was very lucky that the trip happened when it did- because if it was sooner, then I would have been still having a bit of morning sickness...and if it was later, I would've been to big and uncomfortable to travel. 

 There were a few things I did realize quickly on this trip...

  • I don't sleep well at night being in places by myself. I'm too used to having a kid or the hubby next to me.
  • Forgot how frizzy my hair used to be (humidity = bush)
  • Found out how sad puppy doggish my hubby is when I'm not there. The second I left, I started getting the mushy text messages, videos, phone calls. LOL
  • Realized how much I don't like traveling pregnant...especially when it's Hawaii and pregnancy makes me too lazy to go beach, hiking, and walking around everywhere. 
  • As crazy as my kids are...they really make everything more adventurous. 
  • My picture taking skills suuuuck. Even with allll the beautiful scenery in Hawaii i couldn't even get any good shots...but then again I didn't put in as much effort. I really am one of those "enjoy the moment" people instead of the "capture the moment" type.
  • Aljay balances me. It would've been fun to have him there. And the kids? Well..maybe if it was an actual vacation. 
  • I can't wait to go on a second honeymoon with the hubby!! We're hoping to go on a cruise or something for our 10 year anniversary! aaand for our trip we're planning to be-
    • at least a little bit skinner than where we're at now haha
    • not pregnant (fingers & legs crossed lol)
    • kidless (as in kids are safe and sound under the watchful care of someone else #yesplease #helloooograndparents!)
  • It was fun to feel like all big girl with my grown up girl business trip...but the "business" part of the trip really does wear down a girl.....especially this preggo girl. Next time....I'm going to shorten the recruitment trip. 

Overall though, I'm really grateful for my job and the opportunity I have to travel and do something I enjoy. I'm also grateful for the financial and healthcare benefits we are able to reap. 




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