Yes...

WE'RE BACK! Back to blogging, back to taking pictures, and back to a somewhat stress-free life. I cannot even begin to explain how busy Austin and I have been this entire semester [therefore, little blogging entries]. I am not saying that our winter break will be completely full of relaxation, but it will be composed of a bit more than what we have had these last few months.

SEALED!

We should probably begin with the most wonderful experience of our entire lives. We were sealed for time and all eternity in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. There is no better place on Earth than being in the Temple with the one that you love so dearly. We do not have all of our pictures back quite yet, but once we do, be sure to check for the post!

However, we do have the pictures from our Honeymoon!

Where do we begin...?

• Hawaii Temple
• Pearl Harbor
• A private tour of newly-found jets and helicopters from past wars!
• Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay
• Dole Pineapple Plantation (Largest in the world!)
• North Shore
• Surfing competition
• BYU Hawaii
• Waikiki Beach
• International Market Place
• Mustang Convertible
• Relaxing on the beach
• Authentic Asian food
• And best of all... being with each other!!!!!
  

Our absolute favorite part of the trip was just relaxing together. Of course, we came back to loads and loads of homework, but we did not even care one bit. We had a blast!

Are you ready for this?

WELCOME TO HAWAI'I! We had so much fun together on the six-hour plane ride! We were also able to catch up on some sleep, that we had not been able to get, from the past few months!
And look at Oahu through the window [bottom right]! Amazing!

The International Market Place was wonderful! It is full of gifts from all over the world; and you can definitely talk them down on the prices! :]

HANAUMA BAY! It is so beautiful there! We swam right through hundreds of coral reefs and were able to see so many colorful fish! We definitely recommend going snorkeling there.

I have always dreamed of going to Pearl Harbor. It sure was everything that we thought it would be!

Our first stop was the USS Bowfin. We were given headsets; which took us through a tour of the very long submarine. We also had fun on the big toys outside! :]

This is us in the bottom of the Bowfin! It was so small. We kept saying that we could not believe that men actually lived under there for months! Talk about claustrophobia!

Look at the size of that torpedo! That was a one-man suicide bomber!

One site that we could not miss was the USS Arizona Memorial. It was so beautiful.

We were lucky that it was such a gorgeous day.

Can you believe that the USS Arizona is a burial ground for so many men?

The picture on the bottom left is the actual ship's smokestack from the Arizona. You can see right down into it. AND look at all those wires!

Part of the Pearl Harbor attractions is a tour of refurbished planes from WWII. These planes were found in the jungle, the ocean, and in many other places!

So, there were many times that Austin and I were given great opportunities on our honeymoon; and this one was definitely one of them. Just a few days before we got there, a great number of newly-discovered jets, airplanes, cars, etc. were transported into a hanger on Ford Island. We just went to go and see some refurbished planes [like the ones above] and the lady at the front desk asked us if we wanted a private tour in viewing these new imports before refurbishment! Of course we jumped on the opportunity and were able to see amazing vehicles that were used in past wars!

After we saw the planes in the private hanger, we walked back to where the bus was going to pick us up. On our way there, we spotted the place where they filmed the movie, Pearl Harbor!

The last few days in Hawaii we rented a car so we could explore the island! Again, we had such amazing luck... The car rental manager found out that it was our honeymoon, so she up-sized our regular economy car to any convertible in the lot!!! It was so fun driving with the top down!

When we drove to the North Shore, we just had to stop and look at the huge waves. These pictures do not do them justice! There were "no swimming" signs up and down the beach.

We made it a priority to go and see the Hawaii Temple! It sure is beautiful; as well as its surrounding land. We really wanted to do a session, but the temple is closed until next summer for some remodeling.

Austin and I had heard that Hawaii is the home to the world's largest Dole Pineapple Plantation...
So of course we had to check it out!

We took the Pineapple Express and were taken through all of the pineapple fields. It sure did go on forever!

We got some delicious pineapple cheesecake in the gift shop! Boy, did Austin scarf it down!

Austin was in heaven with all of the authentic Asian food that Hawaii has to offer.
Pretty much everywhere we went in Honolulu had Asian food.

I LOVE Austin with all my heart! We have so much fun together!

Our plane got delayed on the way home. We didn't mind. We got to spend more time in Hawaii! :] So Austin and I both got something to read and to munch on!

My goodness, that was long! We hope you all enjoyed our presentation! Anyways, we look forward to being back in the blogging world.

Kaitie ♥ Austin