Happy birthday Rachel

Dinner at Ruth’s Chris with a flaming dessert.

Dear vacation,

We are writing to ask you to hurry and get here soon. Bryce and I need some time away to recharge our batteries. Even though we are only going to Utah, it will still be nice to be away from the cares of our present lives and be somewhat free for the week. No work, no school, no calling,  just being.

It’s not that we are ungrateful for our lives vacation, we couldn’t be more blessed, its just sometimes, life gets too hectic, and we start to feel drained and exhausted. See we have a lot we are responsible for here in our lives, and, well, as much fun as it is living on our island paradise, it’s nice to get a new perspective, the kind that comes from leaving on you, vacation.

Vacation we know that a lot of people are waiting patiently to see  you, just like we are, so we don’t mean to put additional pressure on you, but all we want to ask is to not delay in arriving to us just as soon as you are able. The plane tickets say April 19, we really look forward to it vacation, we really do.

Thanks for all you do vacation, we don’t see you often, but when we do, it’s like no time passed at all.

Maui for the weekend

Maui has some beautiful photo opp places.

The Vulcan rides again

Bryce took a leisurely cruise around the island a few weeks ago, on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon. These pictures he took were from the east side of Oahu, otherwise known as Hawaii Kai. (No photo editing needed)

Parked by Sandy’s beach

Get a load of those pipes!

East side, Oahu

So long 2012, you were good to us.

The year 2012 was good to the Aubrey Hale, we lived, we laughed, we loved.

The year started like any other, work for Bryce and I. I taught my second semester at HPU in the winter, and I was blessed to get a new job in May with SMS Consulting as an administrative assistant. I was able to travel to outer islands because of my job, and I have enjoyed meeting people and learning more about small business and marketing strategies.

We were really blessed to meet some great friends in 2012 and welcome some new tiny friends and family into our bunch. Our summer vacation in June to the California, New Mexico and Turks and Caicos Islands was the perfect blend of family, friends, and exotic destinations. We had a great summer on Oahu with our new friends.

Bryce started school full-time in August, and after being back in school after such a long time out of school, he managed to get a 4.0 his first semester back, even with a full-time job and a demanding church calling (ward clerk).

In October we celebrated two years of married life at Morton’s Steakhouse.

I was called to be the Young Women’s president in November, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to continue working with the young ladies of the Moanalua 1st Ward.

In the fall months, we decided to look for a home to buy on the west side of Oahu (Kapolei/Ewa area). We lived on a very strict budget, and saved money for a down payment. After many weeks of looking at homes, and praying for inspiration, and signing our names to offers, both Bryce and myself decided it was not the right time. We took the money we saved and paid off my car, and all of our credit cards. This perhaps was the biggest blessing this year, to rid ourselves of all credit card debt. We still hope to buy a home, and we continue to pray for guidance to help us chose the right home for us.

Christmas was a quiet one, we had a ward (church) party, a work party (SMS-Rachel’s job), a family (Kaalekahi family), and of course, Bryce and I were able to spend Christmas morning together before he had to go to work. Santa was good to us, and we continued our family tradition of reading Luke 2 before opening presents.

We had a great  2012, and look forward to 2013. This year will undoubtedly be a busy one, and we can’t wait for more adventures whether they are on land or in the sea!

Happy new year to our family and friends!!

A good sunset is worth a thousand words.

Beautiful Laie sunset, December 2012

 

Before our date night this particular week, I was able to capture a gorgeous sunset. That is the Laie Hawaii LDS temple in the background. I think this is my new favorite picture! The clouds were just perfect, the palm trees were perfectly framed, and the temple in the background.

 

Homemade chicken noodle soup

Too bad it’s not colder weather here on the island!

Chicken noodles soup a la Rachel.

We went to see Wicked!

We got to see Wicked in Honolulu at the Blaisdel concert hall (the Broadway show) a few weeks ago for a belated anniversary gift. Bryce wasn’t super excited about, but he warmed up to it after the first act. I definitely recommend seeing Wicked, it will change your perspective in more ways than one. Here’s to defying gravity!!

Happy belated anniversary! Bryce and Rachel at Wicked in Honolulu.

This is your “captain” speaking…to our family and friends.

 

One of the many requirements of Bryce’s job is to speak with airplane pilots. I’m not totally sure at this moment as to the conversation exchange but suffice to say, Bryce talks to pilots and gives them instructions about clearance, arriving, departing, etc. With a lot of family and friends coming to the islands, or leaving to the mainland, it is only fair to assume that Bryce will speak to their pilot either upon arrival or departure.

There have been three instances to date, that Bryce, with my help of me of course because I generally have the flight info., has been able to send off family and friends with one last wish of Aloha!

Instance 1: My aunty Agnes came to Oahu shortly after we got married in 2010, at least I’m pretty sure it was 2010, I digress, we didn’t see her on that visit, but when she was aboard her flight on her way back to the mainland, she signaled the flight attendant upon entering the plane, said she new a controller, then got to speak to a pilot, who then called into the tower asking for a Bryce, and said his aunty was in the plane. The details about this story are a little fuzzy at the moment, but nevertheless my aunt was tickled by the whole thing, went home to California and told some other members of my family that she got to talk to the pilot and that by so doing was able to “communicate” with Bryce in the tower.

Instance 2: One of my former young women, left to Brigham Young University-Provo in Utah this past fall semester, and because I had her flight info., I was able to relay that to Bryce who was able to speak to the pilot and send our friend Haley off to college with best wishes. I’m pretty sure Haley thought this was cool.

Instance 3: My uncle Van and aunty Karin just came to Oahu for a family funeral. We did get to see them and have dinner with them. Aunty Karin told Bryce to make sure there flight leaves on time, or something of that nature, and he chuckled as he usually does and continued eating his fried rice from Side Street Inn. This was a Saturday. On the following Tuesday night, I get a text message from aunty Karin that said something to the effect of, “captain so and so said goodbye to us on the plane!! Tell Bryce thank you.” I could tell they were pleasantly surprised by the fact that their pilot would go over the intercom and speak to them specifically as they were leaving for home.

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To the friends and family who have yet to receive this little surprise from the cockpit, be sure to remember to listen to the captain upon arriving or departing Honolulu International Airport. You never know when he or she has something profoundly important to say to you!

View from a plane of the reef runway.

We made the cover!

Two Year Anniversary Layout by Rachel. Photo by Natausha Garrett Photography.