Thanksgiving and My Mom's Visit...

So we made it through Thanksgiving, and Christmas is just around the corner.  As of now, the baby and I are still a "work-in-progress" team.  We have discovered that most meats don't sit well so there goes bye bye to chicken, pork, turkey (we found this out on Thanksgiving) and beef.  Surprisingly, I have learned to live off or crackers, pringles, croissants and french fries. Hey, the baby knows what it likes and Lucas is just happy that our food budget pretty much consists of the value menu at Burger King and McDonalds.



Mahina's latest ultrasound on December 10, 2010!



For Thanksgiving we made the trek down to San Diego to see Lucas' family and to our surprise, only had to pull over on the freeway once so that I could get some air and for baby to teach us a lesson for making me sit in a car for so long. We had a very nice time with the whole family and I learned that mashed potatoes and green bean casserole make the baby and my stomach very happy!

My mom made it up to visit with us this week to see my "belly" grow.  She is planning on coming up every two months to see the progression and help us get ready for this little one. Luckily, she was able to come to meet Dr. Wyatt and even got to see the baby when we got our latest ultrasound.  Thankfully the baby is starting to look more like a human and not so much like a seahorse. Also on the agenda was to make our way to Babies 'R Us to start our baby registry.  Boy, I had no idea that something so little would need so much! It was so funny to Lucas and I because we thought that registering for our wedding was bad enough because there was just so much to choose from.  Doing a baby registry is worse because there are just as much things, but now you have to take in account safety, remembering that less is more and not registering for things that we don't need. I can't wait until the nesting stage kicks in and we can put the baby's room together, though I'm sure Duke and Harley aren't very excited to see their space and room taken over by the baby.

Hope everyone is having an awesome Holiday Season!

And We're Almost Out of the First Trimester!

Boy, they do not tell you everything that goes into having a baby! Now that I am just about to come out of my first trimester, I am really hoping that this all gets easier and goes down hill from here, though I have a feeling that it won't.

Mahina's second ultrasound November 16, 2010

During these first few weeks I have experienced most of the "normal" symptoms like "morning" sickness, though its really "all-day" sickness, headaches and tiredness.  I wish I could explain how tired I have felt since we found out that we were pregnant.  Think about running a marathon, walking over to a Habitat for Humanity site and building a house, then ending the day with a nice little Ironman race and that is pretty much how I feel all day every day. I might be exaggerating a bit, but let's be honest, that's another pregnancy symptom too. Hehehe, I think Lucas is going to love that one.

Surprisingly the doctor said that this is all "normal" even though I now know that there is nothing really "normal" about pregnancy, there is literally a little person growing in me! How cool is that!

We Have a Big (Well Little) Announcement to Make...

Before we get to our announcement, we wanted to say sorry for our extended absence and that we promise to try and stay ahead of the curve from now on... and believe us there will be a lot to update all of you about.

Without further ado, we present our biggest announcement yet: 

Mahina's first ultrasound October 4, 2010

Yes, you're seeing that correctly! We are expecting our first bundle of joy this coming May 30th. Doctor Wyatt says that everything looks great with the baby and I and that we are making a great team so far.  Lets hope it stays that way and the baby treats mommy (WOW, that's the first time I said/wrote that) nicely.

We and both of our families are very excited for the upcoming stork delivery (hahaha, I wish the baby came via a stork). It should make for quite the hectic and fun second half of 2011, but we're looking forward to the challenges and rewards that come with being parents. With that said, we're accepting applications for baby sitters! Haha, just kidding... kind of. 

We hope you are doing well and again we promise to try and stay on top of this blog as best we can!

Lucas' Birthday Weekend

A quarter century... Damn I'm getting old. It was my birthday weekend and Mahina had decided to plan out the day and take us up to El Matador beach. The beach has great rock formations much like the ones Cabo San Lucas is famous for, but on a smaller scale. Along the way to El Matador we stopped off at Malibu Seafood restaurant on PCH to grab some lunch.

Malibu Seafood was pretty crowded as the weekend lunch crowd had hit. After waiting in line for a couple of minutes Mahina ordered the friend shrimp with a bowl of clam chowder soup and I had the Ahi Tuna burger. The restaurant was a great stop on the way up the coast, with picnic tables scattered around the outside of the building with great views of the Pacific across the street.

After a great lunch it was time to head down to the beach, though it had been an overcast morning most of the marine layer had burned off by the time we were finished with lunch it turned into a slightly overcast but warm Saturday on the coast. As we made our way down the path to the beach we got a great view of the rock formations from above. Down on the beach we were surprised by how many other people were down there, from above it looked like the beach had been empty. Walking across the beach we found a small corner of sand to spread our blanket out and enjoy the day. It was a little too cold and overcast for any sort of swimming or tanning, but with a nice book for Mahina and my new Men's Journal subscription courtesy of Mahina's parents we had a great time just reading on the beach.

After a couple of hours my now old and distressed body had been abused enough by the sand and needed to move on to greener pastures. What we had failed to consider on the way down to the beach was the hike back up to the car. Somehow the stairs and trails always seem a lot steeper on your way back up. Back in Santa Monica we did some window shopping at the Ford, Nissan and Volkswagen dealerships before heading back home to get ready for dinner. While nothing came from our trips to the dealers on this day, Mahina managed to find the next car she would be most comfortable in.

For dinner we headed to the Typhoon restaurant at Santa Monica airport. There are two different restaurants in the same building - one an Asian fusion and the other a Latin American fusion. Originally we had planned on the Asian fusion location for dinner but ended up climbing up one to many sets of stairs, however the menu at the Latin American Typhoon turned out to be great and we enjoyed a tuna ceviche, taquitos and Chilean pot pie for dinner.

Besides a great day - one other good thing came of this day, I can now rent a car without penalty! The excitement continues...

Raging Waters

Who doesn't love hanging out in the water when it's a hot summer day?  Kilohana and Nani from my hula halau had the awesome idea of cooling off by going the the local water park in San Dimas, CA.  We started off the day bright and early and caravaned over to Raging Waters just moments after the park opened at 10am. Kilohana had the ingenious idea of getting a cabana for the day so we could rest and keep all of our stuff in privacy. Our group consisted of Nani, Christian (her husband), Makana (her sister), Melissa, Brenda (her friend), Kilohana, Luke (her son), Lucas and I.

The whole day consisted of lots of rides and an awesome hour in the lazy river.  Christian, Nani's husband, and Lucas bonded in the lazy river by stealing the little kids' life vests and using them to sit on so they could coast throughout the river.  Don't worry the lifeguards loved their inventions and the idea soon took over the river and our group.  My favorite ride had to be the race; its a ride where every person gets their own mat and gets to race other people down the slide. I won, naturally.  Hahaha.  The final and most terrifying ride had to the the one that seemed to be like a mile up in the air.  Walking up all the steps wasn't the problem, it was the fact that when you get that high, you can really feel the structure shake. Needless to say, Melissa and I were very happy to get off that ride so we could get down from that structure.

We ended the day by grabbing dinner together at El Torito. It was a great day with great friends.  We hope to do it again next summer!

Labor Day Weekend

The long weekend was a much welcomed retreat even with the heat wave that blasted Southern California. Our plans were to head down to San Juan Capistrano to watch Bailey play some soccer and spend the day with the family.

Stepping out of the car though we were greeted by the heat wave that had enveloped us. I knew we were headed for trouble at the soccer game when Mahina got really quiet walking from the car to the hotel room the girls were staying at. Sure enough as we got to the soccer game the heat-induced grumbling began. Scrambling to cool her down I was eternally grateful for the shaved ice truck that had parked itself at the soccer tournament eagerly gouging everyone who was dying of heat.

Bailey had a great game and her team pulled it out despite a rough and tough team from Arizona that was ready to scrap their way to a win. At the end of the day though it was the shaved ice that was the real hero; keeping Mahina cool with a clutch performance made the shaved ice truck the day's MVP.

Korean BBQ...

To say that the discovery of Korean BBQ has been life changing would be an understatement.  Since I have discovered Korean BBQ at Furusato (16410 Western Ave. Gardena, CA) with my fellow Hula Halau sisters, Lucas and I have gone there at least every week.  I wish I was joking, but our Bank of America credit card does not lie.  As I write you this, my mouth is salivating and I might need to go there tonight even though we just went on Sunday. 

Let me give you the breakdown of this place.  First, there are two prices on the menu (either menu item is ALL YOU CAN EAT); Menu A is $9.99 and you get beef brisket, pork belly and marinated chicken or Menu B is $16.99 and you get everything in Menu A along with other things like beef tongue, mussels and steak.  After you order, they bring out all the meat and you cook it yourself with a little grill in the middle of your table.  If that wasn't amazing enough you also get all the normal Korean sides like kim chee, bean sprouts, salad, garlic, watercress, radish, rice, rice paper and sweet potato.

If I haven't sold you enough on this restaurant that we love, let me leave it at this;  When we eventually move back home to Hawai`i, this place is on the top of my list to have my last dinner at!

Solstice Canyon Trail Hike

As part of our ongoing intiative to explore Los Angeles, Mahina found a dog-friendly hiking trail in Malibu that led up to a waterfall. So, we decided that it was high time we took the dogs in the great outdoors, Solstice Canyon.

At one with Mother Nature again, Harley immediately took to the trails and was glad to be back in the wilderness. Duke, on the other hand, was a little more weary of the whole thing and stayed close to Mahina. The trail wasn't as crowded as we had originally expected, though I think that's because we missed the morning rush. Since we were just getting our feet wet with this whole hiking thing our path was pretty well laid out in front of us. No, it wasn't a paved road and yes it did involved river crossings...when the definition of a river is two inches of water. The four of us walked our way through the mile long path to the waterfall at the top of the stream. While dogs weren't allowed to get close to the waterfall itself there was a nice little area where they could jump in the river stream and goof around for a bit.

On the way back down, Mahina was reminded that hard way that what goes around comes around. Appaled by my decision to relieve myself outdoors in the wilderness as generations of our species has before me, Mahina tried to get blackmail worth pictures of me at one with the wilderness. A few moments later karma came back to say hello when the rock she thought was a solid foothold to cross the raging stream beneath us sunk right into the marshy dirty water and soaked her shoes and socks through.

To the squishing sounds of Mahina's wet feet we made our way down the last quarter-mile of the trail until we were back in the parking lot where Mahina was finally able to get her feet out of those wet and soggy socks.

On a more somber note, our delicate fragile male dog Duke developed a slight limp on his back right leg as a result of this hike. We are glad to update you however in August that he is walking around just fine and seems to have made a marvelous recovery.

Bridget and Ely's Going Away Party

We got an email one afternoon that our friends Bridget and Eli would be moving back to Hawai`i in the next couple of months. The email had come a little sooner than most people who knew Bridget and Eli expected...while it was always in their cards to move back to Hawai`i, doing so before 2011 was a surprise to a lot of people. But, such is life and when an opportunity comes your way, like it did for Bridget, you respond.

With only a few weekends left before the big move, Bridget and Eli organized a little going away shindig. Admittedly, Mahina was a little jealous that Bridget and Eli would be getting to move back to Hawai`i, but she was also really excited for the opportunity that they are pursuing. The going away party was originally intended to be a beach bonfire, but that didn't quite work out...which in the end may have been a good thing. Unbeknowst to anyone, the fire pits at Dockweiler Beach are all claimed by 10am with people coming as early as 6am to reserve the best pit on the sand. So when Bridget and Eli cruised over about 3pm to find a spot it wasn't happening. What we also didn't know what that there had recently been a couple of gang shoot-outs at Dockweiler, in broad daylight and at night, so maybe things we were working out in our favor after all.

We all ended up at Eli's college roommate, John's house in Torrance. John had a great bachelor pad which he had remodeled. A few other of Bridget and Eli's friends came over to the house and we all spent the evening watching Avatar in Blu-Ray (insane), grilling food and telling stories.

As the night came to a close, we all wished Bridget & Eli well and hoped to see them again before the big move. But hey, at least it gives us another excuse to go to Hawai`i!

Keith Urban Concert!!!

Concerts, Concerts, Concerts! I think I can officially say that I am hooked on them. This time Lucas was nice enough to give up his ticket to let one of my best friends, Jill, come with me. Since we all know how much Lucas is a fan of country music, we know that this was really hard for him to do. Hahaha. Jill and I started the night at her place getting ready and then headed over to grab dinner at Jerry's Famous Deli. Their pastrami sandwiches are AMAZING!

After dinner we decided to leave our car in Westwood and walk up to the UCLA Tennis Center where the concert was happening. This concert was a bit different because it wasn't part of Keith Urban's tour, but was a concert benefiting the Grammy Foundation. The proceeds from the concert were going to continue a summer camp that is held for high school students interested in music that don't have access to it in their school. Both of us had never seen a concert there so we were excited to experience one in such a small and intimate venue.  The opening act for Keith Urban was the Avett Brothers and their unique blend of voices and guitar did not disappoint.

When Keith Urban finally got on stage, the crowd was going nuts and our blood was pumping from all the excitement. From the first strum to the last note, every person there was taken aback by his voice, stage presence and guitar skills. I had read that he was known more for his guitar skills than his singing skills and boy were they right. You could tell how versatile he was with his instrument because after every song or so, he would switch up his guitar to get them re-tuned. My favorite part of the concert had to be when he brought up six kids from this year's summer camp to sing and play with him their favorite song. It was amazing seeing kids living their dream on stage in front of more than 1,000 fans. All in all, I can't wait for Keith Urban to come back to Los Angeles so that I can take/drag Lucas to see him perform!

Ho'olaule'a

Ho`olaulea comes about every third week in July and is a huge Hawaiian festival of the arts, foods and merchandise of the islands that is sponsored by the Hawaiian Inter-Club Council of Southern California. This year, after two years of attending as guests, Mahina and I went as workers. Mahina's halau volunteered with a local Hawaiian civic community to work the food booth baking Manapuas, Shoyu Chicken, Chow Mein and Wontons. As with most strenuous outings, if Mahina was "volunteered" to go, so was I. We spent most of both Saturday and Sunday serving up fresh Manapuas and lunch plates galore. Hawaiians lived up to their name and consumed their fair share and then some of the food we were serving

When we were dishing out food faster than we could make it, Mahina and I wandered around the fair grounds checking out the latest and greatest Hawaiian merchandise on display. Mahina was slowly making eyes with an ukulele and sending hints my way that she wanted to take up lessons as part of her Halau lessons and dancing. Little did I know that she was also scheming to get me to take up the ukulele and develop some musical talents.

Sunday afternoon rolled around and after being nearly buried alive in food and grease we managed to escape. After one last heavy dose of hinting and nudging we made our way over to the Styles of Hawai`i booth and purchased a Concert Ukulele by Lanikai as well as a hard shell case "to protect from the dogs." As soon as we were in the car headed home, Mahina had it busted out and was fiddling with it excited to be learning to play a new instrument.

Sliding into Home

Just my luck, I got suckered into another book signing; this time though I made sure that Mahina went and got a wristband, because there was no way I waiting in the standby line again. Luckily when Mahina got there they were handing out Letter F wristbands, but someone came back to turn their Letter A wristband in because they couldn't make it. From the back to the front, things were starting to look up in our book signing life.

This time we knew what time to arrive and got there with plenty of time to spare. Even though there were already plenty of people in line Mahina's Letter A whisked us away to the top of the queue. We both had horrible flashbacks thinking of Tori's book signing and remembering how long we sat around and waited so we could empathize with all the people sitting around and waiting.

Minutes before the event was to begin you could feel the sense of excitement building as people stared at the side entrace where Kendra and her entourage would enter from, look away for a second and you could miss the first glimpse. Girls screamed and the flash bulbs buzzed as Kendra made her entrance. By this time we had only been in line for maybe 30 minutes so we were feeling really good

After a short question and answer session, the signing began. 20 minutes later we were at the front of the line as Mahina fretted over what to talk with Kendra about. As she walked up, her trust back-up topic sprang to mind; Hawai`i! Kendra and her husband Hank had just vacationed there! With a sign of relief they chatted about Hawai`i and which hotel they had stayed at comparing pools and tanning spots.

Sugarland Concert... Again!!!

I know what you're thinking, "what, another concert?" Yes, 2010 has been the year of the concerts and exploring everything that Los Angeles has to offer. Lucas, being that he has his I.T. background, is always in charge of technology; whether it be our phones, our computers or our cameras.  With this in mind, what do you think could have possibly gone wrong? No, he didn't forget the camera, he just forgot the MEMORY CARD for it!  My husband; gotta love him.

Seeing Sugarland again has just solidified the fact that they are my favorite band.  I think they might also be growing on Lucas too.  William Hoge and Michelle Branch opened for Sugarland and they did not disappoint any of the fans as we all anxiously waited for Sugarland to come on stage.  Everyone sang along with Michelle when she sang Everywhere and All You Wanted, her hits.

Once Sugarland got on stage, the night flew by.  My favorite songs from them right now have to be All I Want to Do (Which is my ringtone) and Wide Open from their new CD that releases on October 19th (Yes, I know when it comes out).  I really wished that the night wouldn't end and that they would continue to sing.  I had Lucas save our less than 30 shots that we could take with our camera's memory for Sugarland. Thank gosh he got some great shots!

Can't wait to see them again!

uncharted terriTORI

Mahina had heard through the grapevine that Tori Spelling was going to be having a book signing at the Barnes and Nobles at the Grove. Being the Tori and Dean fan that she is, this obviously meant that we would be attending said book signing. Being our first ever book signing, we were clueless as to how these things worked. Knowing that the book signing was at 7:00pm we cleverly decided that 6:00pm would be an appropriate time to arrive; best to get there early right? Wrong.

These book signings are a production. People had gone to the Grove earlier that morning specifically to get a wristband to avoid the afternoon line; this smells like trouble. Needless to say, despite our early arrival at 6:00pm we were in the standby group. Book signings have set number of meet and greets and it wasn't guaranteed that being in the standby group would get you a "John Hancock." But the word on the street was that Tori was a "great book signer" and would stay until the last fan got an autograph. Good news for us.

Being the adventurer that I am, I thought it wise to bring the dogs with us so that they could walk around the Grove while Mahina waited in line for a little bit to get her book signed; ya, that idea was out the window. So the dogs and I walked around for a little bit and then they went to hang out in the car (Don't worry people, parking structure + cool night = safe dogs).

Mahina quickly made friends with the people in front of us in line and was having a grand 'ole time chatting it up while I was left to fend for myself in a line that wasn't going anywhere fast. When Tori, Dean, the kids and the entourage arrived there was a lot of excitement and flash bulbs going off as the paparazzi and fans alike tried to snap a picture of the celebrity family. At 7:30pm they were on Letter J, by 9:30pm they were still on Letter J. Combine "celebrity-time" with kids and you've got a recipe for a late running show. We'd reached the point though where we had been in line for so long already that what was a little longer to get the book signed; turns out a little longer turned into another 2 hours. By the time Mahina had made it to the front of the line Dean and the kids had departed (a spectacle in and of itself), but Tori and her entourage including Mehran trudged on through the night. Mahina and Tori chatted about how Tori's nick name for Mehran is Mahina or Meenah. Sadly just a few minutes before both of our phones died so the picture of Mahina and Tori was taken by Mahina's new found friend in line and even more unfortunately we never got a copy of it.

But rest assured my feet and disdain for waiting in line at Barnes and Noble can attest to the fact that we spent a solid 5 hours in line at Tori's book signing. Lucky for me Mahina already had her eye on the next big book signing... Kendra Wilkinson.

Run for the Trees for the Amazon Foundation

Along with our quest to really "experience" Los Angeles, we have also decided to participate in Runs/Walk in the area to support good causes and to get back in shape.  Our first event that we signed up for was the 5K Run for the Trees for the Amazon Foundation.

The Amazon Foundation was established in 2009 to acquire and to preserve large tracts of the Amazon rain forest in their natural state in order to maintain its ecological function, biodiversity, and climatologic function and to protect the region's long-term ecological viability and to create global awareness for the cause via marketing campaigns and charitable events.  No, I did not come up with that sentence, it is their mission statement and on their website.

Overall, it was a great experience, and I say "great" loosely because I spent the rest of the day tired, sore, and napping in bed while Lucas was laying on the couch in his own pain.  Hahaha.

One Year Anniversary - Cruise to Mexico!!!

The way we saw it, 365 days of marriage entitled us to a quick vacation. True to our recent vacation history we opted for a quick skip and a hop down to Mexico on a 3-day cruise stopping in Ensenada.

The Carnival Paradise departed LA on Friday the 11th and would ultimatly bring us back to reality early Monday the 14th. We got to Long Beach mid-afternoon and luckily beat the rush of people behind us to get onboard. Unlike on our honeymoon the embarkation process was a breeze with no technology issues to hold us up. The Paradise was essentially the same as the Victory that we sailed on last year just a bit smaller. Our cabin was the very front room on the port side, instead of a window our room came with 2 portholes lookng out onto the water. The portholes actually ended up being one of our favorite features of the room (the other being that the bed was two twin size mattresses pushed together - an ocean of room compared to our full sze bed).

We spent the first afternoon walking around the ship and just unwinding from a busy work week until it was time for dinner and for the ship to set sail. The trip wound up being our first experience eating with fellow passengers (last year they gave us a table for 2) and we wound up meeting some great people at our table: Nils and Katrina, from Utah, and Brooke and John from Fresno.

The only thing on our schedule for the weekend was a tour of the Bufadora (one of 3 blow holes in the world) and a tour of one of Mexico's oldest wineries, Santo Tomas. On the walk to see the Bufadora we came across a kiosk for an animal reserve in Mexico. As a gimmick for donations, they would allow you to take a photo with a baby lion or tiger ($20) or both ($35). Mahina and Brooke were in heaven at the idea of holding a tiger and a lion. Before they knew it they each had a baby lion or tiger in their arms, as John and I stood by with camera in hand.

We spent the rest of the morning checking out the winery and tasting an assortment of their wines. The winery has been producing award winning wine since the late 1800s and the winery is one of the only wineries to be run by a woman. We were able to not only try, but also buy some great wine.

Back on the ship, we all took advantage of the opportunity to just relax and unwind. The weather, while overcast for the entire trip, was still pleasant enough for us to enjoy the outside decks of the ship. That night we went to the ship's first show of the weekend which was loosely based on a western. Mahina also found and quickly became addicted to each evening's Bingo game. Although we never ended up winning any of the Bingo games we came pretty darn close.

Sunday, Mahina had found out about a backstage tour of the ship as our "at sea excursion." The tour took us through the kitchen, the laundry facilities, the engine control room, the bridge and also behind the scenes of the ship's performance stage. It was a great chance to see the behind-the-scenes of this huge cruise ship and get an insight into the day-to-day lives of the staff and crew on board.

Our weekend was a huge success for us - we got the chance to relax and enjoy ourselves for the weekend while celebrating our 1 year anniversary - and we got to meet some great new friends. Hopefully we'll be on our next cruise sooner rather than later.

Tim McGraw and Lady Antebellum Concert

Yes, we know what you are all thinking.  Another concert?  2010 has been the year of concerts for us on our quest to immerse ourselves in festivals, concerts and everything mainland/Los Angeles.  We know that at some point we will be moving back to Hawaii and won't get to do this stuff there.  Let's be honest, why would a country music artist come to the islands of Hawaii?

As for the concert, it was once again a great time! Like our Sugarland concert, we travel a ways to see them, all the way to the San Manuel Amphitheater.  A small band called Love and Theft opened the show with a surprisingly great set list to kick off the night.  Once Lady Antebellum hit the stage, the crowd went wild.  From start to finish, they were not stop energy and talent.  When they sang "Need You Now," everyone was on their feet screaming and singing all the words; I think even the band was surprised how "country" Southern California could be.

As for the main act, Tim McGraw did not disappoint.  He rocked the house all night to about 25 songs.  Lucas and I were surprised that he still had a voice after belting song after song like it was his first. My favorite part of the concert had to be when he slowed down the house and talked to the audience about buy his first guitar.  He was 18 when he pawned his class ring for a guitar so that he could not become famous, but to "get laid."  How Funny!  Lucas' favorite part of the show by far was when Tim McGraw sang "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John and brought on a little girl in the front section to dance with him.  It was a great night!

Glee Live!!! in Concert

With the Glee phenomenon sweeping the nation and capturing my heart it was clear we had a one-way ticket to the concert with the original cast. We got Bailey and Aunt Karen on board to come with us and Bailey's friend Riley came along too. Riley, Bailey, Lucas and I had a lot of fun at the concert (The girls might have enjoyed themselves a bit more).  We made sure to sing along to all the songs, while Lucas naturally became the photographer of the "grand" event.  As I looked around the Gibson Amphitheatre, I saw the same "glee" on Lucas' face as many of the other fathers/husbands/boyfriends had.  Most of them probably didn't want to be caught dead in that place but there was a mutual understanding between them that they were being "supportive" by being dragged there.

Daughtry and Lifehouse Concert and Lucas' New Job

Fresh off of the Sugarland concert, I planned a Girls Night with some girls at work to go to the Daughtry and Lifehouse concert at the Nokia Theater.  That venue was one of the best indoor venues I have ever been to because of how acoustically sound it was.  We started off the night by grabbing dinner at Rock'N Fish where I had one of the best crabcake burgers I have ever had!

We entered the concert at the perfect time, minutes before Lifehouse came on stage.  Boy, did they start the night on a good note.  After Lifehouse played their setlist, everyone was waiting anxiously for the grand entrance of Daughtry.  The whole concert was completely overshadowed by the encore; the main singers from Lifehouse and Daughtry sang a duet mash-up of their most popular songs, You and Me and Home.  It was by far the highlight of the concert and made the whole audience wishing the concert wouldn't end.

Also on the same day, Lucas started his new job at American Golf.  We are so happy and excited for this change and with this new job.  Now we can't wait to learn how to golf.  If anyone has some pointers, please let us know!

Sugarland Concert = Best Concert Ever

We were off to Bakersfield, of all places, to see Sugarland in concert. Mahina had been talking about seeing them perform since they were on tour with and opening for Keith Urban. We finally managed to score some seats and hit the road for the long drive to the middle of no where. 

Once we made it, we immediately realized that we were about to be in the midst of a very rambunctious, beer guzzling crowd. But as soon as the concert started Sugarland took over and rocked the stage. They had incredible stage presence and were extremely enthusiastic throughout the whole show. There isn't a whole lot more to say about the show - Sugarland was incredible and put on a great show. It was nice to see an artist who spent a lot of time throughout and after the show signing fan memorabilia and gave one lucky fan a signed guitar. 

If you can check out the show, we highly recommend it!  We had such a great time at the concert, that we actually bought tickets to another one of their concerts in Los Angeles in July.  Stay tuned for that post!