Just put it on my tab, Officer

Holy. We are terrible bloggers. We can explain though. The Honolulu Police Dept and Hawaii Judicial Circuit has kept us pretty busy for the past three weeks. But no matter, listen up and we'll weave you a tale which won't soon be forgotten.

First off, thanks to the $4 Driver's Ed book we purchased at Long's Drug, we passed the written test and now all have legit HAWAII Driver's Licenses.

Ya know what, I'm overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things to fill you in on, so i'm just gonna have to list. Stinks?

-Eternity beach tunnel and cave.

-Massage Mondays and Mexican Food

-Surfed with the professional surfers ("The WolfPak's out today and they're pretty aggressive...")

-Skydived on the North Shore

-Paddled out to an island inhabited with baby sea lions and demon-child sea birds

-More bugs

-Narrowly avoided getting in a fight with two big Hawaiian men and had a run in with the cops.

-MGMT concert FO FREE! (plus a little crowd surfing)

-Brendan got a mullet

-Matsumoto's shave ice on North Shore

-Blazed a trail up the side of Diamond Head Crater 

-Snorkeled caves in Shark's Cove

-Wesley Phillips came and kicked it here for a week (Holla Holla) 

-Snorkeled Haunama Bay again ("Here I have plenty, please don't feed me!)

-Ate at Haleiwa Shrimp Shack

-Moped rental round two on the North Shore

-Shredded the gnar at Pipeline and Backdoor on the North Shore

-Climbed up a freakin mountain in the clouds on the Koolau Range, fell off a cliff at the same mountain on the Koolau Range

-Eradicated the reef with some more spear fishing

-Piled up a potential $11,990 in fines, plus 2 years in jail, and six months of license suspension for various illegalities including but not limited to: jaywalking, prohibited entry into a Wildlife Reserve, driving a motor vehicle without insurance, trespassing, driving without registration, invalid safety check, expired vehicle tax, tags out of date, and illegal parking. (It's been taken care of, no worries braddah.)

-Bought plane tickets to the Big Island two days before leaving

-Slept in the Red Bull because we no longer had an apartment

-Sold the Red Bull for $200 and the promise of another $100 in the mail (don't hold your breath) to a Brazilian man named Marsello (love him like your own child, Marsello)

-Flew to the Hilo on the Big Island

-Hitch-hiked approximately 20 times in the course of 3 days

-Watched a river of lava flowing into the ocean in the middle of the night... truly unbelievable

-Bought $138 worth of warm clothing at Wal-Mart and returned it the next day

-Climbed Mauna Kea (the tallest mountain in the WORLD!! i'm not kidding, wikipedia that junk)

-Met some super-sweet hippies 

-Camped on the beach, slept on various floors and porches

-Almost missed our flights back home 4 times. We were freakiiiin out.

-Got back to Clemson in one piece, and on to Charleston in the morning. 

As the summer draws to a close, we want to thank you for all of the support you've given and the fact that some people actually take to the time to read this thing.  Looking back, we can say without the slightest hesitation that every day was lived to the fullest, that every moment was an adventure, and that friendships and memories were made that will last a lifetime and longer.  We love all of you and give all the thanks and glory to God. 

Aloha and Mahalo,

The Family

THE END

Nalo... Straight Nalo continued

Psychy-bo-bikey! I'm not done yet. The previous blog post was actually from all of the angels residing at 748 Isenberg Street Apt H.  And so is this one. That is all. You stay Nalo, friends.

-The Family

Nalo... Straight Nalo

Hola, bonjour, hallo, salaam alekum, shalom, and all that good stuff. We've missed you, millions of faithful blog readers! Lindsey graciously handed over the controls of the blog to me for just this one time (she's too tired to type), so here goes nothing. The last time that we checked in, we had just received a new member of the family in the form of The Red Bull, and since then SOOOO much has happened. After Julia left us (sigh...), we bummed around the apartment for a couple of days recovering from Julia's Going-Away Bash Week of activities. Last Thursday, we celebrated the joyous occasion of Kenj-Monster's Birthday!! Hurray, she's 16! Just kidding, but seriously...  Anyway, we began our day of celebrating by treating Kendra to some all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. Then, we rented 4 Mopeds and began a road trip of the island (can you say tourists?).  It was a blast! We took them up the East Shore of the island and saw some beautiful beaches and mountain views including Waimanalo (Nalo~ nah-lo  adj. 1. the condition of being straight thug or gangster.  2. cool, fresh.  "T.I. is such a Nalo Hustla!"), Makapu'u beach where we bodysurfed, and Kailua. We even stuck it to the man and took the mopeds outside of boundaries set by the rental agency. I know what you're thinking, we're so Nalo. That night, sunburnt and happy, we went out to dinner at Senor Frog's, gave our Kendra her presents which included a calendar of exotic Men of the Islands and a pimp chalice which said "Kenj-Daddy" in rhinestones and aluminum foil, and tried to go clubbing which ended up being unsuccessful (due to Brendan's demolished ID), but in no way was it a let down to the ending of a wonderful day. Happy Birthday Kendra!  The next day began a little more disappointingly. We obviously hadn't been giving The Red Bull the attention he deserved, so he went and broke on us. Four days, a 4th of July spent at auto parts stores, and $250 later, a sketchy guy named Pat or Pete or something that Brendan and  I met in a parking lot had The Red Bull backing in fighting shape again.  The past few days have been kind of a whirlwind consisting of Club Zanzabar, some 5 AM bedtimes, some 8:30 AM wake-up calls, and several other adventures. Ah! I almost forgot about our visitors!  We have been blessed to be graced by the presences of Crosby and Pam Ruff for the past 3 days.  Needless to say, they are AWESOME.  Several family dinners, some oh-my-freak hilarious stories, a trip to the North Shore, and a CUTCO cutlery demonstration later, we had to say goodbye to the Ruff parents as they left this morning to head back to SC.  They were gracious enough let us crash in their air-conditioned and hot-tub bearing hotel suite for a few nights, so we've been living it up like kings and queens. Tomorrow, we head for the Hawaii DMV to take our written driving tests to get Hawaii Licenses and become legit locals (which way do I turn the wheels when I'm parked downhill on a curb again?). Wish us luck! Goodbye everybody, we miss yall and we'll blog again soon. Aloooooha!

-Will Phil

Goodbye Julia. Hello Red Bull.

So last week was Julia's last week with us, therefore, we had to accomplish as much as possible before she left...here it goes....

We went to Makapuu and hiked up the mountain to a lighthouse after the hike we ended up climbing down the side of the mountain to blow holes, which were amazing. On this particular day, we may or may not have set a record for hitchhiking. 4 times in one day!!! whoops. 

The next day the boys and Julia and I headed towards the north shore where we spent the day at Waimea Bay. The boys went spear fishing and swam with giant sea turtles. It was a beautiful day that ended off with dinner and a sunset. Kendra met us up in Hale Iwa after she got off work and we went camping on the beach under the stars. We fell asleep as we watched the moon set and gazed at the mass amounts of stars. We woke up and headed for the DOLE plantation! We attempted the worlds largest maze, yet were too tired to finish it. whoops. 

Kendra and Brendan headed to work and Will and I surprised Julia at the airport. It was sad but we said our goodbyes with a lei and hugs. :( 

Well, this next adventure might be brief...

Due to the time and energy wasted getting around the island, it was much needed that we have a car. Therefore, the boys surprised us with a red minivan that they bought from a man named Bull. So we named the van red bull. Thats all we can really say. 

The past few days we have just been catching up on our sleep for our next adventure and for the fam to come out on the 4th. what a week. 

love, 

lindsey, brendan, kendra, and will.   

The Weekend + Monday

Friday.

When we left you last we were headed to the beach, not only to catch some rays, but also to catch some waves! Lindsey and I learned how to surf, and it may not have been extraordinarily successful, but we surfed and had a blast! Before heading to the beach we surprised Brendan at work with a visit from his favorite roommates! However, we decided not to dress up in costumes for this occasion, and he was thoroughly disappointed. 

After our long day of surfing we decided what better way to ease our aching bodies than with all you can eat pancakes! We headed to a local coffee/pancake house and four orders (each) later, we may have been regretting our decision. It was a bittersweet night in the life of Will Phillips because while we were eating pancakes a hoodlum decided to steal Will's surfboard from right outside the restaurant! Lame.

Saturday.

Good Bye Luke! Sadly our friend, Luke, had to leave the island so therefore we threw him a surprise going away party in our lovely apartment. It was filled with homemade banners and personalized cookies. The boys went on one last adventure before he had to leave and then we all watched a movie. That boy is dope. 

Sunday. 

Happy Fathers Day! We miss our Dads! We went to church at One Love where we met Lukes other friends...since it was Fathers Day, hula dancers performed a graceful and beautiful dance for the dads. After church we all hopped in the Vannagan, Grants sweet ride. The boys hiked Maunawili. Where they witnessed beautiful waterfalls. That night we sent Luke off to the airport, sad. We finished the night off as tourist in Waikiki and ate a delicious dinner together where they leid us. 

We are currently on the lookout for a van to excentuate our trip. 

Love From Apartment H. 

Wednesday && Thursday

Wednesday.

Lindsey and I (Julia) decided to start our day early with a trip to the Aloha Flea Market where we found endless amounts of junk with the occasional treasure hidden amongst the mess. After a long morning of exploring the flea market we worked up an appetite and decided to get some grub before our snorkeling trek!!! We enjoyed a delicious meal with Luke and Will, and then a friendly man in a sketchy unmarked van offered to take us to Hanauma Bay. He told us $5, and we said no thanks, and then he came back and said $3 and we said okay!

We arrived safely at Hanauma Bay and were ready to hit the reef! It was so much fun snorkeling, and we forgot to mention our most important purchase of the morning was snorkeling gear from the flea market! Needless to say our masks leaked but we saw so many beautiful fish, and even got to swim with/pet/chase giant sea turtles! It was a great day.

After making a delicious meal at home after a long adventurous day, we walked to a nearby field to enjoy the stars once again amongst the glow of the city lights. 

Thursday. 

Lindsey's summer class led her on a trek up to North Shore to embrace different cultures at the Hawaiian Polynesian Cultural Center. Kendra and Will decided to accompany her on her journey and hit the beach while Lindsey enjoyed her learning experience. She felt like the ultimate tourist, but really enjoyed her day of learning and she can even crack open a coconut all by herself! If you would like a hula dancing demonstration Lindsey is your girl. 

While the others were enjoying a day in North Shore, Julia and Brendan studied, worked, surfed, and almost played tennis. It was a great day!

Thursday night came fast and ended up being like most nights around the apartment where everyone falls asleep in the living room on the floor.

Well today is Friday and it looks like were heading to the beach so be on the look out for our next blog! We miss everyone and send our love and some Aloha Spirit along your way!

Julia. Lindsey. Kendra. William. Brendan. 

will, we beg you to get rid of your mattress.

Highlights from Oahu: 

After missing our bus stop we had to walk 2 miles in the opposite direction to hit up Sandy Beach. The waves were bigger than ever (20 feet) and we were thoroughly entertained as bodies were tossed in the swell. You know your local when your at the beach all day and have 30 minutes to make it to work across an island. Therefore hitchhiking was a necessity this time, (as most times it is). Kendra and Will made a new friend, Justin and he happily drove them home safe and sound. 

After a long day at the beach we decided what better way to end the night than with a little club hoppin...

So we jumped right into our city life and hit up the clubs, thats right...Zanzibar night club. Four hours later we head home after enjoying a classy evening of gettin our groove on. Dear all moms reading this, don't judge us for our endeavors, you taught us well!

The next eventful night brought the boys dressing up in gypsy clothes (thank you Devika) to have a delicious dinner and to be hosted by Kendra. Yes, we embarrassed her immensely as she worked and it was so worth it! 

The weekend was somewhat uneventful filled with working and food poisoning, however, we managed to end it well. It all started with an unexpected spotting of Wee Man (pro skateboarder, viva la bam, and other movies) he is short and funny. So we just chilled with him on the beach. Well not really, but he was near by. 

Have we mentioned how bold, daring, and adventurous the boys are? Well some may call it that, but we question what goes on in their brain sometimes. It all started with costumes (just wait for the new picture posts). To make a long story short, the boys leaped from a little ledge into a little pool while wearing one piece swimsuits, snorkeling gear, and capes. It was comical and beyond ridiculous. 

Family dinner took its course tonight and MY OH MY it was ONO (hawaiian terminology for delicious). We popped the Martinellis, said a little toast and enjoyed a lovely evening star gazing past the city lights. 

 

On to our next adventures to come...

Sidenote: If you are wanting new knives or cutlery please contact William Phillips at your best conveinence and he will gladly arrange appointments and get you the hook up!