Some Good News!

There is some good news here in the Ellsworth home!

1) We got the apartment we looked at last Sunday! We are so excited to move in. It's a little expensive, but we will be fine...and that's because of the other good news I have!

2) WE BOTH GOT JOBS! Hallelujah. I actually have two jobs for right now... but will go down to one when school starts.


So, we are excited about the housing situation being solved AND the job situation. They both happened in the same week too. Lucky us! The apartment is literally right next door so that will make moving really easy which is good because we are both tired of moving. We're ready to settle down somewhere for a while. No more living out of suitcases! Our jobs are at the same restaurant, Kahuku Grill, so that's nice too. We are only in the training phase right now, but by next week we should be up and running. My second job is only three mornings a week right now but starting December 14 it will be every morning. I am basically a caretaker/maid for this elderly lady (Jeanne). It's really......fun. She is kind of (actually really) grumpy a lot of the time so it makes it kind of hard. It's a challenge some days. But she is really nice when she's in a good mood! I am working with two other girls right now and they are awesome. I really like them both. Both girls are leaving for Christmas though which is why I got the job. We basically clean Jeanne's mansion and do whatever else she needs us to do. She rides this little motorized scooter around the house and tells us what to do. It's really kind of funny actually. Anyway, that's what I have been up to lately.


These past two weeks have been hard for us (mostly me). We don't have that much to do, even though its gotten better with the new jobs, so there has been a lot of idle time. Which has been making me really homesick. This holiday season will be a special one, as it may be the last time my family will all be together for a few years. So the idle time + that thought = me crying to Anthony a lot. hahaha I have gotten better in the last day or so, but it still brings tears to my eyes to think I will be missing out on precious family time this Christmas season. The only thing that makes it better is remembering that I have a husband, Heavenly Father, and family that love me no matter what. I look forward to the years ahead that we will get to spend together as a family. Other than the spurts of homsickness, we have been doing great! It's truly beautiful here and we are so blessed! Anthony and I were sitting and talking the other night about how everything has been working out so well for us since we got married and how grateful we are for the abundance of blessings! It really is true! We have been blessed beyond measure. We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for watching out for us.


I think that's probably enough from me! We are headed to the temple tonight for a little date before our crazy work filled weekend starts! I went once this week by myself and am so glad I did, even though I love going with Anthony too:) It is the perfect way to spend our spare time and get away, either together or apart, from the crazy world we live in. Also, I love that its only a 20-25 minute walk to get there!


We love you all!
xoxo

Birthday Weekend!

This weekend we got to celebrate Anthony's birthday together for the first time! Since his birthday was today (Sunday) we decided to celebrate with a little trip in to Honolulu last night. The whole weekend was a bit of a celebration actually, starting Friday. I will do a quick little recap for you all. I actually took some photos so I will share those too:)

Friday:
We spent most of the day at the beach (finally!!). We went to Waimea Bay with Anthony's mission buddy, Brad, and his fiance. It was a lot of fun! Anthony jumped off the rock, but I stayed on safe ground to take this picture:

When we were done at the beach we headed home to clean up and go out to a movie. We went to the local theater (only shows two movies at a time) and saw Rise of the Guardians. It was pretty good and definitely a cute kids movie. I would recommend to anyone looking for an excellent family movie!

Saturday:
We got started a little late Saturday but still had plenty of time to do what we wanted! We headed out to Honolulu in the early afternoon and made a stop at Pearl Harbor on the way. I remember going with my family a while ago and loving all the stuff they have preserved/found and put on display. There is a special and unique feeling of respect and honor at that memorial. I absolutely love it. We spent some time walking around the museums and taking in the scenery. It was a beautiful day which made it a really awesome experience all over again. We then headed to Waikiki beach to find a place to have Anthony's birthday dinner:) We ended up at CPK and had a lovely dinner people watching and hanging out together.

 Drive around the island to Pearl Harbor

 Sweet tunnel THROUGH the mountain

 Pearl Harbor

 Waikiki Sunset...so pretty!

Sunday:
Church for us starts at 10, which is a really nice time to have church. There were really good talks and lessons which was a great start to our day! We then came home and hung out for a little bit before going to check out another apartment. The place we have now is temporary and we have to be out by December 13 so we have been busy checking out other places. I really, really, liked the apartment we saw today. It's a hundred more than what we are paying now, but it's really close to school, clean, and has a full kitchen (a rare find out here). We are crossing our fingers we get the place. Anyway, we then skyped with my family since it is my sisters birthday today too. It was good to see everyone and hear whats new in their lives. Anthony got a phone call from his sister and mom and we are now watching Star Wars. Pretty exciting! haha. We both LOVE talking to family every Sunday, so it really was a perfect day!




That's all for our little weekend. It was one giant date! Oh, wait...that's our life right now! haha. I love my husband and am so glad he came into this world 24 years ago today. I am a lucky girl to have him in my life. Happy Birthday, Anthony!!

We love you guys!

xoxo

Thanksgiving 2012

Well, today was our first Thanksgiving together without family! It was kind of sad, but we actually had a good time anyway! A family from home, whose daughter actually went to preschool with me, was in town visiting their youngest daughter (who actually went to preschool with my younger sisters) here at BYU-H. They called us up yesterday to play some beach volleyball with them as a little pre-holiday get together. Then today we headed over to the house they are staying at for a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. It was so much fun! Sierra and I went to kindergarten together and didn't go to the same school again until we both attended BYU-I. We had so much fun these last two days laughing about crazy things that happened while we were in Idaho together. I am really glad Anthony got to know their family a little better too:) We are both incredibly thankful for the Poppleton family having us over this Thanksgiving. It was truly a blessing.

I am so grateful for this wonderful holiday when we have a chance to surround ourselves with those we love and reflect on all the things we are thankful for! Every year I remind myself that every day should be a day of giving thanks to our Heavenly Father for all that we have been given. Not a day should pass that we do not say thank you to the man who gave us everything.


I hope everyone had a safe and fun Thanksgiving with their loved ones! We miss our families and friends back home in San Diego, but know this is where we need to be right now. Anthony keeps reminding me that "the first month is the worst" when it comes to being homesick....I sure hope so! Again, we really do love you all! Come visit us! :)


xoxo

Run, Anthony, Run!

Since it's the end of the weekend I thought I should share what fun activities we did here on the island. Friday we ran around finishing up a few things on campus and went with our friends Meg and Marcus to Kahuku Grill to meet up with another couple they are friends with. We had plans to go to the same place for dinner on Saturday, so the four of us just had an order of fries. Which, may I just add, were DELICIOUS! Seriously, some of the best fries I have ever had. Needless to say, we were quite excited to go back the next night and try their burgers.

Saturday we woke up and caught the bus down to Haleiwa where the Vans Triple Crown was happening. We needed to find a few things and heard this was the best town to look around in. So that's what we did! We didn't even make it to the surf contest due to the bus schedule and rain. We had a lot of fun hanging out down there and exploring though! As it came time for us to leave, Anthony wanted to run into one last surf shop (only because they were having a sale). Of course he decides this as we are sitting at the bus stop, expecting the bus in 8 minutes. You can probably guess where this is going.... So, I am sitting at the bus stop, Anthony is in the surf shop, I don't have my wallet, he has BOTH bus passes and the money AND my phone......and the bus comes around the corner. (p.s. the bus stop and the surf shop were not exactly right next to each other) I start to look around wondering where the heck he went when I hear flip flops slapping against the cement. I turn and see Anthony running as fast as he can in his slippery sandals trying to get to the bus stop before the bus! hahaha! I laughed pretty hard, not going to lie. Only because I knew we would make it on that bus. Anyway, we made it home in time to get ready for our little double date. We had a really good time with Meg and Marcus. I am so grateful we found them! They are awesome! Oh, and the burgers at Kahuku Grill? SO GOOD. I hope you all come visit so we can take you there!!


Today was our first day in our new ward! It was a lot of fun and we are really excited to get to know everyone. We, again, feel so blessed to be here. Everyone is so kind and we are so excited for the adventures to come! Being so far from home can be a little difficult, but we know this is where we need to be at this time which makes it a little bit easier:)


Sorry no pictures this time! We love you all!!!


xoxo

Aloha!

Well, here's the first post on my new blog. Hopefully I will be better about posting on here than I was on my last blog. Oops.


Just to be clear, I am still adjusting to the whole "aloha" thing. I still say "Hi!" to everyone. hahaha. Aloha was just a fitting title for this post since it is the first one and we are in Hawaii.

Anyway, Anthony and I LIVE in Hawaii now. Weird, huh?! I don't think it has really hit us yet. We have been busy since getting here, which is good. We sure do love it though! Everyone is so nice, the beaches are beautiful, and the weather, well it doesn't go below 70!

Yeah, my kinda place.

I guess I better fill some people in on our short life together so far. We were married in the LDS temple in San Diego on August 17, 2012. We then moved into a guest house in Olivenhain, had to move out due to the house being sold, moved in with my parents, planned on moving to Utah, got accepted to BYU Hawaii, and made last minute plans to move to Oahu! That's the short version. So now, we are in Laie, Hawaii just loving every minute! So far we have registered for classes, walked all over this town, and meet up with new and old friends. There isn't much more to say about this beautiful place for now....things will get more interesting when we finally get settled. Right now we are just trying to get around the town/island and not get lost!


Here are some pictures from the last two days...I know my mom will enjoy these:)

 Pounders Beach

 Walking to campus

 Um, a MASSIVE snail. yikes.

Walking on the side of the highway to Pounders

So far, everything has gone smoothly since arriving and my brother has been so incredibly helpful in making sure we are settled. I am so, so, grateful for the opportunity Anthony and I have to be at this university. We have been blessed beyond measure in these first couple of months together. I know our Heavenly Father has a plan for us and I see his hand in our lives every single day. I am thankful for my husband and that I got to marry my best friend. There is no other person I would want next to me for eternity. I love the gospel. I love my Savior. I know He lives and loves us. I love my family and am SO grateful we can be together forever! I love you all and hope we always remember to enjoy the simple things in this life.

I promise my other posts will be more interesting:)

xoxo