Christopher's Blog

I can't wait!!! Tomorrow I will be on my way to Toronto. Although it is a long trip, I will betimes be with Terri Lynn and her family. Next thing you know, her sister will be married. Both daughters in four months ... wow! After the wedding, we plan to spend a few days at the Thomas' cottage. It will definitely be a nice break from all the hustle and bustle of Japan. I do wish, though, that it would have worked out for us to go to my cousins wedding too. BEST WISHES KEOLA AND ANNA ... AND CONGRADULATIONS!!! Then two weeks from now, we will be back in Japan.

Terri Lynn is traveling today. She is going to Ontario, Canada for her sisters wedding. Please pray for safe travels.

This will be our first time apart since we got married. I'll miss her. I fly to Toronto next Thursday. It is going to be a fun trip. I am looking forward to spending more time with her family.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (April 3-5)

These were the "meeting the extended family" days and the "exploring the island" days. On Tuesday Terri Lynn and I woke up early for a morning jog then we had breakfast up at her cabin with her family. After breakfast we took a hike up Kahili Mountain's ridge trail which started just a few steps from our cabins. It was a very beautiful hike.

After the hike we headed out west to Mt. Kokee and the Waimea Canyon. We drove all the way to the end but there was nothing but fog. On the way down the mountain we stoped at some lookouts to see a few waterfalls.

Then for a picnic dinner and an evening swim we headed out to Polihali which is the farthest west the road goes on the island.

On Wednesday the whole gang went to the north shore to relax and snorkle at Tunnels beach. The waves were a little bigger than normal making it a little difficult to snorkle, but it was fun anyway. Brandon, my older brother, arrived on Kauai. Then on the way back home from the north shore we stoped at another lookout to see another waterfall.

Then on Thursday morning we all went to Gaylords for brunch. After bruch everyone split up to do their own thing. Terri Lynn and I went to scope out the beach that we chose as the place we would get married. The rest of my reletives arrived on the island. In the afternoon we had a picnic at Poipu beach then Terri Lynn and I met up with aunty Denny and uncle Tise--people I've known my whole life.

Everything went extremely well. We felt very loved with all the support we received. Both of our families are so awesome.

Monday, April 2

Late Sunday evening I checked my itinerary one last time to make sure I had all the times for my flight correct. In my mind I had thought that my flight left at 7 pm. I knew that I would arrive on Kauai around 10:30 am and meet Terri Lynn at the airport, but wasn't exactly sure what time I left Japan. When I looked at my departure time it said 0700. Since it was about midnight ad I still wasn't packed at all, I just about freaked out. I looked online to see what time I would have to catch the train to the airport and found out that the earliest train would get me there at 7:30 am. I called a couple friends to see if they could drive me there but the best option seemed to be just to drive myself and pay $250 for parking. I frantically packed my bags, took a shower then just to make sure I went online to check the departure time again--7:00 pm. What a relief! In the Navy 0700 is 7 am and 1900 is 7 pm. I know that United Air is not military but why did they put 0700 with no am or pm on my itinerary?

Anyway, after a 6.5 hour flight from Tokyo, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, I checked in to my connection flight to Kauai. Because my flight from Japan was so early, I was able to catch the 8:10 flight instead of the 10:00 flight. After two hours of waiting and pacing, my mom and Terri Lynn arrived at the airport with a nice plumeria lei.

From the airport I took Terri Lynn to Kipu Falls because it used to be one of my favorite spots on the island. 10 years ago it was a local secret but now there were about 20 other tourist's there. This is where I wanted to officially propose to her but I didn't want to do it in public so I took her behind the falls where no one could see us. There, with water everywhere, I asked her to marry me. Although I knew the answer, I was still very nervous. After I asked her we had a picnic lunch at the falls then went back in to town to the governors office to apply for a marriage license. After that we met up with Pastor Dennis Miller for our one session of marriage counseling and also talked about what we wanted the wedding to be like. When we were finished talking to the pastor, we went to Kahili Adventist Park to meet up with our families at their cabins. It was really nice that pretty much the whole wedding party was able to get cabins for the week there. It was fun finally meeting all the people I have heard so much about from Terri Lynn.

Terri Lynn and I at Kipu Falls.

Keola, my cousin, on the porch of our cabin.

More wedding pictures are posted if you want to check them out. Just click on the pictures link.