My BFF is getting married!

Congrats Casey and Tim! I cannot wait to plan this wedding!

How he asked her. So clever!

The "she said yes" after picture!

Love them!

Congrats guys!

Lynch's take CT Day 8

Chris was itching to go back to his house and spend more QT with his parents, and I don't blame him, so I told him to take the car and that my parents would meet him halfway on Saturday to drop me off so we could take our nephews apple picking (I just love Fall!).


I was a little bummed, but it actually worked out for the better. My sister was home from school because she doesn't have class on Fridays so we actually got to powwow together. We hit up our fav local breakfast spot Rickly's, and then we spent the day shopping. We went to TJ Maxx, Marshall's and Target. I got lots of great fall stuff for my house (shh! Don't tell Chris). 


By the time we were done shopping, we were quite hungry so I FINALLY got to go to my FAVORITE  grocery store (sorry WholeFoods): Stew Leonard's. We ate some free samples (the best part of the whole store), picked up some apple cider and cider donuts (best purchase of the day) and picked up several slices of pizza for lunch: Cheese, pepperoni, Buffalo chicken, and my personal fav. chicken Parm!

Since she had to work a shift at the Cheesecake Factory, we had to be home by 3 so she could get ready for work. With a little time on my hands before meeting my two BFFs, Casey and Mike, for a drink at Down the Hatch, which is just a short walk from my house, I threw in a load of laundry.


Like clockwork, just has the laundry buzzed to tell me to move it into the dryer, my friends called me and told me they had just gotten to Down the Hatch. I love it when a plan comes together. It was nice to sit and chat with a gorgeous view of the lake. 


Feeling a little buzzed, a bay breeze and two Twisted Teas will do that to a girl, my mom called to tell me they were hungry and to get my butt home!


I said goodbye to my friends, which is always hard, and made my way back home. My frown was quickly turned upside down when my mom asked me if I wanted to go to my favorite Portuguese restaurant for dinner: the Atlantic! Woohoo! Side note, the owner of the place actually married Chris and I because she is a longtime family friend and her son went through ROTC with Chris =)


Man we ate like kings. I got Portuguese spinach soup and Portuguese style pork loin chops. Vovo got my other fav. spicy, garlic shrimp.

Casey Comes to Town Day 6

This marks Casey’s last full day in Hawaii — tear —. Donning our bathing suits we got up early, per the usual, and drove to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling. Welp I am moron and totally forget the bay is closed on Tuesdays! I felt awful, but we were able to hike along it and we got some pretty great pictures of it.

Since our original morning plan fell through, I took Casey to get her history on at the USS Arizona Memorial. This place gives me the goose bumps. We saw the USS Bowfin, a submarine, and the Arizona, a very chilling place.

With my military ID I was able to take her to Ford Island, where the movie Pearl Harbor was filmed and where the actual attack took place. We were on our way to take a tour of the Battleship Missouri when I remembered that there was another ship memorial, the USS Utah, that tourists can’t get to because it’s in a housing area. It doesn’t get nearly as many visitors as the Arizona, so we went to pay our respects.

I have done the tour of the Missouri before, but being a history buff myself I didn’t mind hearing the stories again.

Our stomaches started grumbling and just in the nick of time, our tour ended! Since we didn’t get the chance to get wet earlier, I took her to my second favorite beach the lagoons at Ko olina. Heading over there worked out great because we could score lunch with a view, sun bathe, snorkel and we would beat the traffic home because it’s only a few exits from my house.

After a day of lounging at the lagoons, we had to head home early and get ready for a luau! I took her to Paradise Cove’s luau, because they make good Mai tais, the location is to die for and they offer stuff to do before the show. Plus it’s the only one I have gone to, but even after seeing it five times, I still like it.

We learned how to wear and tie a sarong, dance the hula, how to open a coconut, how to play Hawaiian games and how to make bracelets and head pieces out of flowers and grasses. We even got to ride in an out rigger canoe!

The luau was the perfect way to end our week together.

Casey Comes to Town Day 5

I had to work a half day on Monday to read as much content as possible because I felt bad taking the next two days off.

As soon as my computer clock read 12:00, I was outta there! I picked up Casey and went spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on Sunset Beach, which is home to many of our surf competitions.

Relaxing in the sun is hard work and we deserved a margarita … or two! We had dinner at Cholo’s in the North Shore Marketplace. In terms of Mexican food, I’ve had way better but it manages to hit the spot.

My shrimp tacos.

Casey's Taco Salad.

One our tequila buzz wore off, it was time to hit the road. Once we got home we watched another movie, Arthur. A nice way to end the day.

Casey Comes to Town Day 4

I think this is the first day we actually slept pass 7! The first stop on my tour was the Dole plantation. We walked around the shop, they have some decent stuff inside and got a pineapple whip drink. Yummy and refreshing! We walked around and saw pineapples from around the world, fed the crazy koi fish and took some funny pics.

We skipped the pineapple maze and the pineapple express train ride because it wasn’t something we both wanted to spend time doing.

On to Haleiwa!

I was in need of caffeine so we stopped at my favorite coffee house before we started the drive. Here our some pictures of our North Shore adventure.

Hanuma Bay.

Shark's Cove.

Where the last competition in Soul Surfer was filmed.

Since we were in the area, we stopped at Turtle Bay so I could show her where they filmed Soul Surfer and Saving Sarah Marshall.

We had to cut our day short because we were going on an "Open Mouse" tour of Disney's Aulani Resort! Since Chris was away, I took Casey as my plus one and we got a sneak peak of the place before it opens on Aug. 19. This place is amazing and I cannot wait to spend our two year, anniversary staycation here in Sept! One of the highlights was we got to meet, Minnie, Mickey, Stictch, Donald and Goofy!

After a long day of driving and photo ops we stopped at Safeway to pick up some items for dinner. I made a chicken and tomato pasta dish with garlic bread and we watched Soul Surfer. Pretty good day if you ask me.