The Big Island - Our First Trip as Mr. and Mrs. Evans

So this is a little late...but wanted to post some fun pics from our honeymoon trip to Hawaii.  After THE perfect wedding day a girl could ask for, Jake and I had a couple days before heading to Utah to say goodbye to Jake's brother, Austin, before he left on his mission to Cape Verde.  Then we drove down to Las Vegas to fly to Kona, Hawaii.  We were so blessed with the opportunity to go on such a fun, big trip for our honeymoon.

We flew in Thursday evening, and got to our condo around 9 of 10 pm. It was surreal to be there, but we were so excited to start our week there. One thing we should have put together, is that we didn't have any food that night...and all the stores close by were closed. and we had no car. haha so...that night...we had the complimentary bag of popcorn for dinner out of our room. lol We laughed at how pathetic it was of us that we had to eat popcorn. But literally nothing else was open. believe me, we checked.and walked up the hill to the shopping center to be sure. Too funny. So, bright and early we indulged in a breakfast at our resort.  It was delicious. And the view was beautiful, right on a golf course by the ocean.

Neither of us had been to the Big Island, and Jake had never been to Hawaii before at all, so it was a fun adventure for us to get to know the island and explore together.  We got colds right after getting there, so that kinda ruined our beach plans for a couple days, but the pool at the resort was gorgeous as well.  We stayed at the Kona Coast Resort.  After recovering from colds, we made the journey to the nearest beach.  We decided to walk there our first day....that was a mistake. haha it ended up being a couple miles down the road, and with flip flops and blistered feet we walked and walked. We were so excited to finally find the beach! haha Magic Sands was the beach, and we ended up going there majority of the week. It wasn't a huge beach, but it was the perfect body surfing/boogy boarding beach.  We had a blast, and the water was so perfect.

Some other fun things we got to do while we were there was a couples massage, with the sound of the ocean out the window, a delicious dinner at Rays on the Bay, where there were Manta Rays in the ocean right aside the dinner table, we went snorkeling and fed the fishes frozen peas, which were quite the hit! Jake was completely surrounded by fish! ( i kinda freaked out by it, lol) .  We also found the most amazing beach our last day we were there...we rented a car and drove about an hour north.  This beach was gorgeous and SO worth the drive. We saw the most beautiful sunset there, our last night on the island.

We finished the week eating another great meal, and then adventured back to the little airport to fly back home.  It was a great week, full of memories.  We loved being married, of course :) and then had some funny funny experiences that we'll never forget...Jake getting stung by a bee while we were driving down the highway, running into a coral parking curb with the rental car...the list goes on and on. It was a week I'll never forget. Although it was only about 4 months ago...it feels like it almost didn't happen! haha but we are so grateful we had the opportunity to go. Hopefully we'll be able to return back to Hawaii soon. Next time, I'm taking Jake to Oahu to see my home there :)  Enjoy some of the pics we took :)

 We packed PBJ Sandwiches one day for lunch...and this is what they looked like when we wanted to eat them...So not appetizing haha We laughed pretty hard at how pathetic they looked :)

 Had to take a pic of this...its pretty famous there. lol Donkey balls...who would have thought..lol

 our favorite beach there on the north end of the island

 We found this sand castle...and thought we'd claim it as our own lol

 This burger was called 'The Clogger, aka the Double Flusher'. Jake was so proud. lol it had gravy, a deep fried burger...and more..oh goodness, it lived up to its name! :)

 Love the mahi mahi!

 This little green trolley was what we rode around our resort, to the beach and back...fun little ride for sure

 the beautiful Kona Temple. We wish we went in! We didn't think we could without church clothes, but...we heard we probably could have..sigh...but at least we got to visit. It was a beautiful way to end the trip.

 Sad to leave!

We had a blast!!! I miss the beach, and love that we were able to have a week on an island. Perfect! Thanks to those that made it happen!!!

New Jobs!

So...remember when I admitted that I didn't know how up to date I'd keep my blog?! haha. well...its only been like...7 weeks or so. haha but...I thought I'd update everyone on our job situation. We've been SO blessed by the prayers and help in finding Jake and I jobs.  After about a month in Sacramento, I got a job at Chevy's, a mexican restaurant here in town.  I just happened to walk in by a spur the moment decision, and I got the job! It was such a blessing! I began work there basically the beginning of November.  It has been a great help and such a blessing, but it was hard always working in the evenings and weekends.

Jake got a part time job at The Gun Range here in town.  He works in the back, sorting and cleaning the bullet shells.  It's not a very exciting job, that's for sure :) But they work great with Jake's school schedule, and are very flexible, so its been a perfect fit.  SUCH a blessing.

Then just about 2 weeks ago, Lori, Jake's mom, sent us a Craigslist job posting. I have applied for dozens of jobs off Craigslist over the last few months, but I decided to give it a try.  It turns out it was SUCH a miracle! :) I recently was hired to work as a Receptionist at a small financial firm here in Sacramento called Sutley Wertzer, Inc.  There are only about 7 of us in the office, and everyone is really nice and easy to work with.  I've really enjoyed the more laid-back atmosphere. It definitley beats being on my feet all day at work, getting food all over me, and smelling like food every day after work. :)

Right now I'm currently working both jobs, weekdays at Sutley Wertzer, and weekends at Chevys.  It's a miracle that I've been able to have both to help us out right now.  It has been a journey getting this far, and a test of faith for sure.  But we've both learned a lot, and are forever grateful that the Lord truly does answer prayers and cares for us individually. Money can be a frustrating thing...I think it always will be, regardless of what stage of life we are in.  But it's so reassuring that although we don't have much, that as we pay our tithing, things always...always, work out.  We just have to trust Him. It's not always easy...but its what Jake and I truly feel deep down...the trust in knowing that it will work out, and that things really aren't as bad as they seem.  :)

I'll be putting up pictures of our Christmas decorated apartment soon to share.  But a quick update on us, we couldn't be happier. Jake and I just celebrated 4 months of being married, and its amazing to see and feel how much more I love him each day.  Jake is doing great in school, lots and LOTS of work, but he's doing wonderful! And we're loving celebrating the Christmas season together.