One Month in Paradise

I've finally been in my new home for a month and seven days! And I'm already a whole month behind blogging!! Oh no! But here is my month at a glance!

The first week of school went by great! I was actually really nervous since I had no clue what to expect. Luckily, I had made some good friends and had an awesome roommate to go everywhere with me! I'm not sure if I already said this, but my roommate lives in Japan and her name is Megan. Anyways, my first college class experience was not like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde! All my teachers are super chill! My bio teacher is a surfer too! I really love my Book of Mormon class and my English class. Its a given that I strongly dislike my math class, and its not even math! Its more like reasoning and other stuff I did not learn in high school! OH, and my Wellness and Fitness teacher is the actual author of the book we use! He's super cool too! Overall I'm doing good in all my classes, and I've made friends in all my classes so we can all help each other out on homework and studying!

Time to talk about the beaches! Yes, I go almost everyday for about an hour! I ABSOLUTELY love going to the beach! After the first week of classes, my group of friends and I went and watched the sunrise. It was so beautiful, and now we made it a goal to go every second weekend of each month (we're actually going this Saturday morning)! I learned how to body surf and improved my body boarding skills! And, no, I don't get dark like I do in Tennessee! Its so weird, but I am darker! Haha! Last weekend, I went to my very first beach bonfire! It was fun, and I felt so cool since I was hanging out with all the locals!   Its so weird to think that it is fall on the mainland! The only way we know its getting closer to winter is the wave sizes! Come winter, the North Shore will be a hot spot for some big wave surfers!

Here's some randomness I should add...Everybody here rides around on longboards (skateboards), so I decided to get myself one! It took me a while to find one that was a good price and sweet looking, but I finally found it last weekend at Ala Moana Mall! I'm not a pro yet, but I'm getting there! I also got a surf board! Eventually, I'll learn how to surf, I just need to find the time! I'm also doing Crossfit  4 days a week, and that means no freshman 15!! The dances here are so fun! And for the first time I feel like a white person when I dance next to the Polys! I also hang out with some locals! I love love this culture! I have no doubt in my mind that this is where I am supposed to be! And like daddy said, I'll never want to leave, and I sure don't ever want to leave this beautiful place. I love the whole closeness of La'ie, the relaxed atmosphere, and the weather! I'll be sure to keep this up a lot more than I have this past month!


Oh one last thing! Last Thursday I stepped on a bee...and my foot blew up like a balloon! It was literally the worse 48 hours I've gone through! So, here's the full story... My friends and I had been at the beach and we walked over to the showers to rinse off. Once I was done rinsing off, I walked oner to my bag. As soon as I got to the palm tree where my bag was, I stepped on something sharp! I quickly lifted my foot up to see a yellow and black ball on the inside of my foot!! I flicked off the bee and then noticed it was too late, I'd already been stung!! Not so calmly I called out for one of my guy friends who knelt down to examine my foot. He then got his student ID and got the stinger out! "Thank goodness" I thought, until my foot started to burn and pulse with pain! Everyone back home knows that I have a high pain tolerance, but I was trying really hard to ignore the pain shooting up my leg! I grabbed my friends had and did some deep breathing to calm my heart rate. He asked if I was ok because I had "crazy eyes"! I lied and said I was fine, but I was about to die! After a while of standing there, and praying I was not allergic, we proceeded to walk back to campus. Within a hour my foot started getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger! Everyone of my friends asked if I was allergic to bees and all I could say was "I have no clue, but isn't this supposed to happen to you?" My the next morning, my foot was EXTREMELY swollen! So swollen I could not walk or get a shoe on! I sent an email to my teach explaining that I won't be attending class due to my huge foot. I did go to my second class, but only to turn in a paper. I didn't make it to my last class, because my foot was in pain, again! So I took some Benadryl and passed out till that night! Then some girl told me that she gets the same way and all I need to to is put some baking soda on it and I'll be good as new. We'll Ive been doing that since Friday, and my foot is barely back to normal! And that's my awesome story about my fat bee stung foot! It still itches like craziness!

And on a good note, I had a wonderful dinner Monday night, thanks to one of my workout buddie's family who is in town! I finally got my steak!!!!

Well, that's all for now! Shoots! \m/ (there's my attempt to make a shaka!)

Orientation Week!

I have been so busy this past week, I’m totally worn out!

The game night was a great success! I met so many people, but kinda forgot most of their names! There was a dance along with the games, and well, I felt so white dancing next to the Polynesians! Haha! That’s a first! When I got back to my dorm I finally met my roomie! Her name is Megan, and she lives in Japan, but she is American. She didn’t stay in the dorm so I was all alone that night. Kinda sad, huh?

On Wednesday morning I went on a beautifully rainy run! Once I was all done getting ready I headed to breakfast with my new friend Sariah. Then it was a campus tour, and I still have no clue where anything is! Then we had Student Life and One Stop. We had to get all those things done in order to get our ID. Well, we needed one more thing from One Stop, but the line was so LONG  we decided to got to lunch and come back. That was a not so good idea…One Stop closed at 1! So we had to wait till Thursday to get it! After lunch, Mommy, Daddy, and I went down to Honolulu to get some things from Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. That night, a group of people I met and I went to the talent show, JUST TO WATCH….or so I thought! 15ish minutes into watching it, they called my name! At first it was just my first name, and I thought ‘Oh someone else has my name, cool!’ Then they said, “Is Robyn Perez here?” I just sat there really shocked while all the people I came with stared at me! ‘Who in the world had signed me up?!’ was running through my mind! I hadn’t really played the uke or sang in forever! So I walked right up to the sign-up desk  and asked who signed me up. To my surprise, but I should’ve guessed, my dad signed me up online! I really didn’t want to perform at all. I had nothing prepared and didn’t practice any! Some girl literally begged me to sing, saying I’d probably be the best, haha. So I made a quick decision and ran back to my Hale, grabbed my uke, ran through Price Tag real fast, and ran back to the talent show. I told them I’d sing and I ended up being the next one to go up! I had no time to really think about what I was doing, but that was probably good! I got up on stage, explained what my dad did, and then just sang. According to people I did really good, but I messed up so much! But I have to thank Daddy for signing me up, because I wouldn’t have signed up on my own! After the talent show, I went to Temple beach with a group. It was so beautiful! There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, you could see all the stars, and the moon reflected on the ocean! Behind me was the temple, and well of course that was breath taking! When I got back to my Hale, I passed out so fast!

Thursday was pretty much a free day. I did get my ID though! After lunch, I went to the beach with a few people. At first it was kind of cold, but after you’re in, it feels great! We stayed there for a long while and we all were exhausted and hungry when we finally decided to walk back! We all got lunch and then headed back to my Hale to watch a movie. Once the movie was done, we got dinner and went to support the women’s volleyball team, and we won! We walked back to our hales and passed out, like usual!

Friday was our official BYUH welcome and the most exhausting day! They served us a light breakfast and then we had our welcome in the McKay auditorium. I left early with a few guys to workout, since we wouldn’t have any other time to do it. It was a good workout, and I'm definitely feeling sore! Then, at 12, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was so cool! Each Pacific Island had there own area and activity or show. At around 5 we had a big, yummy dinner, and a few clubs either sang or danced. Then, we walked back to the PCC to watch the night show! The night show was so so so cool! I was so tired and had a bit of a hard time keeping my eyes open! However, once the guys spinning fire came out, I was up! There was a party/dance that night but half of the new students were to tired to even go. I got into my room and literally passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow!

I spent all Saturday with my parents, since it was their last day in Hawaii. We went back down to Honolulu, to buy more stuff…mainly socks! I know, how could I forget socks? Well, I did! We stopped at some food place on the side of the road for chicken, and it was really good! Then, we stopped at another truck to get cold coconut juice straight from the coconut! When we finally got to Honolulu, we shopped, and headed back to La’ie. Mom and dad stopped to get some Mexican good Tamales, and I’m still craving them! Finally the dreaded time came to say goodbye… That was so hard! I wasn’t really with them all the time, but I knew they were here. So yeah, I was a bit miserable for the rest of the night, but some good people helped me out by inviting me to do stuff. Once again, I passed out that night.

Sunday. It’s a good day, but I have church at 8 o’clock!! The cafeteria doesn’t even open until 11, so I’m literally starving during church! Over all church was good, lunch was delicious, and my Sunday nap was much needed! When I woke up, I Skyped with Mommy and Daddy! Yay! I wasn't too hungry for dinner, so I just ate fruit. Then we walked over to the   stake center for a fireside from the President of the school. We got a cool coin like thing that has "Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve" on one side and the temple on the other side. Also, the President said something really cool; so the 'A' in Aloha means Atonement, the 'L' means love, the 'O' mean obedience, and the 'ha' means breath of life in Hawaiian. Well I need to get some stuff ready for my first day of classes!! I will definitely tell you guys all about it tomorrow!

Day 2 of my Hawaiian Adventure!

I got some pretty good news! I didn’t have to camp on the beach!

Daddy was able to convince the hotel people to let me put a $20 deposit instead of  $50! After sitting in the room for a few long boring hours, I decided to venture out and get some dinner. When I say venture out, I really mean walk across the street to some little store. I bought a sub sandwich and a bag of chips. Great dinner I must say! Haha! Then I texted my new friend, Colton, and told him to come and stay at the hotel so I wouldn’t be alone. Once he got to the hotel, I took him to the little store to get dinner and then we went for a nighttime adventure! We were pretty determined to get to a beach, and spent 30 minutes trying to find one. Lets just say never listen to me when I think I know the directions! When we finally made it to the beach, we couldn’t stop talking about how unreal this whole thing is! We couldn’t believe that for the next four years we’d be going to college, in Hawaii!! After a good 15 minutes, we walked back and passed out!

Tuesday morning I woke up to the million texts my daddy was sending me. Then, right as I was about to doze off again, Annie called! She didn’t know it was around 5:30 in the morning, but we talked anyways. I told her all about the craziness that happened the day before. I also got to hear Linco say “Rawraw”, his way of saying Robyn, and “I love you”! He’s such a smart kid! After I hung up, I just couldn’t fall asleep! You got to remember, it was around 10a.m. in Tennessee, and I’m not used to the island time yet. I got ready and then met Colton for breakfast and a walk on the beach. We ended up doing a ton of exploring until Mommy and Daddy arrived. Once Mom and Dad got their bags in the hotel room, we loaded up the car and took a 45 minute drive to La’ie, my new home! Arriving at the BYUH campus was so exciting! I can’t believe I’m an actual college student! I checked into my dorm, got all set up, got my TB test, and had dinner with Mom, Dad, Colton, and some new friends.

Now I’m just sitting in my very small dorm room waiting for 7 o’clock to go to games night. Oh, and I already kicked Mommy and Daddy out, haha! I still have yet to meet my roommate and I’m kinda nervous! Hopefully she’s chill! Well, I got to go! Be prepared to read a ton more posts, this week will be very exciting and eventful!

My Big Hawaiian Adventure

Well the day has finally come and its time for me to leave for Hawaii. All I can say is that it is beyond bittersweet.

Sunday morning I cried and cried till I had to go to church. Daddy made a super delicious steak and chicken dinner. Michael, Lena, Angelena, Mia, Wren, and Zoli all came over. Oh, and of course Steven was there, like always. We had a good night together. I asked Angelena if she was going to miss me, and her reply was, “Hmmm…let me think about it.” Michael, Steven, and I just stared at her. I told her she could forget about a Christmas gift! When it was finally time for them to leave, I tried hard to hold back the tears. I’m going to miss them like crazy, but good thing we have a wonderful invention called Skpe, right?!

I woke up on Monday at 4:20 thinking ‘Oh geez…I’m leaving today…ugh…’ The whole time I was getting ready I was nervous, sad, anxious, scared, and excited all at once. It wasn’t long till I found myself sitting in the car with Mommy, Daddy, and Steven. The ride to the airport felt like eternity! I had to keep calming myself down, and I kept my eyes on the road. One look at Steven or Mom or Dad and I would become an emotional mess. We checked my TWO bags in and to Mommy’s surprise; both bags were less than 45 pounds! I must say I’m a great packer! Haha! I gave everyone a quick hug, took some pictures, and walked off.

My first flight was pretty empty…actually it was VERY empty! I had a whole row to myself and so did pretty much everyone else on the plane! When we landed in Dallas I had to take a train to get to my gate. I was so nervous and didn’t want to miss my stop. I thought I did and started panicking a little, but I ended up getting off at the right one! From there, finding my gate was easy peasy! Now I’m just sitting here, waiting, wondering if there are any other BYUH students on this flight, and crossing my fingers Daddy isn’t wearing a Hawaiian print shirt like most of the other men waiting to head over the Pacific to Hawaii where the unfashionable shirt will magically become fashionable! I guess I’ll update once I arrive in Hawaii!

I finally made to Hawaii! And it is so so so so so beautiful! But that 7 hour plane ride was not so wonderful! I sat by a nice lady and her baby. At first the little guy was good, then he started screaming and crying! The crying only lasted 30 minutes, but it seemed like he did that every other hour! Like always, I slept a good half of the flight. I couldn’t go back to sleep the last two hours! Those two hours crept on by! The anticipation of seeing Oahu literally killed me! When I could finally see the shore, all I could think was ‘Thank goodness I’m about to get off this plane!’ Once I turned my phone back on, I got about 30 texts from Mommy and Daddy informing me that they got delayed and won’t be getting to Hawaii till Tuesday! Yup that’s right! I will be alone my first night in Hawaii! So a little nervous, I got my bags, met the people to take me to the shuttle, and headed to my hotel. Everything went well until I got to the hotel. I didn’t have enough cash and I don’t have any money in my bank account! So, I can’t put the deposit down to get into my room! I can’t call Mom or Dad! All I could do was cry! Yes! I cried in front of a bunch of tourist! What else was I supposed to do?! As of right now, I’m sitting in the open air lobby typing and waiting for Daddy to call the hotel. Who knows I might have to camp out on the beach…

I'm so getting old!!

The 2012-2013 school year has some huge milestone for a few of us Perez kids!

Wrenie went into kindergarten! Angelena is in the 6th grade!! Mikie is starting his freshman year of high school TOMORROW!!! And for me, I'll be chillin' in Hawaii, oh and going to college, of course!!!! It is so crazy to see all my nieces and nephews grow up so fast! I'm not going to lie it makes me want to cry! Especially when I think about my baby Mikie going to high school!! 

I remember when he was just a new born! He was so cute, chubby, and loving! I used to tell him he was my brother. But that is what our relationship was. I was his big sis, and he was my little brother. Yeah, I am his aunt, but I doubt any aunt is this close to her nephew. Yep, we were best buds for the first three years of his life. Sadly, Mommy, Daddy, and I had to move to Tennessee, and I was forced to leave my best bud! Heart broken? Yes, I was. But, Mikie came to visit us a lot, and that made up for the distance. I have so many good memories of that little kid! Like the one where he, out of no where, walked into the bathroom to see my sisters, Mommy, and me and said "Hi fregadas!" My mom and I honestly talk about that almost every day! I also remember when Mikie was visiting us in TN and he punched me right in the face! I was shocked, he was shocked, but I could never be mad at him for long! Good or bad, mostly good, I remember all our times together!

Today Mikie called to talk and get some high school advice from an ex-high schooler! I was more than happy give him the DL. So every freshman listen up and take notes: 

1. Try not to look like fresh meat! Most of the time, upper class men can smell a freshie from a mile away!

2. Whatever you do, DO NOT carry a huge backpack with all your supplies! You'll get a syllabus within the first week, so don't buy your stuff till you know what you'll need.

3. Try to fight the urge to take out your handy dandy map in public! It yells 'FRESHMAN!!!!!!!' 

4. While 3 says not to take out your map in public, feel free to pull it out in a class room or the bathroom. I recommend highlighting all your classes so you can better see where they are!

5. If you get lost, never ever ever ask a guy for directions! They are horribly mean and will more than likely send you in the opposite direction in which you need to go! Ask a girl or a teacher.

6. Last but not least, be you and don't let all the people in high school change you!

(I seriously think I could write a survival guide for high school! Haha I'm joking! I save my tips for family only!)

So, Mikie, I know you'll have a better than awesome freshman year! Not every freshman gets to start their morning with seminary, and then surfing (surfing is the way cooler part of your mornings)! Like number 6 says, be yourself! The best feeling you can get at the end of your senior year is knowing you made it all the way through high school with your true self in tact! Seminary will be so hard, and there will be days you want to sleep in, but don't, just go! You'll be able to notice how off your day is without seminary! It'll be your little spiritual boost for the day and help you face all the bad things you might go through during the day. I love you little guy! I'm glad I can be a freshman with you too!! Go Class of 2016!!

Nebraska Weekend

This past weekend was filled with family fun! We drove 12 long hours up to Lincoln, Nebraska to see Annie, Dave, Linc, and the newest edition to their family, Oliver!! That's right, my mom and dad have 12 grandkids now! Crazy huh?!?! Oliver was born on July 10, 2012 at 12:51 P.M. He weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces, a lot smaller than his big bro! So that 12 hour drive was way worth it! I can't say I was completely excited to see all of Dave's family (I'm still a chipmunk remember?), but Ollie was getting blessed and I couldn't well wouldn't miss it for anything! When we finally arrived to Annie's house, it was already packed full with family. I was the first one up to the door and Dave's sister gave me the weirdest look..."Yes I know I have huge cheeks", was the first thought that came to mind! The first thing I told everyone was that I just got my wisdom teeth taken out the day before. Everyone compared my cheeks to Ollie's and we all had a good laugh! The next day we had a cookout at the park, and of course I couldn't eat anything! But I played some games and held some babies, so it was all good! Finally it was Sunday, the day we all went for. Ollie, of course, was a good boy during his blessing. I got to hold him for the rest of sacrament while he slept! For dinner, Dave grilled steaks! He was definitely taunting me! Everyone knows that I love steak, and I was dying not being able to eat it! But my genius mom had a genius idea! She blended up my steak! Yeah, it sounds kind of gross, but it still tasted great! My mom is the best! After dinner all of Dave's family left. Daddy, Annie, Dave, Linc, Ollie, and I all went for a walk to the Sunken Gardens. It was so pretty and the weather was great! I held Ollie in some baby carrying thing, and he fell asleep in the middle of our walk. Sadly, Monday had come and it was time for us to go back to Tennessee...boo!! But we spent all morning hanging out with Linc and Ollie! We got Linco a swing, and boy does he love it! I'm going to miss those boys a ton! Oliver is my 12th favorite nephew and I love that little guy! It was a great trip even if I did look like a chipmunk! Can't wait till I see Linco and Ollie again!

Oh No!!!!!! My Wisdom Is All Gone!!!!!

Everyone goes through this... huge chipmunk cheeks, all doped up on pain medicine, and stuck eating nothing but liquids!

That time has finally come for me! I went into the oral surgeon this morning at 9 o'clock hungry and dying of thirst!! Why on earth would they make you starve and become dehydrated before getting all your wisdom taken away?!?! Ok, ok I'm over reacting, but seriously I was thirsty! Dr. Maroda talked with mommy and me right before I went in, explaining everything I should expect. Then I was taken to the room where they hooked me up to monitors and put the IV in. The lady started asking me why I choose BYUH and I remember telling her why. I could feel myself being pulled into some sleepy state and then BAM I stopped talking mid sentence and was out! When they woke me up I was holding a bag with my wisdom teeth thinking, "What the heck is this?!" and the nurse kept trying to get me to stand! I think I had a hard time walking. I probably looked like some drunk trying to walk a straight line! Haha! Finally I made it to the car and I kept talking... mommy had a hard time getting me to shut up! She took me to sonic, YAY, we got my favorite strawberry slush with EXTA strawberries and headed home. I think I yelled at the carhop to bring spoons... I can't really remember. Mommy also said I kept playing with my bottom lip and saying, "Its numb!!!" Before I passed out, again, I Skyped with Christie, Mikie, and Jaxon! They pretty much had a blast watching me try to talk! I had the hardest time saying 'P' and 'B' words! After we got done, I passed out and mommy switched my ice packs every 30 minutes. And oooh man, talk about a great nap!! I woke up to Zoli saying "hey" over and over again. He was so cute saying "hurt" and pointing to my chubby, numb cheeks! Z got some gauze and put it to his cheek, because he was hurt too! I'm still hungry,boo, but my thirst has been satisfied with my slush! Right now I'm just waiting for Steven and Porter to stop by with more sonic slushies! I'm finally that chipmunk that's super high on pain meds, but I'm in sonic slushy heaven!! Its a win win!

Sweet Summer Time

Here's a wrap up of my summer right before college...

Since this was my last summer as a non college kid, I decided to do some fun things and spend time with the people that mean the most to me! 

At the beginning of summer I went to girl's camp. Not as a camper, but as an adult leader!!! Talk about weird when the other ladies were calling me 'Sister Perez'! Its a lot different when your an adult there. You literally do NOTHING!!! I got a daily nap in, roamed around, or braided the campers' hair! I became known as the braid lady! Haha! I can't wait to go next year when my niece Angelena goes! 

Once I got back from camp, the unthinkable happened!! An accident happened to a family in the Spanish branch and we became legal guardians for their 6 kids! Talk about crazy!!! It was a bit hard but then I fell in love with the little guys! My mom and I weren't on our own though. Steven, my best guy friend, was at our house almost every day! Those kids LOVED steven! I mean LLLLOOOOVVVEEEDDD him! As soon as they'd wake up, they would ask when he was getting there. It was fun when we had them, and now that  they're back with their family I can't help but miss them.

All the excitment happened at the beginning, because for the rest of the summer I just worked as a hostess at the Melting Pot or babysat. I also started fitness kickboxing with my friend Caitlyn!!!! Its one of the best workouts ever!!! So don't mess with me....I'm dangerous! Hahaha! 

Like I said I wanted to spend time with my friends and family, and I'd like to think I kept to my word! Porter, Shelby, Foshee, Beth, Steven and I got together for a cookout. Steven, Emily, and I had a little mini cookout. Obviously us southerners love cooking out!! But thats not all we did! We did other stuff, which was good. Steven practically spent every day at the house! He's pretty much part of the family now! He's also Wren's new crush! Wrenie confessed it to her family in the car one day!! Isn't she funny!

I've got a confession!! I'm a Netflix addict!! My mommy and I started watching Lost! Let's just say once you start its hard to turn off the TV! We should be done before I go to college...or mommy has to wait for me to come home in December!

My summer isn't done, but that's all the excitement for now!

A Bit About Me

Since practically all my sisters, and sister-in-law, have some sort of blog, I figured why not start one myself! I guess this blog is mainly for me to write all about my college experience without blowing up Facebook and for me to just write...well type it out. So sit back and enjoy the ride of my college year...from my point of view!

I probably should start out by introducing myself, but then again the only people reading this already know me. But I'll do it anyway! My name is Robyn and I'm the baby of 5, hence the littlest song bird. I was born in lovely California but currently live in Tennessee. I can't say that I love Tennessee as much as I love California, but it has grown on me. I've dipped my paint brush into practically everything! I'm glad to say that my canvas of hobbies, talents, and random things is not quite the colorful master piece I intend it to be in the end. But I've got plenty of years to finish it! I finally finished high school and will be heading out to beautiful Hawaii to attend BYUH! Yup, that's right, BYU has another campus in Hawaii. And let's not forget another important fact...I'm a Latter-Day Saint, or better known as a Mormon! It's a dream come true and I couldn't ask for a better place to go to college. I'll be studying Exercise Science and Music. I jumped around from doctor, pediatric plastic surgeon, dentist, general surgeon, athletic trainer, and my final decision, drum roll please.... PERSONAL TRAINER and NUTRITION SPECIALIST!! I obviously wanted to help people in some way, but then it dawned on me! Why not help people get and stay healthy BEFORE they even get to a doctor! It was such a genius thought, I am determined to make it happen! Hopefully some day I'll have my own gym and will be helping people to get healthy and fit! I'll have to give my brother all the props for convincing me to major in music! He said that I have got something going and if I didn't do something about it, I would be wasting my talents. I probably should tell you my musical talents. I play the piano, flute, ukulele, some guitar, and sing! That's a lot, but I love music and its my outlet when things get tough. Maybe one day I'll make it big, but for now I'll keep at it for fun!

Well thats pretty much my watered down bio, but like I said, most people reading this have known me from birth.