OUR TRIP! Part one.

We have been having a blast so far on our vacation to the midwest!  We have stopped at a lot of places along the way ... and have big plans for the remaining week of our trip (more to come on that later...)

To start we flew from Hawaii to Vegas for a day.  Mike really wanted to show me Hoover Dam, and it was AWESOME!

It was cool too, because the bridge had been completed since he was last there... so he got to see something new as well!

The dam is so steep, it gave me butterflies to look over the edge.  We also enjoyed people watching at the dam.. it was entertaining to see families try to teach their kids the history of this dam in the 105 degree heat... : ) 

We had originally planned on going to the stratosphere, but we were both so tired from the long flight we ended up driving to see the Vegas temple instead.  

I always love to see different temples and this one was unique from any other I have seen before.  

We headed back to the airport and then (un-excitedly) boarded yet another flight to Minnesota.  We were so exhausted so luckily both of us got A LOT of sleep en route.  We stayed overnight there in Minneapolis, and headed out early the next morning to IOWA!

We met Mike's friend Sam and his cute fiancee Rachel at a bar in Dooer, Iowa.  The middle of nowhere.  Sam is hilarious and Rachel is fun too - they are a good match for each other!  We hung out with them that night and Mike and Sam had fun swapping out military stories.

The next day we met up with Skitz and Dan (more air force buddies) and kayaked down the Yellow River!  This was my favorite activity... it was SO fun!! And relaxing at the same time.  We were on the water for about four hours, and had some good adventures.  

I didn't get any great pictures of the river that we actually kayaked on, but this is part of the Yellow River - 

I love Iowa... I usually am a fan of big cities, so it's strange that I love this state so much.  Maybe it's because I have been on a small island for so long ... I don't know. 

The next day Sam took us shooting up on his land.  It was sweet... I got to shoot a lot of really cool guns and actually did okay at it!

This one is the M4, the same one they use in Iraq!! I'm not gonna lie it scared the crap out of me!  And it was heavy and kind of awkward to hold as well.

Sam had some sweet Zombie targets so in the event of the zombie apocalypse we will definitely be prepared now.

Dan shooting the M4.

On Friday Mike and I had the chance to go to Nauvoo, somewhere I have always wanted to visit!  I LOVED LOVED LOVED it!  Unfortunately, we had to be back pretty early for the rehearsal dinner, so we only had a few hours there.

We also had the amazing opportunity to go to Carthage Jail.  What a great experience to really feel the spirit and build a testimony of Joseph Smith. 

Praise to the Man. 

That night was the rehearsal / dinner.  We had the rehearsal at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and then some delicious food afterwards!

There is the three amigos!  Skitz, Sam & Mike all reunited and having some good times!

And today... the wedding.  It was such a great wedding... Sam and Rachel seemed so happy and.. the food was good.  Let's be honest, that's a perk. :)

I sure love my handsome man!

Women's Conference '12

This past Friday I had the chance to go to a Women's Conference being held at BYU-Hawaii in Laie!  It was so wonderful... and so needed.  Sometimes you need that extra little boost of inspiration.

I went up with a sweet girl from my ward, Amanda.  We had a lot of fun just chit chatting on the drive up to Laie!  It's a pretty long drive (well, I guess my definition of "long" has changed since I live on an island...) but seemed to fly by!

When we got there we got all signed in and picked what sessions we were going to for the day.  It felt like EFY all over again, so that made me pretty happy in my heart!  (For those of you who haven't been to EFY, they break it up in sessions and you choose what speakers you go to).

Sister Julie Beck (former general Relief Society President) started out the session. She is such a phenomenal woman.  My kind of celebrity for sure!  She talked about how overwhelmed she felt when she received her calling, and how she felt inadequate.  A lot of us might feel inadequate when we discover our purpose in life... but using the atonement, prioritizing, and managing our time carefully will help us to accomplish what we need to!!  Afterwards Amanda and I got to talk with her for a minute and took some pictures!

Another super awesome favorite part of the conference was getting to meet Chad Lewis!! He was a legendary tight-end for BYU, and later went to play in the NFL for the Eagles.  His session was easily my favorite.  This is his signature move -

He liked to jump over people.  He mentioned it was much easier in college football to do this than in the NFL - they hit a lot harder and were too fast then!  

He served his mission in Taiwan and so when the NFL broadcast the superbowl in China for the first time, they asked him to be the broadcaster... He agreed, but then called the next day to cancel because he realized he knew absolutely no football terminology in Mandarin.  They told him they didn't care and that he would do fine... so he did it, and he said it was like he was teaching the discussions to 1.3 billion people... "I testify that Tom Brady threw a true pass" and "I am grateful for that score" HA! 

Anyway, his main message was that if we focus on the good things and the blessings we have in our lives, then they GROW.  And it's by focusing on the good things that we find happiness.  He was great, I was so happy to have the chance to meet him!

After sitting in the classes all day, I had a few impressions of things I should be doing better.  Some of them are personal, but others are just some goals that I want to accomplish in the next year or so!! Here are a few of them, so I don't forget -

• Read "Daughter's of My Kingdom" the book for the sisters of the church!
• Listen to at least one conference talk a day 
• Read a biography or a book written by every prophet! That is a goal that one of my dear friends Lynette set awhile ago (I have no idea how she's doing on that, I'll have to ask).  Anyway, I admired her for doing it, but hadn't really thought much about it for a few years.  So when it randomly popped into my head during a talk, I figured I would give it a shot too!

So there you have it!  Women's Conference '12!  I hope to make it a tradition to go every year! 

May - Month in Numbers

My new goal.. re-cap my month in numbers every month!  Yay!

15 the number of pages that the Sonate I am working on memorizing is!  My sweet husband finally found a keyboard stand.. and set it all up!  I was saddened when I played and realized how much of my ability is gone.  But I am working hard to get it back... and you better believe I will!

8 - The number of tests I took for school!  Study... study... study... the story of my life!

1500 - The number of lanterns that were released at the Ala Moana Floating Lantern Ceremony on Memorial Day.

"When we respect one another with the spirit of aloha, accepting and embracing our differences, we can create a sense of harmony amid our diversity." -Shinso Ito

4 - The number of Twilight related books and or movies that I have watched this month.  I adore these books and movies.  Not particularly well made movies at all... it's just I am so entranced by the love storyline.  Sigh.

14 - The number of Saturdays until that first kick-off... Oh yeah, brother!

Well there you have it folks... My month in numbers.. Pretty good month, I'd say. :)