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!