Happy Moments

There have been several "happy moments" this past week in the Reynolds household.  I strive to focus on these happy moments... Chad Lewis - former wide receiver for BYU who also played in the NFL - gave a talk at women's conference that really helped me adjust my perspective.  He said -

If you focus on the good things and blessings in your life, then they GROW.

Seems simple, but it can be really difficult at times when we just want to have a pity party and whine about things that are hard!  BUT THIS IS NOT THE WAY.

President Hinckley quoted this story from  Jenkins Lloyd Jones and I just love it...

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed.

"Most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise.

"Life is like an old-time rail journey — delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

A few things in life that have made me laugh or generally happy lately -

1.  Our primary callings.  Kind of chaotic at times, but so worth it!  Today in Sharing Time the teacher was explaining to the kids how they can be good examples to their siblings and give them advice to help them keep the commandments.  She called on two kids to role play, one being the older brother and one the little brother.  As the volunteers went to the front, one of our 10 year olds burst out laughing... when I asked him what was so funny he responded, "I'm not racist, but it's really funny that the little "brother" is black!"  I LOVE kids!

2.  Mike has a really awesome job and I love hearing his stories from work.  Even though it is tough when he heads out on missions it feels awesome to be a small part of what he is involved with!  These past weeks he has been preparing to go to India to find some plane crashes from World War II and search for remains. There is a lot of training to be done, as they will be hiking in the Himalayas to the crash sites.  We have been trying to go on hikes together and he has been working EXTRA hard.  I admire so much his work ethic and what he does. : )

3.  Our new friends, the Aubreys and the Garretts!  We have been hanging out with them lots lately- I have been going to work out classes with Tausha and Rachel.  They are super sweet ladies and I am glad to know them!  We have had numerous game nights, dinners, and movie nights.  This past Friday we went  Paddle Boarding on Hickam with them!

Parker and Mike were hard at work setting up our tent for some shade!

Tausha, Rachel & I ready to hit the waves!

Tausha & Rachel with Sweet baby Paisley!  We love her!!

4. We have had super fun friends visiting this week!  They have mostly been doing their own thing up around the North Shore!  But they have been so fun to have stay at our house.  We have found when friends come visit we remember how AWESOME it is to live on this island and realize more the things we take for granted as we see them every day!  I went to the swap meet with the girls and we had a ball shopping!

5.  The final happy moment has been the time I've gotten to spend with my hubby this past weekend.  Cherishing every moment as he will be going out on another mission here soon... We spent some time at Bellows on Friday and then went out to celebrate his co-worker's birthday (Eddie) at Waikiki Beach!

NEW SWIMSUIT!

QUICK!  Take a picture of me before I fall over in this giant wave!  FAIL!

Spending some time with the handsomest man I know!

Sometimes I go with the angry Jihad look on the beach.  

Sunset in Waikiki tonight... AMAZING.

Peaceful.

Our friend singing us some relaxing Hawaiian tunes!

Sunset.  Shave ice.  Handprints in the sand.  Diamond Head.  Love. 

"If you want something you've never had, then you've got to do something you've never done"

I love this quote!  It is so easy to get stuck on our own "comfort zones" and be fearful of trying something new or different.  I am so guilty of this... and I feel there is so much beauty and friendships in life that may be missed.  

In particular, I was pondering getting out of my comfort zone to talk to people at church.  It's so hard when you don't know anyone to be intimidated by talking to people and afraid.  BUT once you do you find that we are all essentially the same, and no one is going to be offended by you talking to them.  

I realized the whole first year I was in Hawaii I didn't do much of getting out of my zone to meet people...  Maybe it was culture shock, getting used to being married, living away from home... at any rate, I realized when I left the Makiki ward and started in the Moanalua Ward, I wanted to be a little more outgoing. 

I am SO glad I did!  We have made some very special friends and had some great times! 

Lately we have been hanging out with a fun couple - Parker and Tausha.  Parker is in the Air Force as well, and unfortunately, they will be relocating to Edwards Air Force Base in just a few months :(  I am SO sad that we are barely getting to know them and they are already leaving.  But we will enjoy every last minute we can with them!  

Today we hiked Hau'ula Loop Trail.  We enjoyed seeing the beautiful scenery and hiking with sweet baby Paisley! 

Tausha and I taking a breather on the trail. 

My handsome man and I enjoying the adventure!

Mike looks upset in this picture... this is the look he gave me when I said, "Look manly"  Apparently this is what manly looks like.. 

Our group

Here is a little compilation I made of all my favorite pictures.  After we got done hiking we went to a DELICIOUS fish taco place in Laie.  SO yummy.   Great friends, great times! 

Random Ramblings...

It is late and I really should probably go to bed... but I have too much on my mind to even think about sleeping!  So, here I sit - blogging! 

I am quite excited to be in the final week of summer semester - only two tests remain until I am finished with this 15 credit hour summer!  It has been challenging but I am so excited to complete my degree.  Today I finished a ten page paper on healthcare in Japan ... the longest paper I have ever written!  We had to pick a country to evaluate their healthcare system for my International Health class, and I picked Japan since Mike and I both really want to go there together!

So...  happenings of late...

I went to my first military affair this month!  It was a change of command ceremony for JPAC, and Mike was doing Color Guard.  It was pretty cool to see how they do things - it felt so formal I was worried I would sneeze at the wrong time or something!!

Don't think he realizes how hot the uniform is... :P

My handsome man in the Color Guard

Mike and I went on an adventure to find the only Carl's Junior on the island this past Saturday... we both LOVE Carls Jr and so we were pretty exited to learn that we have one here... however, upon our arrival we were a little disappointed...

Sadly, the Carl's Junior is an appendage to a gas station in the ghetto ... it's pretty scary.  We ate there because we had been searching for it all afternoon and by the time we found it we were pretty hungry.  I'm sure you know where this story is headed... needless to say, Sunday we spent a long while snuggled on the couch in our snuggies not feelin' so great.

Another fun happening was Skitz coming to the island from Guam.  He is an augmentee for one of the JPAC missions going to Vietnam, so he was here for a few days before they took off.  We had fun showing him around the island and going to see some shows with him.  Hanging out with Skitz reminds me of when Mike and I were dating - because he and Mike were roommates at the time.  Anyway, one of our fun adventures was going on a hike up Koko Head with Skitz!

Koko Head is the mountain that I hate to love... I have a goal to continue hiking it to get a better time.  So far the best time is 44 minutes!

On the homefront we've had some pretty fun birthdays in the fam.  Grandma Avery turned 90 this summer and so the whole Perkins side had a big 90th reunion for her.  I heard it was really great.  I sure miss Grandma!

This is the ring I gave her for her present!  : ) 

Grace and Isaac both turned ONE this past week too.  I was so sad to miss their sweet little faces when they dug into their birthday cakes.  What little sweethearts these two are!

One last thing that happened this week that made me happy in my heart... I had told Mike I wanted to get a kukui nut let to hang around the rear view mirror in my car... one with little flowers painted on it.  The next day I went out to my car to find this little gem to surprise me...

Sure do love these sweet surprises from my love!!  Life is good. : ) 

Stairway to Heaven

Okay, so a few weeks ago one of my good friends Heidi Fairbourn asked me to hike "Stairway to Heaven" with her and a few friends.

Let me tell you a little bit about this hike...

I first heard about it a few years ago before I had any inkling that I would ever be living in Hawaii.  Someone from my student ward returned from a trip here and absolutely raved about this gorgeous hike ... He showed me some pictures and at that point it immediately went on my bucket list.  This is what most of the hike looks like ...

There are 3,942 stairs...  and four platforms, which serve as great places to take a breather...  It was SO intense.  I was mostly nervous because I am by no means an avid hiker, and I was doing this hike with a bunch of fitness gurus, so I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up.  I ended up hiking with Heidi and Chad for the most part, who were AWESOME to encourage me to keep going when the going got tough (and it did!)

This was our fun group!  Actually the guys in the middle is a guard, who usually prohibits hikers from going... however one of our group who shall remain nameless knows the guard and so he let us go up.. Shhhh that parts kind of a secret.  

Here is the first stair... at this point I had so much adrenaline and was SO ready to conquer the mountain!

This is the view from the first platform... you can see the Pali Highway and out into Kaneohe Bay.  

Overlooking Kaneohe and Kailua - from the second platform I think.

Heidi and I takin' a photo break.  Me saying "Hey, let's take a picture" was the code word for I AM NOW DYING AND IF I DON'T TAKE A BREAK WILL COLLAPSE RIGHT HERE!  :)  

It was absolutely beautiful.  

This part of the hike was a little scary because of the sheer steepness on either side of us... You can see the mountain is almost completely vertical here, and the stairs were more like a ladder!

This was the very last climb!! Right behind me is the top.  I was SO HAPPY inside that I made it.  What a great adventure!

Trip Part Dos! Arizona, Utah, and Vegas!

It's been awhile since I have posted... I have yet to even do part 2 of our trip!  Maybe I'll just throw it all in this one post.  I'm feeling kind of random like that right now.

For part dos of our adventurous trip we went to Prescott, Arizona - Mike's hometown.  He gave me the grand tour of the town, which was pretty much "this is the road I got pulled over for..." or "this is the road where I wrecked..."  It was fun to see everything though!  Oh and his Eagle Scout project is still standing!

His parents were house sitting in Prescott at the time so we got to spend a few days with them.  One of my favorite parts of staying with them was going golfing... Mike's Mom used to be super awesome at golfing til she hurt her back, so she showed us some tips!

As a result of the challenge it was jumping up on Mike's back...  this is what happened to my pants! HA!  So it was a little awkward until I could get home and change.  I suppose I guess that's what I deserve for golfing on Sunday! : )

We also stopped by the Grand Canyon - I have never been there and so that was fantastic to behold!  

It was a wonderful opportunity to see some of God's greatest creations.  

The other part of our trip was a blast as well!  We completely surprised my parents in Utah.

These were my parent's surprised faces... 

We went to see all my nephews that night... Sweet Carter and Isaac first, and then Quincy and Collin next. The next day we got to go to Dinosaur Park with the nieces and nephews as well!

The slide burned molly a little because it was so hot... also it was just a really fast slide!  After she got off she said, "Mommy, I think that slide is a little to scary for me."  It was SOOO CUTE! 

We had a blast seeing all my family.  We also went out with Dan and Krystal for a date night, and they joined us for my family barbecue the next day as well! 

My sweet nieces both adore Mike!! :)

We had a lot of fun in Utah even though we were only there for just a few short days!  

We ended our trip in Vegas... we were there for awhile before our flight left for Hawaii, so we went to the Stratosphere and rode all the rides up there!  SCARY!!

We also got to see the Bodies World Exhibit (which I LOVED) and the Titanic museum as well.  Such a great trip with my love!!