Memorial Day

A little late with the Memorial Day post, I know... but better late than never, right?  

This year was real fun to spend Memorial Day weekend with the family.  We went to visit Grandma Avery & Grandpa Arthur's graves and reminisced about them.  I am so happy to know the family unit is eternal - visiting the graves of loved ones becomes something special instead of a sorrowful thing when you realize that 'death is just a gateway to eternity'  (William Penn). 

We also had the family over to BBQ and spend time together.  Uncle Bob brought some delicious fish he had caught earlier this year to share.  There was quite a ping pong tournament as well - it was a pretty serious event.  

Here are the chefs who were responsible for the delicious meal

The table tennis starts... 

Grace making it clear she was sick of me taking picture of her by trying to block me with her foot... Still didn't work, even with half her face covered you can tell she is just about the cutest thing on earth!

Quincy also getting into the ping-pong games

Molly looks all grown up here

Don't let the smile deceive you - Jana was also vying for table tennis champ

Thy dynamic duo, Erik & Collin (I am pretty sure they won the doubles game, but nobody beats me at singles... Riverdale City Youth Champ two years running)  :P

Bob and Leota enjoying the party & each other!  

Happy Memorial Day!

Some Utah Fun

Life has been nice and slow in the Beehive state... just the way I have needed it to be the past couple of weeks!  I think I am finally done passing kidney stones (CUE THE HALLELUJAH CHORUS) and am so relieved to actually start enjoying the amazing miracle of being pregnant!  

Today I got had an appointment - this is my 21st week so I am over the halfway mark!  Here is a sweet picture of little Calvin... 

He looks like his Dad in my opinion.  It is so fun to see him as not a little shrimp but a little person!!  Dr. Bierer said he is a little under a pound and is longer than average (which doesn't surprise me, Michael is tall).  I just can't wait to squish his little cheeks! 

In other news, last night I was able to participate in a special surprise for my high school choir teacher - to celebrate her 20 years as a teacher, the current students arranged a big alumni performance at their final concert.  We had a few rehearsals together and about a hundred past students came together to sing a beautiful song called "I Am In Need Of Music."  It made me very nostalgic to sing with a choir that was super good again!  Mrs. Kirby was super surprised/emotional, it was cool to be a part of such a tribute to her.  

Some of the girls from the 2007 year - Shannon, Emma, Amy & me!

This is a picture from people in Tapestry in the 2006 / 2007 years.  We had a good turnout from people our age, so fun catching up with these folks!  It was a great evening I will remember forever. 

I have really enjoyed spending time catching up with family as well.  Last week I was able to go to lunch with one of my cousins, Margie, my aunts, & Mom.  Margie gave me some oils that are supposed to help with kidney stones (I feel like they really did!) and we had enjoyed some yummy food at Texas Roadhouse.  

One of the fun parts of coming home was getting to shop for a new car...  This is my car, his name is Wesson (my sister has a matching gun metal Nissan, named Smith.  Smith & Wesson, gun metal, get it?  We're funny, I know).  Mike and I decided a lease would work for us again, and I am enjoying cruising around town in this Nissan.  Thanks, Jana, for helping me find the perfect car!

Emilie, my rockstar hairstylist/best friend, transformed my hair once again!  It has grown crazy long (I never really found a stylist I liked in Hawaii, so I would always wait til I was back in Utah to have her to do it again; thus it got a little out of control at times).  Anyway, it is now my favorite color in the whole world and looking pretty nice, in my humble opinion.. :D  Glad to get all fancied up again!

The best times are spent with my favorite little people!  The top picture is at the movie theater in Farmington... my brother-in-law was a former manager there (he's moved onto finish accounting school now) but not before one last free movie!  Took the kids to see Rio 2, and loved watching the fountains afterwards.  

The bottom picture is my nephews being crazy (yes, they are 11 & 9... despite what you might think from the picture).  We went to get the Kong cones from Maceys... they are HUGE and there is way too much sugar in those things.  It was a fun day.  

Well, that's all that has been going on here.  Mike is doing well in his recruiter school in Texas, it sounds rigorous but he is over halfway done!  I can't wait to see him in June.  :D 

That's all for now!  

This Crazy Life!

Right now Mike and I are going through a very transitional period in our lives... Our three year adventure on the islands has come to a close and we are shifting gears into the next chapter of our lives.  Because it has been rather busy I have neglected my blog a little - here's to being a bit better now that life has slowed down a little bit!

A quick sum up of some of the major events of the last few months... 

#1 We are very excited to start our family!!  Our little boy is due Sept 19, 2014.  

Our baby announcement said, "We are excited to share that our family is growing by two feet!"  We have been waiting patiently for this little one to come into our lives and can hardly wait to meet him.  

#2 Our time on the islands has come to an end.  We felt very bittersweet about that - we are excited to be on the mainland close to family, but will really miss Hawaii, especially the Moanalua 1st Ward.  

The very last day at church they sang Aloha 'Oe and some members gave us leis.  It is hard to say goodbye, but I'm grateful to have made some wonderful friends/memories in Hawaii.  

#3 The last week we were in Hawaii I spent in the hospital with kidney stones... it was a crazy experience I hope to never repeat!  Mike was so wonderful and supportive - he had to deal with out-processing at work, the movers, the cleaners, turning in our lease, selling our other car, and taking care of me... and he never complained once.  I sure married a great guy.  Brother Burnett and Mike gave me a blessing and throughout the whole painful ordeal I knew everything would be just fine.  

#4  We had some last minute visitors ... Lisa, Grant, Marie & Carter were all able to make it out to the islands in the last months we were there.  It was so much fun to have them and see them feel the spirit of aloha!! 

Currently I am back in Utah now and Mike is in Texas for recruiter training.  He will complete school in six weeks... and we will begin our family / new adventure in Henderson, Nevada! 

Life is good! 

#BecauseofHim

This past Easter an unprecedented and beautiful event occurred. People all over social media used a church-endorsed hashtag - #BecauseofHim - to tell about what the Savior has done for them.  There was a beautiful clip about Christ and what our lives can be #BecauseofHim.  It gave me a deeper connection to many of my friends, to see what aspects of the Atonement they internalize in their lives most.  It caused me to reflect on my personal experiences, and the deep peace that I am able to feel #BecauseofHim.  I felt the spirit as humanity connected through this hashtag in a way that can only happen through the pure love of Christ.  

Because of Him, I can feel peace that surpasses all my understanding, despite all my shortcomings.  

Because of Him, I can overcome my weaknesses - and not only overcome them, but turn them into strengths. 

Because of Him, my ability to love others is deepened. 

Because of Him, I know my family will be together not only in this life, but in the next.  

Because of Him, I know that adversity lasts 'but a small moment' and I can endure a little, because He endured all.  

Because of Him, I can reach my full potential as a daughter of God.  The possibilities are limitless. 

I am so glad everyone came together to share what they can do, what they are becoming #BecauseofHim.  I hope this eternal truth becomes such a part of our life that the feeling transcends the Easter holiday, and becomes part of our everyday life.  

{The Process}

Lately I have been taught the truthfulness of the principle that the Lord teaches us things "line upon line, precept upon precept" (2 Nephi 28:30).  As impatient beings, especially with the ease with which we are able to get modern information, we want things instantaneously.  We want a big answer quickly all at one time.  

Most of the time, this is not how the Lord works.  We get pieces of light, illuminating not our entire path - but just the next step.  One step after another we prove to him that we trust Him - and He keeps lighting our way - contingent upon the faith we put into Him.    

Elder Bednar teaches, "Most typically we receive a series of seemingly small and incremental spiritual impressions and nudges, which in totality constitute the desired confirmation about the correctness of the path which we are pursuing."

One of college football's greatest coaches, Nick Saban, talks about something called "the process."  He says, "Eliminate the clutter and all of the things that are going on outside and focus on the things that you can control with how you go about and take care of your business.  Take the other team out of the game and make it all about you and what you do."

The process.  The Lord has a process.  We need to trust Him, ignoring all the things that can distract us from our ultimate goals, those things which can stop us from reaching our full potential.  If these distractions are allowed in our life we can so easily miss the small "nudges" of the spirit that we so desperately need when we are surrounded by so many conflicting options on all sides.  

This pattern is also the way we learn and grow spiritually.  Every doctrine of the gospel is so deep, so multi-faceted that it is impossible to learn in one Sunday school lesson, no matter how well presented the information may be.  The body needs constant nourishment - the spirit needs constant nourishment - everyday.  

I am glad to be a part of a church where "the process" is clear and I can be taught the mysteries of God "line upon line, precept upon precept." 

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/12/31/4912555/coach-nick-saban-has-success-model.html#storylink=cpy

{Big Island 2014}

So Mike and I have been planning a trip to Japan for over a year.  The idea started last year, and we have anxiously looked forward to our special trip, even listening to Japanese language lessons and trying to learn some basic phrases.  

However, some unexpected events prevented us from going on our dream trip at this time, so we made lemonade out of lemons and planned a trip to the Big Island instead!  

Mike has been dying to go back to Big Island (he went before we met with some friends) and so his dreams finally came true.  

When we arrived on the island we met a cute couple who was honeymooning from Boise, Idaho and had underestimated the price of a rental car, so we gave them a ride to their hotel.  They were really cute and it was fun to meet someone who is from close to home!  

We continued on a drive up around Kohala, the small town where King Kamehameha was raised.  It was a quaint old-school kind of town. 

Our favorite Big Island treat (pies) comes from this part of the island!

This is Holy's Bakery, where the must mouth-watering, savory pies are created.  The crust is so flakey and delicious and you can taste the butter... it's quite the treat.  When you bake them the butter literally drips down from the pies and creates a gooey mess in the bottom of your oven - proof of the deliciousness!  We picked up a few for the trip home.

We stayed at Kilauea Military Camp, which is located on the Kilauea Volcano. It was the best (and consequently, the cheapest) place to stay on island!  There was SO much to explore there.  

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We were both excited to see our cute little cottage that would be ours for the week! 

The first evening we walked around and explored the volcano, and made a game plan for the rest of the trip. 

These steam vents are constant.  It's a little eerie!

Mike put his hand over to see how how this vent was (spoiler alert, it was hot).  

Our second day was dedicated to volcano exploration.  

We started off early with the Thurston Lava Tube.  It was strange to walk through a tunnel that was once filled with lava flow. 

We took a hike along Devastation Trail - this is an example of some of the effects of the 1959 eruption of Kilauea.  

It was amazing to see the recovery of plant life on the volcano - plants grew right out of the rocks!

Another hike along Crater Rim Trail led us to this vent which was pretty active and fun to see.

After all the hiking we decided to take a drive down Crater Chain Road... The road ends with the beautiful view of the coast, where the lave meets the sea.  This amazing landmark is called the Ho'lei Arch. 

We ended the evening by going to this overlook where we could see the glow from the lava.  It was a fantastic day of volcanic exploration!

The next day was more of a beach type of day.  We started off with a visit to a beautiful black sands beach and saw lots of sea turtles, which are my favorite! 

This was another beautiful part of the beach park.

The next beach we went to was Green Sands Beach - it was strange but so fun to see!  We had to take quite a rough off roading trip to see this beach - so we definitely earned it!

This was another fun spot  - the most southern tip in the United States!  We saw TONS of whales and they were all playing in the water putting on quite the show.  Loved every minute!

The next place we visited was a memorial to Hawaiian royalty who once inhabited the area.  It was beautiful and fun to imagine how things used to be in the old Hawaii. 

The next day we went for a drive and saw some amazing waterfalls!

Rainbow Falls

Akaka Falls - this is taller than Niagra!

A scenic drive to Waipio Lookout - totally surreal. 

One of my favorite parts of the trip was doing a session in the Kona Temple.  It was beautiful and peaceful evening!

One of my favorite Hawaiian treats is macadamia nuts, so it was fun to tour this factory and get some tasty treats as well. 

On the last day of the trip we got a special tour of Mike's co-worker's farm in Kona.  He grew just about everything there - avocados, pineapples, lemons, potatoes, coffee... mostly coffee.  But it was so fun to walk around the farm and he sent us home with some delicious produce!  

It was a beautiful trip and just what we needed to recharge our batteries.  I can't wait until our next adventure!