Waimeia Canyon

We thought Waimeia Canyon was gorgeous. They say it's the Pacific Island's Grand Canyon. On such a small island I can't believe they have such a deep canyon. We were up at this observation deck and asked this young couple if they would take out picture. They agreed and the wife took the camera. While we were getting ready the husband told us that they would take the picture even with Steve's blue BYU hat on. We found out that they were from Utah and he had graduated from the University of Utah. Steve had his BYU shirt on and we stopped at a McDonalds and a cute little guy with no teeth said something about BYU's volleyball team. Wearing a college t-shirt is a great conversation starter.

At the end of the road you could see the Napali coastline. It was so pretty. They had a sign for a small mile hike. We weren't really dressed for hiking but thought that we could easily do a mile hike. We started out and it was fine. The ground was a little muddy, and when we were on our boat ride the captain had mentioned that the dirt up in these mountains turn into an ice-rink when it gets muddy. He was right on. I kept slipping and it was a bit scary taking a step because you didn't feel in control. It was hilly and thank goodness for all the folige because I had to keep grabbing it so I could stay upright.
This is what the trail looked like. By the time we got back to the car out feet where caked with mud. It was the worst hike I have ever been on. I never knew a two mile round trip hike could take that long. The sad thing is the view never got better so we could have saved us alot of time and stayed clean just staying at the top. After the canyon we stopped in Waimeia at a little shrimp shop and had one of the best meals. I had shrimp tacos and they were so good. I'm really missing the wonderful sea-food we had in Kauai.

Kauai

Sometime this winter Steve was looking on the internet and found a deal to fly us to Kauai and it would only cost us 40,000 miles. That is a great deal to go to Hawaii and since we have always wanted to visit Kauai I told him to book it. We figured May would be a great month to go. It is very nice not to plan our vacations around the school system. That is one plus to being empty nesters.

We got to Kauai and the only activity we really wanted to do was get on a zodiac boat and see the Napali coastline. This was our third day on Kauai and the sun was still hiding behind the clouds. I was starting to think that the sun doesn't shine in Kauai. We put on sun-screen before we took off but with the cloud cover didn't reaply and almost got burned. The tops of my legs were getting a bit red and Steve's chest was getting red.

Being on the zodiac was great because he was able to take us into the caves and under the waterfalls. I wasn't pleased when he took me right under the fertility waterfall. Hopefully that is an old Hawaiian legend.
The coastline was so beautiful. Steve had brought his scuba camera so we were able to keep it out the whole time. We got a seat right up front and the waves were coming over our head and soaking us. The water was pretty rough.
At one cave he floored it and we couldn't see anything but the dark. It was a bit scary but cool.

We stopped for lunch at a beach that has an ancient Hawaiian village. We got to take a tour of it and hear some of the history of how they lived. Our guide pointed out that back then the women's only chore was to take care of the children. The men cooked and gathered the food. I'm thinking that was a great life.
After lunch and the tour we spent some time snorkling. The corel in Kauai looks really dead and this was the only cool thing we saw. They call them convict fish, I guess because of their stripes. They had some cold springs running into the ocean and after about ten minutes of snorkeling I had to get out because of the cold. It was fun and what a great way to see the coastline.

Taylor leaving for Long Beach

Before Taylor left for the MTC Steve booked us a trip to Kauai. We were pleasantly surprised when a week before we left Taylor wrote us in his e-mail that he would be flying to Long Beach the same morning we were leaving for Kauai.

We knew his flight was at 8:30 so we got to the airport around 6:30. We checked in and went to the gate his flight was leaving from. He wasn't there so we asked some other missionaires that were waiting if there was multiple buses that went to the airport that day and they informed us yes. We grabbed breakfast and then went to wait by security so we wouldn't miss him.
Before we had left for the airport Steve asked if I was going to cry. That could have been one of the dumbest questions he had ever asked. Being married to me for 27 years, surely he knew that of course I would cry. We were sitting and waiting when Steve saw a bunch of missionaries coming through security and there was Taylor. Just seeing him immediately got the tear ducts going. I tried really hard to stop before he got through. Steve was busy snapping pictures when one of the airport policemen came up to him and asked if we had a missionary. When Steve said yes he told him to get closer to take the picture. It was funny because right before Steve said I bet security comes over and asks me what I'm doing taking pictures.

Taylor was flying out with 9 other missionaries that were also going to Long Beach. Because he had been put in the intermediate spanish classes he didn't know them. Luckily his companion just wanted to make a phone call so while he was calling we grabbed Taylor breakfast and were able to talk for about an hour.

Taylor's confidence has grown and right before he boarded the plane he stopped and talked to this lady. I don't know what their conversation was about but he seemed very comfortable talking.

Here he is leaving for a wonderful opportunity. I'm excited for him and that we also get to share through e-mails this experience. He will make a great missionary and the people of Long Beach are in for a treat. Good Luck Taylor.

Kitchen Remodel

For the last three weeks we have been busy with a kitchen remodel. After we tore out the top cupboards I realized that I did not have a picture of what the kitchen looked like so this picture of Taryn and Zach at Taylor's farewell and Greg's homecoming will have to do. When we built we just had the standard oak cabinets put in. Over the years I have painted them white with a stain and then I painted them twice red. But as our family dynamics have changed the kitchen really didn't meet our needs.

So I talked Steve into looking for a new house with a kitchen that would work better for us. After a few months of searching we realized that house prices were still pretty high and since our home is almost paid off that it made more sense to remodel the kichen then buy a new house. So we found someone to custom build the cabinets and when he came out to look and give us some options we decided to tear out the part they had framed out above the cabinets. He assured us that only once has he ever ran into anything in them. Well he doesn't tell anybody that anymore. We had a lazy builder who hired even lazier subs so there was wiring and plumbing and all sorts of stuff that should not have been there.

Luckily I married a handy man and he was able to fix the wiring and plumbing and sheetrock it up. He even took out our big florescent light and put in recessed lighting. He is amazing and I'm lucky to be married to him. He is also smart and one afternoon Greg had a couple of his friends over so Steve put them to work helping us tear out the remaining cabinets.
It is nice to have someone else do the hard work.
This is what it looked like all torn up. We did that Monday and that night I started painting and getting it ready for the cabinets to be installed on Wednesday.

Here are my new cabinets and I couldn't be happier. We took out our bar and he built me the cutest island. It has a butcher block top and is perfect for preparing dinner on. They have measured for the granite and it will be installed in a week. I never realized how much I use my kitchen sink. I've been hauling dishes up to the bathtub for a week and have another week left. But I don't mind the inconvenience because I love my new kitchen.

Snowy but great weekend

This weekend we headed up to the cabin to open it up for the year. We knew the weather would be cold and snowy but Greg really wanted to go up so we did. Knowing that the road down to the cabin would still be snow-packed we made plans to get all the stuff and ourselves inside. We were pleasantly surprised when we drove up and found that our great neighbor Tom had plowed the road for us. We made it inside on dry roads and thought we were safe. The next morning when we woke up and saw that it had snowed 6 inches, Steve decided that he better drive the truck out to the road in case it kept snowing.

Greg really wanted to go to the cabin so he could propose to Lauren up there. During the break in conference on Saturday they took a windy cold walk and he asked her to marry him. We are excited to have Lauren in our family and think they make a cute couple. They don't have a date yet but sometime this summer. I took this picture hoping you could see the ring in it, I will have to post another one with the ring later. That night Steve and Greg rode the four-wheeler out to the truck and drove down to watch Priesthood. Me, Taryn and Lauren just hung around the cabin, playing games and relaxing.

Easter morning we woke up to another 4 inches of snow and lots of sunshine. It was so beautiful. During the break in conference we went for a long walk and enjoyed being outside with the sun on our faces.
Of course Steve and Greg had to cross the river. We walked along the ditch bank and we would be walking along fine and then somebody would step and sink up to their knees. It got hilarious watching someone walking fine and then sinking to their knees.
We found a patch of ice on the river and tried to break it apart by throwing rocks. I have a hard time passing the river without throwing rocks into it.

We played outside for an hour then headed back inside to prepare dinner and get ready for the last session of conference. Taryn and Steve spent the time listening and putting together puzzles. The first one had 1000 pieces and they did it. The company was fun, the scenery beautiful and conference was amazing. I can't wait to watch the talks again and again. I'm so excited for Greg and Lauren and this new stage in their lives. If we had Taylor and Heather's family with us then it would have been the perfect weekend.

Snowshoeing and the Cabin

After dropping Taylor off at the MTC on Wednesday, I knew that I needed to get away that weekend and stay busy. Since I haven't been out to the cabin this winter we decided to snowshoe in and spend the night.

We parked the truck and walked up the road to the cabin. It is always a relief to me when I see it standing and all the windows intact. Inside it was a balmy 40 degree's, but everything looked great. It amazes me that there is no dust. You would think after sitting for a few months there would be a layer of dust, but it's perfectly clean.

We decided to go out walking and was able to cross a spot on the river that was still crusted over with ice. We headed up the road and Steve had the bright idea that we would again cross the river and walk down the ditch bank along the hill. He knew his snow boots were water-proof, but I didn't know if mine were. Luckily they were and we made it across the river okay. On the other side the snow was really deep and very soft. Even with snow shoes we still were sinking in up to the tops of our legs. At one point I could not pull my snow shoes out and had to unhook them and pull them out with my hand. Luckily by the time we hit the ditch bank the snow was firmer and we were able to walk without sinking.
That night a storm came in and it was so beautiful watching the snow fall. We pulled the table in front of the fireplace and passed the time eating and playing cards. Steve won every hand and I'm still waiting for a rematch. We turned on the electric blanket and slept really warm all night. The next day you couldn't even see our tracks where we had walked in. Unfortunately the wind blew all morning and I had no desire to explore, so around noon we packed up and headed home. It was a fun to be with Steve and to be back up at the cabin. Can't wait to open it up General Conference weekend.

Elder Taylor

It's official we have another missionary. It's something I always wanted my boys to do and I'm proud that they have lived worthy to serve the Lord. Taylor has had a long wait to serve. He got his call the end of November and would have packed up and left then. I'm glad that we got some time with all the kids together before he left.

Personally after hearing stories from other parents about dropping their sons off at the MTC and watching the sad video and then seeing the missionairies go out one door and the families leave through another, I was grateful that we now just drop them off at the curb. I cry at the drop of a hat and am not a pretty when I cry. It was much easier to say a quick goodbye.

We had a number of people tell us at Taylor's farewell that he gave the talk of a returned missionary, his testimony was so strong. So I'm excited to see him grow even stronger in his testimony and to receive his e-mails. I'm glad to live in this time and to be able to receive those weekly e-mails from my missionaires. I don't know how mom's made it waiting for the snail mail.
I can't count down the days until his return because the number is too high right now, but I only have two more Christmas's without him and then he will be home. Two isn't a high number.