Birthday Pics

I was so surprised. It was the coolest thing seeing all these wonderful people there.

Showing everyone how to "pinch dem tails and suck dem heads".

Cade's co-conspirators. Totally blind-sided. I had no idea.

Birthday Extravaganza- Taking Advice from Trish

A wise woman once told me that I should make every birthday as special as I want it to be. So I did. Thursday night was our night for Taste-N-Trade. This time it was at my house. It was so much fun there were 12 girls that showed up with wonderful breakfast goodies. They were so sweet. Before we even got started, they sang "Happy Birthday" to me. It was so appreciated. After we had eaten and gabbed for a couple hours, the girls left. Andrea hung out and we talked for a while since we hadn't seen each other in forever when the phone rang. I assumed that it was Cade calling to see if he could come home as he had left to go to his parents' house to give us girls to some testosterone-free fun (isn't he the sweetest?!?!). It was Jess on the other end seeing if I wanted to play a game since I would be out of town on my birthday. So she came over and the three of us played the Twilight game. It was so much fun! It was a great night.

Friday came and Cade called me to see what I would want to do since we were going to be out of town on my birthday. Last year, our good friends Bryce and Trish took us out to eat and out to the Redlands temple for my birthday. I think that I want to keep that as a tradition for me. So I asked Cade to take me to a session at the temple. We barely made it, but it was such a wonderful ecperience. I love when you get that feeling of absolute peace. It is so wonderful to be away from the chaos of the world and just have complete peace of mind, body and spirit. After we had completed our session, Cade took me out to California Pizza Kitchen. Oh so yummy! I love going on dates with my sweetheart. He is so great to talk to and he spoils me rotten. "Get whatever you want" is usually what I hear. So we both got our different pies (he- a meat lovers with every animal on it one could imagine me- a BBQ Chicken Hawaiian pizza with huge-o chunks of pineapple on it). It was so delicious. A wonderful night of spiritually refilling our cups, of fabulous conversation with the man of my dreams.

Saturday was my actual birthday. Cade woke me up with a kiss and a "happy birthday". Then my phone rings. Trish and Bryce called to sing "happy birthday" to me. It was such a lovely surprise. After that, there several phone calls and text messages from family and dear friends. I was very pleased. That afternoon we headed out to Parker to help out the Crawfords and Crooks with getting things ready for the trek reunion. It was so great to be working and serving others. It was a change of pace than I am used to for my birthday. It was a lovely activity with the kids getting together with their leaders and to remember the feelings they had while we were on the trek.

Sunday was a wonderfully busy day. I had to teach sharing time, which I think went really smoothly. Then Jill asked me if I could come over to help her prepare for her activity that is being held on Wednesday. So I went over and wound up spending about 2 1/2 hours talking. It was so great. She told me that she was going to be taking Ron and Faye over to my house in like 15 mintues for cake. So I headed home and walked in the garage. I walked in the door and my sweet friends were there to surprise me. Cade had been orchestrating this surprise crawfish boil for weeks. It was such a pleasant surprise. I'm so glad that I was able to be surrounded by wonderful people on my birthday. It was really fun teaching people how to eat crawfish and seeing them succeed. Crawfish can be tricky. I am glad that we were able to share something that is so special to me and my family with those dears that are here. Thanks to all who helped make it a wonderful day.

Dream Come True

We (meaning mostly I) were so excited to take a wonderful and much needed vacay to the beautiful island of Kauai. It has got to be the most beautiful places on Earth. It is still mostly untouched from tourism. There are jungles and beautiful forests with amazing beaches and views of the ocean.
We were so excited to be able to just lay out and enjoy all of our senses being engaged. It was so beautiful. I am convinced that I need a sound machine to be able to properly fall asleep now. The sound of crashing waves is the only thing that will soothe me. (Maybe if I convince myself and Cade of that we will have to get at least a time share or something there.)

This is the restaurant where we got to eat breakfast every morning. They open these floor to ceiling window panels so we can hear the ocean in the morning. What was actually pretty funny was that each morning we got one table closer to the deck until the last morning when we did eat on the deck. Oh I know you're probably tired of me saying it, but it was soooo gorgeous.

Just a quick pic after some fun in the sun.

(Disclaimer: Speedo approaching) So I did the best I could to limit the damage, but I had to show you our first speedo sighting. What is it with foreigners thinking that we all want to see their 'blessings"? I get that it is normal there but no thanks. Cade was playing in the water when I took this picture. He sees the guy and runs back laughing. He says "Tell me you got that." All I do is smile and say, "I'm so lucky I married you."

We went this amazing luau at the Hyatt down the road from our hotel. The food was delicious and the dancers were amazing. I can't imagine being able to do anything remotely as coordinated as the dancing they were doing. The girls were all so beautiful.

As we are entering the courtyard where it is being held, they were handing out Mai Thai's for the adults and fruit juice for the kids. So after we had both received out leis, we were the only two that went to get juice. It was pretty funny.

The opening ceremony- I have a video, but watch your volume. There is a brief moment where there is some interference with the microphone, but it only lasts a second. The videos are at the very end.

The microphone interruption is around 28 seconds and lasts only a second. All I have to say is if I could move my hips like these ladies, I can think of one person who would be very pleased if that were true.

I ask your forgiveness with this one as well. I am in the background gasping as if I am this poor fellow's mother and cheering him on. It's your call with the sound. Just so you know the thing lit on fire is a gigantic knife. Now how sharp it is, I don't know. It is really neat, though.

Our Zip-Lining Adventure

This was the start off point. Thirteen of us rode in a cramped bus along with our instructors. They were the coolest. Their names were Lucas and Carina over at Outfitters Kauai (www.outfitterskauai.com). They were so laid-back and informative. They had these amazing stories to tell. We got strapped up here so you can imagine what the rest of the hike looked like.
Just getting started. I'm sure you ladies already figured this, but all the guys were worried that they might be smothered a little. Not to worry. Lucas led the way. I was so excited. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

This was our first line. We got to ride it twice because so many people get freaked and close their eyes the first time across. It was super sweet. There was a waterfall to our right.

Picture of the waterfall and stream we passed on our first cable.

Cade analyzing the situation.

He is doing what they called an "iron cross". You walk up to the edge of the platform and turn around. You hold your arms out straight and just fall backwards without grabbing onto your tether. It was the sweetest feeling. You are literally free falling for a few seconds.

This is our second cable. We got a little bit of repelling in this one. We got to go backwards for this one. To the right (my left) is a cave behind a waterfall where a little ninja statue is hidden. To the left (my right) is a smaller waterfall and stream that feed the previous waterfall.

This is where we stopped for lunch. This group was amazing. Not only do you get to take this sick adventure, but they pack lunch for you as well. It was so great. I would highly recommend if you are Kauai to look up this company. It was amazing.

Our Zip-Lining Adventure Continued

This was our third line after lunch. Yes, that is a ladder on the other plank. On this particular line, Lucas (one of our guides) told us that there was an extra special way to cross this one. A person would run off the platform and turn around as his foot was leaving. Then in the air, heave his or her body upside down and hang with no hands. What was even better was that this particular line had two cables running side by side. So of course Cade and I turned it into a competition. It was so great. Someone lost her shoe. Others shrieked the entire time. It was fantastic! Such a rush!
This bridge was used to test every one's knees shaking. It was a 120 ft. drop and was not very stable to walk across. They said that if anyone got sick, they would not be able to complete the last two lines. It was so amazing to look over the edge. There were so many beautiful plants and ferns. I just felt like I was in paradise.

This was our fourth cable. It was so amazing. This is the one that I manned up and went first on. It was so intimidating. We are start by standing on this extremely high platform and literally step off into nothing. It looked as if we were going to be clobbered by trees, but we just glided right through them.

Cade coming in. He was doing what they called "The Cannon Ball". It helps the person go super fast along the cable.

The landscape pictures are areas we hiked past and through. They are also where Jurassic Park was filmed.

This was our final cable. It was over half a mile long. It was so amazing. That little white line in the tree line is our landing deck. It was so amazing. Your body just hangs in the air as you glide across the tree tops. Looking down you can see streams and paths throughout the jungle. All sorts of plant life and rock formations. Looking around you just see the never-ending horizon. Beautiful mountains. It was so amazing. After we landed on the plank, there was a watering hole that we were able to hike to and go swimming for a while. It was so beautiful. It was nice a cool and had this beautiful stream that fed it. I was stunned.

As we were sitting on the veranda enjoying our dinner, the sun had started to set. We were able to just sit there and enjoy this beautiful jewel of a place. It was so amazing. There were surfers riding the waves. Kids laughing down by the shore. Couples strolling along the paths that wound throughout the property. It was so romantic. We finished eating and set out on the lawn to watch the sun set.

Our Last Day in Paradise

This is on the beach on the property of our hotel. The building in the corner is where we ate breakfast every morning. There is nothing like eatting a meal with the ocean breeze blowing and hearing the waves crashing on the shore.

This is the view from our hotel room. It was so gorgeous. I would love waking up to this every morning.

For our last day on the beautiful island of Kauai, we did absolutely nothing but lay on the beach and play in the waves. It was so amazing. This has to be one of my most favorite trips ever (including future ones). It was so great to be able to spend such quality time together. We were able to just sit there and be with each other without any distractions. (I am so glad that both of our phones died.) It makes me so appreciative of Heavenly Father's hand in everything. Every thing was so beautiful and peaceful. I hope that some day we will be able to go back.

Girls Night

Ruth was Julia's puppet.

Since we had 5 people, Ruth was on both teams. Such a hard worker.
(Jess, Ruth, Adena)

I love having such a wonderful group of women around me all the time. I have the best friends. Every once in a while we decide that we are going to hang together for games or something. The latest adventure was at my house. It was so much fun. We blew the dust off the Cranium box and split into teams. It was so much fun. It's so funny how the later it gets, the crazier it gets. It was so much fun. Thanks girls for coming over.