Hawaii

Since it's been a few months I think I will finally put up some pictures from our Hawaii Trip.

For Christmas my parents took our whole family there. Needless to say, it was awesome!




Some quick highlights of the trip:

Lucy slept the whole way there on the airplane. That was cool!

Staying across the street from the beach in Waikiki

Going to the Pipeline Masters Surf Contest

Lucy got stung by a jellyfish the first day out on the beach, after only a few minutes in the water

Snorkeling Hanauma Bay. Dave and I saw an eel. I wanted to get a closer look. Dave thought I was crazy and wouldn't let me.

Seeing my cousin Channy and her husband Sean.

Getting awesome deals at the swap meet. (I still haven't given Lisa her cool Christmas present!)

Visiting Pearl Harbor

Racing across a little bay in Waikiki

Swimming to Chinaman's Hat. It was Lucy's first real Kayaking adventure. I know we have put her in the shallow water before, but I don't think we ever actually kayaked with her.

Surfing lots and lots. It was Dave's first time getting up and Lucy's first time surfing (of course, she didn't stand up).

Watching Brian surf the big waves!

Swimming with turtles.

Visiting the Polynesian Culture Center.

Eating really good pineapple

Christmas Caroling in Foodland (local grocery store) on Christmas Eve

Lucy got pink flip flops from Santa for Christmas that she still loves and talks about. She had wanted flip flops for a very long time.

Christmas Day we went to watch huge waves at Waimea Bay (They were about 40 feet I think). We watched about 30 guys get thrashed by a huge set. Boards were washing up, broken in two. All the guys came in except 5 crazy ones. Lucy caught a ladybug while we were watching.

Dave and I hiked Laie Falls. I love hiking in Hawaii!

My favorite was swimming without getting cold!

Thank You so much for the best Christmas Present ever Mom and Dad!

Arches Adventure Day 3

September 3 - Arches Adventure- Day 3

We started the beautiful morning on the swing set. You can just barely see the beautiful red rock and sunflowers in the background if you look closely.

While hiking to Landscape Arch, we encountered a huge, cool lizard. Dave was happy to see something cool, even if we didn't get to see any scorpions on our trip (that is what he was hoping for!)



Lucy hiked almost the whole mile to see Landscape Arch (she wimped out once we hit a sandy portion of the trail). This was one of my favorite arches. It is so long and skinny. Very impressive that you can find things like this in nature, somebody must have had a little fun along with all the hard work creating the world.

Here's Lucy flashing a big smile from her sacrificial diaper changing rock. It made for a nice changing table.


The entrance to the Sand Dune Arch. Lucy says "No Trespassing!"

A family pic a little bit farther into the hike

I am making this hike sound long. It was only .2 miles, but it was beautiful so I took a lot of pictures on the "long" sandy trek. Here is Dave scaling the crevice.


This was definitely Lucy's favorite Arch. Shoes off, rolling down the dune. This is the life.

The sand was sooooooo soft! We spent the most time here out of anywhere that we visited in the park. It just felt too good to sit barefoot in the shade.

Here is a picture on our way out of Lucy copying her Daddy.


Goodbye arches. We love you!


This was an amazing trip! I can't believe I have lived in Utah for so long and this was my first trip here. I had camped in Goblin Valley before, which wasn't very far away, but had never made it out here. I just had no idea it was so breathtaking. I thought we would get here and see two cool arches and then be ready to go. Instead, there were hundreds of arches, and even when there weren't arches there were extremely impressive rock structures. It's only 3 hours from P-town, so make sure you visit on your next Utah trip!

Arches Adventures- Days 1-2

Arches Adventures - Days 1-2

September 1st and 2nd

Happy Birthday Heidi! In Honor of you, we traveled South and went camping!

We decided in the afternoon on September 1st, we better go on a cool trip before Dave gets a job and may have a more complicated process to get time off.

So at 7:00 p.m. we made up our minds to leave right away. We threw everything in the car as fast as we could and were on the road by 7:30 p.m. Dave and I are just like that sometimes. Neither one of us really likes to plan very far in advance.

Since we left so late we stopped at Green River to camp. This was Lucy's first time sleeping in a tent so of course we documented it with a picture. She really loved the tent, although she didn't display that by sleeping very well in it.


Outside Arches National Park Visitor center Lucy found a friend that also had two ponies.


Our first stop along the trek, Park Avenue.

At this point, I looked at some map and thought we could hike to "Balanced Rock" from here. So we went on a hike, and luckily after only one mile we came to the road again and realized that "Balanced Rock" was miles away. I guess what they say about women reading maps might be true, at least for me. Dave hiked back and got the car for us. I was extremely impressed with Lucy, because she hiked the whole mile and absolutely refused to be carried. Even when we stopped to wait for Dave to get the car, she wanted to keep hiking.

Here are some pictures of our very awesome, short hike to the road that we drove on to get to "Balanced Rock":

Lucy going under a Lucy sized arch that we found



Dave and Lucy, with "The Three Gossips" in the Background



Here is the cool rock Lucy and I ate lunch underneath, while Dave fetched the car.

After getting in the car and driving 9 miles, we finally reached "Balanced Rock." I am sure glad we didn't try to keep hiking there!

Here is Dave and Lucy trying to blow "Balanced Rock" over

Pretty cool, huh?


And we don't look like we have been sweating out here or anything

Here is Lucy trying to balance her own rocks. These interested her much more than the random huge balanced rock above her head.


Ah, and here is the artist in me, capturing the real "Balanced Rock" with Lucy trying to balance her rock. I thought it was sweet.


Do you think Dave is strong enough to push it over?


Maybe with the help of Lucy he can. Lucy didn't understand what we were doing of course, but she really wanted to pretend to do whatever Daddy was doing too. I couldn't get her to line up perfectly, but she sure tried hard.


Here is one of the Window Arches. I thought it was pretty cool and worth a picture.


Here is the other Window Arch (I think).


Double Arches (This was one of my favorites!)



Dave asked some ladies, while video taping, "Where's the arches? Are they up here somewhere?" while we were standing underneath them. They were foreign and tried to explain to us that we were already there. We pretended to react as though we had no idea we were right underneath it. It was funny. Maybe if I get highly motivated sometime I will post the video.



Here is the view from up at the arch



Who's that hot silhouette?


It's me!


Here is the most famous "Delicate Arch"which is also on our license plate. We didn't hike to it because Lucy was asleep and it was supposedly a somewhat hard, 3 hour hike. Maybe next trip. It's not too bad of a shot, zoomed completely in with my camera.

After a long hot Day, we set up camp at Slide Rock campground in Moab. The campsites were pretty small and shabby, but they had a pool and that was all that mattered to Lucy. Even the freezing temperature didn't stop her. Here she is jumping in (one of her favorite pool pastimes).


Look at the love on those faces, even through chattering teeth.


What a perfect ending to a perfect day! We celebrated the evening by going to the grocery store and buying Green Machine Naked Juice, which we also discovered was one of Lucy's favorite things (as well as mine). The adventures aren't over yet! Stay tuned for Day 3 of our Arches Adventures tomorrow.

Old Friends. Good Times.

June 29 - Had a fun Little Reunion

While in Spokane we hooked up with some of the old gang for a sweet little get together. We didn't plan to all be here at the same time, it was just a very happy coincidence (that I always hoped would happen someday), so we were wonderfully surprised get together! How cool for Dave to experience high school & college (glad I could be there for the college bit) with such wonderful friends and now see everybody with their cute little kids running around . I'm sure he could have never imagined ten years ago what cute little kids they would all have. I sure wish we could go through the child rearing phase all together too, but I guess there were other people in Texas and Arizona who needed some seriously cool friends!



Lucy and Dakota Daines playing in the Pool.



The kids were pretty tired. This was the best group shot I got. They are sooo cute playing altogether.

And here is the gang. Ahhh, what a good looking group!

Personality Check

Just wanted to jot down a few things about my girl for those who are Lucy obsessed.

Yesterday she counted from one to five without skipping any numbers all by herself. I couldn't believe it! I praised Lucy so much, she didn't know what to do. Later that day, with a little coaxing, she counted 4 airplanes or as Lucy says "awpane"s while pointing to each in her book. Usually she just says one, two, two two, as she points at them! My is she growing up!

A few weeks ago she started going up and down stairs without holding the handrails. I was impressed.

She is great on the big girl swing, and is pretty much done with the baby swings. She moves her body with the swing and even pumps her legs half the time. I guess if all you do at the park is swing for an hour you master it quickly. It usually takes quite a bit of excitement to get her to do anything else at the park. A normal day at the park consists of starting in the baby swing, moving to the big girl swing, swinging on Mama's lap, pushing Mama on the swing, then playing airplanes with our tummy's on the swing. At this point I am tired of swinging and try to convince her to go on the playset. We go up the stairs and then she just swings on the bar above the slide for about 3 minutes, finally decides to go down and then runs back to the swings. Pretty amazing considering she hated the $100 baby swing we bought for her as an infant! My favorite thing about the swings is the way Lucy says it "swwwwwwwing." She always draws the word out and then finishes it with excitement!

She has learned to say "No Thank You" which is very pleasant. The Pendergrass' dog, Timber, was licking her face this morning and she told her "No Thank You" while trying to cover her face. Priceless moment!

She sings something very similar to the ABC song, at least to the letter "p." She has "ABCDE " skip "f" to "g" and then comes "nenenenen" "P." It delights me when I hear her start singing that while playing by herself. I am glad there is someone who always wants to sing with me.

I found out that Lucy is a fish. I am very sad to be leaving the beach ( I guess now is a good time to mention that we are moving back to Utah, I have been in denial and so I haven't posted anything about it, guess I had to confess sometime!), but I have realized that Lucy will survive anywhere as long as we have access to a pool. We have taken her to the pool a few times recently and she is obsessed. She has no fear. She will jump off the edge whether someone is there to catch her or not, which concerns me. She doesn't even have floaties, she just dunks under until someone helps her up. She loves to go underwater, which surprises me because half the time she gulps water and forgets to close her eyes, but then she just wants to do it again anyway. She kicks and paddles at the same time pretty well and never wants to get out. She even jumped off the diving board for the first time. She saw me diving and really wanted to try. Like mother like daughter I guess!

Anyway, she is a fun, sweet girl and I feel privledged to be her Mother. I am so happy that parenting has become a blast. It makes me laugh everyday and brings me more joy than I could have ever imagined. I have to admit, I was really worried parenting was going to be long and hard when she was a baby. I am thrilled that is not the case. I guess some babies just have different temperments and Lucy seems to like being a kid much better than being a baby. Well, whether she does or not, I sure enjoy it!

Emergency Evacuation

I'm desperately trying not to fall asleep right now. It is 11:30 a.m. here in San Diego and the last couple days I have slept away the afternoon, as I ignored the need to get rid of jet lag. Today, I just have to stay awake, so I have to do something brain engaging, and I know I kind of left you hanging, so here is the end of the story. I will try to make it short and comprehendable given my quite unalert state right now. Once again this is a continuation of the last post, so if you feel confused please see the post before this one ("Just one of those days... part II")


We spent Tuesday in the hospital and Dave finally convinced me we just couldn't stick it out in Korea. After Lucy's first hospital visit we were considering coming home early. I wanted to be strong and stick it out so badly, probably mostly based on pride, while David just wanted to send our little girl home so no one else could touch her and get her sick again. I had been praying about the matter all weekend and knew what the Lord wanted, but just really didn't want to admit it and thought maybe we could at least wait a month and do all the last things I wanted to. After beginning a second hospital visit, and hearing her start to cough (knowing it was because of her previous close quarters with pneumonia patients) I knew the trip was swiftly upon us.




We looked at flights and determined that I had to go asap. Tomorrow would be the day. Lucy was still vomiting, related to her Salmonella infection, but now with the cough we thought "who knows what she is coming down with. We have gotta get her home before she gets any worse, so we can get some American medical treatment and get her a little farther away than 2 ft. from all these other probably contagious babies." I would fly with Lucy, while David would wait until they found a replacement at work to fly home (we loved his employer and couldn't just desert him with a bunch of English classes). I worried about bringing my sick baby on the plane, but prayed for comfort and confidence.


Wednesday morning at the hospital, I started vomiting. From about 3:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., I was not in good shape, running down the hall of the hospital hoping to make it to the restroom every hour if you get my drift. Dave wondered if we would be able to make it on the plane that evening and I assured him I would be fine, no matter how sick I got. Never before has the Lord fortified me with such confidence amidst such hopeless circumstances.


We asked the Doctor to release us (those demanding Americans) and said we were leaving for America. Knowing my current condition, he offered to put me on and IV to rehydrate me and give me the strength for the ensuing journey home. At first I was like "are you kidding me? An IV was practically the worst part of labor with Lucy, and you think I would willing hook up to one of those things?" but then as I tried to walk around the hospital only to get light headed after a few seconds, I acquiesced, seeing the wisdom. So Lucy and I spent our last few hours in Korea, just chillin' on the gurney, re hydrating together, while Dave called in sick at work and went home to pack for the two of us.





We left the hospital at 3:30 p.m. and were in the air at 9:45 p.m. I called all my dearest friends on the way to the airport and shared with them my sorrow that I would not get to say goodbye personally. I cried as I left my sweet husband at security and wondered when I would see him again. And then we were off. We had a whole row to ourselves on a moderately full flight. I couldn't have been more grateful, and knew once again that the Lord was keeping a special eye on us. Lucy slept a lot and didn't get sick too many times and we made it home. We practically kissed the ground as we got off the plane and met my Mom, who had been informed of our journey only 24 hours before. Life can change quick...one moment you think you won't see your grand baby for 9 more months and then 24 hours later she is by your side.


I am happy to be home (definitely looking forward to a winter in California as opposed to South Korea, or Utah, or any other cold place that I have suffered in for the last 6 years away from home), but missing Dave. There is nothing like having your Mom to take care of you, and I didn't realize how much I needed taking care of after the last 2 and 1/2 sleepless weeks. Lucy is improving, still pretty wiped out and vomiting a little, but with bouts of playfulness. I have called the doctors and am keeping a close watch for any signs we should head to the hospital. Once again, I am so grateful to have American doctors close by, who I can call and actually talk to.


So we aren't "Kickin' it in Korea" anymore, well me and Lucy aren't anyway. If you have any ideas for a new blog title do share. I guess the moral of the story is "there is no place like home." I had an awesome experience and will always look back fondly on my time abroad. What can I say? This is life with Lucy. She is absolutely in every way too adorable to survive in Korea, and I can't complain because it is half my fault. I guess she will have to wait until she is a little older and can stand up for herself to live abroad. For now this is the end except for one thing, a plea if you will:


Please tell anyone you think might be interested there is an awesome English Teaching job available in Korea! Best employer, Best City, Best pay, Best everything else you can think of! All you need is a four year degree in any subject. If you are interested I will get you details, leave me a comment with your email address! Please, help me search and get my husband home for Christmas!

The Return of the Elders

Saturday, I got to dive a little deeper into Dave's mission days, as one of his favorite companions, KC Kern was visiting Korea. We met up in one of their old areas, Anseong (about 1 1/2 hours by bus from our home in Ansan), for a wonderful trip down memory lane (for Dave that is, I was just soaking up every detail from his mission that came back to him, and loved hearing new stories from his mission that I still hadn't heard after 3 years of marriage).

We met up with one of the former Elder's favorite investigators, Joyce, who treated us to a fancy Korean lunch. It was absolutely perfect, and I even tried octopus (don't worry it wasn't the live kind that they cut up in front of you, while you try to grab the legs with your chopsticks before they wriggle off your plate. Dave says you have to chew that kind really well or else they will suction to your throat. Sometimes I think my taste buds are turning Korean, and then I remember I still have along way to go!). I actually liked it, but just looking at the suction cups on the legs didn't make me want to eat a whole lot!

I thought you would get a kick out of how many dishes are on the table. In Korea you get a dish, and they also bring many many side dishes. Surprisingly, this picture was taken after they had already cleared the first course! Can you believe it?
Joyce took us on a scenic drive of Anseong...

...after we saw this sign we were worried we might crash into the lake. You will be happy to know we survived without any casualties!
Next we stopped at this Tea House. After the large lunch I couldn't imagine having anything else, so David and I shared a glass of hot Citron Juice (Orange, lemony hot drink, with cut up peels, very delicious and tasted packed with vitamin C) I was in love with how picturesque it was, from the large purple couches we sat on that reminded me of Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" to the gentle music and gorgeous view. Lovely is really the only word to describe this experience (Lucy enjoyed it as well, as she napped in Dave's arms, maybe that is why I had such a good time!).
Outside the Tea House I caught a cute picture of Lucy's ringlet...haha...I guess only a mother would notice that sort of thing about this picture. I am so glad the humidity here in Korea has brought out the curls on my little girl.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the area. This area seemed a little more ancient, than the area we live in. Many houses reflected ancient architecture, there was more hidden alleyways, and altogether it was just brimming with character. I couldn't resist snapping a shot of these cute Grandmas just chillin' in the alleyway.
Here is Dave with KC outside their old house. They lived on the second floor, which means those lower two windows were theirs.
We ate a snack and watched Lucy play with Dave in the land of the smurfs. (I was so wishing I had some blue body paint and a white diaper so I could get a picture of my little baby in Smurfland...okay...just kidding, even for a funny picture I don't know if I would paint my daughter blue! But you have got to admit, this playground certainly does have the smurf feeling...)
I think this was the first time Lucy went on a slide with her Dad. Yay for mushroom slides!
I don't know if I was just being more observant because of the meandering feeling of the day, or what, but I sure saw a whole lot of spiders. I looked up in this alleyway and saw at least 40 of these gigantic spiders (yeah you think they look bad in this picture, up close they are neon!) I can only count 5 in this picture, but you have to imagine tons of these guys above our heads. The funny thing is I think my arachnophobia is getting a little better, because rather than running, I had to get a picture, then suddenly I imagined them all dropping from their webs and landing on us and my heart started racing and I immediately had to get out of there, but for a moment there, I did really well.
Here's one at the bus stop we found praying on a Cicada. This vicious sight totally helped me cope with my spider fears (yeah right!).
We found a traditional stone bridge...
And I took a million pictures as usual...I just couldn't get enough of the perfect reflection in the water!
They were preparing for a festival, setting up ancient stuff, so I think this guy was just tightening bolts and what not, but this picture still seemed to take me back a hundred years to the way things were in Ancient Asia...waterwheel, stone steps across the river, some reeds and a wide brimmed hat...I love it! A truly enjoyable day, picturesque to be precise, I hope it will forever remain like a picture in my mind!