Maui

I know it has been forever since I posted the first part of our trip, but just in case there is anyone out there that still cares, here I am with the second half.  We start right off with the flight over there, which was most likely the shortest trip of my life.  I thought this captured the spirit of Aloha quite nicely!

We stayed in Kaanapali, so we bummed around Lahaina for our first evening there and ran into a celebrity.  Well, I'm sure it probably wasn't him, but doesn't he look an awful lot like Chuck Norris?!?!

Aaron worked the next morning while I was busy getting a sunburn and reading the super-depressing-I'm-so-glad-I'm-an-American A Thousand Splendid Suns.  He thought he would teach me to surf, hence the long board but my back wasn't up for the challenge.  Maybe next time!  I was content just chilling in the gorgeous water, working a little more on my sunburn.

We hit up Duke's that night and took this picture just for you Erica!  The infamous Hula Pie came courtesy of our condo, so we couldn't resist.  It was the only thing that made Aaron partially forget about the tiny rock that had imbedded itself in his foot that afternoon.

He asked me to look at his foot for him to see if there was a cut there, but there was much more than a cut!  Poor guy...I had to pretend I had any nursing skill whatsoever and try to dig it out with tweezers and a needle from a basic first aid kit.  We think there may even be a little piece left in there now a month later!

At least he had an excuse to drive this around the grocery store.  He was having a BIT too much fun with it I think.

Because I get car sick so easily, we did not commit ourselves to the Road to Hana.  But we had a little extra time the next day after our boat excursion so we decided to head out there to see what all the fuss was about.  The bark on these Eucalyptus trees was so cool and they smelled amazing.

I thought it would help if I drove, but wow those turns were unbelievable!!  I was loving the scenery, but we decided to head home after hitting our first waterfall.  

This was the view from our balcony.  So beautiful!  And we didn't have to make any sharp turns to see it, just roll over in the morning and open the eyes.

Since I was feeling all the Asian love, I figured a visit to the Giant Buddha in Lahaina before heading out was a must.  Apparently it is the largest of its kind outside of Japan.

Speaking of giant, we had to snap a photo of the ridiculously huge Banyan tree they have there as well.  When it was first planted, it was 8 feet tall, but now is close to 60 feet tall and spreads out to cover over a 200 ft area.  Crazy. 

We also visited the Iao Valley, home to this Iao Needle, a famous landmark of Maui and a formal sacred burial ground.  Apparently this was an important location anciently and was where the battle to unify the Hawaiian Islands was lost by Maui's people.  

The rest of these pictures are all from the boating adventure that we took.  When deciding which little splurge we would do, i said I wanted to see turtles and dolphins, and supposedly this one saw both.  We weren't prepared for how rough the ride was--it was a pontoon boat that felt like a jet ski ride on the open waters.  It was awesome, though a bit nail biting at times!

This ride (Blue Water Rafting) was also unique in that it took us down around the southern tip of the island, the Kuhio Coast, where the lava flowed into the ocean most recently.  If I were a geologist, I am sure I would have gotten excited about the formations.  We just thought they were gorgeous.  And don't you love the color of the water?!

Of course we got to do some snorkeling while we were out there.  This is us at the Molokini Crater.  Try not to be scared by my snorkeling face.  Or my weird finger formation.  Yikes.  I thought the reflection on the underside of the water was pretty cool.

We thought the snorkeling was better when we were down in Key West, but some people on our boat saw a shark and the scuba divers saw an eel, so maybe we just weren't sleuthy enough!  I WAS glad that there weren't millions of tiny jellyfish and barracuda though like in Key West.  This was much more relaxing.

Aaron got pretty far down.  We had thought about trying out that Snuba thing, but the water was so clear there that we were glad we didn't.  Anyone tried it before?

 So yes, we did manage to see some turtles!  We saw quite a few of them at this place they aptly call Turtle Town.  Aaron and I followed this one for a long time before he decided he was bored with us and dove back down to the bottom.  I was surprised at how fast they are.

Not on the list of things to do: have a bird eat right out of my hand.  But it happened and we captured it for posterity.

And finally the moment came that I had been most anticipating: DOLPHINS!!!  Ever since I was a little kid visiting Galveston, TX in the summers, I have wanted to see one up close.  One time we were down there and someone spotted them in the distance and I swore one came and nibbled at my feet because it wanted to be my friend.  

The excitement in the video is 18-22 seconds in.  That's when Aaron got smart and decided to just stick the underwater camera down into the water to see if we could get a better glimpse of something more than the dorsal fin.  So cool!

Anyway, we had a great time and really appreciate Michelle for watching the kiddos while we were gone and making it all possible.  I think I am ready to do something like that again as soon as she gets back from BYU next summer.  I don't know how we are going to get along without her. :(

Oahu!

Most of you know that we recently went to Hawaii, and most of you probably know how long I have been wanting to go there.  So I thought it was pretty awesome when we had a fairly last minute opportunity to go courtesy of Aaron's work.

Little did I know how much it (Oahu anyway) was going to remind me of a place I have spent a lot of time...Taiwan!!  Any of you who have been to both agree with me?

Similarities:

Asians everywhere

Lots of delicious fresh fruit

Lots of fish and rice

Crowded on the westside, rural on the east

Tropical climate and plants

Anyway, you probably don't care, just had to share.  It was just so nice because it made me feel so easily connected to the spirit, such peace.  Or maybe that was my lack of children!

The first morning we got up and Aaron went surfing while I tried the stand up paddle but we didn't have the camera.  For about 20 minutes of being stuck in one place I thought I was going to get carried out to sea, but I said a prayer and was immediately directed how to get back (see what I mean about the spirit?) .

After his meeting we headed to Pearl Harbor but they weren't doing tours because of the high winds, so kept heading north to check things out.  Below is the North Shore.  Hard to believe how big the waves get in the winter because it was like a lake the day we went.

We stayed the next few nights on the windward side in Kailua.  The beach there by our house was GORGEOUS!!!

The next day after Aaron's meetings we headed up the east coast.  Here is the Chinaman's Hat island (more things sending my thoughts to Taiwan).

We hit up the temple, which had just been reopened from remodeling.  It was beautiful and the grounds amazing.  You notice our pictures are pretty cloudy...yes it rained a bit most days we were there...so much for escaping the Washington clouds!!!

After the temple we hit up the Polynesian Cultural Center for a luau and the night show.  I couldn't believe how good those fresh leis smelled!

Taiwan also has a native people and customs separate from the mainland Chinese who fled there during their revolution.  

We got to see them taking the pig out of the ground.  It was pretty good, but I have to say I loved all the taro stuff more (poi excluded), yes, more similarities to Taiwan and more good memories.  Are you sick of it yet?  Definitely never saw fire knife dancers in Taiwan though, which was so awesome.  I must admit to almost falling asleep in the night show until those guys came on.  Amazing.

The next day Aaron was actually in meetings all day, so I biked up to this little hike through the jungle to a viewpoint overlooking the bay.

This is where I went, though I didn't go all the way to the top.  The guy at the gate at the bottom told me they had two people fall last year, one of whom didn't make it.  Definitely enough to scare me off!  I did manage to see some wild pigs on the hike, though they were too fast for me to get a picture.

We had enough time that evening to do a little bit of boogie boarding at Mokopu'u, which was of course really beautiful (and yes, yet again cloudy).

We weren't the only ones who felt like hitting the beach...we were joined by a Hawaiian monk seal.  The lifeguard said she was pregnant and would come here to rest while swimming between the islands on her way back home.  

She slept the whole time we were there and missed my awesome skills.  There was a huge rip current there that would suck you out even just standing on the beach, so we took it easy but still had a good time.

The next morning we headed to Maui, so more on that to come soon!

Memorial Day Weekend

We have been very busy being out of town lately and are ready to hang out again.  So instead of doing two posts to catch up, I posted our Idaho trip pics to facebook so you Idaho folks could be tagged and see them right away.

Anyone else who is curious, we had a great time in Idaho for Aaron's brother's wedding!  He married a beautiful wonderful girl and we were so excited to be able to be a part of it, despite the long drive with two kids (who turned out to be pretty good!)

So in anticipation of all that road time, we decided to stay local for Memorial Day weekend.  We headed out with some friends to a state park that we had never been to for some hiking and some beach time.  

The two mile hike was just about all the little ones could take.  Luckily they found a little millipede to distract them for awhile because the nice scenery wasn't cutting it for them!

All they wanted to do was get in the water, but the beach was literally COVERED with shells.  It was a bit hazardous, but as always Adelyn showed her wounds proudly.  Just today she fell off her bike and skinned the same knee and couldn't wait to show her friends.

According to our Washington guidebook, this beach is supposed to be the warmest water in the Puget Sound, but it still felt pretty DANG cold to me!  Instead of swimming we entertained ourselves with the crazy  sea life we found.  

Barett was less impressed with the giant starfish conglomerate.

Then on the actual Memorial Day Aaron's mom and sister came down for dinner. We had been grilling up a storm before that, so I went atypical memorial day and introduced them to Hawaiian Haystacks.  I really should remember to eat those more often. Yum!

The little cousins (and soon to be cousin) had a great time playing dress up, swinging, and hearing stories from grandma.

I am amazed Barett is not eating the book in this picture.  Usually he is not such a fan of reading as Adelyn is but I think he is starting to grow up a bit.  Crazy he is almost 10 months already.  

Can't wait to post about our next adventure, but we will have to remember how to take pictures of something besides our kids!

Tour de Cure

After many previous emails and posts asking for support, I'm sure you all know about the bike ride that we were doing for Diabetes.  As it usually does, the months of preparation went by so fast, and the big day finally came last Saturday.  Miraculously, it was an absolutely perfectly gorgeous Saturday, which for May in Seattle is definitely not a guarantee.

We ended up with six people on our team, each with different reasons for riding, and each ended up with different adventures.  I was so proud of my sister Kathryn, who has had Type 1 Diabetes since she was 11, ride 15 miles on a hilly course on an old bike with only a week of riding a bike other than her indoor recumbant.  Plus she got lost out there!

Our good friend Rachel was great moral support.  Did I mention it was a gorgeous day?!  I had to stop to take a pic of the great scenery along the way.  

I was also really proud of my mom, who decided at the very (and I mean VERY) last minute to ride the 45-miler with me instead of the 25-miler she had intended.  She rocked it, especially those hills--1500 feet of elevation gain, including a level 4 and a level 5 climb.  Here we are crossing the finish line.

A couple hours, a salmon burger, some good sun tanning, and a conversation with Detlef Schrempf later, Aaron and Steve, our 100-milers finally crossed the finish line too!  They were almost the last ones to make it back...not due to their slowness but Aaron actually wrecked while they were out there!!  You will have to read his whole story on his blog.  It sounds like his grandma (who passed away from diabetic complications when he was 13) was definitely watching over him.

I was sad I couldn't do the 100 miles with him (I sprained my back and started having some circulation problems in my legs that made biking long distance very painful), but despite all of our setbacks, we had a great experience and are ready to do it again next year.  So if you are so inclined we would love for you to join us.  

A huge thank you to all of you who donated to the cause of diabetes, and to all of my family who took care of our kids during our long training rides and the main event.  It wouldn't have been possible or meant as much without you.

Off the Road Again

If you live around here, you know that we have been gone awhile. Typically, this is something that I love....taking off of regular life for awhile while someone else takes on my responsibilities at home (thanks YW leaders!!!) and getting out and exploring.

But I will say two weeks is too long to do that with two young kids and too much sickness.  I wouldn't have missed either of the events that we took off for though, and as Kelly has so eloquently been teaching us these days, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger!

I am being dramatic.  We had a great time, really.  The first occasion was Aaron's brother's wedding in Sacramento, CA.  Because Aaron's territory includes Oregon, he decided to book some meetings along the I-5 corridor and kill two birds with one stone.  

One such meeting was in Medford, so we stayed there the first night and thought we'd check out the temple.

Not too much later and we were at another temple for the main event.  Even though the time we were actually able to spend with Aaron's family (basically a day and a half because their work schedules aren't so flexible as Aaron's) was short compared to travel time, we had a great time visiting all hours of the night like usual. A big thanks to Craig and Janie for opening their home to us for that.

Not pictured was the chance we had to meet up with some of my old college roommates who live in Sacramento now, one of whom I hadn't seen since my own wedding! AND, meeting up briefly with Aaron's coworker down there, who we love and can't wait to go back down there for HER wedding next February.

We also fit in a lot of bike rides along the way and fell in love with a lot of the scenery.  Here is Mt. Shasta, only 250 ft shorter than Mt. Rainier.

One thing we thought funniest about the drive was the BOTH going down and coming back, the clouds seemed to literally loom at the border between California and Oregon.  We tried to capture it on camera...can you tell?  After spending only 4 days down there, we quickly saw why people love California so much....and we weren't even at the beach!!

We got home from our road trip last Tuesday evening, spend the night unpacking, doing laundry, and repacking, then headed out for the airport the next morning at 11.  Yes, we may be crazy, but like I said, we wouldn't have missed it.  This time we were headed to Utah for my cousin's wedding.

Both sealings we attended were really good, with advice that was really helpful that Aaron and I are working on now ourselves!  I wished I could have had a camera in the celestial room because I have never seen a bride beam as brightly as Lauren did.  Seriously.  

It was a beautiful day outside as well.  I don't post many pics of my mom I realized, so here she is with her (I'm sure you can guess...sister).  I love my aunts and wished I had taken one with all of them together.  Here's my grandparents who let us crash at their house whenever we are in the motherland.

The whole Taylor clan for their last wedding!  Guess the Barias have to step up our game.

The next day we decided to have our own Sunday School out communing with God through nature.  Hey, we have to soak up our Vitamin D while we can!

Barett had not been feeling too great, as I alluded to earlier.  After a 104 temperature we decided to take him in and discovered ear infection #3.  We brought him home and finally got him to sleep just shy of one in the morning when literally one minute later Adelyn started screaming, rolled over and barfed.  

They took turns waking up in the middle of the night, him trying to break his fever, and her trying to empty her stomach.  So the last day of our vacation was spent laying around my grandparents tending to the sickies...and somehow the next day he managed to look like this.  Can anyone resist this cuteness???

Anyway, we were glad to go, but glad to come home to our own beds, and glad we have a month before heading out for the next wedding!