World Cup 2010

I just found out that we (my brother, my friend Jana and her husband Scott) got our tickets for World Cup 2010. It is in South Africa!!! And the best news is, its during a beta cutout so no silly Shuttle launches can get in the way! (beta cutout means that the sun angle is too high (Shuttle will get too hot) during a particular timeframe...this one just so happens to extend over the world Cup timeframe). ::happy dance, happy dance::

Feeding the Fishies

So we signed up for this tour that takes you kayaking around the island and then you snorkel from your kayak. Cool right? Yeaaaaah....

So holy-choppy-water-Batman. And guess who didn't even think to take her Dramamine. And when you get out of the kayak to snorkel you still bob up and down and side to side cause of the stupid lifevest. I did get to see sea turtles! And a ton of colorful fish...

I also fed the fish...twice...hope they liked my breakfast.

Maui :)

So I've been too exhausted at the end of each day to blog, and the internet is having issues so I only managed to get one photot loaded...but, let me just say, I heart Maui and am never coming home. Nope. (I did spend a whirlwind 12 hours on Oahu as well, taking the girls to all the sites I saw the last time I was here...fun and tiring!)

We have an amazing condo with an ocean view and about a 2 minute walk from a bee-yew-ti-ful beach.

Me on the baclony of the condo..ocean is behind me :)

Yesterday we woke up at 3am to drive to the summit of Haleakala (the inactive volano here) to watch the sunrise. Breathtaking and frostbiting (elevation 10,000 feet). Then we drove back down and drove the Road to Hana. This road has 671 turns (no, I didn't count, someone else did in my travel book). Talk about hairpin turns! The have these one lane bridges that tell you to yield to oncoming traffic- thing is, the turns are so tight, you can't see the oncoming traffic...so we decided youd need to be a Jedi or something to determine if there was oncoming traffic (believe this decision generated a LOT of laughter and ensuing dorkiness).

Then at the end of the Road, we did a four mile hike into a waterfall and I STOOD UNDER A WATERFALL!!!! And I got two people to do it with me too! Everyone else was dissuaded by the "Danger of falling rocks beyond this point" sign. Good thing I feigned illiteracy ;-).

Great trip so far. Today is church and then we are going to crash on the beach for the rest of the day for some much need recuperation :D.

Not coming back.

Phase 2 drama

So phase 2 of my vacation was supposed to consist of a whirlwind trip down to Tucson to visit my parents, a haircut, back to Phoenix to visit some friends and then fly out to Hawaii...

But, it's me, right?

So instead, that stomach bug I had for a bit in Idaho decided to come back, this time full force and I ended up in urgent care being pumped with fluids because I couldn't keep fluid, well, in. I am such a fan of anti-nausea medicine by the way. And can you say holy high fever batman?

So obviously, I wasn't going to be able to make my original flight to Hawaii. After keeping down some jello and a popsicle, I spent an hour on the phone with Expedia last night (I'll spare you the bloody details but I ended up having to "speak with a supervisor"), I delayed my flight by a day, which isn't bad at all, since that is one of the days we were going to be on Oahu and I've already been there.

So, I am now going to go sit on my bum, eat a popsicle, watch a Doctor Who and continue to recover.

Definitely ready for phase 2 to be over... :)

Vacation- Phase 1

Sign of a dork? You break down your vacation into phases...good thing I am not in denial huh?

So, anyways, phase 1 of my vacation is completed. I spent the last 5 days up in Boise, ID with my sister and her family. I have the cutest nephew ever. Don't even bother trying to argue with me. I don't feel like creating a photo album, so you'll have to scroll to see the pictures. I had a great time, lobster, nephew, shopping, nephew, BBQ, nephew, stomach bug, nephew, hockey game, nephew...that about sums up phase 1...

Me and John Michael


"Sissa, you're a dinosaur!"

"But I make a better dinosaur"



John and Monica making a lobster tail dinner. Yum!


Home pedicures (my sister painted the flowers!)

Feeding the ducks


Making faces...there are several more of these that may grace future blogs


This isn't his Easter basket...this one was left unattended


Awesome spinach-artichoke bites that Monica made for our pre-Easter BBQ


Hockey game! Boise Steelheads vs some Vancouver team


John Michael telling me about a picture he made for me

::cough, cough, gag, cough::

What's with the coughing and gagging? Oh that would be me trying to get my stomach out of my throat. I have no idea what on Earth motivates cars to honk at people who are running (ON the sidewalk, at least 3 feet from the road) but please, for-the-love-of-not-making-someone-die-of-a-coronary-as-they-are-finishing-the-last-leg-of-their-run, STOP IT. I don't particularly care for the Adam's-appleish look that a stomach-in-the-throat gives me.

Oh and as a side note, I WILL remember your license plate number to report you as I fall to the ground, convulsing.

Sweet

So twice this past week, a friend of mine popped into my head, very randomly...you know that whole "hey I've haven't talked with so-and-so in awhile, I wonder how she is doing?"...then on Wednesday, she popped into my head yet again and I got this feeling like "hmm, okay God, maybe you are trying to tell me something"...so I emailed her and asked her how I could be praying for her. I got a response pretty quickly. Turns out, she had prayed specifically twice this week for someone to pray FOR her, as she is going through a pretty rough patch. How cool is that? It's so neat when God uses us as tools in someone else's life...He blesses the person who requested the prayer, and He also blesses the person whom He uses...quite sweet. Lesson learned: think twice when someone "randomly" pops into my head...it may not be as random as I think :)