Aloha!! Day one in Paradise!

So, after seeing the Las Vegas Strip, we went to sushi with J's cousin-that was wonderful sushi!

Sunday morning, we went to a sacrament meeting at the closest church building.

I had my testimony strengthened that day that the gospel is the same wherever you go. No matter what, it still has the same authority, same teachings, and same love.

That afternoon/evening, we got on a plane and went straight to Maui!

Here's our plane.

When we landed, we saw my younger brother Sam headed to the bathroom. We gave him a quick hug and went on to baggage claim. Dad called me and asked if we'd seen anybody yet. Mom was getting a sign that said "Curtis" on it and leis for J and I when we got down the escalator. We didn't see her until after we were past the escalator. But it was sweet anyway! J got a candy lei and this one was mine. It smelled wonderful!!

Sunday night, we slept for....3 hours? and got up to drive up the volcano.

Mt. Haleakala is the dormant volcano on the eastern half of the island of Maui. We are on the western side in our hotel, so we had a 2 1/2 hour drive to the top of this volcano. It's 10,000 feet above sea level. Because it felt like 7 am for us mainlanders, we went up for the sunrise which was at 5:47 or something like that.

It was gorgeous!

Will, Jake, MMae, and Liz

It was FREEZING at the top of this volcano!

What you see is clouds above land and ocean. Not the water. :)

Here's the crater at the top

J and I in front of the rising sun. It wasn't that bright. We were so dark I had to lighten up the picture to see it was us! :)

There it is!!!

This could be a beautiful postcard!

So then, we've all seen enough and are FREEZING, so we headed to the car to get macadamia nut pancakes and coconut syrup on our way down the mountain. But J wants to show me something. He ran me back to the edge by the railing and tells me how much he loves me. How I'm the most wonderful thing in his life and that marrying me was the best thing he'd ever done. Then, he pulls out a wedding band!

My wedding band was supposed to be white gold, just a plain band for our wedding. When J's luggage got lost in transit from Fayetteville to Little Rock, the wedding band went missing. I just told him he could save up his money and get me one with diamonds in it next time....And he did!!!

It's soooo pretty!!!

I cried and put it on and ladies nearby watching said "that was just beautiful. Congratulations" :)

When we got back to the cars, I showed my family. None of them knew about it! They were all pleasantly surprised and very impressed. :) my boy loves me

Then, we went down the mountain. Here's the view of the other side. (the sun is behind us)

This is the cute place where we had our yummy breakfast. Very good stuff!!

Jake and MMae

When we got back, some took naps, some went and laid by the pool. J and Sam and I played at the beach.

Here's the beautiful beach. And the island of Lanai.

Our sandcastles! Sam's is on the left. He made one that looked like a Mos Eisley building.

Mine is the middle. Just a castle.

J's is on the right. a pyramid. :)

Sam is a handsome young man. Where did that little boy go??

Then we met everyone at the pool. That was fun!!

J perfected the smoothest splash EVER. We usually didn't see him enter the water until he came back up.

MMae screaming her way down the slide.

Soo! here's our adventures in Hawaii from day one!! We sure loved it!!!

Vegas Baby!

On our way to Hawaii, we stopped in Vegas for our flight. J's cousin lives there, so we stayed at his house and saw the sights.

We went to a wax museum!

Me with Cameron Diaz

J with Sean Connery and Daniel Craig

hehe

Julia Roberts

Me and Matt are like this! (holds up crossed fingers)

J and Halle Berry

What a hunk!

Billy Idol

I'm not single, but it's a fun song. :)

of course we had to do it. :)

In front of the Bellagio

Their fountain display is stunning.

This picture is for Jolyn. I am 99.9% sure these roses are real. Check out those stems!! Each rose must cost a fortune!!!

The strip

I had to come back to see the fountains at night. It was so beautiful! And the fact that they use classical music along with it is just wonderful!

I liked Vegas! It was fun! NASTY things on one hand and beautiful grand things on the other. You have to be careful where you go and what you look at. But it was a good time. I got a bunch of blisters on my feet from walking alllll day. I liked it!

Next up: Hawaii!!

I am WOMAN!!

I feel SUPER accomplished today.

First, I slept in-not so accomplish-y

Then, I read some. To me, reading is an accomplishment. I love reading and think that it's wonderful how many kids I see at the library when I go.

After 1, I got my new bike out of the basement and rode to my errands.

I went to the post office and mailed a present to some kids I played with forever ago and mailed my application for teacher certification!

I went to the library to pick up 2 books that were on hold for me.

I went to the bank and deposited my BYU-I registration deposit.

I went to Albertson's from there to pay the power bill.

Then, ALLLLLL the way to Walmart to pick up Scuba pictures from Hawaii!

When I got to Walmart, I was really hot and tired. It was only 78˚ outside, so I can't really complain tooo much, but it was hot still and I'm kinda out of shape. So I called my sister and talked to her for I think an hour while I roamed the store. That was a nice break and I love talking to my big sis.

Then, I biked all the way home.

The whole thing was 5.6 miles-and I forgot to add the bank to my calculations on google maps, so more than 5.6 miles!! I feel so powerful! And awesome! And tired, my goodness!!! :)

I had to share how awesome I felt. :)

Hoover Dam

On our way to Hawaii last week, we went to Las Vegas. Our flight was from Vegas to Maui, so we decided to see the sights a little bit. I had never been before, so we stayed with J's cousin and saw the sights. First, we went to Hoover Dam.

The flagpole

The water was very beautiful

And I think we're a beautiful couple. :)

It's HUGE!!! No picture really does it justice.

It was really neat to see it and be where so much history is.

Next up: Wax museum and the strip!

New Bike!

I had a mountain bike. It got injured and is no longer very usable. Plus it's in Arkansas. So I got one yesterday! Weird thing to buy the day before you leave town... But we got it for 47 buckaroos! AND we fit it in the back of my car! I had NO idea it could fit that much!!

Here it is! It's pretty, huh?

Yay! Now I can use less gas and ride with my hubby without borrowing Kristin's bike!