Nothin's Gonna Stop Us Now!!!

So... as many of you may know, Ashley and I have been saving up and planning a trip to Hawaii. For a Christmas and Birthday gift, my parents gave us some SkyMiles to use so we didn't need to pay for the airfare. How exciting, 9 days in an island paradise... just the two of us! Needless to say, we've been awaiting this trip with much anticipation and excitement.

The fates, on the other hand, seem to have lined up in an attempt to spoil our fun!

We leave tomorrow afternoon. The planning and preparations have gone relatively smoothly so far. We had saved up our pennies and were ready to have the time of our lives.

Up until yesterday afternoon, that is. And that's when the adventure began. I was making my merry little way to school for my last statistics class before the big trip and what are the odds? My car decided that it had had enough. Just pooped out right in the middle of the road. So I pushed it to the side of the road, called my dad and towed it over to our mechanic. All with the great prospect of a possible costly transmission repair looming over my head.

So we got home last night and started the packing. We figured, "Hey, they can figure out what the deal is with the car while we're on the beach. We're not going to let this ruin our vacation!"

Then, this morning, I stepped into our den to finish up some business on the computer before heading to work. And by golly... it wouldn't turn on. No matter what I did. D-E-A-D, dead! Not good. School projects that were due very soon, and many other important things were stuck inside that box. @#&!* Grrrrrr.

So, throughout the day and after a series of phone calls I found out that, luckily, the transmission on my car is fine (it just needed a new fuel pump), and my computer is resurrectable (provided I install a new power supply). So, that was relatively good news.

This afternoon, I picked up my repaired car and headed to the computer shop to get that taken care of. Just when I was thinking, "Well, things are turning out ok. Everything should be able to get taken care of before we leave." the phone rang.

It was Sue from Hawaii. She's the lady we're renting our condo from on Oahu (Ya, the place we're supposed to be sleeping at tomorrow night.) Apparently, we were going to have to cancel our reservation because somebody took out a phone pole with their car and the power was going to be gone for 3 days! What?!?! How does that happen? So anyway, after a futile search for other accomodations on such short notice, we were able to make some other arrangements with Sue.

So... one new fuel pump, one replaced power supply, one freak accident in Hawaii, and a little over $900 later... we're right back where we were yesterday morning! Except now our bags are packed, the fridge is empty (don't want to leave much in it for a week and a half), the mail is on hold and we're ready to go.

So HAWAII HERE WE COME!!! And nothing short of death itself is going to stop us!!!

P.S. We'll have a full report upon our return. Until then, Hang Ten!

Paying It Forward

The Rules...

1. Be one of THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!If you are not one of the Three winners on this post, you can still play along. Start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!***and I will add--if you are going to play along, leave me a comment--I want to check it out!


My sisters started this I think that it is a fun thing to do. As well I thought that is would get me to update my blog. Look no more Christmas Yeah!!!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we went down south to St George. We ate a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at The Cracker Barrel. It was wonderful!!!

Lindsey and I at Dinner

Myles riding the horse in the store.

We went to the Valley of Fire the next day and had a wonderful climbing on rocks
and taking cool pictures.

The next morning Lindsey, Daniel and I woke and went to the ST George Temple. It was so beautiful. Daniel woke up extra early so he could get some pictures of the Temple. I think that they are amazing.

The Scorpion Sucker

This post was added by Daniel:

For my first addition to our great little blog, I wanted to do something special. Something a little… well… unique. Over the past few weeks, I’ve pondered about just what I could contribute that would be worth posting for all to enjoy. This past weekend, I found it.

As some of you readers may already know, we spent Thanksgiving weekend down in St. George with Ashley’s family. It was a fabulous getaway weekend full of relaxation, adventure, and occasional bits of comic relief for all involved.

I’m sure Ashley will give a more detailed account of our trip soon enough. But for now, I just wanted to share one of the highlights that I (along with many others, I’m sure) may never... ever… forget!

Enjoy!

P.S. Morgan - This one's for you!