Hawaii 1.0 - The Resort

Our trip to Hawaii was FABULOUS! A few years ago, my parents bought a timeshare at the Westin Ka'anapali Resort on the island of Maui (just up the street from Lahaina on the west side of the island) and when they went two years ago for the first time, Kevin and I were unable to go (we were living it up in Russia!) so needless to say, we were very excited for our big vacation! We had such an amazing time and made so many memories and actually remembered to take pictures! In order to not overwhelm myself with documenting our trip, I will be breaking the vacation down into parts for all of you to enjoy!

Views from Our Window

See the happy people on the beach? That was me - happily burning (I didn't get too burned...just created some weird tan lines when I missed some spots!), while Kevin was happily snorkeling!

View from the Lobby

He's Home!!

After 15 LLLLLOOOONNNNGGGGG weeks, Kevin is finally home safe and sound! To celebrate the end of a long summer apart, Kevin and I vacationed in Hawaii with my family for a week (more to come on our vacation, I promise!), but then sadly had to separate again as I flew to Virginia to go back to work and Kevin flew back to Houston to pick up the car and start the 22 hour drive home. Happily, our separation didn't last long as Kevin showed up on my doorstep a day earlier than planned after driving home from Houston in a speedy day and a half! I was in total shock to see him home so early (let's just say he didn't sleep much and only stopped for gas and food!) and burst in to tears! I couldn't be happier! Thanks, babe for driving home like a maniac so I could see you a day earlier...I love you!

We Partied until the Breaking Dawn!

After much anticipation, Breaking Dawn was released at 12:01AM Saturday morning...and along with my fun friends Kelly, Nora, and Stacey, I was there to be one of the first to buy it (along with every other nerdy, Edward-obsessed, Jacob-hating, wannabee vampires in the Williamsburg area!).


We started the evening as every other girls night out should start - with ice cream and lots of chatting - and then headed over to Barnes and Noble to wait with bated breath until midnight (or rather 12:01). Well, after an hour of wandering around B&N in my Team Edward shirt (Kelly sported a cute "I am NOT Switzerland...Team Edward" shirt that she made herself...super cute!), making a "Bella Bracelet," watching this really weird kid wander around trying to pick up on vampire lovin' girls, and taking pictures under the balloon canopy, we decided that we had had enough of the oddly attired adolescent crowd and went back to the comfort of Kelly's home to wait it out. Just before midnight, Kelly, Stacey, and I drove down to Books A Million to pick up our copy (it was cheaper there, what can I say?) and were not disappointed when after thirty seconds in line we had our copy of the book, a cool Breaking Dawn button, and stickers - go Books A Million!


I am proud to say that I conquered the 754 page novel within 18 hours (it would have been less, but I had to spend a couple of hours sleeping!) of picking it up. While the book is catching a lot of flack from disappointed readers that fail to realize that this is indeed a fantasy novel and tradition rules do not apply, I really enjoyed it. I was sad, however, when I reached the end and there wasn't an epilogue (I will always revere JK Rowling for giving me that for Harry Potter, albeit a short one) so I am pushing for book #5! And you know what, I've been thinking about it and Stephenie Meyer has only said that this will be the last book from Bella's perspective and while most people think that she is just leaving space for the release of Midnight Sun, she could write another novel from Edward's/Jacob's perspective about life after Breaking Dawn. It could happen!

Anyway, if you haven't read it yet - happy reading!

Commentary on The Dark Knight

If you have seen The Dark Knight, you might find this article interesting... even if you don't agree with the writer's opinion, it is an interesting concept that I didn't see in the movie until after Kevin pointed it out to me on the way out of the theatre. I want to hear your thoughts...please leave a comment!

Forgive me for leaving a shameless politically conservative plug on my blog - I try to keep things apolitical, but sometimes I can't help it! (and if you know Kevin, we get really into discussing politics!!)

Olympic Dreams

With the Olympics fast approaching, I have often thought about what it would feel like to be an olympian. The dedication and discipline that accomplishing that goal takes is astounding. As a proud BYU Alumni, I would like to congratulate the BYU students/alums that either had a chance to compete and who will be competing in Beijing. My hat goes off to you! Check out this link to read about all the happy valley athletes headed to Beijing (and those that were very close).

Proud Sister

It has officially been a year since my little brother Kevin left for his mission in Columbus, Ohio. In that time his testimony has grown and he has really matured. I am so proud of what a hardworking and diligent missionary he is and all the success he has had. I miss my little brother and can't wait until this time next year! Keep up the good work, Kevin!

What a goof! Love you little brother!

Movie Weekend!

What better way to beat the Houston heat than to sit in a dark cold theatre watching movies? In all, Kevin and I went to 3 movies and a play this weekend! We started the weekend early and caught Get Smart on Thursday night… we decided to take long distant dating to a whole new level and while we were not physically together to watch the movie, we were in the same movie at the same time…just separated by a couple thousand miles! I thought Get Smart was a funny feel good movie that could be enjoyed by both husband and wife. If you haven’t seen it yet, grab your sweetheart and head to the movies! It was definitely worth the admission price.

On Friday I made my last trip to Texas for the summer and after a long day of work, flying, etc, Kevin and I enjoyed hot buttery rolls at Logan’s Roadhouse…mmmm….yum! The restaurant’s food is quite average really, but the rolls are to DIE for! If you can’t find a Logan’s Roadhouse, find a Texas Roadhouse and you’ll get much of the same – peanuts you can shell onto the floor and somewhat mediocre food overshadowed by their delicious buttery yeast rolls.

Saturday morning Kevin and I woke early to catch a 10AM showing of The Dark Knight and we were simply blown away. If you are planning on seeing it, be prepared for a very intense, very dark, very adult quasi remake of the slightly cartoony version released almost 20 years ago. Don’t get me wrong – I loved the movie…it was the best movie I’ve seen in some time and probably one of the few movies that has successfully combined action with good acting, but I left the movie feeling very disturbed and have still not shaken it from my mind. This, I think, is one of the goals of the movie: to get the audience to really look at evil in a new way – to really examine why some people commit horrific crimes. It is apparent that Heath Ledger was an amazing actor and his unrivaled performance steals the show away from hunky Christian Bale, an excellent actor in his own right.

After a great lunch and nap, Kevin and I went downtown for a firm event – dinner and an Agatha Christie play called The Unexpected Guest. We had a really nice time getting to know some of the people Kevin is working with in Houston – the food was excellent and the play was actually quite good. I usually stick to musicals when it comes to theatre, but this “who-done-it” murder mystery play was rather intriguing and absorbing. Of course by intermission time Kevin had already figured out the twist (as he always does) and got to gloat at the end when it all came to pass as he suspected…he is just so smart!

As you might have already read, we also went to see Mamma Mia and frankly, I couldn’t love Kevin more! I have to admit, he was more willing than I thought he would be to see it, but as the film got girlier and girlier, I realized that he really is the greatest husband in the world! Thanks, babe! I love you! Just 3 more weeks...