Maui

When our fabulous family vacation on Oahu came to an end and the rest of the family headed home, Chris and I took off on a much smaller plane headed to Maui -- the perfect destination for a mini lovers-cation. Chris and I have had a lot of fun and adventures so far in our marriage - from our honeymoon in Saint George, to exploring Alaska, and celebrating our first anniversary in a yurt in the Yukon - but we had never been somewhere tropical together before. And let me just say, the chick flicks got it right when they portray sandy beaches as the most romantic get aways. Though he might be hard pressed to admit it I even got Chris to agree that snow frosted eyelashes, flannel, and cozy mountain cabins can't compete with romantic sunset walks on the beach, hot sun shining on even hotter spouses in swimsuits, and salty kisses. Everything. Was. Perfect. But since this is a family and friends blog, we'll keep it G rated...

Our early Thursday morning flight to Maui gave us plenty of time to enjoy the day. The morning was filled with delicious breakfasts, buying fresh fruit from street-side farmers market (there is NOTHING better then fresh mangos!), and driving around seeing the sights and scoping out the shoreline for a perfect snorkeling spot. We arrived at our beach front home earlier than check in, but took the time to enjoy our mostly private and perfect beach. We used some boogie boards and played in the ocean, Chris caught a crab, and then we took naps on the nice lounge chairs. After checking into our room and cooking dinner, we enjoyed taking a long walk along the beach and a late night swim (which we never repeated once we learned that dusk is prime time for shark activity!).

We woke up early on Friday morning so we could truly seize the day! It was jam packed and included...

• Lots of snorkeling. In true Andrew fashion we hit the beaches well before the crowds in an attempt to see the most fish. Our first beach was a bit of a bust in terms of seeing the cool underwater world, but we were still able to take advantage of our favorites - sandy toes and salty kisses. The next beach we went to, Honolua Park, was our favorite snorkeling place on both islands. We saw another sea turtle, large schools of fish, more variety of species then anywhere else, and the most colorful coral yet. We spent hours here and loved every second of it. 
• More fresh mangos (yes, I'm obsessed) :-)
• Some oceanside hiking on Maui's North Shore to a lighthouse, Nakalele blowhole, and the famous lovers' "heart-shaped rock". We didn't find the lighthouse to be that thrilling, but Chris could not get enough of the giant blowhole. It was like a tropical Yellowstone!
• In the afternoon we ventured out to find one of the well kept secrets of Maui - the Olivine Pools, also known as the mermaid pools. There's no clear trail to the pools and after much wandering we finally figured out how we could scramble down to them. We were the only people at the pools and it was one of the most beautiful things either of us have seen in our lives. The crystal blues stood out against the dark rock, and you could see and hear the massive ocean waves crashing in the background. It was a lot of fun to be a mermaid. 
• We then spent some time tracking down the best shaved ice on the island, and spent some time pretending to be rich people at a fancy resort as we sat in their big-comfy-lounge-chair-shaded-bed-things overlooking the ocean. 

Olivine Pools

                       

Saturday began with an even earlier morning as we had big plans to drive the Road to Hana and fill it with as many stops as possible. The Road to Hana is a 64 mile curvy road through the wet rainforest on the east side of the island. With many beautiful stops along the road it is a must-do in Hawaii and the stunning views make every stomach-turning curve on the narrow road worth it. Some of our favorite stops along the road were: 

• The countless waterfalls - Some waterfalls were right on the edge of the road, and others involved some short hikes (a great way to stretch road-trippin' legs). 
• Black Sand Beach - The black sand and the blue water were surely a sight to behold! Also at this stop we got in a really nice hike across black rock that overlooks the ocean. The hike lead us through an ancient burial ground, and had unbeatable ocean views. We also enjoyed the large lava tube that went from the beach straight into the ocean. 
• Red Sand Beach - We still don't know which beach we liked better, black sand or red sand. But wow! The colors here couldn't be more spectacular. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the sand and cooled off in the ocean.

Exploring the lava tubes at Black Sand Beach

Overlooking Red Sand Beach

Within Haleakala National Park -

• Bamboo Forest - Hiking through a bamboo forest was incredible. The slightest breeze would cause the bamboo to softly sway, creating a beautiful melody as each bamboo plant kissed another. If the forest itself wasn't impressive enough we arrived in a clearing at the end with an incredible waterefall over 400 feet tall. 
• Banyan Trees - These ginormous trees branch out and grow to incredible size. Chris sure had fun climbing on the large limbs!
• Seven Sacred Pools - This was the one thing we were looking forward to the most on the road to Hana but were super bummed that a flash flood made it illegal to swim in the pools the one day we were there. It was still fun to look at the Seven Sacred Pools, known to locals as Ohe'o Gulch. 

                       

On Sunday Chris wasn't feeling too good so we took it a little easier. We started our morning off right by attending a local church for our sabbath meetings. After church we drove up to Haleakala National Park. This National Park is home to the dormant Haleakala Volcano as well as a few species of endangered birds and plants. It was wild to enter yet another unique climate and terrain on the same island. The top of the volcano is the island's highest peak and from it you could look over the ocean and see the Big Island. We had fun exploring small trails and the visitor centers over the course of the day. 

The desert-like crater at Haleakala Nat'l Park

Monday morning we relaxed on the beach at our rental (we really couldn't have stayed in a better location!). We waited until the last possible moment to run in and shower before we needed to check out. We then headed to small hippy town of Paia where we frolicked the town, checked out a lot of neat shops, and had a great seafood lunch before heading to the airport in the late afternoon. 

Playing on our beach at Kihei

We had a sleepy flight home after saying goodbye to our perfect tropical vacation, and we still miss our Hawaiian sun. 

Remember to pray and remember to play,

Mr. & Mrs. Suntanned Andrew

Surprise vacation.....

First of all, Joseph returned from his mission in Brazil on Wednesday! We all went to the Grand Junction airport to pick him up after his exhausting 16 hour flight, and after lots of excited hugs and a drive home, he crashed for the night. It was fun to listen to him speak with a Brazilian accent, and to see his souvenirs he brought home.

The next day, Dani and I joined the family again for a drive up north, where the younger three kids were told that we were taking a "really long trip." Early in the morning they were still guessing our destination as we headed to the SLC airport, and they still didn't know where we were going until they were on the plane to Hawaii!!! Anna joined us from Alaska, and we all rendezvoused at the rental home we were staying at near the North Shore of Oahu.

When Dani and I arrived at our basecamp we quickly changed and took the three younger kids (everyone else were so pooped from the flight that they were napping) with some boogie boards to the ocean, a short 5 minute walk. As it was their first time to a beach, it was fun to watch them play in the water and sand. The water was so warm! The last time Dani and I had been to a tropical beach like this was when we were both teenagers, so we enjoyed rediscovering the ocean too.

It was incredible to see how different the landscape was everywhere you looked; the sunny, white-sand shore all along the coast line and then towering green cliffs inland, where rainclouds constantly fed hundreds of waterfalls through the rainforest.

On Saturday we were up before the sun was for the famous snorkeling at Hanauma Bay state park. We were not disappointed! This was another first for all the kids, including Dani and I. It was amazing to swim in any direction and see a new fish or sea creature! In Alaska Dani and I would see sea anemones, crabs, seals, and an occasional whale, but this time we were IN their world, discovering their habitats. One of my favorites were the parrotfish, nibbling on chunks of coral. Did you know that a single parrotfish can poop out one TON of sand per year, just from their diet of dead coral? Blew my mind.

After leaving Hanauma Bay we went to Waimanalo Bay for the body boarding. Dad, a So-Cal born-and-raised beach bum, went out with the younger kids to show them how to catch a wave and ride it back in. Olivia surprised us with her seemingly natural ability to catch the wave and ride it in, until she ate it hard and came back in tears. I was up next, as this was one of the things I was looking forward to the most. Dani and I were paddling out, ducking under the waves as they crashed down, but had a really hard time getting out far enough before the next wave pushed us back toward the beach. I finally started swallowing seawater as the waves seemed to get closer and closer, and I was getting pummeled. Despite dad's hollering to come out farther, I was exhausted and paddled back to the beach before I could get slammed down again. Let's just say that you won't be seeing Dani or I on the surfing channel of Extreme TV.

                                 

On Sunday we enjoyed touring Pearl Harbor and the USS Missouri memorial there. Mom Brading sent us pictures of when she reenlisted into the Navy at the memorial! After catching church on our way home, we took it easy the rest of the evening, just enjoying family time.

The ancient banyan trees in the rainforest are GIGANTIC.

The next day the rest of the family went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, and Dani and I took off to explore some waterfalls of Oahu - Manoa, Lulumahu, and Maunawili falls. Manoa Falls was incredibly tall but incredibly crowded, as it is the most popular waterfall hike in the area. Lulumahu was exciting to get to because the unmarked trail crossed private property and was a little difficult to find. Our favorite though was Maunawili. It was definitely the nastiest 2 mile slog through the mud to get there, but the destination was so worth it. The mountain stream crashed into two consecutive pools that were enclosed by tall rock faces covered in ferns. The refreshing water was deep enough to dive in, and we had the place all to ourselves. It was amazing.

                       

Tuesday the family headed to more snorkeling, this time at Shark's Cove, where we saw a green sea turtle! Swimming with it was the coolest experience - they move so leisurely and don't seem to have a care in the world. The massive underwater boulders were teeming with other sea creatures, and this snorkel spot was the family's unanimous favorite on Oahu. Later that day we drove to the Dole Plantation where we toured the pineapple farm and sampled the Dole Whip, a delicious sorbet-like pineapple dessert.

Discovering tide-pool creatures

The rainbow eucalyptus and its vivid colored bark.

On Wednesday the family called for more snorkeling, and one last trip to Shark's Cove. As it was our last day on Oahu, we had to run to Honolulu return the snorkeling gear in the afternoon. While we were on that side of the island Mom took the younger kids to the aquarium while Dad took the rest of us to hike the volcano at Diamond Head. From the top the view was amazing - you could see downtown Honolulu, the beach, and the reefs off the coast.

From the top of Diamond Head state monument looking toward the crater and downtown Honolulu.

Early the next morning we headed to the airport to say goodbye to our perfect family vacation. It was one of the most memorable experiences we've had, and it was the best way to welcome Joseph back from his mission.

Jacob's Moab Birthday

Insert from Chris, just because he was so excited about his first backcountry call: "On Tuesday at 19:00 we were paged to a mountain biking accident on a remote trail north of Moab. The other EMT and I staged our ambulance near the trailhead with search and rescue and we headed out on their ATVs to the scene. It took almost two hours on the rugged trail to reach our patient, but fortunately it was only a fractured clavicle and not critical. We administered some pain meds, put his arm in a sling and took off on the bumpy ride back. By the time we returned to the station it was around 01:00 in the morning.

One of the SAR rhinos for backcountry patient transport.

On my previous shifts I haven't had very exciting pages - I've been a "call killer." So I was pretty stoked to get my first backcountry run! Due to the remote nature of Moab's surroundings, I'm looking forward to many more interesting calls like this."

Now back to Dani: The highlight of our week was definitely when my brother Jacob and three of his friends came down to visit! Jacob's birthday is June 7th, and he talked some friends into carpooling down to Moab the weekend before to celebrate it in Moab. Chris and I planned some fun adventures. They left Provo around 7pm Friday night, and when 11 o'clock rolled around we were anxiously waiting their arrival when I get a call from Jacob telling me that they were going to be a bit late... "Where are you guys?" we asked. "... about 14 miles outside of Saint George." "Uh......"

Yep... St. George is 5 hours away from Moab, on the opposite side of Utah! Apparently everyone in the car thought somebody else in the car knew the way, and nobody bothered to say anything. Luckily they drove safe and the crew finally arrived here around 4am.

Knowing how tired everyone was, we let them sleep in a little as Chris and I ran over to the warehouse to borrow some river gear. Once everybody was awake we ate a good breakfast and then headed down river road to ducky the daily (a ducky is a two person, sit-on-top, inflatable kayak). Since nobody else had river experience Chris and I kinda got into "guide mode" with a safety speech at the put-in and step-by-step instructions on how to run all the rapids. We all had a lot of fun enjoying the river, and nobody flipped.

Jacob and Carley in White's Rapid

Our boat bent in HALF when we got surfed in the wave!

A quick lunch followed the river and then we headed back out to play. We originally planned on going to left-hand (a waterfall with limited cliff jumping) but thanks to it's popularity in town and online, it was too crowded to enjoy. We chose instead to hike up right-hand which is a much better kept secret. At the end of the hike there's some natural waterslides, and though the water was really high with snowmelt there was still a small section we were able to slide down. Afterwards we went to the much larger (and crazy fast thanks to all the flowing water) natural waterslide by the power dam. Everyone had a blast sliding!

                                         

Our busy day of exploring combined with their late arrival wore everyone out, and we spent the night with snacks and a movie. After church Sunday morning we had a family lunch and I surprised Jacob with a birthday cake. Jacob and I have always been HUGE Harry Potter fans, so it was only natural that I drew inspiration from Hagrid for his birthday cake.

It was sad to say goodbye, but I'm so grateful that Jacob and his friends were able to come visit. They all agreed that it was worth the 9 hour drive here, so we must have done something right as hosts/tour guides. We're just glad that it only took them 3 1/2 hours to get back to Provo.

Remember to pray and remember to play,

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew

Rim-to-Rim

You know that moment when all of a sudden, out of the blue, you and your best friend have the same days off work so you feel the NEED to go on a fun adventure? Well Chris and I had that moment. And decided to take a spontaneous trip to the Grand Canyon...and hike rim-to-rim.

We didn't have much time to prepare for this endeavor so we simply ran to the grocery store to get some goods, packed our bags and made a plan that went like this: drive to the Grand Canyon and then hike. After a quick post-work nap we left at 1am on Wednesday for our grand adventure.  During the drive I learned a few things about my husband, #1 he knows every word to every Celine Dion song ever written and has the vocal chords to attempt to hit them and #2 he has a theory that if you sing as loud and as ugly as you can then you will sound exactly like Guns N' Roses and can sing along to any of their songs (I tested this theory and he's on to something big). When we came to the crossroads of the sign that said "North Rim <- South Rim ->" we took a wild guess and decided to start at the South Rim, just because.

Thanks to a time zone change - which we totally forgot was going to happen or we would have slept in longer than 1am - we arrived at the Grand Canyon just as the first light was coming up. It's a little surprising, because you're driving in a fairly flat desert--and then suddenly--the world drops off in front of you. It was amazing to watch the sunrise, especially since all the other tourists were sleeping--giving us the opportunity to feel some solitude. We then headed to the backcountry office right as they opened to see if we could get a permit to camp inside of the Grand Canyon at some point that weekend. As you can well imagine, those permits are hard to come by and we had no such luck. This lead to our decision to spend the day seeing sights around the visitors center, and then begin hiking the next morning across the canyon in a day.

Snapped this photo just as a thunderstorm rolled in.

We had fun playing tourist, but definitely felt like we were missing something as we stood at the edge of the canyon looking down. It felt too "Disneyland-ish" and void of the awe factor we had been expecting. Knowing that we needed more out of our Grand Canyon experience we went to bed early to catch a good night's rest before our big hike the next day.

Our alarms woke us up at 3:30am so we could take down camp, catch the first shuttle to the trailhead, and start hiking down Bright Angel Trail by 4:45. The descent into the canyon was spectacular! The farther we hiked, the larger the canyon became, and we finally felt like we were really seeing it. We hiked. And hiked. When we felt like we had to be at the bottom of the canyon there was another canyon wall to descend. When we finally got down to the Colorado River we felt a pang of longing, as we know we will never really feel like we've experienced the Grand Canyon until we've rafted it (mark my words--one day it will happen). The bottom of the canyon was stunning with the black granite, refreshing creeks, and a surprising amount of shade.

It wasn't long after we got to the bottom that we realized we should have planned our trip better, or rather at all--as going south to north meant that about a quarter of our hike was downhill and the rest was going to be uphill. But an uphill battle wouldn't stop us as we continued on. We hiked. And hiked. Annnnnnd hiked. We saw a lot of pretty things along the way, but mostly we just dripped in sweat and thought about how smart everybody else was who we met who had trained for this hike and had daypacks instead of full overnight packs. Since we hadn't planned our hike in advance, we carried all our camping gear to stay at the North Rim. Let me tell you - the size of your pack makes a big difference.

As we approached the north rim we were blown away with how different the terrain was from the south rim. We were no longer in Visitor Center chaos of the desert but had entered a much less populated and beautiful Aspen forest. We were lucky to be able to walk up and get a tent spot in the "hiker/biker communal site." After a quick dinner we crashed and slept like rocks throughout the night.

"We made it!" thumbs up.

Chris threw together the video below, pretty much summing up our big hike.

                                   

When our legs wouldn't move in the morning, Chris opted to take the shuttle back to the south rim to pick up our truck. During his long drive I made fast friends with some neat hikers who were in the communal site. When Chris got back we drove to Page, Arizona, where we had a big all-you-can-eat Chinese dinner and found a campsite near Horseshoe Bend. We were too tired to set up our tent so we just laid our sleeping bags in the truck bed and crashed like we had never slept before.

When Saturday rolled around we once again woke up at a ghastly hour (though slightly later than the previous two days) and drove to Horseshoe Bend to see the sunrise. Our tired legs hobbled the longest quarter mile we have ever experienced to the overlook. Once again our planning, or lack thereof, shone through as the sun rose in the opposite direction of the Horseshoe Bend overlook! Regardless,  it was a scenic and peaceful morning. We met a sweet couple from Japan who Chris offered to take some pictures for. The husband then gave me a small pillow to sit on so I wouldn't have to sit on the cold hard rock, and then insisted I keep the pillow (which had tags in Japanese!) when we left. It was such a kind gesture, and was a wonderful reminder of how little acts of kindness can brighten somebody's day.

When we were done taking pictures we limped back to the truck, began singing a mix of Celine Dion and Guns N' Roses, and headed back home (where we agreed that upon return we would do nothing other than eat and lay in bed for the foreseeable future).

Remember to pray and remember to play,

But really just remember to plan your vacations,

Mr. & Mrs. Our-Legs-Ache-Andrew

Capitol Reef and a Highway Rollover

This week was a blast. Dad, mom, and Jacob left on a Mexican cruise, so Dani and I had the youngest two all week. Dani spoiled them rotten while I was working and training with the EMS department, taking them on all sorts of hikes and adventures. She even baked them a giant cookie and let them decorate it (the frosting reads: No Parents!)! I didn't have work Thursday or Friday, so we took off to Capitol Reef to spend a long weekend in the Park. None of us had ever been there before, so we explored around the desert, discovering all sorts of arches, potholes, and caves. We weren't exactly roughing it in the backyard-like "campground," but Olivia certainly appreciated the flushing toilets.

The rain was off and on all weekend. Desert rain feels pretty incredible - the dampness in the air feels so refreshing, and the fresh-soaked ground smells so alive. The lichen on the red rock turns green, and the rivers turn a copper shade of chocolate milk. We stayed away from narrow canyons, as the scarcely-seen cliffside waterfalls had filled the usually dry river bottoms with flash flooding.

Matthew and Olivia playing in the "Kukoo-moodoo" holes

At the end of our longest 7 mile hike, we found a series of pools, or tanks, that cascade into one another when it rains.  In one of them there were a ton of toads!

When we got back to Moab on Saturday, I took Matthew out to test fire his newly-built potato canon. I can't believe I never constructed one of these when I was his age! When we got home I told Dani that I'll probably have to make one before we have our own sons.

                                    

Today was pretty exciting for me. I was on-call for Grand County EMS, and early this morning we were paged out to a vehicle rollover on the highway. After three previous shifts without any real calls, you better believe I was the first one to the response shed.

Even running code with our lights and sirens on, our travel time to the accident was over 30 minutes. He had swerved off the road, flipped his car at least three times, and landed in the opposite direction of traffic. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt, and the airbag didn't deploy. When we arrived, our patient was up and walking around, and after a full assessment, he refused to be transported, only asking for a bandaid to cover an existing cut on his finger. What an incredible miracle! Although I was looking forward to the excitement of actually being involved in patient care and transport, I was pretty glad that he survived without any serious injuries.

I finished my day with a transport from our hospital to Grand Junction, CO where our patient could have his appendix taken out, as our surgeon is moving and his replacement hasn't arrived yet. I'm really looking forward to volunteering more as an EMT this summer.

Yurt in the Yukon

We failed to get a post up covering the first week of December, so we'll fill you in briefly on what went on. The week was busy with school and work, but mostly filled with celebrating our friends new baby! Our friends Ben and Camille had their first child, and we quickly fell in love with their beautiful baby girl. We helped them out with dinner a few times and just tried to spend as much time as we could with their little family.

Following our week of baby celebration for our friends came a week of anniversary celebration for us! Can you believe we've already been married for a full year?! The last year has just flown by, and yet we feel like we've been together forever (which really is a great thing, since we are blessed to be together forever). There's a saying that goes, "the first year of marriage is the hardest," and if there's any truth at all in that statement then Chris and I are going to have the easiest marriage ever. We've loved every moment of the first year, every new thing we've learned about each other, and every adventure we've shared. We are continually in awe at how much more we love each other now than we did a year ago, a month ago, a week ago, or a day ago. Right when we think it's not possible to have any more love, it increases, and it's ever coming more clear what it means to have Christ-like love. We've tried to center our marriage around the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we have definitely seen the blessings from it.

To celebrate the best year of our lives we went on a trip to Whitehorse, Canada. With the help of a ferry and a rental car we were able to stay in the most magical location - an original Mongolian yurt on some private land outside of town. We spent a long weekend snowshoeing, walking around town, swimming in hot springs, talking in Canadian accents using the word "eh" as frequently as possible, and warming up by the wood burning stove in our little orange yurt. It was perfect. So perfect, that I can't adequately describe it with words, so instead here are some pictures and a video that Chris made of our trip.

It was a beautiful sunny day on the ferry to Skagway

It was COLD. Or maybe we were just wimps.

The yurt overlooked a secluded lake 

The inside

Our host informed us that the yurt was actually made in Mongolia, and we were impressed with the intricate hand painting on the supports and door. The owner ran some power cords out to the yurt for lighting and built a weather-proof roof over the top. Mongolian tradition is to step over the threshold with your right foot without touching the door frame.

Don't worry, there was a full bathroom inside our host's home we could
use when we felt the need for running water.

We hoped to be able to take advantage of the secluded location away from light pollution to enjoy the northern lights, but every night the clouds moved in.

Our host let us borrow snowshoes and we trekked around the frozen lake below.
This friendly dog decided to join us, and his confidence was comforting when we would hear cracking and moving of the ice beneath us. 

My hair and Chris's beard got frosty from our breath as we hiked.

Our ferry back to Juneau was late at night, so we threw our sleeping bags
on lawn chairs in the heated solarium and snoozed.

Remember to pray and remember to play,

The Old Married Couple,

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew

P.S. Yes, I, did win the dance off we had while driving around Canada. And though the video may not adequately show it Chris did participate, he just didn't have moves quite as smooth as I did.