!i! Arriving in Howie !i!

Anyone who knows us knows that our favorite place to be is Hawaii. During those endless, dreary winter months, A.J. and I have a Hawaii one-track-mind. We were trying to decide between Oahu and Orlando for this summer vacation. We priced everything out. The price of all the theme park tickets would make up the difference and once everything was added up, they were about equal. So....Hawaii won!

We flew out of the SLC airport on Sunday, Aug 14. The night before, we stayed up late and woke up early and went to church with my parents so we would be sleep deprived for the flight. A.J. and I HATE flying. We both just get so sick! So we thought if we sleep through it, it will go by fast and we will tolerate it a little better.We had a layover in L.A. for about an hour and a half. When we flew into L.A., there were too many planes landing at one time so we had to circle around again which set us behind. L.A. was gloomy and we were excited for our next destination: Howie!! Once we got off the plane, our next flight was boarding so we had time to buy some food and then immediately got on the next plane.
Six hours and 45 minutes later, we were approaching Oahu. We got there right as the sun was setting. Keep in mind, Hawaii is 4 hrs behind Utah time so we arrived around 7:30 Hawaii time which is 11:30 Utah time. It was interesting as we were driving to our hotel, barely able to keep our eyes open, and the people in Waikiki are out and about just beginning their nights!

We finally got settled into our hotel. We stayed at the Ambassador Hotel of Waikiki. It was clean, but very boring. The walls were white, the furniture was white, the tile was white, the bedspread background was white. But it was a clean place to stay. We were so tired, we went to bed at 9:00 and slept the whole night through!

!i! That One Hike Where We Were Eaten Alive !i!

The other day, instead of running on a treadmill, I decided a hike would be fun for my workout. A.J. agreed to go with me. We drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We started at Silver lake then took the Twin Lakes trail.There were mosquitoes EVERYWHERE! A.J. thought that as soon as we started on the trail away from the lake, the mosquitoes would dwindle. Not so...WE WERE EATEN ALIVE!! After the hike was completed, A.J. and I had a grand total of at least half a dozen bites each.

Although, between swatting for mosquitoes, we saw some really awesome things!

We hiked past a rock slide...

We passed a field of wild flowers...We found some moose tracks...not the ice cream (although that would have been nice too).


And we finally made it up to the lake.

There were even more mosquitoes up here than down at the larger lake. They were swarming at us from all directions. We had to get out of there. I had a bite behind my ear, a couple on my arms, and three around my ankle.

As we were getting into our car, A.J. summed it up pretty well when he said "Honey, I think it's time we invest in some bug spray."

!i! Duck Date !i!

A.J. and I were wondering what we should do for our date night. We decided to go downtown and see what the evening held. We passed Sugarhouse park and I saw the ducks. I haven't fed ducks in years so that's what we decided to do!

We stopped at the nearest Smiths and bought a loaf of bread for 99 cents. Then we went to Sugarhouse park. The second we got out of the car, the geese knew! They knew it was dinner time just by looking at us.

The next thing I knew, there were geese waddling at us in all directions. Slowly marching...

I don't love geese. They hiss at you and they nip at your toes. We saw some ducks on the other edge of the pond so we strolled over there to feed them. We started tossing them bread. The next thing I knew, the geese were coming for us! They had followed us...some by land and some by water.

They were pushy little things! They came within feet of us looking at us and sticking out their tongues. They have tongues! Did you know that?! I told A.J. "Let's get out of here!"

As we were leaving, the geese spotted a new victim: a small boy with four loves of bread draped over his shoulders. They started their waddle march toward him. He didn't even make it to the edge of the water before he was surrounded with geese.


We ended up going over to Liberty Park. The ducks at Liberty Park have better manners. I found some baby ducks. They still had their downy feathers. Their mother patiently waited while they ate the bread.

It was such a fun date night!

!i! Mesa Verde !i!

We just got back from the Lokey family vacation down to Mesa Verda National park in Colorado in the four corners area. I have to admit that I have never heard of this place before so I had no idea what it was that we were doing for this trip.

A.J. and I left right after I got off work on Friday. It is about a six hour drive. I love going on trips with A.J. because we just laugh and be silly the entire way. We arrived down there at about 9:00 pm. We stopped in Cortez and ate dinner at subway and then we entered the park. It was pouring and there was a lightening storm.

Since I am not a camper, A.J. and I stayed in the lodge...which was...interesting. It was a clean, rustic lodge with no TV and we had to "upgrade" to get air conditioning, but there WAS a wine list and they would deliver it straight to your room. There was also a fancy schmancy restaurant called "the Matate room." We glanced at each other and knew exactly what the other was thinking. Seriously?

We arrived to our room, dropped off our things, and drove down to the campsite where the rest of the Lokeys were camping. Our lodge was about 11 miles away (approx 20 min) through the winding road. After a six hour drive and driving back and forth through that winding road, I was car sick! We roasted massive mellows and made s'mores, and swatted at bugs. Well...I swatted at bugs.

The next day we got up early, had breakfast, and visited the Indian runes. We toured 2 of the cliff houses. It was amazing to see these up close. They are 700 yrs old and still standing. It was interesting to think that people lived here and what their daily life would have been like.

There were tight squeezes...

Low ceilings...

And latters...so many latters!!

I am afraid of latters. They seem rickety. Although these ones were sturdy and bolted in on both ends. The first latter was 32 feet. The tour guide seemed very nervous about the latter which added to my anxiety. My legs were shaking to the point that I could not control them and I was afraid they would buckle. I have never had my legs shake that badly before. The next day my ankles were sore. But I made it up that one and the next 10 throughout the day and I think I conquered my fear.

We saw about fifty trillion "Kivas"... give or take a couple.

Then we did the "Mesa Loop" which is a drive with views of ancient village runes.

The next morning, I wanted a picture of the sunrise. So A.J. was sweet enough to wake up bleary eyed, take the picture for me, and go back to sleep. I have the best husband in the world!

Then we got up and visited a few of the older runes in the park.

Eventually we met up with everyone and did a hike to the petroglyphs.

The question of the day was "Where are they supposed to be?" We kept hiking and hiking and hiking and still no petroglyphs. We thought maybe we had missed them.

Surely behind this curve. ... Surely up ahead. Still no petroglyphs.

We came across what was left of an Indian house.

Finally... we found them!

We climbed our way out of the canyon to the top of a mesa. The view was amazing!

Then we packed up and started the 6 hr drive back home. We had lunch in Moab. I have never been to Moab before and everything seemed so RED. It was beautiful. A.J. promised to take me back there someday.

I had such a fun time on this trip! I am so glad A.J. and I were able to go with the rest of the Lokeys. And, as always, I was grateful I was able to go with my bestest friend.

!i! A Slice of Paradise !i!

A.J. and I recently visited one of my favorite places: Silver Lake. It is located up Big Cottonwood Canyon at the Brighton ski resort Nordic Center. This is one of the most peaceful places. It's very quiet and smells like fresh pine.

However, we weren't the only ones there!....

(swatting at the mosquitoes)

Eventually I worked out a system to get those mosquitoes to leave me alone.

(Incognito, I walked away with zero bites!!)

There is a boardwalk that goes all the way around the lake. This is where we filmed some of our wedding video.
There are a lot of wildflowers growing everywhere!

It's always nice to have little get-a-ways that aren't too far away from home.

!i! The Zoo !i!

A.J. and I went to the zoo. We haven't been to the zoo in years! First stop: to see Zuri, the baby elephant! Even though she's gotten older, I was excited to see that she was still so small!

We caught her with her mama at feeding time. What toddler doesn't get food all over their head and back when eating?!

Next stop: the rhinos. We also caught them at feeding time. But for the animals, I think all day is feeding time! Lucky ducks!

Next stop were the giraffes. Take a look at that tongue!! Something must have tasted good on that slab of wood because he just kept licking!

A.J. and I try to be giraffes. ...Not even close!!

Mug Shot!

Next we visited the tigers. Why do they lay around all day long? Does that look like the face of a ferocious beast?!

Next we visited the gorilla. Look at this guy. He is sitting here eating his celery.

By the time we came back, this guy had gone into his corner, put his blanket over him, propped his feet against the wall and relaxed his head on his arm!!

The final stop at the zoo was to visit the ... dinosaurs?! It's zoorasic days at the Hogal Zoo and there are dinosaurs everywhere!

!i! Wait...How Old Am I !i!

A.J. and I recently had our birthdays a couple of months ago. We turned the big 26! I feel old. We are now considered in our "late twenties." Pretty soon we'll be complaining about our aching joints when a storm's a brewin'. I literally went 8 out of 12 months last year thinking I was 24 so I feel like I gained 2 years this birthday!

And what did we do to celebrate our birthday? We went where all the 26 year olds have their birthday parties: Living Planet Aquarium. We looked at all the fishies and watched the penguins for at least an hour. It was so much fun!
My sister said later she was telling someone that she recently celebrated her little sister's birthday at the aquarium. The response was "Oh how sweet. How old did she turn?" Carolyn: "26" Other person: "Oh..."

!i! Catching Up !i!

So...It has almost been 1 year since I have last posted anything about us. A lot has happened since last year. I got a new car. It was my dream car: a 2007 Mazda 3. A.J. got rid of his pathfinder (the one that had been stolen) and he inherited Little Buddy. That lasted for...about...4 months. A.J. was in an accident and Little Buddy was totaled. Luckily A.J. was okay and the only thing injured was poor Little Buddy. After one month of looking for a new car, A.J. picked his car: ... a 2007 Mazda 3. I never thought we would be "that couple" with 'his 'n hers' cars, but here we are. Add it to the list of commonalities. We both love our cars and, most importantly, love having our OWN cars because let's face it: Two cars are better than one!