Ewww Boy!

I've been a lazy blogger! Wanna know why? Because we just haven't had anything big go on lately! So, here is a list of little odds and ends that we've done recently.

• Mattikins bought me a new phone! He was due for an upgrade and used it to get me an iPhone 4 instead! Isn't he sweet?
• Bear turned 4 yesterday. I can't BELIEVE it! Her little beard is beginning to gray. This makes me quite sad.
• My mom and sister came this past weekend! We had a blast. We basically did nothing- as is the theme of this post. We watched movies and ate subs and played with our puppies... that's about it. I LOVE it when they come to see me though. We don't get to be together an awful lot.
• I found some fall staples that I am going to purchase: a pair of brown boots (riding, flat, knee high) and a good pair of designer jeans... going to treat myself! Pretty excited about both.
• Getting my wedding rings re-dipped. Do you all have to do that? I must have very acidic skin because mine have basically turned gold. I will also purchase another chain for the neckless that Matt bought me when we got married. The one that came with it is too long so I never wear it. Pretty excited to start to wear it all the time.
• ATTEMPTING to eat better. We've been making a lot of smoothies around here mixing in Whey Protein. YUM!
• I did 3 pull- ups last night which is 3 more than I have ever done so I guess the protein/ workouts are working
• I just watched The Last King of Scotland. I do NOT recommend this movie. Quite disturbing.
• I am old and boring and perfectly content to be home alone with my doggies.

The END

St. Jude Half Marathon

Just signed up to run the St. Jude Half December 4 with my sis. Ewwww weeeee. I'm nervous. I totally fueled my body wrong last time. I am going to hop on Runners World and see if they will send me any information for free. Do you have any tips for distance running for me?

Did I mention we are thinking about doing the WHOLE marathon this year in Little Rock? I better get to gettin.

Here we go!!!!

Hawaiian Adventures

We got to eat lots of yummy breakfasts with our family.

And wake up early to see the sun rise. Man we look sleepy!

And see cool Japanese statues... not sure what they were though...

And wear AWESOME linen suits...

And play new instruments...

And see gi-normous 100 year old trees...

And learn all about how coffee is made...

And autograph trees...

And look down from the tops of mountains...

And drive to the VERY end of the road on the island!

And get stuck in the elevator...

And go to a luau and see people throw fire around like regular ole batons...

The BEST part of the entire trip was being able to spend time with Matt. He is my best friend in the whole world, and I can't wait to go on a million more with him... :).

Kauai Scenery

Here is a sample of some of the scenery pictures we took. Through the entire trip, we took over 300 pictures.

This is the sunrise the first morning we were in Kauai. Breath taking!

This is the view from the beach that our resort sits on. These beautiful hedges broke up the grass from the beach.

This is... I don't know what this mountain is actually. But isn't it gorgeous?

This is also the beach from our hotel. I am standing in the spot where Joe and Tiffany tied the knot.

Disclaimer, although these next 3 pictures were not actually made by our Creator, they are beautiful structures that are made to bring praise to Him, and I felt it appropriate that they be included in the "Scenery" portion of this blog.

These are actually tunnels that were right by the beach on the north side of the island.

Another morning, another beautiful sunrise!

This is Hanalei Valley. It serves as a wildlife refuge for many of Kauai's birds. Absolutely beautiful.

Here is Mr. Spouting Horn. He spouts when the pressure builds up from crashing waves. It looked to me like some of these shot up about 20 feet. Not sure about that though... :)

And here he is when no waves are going through.

A beach on the north shore where the Summitt family went snorkeling.

Waimea Canyon is absolutely gorgeous!

See what I mean? Amazing how high and how low the points are in the canyon.

One more... This is the west part of the island. Honestly, I'm not sure what the island is in the picture. (Do you see it way out there in the distance?)

This side of the island is actually a totally different climate. It is more like a dessert. Notice in this picture the difference from the ones before. Not green and lush like the others. Dead and brown and gray!

Animals of Kauai

Yes, this sign does say do not feed the animals. Yes, people did still feed the animals. Yes, it bugged me. Especially the lady feeding the rooster watermellon right next to me while we were at the pool

Our first animal is simply a Koi fish from the ponds at the hotel... a bit boring, but I encourage you to keep scrolling through.

Mr. Swan and little bitty duckies also in the ponds at the hotel.

Now, the stars of our show, the ROOSTERS! Let me tell you something crazy about Kauai's Roosters. In 1992, Hurricane Iniki, a category 4 storm, hit the Hawaiian Islands. The eye of this storm devastated the island of Kauai. 1,421 homes were destroyed, and 63 were lost from the storm surge and wave action. 5,152 homes were severely damaged, while 7,178 had minor damage. Most homes were without power for 4 weeks, but many were without for 4 months. A more permanent consequence of this storm would be the roosters. Since that time, they have roamed wild on the island and let me tell you they are absolutely everywhere. All along the side of ANY road that you would take. In the parking lot of Walmart. At the city park. In the lots of churches. Near the beaches. At the hotel pool. I am NOT exaggerating when I tell you that every place we went, there were at least 3 roosters (and maybe a hen or two). This includes the Waimea Canyon out look that we drove up 7 miles of road winding through mountains to reach. Amazing! Here is the first one I got a picture of. Those suckers were hard to get to stand still. Actually, they don't stand still. (On a side note, during Hurricane Iniki, Steven Spielburg and his film crew were actually on Kauai filming Jurrasic Park. The braved out the storm at their hotel.)

Can you see Mr. Crab? Where's Waldo?

We saw a few of these beautiful birds with their bright red heads!

Is that a shark??? No wait! That's just Matt and Nathan snorkeling.

Another rooster.

A black and white rooster! He was at the top of the Waimea Canyon Lookout.

A black swan! Did you know these existed??

Joe and Tiffany's Hawaiian Wedding

Well, I had to start off our Hawaii blogs with the wedding since that is the only reason we went in the first place. I will also start by showing you my favorite funny picture from the trip. This is the Ukylele and guitar people that played for the wedding. The music was beautiful, and she let me hold her ukylele for a picture! Awesome huh? Ha ha.

The band and the preacher!

Our groom with his parents just before the wedding.

Groomsmen. I am a little partial to the tall drink of water in the middle there.

Beautiful bride walking down the aisle!

Joe got a little emotional when he saw her walking his way.

These were traditional Hawaiian Lei's- I guess for the bride and groom to wear. He put one on her and she put one on him. It was really pretty.

Yay! They're married!

And then they kissed a lot... because that's what you do when you get married.

Here is the bride's family! From the left, the Cleaves, the Summitts and the Parris.

Here is the Summitt clan all decked out for the wedding!

The sisters. Well, I'm not really a sister, but...?

Me and my handsome buddy! Man I love that dude!!!

This concludes the wedding portion of our blog. Please bring your seats to the upright and locked position and return all tray tables in preparation for landing... I've flown too much this week.