I Love Going to the Dentist

I really do. I just got back from a dentist appointment, so it was on my mind. The main reason I love going to the dentist is probably because it's always a good experience, at least so far. I don't know how I got so lucky, but I never wore braces and I've never had a cavity. I'm just an average brusher and an occasional flosser, I have to admit it. All my siblings have had cavities AND braces, so who knows what happened to me. I'm not complaining. I love going to the dentist because I get praised for having healthy teeth (I can't take credit though!) and then I get cleaned, polished, and sent on my way. You have to admit, that "just out of the dentist's office" feeling is wonderful.

I decided I needed to go because it had been a year since my last appointment, and several people have warned me that pregnancy can wreak havoc on your teeth. A friend of ours who is in dental school reminded me it's partly because women will eat every few hours, so their teeth never quite get a chance to clean themselves. Not to mention that sometimes I eat anything that sounds good, even if it's skittles. Add to that the fact that I can only brush for about 10.4 seconds before I start gagging, so I immediately stop and take deep breaths (it's worked so far.)And then I can't tell you how many times I've fallen asleep with my make-up on (and teeth unbrushed) because I'm so exhausted, I just pass out! I even did that in a movie theater, at like, 9:30 p.m., that's when I really knew something was up! All these things made me panic and run to the dentist, only to find out everything is fine, and to get a little self-esteem boost.

Anyway, I'm just rambling today. Just wondering if there's anybody else out there who loves going to the dentist.

It's a Small World After All

We had such a fun suprise our last day in Kauai. We were on our way to the airport, and we had some extra time, so we decided to make one last stop at a waterfall, since it was on the way. You can drive right up to it, get out of your car, take pictures, etc. Samuel was driving a little slow because some of the people in our car get a little car sick. At one point he pulled over and let two cars pass. When we got to the top of the hill and we were getting out of the car, I looked at who was getting out of the two cars who had gone ahead, and lo and behold, I saw a face I recognized...and then another, and another. It was a group of 8, and my parents are friends with all of them, in fact my dad went to high school with most of them, and they all live in St. George now!! I jumped out of the car and ran over to them and I had to hug them all, it was SUCH a treat to see them, they are such a cool group of people, and I just love them all. It was such a shock though, because we happened to be at the same waterfall on the same little island at exactly the same time. They had spent a week in Kauai, and were ALSO on the way to the airport!! To top it all off, they had a bet as to who would see someone they knew first, but because they all knew me, they gave US the money!! (Could this day get ANY better? Haha)
I introduced them to Samuel, since none of them had met him, and my Aunt Sue actually already knew most of them (she grew up in St. George and went to the same high school.) Well, Samuel had the camera, and he snapped this shot of me walking with Laurie and Lisa:

And here we are by the waterfall, that's my cousin Nicole and her husband Patrick, and the sun was RIGHT in our eyes.

Isn't that nice, I got the rainbow in there too.

Kalalau Trail

We spent the afternoon hiking the Kalalau Trail on the north shore. It's an 11 mile hike, and we did...maybe two of them. Still, it was fabulous- amazing views, green jungle around us, and a really cool tree.

*Thanks to Abby who introduced me to picasa.com and picture collages!*

Kauai by Helicopter

One of the coolest things to do in Kauai is to take a helicopter ride. If there was ever a place you want to see from the air, it's Kauai. It has an amazing coastline that you can only see by boat or air, and it has a grand canyon going right through the middle of it (see map from last post.)

Last January the weather wasn't cooperating, and the helicopters wouldn't fly, for safety reasons. But we were blessed this time with a beautiful day. I have so many pictures, I'm not sure which ones to post.
This waterfall was filmed in Jurassic Park, in the beginning, when the helicopter lands and the scientists meet each other. Our pilot played the Jurassic Park music and flew us up right next to it, it was REALLY cool.

We must have seen 20 different waterfalls, ones you could only see if you're in a helicopter, going in and out of canyons.Sorry about the glare, we took these pictures through the helicopter windows.

Anyway, it was probably the highlight of our trip, and I highly recommend that you save up some money (it costs an arm and a leg) and take a helicopter ride when you go to Kauai.

A Weekend in Kauai

Ahh, here I am, Monday morning, wishing I wasn't at work. Samuel and I got in at 9:30 last night, after spending three days in Kauai with my cousin, her husband, and my aunt and uncle (pictures of them to come!) in Kauai. Here's a map of the island:They went on to Maui, and we came back to work. It was a wonderful three days, with the sunniest weather that rainy island (a.k.a. the 'Garden Island') has ever seen! That was a relief! (FYI- We went to Kauai for 5 days last January on our honeymoon, and only saw the sun once, for a few hours.)

Our first day there we went to Kipu Falls, a freshwater river and waterfall, with a pool and a rope swing. Here's a few pictures.

The rope swing is in the background, you swing off the little cliff behind the tree. The shorter rope is used to grab the longer rope, if you can imagine what I mean.My uncle Brett is in the white shirt, taking a picture of us by the tree, and those are Kipu falls.Samuel the Fearless took a big swing and did a gainer (back flip) before dropping in the water. You can see he's about to kick his feet up over his head in this picture. I didn't even know you could do that with a rope. I just held on for dear life and then let go, yes I had my shoes on. The water was refreshingly cold. My triceps were sore the next day. That's a little embarassing. :) We did that a couple times before we left for more adventures.

Baby Bigler

Well, yes, as you may have deducted, we are going to have a baby. We are SOOO excited!! I am officially 9 weeks along, and I have been trying all kinds of things to keep the nausea away-- it lasts all day for me. Thanks to all my great friends who have offered sympathy and advice. This is not the fun part, but today it was all worth it. My doctor did an ultrasound, and we got to see the little thing, hear it's heartbeat even, going strong, and yes, I did cry. Up until now, I've only been sick, and it's hard to relate that to a little baby growing inside. But today it became a reality. Samuel was with me, and it was probably one of the best moments we could have shared, to hear that heartbeat and see the little tiny body of our baby. The baby is only an inch long, but I scanned and cropped the picture to make it a little bigger.
So, the little pointer at the top is the top of the head, you see two little tiny arms, (I could swear it's sucking it's thumb, but it might be a little early to have a thumb! Anybody know?) And what looks like quite the belly going on, and two little feet. It's truly incredible. I know all you moms out there are remembering the excitement, and really I guess the joy, to know that you created a life, and that you're lucky enough to take good care of it for 9 months. Anyway, I wanted to call everyone I knew when I got out of the appointment, but I'll have to settle for a blog post. Yay for motherhood!

2006 Recap

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before? I got married :0) 2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I think I forgot to make them last year. But I did make some this year, and so far so good.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes, my younger sister Tara had big, healthy twin boys.
4. Did anyone close to you die? No, and for that I'm grateful.
5. What countries did you visit? Mexico, right after Christmas.
6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? More square footage to live in.
7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? January 30th, the day I got married.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Making a hard decision on my own.
9. What was your biggest failure? Failure to control my emotions during some turbulent times.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No, I've been surprisingly healthy since I got married.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Two memory foam pads for our bed, and satin sheets.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Lots of people...Samuel has been an amazing husband, my sisters have been awesome, and all my great friends have faithfully stood by me.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? My cranky bosses and a few other people that I won't mention.
14. Where did most of your money go? Paying bills, rent, and traveling back and forth to the mainland.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Tara having twins, going to Florida to see Krystal's family, going to Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island with Samuel.
16. What song will always remind you of 2006? Panic at the Disco-I Write Sins Not Tragedies- the radio stations here played it like 100 times a day, it was awful.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Happier b) thinner or fatter? maybe a pound or two fatter c) richer or poorer? Richer- I got a raise
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Exploring the islands; oh, and working out.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Watching TV- I totally got sucked in
20. How did you spend Christmas? With Samuel's family in Arizona
21. Did you fall in love in 2006? I was already in love, but I fall deeper in love every day.
22. How many one-night stands? None
23. What was your favorite TV program? Lost or Prison Break
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No, hate isn't a good thing.
25. What was the best book you read? Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Michael Buble
27. What did you want and get? I got a sexy husband!
28. What did you want and not get? I wanted a house, haha, too bad they cost $600,000 here.
29. What was your favorite film of 2006? The Pursuit of Happyness was excellent
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 25, oops, I mean 26! Arghh! I got breakfast in bed, went to church, and sang in a Christmas concert that night. We went to dinner the following night.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? To have had more contact with my family. Or if they would have come out here to visit.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? Extremely casual and comfortable. Dress up for work on a good day.
33. What kept you sane? The beaches. 34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I like Evangeline Lilly, Wentworth Miller, and I was impressed with Joey Lawrence on Dancing with the Stars.
35. What political issue stirred you the most? Gay Marriage
36. Who did you miss? My siblings, grandparents, parents.
37. What was your favourite album this year? a Kenneth Cope album called Face to Face
38. Who was the best new person you met? All the fun couples that moved into our ward.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006. The oldy, but goody, our happiness depends upon our dispostions, and not our circumstances.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "annie's song" by john denver

You fill up me senses like a night in a forest Like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain Like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean You fill up my senses come fill me again. Come let me love you, let me give my life to you Let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms Let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you Come let me love you, come love me again.

2007

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I posted anything!! My first excuse is that my camera has been missing since we got back from Christmas in Arizona, and my second excuse is that....we spent Christmas in Arizona. It was a great week, and it was packed full of fun and food. I'll try to get pictures from some of Samuel's family. As for New Years, we spent it with some friends playing games, watching the first Rocky movie, and drinking Sparkling Cider. Oh, and watching fireworks. I didn't know til now, but people here LOVE new years, and there are more fireworks and firecrackers than on the fourth of July!! We were at our friends' apartment, which is about on the 20th floor, and from their balcony we could see fireworks in several different parts of town, and also in every street. The firecrackers were so consistent that it sounded like heavy rain. Any way, thanks Marty, for emailing some pictures over.

Here we are watching the first Rocky from the 70's (my first time seeing it.)
I wasn't feeling good enough to dress up this year, it was all about comfort, as you can see! Ha ha. And I promise that really is sparkling cider!

Can you see the fireworks in the background? Wow, I didn't realize how huge I look in those baggy clothes! I'm embarassed! Good thing people love me for me! Hahahaha.
Well, Happy New Year everyone!! Hope all your resolutions really HAPPEN!!!

Birthdays and Fancy Restaurants

December 17 was my birthday. 26 years old, I think I'm over the hill! Up until age 25, I thought it was pretty fun to become a year older. I think from here on out I won't like it anymore. The 17th was a Sunday, and we sang in a big Christmas concert that night, so we didn't go out to dinner until the 18th. Samuel wouldn't tell me where we were going, but it was in the nicest part of town, a place called Roy's that was INCREDBILE! I almost felt guilty eating food that cost so much, but it was a wonderful surprise. Oh, and here in Hawaii they celebrate birthdays with a nice lei to wear, and Samuel gave me one made of little gardenias and pink roses, so you can imagine the fragrance!

I have to show everybody the fancy plates. As my friend Amy taught me, sometimes "presentation is everything"! Samuel got the most delicious macadamia nut crusted swordfish (it melted in your mouth! We aren't even fish fans, but this was so far beyond what we've ever tasted!) And I got the filet mignon, a big juciy piece that came in some crazy good sauce, with those weird crunchy things on top. (What ARE those things?) And the dessert! Where do I even begin? It was DIVINE!! This melting hot chocolate souffle was fudge inside, it was to die for. I don't know if this picture will do it justice. Anyway, birthdays are fun. My sweet hubby made me feel like a QUEEN!

Trimming the Tree

Well, it's our first Christmas being married, so we got to experience the fun of putting up our tree.

Since we are probably moving in about two months, we didn't know if we should do the whole tree thing. Then, a friend of ours told us she would give us a huge discount from her craft store. When we got there, one of the cashiers handed us a bag with a fake tree, red lights, fruit decorations, and ribbon, and she said, "It's paid for." Samuel and I must have said, "What" and "Huh" three times, until we realized we had just been given a great Christmas present. Our very first tree. I almost cried, it was so sweet.

Tonight we turned on the Christmas music and went to work. Samuel first set up the tree, then we discussed how to put on the lights....He said that when he was a kid he would just walk around the tree in a circle. Hee hee. Not exactly what I had in mind. So he let me do the lights, then I added the fruit, little wreaths, beads, etc. But we didn't have a star, so I looked online and found an idea for a ribbon bow, which I think turned out all right.

I Saw the Funniest Thing Today!!!

And I just had to share it. I was walking home from work, and I passed a little old Asian man. It looked like he was walking his dog, a small, bright-white fluffy poodle. And then I noticed he had chopsticks in his hand, and a plastic bag, and inside the plastic bag was....well, must I say it? He was following his dog and picking up the doggy doo-doo with his chopsticks. Does anyone else think that is the funniest thing ever? HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We hope everyone had a great day. Samuel and I were not able to pay for another trip to the mainland, so we had Thanksgiving in Hawaii. Luckily, there were about 10 other young married couples, plus several extra people, including four missionaries, who also needed a place to have Thanksgiving. So at 3:00 we all got together and had a big traditional meal. I was assigned the mashed potatoes, and they would have made Krystal proud (she's a real lover of creamy mashed potatoes, as well as the famous quote, "These mashed potatoes are so creamy! Mary mashed them.") I used a cube of real butter and a pint of whipping cream. Yum. Here's a couple pictures of the group- we forgot to take one of the whole group at once. We had the dinner at a little banquet room at the apartment building of our neighbors. This is me looking very full....Samuel took the pictures... and not everyone was looking, but that's okay! It was a big group.Then, at 6:00 we had another dinner invitation. We have a friend in our ward named Creagan. It happened to be his birthday, and we were all happy to celebrate it with him. He is terminally ill with cancer, and we weren't sure he'd even make it to his next birthday. He treated us to a great feast with his mother, sister, aunt, and another couple from our ward. We went to a private club on the beach where they served the fanciest Thanksgiving dinner (buffet style) that I'd ever seen. Not only was there turkey, stuffing, and all the usual things, but there was prime rib, lamb medallions, braised beef, caviar, sushi, well, you name it, it was probably there. Too bad I had just eaten a few hours earlier. The desserts were amazing too! I had to go back for seconds on the Tiramisu.Here's a picture of us with Creagan, and then the beautiful sunset we enjoyed from our table.So, I hope everyone had a fun happy day and found lots to be grateful for.

Blonde or Brunette?

Lately I've been getting a little tired of the "maintenance" it takes to be a blonde. But to go dark...will I ever be perceived as bubbly again? Or on a positive note, will people start to take me a little more seriously?

So I happen to have this dark curly wig, and tonight's experiment is to take a vote...you all know what I look like now, blonde, which is what I've been my whole life.

So other than the fact that it's a pretty big Texas hairstyle (no offense to all the Texans out there...) Which do you think looks better?

Happy Birthday to Krystal!

Well, isn't this fun, to send Happy Birthday wishes to my sister! She's the one who got me started on blogging, and just look at all the fun we're having. For those of you who don't know, Krystal is my older sister, older as in "13 months and 2 days" older. Because we are so close in age, we shared just about everything when we were growing up. Rooms, clothes, bathrooms, sports teams. We DID manage to make it without sharing any boyfriends, hee hee.

Krystal is the kind of sister that everyone would be lucky to have. Some great memories I have are:
1. When I missed the game winning shot at the state tournament. It was her senior year, SHE was the star of the team, and she probably wouldn't have missed. I didn't even think I could face her. But she grabbed my arm and gave me the biggest hug. That was amazing.
2. We used to go "exploring" and hiking up the hill by our house, and we pretended we had houses up there.
3. For awhile we had Tara (the third sister) sharing a room with us, and we had three beds that had wheels and could all fit underneath each other, you know, trundle beds. One night we had a babysitter, but instead of going to bed we layered the beds like a cascading waterfall and then we all held onto each other and rolled from one bed to the next, down to the floor. How many times did we do that? Probably like, 12 times.
4. We were able to take a trip to all the church history sights, back in high school, with our Uncle Tom and Aunt Gaylynn. That was such a memorable trip, too many things to mention. But I know Krystal is smiling just thinking about it. Our uncle even taught us to read a little Hebrew during the many hours spent driving.
5. We both love to read- this started when we were little. I have a faint memory of her helping me learn to read. Later on one of our favorite activities was to stick our feet in the sink with hot water, and read for hours. We'd have to keep adding hot water of course.
6. Our trip to Hawaii was a blast- it was us three sisters and our parents.
7. When we were about 11-12 years old, we made an infamous home movie where we did a cooking show, and we called ourselves 'The Kitchenettes." We taught our audience how to make "Choc-Oat-Chip Cookies." It's a real gut-buster.
8. We sang many a duet in our days. We still sing "Innkeeper" at Christmas.
9. About the same time we were doing cooking shows, we were also Wilson Phillops Wannabes. We made "music videos" of us pretending to sing all their songs. And I mean all of them.
10. I had a good one to put here...now it's slipped my mind. I'll add it in later I guess!

Krystal is the best! What can I say? She's easy to get along with, she's solid and avoids drama, unlike me, and she just has her head on straight. She's been very supportive of me, even when others haven't been, and she has been someone who's example I am always trying to catch up with. Thanks, Krystal, for always being there and for playing such a huge role in my life. LOVE YA!! Happy Birthday!

I'm still here

Hi everybody. I haven't had anything happening around here, and I can't think of anything to write about! Samuel has been in Las Vegas at a Real Estate Investment class over the weekend, so I just went shopping and out to dinner with some friends, and hung out at the apt.

Oh, and Samuel went to visit my family in St. George. That was his own choice. And it was supposed to go well, he's just trying to reach out to my family, but for those of you who know my mom, well, I don't know if we can say it ended well. I'm definitely not putting all those drama-filled details on the web!

Let me just say that it's kind of a disappointment sometimes to grow up and realize that your parents aren't as perfect as you thought. I'm not claiming to be perfect, by ANY means, nor am I claiming to have a perfect husband. But as Puumba says in the Lion King, "You gotta put your behind in the past!" :) He probably meant you gotta put the past behind you. But I wish everyone could just do that.

I Work in a Funky Building

So, let me tell you a little bit about it. My boss is in his 60's. He's Hawaiian and Japanese, and he started this company, Metropolitan Maintenance & Construction, about 30 years ago. We provide janitors to banks, doctors offices, shopping centers, and universities. And the construction part is mostly remodeling. Oh, and you should know that I work on the first (ground) floor, all by myself; my boss and the controller have an office on the second floor; He lives on the third floor, and the fourth floor could be another apartment, but right now it just stores a bunch of furniture. It's kind of San Francisco-ish, isn't it? There's even an elevator in it. So, it's pretty funny, but people randomly stop in and say, "Um...what IS this place? There is a sign on the window advertising the artwork for sale, it says "Inquire Within" so it's no surprise that people stop in. My boss is also funny about ordering "knick knacks" from catalogs. Some of them are quite expensive. He has them on display on the first floor. Let me show you the interior.This is what you see when you first walk in. Except I'm sitting in the chair. Then if you keep walking ahead, you enter "The Museum" as I like to call it. Random things everywhere.
I guess I should have turned the lights on for this picture, but oh well. You can see a couple paintings, a few masks hanging to the right, and don't miss the things hanging from the ceiling. Ha ha. I love having the whole first floor to myself. (That also explains why I get away with blogging all the time!)

Happy Halloween

Okay, so it's a few days late. But I hope everybody had a fun Halloween. I've decided that Halloween is most fun IF... 1. You're a kid 2. You have kids 3. There's a haunted house around somewhere 4. There's leftover trick-or-treat candy (or in our case, you get to eat ALL of it, since no one came! Apartment buildings...you just can't trust 'em.)
I've loved all your pictures of your kids in costume. I don't have a kid of my own, and I barely had a costume, but here's my Halloween picture. The little boy is Isaac, our neighbor. I teach him piano lessons. He came to our Halloween carnival at the church, where Samuel and I were doing a Cake Walk!

Scenic Maui

All right, my last pictures of Maui! Most of these were taken on the road to Hana. Specifically, the first picture is the Seven Sacred Pools... you've probably heard of them. The "Fern Gully" picture was taken from our waterfall hike. We had to swim through this pool to get to the last two waterfalls. And the last picture of us is just...for fun. You'll notice the waterfall in the background.

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So...have I convinced you friends and family members to come visit us yet? You better get on it! We probably won't be living here much longer.
Love ya'll! Thanks for stopping in.

Red & Black Sand Beaches

Also on the Road to Hana, you can stop and find beaches with red, black, and green sand. We only had time to stop at two, the red sand beach (which is a darker red) and the black sand beach. The black sand beach was just lava rock, smoothed and crushed by the waves. There were lots of really smooth rocks too, bigger sizes, and I took about 12 home. They are the smooth stones that are used for hot stone massages. So now I get hot stone massages at home. The other two pictures are just different shots we took at the Red Sand Beach.

Waterfalls

Maui part 2! We drove the famous "Road to Hana" and...we found out why it's famous. Because the scenery is unbelievable, not to mention the detours! We stopped about 10 times to see everything. We went on a cool hike to find 4 waterfalls.

Waterfall #1

Waterfall #3
They were beautiful. We had to swim to get to the last one, which wasn't flowing very hard. So we climbed up about halfway and jumped off. My husband the cliffjumper, he was jumping off everything he could find. :) Waterfall #4

I know we are really tiny in this one, but I wanted to show how tall it was. The water was running on our heads, but you can't really see it.

This is Jonny & Brittany, Samuel's cousins that we were traveling with. And one more waterfall on the drive.