PARADISE!!!

This last August I had the opportunity to go with my family to Hawaii. It was by far the best vacation I've ever had! It was a great way to spend my mom's 60th Birthday. Unfortunately Jon and my sister Reagan's husband, Dom weren't able to go with us. But we packed up without them and headed for 10 days of kid/husband free paradise!!!

OAHU

The first couple days in Hawaii we spent on the Island Oahu. I wish I had more pictures of this island. We stayed in a hotel right across from the Waikiki Beach. We had a lot of fun shopping, boogie-boarding and snorkeling. My family also went to Pearl Harbor. (I didn't go because I got really sick that day). These next few pictures are on the North Shore at Waimea Bay. It was so beautiful! We had blast!

At the bottom of this rock where you start to climb up there's a big sign that says "WARNING!! DO NOT JUMP OFF ROCK! May cause severe bodily injuries or death." I really wish I got a picture of it but the funny thing was, look at all the people standing on top waiting to jump off. Lol! That's me jumping of the rock.

The Laie Hawaii Temple

(L to R): Reagan, Chad, Rori, Me, Mom & Dad

KAUAI

We spent the next 7 days on the beautiful Island of Kauai. It was the most amazing place I've ever seen in my life! It was a lot different than Oahu. Though they are both incredible, Kauai is a much smaller island and a lot more relaxed and layed back. It also seemed to offer a lot more adventure. It was my kind of place. :)

Kilauea Lighthouse

Land of Hanalei...you know, from the song "Puff the Magic Dragon"?

We stayed in the Pono Kai Resort while on Kauai. It sits right on the beach. My brother-in-laws parents have a time-share there so they gave us the hook-up. Thank you Boseman's!!

BBQ-ing and playing bachi-ball at the condo.

This was a LDS church right across the street from the condo. The members would give all the visitors a lei when they came.

Hiking the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast...breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL!!!

Me on the Na Pali coast

Rori, Mom, Dad & Reagan

Kauai is full of adventure

One of the big sea caves on the beach. This is about where Rori and I got attacked by a big wave that ruined our phones and her camera. We also met some other kids from Salt Lake City here on this beach. What a small world.

We made it!!!....and were a muddy mess.

After our big hike we went down to the beach for some snorkeling.

We saw all kinds of sea critters

Piku Falls. This was my favorite place of the entire trip. These falls are about 25 feet tall and surround a big, deep pool of water. The best part was the giant rope swing hanging from one of the many trees surrounding the cove. It was SO fun!!!

Yes, even in their 60's my parents were also jumping and swinging with the rest of us.

This was a sugar cane field you had to walk through to get to Piku Falls.

You can't go to Hawaiii without experiencing a luau, right? We went to the Luau Kalamaku on the historic Kilohana Plantation.

Kayaking the Wailua River & hiking to Secret Falls

Secret Falls

The Wailua River

Wailua Falls

Our last day we went to the Kamokila Hawaiian Village. Here they have recreated the village so we can see how the Royal Hawaiians lived centuries ago. This is also where the movie "Outbreak" was filmed.

Even after 10 days I still wasn't ready to come home. I still think about it all the time. We had quite the Hawaiian experience.

I may not have been the Biggest Loser but...

Definitely worth it!

This was one of the funnest and most rewarding things I have ever done! Over the Summer one of my cousins and her trainer put together a Biggest Loser competition at Four Pillar Fitness. It lasted for 12 weeks. There were 16 of us all together, (2 teams of 8). We circuit trained 3 days a week with the trainers, plus cardio workouts every day, weighed in every 2 weeks and had monthly team challenges. It was hard work but the rewards were incredible. Some ladies lost up to 40 lbs! and others got in better shape and toned up. Everyone looks fantastic and we all had SO much fun!!

Our trainers: Ryan Larsen & Reed Carlson

This is my friend Maria and I. She's always been a twig but I was glad to have her there with me. She kept me going the whole 12 weeks.

Me, Steph, Aunt Karen, Aunt Shauna, Aunt Cheryl, and Ashley

My total loss was a big 7.3 lbs, 16 inches and my body fat percentage went down from 23% to 14%!! (not that it stayed there too long) Now the hard part is keeping it off!!

The Land that I LOVE

The 4th of July has become my favorite holiday over the past few years. I love getting together with family and friends to celebrate. I love how layed back it is. The parades and festivals, barbeque's, the shorts and flip flops and of course the fireworks. What better way to celebrate our Independence?

We had a such a fun time this year. One of our family's most favorite things to do is going to the sand dunes. I love, love, LOVE IT!! Especially at Sand Hallow, (near St. George.) It's hotter than hades but down there they have the Sand Hallow reservoir that sits at the bottom of the dunes. So you can literally go ride around for an hour or two and when you get too hot, you just cruise on down to the lake and go jump in!

Family guy! Lol!!

Taking a break

We stayed at Jon's Uncle's winter home that sits right on the Sky Mountain golf course. Each night there we had fun in the community pool.