A Night of Reunions, Tacos, and Smith's

Tonight was great!

I got to hang with some of my dearest friends today! I love them to fetching DEATH! Mallory Cullotta and Greg Lewis are their names, and I met a new friend too- Mark. It was a good time! I met them in SLC for a concert (short lived experience. I was FREAKISHLY freaked out by having to walk ALL the way across Salt Lake BY MYSELF... IN THE DARK... only to find that they were indeed leaving the concert and heading out of Salt Lake. They miraculously saw me walking in and stopped me. DESTINY!!!!), and then we went to Del Taco and ate some dec Mexi food.

We talked about Hawaii, my lipgloss obsession, Mallory's memories with Mark, and the Chipotle Taco. We laughed a lot, and I kept getting salsa on my face- ew (just kidding- loooove salsa). Then Greg needed groceries, so we went to Smith's to grab him some grub. That was surprisingly fun! We ran around like hooligans and grabbed all sorts of sugary nonsense for Greg's pantry.

Tonight was fun!

Tales of Europe and Catan

Today is a brighter day!!!

Taylor finally called me yesterday, and we had a wonderful talk. Leaving things on a good note was really important to me, and I really don't think that our conversation could have gone any better. We have said our goodbyes, and I'm sure I will be able to see him around and smile. I won't lie- I still have a little bit of a hole in my life right now; it's weird not having that someone right there all the time. But I know it was right. What a great ending to a great summer!

Last night was awesome. I met a few people by going back to my old ward in Alpine, and that was super fun. Then I went over to Jessica's house, and she told me tales of Europe!! AHHH!!! I am so jealous!

May I just say that my best friend, Jessica Frazier, is the MOST adventurous woman in the entire world. I'm not kidding. She seriously does things that no one in their right mind would do, and she really doesn't blink about it. When you first meet her, you may think she is a bit shy. However, upon further inspection, you'll find that she is a wild, sexy, smart, HILARIOUS person. She screams fun!

What the fetch???? This is probably 

one of the top ten kisses I have ever seen 

in my LIFE. Jessica Frazier is possibly the 

sexiest woman in America... 

And Europe apparently... :)

For instance, one of the funniest things I've ever known of her doing was something she did in Europe this summer (the trip she just got back from). She was on the Eiffel Tower, and she had a need that was so strong that it almost pained her: to be kissed on the top of the historic building. However, everyone that came with her was either a girl or a relative, so what on Earth was she to do? Of COURSE she headed up to the most attractive, muscular man in the ENTIRE facility and KISSED HIM!!!!!!!! SHE KISSED HIM!!!!!! She of course asked, but he was very willing AS you can see... :)

WHAT??? Like seriously... This girl is CRAZY!!!! That's exactly why me and Jessica have an unspoken law that whatever fun things we do must either be spent doing together or reenacted at some point in our lives. So yes... Me and Jessica WILL be visiting the wonderful land of France together, and yes, there WILL be a kiss on the top of the Eiffel Tower to a COMPLETE stranger for both of us!!!

After many tales of the yonder land of Europe, we parted for the evening and I went over to see the boys at Kev's apartment. They were OF COURSE playing Settlers AGAIN- it's always a heated battle with lots of heightened emotions. It was just plain fun. I fetching love my ward btdubzzzz!!!!

And that was my night. After I came home, Emily painted my K that's going on my door and Brad came home to tell us about "Precious," the Polynesian Tranni at Denny's. It was...a precious story. Haha.

Well, onto day 2 of the week. Lots of buddies coming back to Provo this week like Greg and Josiah!! I'm excited to see 'em! It's going to be weird starting school and getting back into the Fall version of being social, but it's going to be great!

Monopoly and Boat Motors: The lessons of Repentance and Forgiveness

Here's a thought: Life feels like a game of strategy- like Monopoly. Despite the number of jail cards and game fees arise, as long as you don't leave the game board before the end of the game, you finish victoriously. There is certain amount of work that must be done to ensure progression in the game; those who don't try don't go very far at all. in fact, to continue at all, you have to at least roll the dice. Rolling that dice exhibits an interest in the game, and even a small interest is enough to lead you on.

However, you won't last very long if you don't start showing more than a minor interest. You must evade as many obstacles as possible to come out on top. This may seem easy, but in reality, using such strategy involves thinking through your actions. Not only that, but you have to be consistently thinking about what your next move is going to be and prepping for future moves. It's too easy to get lost in the moment, especially when you are on a lucky streak. You cannot lose sight of what's ahead, and with that in mind, you are bound to be given a break in your lucky streaks. Prepare for them, and you'll be fine. Assume you're fine in every situation and you'll fall hard when something interrupts your happy times.

I've pondered on this idea for a while now. I really have come to know that no one is immune to failure in life too. When I used to look at people with major problems in their lives, I used to think, "Dang- how could they be so weak? I would never do anything like that." In reality, they started out just like me- they probably thought exactly the same thing about other people before they did something wrong. No one intends to make mistakes starting out. It begins with a pattern of compromise and rationalization. Slowly, their actions turn, and suddenly, they find themselves lost in sin.

 I love the church, and I know exactly what I want in my life. It provides for a return from the mistakes that have built up like sea grout on a lightly neglected boat motor. That motor needs constant care to keep it clean enough to use, however sometimes you have to turn to a more rigorous cleaning with  the proper chemicals to remove what has already fastened itself to the metal. When all of that junk is gone, the motor is still in perfect condition- it's just weighed down and is a hazard in its current condition. The process of cleaning is so simple! Perhaps it looks like a long and tedious task to remove, but all it takes is a steady hand and a little patience and TA DAAA! It's done!

Isn't the atonement wonderful? I am so grateful for it!

Ho Brah! This Wahine be SURFIN!!!!!

Today was surfing day!!!!!

We got to White Plains Beach (over by the military site) and decided to try our hand at surfing. We had longboards, and we each needed to take one. Those suckers were HEAVY!!! Luckily, a local came over after seeing our distress and taught us how to properly carry a longboard. Thanks brah!

I of course was most excited to go, so I got to take her out first. The waves were PERFECT. They weren't extremely massive, but they weren't too small either. My only complaint was the stupid coral right beneath me- I guess that beach has an extensive reef right beneath the wave-break spot. Since it was really only 2-3 feet below us most of the time, I cut my feet on the reef a few times. But it was all worth it! We got some great surfing in!!

After about 3 hours out in the water, I was EXHAUSTED. For anyone that surfs, I think you can attest to how tiring the process can be. You have to freestyle or butterfly-stroke it out for hours at a time. You can BET I was tired! So I headed in and sun bathed on the beach with my brothers. Can I just say that they are hilarious? My poor hair extensions are completely destroyed thanks to the salt water, so Trev used it as a beard/chest hair prop. Gross!!! Haha but I was laughing and sent the pic to Jessica :) hahaha. Ty kept singing the "Sand in muh pants, sand in muh pants.. lookin' like a fool with the sand inuh pants!" song, and that was HYSTERICAL!

After the day was over, we ate and headed around town to buy some souvenirs. It turns out that there are  A LOT of Obama fans in this state.... I can't tell you how many Obama bobble heads we found.... LOL

Now we are at the hotel room and Brit is painting my toenails. It's funny- she LOVES doing this kind of stuff... maybe I should let her do them for me since I loathe doing it :) She hasn't even compained about my "dull" choice of black and white! Haha

Well, I am falling asleep ya'll!!!! Tomorrow is our last day in Hawaii, and then it's back to the mainland!!!

Kahe Beach Revisited: Joy and... JELLYFISH?!?!!?

Kahe was our choice once again today!!!!! But it was even MORE interesting than our first trip!!!

So Mom and I went over there this morning by her request- I didn't realize it, but when I got to see the dolphins the other day, my mom really felt like she missed out. So she woke up this morning and asked me to come with her to seek them out. Talk about a surprise! Mom is adventurous instead of cautious today!

So we went- the water was BEAUTIFUL today. I didn't realize how much of the coral I hadn't seen because of the murkiness the other day. Anyway, the reef was quite extensive, so we followed it out in hopes of finding the dolphins once more. After lots of searching, we could hear them, but they were too far out to find them. Mom got scared at the deep seafloor and the possibility of sharks, so we bailed and headed back to shore. We found some shells at least!

Well, that's not where it ends- we headed back there again later that day. This time, we succeeded at finding the dolphins!!! Me, Aunt Marilyn, Brittany, and Shelby headed out after seeing them jumping from the shore. This time, they were even friendlier! They followed us all over the place. They gave us a show too! They spun and jumped for us for a few minutes before following us to the next spot. It was a lot of fun, and it was definitely a plus getting to see my aunt fulfill a lifelong dream!

What happened on the way back was... less fun than what happened five minutes before. As we were venturing back to the beach, I noticed that my leg was suddenly burning like CRAZY. As I looked up, I noticed that THOUSANDS of jellyfish were swimming in the water... I mean THOUSANDS. Yes... I got stung at LEAST twenty times. Possibly more. My whole leg now has welts all over it. Haha! It was crazy. But hey! Who can say that they fought it out with a jellyfish? Heck- Who can say they fought it out with over 1,000 jellyfish??? Not many- that's for sure.

Despite the fact that my leg was burning for the next hour, I stayed in the water (the jellyfish free part that is) and enjoyed the rest of the beach day. And of COURSE, my night was made once again by a call from Taylor :) This was a good day indeed!

Ok! One real day left in Hawaii before I head out on Sunday Night!!!! Let's make it count! But I won't lie- I am really ready to head back to my job and my life back in P-town. :) Missing it all!!! But tomorrow should be great!!!!

"I've got my toes in the water, toes in the sand, not a worry in the world a cold...drink... in my hand. Life is good today- Life is good today!" :)

Dolphins Ahoy!!!

Yesterday was the day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I finally found them!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right- I found wild Spinner dolphins and SWAM with them!!!! Talk about fulfilling a bucket list item!

OK OK, I will tell you how it happened in detail. I awoke that morning with a determination to snorkel; we hadn't gone snorkeling so far, and our trip was (and currently is) nearly halfway done already. Since no one else was really jumping on making concrete plans for the day, I went ahead and took the lead. I wanted to find something secluded for two reasons: #1- More Fish, and #2- More Shells for collection. As I searched for blogs  and articles, I came across a blog written by what looked to be a native Hawaiian. Thinking that they should have something interesting to say, I read on.

I came across a little beach called, "Kahe." Also known as "Electric Beach" due to it's placement directly across from the electric plant, it is one of the many hidden treasures on the island. Because it's small and hard to see from the freeway, very few people know about it (aside from the locals that is). It mentioned how, although a very strange location, this was a great place for many different fish and turtles because of a large pipe underneath the water that had slowly become overgrown with marine plants and coral. As I read more, it explained that, not only was this a great place for an assortment of fish, but Spinner dolphins had recently taken a liking to the spot. 

I was thrilled! It sounded like this would be a nice place to meet up with some marine animals. The fact that dolphins were seen there was cool, but I figured that, considering the time that we were going (2:30 PM), we had NO chance of seeing them (they say that dolphins typically come in for feeding in the morning and swim back out to deeper waters during the afternoon to get some shut-eye). I kept that in mind so that, on one of the mornings that I was up at 5:00 (most mornings over here), I could walk over and watch them jump.

We finally got there (after much painful waiting and attempted sabotaging of my glorious day's plan), and the water was ROUGH. It was a bit of a windy day to begin with, but this beach was seriously one of the scariest looking I had seen in my 21 years. The blog had said that this was for advanced swimmers... and he wasn't kidding. I watched as the massive waves sucked the beach in and smashed down again over and over and had to think twice about getting in. As I started to get out of the car, I noticed something jump from the corner of my eye. I spun around to see two dolphins playfully leaping into the air. I almost fell over.

They were quite far away from the beach, but at this point, my hopes and dreams were on the line, and I forgot how chaotic the water was. I rushed to the beach, fins and snorkel gear in hand, and rushed to jump in. As I was readying myself for the suicidal swim to meet my finned friends, my mother's voice came from behind me telling me that I wasn't allowed to go out there until my dad or my aunt were ready to go.

I was panicking at this point- my aunt takes FOREVER to get going on things, and my dad was back there talking to people who were trying to talk my parents out of even letting us swim this channel (Locals... we had people earlier that day tell us that there was "no such thing" or that it was "a boring swim with little to offer." Yah... sometimes the locals will tell you those things about the hidden beaches to keep tourists from going to them. My mom believed them, but I knew better, so we ended up going anyway. Thank you Krissy! ) I was afraid that, by the time my family actually got down to the sandy entrance to the water, the dolphins would be gone. I announced that I was going anyway and that I'd waited long enough. 

Yah... that didn't sit well with my mom... She still sat there and said, "Don't even think about getting in, Krissy." Heck... 21 years old and I STILL feel guilty going against my mom's will... no matter how petty the request...

So I sat... and sat... and sat... finally, it was too much to bear. I readied myself. My dad started down from the rocks above and I screamed for him to hurry up so I could go. Confused, he looked at me and asked, "Why didn't you just go?" SERIOUSLY??? Heck! Dad would have been fine with me getting out there! I should have just asked him... Anyway, with the consent of a parent, I hopped into the rough water and started out.

I could see why they advise inexperienced swimmers to stay away from this spot- it was treacherous. The current was strong- it sucked at me and would have probably drowned someone who hadn't become familiar with water (I was a trophy-winning swimming in my younger years). But I was determined to get out there. It was a long, long way out there, and as soon as I realized that I was in deep, open water, visions of Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" began buzzing through my head. Stay calm, Kris... That's what I had to keep telling myself over and over. 

In the mean time, I had lost site of the dolphins, and I was a LONG ways out. I was worried. Perhaps they had gone back out. What made me more nervous was yet another fact that I had learned years ago on the Discovery Channel: When Dolphins sense a threat, the entire pod will hurry off to new waters. What could pose such a threat? Giant Hammerhead Sharks, Galapagos Sharks, and even Tiger Sharks, all frequent visitors to this depth of water. 

Uh oh.

Despite my fear, I kept going. They had to be around here somewhere! Then I heard it- a high-pitched whistle. It was faint, but I knew exactly what it was. I followed that sound, and it started to get louder and louder until finally I saw the outline of not two, but 30-40 dolphins. 

YAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

 I wish I could have actually gotten a picture of those guys,
but this is what spinner dolphins look like.

It was absolutely the most mystical, magical scene I have ever encountered. I hadn't expected to see so many of them!!! Not only were there full-grown dolphins, but a bunch of babies as well. That explains why they wouldn't let me touch them. However, they were very curious about me and allowed me to swim with their pod for nearly an hour. At one point, I turned to see one right next to me. He looked at me for a moment than swam away to maintain his distance.

It was absolutely amazing. I went to try and find my family so that they too could witness this awesome scene. However, my dad and brothers had seen too much of Shark Week on TV and were scared of going out that far to see them. My dad also couldn't hear the dolphin call- it was too high pitched for his ears I guess. Anyway, without hearing that dolphin call to excite him into going, he had very little motivation to follow me and coaxed me to come back to the beach with everyone (it was probably a good idea- the dolphins were on their way back to deep water, and the sun's lowering position signaled the coming reign of the sharks for the evening- we likely would have run into a not-so-friendly neighbor).

Again, not the actual turtle we saw.
But he looked like this!

After getting back, we swam around the shallow waters with a friendly sea turtle and boogie-boarded on the huge, 6-foot waves. Tyler, Trevor, Brandon, and my dad played a game where Ty would call out in a Scottish accent, "Stand your ground" and they would all see who could stay standing when the wave whacked them. Talk about funny to watch!

At the end of the day, we all had sand diapers from being strewn across the beach by the massive waves, and I barfed out my body weight from gulping a mouthful of seawater. It was a fun day! I had fulfilled my lifelong dream of swimming with wild dolphins, and we all acquired bruises and other battle scars from our epic day of beaching (that sounds terrible, but I'm being serious. It was a fun day, and we have all sorts of marks to prove that we gave it our all :) ).

I guess we shall see what today holds! It should be fun!!!!