Blessings, Blessings, Blessings!

Seth and I have had a lot of very exciting things happen recently. 1st we have moved to a more affordable apartment and I will post pictures once everything is set up and put away (We're super close and I should be doing that right now, but I hate putting clothes away, ask my mother). The apartment feels homey and I like the location. It's more quiet than our old place which was next to a busy road. And we're still the same distance from campus. In fact, I'm closer to the Eyring, which is where most of my classes are. I feel blessed that we found it. Second on the agenda, Seth and I did very well in school this semester. We both got 3.85s. Kind of funny that we got the same GPA. On top of great grades we both got half scholarships for the fall and winter semesters! All of this financial aid is going to help us so much, and I feel that we were blessed with them for a reason. And I believe that we just found out that reason. Seth is going to be touring England, Germany, Switzerland and maybe Austria next year because he is now a member of the BYU Ballroom Dance Company Tour Team! I'll just admit it. My husband is a sexy dancer. He's a great performer and has great technique. Not to mention his smashing personality. I'm so excited to watch him perform next year. But, I will not be going with him to Europe. First, we need to save money for him to go (Which I think is only 1,000 dollars). And Second, I will be taking my last class for my major then, a six week field camp. But I will support him fully and try to be at most if not all of his shows before then. I'm so excited for him!!!! He's wanted to do this for a looong time and his hard work and talent finally paid off. Next year is going to be tough for both of us, but it will be extremely rewarding. The BYU Ballroom Dance Company has won the Blackpool Competition (the reason they're going to England next year) for the past 19 years. It's a pretty big deal that Seth gets to go. And he's going to work his but off. I'm excited for the things to come and being a yearish shy of graduating. And I'm super excited to enjoy this summer sun! Summer sun=summer FUN! I hope everyone is enjoying the start of their summers and that you are OUTSIDE. Go hiking and enjoy the beautiful nature that's around us. So many different processes make the earth look so special. Try to learn about what makes your area so cool!

The True Heat of Hawaii

Lava oozing from a silvery basalt flow on the Big Island in Hawaii. The white/green dot is a penny that the Hawaiian Volcanic Observatory (HVO) guide threw on the flow.

It has been a dream since my childhood to touch lava. It's spectacular orange/red glow contrasted with the shimmering glassy basalt is a site most people only see in videos or photographs. But to stand 3 feet to just a few inches from this sight is one of the most testifying experiences I have ever witnessed.

Our room in the Hostel. It wasn't terrible...but it was a  little strange that the night security guard slept in our room too. He had his own little boxed off area...but it still gave us the creeps. 

Our trip started in Hilo, Hawaii. When we first arrived at the hostel I thought we were going to die. Hilo is extremely ghetto and if you leave anything in your car, you can guarantee it won't be there in the morning. We only had a sheet and pillow to put on a nasty mattress, but we were in HAWAII. We dealt with it and enjoyed the tropic breeze and locals screaming profanities and fighting as we tried to sleep.One funny story regarding the hostel. A few members of the group were sitting in the living room talking and a drunk man, possibly high as well, came out from his room to join the conversation. He started talking about god and how he put tattoos on his body to tell God to help him. I was walking to the restroom at this point so I didn't hear the whole thing. Of course a mention of God lit up the returned missionaries as well as others in the room and an intense conversation followed, it went on for about 3-4 hours. All the while I was trying to sleep. I went out later to ask if I could turn the light off in our room at which time the drunk man told me that I was pretty and that I looked like Marsha Brady. yeah...Not sure I see that resemblance. He told the people in my group that he would go to church with us if he could sit next to Marsha Brady. At which time they informed him that I was married. hahaha. What a start to a great trip!

About 8,000 feet up on Mauna Kea. Cinder cone to the left, and one on the right (cinder cones are a distinct indicator for Mauna Kea, if you want to know why then ask me later). The cloud line is visible, so cool!

 We woke up in the morning and got ready for church. The Hawaiian ward we attended had such strong and faithful members. The youth speaker gave a simple, yet profound message about prayer. The women that followed him had such STRONG, BRILLIANT testimonies. The spirit was so strong in that meeting. It was wonderful to know that no matter which church meeting you attend, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints follows the same order and that the people are loving and fellowship the new members. It was a great experience. Those are some lucky missionaries, the people in Hawaii are AMAZING! After church we drove up to Mauna Kea to look at xenoliths, which in a simple explanation are little rocks that have different compositions than the composition of the bulk rock. For example, on Mauna Kea the bulk rock is an alkalic basalt (the reddish black colored rock), but there are dunite xenoliths, which are made of a green mineral. How did they get there? The answer is simple (not) and I don't want to bore you, haha! but if you would like to learn about the geology of the Hawaiian Islands, email or call me. Ok, back to the trip. After we left Mauna Kea we went to the Thurston Lava Tube. A lava tube is an old lava transport system that has been abandoned. It was fun to hike through the dark tube and with some guided light see the old flow patterns and heights of the lava channel in the tube.

Me in front of the Thurston Lava Tube.

Vines hanging down from the ceiling in the pitch black lava tube. I knew I should have brought my flashlight!

That night, Still Sunday, we headed to Volcano, Hawaii to stay at the Kilauea Military Camp. Before we hit the sack we drove up to the Kilauea overlook. It was my first time EVER seeing an active volcano. It was the most spectacular site I have ever witnessed (until that Wednesday). It was pitch black expect for the brilliant glow of the caldera and I felt like I was in a hemisphere engulfment of brilliantly shining stars. To see the glow with such a stunning backdrop testified to me that there is a Father in Heaven who loves us and cares about us. Even in this telestial state, the beauty that surrounds us is immaculate!

Kilauea Caldera glowing in the night. My camera is not good enough to capture just how breathtaking this site was. 

Kilauea Caldera in the Day with no mist! You can see an orange-y tint in the gas. That's sulfur. Bad bad bad stuff to be breathing in.

Different flow types: smooth=pahoehoe. crumbly= a'a

In front of some a'a flows. They're about 10-15 ft. high.

Trying to capture the depth through all the mist.

Rim of the lava lake we basically stumbled upon.

Monday morning came, I walked outside and it was misting! I've been in many a rainstorm...it rains a lot in New York, but never have I been in a mist storm. It was pretty cool, until it didn't leave for 2 1/2 days. We went on two 3-4 hour hikes Monday. The first being a hike through a'a flows (the crumbly stuff) and then pahoehoe flows (the smooth stuff), look at the picture captioned "different flow types" to see the difference. We went off the beaten path and walked across a lava pond and ended up running into an old lava lake, that was about 300-500ft deep. It was a sweet sight and it came out of nowhere! I felt like we were in Lord of the Rings most of the day. There were steam vents shooting up and there was green jungle offering a stark contrast to the black lava flows. Not to mention the crazy mist rain that soaked us to the core. So thankful that my husband let me bring his rain pants! It kept my bottom half dry, thank goodness some of me was, especially since my raincoat proved to be a wet coat. After this hike we went and hiked down to Mauna Iki caldera. The crater walls were very old with lots of vegetation, but the lake (that existed in 1959) was crystallized, but still cooling because there were steam vents present. It's amazing that lava can cool that quickly. The caldera had a diameter of about maybe 200 ft? I don't really now it's depth, but WOW! It had to cool pretty fast if we were able to walk across it! You could also see what the lava lake looked like as is crystallized. One side was smooth with some cracks (sort of like plate tectonics) and the other side had a collapsed wall, most likely from fountaining of lava because that side of the lava lake was filled with spatter.

We saw sea turtles at the black sand beach. They were so cute!! We also saw black crabs and hermit crabs and sea urchins and sea cucumbers! And of course, we saw black sand.

looking down into the green sand beach. My favorite beach in the entire world (thus far).

Swimming at the green sand beach. It felt WONDERFUL!

Tuesday came and it was BEACH DAY!!! We went to the black sands beach and the green sands beach. Luckily we weren't up by Mauna Loa in Volcano. we left the wet side of the island so it wasn't as misty. The black sand beach was made of coarse black basalt, which probably came from ocean entry lava that was spattered and quenched and then brought back to the surface through wave cycles.  The sand looked cool, but I have to be honest. The sea life was WAY more interesting. I had never seen a sea turtle until we went to the black sand beach. So of course, how could I possibly focus on sand, when there were cute sea turtles nearby! We then left and went to the green sand beach. It was about a 2 mile hike to get to it, but DEFINITELY worth it. What wasn't worth it? The girl, which actually turned out to be some old guy in a red thong. Luckily for me, I never saw him stand up. 

Year old lava flows took out this car.

The ocean kept me sane.

Beautiful lava flow. Ropes are forming in the flow.

Wednesday morning finally came. It's the day we set to hike to active lava flows! The highlight of my trip and dream come true! I must preface you with a story. A few days prior when visiting HVO I asked if anyone had ever fallen into the lava. He said that one of the scientists fell through a lava tube and his leg fell into the flow. He lost all feeling and hiked back and went to the hospital. A billion skin grafts later, he was fine. This was MUSIC to my ears. The temptation was already killing me, but what this man didn't realize is that he had given me confirmation that I would NOT die from touching lava. I wanted to shove me hand into the red glowing goop so badly, but after talking to my husband, I decided it would be best not to touch it. Family has a way of talking sense into you. But, that just reiterates how much I love lava. We started the 3 1/2 (one way) mile hike across year old flows. Luckily we only hiked on solid pahoehoe flows and didn't encounter any shelly pahoehoe flows, which would have meant possible lava tube entry or multiple cuts. It was nice and hot. We saw a car buried in the lava and an old house, whose garden was still uncovered due to a deflection of the flow by their rock wall. We were walking in a see of shimmering black glass. Luckily, the ocean was about a km away, and I could see it most of the time, otherwise I would have gone insane from consistency! As we started getting closer I could start to feel the heat of the flow, and I could see the heat performing weird wonders to the sky above it. And then I heard people scream! Don't worry, they were screams of joy, we were all so excited that we couldn't contain our energy. I stood watching people run closer to the lava at which time someone told me that I probably shouldn't stand where I was. I looked down and realized that the flow I was on looked silvery instead of black/gold. I was standing on a flow that was only a few hours old. No wonder I thought it was so hot! Cameras were ripped out of pockets, cell phones were in use, rock hammers were grabbed, people were running about capturing the moment. We each took turns sampling the lava by smashing a rock hammer into the flow and scooping out some lava. The heat was unbearable. Just 3 feet away I thought my body would combust, but needing to approach within a few inches...WOW, I can't even describe the heat. But I LOVED it. I kept my distance (meaning like 5 feet) most of the time making sure that I wouldn't shove my hand in the lava. I could not believe that I was blessed with this opportunity. To be able to see the formation of new land right in front of my eyes! The third day of the creation still continuing today! It was a testimony to me that the earth is still evolving. Heavenly Father, through Christ's hands did not just plop things on the earth. There is evolution of all things, through his hand. And I got to see it. What a remarkable blessing and opportunity.

Roads left over from lava flows in the 80s that covered the Royal Garden's community.

Pu'u O'o vent! The supply for the lava flows!

Pu'u O'o vent again. You can see cracks in the lake and you can see a bubble splatter on the left.

Big lava flow. Two channels present. There is actually a third lobe coming down a different direction. So two going to the right and one coming down.

Beautiful waterfalls. We never hiked to any, but at least we got to see some on the helicopter ride.

Us girlies with our pilot! So much FUN!!!!

 Thursday morning we woke up and headed to the airport. We had the opportunity to take helicopter flights over active lava flows and pop on over to Oahu for the rest of the trip. The helicopter flight is probably second to the hike. I think I would rather fly in a helicopter than an airplane. The take off and landing is so much faster and smoother. And the view is way better. We got to see the Pu'u O'o vent up close. It was awesome! So many many beautiful things to see. And we definitely still felt the heat from the lava flows. It was a wonderful opportunity. And our pilot had a pretty sweet soundtrack. I never felt sick, it was a sweet ride. I also touched a cloud. We flew right through them and there were no doors on the helicopter so I just stuck my hand out and touched the cloud. It just felt wet, but I achieved another childhood dream. That's two so far, and a third coming up at the end of the month!

A view from Pali Overlook on Oahu. Jurassic Park anyone?

Beautiful coastline

The blow hole! An empty lava tube with a skylight produced the perfect environment for water and pressure to create this blow hole.

The Temple!!!!!

 And so the trip is coming to an end. Oahu was exciting to see for it foretells what the big island will become. We had the opportunity to go to the beach and the Polynesian Cultural Center. Both wonderful experiences. Someone found a surf board, so I was able to paddle around for a bit. Although, there were no waves, which made me sad because I really really miss surfing. The Polynesian Cultural Center was AMAZING. The shows were so well done during the day and the big show in the evening was SO COOL. I think I'm in love with Samoan culture. The men cook, climb coconut trees (with just a little rope wrapped around their foot!) and they dance on fire, meaning they SIT on fire!!! Holy Cow!!! What an awesome people. I would love to go back and bring my family. Hawaii wasn't the same without Seth. I would have loved to have him there to share these experiences with. I know he would have been bored most of the time. But, it would have been so much fun to share my passion with him and to enjoy the normal "touristy" things with him too. I can't get over that place. I loved it so so so so much and am very thankful for my parents for supporting me so that I could go. I LOVED EVERY SECOND. And someday, I will bring my family back. Who knows, maybe by that time Loihi will be above sea level and we can experience a new island together.

Summertime here we come!

It is official. We have finally started a blog. Seth and I have done a lot in the past year. Including getting married, going to school, visiting family, dancing. So not much, but for college students we did plenty!
What are our summer plans? Seth is going to be working full time (yay!!) at off campus housing and doing some side work for his Dad. I'm going to Hawaii next week to study lava and xenoliths. Part of which is a helicopter flight over active lava sites and another day we will visit the Hawaiian Volcanic Observatory and go on a half day hike to see some lava. Lots of other stuff is planned, but I'll tell you about it after. Then I'll get back and we'll move! We're moving a few blocks away to an apartment that will save us about $100 a month. We feel lucky! We'll get all settled in (maybe a visit to see my sister) and then at the end of May I'll be going to Nauvoo to participate in a Church-History Dig and do some GPR (ground-penetrating-radar) analysis. I'm missing Seth's birthday ( :( ) but I'll make it up to him when I get back. We'll end the summer with me taking summer classes and Seth still working. I'm hoping that we'll get to do some awesome hikes this summer. Anyone know of good nearby places? This should be a very exciting summer! I hope Seth doesn't get too bored having to work all the time. I'm going to try and make our weekends fun packed and exciting to keep him still enjoying the summer months.