Can we get it? Please?!

Today was one of those days where I just wanted to be locked away and learn forever, have beautiful babies, and get the cutest puppy ever.

I feel like I have three callings or loves in my life.

1. Learn, learn and keep learning. I just love learning and I love solving problems (scientific mostly). I absolutely love school and I love putting in a good days work. I would keep it up forever except for #2 (which is also an extremely over-overwhelmingly good days work).

2. I love kids and I want to be a mother more than ever. I have so much fun babysitting and I had loads of fun working at a kids summer camp in high school.The more I babysit the more I realize how many fun activities I have in my noggin and how active my children will be. I am so excited for the joys and pains (all in good company) that will come from being a mother.

3.  I LOVE animals! Today while I was babysitting, the kids and I were on a walk to get shave ice and we came upon some neighbors who had a dog with 4 3-week old puppies. OH MY GOODNESS. My heart melted, especially for the chocolate brown puppy and his heart melted for me. He came right up to me and crawled under my legs, cuddled and fell asleep. ugh...I wanted to take that puppy home so badly. The mommy liked me too, she gave me lots of kisses. She wanted some loves too.
 

Not the real puppy, not quite as chubby and cute. But still so adorable!

So I have this really awesome Father...

My Dad is the bomb. Let me give you some reasons why (how about 17, because Father's day is on the 17th!).

1. He loves me
2. He really, truly and deeply loves my mother
3. He has his own sense of humor that has always made me laugh
4. He is super smart
5. He has a wonderful spirit
6. He instilled within me a desire to discover and learn
7. He taught me how to work
8. He shared his passions with me
9. He spent time with me
10. He is a peacemaker
11. He loves the outdoors
12. He has good taste in music
13. He knows how to serve and love others
14. He is humble (but he'll never admit it)
15. He is the glue in our family
16. He always tries by doing
17. He is my Daddy.

Some of my most cherished childhood memories are:

I miss being held by my dad. Sometimes I wish I could be a little girl again and just climb into his arms and fall asleep. I love how I would fall asleep in weird places in our home and he would be my "prince" and carry my to my bed.

I remember asking my dad to marry me, because at the time there was no man who could come close to my Father in looks and personality. It turns out I found someone, but mainly because I had my Father's example to teach me what to look for. And not to get off topic, but I will forever be in debt to my dad, because my Husband is awesome.

Anyways, to describe how much of a daddy's girl I am, I will tell you a story. One time my dad was holding me and he was in his bathing suit. So, no shirt on. I remember thinking I was hungry, so I looked at my dad and thought, he has what mom has and that gives me food, so he should give me food too. I don't even know why I tried to nurse on my Father. he didn't have moobers, but after getting a mouthful of hair I realized, oh yeah. My dad isn't my mom. Both of my parents are wonderful people, but there are some things that he can't do that she can and vice versa.

As I have grown older my Dad has still always been there. I love the car rides we had to seminary. A lot of times they were quite, but it was a special time I had to sit with my dad every morning. I love how supportive he is. And I love that he cares about what I love. He is always sending me links to articles or pictures of wonderful astronomical and geologic things. He loves space too, so maybe I care about what he loves. But anyways, I love that he takes time to share those things with me.

Gosh, I just love my Dad so much. Me has a calming nature and always makes people laugh, maybe because they don't get his joke or maybe because he's just so so so awesome. My dad is the Best. I hope everyone has someone they can look up to as a Father figure and feel so full of love. If not, adopt my Dad (my Mom comes with the package, but she's awesome too)!  Happy Father's day to a wonderful man, who has willingly listened to three kids and helped them through trials and helped them become their best. I love you Dad!!!!

Nauvoo. Finidng my Holy Grail.

Sunset from the temple looking over Joseph's last ride statue. Surprisingly, I took this picture.

 When I left for Nauvoo I had this idea in my mind that I would become the next Indiana Jones. Searching for unknown and very important artifacts...namely the Holy Grail. Fighting off the Germans or Russians or whatever country had it bad for Indy at the time. It was going to be a trip of epic proportions. And you know what? It really was. Although I didn't fight any bad guys, I definitely found my personal holy grail. I had loads of fun with some pretty amazing people.

Sarah took this photo. She's awesome. My bed is the third window on the right in the middle...until I moved to a safer place.

Our group consisted of 10 undergrads in Geology, 2 geology grad students, 1 archaeology grad student, 1 geophysicist, his 2 daughters, 1 LDS church historian, a camera man (yes our trip was documented), his wife and our cook who was some number of greats grandson of Samuel Smith. The lead church historic guy from Community of Christ and one of their achaeologists were I guess you could say our bosses and supplied us with a place to stay and some great tours and work. We were extremely blessed. Anyone that goes to Nauvoo stands in front of the Nauvoo House wondering why they don't give tours...well I can tell you exactly why they don't. It's because these members of the Community of Christ have followed the words of Joseph Smith in D&C 124:23 in keeping the Nauvoo house  "a house for boarding, a house that strangers may come from afar to lodge therein; therefore let it be a good house, worthy of all acceptation, that the weary traveler may find health and safety while he shall contemplate the word of the Lord". We were fortunate enough to stay in the Nauvoo house. It was amazing! Although us girls were a little creeped out at first that Emma Smith died in the room next to us (we chose not to sleep in that room haha), it turned out to be a place of rest. Sort of. For me, I have never been able to find more joy in the study of my scriptures. I truly felt the spirit as I studied and pondered upon the teachings of the prophets. Which has happened before, but not to the magnified beauty as in the Nauvoo house. If you haven't caught on already, this is going to be a very "I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ" post. Too many spiritual things happened on this trip and I plan to tell you about some of them. And the funny stories as well...because there are a myriad of those.

The girls' room.

The boys' room or attic.

So what exactly was I doing in Nauvoo? I was doing something called GPR or Ground penetrating radar. It's basically this cool little piece of equipment that you put in a stroller and push in a straight line across the ground. It sends out "light" (something like light) that reflects off of surfaces at different speeds depending on the materials porosity. We would make a perfect rectangle grid and take line measurements across the grid both long ways and short ways. Then all the data can be compiled into a 3D image. By looking at this image we could spot where anomalies existed. These anomalies were areas that contain less porous material than the soil and often times (we hope) the shape looks like the border of a box...or a foundation of a building! I wish I had an image from our trip, but I uploaded one from earlier research done in Nauvoo by John McBride and Ben Pykles (our geophysicist and church historian) so that you can see what it looks like. So after we find interesting things, the archaeologists take over and set up a test pit. We got to actually help with this part. A test pit is usually a 2ft length square. The ones on the Joseph smith house were 8ft length squares.  We first had to roll up the sod and then dig down layers with a trowel. A layer was about 2 in. and sometimes our goal was 2 to 6 feet. Paul, the archaeologist from The Community of Christ would constantly tell us "More Dirt, faster!".  Let's just say that when the days of digging ended we were all sore and tired. I am so glad I am a geologist. I was more interested in the rocks and fossils we found in the dirt than the artifacts. We did find some cool artifacts though. We mostly found nails, and shards of glass, but we did find a shell button, glass door knob, shoe buckle, and a lot of ceramic pieces, painted in beautiful colors. We also found a gravel sidewalk and foundations to buildings, woot woot! GPR works my friends! I found a bone when doing tests with a pole that you shove into the soil. It's basically a little core sample. I didn't know it was a bone at first so Paul told me to spit on it to clean it up. I was like...ok...I don't know how to spit...but I did it anyways and totally failed. But I did succeed at getting it cleaned after everyone laughed at my spit failure. And then I did the unthinkable, I licked it. Yeah...kind of gross, but it was definitely a bone. A bone is extremely porous so it sticks to your tongue and sucks out your liquids. That's the easiest way to tell if something is a bone. I actually don't know if it's the easiest way...but I did it anyway!

GPR equipment. Me pushing the stroller.

GPR image from Nauvoo during a previous trip. The bright red area is probably a rubble filled cellar.

Pulling up the sod in our test pit

My awesome group. We found a gravel sidewalk probably from the 1950s.

The glass doorknob.

Me and the tiny bone I found.

When you finish a level (2in) you have to map the area. It's so much fun as you can tell from my body language.

Sifting the dirt.

Artifacts found in a 2x2 test pit.

A sad and nice little thing about GPR is that it works best in Dry weather. So we couldn't work when it rained. It rained one of the days, so we decided to make it our temple day. That morning I went for a walk to see the red brick house and the temple on my own before we left to go do an endowment session and baptisms. This was my first time in Nauvoo and I learned a lot of church history. I had no idea what the red brick house was and I had no idea how important it is for our heritage. When I found out I needed to get a picture with it. First of all, the relief society was organized in the attic area/ meeting area. I am so thankful for visiting teaching, it has been such an influential and helpful form of therapy in my life. An interesting story, when the Community of Christ first obtained the Red Brick house site, they asked the LDS church to remove the RS emblem, which is now located in the Women's Garden at the Nauvoo LDS visitors center. The church history site leader for the Community of Christ has within the past year sent a letter/email to the Relief Society Presidency stating that he would love for the emblem to be replaced in front of the Red Brick house. They have yet to reply, but what an amazing develpeoment of our relationship with the Community of Christ! They really are a wonderful people. I enjoyed working with them so much!

So on top of the Relief society being organized there, the endowments were also first received there. And for anyone that knows me very well, I literally jump for joy every time I go to the temple because the endowment session is so dear to my heart for personal reasons that few people know. I am so thankful for the joy and peace the celestial room brings to me. I am so thankful for the powerful words spoken and for the covenants made and promised during the endowment session. I wish that every single person, living and dead, can experience this joy the way I do, because I cannot fully express the truth and love that is felt in the temple. Now that I have spilled my guts about the temple, I would like to tell you that the Nauvoo temple is extremely dear to my heart. The saints that lived in Nauvoo literally had nothing. They worked extremely hard on the temple and it is spectacular to witness the beauty and symbolism that has arisen from it's limestone foundation. The way they symbolized the three glories of heaven on the outside just gives me chills. And I am IN LOVE with the star stain glass windows. I keep thinking of ways that I could make one to have for myself.  It may be because I had the opportunity to climb up the spiral stairwell and stand directly behind one seeing the glittering sunlight shine in through the cloud cover, but I am in love none the less. We also after the session (which was AMAZING) were able to climb all the way to the top of the tower and look out over Nauvoo and the Mississippi. I felt like an Angel. We also were taken down to the baptistery, which is absolutely breathtaking. The first baptistery was originally made of wood and was made large enough to have two baptisms at once. The remodeled one is the same size, made of stone, with a beautiful staircase leading to the large, seemingly vast baptism waters. I want to serve in the Nauvoo temple someday. I could just live in that temple right now. I love it so so much.

The red brick house.

Moving on to some funny stories before I end with my experience at Carthage Jail. I cannot write this blog and not mention the food. We were completely and entirely spoiled. The food was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. And saying that still does not give it justice. We had yummy taco salad and roast and delicious pastas and amazing hamburgers (the best I've ever had). We were in food heaven. We had watermelon a few times and let me tell you...I am the biggest watermelon fiend you have ever met.  Matt (another geology student on the trip) was the only person that tied with me. I would eat about 8 or more slices with each meal we had it at, and it would have been more if I didn't have to leave to go work or if it wasn't gone.  I love love love watermelon. Everyone was so shocked watching me eat it. One time I was trying to break the core in half when it snapped a little to fast and one piece went flying and hit Lach (the Community of Christ Church history guy). I could not stop laughing. On top of these moments we told a lot of funny jokes and often times we were so tired that we couldn't stop laughing. We played a lot of card games and went for a lot of car rides to see the sunsets. We laughed at the shows done by the performing missionaries in the evenings and by the missionary couples. One show in particular led to laughs that never ceased. The main actor/elder was the printer and he was introducing the show trying to tell us what his job was. He was trying to say that all the playbills had been sold, but instead said that all the playBOYS had been sold! hahaha! What made it worse is that a few lines later he had to say playmates! We (meaning the whole audience) could not stop laughing. Another scary, but hysterical moment happened late one evening in the Nauvoo house. I had been downstairs playing cards when Sarah, my wonderful brave friend, came downstairs and showed me a nice little picture on her camera. It was NOT nice. There was a spider the size of a quarter on my bed. Nasty and brown and viscous! I am positively and absolutely afraid of spiders. Actually I'm afraid of all bugs (even lady bugs), but most especially spiders. Sarah so kindly shook out all of my sheets and sleeping bag, but could not find the spider. I was absolutely devastated. How could I sleep in a bed that had genghis khan nearby somewhere. Needless to say I spent the whole night praying that it would not kill me. It was karma I tell you, just a few hours prior I told someone that I always take the top bunk because spiders and mice will attack the bottom bunk first. Bam, slap in the face! I moved to a bottom bunk the next day. Luckily the spider did not come back!

I love watermelon. One plate for watermelon and one for the meal (2 helpings that is!).

the nasty spider! ahhh!

Sarah didn't want to look awkward taking a picture of the performing missionaries looking at the GPR, so I was her pawn.

Nauvoo had beautiful sunsets. The saints may have described it as swampy, and it still is, but I can see where the name comes from. The fireflies make the night majestic, the sunrise brings new breath and peace to the day. The sunset makes any wrongs disappear. The sounds of the wildlife bring wonderful comfort and sleep songs. If you haven't noticed already I am completely in love with this place. On sunday afternoon we loaded up and headed over to Carthage Jail. I had at this point already learned so much more about Joseph and his life. It's amazing how much I didn't know! I thought I should have know more than anyone having grown up so close to Palmyra and basically living there. He is just such an amazing person. How did he have time? He was a husband, father, mayor, chief justice, and most importantly prophet, seer and revelator!  He played games with the neighborhood boys and youth, loved horseback riding and collected many horses and yet found time to build and run the Red Brick store for a time, only giving ownership to someone else because he was not good at selling the merchandise, but instead gave it away freely. And he found time and the means to give people things and always help them. And he was extremely strong; he could beat the most fit of the Nauvoo police at stick pull. When at Carthage Jail, I learned that he let the men sleep on his biceps. He was always so giving. He loved the people with all his heart. As I toured through each room of the jail my emotions kept building. He new he was going to die in that place, and yet he did not fight. He went peacefully and he tried to help those with him as much as he was able. While I stood in one of the holding cells the sister missionary asked what we would change in our lives if we knew we were going to die the next day. Most people said they would repent or snickered at the corniness, but all I could think about was my husband. If I were going to die I wanted to be with my family. I wanted to see my husband one last time, I wanted to hold him and embrace him.  I was just so overwhelmed with emotion and even still as I am writing right now. The pain I was feeling at that moment even though I knew I would see Seth again was the same pain that Joseph felt at not being able to see Emma again. But his was so much more real, and yet what did he do? He loved those that were with him. He took care of them for the last few days that he had left on the Earth. What an amazing testimony of love I felt as I stood in that jail. As I listened to a poor wayfaring man sung in that room and stared at the gunshots in the door and at the window that Joseph fell through, I knew more than ever that the cause that Joseph and Hyrum fought and died for was a true and righteous cause. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that his church exists on the Earth today. I know that Joseph Smith restored that gospel through our Heavenly Father's will and Christ's Hand on the Earth today. I know that Christ suffered for our sins and that he loves each of us more than we'll ever know on a deep emotional and individual level. I have felt that love on numerous occasions and I know that if people take the time to visit Nauvoo and truly ponder on the sites and feelings found in the area they can come to a knowledge of the truths I have felt. They too can become a witness of the Greatness of Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.

Sunset on the Mississippi.

Sunset at the Nauview house.

Families can be together forever. I am so excited to have a family!

I was extremely emotional and Sarah thought it was hilarious. It was pretty funny.

The original door. I will leave the description at that.

The window that Joseph Smith fell through.

I truly found my holy grail. My testimony has grown tremendously, and that is the grail I needed to find. I wish I could say more to truly express how meaningful this trip was for me, but the only way for anyone to understand is for them to experience the wonder and beauty for themselves.

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.