More Kauai

More pictures from our vacation. One of the last days we visited a beach that's off the beaten path. There were other people there, but it sure didn't feel like it.



STILL more to come later...
Happy Friday!

Kauai

The first week back from vacation is always a busy one, but this is crazy! Travis finally wore me down and we purchased a new camera for our trip to Kauai, and I STILL haven't figured out how to edit the pictures yet. I wasn't going to post any until I could clean them up, but I can't wait anymore. Here are a few pics of my favorite parts of the week.

The view from halfway up Sleeping Giant Trail (my favorite trail on the island)


Last leg of Sleeping Giant Trail


The view from the top. I wish the camera would capture how beautiful it actually was.


Hanalei Bay, North Shore, Kauai

...and that was all in one day! More to come later.

Home, Sweet Home

We're home again, after a fantastic week-long visit with old friends and places and one VERY long day of travel. I think I'm getting to old for red-eye flights ;P
I have a TON of pictures to look through before I post anything and I'm just too tired to do it today. Maybe tomorrow.

Travis' parents watched to dogs in Santa Cruz for us while we were gone, and my mom stopped by to check on Dotti for us. Mom's reported that Dotti wasn't around, but food was disappearing. Truthfully, I was quite worried that Dotti would move in with someone else because we all left her. This afternoon, we pulled in the driveway and unpacked the car. No sign of Dotti (she usually greets us from the fence). After we were settled, I went out back and called for her...she came running, meowing the whole way! She hasn't left our side and she hasn't stopped purring. I think she was lonely!!! About an hour ago, my sweet neighbor called to ask if the black and white cat was ours. When I confirmed that she was, our neighbor expressed her concern, saying she hadn't seen Dotti around for a few days and she was worried about her. Apparently, Dotti plays quite well with the neighbor cats and does so every day in a lot of the front yards. Our lovely neighbor told us she so enjoys watching the cats frolic around and was really worried that she hadn't observed the cats lately. She was so relieved to hear that Dotti was home and doing well. It makes me so happy to hear that Dotti brings joy to others. What a great cat!

Whoo-hoo!

Spring break is here! Travis' spring break started at 2:30pm and mine started at 4:10pm. We've cleaned the house, we've done our chores, we've run our errands...we're ready to go! We're going to try and post as we go while we're in Kauai, but I'm not promising anything ;)
Happy Easter!

Breath of Life

Travis and I have been tossing around our ideas about activities for our upcoming trip to Kauai...the only thing we have scheduled "for sure" is Easter Sunday service at our old church, Breath of Life Ministries. Travis and I tell people that we were directed to the church by God himself. We had been attending different churches on the island, looking for one we felt comfortable attending. We weren't having much luck. We would usually leave at the end of a service, feeling a bit unsettled by what we were hearing. I, personally, was a little put off, feeling like we weren't going to find one that supported us in our quest to better our personal relationships with Christ. We were taking a break from churches, and spending Sunday mornings together, doing the boring things of life, like laundry and errands. One particular Sunday, we were packing up our car with our clean laundry and heading out of the parking lot when we heard a strange lomplomplomp sound. Yep. Flat tire. Travis got out to change it and a clean-cut man came over to offer help. Together, they quickly changed the tire, and we could have been on our way. Instead, the man invited us into his church, introducing himself as Pastor Tom. To be nice, we went with him. We met a few people, and were intrigued enough to come back again the next week to attend a service. That was it. For the rest of our time on the island, we attended this church and joined what events we could. I attended the women's retreats; Travis, the men's. Pastor Tom even coordinated with the pastor who was to marry us, and helped us through our pre-marital counseling sessions. We learned so much about ourselves and each other during out time at the church, that we still talk about it regularly. We still haven't found a church in Turlock that fosters the feelings we had there (could be that we haven't put as much effort into finding one, though.) Anyway, Travis and I are flying into Kauai Saturday night and were planning on attending Easter Service at BoLM, but didn't know what time...we didn't even know if Pastor Tom is still there. I finally found a phone number on the internet and gave it a call. Who answers? Pastor Tom himself!!! Whoo-hoo! I talk to him for a short while and find out all the details for the upcoming service. How exciting!!!! What better way to start off a vacation?! So, Happy Easter, friends! I hope you enjoy your day as much as we will enjoy ours.

Beach party

We just returned from another short trip to Santa Cruz. After working Saturday at our first annual SCOE Autism Conference (it was a huge hit and we're already planning next year's agenda!), Travis and I sprinted over to State Beach to catch the end of our old friend Katie's wedding reception. In true Santa Cruz style, Katie and her husband Alex (a perfect fit for Katie, if you ask me- and I know you did) hosted an informal beach BBQ. So much fun! We visited with a handful of old friends and had a wonderful trip down memory lane. Congrats Katie and Alex! Can't wait to come viist you on the east coast :)