Taylor's Pre-Birthday Party

Our family celebrated Taylor's birthday the night before his actual day. He was kind enough to let me go to Youth Conference even though I should have stayed with him. So he got his presents early and I left on the afternoon of his birthday. He decided on a bike-themed cake and it just fit nicely to make it into a figure eight because he turned eight!

 He blew out the candles and we quickly hid the motorcycles because Ryan would not stop saying "mocycle...mocycle", over and over and over. :)

 I don't even know what to say about McKenna's hair except that I didn't do it. :)

 No birthday in our house would be complete without Legos.

Great-Grandma Eddington's Traditional Card...she never misses a birthday.

Taylor's pre-birthday party was a success, but the real party would begin the next morning.

Elder and Sister Eddington

I'm starting to believe that my parents are serious about going on a mission. They decided to go about a year ago, but I didn't believe it would truly happen. However, considering they received a call, gave farewell talks, held an open house, were set apart, and are now currently in the MTC...I think I'm starting to believe. My parents have been called to serve in the Laoag Philippines Mission as rescue missionaries. Sunday was a big day for our whole family. They were set apart as missionaries. I was overwhelmed with the spirit as soon as the stake president started my mom's blessing. So powerful! I didn't hear much of my dad's blessing since I was trying to contain little Ry Guy. But I have to admit that the baby has some great dance moves. :)

 Almost the whole family with the newly set apart missionaries.

 My parents' bishop and stake president.

 It's becoming clear to me why they decided to leave us. Right, Dave? :)

 My sister and her family moved from Colorado to house-sit while my parents are gone. McKenna has been so excited to have her cousin so close.

 My dad and Grandma Eddington. I'll bet she never thought she'd be sending him out on another mission.

 Yep, it's very very clear.

 The Filipinos have no idea what's coming...ha, ha, ha...no, seriously. I'm a little concerned.

 Elder and Sister Eddington

Don't leave me! I promise to be good!

I have no doubt that my parents will do amazing things on the other side of the world! The people are going to fall in love with them. And my mom is going to fit right in...she might even be "tall" for once! :) But can I have one request...will your next mission be a vacation destination, please!? :)

Hey Mom (if you're reading this)...Haagen Daz! Cookies and cream!

Go, Red Rider!

What is a Red Rider? Well, let me explain. A Red Rider is someone who has diabetes and rides in the Tour de Cure. Dave was one that rode his bike for 60 miles on Saturday in Brigham City. Your next question might be..."I didn't know Dave was training for such a long ride"? And my answer would be..."that's because he didn't train". And Dave's answer would be..."I trained. I rode 18 miles on Monday." I really am amazed with the goals that man sets for himself. And amazed that his body keeps up with these goals. :)

 The kids and I drove up a couple hours after the ride started and waited at the finish line. I love going to these events. It almost inspires me to try one myself...almost. :) The kids got a kick out of these red foam hands. There were many hi-fives and McKenna found it was comfy to sit on. They did really well sitting on the curb for two hours. The lady next to us complimented them on how well-behaved they were. I've got to celebrate the little victories. :)

Dave's brother has done these rides before and it was nice that he had someone to ride with. I enjoyed listening to their stories afterward. Apparently Dave's entire pedal arm thingy completely came off during the ride. They found the missing part and stuck it back on, but he had to give it a kick once in a while when he felt it starting to slip off. Nice. He really enjoyed the pit stops (which is where he later got the pedal fixed.) They had all sorts of drinks and treats. I asked him how many calories he thought he burned after 60 miles and he figured he broke even with all the Rice Krispie Treats and fruit snacks he ate. :) I love that man! Way to go, Red Rider!

Still Totally Worth It!

Meanwhile these are the pictures we received from home. My mom and sister are hilarious! :)

Poor little Ry Guy.

The kids were doing well with out us. They had cousins to play with and my parents kept them entertained. However, I called home one night and when Taylor heard my voice he started crying. I guess it reminded him that I really was gone. I quickly ended the phone call and thankfully my sister was able to soothe him. I didn't talk to the kids again after that. We missed them but we knew they were in good hands...with hair clips and all. ;)

Day 3 (Part 3) - North Shore

After visiting the temple grounds, we drove a short distance to the north shore. The north shore is known for its massive waves. Our first stop was Sunset Beach where they were setting up for the Vans World Cup of Surfing.

 There were signs posted all along the beach that swimming was prohibited. Dave couldn't resist getting in. He didn't swim but played in the waves near shore. He was great entertainment for the wave watchers standing around me. He got pretty beat up by the waves, but oh the joy on his face every time he surfaced!

Sunset Beach.

 We continued our drive and stopped at a few other locations. (Don't know their names.)

 Eventually we ended up in Waimea Bay. The waves were huge! I loved watching and hearing them. Again, I was there to watch and relax...Dave was there to play. And play he did! He tried his boogie board, but it cracked in two on his first wave. These weren't playful waves, they meant business. We spent quite a bit of time here and we were both happy. I was taking pictures (lots of them) and Dave was as happy as can be in the ocean.

Waimea Bay at sunset.

We then rushed over to the beach where Lost was filmed. It was creepy being there just after sunset. The wind was picking up which added to the eeriness. We continued our drive to the main north shore town of Hale'iwa. We found a recommended burger joint off the main road. The burgers were as large as my head! They were so delicious! We stopped and picked up a couple tiki souvenirs for the boys and headed back to the hotel. It was another long day, but one of my favorites...and a fabulous birthday!! 

Day 3 - Happy Birthday to Me! (I rhyme!)

(I'm sorry if anyone is getting a little tired of my Hawaii posts, but I want to get it all journaled.)

What a place to spend a birthday! Saturday we woke up, ate our mini-bagels and donuts on the beach (we got our breakfast down to a science), and picked up our rental car. For the next two days we saw the island in a black Honda Civic...oh, yeah. :) We drove the Likelike Highway through beautiful green mountains to the Byodo-In Temple. It is a replica of a Buddhist temple found in Uji Japan. Oh and it was in an episode of Lost and Magnum P.I.

 The ringer of this bell is promised "happiness, the blessings of Buddha, and a long life". Sweet! This birthday girl is all set. :) Way better than blowing out candles.

 Dave meditates with Buddha. Ahh...

 The temple grounds were gorgeous! Many types of flowers, a koi pond, streams, and even a little gift shop. We wandered for a little bit until a rain storm developed. We took shelter in the gift shop and the rain had stopped by the time we figured out our Target $1 rain ponchos.

 We took our time driving up the coast. We even stopped for a couple pictures on the BYU Hawaii campus in Laie.

Here's a little joke...Why did the chicken cross the road?

You would too if this big man was chasing you!

Day 3 (Part 2) - Another Temple...the LDS variety

I think we took on the "Aloha Spirit" a little too much. We arrived to the Laie Hawaii Temple 25 minutes after the last session began. Maybe we shouldn't have stopped to chase chickens. :) We were totally disappointed when the security guard in the parking lot informed us that we were too late. We even asked the temple worker at the front desk if we could just take a look around the inside. No dice. So we enjoyed the peace and beauty of the outside instead. 

 We were both surprised how small the temple looked in person. For some reason I thought it would be larger, but I was not disappointed. Gorgeous! Every temple's landscape is amazing, but I loved all the palm trees and hibiscus flowers.

 We discovered, once we got home, that the lens of our point and shoot camera had a cute little Ry Guy fingerprint on it. So all our pictures taken with that camera had a hazy spot in the bottom middle. Wish we had noticed sooner. I tried to fix it in Lightroom, but Dave and I are still in a Ry Guy-made filter. :(

 I found a real flower! (On the ground of course. They fall from the trees.)

 He's always willing to pose for the camera! :)