I did it again.

A while back I had determined to stick with one background. Just one. None of this switching back and forth nonsense for every occasion.

Until I began browsing the free little blog websites (mistake 1) with Trevor looking over my shoulder (mistake 2).

He started seeing all of these fall designs and began talking about how we should change our blog.

We then skimmed over some 'blinkies' which I think were completely new to him (just shows how much time he spends in the old blog world) and he fell in love- yes in love- with the blinkie that you currently see before you.

SO needless to say, our blog is as festive as I can muster, which isn't a bad thing- I love fall!!

And I am glad that I have a husband who broke me out of my blog Scrooge-i-ness.

ITS FALL!- Even in Hawaii where I am freezing my little feet off and I love it!

Hopefully the new background will help communicate our enthusiasm :) WOOHOO!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I love Halloween!

So far, Trev and I have gone on the Haunted Lagoon twice (thank you season passes- best $20 we have ever spent).

The lines (which have spanned the parking lot of the PCC, ending at the Laie Inn the past few nights) were not too bad, I think we waited a total of 1.5 hours- THANKS MAIKELI for holding our spot!

The only stinky thing was, aside from the drunk marines behind us, was when the Laie lady popped up onto the boat.

We were sitting on the first row of the canoe and when she came up, I screamed and got A MOUTH FULL OF LAGOON WATER! I started trying to spit it out immediately, but yes, there was a little that went down. If I die today, now you will know why.

We also made caramel apples, so delicious- I ate my entire apple immediately, needless to say that afterwards, my pupils dilated and I started to get the shakes! Whew! so much sugar but so good.

We carved pumpkins but ours was covered in mold after 3 DAYS! So we tossed it :( It was fun regardless. Next year, I think we are going to try just scrapping the surface of the pumpkin and see if it lasts longer.

Something similar to this technique.

For this years festivities, despite the seemingly slim smattering of frivolities, I really really want to dress up as this!

This movie cracked me up and I think that the costume is quite do-able.

Home made Halloween treats are still on the agenda as well, I will try to get some pictures.

Here's wishing a SPOOKY Halloween!!

Happy Halloween- Yummy Dip

Here is the recipe- it is super simple and really delicious!

Garlic Cream Cheese Spread

Ingredients

1 tbsp thyme

1- 1 1/2 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup chives

Soften cream cheese in a bowl, I froze the cream cheese for a few days first and then put it in the fridge for about 24 hours, it gave the cream cheese a fun texture.

Mince garlic and chop chives. I add more garlic because I enjoy the flavor.

Mix in all ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon. For best results, place in refrigerator and let sit for at least 2-3 hours.

*The little 'veins' on the eyes are orange bell pepper shavings.*

Excellent on a cracker or spread on a bagel or use as a spread to flavor a sandwich.

ENJOY!

it may be a smalll Victory, but a Triumph nontheless

Just a little THANK YOU!!! to all those who participated in the drive this weekend. In just 2 days, we were able to fill around 15 good sized boxes with food and clothing and it is off to Samoa.

So again thank you!

If you did not get a chance to give but still want to, you can:

*take donations to 1427 Dillingham- Suite 210, Honolulu.

*or click here for monetary donations.

*participate in the walk-a-thon this Saturday around Laie, sign up is in the Aloha Center.

Samoa

Indonesia

Philippines

There is still a lot that needs to be done for those in Indonesia, the Philippines, Tonga, & Samoa.

So if you have the means, please do what you can.

I Am My Brother's Keeper

As quite a few of you know, either from watching the news, hearing reports from friends or associates, or heard reference of it on General Conference, that there were earthquakes and tsunamis that ravaged Indonesia, Philipines, Samoa, Tonga, and other Pacific Islands.

Many people lost everything, including their lives, and in response, our little Hale in conjunction with the Samoan club is doing a little something to help.

Starting tomorrow, Thursday, 10/7/2009, until Saturday, 10/10/2009 at Noon, collection boxes will be placed in all of the entries of the Hales and in the TVA Central Office.

We will be collecting the following greatly needed items;

*Gently used, clean clothing

*Clean blankets

*Non-perishable food items

*Unopened water bottles

So if you live in little Laie or the surrounding area and have a few articles of clothing or a couple cans of green beans that you can do without, please bring them and drop them off at the nearest Hale or in the TVA Central Office.

On Saturday, you can also bring donations to the BYUH parking lot next to the back of the PCC.

If you do not live here and still want to help, please pick up a tithing slip this Sunday at church and indicate that you would like your funds to go towards the Humanitarian Aid fund OR click here.

You can also click here for a longer list of needed items, where you can drop them off in town, as well as different locations where you can make monetary donations.

Next weekend (10/9-10/10), there will be a 1 mile walk-a-thon (not too bad right?!) and a benefit concert, but more to come on that later.

So thank you for all of your help, it is greatly needed.

Don't pass out......

...but next week, Trevor and I will have been married for

5 YEARS!!!

Sorry about the cleavage, it seems like I would be showing some in a turtle neck :)

I remember grown ups would tell me that 'when you get older, time just starts to fly'.

And I never really believed them.

How could time speed up? It was absurd.

Well they weren't kidding. I have no idea how it happens, but it does.

I also would hear couples say that they love their spouse more now after how many-some-odd years of marriage than they did on their wedding day.

And old doubting Thomasina over here didn't believe them again.

I remember thinking when Trevor and I were engaged that there WAS NO POSSIBLE WAY THAT I COULD LOVE THIS MAN ANY MORE THAN I DO NOW.

Whelp, here I am, 5 years later, completely wrong again.

Did I love him back then?

ABSOLUTELY

but a little differently, in a way that is difficult to articulate

I suppose it is the time that has changed it, made it grow, with the trials and the celebrations. And the regular old days of just going on with our lives, the two of us standing right next to one another, hand in hand, come what may.

But as cliche as it may sound, there is no one that I would rather have next to me than him.

I honestly can't wait to see what is coming up next, all I know is that it has been quite the adventure so far, and I have this little feeling that it will just be more amazing from here.

A Funny Story...

I was scrolling through the old blog the other day and came upon a post from a very long time ago. It reminded me of a little story that I have been meaning to share that goes something like this......

One day a while back, Trevor received a text from his older sister Nat. She said that she had been 'googling' photos of Mexican men's haircuts for her husband when this little beauty popped up:

Yep.

That would be my husband Paco during a very dark time in my life when he decided to grow a mustache.

I am pleased to report that he has not returned to this facial hair style since then, which makes giving him smooches much more enjoyable : ).

In other news, Trevor is the new campus art curator. YEA!

He essentially cares for, catalogs, and repairs the university's art pieces. He also assists teachers in the art department when they need it, preparing studios, aiding art students, etc.

He is really enjoying himself and is learning about yet another facet in the world that is ART.

It has been such a blessing that he has been able to work in areas that so interest him and enable him to develop his talents.

Flush your troubles down the drain

CAUTION- the following post may contain vile, disgusting, and even gut wrenching content, readers be ware.

The building that we live in is old, really old. And the plumbing in the building that we live in is old, really old. When that occurs, terrible and hilarious things happen.

Trevor or I will often go to visit the toto to find what we think belongs to our upstairs neighbors.

Disgusting.

The most recent deposit of these little presents happened just last week.

Some poor person living upstairs was clearly not having a good day and we were the unfortunate recipients of it.

I was sitting in the office writing one of my many daily emails when Trevor yells, "LAUREN! COME HERE!" I replied that I was in the middle of something which was met with sounds of gagging, groaning, and a plea for me to come and see whatever it was he was looking at.

And so I left our little cave of an office and headed down the hall. There was Trevor, tears welling up in his eyes, shirt covering at least half of his face, laughing and gagging sounds flowing from behind it.

The smell alone could have killed someone.

I bravely and stupidly took a few steps forward and peaked in, bad idea. The gagging sounds started coming from me now, Trevor frustratedly laughing in the background.

It was terrible.

He looked at me and with all sincerity said, "I can't do this. I can't take this." I couldn't keep myself from laughing at the dilemma facing us.

But within a few minutes, Trev grabbed the plunger and a plug in from the hall, and headed into the bathroom. He somehow managed to back up to the toilette so that he couldn't see its contents and began to plunge backwards.

After a few jabs, nothing happened except for sloshing and a heightening of the smell, Trevor started to really gag and I thought to myself, "this is not going to be good."

Tears were rolling down my cheeks, stomach aching from all of the laughter. We both had hit our limit and retreated, breathing in the fresh, untainted air of another room, Trevor still holding the plug in up to his nose.

He returned to face it again, or rather to back up to it again, and after a little while, finally sent our not-so-neighborly gift on its way.

Bleach hit the floor, the toilet, the walls, the shower, the sink, everything, immediately. We were both still laughing and gagging.

And relieved, it was over.

This is similar to the head piece that Trevor would have been grateful to have while fighting this battle.

"Poop is raining down from the ceiling. Poop."

So until the next adventure, hopefully your plumbing is much more kind to you than ours has been to us.

New things

Life is just wonderful over here on our little rock!

Trev is taking 2 classes, political science and New Testament, during "first term" (our summer months are broken up into three 6-7 week blocks or terms).

I am just working away here in Hale 2. We have been preparing for a possible tropical storm that MIGHT be hitting in the next few days, but it is looking like we might be lucky enough to have it pass us by.

It has definitely been different living with a bunch of single but it has been GREAT!

We both really miss being in the mix of all of the marrieds here on campus but living in the dorms or 'hales' has been a wonderful experience. I get A LOT of starry eyed singles asking me how Trev and I met and fell in love, it makes me smile every time because you can just see that far off look in their eye as they begin to imagine how they will meet their one and only.

I have learned so much in this new position and have really developed a deep concern for those who I interact with. I have 6 resident advisors or R.A.s that live here in the Hale and help me out, I love them!

We took 'family pics' yesterday and here are a few.

These are my R.A.s and our handsome photographer (Trevor) in front of our hale.

I made matching ties for all of the fellas and the ladies got head bands and earrings.

A pyramid of R.A.s.

The sun was so bright that it looks like I was one of the only ones who could handle the cornea searing sun.

I think this one could be a keeper except for one little funny face......

And finally......

And here are a few pics of our little house.

It is not anywhere finished but I thought that I would post a few little visual snacks in the mean time. BON APPETIT!

This is our guest room.

I do NOT know what is going on with this picture! It looks just fine everywhere else but when I add it to the post, it decides to rotate. SORRY! I guess everyone will just have to tilt their head to the right until I figure it out.

This would be our tv cabinet...

I found it on craigslist a while ago and liked it a lot but talked myself out of it saying that we could make due without. A few days later I was walking home from class and our car was really weighed down in the back which I thought was odd. So I peeked inside the car and there it was!! I was so excited and surprised!

Trevor had seen how much I had liked so he decided venture across the island take a look. After deciding that it was for us, he had to recruit some nearby construction workers to help him get it into the car, all the while being barked at by the owners' forty something still living at home son who refused to help. It was quite an adventure. I LOVE IT and I LOVE HIM!

Our unfinished family room....

I CAN NOT figure out what accent color I want to paint the shelving that will go up above the couch. Yesterday, Trev and I just went with a color and bought it but I don't think either of us are too sold on it. I will let you know how it goes.

Severely Attatched

If you couldn't tell by now, I suffer from a bit of an addiction to this little man....

...and his parents. They are wonderful people.

On Pioneer day (July 24th), they boarded a plane and flew out of our lives. And I cried. After we gave them hugs and said our goodbyes, I got back into the car and it hit me like a ton of bricks. From this point forward, we wouldn't be able to watch our little neighborhood fella grow up.

Trevor giggled as he got into the car, I went from rock solid to blubbering mess.
The only thing that could ease my sorrows was a HUGE banana split (thank you Anna Millers).

I suppose that is the nature of the beast, this place is so wonderful because of the people who touch our lives for a moment and so heartbreaking because, for most of us, it is just a pit stop on our journey through life.

We are going to miss the Odjegs but can't wait to see what lies in store for them!! They have taught us a lot about genuine kindness and sweet-hearted goodness, and for that we will be forever grateful.

Land of the free and home of the brave

This year for the 4th, Trev and I had a much appreciated beach day followed by a BBQ and little fireworks in the middle of the street courtesy of the Ellsworth's and/or the Robin family (I am not sure who bought them but thanks!).

We missed the big firework shows this year (poor timing), which kinda took away from the whole excitement of the day a little bit but we had a blast nevertheless.

Jason was totally posing for this nice geico add :)

Little Hayley, Tara, me, & Jen

Trev, Jason, Nick, and Jared went fishing for hours. They caught some doozys.

This little thing had some pretty crazy teeth!

The catch of the day along with a few other pieces of meat.

Nick's Hawaiian shirt in honor of my dad Bob.

The homies heading out to start some trouble.

The pyrotechnics.

This is me egging on Tara for entertainment's sake.

Tara either wetting burned fingers or putting a firework in her mouth to have someone light, I can't remember which, she did both that night.

Jason and David boxing each other.

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th! God bless America!

Puppy Update

SO, I received a text from a number I did not recognize saying that they thought that one of the puppies was up for sale on craigslist.

They were right.


This person who ended up with 2 of the puppies called and called, talked about how they have rescued dogs before, that they had been searching for so long for little puppies, yada yada yada.


Yet lo and behold, posted on the world wide web was little Doris.

FOR $150!

(And yes it is for sure her because they had a picture of one of the other little guys posted right next to her.)

Some may read this and say "what did you expect?"

My reply, "honesty."

Is that so much to ask for?

.

If you know anyone

THEY ALL FOUND HOMES!! CRAZY, but true! I put it up on craigslist last night and had probably more than 50 people inquired.

Whew, I am glad that they went with what seems like good people.



The saddest thing...

Four puppies were left in the dumpster behind our hale so if you know someone who is looking for a dog, these ones are ADORABLE. It is so heart breaking.

Please contact me if you are interested or know someone that is, I have to get them in a home AS SOON AS POSSIBLE or call the Humane Society to come pick them up.

LET ME KNOW!!
Maximus

Doris


Duchess


Snickers
She is a special little thing, I think she has had a hard life already.

The girls that live here wanted to name them.

Mic Check....Is this thing on?!

Yes, we are still alive and well, sorry it has been so long. It has been an amazing and crazy month, whew.

Check 1 Check 1

I graduated from college with a bachelor of arts in psychology. My mom and dad flew out but had to leave my little hermano behind due to a golfing injury, he cracked a few ribs. Yes, contrary to popular belief, golf may not be as boring as one would have thought, especially if you are playing with Keifer. I am so glad that they and Justin were able to come but wish that the Keif could have been here to experience it with me. No worries, I am sure he will be out to visit soon!!

We sadly don't have any pictures of the whole thing because of a broken camera, so I am pirating someone else's.Yep, that is me slapping skins with President Wheelwright, VP Max Checkits, and I believe Elder Snow.

I think I am in shock in this one.

I love these pics!

Trevor's family came as well, Michelle (Trev's sister) graduated with a degree in pre-professional biology (does that term need a hyphen or not?). It was a blast, the Bullocks run a mile a minute and we saw just about everything there is to see on this little rock. There is going to be a lot of changes in that little family, so I am glad that we were all able to get together.

This is all of the Bullocks con the 2 graduates.

All of the Bullocks arriving in HI.

Boys.


Trev and his sister Natalie

Just watching the Sunset.

The whole experience was a bit surreal. I don't know that I fully had my head rapped around the fact that I was graduating from college. I am really going to miss being in a class room setting, I LOVE TO LEARN.

So to keep the cogs a-turnin', I am determined to read at least 1 book a month, though this month might not lend very much free time, I might have to branch a bit into July.

Check 2

We MOVED! Ah, yes we moved. Its amazing how attached one can get to an itty bitty box, but I did. I love that little apartment, the neighbors, the smells, the breeze, the feelings, it was great.
We are now amidst the happy hunting grounds of Hale 2. Currently, EFY is going on which has been so fun, I love EFY! Thanks so much to all those that helped, especially to my little bro Justin, he volunteered to help set up for it and lightened my load. I love him!

We are SOOOO excited to meet the challenges that will face us with this new position, I feel such gratitude in my heart for priesthood blessings and the power and guidance of the Spirit. This is definitely and with out a doubt the gospel of Jesus Christ and I feel so blessed to be able to watch as it reaches all of the corners of the earth.

Thanks to our new camera courtesy of los padres de Evans, I will post some pics of the new place shortly.

Check 3 Testing Testing

Trev is changing jobs as well. Hopefully, it will be in some capacity that will allow him to serve and better those around him as well as himself. As for now, he has been cleaning and unpacking which has been such a help.
Lets cross our fingers that he finds something great!


Oh and just as a little visual treat, here is a pic from the good old days. Yikes.
The things we did in Young Women's, awesome.

I WIN!!

Yep, that's right, I WIN!  Thanks to Mrs. Sheila, I won a totally adorable tote bag complete with these 2 little Snappables.  I AM SO EXCITED!  My little bag will be coming with me to the beach, church, shopping, schooling, working, picnicking and anything else that I can think of :)   If you would like to explore Sheila's world of Snappables, click here.

So thanks a ton Sheila!!  Its adorable!

Hoppy Weekend Everyone!!

My mom Gwen is coming for the weekend to surprise my little bro for his Bday (I highly doubt he will be reading this :) and spend a wonderful Mother's Day with 2 of her favorite kiddos!!  Woohoo!

So Happy Birthday to JUSTIN!

And have a wonderful weekend!

** Here are a few little comics from Trev's mom Marilyn that might just start your weekend off with a smile.......

This one cracks me up every time!

Technical Difficulties

I find that I am a bit of a 'picture poster', I like to add a little eye candy to my posts, it just seems more interesting.

But sadly, we had a loss in our little family, our camera died- kinda- and so now I must resort to searching through old pics to add to a post or I just swipe someone else's :).

The camera will turn on but the little LCD screen is just black- and by black I mean you can still see a date and which setting you are on but that's it. Nada.  Well that's not completely true.  I can scroll back and view old pictures that are still on the card, but I can't take any new ones.    

Its really strange.

So we are left with the dilemma of buying a new one or fixing this thing up.  

What should I do?  

And does anyone know of a reputable camera repair shop on the island?

I emailed a few, one charges $35 JUST TO LOOK AT IT, not to fix it mind you--no no that would be silly-- just to look at it.

Ah.

On to other fun news-

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM (this is Lauren writing by the way :)!!!!!!!!

 

She is wonderful, we love her, I am so grateful to blessed with such a wonderful MOTHER.

Happy Bday and can't wait to see you.  Its gonna be a blast!

Well hale to you too.....

If you have lived here on the island for any amount of time, you probably know that hale does not refer to a form of precipitation. Rather, it means  'house' in Hawaiian (pronounced hah-leh).  

Trevor and I found out recently that we are going to get a new one!  Hale that is.....  Woohoo.  Yep, that's right we are moving, probably in June.  But not to worry, its only about a half of a mile or less from where we live now.      

I applied to become a Hale Parent (similar to 'dorm mom' or warden :) for this upcoming 2009/2010 school year.  And we got it! 

 We might be moving into this dorm, well that is at least the plan right now.

We are humbled by this opportunity and so excited to serve in whatever capacity Heavenly Father would have us fill.  Its going to be a blast!!! 

Sometimes there is nothing like rain......

Yesterday began as a really not so good day which is kinda rare for me.  I mean, of course I have great days, challenging days, days I am ready to bid adieu, etc., but I haven't really had too many just down right yuck days (if that makes any sense). 

I was feeling a bit discouraged at the proverbial 'things' dished up on my plate.

We were just getting over a really CRAZY flu-like virus and then a horse of a different color reared it not so beautiful head, knocking me to the ground again just as I was getting up and dusting myself off. 

 And to add to it, I felt a bit unequal to the ever mounting pile of school and job 'work' that was waiting for me to conquer (bummer of a post, right? just wait....).

I was pretty down in the dumps, tears peeking out every now and then.  

Poor Trev was doing a great job keeping the house clean, making meals, renting me movies to watch, and supporting me in whatever way he could- I'm so blessed to have him.  

A little later on into the evening, Trev left to go finish a homework assignment and I was just hanging out.

When a little knock at the door came, I could hear voices and laughter outside-  I asked them to wait (of course I was a complete mess). 

There, standing with flowers in their hands, were two darling friends wanting to let me know that they heard we had had the flu and that they were hoping that I was feeling better.

That night there had been a Relief Society birthday celebration that I had missed and I guess the gals decided to share some of the flowers from the party with me.

I thanked them so much and they left.  I felt so great! Just a simple little act of walking across the street brightened my day.   

About 20 minutes later, I heard another knock and one of my favorite little voices EVER.  It was Shawna and her son Jelani, bringing me more flowers.  :)  I couldn't believe it.  They stayed for a little visit, we chatted while Jelani explored the nicknacks in the room, and then were off to spread some more sunshine.

When they left, I really felt better than ever.  For whatever reason, just those little bundles of flowers and sweet smiles lifted my heart so much.  I really felt that Heavenly Father was watching over me, that He was mindful of my troubles, however small, and that He loved me.  It was wonderful!!! 

About an hour went by and there was yet another knock at the door.  

This time, it was my wonderful friend Tara, guitar in hand, asking if I wanted to hear new song that she had just learn.  She sat down on the couch next to me and began to sing,

"Come come ye saints,

No toil nor labor fear, 

But with joy, wend your way.  

Though hard to you this journey may appear,

Grace shall be as your day."

 'That was wonderful' I told her.  She replied that she thought that it would cheer me up.

*Mind you I hadn't talked to anyone that day other than Trev.* 

You never really know how you are going to be an instrument in Heavenly Father's hands.  Sometimes it raising a righteous posterity or fulfilling church callings.  Other times, it simply sharing a few flowers and a warm smile. 

 

What a GREAT day?!!!  

In case you haven't heard. . .

Here's what our world has been full of lately :)

Seasiders Advance to Regional Final

The Brigham Young University Hawaii men’s basketball team defeated Cal State-Dominguez Hills Saturday night, 84-71- BOOYAH!!, in the semifinals of the NCAA II West Sub-Regional in Laie.   The 3rd-ranked Seasiders improved to 27-1 and advanced to the regional finals for the second straight year where they will play Cal Poly Pomona Wednesday night in Laie at 7:30pm for the right to advance to the Elite Eight in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

If you would like and are not on the North Shore, you can watch the game live on BYU TV at 7:30 Hawaii time.   BUT if you are around, come on out, its gonna be GREAT!

As a little treat, here are the Seasiders promoting their season at this past BYUH Idol, its a good thing that some of these guys can play better than they can dance :).  Look for the tall haole (white) guy in the back to the right, he's one of our favorite players!!  

Yes They DO!!

One Sunday, a little while back, we were sitting in the primary room with our little Sunbeams all in a row with Trev and I like book ends (it seemed like that was the best way to keep them all seated somewhat quietly).

That day we were also blessed to have CTR 8s- I think- joining us on our row.

The little girl sitting next to me, who was about 8 at the time, looked me up and down head to toe and then says,

"Oh, I see you wore your sexy shoes today."

I laughed and told her 'thank you?'

She then leaned over to the little girl next to her and pointed out how “well endowed” I am. They both began giggling along with EVERY other adult in the room within ear shot, including TREVOR.

Yeah. So embarrassing.

Anyways….. this little clip reminded me of that. So funny.

The Libians!!

Someone, who shall remain nameless for purposes of character preservation, LOVES this movie.

And YES there is a relevant story behind our little photo that goes a little something like this:

Presidents' Day was Costco and town day.  Somehow we ended up in the movie aisle and said nameless person, eyes sparkling, holds up the DVD with a big smile.  It was met with a look that was meant to say "I'm thinkin no" and a seemingly intelligent and diverting move AWAY from the movies. 

It failed :).  

As the contents of our cart were being unloaded into the trunk, a stowaway was discovered.  There, sitting on top of the bag of chicken, was Marty McFly just waiting to be sent through time.

Sneaky.

Needless to say, it has been watched almost every night since we got it.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYBGx8uKQLA&feature=related

Simply Undecided Ammended

I have decided that I can't make up my mind when it comes to backgrounds.  I think I make a switch more often than I post.  But hold on folks, we might have a keeper.

Onto other things...

Trev and I have had a great past couple of weeks.  Valentines was exactly what we wanted it to be, which seems like that rarely happens.  I must have offended CUPID at some point in the past but it looks like we are on good terms again.

Last Saturday we were able to spend a few hours with my aunt, uncle, and cousin who were in town just briefly.  

Its great to have family come, I love them so much.  My uncle wanted to see Waikiki so we decided to take a little stroll.  They experienced their first malasada- a doughnut like pastry that I believe comes from Brazil??-courtesy of Target (thank you) and took in the sunshine and surf.  It was a beautiful day.

"Your art is the prettiest art of all the art..."

Well life has been pretty wonderful- the Gospel is true, the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl, almost all of our funding went through (which is always questionable with the financial aid department here at BYUH) and TREVOR GOT A NEW JOB!!!  Yea!! 

He previously worked at the School of Education which he enjoyed as he was able to interact more closely with the Professors and service Missionaries.  He would often come home and talk about all of the fascinating things that he discussed that day. 

 But then he received the unexpected news that the School of Ed was reorganizing and dissolving student worker positions in order to tighten up the budget (don't get me started on how ridiculous I think it is- not frugality but limiting already scarce positions for POOR students..... ).  

So off he went searching for a new job and lo and behold, a position was open in the ceramics studio. 

The above photo is of a piece Trevor did in sculpting last semester. This Cocoon is part of a project- implicit line, implicit volume, implicit plane.

He was asked to create different projects that they could possibly use for their curriculium next semester and the years to come. He was also asked to be the T.A. of the ceramics class. He gets paid to do what he LOVES! The man acts like a kid in a candy store! :)

With the project, he decided to use the idea of a 'transformation' or a 'metamorphosis' to represent implicit line, volume, and plane. A Caterpillar, a Cocoon, and a Butterfly. 

Past and Present.....

To start off the old post, I wanted to give some of you a good laugh. Guess which one is me??? (I'M ON THE BOTTOM LEFT) 

I got this off of one of the girls in this picture's facebook page and I thought it should be spread amongst more people (I don't know what I am thinking!!).  I remember that the dress I am wearing in the picture was one of my favorites-  I think I glued the little flowers (yes those are flowers) on it myself.  Nice.

And on to other news.....

We have had a wonderful visitor here to grace us and the Holladays, though not under such good circumstances.  His mother has been in the hospital for the past few days and so we have been happy to take care of him while his mother is getting better and his father is taking care of her.  Our prayers are with her and we know she will recover quickly and come home soon.

Luckily she has such a brave, wonderful son who has been just amazing in the middle of all of this.  

We taught him how to show off his belly button at request though now every time he is asked where anything is, shoes, toys, food, etc., he just lifts up his shirt.  We have turned him into a bit of a floozy while he is here!  

Throughout all of this, I have to take my hat off to all of the mothers out there.  WOW.  It takes quite a bit of energy to keep up with these precious little people.  I don't know how you do it!  But I have to say that I can't wait until we are blessed enough to welcome children into our family.

If a picture says a thousand words......

Josh came to visit for about a total of 2 weeks-ish, with a bit of a break right in the middle.  And instead of somewhat tedious and/or lengthy paragraphs, I've just posted some (o.k. a lot of) pictures, in no particular order, of the partay.

The Ellsworths, Josh and the two of us popped in to the Dole for AMAZING pineapple ice cream.

This is at Ke Iki's beach, you can see the lone Josh on the right contemplating the eternities or something like that.

Josh and Michelle visited the Valley of the Temples and the golden Buddha.

There was some crazy waves at the end of Josh's trip here, something like 25 feet.  The beaches were closed all on the North Shore, it was quite a sight to see.

Josh and Jason along with a couple of other people hiked the Stairway to Heaven.  It was foggy the morning that they did it so the pictures don't really convey the full effect.

Where did the stairs go?

Josh also got to meet one of Trev and my favorite neighbors.  He is stylin' a beanie that Grandma B made for us for Christmas.  

This would be Josh getting yelled at by a seal.  He/She apparently wasn't welcoming visitors at the moment.

We also were able to go see Pearl Harbor and the Arizona memorial.  It was Trev's first time riding the boat out there to see it.  It was beautiful and very touching.  It brought back some  cherished memories for me, I am really glad we were able to go.

ATTN:  For all of you Lost fans out there, here is a pic of Hurley's van crashing into the home of the "Others" which is actually a YMCA camp on the North Shore.

This is Josh's Halloween costume next year.

Hermanos.

Sharks aren't the only thing you have to look out for in these waters.

There are certain trees on the island that you can write on with you finger nail and it will stay there as long as the leaf does.

We had a great time!  We can't wait for all of the Evans/Bullock fam to come for graduation.  Its gonna be a blast!!

Brothers!!!!

We have an announcement to make, though I am sure it is not the one that you might be guessing at.  My brother Justin moved back to Hawaii! YEA!  It is great to have him here, I hope he is as excited as we are!

We were also blessed to have Trev's brother Josh come stay with us for a week.  The man is a kook, we love him!  He will be back in a week so I am sure there will be more pictures to come.

So Last Year......

Tired Pirate Trevor

Here are just a few pics of the flood from our camera.  I know, I know.  Its been a while but for the folks at home, here it is.

After things settled down and the water level started falling, I grabbed the camera and took some pics of Trev trying to seal our front door from the outside.

  In 7 hours, Oahu recieved over a foot or so of rain which the drainage system was not prepared for.  Since our little building is in a bit of a ditch, we recieved the pleasure of hosting the bulk of the run off.

These are our fabulous neighbors.  Uli (right) seemed to be having a ball with all of the extra water laying around.

Sometime during the chaos of ripping out carpet and packing, I placed my cell phone in a sweat shirt that I was wearing at one point.  I then placed said garment in a box absent mindedly and was out of a phone for about a month. SORRY about that everyone :(

Our Chrismas tree was the only thing that remained intacted during all of the hub bub.  We moved it to the WONDERFUL Wilburs who let us stay at their place while we waited for our house to be done.  We can not express our gratitude fully for their kindness, they are AWESOME!

And this is the new carpet.  Rather office-like but I love it.  One of the best Christmas presents that we recieved I would say.  

And here is the almost finished product.  

"Merry Christmas You Old Building and Loan"

Name that MOVIE!

I had realized that I couldn't leave our blog on such a dismal note for Christmas.  I love this season and would dislike nothing more than to mar this wonderful time with our little soggy story.

But first, NO, I still do not have any pictures from the flood, our camera is wrapped in plastic, then packing peanuts and cardboard and hidden deeply within a pile of our belongings.  So my apologies, they will come shortly.  

As an appetizer, here are a few pics I swiped from some friends' blogs (thanks Stef and girl Erin).

We have been fortunate enough to be welcomed into some very gracious individuals' home for the duration of the break, hopefully our home will be finished Friday (fingers crossed).

But enough about that, ITS CHRISTMAS PEOPLE!  And that means magic!!!

I can say there are only a very few things that I want this Christmas.  Actually only one.  I would like my family for Christmas.  Work has made it IMPOSSIBLE to go home (along with a killer cold that I have had) and so I would like them.  That's it.  

I know it is quite an unreasonable request, but then again.....

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a New Year full of love, faith, peace, and hope.

Glub Glub

So yesterday was one of the craziest days of Trev and my marriage (understatement). Our home was flooded along with our entire building and others in the complex.
We are o.k. and most of our belongings are salvaged we think but as of now, everything is on top of something which is on top of something else.
I took a few pics and will post them eventually. We each still have to manage to take 2 finals before the end of today.
In the midst of it all, I was touched by the overwhelming support of those around us as they literally came to our rescue, tossing sand bags, building dams, and shoveling water for hours. I was in awe as I saw all of these people, most of them flooded as well, uniting to save each other's earthly possessions. And I also found that, while sad to loose, our belongings really don't mean as much as the eternal treasures that bless our lives (obviously, right?).
I am grateful for the gospel and for our small family and for the kindness that was shown to us yesterday. We will definitely remember this forever.

The Passing of a Beloved Apsotle.....

After getting word this morning of the passing of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (Elder Wirthlin, the oldest living apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, died last night at the age of 91.  He passed away peacefully in his sleep in his Salt Lake City home),  I got an email from my Mom that said she called Poppy to see if he heard, which he did. My Grandfather, Nephi "Poppy" Allen and Elder Wirthlin were mission companions together many years ago.  My Mom said that, "We talked a little about the effect he had on Poppy's life as a mission companion.  Then Nonny told me how they used to double date in the months before they each got married.  She really enjoyed his wife and they became good friends while she lived in SLC.  I told her to write down some of those experiences - it would be fun to read.  He was a good man and I'm sure we will all remember the sermon within a sermon that he gave about a year ago."  He was a humble man, full of love, a great example of a true disciple of Christ. 

So Much.....

What a busy week and a half we have had?!  It was my birthday, which was excellent!, I received a lot of expressions of love and well wishes, it was one of the best birthdays ever!  Trevor created a treasure hunt that led to my hidden presents, it went all over the campus from our neighbors front door to the bowling alley in the Aloha Center.  Tara followed me the entire time taking pictures, but they are all on her camera.  Maybe I will get my hands on a few of those and post them.

Four days later was Trevor's birthday and Thanksgiving all on the same day!

  We had 9 of our friends and family over to eat, it was great to say the least. 

Tara's brother,  sister-in-law, and little daughter came for the festivities, their trip has been a bit extended as he is a pilot and they fly stand-by.  Hopefully they will have some luck soon!

Hayley enjoying the fabulous glass wear filled with Martinelli's and/or eggnog!

We moved all of our furniture to our bedroom and moved a few tables into the front room.  

And thanks to Padre Kent, we had some festive table cloths to snaz up the table.

We had 2 turkeys, green bean casserole, home made rolls, mashed potatoes, Nonny style creamed peas (delicious), candied yams, home made creamed corn (thanks Josh!), scrumptious cranberry salad, Jason's special deviled eggs, and more pies than anyone could eat!

Jason carved the turkey and Hoon ate it like it was going out of style. 

Who knew Hoon would like turkey so much?!

Instead of a birthday cake, Trevor got pie!!

Trev's candles spanned 3 pies......

  He was able to blow out all of the candles in 3 breaths! Good job my old man!

We had more pies than we know what to do with, our fridge is still full of delicious treats from cakes and pecan pies to chocolate haupia and pumpkin delights.  It was amazing!!!

Later that weekend, we bought a Christmas tree!  Yea!  We picked up some decorations and were thinking about just cutting down a tree somewhere in the mountains here, but Trev and I just weren't too sure how illegal exactly it would all be.  And we were also concerned about all of the creepy crawlies that would be brought into our little house.  So we conceded and Trev went to pick up a tree while I made some decorations and tidied up the house.

And it was just our luck that tree stands were a hot item on this little rock and so we had to place the tree in a bowl while we searched for a stand.  

We finally found one two days and three stores later!  Sheesh. 

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Papa B! 

 There are some great and wonderful things about my Dad and I am so blessed to have him as my father – he is always there for us when we need him, he always took care of us and made us feel safe as children and also as adults. He is a hard worker and dedicated to anything he pursues. His positive outlook on life is contagious!  Wish we were there to celebrate and enjoy some of that cool AZ weather. 

Happy Birthday Dad, I love you.

LET ME SEE YOU TOOTSIE ROLL......

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

These are some delicious treats that Trevor and I made for FHE just before Halloween.

We had a great night spending time together and making a mess of our apartment!

Our refrigerator is haunted.  ooooooooo!

For those of you who would like to see what Trev and I came up with this year, here are some pics from last night!

Trevor decided to be Kip, the brother on Napoleon Dynamite courtesy of our neighbor's wardrobe :)  I was a lady from the 80's but was confused for someone from the 50's.  Oh well!  It was a lot of fun!

For my job I took part in the complex Halloween party which was really great!  I just forgot the spoooooky music.  Oh well. 

Trev and I made dip for the party that turned out DELICIOUS, if I do say so myself, and mummy links that were pretty good too.  Let me know if you want the recipe and I will send it to you.

This is one of our favorite neighbors, he is our heart. 

And this is his wonderful mom, she is so great!

I work with Natalie and this is her son David.  Little David has told me that he was going to be a red Power Ranger on Halloween for weeks, but when the time came and he was all dressed up, I guess he scared himself.  Luckily though, we got him to at least hold up his costume for a picture.

Later that night, we went with a few of our pals to the Polynesian Cultural Center where we rode on the Haunted Lagoon.  

It was so fun and scary, the 'ghosts' actually got into the boat and touched you which was really quite frightening and unexpected.

One particularly scary sight was the ghost of a 'lady' who 'died' at the PCC that wore a long white dress that eerily glowed in the darkness and had long black hair which covered her face.  She crawled towards you on top of the water and then right as she got to the canoe, dropped beneath the water.  

A minute or so later she would pop up on the other side of the canoe.

One of our friends got so scared she fell off of her bench seat and onto the lady behind her ( I won't say which one ;).  

Tara was bed time girl and Nick was Trevor's "brother" Napoleon Dynamite (we couldn't find a curly wig).

And then this big fellow that sat in the front of the boat got so scared he would run from one side of the canoe to the other and the whole thing would start to tip.  In one of his flights, his legs eventually ended up over his head.  It was quite amusing just to watch!

Look who we got to join our party- Dr. Phil (Jake) and an all star baseball player (Nia) for her first Halloween.

Cecilia was really into her costume, she seemed like she should have belonged in the haunted ride. 

Another picture of Kip followed by Napoleon.

A Scotsman (Joshua) and a cat lady (Hayley) also joined our party.

Our night would not have been complete without Little Red Riding Hood (Michelle) and 3 hole punch Jason.

Halloween was a blast!  We ended the night with 'So I Married An Axe Murderer' ( I know you would have liked that mom :) and left overs from the day.  

Happy Halloween!

Halloween

So, as one of my duties for my current position, I have to potentially help throw a Halloween party for our complex. Therefore, I NEED IDEAS!! That is right, I am calling on all you hip, creative, fun loving people who have thrown or been to a party that was a lot of fun!

We need to come up with activities, treats, contests, etc. for a younger crowd (average 2 or 3) as well as adults.

So if you are out there and are reading this, please lend a suggestion, it would help a lot!

Thank you for your help :)

"Stand for RIGHT Even When You Stand Alone" Thomas S. Monson

Now regularly I am one for keeping my personal sentiments and beliefs to myself generally, unless asked otherwise, so you all are just lucky enough to witness such a random event : ). I can take it no more.

Last Wednesday, I attended a broadcast addressed primarily to residents of California concerning marriage between one man and one woman, Arizona is voting on the same issue during the November elections. I found it a bit intriguing that the leaders of the LDS church would express themselves on a political issue and used it as an indication that this must be on something quite serious. Later I ascertained that this was worlds more than another "political issue", for lack of better terminology, and acknowledge that the outcome of this vote would extend into further generations moral confusion and a depredation of "certain inalienable rights" such as the right to free speech and freedom of religion.

Prior to the meeting, I had struggled slightly with my position on the issue of homosexuality as it pertains to the law, in my mind erroneously somehow equating any legislature against homosexual rights as an expression of indecency or intolerance. I can definitely attribute that in hindsight to a gross miseducation of the realities of issue at hand and a "tyranny of tolerance" as Elder Bednar so aptly put it.

Anyways, the broadcast was wonderful, if given an opportunity, watch it. Trevor and I have discussed the issue and feel that it is more than called for to post some facts surrounding Proposition 102 (Arizona) and Proposition 8 (California).

Hope you enjoy-

If Prop 8 or Prop 102 fail:

1. Children in public schools will have to be taught that same-sex marriage is just as good as traditional marriage. Children will be taught that marriage between any two adults is of the same worth, regardless of gender. There will be serious clashes between the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children their own values and beliefs.

2.Churches may be sued over their tax exempt status if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings open to the public. Ask whether your pastor, priest, minister, bishop, or rabbi is ready to perform such marriages in your chapels and sanctuaries.

3.Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston already closed its doors in Massachusetts because courts legalized same-sex marriage there.

4. Religions that sponsor private schools with married student housing may be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if counter to church doctrine, or risk lawsuits over tax exemptions and related benefits.

5.Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages may be sued for hate speech and risk government fines. It already happened in Canada, a country that legalized gay marriage. A recent California court held that municipal employees may not say: "traditional marriage," or "family values" because, after the same-sex marriage case, it is "hate speech."

6. It will cost you money. This change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits, including some already lost (e.g., photographers cannot now refuse to photograph gay marriages; doctors cannot now refuse to perform artificial insemination of gays even given other willing doctors). Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today's activist judges), think of the money – your money – that will be spent on such legal battles.

I hope that this prepared you or at least moves to you to want to find out more. November 4th is the election date.

For AZ, if you want to request an absentee ballot, send a written request including your:

*NAME

*Date of BIRTH

*Arizona address

*Address where you want the ballot to be sent.

*Signature

You can fax it to (602)506-8049 and the deadline is OCTOBER 24th, 2008.

Porcelain or Gold? That is the question.....

Well, this is first chance that I have gotten to blog in quite a while, mostly due to a very large amount of school work. Here almost all, if not all, students must design and complete a senior research project of sorts, running experiments, creating mini businesses, etc. I have just begun mine which will occur during the entirety of my senior year, it is dealing with gender affiliation and birth order if that means anything to anyone. Consequently it is quite time consuming in and of itself, leaving very little time for other things such as TREVOR, additional classes, work, friends and so on- let alone blog time. But as it happens, I am a bit laid up and have been blessed, if you could call it that, with a an extra moment. So.....

Its almost our 4 year anniversary!!!

Trev is loving school! He spends many of his evenings in the art studio, we will post a picture of some of his pieces soon, they are beautiful. I don't know how much he enjoys biology, something hard for me to understand because I find it fascinating to say the least. He is cruising through his math class which is wonderful and BoM is just that- the bomb (hehe). We have to give an oral presentation on Tuesday about the brazen serpent referred to in Helaman, any suggestions would be EXCELLENT!!!

This is kind of how Trev looked for quite a few days.

Outside of school a bit of not good though ever-so-slightly humorous news. I was writing a paper one evening when Trevor came into the room, his eyes HUGE and little beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. He said, "I just chipped my tooth" and gave his little high pitched nervous laugh, some of you might know what I am talking about. He went pale and for a few minutes there I thought I had somehow passed my fainting tendency onto my poor husband. I made him lay down on the bed and I got out our mini Mag light.

He opened up and sure enough, only half of his tooth was left in his mouth. Not good. This presented quite a few problems, one being that the student insurance here on campus does not provide dental coverage. Trev bought a plan online designated for poor students and off to the dentist he went. Prognosis (do they use that term in dentistry?)- a crown. He came home asking whether he should get gold or porcelain and honestly I avoid Dr.s at all costs, including dentists, and haven't a clue. So again, any suggestions would be excellent!!! There isn't a price difference really so it would be great to hear. He is probably going back this week.

This is just a picture that Trev took that I really like and thought I would share.

The Teacher is in Session and School is in

This is Trevor in the biology lab on campus, past locale of both Jason and Michelle's previous employer. What a kook?!

Aloha!

Whelp, its that time again, free moments are scarce and brains are scattered, the smell of stress is in the air and school bells are chiming. No, but really, it is great to be back in school, its kinda like when you just pick up exercising and you look like a wimp in the beginning because you can't make it a block without wheezing but you know it will just get easier if you keep at it. And it does, oh it does. Trev is in a sculpting class which he loves, as well as algebra, english, entrepreneurship, and biology courses. We are also taking Book of Mormon together with Elder Hemenway who is the BEST! All of my courses are psych except for the aforementioned BoM class and a course required for my job.

Trev also got a new job, no more Napoleon Dynamite and thousands of free eggs, but I think he likes this one a lot better. He gets lots of snacks from the Professors and has access to a campus car, pretty sweet if I do say so myself. And I am still working as an R.A. in the married housing and am tossing around the idea of doing some research in the psychology department. BUT we will see what happens with that.

This would be Lauren in one of the silliest hoodies ever created, completely irrelevant but nevertheless amusing.

Invasion of an Asian Persuasion

Sato is on the left in the stripes and I think that the little gal on our right is Negumi who stayed next door. Gotta love the ''peace sign'.

Is that statement politically incorrect or a bit cliche? Oh well, I mean no harm. I am simply referring the wonderful weekend we had visiting with an exchange student from Japan. Her name is Satomi, 13,-Sato for short- and was so sweet.

This is almost all of the couples in the ward that participated in the 'Homestay Program'.

Two of our friends, along with our next door neighbors and a couple marrieds in our ward, also welcomed Japanese exchange students into their home. Sato was definitely the quiet one of the bunch.
Late on the first night, we decided to watch Harry Potter before bed. I immediately wiped out (there is nothing better than Harry Potter :) When I woke up there was a blanket laid over me, which I thought Trevor had placed there. The next morning Trev told me that he saw Sato stand up in the middle of the movie and look at me just laying there asleep on the couch. She then looked around the room and took the blanket off of her air mattress and tucked it around me. She then picked up the blanket that was lying on the floor, spread it over her bed, and dozed off. Sweet as sugar and twice as nice. We loved her and am so glad for the opportunity to get to know her.

We took Sato and the other gals to the visitor's center at the Laie Temple after church, where for the first time, I think they understood what everyone was saying. It was an awesome opportunity to spread the gospel and help these precious girls learn more about who they really are.

Trev taking a picture of all the girls who stayed with our associates at Temple beach.

C R A Z Y. Let me just preface by saying two things. First, the gals learned the meaning of the word 'crazy' after spending a day with Tara, Hayley, Joshua, and I. They were able to successfully apply the term when appropriate and it was hilarious! Second, just before this little performance, Tara had literally lost her marbles. She tore through her closet, dressing as different Disney characters and had the gals guess who she was. Lets just say that Tara loved having her own little entourage to applaud and laugh at everything she did. Nick is going to have his work cut out for him after this.

This is Toko, Risa, and I. The gals bought their sunglasses at Ross and would NOT take them off after that. I was glad they refrained from wearing them through sacrament meeting, much to their dismay I am sure, but the second we were out in the foyer, BAM, there they were. It was HIlarious.

NICK (this weekend it was pronounced more like 'NEEK' :)!!!!

Awe there is nothing in this world like having wonderful friends. Trev and I are really blessed to be surrounded by the best people EVER. We love laie.

Cupboards, Carpet, the Caf, and CRAZY

This is Tara and Lauren cleaning out the cabinets the night before demolition.

So (side note-it has been brought to my attention in the recent past that I begin many thoughts with the word 'so') to the kindness of the powers that be, the Bullock household was given a BRAND NEW KITCHEN!!! (cue theme music to the Price is Right) That's right, along with sparkling brand new linoleum tile and a freshly carved entry way ("oooooh" "aaahhhh"). Actually, it is rather exciting seeing as how the previous cabinetry quite possibly could be older than I am. AND the cabinets (well what we have of them) are really beautiful. It feels like a whole new apartment.
AMAZING!!!
During the remodeling process, housing sent us to the cafeteria on campus. It was great to not cook or clean up the mess. And it was kinda fun to mix and mingle with all those hip kids who frequent the caf, I think our status went up around campus :)


In case anyone was wondering, this is what constitutes the contents of the cabinets de Bullock. No we do not regularly keep our food on the coffee table.


During the process.........





Luckily all of the turmoil didn't keep away our favorite neighbors! With the Olympics running just about 24 hours a day, you can't help but get hooked. Shaka Trev.

Nick's brother Devin came to visit for a long weekend and enjoyed hanging out in the mess watching Phelps just overshadow everyone in the pool. The Holladays were in shock and awe while Trev wasn't so impressed and Devin wasn't affected in even the slightest.

This picture would be of the old, yucky tile that we recently attempted to refinish. It didn't go over well. So we placed a request and by a miracle and the Ellsworth's empty pad (thanks guys!!), we received beautiful, clean tile.

Somewhere in the middle of the mayhem, Trev and I came up with the excellent idea of cleaning our carpets which I might add, went much more smoothly than the refinishing of the tile.

Chocolate milk anyone? It is horrifying and disgusting and out right nasty what comes up out of the carpet. Whew. I am so glad we chose to do it.

All of our belongings have made a trip from one end of the room to the other this past week, but it was well worth it.

We are still missing a few cabinets (lovely water heater) and drawer covers, but all in all, we are so grateful to have this addition to our little home. It feels like a clean, fresh, brand new apartment!

Spare Me.......

After a few suggestions to spice up a Saturday night in little Laie, someone remembered the game center here on campus which, honestly, I don't believe we have ever really enjoyed. Brilliant!!!

This is Hayley and Josh with their little bowling baby on the way. So cute!
Nick was trying the 'lay flat on my stomach and try to sneak up on the pins' maneuver, I don't think Tara was very impressed.



These are some wild and crazy gals. As for the fellas, what can I say?!!





Don't worry Trevor, your score beats the heck out of us in the end.

Eighties' night at the bowling ally!!! Hey! Honestly- what else do you do when everyone else is bowling?

"Um like totally these bowling shoes are so tacky. They completely ruin my outfit."

All in all it was a great night, taking into account that we had to end our rousing game of bowling early so that the game room attendants could go home early :( Boo. Solution: PHASE TEN!!! Yes, we removed the 'skip' card to prevent any potential contentious and/or awkward moments.

!No Bueno!

The past few days I had been noticing a trail of ants running beneath the door and through the kitchen but I could never figure out where they were going.......until now!

A few nights later, just before bed, I was taking my vitamins out of the pantry when I noticed a shadow moving on the corner of one of the shelves.

After a closer inspection, I found that it was not a shadow at all, but a mass of ants infesting a few boxes we had our sunglasses and watches on.

AHHHHHH! Disgusting! We ran it under the bathroom sink and ants just kept coming and coming. It was not a nice picture to say the least.

But with a little water, problem was solved, I now just hesitate to stick my hand blindly into any dark spaces.

Tears and A Bit of Melodrama...

Today I bid farewell to a dear friend of mine. Yes that is right, Trevor's lush mane of hair. Now please don't mistake my words, the man in my opinion is a fox regardless of his mop, I just really favor his hair long and fluffy. Its like choosing between cookie dough and oatmeal cookie ice cream, while both are delicious, I just prefer the oatmeal cookie (Ben & Jerry's- in one word 'magnificent'). But the poor man has suffered almost 5 months without so much as a trim and the honor code office would be calling at any moment, so I suppose it was time. To every thing there is a time and a season. Oh well. Farewell and until we meet again.

Hasta La Vista Ellsworths!!!

Jason and Michelle left for Saipan-a small chain of islands 120 miles north of Guam (if that helps any)- on Sunday morning for over two whole weeks. And it already feels so quiet around here without those nuts!! But we are excited for them, it is a chance in a life time.

We celebrated Michelle's birthday before they left, her birthday will take place while they are away so it was one last fiesta!

Lettuce Begin...

The garden is coming along swimmingly, though it is amazing how quickly weeds grow in our little piece of cultivated earth. And boy is it ever difficult to tell the difference between the 'good' sprouts and the 'bad' ones. But after recognizing similar leafs showing themselves in EVERY corner of the garden, one begins to catch on, hopefully leaving few casualties in the process.And might I add that the lettuce looks WONDERFUL! The last time we were up at the farm, Lauren couldn't help but take a little nibble, mostly out of curiosity and maybe a little hunger.



















Unfortunately, a good number of our produce has not sprouted, likely having been eaten by birds. We were contemplating netting off the top of the plot to keep away the scavengers or maybe a scarecrow?.... Needless to say something must be done. There are only signs of 1 carrot and 2 or 3 cilantro plants.

Luckily for us, our cucumbers are doing quite well as pictured above.




















And so is our squash. As of late, we haven't received the 'fruits' of our labors, but it should be coming any time. You might be able to spot the tiny pea plants which are supposed to grow up that weaving of strings, though they are taking their time.



























Tara's bean stalks are growing by the second it seems, overnight just popping out the ground and voila!! They are showing beautiful little red flowers and providing a delicious treat for the millions of bugs that reside in Hawaii. We are trying to avoid pesticides but its getting harder as we watch plants slowly disappear.

This is the view of the Laie temple from our plot, it is breathtaking around sunset when the sky is four or five different colors and the clouds are floating by. While witnessing such beauty, you can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the wonder that comprises the earth and heavens while simultaneously sensing, even in the most minute of ways, the love that Heavenly Father has for His children.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Today is the 32nd wedding anniversary of Kent and Marilyn Bullock. What a gorgeous couple! Looking at this old photo you can see there is so much joy radiating at the start of something so big and so beautiful. My mother and father have been a constant source of strength and encouragement for me my entire life. Mom, Dad, thank you for your loving commitment to each other. You are an inspiration to us. We love you!

Happy 32nd Anniversary!

A Knight Out

SO, Trev, Jason, Michelle and I decided to venture out of our little Laie and travel (with the aid of Nick and Tara's car- THANK YOU and come HOME!!) down to Kaneohe for a night on the town. It was A LOT of fun, we went to the mall ( a rare treat for us hicks here in the boon docks) and wandered about for hours waiting for our movie to start. AND if you haven't guessed by the above picture or title, we paid an absurd amount of money to see The Dark Knight. Unanimously stated, it was dinero well spent.

Give Jason a diet Coke with lime and this is what you get. With all of the aforementioned empty time we found entertainment at the Footlocker, well we found entertainment watching Jason amuse himself. :)

I will admit though, befitting of its name, the movie was rather dark. Heath Ledger was excellent at playing a crazy man, I would have never guessed in a million years that it was him. And being the fraidy cat that I am, I was a little freaked out.

AND (there are a lot of 'and's) I swear this guy is in the church movie "Godly Sorrow", the boyfriend/fiance of the penitent chick.

Needless to say it was an eventful evening!

'Guad Squad'

At the beginning of the year I was in the Arizona airport on my way back home to Hawaii. I knew it was going to be a long flight so I grabbed a skateboard magazine so that I would have something to read. On the plane as I flipped through the pages I spotted an old friend, Marty Murawski! He had a full page sequence shot! I grew up with Marty, and the other 'Guad Squad' kids, skateboarding all over AZ. Marty is a skateboarder who isn’t flashy, he’s got solid style, and he has ridiculous control on a skateboard. We all knew he was going somewhere with skateboarding. He rides for Freedom skateshop (AZ), Chocolate, Matix, DVS, and Swiss. Way to represent AZ Marty, keep it up! (The youtube video wouldnt work so you can copy and paste- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HFuPwE6Zqw)

Farm Watch

If you look closely,you'll notice that that is not a monkey, that's a Jason. Up at the farm there are quite a few coconut trees that have supplied us with many a delicious summer treat (luckily no severe injury has come to our crazy relative).

Squash anyone?

Cucumber has sprouted (and a few weeds)!!! Our little farm is coming along swimmingly, almost all of our plants have grown above the soil, with the exception of our hot peppers. AHHH, its so exciting! We all can't wait to taste the fruits of our labors, its going to be wonderful.

Evans Family Part II

This is Syliva and my mother. Syl is a girl from Phoenix that I spent much of my teen years with who is also attending BYUH- its a small world after all.

Sunday night, my fam was scheduled to leave but decided to spend one more day in paradise (one of the luxuries of flying stand-by). Everyone was pretty content after a Korean meal provided by our good old buddy Hoon. Don't ask me the name of the dish, though I do know it involved kim chi.

This was taken on the way to town, Trevor, Justin, myself and Justin's wallet (think George Castanza or a small purse) were all tucked into the back seat of my parent's rental car. On this particular journey, I believe we were traveling home from the swap meat on a toasty Saturday morning.

Welcome Welcome Evans Familia

Lauren's mother Gwen, Poppa Bob, and Jus (missing Keifer : [ ) are here visiting for about a week. Its been a blast literally. Poppa Bob almost blew himself up with a firework but luckily escaped using a 'tuck-and-roll' manuever and Justin almost caught fire 2 or 3 times getting too close to the explosives. But all's well that ends well I suppose.

July 4th 2008- Happy Independence Day!

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, spearfishing, carnivals, picnics, concerts, picking up family from the airport, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Wait, did I say spearfishing? And picking up family from the airport?! Yup, that's right. Trevor, Jason, Michelle and a few friends headed out near Turtle Bay at one of their favorite 'hidden' fishing spots to see if they could catch some something for a BBQ. The tide was high and really murky, but Jason caught his first fish with his new gun, and a few more fish were caught by some friends. After the fishing we got everything together for a BBQ.
One of the guys who we went fishing with, Tumu- local from Laie, caught a huge Kala (unicorn fish) earlier that week and brought it over to throw on the barbie.

Soon enough it was time for Lauren to head to the airport to go pick up her family!- Bob, Gwen, and Justin- too bad Keifer couldn't make it out! Their plane came in at 7pm so they were able to watch the fireworks in Honolulu. Trevor, Michelle, Jason, with friends David and Elisa headed out to Turtle Bay to watch the firework show out there. A sudden rainstorm came from nowhere and hundreds of people, including us, ran under tents that were set up.
It was a typical shower in Hawaii and left just as fast as it came. The Firework show was excellent and afterwards we headed home to meet up with Lauren and her family.

When we all met up together in Laie we pulled out some fireworks that Lauren and I picked up earlier that week. We had a great time trying to light them on Temple Beach... ok, so we may have gotten one or two off because it was SO windy! There were light showers on and off that night in Laie so we were lucky enough to have some umbrellas as we tried to light off some fireworks.

What is a night without an American flag cake?! It has been a tradition that Trev's momma Marilyn started way back in the days when he was a kid.

A Birthday came early this year

A birthday came a few months early this year...Trevor and Jason (brother in-law) fell in love with spearfishing from the moment they got here to Hawaii. They have been using a three-prong for a year and a half now and they have been quite successful with catching fish. However, a few months into using the three-prongs they were introduced to the speargun! As soon as they saw it, and a few videos of local free divers using the gun, they have wanted one. Well, Michelle has been looking for one for Jason for his Birthday (June 30th) and they have all been really expensive. One day while Trevor and Jason were at the local ACE getting a hose for the garden, they spotted a fishing section in the store and sure enough a spear gun! There was a price tag on it that wasnt too expensive and they sat there holding them dreaming of the bigger fish they could catch with the guns. A worker walked by them and said the guns were on sale and turned the box to reveal the discounted price... They were not leaving without one! Jason called Michelle right away and he ended up buying one for his Birthday. Well, Trevor called Lauren and she told him that this would be his birthday gift as well, he agreed and she said come home and we will talk about it. The store closed at 7 and here it was about 5pm. Jason, Trevor and Michelle set up the sprinkler system at the Farm while Lauren was "getting ready to come up to the farm." When Lauren came up to the farm she told everyone that all the spearguns were sold out and she was really sorry. We all worked in the farm till sundown. When Trevor came home and into the room he had a nice suprise in the room...the speargun! Lauren is very sneaky!! Trevor and Jason had some locals work on their spearguns to get them all set up and they have been out a few times and have already caught bigger fish with the guns than the three-prongs. They have started a trend now as there are several other of their friends who have gotten them.

First fish caught with the new gun (This is a type of Snapper)- enough for some fish tacos

Get ripped summer CHALLENGE...

Lauren's running shoes that have hardly seen pavement, asphault, or anything else other than the shoe basket by the front door.

Another Summer project that we have enlisted in is the get fit summer challenge. Josh, Justin Holman (Trev's sister Natalie's husband), and Trev (I think) decided a little while ago to challenge each other and see who, after excercise for the whole summer, would be the buffest. Well this challenge trickled down to me, the Holladays, and Jason and Michelle and now its on baby!! Actually, we aren't doing too well at all but never fear, we still have a few more months before the grand unveiling and tallying of overall physical fitness. It isn't over till its over. Wish us luck!

KOOKs

Summer summer summertime......

So as a bit of a summer time project, we decided to strip and re-wax our nasty linoleum flooring that runs through our kitchen and bathroom. RIDICULOUS. Whoever said this was an easy undertaking was WRONG! After about 7 hours of scrapping and buffing out layers of old, dirt encrusted wax, we called it a night and collapsed into bed. It was miserable to say the least, I think we lost Trevor after hour 4 or 5 but he pushed through. Yeesh. Needless to say that 2 lessons were learned: 1. Never ever install linoleum flooring anywhere. 2. after a 40-45 hour work week, house projects are not optimal. I think that was the straw that crushed the proverbial camel's back and now I am laid up in bed. Yep. Sick as a dog. Oh well, at least we can sleep well at night knowing that we are walking on decades of old residence's grime.

A Salute to the Evallocks

Momma Gwen and Cody Dana

Josh and Trev

Mom and Dad Bullock

JUSTIN!

The one and only Keifer and Momma Gwen

Poppa Bob

What would life be without family?!! We really miss everyone back in Az (or D.C. or Alabama). Life just isn't as fun without all of the kooks we are lucky enough to call family! We really miss everyone and can't wait to see everyone again.

"The Clock is Striking, Time is Passing, Eternity is Coming"- Bishop Douglas Bates

So this Sunday the ward received shocking announcement that we were going to receive a new Bishop. All of the classic signs of transition were there in Sacrament meeting, the presence of the Stake Presidency, the Bishop's entire family, an irregular number of strangers filling the pews, etc., but neither of us saw it coming.

Bishop Bates has been our Bishop since we moved on campus a little over a year ago and we will miss his quiet humor and astute observations.

Our new Bishop is -we think- Bishop Tea (pronounced "Tay-ah"), a Cook Islander who lives in Kahuku, though we heard his last name pronounced 3 different ways. He is, to say the least, very different from Bishop Bates in MANY ways.

One thing that we both wanted to pass on was the first thing Bishop Tea said over the pulpit (HILARIOUS) which goes a little something like this:

A Japanese, Haole (U.S.), and Hawaiian missionary were packing their belongings in preparation to for their upcoming journey.

The Japanese missionary packed noodles, rice, and soy sauce.

The Haole missionary packed candies, cookies and other sweets to comfort him on his trek.

The Hawaiian missionary saw no need to bring anything other than a few articles of clothing.

They boarded their small plane and ventured on the long flight ahead.

After quite a while, the pilot got on the speaker and informed the passengers that they were running out of fuel and asked the Japanese missionary to throw out whatever he didn't need.

He chose to toss out his noodles, rice and soy sauce.

They continued on their way until the pilot came on again and asked the Haole to toss out of the plane whatever he did not need.

And so he chose to throw out his sweets.

The plane traveled a little farther and once again the pilot came on and told the Hawaiian missionary it was his turn.

He then turned to the Japanese missionary, picked him up, threw him out of the plane and said, "Ah we got plenty of these where I come from."

Trev and I had to try so hard not to laugh! Our ward is about 65% Asian and needless to say, not too many of them found that joke amusing at all.

Whew. All we can anticipate is a colorful road ahead. It should be very exciting.

"Hello Rebecca....."

Oh we are going to miss that phrase!!!

This is the first time that we have had to say adios to some of our good friends and it definitely feels different around here. Kishan and Rebecca graduated this past Saturday and have already arrived in Sri Lanka where Kishan is from. He was one of only a few students here from the small island off of the coast of India. They are going to stay there for a month and then they are off to settle in New Zealand where Ducky (Becca) is from.

They were lucky enough to have Becca's parents and sister come for the commencement ceremony.

It was great to meet her mom and sister and discover the source of many of Rebecca's endearing tendencies.

WE WILL MISS YOU GUYS!

May I Have your ATTENTION please......

Trevor has had an interesting (for lack of a better word) secular journey thus far and we can gladly announce that he has encountered a much anticipated milestone this evening. After semesters of attending online he has finally recieved word of his admittance to Brigham Young University Hawaii, completely in the fashion of the typical Hawaiian style I might add.

AAAAHHHH!!!

After an unfortunately long relationship with the Admissions Department here at BYUH which included the loss of MANY important documents, we ran into our Stake President on Saturday night who, with a warm hand shake and a wink, unexpectedly told Trevor to check his status online on Monday. So today he did and lo and behold his status said "ADMITTED". What a wonderful word?!!!

We can't wait for him to start in the fall, he will undoubtedly be a great student!!!

FINALS!!!!

Sorry there haven't been any posts, finals have been dominating life lately. But do not fret, more will come shortly.

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.....

So Nick and Tara, Jason and Michelle, and the two of us decided that we were going to work on a new project of starting a garden. This picture was taken Saturday after the ground had been tilled and the stakes for the fence had been put in. I wish we had a good 'before' picture, but suffice it to say, it looked something similar to the bush in the background rather than the lush segment of land that it is today.

Everyone hard at work getting the land ready to plant.

The siblings, who, with their extra time, have devoted A LOT to getting this garden up and running.

These are the spectacular, well measured rows where our future harvest will spring up. I can see it now......

After a long day of work, this is the nearly finished product. BEAutiful!! We would like to thank all of those who abandoned plots of land and provided all of the materials to construct our minature farm.
We still have to finish one side of the fence and figure out a watering system, but it is almost there.

ALOHAR!

If anyone is wondering what they should pack when traveling to Hawaii, consider this ensemble Jason so kindly modeled.

And for the final act of the evening......

These guys were pretty much the most awesome fellas on this rock. They were strutting their stuff on these crazy scooters up on the Pali Lookout. Ironically, they made the evening news that night (no joke), not for their outfitts mind you, but for their little scooter/hov-a-round things.

These are a few of the warning signs as you enter the path up to the Pali Lookout. Inviting.

This is a mosaic on the LDS tabernacle here in Honolulu. It is a massive, beautiful building that we visited when Nikki was here.

And here is a larger picture of front entrance of the chapel.

This is Lauren and Nikki up at Tantless which is a lookout point above Honolulu. Up there you can see Punchbowl, Diamond Head, the airport, and pretty much anything you would want to get a good look at. The drive up there is just as breathtaking.

This would be Nikki and Michelle in the act of breaking the law. Rebels. Actually, back in the jungly area is where a few shots of LOST were filmed, a highlight on the tour. You just have to hope a police officer doesn't drive by.

MEMORIAL DAY!!!!

For Memorial Day this year Trev and I along with

Nikki, Michelle, Jason, Matt, Gina, Nick and Tara went to downtown Waikiki. The city puts on this huge ceremony and individuals float paper latterns out on the ocean in memory of loved ones who have passed, both military and non I believe. It was BEAUTIFUL. And there is a huge stage where hula dancers and musicians came and performed. There were soooo many people there (as the picture was meant to illustrate), it felt a little like waiting to go on a ride at an amusement park when we were trying to get out of parking garage.

Oh and the picture of some of us 'surfing' was just a little amusement later that night. What a bunch of kooks?!

Bunch of Haole Tourists!!!

To continue our tour of the island, we visited the Waimea Valley park and a heiau (an old Hawaiian sacrificial ground) which are both located on the North Shore of Oahu. Trev took all of the pictures so sorry that he isn't really in any of them.

In Waimea park there are all of the crazy peacocks that are running around. I wish I took a picture of Nikki and Michelle chasing them around in an attempt to get the peacock to fan out its feathers. Oh well.

The next picture I think is of Nikki and Michelle looking like they are hiding in some grass. That is at the heiau overlooking Waimea. Such a beautiful view!!

The next picture is of a random plant on the little walk down to the lookout point pictured in the aforementioned shot of Nikki and Michelle.

And finally, Matt, Gina, Nikki, and Jason educating themselves on the history and purpose of the heiau (well actually just Jason :).

Swinging from the Trees

While driving up this winding road that led to a look out point over Honolulu, the Ellsworth car pulled over (Jason's brother Matt and wife Gina are also visiting) and out jumped Jason. He said something like, "We are going to swing on this tree!" And like a bunch of kooks we went along. It is the root of a banyan tree for anyone who isn't familiar with them, their roots slowly grow down from branches above and enter the ground. They are massive.

Anyways, it was actually pretty fun, I was really worried that someone was going to let go and launch themselves onto the rental car or into the road. But I am happy to report no major injuries.

Above is Nikki in the polka-dotted dress, Lauren, then Trevor getting ready to go, and finally Michelle.

Oh NIKKI You're So Fine.......

The Bullock Inn is still at capacity. If anyone is interested in taking advantage of our wonderfully comfortable air mattress and freshly caught crab, openings will be available shortly. Our apologies.

With Justin on his way back home to Arizona (we will miss ya man-come back any time!!), Nikki decided to come out to visit for 10 days. We are so excited to welcome her back to her alma mauder. It so far has been a party and then some. More pictures are to follow. ALOHA

For the beauty of the earth.....

These are a few pictures that Trev took. The middle one is published on a LDS website and the others are just beautiful. It still doesn't do it justice. We live in the shadow of the temple, literally not even a block away. It is an amazing blessing that I am sure the both of us don't fully realize. But nevertheless our hearts are full of gratitude for the many miraculous blessings this gospel brings, the love of the Savior and the precious and irreplacable peace that always accompanies the truth.

Oh BROTHER......

So Justin I think has a had a pretty good time this visit. We drove all around the island a few times (clouded by the VOG for most of it), went to the movies and watched Jus eat more food than I could ever believe. It was C R A Z Y. For dinner he ate 2 steak tacos, rice, beans, a large ice cream from Dairy Queen, 2 gallons of popcorn (no joke) and a Cinnabon to top it all off. Nuts! What a fella?! It was great. Too bad he isn't staying longer. But I think he misses his own space. I just can't wait for Keif to come join us and then happiness would be complete!!

Paco

Say hello to my little friend..... So Trevor and a couple of his pals decided to grow mustaches until the Suns won the championship. He looks a bit like his name should be Juan or Diego. Needless to say this handsome facial hair was for nothing. Maybe next year we will have it! Go SUNS!

LOVE LIFE and SAND

We are so blessed to be here at this time. There is no other place that Trev and I would want to be. Laie is often referred to as a gathering place, students from all over the world come here to learn and grow. And we could not be more greatful to be a part of it, even in the tiniest of ways. It has been such a wonderful testament to the truthfulness of the gospel as we have witnessed individuals from the corners of the earth bear witness of the love of the Savior. These experiences will be part of us forever.

CRABS!!

...Well actually only one. So Trevor LOVES spear fishing, much to Lauren's apprehension (he is a terror in these waters...), but it proves to be pretty fun every now and then. A few days ago, Trev, Jus, Jason and Michelle went to the beach and came back with this little fella. His first crab so far, it was a 7-11 crab that was pretty delicious. It is distinguished by its 7 red spots (don't worry, we checked and its edible) and is pretty common around the islands.

BABY BABY

So this is our little neighbor baby J. When this fella comes to visit it is hard not to have a baby around all the time. You gotta love the hat!

Thanks Mama Gwen!!!

THANKS Mom for sending that food over to Hawaii. Here it is EXPENSIVE to eat and its pretty hard to get delicious Mexican anything here. So we had a blast eating and celebrating Justin's visit. P.S. He has excellent grilling skills (thank you Steak Out : ) It was a fun BBQ.

Justin's Back in Hawaii!

Thanks to pals Kishan and Rebecca, Justin and I had a ride home from the airport (and a trip to Jack in the Box). Being back in Hawaii, it seems Justin is starting to miss good old Laie! So maybe we will have another Evans member back on the island. We will see. Regardless, its great to have him here.

The Old New BBQ

For those of you who haven't made it out here since the New Year, here is a little pictoral snack of the new grill Trevor and our good pal/neighbor Nick recieved for Christmas. It has been pretty fun to pull out and use about 1 or 2 times a week. Delicious! We have grilled everything from burgers to poor fish Trevor has pulled out of the ocean. Above is a really big trumpet fish that we made into fish tacos that were tasty. At first Lauren was super grossed out, but enjoyed it after it looked less like an eel and more like a fish taco.

Jen and Dallas meet Hawaii

We had a GREAT! time when cousins Dallas and Jen came to visit us in Hawaii, although travel mishaps caused it to end not so well, poor guys. But all and all is was an awesome week. They got to try Motsumotos which is DELICIOUS shaved ice, Ted's terri beef and a Dole ice cream cone. And the old Bullock blow up mattress was in full force for relaxing nights in our tiny t.v. room/kitchen.



We also got to go to the set of LOST and see all of the actors doing their thing!!! It was sooo cool!





This is from Dallas and Jen's trip to Pearl Harbor. It was awesome to visit the museum and some of the torpedos from the war. It was way packed from all of the spring break visitors though, so this is as close to the memorial as any of us got. It was still beautiful

LOST in Hawaii

As some of you may know, the T.V. series LOST is filmed here on the Island of Oahu, on the North Shore. Here are some of the photos we have taken of the different sets around the north shore. Enjoy!

Livin' it up in Hawaii

ALOHA! We have decided to jump on the bandwagon and post some of our daily activities in here for all family and friends to enjoy. Trevor and Lauren currently live in Laie, Hawaii (North Shore Oahu), enjoying the sun, surf, and school! Trevor is currently fulfilling his dream to become Napolian Dynamite, working at an egg farm, shooting mongoose, and wrestling chickens - actually he works at a distribution center for an egg farm but the previous sounds much more exciting. We get 5 dozen eggs a week and he and Jason love the boiled eggs! Lauren works for the housing department at Brigham Young University Hawaii. We love visitors so come and stay any time, our air mattress is the most comfortable on the island!