Hawaii, our favorite place!

Hawaii, the greatest place in the world.  A little over 2 years ago we had a family trip planned, we were all going to go to Hawaii, both of my brothers and their families, my sister and her family, us and my mom and dad.  Our flights were booked and our house was ready.  We had been planning on it and looking forward to it since Christmas.  Then, Abby collapsed and school and our world changed.  Hawaii was no longer an option for us because were were waiting for her new heart.  Everyone else in the family went, except Abby, my dad, and I.  It was so hard.  I missed my kids so much.  But one of our greatest miracles happened the night Brittany and Brock got back to Salt Lake.  They got to our "blue house" at 6:00 pm on July 11th, we got the call for Abby's heart only 9 hours later.  I'm so grateful we were all together the day Abby got her heart.

Other than the flight over, Hawaii this year was perfect.  Abby's feet got so swollen on the plane about halfway through the flight to Hawaii, that she couldn't walk and was just bawling.  She was miserable.  It took a few days to get them back to their normal size again.  After talking to the transplant team, for the flight home, we made an adjustment to one of her medications, wrapped her feet and legs in Ace bandages, and made her move around a lot the entire flight and she did much better.  The rest of our trip was exactly what we wanted and needed.  We spent every day at beach.  We did lots of boogie boarding, body surfing, and just playing in the waves.  Boogie boarding never gets old.  We spent lots of time at Hukilau beach, which is one of our favorite places.  There was a house for sale right on our beach that I decided I wanted to buy (I am really loaded with extra cash right now:))  So, I called on it.  It's 5 bathrooms and 6 bedrooms, and only 3.2 million dollars.  So, if there's anyone out there that has an extra 3.19 million dollars and wants to go in on a house with me, just let me know!

I loved it when I found these pictures when I got home, it shows how much we love Hukilau Beach and it's fun to see how much my kids have changed the past 10 years.  The house we stayed in this year was right on the beach, we could walk out back door and the beach was right there, it was so perfect. This is what our backyard looked like for the week.  You know when you're doing relaxation techniques and they tell you to imagine your peaceful place???  This is mine and always has been.  There's just something about me and beach and the ocean, we belong together.

It was so hard to come home after only 1 week.  I told my kids that when I go through my mid-life crisis ( If I ever really get the chance), I might become a beach bum.  We really needed the time there.  I felt more relaxed and peaceful then I have in a long time, probably about 2 years, and I think my kids did too.  Thank you Mom and Dad for the trip, we loved every second of it.

We were home for a couple of days, and then I had to take Brock up north.  He had a visit with the BYU football coaching staff and a one-day camp at Weber State.  For anyone that doesn't know us, we are huge Utah fans and always have been.  Before we moved to St. George, we went to every football and basketball game every year since I was a kid.  Brock is the biggest fan too, he never misses a football game, so, going to BYU wasn't natural for us.  I could tell it was weird for Brock too, especially when he was walking up the stairs of the student-athlete building with all of the BYU paraphernalia in it, and looked down at me like he was gagging!  It was funny.  The meeting went well though, Brock gave them film and met all of the coaches.  I guess is they gave him a scholarship I would let him go there, but only for a good scholarship :)  It's been fun having him meet with lots of different coaches and having them show some interest in him.  They wish he was taller, I guess 6'3" isn't big enough, but we'll see what happens.  I'm so grateful he's got such great coaches that are helping him through this process because I don't have a clue what we're supposed to be doing.  Next week he goes to a Utah State camp, and the next is SUU.  I would be happy having him stay really close next year, like Dixie State, but I'm pretty sure Brock has his sights set a little higher.  It will be fun to see what he decides to do this next year, he'll have a lot of big choices to make.  A lot will depend on what kind of scholarship he's offered and to what school, and then he'll have to think about going on a mission as well.  For now, we'll just have to hope for a fun and injury free senior season!  Even if he doesn't get a scholarship anywhere, I still be just as proud of Brock, he's always been a great kid.

For the rest of us, we get to try to chill for the next 2 weeks, but then it's time for Abby's annual biopsy.  It's on June 28th, and honestly, I don't even want to do it.  I'm kind of to a place now that I'd rather not know if something is wrong.  But, we'll do it, because we should and we have to.  I know we need to do it, but it's not fun.  I'm already nervous, and I know that  the anxiety will continue for the next 2 weeks, but hopefully everything will look and good and we can just relax for the rest of our summer.

Here's more Hawaii pictures, a trip that I never want to forget.

Abby and Leah trying to catch crabs!

Mask on, area wiped down, we were ready to go!  Too bad we forgot about her swollen feet problem until it was too late.

Shave Ice and ice cream at Angel's.  The shave ice has ice cream in the bottom, cream poured over the top, and whipped cream on top of that.  YUMMY!

The crew at Turtle Bay brunch

Hanging at Hukilau

Abby and her cousins at Waimea Bay

We played hearts almost every night, Brock seemed to be the biggest loser!

I love these kids!

I love this place!

My hair is always bad in humidity, but I look so happy!

View from our back patio.

No even ask for coconuts!

No matter what how much sunscreen we used, we still got sunburned.

We bought Abby this shirt from a place called Lei Lei's at Turtle Bay because our last night she ordered the seafood scampi and it was huge, a plate filled with pasta, shrimp and scallops.  Somehow, Abby ate the whole thing, every last bite.  We were all in shock, I think the waitress was too.  I've never seen Abby do that before, ever!

Thanks mom and dad, best trip ever!

Please send good vibes and pray for good results on June 28th for Abby's biopsy!!  Also, remember you can buy Abby's Miracle on Amazon here: Abby's Miracle.  It's also available on Nook and Kindle now too.  We will be doing a book signing next week in St. George and on the 27th in Salt Lake.  I'll post more details later.  If you want me to mail you a book, I can do that too.  I sent one to one of our followers in Canada last week, and she just paid through my Paypal account-domans4@yahoo.com.  Email me if you're interested.  Thank you to everyone that has purchased the book, every penny I earn helps me stay on top of Abby's medical bills.  I'm still working on getting on the Ellen Show, but it hasn't happened yet :)