Easter in Cedar

Such a fun Easter weekend in Cedar City with the Judd family.

The weekend included a bridal shower, decorating eggs, games...or some sort of entertainment that involved food descriptions, an easter egg hunt, delicious lunch, the annual egg roll, sharing peeps with Grandpa Judd, riding on the tractor, a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and a lovely time being thankful for the Savior. It was wonderful.

Camden got to spend a lot of time running around with cousins...
He is one of the little ones, but Jake is always so sweet to look after him.

Camden also got to play in the sand and help build the hill.

This year I made Strawberry Shortcake eggs-- they were a hit with all the little girls :)

I even won first place in the decorating contest! Ryan's streaker eggs werent so lucky.

The Easter Bunny came to the cabin this year...

Aloha!

When my sister decided to pick up and move across an ocean, I wasn't incredibly excited.

Then, I realized that Maui would be the perfect place to visit, and my excitement grew...

Turns out tickets to Maui aren't cheap.

(this dampened my ever excited spirits)

But, for Valentine's day/ my birthday/ all other holiday's for forever, Ryan surprised me with a ticket to Maui! (if you ever need to go, head over to hawaiianair.com--we got round trip tickets for less than $400) A trip to Maui with no husband, and no baby?!

Camden spent the week with my mom-- and Ryan stayed at home

I had never been to Maui, or really flown alone, so this was a first.

And it was awesome.

Ronda and Doug welcomed their first baby in December-- and I was the first sibling to meet this little butter ball

Devan Phoenix is just about the cutest kid ever! He is quite the chunker, and I can say (after some bribing) that I am officially the favorite Aunt...maybe that's because I am the only one who has seen him
I still had quite a bit of jet lag, so I never really slept in. Plus, why sleep in when you are in paradise? Every morning, Doug would make yummy oatmeal and serve up warm drinks (them coffee, me mango passionfruit herbal tea) of which I am not addicted! I love the idea of starting the day with a cup of something warm and inviting...it sort of eases you into things.
Devan is such a good natured, smiley little guy. I couldn't get enough of his perfect lips and thigh rolls! Unfortunately, he's not too fond of car rides...it took me back to about a year ago-- maybe it's a son-of-a-nelson-daughter-thing.

I flew in late Wednesday night, (my welcome complete with flower lei and "Aloha!" courtesy of Doug) so Thursday we began our adventures!

First stop, cute little oceanside town... shops, locals, gelatto, lunch (mahi mahi burger)

and the beach. Love. at. first. sight.
It gets dark really early in Maui (who knew?), so we spent the majority of our evenings listening to the rain on the roof of Ronda and Doug's house, watching Johnny Depp movies, burning, uh baking cookies, and talking.
Friday: Pretty much all I wanted was to enjoy my time at the beach!
Ronda and Doug live about 25 miles from the ocean, so everyday we got to take these beautiful scenic drives...Beach Baby!
We went to the Charlie Young beach-- it was a little overcast, but not bad, so we unpacked and settled in with our umbrella and blankets. 30 minutes later, it started downpouring-- most people got up and ran to their cars, but we had Devan, and didn't want to soak him, so we huddled under our umbrella, hoping it would soon pass. It did. 10 minutes of downpour in exchange for a beautiful, sunny afternoon at a pretty deserted beach? I'll take it!
After the beach, we ate at the most authentic Hawaiian, hole-in-the-wall restaurant.
I had chicken Katsu-- delicious.
Saturday: we had brunch at a lovely little cafe.

the eggs beni is currently making my mouth water.

Thanks to it being the weekend, Doug was able to join us!

After brunch we stopped by the swap meet...picked up a few souvenirs, and headed for...where else? The beach!

I'm sensing a pattern here. Food. Beach. Sleep. Food. Beach. Sleep.

I really love laying on the beach, feeling the sun, and hearing the waves crash.

It was nice to have absolutely no responsibility...although I did cry a few times after hearing Camden say "mama" on the phone.

I had my first sushi from a conveyer belt.

Ronda and Doug are masters of Sushi, so I got to expand my horizons and enjoy seaweed salad.

Note to self: desserts at a sushi restaurant are not worth the money

Devan just hung out and waited patiently as we scarfed.

Sunday: One of Ronda's good friends had a baby shower, so we stopped by.

I got to meet a lot of her and Doug's friends-- it was fun!

One thing that I like about a Hawaiin shower, is that the expectant mama is totally pampered!

She sits in a super comfy chair while people volunteer to rub her feet, give a pedicure, paint her nails, brush and braid her hair, bring her food-- total pampering! And as a guest, you come to her to give congratulations! Talk about a nice shower...maybe I'll keep that in mind :)

Sunday evening found us at the beach with a beautiful sunset.

They have a "beach crew" that gathers at the beach Sunday evenings for food and sand volleyball.

I'm not the best volleyball player, but I must have done something right, because they invited me to return...I told them I'll gladly play next time I visit, or they come to Utah.

After that, I was known as "utah"...which was a total switch, because in Utah, I get teased for being from Idaho--

I had such a nice, relaxing time. Nowhere pressing to be. Just got to enjoy Maui, and spend time with Ronda, Doug and Devan. A much needed change of pace from the busy hustle and bustle of everyday life :)

if Ronda and Doug want to stay in Maui, they can't keep me from visiting again!

Life is Hard

Life is hard.

Plain and simple, but ridiculously hard to digest.

It seems like blogs are filled with everything fun and exciting--

no one really wants to dwell on the sucky things they experience, right?

But for me, this week hasn't been exciting and fun.

There are wonderful things we get the opportunity to do, see, enjoy, share... but there are equally terrible, hard things we must experience.

I have always thought that that there are some things that happen to us that are out of our control- but there are others than come as consquences, resulting from poor or uninformed choices.

Mistakes can be mended, but not always forgotten...

however, if you learn from that mistake, it is no longer a mistake, but something you just needed to learn.

Life goes on, you (hopefully) become wiser and stronger, and possibly look back on the experience and use it to help someone else.

I find myself thinking there is always someone out there who is going through something much worse-- and it helps me get through a tough time if I concentrate on helping them and not dwelling on myself.

Maybe life gets hard when I need to be less selfish.

There you have it, a tiny piece of my heart. Lame as it sounds, it is true.

I'm not as put together as I would like to be, or as I would like you to think.

I struggle. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little.

Sometimes I can struggle alone, sometimes I need to put it out there.

I think we are all in the same boat...doing the best we can, sometimes succeeding, and sometimes failing beyond belief, but unwilling to admit it.

Sometimes you just need a good cry.

And for me, this rainy monday appears as though it needs a crying buddy.

Bring on the catharsis.