VISITORS!

YEAH! Ethan and Jeremey and Grant finally got here! I'm so excited for them to be here and the time that I'm going to get to spend with them. We are going to have so much fun. I went to pick them up from the airport and bought them some leis figuring they should be welcomed to Hawaii properly. Well, as I walked in Ethan and Grant had their backs to me but Jeremey was looking at me. I hollored at him and he just stared at me for like 10 seconds and then he went...oh....and tapped Ethan and said, "look it's Abi" Ethan turned around and said, "Holy Smokes my sisters a mexican." He thinks I'm really tan. I guess I just don't see it because I see myself everyday so I don't realize how dark I really am getting. Oh well. We're going to have a tone of fun.

I went on a Geology field trip last week and saw lots of cool things, including some whales. The picture you see here is a whales fin....it's all the way in the back I'm sorry you can't see it closer. Some of you may not even be able to see it, but trust me it is there. I also saw one jump completly out of the water but I didn't get a picture of it, sorry. It's in my head forever now though. We also saw some of the most beautful beaches created that way because of the volcanoes and the way the wind had hit them and such. It was really interesting. Love you all lots! More updates later!

An infection

Hello friends and family. Just incase you weren't aware tourists get a very sugar coated view of Hawaii. Hawaii is indeed paradise, but in all reality is is not the cleanest place around. There are bugs everywhere, and ants are inevitable. So, on with the story. I got a blister right on my ankle bone a couple of days ago, and thought nothing of it. Well, yesterday about half way through the day all of a sudden I couldn't walk. It felt like I had twisted my ankle really badly. Well, I still had to go to work and help backstage with the school play last night so I decided not to think about it or even worry about it. By the time I started walking home from the play (at 11pm) my ankle was hurting so badly that I thought for sure it was sprained or something. Well, I got home and expressed this pain to one of my roommates stating that I thought it was infected and she quickly jumped up to help me. They ran to the store and got me some epson salt and some hydrogen proxide to clean this blister out. So she got back and I soaked in the salt for about and hour and then decided it was time for bed. As I got up I went to the bathroom to rinse it out with the proxide and I found that it was even worse and I couldn't walk hardly at all. I tried to tough it out and just say that I was okay but I got in my room and just started crying because it hurt so badly. Well, my roommate and her boyfriend (Ammon) got home. Ammon is here all of the time and he is like a brother to all of us. He is also a local. Well they saw me crying and I explained the whole story to him. He said that it was definitly infected. He then told me that it was important for me to keep my foot elevated and so that it wouldn't swell.
He called one of our neighbors over to give me a blessing. They did and it was beautful. After the blessing Ammon had me soak my foot in regular salt water with a little proxide in it. At this point it was hurting so badly that it was making my legs shake, and then sticking it in that water was even adding to the pain. We sat it in the water for a while and then Ammon took it out and scraped the skin off of it that was blocking it and then dumped straight proxide in it and wrapped it good to keep anything else from getting in it. My roommate gave me her bed because it was the bottom bunk and we got my foot nice and elevated and I was able to rest. It took me a long time to sleep that night and I didn't sleep very soundly. However, I woke up this morning and the pain was mostly gone. It still hurts around the sore directly but it no longer hurts my entire ankle.
I want to testify to all of you that miracles do happen. After all that we can do and after all the effort we have put into it God will then step in and will heal us. I'm so grateful for Ammon and Brian and their willingness to give me a blessing and help me at 12:30 at night and pick skin off and just take care of me despite everything, no questions asked, never even hesitating. They let me cry and they talked me through the entire thing. I'm grateful for the atonement and for the knowledge that we have that in all reality Christ suffered all things for me and he knew the pain that I was in last night and that is why he could help me and succor me.

A weekend at the beach

Hello friends and family! well, we've had a long weekend and I decided to spend most of it at the beach, I got a nice healthy glow and a little bit of a red face, but you can't really tell, I can only feel it. Lisa and I headed up to the beach where we found NO waves. It was such a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky or even a breeze coming of the ocean. So we mostly just swam around...made up a synchronized swimming routine and then towards the end of the day the wind picked up a little bit and there were perfect waves for beginning boogy boarders.

We also through a birthday party for our friend Dane. I would like to point out that in this picture you can see how dark I'm getting. I don't feel like I'm getting very dark because I see myself everyday but in this picture while I'm sitting next to Dane I look dark compared to him.

Ethan, Jeremy and Grant are coming out to visit! I'm so excited. I'm counting down the days until they get here. I'm not home sick in the sense that I don't miss Utah, I'm just family sick and it will be really nice to have some of them around for a while. I hope all is well back at home. I'm happy and healthy and enjoying very much my time here in Hawaii! Love you all!

Well, I just got chastised by my mother for not posting anything for a while. i'm so sorry. I didn't do that on purpose. I've just been so busy. What's new...well, Hawaii is still paradise (in case you were wondering). Since it is Valentines Day I guess I will share with you the Valentine I got. It was a brownie cup with a train on top built out of candy bars and there was a stick in it that said, "I choo choo choose you" Pretty cute Huh? I thought it was...it pretty much made my day.(I had just woken up in the picture you see there...) Valentines Day is probably not my favorite holiday, probably because I've never had anyone on Valentines Day..but that's okay. School is going well. I've loving every second of it, and I'm getting good grades too so that's a plus. I went and played raquetball yesterday with two of the boys I work with their names are Scott and Wolfgang. Yes...his real name is Wolfgang, he is from Austria. Scott is from Missouri. It was a ton of fun. I don't think I've had that much fun playing raquetball in a very long time! It's wonderful. Work is still going wonderfully. I love my job. Sometimes it's hard to go when I first leave but by the time I'm there I really like it...it's awesome! I get to associate with and meet some of the coolest people. It's a very neat experience. We also celebrated my room mate Kaelee's 20th birthday on Tuesday that was a lot of fun. I always like when there is an excuse to have a party. Ethan and Jeremy and Grant are coming out on the 26th, and believe my when I say I'm counting down the days for them to get here. This is the only reason I couldn't stay in Hawaii forever, it's just to far away from my family and I absolutely adore my family and I miss them very much. Well, that's all the news I have for you now. I'm going to go back to school and lift weights and stuff for a while. I love you all. I hope all is well back at the home front!

Rexbrug Idaho Temple

Everyone! Go to this website! It's awesome, you can see inside the beautiful Rexburg temple. I'm so sad that I missed this open house after seeing the entire thing be built...anyways go check it out, it's breath taking!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PotAd3Gcgt8

A Smile

A smile costs nothing, but gives much. It enriches those who recieve, without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor but that he can be made rich by it. A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in buisness, and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and it is natures best antidote for trouble. Yet, it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen. For it is something that is of no value to anyone until is is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile, give them one of yous, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.

~First American Title Insurance Company

My Job

Hi everyone! Thanks for all of your comments on my dating blog. I appreciate them. I know that I just need to be friends first, I just get so nervous. I need to get over this nervousness and just put myself out there....Anyways, back to the current blog at hand. I thought I should add a few pictures of where I work and give a few more details. First off I love my job! It's beautiful and I love doing what I do. I work at a luau that serves the same food, performes the same show, and goes through the exact same routines every day....but it's perfect. So far I've seen two people I know from Grantsville and that's been really excited. Usually I either wear my red or blue dress and do whatever they tell me to do. That is wait tables, make sure the buffet stays full, or fill juices. (p.s if it isn't water in Hawaii it's juice (even soda pop)) just a little Hawaii fact there for you. Anyways, everynight they have two employees of the same race dress up and be the "greeters" We stand at the entrance welcoming people and putting leis on them and saying "Aloha Family" It's a beautiful job and so far my very favorite of all the jobs I do. Tonight there were two gentlemen from Australia who came in and wanted to take their pictures with me with their camera. They did and after they were done they looked at me and said I was the prettiest thing/person they had seen in all Hawaii. It made me feel great...and I'm not even polynesian! I've had lots of people take my picture and I wonder how many walls or photo albums I will end up in all across the world. It kind of makes a person feel rather important! (I took the photo you see now at the end of the night, so I'm not sure if the Australians would say the same thing now...but you know The photos also done in the dressing room and on a self timer. I'll get a better one next time, I promis!) I hope and pray that I'm making some kind of difference in all of these peoples lives. I love you all once again. Keep smiling and working hard. The Lord is blessing our lives in ways that we can't even imagine!

Rachel Holste

Rachel~ Hey, I always see your comments and stuff and I'm happy you are looking at my blog. Can I have your e-mail so that I can write you e-mails and stuff? Thanks!

high school

I feel like I'm in High School all over again! You see, what is happening is a rather funny story. There is this boy here at school who is SUPER cute...Well, I don't have any classes with him I only see him walking around and sometimes at work. (he is the super super supervisor over where I work) He does know my name and I have spoken to him several times. Anyways, everytime I see this kid I have the hole butterflies in my stomach, knees going weak, and don't know what to say except nothing because I think I'll feel like a big dork...so my fellow friends...what shall I do? I've already gotten the advice to just tell him, or to ask him to hang out sometime or something, or maybe to send him something on Valentines Day. It's not as bad as some may think it is, when I do get the chance to talk I do talk to him and we talk about the normal "how's life" questions. Why am I being such a baby and just can't decide what to do next!

House Guests

Well, here is an interesting story for you all....We were walking to church yesterday when this older couple pulled over and picked us up. We gladly excepted the ride only to find out that they were attending our ward that day. They were visiting the couple missionary that was serving in our ward and they were happy to be here in Hawaii for a week. Their names are Elder and Sister Swain. Elder Swain is a retired pilot and he and his wife now use his benefits to fly for free all over the world. They have served 4 missions together and have had many extensive callings through out the church. Well, after they gave us a ride we had a bright idea to invite them over for dinner Monday night. We made them a card and told them if their vacation plans permit we would love to have them at our house. They gladly excepted and we had them over and had a wonderful dinner. It was so nice to hear their stories and to spend a few hours with "real people" It's hard sometimes when you only get to associate with college kids and it's nice sometimes to have people like them be willing to come to our house. We had a great time and they have truly made a lasting influence on my life in just the few hours they were here.

On another note, just to update, things here are GREAT! School is going wonderfully and I love my job at the PCC. I got to be the greeter the other night at work, what does that mean? Well, it means that I got to dress up like a true poly, in the hole tube top shirt, the flower thing around my head, no shoes, and the awesome skirt. Unfortunetly I didn't have my camera with me so I only got a picture with my phone, but it was awesome. Don't ask me why they asked me to do that job because I'm obviously not polynesien. They did have other poly's standing there taking pictures with the guests, I just said "welcome family" and put the leis' around their necks. It was an awesome job and I felt so honored that they would ask me to do that and be the first thing our custumors saw when they came into our restaurant. I'm so grateful for the blessings in my life that the Lord is so freely giving out to me. Bishop Phelps (that's my home ward bishop) also called and I got to talk to him for a long time just about how things are. I'm so grateful that he cares that much about me to call and check on me. He also asked me about my mission plans and if I would be home for the summer so they could give me a calling. Never forget that the Lord is aware of us and is watching out for us and he will never leave us. I love you all! I'm so grateful for the family that I got to talk to this weekend...just those calling to say hi that I haven't talked to for a while or at least since I've been here! I love to talk to anyone...just call me sometime! Thanks again for all your love and support.

A shout out!

Here's a little shout out to my mom and dad. I just want them to know how much I truly love them and how grateful I am for their love and support in all these crazy adventures that I choose to take in my life. I love you guys! Thanks for everything!