A Sandy Beach In Utah

When you come from Hawaii you become a bit of a "beach snob." Not many places live up to the serenity of a Hawaiian beach with a beautiful sunset, clear blue water and perfect sand. Yes, there are some...but not many.

Living in Utah has been interesting for Lady Hiva and I because it is the first time that we have lived away from some sort of water--a lake, the Bosphorus, the ocean etc. So we are constantly looking for places to recreate something close to home. This weekend we were invited to join some family to Pineview Reservoir just East of Ogden, UT. We were happy to go along for the journey.

The night before we had spent having our own little family bonfire and we all loved that. We had gone to Willow Creek campground in Lehi, UT. It was perfect for a nice day trip or camping. There is water, plenty of green field space to play games and fire pits. Lucky Dragon was mesmerized by the fire (takes after me) and wanted to throw everything in. He thought it was so much fun to watch the marshmallows grow as they melted. In fact, he said he would rather eat the carrots and burn the candy than the other way around (again, my kid!).  But when presented with a chance to join family at a body of water, we jumped for it!

Mum makes a good goalie!

I had never been up there before. If Huntsville, UT was not so far away from Salt Lake City I would not think twice about moving there. I would spend every evening at the water.

We found a spot on the beach of sand--along with hundreds of other Memorial day celebrators. It was a sunny, perfect day. Lucky Dragon was in HEAVEN. I don't think he stopped for even a few minutes. We rode canoes, we built sand castles, we used the stand up paddle board and we laughed...as I said, it was a perfect day. Lady Hiva and I would take turns taking Lucky Dragon out on the stand up paddle board. He would sit down by our feet as we went. On one of the trips a large wake from a speed boat caught us broadside and we tipped over. The poor guy panicked! But he is so incredibly brave. Once we talked about the importance of the life jacket and that he was fine, he went out with us a few more time. Although, after that he was SURE that his mum was a far better athlete than I because "she never tipped me off." He may be right.

So if you are looking for a place to get away from the city. Lehi and Huntsville both offer some amazing options! We had a good weekend. I ended it with so much gratitude for my little family. It is hard to go back to work after spending so much time with them!

Derby Days Have Begun!

I was excited to take my Lucky Dragon to the first demolition derby of the year. We made our way to Ogden after begging Lady Hiva to join us--to which she kept declining. She didn't break down with our incessant asking over and over.

There are not many things that would keep our active little guy still for 5 hours straight. Actually, I cannot think of ANYTHING else that she stays that long in one place. In Church it seems he can't sit for more than 4 minutes before another surge of adrenaline occurs. In fact, last Sunday he waited until the quietest time of the meeting to yell, "Koala Bear has to defecate!" When Lady Hiva and I talked about her needing a diaper change. However, with the demolition derby he sat for nearly 5 hours.

We cheered on our favorite cars, we watched them roll over, tip back up and keep going, we saw them burst into flame and the driver have to escape to not go up in flames too--it was so much fun to watch him get excited.

We even were treated with an appearance from our favorite truck from last year (team from Southern Utah) Junky! Then we caught a prize Frisbee too. All the fun that Lady Hiva and Koala Bear missed out on.

We were, however, more wise this time. We brought noise cancelling ear muffs and ear plugs. I was glad that our seats were not down on the rail like last time. Whenever those in those seats were pelted by rocks and mud I just laughed and enjoyed from our dirt-less seats.

I was happy to have a date night with my little guy and to enjoy something with him that he loves. So here is to the first derby of the season!

Happy Helpers...Today We're (Insert activity)!

If you have, or are around, young children you know that one of Disney's new shows is Mickey and the Roadster Racers. Lucky Dragon loves it! After each episode there is a short with Minny and Daisy as "Happy Helpers." The gist of the short is that when people need help, they call the Happy Helpers. There is a jingle about being Happy Helpers and at the end in a horrible high pitched squeal they say, "..today we're ______!" They would fill in the activity they are doing for the day.


Sometimes I feel like Lady Hiva and I are Happy Helpers. There are some times we are the photographers. Sometimes we are the cake decorators. Sometimes we are the decorators, the cheerleaders, the florists, the cleaners...you name it. This weekend we were invited to be a bit of all of those.

We have some close family friends from Hawaii and DC who had one of their daughters get married here in Utah. We were able to help out throughout the preparations. We took them shopping for flowers and tried to make her vision of the reception a reality.

It was fun, busy and cheerful. It makes it easier when the bride is all of those things too. Here are some photos of the journey!

The bouquet that Lady Hiva and I made

She wanted the gym to look like a tent outdoors

The Bouquet Lady Hiva and I made

The finished product