July 21 2021 Theifs are the Worst

What a crazy summer it has been. I did the spring semester at BYUH which is already a short and fast semester. You sure have to stay on top of your workload if you want to breathe and enjoy life. But despite all that went on, I managed to go to 3 Islands and 2 states. What a crazy summer. I have been so awful at blogging which is so sad because I have had some awesome experiences. So I am just choosing right now to start publishing and working hard on them. 

Anyways, I just had a wonderful crazy week in Utah and Colorado. Gavin and I went to Colorado to spend time with his family before he left for his HEFY trip to Belize. We had a red-eye flight to Colorado direct but the day we were flying out Gavin's house was broken into. When I say broken into I mean the door was unlocked. But someone came in unwelcomed and took everything they could in the living room with their arms. 

That morning after our run I needed to grab my wallet, scriptures, journals, and stuff inside Gavin's house because we were leaving for the mainland that day. Well, when we saw his car was gone and his keys and wallets we panicked. 

We called 911 and they came and were filing a report. That's when Trent noticed that his iPad was gone along with Wyatt's car. We were tracking the iPad on Trent's phone but the police were being so slow when it was coming to filing the report that they said they wouldn't follow the car because that was risky and could be dangerous. 

So as soon as they left we booked it down Kamemaha Hwy and followed the ipad. We were stressing out because we didn't know what car the iPad would be in or even if it would be in a car. Our only hope was to find the cars and hopefully get our stuff back. 

We circled around Honolulu for a while. We weren't exactly sure where the car was or where we were going when low and behold we saw Gavin's car parked on the side of the street. Like what even... 

Right then we saw a policeman on the street and we were able to get the car back but not the one who stole it. 

When we were allowed to open the car we found empty wallets, Gavin's color blind glasses were gone, speakers, AirPods,  clothes, bags, car title, insurance, and so many other things. We couldn't believe it. The car also smelt of smoke and had drugs in the back. It was awful and we felt so vandalized. 

We couldn't stick around to try to find the person because we had a flight to catch that afternoon. So we rushed home packed and went right to the airport. We didn't have any money or cards but thankfully the both of us had our passports and were able to use those to get onto the airplane. Still, nobody likes the feeling of being robbed. Like nobody. It was horrible. And I felt so bad for Gavin because all of his things were stolen. 

People slowly heard about Gavin's glasses being stolen and all that happened and by the time we landed n Colorado we had over 1,000$ to get him everything he needed. It was so sweet and we were both in tears at the kindness of strangers and friends that helped us out. 

Overall everything happens for a reason. I was so mad at first because this is the 2nd time my wallet has been stolen in Hawaii and so many things had been taken from me. They take more than items, but memories and it's a horrible feeling I wish nobody has to go through. One thing I just keep remembering is that physical things are temporal and even though it's a pain to replace relationships and people still matter most. 

So here is a pic of us getting Gavin his new glasses and things before his HEFY trip. God still does look out for us! 

While we were in Colorado we ran a Tough mudder. This has always been Gavin's dream. We did it with the whole Baker family! It was a 10 mile rout with a bunch of obstacle course type things and of course a ton of mud. We all wore blue and conquered each task. I think Dart and Acacia didn't let go of each others hand the whole time. I thought that was impressive. The worst obstacle was the electric eel. We had lay down really flat and crawl through mud while electric lines hung above us. If you moved just an inch to high you zapped. We all were stung a few times. My favorite one was funky monkey. I didn't know I could even still do money bars. Unfortunately those spinning ones got me and fell 10 feet into a pool of mud. What a party though. We loved the tough mudder and spending a week in Colorado. 

The Color Green

A couple of weeks ago Gavin's family was visiting and I learned that Gavin was color blind. He didn't even know he was color blind himself till he was in high school. I think it started with an Easter Egg hunt and he took someone's else eggs thinking they were his. 

I thought about his color blindness for along time after that. I remembered that years ago I watched a YouTube video with a bunch of small clips of people putting on these magic glasses to help them see color. 

I asked Gavin if he had ever thought of getting those glasses. He said he knew about them but didn't know if they would help him see color. I decided it was worth a shot, so I went and bought him the glasses in Honolulu. Once we had the glasses in the car with us we knew that we didn't want him to put them on in the parking garage. Gavin suggested we drive to Spitting Cave, one of his favorite spots on the island. 

When we got there he stood on the rocks and looked around one last time at the ocean and trees as he has known them to be. After his last look he put his glasses on. The second they were on I could see it in his face and eyes what he was seeing for the first time. He was speechless. He pulled the glasses back down under his nose and then back up. Looking in the frame and then not. It was really special seeing Gavin see the color green for the first time. I think he was literally speechless. He had tears in his eyes as he looked around at the beautiful island. 

The ride home was probably the best part of him experiencing color. When he saw a red stop sign I had to stop the car so he could get out and stare at it. He was freaking out at the red light, red curb, and all the different colors of flowers in the trees. He also couldn't believe how green the grass was on the side of the road. He screamed that's the greenest grass ever! We drove the long way around the island back to the other side. It reminded me of that scene from "The Giver" where Jonas receives the memory of color and sound. And how life changing those memories are. I imagine the same was for Gavin. 

The rest of the way home was a roller coaster of excitement! One minute we were both laughing and screaming the next second were crying because we were so happy. We were just all over the place. I think we stayed outside till it was completely dark. 

The next morning we got up early to watch the sun rise so Gavin could see the different colors of the sun. For the next week I don't remember us doing anything but literally watching the grass grow. Gavin getting his glasses helped me see the details in nature and the world around me. There is so much color around. 

I think Gavin and my dad both bore their testimonies about how the glasses are like the gospel. You don't know what your missing until you put them on and try them out. Gospel helps us see everything clearer and gives us a better perspective. I love this analogy. April 6th 2021 is day we both won't ever forget. It was the day that Gavin saw the color green for the first time. 

Colorado and Utah

 Gavin was headed to Colorado to run the Tough Mudder with his family and he invited me to come along! This was my first time staying with his family in Colorado. I was looking forward to seeing his hometown with him. The day before the Tough Mudder we went down to Colorado Springs so I could visit my mission. I sure get homesick for the mission days some days. It was so fun showing Gavin my old apartments, the streets I walked on, and the members I met. He was a trooper while I talked a million miles a minute about all the special places I remembered in the Springs. He was also a trooper and hiked the incline with me! I remember this hike being way harder on the mission. Maybe I was just super out of shape back then. But I remember dying every time I did it and could hardly do it without stopping. This time it was nothing. I was able to visit with Sister Senkoff and Sister Sowa. She helped me so much on the mission. I was so glad to catch up with her. I love Colorado Springs! 

While in Colorado we went and floated the river near Gavin's house. This is a popular summer activity. Before we went we stood at the bottom watching people float over the last rapid. Some skimmed by others were dunked. We probably down the river 5 or 6 times. I also tried Gavin's favorite pizza place Woodys. He talks about this place all the time. 

The Tough Mudder was also a lot of fun later that week. We got down and dirty real quick in the mud. We went through a variety of obstacle courses. On some of the obstacles we had to rely on our group and others were independent. My favorite was the funky Monkey. I almost made it across the Monkey bars! I didn't enjoy the ice water or electric eel. Dart and Acacia held hands the whole time during the 10-mile course. I think they deserve an award for that! 

After Colorado, I flew to Utah to see my family for a couple of days and go to my family reunion. I was fortunate enough to hike Timpanogos this summer with Grayson, Callie, and their friends. The mothers came as well but they were not going to the top. This was Callie's first time attempting the Mountain. We saw a Moose and tons of wildflowers. It was so beautiful! We ate our sandwiches on the saddle before heading back down. I am glad Callie enjoys hiking as much as do! The way down always feels like it's never going to end, especially in the dark. I think Callie got elevation sickness because she was not having it on the way. I think she slept the whole next day. I couldn't believe that the Krull's dog Andy walked up the whole mountain. He probably walked up it twice because he was running back and forth between the moms and us. He has his own little waterpack on his back. But the poor dog looked really tired at the end of the hike. 

My family reunion was at Minors in Midway. We played games, had an outdoor movie, skit night, dancing, and hiked up to the boulders. The Taylor crowd is still as rowdy as ever but I love it. This was the last time I would Grayson before his mission. He will be heading the MTC in a few weeks and I won't be flying back out for his farewell. Can't wait to hear how he does on a mission. Summer on the mainland was fun but I am looking forward to getting back on the island. I miss all my friends there!