A quick update!

Wow how time flies by!  Our last post was in June and here we are in November already!  We have enjoyed our summer and fall days so much...Half way through the month of July, Gary headed out to the Philippines for work but there wasn't much complaining going on there - He served in The Cebu Philippines Mission and was pretty excited to go back and visit!  While he was in The Philippines I headed back to Nashville to see friends and work from the office.  Nashville will always be one of my favorite places :-)

Gary got back from The Philippines the middle of August just in time for a little round of golf in Alabama with his brothers and dad.  It was a well deserved trip for him and we had a great time in Alabama with family (and not to mention mine and Rachel's afternoon of shopping :-)).
After Alabama, we headed back to New York but that was short lived for Gary...he left a week later for China and I stayed in New York to prepare for company :-).  Yes Sterling and Missy came for a visit to The Big Apple!  We had so much, went to see Wicked on Broadway (which was amazing), toured the city and indulged a little with cupcakes from Crumbs and lunch at Shake Shack!

Gary did surprise me with a last minute trip to Florida for my birthday weekend since he was out of town...He is so thoughtful and knows exactly how to make me happy :-).  It was a great weekend for me to be with my family while he was gone.
Gary got home from China on the 30th of August and on the 2nd of September we jetted off to Hawaii for a much needed vacation - as if we aren't gone enough, this was a true relaxing time - no worry of work or reality.  Just a little time in paradise :-).  My sister Lucretia and her husband Bobby were able to come to Hawaii with us.  They haven't been and I'm sure it was a much needed vacation for them too!  We went to The Big Island and Oahu.  While we were there we checked out Volcanoes, Waterfalls, rain forests, good eats, snorkeling, beaches, The Dole Plantation for some pineapple sorbet, the Temple in Kona and in Laie and a little Matsumoto shave ice on North Shore -yum!  Enjoy the pictures!

Outside our hotel in Kona on The Big Island

Bobby & Lucretia in Kona

Volcano

Lava fields

smoke cloud from the active volcano

Some smart person built a house on the lava rocks...if there is harden lava then there is a chance hot lava could flow there again

Kona Temple

on the submarine at Pearl Harbor

So serious

Fallen soldiers at Pearl Harbor

At Laie Temple visitor center

Beautiful Laie Temple

The Polynesian Cultural Center

North Shore on Oahu

Lucretia & Bobby

that's a huge sea turtle - it was hanging around us for a good half hour

Dog The Bounty Hunter's Bail Bonds - Gary is wearing the shirt proudly!

After we returned from Hawaii we had a little time at home to settle back down a bit before Gary headed out again to Korea. Gary's brother and sister in law, Randy and Shauna were able to come out and visit and we had such a great time!  Shauna and I shopped (this was just the beginning of my out of control spending), we toured, we went to Broadway to see Rock of Ages (actually pretty fun play), went to Little Italy and ate ALOT (which I loved)!
I left for Utah on the 5th of October and Gary left for Korea on the 7th...Utah was a BLAST for me!  I was able to see friends I hadn't seen in so long!  I am so glad I was able to go out and see all my wonderful friends!  Gary on the other hand didn't have such luck in Korea.  I think the traveling has finally gotten to him.  He was ready to come home the minute he got there.  He did some pretty outrageous things while he was there (well outrageous to me).  He went to Dr. Fish to get his feet "softened"...meaning...you put your feet in the water as fish food and the fish come up and basically eat the rough, dead skin off your feet.  Not really something I want to try but of course Gary was up for it :-).  He also decided it would be cool to risk his life and go to the DMZ which is the boarder between North and South Korea.  He said it was pretty interesting but I would DEFINITELY have passed on that adventure if I were out there.
Needless to say we are finally home in New York and enjoying seeing each other again!  We will be married one year on November 13th...wow how the time flies!