Tony Got Married

This past weekend couldn't have been better.  After working 3 days, I flew to SLC for the final wedding of my siblings  Friday morning all of us girls went for a pedicure.

We then had lunch and a little nap.

That evening we spent with family and friends for Tony and Erin's wedding dinner.  Tony has such a great group of friends and a wonderful support system.  At the end of the evening, Tony told us that they chose teal as one of their wedding colors because of me and OVC.  I was not aware of this until then.  How sweet are they? 

We had 3 boxes of left over sandwiches.  Tony and I went down to the street that the homeless shelter is on and handed them out.  It was such a great experience.  Tony surprised me by capturing it in a video. 

That night I got to see Tony and Erin's home for the first time.  It is a darling older home that has been renovated.  I love it and know they will have a great life in it, until of course they get a bigger one when they need to make room for their family.  They have an awesome, very large yard. 

Saturday was such a beautiful day for a wedding. 

I loved that the tulips were still out, which is rare for this late in May.  The sealer did such a beautiful job.  I loved that he mentioned that he felt those family members who have passed on where in our presence.  I felt them too, especially my Grandma Swensen.  I got to sit where the grandmothers typically sit and when he said that I felt as if she was sitting in the empty seat next to me with her arm around me.

The wedding was in the afternoon which was perfect since we didn't have to wait around too long for pictures and then the reception. The view from the reception was beautiful.  It was so fun to visit with so many friends.  I spent most of the time talking with my friends from PA school.  They are like Tony's personal PA's.  I also loved dancing with my nieces and nephews and my friend Tyler.

I loved this table that they had set up.

And now all of my siblings are married.  Which means I get kicked out of the queen beds when they all come home because I'm the only single one, even though I'm the oldest.  I kind of feel like Dan, In Real Life.

Bali Days 9, 10, 11 and HOME

Sunday I woke not feeling well.  I actually puked on my way to breakfast over the banister, while the people below me were enjoying their breakfast.  I couldn't help it.  I think it was because I was really hungry and I took my pills on an empty stomach.  I felt much better after that, but it was kind of annoying.  I ate a simple breakfast and walked out with a delicious piece of whole wheat bread that I took so that I'd have something with me if I needed it at church.  We took a taxi not too far from our resort to the local Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints.  It was actually kind of hard to find in the strip mall we got dropped off at, but I just followed a guy in a white shirt to the building that had wood letters L, D, S above the door. I played the little keyboard since they didn't have anyone to play. The titles of the hymns were in Balinese so I had to just play the first few notes to know what song I was playing.  There were about 70 people there, mostly visitors.  They said they had only had that many people one other time, but there was a group of 26 visiting from Utah.  We also met some people from New Zealand.  It was a very lovely service and the spirit was very strong.  They only had one deacon passing the sacrament because they only had one tray for the water and the bread.  It was actually pretty neat and gave me more time to think about the Savior and all that I have been blessed with.

After church I ate my delicious bread!  I actually didn't feel very well all day.  I layed out and listened to the ocean and my book.  We had a lovely dinner at a Japanese restaurant in the hotel.  It was fun, but after I ate, I had the worst pain most of the night that I'd had in a few weeks.  Thankfully I was able to go to a pharmacy and get some steroids earlier in the day, which seem to help some of my pain.

Monday I was feeling much better.  As we were heading down to the pool we went into the spiritual sanctuary to return some dvd's.  Pam and her family were in there dressing in the traditional Balinese clothing, so of course we had to do the same.  It was pretty fun.  Would have had some better pictures if I had on some makeup and not my bathing suit.  During this time we had a crazy rainstorm and then the sun came out so we could spend the rest of the day in the pool and clamming the beach for shells.

That evening we enjoyed our last meal on the beach during sunset.  It has been such a wonderful time spending some much time with Pam and her family.  They are such fun and we've made some incredible memories. 

Because we were originally suppose to leave Tuesday morning, but then ended up leaving Tuesday night, we had to get a different hotel because the one we were staying in was booked.  This one didn't disappoint.  The best thing was it had 3 beds.  We thought it was pretty funny, but totally awesome!  I really loved the rooftop pool that I didn't get a picture of.  I heard from someone in Bali that they don't have tall buildings because no building should be taller than their temples.  I recall being told that no hotel has more than 6 floors.   The bathtubs in all of our rooms are so cool.

Since we had a late flight mom and I got a pedicure, we did a little street shopping where we bought some beautiful sarongs and had our last Asian meal for I hope a while.  We spent most of our day in the departure lounge which was kind of boring.

Our flight from Bali was comfortable because we were in the front seats.  We met a sweet lady from Australia who had just finished treatment for Breast Cancer.  Her boyfriend was the one who actually found the lump.  Her story was crazy, but she had a great attitude and a beautiful smile. I wish I would have gotten her information so I could have followed her on social media.

Since we had a 5 hour layover in Sydney we thought we could go out and tour, but non of us slept from Bali and were super tired when we got to Sydney.  There are couches all over which was great, because I put on my eye sleeper coverup thing, my head phones in my ears and fell asleep for 2 hours.  It wasn't long enough but it was sleep.

Our flight from Sydney was worse than from Bali.  The bad thing was both flights didn't have movies for us to watch because they were broken.  The flight from Bali didn't even give us soda or food.  At least we had that from Sydney.  I think I maybe only slept an hour or so.  Lets just say I don't ever want to fly from Bali to the US again.  It was crazy long.  What was even worse is about 3 hours from landing in LA I got sick as in was in the bathroom a lot.  It was even worse when I got to LA and spent my hour or so layover occupied in the handicap stall.  GRRR.  I seriously prayed I'd get home without having an accident.  Thankfully it worked, because the imodium didn't.

When I got home I wasn't sure what to do first, eat, sleep or take a shower.  I was deliriously so tired and so not feeling well.  I quickly fell asleep on the couch until I had to spend the next 2 1/2 days closer to the bathroom.  I did everything not to get travelers diarrhea, but I guess it didn't work.  And it doesn't help that I don't have a sigmoid colon.  I know, TMI, but it's real folks.  Thankfully my friend brought me some electrolytes and my other friend called me in a prescription for an antibiotic, since my Dr's office wanted me to come down to give them a specimen.  Really; the couch was even to far from the bathroom.  Did they think I could actually drive down to poop in a cup for them.  I didn't even bother to respond to their stupidity and took it into my own hands.

Thankfully by yesterday I felt much better and was able to work.  I slept pretty much 2 1/2 days and today mom actually called my friend to come check on me since I slept through her 40 calls (my phone was on vibrate) and it was 11 and I was still sleeping.  Oh the joys of Jetlag!

This was such an incredible vacation.  One I will never do again, but so grateful I was able to visit two more continents.  What a beautiful world Heavenly Father has created for us to enjoy. 

Bali Day 8

Today we left Ubud to go to the South West side of the island.  But not before mom, Pam and I had a 2 hour spa treatment at our resort  that was out of this world amazing.  They first treated us with a warm tea.  Then we had an hour massage, a sugar and coconut scrub and then a polish.  Kind of sounds like a car.  We washed this all off in the most amazing flower bath I've ever had.  I'm not sure why we don't bath in flowers and banana leaves more often.  After our treatments we had some delicious hibiscus tea and some really yummy cookies.  I think mom would say this was the best Mother's Day gift she's ever had.

On our way to Denspar we stopped at a wood carving place where we learned to make something like this it takes about 9 weeks or was it 9 months or was it 3 or 6 months; I can't remember. 

We also stopped at a fabric making factory.  Which was totally hot and cool.  I don't see how these people work when it's so hot. 

And my favorite part of today was this breathtaking waterfall.  If I felt better I totally would have walked down to the falls.  I've always ted to swim under falls.  We had lunch with this beautiful view as our backdrop.

We are staying at the Intercontinental which is suppose to be the best resort on the island.  It is pretty amazing, but I still really like the first place we stayed.  Our stay includes High Tea every afternoon and Happy Hour from 4-7.  Their happy hour includes drinks and appetizers, which we pretty much treat as a dinner.  We are able to go to the club and the sanctuary for drinks anytime, which is great.  For dinner tonight I actually ordered room service; steamed broccoli and tomato soup from the kids menu.  It was so yummy and hit the spot since I haven't felt too good today.

Bali Day 7

Today was one of my favorite days in Bali.  Pam and her family went on a bike tour, while we went to a Balinese cooking class.  They picked us up and others and took us to a market where they explained the different ingredients that are typically used in Balinese cooking.  There were a total of 9 of us in the class.  Everyone was so nice.  There was a girl from Brazil, a couple from Canada and Germany and a guy from London.

The class was held at a families home.  We were greeted with a lovely very light frozen lemonade.  I loved it because it wasn't very sweet and I still don't really have my sweet tooth back, except for sour patch kids.  We then made these offering things that are every where and made from banana leaves.

To make one bottle of coconut oil which is seen in the middle of this table, it takes 15 coconut.  They use every part of the coconut including the husks because they don't have charcoal. 
We made several dishes and had fun doing so.  Seriously this was such a fun time and everything was so fresh and delicious.  I especially loved the mushroom soup that had a hint of lime in it.  The curry was delicious as well.  In the end the gave us a recipe book and maybe when I see Pam we will have to have a day of Balinese cooking.  I'll have to post the mushroom soup later, because I loved it and so did my stomach.  I've learned that I can't eat but a few bites of food or I will get sick.  

All of the dishes were fantastic.  I really liked the curry and the green bean salad. 

This afternoon we took a taxi to a store that we wanted to visit where I bought a darling dress.  We also walked down the Monkey street visiting shops and at the end saw more monkeys.

My feet were tired from walking so I had a $7 foot massage that was out of this world amazing.

For dinner we stayed in because we weren't really hungry, but dad did go back to the French Bakery and got us another chocolate and caramel tart.

I've been listening to this fabulous book called, Walk On Earth  A Stranger.  If you are looking for a great Summer read this is it.