Friday-Day 1

I haven't had the best internet access, and when I have had access, it's only been through Ben's iPad. So, I have been keeping a log of our adventures on my computer in a word document, ready to post when I get the chance. Today, I have the first half of our trip to post. The rest will come later :)

So, here's Friday's adventures!

                We got up early to be at the White house by 7:15 for our tour. The White House tour was awesome, and I especially loved it because I could experience the beautiful art, architecture, interior design, and furnishings. It was a beauty. I loved it!No cameras were allowed though, so I only have a picture of the outside that I took later in the day.

                Following the White House, we went to our hotel to take a little break, then made our way to the Capitol for our tour there. One of the Congressmen from Arkansas had arranged a tour for us. Our guide’s name was Rebecca, and intern with the senator. She took us everywhere (well, everywhere we could go...)! There are underground tunnels that connect the building we met her at to the Capitol and other buildings in the area (I think). I loved the Capitol for the same reasons: the architecture and design is absolutely beautiful. If you think about the fact that they did all this by hand without the many machines and stuff we have now, it should put you in awe. 

These are some pictures from inside the capitol. The rest will be found on facebook or my photography blog. 

 Ben took this picture. Just giving him the credit. He rocks!

                You aren’t allowed to have food or drink in the Capitol. My granola bar got confiscated, but my mom’s plethora of fruit snacks and other snacks didn’t… makes me think the security guard was hungry and my granola bar looked more appetizing. Haha.

                After our tour, we were going to leave and go get Wilson (who had decided that sleeping sounded more fun than touring the Capitol) and lunch, when Rebecca called us and said the senator wanted to take a picture with us at 11:45. It was 11:00. We decided to wait for him, in the boiling sun, and he ended up being super late. We didn’t start walking to our lunch restaurant until 12:20, and we were late. We had to powerwalk, and by the time we got there, we all felt like we had gone for a pretty intense jog. It was so hot and humid.

                The place we went to for lunch was called Fogo de Chao. It was absolutely delicious! It was pretty much a super amazing Tucanos (for all you Utahns). We ate too much, then went back into the heat to go to the Natural History Museum.

                The Natural History Museum was so cool. I loved it. We went through this bones exhibit that talked about evolution and the makeup of different animals. Then we went through a mummy exhibit, insects (with live creepy things!), and then a forensic exhibit. This was really cool. It first talked about/showed how you identify bodies, cause of death, etc CSI style. Then it went into these mysteries from colonial times. Recently, they have excavated tombs and graves, so they are trying to figure out as much about these people as they can. They have learned a lot. I learned a lot. That was one of my favorite things we did. I loved reading about these mysteries they are solving and how we can learn about the life of the colonists through this. I also learned that the first James Fort has been found. In school, I always learned that they didn’t know what happened to it and stuff. Nope. Actually, they discovered it about 1994 and have been putting pieces together since then.

We also went through this great animal photography exhibit, a Titanoboa (largest snake in the world) exhibit, and natural gemstones and minerals exhibit. That whole museum was so awesome! I want to go back and do the rest as well.

                After that, we went home for an hour rest (and showered), then went to see Shear Madness! Shear Madness is a improv-mystery-comedy play. It was really funny, but actually pretty raunchy considering we were seeing it in a family theater. We think most of the jokes went above Krista’s head. My parents didn’t think it was bad enough to leave during intermission. Plus, by intermission, the worst was over. After intermission, the audience got to help solve the mystery! Yep, it was awesome.

                We went back to the hotel, and finally went to try to find dinner. It was about 10:00. We found a delicious Italian place that was still open. Almost as soon as we were seated, someone pointed out the fierce winds that started outside. We were sitting in this glass surrounded outer part of the restaurant. The rain suddenly dumped down, and we just watched in horror at this terrible storm. I was just praying that it would calm enough for us to get the half mile or so back to our hotel (we walked to dinner). It was perfect. God certainly blessed us. As soon as we were ready to go, the rain was pretty light. So we got home as fast as we could. I took off my flip-flops and ran most of the way. It was a great adventure!

Day 1: DC

Today was the first official day of "The Bill and Julie Herlin's First Family Reunion." It was super fun!

We walked around DC and spent hours soaking up sun, heat, and humidity. We are all sunburned and tired.

I don't have access to my pictures yet because I can't use my own computer to post this.

So, some adventures of the day were:
1. Seeing a very tanned man with long white hair and beard in a white loin cloth.
2. Touring the White House.
3. Touring the Capitol Building.
4. National Museum of Natural History (this may have been my favorite).
5. Going into the National Archives
6. Running home in the rain from our Italian restaurant we went to for dinner.

Pictures and more details to come!

Stretching

I recently bought two books I have been desperately wanting to read: Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson and Be the Miracle by Regina Brett. Ever since I have discovered these books, they have been at the top of my mental to-read shelf because I know they will inspire me and uplift me.

I was right. I started both books yesterday. Be the Miracle is more like 50 short essays that each focus on teaching some kind of life lesson for "making the impossible possible." I read the introduction and the first four lessons and have already been really touched by the stories shared and my hope for personal growth as I read this book. Heaven is Here is a memoir about a woman who suffered more than I can even imagine (surviving a fiery plane crash that burned 80% of her body) and how her faith and hope helped her stay alive and regain her joyful life. I haven't finished it yet, but I have already read through her getting released from the hospital.

So far, I feel that I am accomplishing what I was hoping for as I read these two books: a personal gratitude for my life and an increased faith and strength for my own life. As I have been reading these two books, I have also been studying articles from this year's April Ensign, which focus on Christ and the family. I have learned a lot, which I would like to share with you all.

Through my own trials, I have gone through phases of optimism but also questioning why this is happening to me. Sometimes, I get angry that God has allowed certain things to happen to me. Sometimes, I develop a deep humility and gratitude for the life lessons I am learning. Sometimes, I'm just here and don't really know what I am doing, but I am simply trying to rely on the Savior's Atonement to give me strength to get through another day. I don't always have the best attitude, but sometimes I surprise myself with great optimism.

I have realized through my own course of study, along with reading these books and the Ensign recently, that sometimes we are stretched, even when intensely painful, to grow better. It's like physical therapy. When you have an injury, you have to endure painful stretches that you don't want to do. Because. They. Hurt. But the only way to get better and develop more flexibility is to stretch yourself, even though it hurts. God knows what He is doing when he challenges us with trials. If we are faithful, He will not give us challenges beyond our capacity to bear. Praying for the trial to be taken away doesn't always work. What will always work is praying for God to bless us with the strength to bear the trial and strength to keep enduring. The strength He blesses us with will help us get through it. God loves us. He hears our prayers. Sometimes we have to go through hard things, but that's what makes us better. It's part of the test of mortality.

Sometimes, I think to myself, "I don't want to be here. What was I thinking when I agreed to come to earth and do all these hard things?" Then I remember that my spirit in the pre-mortal world had much more knowledge than I do now. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I knew that this was the only way to gain exaltation. I knew that God would not leave me alone and that Christ would always be on my side. In this life, I blindly follow them because I know that if I had all the knowledge I would follow them no matter what.

I know that life is hard. It's meant to be hard. I am eternally grateful for the gospel and the knowledge I have of God and Jesus Christ. I am grateful for all the tender mercies that God blesses me with and the strength He gives me to keep going when I barely have the courage to face another day.

And I'm so grateful that I married my best friend and one of the nicest men in the world. He is a blessing to me from God. God knew all along it would take someone special to handle me, and I'm grateful that He shaped me and led me right where I belong.

California

Here is the long-awaited post about our trip to California!

Monday morning, I woke up still with my lower back pain, so I went in for my adjustment and stretching. We still weren't sure if we should go to CA, so after talking and thinking about it a lot, we decided to pray about it. We felt like we should go, so we took that leap of faith, knowing that my back would probably be in severe pain by the time we got to our hotel. I'm so glad we followed what we felt was right! The vacation was so good for us!

As we drove, we stopped about every hour and a half for me to get out, walk around, and stretch out. My back was really tight the whole time. But I didn't regret it. I just held onto the fact that we felt like we should go and that God would help my back hold out. We came across a man stuck at a rest area in the desert and had the opportunity to give him some of the water and food we had packed for our trip. That in itself was a cool experience and made me glad we went ahead with our trip.

By the time we got to our hotel, my back was actually feeling pretty good (all things considered). So we unpacked and went to the grocery store then came back and watched a movie.

Tuesday we decided to take it easy, allowing my back to heal, but doing enough that my back could also gain some strength. So we watched some movies and went to the beach. It was really cold, actually, for the beach. No one was there. We collected shells, watched the waves crash, ran into the freezing water then ran back out onto the sand. It was still hard for me to get around, and walking on the sand was painful because the ground was so uneven. So we didn't stay at the beach for more than an hour, but it was a great hour :)

We finished off the day with dinner, a walk around the area of our hotel, and Everybody Loves Raymond.

Wednesday we went to Universal Studios! Yay! I underestimated the cold, so we ended up having to buy a jacket for me because the cold makes my back hurt even more. Oops. But we had fun! We did a tour of the sets and stuff, and we also did a couple of other rides (Jurassic Park, Transformers, Simpsons) and watched some shows. I also got to take a picture with my favorite cartoon character EVER! Ben didn't want to take pictures with any characters :(

We stayed at Universal for about six hours. That was pretty good :) Then went back to the hotel to rest and be together. I didn't want to over-do it because tomorrow would be DISNEYLAND!!

Thursday and Friday were Disneyland! At the direction of Dana Adcock (a great friend, and one of my professors I work under at BYU), we went to California Adventure first and played Midway Mania! That is one of the most fun theme park rides! We loved it! Between Thursday and Friday, we did almost all the rides Disneyland and California Adventure offered, and some we did multiple times (California Screamin and Tower of Terror). We finally figured out how to get the most rides for our time spent there. I wish we had been able to do more shows, but with my back, we couldn't stay long enough to do the night shows, which were the ones I wanted to see the most. We did see Aladdin, which was so funny! I loved Disneyland! It made me want to have a child with us so we could see the excitement of a child and do even more childish things. So, needless to say, we are excited to go next year with our nieces and nephews for our Luthi family vacation! My favorite rides were Tower of Terror, California Screamin, the Nemo submarine ride, and the Peter Pan ride. I also really liked the Winnie the Pooh ride lol. And Mr. Toad's ride too. It was just so fun!

We bonded a lot :)

 Together, Ben and I are like Gaston. Apparently :)

 By myself, I was most like Tink though.

 Ben as the lone rider on Splash Mountain. 

I love Little Mermaid!

Saturday, we bummed around. We went to the beach again and actually swam this time (even though it was still cold!). It was really about just relaxing and being together before heading back to Utah and our crazy lives. 

And that wraps up our vacation! Now we are back in our busy lives. Ben is working full-time with his internship at Northwestern Mutual, and I am keeping busy at one job, looking for another, and trying to find time to read and play with my camera and paints. Ps, I am starting a separate blog for my art/photography. If anyone is interested, I can post the link for yall. It currently just has some of Rachael and Eric's engagement pics.

Post Zion

After Zion, however, things went a little downhill. So we were camping Thursday through Saturday. Saturday night, while we were watching a movie in the grass outside our apartment, my back started feeling really awful (laying on the grass again, after 2 nights of sleeping on rocks). I went to bed, hoping to get a good night's rest on my real bed and feel better in the morning. The plan was to leave for California right after church.

It was not to be.

I woke up Sunday barely able to move. My lower back was in the most extreme pain it has been since high school (I have had lots of back issues off and on since 11th grade). Ben gave me a blessing at about 6 in the morning, then we went back to sleep for a bit. I woke up again, still barely able to move. But I forced myself up and got ready for church. I just KNEW that if I made it to church, God would bless me and we could still go to California.

Nope.

We barely made it through the sacrament, then we left. I could hardly walk, and had to lean on him to support myself. Getting in and out of the car was a nightmare too. But we managed to get home, then I just laid back on the bed and slept/cried the rest of the morning. Getting to California was nowhere in my mind. I wanted to have faith that we could go, but it seemed less likely by the minute.

Backtrack.

This is why the idea of not going to CA was so devastating: when we planned it, we really felt like it was something we should do. We felt like we were guided to the vacation plans we ended up with, and we were really excited about it. We needed a getaway from life. From school. From people. And get as far away from home as possible with the amount of money we felt reasonable. THAT is why not going killed me.

Anyway,
I ended up texting my chiropractor (he gives his patients his cell number in case of emergencies) and asked him if I could have an emergency appointment as early as possible on Monday. Miracle: he actually invited me to his house and adjusted me and helped me stretch for about 40 minutes. Talk about the rare doctor who really cares about helping you get better. Talk about God watching over me. I was reminded that on this earth, we all act as the hands of God.

Despite the adjustment and stretching, I was still in a significant amount of pain, and we weren't sure if we would be able to go to CA. But we hoped and prayed that I would be good enough to go.

Monday morning, I woke up still stiff and hurting, but not nearly as bad. I went to the chiropractor to get adjusted, then we went home, unsure of what to do. Logic told me that I should not even attempt to sit in the 10 hour car ride to Anaheim. But my heart told me that we really needed to go.

So we prayed.

We really poured our hearts out and, in the end, felt like going to CA was the right thing. That was another testament to me that God hears my prayers. Of course, this could all have happened differently. The answer could have been no, and that would have been hard. Or we may not have been able to determine the answer, as has happened to me many times. But we felt like we should go. So we went. And that trip is going to be in the next post :)

All this really made me think. For whatever reason, God did not want us to go on Sunday. Maybe we would have gotten in a really bad accident or something. Or maybe it was just a little trial of faith and patience to see what we would do. No matter what, I know that God is there. He is watching over us. He hears and answers our prayers on HIS TIMELINE. My back is not perfect now. Nor has it been perfect for a very long time. But I know there is a reason for this and that when I have set-backs, I shouldn't mope around whining or crying because once again, I am suffering some cruel punishment. No, God is blessing me to learn and grow through this trial. And through it all, He gives me little miracles and tender mercies that show His love. Such as being able to hike for 8ish hours in Zion. And being able to withstand a 10-hour car-ride to California when the day before, I could barely walk or sit through church. Looking back, I learned a lot from that little (big) trial, and I know it was good, even though it was painful.

Zion and some other stuff

We just came back from grand adventures in Zion National Park and Anaheim, CA. There are so many stories to tell! To spare everyone a super long post, I will do this in segments.

First, Zion.

I love hiking. I haven't really had much experience camping because my dad hates camping. I think I have camped once or twice with my family (not counting setting up the tent in our backyard); the other times have been on trek. I enjoyed trek a lot, and I love the great outdoors, so we planned this trip to Zion with Shaun and Brooke Merritt.

It was fun! We camped over two nights. The day in between, we hiked all day.

It was special for me. With my back issues, I hadn't really dreamed that I could just hike all day. But I did! It was truly a blessing, and a simple sign that God is watching over me.
And while we were out, we not only had lots of time to talk, but also to reflect on God's creations and the majesty of the earth.

The earth is a spectacular thing, is it not? I can't even imagine the creation. All I can do is sit in awe and wonder at the fabulousness of it all.

Intramural Champs!

I have waited four years to be an intramural champion. Through my injuries and sicknesses, my dream has been to "get the shirt."

I got it :)

What a great way to end my last semester of classes!

Ben was SUPER excited. He had to take pictures with me first. 

He wouldn't let me gather my team. Lol

The team

Seniors! Last opportunity for the shirt!

Been playing together for four years. About time. 

 The deadly duo