As many of you know, I turned 19 this last Saturday! I really did have a fantastic birthday! It was full of fun and adventure! We went to the beach, to town, went shopping, ate frozen yogurt and had cake! Unfortunately, that's not all that went on. I also did an activity before the beach that started really well, but got really dicey at the end. This is the one thing that made my birthday so great! This incident made my birthday even greater because my friends and I all walked home together; alive and safe.
Here's the story! Don't kill me! Just know... this is what happened.
The day started wonderfully. I woke up at 6am to turn off the Alarms and unlock the doors to the Hale before I went back to bed for another wonderful hour of sleep. After an hour, my friend Spenser Arn, texted me saying "We're jumping point at 9:00!" I was stoked. (As you know from some previous posts, The Point is a small cliff of which you can jump off of into the ocean, just for fun. I had done it twice before and I was excited to do it again)
Right after Spenser texted me, I got up and dressed in my beach attire, grabbing sunblock and anything else which I thought I needed. I rode my bike to Kathery's house in the wonderful warmth of Laie. Once I got there, she was still very much asleep. But after poking her, she got up! I texted Spenser telling him that Kathery just woke up and that we might be a little late. He told us to hurry up and suite up! We quickly ate our oatmeal and walked over to Foodland. Spenser then texted me again and said "Actually, it looks like we're going to be a little late too" I was like "What a joke! We're right in front of Foodland!" Kathery and I rolled our Eyes and walked up to point without them.
When we got there, Kristine and Kalie were already there. They had gone for a run and were stretching up by the rocks. About the same time that Kathery and I got there, Rebecca popped up from behind us! I was so glad she was able to come! I called Spenser and asked him where he was. He said he was going as fast as he could! He was waiting for Ty and Andrea. While we waited, Kathery instructed us in a Yoga lesson. It was really fun and it felt so good!
Finally Ty, Spenser and Andrea appeared from behind bush! It was time to jump! We were all so stoked! I was so excited to have all these wonderful people with me! They're all amazing and I love them with all my heart. The Eight of us were unstoppable!
We made our way to the edge of the Point and looked down at the water nervously. Everyone urged me to go first since it was my birthday... but I really didn't want to go first. So, Kristine decided she was going to go first. She ran, jumped and screamed "Happy Birthday Kylie!" all the way down until she hit the water. Spenser went next, determined to jump higher and scream louder. He ran, jumped and screamed until he also was in the water. Then it was my turn.
I stood at the edge, building the courage to jump. I looked down and the water, waiting for a wave to come so I could jump into it. Finally, a huge wave came and I threw my body off the cliff. I didn't scream, but I was smiling the whole way down. I felt like I was flying. Finally, I hit the water, legs bent but head up. I went pretty far down, but I didn't hit the bottom. I kicked hard and made it back to the surface. What a great feeling. Knowing that you were swimming in the ocean after jumping from a rock, it was amazing! I looked up and saw Kalie jump in near me. She screamed out like Tarzan. It was funny! I looked up to the right of where we were jumping and I saw tourists taking pictures of us. It was really funny.
Finally it was Kathery's turn to jump. She was so nervous. She took forever to jump but finally she did. Once Kathery hit the water, I swam towards the coral so I could climb back to the top and jump again. I waited for a wave to lift me before I planted my feet down and stood atop the coral. Kalie swam with Kathery and did the same thing. We all made it up. As we climbed up the side of the cliff, back up to the top, Rebecca had jumped and was right behind us. As I got to the top, Ty and Andrea also jumped. It was Andrea's first time and she was super nervous. But Spenser encouraged her and finally she jumped right after Ty.
As I made it back over to the jump site, Spenser was already running and jumping off the cliff. I watch as he threw his chest out and flew down into the waves. I wished I was brave enough to do something like that, but I wasn't. I waited for Kathery and Kalie to come up behind me before I approached the ledge for another jump. I could not see Spenser because he had already swam under the ledge and was probably already on the coral. I jumped again, with the same feeling of excitement! But this time, when I reached the surface, I noticed the waves were so much bigger then they were ten minutes ago.
I look at the coral ledge and saw Ty and Andrea struggling to get on the Coral. Spenser was already standing on it, trying desperately to help the other two up. I began to swim towards them, knowing that I had to get out of the water. But then Spenser yelled at me "Tell them not to jump!" I saw his face as he screamed; something was wrong. I swam away from the coral, back out to where the other four could see me. I screamed at Kathery not to jump, because she was on the ledge, ready to throw herself back in the water. At first they didn't hear me, but finally after they saw how hard the waves were hitting me, they got the message.
I looked back towards the Coral ledge. Spenser was standing, hugging the wall with his back. Andrea and Ty were both sitting next to him. He screamed something, but I didn't hear him before a huge wave came from behind me, enveloping me in the water. I kicked back towards the surface and took a huge breath. I looked back at the ledge.
I couldn't see Andrea and Spenser was hanging onto Ty's arm, desperately trying to keep him on the ledge. I turned my back to them as I felt a swell coming towards me. I looked and saw a wave that was much bigger then me. I dove into the wave, kicking as hard as I could against the current. I felt myself getting pushed closer to the coral. I knew that if they wave hit me into the coral, I would get hurt. So I tried to swim back towards the ocean. I finally broke the surface, gasping for air. I looked back towards the others. Ty was lying on his back, trying to regain his footing. Spenser had both of his arms around someone's arms. I couldn't see her behind the rock but I knew it was Andrea. She had been thrown into two rocks and was now stuck between the two. Spenser was hanging on very tightly.
Another wave hit me from behind. This one spun me around pretty bad. I swam down, trying to find the current. I finally found it and found myself back in the air. I was so much closer to the coral then before. I knew I had to get away from it. I wanted to swim to where Spenser, Ty and Andrea were so I could help, but I knew that I would have gotten hurt if I swam over there. I watched helplessly as Spenser was knocked off his feet and let go of Andrea. He quickly jumped back and grabbed her. Ty was hanging on to a rock, determined not to let go.
Another Wave hit me. It wasn't as big as the last two, which I was grateful. I began to pray that Heavenly Father would help me find a way out of the water and watch the others at the same time. Then I noticed that once the waves hit the rocks that Andrea was stuck in, the waves ceased, making the water behind it a lot calmer. I knew I had to go around the boulder, on the opposite side of where the other three were. I began to swim out and around the boulder. When I was within acouple feet of the boulder, my shin hit some shallow coral. I started to run on it before a wave came and swept me off my feet. I scraped my leg along the coral, trying to stay standing.
I finally made it around the boulder and found a medium sized rock of which I took sanctuary. I breathed hard as I climbed up to safety. I looked up and saw Ty and Andrea standing in an alcove behind the giant boulder. Ty looked drained. Andrea look extremely pale. I couldn't see Spenser. I began to freak out. But then he appeared from behind the boulder, running at Ty shouting "Where's Kylie?!" Ty hadn't seen me and just stared at Spenser. Then Spenser turned around and saw me. His face flooded with relief. I had never seen someone so relieved before.
He beckoned my forward, telling me I had to jump to the next rock. I looked around relentlessly. I really didn't want to move. But I listened to Spenser, trusting that he would come and get me if anything went wrong. I jumped from the medium rock to a smaller rock. After that, I made it into the alcove.
We all stood there for a moment. We were all alive. But we weren't out yet. Waves still came into the alcove pretty hard, making us hang onto the rocks so we wouldn't get swept away. Spenser looked around, trying to find a way out. He looked at me and shouted "We have to get out of here!" I looked the way we would usually get out and knew there was no way that was going to happen. I looked the opposite way, knowing that we could swim to shore. As I mentioned it, I knew that wasn't a possibility either. Andrea was pale and bleeding from scratches on her legs and Ty was in no condition to be swimming.
Spenser and I looked up and found that it was possible for us to climb up and out. However, the rocks were sharp and we knew it would be difficult.
Then, like a miracle from heaven, Kristine and Kalie appeared above us. We shouted at them to throw down our shoes. They quickly grabbed our shoes and started throwing them down. The first slipper we tried to hand to Andrea, but she shook her head and said it wasn't hers. Spenser tried to hand it to me, but I shook my head and said "It's not mine". Spenser then looked up at Kristine and said "This isn't any of ours!" Kristine looked at us like we were idiots. "Just put them on!" She shouted. (Now looking back at this part, we all feel really silly).
Finally everyone was wearing slippers (flip-flops) and we were ready to climb up and out. I went first. I climbed halfway up a rock with Spenser's arm around me, making sure I didn't fall. I found a hole which I could climb through. The hole was covered with sharp rocks, but at this point, I didn't care. I wriggled through, tearing my swimsuit and made it through. I was safe.
Spenser shouted for Kalie and Kristine to pass down shirts to cover the sharp rocks. (Wish they had thought of that earlier) We placed the shirts over the rocks before sending Andrea up. Andrea made it through the hole with ease and was standing safe next to me. Ty came through next, also making it through the hole. As he climbed through the hole, I saw that his back was scratched up pretty bad. (I found out later that when Spenser had caught his arm, Ty had been pushed down the coral, scratching his back as he rolled down).
Spenser was next and last. He was too big to make it through the hole, so he climbed up and over the hole. He lost his slipper as he climbed up. I couldn't believe that he actually thought about going back to get it. We all scolded him, urging him to just come up to safety. He watched his slipper for a minute before joining us on the ground.
We all climbed up the rest of the way and made it to where Rebecca and Kathery were waiting for us. We all stood in a circle, staring at each other, breathing hard. I saw that Spenser was bleeding from scratches on his legs. Andrea also had many scratches all over her legs, and she had a few cuts on her arms and face. Ty's knees looked pretty bad, and so did his back. I looked down at my own leg and saw that only my left leg had gotten hurt. I was grateful.
Andrea's Injuries:
Spenser's Injuries:
My Leg:
We were alive. We were all safe. We later said a prayer, thanking Heavenly Father for blessing us with safety. But as we walked home, Ty said "I'm glad we are all walking home together." Spenser looked at him emotionally, pointing out the three key words in Ty's statement.
1. "Walking" - We had all only received minor injuries and were alright.
2. "Home" - We had lived to make it there. The happiest place to be.
3. "Together" - We hadn't lost anyone. We were all together and we all made it.
I am so grateful that we all made it out safely. At first I felt super guilty because it was my birthday activity. But Ty has told me many times that it is not my fault and that I shouldn't feel bad. I still do a little, but I'm ultimately grateful that we were able to keep our cool and make it out of there.
Ty told me to have a good birthday because I had so much to be grateful for. I took his advice and ended my day with them, feeling older and wiser.
Now, I'm confessing to all this, so nobody is allowed to kill me. It's okay. We all made it. We're all doing very well. And the four of us who got stuck down there, we are all taking care of each other and looking out for each other. I've spent pretty much everyday with Andrea, Spenser and Ty. We all love each other so much more and we all understand each other so much more then before. It's been crazy but ultimately, I'm glad.
Ty and I decided that, ultimately, this was the best birthday ever. I'll never forget my {19th} year~!
(Look how RIDICULOUS (and yet beautiful) we are!)
We walked over there with Shiri, whom is actually from Pleasant Grove (go figure!!), and met up with Mike there! Kristine showed up around that time too. Super fun! Then Two girls showed up with Dave, who is super funny. The girls didn't stay very long, which was a bummer, but we still had more people come. Lauren and Bonnie showed up after we got the fire started! Once we had that, we ate starburst's, talked, roasted marshmallows (which I can TOTALLY cook better than Mike!), made banana boats (Kathery's favorite!)
, grilled some Bratwurst hot dogs and last but not least, watched as Mike cooked this GINORMOUS steak which we ripped apart and passed around like mountain men! it was legit!
We had a ton of people there! (According to Kathery, half the world) There was Me, Kathery, Shiri, Lauren, Bonnie, Alan, Brendan, Harvey, Haile and my new roommate Briana. (Yep! That's half the world right there! LoL) We ate, we laughed, we teased, we preached. It was just another great night. We all kind of split up at the end. Kathery stayed home, Briana went to bed, Brendan and Alan had left early for Ultimate Frisbee, but that's where the rest of us ended up. This is where the night got crazy. It was Brendan's last night in Hawaii so he REALLY wanted to do something fun. However Lauren was super sick. Apparently she was soooooo sick that Alan, Shiri and Bonnie decided to take her to the hospital. (two things, She never sleeps, which might be the reason she's sick and she went to Kahuku hospital, they never help with anything!) Anyway, so I was left with Brendan, who really didn't want to go to the hospital, and Chantal, who has the biggest crush on Brendan! To Chantal, I was the third wheel. To Brendan, I was a hero! hahaha. We ended up going to foodland to get drinks and then we watched Dodge-Ball at Chantal's house. (p.s. Don't watch Dodge-Ball! It's sooooo bad!) No bueno. But it was still fun to hang out with Brendan before he went back home.
It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Good! I absolutely love it! It's funny, cute, has a good story and it's just a great movie! Plus, the soundtrack is to die for! Almost as good as Avatar! After the movie, we headed to Claire's where Kristine got her ears pierced!!!! I bought a lot cute earings! Krista would be proud! Plus, my flip flops broke a couple of nights before so I bought another pair. I love them. 
Around 6:00 on Tuesday night, I went to the Library to study for my Biology test. When I got there, I found out my friend Erika was the Biology tutor up in the Tutor Lab. I was thrilled! I finally would get help with my Biology! We studied for about four hours. Somewhere in the middle of that time, we watched three funny Dorito superbowl commercials... I laughed so hard! But that's beside the point. After we studied, we headed over to Erika's house so we could grab some money and then go to Foodland to buy stuff for dinner. We bought Garlic bread, spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, corn and ice-cream (Take the cake - best kind)
and they were asleep. (Note, this was around 11:00pm)
Memory #1 - One night, I totally don't remember what we were doing beforehand, but we ended up in front of his Hale. We were a little hyped up and kind of started wrestling. Then Jaden started jumping over me and doing all these crazy things. Because he's crazy, he told me to do a handstand against the tree. I told him that I couldn't do a handstand. He was appalled! He couldn't believe that I had been dancing for so long and I had never been able to do a handstand. I told him it was because I was too scared to fall on my head. He immediately began to teach me how to protect my head by rolling out of handstands and dives and such. It took awhile but I eventually learned. It took alot of courage on my part. I truly was horrified and I always fell and hurt my back. Jaden didn't give on me! And when it seemed like he was going to stop, I didn't give up on myself. This is a great example of the kind of person he really is. He's a good teacher. He didn't give up on me even though at times I wasn't even trying. He's also very encouraging. If he thinks you can do it, he won't rest until you can. (This is an excellent quality for Missionaries)
s been defrauding the DSS for two years by claiming benefit for many non-existing lodgers, all of whom suffer from some disability or family loss in which they can claim. That's how the play begins, Eric bites off a little more than he can chew and tries to quit by killing off his "tenants". It's really crazy and it moves really quickly so you have to be paying attention the whole time. I absolutely loved it. It was so funny! Plus, all the actors were perfect for the characters. Each one was really convincing. At the end, we found Jaden and gave him his pie. He flipped out! He was so psyched out that we brought him a pie. Plus he laughed super hard (not that anyone else cares but this was the first night that he hugged me! I was super excited so... Ha!). Later that night, I was going to start some homework before bed when Jaden called and asked if I wanted to eat the pie with him in the courtyard. =D Of course I did! So I went out there with him and we ate the pie and talked about the play. He was psyched to hear that I liked it so much. But he really was fun on stage and easy to follow and listen to. I guess that's my stretch for this memory. He's really easy to Listen to. He has a way of talking, even if it is a monologue on stage, that just makes you want to listen. I like it when he goes off reciting songs and monologues which he has memorized. They're all really fun! He's really Fun!
ission. I don't understand where he gets all the energy. He's always happy and ready to just get it done. I will surely miss him. But it'll be super fun to write him so I'm totally okay with that. Good Luck Elder McCarrey!
brities; Shia Labouf, Will Smith, Channing Tatum, Chris Pine, Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Lautner, David Beckham, Robert Downey Jr, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Christan Bale and Johnny Depp. So, guess which ones are gone! (All the bolded ones). All but seven. LoL. Robert Pattinson was the first to go, I'm sure. That's the kind of Hale I live in. I just thought it was funny that they stole the pictures. I was upset that someone took Ryan Reynolds. That was my favorite. I even put a little heart by his picture. Haha.
Camille, Jayne, Rich and Grant to celebrate Camille's Birthday! We went to Ted's bakery in Grants convertible and then ate dinner at Sunset beach. We sat on a blanket and ate. I took tons of pictures of the sunset. It really was beautiful. I never get tired of watching and listening to the waves. It really goes to show that only a powerful being like Heavenly Father could create something so amazing. It kills me that such a beautiful thing gets a little tainted by girls who come to the beach just to take scandalous pictures of themselves in their bikinis. We joked about me going up and taking pictures of them with my own camera, b
ut I didn't. I really didn't want to. Lol. Otherwise, the beach was gorgeous and it was nice to just relax and remember all the great things in life. I love taking my shoes off and just burying my feet in the sand. It feels so good. And when you step in the sand that the water just pushed up on shore, where it makes your feet cool and sticks to your feet like a sock. I really love it.
es I've been there, I had never seen it that packed. Seek, Sterling, Krystal and Kei were working. I immediately started helping. I told Camille and them to go home and finish celebrating for her birthday while I helped. It was rough at first cause I just had to get used to the way Krystal and Kei did things, but it all worked out. It ended up being super fun. No surprise. The best was when I threw the potatoes I had just cut into the fryer right over Seek's head and he FLIPPED out! We both couldn't believe that I had actually made it. I didn't take any pictures of the grill cause we were so busy, but just know it was way fun. As usual. Plus, Sterling made me some cocnut shrimp when we were finished. DELICIOUS! One day I will take a picture of JUST the food. It's soooooooo Good!
I finally got to go Surfing! I went out with Max, Rebecca, Shelby and Lindon. We went over to a Beach named Castles. I'm surprised at how many people here have never even heard of it. It's a really open beach with good waves for light surfing.
ut your hands in front of you and push your self on to one knee. Then they foot that is still back stays in the back as you stand. Simple enough right? So then we headed out. Paddling out wasn't as hard as Max said it would be. (Must have been my swimming experience) Lol. Once we were pretty far out, Max sat up on his board and told me to paddle when he told me to, towards shore, and then stand when he shouted me to stand. (So basically just listen for his voice and do everything in order). So while we waited for a wave, Max taught me the spiritual connections of surfing. It was extremely touching. lol. He's very passionate about Surfin
g, but now I can see why... it's unlike anything else I've tried.