All New Adventures . . .

"Santa Claus is Coming to Clown"

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:18:00 +0000

Haven't been on here in a while. Here's a bit of what's happened in the last month or so . . .

It's now official. Josh became a real lawyer.
It was great to have family come to the swearing in ceremony. Ainslie was especially glad to have a few extra people to play with.Halloween came and went. Ainslie seemed to have pretty mixed emotions about Halloween. She liked running around the house in her costume, and she liked carving her pumpkin. She was particularly proud of the cat face (on the left side). But she really, really didn't like some of the decorations in the stores. When the time for trick or treating finally rolled around, Ainslie told us that she didn't want to go. "Too scary." So we stayed home and watched Halloween episodes of Ainslie's favorite shows. Fall came . . .
and went.
This last week we had a great Thanksgiving. We enjoyed getting together with lots of Janae's family for dinner, but we weren't quite sure what to do with the rest of our evening since we didn't go anywhere else that evening. So we decided to take advantage of the time and decorate the tree that Janae may or may not have put up a week or two ago. Fortunately, Ainslie has been very excited for Christmas for a while now, so she was lots of help. We even hung a few lights outside this year. On Friday evening we decided to join everyone else who has ever heard of Temple Square for a chance to see the lights. We didn't know that Friday was THE day to go see the lights, but we enjoyed spending time with Sue, Adam and Angie. This is the first year in a long, long time that we won't any finals this Christmas season, and we couldn't be happier about it. We have a lot to be thankful for, and we're looking forward to the rest of the holidays.

Bob Dylan

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:33:00 +0000

This past Thursday we headed out to California for a quick trip. We flew out Thursday afternoon, and we were home Friday afternoon. Why such a quick trip? Well, Josh's mom had some great tickets . . . To a great concert, and she and Michael asked us to come along. How can you say no to this?Before the show, we had fun hanging out in Hollywood with Jody and Michael, checking out several of the tourist-y things to see around those parts and watching for movie stars. Then we headed over to the Palladium for the show. We had some great seats in the VIP section. We all knew the tickets were good, but we were pretty surprised when Johnny Depp and his entourage walked in and sat down just a few tables away from us. We even got to say "hi" to Mr. Depp at the end of the show.

The concert was amazing. Dylan is still going strong, and he and the band put on a great show. After the concert was done we headed out to haggle with a few vendors on the street for some concert shirts before we found ourselves at Denny's eating some midnight breakfast slams. It was quite the night. And to top things off, when we got back to the hotel we sampled some fantastic Amano chocolates that Josh's mom brought along for the trip.

Great concert. Great chocolate. Great night. But mostly great fun with family.

Saturdays . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:10:00 +0000

Since Josh has started working we're feeling like real grown-ups. What do real grown-ups do on Saturdays? Chores, projects, stuff like that. So Janae has been working on things to keep us busy. Her first thought was finding a solution for this:

She did some looking on KSL.com and found this:

Then we borrowed a saw from Sue, and Janae talked Josh into cutting the thing in half:
Now it looks like this:

We like having things tucked away a little more. It's nice. With that out of the way, Janae's moved on to the furniture . . .

But our Saturdays haven't been all work. We still managed to squeeze in some celebrating last week for Josh's birthday. We had fun with family coming over to our house, and as usual in this family, the party continues with more family this weekend.
We were also celebrating because we found out that Josh passed the bar exam. For a combined birthday/bar present, Janae got Josh some chocolates from Chocolatier Blue. Fantastic.

Prince Edward Island

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:17:00 +0000

Part of the reason that we wanted to go to Maine was the relatively short distance that it is from Prince Edward Island. Janae is a long-time fan of Anne of Green Gables stories, so she has always wanted to visit the places that served as the inspiration to Lucy Maud Montgomery's stories about Anne. Plus we'd never been to Canada before . . .

We crossed the border much later in the day than we thought we would, so it was getting pretty dark. And it was very foggy as we were driving in. We didn't think about potential currency issues until we hit our first toll booth. We fumbled around looking for something to throw in the bucket, and finally Janae ran over to one of the booths with an attendant to get change. The whole ordeal ended up taking a few minutes. Fortunately there was no traffic that late at night, but we did thoroughly frustrate a Canadian man behind us who yelled at Josh as he switched lanes to go around us, "You could have killed me, eh!"

The fog stuck around for one more day, and we were sad that we didn't really get to see much of St. John, New Brunswick.

St. John sits on the Bay of Fundy, which is home to some of the biggest tide changes in the world. The water fluctuates 28 feet between high and low tide. This change causes a unique phenomenon called the reversing falls on the river as it flows into the bay. We weren't able to see the falls at their peak, but we hear it's pretty impressive. We decided we'd had enough of the fog and headed on towards PEI.
Fortunately things did start to clear up when we got closer to the island. We got some great views as we were going across the Confederation Bridge. We were amazed at the bridge. It's very long (about 8 miles) and very tall (almost 200 ft). Pictures can't do it justice. It's also very expensive - $42.50 - but only on the way back to mainland. You can visit from Prince Edward Island for free, you just can't leave. We were also surprised at how big the island is, and how many beautiful things there were to see as we drove to the place where we were staying. We managed to get lost a few times trying to find our B&B, but were very pleased when we finally made it to the Misty Meadows. Janae picked the place partially because of it's convenient location, and the next morning we headed out to Avonlea village to get a taste of what life was like in the world of Anne of Green Gables. We started out at school . . .

Then we played dress up . . .

Yup, ALL of us played dress up . . .
We made crafts with Josie and co. (characters from the stories) . . .
Drank raspberry cordial (but not until Josh made Janae confirm that it was non-alcoholic) and ate chocolate covered potato chips . . .
And met Ms. Of-Green-Gables herself . . .

That afternoon Hurricane Bill threatened to hit the island. The storm ended up as a near-miss, but we got hit with a lot of wind and a lot of rain. So we ended up spending time in the car looking for lighthouses. We found some pretty good ones . . .
While we were at the Avonlea village we met someone who was born in this lighthouse . . . But Josh's favorite was this one. The storm was really blowing when we found it, but he decided to jump out for a picture anyways.

The weather cleared up the next day, so we headed back to Avonlea to go for a spin on the carriage ride and give the pony ride a try. Ainslie loved them both.

After that we headed over to the real Green Gables house that was the inspiration for the stories. We took a little tour of the house . . .

And we even put Ainslie in the "special backpack" for a stroll through the haunted forest and down lover's lane.

Sadly, we had to leave Prince Edward Island and head back home, but we loved the time that we spent there.

Maine

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:36:00 +0000

A little while back we decided that we wanted to try to squeeze one more trip in before Josh had to start work. Several attorneys at Josh's firm had suggested that it's good to take advantage of the time while you can . . .

So, we headed out to Maine to check out the coast and drive to Prince Edward Island. We saw lots of lighthouses, ate some great food, and had a good time. Maine is lots of fun. We flew in and out of Portland, Maine. Ainslie was pretty good on the planes. She loved The Incredibles and Hannah Montana on the planes that had TV's in the seats. We had a few layovers each way, so we ran around the airports trying to get her good and worn out in hopes that this would happen . . .
Ainslie was good in the car too. We spent a LOT of time driving, but with the help of a few DVD's, a laptop, and Phineas and Ferb on the iPod, Ainslie did just fine.
She did get burned out on the videos every once in a while and took it upon herself to come up with other entertainment. Like experimenting with her wardrobe while giving some goldfish crackers a chance to take a swim . . .
And we'd stop to run around or play at McDonald's when we needed a break.
The drive was worth it. We saw lots of beautiful lighthouses.
And there were lots of other beautiful things to see too.
We stopped in Freeport to see the LL Bean headquarters and check out some of the other stores there. Janae wanted to see the giant LL Bean boot, but Ainslie was kind of scared of the boot and opted to relax on some of the chairs they had out front.

We loved the view from the top of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.
The weather didn't really cooperate when we visited Acadia National Park, but we loved Bar Harbor and want to go back to see more of what the fog was hiding in the park.
Ainslie was especially fond of the fountain in the city park in Bar Harbor. That night there was a jazz concert in the park, so we bought a pizza and had a picnic on the grass while Ainslie danced away to the music. When the pizza was gone we moved on to blueberry pie and blueberry ice cream. Delicious.Maine is pretty proud of their blueberries, and we ate lots of them. We also ate whoopie pies. But our favorite was the lobster rolls. We loved the lobster, Ainslie loved the lobster buzzer they gave us to let us know when our food was ready. She also loved posing as a lobster ("crabby") when we ate at Shaw's Wharf.
We ate some great food, but Ainslie's favorites were the "worm babies" and other treats that she ate in the car. Lots of candy. We stayed in some pretty good hotels as we went. We found some online beforehand, but other nights we took our chances and stayed wherever we could find a room. One night turned out extra adventurous when we got into Camden a little later than we thought. Most of the places to stay were starting to close, and we ended up staying in a little cottage that was threatening to fall off the hillside. The shifting had left a sizeable opening under the front door. This left plenty of room for a mouse who decided to join us for the night . . .
One of our favorite parts of the whole trip was the sunset boat ride that we took around Casco Bay. We had been hoping that we would find a windjammer that would be Ainslie-friendly, and Frances was perfect. The sights around the bay were amazing.Ainslie loved to ring the bell on the boat more than anything else about the ride.

At the very end of our trip, we drove down to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail. Our hotel in Boston was very fancy, and being in the big city really made us feel like we were in a different country. But we loved Boston. Once again, Ainslie was more interested in the playground at the park, but we managed to drag her along as we walked the Freedom Trail. We loved seeing Paul Revere's home,

seeing where many of the important events leading up to the Revolutionary War happened in downtown Boston,

and although we decided not to go onboard the USS Constitution (they say ringing bells on the ship is a big no-no, and Ainslie REALLY liked ringing the bell on our boat ride) we thought the ship was amazing.

We also got to see the church where the lanterns were hung before Paul Revere's famous ride.Lots to see in Boston. Lots to see in Maine. And we haven't said anything about Canada. It was a pretty big trip, and we all came home exhausted. But it was great.

Summer's over . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:12:00 +0000

Josh officially started work on Tuesday. That means that September is here. Summer is over. It's been nice to have the month of August to relax inside where it's nice and cool. But we didn't just hide insde all day. We also had fun discovering the parks in our area in the evenings when it cooled off a little . . .

Ainslie liked to pick dandelions.

Some friends here in our new ward were nice enough to give us their old slide, and Ainslie has had lots of fun climbing and playing in our backyard.

Ainslie wasn't the only one playing around here. Josh decided to give growing a beard a shot. Things were looking pretty good until he decided to give the trucker look a try. That didn't stick around long.

In anticipation of Josh's new work schedule we decided that it was finally time to buy a second car. Ainslie was excited to help Josh put the plates on the new car.

It's been a great summer, but we're ready to move on to new things. He's only a few days into it, but work is going well for Josh. He likes the people that he's working with, and although it's challenging, the work is interesting. Janae and Ainslie are having fun at home, learning new things and playing together. We'll miss the carefree days of August, but we've still got it pretty good.

Not a Chicken Nugget . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:32:00 +0000

When we first found out that Janae was pregnant, Josh asked Ainslie if she wanted to have a baby brother or a baby sister. Ainslie paused to think about it for a minute, and then she answered, "I want a chicken nugget."

Thankfully, we found out today that Ainslie is getting a little sister instead.

Janae's first thought when the nurse told us that it was a girl was "Matching Easter dresses!" We're excited to have two girls, and we're pretty sure Ainslie will be happy too.

One on the way . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:37:00 +0000

Our family is going to be a little bit bigger this January . . .

Webb Family Reunion

noreply@blogger.com (Janae) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:23:00 +0000

This year for the Webb Family Reunion we went to Zion's National Park. Although we had a quiet a few kids in tow, we still managed to do some fun hikes. This is Grandma pushing Ainslie on the River Walk Trail.

Jed and Amanda won the award for best baby hiking gear. Even though we gave them all a hard time for how much space it took up, it came in really handy. Thanks for sharing guys.

After the rest of us were worn out from the River Walk; Jordan, Alyssa, Jed and Amanda continued hiking up the first part of the Narrows Trail.
We stayed at this classic motel in Mt. Carmel Junction. It turned out to be rather nice, and it was so fun to be together. Thanks Mom and Dad for picking this great spot.

The swimming pool was esspecially a big hit.

Happy Fourth!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:42:00 +0000

Our Fourth of July started with a trip down to Provo for a picnic not too far from the Freedom Festival. It was lots of fun to catch up with Jordan and Alissa, and Jed and Amanda, since we don't get to see them very often. Ainslie enjoyed the picnic, but it was pretty much torture for her to be that close to the pool without being able to go swim. She was bound and determined to get in, even if it meant she had to climb the fence. After a sno-cone and an interview for some infomercial thing, we headed down to Spanish Fork where Ainslie worked up a little masterpiece. She also had fun stomping on some snappers.
Ainslie also spent some time getting to know Jordan and Alissa's new dog, Tucker. And we picked a cherry or two before we took off for a nap in the car. We spent the evening at a barbecue in Lehi with some of Josh's family. The food was great, and Ainslie had a lot of fun playing on the tramp, as usual.
We all enjoyed some deliciously patriotic cupcakes,

and at the end of the evening, Ainslie was looking smashing in a pair of new sunglasses.

This Fourth, we were also happy to see Major League Baseball's efforts to raise awareness about ALS. One of Josh's favorite professors, Michael Goldsmith, first proposed the idea last year, and since then the MLB has been working to make it happen. You can read more about his efforts and success here, here, and here.

We wish Professor Goldsmith all of the very, very best in his efforts to fight this disease. He is a truly great example of how to live a "can do" life.

Auf Wiedersehen!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:43:00 +0000

This last week we said sad goodbyes to our friend Bjorn. He's been living with Josh's parents for the last year, but on Wednesday he headed home to Stuttgart, Germany. We hope we'll get to see him someday soon - here in Utah or in Germany (if we're lucky).

The New Place . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:19:00 +0000

After looking at dozens of places, we've finally figured out where we're going to live for the next year (or so). All three of us are very excited for the new place. It will be nice to have a little more room to stretch out, have a yard, and be just a few minutes from Josh's work.

We're going to miss Provo and the friends that we have here. We'll miss being so close to family.

It's a little scary to be moving on. It's nice living here on our oddly numbered street . . .
It's been a good place for us. Life has changed a lot, but we're excited to see what comes next . . .

The Happenings . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:05:00 +0000

The summer has been pretty busy so far. Josh has been attending his bar classes for the last few weeks now, and he's well on his way to being ready for the test in July.

Janae and Ainslie have made it to the pool a few times, and they've been busy working on their dance moves at home.We've also been eating some delicious food.Josh took a trip down to Moab with a few of his brothers to ride the slick rock trail. We also took a trip out to the Hogle Zoo. We went to the zoo last year, so we were excited to see if Ainslie was more excited about the animals this time around. We had fun at the bird show, and we saw lots of other fun animals. Ainslie's favorites this time around were the giraffes. We managed to catch them getting a bit of lunch.

Our biggest time commitment lately has been the ongoing search for a place to live. We're looking for something closer to Josh's work. We've seen a lot of different places, and we have one that we think would be great. Crossing our fingers that it works out.

This last week we also went to Mat and Breezy's wedding. The day was great, and the wedding was beautiful. Ainslie looked pretty cute in her new dress, and she loved playing at the reception. We were all very happy for Mat and Breezy. We love you guys!

Pearl Harbor

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:39:00 +0000

When we were planning our trip, we knew that we wanted to visit the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. The memorial was one of the more serious stops on our trip, but we were very glad we had the chance to visit the memorial and think about what happened there. From the memorial, we could see a few places where the Arizona still reaches out of the water.But for the most part, the ship lies beneath the water.At the memorial, we were reminded of how many lives were affected by the attack at Pearl Harbor when we found Chandlers and Webbs listed among those who died that day.After visiting the memorial, we spent some time exploring the U.S.S. Missouri.The Missouri ("Mighty Mo") fought in WWII and more recently in Operation Desert Storm, but the ship is best known as the ship where the peace agreement was signed, ending the war in the Pacific. The agreement was signed right here . . . While walking around the upper decks, we were amazed at the sheer size of the firepower on the ship. We took almost two hours wandering around the seemingly endless halls inside of the ship. Josh was excited to see that the Legal Officer on board had a relatively spacious room towards the front of the ship, in the air conditioned section. We were both intrigued by the bread dispensers that we found in one of the cafeteria areas.The boat really was huge. We couldn't believe how much there was to see, and we were amazed when we saw that this little steering wheel steers the ship. We imagined something a little more of this variety . . .
It was pretty amazing to visit Pearl Harbor and the Missouri to see how the war started and where it ended so close to each other.

Polynesian Cultural Center

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0000

One of Janae's favorite parts of our trip to Hawaii was visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center. She liked it so much, we ended up going twice. We missed a few villages on our first visit, and Janae was more than happy to go back and re-live some of the "memories" from the first day.

We enjoyed learning some of the history of the Polynesian islands and seeing some of the great displays/demonstrations that they have there. This double-hulled canoe is similar to those that the earliest Polynesians may have used, and some students and BYU-Hawaii learn how to sail it as part of a class. Not bad homework . . . The cultural demonstrations for each of the different islands were very interesting. It was fun to try our hand at a few things. Janae got adventurous with a Fijian tatoo . . .

And Josh got roped into some adventurous Tahitian dancing . . .
The word "volunteer" only loosely describes his decision to dance, but he didn't do too bad . . .

After a full day of exploring the villages, we headed over to the luau for more dancing and some delicious food. Janae has a post about the luau here, and more about the other great food we ate in Hawaii here. After dinner we watched another show with more dancing. We thought we had seen it all by this point, but this show definitely took things up a notch with more dancers and some pretty amazing fire dances.

The Cultural Center was definitely more relaxed than some of our other activities in Hawaii, but we thought it was great.

Snorkeling, Kayaking, Hiking . . . Oh My!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:28:00 +0000

Looking at our Hawaii posts so far, someone might think that all we did in Hawaii is take pictures and eat cookies, but the truth is that we were pretty active while we were there.

One of our favorite activities was snorkeling. We headed out to Hanauma Bay on our first morning and we couldn't believe how many beautiful fish were there. The bay is beautiful and the little video they make you watch has some catchy music ("Don't feed us at Hanauma . . ."), but the best thing about about Hanauma Bay is the amazing variety of fish there. We saw some really beautiful fish.We also went snorkeling on the North Shore in the tidal pools at Shark's Cove. Shark's Cove was pretty rocky, but we hopped out to some of the deeper areas and had lots of fun swimming with very different fish than those we saw at Hanauma. Shark's Cove seemed a little more wild. We went back to Shark's Cove a few days later when the surf was high on the North Shore, and we couldn't believe how much the place had changed. Occasionally, the big waves would crash over the outside wall of the tidal pools. The waves were kind of fun until a couple of them pushed Janae up and over some of the rocks. Ouch.Kailua is a great place to go kayaking. After we saw these guys take off one morning, we had visions of gracefully paddling the smooth waters around the island. Unfortunately, our two-person crew was a little less graceful than the one we saw that morning. But we still managed to have a lot of fun kayaking. Right away we set our sights on the Mokulua islands and started paddling. The one on the right is closed, but the one on the left is open to kayakers.The islands are a long ways out there, and we nearly got stranded on a coral reef that we didn't see coming, but we managed to make it. The islands are protected refuges for shearwater birds that nest in small holes that dot the hillsides.After conquering the Mokulua islands, we wanted to stop by the appropriately named "Flat Island" that is just a little ways off from Kailua Beach. The only downside to kayaking was the crazy sunburn that Janae got when she missed a spot on her shin with the sunscreen. Sunburn aside, we really enjoyed kayaking. Even though the beaches and the ocean were wonderful, we didn't spend all of our time in the water. After some snorkeling one day, we hiked to Manoa falls. The hike took us through some great jungly areas. We couldn't believe how green it was and how thick the different plants grew.We liked the bamboo.Although we were mostly interested in seeing the waterfall, the trail itself was pretty fun to hike.We could see the falls from a little ways away. Sadly, you can only see the bottom half of the waterfall from the bottom. But the view is still pretty great. We also went for a hike on the Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail. Josh really wanted to hike along the top of one of the ridges, and this hike was a pretty accessible route to get up on top. It was surprising to see how different the vegetation was on this trail. This hike was quite a bit more strenuous than the waterfall hike and a lot longer, but we managed to make it without too much trouble.

After hiking back and forth up a lot of switchbacks that didn't offer much of a view, we noticed this little bench in a clearing. We figured that meant the view was about to get good.And we weren't disappointed . . .

Once we reached the ridge top, things got fun. We were almost running from lookout point to lookout point to see everything we could. The views were amazing.We were up so high, that only the clouds and a few tree branches blocked our view.We wanted to keep going along the trail, but the clouds rolling in threatened to hide the sun away before we got back to the car. We were frequently surprised at how quickly things got dark, so we decided that we should head back down.Hawaii is an awesome place to get out and explore.

Wally Amos

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:20:00 +0000

When we pulled into Kailua, Josh noticed a cookie store called "Chip and Cookie" and decided that he wanted to give it a try before we left. Well, it turns out that the store is the new cookie venture started by Wally Amos, inventor of "Famous Amos" cookies. While we were there we found out that Wally comes to the store on Saturdays to read stories to kids. Josh has loved Famous Amos cookies for a long time (and these new cookies are amazing), so we decided to go by on Saturday to try to meet Mr. Amos.
Turns out he's a very nice guy and was happy to let us take a picture with him - one of Josh's favorite parts of the trip.

Turtles

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:23:00 +0000

If we do plants, we have to do animals too - right? Our favorites were the turtles that we saw out on the North Shore. We spent a while watching them on the beach, and chatted with the "Honu Guardians." Honu is the Hawaiian word for sea turtle, and the guardians are volunteers who watch the turtles 24-7 to protect them while they bask. The turtles really are beautiful. We're glad that there are people watching out for them. There's something very peaceful about watching the turtles sleep, but it was also fun to watch them when they would flip sand up to cool off.

While we're talking about animals, it seems appropriate to include a picture of "Ace." One evening while we were watching the turtles we met this old surfer, Ace. We talked for a while about topics ranging from the turtles' personal lives to . . . well, lots of other random subjects. Mostly, we just listened, and then he told everyone on the beach to "Watch for the yellow flash!" (he was wearing a yellow shirt), and paddled out into some insane waves. Total animal. If you want to meet Ace and learn about the advocacy work he's doing ("Keep the Ocean Blue"), you can find out more here, and watch a video here.

Flora

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:31:00 +0000

One of Josh's favorite things to do on a trip is take pictures - lots and lots of pictures. These are a few of our favorite plant pictures that he took in Hawaii.

A Little Aloha . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:45:00 +0000

A few months back, Janae found some great tickets to Oahu that we could buy with the frequent flyer miles that we've been sitting on for a while now. We jumped at the chance to give ourselves a graduation present, and we've spent the last few months counting down the days to the end of the semester and our trip to Hawaii. So a few days after graduation Ainslie headed out to spend the time with her grandmas, grandpas, and a few aunts and uncles, and we headed out to an island paradise.
After she found the plane tickets, Janae also tracked down a fantastic place for us to stay, just a few steps away from the beach in Kailua and Lanikai (above). The location was perfect, and the people we rented from were very nice. We'd recommend it to anyone who's looking for a place to stay without the Waikiki traffic.
We expected to find some beautiful beaches in Hawaii, but we weren't prepared for how amazing the mountains would be.
And the beaches definitely did not disappoint. We loved to sit and watch the beautiful waves.
And it was fun to watch some crazy surfers take on the big waves of the North Shore.
We also liked watching the sea turtles and other wildlife that call the island home.
We ate some great food. And made some fun friends.

In short, there's lots to do in Hawaii, and we had a wonderful time.

Ainslie's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:11:00 +0000

Saturday was Ainslie's second birthday! We had a great little party with everything that birthdays should have. Like balloons . . . And cake for tasting.There was lots of other tasty food including some extra fancy hamburgers. Ainslie liked the broccoli cupcakes.Ainslie got some fun presents. Some familiar. . . And some new . . . Grandma and Grandpa brought the big surprise . . .And Ainslie already loves going for a spin.Unfortunately, the rainy/snowy weather left us feeling a little bit like this poor guy. Good thing we're headed for warmer weather!

Graduation

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 02:50:00 +0000

It's hard to believe that we are done with school, but after today it's official. We started the day out at a breakfast reception for the students in Janae's Public Policy program.

Janae decided to walk at the law school's convocation ceremony, so it was nice to see friends from the MPP program.

While we were walking across campus we wanted to stop for a quick picture in front of this statute. We matched up pretty well.

In the afternoon we headed over to the Provo Tabernacle so that Josh's dad could take a few pictures before the crowds showed up. As usual, Ainslie was very excited to "Papa."

One of the best parts of today was the chance to see so many family members who have helped us make it to this day.

Long ceremonies aren't really Ainslie's thing, so we tried to get her worn out before things got started.
And we were very grateful to everyone who took a turn outisde while Ainslie was running laps.

Although we're happy to be finished, after as much time as we've spent, it's a little hard to say good bye. We're definitely going to miss the good friends we've made.But friendships go on. Fortunately, homework does not, and we're done.

Bring on the rest of our lives!

All Done!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:42:00 +0000

Somewhere around two years ago (four semesters back, to be exact), Janae headed back to BYU in pursuit of a Masters of Public Policy . . . Yesterday she took her last test, and today she handed in her last two papers. Four semesters, way too much homework, far too many late nights, and now it's all done. Today Josh picked up our robes for graduation, and Friday we'll walk. This is real people, this is not a drill . . .

First day heading back to school:After the last test:

A Tale of Two Breakfasts . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:46:00 +0000

As you may know, Janae is pretty amazing in the kitchen. In fact, she has a blog that documents some of her kitchen adventures. Josh, on the other hand, tends to avoid the kitchen when possible. This morning, Janae made a delicious fritata with broccoli, peppers, and crab. Josh doesn't do crab (they're too much like underwater spiders), so he thought he'd try making breakfast for himself. Smelling the fritata, it was clear that cereal couldn't compete with Janae's work, so he thought he'd actually try cooking something. It's probably no surprise whose breakfast came out better. The visual evidence is particularly telling:

Done with Law School . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Josh, Janae, and Ainslie) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:52:00 +0000

Josh took his last final on Thursday afternoon.

That's it . . .

He's done with law school . . .

Incredible . . .

Janae still has a couple tests and a few papers left, but she's really, really close. Graduation isn't until next Friday, so what do we do until then? Well, here's a glimpse of what Josh has been doing with his free time . . .

We got a ton of snow over the last few days. That was disappointing, but Josh got some fun pictures of it melting.
The snow took down several trees in our neighborhood, but he still managed to get a few pictures of the spring flowers. Josh and Ainslie are looking forward to some quality play time together. While Janae is wrapping up her studies, they'll be at home knocking over domino stacks.

Unfortunately, Josh's bar study materials showed up in the mail today. His prep classes don't start for a few weeks, so we're going to pretend the bar exam doesn't exist until then. For now, that box of books makes a great slide.