Wednesday, March 1, 2017

THE ANSWERED PRAYERS CHRONICLES

THE ANSWERED PRAYERS CHRONICLES

HAWAII QUOTES AND BY-FARS 2010

My friends and I have a vacation tradition to write down funny quotes and stories from people (and ourselves) during our annual trips.  The quotes are usually things taken out of context or simply hilarious on their own.  The other written part of vacations are "our favorite parts of the day" which we have endearingly renamed "by-fars".  This term came about when something so funny happened that Tanya could only spit out "my by-far...my by-far" (meaning "by far the funniest thing that happened today" or "by far my favorite part of the tour was...") and they have been termed "by-fars" ever since.

I introduced this to my sister and her family when they let me tag along on their family trip to Hawaii.  Luckily I did, because those kids are hilarious...actually we were all drop-dead funny.  Some funny quote examples:

"In my imagination Steph is married to a rockstar.  Do you want to be one of her rich kids Luke?"  - Levi

"I get tourists and terrorist mixed up" - Lauren

"(While hiking) There goes a fry off my right hip (boop)" - Angela (if you know her, you've just pictured this exactly like Angela)

"If you look at the ocean, it's the only time you can see the world drown" - Levi

"I think you're delusional, I don't think you can chuck the fuzz in the air" - steph.

"I don't have a favorite tree...I'm not really a fan of trees" - Dallin

"She can't warn me or she'll throw out her shoulder or pee her pants" - Mark

I typed quotes throughout the day, sometimes because someone yells "WRITE THAT DOWN" after everyone explodes with laughter while other times secretly to surprise them with funnies later.  Then each night we relived the best parts by going through each of our "by-fars" for that day.

Some of the by-fars:  Lounging in the ocean.  Goat cheese. Catching the crab - in the tub.  Amazing appetizer. Boogie boarding.  Sunrise on one coast to sunset on the other... Etc.

After returning home, I like to make photo books of our trips for everyone.  I include pictures, quotes, and by-fars to preserve the memories.  We liked to read through the quotes each day even after the trip, because it is reliving some of the best parts - the inside jokes part of traveling together.  It's also an easy way to "journal" without so many words.

I had typed them on my "notes" app on my iPhone but wasn't super savvy with it at the time.  Well, one day all of my "notes" disappeared!!!  I panicked and searched through every app and email, but could not find our quotes or by-fars.  Oh I can't describe how sad I felt.  I tried to write down what I could remember, but it just wasn't the same.  I felt dumb, but I said a silent prayer to my Heavenly Father asking him to help me with the files.  I really don't know how or what happened, but they reappeared the next day with no explanation.

I drove immediately over to my sister's home and shared with them my scary story, my answer to prayer, and then we reread all of the quotes!  Lauren said, "you're prayers are always answered" and we all laughed.  But honestly they are and I am grateful.

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