Hawaii- Hapuna Beach

So many pictures, so little motivation to get this post done:) Hawaii was super fun and absolutely gorgeous! How do I not post some pictures???

:D

And maybe I need to remember for posterity sake that I actually went. Seems like a blur. My first time going to the Big Island. Makes me want to go the other ones SOON.



This was the boys first time on an airplane. They were SOOOO excited! Andon's favorite airplane is AMERICAN now, and he writes AMERICAN on every plane he draws.

However, I think I will just do photos of Hapuna Beach right now. Too much of a headache to try to get this all into one post! Brain is hurting just thinking about it. AND, I'm not editing. :)



We loved it here!! The kids loved boogie boarding! These photos are after the first couple times he tried it. If you'll notice in the third picture down his feet are in the air. Yep, he flipped. But he got back on!












Andon enjoying the waves. He's a lot more cautious:)





Another attempt at boogie boarding. Alas...failure again. What a trooper that kid is! Unfortunately, he was done with the boards for the day. :D





The girls loved the boards too.









Doug was trying to help the kids catch some good waves, so he'd give them a push. The facial expressions have me cracking up as I'm looking through these right now.









And there was lots of splashing, and leaping.... trying to run away from the waves that would inevitably break across your ankles anyway. But really, that was part of the fun.











The boys were very content to sit on the beach and wait for the waves to plow over them.











Makes we wish we could go back!

Virus Free!

I feel like I've taken quite a long hiatus from blogging. And not on purpose. Our computer got a rather ANNOYING virus that Doug took off of it last night. Not to mention the fact that my email account got hacked. REALLY?!? Do people have nothing better to do than find ways to hack and spread virus's via the world wide web??? I can't tell you how totally annoyed I am about this.

Needless to say, I have tons to catch up on, and am debating whether or not I even want to:) Okay, not that I don't WANT to, but... okay, I don't know that I want to. There, I said it. It just takes so much time to blog sometimes, especially when we're talking about vacations. There's just SO MANY pictures to go through, and then the process of weeding out the ones you want to show is a whole feat in and of itself. And really, no one is going to want to view ALL the photos anyway:)

*Sigh*

So maybe I'll just mention that we took a trip to San Diego over Spring Break with my sister, which was TONS of fun. Even though we ended up switching hotels because the first one was just NASTY. Yes, we are hotel snobs and proud of it. But now that I'm thinking about it, there were some cool pictures and stuff we did, so maybe I'll blog about that in a future post cause it seems really backward in my overly compulsive brain that I should blog about our most recent vacation instead of the earliest. *inhaling here cause that was quite the run on sentence*

HAWAII!!

And yes, it was fabulous. Much better than the winter weather we are still experiencing here. (What is with this weather??)

But for now I'm catching up on Zak's sweet mother's day gift.





"My Mom's favorite color is blue." Huh.

"My Mom likes to play with me." AHHH, so true:)

"She wishes she had a baby." Ummmm....say WHAT?!?

"She likes it when I give her kisses." AHHHH...so true...so true.

"She would like to go to the beach." Okay, that one is spot on. I LURVE the beach.

"Her favorite food is tacos." Could be true. I like ALL foods. :D Or rather, I just like to eat.

And lastly,

"My Mom is really good at cooking."

This one I particularly find amusing as this is the one activity that I wholeheartedly do not like to do. In fact, if I could afford it, I would have my own personal chef to come cook, not just because the food is way better or that the menu could be specialized just for us, but because I wouldn't have to chop or peel or saute ANYTHING.
The boy will learn soon enough. Most likely when he's older and eats at other people's houses and realizes that his mom REALLY ISN'T A GOOD COOK. Then, if he was to answer these questions again, it might read,
"My mom is not really good at Cooking. In fact she stinks which is why we've all retained our girlish figures."

I can see him saying this.

I can. :)

Also, Teaghan got an award just before school let out for Most Improved in Science. The teachers get to choose just three of their students to get these awards and Teaghan was one of them. We are so proud of her!

Quest with a Camera

The other afternoon found me driving down the highway on my way to pick up my children after school. Zakry was with me due to a field trip that had taken place that morning, which threw me a little off balance but only just so. I get so used to routine sometimes. It was finally getting warmer outside, spring seemed to be finally coming out of her hiding place. The sun was shining which always makes me happy. I really do live for sunny days, especially mornings.

Zakry was buckled just behind me, the Katie Perry song "Firework" had just started, and my mph was up to 60. The chorus comes on and I hear my son start singing "Baby you're a firework! Come on show us what you're worth. Make em go OH OH OH..." except his OH OH OH was more like UH UH UH, but when one is singing one's heart out the finer subtleties aren't noticed.

I couldn't help but smile. I usually can't help but smile really big when he sings. Most of the time his pronunciation can't keep up with the music so the phrases end up being sung in one big long word, but his pitch is ALWAYS on:)

As he is singing the song with his whole heart and soul, I see a jet fly over us, headed toward the Mather air field. Living in Mather was so fun because you had to drive around the base and thus would inevitably see all the helicopters and jets and planes fly in. It really is very cool. So as I see this jet fly over head, low enough so that you could get a good glimpse, and as it does, I remember my favorite part of the movie Top Gun, when Tom Cruise is racing his motorcycle next to the runway as the fighter jets take off. The wind is blowing in his hair, and he shakes his fist like there is nothing better to be doing. Do you remember that part? I'm feeling a little like Tom Cruise at that moment:)

All this is happening at the same time as I drive down Sunrise. I'm feeling very much at one with the world, just very happy with my life... where I'm at right now, where I've been, and where the future is going.

It was a really great moment.

Training Wheels are off and so is He!

Zak's training wheel came off. First it started loosening itself no matter how many times I tightened it. I was very afraid that as fast he pedals that bike and takes corners, that there was impending doom coming my way. Right before spring break, Doug took off his training wheels. Andon came running into the house, yelling that I needed to come see Zak ride a two-wheeler. Needless to say I was very nervous, and quite honestly I thought he would not be very happy about it. He tends to not like change so much. But the child is always amazing me with the things I don't think he'd ever be okay with, like when he got up to bear his testimony a couple Sundays ago.

Still in unbelief about that one. Doug and I just looked at each other in shock as Zak made his way to the pulpit. Just when I think I know him, he ups and changes everything. I always feel like I'm at square one with this child:) It is NEVER boring in my house. So needless to say, I shouldn't have been at all surprised when it took him twice, yes TWICE, TWO times of Doug holding on to him before he was off and running. The kid has no fear!!

And yes, he wears a helmet normally. Sometimes dad doesn't remember, but mom does. :)





Check out Doug's shorts. Finally got him to buy some new pairs. (Shaking of the head.)













The next day saw a few new "owies."

For Easter I made some easter baskets. We had quite a few leftover fruit cartons from the activity we did for the Stake Activity Day Girls, so I made easter baskets out of them. I got the idea from somewhere in blogland, but unfortunately, and so like me it is....I misplaced that information. Tweaked the idea just a bit to fit my needs, but all in all I think they turned out quite nice:)

Grant's One Year Pictures

How I love this boy! He always has the biggest smile for me when I see him. And yes, it's JUST FOR ME:) I will continue to delude myself that he reserves specific smiles for me.

Mary asked me to take some pictures of Grant, and as her friend I was happy to oblige, because he has to be one of the easiest toddlers to photo. He's naturally inquisitive, full of energy, smiles at the drop of a hat, and if you can catch him smiling unawares, then you're golden because once he hears your camera start clicking away, that inquisitiveness takes over and he becomes very serious at getting at it:)

So Mary, I hope you like them. :) It was very hard to narrow down to my favorite 20 that I'll give you. Here you go!

Randomness with a mix of Grumpy

I'm sitting at Zak's baseball practice, watching them run relay races. Coach broke the team up into two, and though it wasn't ultra competitive, and half the time the kids didn't even realize that they are behind or ahead, I still got a kick out of watching them do this.
Zak's team finishes, to which there are loud cheers, and then the chanting starts..
"We are the winners...we are the winners," and then that turned into "We are the wieners...we are the weiners." I'm sure my little sugar plum had something to do with that.

Cars. It's a love hate. Love you when you work and I can act like you're invincible and you'll never cost me a penny. I can tout your horn and say how totally reliable you are considering that you are getting old. I can count my blessings that you have had no major repairs. But when something happens, when maintenance is required, when things break down and rotars have to be replaced, (not to mention a bunch of other stuff), then the pity party starts. So though we spent a PRETTY PENNY on you the other day, I still love you. I can't live without you. And I'll be saying this to Doug's car in the next month. Rick, thanks for doing this at a FRACTION of the cost. You are the man.

San Diego, I cannot wait to come see you next week. This also means that while we are visiting you TAX SEASON IS OVER!

I knew when we bought this house that there was going to be a lot of weeding. And yet I'm still surprised by this.

Why oh why does shopping for clothes for myself have to be so haaarrd. :( Everything used to be so cute. The store was my canvas. The sky was the limit! Ok, so not EVERYTHING was cute, but 99% of everything worked at least. Now...not the case. It's so hard to find anything I like. There are not a lot of cute capris or shorts out there for those of us that don't want to wear holes in our clothes. I don't like the acid wash strategically placed on the backs of my thighs because it makes my butt look bigger. (yep, that's where all that extra weight went folks). A zipper longer than one inch would be helpful because then I wouldn't have to hear whispered conspiratorially that my zipper is down. And can somebody out there in the fashion world PLEEEASE come up with fashion for the woman in her 30's who doesn't want to look like a teenager, but who can't shop the misses section cause it just makes her look frumpy?!! Can somebody please do that, because my options are extremely limited right now. And yes, I am a bit grumpy about it. And no, I don't really want to spend $100 on a pair of shorts. Even if they are amazing.

Shappy Apple, how I long for your BONHEUR dress!

If anybody knows where to buy a cute pair of flats, PLEASE let me know. It seems like everything is 5 inches tall and on a platform. I just want some cute flats to wear with shorts and capris this summer.

So many projects so little time.

Why can't I eat Captain Crunchberries with every meal?

How can I keep my children from growing up. Andon asked me last night why he doesn't have his own room. I explained that he is the third and consequently doesn't get top priority. Just kidding! I didn't really say that:) We did talk about the fact that he and Zak are the youngest, and sometimes the older siblings get to do things before the younger ones. He said that his teacher at school one day asked them to raise their hands if they had their own rooms. He said that everyone raised their hand, and when she asked them to raise their hand if they had to share, that he was the only one. So sad. So sad. I commiserated with him the best I could, and we got talking about school, and how Teaghan will be in high school, and Brittnee will be in middle school, and how it will only be he and Zak at Sunrise. Andon then asked when Teag will be in college. I said not for at least four years. (Oh my gosh, so freaking out about that!!) He then says...
"Can I have her room?"
So yes, I long to keep them young and innocent. If there is a rewind pill out there let me know.

Plan for the day: CLEAN MY HOUSE. It hasn't been cleaned, well, at least DEEPLY cleaned since baseball season started. Sometimes when schedules get all crazy and I have game on top of another game and I'm running in between them, I long for this to be over. But then I watch my children learn and get better and ENJOY it, and it makes it all worth it. Messy house and all!

Quest with A Camera 3

Mornings are always met with a mixture of "glad it's a new day," and "darn, it's a new day." Sometimes all the STUFF of the oncoming day is more than I want to handle right when I wake up. I'm one of those people who's brain starts into overdrive the minute I become conscious. Sometimes it's right as I wake up when the alarm goes off, but most often it's an hour or two before I have to get out of bed. So with that being said, most mornings are spent with me lying in bed till the very last possible second, but having woke up an hour prior to that. There's just something so very delightful about laying in one's own cozy bed, amongst one's favorite sheets, with one's favorite person. It makes getting out of bed very hard sometimes. I usually wait until Doug is out of bed before I decide to get a move on the day.

This particular morning found me downstairs. Doug was still in the shower getting ready for his long hours at the office, Teaghan was getting ready for school, Collette was getting ready for work and driving my daughter and her friends to school (Yes, she's a trooper!)..... the other three were nestled under warm covers waiting to be woke up.

I began my early morning ritual of opening of the blinds and the drapes. I have this need for sunlight in the morning. It just makes me feel all cheery and content. But this particular morning I just wasn't feeling it.

I was up a bit earlier than I usually am, most likely due to the fact that my brain kicked on at 6:15am, and I figured I would get a jump start on the morning. All the things that I needed to get done for the day, the activities I needed to get kids to...really, everything that demanded my attention came to the forefront of my mind and I found myself feeling very weary.

As I was about to open up the blinds, I realized that it was still dark outside. This made me feel even wearier as I wished that I could've been in bed still. I know, cry me a river, but this chica needs sleep to function. I am a total bear without it and I covet my sleep time:)

I decide to open up the drapes on one of the sliders that lead out to the backyard. As I pull the cord to open the window to my view, I am greeted with the most amazing sunrise.

I hurried and grabbed my camera.



Sometimes I have these amazing moments of clarity, and they usually come when I need them the most. Usually it is something in nature that I feel like Heavenly Father is putting right in my path and saying "See! Isn't this beautiful? Stop and look and count your blessings for they are all around you."

What I needed to do that day didn't seem like a heavy load anymore. The lunches that I pack every morning didn't seem so mundane. I once added up the number of lunches I pack in a school year and it was just an insanely funny number. I was reminded of that number and smiled because of the fact that I COULD make school lunches for my kids. Baseball practice and games became fun again because I know a time will come when I won't do that anymore, and it may be all too soon. Kissing my sweet hubby goodbye knowing that I won't see him till sometime after 8p meant that he has a great job to go to, one that he enjoys which I think is even more rare.

I looked at that sunset and felt blessed. It felt like it was there just for me and my heart strings were pulled and I stood there for a few more moments after taking the picture and just breathed it in.

There are great advantages living at the top of the hill. My fence line cuts right around the rest of the neighborhoods roof lines, affording me the perfect scenario for sunrise watching.

Perfect start to a PERFECT day.

It NEVER Disappoints!

Conference.

Every year it's good. Every year it seems to get even better. Every year I find myself feeling totally uplifted about those things I'm doing my best with, and lovingly chastened by the reminders of what I need to work on. It's somewhat my "climate" control if you know what I mean.

I cannot for the life of me remember who gave the talk on parenting during Sunday's morning conference, but it was spectacular! What a relief to know that I haven't been flunking Parenting 101, but that I've actually been enrolled in Parenting 505!!

What a huge difference that makes! :D

Somehow my frustrations with my more energetic child lifted. I found new perspective. I realized that yes, the speaker was right, that those energetic children we have are ours by no mistake or chance, and no matter the reason, our children are OURS to teach and learn from. And when those days of chaos and bedlam come, it's not because they want to torture us, or make us feel crazy...it's just that it is that time when the Parenting 505 class has issued a rather difficult exam. That's it. It's just a hard exam day. :)

So amongst a few interruptions from the "bedlamites" (wasn't that genius of him to coin that phrase), and yes, I will admit, falling asleep for a moment once or twice, conference for me was phenomenal. It always seems to be the PERFECT beginning to spring, a chance to start fresh, and take my spiritual "temperature." A chance to either pat myself on the back or give myself a pep talk. It's almost like doing New Years Resolutions, but in the spring. :)

Thank you to a loving Heavenly Father who knows exactly what we need to hear, even when we don't know what that may be ourselves.

Leaves Me Speechless

Maye it was the post titled "Ode to Tax Season" that sparked his imagination. Maybe he thought I was losing it when I stated I would take my chances with the guerilla fighters in Tahiti. Or maybe he just wanted to do something nice for me. But what really makes this special is that tax season has got to be the hardest on him. Not me. And yet he was thinking of ME.

He told me to pick a resteraunt so we could go to dinner after work one Friday night. I chose Zinfandel Grille and Bar. YUMMY. We talked about the kids, the food, life... and we sat in comfortable silence as well. I was just happy to hang out with him.

As we are coming down the street toward our house, I see a car parked next to our house. I questioned whether we knew the owner of said car. He assured me he didn't know. We concluded that maybe it was just some random person parking next to our house. So with a shrug of the shoulders I dismissed it.

We walk inside and see someone I'd never set eyes on before.

Turns out she was there to give me a massage. She is a cousin of a friend of ours. She was all set up in my room, waiting for me to get home. Suffice it to say, it was an hour long massage in the comfort of my own room, on the most amazing massage table. I could've slept there it was that comfortable. In fact, I could hardly talk after she was done.

Amazing. Now I know why people like massages.

It meant the world to me that he thought of me during his hardest season at work. I've seen his office piled high with files, not only on his desk but on the floor. I've seen the work he brings home. I see the weary but excited look in his eyes when he walks through the door that says "I am finally home." I see him rescheduling his day to make sure he doesn't miss the functions that the kids do, even if it means that he has to put in later hours than normal to make up for it.

And yet he thinks of me. Me, who takes breaks from cooking and uses the excuse of having to endure tax season; whose clothing will dry from the sometimes crazy bath sessions with the boys; who really can find others to help with crazy schedules so I'm not running around like a crazy mama.

I just sit here typing this with little butterflies in my stomach at how sweet this truly was.

HE is amazing.