Hawaii Post at Long Last

Okay, none of these pictures are in any particular order. I'm just putting some of my favorites up and I'll try to make some comments without being too boring. This first picture is of a Black Sand Beach on Maui. It was cool to look at but way too crowded. This was the first place we went to that seemed crowded. Everywhere else we went we only had to share it with one or two other families. That was very cool to feel like it was all ours.
Okay, this is Hale 3 at BYUH. This is one of my old dorm rooms. I stayed in three different dorm rooms while I was single. We got this great convertible for the whole time on Oahu and Maui because both of the car rentals gave us upgrades. The first upgrade was free and the second was $10 more a day. It was so fun to drive around both islands with the top down. When we lived on Oahu for school we didn't have a car until our last year there and it was a green honda that was literally falling apart. We never knew if it would break down or not and it was given to us by my brother to sell. So this was a real treat.
This is Hukilau Cafe. A great local restuarant that has awesome food. You would never know it's in Laie unless you lived there. Doesn't look like much but it has the best breakfast around.
This is my favorite English teacher from back in the day. His name is Mike Marler. I worked on my thesis with him and he was the greatest teacher. It was really fun to see him again after 8 years.

I love this picture. Our first day on Maui we drove up to the Haleakala Crater. It is 10,000 feet up. The drive up was awesome. You get to drive up a winding road that is green and lush and then you drive through the clouds and above them. Once you get above the clouds the landscape starts to change into this dry, barren state. It is really quite remarkable. We parked at almost the top of the crater and then hiked down into it. It was a fun and challenging hike. All downhill on the way in and then very uphill on the way back. I think we hiked for around 2 1/2 hours. The view was beautiful.
From the top of the hiking trail looking down into the crater.
Okay, this is a Nene bird. This is Hawaii's state bird. It is almost extinct. It only lives in this huge crater and there are somewhere between 250-500 of them. It is a flightless bird, lives in this barren, dry place, and survives by eating horse dung on the hiking trails. And, this bird apparently does not understand the concept of hiding for survival. For these reasons Ben and I have decided that the ultimate insult is to call someone a Nene bird. :)
Okay, this was Ben and I's favorite spot that we found through a guide book. This is the Nakalene (spelling is wrong) blowhole. This is such a cool spot on the west side of the island. No one comes to this spot apparently. You have to climb down quite a bit of rocks to get to it but once you do you can totally explore the shoreline by climbing and hiking all around the rocks and hills. This was so much fun. So this picture is of Ben pushing the limits by looking out over the edge and you can see what happens to him in the next picture!
Ha! I totall saw this coming. I could see the big set of waves coming in but I really wanted to get this picture so I didn't say anything. :) I'm not sure he could have heard me anyway. The wind was blowing and the waves crashing on the shore were both pretty loud.

A couple took this picture of us on the Black Sand Beach. I'm not crazy about any of the pictures of us but oh well. I guess I have to have proof that we were both there together.
Our third day on Maui we went horseback riding at Mendes Ranch. The ranch was fun and the guides were very friendly and talkative. However, the horses were sad and tired looking and did not listen to us at all. Ben's was the worst. It was soo slow and completely ignored him. The ride was two hours. We rode up into the hills and then back down to the shore. It was really beautiful but Ben and I both thought we don't really appreciate animals when they don't listen. Ben said he felt like he was trying to direct a two year old.
This was taken from the terrace of our hotel. I love rainbows and we got to see so many! I think they are so pretty and they make me dreamy.
Here's another rainbow while we're driving. So this is what we were looking at when I called home to check in with the girls and my mom. The first thing I hear is my mom saying, "You owe me big!" I asked why and she said, "It snowed ten inches today and I had to shovel twice already!" I told Ben, we looked out our window, and started laughing hysterically. That might have been the best moment of the trip. :) Sorry, Mom. But I am so glad I didn't have to be in the last snow storm. It was SOOO MUCH better to be in 75 degree weather in my flip flops. Hee-Hee. I do owe my Mom big though. She watched Alexis and Audrey for eight days and never once complained about them. Not that I thought she would because she is the best grandma and has lots of patience but I wouldn't have blamed her for complaining! The girls loved having her here and they had so much fun with her. I didn't worry about the girls at all. Not once. I knew they were in the best hands that I could have left them in, besides mine own. And maybe even better than my own!
I took this picture for my friend Amy. She loves to take pictures of flowers and I just knew she would love this flower. So this is just for you! Pay no attention the car wheel in the background. (I took this picture at a gas station. I am sure people thought I was nuts)

I will post some more random pictures tomorrow. This post took me a long time so I am ready for a break! I hope everyone enjoyed it! I didn't put any of my waterfall pictures on but I will tomorrow.

This is a test!

Alexis came to me last night as she was reading her Bible Treasury book. Her face was beaming and she said, "I get it! This is a test! I was reading about where we lived before we came to Earth. Jesus was there and he had a plan and we agreed to it. We came here because it is a test!" What a beautiful moment! I hope I can remind her of that when life gets hard and frustrating. It was wonderful to see her so charged up. She got it and was so proud of herself. Then she said, "When I die and see Jesus I have a million questions for Him!" How cute is that? She is such a thinker and she really likes to understand the reasons behind what we do and believe. I think that is a wonderful quality and I hope I can help her use that quality well. It is moments like that one that make everything worthwhile.

Ready for Spring

Audrey and I are ready for Spring! Audrey keeps picking out skirts and sandals to wear everyday. I am ready to not have anyone sick anymore. I have been the latest target of the winter sickness. I got strep throat last week. It started last Sunday night. I thought it was the fly until I looked at my throat Monday night. Then I knew right away. I had strep two years ago and that kind of thing sticks with ya. Anyway, 36 hours after I got my meds I was feeling so much better. But I lost a week! I wasn't able to get anything done. I have to tell you that I have the best kids around. Monday and Tuesday were my worst days because I didn't have any medicine yet. I literally was in bed all day on Monday. I got up to put movies on for Audrey and to throw food at her. She was such an angel. She played in her room and watched movies all day. Bless that child!

Audrey told me the other day that she wants to be a princess and a police officer when she grows up. Very interesting combination. I'm not sure what gave her the police officer desire but I think she is so cute!

Waterpark Adventure

We have had so much fun in the last two days. Alexis had school off for parent/teacher conferences so I took the girls up to the Wisconsin Dells. We got there in the late afternoon and swam our hearts out. We had a free pizza dinner and then played in the arcade room. Then we went to bed and got up in the morning and swam again. We got home around 2pm today. A nice mini vacation. I think the pictures say it all.

Someone is such a ham! But look at the next picture and you can see that she was done with pictures! She was tired of me taking them and I had to promise that it was the last picture that was to be posed. All the rest would be captured in the moment!





This was really just a glorified hotel with three cool pools. It was the perfect size for me though. I didn't have to worry about where the girls were. I could sit in one spot and pretty much see them the whole time, unless they were walking up the stairs to go down the slide. I didn't have to worry about my stuff either. Plus, the place was practically deserted. Both times we went to swim there were no more than four other families there. That's perfect for me!
This first video is of the girls coming down one of the slides. Ignore the child who appears first in the video. I love Audrey's laugh after she comes down the slide. I could listen to that forever. After you've watched it just picture that about a hundred times and you were there with them! The second video is me coming down the slide. I thought Alexis did a great job capturing that moment. She wanted to videotape more and more after that. I hope I haven't unleashed a video camera monster!

Before and After

I know this is a late post but so be it. The day before Valentine's Day Ben brought me two dozen pink roses. A week before that he brought me two dozen red roses. So Sweet. The day after Valentine's Day Ben brought us ladies chocolates. He brought out Alexis' and Audreys' and then brought out my gigantic heart! We were just about on the floor laughing so hard! We have decided it is a fun tradition to get the flowers and chocolate before and after the actual Valentine's Day. Besides, everything is dirt cheap then! :)

Alexis' Baptism Weekend

We had so much fun the weekend of Alexis' baptism. We had my parents, Ben's parents, Ben's brother and family, Ben's sister and family, and our good friends The Beetz here to help us celebrate that special event. We played a lot of Dance Dance Revolution (I will post some video of the adults playing against each other), and played Apples to Apples and one other card game that I can't remember the name of. It was so fun to have everyone here. It was absolutely freezing outside but we enjoyed our time inside! In the picture above Abby was trying to dance dance! It was so cute.
Some of the bigger girls eating lunch.
Abby has a toy hairdryer (that actually makes the sound) here. It is a toy that is supposed to go with a pet cat. Abby had other plans!
Abby and Thomas are two of the youngest cousins. They were hilarious together. Abby really liked to hang onto Thomas while he wandered everywhere and tried to get an occasional love bite in! :)
Some of the men hanging out chatting. From the left, Ryan (Ben's sisters husband), Andrew (Ben's brother), Ben, and my Dad.

This is my newly carpeted basement. I got it carpeted on Friday, the day everyone came into town. I can't believe it worked out so well. It would have been a really tight squeeze upstairs with all the kids if we didn't have this space to play in. I absolutely love the result. Every time I go downstairs I have a smile on my face!
Abby walking around in her funny socks. She kept pulling them off so I pulled them up real high.
Lily and Audrey didn't feel well on Sunday so they were snuggling and watching a movie together. So cute. Alexis would never permit Audrey to snuggle up like this! This was the first day that Audrey was sick and has been sick all week long. She has been sick for almost five weeks now starting with a bout of croup, then an ear infection, and now she has bronchitis. This poor girl! She is so tired and sick. But she ate for the first time in four days today so hopefully she is on the mend!
Lily and Meredith playing downstairs with the dress up clothes.
Baptism Day. I didn't get many pictures this day but others did. I will have to get a copy of their pics. I was too busy with other things! :)

Thank you to our loving family and wonderful friends who helped make Alexis' baptism day the most special day for her. Even though she was also sick (I know, we can't catch a break!) with a fever she still felt the importance of this day. The talks given to her were wonderful and we are so thankful for our wonderful friends here. Thank you to all!

"I feel the fever"

I keep hoping to fine the time and inclination to post pictures and tidbits about Alexis' baptism. We had a wonderful weekend with lots of family and some close family friends here to share that special moment with us. However, my kids have been constantly sick and I haven't been able to get much done lately. That is why I have five loads of clean clothes on my family room floor. :) Audrey has had a fever since Sunday. She just can't shake it. We have been getting about one good night of sleep a week for the last five weeks it seems. She told me two days ago while sitting on my lap, "I'm so tired. I'm sick. I feel the fever." So cute. She has been so tired and has such low energy. She is not herself and that is always hard to see. Plus, it is the kind of sickness where she wants to be on my lap all day.

We also carpeted out basement and stairs! I absolutely love it and never tire of going downstairs to see it. It has made the house (in my humble opinion). Alright, off to sleep now. I estimate one hour before being woken up by one of my children. :)

Alexis turns 8!!

Alexis had a Superstar Party. We took these lovely ladies and transformed them into superstars. We painted nails, curled hair, and put pink highlights (washable) in their hair. We also gave them sunglasses, necklaces, and rings to add to their superstardom. Then they struck a pose!

Aren't they glamourous? :)


We played a lot of games. We had a dance off with our Dance Dance Revolution pads. Then we played a lot of old fashioned games. This picture is the girls playing telephone. This game still makes me laugh when I hear the warped version of the real saying. We also played musical chairs and Super Super Star (Duck Duck Goose but I made them run around the house to make it more interesting.) We also played a game where the girls had to dress another one up. Whichever team got all their clothes on their team member first won. That was fun to watch.

I made a mini star cake for each girl with their initial on it. That was not only fun but really simple to decorate! :) The girls all had a great time and now my Alexis is 8 years old! I can hardly believe it. She is getting baptized this Saturday and tomorrow she starts attending Achievement Days. Girls 8-11 meet at the church every other Wednesday for an hour. I really feel old now that Alexis does extra activities during the week for church.

Alexis is such a wonderful girl. She is very disciplined (she reads one page in her scriptures each night and also reads another book for at least 15 minutes. Usually it's longer than that. She would read for hours if I let her!) and smart. She loves to read and is still in love with horses. Nothing seems to dim that love. She is really starting to learn about the different kinds of horses and what they are known for. She really is my superstar. :)

I thought this picture was so cute! Audrey is trying to help her Dad shovel the driveway!
This will be Alexis' baptism dress. Some friends of ours are loaning it to us. She is so excited to get baptized! She arranged her own program and asked each person to be involved herself. I should also have mentioned that Alexis is incredibly responsible and remembers things that I don't!

Now we are beginning a winter storm! We are supposed to get 14-18 inches by tomorrow afternoon. I am predicting a snow day tomorrow! Yea! I love snow days. We get to be lazy and watch movies and drink hot chocolate and play in the snow! Whohoo!

Freezing Weather and Hair

I was debating on whether I should post these pictures because I am not sure how I look yet. I think I really like it but it also doesn't look like me at all. I haven't had bangs since grade school (I think). Audrey initially told me "you look cool mom!" Bless that child! But then she recanted when Alexis said I look funny because I have bangs. When I picked Alexis up today she told me she didn't recognize me. Ha! That was kind of why I did this though. I was so tired of my updo and not having any kind of style. Now I can feel like I am not always throwing my hair up. I don't know how Ben feels yet. It usually takes him a couple of weeks to adjust to new haircuts.

The girls thought this picture was hilarious so I included it. I should mention that Alexis took the first picture. She took about eight and we eliminated them all except the one posted above. She was very, uh, helpful with her honest comments: One eye is sagging, you look tired, your eyes are funny looking, you have wrinkles there. Thanks child! :)

Now about that freezing weather. When I left to take Alexis to school it was -2 degrees outside. Okay, I have been handling this weather pretty well. I can take the teens okay but -2? I mean, come on! I feel like I'm being punished this winter because last winter was so mild. Tomorrow the high will be in the 20's and then next week in the 30's. I can't wait for the 30's! No gloves, scarves, and maybe no coat! :)

Mini Trip by Request

Audrey has been asking me for weeks about going on a trip. She didn't care where we went just as long as we stayed in a hotel and went swimming. So we went to Madison. Far enough away to feel like a trip to her but not too far for us to drive. The girls had so much fun. Ben took off of work early Friday and we got into Madison around 5pm. We went swimming right away of course. We had the pool to ourselves so that was great. Then we ate and watched tv until bedtime. Audrey slept in the chair instead of a bed and remarkably she slept all night. I was seriously shocked. We woke up in the morning and Ben took the girls to breakfast and then to swim again. I took a shower and had breakfast without any interruptions. I can't remember the last time I did those to things without any interruptions. It was great.
I thought it was so funny that Audrey chose to sleep in this chair. She does look cozy though.
Swimming with Daddy. There's nothing better than that!

After we checked out of the hotel on Saturday we went to the Madison Children's Museum. It was a pretty cool place. There were a lot of people there though. It was also FREEZING!! When we left the hotel it was -2 degrees. By the time we left for home it was 2 degrees outside. I cannot even begin to tell you how cold I am!! We left for church this morning and it was -2 degrees as well. By the time church was out I think it was almost 9 degrees. I never thought I would be happy to see 9 degrees! I can handle the 20's and even high teens but anything lower and I am done for!

Office visit

Audrey and I went to Ben's office yesterday for lunch. Audrey absolutely loves to do this. She walks into his office like it is a candy shop. She opens all his drawers, sits on his chair and tries to use his laptop, and just explores everything while giggling incessantly. After our visit to his office we head down to the lobby area for lunch. This consists of chips for her. She doesn't care about eating anything else even though there are a ton of choices.
Audrey is the biggest Daddy's girl. She never hesitates to tell me that "Daddy's always right." When Alexis tells me she loves me Audrey immediately says, "I love Daddy!"
Looking at the view from Daddy's office.
Another great view. As we were heading back to the car Audrey watched Ben going up the escalator and said, "I want Daddy to come home NOW!" Then she obligingly repeated this all the way home. I guess I am chopped liver when it comes to being with her Daddy at his office!

Snow Games

When we had tons of snow on the ground the girls were going outside with Ben for hours at a time. They made snow tunnels, slides, picked off icesicles, made up games, tackled each other. And for some reason their bikes kept ending up outside in the snow. I haven't figured out what that was about yet. I know Ben dragged them all around the yard in the sled too. They love to play outside with their Daddy. They have been really bummed about seeing the grass outside.

Energizer Audrey

I realize I haven't posted in a long while. I was going to upload everything today and write a really nice post. However, my sickness is preventing me from wanting to sit up. All four of us are sick right now. Such a bummer. I hate it when the days slid by so slowly with nothing getting accomplished. Both Audrey and Alexis have croup. Audrey got it first and Alexis got it two days later. Ben and I have some kind of nasty cold virus. My head feels swollen and I can't breathe at all. My ear is all plugged too. Alexis is great when she is sick because she will just rest and watch movies or play a computer game. Audrey, on the other hand, is bouncing off the walls today. She also can hardly breathe, has coughed so much she threw up, but still has a wonderful appetite and could probably go for a three mile run. The rest of us are just watching her in disbelief. We are all tired and laying down and she's like, "Let's play baby! Let's play hide and seek! Give me a piggyback! Let's run around! Mommy, come dance with me!" I don't know where she gets all that energy but I sure wish I could have some of it!