Three words...I LOVE HAWAI'I!

Wow. That's all I can say. Let me explain. Steve's Mom and Dad, the very best in-laws, took us all to Hawaii. We went with Marge and Wayne, Steve's sister, Susan and Matt, Steve's brother, Scott and Patty, and all of the kids. There were 16 of us all together. And we had the time of our lives!!!

We started off on Oahu, and took a 12-hour tour of the island. We saw everything, including Pearl Harbor, macadamia and pineapple plantations, and a blue stop sign! (I don't know why it was blue, it just was!) We walked the streets and played on the beach of Waikiki. We were there for 3 days. It was a great time.

We flew to the Big Island (Hawaii) next. We stayed there for 6 days. We saw everything from an active erupting volcano to the most beautiful tropical scenery on earth! It actually brought tears to my eyes to see the beauty of the creation. Usually after 9 days anywhere, I'm ready to go home...not this time. I could have stayed for a month!

I've decided to post an album of our pictures, since I can't really post 400 photos on my blog!

Sportscenter...

We decided to live on the edge a little this fall and do, not one or two sports teams, or even three. We did four! How, you ask? Not only was Kortnee playing soccer, Kade was playing soccer and football. But, Kade was not only playing on one football team and one soccer team, he played on two soccer teams. Hence, I have one word to sum up the season...CRAZY!!!! We spent every Saturday this fall at the soccer/football fields from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. And I loved every minute of it!!!

Last week was the first Saturday that we didn't have games all day, and I really didn't know what to do with myself. I have to admit, I'm going to miss all the craziness running from game to game. Kortnee's team, the Celtic's were 5 and 3. They did great!

Kade just finished playing a tournament for team Eagles. They did great! They lost to the Lions, the best team in the league, but they did great! And this is their first year playing!!

Here he is scoring his first touchdown!!!

Lake Powell in October? Yep, it's a great time to go!

Every year in October, my extended family goes to Lake Powell. We have a timeshare on a houseboat and it falls on the second week of October. I know what you're thinking -- Lake Powell, in October??? Ok, some years the weather is rainy, windy, or both. (That just gives us a good excuse to stay in and play games all day!) But this year it was beautiful! The weather was sunny and 85 degrees. We swam, skied, tubed, rode the slide and had a great time! The best part of going at this time of year is it actually cools off at night, so you sleep all night without covering yourself with wet towels. (Done that many times in July and August!)

We missed Cyd and Rich. They didn't come because Cyd was ready to pop anyday. We missed Johnny and Nicole because they were on a much bigger boat...called the Carnival Cruise. LUCKY! But we still had lots of good laughs!

Here are some pictures to show you how much fun we had!
Go, Ally, Go!!!

Fun on the tube with Uncle Noah!

Yep, that's Kade flying high!!! And he wants

everyone to knowthat he DIDN'T fall off!

Khloe is not sure if she is having fun or not. But she was sure excited to ride on the tube! She wasn't scared at all!

I think I should win an award for this photo! Doesn't it look like it should be in a magazine or something? Pure luck, no skill.

Look at these cute little faces! I can't believe Chaquita (the dog) lived through the week. Khloe carried her around by her neck for 4 days straight! You can see the pain in the little dog's eyes in this photo. Poor thing!

Here's Kade catching a fish with Grandpa. Too bad it wasn't big enough to keep and eat, but it was fun to see him reel it in all by himself!!! (By the way, nice shorts, Dad. And you're fishing, not deer hunting! HeeHee)

Our little mommy...

The other day I was folding laundry and I noticed how quiet the house was. Oh, it was such a nice sound. I actually started singing a quiet little song to myself as I was enjoying the peace and quiet. Then it hit me. Khloe was somewhere in the house, and I could hear a pin drop. Something was just not right. So I went upstairs, calling her name. I saw the door to her room -- closed! I flung the door open, not sure if I would find permanent marker all over the wall, or bright red finernail polish all over the carpet. Instead, I found this:

She had stuffed her "my little pony" baby up her shirt. I guess she realized how tiring it is to be pregnant, so she made herself a little bed, laid down on it and fell asleep. She's our sweet little mommy who let's us know every day that she is "in charge."

Ok, I'm a slacker...

Ok, those of you who know me know that I have a little problem. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist. So, when my sister told me on Tuesday that I was a terrible blogger because I've neglected my blogging duties, I was a little devastated and embarrassed that I hadn't done as well as I had hoped in this whole blogging adventure. My plan was to blog every other night, post pictures, and tell every cute little thing that happened to my family. Well, realistically, I think I've been lucky to post more than once a month. I can give excuse after excuse, but all in all, I just haven't done it. Period. Sorry, Ash. I'll try harder. I'm a slacker. There, I admitted it.

Happy Birthday, Khloe!!!

Wow. It's official. I'm old. My baby is 4! Khloe had a great birthday and despite a few little temper tantrums and attitude adjustments, she had a great day. Here she is in all her 4-year-old super-model-posing glory!

Our Trip to Phoenix

We decided to head out of town for Labor Day. You think we would want to escape the 105 degree weather, right? WRONG! (I think we fried our brains sitting by the pool one too many times this summer.) We decided to head south to Phoenix. Actually, it was a bit cooler, but there was one difference. A storm had just come through and the humidity was terrible! So, not only was it hot but it was sticky too. Now, I realize it was nothing like the summers in Florida, but for a desert-dwelling girl like me, who LOVES temperatures over 100 as long as it's dry, it was a little too sticky for me. Oh, and my natural curl/wave/frizz kept rearing it's ugly head. But, we survived and we had a BLAST! We went with our neighbors/adopted family (Or BFFs as everyone in the ward calls us), the Jespersons.
We went to an Arizona D'Backs game. For those of you who don't follow baseball, they are a professional baseball team in Phoenix. They have a huge indoor air-conditioned stadium. (I guess in Phoenix you would have to have air-conditioning!) It was amazing! Steve, being a CFO and a big Finance guy with $$$ signs always going through his head wanted to see the power bill for that place. We had hot dogs and tons of cotton candy and left with lots of souvenirs and tummy aches. What more could you ask for?
Here are some of the memories we made. We can't wait to go back.


We also went to the Mesa Temple. It was beautiful. I had never been to Phoenix or Mesa, so I was surprised to see orange trees growing on the grounds of the temple! It was beautiful. Much greener and prettier than Vegas, I must say. There is nothing like grass. I wish we had more of it here. Here are more photos of the family, with Khloe doing her famous poses. We're not sure if she is going for "America's Next Top Model" or what. She practices daily in the mirror.

School started...

I still think of myself as a brand new mom. And because of this, there are often times when I am not quite sure how to parent. When I find myself in those situations, I always say to myself
"Self, you're new at this parenting thing. What do you expect? Just be patient and someday you'll get it." Unfortunately, I've been kidding myself. It's been 11 1/2 years and I really should know what I'm doing. I guess I'm just a slow learner. :)

Anyhoo, back to the topic at hand. I never thought the day would come. But it did. My little baby Kortnee, the one that I just barely gave birth to a few short years ago, started MIDDLE SCHOOL! It just blows my mind. Fortunately, at the end of the day, she LOVED it. She finally admitted she was a little nervous. It was really cute because she was acting cool and seemed to be handling things very well, but as I dropped her off at the school, she turned to me and said, "Ok, Mom. I'm scared to death!" I pulled myself together and said, "Kortnee, you are going to do great! You know where all of your classes are and you have your map. Just go in there and do your very best! And don't be afraid to ask questions!" Then she got out of the car, and walked in and... I lost it! I cried and cried. It was like the first day of Kindergarten all over again. Why is it that the kids are always braver than the parents?

Kade started 3rd grade. He did wonderful. Kade has a way of adapting so easily to any situation. He has no fear of anything! He loves his new teacher, Mrs. Martin and his classmates. He starts GATE (Gifted And Talented Education) in a couple of weeks. He goes three times a week to an accelerated class where they learn more challenging ideas and subjects. Hopefully he will enjoy it. He is a good kid and we never have to worry about him in school. I did shed a tear for him too. I just can't believe how big they are getting and how fast they grow. Just yesterday he was my little guy who would say "Mom, maybe I should stay home from school today because you'll just miss me too much." Sadly, he doesn't say that anymore.

Khloe, well, she doesn't start school for another couple of weeks. I was tempted to ask Mrs. Martin if she would take a three-year-old this year. Then I thought maybe she could pass as a 1st grader. Not so. Guess I'll just have to wait. She'll start ABC Etc. and go MWF from 12:15-2:30. Hmmmmm.........whatever will I do with all that time?

School Awards

Well, I know school is about to start again, but we are on year-round school, so believe it or not, our kids just got out of school. At the end of the year the teachers and principal give out awards and both Kortnee and Kade got a couple. Steve and I were so proud of them. Kortnee got the "Library/Best Reader Award" for her 5th Grade class and Kade got the "Music Award" and the "Principal's Award" for his 2nd Grade class. They both did great this year and made the A-Honor Roll every semester. They also had great teachers who challenged them beyond their grade level so they didn't get bored in the classroom. They are both great students and are excited to start school again real soon...in only 7 days!!!
Good job, Kortnee and Kade and good luck in 6th grade and 3rd grade!

A Funny Thing Happened...

I had a really strange but kinda cool thing happen to me the other day. First of all, let me give you a little history so that it makes sense in the end. Last November, that's 9, count them, 9 months ago, Steve and I spoke in church. It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so the theme we talked about was "Gratitude", of course. Well, speaking in church for me is one of those experiences that you want to forget about the second, no, the mili-second that you walk off the stand. So, I have not thought about that talk again since then, and was not planning on thinking about it ever again. I got a phone call a couple of days ago from a lady who was visiting our ward that day. She said: "I came to your ward on November 25 and I heard you speak. I really would like a copy of your talk, if you still have it." I guess I read a poem in my talk (it's all a huge blur to me) and she was really touched by the poem and wanted a copy of it. Soooo, I searched through my "Talks for Church" folder on my laptop and sure enough, there was my talk titled, "Gratitude Talk". So, I read it. I couldn't believe it. I know I wrote that talk 9 months ago, but it was EXACTLY what I needed to hear right now. I have read it over and over and it has really helped me to see the blessings that I have and be more grateful for all that the Lord has given me. I think we focus a lot on gratitude during the Thanksgiving season, but then fail to see the everyday blessings we receive the rest of the year. So, this was really good for me to read in the middle of August! I decided that I would put the poem in this post because it really does remind us that the things in our lives that seem to get under our skin, our really blessings from above!

So, the moral of this story is...the Lord knows what we need. And sometimes He works through strangers, like people we've never met who saw us speak in church 9 months previous and get our phone number from I-don't-even-know-who and call us out of the blue. And through them He gives us a sweet little blessing to remind us of all we've been given!

Here is the poem:

Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes;
We have plenty of food to eat.
Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry;
We have plenty of nice clothes to wear.
And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds;
They were so warm and comfortable last night.
I know that many have no bed.
My thanks to thee, Lord, for this bathroom,
Complete with all the splattered mirrors, soggy, grimy towels and dirty lavatory;
They are so convenient.
Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs cleaning so badly;
It has served us faithfully.
It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.
Thank you, Lord, for this oven that absolutely must be scrubbed today.
It has baked so many things over the years.
The lawn that needs raking;
For each one of us enjoys the yard.
Thank you, Lord, even for that slamming sliding door.
My kids are healthy and able to run and play.
Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says
You have richly blessed my family.