Ohana Picnic

We had a fun afternoon today. Ame's hula group has an Ohana Picnic about this time

every year. The kids had a blast with the bounce/slide, as well as other games and activities.

Of course a hawaiian party, isn't a party without the yummy local food-short ribs,

kalua pork, rice and mac salad.

We left the park with some prizes, full bellies and

worn out kids!

Who could ask for anything more??

If in doubt...check and re-check

So I did my weekly gorcery shopping earlier this week and I had to get some EXTRA things to make dishes for parties we would be attending, but when my total showed on the screen I was shocked!!! I didn't think I had gotten that much more than usual. As I was walking out of the store, I noticed that a few things that were marked down WITH a tag, were scanned as regular price, so I headed to customer service to get refunded for my over-charge.

But it still seemed like I had spent WAY more for what I had actually taken home. After I got home and put everything away, I looked over my receipt more closely and found the source of the MUCH larger bill. I was charged for 59 ears of corn on the cob, instead of 5! SO instead of being charged $2.50, I was charged $29.50. I called the store and reported my finding and they said to come back in with my receipt and they would surely refund my $$.

It definitely pays to check your receipt.

If ever in doubt, I have LEARNED to always check AND re-check!

Short-cut treat

I was looking for a quick treat to make for Family Home Evening last night

(we have it on Sundays cuz QUinn is usually teaching on Mondays).

Snicker Doodles sounded really good to make, so I decided to try it with this mix.

I haven't had a snicker doodle for a LONG time, so I kinda forgot what they

should taste like, but these tasted pretty darn good. Just make sure to

refrigerate/freeze them well, before trying to roll & dip them. I was too

anxious to wait, so I just went ahead and they were quite sticky.

Other than that, I would say these make a pretty good substitute to the real thing!

BLOCK party

We had such a FUN night tonight!

Some of the neighbors, organized a block party.

They contacted the local fire and police departments and believe

it or not THEY provided the hamburgers and hot dogs. They like to sponsor

get-togethers like this, one-to get to know some of the residence AND for us to

get to know them, two-to promote neighborhood watch and safety.

We had a great turn out. Everyone just brought a

side dish to share, their own drinks and chairs. They brought fire trucks and police cars for the kids to check out Ame with her friends (who are sisters), Lily and Avery.
Next to Kaipo is his nursery leader, Teacher Andi.
He LOVES her, and the feeling is pretty mutual.
Not everyone understands Kaipo and has patience for
all of his energy, so we appreciate all she does for him!!
(Her husband is one of the builders for our development)

Do you think Kaipo enjoyed being in the fire truck??

Ash thought it was pretty cool too.

They passed badges to the kids and Kaipo HAD to get a

picture with one of the Police Officers.

one of our neighbors was joking...remember this face, because

it may not be your only encounter with him!! hahaha

He has a boy Ame's age, that is a pretty crazy kid too.

This is where most of the kids ended up later in the evening,

in someone's backyard playing on the jungle gym.

Isn't this cool? I know MY kids would love to have one in our yard.

Ame thought she was pretty cool doing this trick.

She has also conquered the Monkey Bars at the park,

so she is pretty proud of herself!

If YOU are looking for a fun way to casually get to know

your neighbors, you should contact YOUR local police dept.

and see if they do the same thing. It was such an easy thing

to plan, without much preparation or expense for that matter.

A little Visitor

Last night we got to enjoy a visit from our cute little cousin, Kaiya.

Her mom and dad had a night out (to a concert), without their little girl.

She seemd to enjoy our normal routine of things, like taking a walk and having a bath.

She was quite entertained by my wild monkeys,

but I guess felt more security with ME,

because whenever I left her sight she cried.

As an aunt that is a flattering thing, much more than as a mom. The tub was a little more crowded, but the kids

didn't seem to mind one bit!

It is always an interesting challenge to figure out how to

get everyone out of the tub (especially when someone new is involved),

without too much crying and/or complaining.

But we managed to get everyone clean, dry, lotioned up

and dressed with minimal frustation.

Thanks for visiting Kaiya. We LOVED having you all to ourselves!

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Ame is going to be a FANTASTIC babysitter in a few years,

although she already is at our house! She was a HUGE help while Kaiya was over,

and actually is my BIG HELPER all the time!

River Walk

There is a trail along side a river, a ways from our house.

I discovered it when I did the 5K run, because the course we ran took the trail

for part of the run. I have been wanting to take the kids, and finally had a free

afternoon (so did Quinn). The kids wanted to ride their bikes and Ash got to take a

lone ride in the double stroller (I had a feeling Kaipo wouldn't make it the whole way

on his bike). The kids did really well on their bikes and we had quite a nice walk/ride.

It was somewhere around 95 today, so when we finally found a spot along the trail that

we could actually GET to the river, it was very refreshing!!

The river is actually quite swift and we have heard that some

people do raft down it. So we may just have to try that

sometime soon! Ash was enjoying sitting in the COLD water

and eating dirt, pebbles, or whatever he could find.

Kaipo lost one of his slippers (flip flops) and yelled to
Daddy, but he just wasn't quick enough.
The kids wore their swim suits, but QUinn and I didn't.
As you can see, Quinn was still a trooper and took the
kids OUT into the faster flowing water.

Of course it is always fun getting to the desired destination,
but the ride back was quite a bit harder (especially for Kaipo-
with only one shoe). Luckily we brought the double stroller.
Boy did we get our work out, me pushing both the boys uphill
and Quinn running with Ame, carrying Kaipo's bike!

I am so glad we made the effort to go in search of the river walk.
I only wish we would have discovered it sooner!
Hopefully we can try tubing before the summer is over :)

the things HE says

Kaipo's vocabulary and educated phrases are just growing in leaps and bounds!

SOme things he says, QUinn and I just look at each other and

wonder where did he hear that? Others things just make us laugh OUT LOUD!

And then there are some things that just make me so proud to be HIS mom.

Like tonight:

Quinn and I were talking about attending the temple.

All of a sudden, Kaipo was saying something VERY PROUDLY,

that we didn't quite understand and had to have him repeat a few times.

We finally figured out this is what he said,

I LOVE to feel the spirit.

And then he sang for us...I Love to See the Temple

This boy LOVES to sing Primary songs and I am amazed at how he

remembers the words to so many different songs. Like the one he just started

singing, out of the blue, at the grocery store today.

...the rains came down and the floods came up...

I am grateful for these humbling moments, that make me appreciate

and LOVE Kaipo so very much! Because of the endless amounts of energy

he carries with him ALL the time and the recent, many defiant moments he

seems to have, I find myself constantly regreting losing my patience!!

I know I have soo much to learn and

I know that my children are teaching me soo

much every day!!

Another Monkey????

I don't remember Kaipo being a climber this early. Ash used to be content with climbing into the laundry basket, standing on a little step stool or something else LOW to the ground...until today. He decided to climb right onto the bench of our table and then continue all the way up on top.

Oh boy, what are we in for?

Do we have ANOTHER monkey on our hands???

He just has the sweetest, most innocent look, don't you think?

But sometimes he gets the same mischievious look,

that his older brother does.

I still wonder each and every day what his personality will blossom into?

Any guesses???

Library Time

We LOVE to visit the library often and get a stack of

new books to read and enjoy! We get a variety of books to read aloud

together and also Level 1 Books for Ame to read to us. Sometimes the kids are

lucky enough to find a fun DVD too (I say lucky because the library selection is by no

means a Blockbuster collection, but every now and then we find some good ones),

and this time we got Mary Poppins and Eloise.

Ame and I also found a really cute book titled,

My Dadima Wears a Sari.

It is about a Grandma (Dadima) who teaches her grand-daughter

about all the Sari's she wears, how to wear them and how each one she

has is special.VERY fitting for a girl who has a grandma living in India!

Happy Anniversary

Today marks the anniversary of another year spent with someone very special. Quinn is a person whom I admire for so many reasons. He is such an ambitious, driven person, who isn't satisfied with just being average. Inspite of that desire to always do more, he never forgets his family. He always thinks of me and whats best for our children and family as a whole. He makes me WANT to be better, despite what I may say or how I may react to his suggestions. We have had quite a wild ride together, and have been A LOT of places, but as I contemplate where we have been and what we have done, we have become stronger though each experience, and we have so many WONDERFUL memories!

We started our days together in paradise...Hawaii

became an eternal couple in Utah, Hawaiian style

spent some time in New Mexico

back in Hawaii again,

this time with a beautiful little girl by our side-Ame'lia

our family grows, with our 1st boy-Kaipolani

and again, with our 2nd boy-Ashkiilani

and here we are today...
we spend a QUIET night in Park City, just enjoying being together and ALONE!

We have changed A LOT physically over the years, but have changed and grown in soo many more important ways too! Thank you honey, for loving me no matter what and for being our constant provider, our rock and driving force for all that is good!

Happy 9 years!!

****I LOVE YOU****

Dates

A month or so ago we started a new tradition with our kids, well the older 2 for now.

We rotate each of them having a date with mom or dad.

I enjoyed my date with this handsome guy!

He wanted to go to McDonalds (in the middle of the afternoon-which was great

cuz it was a scorching hot day) for an ice cream and fries AND of course playland.

I LOVED the one-on-one time together, just me and him!!

He is such a loving, generous and amazingly smart little (but not really so little) boy.

I LOVE YOU KAIPO Ame had her date with the daddy the first week and went to IHOP for breakfast.

********

Then for my date we just got a SHAVE ICE and went shopping together.

I mean what else do GIRLS do for fun??? Ame really does already like to go shopping!

Ame... I love MY girl more than I could ever express. You are soo thougtful, helpful, beautiful, inquisitive and extremely intelligent. You amaze me!

I look forward to many more years of getting to know my kids and fun dates together!

Haircuts

Monday night, while Quinn was gone to work I gave the boys much needed haircuts. I decided to try something new and personality fitting, so I gave Kaipo a mohawk. Quinn came home from class and was late for one of his calls, so he didn't notice the haircuts right away. It wasn't until he was in the middle of his call and started laughing, that he saw Kaipo's new cut. He said I should have cut it down the back too (he is part native american, so it would've actually been somewhat appropriate), but I thought that was a little too extreme.

What do YOU think?

And Ash, well I thought about the mohawk for him, but he's just

too sweet and innocent right now. We'll give that just a little time!

Hannah Weekend

My kids were SOOO excited to watch the Hannah Montana 3D concert on TV last weekend. Luckily we found it on another channel, that was NOT in 3D cuz the crazy glasses were not meant for kids and wouldn't stay on, AND the whole 3D bit gave me a headache. It was funny to watch them jump around dancing and singing to all her songs. And yes Kaipo knows all the songs just as much as Ame (that is what you get having an older SISTER).

Sluffing & A Recipe

It is 2:00pm on Sunday afternoon and our church started an hour ago. I am home alone and it is VERY quiet! I came down with some sort of flu bug yesterday-acky, nausea, and somewhat dizzy everytime I walk from one room to the next. So I think I feel OK to sluff today. I enjoyed a nice, LONG shower, with NO interruptions of yelling or complaining from kids. And now I am just relaxing on the coach and watching an interesting program on KBYU about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The peace, quiet and relaxation will only last a little while longer,

but it sure feels NICE!

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A couple of people asked for the recipe to my mom's (I hope it wasn't a secret recipe)

yummy zuccini bread. So here it is:

3 eggs 3 t. vanilla

2 c. sugar (brown or white) 3 t. cinnamon

2 c. grated zuccini 1 t. allspice

1 c. veg. oil 1 t. salt

3 c. flour 1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. baking powder

1 pkg. cinnamon chips or 1/2 cinnamon + 1/2 choc. chips

*you can also add 1 c. walnuts (I don't cuz my kids wouldn't eat it)

*I also like to make it a little healthier and substitite applesauce for oil (or half c. of each)

Beat eggs 'til foamy, add sugar, oil, zuccini and vanilla. Combine all dry ingredients. Add to egg mixture. Stir well and add chips.

Grease 2 loaf pans

Bake @350 for 1hr.

to give and to receive...oh what joy!

We were soo excited to RECEIVE a package in the mail a few days ago, from India.

The kids each got a personalized postcard from grandma and grandpa Asplund, and a Pass-Along card with a special message from Jesus (via gma and gpa). Thank you for the unexpected mail, the kids were soo excited to get it and read their messages-Ame read everyone's to them!

We are also making a few deliveries ourselves today. Kaipo's sports teacher gave away HUGE zuccini's on the last day of class, so we decided to make Zuccini Bread. I even found cinnamon chips (they are hard to find), which my mom uses in her recipe and they make it oohh soo good!

Kaipo's nursery teacher has been sick,

so we are taking some to her.

It always feels so good to GIVE and

find ways for the kids to show simple acts of service.

Sports Intro

I signed Kaipo up for a 4 week Pee Wee Sports class, which was an introduction to 3 sports.

T-ball

(while waiting his turn he is practicing his SHAKA, trying anyway)

Soccer

Football

I was really happy with this class. It was a great way for Kaipo to be introduced to these sports (since he is too young to join a team sport), and hopefully gain an interest in them. The only thing I thought was a bit negative was the waiting your turn period, for each kid to try and kick or throw or whatever they were working on. I tried to be interactive as much as I could, which wasn't always easy since I had the other 2 kids there with me. And it was also fun to learn a little bit more about Kaipo's personality too, in a different setting. I think he has some GREAT athletic potential! We shall see which direction his interest and desire goes.

2 days of NON-stop Fun

We had my brother Jason's family over...minus Jason (we always seem to plan something when he is gone, this time it was YM-Priest's camp) for dinner and fireworks, in celebration of

Pioneer Day. Their boys are soo cute, but Ella has gotten even cuter since the last time I saw her. Unfortunately, I didn't remember to get out the camera until it was too late for her.

After a WILD night, I told LeAnne the 2 older boys were welcome to have a sleep over

(plus I knew SHE could use the break, having Jason gone).

They watched a movie and most were up until after MIDNIGHT!!

My kids don't get the opportunity for sleep-overs very often, so I figured why not???

It is the memories that count, right!?

This morning Ame's Primary teacher, Sister Larsen (who happens to be one of the sisters

I visit teach as well), came to watch the video from Ame's Hula Performance. We invited her,

but she was soo sad she couldn't make it that night. She has had such a positive influence on Ame's attitude toward primary. She is so cute with Ame-invites her over to color and

spend time together.

We are SOOO sad because they are moving away, her husband is going to Medical School. I sure hope Ame doesn't revert back to her old attitude of I don't want to go to Primary, since Sister Larsen won't be there. We shall see how this Sunday goes??
We heard about this place not to far from home called Splash Pad.
So we went with our friends today to check it out.
Ash had a BLAST!
I LOVE taking pics of this boy!
He is just so easily entertained and I can almost always count on a smile from him.
The older kids just thought it was OK.
They seemed to like the park next door much better and eating their picnic lunch even more!

Spare Time???

So I don't feel like I get very much SPARE time, but these are a couple of things

I have done in the past couple of days.

HAIR CLIPS

I have also made a few baby headbands, for a couple of recent friend showers.

(don't be surprised if you get one as a gift, sometime in the future)

I was somewhat motivated by my friend Katie, who mentioned she had been updating her

72 hour Kit

my ward has also been posting in our newsletter weekly things that we should add to out kit.

THAT has helped me a ton! I am not very good at food storage either, so I thought getting this ready would get me going a step in the right direction.

A few simple things, but I feel so much more accomplished when I see my results!

The Annual Luau

Saturday was a BIG day for Ame and her Hula group.

They have a annual performance every year, in July, and they worked so hard to be ready for this day. We were soo glad our good friends, The Robinson's could come and support Ame, as well as Quinn's mom Frankie and her husband, Jeff. We so appreciated them coming and hope they enjoyed some great authentic food and entertainment.

Ame's age group got all new costumes this year.

This is her Tahitian costume...

and the beautiful performance

Here's her Hula costume

Aren't they so authentic looking?!

I was asked to be in charge of the raffle. I said sure, not realizing the committment I was getting into. With selling tickets before the show, then having to draw tickets & pass out prizes all through-out the show, while trying to helping Ame and other girls dress back stage, attempting to get some pics, chasing the 2 boys around AND sit periodically to ENJOY the show...wow I was tired! Yes, Quinn was there, but he was filming. And there isn't a lot of multi-tasking when that is going on.

I finally got to eat my GOOD food when we got home about 10:30.

But at those few moments while Ame was performing,

it was all worth it and I was such a proud mom!!

For such a LONG night, Ash was such a GOOD boy and full of smiles!

Kaipo got to join some volunteers on stage, to shake HIS okole'.

He was so darn cute, and was not the least bit shy about showing his stuff!

Here's his LIVE performance

I am so glad Ame has learned this unique and cultural form of dance.

I just hope she WANTS to continue for years and years!

We plan to start Kaipo in a few years, when he is old enough to join the boys.

The group ranges from 3yrs (girls), 6 years (boys), to adults. I have wanted to start taking lessons myself, but unfortunately it just hasn't ever fit into our busy life schedule.

Hopefully some day in the near future it will!!