Grandparents Day

Kaipo and Ame made these this week at school and wanted some special people to see them, especially for Grandparents Day (this Sunday).

We are retyping Kaipo's, because we know it will be impossible for the elderly to read (haha)

I miss you when we're not together

I'm growing up so fast

See how big I've gotten

Since you saw me last?

As I grow, I'll change a lot,

The years will fly right by.

You'll wonder how I grew so quick

So look upon this handprint

That's hanging on your wall. (or computer)

And memories will come back of me,

When I was very small.

We are very grateful for all our grandparents and are so thankful for the influence they have on our lives! We feel your abounding love for us, even when we are not together, and hold dear all the memories we've made with you and look forward to many, many more!

Ame sends her love and kisses

Kaipo shares some energy, with all his affection, as well

Ash has so much love for you too, and is blowing you a soft little kiss

A NEW IDEA

I took my sister Karli out to lunch yesterday for her birthday (belated) and we were talking about the life challenges we are facing and I started on the subject of my SWEET, ENERGETIC Kaipo. I have been struggling with discipline, finding balance and something that will help improve his behavior. Karli gave me an idea, that a friend of hers had used. So we headed to the $$ store this morning, filled this bucket with random, prizes, toys and treats. We are going to try something a little new and see how it goes. Several times a day we are going to stop and talk about how his behavior has been and if he has had to visit time-out. If he HAS NOT, then he gets to choose something from the bucket. I talked it up the whole way home and said we would check b4 lunch, dinner, and bed. Well... already I have realized I need to shorten my time-frames. Within 10 minutes of returning home and filling up the prize bucket, he was hiding behind the couch, cutting up pages from Ame's diary (partly Ame's fault for leaving her scissors right on her desk, asking to be used). I am making more and more adjustments as the day goes on. I think once he gets 1 prize, he will work harder for the next! We shall see.

But I am soooo open to any other creative ideas, as well!

Some things ABOUT my boys

A few days ago we were in the kitchen. I was fixing Ame's necklace that got broken at school and Kaipo was playing with the stools. I told him, stop doing that...you are going to hurt yourself. I think I say that at least 20 times a day (and luckily he never gets hurt). Well today was a different story. He had put his feet inside the barstool and lost his balance, pulling the stool down on himself, as he crashed to the ground. Usually after his many falls he is just up and no big deal, but not this time. He was crying, as well as stuck under the stool. As I reached down to pull the stool off him and help him up, I saw blood all over his chin. As I held him and look closer, he had cut his chin pretty good, as well as his gums under his front teeth. First thing we did was tried to stop the bleeding, and all I could think was please don't have to go the Emergency Room (QUinn was in the middle of teaching class and I knew I couldn't get ahold of him)! After a while I realized it wasn't as bad as it initially seemed, so we just put some neosporin and a bandade.

Thank goodness it wasn't a serious one! I just know my days of being blessed without seeing the emergency room, will not always be as they were today!!

But for now, I am feeling rather lucky and so glad you are OK, my Kaipo!

And this picture capture 2 things about our little guy, Ash.

One: you can't see all that well, but he (as well as the rest of us) has had a runny nose for a good week now. He is getting more teeth, so that may be it for him, but some of the us have had sore throats, head colds and all the fun that comes with the changing season! I am so looking forward to winter, for that very reason! hahaha
Two: this is what we hear from him, A LOT! Since he still isn't talking much, this is the expression that comes with the yelling and sqealing for anything and eveything he wants (or gets taken away). I try and try to reinforce using words all the time, we watch signing time just about everyday AND the kids and I reinforce signs for everything. We have made a little progress-he signs dog, more, all done, blows kisses, waves bye, says dad (not mom). It is so interesting how different each child develops and it soo hard NOT to compare.

No matter what...I LOVE his cuddles and the sweetness about my little boy!

the FIRST day of School for our two BIG kids

Rise and Shine! It is the first day of school!!!

By the look on their faces you'd think I got them up at 5am (only 7:15).

Mom made a special breakfast-Egg/Bacon/Cheese Sandwhiches

and Breakfast Milkshakes (jme we make them all the time) Here's my BIG boy all ready for his 1st day of Pre-School
Ame is SOO ready, although now going back inside for a sweater.
She was so excited to wear her new dress and of course
we get a nice cold spell, so a sweater it is!
A new backpack of course

These 2 were equally excited for each other on their 1st day

And we are off! (QUinn had class this morning)

First stop (with the boys aboard), Ame's class! She found her spot on the carpet.

It was funny there were several PROUD parents (including myself) standing along the back of the classroom snaping pics and getting video. After a few minutes of intro the teacher told all the kids to turn around and WAVE GOODBYE to their parents. That was a cute way of saying

GET OUT OF HERE!

I wasn't as teary as I thought I would be, sending off my 1st to school.

I was just proud and excited for her. We have been waiting for this day for

A LONG TIME!

Next it was off to Kaipo's class...Alphabet Train PreSchool.

Kaipo and my good friend's boy, Casen. They are great pals too!

(the are both about the same...rough & tumble & crazy)

Ms. Michelle is in our stake and was highly recommended.

I think she will be GREAT with Kaipo-giving him the discipline

and structure he needs.

I HAD to take this picture.

After all that racing around, I brought Ash home to take a quick nap

b4 we had to go back to pick everyone up. I decided to check my

email and do a few things on the computer. And after a moment of

NO interruptions, I realized...IT IS SOOO QUIET.

It actually felt really wierd, but I think I will enjoy this

2 hours/twice a week!

Then it was back to school for pick-up.

I took a cute picture of Ame with her teacher,

Miss Amy when she had her one-on-one evaluation time.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten my camera, so I just snapped

a few withmy camera phone, which now I can't get off cuz something is

wrong withmy plug. I am annoyed with my phone lately!!

(beside the point)
Here she is, after her 1st day of school!

Ame with our 2 neighbors, Jackson and Garritt

(they are in the other kindergarten class)

Ame and Ireland-she is in another ward in our church bldg,

but they have played together a few times, so hopefully they become

better friends now that they are in the same class.

I worry about Ame and making friends. She feels left out easily

(which I am sure is common at this age), and I have been trying to talk to her

about how to make friends. I encouraged her to learn the name of one

new class member each day (and each day I will ask her who she met),

until she knows everyone! Hopefully that will help her to be a

little more outgoing!!

I didn't see who instigated the hand-holding,

but I though that was cute.

Rainy Day, Fun?

We got a big cold, rain storm, which rolled in Sunday after church.

While we were eating dinner, it started to POUR.

I told the kids we should go play in the rain and they LOVED the idea.

(I was inspired by my sisters blog about Chris playing with Kaiya in the rain)

We finished up and got changed, just in time for it to STOP raining.

It sprinkled on and off for a while, but it wasn't quite the

FUN in the RAIN that we had hoped for.

All we really got was cold and a little wet.

Better luck next time?!

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!

*****************************

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****