What we've been up to. . .

So I haven't felt much like blogging lately and then when I did there was so much to write about. So I decided a condensed version was best since my to do list keeps growing each day.

On Nov. 21 was my dad's birthday. My dad is the strong silent type who has a heart bigger than his body. He will drop everything to help someone out. Growing up even though my dad worked long hours to provide for us he was always helping out in any way he could. I remember when there was a hurricane coming and where was dad-out in the neighborhood making sure everyone was okay.

A few things I love about my dad:

*he loves the gospel

*he taught us the value of hard work by example

*to hear him sing

*he adores my mom

*loves and knows his family history

*his laugh

The picture above was taken by a wonderful family friend. He does amazing work, check him out here.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. It was the perfect day-we slept in a little, cooked a boat load of yummy food, watch the parade and some football, ate, slept, and ate some more.

The next day Dave left for a couple of days to visit his parents in California. He had a wonderful time. He has the most amazing parents!!

This year Kawika was in the Geography Bee at school. He's been in the Spelling Bee the last few years but this was the first for the Geography Bee. The principal warned us at the beginning that the questions were really hard and that even she wouldn't know a lot of them. And she wasn't kidding. If you got two questions wrong you were eliminated, after the first 2 rounds 7 out of 10 were eliminated. Kawika was one of the 3 left. Then the person who came in 3rd was eliminated. That left Kawika and one other boy. In the final round they were each asked questions and if one answered wrong and the other right then that person won. They were asked probably 7 or 8 and finally the other boy answered correctly and won. We were so proud of Kawika he did awesome!!!! The funniest part was at the end when they were congratulating the other boy for winning and let him know that over Christmas break he would be studying to take a test to qualify for the state level. This boys jaw dropped to the floor-his expression said it all-Are you kidding me I just won and my prize is studying!! I looked over at Kawika and he had a smirk on his face that said Whew, I'm glad I got 2nd place!

That night we had a party to celebrate. I made a cake and we gave him a box of nerd candies. I thought I did pretty good at my little globe cake-but don't look to closely I'm sure it's not that geographically correct.

Yoga or something like that

Often times when the kids play with Dave they get pretty rowdy. He is just too much fun! There's a lot of chasing, tickling, screaming, wrestling, and anything else that entails fun and laughter. So to get them to calm down he has them sit down and do I guess you could call the Brubaker version of Yoga or meditation. Now keep in mind that my husband is the instructor. . .

See he starts out with good intentions of calming them down. . . looking good girls-can you feel the calmness and peace washing over you?

Then it moves straight to silliness again.

Good thing all their silliness is gone. ;)

A Band-aid can fix anything, anywhere. . .

Even an owee on your ear :)

(silly girl, as long as it makes you feel better)

Fall Festival

We went to the Fall Festival at my kids school on the 8th(I know I'm behind). The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time. Kawika and Kalani both brought friends which they were very excited about. Kawika and Kyle both spent a bunch of tickets at this game.

Kyle with a nice jump shot.

Kawika shooting a basket.

Kalani and David

Kalei was so excited to ride on the pony(although I didn't capture that in a picture).

Kaili and Kalei had fun on the bounce obstacle courses.

Last year at the festival Kawika and Kyle each won 4 2-liter bottles of soda at the ring toss. They have been planing all year long to go back to the ring toss and set a world record of most soda won at one festival. But they made the game harder this year so they didn't set any records but still came away with 6 bottles of soda! They were so excited! All in all the kids had a great time at the festival and overloading on treats(anybody want them for a bit while they're on a sugar high?)

She's finally lost it!!!

Her first tooth that is. . .HOORAY!!!

That tooth has been hangin by a thread for what seems like forever! Dave finally pulled it out last Monday. She was so excited to have lost her first tooth and finally get a visit from the tooth fairy.

The thrill of the chase

I was outside with the girls the other day watching them chase each other on their bikes. I remember loving the thrill of being chased. I'm sure things like that and spinning till I fell over kept me busy for many hours as a kid! :)

Glad it's over

I just have to say I am so glad that this whole crazy election stuff is over. The thing I am most happy about was the Proposition 102 passed here in Arizona. It's the same as Prop 8 in California. I am so grateful that it passed, it's been really stressing me out. We had received counsel from our leaders here that this was a very important issue and how critical it was for us to get the word out and support this cause to save traditional marriage. I am so thankful for the Proclamation, the scriptures, inspired leaders, the spirit, and with that, what more do we need. I've had some good thoughts through all of this, I have realized that I cannot control what goes on outside of my home. I can make sure that I have a home where my children are taught true principles and the spirit can be felt. I can arm them with the truthfulness of the gospel so that when they leave the sanctuary of our home into the world so that they can make their own choices the way the Lord would have them choose.

A fun Halloween

The week leading up to Halloween was a pretty busy week and to top it all off my poor hubby was sick. We tried to find a night to carve pumpkins but finally just carved them on Halloween. The kids got out of school early and had a lot of fun carving them out. They actually helped scrape out the seeds this year which they always were grossed out by how slimy they were.

The boys liked that the candle gave their pumpkin a lit tooth

The girls jack-o-lantern masterpiece

Dave was able to convince the kids to dress up as things we already had stuff for, so it was nice that we didn't have to buy very much.

Kawika was excited to be able to wear his dads football jersey.
Our ward has a trunk or treat every year that has kind of turned into a neighborhood party. They had games, hot dogs, and cotton candy. The kids and I had a great time and Dave stayed home to pass out candy:( When we got home the kids spent a good hour trading candy with each other and of course they still have enough candy to last them till next Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

THERE'S BEEN A GHOST SITING!!!

(aka Kalei)

October Happenings

So I've been MIA for the past month. This month has gone by so quick with lots going on and Halloween has come faster than I realized. I thought I would post random pictures of things that happened-now that I look back at the month I'm wondering what I was doing!!?? Nothing major-somehow every day things can always manage to keep us all so busy.

Yesterday the girls decided to make bubbles in the sink. Their giggles were so contagious and I couldn't help but laugh and giggle along with them, and be amazed at the pure joy they found in playing with those magical bubbles. What a blessing kids are!! They help us crazy adults stop and enjoy the simple and beautiful things surrounding us.

I was working on the girls tutu's for Halloween and I needed to have them try them on to check the length. Kalei was kind enough to oblige. She was so excited to try it on and was running through the house.


I couldn't help but laugh as she was running away from me looking like this. . .



Dave had the opportunity to gone on the Pioneer Trek with the youth in our ward. We have great youth in our ward. He said it was a great experience and wants me to go on the next one in 4 years-we'll see about that-let's see-hike 21 miles in 3 days, up and down mountains, out in the cold, hmmm. . . I'm telling you, I would been the first casualty if I were a pioneer. There is more than one reason why I was not born at that time. I do realize it would be an amazing experience, I guess I have the next 4 years to sike myself up for it.

This is what 3 year olds find amusing. Spinning and getting as dizzy as you can!

Something else little girls love-My Little Ponies and Polly Pockets. Recently a sweet girl in our ward was going through her toys that she doesn't play with anymore and decided to give our girls all of her my little ponies. I felt so bad though because my kids tend to get a little shy if front of people and don't really show any emotion. So as this cute girl was giving these fun toys she had so thoughtfully decided to give our girls Kalei was just standing there and only managed to say thank you(I can't blame my kids for being this way because they take after their mom-poor things). Even though my kids didn't show her how excited they were while she was there as soon as the door shut they were giggling with excitement. With huge smiles on their faces they have played with them everyday!! They love, love, love them! Thank you Ashleigh!

I can't tell if there was more paint on her or the picture. She loves drawing and painting and does a great job!

We also got to see Kaloi and Darren and their cute kids. We got to see Darren last month but this is the first time we've seen the rest of them in 7 years. It's been way too long. They came down because their oldest daughter Breesa had a soccer tournament. She is so beautiful, and Iospea and Keahi are two of the cutest boys-sorry maybe I should say handsome-you ever saw! I got to hang out with Kaloi and do a little bit of catching up-I've missed that(late nights talking about everything and anything). It was great to see them even if it was just for a short time.

Surfing. . . Arizona Style

To water our lawn here we irrigate, which basically means that we flood our lawn. The water is sent through pipes(only certain parts of the city have these irrigation pipes) and when it's your turn you open up your valve. The kids think it's great when I'm a nice mom and let them play in the water. Some of my friends might be grossed out by the fact that I let them play in it, but hey they're washable right!? Actually, this reminds me of Hawaii when it would rain for days and everything would flood. School would get canceled and the football field would turn into the pool and the guys would all head out to the field for some mud football. We loved it!

It's even more fun when Dave's brings out his Windsurf boards and the kids can surf in the back yard! Not to shabby for land locked Hawaiians!



The kids had a blast and can't wait til we irrigate again!

P.S Sorry the photos are fuzzy and dark-arrgggh! I'm not loving my camera too much right now!

Chicken what!?

Kawika has the chicken pox! That's right my vaccinated child has them! I won't post a picture to spare him but I will take some pictures to at least document it. Poor kid! He came to me Friday morning and said he had a couple of red dots on his chest. I looked at them thinking that there could be a slight chance, but I didn't they looked like them. His skin gets kind of sensitive and it's not unusual for him to get a rash. So I sent him on his merry way to school to apparently infect everyone. I even unknowingly sent him to expose all of the kids at our date night group! Saturday morning he woke up and had them all over his chest and back. So we took him to Urgent Care and the doctor said yup it's chicken poxes(is it s or es?-oh well)! He said this is the worst case he has seen in someone that has been vaccinated. He said it is a-typical-meaning it is not presenting its self as it normally would. I guess you usually get a fever-no fever for Kawika, they usually start on the head and neck and then move down-his started on his chest and has moved up to his neck and face, they are usually itchy(I remember feeling like I was going to go crazy)-nope not for Kawika-he's had maybe one or two itch but not much more than that. Go figure!
The good things:
-The doctor gave us some medication to help it run its course faster
-They aren't really bothering him-I don't have to buy a year supply of Calamine lotion.
-He's old enough that if I have to run somewhere I can leave him at home
-I get to spend time with my son
-He still feels up to doing things-although he can't go anywhere
-He doesn't have to go to school(this is according to him-he'll be hating it when he's trying to catch up)
The bad things:
-I worry whether my other kids will get it or not-the doctor said they could go about their normal activities and just to watch them-I've become sort of fanatic about it-checking their temperature all the time and looking for spots-thankfully nothing so far.
-I feel itchy just because thinking about them makes me itch.

I guess it's a good sign that the good out number the bad on the list!

I am blessed. . .

I was sitting on the couch watching my children smile as they traced their hands. The sound of giggles filled the room and I realized I am so BLESSED. What a wonderful Heavenly Father we have that blesses us with the things that matter the most. Children that recognize the simple joys of life, health, a loving husband, family, friends, good neighbors, laughter, a roof over my head, freedom, a testimony, the spirit, my list could on forever. I am feeling so grateful, I just had to stop and say that.

Sweet baby!

Dave's sister Melanie and her husband Matt welcomed their newest addition on the 15th, sweet little Elise Diane Crookston. We are so excited for them! This makes 3 for them, and thus begins the adventures that go along with the kids out numbering the adults! I took this picture from my sister in law Corri's blog-hope you don't mind :).

On another note, these past couple of days our family has had a blast hanging out with Uncle Darren. Darren came into to town for business and we were so glad he called. I grew up with Darren and his wife Kaloi and we haven't seen them since we lived in Utah. It was fun to catch up and reminisce about the good old days(that makes me sound old). We were so glad that the kids really took to Uncle Darren which is not always the case with our kids-they aren't the type to go up and say hello to everyone. Thanks for visiting Darren and we're excited to get to see the whole family in a month when they come to town again!

Ward Campout

This past weekend we were able to go to our ward camp out on the rim. The weather was absolutely perfect. Not too cold and refreshing. We don't get to camp very often but we love it when we do. I must mention that even though there are things I don't love about camping my husband always spoils me when we go camping. He does the cooking and takes the kids on hikes so I can take a nap in the hammock(this is making me sound so terrible-I'm so spoiled). He really is so sweet, and so despite not liking the stinky toilets and bugs he makes camping very enjoyable.
This is one of the few times I saw my boys. I had to make them stop so I could take a picture. They had a blast running around having air soft gun wars, playing football, hide and seek, and hunting for "snipes"

The girls had a great time running around with their friends, picking flowers, and performing on their stage(aka the log).
This was a picture I couldn't pass up on!

Dave was their entertainment for awhile. Here's Kaili doing the helicopter.

Then he became their horse and got a good workout bouncing the kids on his knees.

John was nice enough to take the girls on a hike.

The Rivera's brought up a pinata for their sons birthday. The kids thought it was fabulous!! She even had treat bags for each kid and cake!

The adults enjoyed playing bowling ball croquet. It was pretty funny to watch. I don't know if you can see the bowling ball Dave was hucking.

So most of our friends know we have some kind of car curse. We have sooo many stories of our cars breaking down it's become legendary(not in a good way, obviously). We always seem to have trouble when we go on a trip. We actually haven't had very many care troubles for a couple of years, which was good but I suppose it couldn't last forever. All of the guys at the camp out we kind enough to tinker with it so we could make it home. I was grateful that we figured out we had a problem when we were at the camp out-what better place could it happen where there are several men there with the know how,that was definitely a blessing. It was also a blessing that we made it home just fine and one of the men offered to help us fix it which will save us a bunch of money!

This is what the boys looked like on the way home. I think that a sign of a fun time. Kyle was the only kid that didn't pass out(we were so glad he came along with our family). All in all I think it was a fun time!