Flagstaff

Dave and I had the opportunity to hike through a lava tube in Flagstaff. I get claustrophobic and was worried about going down in there but it actually wasn't bad at all. It opens up and it one spot the ceiling is 30 feet high. When we got down there we turned off our flashlights and you could feel the darkness. I couldn't even see my hand if front of my face.

Then we went and rode the ski lift at Snow Bowl. The views were breathtaking. The entire ride was 50 minutes and it was so relaxing.

Happy Father's Day!

Kawika had a great idea to put on a carnival for Father's Day!

Kawika was in charge of the balloon dart board.
Dave was only 100 off. That's pretty good in my book.
Kaili had Dave bobbing for apples. And Kalei had a ring toss for Dave to win a boat load of soda(the kids were very excited-since most of the time they only get good old water)
After each game Dave got a prize. The kids loved being in charge of a particular game and getting everything ready for it. It was a fun time!

THE DADS WE LOVE!!!

I know this is late-but better late than never! I am so grateful for the wonderful husband I have. He is the most amazing father. I learn from him each day on how to be a better parent. He is so much fun and is always making us laugh. He makes each one of our children feel special! He is patient, kind and insightful! We love and appreciate who you are and all you do!

The other dad in my life has taught me so much. My dad is the silent type that teaches by example. The one thing that stands out the most about my dad is he was willing to help anyone and everyone. He was always helping the neighbor, or the aunty down the road , or decorating for a wedding, feeding all the missionaries and half of the BYU-H student body. He has the biggest heart and best of all he loves his family and the Lord! Thanks dad! We love you!

And the update continues. . .

I didn't want to post anything about my birthday but I did want to mention what fabulous family and friends I have. It started out with the most yummy dozen doughnuts from Mindy at 7 am, followed by fun calls, then beautiful flowers and the most delightful truffles from my visiting teachers. I had a great time talking to my family throughout the day and my friends made such a delicious lunch!! It was so fun just to hang out and enjoy all of their company!! Thanks ladies, it helped me to have a great day! Another great surprise was to get to have Rachelle join us for lunch via web cam!! It was the best surprise ever! I truly have some of the most thoughtful friends and they each bless my life so much!!

School got out on May 22nd(also my almost twin Kahi's birthday-haha). The kids were very excited to say the least. Both boys had fabulous teachers this year! Kawika had a great year and was able to participate in the Spelling Bee, this is his 3rd year in a row. He really enjoys it and did awesome! Kalani had an equally great year. He was a great student and enjoyed recess with his friends. His favorite past time was shooting 3 pointers on the court. He kept track all year and racked up 321 of them. This boys loves competition. He has a very mellow personality but when he is determined watch out. Kaili had a fun time attending a Pre -K program and she can't wait to start kindergarten. She amazes me everyday with the things she knows!! I have had a lot of fun spending one on one time with Kalei. She is a funny girl! The other day she got a new stuffed bunny as a prize for the Summer Reading Program and I asked her what it's name was. She promptly replied "ribbit, ribbit"(maybe I need to work on animal sounds with her). We all got a good laugh. She is cute and growing everyday.

The next week Dave went on a week long camp out with the Young Men and I took the kids up to Taylor to visit cousins at Dave's brothers house. We have so much fun when we go up there. I usually don't see them unless their hungry or it's time for bed. We enjoyed relaxing and cousins had a blow up water slide the the kids played on all day and have peeling sunburns to prove it(no pictures because Dave had the camera-we'll get some next time). We came home just in time for playoff games for baseball and then cousins were able to come down a few days later and they had more fun(and the moms were just worn out!). Dave got back from his camp out but had leave for Girls camp a fews days later. I thought he would be camped out but he very excited as we all are to go camping as a family this year.

Since all of this we have been hanging out and were able to work on the yard this past weekend(hooray!) The flower boxes have flowers and the yard doesn't have as many weeds and hopefully in a few weeks grass should start sprouting in our front yard. Okay, sorry this was a long post but I think we are up to date now. Whew! I guess this will teach me to be more consistent-haha!

Boys, bats, and baseballs

Baseball season has come to an end for now, just in the nick of time as temperatures are starting to rise. The boys love playing baseball and are out in the back yard every chance they get. Dave was able to coach Kalani's team this year and they had a lot of fun. I didn't do a very good job at getting picutures of the boys, I spent more time taking video(which I still have to get off the video camera and on to the blog) or gabbing with the other fun moms there. Sorry boys!

Here is one of Kalani as the catcher(thanks Jennifer and Michael)

Kawika played on the Astros in the minor league(kid pitch). He really enjoyed having the opportunity to pitch and play first base. His team had a great season and came in 2nd place!! Way to go boys!!!!

Kawika with his team!

Despite the craziness of having two different sets of games to go to on top of everything else we had a lot of fun!!! Boys it was so fun to watch you play and cheer you on!

Lots to catch up on!

Okay so I know I said I wasn't going to be a blogger slacker but as many of you know I'm not very consistent. I do good for a little bit and then my determination fizzles. Yes I know this is a problem that needs to be fixed-obviously still working on it. So here is my update for the last little while. I'm going to do it over the next few days.

On May 17 I took Kaili to a ballet version of Peter Pan. One of Dave's students was performing in it and Kaili has been really into this ballet thing since I signed her up for classes with a few friends. She loved the play! It was so fun to spend some one on one time with her. She is so fun, very girly and loves to talk. I haven't heard her talk so much in a long time probably because she is always having to compete for my attention. She apparently has a lot on her mind. It was so fun to just listen to her, sometimes she says the most random things that just makes us laugh. Like a long time ago she told me that she and her friend Eliza wanted to be ice cream truck drivers when they grow up. What aspirations I have inspired in my children. I asked her why- thinking it would be somewhere along the lines of being able to eat ice cream whenever she wanted to-but no it was because she wanted to be able to give ice cream to all of the kids-she really does have a sweet heart. This fun night out with my daughter just reaffirmed how important it is to spend time and have "moments" with each of my children. I have been so blessed!!

The next week was the last week of school(I'll post about that later)-all I can way was it was a little CRAZY but a good kind of crazy. The Saturday after school was out Kaili had her ballet recital and it was so fun to watch her. I still haven't figured out how to post a video but when I do I will put a clip of her recital up. She loves to dance and does it all the time. She doesn't just put her clothes away- she twirls to get there. She leaps, twirls and dances her way around all day. If I call her she comes in spinning and says "what mom?". It's fun to watch but sometimes I must admit I'm like okay just come here. Grouchy mom!

Here she is with her stage makeup on. Her friend said she looked like a woman-should I be worried?

Here she is with her cute friends from the ward who also took ballet. They all did such a great job!

With dad and the other kids(I could not get Kalei to look at me or smile)

Kaili you did such a great job and we love watching you dance!