Are we rednecks or fobs? Maybe a little bit of both

Red necks and fobs are one in the same. For those of you who don't know, fob stands for fresh off the boat. Basically, it's a Polynesian red neck. I think it was in the beginning of June Dave took the boys and a friend out to Saguaro Lake in our little 14 ft aluminum fishing boat along with the surfboard and towed the kids around the lake! They had so much fun! So later that month he took the rest of the family out to the lake. It took quite a bit to convince me to go. Some say it was pride or it could be the fact that I don't like being a fob/redneck on purpose. Okay, okay it was pride.

Anyway we took our little boat out with all 6 of us and a long 9 ft surfboard. So we putt...putt...putt our way out to the other side of the lake. Here is Kaili with our orange flag that we have to raise every time someone falls in the water. Kalani was the first one to go. He was pretty nervous to try and stand, but he did a great job.

Kalei looking cute as always

Unfortunately after Kalani had his ride on the board the motor started acting up. So that ended the towing session :( So we dropped the anchor and everyone jumped in.

We had some ducks come by and Kalani decided it would be fun to swim with them.

Is the water cold!!??

Kalani striking a pose-he's one buff dude :)

Kawika trying to stay up

What is that you say? Why weren't you and Kalei in any of the pictures of everyone swimming. Well that would be for a couple of reasons. First, Kalei is a smart girl-she got in for a whole 2 minutes and realized that the water is just WAY too cold(she must have her mom's blood) to enjoy. Second, I don't swim in lakes, call me prissy-hey, I grew up in Hawaii-what do you expect! I must admit I have been in lake water a couple of times and that was more than enough for me. It is cold, stinky, stagnant water and when you walk in it mud squishes through your toes-yuck! All in all we had a great time -just as long as I don't have to get in the water!

A Day at the Lake

Back in May we decided to go to the lake one Saturday and had a blast! We went up north and the weather was absolutely perfect!! We went fishing and took along a picnic and just loved it.

In our family we have the "fishing hat". Each time we go fishing whoever catches the biggest or the most fish gets to wear the fishing hat till the next time we go fishing. Kalani won the fishing hat for this trip. He caught three. Every time he threw his line in he'd snag a fish in less than a minute. The fish were biting so much Dave spent the whole time re baiting hooks and never got a chance to get his pole in.

Kalei caught her first fish, which she was so excited about until we tried to get her to hold it for a picture! :)

Kawika caught a good one!

Kaili was brave enough to hold her catch! :)

The catches of the day!

Kaili has the right idea.

We went to the other side of the lake and had a picnic. While I was making lunch this is what Kawika found.

There are 2 bald eagles living at this lake and there were scientist there watching this nest. We watched one of them circle the lake and dive for a fish but it missed.

When we got home Dave had to run off to something so Kawika got the job of cleaning the fish. It was his first time can you tell how excited he was to do it. :)

We really did have a great time at the lake. We just need to not wait so long to do it again!!

Now it's time to catch up

Dave and I celebrated our 13th year of being married at the end of April! I am so blessed to have him. He continues to amaze me each day! He is my best friend and inspires me to be better. Last year with it being 12 years he gave me a bunch of things in dozens-it was really cute! This year he said he was frustrated because he could not figure out what to do for 13. The picture above is what he came up with. It was a bouquet of 13 roses with the 13th high above the others. He said that was because this year would be our best despite it being an unlucky number. :) So far so good!

Kaili cooked up a meal to help us celebrate. Complete with plates that said "Happy Anavirsre", a bell pepper and a pickle! She is so cute!

Mothers Day I finally joined the 21st century and got an Ipod-hence my "i-cake". It was a great day!!

We had fun with an impromptu slip and slide session after family home evening one night.

Kalani took 3rd place in the 3rd Grade Spelling Bee. Way to go dude!

Kawika took 2nd place in his class at the Science Fair. He was trying to find out whether a metal or wooden bat hit a baseball farther. Any boys dream-to have to play baseball as part of their homework. :) He did a great job!

The boys finished out the baseball year coming in 2nd place for their division. My boys loved it and made some great friends!

Back to school

I know, I know it's been forever. I don't know why-either I was to busy or when I had the time I just didn't feel like it(does anybody else ever feel like that?) The kids went back to school this week. They were all really excited, all of them were up at the crack of dawn and ready in no time. I was really excited to get back on a schedule. I just work better that way. We had a fun summer mixed with "Mom, I'm bored".

Kawika started Junior High this year! Yikes! I' m having a hard time with him growing up. I suppose all mothers do. I took him to the 7th grade kick off(an orientation) and tried to not be one of those moms that stayed and hovered over him. I told him I'd pick him up later and let him go in the auditorium and then I just had to go and peek in there to make sure he was okay. I know pitiful!! He is enjoying it and feeling oh so grown up-not too fast buddy! He reminded me the other day the he will be able to drive in 3 1/2 years!!!

Kalani started 4th grade and is now taking over the role of the big brother that takes care of Kaili. He was is excited to go back and loves being able to see his friends everyday.

Kaili is in 1st grade this year. It's been a little different now that she is gone at school all day. Kalei and I miss having lunch with her everyday and playing. Kalei especially miss her princess partner. :)

Kalei started Preschool and is enjoying learning new things and playing with her friends. She's growing up too fast.

He's how old!?!?!

I can't believe it myself-Kawika is now 12!!!! Aaaaah! Where has the time gone! I don't know if I'm ready to have a kid in Junior High!! Despite mom having trauma, we are really proud of Kawika!! He is such a great kid! He has a great sense of humor, loves baseball, reading, video games, basketball, and being outdoors just like his dad! He also is such a great help to his dear old mom!!

He got laser tag, that he was so excited about!

His friend Kyle gave his this fun candy gram-what kid would not love to have that much candy all to himself!!(It was really cute-click on it to read it :)

With Kawika turning 12 there is a whole new realm of things -being ordained with the priesthood, passing the sacrament, graduating from Primary and moving up to Young Men's, Mutual, Scout Camps, Junior High. . .What in the world!!! All of that with just one birthday!!! I'm gonna need some help here! With all of this exciting stuff we were able to have a lot of family visit for the special occasion of Kawika being ordained a Deacon. My dad came from Hawaii, Dave's dad came from California, my 2 sisters Kahi and Nia from Utah with Kahi's oh so cute kids, and Jason and Anna from Taylor with their fun bunch that keep us laughing! Needless to say we had a full house for a couple of days which I loved!! I miss being close to family! It was so nice of everyone to take the time to be here with us-we really appreciated it!

Papa and the girls watching the boys at their baseball game-my dad was really getting into it! :)


Here are the priesthood holders that were able to be here
(Grandpa B, Jason, and Papa)

We had a fun camp fire in the back yard and roasted hot dogs and smores!

Nia with cute Chloe!

This is how the kids kept themselves entertained!

Kahi and her kids!

Sweet Abbi who did not like the long car ride either way-poor thing!

Grandpa B, Anna, and Jason

I was mad at myself for not taking a group picture-oh well! We had a wonderful time visiting and spending time together!! The weather was perfect and the company was even better!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! I had a wonderful day of being pampered by my family! I know I'm spoiled! :) (I'll post pictures tomorrow) I wanted to say how grateful I am for the moms I have been blessed with. My mom is amazing!! She is such an example of strength, kindness, and a willingness to help in anyway she can. My mom has the best sense of humor! She loves to laugh and it's quite contagious! One thing I have always admired about my mom is the complete trust she has in the power of prayer and in our Heavenly Father. I am so thankful for my mom and her love!

My other mom(mother in law just doesn't sound right) is wonderful! I definitely miss her. Even though she is not physically here with us we still see her influence in our lives every day. She was faithful to our Heavenly Father and put everything into her family. She found true joy in living the gospel and loved sharing it with others.
I have been so blessed with these unbelievable moms and am so thankful for all that they have taught me and continue teach me. We love you!

Easter 2009

Brace yourselves, here comes another post with a lot of pictures. Each Easter helps strengthen my testimony and makes me more grateful for my Savior. Here we have the Easter Pageant, it is a huge production that shares the life of Christ and the reason we celebrate Easter. The spirit is so strong and I love being able to help remind my kids of the true meaning. This is a picture of the end where Christ appears(at the very top) triumphantly as our Savior. I am so grateful for my Savior and his willingness to suffer and atone for our sins. There is a primary song that is one of my favorites called "He Sent His Son" in it says "How could the Father show the world the pathway we should go? He sent His son to walk with men on earth that we may know." That says it simply we have it all laid before us and so many things to help us along the way given to us by a loving Father in Heaven. What a blessing!

Kaili was very cute during the performance. She kept saying "Oh I learned about that from my teacher in primary!" And then she would proceed to tell us all about it. Aren't primary teachers wonderful?!!! At one point it shows Christ being baptized and then you hear the voice of Heavenly Father saying that he is well pleased. Kaili leaned over to Dave with wide eyes and says-"Dad, that's just a speaker, right?" She wasn't sure if she was hearing the real deal. :)

The girls and I got to spend the Friday and Saturday before Easter with Dave's brother and his family while Dave, his dad who flew in from California and the boys went on the Father and Sons camp out for our ward. The Easter bunny comes on Saturday around these parts. :)

The girls with their cheesy smiles.

We love going up to Taylor and spending time with family! The boys enjoyed the camp out but were a little cold and wet. It snowed and rained, but they had a fun time anyway!!

Kalani and Grandpa shooting the air soft gun.

Kawika in the falling snow.

They stopped on their way to his brothers house at the Red Onion for some tasty burgers.

The Easter bunny left eggs for Kawika and Kalani to find when they got to Uncle Jason's house.

Before the boys got back from camping Anna took the girls and I out to lunch at a cute little place called Celebration. The girls dressed up in princess clothes and got to sip lemonade out of their tea cups. We had a great time, thanks Anna!!

After we ate our delicious lunch and sipped our lemonade with our pinkies out, the girls played dress up with the hats they had there. They had too much fun and it was cute to watch.