Our Trip to town

So, we went to diamond head...

I was pleasantly surprised! i was expecting the kids to complain during this hike to the top of diamond head, and i was fully prepared to carry one of my kids on my back. HOWEVER, they were full of energy, and didnt even complain once! well, technically, aaron fell and skinned his knee (1 min. of tears), and charity (of course) had to hold herself as she said "i need to go potty" the last few mins down the trail, but besides that... they did awesome, and it was a decent hike!

After the hike, we changed our shirts so we didnt look like dirty sweaty pigs, and we went to the aquarium. in front of it, there was an awesome banyan tree - we all got to swing on it...

Then, we went into the aquarium and saw all the fish... didnt get any decent photos there though... but we were sure to show charity the blue bubbles.
since we were in town (on the whole other side of the island from my parents home) we did the obligatory stop at costco on the way home... it was an EXHAUSTING day, but the kids had fun.
thanks dawn for watching nate so i didnt have to drag him all over the place...

The Blue Bubble

So, we are having a blast here in hawaii (although, i really do miss my hubby)
HOWEVER...
Let me introduce you to a blue bubble: technically it is the portuguese man of war jelly fish. they are tiny, they look like a bubble blown in blue bubble gum (hence, the locals call it the blue bubble) PS. they sting really bad. people get stung occaisionally, but just a little welt on an ankle or something... Charity was not so lucky...
one must have wrapped itself all over her and got stuck in her legs... she just started screaming. i thought she fell or got sand in her eyes. she was shaking and pretty traumatized. she got the little stingers caught all around her legs, and well, here is the picture - all those little things that look like scratches are the welts left by those stingers- OUCH!! we rushed home from the beach, and i bathed her, poured vinegar (which i was told would help take the sting out), and she just wanted to go to sleep. seriously, i had to help her breathe through the pain... it took FOREVER to calm her down (well, part of that is she is pretty dramatic) but still.... she has since told me she doesnt want to go to hukilau anymore cause she is afraid of the blue bubbles. i think she is serious.

Another Hawaii Update

sorry about all the updates, but this is the way we show joe what we are doing here. SO - if you are bored of all the hawaii pictures and stuff... feel free to check out one of my friends sites.

PS, Dawn, is great and has done slide shows, of MORE pics of everything going on here...

Here is our day at PCC (the Polynesian Cultural Center)
This is us weaving - we made little fish! aaron and charity made their own, and they turned out pretty good! i was impressed - and they played with them ALL DAY!



This is the lesson they got in Samoa (well, the PCC version of Samoa) we watched the show where they climb the tree to get coconuts and make fire, pretty cool!! then the kids learned how to twirl the fire baton thinggy... nate even joined in!

This is the group before we went on the canoe ride (one of the highlights of aaron's day!) My mom, Lyd & kaitlyn, dawn and her kids, and me and my kids. (sue gilligan is here, but she took the pic...)


Ok, funny thing happened when i was there... right before the big canoe show where all the dancers dance in a parade thinggy... i was walking by the river, and saw a face that i recognized... it was a guy from highschool... (dan law)... how random is that? when EVER are you in hawaii, at a random place and see someone from highschool??? anyways, i met his beautiful wife, and caught up with him for a min. i just thought it was totally random/cool! what a small world!


um, this is the picture of the big goose egg nate got when he climbed out of the stroller and headplanted into a cement bench... sorry nate :(

Friday, me, mom, lyd, and dawn decided to go to the temple early in the morning... it was so nice to go! it is a little easier to go here cause it is so close (like down the street), and babysitting is free and in house! (thanks steph, sue, and dad!)


Then, after a quick morning at the beach, i was back to PCC with the big kids... dawn stayed home to watch the babies. Charity came for a little while, but then her feet started hurting, and i made Steph come get her. thank goodness it is so close! (like everything is here in laie)Here is aaron in the new zealand place learning how to do poi balls - seriously, i was impressed - he did pretty good! he was able to twirl the ball over his head with one hand, and with the other do it around his waist (well, mostly). ya, my son the genious - or at least the next professional baton twirler!! i know, any REAL man would want his son to be good a twirling! ;)

Then, we went to the fishing hut. Aaron caught a fish! So did loch and braeden (dawn's kids). Seriously, braeden is SUCH a boy! he didnt even need a fishing pole like everyone else... he would just put the bait in his hand and catch them bare handed! (as pictured here..) you can tell brae isnt my kid!! seriously, when aaron caught the fish, he was almost afraid to touch it to get it off the hook... meanwhile, brae is pretending to eat all the fish he is catching with his bare hands! just a cute little difference...

Finally, here is the pic of the boys all proud of their tatoos they got. i must say, PCC is SO much more fun when you have just older kids. when i took nate and had charity whining around me, it was DEF. not so much fun...

Update from hawaii

ok, my kids are adorable!

Nate eats the sand... yum yum. whats funny, is he doesnt seem to mind! What a cutie!

This is the tree the kids love to climb. there are some workers putting up a fence... of course aaron has a new best friend - he was asking all about the cement and whatever... the guy was nice enough to talk to him for a while. it was cute.

here are the neighborhood girls. they all come over to jump on the tramp or play badmitton or volleyball... how fun! the kids are in heaven.

Grandma gives the kids a music lesson. Ya, my mom is so fun! the kids love to play the auto harps!

another day in hawaii

Nothing like Sandy BUM!!!!


well, today we didnt go to the beach - we went to town and went to walmart and saw "surf's up" - very fitting seeing we are in hawaii!!!! the kids liked the movie, so did i!
yesterday, we just went to church, and then us sisters went to the fireside - bronco mendenhall spoke - it was very nice. the guy who did his introduction spoke a little too long... but it was a good fireside - i want to go play byu football now! :) fun to see a bunch of college kids here at byuh
here are some pics of the other day at the beach...
we are taking turns staying home with the babies as they nap... so when it was my turn at the beach, i took charity and ashlyn boogieboarding... they did so awesome! they rode the waves all the way in and were SOOO excited! i cant wait to go tomorrow. (we are staying clear of the beach today cause they are so crowded cause it is some holiday here?) the boys, of course, are already professional body boarders and boogieboarders.
Charity and Ashlyn LOVE being all full of sand... here they are - beached whales...

From Hawaii part 1

So, we got here ok...
well, the first flight (to LA) was a DISASTER! i wasnt even stressed about it, but we hit some turbulence, and aaron looked at me and said "my throat hurts" i said "do you need to pop your ears?" he just looked at me with a horrified look on his face - then proceeded to puke ALLLLLL over himself and the seat and his cars he was playing with. AGGGHHHH. i OBVIOUSLY looked like i could balance my baby on my lap and clean up his puke at the same time, so nobody offered any help. the stewardess threw me a bag and some towels. So, balancing crazy nate, i mopped up all the puke and stripped aaron down and wrapped him in a blanket. then, i said to aaron and charity - dont move... and i took nate (who i didnt trust to sit still) back to the bathroom and i soaped and washed aarons pants in that little bathroom sink... great times... we hung them to dry for about 2 hours of the flight, then he had to go potty so he just wore them wet the rest of the way. poor kid. the rest of the flight was pretty normal (nate screamed for about 20 min before he fell asleep) but that was about it.
i was DREADING the longer flight across the ocean.
BUT... i said, as soon as we get up in the air, you guys need to shut your eyes and be quiet. i gave nate some drugs but aaron and charity complied without any pharmacutical assistance. it was a lovely flight! (besides being a BIT uncomfortable for me) the kids slept the ENTIRE time!



we got here pretty late that night, so just went to bed. the kids woke up not too early (i thought they would wake up at like 3am cause of the time change) but they woke up with the sun :) and we went to the beach (at turtle bay). nate doesnt appreciate walking on the sand - he gets frustrated cause he has a hard time keeping his balance! grandma and grandpa took turns teaching aaron how to snorkel.


we came home ate lunch, and i CRASHED! (so did the kids) and my mom went to the airport to get dawn and her kids. when they got here, we went to hukilau beach. the kids had SOOO much fun boogieboarding! i am so glad they get to be here with their cousins!

2 A*hole parents...

This is Aaron at his recent tball trophy party... he is making a weird face, but at least we went!

do you guys remember that SNL sketch about 2 a*hole parents? their kids came in Christmas morning saying - it's chritsmas! and the parents were like .... uh, ok, um, check in my closet- and the kids pulled out a designer dress and the mom said "i bought that for YOU..." etc... you can imagine right?
ok, well, that is officially me. i didnt think i was that bad of a mom, but i am! SERIOUSLY!
i need some reassurance. could someone (even after reading the following story) please make me feel better?

Aaron lost a tooth. Saturday afternoon, joe took them to the movies, and it fell out there. He kept it safe, then he gave it to me. i put it in my pocket. Aaron was pretty jazzed. We then, went to his cousin's house and spent the rest of the day/evening there. We got home way past bedtime, so we did the hurry up get in bed routine (no story) and shoved them off to sleep.
Sunday morning, aaron was so sad! he said - "mom, the toothfairy didnt come!" AGGHHHH!!! i totally forgot! so, i made up a story - i LIED! i said the toothfairy looked under his pillow and couldnt find the tooth and so she would have to come back tonight and the tooth really needed to be under the pillow (the toothfairy didnt know to look in mom's pocket)
So, before church, we found a tiny little box, and made a pillow for the tooth and placed it inside. We made sure it was under his pillow.
WELL.... sunday is crazy. especially that sunday. we were 'fixin' to leave to hawaii for the rest of the month. so, all day i was doing laundry, packing, cleaning... we still went to church, i still had to do choir, and we had friends over that evening for dessert. the kids stayed up SOOO late with their friends, and even still, i made sure i was a good mom and (cause they missed their story the night before) made sure i read to them and gave them extra cuddles...
monday morning came. aaron came down SOOOO sad. "mom, the toothfairy didnt come!" oh my gosh! how did i forget AGAIN??????? what kind of mom does that? i said... "oh yes it did! i dont believe you! why dont you tell dad what happened" so, as aaron proceeded to tell his daddy how sad he was (and joe was trying his best to make up a story that the toothfairy DID come, and he just didnt notice) i ran upstairs, grabbed the box, threw a dollar in, grabbed the tooth, wrote a real fast note (the toothfairy leaves cool cards for the kids) threw it in the box, and brought it down to aaron.
"SEE aaron! the toothfairy DID come, you were mistaken!"
aaron looked at me and said "you just did that!" i had to try so hard to get him to believe I wasnt the one who did the old switcharoo... i think he is skeptical, but at least he got a dollar?

anyways, i am feeling so bad about myself. even though i should be loading the car and heading out for my trip, if you love me, will you call me today and tell me that i am not the worlds crappiest mom? or at least laugh at me, but tell me it will be ok?