Things That are Awesome: Part II

(again . . . when I say awesome . . . that includes people, places or things).

Hawaiian Drivers

Just another reason to love where I live. I don't think there are very many people on this island who even know what road rage is. Drivers are just so laid back. It's awesome. If you need in . . . they'll let you in. If you need over . . . they'll let you over. They are friendly as can be. All you gotta do is throw a Shaka out your window, and pay it forward.

Boise State
Who would have ever guessed, that when Ricky Ticky Thompson gave Damon this shirt all those years ago that he would actually be a Bronco? That's right. . . . . Damon is a Bronco. He is currently working on his MET from Boise State. Awesome.

Expedia DOT COM!
Let me just tell you what an awesome company Expedia is to work for. Expedia is an AWESOME company to work for. Damon loves his job. He is doing excellent and is enjoying his new position. I love that I don't have to work. It took some getting used to, but its really growing on me. If you are coming to Hawaii (any of the islands) and you want a hassle free trip, Damon is the man you want to talk to.

Books
Now that I have an abundance of time, I have decided to start reading again. I'm about 5-10 years behind in fashion. So why not be 5-10 years behind in reading as well. I decided it was time to jump on the wagon and read Harry Potter. All 7 of them within about 2 months. Awesome.
(I think the movies are NOT awesome. I would watch each movie after I read the book. I don't understand how people can really like the movies if they haven't read the books. There is just WAY too much stuff left out).

4th of July
Yes. I usually BBQ spread eagle. I'm super classy.

A beautiful day at Bellows beach with some GREAT friends.

Topped off with a night at Schofield spending way too much money on hot dogs and cotton candy and watching fireworks.

Cousins and Kauai

I LOVE my cousins. Especially when they come to Kauai, and I hop on a plane and spend the weekend with them sans children.

We took a cruise of the NaPali Coastline. On the way back we were fortunate enough to see this amazing rainbow. I managed to put down my barf bag and snap a few shots. Kauai is AMAZING. I might have to move there someday.

Summer Workshops
I'm a big fan of free entertainment. I'm also a big fan of getting out of my house. When I got a paper home from school towards the end of the year with a list of dates for free summer workshops, you better believe I signed up for all of them. Cool people, fun crafts, and good times. The last workshop we made spam musubi. I'm not a big fan, but apparently my kids are. Awesome.

Blurb

I'm working on making my blog into a book. It's addicting, and quite amusing to go back to when I started and reminisce. I would like to formally apologize for my excessive use of exclamation points in my early blogging years. I must have been really excited back then. I assure you I am WAY less exciting/excited now.

Fodder's Day . . . . . .

. . . . . that's what Toots calls it. My girls love their Fodder. They should, because he is a good one. Actually, he's more than good. He's great. He's the kind of Dad who encourages and compliments. He understands the importance of being there for his babies. To play with them, teach them, and love them. He makes them feel special. Because they are. They mean the world to him. I'm really glad my little ladies scored such a great dad.

To celebrate, I put on the most patriotic sweat/men's t-shirt attire I could find (as July 4th is right around the corner), and whipped up some steak and shrimp for my man.

Toots was there to supervise and provide conversation. It went something like this . . . .

Me: Toots, go put some clothes on.
Toots: I don't eat my boogers anymore. I flick them. Or I wipe them on my baby because she can't talk.
Me: Awesome. Go inside and get some clothes on. You're in my bubble.
Toots: (Ignores me and continues to be mostly naked and suck on her sucker).

Happy Father's Day to all the GREAT dad's out there!

And if you aren't a great dad . . . . Its never too late to change ;)

Things That are Awesome

(and when I say things, that also includes people and events).

Sea Turtles

I've seen them a million times, but I still think they are so cool.

Geckos

Our house pet . . . for while anyway. Fred (named by my little ladies) came to visit us the night of the Tsunami warning (not awesome). We welcomed him in, knowing he would eat any bug in his path. Unfortunately, I found his shriveled little dried dead carcass in my closet a few weeks later. RIP Fred.

Home Decor

I don't even know what to say about this, except that I'm pretty sure it brings us good luck.

Spam
I feel that its appropriate for me to cook with Spam now that I live in Hawaii. Come to find out . . . . . . . Its actually pretty good. My kids beg for this little dish.

Edyn's Baptism

My biggest little lady got baptised April 1st. It was AWESOME. Simple, and sweet. A few family and a few friends. I love Edyn. She is a REALLY good girl.

Easter Dresses

From Erika and Momo. Thank you once again for spoiling us rotten. We feel so blessed to have you in our lives!

Visitors

Gramma Sharon, Cassie and Lauren came for the baptism. We had so much fun, and laughed
A LOT. I also gained 5 pounds. That was not awesome.

Momo and Pappy stopped by Oahu just to see us. We LOVE you Momo and Pappy!

Greg and Rene, our friends from back in the BYUH days. It was so good to see you guys! Please come again soon, so you can buy us more ice cream :)

Kevin came to visit spur of the moment. It made our week to have him! It was not awesome when he left.

Damon and Kevin went on a shark adventure. They had a great time until a lady threw up right next to them. Game over.

I hate that I don't have any pictures of when Mary and Andrew McMann, and Tim and Hannah Fuhriman came to visit. I guess you all will just have to come again soon. And we sure loved all your leftover food :) Thanks again!

We LOVE visitors. Come see us!

Matsumoto's Shave Ice

Don't ever settle for imitation. I've made the mistake twice (dang long lines at Matsy's). I will never make the mistake again. Its just not worth it. If you've never had one, you are truly missing out on one of life's greatest pleasures.
(yes. my hat is bedazzled).

Good Citizen Girls

I have awesome kids. They are so smart and such good students. They both received Good Citizen awards on the last day of school. I love them. And I love their school.

Missing Teeth
It was not my pleasure to pull Ava's two bottom teeth. That is Tia's job. But she is in Washington. So I took one for the team. Gross. The tooth fairy was on the ball too, because she came on the first night the teeth were under her pillow. It must be all the nasty notes she's recieved in the past.

Oops. Dang Tooth Fairy.

Job Promotions

Sugar Daddy has been promoted. I am so proud of him. He's such and amazing guy and works so hard to support all of his ladies. I know he'll do great in his new position.

Summer Time
School got out for us on May 26. I love Summer. No waking up early. No homework (except reading of course). No making lunches every morning. No arguing over brushing hair, etc.
We'll be at the beach, pool, park, zoo, library, and lounging in our house for the next two months enjoying no schedule in Beautiful Hawaii if anyone needs us.

(PS. Can anyone tell me why blogger is uploading my pictures with such poor quality)?

Six

Happy 6th Birthday to my Ava!

We celebrated by swimming for three hours yesterday in the beautiful Hawaii sun in the comfort of our own (sort of) pool!

And today . . . . on her actual birthday, we went ahead and had a feast of her favorite food. Shrimp. Ava loves shrimp. I should just call her Bubba, because her love for the stuff is that Forrest Gumpish.

Her love for Sharpay is quite amazing as well.

Hello Kitty . . . . I try to discourage (I'm sorry if you're Japanese and this offends you), but it was only five bucks. Hours and hours of coloring will keep this six year old busy.

And of course we had to buy (I don't bake) her a princess cake. Safeway it the place.

I love you Baybalicious, Blue Eyed, Crazy Cute 6 year old girl!

A Remedy of Sorts

The other day I went to Costco and I spotted a treat that I thought would be healthy and delicious.

Healthy . . . . it is. Delicious . . . it isn't.

I guess you can say that it tastes about as good as being kicked in the crotch with a steel toed boot would feel.

Me, being the frugal girl that I now am (Hawaii will do that to you) decided to come up with a way to not waste my nine dollars.

FYI . . . I'm a big fan of dark chocolate.

And now we have little balls of unhealthy deliciousness.
I. Am. Genius.

Time

Now that I have an abundance of time, my brain has many more opportunities to think.
I feel it would be appropriate to record a few of my more profound thoughts for my posterity.

*I am way better at jump rope than my husband. Even if it does make me wet myself.
*My husband is way better at being nice to people than I am.
*What is it about Will Ferrell that I find so attractive?
*Is there really a need for mosquitoes? And what purpose do they serve anyway, besides ruining my life?
*Should I keep dying my hair dark, or go back to mouse brown/gray? This $10 dye in a bottle I have been using since I left my beloved Dorri isn't working out for me.
*Will I ever be able to graduate from the training bra that my 12 year old niece gave me when it didn't fit her anymore?
*Will I be able to make it home at the end of August? Bret Michaels will be at the fair. If I can get close enough, I could throw said training bra on stage. Will this cause him to fall in love with me? If so . . . How would I explain it to Damon?
*I can't believe its getting to be election time again.
*How could the lady that lived in our condo before us be such a dirt bag? Oh . . wait. She's a politician. Totally makes sense now.
*How did my third child get to be so crazy? It couldn't be because of me.
*Tina is the one who introduced me to Lemon Blueberry Trifle. She really should be rewarded. I think I will send her my third child via USPS. I will poke holes in the box for the little loca's breathing comfort.
*Should I have another kid? Probably not. This big loca is pretty much maxed out. However, if I do, my lady lumps would get significantly bigger for a time. I might pull all my hair out due to craziness, so that would solve the whole hair color issue. Also, I will have to deliver at a hospital with a geriatrics maternity ward, and that could be hard to find. This a tough one. I'm gonna go with NO. . . . for now. Probably forever.

As you can see, I need something to do. . . . . other than lay out. . . . . as it might be frying my brain cells. I have got to find a hobby. I can only check the newsfeed on Facebook so many times in one day, and I can only push The Toots so far in her stroller before she begs me to go home and watch Dora. So I guess my only option for now is to start blogging again. Beware.

So Far, So Good

Its been a little over two months since our big move. Things are going great. My kids love their school, we love our ward, we love where we live, we have some great friends, and Damon is doing great at his job. I know it doesn't make sense to some people or even us at times, but I'm just really glad that we took a huge risk. I know we are where we are supposed to be for now. I don't know exactly why, but I have a few guesses . . . . .

* I am learning to relax. Its common knowledge that I am SUPER high strung. Hawaii does not allow that. Since I am not working, I have tons of free time. I've never had much of that at all. Sometimes I will find myself becoming impatient, or in a huge hurry, and I quickly remind myself to "simmer down now," and that I have ABSOLUTELY nothing else to do. I think moving here will seriously add years to my life . . . . if I can just keep this whole relaxing bit up, that is.

* It has been reaffirmed to me so many times in just a few short months, that I could care less about having a big huge fancy house, driving the nicest car, or wearing designer clothes (Walmart is about as trendy as I get these days). It just doesn't matter. What I want most, is to be the best mom and wife that I can be. A big part of this, is creating lasting memories with my little family. We have done so many fun things TOGETHER in the last few months that we will remember forever. I'm not saying you have to move far away to do this, but for us . . . . we were just way too busy and consumed with other things at home.

* Having so much free time, has really allowed me to do some soul searching. I want to be a good person. A really good person. I have a lot (and when I say a lot I mean A LOT) of things that I need to work on to get there. I know I have been guilty of it in the past, and I might be guilty of it in the future (I'm going to try my hardest not to), but I no longer want, nor do I need to sit around and worry about what I think everyone else is doing wrong. "Who am I to judge another, when I walk imperfectly?" I've got to focus on the things that I need to change about myself so that I can be the best me.

I'm not sure exactly how long we will be here. We are figuring it all out. It could be a year, it could be four. But for now . . . I am going to enjoy every minute of living in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

PS . . . Come visit.