Merry Christmas

I hope that everyone is doing well this Christmas season. As I reflect back about the year, there are so many great memories. I was asking the kids things that they remembered the most, these are the things we all came up with. I also listed their favorite saying for the year.

Sarah "What can I help you with?"
1. Going water skiing with the cousins, and being able to water ski around the lake.
2. Being able to go off jumps at Brighton ski resort (and actually land them).
3. Boogie Boarding and crabbing with Grandpa in Hawaii.
4. Going to the Nutcracker Ballet with mom and Nana, and covering her eyes because the Arabian dance didn't have very modest costumes.
5. Getting baptized.
6. Having her first pet. Pearl, her baby chick.

Joshua "I was thinking that..."
1. Having his two broken feet healed.
2. Kissing Isabella, "because he says she is the cutest baby in the whole world".
3. Learning to read. And teaching himself addition, subtraction and multiplication (not bad for kindergarten).
4. Wall E, Kung fu Panda, Madagascar 2, and Bolt(he loves to be able to watch movies. Maybe it is because he doesn't get to do it very often).
5. When Lizzy and Bella as napping, coloring, puzzles, and playing the memory game with mom.
6. Riding his bike.

Lizzy "Absolutely I do"
1. Swimming with her goggles in the hot tub
2. Putting on makeup (mommy and Sarah are never happy when she gets into it).
3. Talking on the phone (every day she brings the phone and will request a phone call with a different person).
4. Waking up around 5 or 5:30 every morning and getting dressed all by herself in the dark, so she won't wake up everyone else. Then going into mommy's room saying she is hungry and needs dinner now.
5. Kissing and hugging Bella all day long.
6. Ballet with Elle

Bella "Waaaaaaa"
1. Smiled on her first day, and has never stopped smiling.
2. Breaking her collar bone when she was born. No one discovered it until I noticed her bump on her collarbone at 7 days. I took her into the doctor and just by chance asked them to test her biliruben. It was 22, 26 is the dangerous level that you don't want to get above. They had her sleeping in a bili bed within 2 hours.
3. Having the most loving brother and sisters. Never has enough kisses.
4. Hair that sticks straight up, nothing can keep it down.

Shane
(these are only guesses, he wasn't around when we were thinking of things)
1. Decorating is done in the house (he doesn't have to come home to new things every day).
2. The hot tub
3. Skiing, biking, basketball (although he does feel he doesn't get to do any of them enough).
4. Completing his first olympic size Triathalon.

Kim
1. Having a new baby.
2. Being able to go to Europe twice this summer. Once with my Mom, and the second time with Shane, all of my siblings and their spouses, and my Dad and his wife.
3. Biking the SLC Marathon while 5 months pregnant.
4. Bella sleeping through the night at 5 weeks.
5. Spending time with Shane and the kids (any moment is a treat).
6. The internet: shopping, blogging, facebook

It's been another great year. We can't wait to see what 2009 has in store for us. We wish everyone a healthy and happy new year.

Happy Thanksgiving

Bella woke me up at 6 AM, and I couldn't go back to sleep. I was laying in bed thinking of what I needed to get done today, and hoping that we will be playing our annual dodgeball game after Thanksgiving. Then I started thinking of all of the things I am most thankful for. Here is my top 10 for the year. I'm sure I will have missed things, but this is what came to mind.

10. I am thankful for mornings. When I wake up in the mornings, I always think that it is another day without any mistakes. I can choose my mood and what I'm going to do. I love to eat breakfast with my kids and hear their thoughts about life, their laughter, and their kind words. Not a morning goes by, that they don't tell me that I'm the best mom in the world (I definitely don't feel that way at times), and how much they love me. Everyone is in good moods in the morning and it just seems peaceful. I love driving the carpool in the mornings, because we always pick out something that makes the day unique and beautiful. How can you not be happy when you get to spend time with some of your favorite people.

9. I am thankful for all of my senses and that they all work. I can see the beautiful sunrises, I can hear my children's giggles and their cute songs, I can smell the roses that my children pick for me every time we go to my mom's house in the summer, I can taste the pancakes that my children make me make every morning, and I can feel the hugs and kisses that my kids and husband give me every day.

8. I am thankful for a warm house, food to eat, and clothes. As I was starting up the fire last night, playing games with my family. I was thinking how cozy it all felt. We are so blessed.

7. I'm thankful for the internet. I've been able to blog, facebook, e-mail, and Skype to keep in touch with loved ones. I also love the easy access to information and shopping. It sure makes life easier.

6. I'm thankful to live in a country where we are free and relatively safe. My friend Mahiar travels for his job. He was talking about how scared they were until they reached the safe house in Taj. It made me think that I really take our country for granted. I'm thankful for the soldiers who have provided us that freedom. I always cry when I see the soldiers, when I see the famlies at the airport sending them off, and when I think of the sacrifices that they have made in our behalf.

5. I'm thankful for my family. They are all over: The Netherlands, Boston, Boise, Hawaii, Texas, Florida, and of course Utah. They may drive me crazy at times, but it is amazing to know that they always love me no matter what, and support me like crazy. My family is my bestfriends. I love you all so much. Of course I need to spotlight my mom. I tease her so much, but she is such a backbone to my family. No matter what, she supports me in everything, and is always the first person to help me out.

4. I am so thankful for my health. After feeling sick for 9 whole months 24/7. I am thankful to have a body that functions as it should.

3. I am thankful for my children. They are the best. I'm thankful for the daily lessons that they teach me. We have a family in our ward who's son recently died. Every day as I hug my children, I am just grateful that I can. I am thankful for the time I have with them, and I love them more then they will ever know.

2. I am thankful for my dear husband. Who works so hard for us, is the most amazing father, and he loves and supports me in all that I do. He is my best friend, and I am so blessed to have him.

1. I am thankful for my knowledge of the gospel, and for my Savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful for his love for me, I have felt it at different times throughout my life. His life of service is such an inspiration too me. I hope to do more in the following year. I hope that I can implement it in my children how important it is to always help others.

Yes, I have definitely been blessed. I love my life.

Pumpkin carving for Thanksgiving

OK, so I know I'm a little behind. Realizing that Thanksgiving is only a few days away, Joshua suggested that we carve our pumpkins. I have been telling them for 2 months now that we would carve our pumpkins, but something always came up. Since Halloween has long since past, we decided to make them into Indians and pilgrims. Pilgrims were too hard, so then it just became Indians. Yes, they are sitting outside of the house as we speak. We carved them for FHE last night.

Tea Party

So for activity days, Sarah's advisor organized a tea party. She had a lady in the ward come over and teach the girls about the etiquette of going to a tea party. Mothers were invited, so we were able to learn along with them. It was so much fun. The girls wore their white gloves. We ate cucumber sandwiches and crumpets. We learned the proper way to drink our tea, not with your pinky up. And of course we learned the proper way to dab our mouths after each sip of tea. The joy of womanhood. It was fun to experience this with my little Sarah.

Yeah, it's the start of another week.

Well today I was thinking how glad I was that it was Monday, the start of a fresh week. Last week was really rough. Shane worked really long hours, Joshua was sick all week long, Lizzy was really whiney, and I had no patients. Then I started thinking about what good came out of last week, and my blessings were plentiful. Here are a few: 1. The one day that Shane got home before 9 PM was on Thursday, I actually got to go to book club. 2. Joshua who started last week with a 102.9 degree temperature, a headache, and a tummy ache had strep throat. And even though he felt terrible from Monday until Saturday, getting up multiple times every night with a high temperature, had the optimism to say, "being sick is still better then having two broken feet". 3. Isabella still sleeping about 9 hours a night since she was 5 weeks. 4. I actually had enough energy to wake up on my own at 5 AM to work out twice last week. 5. After Shane had worked from 7AM Friday morning getting home at 8PM on Saturday night, he still had the energy to run to Home Depot to get the necessary parts and replace our water heaters that had died earlier in the day. Since it was so late, they didn't have the right size water heaters, so he had to get the next bigger size and completely rebuild the plumbing so that they would fit. He finished at 9 AM (12 hours later) so we could shower with warm water for church. 6.Sarah and Joshua enjoying piano lessons so much that they fight over who gets to play first. That is how my skeleton Halloween decoration was knocked off of the piano and shattered into many pieces. 7.Steve and Jenny are having a girl, so Isabella will have another girl cousin close to her age. 8.Sarah loving reading so much that I have a hard time having her let me read to her at night. She wants to read her Lizzy McGuire books that her cool older cousin Sydney gave to her. 9. Sarah's fish died that she has had since my brother Matt and Natalie gave them fish as a distraction after Elizabeth had her seizer while Shane and I were out of the country. It was sad, but I think it was dead for a few days before I even noticed it was dead. It actually was floating at the bottom of the bowl. I guess I don't have to change the water and feed it anymore, since she always seemed to forget. It doesn't sound like a blessing, but it is. 10. Lizzy has another favorite thing to say instead of always saying, "one more minute", now she likes to say, "absolutely". That is much better. Now that I look back, I guess last week wasn't so bad.

Bella's Blessing

We had Bella's blessing about a week ago. It was such a sweet day to have so many loved ones there to see our little Bella blessed. We definitely missed those of you who are far away and couldn't come. The blessing was beautiful. She looked tiny in Shane's big hands (and she didn't cry). The part of the blessing that really stood out to me was the part for her to remember that her Heavenly Father is always there for her and loves her so much. It was a great day.

Joshua's birthday

Joshua had a birthday with his cousin Dayton. They are both very much boys, and decided it would be fun to do something fun to boys. We hired a company called Scales and Tails to come and put on a show for the kids.





My Joshua is such a cutie. Can't wait for another year with him to see what funny things he will do. He is always the first to give me a hug every morning and tells me that I am the best mom in the world. I love him so much. Happy Birthday sweetheart.

Tracey

I have to take a few minutes to thank my little sister Tracey for helping out this last month. It started off a little shakey when she was staying out late with friends, staying up till 3 AM on facebook, texting all of the time, and inviting friends over to hang out the day after I got out of the hospital. I wasn't sure how things would go. Eventually we figured things out, and had a lot of fun. I can tell she has had her influence on my kids. Lizzy's song requests are "Big Girls are Beautiful", and "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie. Thanks for getting up at 7 to help me get the kids ready for school, and making lunches. Thank you for watching Bella so I could get a nap, and for asking me if I was taking a nap instead of telling me I should because I'm grumpy. Thanks for pushing Lizzy on the swing for endless hours. Thank you for burping Isabella when she kept throwing up on you, and helping me change the endless poop machine. Thank you for helping to drive the kids to endless lessons. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Oh, and sorry about playing a joke on you. I still think it is funny that when I purchased your ticket I told them you were hearing impaired. I thought that was better then my usual Muslim meal that I order for you. I love you.

I love fall

My dad just got in town from Hawaii for a few short days, and since fall doesn't look like this in Hawaii, we decided to go into the canyons to enjoy the fall colors. Here are a few pictures we took while we were up there. It was so beautiful.


I love fall!

This picture cracked me up. Look at Lizzy's pose in the front. I'm not sure where she got that from.

Isabella had a rough week

So the pop that they heard when Isabella was born, was her collar bone breaking. I noticed a huge bump by her neck last week and took her in for x-rays. It is healing nicely and the bump is calcium that should go away over the next few months. While we were at the doctors I had the doctor check to see what her biliruben count was, she was looking like a pumpkin. It was 23, so we had to cook her in a bilibed for 3 days and nights. She didn't enjoy that very much. To top it off, she gets a lot of kisses from Elizabeth and Joshua, who both happen to have colds. Even though we try to have them not kiss her face, they mostly all land on her face. So now she has a cold, so I get to sit up with her all night so she can breath. I think she is thinking it was a lot better inside my belly. We are still so happy to have her here.

SHE is finally here!

Well she is finally here. Isabella Anuhea weighed in at 8 pounds 11 ounces. My biggest baby yet. Joshua is still in denial that she is a girl, he really wanted a brother, but he still can't stop giving her kisses. Elizabeth can't help enough. Every time I change Bella's diaper, Lizzy has to change her baby dolls diaper. Every morning she bursts into my room around 6:30 to give "The Girl Baby" kisses. Since we didn't know what we were having, she was sure we were having a girl baby, so the name has stuck with Lizzy. Sarah has turned into the little mother and keeps begging Shane and I to stay in bed all day long so she can get the kids ready, and feed them their meals all by herself. It has been a little rough since Bella likes to stay up during the hours of 1 AM to about 5 AM, and she was born the same time school was starting. So needless to say I feel like I'm really out of the whole schedule. Life is great, and we are all doing well.

I've been so blessed

Well, I am suppose to be induced tomorrow. I think this post is more for me then for anyone else. I just wanted to remind myself why being pregnant has been such a great experience. Since I get so sick, it is so easy to remember all of the negative things about it, but some day when I look back, I want to remember all of the good as well.
1. The first 5 months, I could barely get off of the couch. Since I had two miscarriages with Elizabeth, I realized I was sick with them, but not as sick. So being really sick is a sign that my pregnancy is a good one. 2. Shane did all of the dishes for my first two trimesters, since I would look in the sink and start to throw up(I guess it was a good way to get out of dishes). 3. You really realize what great friends and family you have. Everyone was volunteering to help, taking my kids, bringing in meals, I love you all. 4. I get to see Amy Phip every week. She has come to my house and given me a massage almost every week since I've been out of my first trimester. 5. Exercise seems like the impossible dream. Since I've been out of it for so long, I'm kind of craving it. I can't wait. 6. I feel like I've been forced to slow down and enjoy every little thing with my kids. I already knew they were great, I just think I appreciate even more all of the joy they bring into our home, and how blessed we are to have them. 7. I have a great husband, and our relationship has only grown stronger through this experience. 8. Being sick gives you more time to read. I've probably read about 25 books over the last 9 months. I don't know when I'll have time for even one more, but it was fun while it lasted. 9. The miracle of prayer. I have been able to feel the prayers offered on my behalf, and have appreciated them more then anyone will ever know. 10. I was healthy enough to go to Europe twice with this pregnancy. Once with my Mom, and the second time with my Dad and all of my siblings. I have a great family, and had so much fun spending all of that time with them. This was a double blessing because I'm also thankful that in America we don't have to pay to use the toilets, which almost broke me in Europe. 11. I just can't wait to hold something in my arms again, that I know was with my Heavenly Father just moments ago. I feel so blessed that it is a bit overwhelming. I just needed to remind myself of at least a few reason's that the last nine months have been so great.

Happy Anniversary Honey!

I don't know how Shane did it, but we had a perfect 13th anniversary. I told him not to plan anything because I'm ready to deliver at any minute, and nothing is fun to me right now. He took the day off work. We went to lunch with the kids (because they felt that they needed to celebrate with us). I took a nap and when I woke up the babysitter was there. We went to the temple, and then got takeout at Bombay House (he wanted to go somewhere nicer, but I wanted spicey food just in case it would put me in labor-it didn't). We watched the sunset while we ate. Then it was getting late, and almost time for the babysitter to go home, and we took our last hour just walking around Sugar House Park. It probably sounds a little boring, but it was perfect. Usually we try to do exciting things like swimming with the sharks, hot air balloon rides, going somewhere fun, but this year I needed something just like this. Thanks Shane. I feel so lucky to be married to my best friend, the day couldn't have been more perfect. I love you!

Foreshadowing

OK, so still no excuse for my bad blogging, other then I'm tired. As of yet, no baby! The kids are actually asleep, I have the dishwasher running, and the laundry going, so I have no excuse but to do a quick update. Of course things are busy, summer always is. Joshua has gotten so good at riding his bike this summer, that Elizabeth wanted to join in the fun. In Europe the kids start riding bikes at age 2 (my brother Johnny and his wife Nicky taught us this). They just give the kids bikes without pedals, that way they feel a lot more comfortable when it actually comes time to try riding. Shane found a place in Utah that sells them. Here is Lizzy riding her bike. She loves it, and rides it almost every day.

Well Elizabeth was potty trained before we left for Europe, and then refused to go after we got back. She kept telling me she was a baby and wanted her diapers. So a few weeks after we got back we started the potty training. We took her to Build a Bear and showed her all of the things she could get if she got potty trained. So over the next few week we worked really hard at potty training, without too much pressure. Well after she had clean underwear for a whole week we all went to Build a Bear. Sarah and Joshua had a blast. When Lizzy picked what she wanted it was two small dinosaurs that she didn't ever get to stuff, oh well, she was happy with them.

So since I am so pregnant, I am exhausted all of the time. One day I put Elizabeth down for a nap, told Sarah and Joshua to play quietly, and laid down to take a nap. I started hearing this banging sound, and got up to investigate. For their quiet activity, Sarah and Joshua found a box and decided to ride it down the stairs. At first I was a little angry, since we just got the walls downstairs painted, but then I had to laugh since they decided that they were going to be safe and wear their bike helmets, and had a pile of blankets and pillows at the bottom.


I was so proud of them that they would be so safe without me even having to tell them. Wellllllllllll....
This last week we went boating with Shane's family at Jordan L (since my doctor won't let me go more then a 50 mile radius from the hospital), and we stayed up in Park City. I woke up early on Tuesday and headed down to SLC to my doctor appointment. Just as I was leaving the doctors I got a phone call from Shane. Joshua and his cousin Dayton were climbing up the rock wall. Joshua jumped 8 feet onto the cement sidewalk (without any shoes on). He couldn't walk on either foot, so Shane was taking him down to TOSH to get x-rays. They thought there was a possible break, on his feet, but they couldn't tell. They wrapped the one that was the worst and sent him home on crutches. Well one week later, I got to take him back, get x-rays, just to find out that both feet were broken. The one that hurts the worst is in a blue cast, and the one that doesn't hurt as much has a boot. He has to stay off it for another 2 weeks, and then he can walk on it for another week before they take off the cast. Just what a mom needs to deal with before having a baby. At least he has crutches so we don't have to carry him around. It hasn't slowed him down a bit. Today I saw him on the swing set hanging on the top bar, trying to swing on the chains like Tarzan. I couldn't help but to laugh. I love my kids.

Life is Good:)

Whatever!

So my doctor is going to induce me on September 2, that is only a few days early. Any suggestions on ways to go into labor. Everyone knows that I get desperate in the end, how many times did I drink Caster Oil with Lizzy? I think I might have to try squats.

Shane thinks my belly is obscenely huge!

So my belly is huge! The other day I told Shane that my belly is so huge that I'm having a hard time getting around, I bump into everything. I don't remember it ever being this big with any other pregnancy. Shane started to laugh. I asked him why he was laughing. He goes on to say that he thinks it is too, he just didn't want to be the one to bring it up, in fact he thinks it so so obscenely huge that it looks fake. He's never seen anything quite like it. I told him I got the point and that he could stop, but he still couldn't stop laughing. Well I went onto utube and typed in pregnant bellies. I don't feel so bad.


OK, I swear I don't usually nest, but this is ridiculous. So over the last few weeks I've made three batches of raspberry freezer jam (usually one batch gets us through the winter), I've picked up the hobby of making homemade bread (I actually grind all of my own flour), I've made homemade peach ice cream twice, I've gone through all of the baby clothes organizing them (size, age, gender), I've washed every sheet, blanket, towel, and clothing article I could find. I've been dusting in places I've long forgotten, had the basement recarpeted, reorganized the files, taxes, business papers, trust information, wills (in case something happens to me, I need Shane to know where things are). Wow, I'm tired.

Quick note, Lizzy's funny comment today. She is worried what the baby is wearing in my belly. I told her it was naked, so she brought me some of her dolls clothes to put on it. Next thing I know, all of her dolls are naked, just like baby. This could get interest.

This summer is flying by

Well, I realized that my last post was when we got back from Europe. Things have been crazy. When we left for Europe, Elizabeth was potty trained, when we returned, she refused to go unless it was in her diaper. Potty training is not fun to me, so this was not a good sign. Since we have been back we have been working with her. She has gone for a few days without any accidents, so we think we are there. Shane has had last week off, and since my doctor said he thinks one of the discs are slipping in my back (that is why it has been so painful), we needed to try to stay close to home. On the first day we took the kids to the Children's Discovery Museum. They had a blast. We sat outside the grocery store and water area for about an hour and a half while the kids were playing. Elizabeth spent all of her time taking vegetables from the store and washing them off in the water, she wanted everything clean. Suddenly Shane and I looked at her, her legs were spread apart, and she was leaning down watching pee run down her leg. Shane and I started laughing so hard, that neither of us could do anything to help her out. She just kept cleaning vegetables and the only thing that was different was that she was walking funny. We were wondering what would happen if we just pretended we didn't know her, until her pants dried. I finally took her into the bathroom and got her cleaned up, but she hasn't wet her pants in public again.

The kids have started taking tennis lessons from their awesome cousing McKenzie. They have been having a lot of fun with that. Since we have a tennis court just down the street, we have been spending a lot of time there.

Our neighborhood party that we had July 23rd was a lot of fun. We are happy that it is no longer hanging over our heads that our whole neighborhood and ward would be in our backyard. We got to a point that we couldn't weed or prune any more. Shane actually took a day off work just to try to get our trees and bushes under control. Toward the end of the day, a lady down the street came over and commented on what a great job he had done, and asked him if she paid him if he could come do her yard. The thing that is funny, is that she thought he was the hired help. We hadn't met her before.

Another thing that happened this last week that was really funny. At church, Joshua's teacher had a fabulous lesson on sharing, she taught them about Jesus having the boy feed the 5000 with 5 fish and 2 loaves of bread. After she told the story, she asked for a volunteer to have the fish and bread. Of course Joshua volunteered, he loves her homemade bread. After she gave him a bag of fish crackers and a whole loaf of bread for his very own, she asked him to share it with the class. He thought about it for a second and said no. After the class was begging, telling him how hungry they were, he finally said, "All right, you can have the fish, but I'm taking the bread home". She had the kids go into sharing time and told them to come back into class before they left to go home, and maybe Joshua would change his mind." Then she came and told me what happened. Of course I told Joshua that he needed to share with his class and he could have a great treat when we went home. Without a beat, he asked what the treat would be. I told him it doesn't matter, he had to share. So with a very unwilling heart he shared with his class. As soon as church was over, his cute little teacher brought Joshua his very own loaf of bread. He was right, it is delicious!

Well, I have just over a month to go. It is passing pretty quickly. On one hand I want it to be here, but on the other hand, that is the same time that the kids start school. So I am just trying to enjoy the next few weeks.

Adventures in Europe

12 days in Europe with all of my siblings, their spouses, and my Dad and his wife Nancy, what a blast. I was a little worried before we left that we all may not be speaking by the end of the trip, but no worries, I think we all came back a closer family.

We all met in Paris. That is where the adventure began. Our shuttle didn't show up, so we had to take the train and walk about 6 block dragging our bags behind us. While we were finding directions to our hotel, one of the ladies started to laugh and said that the street name that were were staying at translated to the Street of Naughty Men. Yes, I booked our hotel in the gay district. It wasn't so bad taking a shower in front of the large clear glass windows when you know no one is trying to peak in. We went to the Arc du Triumph, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and a million other places. We climbed every step in the city.


We flew out to Munich, took a bike tour (went through the naked part of the English gardens--Embarressing), took a tour to Fussen to see the castles Neuschwanstein and Linderhoff, went on a tour of Dachau (the concentration camp), and of course ate a lot of brats and Kraut.

We flew out to Amsterdam. Saw more churches, windmills, and my favorite the Van Gogh museum. We ate the delicacy of the Netherlands raw herring (fish), no it doesn't taste like sushi.

The Boys went first. Their reaction wasn't very encouraging.



The girls took a turn, it wasn't much better. We smelled like we had been feeding seals.

All in all it was a great trip. The sleeping (or lack of it-Brian and Lara's snoring), Matt's warm yellow apple juice, churches, stairs, blisters, Blakes enema and teething, Lisa getting stuck on the Metro, McDonalds (yuck), showering in the dark in Paris, Urinals in the middle of the street (and people actually using them), hairy guys in tight green suits dancing around, naked men in the park, paying for toilets, and of course water for dinner costing over 100 Euro ($150 US dollars). Family, I already miss you, and can't wait for the next one. Please lets just do it when I'm not pregnant.

I love you Sarah!

Well, Sarah has turned 8. It is hard to believe that she is that old. Watching her in Hawaii, I realized that she is very determined to do things, and she is becoming an amazing young lady. It is fun to watch her. In Hawaii she was struggling a little with boogie boarding, but she wanted to do it, because mommy enjoys it. Towards the end, we couldn't get her off the waves.


We had her birthday a week early. She put the party together exactly how she wanted it. It was an "enchanted birthday". She even came up with the design for the cake, that I just had to make for her. We made poison carmel apples that all of the girls got to decorate, we had to find the cockroaches to help clean, and we even did a scavenger hunt to find the prince. Joshua didn't like having to hand each of the girls their own tiarra, but he loved his prince outfit.

Sarah also did a great job with her pet chicken, Pearl, that she got to keep for about 7 weeks (of course we were in Hawaii for 3 of those weeks). While I was in Europe with my mom, Shane signed the permission slip for Sarah to be one of the 4 lucky kids to keep the class pet chicks. Sarah had to change the water a few times daily, feed it, clean out the cage, and play with it daily.

End of school year and Hawaii trip

Well a lot has been happening. Joshua had a soccer game and scored two goals. Yeah Joshua.

Sarah had a violin recital, she did beautifully.

Shane's little sister Heather had her second baby one month early. Brooke was in the NICU for a week, but is out and happy and health (I don't have a picture to post, but believe me, she is beautiful. My brother Matt and Natalie (Natalie did more work then Matt), had their first baby 2 weeks early. All is well. Here is a picture of Spencer Kaleo'O kalani

We are currently in Hawaii. A few hours before we left, I got a spray on tan. You couldn't tell at first. Every time I would take the kids into the bathroom on the plane, I noticed I was getting tanner and tanner. Soon I noticed that my feet were turning orange. By the time we got to Hawaii and changed into a pair of shorts, I noticed how orange I was and had streaks all over my legs. Very sexy and natural. I wouldn't suggest anyone do it. We came to Hawaii for my little sister Tracey's graduation. I forgot how cool graduation is here. Everyone gives you lei's . Tracey had so many lei's that you couldn't see her face anymore, and she had a friend to her side that was holding about twenty lei's that she had to take off already.

We have also gone swimming at Hanauma Bay, the kids loved snorkeling. I had a hard time getting them out of the water, they couldn't believe all of the fish.

Today the kids actually slept in until 5:30 AM, which is much better then the 3:30 AM they have been waking up at. We decided to go get some yummy Malasada's (a Portagese donut, love it) and then to hike Diamond Head. Elizabeth hiked all the way to the top by herself. It took some time, but she wouldn't even let us pick her up. She kept saying, "I want to hike". She even made it up the 281 steps, we counted on the way down.

All is well, my belly is still growing like crazy. You can tell, since it is almost hiding little Sarah. You can see from the picture at the top of Diamond Head that my whole body is getting really pregnant. Only 14 1/2 weeks left. Wahoo. I'm going swimming with the sharks with my dad next week. That should be a treat between morning pregnancy and the way I get seasick, good times.

Europe was Great

I was a little worried with the way the vacation started out. Our plane was delayed in New York for about 4 hours. Every hour, they got us ready to board the plane and then said it would be another hour. At midnight, I was tired and sleeping on the floor of the airport and my legs were already starting to swell. (Usually I don't swell until the sixth month of pregnancy, yes my legs indent and the indention stays. It is great entertainment to my family.) But once we landed the trip was great. We threw our suitcases in lockers and headed off to the tulip festival. It was absolutely beautiful. The next day was Sunday, we went to church, and met some of the nicest people. That evening we went for a bike ride along the canals and through the beautiful countryside of Holland. We spent a day in Vienna, some time in Salzburg (of course I went on the Sound of Music Tour, if you have any questions about scenery in the movie, or the actual family just ask me, I know it all). Then we went to Prague, a very romantic city. Not quite the same without Shane by my side, I didn't go to the bridge at night, I saved that for when I go back there some day with Shane.

When I got home, I spent the week spending time playing games and talking to my kids, hanging with Shane (when he was able to be home), and watching the shows from American Idol and Survivor. I needed to know that my little David Archuleta was safe.

I'm a bad blogger

OK, OK, I know. I've gotten a lot of crap that it has been awhile since I've updated the blog. A lot has been going on with our little family. In December we found out we are expecting September 6, 2008. Of course Shane found out what we are having, and the rest of us didn't. I was very sick for 4 months, but feeling much better. I just turned 20 weeks, and am happy to say, I was able to bike the SLC marathon. I did have a hard time keeping my heart rate below 140 because I have gotten so out of shape. I am happy to say that Shane did the 1/2 marathon, he ran the 13 miles in just over 1 1/2 hours. He is very sore, but happy to be done.

I got a phone call from Sarah's school on Monday, she fell off the bars at school and split open her chin. We headed off to Primary Children's ER, 5 hours later, and I'm sure lots of money (we haven't gotten the bill yet) we walked out of there with BYU blue stitches. It didn't take a lot to please Sarah. A few days later, Lizzy was walking out of the sliding glass door and tripped, splitting open her lip. Yes it is scabbed over and swollen. Of course everything comes in three's. Joshua and Sarah were rough housing and Joshua's knee hit is cute little face, he has a bruise. I guess the good weather is hitting us full force.

We had a great spring break at Disneyland. If you haven't gone, we highly suggest you do. Elizabeth is still talking about Mickey Mouse. Our favorite rides were Buzz Light Year (Shane and Kim), Finding Nemo submarine ride (Sarah), and the Matterhorn (Joshua).

My mom and I are headed off to the Netherlands on Friday to visit my brother John and his cute wife Nicky. Shane is staying with the kids and offered to potty train Elizabeth while I'm there. Life is good.