Where in the world are Darwin and Melissa

Diamond Head Crater

2012-01-02T17:18:00.001-10:00

We've lived here on Oahu for 18 months...and this was our first time to hike up to the top of Diamond Head Crater. It was so worth it!! What an amazing view!!

Hiking to the top.

Kids waiting for me to catch up...

This is me resting. I had to stop and rest A LOT...

Can you see all the little faces??

Going back down.

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-24T20:36:00.004-10:00

How about this?! I am posting BEFORE the actual day! We celebrate Santa's Day on Christmas Eve...and celebrate Christ's birth on Christmas Day. We felt they needed to have their own separate days so we have been celebrating that way since 1998. Santa comes sometime on Christmas Eve while we are out of the house doing some kind of service. When we get home, the big man has been to the house and we open all our gifts and enjoy our evening. Here are some of the photos of all the loot!

Jeans, Uchtdorf book, Learn the guitar book and DVD, and Clockwork Angel book

Socks from Gammy, Minute to Win It, a pillow, and hair pretties from Auntie Jody

Slacks/Jeans/Running shorts, tie made by Auntie Jody, socks from Gammy, and an iPod Nano with watchband.

An Erector set, Harry Potter Legos, AirHog, a Witch and Wizard book

Nook SimpleTouch, Eeyore, Apple TV, King-size quilt from Melissa

Oahu hiking guide, new fins, a book from Gammy, and Ticket to Ride

Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, a Yeti, a monster sewing kit, socks from Gammy.

Tiger latch hook, AirHog, a tie made by Auntie Jody, and bionicles

Pictionary Man, flower latch hook, a music stand, and socks from Gammy.

A sketch book, yarn and a crochet book, her very own flute, and hair pretties from Auntie Jody

A yarn ball winder, an iPod arm band, headphones, and a book from Gammy

A sewing machine (with lessons from Mom), Photoshop CS5, a Pennsylvania piggy bank from Cody/Jody, and a Skylanders Wii game.

Kids' Christmas Lists

2011-11-28T15:25:00.001-10:00

I will be fully cleaning off my desk in the next two weeks, so this entry will change as I find the rest of the lists. ;) I'm afraid I will loose these, so I'm breaking from tradition (only posting in chronological order and backdating) and making a real official post today! Here goes!

10 December 2011
**So, I found the other two kids' Christmas wish lists. They do not disappoint...hahaha! Brooklin actually texted me her wish list this week! She came home from school and Caleb told her that Darwin and I were out Christmas shopping, so she thought she better get something to me while we were out! What a funny girl!

Brooklin

Big fluffy pillow
Juneau shirt
Jeans/capri/shorts
Gutair
CD's
Gun
books
Piano music

Caleb

Black iPod clasic or iTouch
New DS (mine isn't working right)
Pants
Small R/C hellecopter
Phone?
Smallish laptop
Shirts
Steel drum
Lots of duct tape
"Lego Champion" board game
A nice chessboard
Books
A nook
Another warrior head
Lego sets (big ones if you can manage)
A puzzle book
New running shorts
Tan slaks
Super Mario Galaxy 1+2
DS Games

London

iTouch
Laptop
Guitar
Phone
New book
Booklight
Petshops
DS Game (any)
CD's
Yarn
New crochet book
Earrings
Squinkies
Clothes
Candy!!!!!

Isaiah

Wii game
DS game
Net Book
$20.00
NOOK colers
3DS
3DS game
DSi XL
$10.00
Zuzu arena
AR books (books that he can read and take a quiz on for credit at school)
Byonikols (I think this is Bionicals)
Legow sets
Rumaut cuntroll helicopter (remote control helicopter)
Pokiy Mon
A phoun / iphoun
A ipodtuch
ATV (which when I asked him about he clarified it was a TV, not an ATV)
An ipad
Temprpetic bed ajusibol (really?! he wants a Tempur-Pedic Adjustable bed?!)
A book

LASIK!

2011-08-21T19:52:00.000-10:00

I have worn glasses/contacts for the past 28 years. Friday I went in and had LASIK surgery!! I can't believe that I can actually see without any glasses or contacts. I was pretty nervous going into the surgery. Darwin tried his best to keep my mind off of it while we were in the waiting room by being silly...

The first thing the doctor did was to dilate my eyes. Next, he took a pen and drew dots on my eyes! It was the most painful part of the entire procedure!

Next they put antiseptic around my eyes to clean them...I look like an owl!

After that we went into the operating room...wait...I took a valuim sometime before this to help with my nerves...

This was the weirdest thing I have ever done! The procedure lasted only 15 minutes. First he put this suction cup thing on my eyeball and my vision went completely black. Then I could hear and feel the pressure of the "buzz saw" as he cut the flap open on my cornea. He opened the cornea flap and positioned the laser. At this point, I could see red and green blurry lights...it was pretty freaky! Then he turned on the laser and it smelled like burning flesh and sounded like electricity crackling! I had to stay so focused on something else so I didn't jump up off that table!! I sang "I Love to See the Temple" over and over in my head. It was really weird because I couldn't remember all the words to the song...only a few of the lines, but I just sang them over and over and was concentrating really hard to remember the words so I wouldn't think about the procedure. It worked!!

After the laser did it's job, the doctor put my cornea flap back over my eye and put lots of drops in my eye. He used something that looked like a small foam paint brush to make sure all the air bubbles were out from under the flap. Then he moved over to the other eye and did it all over again. I had a metal hook type of thing that stretched my eyelids open and out of the way, and the doctor taped my eyelashes to my face so they wouldn't be in the way either. I came out with several less eyelashes than I started with!

Done with the surgery!

In recovery (and on valuim)

24 hours after surgery! I only had a hemorrhage in one eye. The doctor said it would go away soon.

Things will be hazy for a few days/weeks until my eyes have a chance to heal, but it is the most awesome thing to be able to see when I wake up in the morning!!

Home Ethics

2011-08-17T21:50:00.000-10:00

At the school open house tonight, Caleb was explaining to me why there were ovens in his leadership classroom. He said, "This used to be a home ethics classroom or something." hehehe! They should have a home ethics class!!

Finding Happiness

2011-08-07T07:38:00.000-10:00

‎"Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you but on what happens inside of you; it is measured by the spirit with which you meet the problems of life." ~Harold B. Lee

Fun at Old Navy

2011-08-06T21:32:00.000-10:00

Darwin had 24 hour duty today, so we drove downtown to have lunch with him and then made a stop at Old Navy to get in on the $5 jeans sale. We of course had to have some fun while we were there... =)

Posing with the creepy mannequins at Old Navy

A MILEstone

2011-08-06T21:26:00.000-10:00

We bought our van brand new in August of 2003. Today, after living in several places with very few roads, we finally hit 50,000 miles! hahaha! It only took us eight years of driving in enclosed/remote areas for this to happen...lol! When we bought the car, it came with a 7 year/70,000 mile warranty, which ever came first. So, our warranty ended at the 7 year mark but it still hasn't made it to the 70,000 miles!

First Days of School 2011

2011-08-02T21:12:00.000-10:00

C, L, and Iz all started school yesterday! Since B is a sophomore, she gets one extra day off (the freshmen start today without all the upperclassmen). I took her to the mall and we had lunch together. It is L's first day of middle school and C's first day of 8th grade. Iz is the lonely-only left in elementary this year!

August 1, 2011

The fun little restaurant we ate at!

August 2, 2011

Scout Camp

2011-07-31T21:04:00.000-10:00

Caleb had a lot of fun at scout camp. They all camped out at Bellows Beach and had a huge paintball fight on the last day! I "borrowed" these pictures from the troops facebook page.

Coast Guard Day

2011-07-29T20:38:00.000-10:00

I took Brooklin, London, and Isaiah to Coast Guard Day today (Caleb is at Scout Camp and Darwin is off-island for work). They had some PCC dancers come for entertainment, there was tons of food, and bouncy houses and games for the kids. We all got cotton candy and spray on tattoos. Brooklin and Isaiah each "won" a puzzle for trying out Tahitian dancing, and we won a 3D Blu-Ray player in the raffle! What a fun day!

Here are some videos of the kids at Coast Guard Day.

http://youtu.be/WTi15PeQ2V4
http://youtu.be/ROuG9L-SlWU
http://youtu.be/3s-xAQi54wA

Soda Can Roses

2011-07-25T21:26:00.000-10:00

B is headed off to girls camp this week and needed a few secret sister gifts. The girl she has likes roses, so we decided to try out this craft we saw in a magazine. The roses are made out of a Coke can! We put them on a pair of earrings we found at Wal-Mart and then made a necklace out of the third one. I think they turned out cute! (The directions were in the February 2011 issue of Crafts 'n Things magazine)

Shopping with Dad

2011-07-22T21:42:00.000-10:00

Phone conversation earlier today...

Darwin: I took the kids shopping last night. It was like shopping by myself... You should ask them about it.
Me: What did you do?! Leave them in the car?!
Brooklin: (who is listening to the convo) No, he bought us all ice cream and made us sit outside the store. He told us we had to finish it before he came back out or we had to throw it away.

!!!!! hahahahahaha !!!!!

Welcome Baby Ruby!

2011-07-18T21:39:00.000-10:00

My brother and his wife have struggled with infertility for several years. Nearly three years ago they adopted their first child, and then about year later they adopt their second child. The Lord works in mysterious ways...my sister-in-law was able to get pregnant and today they had a healthy baby girl! Welcome little one!!

Getting Real

2011-07-17T18:50:00.000-10:00

I have an app on my phone called LDS Youth. It has videos (Mormon Messages), articles from the New Era, Mormonads, and uplifting music on it. I had a few extra minutes before we had to leave for church and was browsing the content of the app,when this picture caught my eye...

I clicked on the picture and it took me to an article titled "Getting Real" by Elyssa J. Kirkham. The article is about a girl who played tons of video games but made a realization she was missing out on real life by playing too long in the virtual world.

This article hit me like a ton of bricks...and I saw it as a chance to make a change.

This morning I went in and deleted ALL of my facebook games!! That might not be amazing to anyone who reads this...but it was a HUGE step for me!! I have wasted SO MANY hours of my life playing FarmVille, CityVille, FrontierVille,Fluff Friends, SuperPoke Pets, Treasure Isle, Zombie Lane, Mafia Wars...etc. As soon as I read this article, I just started deleting stuff! I was scared that if I waited until after church, I wouldn't have the courage to do it later. I am still kind of in shock that all my games are gone!

It was taking me forever to get my homework done each day because I would take a "5-minute" break to play my games and would end up wasting an hour or more. I was not interacting with my family as much as I could have either. The games start out only letting you play for a few minutes...but as you advance in levels, you get more "energy" and your playing time increases. I have tried to cut back or quit before, but I always found some way to justify keeping the games open and available. I hope I don't cave and reload one of the games! I really hope that I can fill these hours with something more productive!

(Fast Forward two months... Today is really Sept 27, 2011. I am working on getting our blog up to current and I always backdate the posts to when they really happened. I am so excited to tell you that I only missed my games for about three days!! After that, I didn't miss them at all!! School this semester seems to be going so much smoother for me...and not until I came to writing this post today, did I realize the connection. Even though I have nine credits this semester, my school work doesn't seem to take up so much of my time! I am so grateful for this article and that Heavenly Father helped me to kick my bad habit! It is so amazing that the small act of deleting my facebook games could have such a huge effect on my life! I have more credits this semester than I have for the last two semesters but I feel so much better this semester...stress-wise...it is amazing! I am so, so grateful!!)

5K Fun? Run

2011-07-16T18:28:00.000-10:00

Our stake hosted a 5K Fun Run this morning! I took all the kids and Brooklin ran with her cross country team. (her coaches are in our stake and they had the team come and participate). After the run there was a huge pancake breakfast, complete with rice, smokies, and eggs! I was counting on running with Isaiah, but he wanted to sprint, so I ended up walking one of the two loops with a friend and not going the full 5K. Isaiah ran only one loop, Caleb and London ran the entire race, and Brooklin did really well and received a medal!

HP7 pt 2

2011-07-15T21:02:00.000-10:00

Harry Potter 7 part II opened last night at midnight! We have been waiting for this all summer!! I'm so sad that the books and the movies are over, but they are one of our family's favorite things to do together! I took the kids this morning to the first showing and we all dressed up for the occasion...Caleb dressed in a Star Wars t-shirt because that is more of his favorite...but we still let him come. Darwin is still in Kodiak, so I guess we will have to go and see it a second time next week. =)

Rubius Dell? You mean like Hagrid?

2011-07-13T21:46:00.000-10:00

I just had this conversation in the car with Brooklin...

Me: Auntie Lila is going to the hospital tonight to have her baby.

Brooklin: Oh! Little Ruby Sue!

Me: No Brooklin, her name is going to be Ruby Estelle

Brooklin: {silence} then she says, "Rubius Dell? you mean like Hagrid?"

Me: WHAT!! NO!! R-U-B-Y. Ruby ESTELLE"

Brooklin: OH!!! I was wondering why anyone would name their baby Rubius...

Isaiah: I WOULD!!

I guess she has just a little too much Harry Potter excitement built up for this weekend...lol! (this weekend is the premier of the last Harry Potter movie!)

Volcanoes at the Bishop Museum

2011-07-11T21:07:00.000-10:00

Took the kids to the Bishop Museum today. We went to the volcano building and watched a lava demonstration, went into a huge indoor volcano, looked at things under a microscope, learned about wind, and the kids played dress up! It was a great day!

Sorry! and Squinkies

2011-07-10T21:21:00.000-10:00

The kids added a twist to their Sorry! game. =) They used Squinkies as the playing pieces...I thought it was cute.

17 Years And Counting

2011-07-09T14:03:00.000-10:00

Hooray for anniversaries!! This year make seventeen for Darwin and I! First, I'd like to look back at what we looked like then...

This is the photo that was in the newspaper

My "Addams Family" pose

Look how young we all are!

This is NOT Brooklin! This is my baby sister Marnie! She was only 18 months old!

This picture is funny on so many levels!!

Miss many of these people! Only the grandmas are still alive today

This is at the reception.

Me and my mom...and her huge glasses

Me and baby Marnie

The dress

The monkey face!

Now for today...

I told Darwin that I either wanted to go on a zipline or to Kualoa Ranch and do a tour there. He opted for the zipline. Now, he called ahead and set something up and I only knew that it was a zipliine...nothing else. I was so excited in the car on the way to the zipline, I could hardly stand it! I had my camera and I was going to get to go cruising through the trees and get some epic shots of Hawaii. I mentioned this to Darwin in the car, and he said, "It's not really that kind of zipline." Apparently...there are no REAL zip lines on Oahu!! The one he found was at a mini-golf place in Kaneohe! It was maybe 100 yds and had a weight limit. The only thing to cruise over was the mini-golf courses! I was really bummed...really... Darwin wanted me to try it out anyway. We went over to pay for our ride, and it turned out that Darwin was a few pounds over the limit, so I had to ride it by myself! The man who suited me up treated me like I was 12... "Hi! What's your name?" me: "Melissa" him: "I bet you can't guess what my name is!" me: "Uh, it's written right there on your helmet..." etc. Darwin took pictures and then we played a round of mini-golf and then went out to eat at Bubba Gumps for dinner.

After dinner, we went out to see Transformers 3 and then finished off the evening at Starbucks. I had a hot chocolate with coconut syrup and a birthday cake pop, Darwin got hot chocolate with a raspberry shot. We played Settlers of Catan on the iPad and drank our hot chocolates there in Starbucks before heading home. It was a good day, even though I was bummed about the zipline.

Tomorrow, Darwin leaves for his 10 day fishing trip to Kodiak with his dad, my brother, and my brother's father-in-law! I hope they have a great trip!!

Bowling!

2011-07-06T22:20:00.000-10:00

This summer we have been participating in the Kids Bowl Free program. All I had to do was sign the kids up on the kids bowl free website and we were good to go. I was also able to pay $25 total for Darwin and I to be able to bowl with them all summer! We still have to pay for the shoe rentals, but we have been trying to go at least once or twice a week.

4th of July

2011-07-04T21:55:00.000-10:00

Last night, we drove down to Darwin's office to watch the fireworks going off at the Aloha Tower over the ocean. They were great...and very short. This morning, we took Brooklin to Schofield for a xcountry fundraiser. She had to work at the bouncy house booths for the 4th of July stuff on Schofield...so we dropped her off and then went hiking on the Kolekole trail. It was beautiful!

The sign at the head of the Kolekole trail describes this interesting rock this way. "It is a large stone with a unique natural bowl and drainage trough that has attracted considerable attention over the years. After the old woman who watched people pass the stone that served as a territorial marker. Some speak of the rock being used for sacrificial beheadings of defeated warrior chiefs."

Above is a photo of the bowl in the rock. On the backside of the rock (below) there is a step. Very interesting...

These mountains are just enormous! If you look close, you can see Darwin and the kids. It was so beautiful at the top. We didn't do the crazy/scary part of the hike...this is all the further we went, but Caleb did the longer hike with his scout troop.

Favorite Uncle Cody

2011-07-03T22:27:00.000-10:00

I posted this on Cody's facebook wall today... funny stuff!

We were talking to our kids tonight about what they are going to do/be when they "grow up". I just wanted to give you a heads up...Isaiah said he is going to be living in your basement, Caleb is going to live next door to you, and London is going to live across the street from you. hahahaha!!! You win the title of favorite Uncle. Brooklin on the other hand is going to live in Oregon...and she doesn't want to live by me...lol!

This is a picture of Uncle Cody

The reason they all want to live near him, is because last summer (when we went to visit them in Wyoming while we were moving from Alaska to Hawaii) he let my kids have 3 or 4 kinds of cold cereal in a bowl with chocolate milk and chocolate chips for lunch after church! He also had the biggest TV screen they had ever seen too. He has a projector and stadium type seating in his basement! They still talk about both of these things. =)

Start Moving by: Von G. Keetch

2011-07-03T21:38:00.000-10:00

"To those of you who are waiting upon the Lord for guidance on your lives - who need help with a major decision or question - I give you this challenge: Prayerfully and carefully use your own intelligence and your own resources to choose a path that seems right to you. Then become anxiously engaged in walking that path. When the time for course correction comes, He will be there to help you and to guide you." ~Von G. Keetch

Start Moving - July 2011 Ensign

I read this article this morning before church. It was very powerful and made me think about all the times I sit and wait for answers instead of actively seeking for the things I should be doing.

The Bishop Museum

2011-06-25T20:48:00.000-10:00

Today was free day for the military to visit the Honolulu Aquarium. We decided to try and go. The line to get in was worse than a new ride at Disneyland, so we decided to try someplace less crowded. Isaiah had been to the Bishop Museum with his school for a field trip, and we were already downtown, so we decided to try it out. It was awesome! They have a dinosaur exhibit going on right now and it was pretty amazing. We bought a season pass and hope to be able to go a few more times in the next year. (it was only like $15 more than a one-day admission for all six of us to get the season pass, so that worked out great). We visited the dinosaur exhibit and the Hawaiian Hall. There is a planetarium here and a lava demonstration, but we didn't have time to see them...good thing we can come back for FREE!

All the dinosaurs in this room moved and made noise!

London with a raptor

Fossil table

Cowry shells

Triton Shells

Snail shells

Inside Hawaiian Hall

Me and the kids...Brooklin was off babysitting.

The Bee Gees Said What?

2011-06-24T23:16:00.000-10:00

Brooklin went to a Tri-Stake dance tonight. When she got home, she said "Mom, they played some newer songs and some old songs, like that one... Ah, ah, ah, ah, Stay in the light, Stay in the light"

Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!!!
(I'm pretty sure the Bee Gees were really singing "Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive")

***I decided to look up a photo of the Bee Gees for this post. Who knew they were THIS handsome??!! Hahahahaha! I was always under the impression there was at least one female singer...but maybe I was getting them mixed up with the B-52's?? (if that's possible...lol).

Underwater Robotics Class

2011-06-23T21:22:00.013-10:00

Brooklin and Caleb got to participate in a free underwater robotics class down at the Coast Guard base. They went to a class all morning Mon-Wed and then today they ran the robots on missions in the pool.

There is some video of the missions that I am trying to upload to YouTube...but it is taking forever. I will embed them when they finally finish loading.

Tree's

2011-06-19T22:05:00.000-10:00

I am trying something new in order to get me posting on this a little more. I know that I will never equal the greatness of my better half but I figured that I should try and contribute a couple of times.

I am not going to try and catch everyone up because I am not sure of everything that is going on but suffice it to say that we have had several birthdays were people in the family got some cool things and mother's day and father's day were the parents were spoiled. Brooklin concluded track and is running every day but sunday (more then before) to be ready for when cross country starts again. We have gone to church and did what we are suppose too. And in general we have had some fun between all the work.

Melissa is still in school and being a full time mom so she does not have a lot of time. She is also taking family pictures for other families and at weddings. I think that the more that she does the better that she gets. It is cool watching Melissa when she gets creative with anything and see the great products that she can produce. Just this week there was a baby shower so she decided to sew a blanket for the shower and did it in one afternoon.

I am mostly working lately. There seems to never be a shortage of things to do but I am looking forward to a break in a few weeks to go fishing with my dad. I think I spend a little too much time online dreaming about this trip but I do look forward to the break. I just wish I could take the whole family with me.

Well, just a little insight to what is happening at our house. We have a busy week next week so there may be a few more things to share.

Wait; there is a short story...last night Melissa and I took the kids to do cosmic bowling. It did not start until 8pm so we were a little late getting home. While we were driving I asked Melissa to share a scripture with the kids so that when we got home we could send them right to bed. Melissa decided to read and was engaged in Helaman 11 as we were driving and a tree feel down in the middle of the lane that we were in. I was able to miss the tree. Thankfully we were doing the right thing and did not end up in an accident. I went out and tugged on the tree for a while because the tree was in the road on a blind corner and was unable to move it very good until Melissa was able to come and help me. We got the tree out of the road and made our way home. I really am thankful for small miracles and know that when we are doing the right thing we are being watched over. We may not always escape challenges but I am sure thankful when we are delivered.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-19T19:08:00.007-10:00

Happy Father's Day!!

Caleb made this desk sign in woodshop at school.

...and he painted it dad's two favorite colors. Blue and Orange for BSU.

A new lap desk

Isaiah likes HexBugs so much, he got one for his dad.

A wireless keyboard for the iPad

This is a small fish tank. We made fabric fish to go in it, since we weren't going to wrap up live fish. Darwin has been wanting fish for his office, so this little tank should do the trick.

Happy Birthday Isaiah!

2011-06-06T22:44:00.001-10:00

Isaiah is nine today! He got up early (at 6am) and started singing loudly out in the kitchen to a CD of primary songs. He was so excited for it to be his birthday. He wins for best restaurant choice for his birthday dinner. He took us all out to DA KITCHEN in Oahu! This was our favorite place to eat-out in Maui, and there is one over here in Oahu now.

Isaiah and his Mac'n Cheese Nibblers.

Mom had noodles and dad had Katsu Chicken with mushrooms and gravy

Caleb got Katsu Chicken and Brooklin got a Loco Moco

London also got the mac'n cheese nibblers. It's like a chicken nugget only with mac'n cheese inside!

Plants vs. Zombies for DS

more HexBugs

Spy stuff

Dolphin pillow pet

Atlantis Legos

Brooklin made a seven-layer bar/brownie for his cake. It was divine!

Happy Birthday London!

2011-06-03T22:28:00.001-10:00

London is eleven! She is not allowed to be that old...but she did it anyway. ;) She got lots of fun stuff for her birthday and wasted no time with her new Flip video camera. It was out and recording by the time we lit the candles on the cake. Guess we will have to watch what we are doing/saying from now on...lol! She also chose IHOP for her birthday dinner. (I think we are going to bribe Isaiah to pick anywhere but there for his birthday dinner, because I don't think I can stomach the price tag or the food twice in one week).

Way Out of the Ordinary

2011-06-02T21:09:00.000-10:00

I have been know to sabotage family beach outings...or at least complain so much that we don't go very often. The beach is not my favorite place to go. There I said it "out loud". I don't mind the actual beach, but I feel like it is such a huge production getting everyone and everything ready, that I dread beach outings. We look like we are moving to the beach with the amount of "stuff" we haul out and back...just sayin.

This morning, I decided I would take the kids to the beach by myself (while Darwin was at work) We took lunch and I brought a chair and umbrella. I told the kids I wasn't going to carry anything and we were just going to play in the sand and water...no snorkeling, no diving, no boogie boarding (mostly because the beach I took them to was more like a pool than the ocean). They didn't quite grasp the idea, so they did end up bringing snorkel stuff and two boogie boards. I sat on the beach in my chair with my umbrella and read a book. The kids had fun just playing in the water.

...and Darwin had to pick his chin up off his desk when I sent him this picture. He couldn't believe I took the kids to the beach of my own accord. It has never happened before!

The Red Dirt Monster

2011-06-01T13:03:00.001-10:00

Brooklin has Xcountry practice all summer. Today it was rainy...so this is what I got to pick up and bring home from the school today.

Coaster Art

2011-05-31T21:01:00.000-10:00

Darwin was gone tonight, so I took the kids to Chili's for their Kids Eat Free night. Brooklin was bored waiting for the food, so she took everyone's coasters and built a tower. The waitress thought it was great and pulled out her phone to take a picture of her! hahaha!

Hard Work and Dessert

2011-05-28T22:54:00.000-10:00

We spent the entire day today mucking out the garage and going through some junk in the house. It really needed to be done, and it looks so much nicer now. After dinner, we took the kids to Ruby Tuesdays for dessert. They all chose the Double Chocolate Cake. mmmm, mmmm, good! (sorry the photos are all washed out...I took them with my phone).

On To Bears & Seminary Awards Night

2011-05-27T10:04:00.020-10:00

Isaiah was awarded his Wolf badge last night at pack meeting. He is a cute little cub scout! =)

Before pack meeting was completely over, we had to leave for Brooklin's seminary awards potluck and auction...which was just over in the cultural hall, so we were totally on time! =) She got a certificate of completion for the year (Doctrine & Covenants) and a silly award for being the "Seminary Music Fairy". The last picture is of the three amazing women who teach seminary to the youth. Sister Spix is an assistant and Sis. Shaffer and Sis. Lamatia are the teachers! I am so grateful to these ladies!

Progress

2011-05-26T20:33:00.002-10:00

Brooklin got her braces on back in February. We took her in for an adjustment today and within a half hour after coming out of the office, HER FRONT TEETH WERE TOUCHING!! This has never happened in her entire life! The piece of her gums that was hanging in-between her teeth was squeezed to the back of her front teeth and is now swollen (and annoying). We will see if the doctor can remove it or something...

Before braces

14 weeks later (today)

5th Grade Graduation

2011-05-24T20:59:00.001-10:00

London graduated from elementary school today! Isaiah is the lone elementary school kid now. I can't believe she is old enough to go to middle school already! We are very proud of her!

Fun at Target

2011-05-22T13:53:00.000-10:00

We went to Target yesterday and the kids had fun playing with the superhero costumes in the toy aisles.

Last year to be thirtysomething...

2011-05-13T20:35:00.001-10:00

Darwin turned 39 today! I can't believe we are getting so close to 40! He got home from Seattle today and we opened presents as soon as the kids got home.

Isaiah got him Lego people

Caleb gave him a DVD

Brooklin got him candy

He got an iPad2 from me

(but only the cover made it to the house before his birthday)

London was very generous and got him a new laptop

(our desktop died so he gave the kids his laptop and we got him a new one).

Strawberry cheesecake for dessert!

How We Got A Free Nook

2011-05-10T21:34:00.001-10:00

We bought a Nook last June when we were traveling and we all love it. Unfortunately, it stopped working sometime in December 2010, but I never got around to calling about the warranty until about March. I explained the problem to the guy on the phone (who I'm guessing was in India) and he had me do several of those tricks where you "hop-while-standing-on-one-foot-and-press-the-power-button-for-six-years-and-blink-your-eyes-ten-times" to see if that would fix it. Surprisingly enough...that didn't work so they told me they would send us a 2nd one to replace the broken one...and when the new one came, we should put the broken one in the box and mail it back to them (Barnes and Noble).

We boxed up the broken one and turned on the new (pre-owned...I hate that word by the way) one....and it didn't work!! It kept telling me to enter my registration information, but it would not give me the keyboard to type in the information! I called tech support again and after having me do all the same monkey-tricks they had me do with the first broken Nook, they decided to send us a 3rd Nook. We boxed up broken Nook #2 in the box Nook #3 came in and sent it back. Finally we had a working Nook!

Last week, a 4th Nook showed up in the mail! I called tech support today about it and after explaining the entire story to the guy (and about 15 minutes of waiting on hold on the phone...where every three minutes the guy would come back and tell me he was working on my problem and I was important to them) they said it was their mistake and I could keep it!! I made sure like four times and they just said they weren't going to charge us for it and it could be registered on our account...no strings!!! I'm so excited!!

Happy Mother's Day and Happy Birthday

2011-05-10T21:08:00.000-10:00

We got home from Maui at 10pm on Sunday...Mother's Day (May 8th). Brooklin's birthday was Monday the 9th and Darwin was leaving for Seattle for a week (for work) Monday morning, so we had the fastest celebration of those two holidays in about five minutes flat as soon as we got home from the airport! It was actually pretty funny. We yelled, "Happy Mother's Day!!" and then I ripped into each present...pausing only long enough to have a picture snapped with the gift-giver. As soon as that was done (seriously like 2 1/2 minutes later) we yelled, "Mother's Day is over now! Happy Birthday Brooklin!!" and she tore into her gifts. We were all laughing the whole time! We cleaned up the wrapping paper, hugged the kids good-night, and then I went and helped Darwin finish packing for his trip to Seattle...his plane was leaving at 9am!

State Track and Field Meet in Maui!

2011-05-10T20:19:00.000-10:00

Brooklin qualified for States this year (as a freshman!) in the 300m hurdles. The state meet was in Maui this year and I was so excited I decided to fly over to support her and her teammates...and visit my favorite island in Hawaii! We flew out May 5th and the meet was taking place on the 6th and 7th at the War Memorial Stadium in Kahului. I did not go as a chaperone, so I did not stay at the hotel with the team. I stayed with our Wailuku Ward bishop and his family (the Wada Family) and I am so grateful for their hospitality!

We found out a day or two before we left that Brooklin would not be running the 300m hurdles because the officials had decided to eliminate the last heat of qualifiers. She was lucky though to be able to run in a 4x100m relay. One of the girls who's heat was eliminated didn't get to run at all. It was a great experience for Brooklin, and I had a great time visiting with friends and cheering for her and her teammates. There were 61 schools represented at the meet!!

While I was in Maui Grandma Wada and Sister Wada taught me how to make fresh plumeria leis. They had several plumeria trees in their yard, so we went out and picked all the fresh ones (with no brown on them) and then they taught me how to string them into leis! We made one for Brooklin, and one for me and another sister for Mother's Day.

The team flew home on Sunday afternoon, but since it was Mother's Day...and I wanted to see our old ward family and hear primary children singing...we paid extra for Brooklin to get to stay longer and attend church and see some of her friends there. It was amazing to be able to see all of our dear friends back on Maui! I sure do miss that place!

Before picking Brooklin up and attending church (at 1pm), I drove myself up to the Pulehu chapel in Kula. It is such an awesome place. I was the only one there and it was just so peaceful and beautiful. I'm so glad I was able to visit there again!

We flew out Sunday evening...after an hour delay...and got home around 10pm. It was a great trip and I'm so glad I was on a break from school so I could go and enjoy myself. =)

Yellow Car

2011-05-01T21:15:00.007-10:00

Today was fast Sunday. A lady in the ward got up and told us about a game she plays with her family where every time they see a yellow car, they shout out something they are grateful for. What a great idea! I hope we can remember to show more gratitude by using this little reminder.

Makahiki

2011-04-30T21:36:00.022-10:00

Today we went to Ala Moana Beach Park for the scouts Makahiki celebration. There were lots of fun things for the kids to do, but I think they had the most fun pretending to shoot bad guys with the wide variety of weaponry the military displays had.

Isaiah-isms

2011-04-29T22:13:00.000-10:00

Tonight Isaiah and I went to London's music festival at the high school. Towards the end he was getting pretty bored and turned to me and says to me: Mom? Mom!

Me: Shhh!

Him: Mom! Can you get milk from a pig?

Me: What?! Well...yes.

Him: (ponders that answer for a moment and then says) Is it good?

Me: Well, baby pigs like it...

hahahahaha!

Caleb's Track Meet

2011-04-27T23:54:00.002-10:00

Caleb had his first track meet today. He ran two (or three) relays and did an awesome job! It was really hot and he got burnt pretty good.

OH! and after I got home, I bought my plane tickets to MAUI to go and watch Brooklin run in the state track meet! She qualified for the 300m hurdles!

My Hero

2011-04-26T23:33:00.000-10:00

Today, I decided to drive downtown to go to a camera shop. While I was driving around I realized that there was a HUGE bolt stuck in my tire. I drove to the mall (cause I was starving) and called Darwin. He came and put my spare tire on for me and then I took the broken tire to the Firestone on post for it to get fixed. I never made it to the camera store, but I am so grateful that Darwin came and rescued me!! Thank you! I love you!

Another Semester Done! Two Left To Go!

2011-04-25T23:20:00.000-10:00

I just turned in my last final for this semester! Now i have 28 glorious days of FREE TIME!!! =) ...then it is back to school to learn "Principals of Management". I think I will have time to sew now...and go to the temple! Hooray!

(I just finished Business Communications and Introduction to Business)

Here is a silly photo of me working on my final project for the Business Communications class. I had to make a PowerPoint presentation with audio. This is me sitting in an empty room, feeling like a goofball, and talking to myself...aka recording the audio.

I started this blanket during Spring Break and just finished it this afternoon. I don't know who it is for yet, but I like to have baby gifts on hand since I never have time to play, I mean sew, when I need one ready for a baby shower.

Happy Easter 2011

2011-04-24T23:15:00.003-10:00

Coloring Easter Eggs

2011-04-22T23:06:00.001-10:00

We colored Easter Eggs this afternoon.

Isaiah-isms

2011-04-18T22:58:00.001-10:00

Isaiah made us dinner tonight...Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets.

This is what he just said to me:

"I put 35 on the pan, and I tried not to put any mutated ones on."

HAHAHAHAHA!!

This is a picture of the Mickey Mouse nuggets from another day...do you see a mutated one?

Deep Thoughts by: Brooklin...and Caleb

2011-04-13T22:55:00.001-10:00

Isaiah isn't the only one with random funny thoughts.

Yesterday in the car Brooklin said, "So if Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner got married, they would both be Taylor Lautner? You really shouldn't date people with the same name as you!"

What a goofball! hahaha!

...and from Caleb...

Caleb: "Mom, you are getting a lot more white hairs...well, grey hairs....but not as many as dad."

London's Track Meet

2011-04-12T22:44:00.003-10:00

London did awesome at her track meet! She ran the first leg of the 4 x 200 relay. Her team ended up getting 4th overall. It was a fun little track meet. =)

This is a VERY shaky video of London running her relay. I didn't have a tripod and I took this video with my Canon 7D.

Hurdles

2011-04-11T22:19:00.003-10:00

Brooklin did great running the 100m and 300m hurdles this year. These are from a meet at Mililani HS on April 9, 2011.

I did not get a picture of this happening...because all I wanted to do was jump over the side of the bleachers and help her up and hug her...but she tripped over the last hurdle on the 300m and scraped up her knees pretty good. Her coach used her as an example of what not to do when you trip on a hurdle. You are supposed to roll, and she just went splat right on the track. She did get right back up and finished 3rd in her heat though!

These are just blisters from her shoes.

Gratitude

2011-04-10T22:49:00.008-10:00

Had an excellent day! Church, watched the new Narnia movie and played six player Catan with Dar and the kids, ate ice cream, and then watched another movie with my sweetheart. So blessed to have a stress free day and the best family ever!

April Fools

2011-04-03T14:44:00.000-10:00

I honestly didn't feel as inspired this year as I have the past few years with making mischief for April Fools Day. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I am kind of stressed and burning out on school. I have two classes this semester, one class to take in the summer, and three to take in the fall...and I can GRADUATE with my Associates in Business Administration.

At this point, I'm not sure if I am going to continue on working towards my bachelor's degree or if I am going to take a break. I am leaning towards the break, but I don't have a plan for what I will do if I do take a break. I don't think I want (or need) to work at a "real" job, but I can't just "sit at home" either. I do have a sum of student loans I will have to start paying back if I do stop attending school, and that might require extra income. It is all up in the air right now...

I took my questions to the temple last weekend and Heavenly Father pretty much told me that I don't have to know yet and that he loved me...a lot. So, I am just doing school for now and I'm going to try not to make any big decisions until later. He has a plan for me...and I don't have to know what it is right now...kind of like presents at Christmas. You have to wait until the right time to open them. You are anxious to know what is in them, but you have to wait until Christmas Day (or Eve in our case...lol) to see what they are.

So anyway...haha....back to April Fools Day!

I decided to pull out the some of the Christmas decorations and pretend it was Christmas for April Fools. I decorated a tree, hung stockings, and wrapped gifts.

When the two little kids got home, they squealed with delight. It was pretty fun. They opened their presents and ate a candy cane. The two older kids didn't get home until late (Caleb at 5:30pm and Brooklin at nearly 9:30pm) because Caleb had track practice and Brooklin had a track meet.

For dinner, I made a "cake". It was a meatloaf recipe cooked in two round cake pans. I turned them out onto a plate and put "frosting" (mashed potatoes) in between them and then "frosted" the entire thing. I took some of the potatoes and colored them with food coloring and piped them onto the cake for decoration. The kids all knew it wasn't really cake...but they played along. It was fun! I'm glad I got out of my "funk" long enough to make this happen. I have so much fun watching them react to the mischief. =)

Isaiah's first Pinewood Derby

2011-04-03T14:06:00.001-10:00

Isaiah had so much fun creating his first pinewood derby car. He has wanted to do this since he was four and Caleb was in the wolf pack! His car was not the fastest, but it was a good experience for him. We love you Isaiah! (his is the red and black car)

Track and Field 2011

2011-04-03T13:42:00.000-10:00

Brooklin is running track again this year. She is excelling at the hurdles and does really well smoking everyone at the 400m. Her coach said she has a lot of potential to be a great hurdler. He also put her in the first running position in the 4x400m and 4x800m relays. We have been to everyone of her meets...not always all of us, but we enjoy cheering for her. London has joined the track team at the elementary and Caleb just made the track team at the middle school! They haven't had a meet yet, but we are going to support them when it is their turn. Isaiah told us only one 3rd grader made the track team at his school, but he tried out and we are proud of him. Here are some pictures of Brooklin running at a meet at Kaiser HS.

100m hurdles

No one was even close when she finished the 100m hurdles!

100m dash. She actually came in 2nd in her heat.

300m hurdles. She was at least 150m ahead of the 2nd place runner! She did awesome!

(and she almost didn't run this one, because she had just run the 1500m and ended up puking right after).

Dad and Brooklin near the end of the meet.

Valley of the Temples Memorial Park

2011-03-30T14:22:00.001-10:00

Micah and Cori came to visit us in Oahu this month! On March 5th, we drove to the east side of the island to check out the Byodo-In Temple in the valley of the temples. The temple was pretty amazing...but I think the highlight of the visit (especially for the kids) was hand feeding the birds. All we had to do was put the food in our hands and hold it out, and birds would eat right out of our hands!

This following text is typed exactly from the information sheet and is property of the park...

...and the pictures were all taken by me

(so please do not copy or repost them without permission).

The Byodo-In Temple situated at Valley of the Temples Memorial Park was established on June 7, 1968 to commemorate the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. The Byodo-in was built entirely without the use of nails. It is a scale replica of a temple at Uji Japan that was constructed over 900 years ago. The Byodo-in is built to represent the mythical phoenix, its wings upheld by pillars of stone. Folklore tells of the phoenix arising from the ashes to reflect the promises of hope and renewal.

"The Magnificent Byodo-in Temple" translates "Temple of Equality - not to discriminate" and is home to Amida, a golden Buddha unique to the entire world.

The Buddha is thought to be the largest figure carved since ancient times. Towering more than 18 feet, the immense figure is an original work of art carved by the famous Japanese sculptor, Masuzo Inui. When the carving was completed, it was covered with cloth and painted with three applications of gold lacquer. Gold leaf was later applied over the lacquer finish. The hall and all the artistry it reflects are regarded as representing the essence of the culture of the Fujiwara aristocracy.

The Hall is popularly known as Hoo-do, or the Phoenix Hall, because a pair of the legendary birds of good omen and of Chinese origin is seen perched on both ends of the roof with their wings spread and ready to fly away. The hall containing two wings reflects stability as well as artistic beauty.

The Bell House, called kanetsu-ki-do, contains a five foot high, three ton brass bell, called bon-sho (sacred bell), cast in Osaka, Japan from a mixture of bronze and tin, by permission of the government of Japan. It closely resembles the bell hanging in an identical Bell House at the at the Uji Byodo-In. The original is said to be more than 900 years old and to have come from India. It is revered for its distinctive shape, and the tone of the bell sounds a message of deep calm and peace, cleansing the mind of evil and temptation. The resonant sound of the bon-sho creates an atmosphere of tranquility for meditation that travels some distance. A soft wooden log called the "shu-moku" is used to strike the bell. The bell is customarily rung before one enters the temple to spread the eternal teachings of Buddha.

The Byodo-In Temple gift shop which is adjacent to the beautiful Sunra gardens, offers a variety of unique treasures, souvenirs and refreshments.

(this is the end of the information sheet text...now on to the other pictures!)

These next two are detail shots from some statues outside the gift shop

Small Buddha in front of the temple.

This was on top of a little gazebo behind the temple

Feeding the birds!

Full statue by the gift shop and a black swan.

"Darwin E. Jensen" by his grandson Darwin A. Jensen

2011-02-28T17:04:00.056-10:00

This morning I received a text from Dad that Grandpa Jensen had returned to be with his eternal companion. Yesterday evening I felt that I should contact Dad and ask how Grandpa was doing; all I could do was ask the question on Facebook and this morning my impression that his passing was soon was confirmed.

May 13, 2007

Darwin and Julia Jensen

Grandpa Jensen had a great impact on me throughout my life. From the days that we lived on the farm to family reunions (where what seemed like hundreds of family members) crowed his house during the holidays. When I reflect on the time that we spent together I think I had a unique opportunity when Grandpa would come and visit at our home to go fishing in Alaska. I found that my love for nature and the wonders that are in it came from this great man. I will always remember looking into Grandpa's eyes during his last trip to Alaska and seeing the love that he had in his eyes for the beauty of the area that we were in. Bundled up on a bouncing boat in Southeast Alaska watching the whales and catching halibut or salmon with a light in his eyes that will fill my soul forever.

Grandpa and Uncle Mark in Juneau.

July 2002

There are a lot of people who will say that they love this planet but there is special bond between Grandpa and this land. As a farmer he learned to draw life giving food from the ground and learned to love the animals that he raised to make a living by drawing on the earth. My kids will always remember the flying mule that Grandpa trained jump over them. My favorite picture is when I was not on Kodiak but Grandpa and some of the other family members were visiting my wife and kids. While everyone was hard at work trying to catch fish, Grandpa took some time to help his great-granddaughter by showing her how to fish and sitting with her on the bank. Melissa took a picture and sent it to me and it is an image that will live with me forever.

Brooklin with her Great-Grandpa Jensen

June 1999

I don't know how my Dad got the name Darwin, he was not the oldest, I am not sure how the name got passed down to me but I know that having this name has brought great reflection in my life of men that I love and respect. I know that that is why this name was passed down another generation. Each year when we were able to take another four generation picture of the Darwin's it filled my soul with happiness.

Four-Generations pictures

Darwin Caleb's baby blessing.

March 1998

July 2002

Summer 2002

June 2009

(grandpa's last fishing trip to Alaska)

My love for the natural world, the wonder and awe that I have; come from a humble farmer who love to be in its beauty and reap from the ground and the life on it all that it had and share that with everyone that he loved. A man that loved this world I have no doubt will create worlds without end with the beauty that we have around us.

Darwin A. Jensen

June 2009

The last picture...

This picture was taken on July 22, 2010.

It was the last time we said good-bye to Great-Grandpa Jensen

Journal Jar #9

2011-02-27T13:01:00.000-10:00

Were you ever made fun of in school? About what?

I don't remember being teased too much at school. I remember in about 4th grade a girl asked me why I kept coming to school with chicken pox. I had acne really early and I guess she just thought I had chicken pox.

A few of my friends in high school teased me a little about being really skinny. My nickname was "Bone"...partly because my friend Holly called me that (she had just moved to Idaho from Washington and said that "bone" was what people there called their best friends) and partly because I was 5'3" and only 95 lbs. I got called "chicken legs" a few times and people used to say if I turned sideways and stuck out my tongue, I'd look like a zipper... but it was mostly just in fun and I didn't feel teased.

Journal Jar #8

2011-02-20T13:13:00.040-10:00

How many scars do you have and how did you get them?

I can think of five scars. I'll start at the top and work my way down.

1. I have a scar in my right eyebrow. When I was in elementary school (I can't remember how old I was) my parents took all of us to the Piercy's house for game night. The Piercy's had a son that was close to my age named Perry...Perry Piercy. They had other kids too, but I don't remember their names...wait, I think one of them's name was Noel. Anyway, we were being kids...making a huge mess, jumping on things, yelling, that type of playing and things got out of control. Perry picked up a chalkboard that was shaped like a black cat (and probably 2 ft. tall and a foot wide) and threw it like a frisbee across the room...and it hit me right on my right brow bone and started bleeding like crazy! Things were crazy for a minute while the appropriate actions were taken...but after getting cleaned up and having a washcloth filled with ice for the bump, I think we watched Lady and the Tramp and had "quiet time" while the parents finished their game. And Perry, if you ever google your name and find this post...don't worry, it's all good and you are forgiven. =)

2. I also have a scar right on the outside corner of my right eye...not even a half inch from the one in my eyebrow! I got this scar much earlier. I really don't remember much about this one, but of the eight kids in my family...there was only me and my brother Micah around, which would have put me under the age of 4. (Cody was born two weeks before my fourth birthday). I was sitting on the floor near a coffee table, and Micah was behind me....and he may have been crawling then...but anyway, he shoved me into the corner of the coffee table and cut my eye open. I remember laying on a table with a big light above it, but the doctors wouldn't put stitches in it since it was too close to my eye. My mom remembers more about that part...maybe...lol. I don't remember if I had a patch or some kind of bandage or anything, but I still have a scar from the coffee table near my right eye.

3. I have a scar along the outside edge of my right index finger. We were living in Kodiak and were days away from moving to Washington DC. We invited our neighbors, the Mumfords, over for dinner...halibut I think, we were trying to get rid of it since we couldn't take it with us. Our house in Kodiak didn't have a dishwasher so we had to wash everything by hand. I was washing a tall, clear glass...and the glass cracked and sliced from the middle of my right index finger down to my knuckle as I was pushing the washcloth into the glass to clean it. No stitches...it wasn't very deep, but it did leave a mark!

4. I have a tiny cluster of scars on my right shin. When I was 13 or 14 my mom was driving me through the neighborhood to a babysitting job. I was going to babysitting my brother's friend Cody Holford (aka "Dope"). We approached an unmarked intersection and slowly proceeded through...since we had the right-of-way. The truck on our left did not yield and smashed into the front of our car going about 30 miles an hour. I had my legs crossed and my right shin ran into something in the center console area and I bumped my head. After the accident, the guy got out and told the police that he was super tired and didn't know if he was very awake. I think I got $100 for "pain and suffering" or something like that.

5. I have a scar on the top of my left big toe from having a bunionectomy. I just wrote about that last week, so I don't need to do it again. =)

Brooklin has braces!

2011-02-18T16:21:00.000-10:00

We took Brooklin in today to get braces. She is supposed to have them for 20 months. She is missing both of her second top teeth, so the braces are going to pull her front teeth together (which have never touched in her entire life) and pull her canine teeth back...and of course straighten everything else out. Next, she will be fitted with two new fake teeth in the holes created by the braces. After awhile, she will have permanent fake teeth (I can't remember the correct term for this) put in.

The amazing thing about this is, here in Hawaii the bill came up to around $3200. In Alaska, the bill was going to be $7000 for the same procedure!! I'm so glad we waited!!

Journal Jar #7

2011-02-13T13:45:00.070-10:00

Have you ever had any operations? What kind?

I know of three. One was very minor...the other two were fairly involved, but all of them were out-patient procedures.

When I was in 7th or 8th grade, I had a frenectomy of my lower labial frenum. (hahaha! I typed "What is that thing that attaches your lip to your gums" into Google...I totally had to look up what it was called, and here is what that means).

The Labial Frenum is a little tag of tissue in the center of the upper and the lower lip that attaches the lip to the gums. It too is not especially useful, and sometimes causes orthodontic or periodontal problems if the attachment on the gums is too close to the teeth. If it becomes a problem, we usually simply cut it . This is most often done on children if the attachment of the frenum is too "high" and causes a diastema (space) between the adult teeth. The procedure is called a "frenectomy". An interesting thing to note is that a glancing blow to the face will generally rip this structure, and a ripped labial frenum, in combination with other "recurrent" bodily injuries is considered to be a legal indication of child abuse. (http://www.doctorspiller.com/oral%20anatomy.htm)

My lower frenum was too high, causing my gums to recede from my bottom teeth, so the dentist (?) clipped it and then cut out a small piece of my gums from the back of my mouth and sewed it over the clipped area. I had a few stitches in my mouth that they covered with what looked like silly putty (that hardened after it was applied) to keep the area clean while it healed. I remember that some of the silly putty stuff came off while I was playing my saxophone in band class one day...lol. Today, you can still kind of see that I have a slight discoloration of my gums right under my two front bottom teeth.

The second operation I had was a bunionectomy on my left foot. I was 19 years old (and had JUST met Darwin). I was about to be booted-off my parent's insurance (since I wasn't in school and was over 18) so I had a choice to have my wisdom teeth removed or my bunion fixed. I was to the point of wearing isotoner slippers to work (JCPenney) because all of my regular dress shoes were too painful, so I kept my wisdom teeth and went in to have my ugly/painful toe fixed.

I remember starting to count backwards from 100... and then waking up on the operating table with my arms taped to my chest! I could see the doctors still working on my foot, so I was worried that the pain blockers were wearing off. They weren't...I couldn't feel anything. I was just flopping around too much for them to keep me totally "under" for the entire operation. They tried just taping my arms down so I would quit flailing around, but decided to just reduce whatever medicine that knocked me out, so I would settle down! hahaha! They broke my big toe knuckle, shaved off part of it with a file, and then used two screws to hold it in place. While they had me out, they also removed a huge cluster of planter warts from the bottom of my big toe as well. (I told you it was ugly!)

It took several weeks for my foot to heal. I had to walk around with one of those lovely blue velcro shoes for quite awhile...which remember, I was 19 and still pretty worried about how I looked...so it was amazing to me that my husband still asked me to marry him...hahaha! I lost some of my range of motion with the surgery and also the ability to drive a stick shift car for more than a few stoplights. (it gets pretty sore if I hold down the clutch for very long).

My final surgery was when I got my wisdom teeth removed at the age of 33! I would not recommend waiting this long to get them removed. Not fun! I think I blogged about this experience... let me check... I did! You can read about it here...4 less teeth for me

Here are some pictures not included in that blog post.

a before shot

These are from two days later...

Journal Jar #6

2011-02-06T13:43:00.003-10:00

Tell about your first date.

My first date was with Wally Birch. I was 15 years, 11 months and 3 weeks old...and not allowed to date until I was 16. I tricked my mom into letting me go on a date before I was officially 16. Each November, our school held a Harvest dance. It was a girl-ask-guy dance and you were supposed to buy matching shirts to wear at the dance. The dance was scheduled for exactly one week before I turned 16. I was talking to my mom at Albertsons a few weeks before the dance and said something like, "So, if someone asks me to the dance...I have to tell them no because I'm one week away from being 16! That is so unfair!" She (totally not knowing that it was a girl's choice dance) told me that if someone actually asked me, then I could go. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, I ran to the back of the store and found Wally (he worked at Albertsons) and asked him if he wanted to go with me! hahahaha! I don't remember too much about the actual date. I know we went out and bought shirts together sometime before the dance and went to eat at The Brick Oven Beanery in downtown Boise the night of the dance. I think that was the only date we went on! hahaha! He was a senior and I was a sophomore, so we didn't have too much in common. He was in band and played the alto saxophone...and I had played the alto sax my freshman year, but moved over to the drum corp for the rest of my high school years. There was a huge group of people from band and drum corp that went to the dance, so it was more of a match-everyone-up and go have fun together kind of group. He was a gentleman and I had fun on my very first date.

Caleb is a teenager!!

2011-01-30T19:36:00.000-10:00

Caleb turned 13 on Saturday! We are now the proud parents of two teenagers! Caleb was lucky to have his Jensen grandparents and his Great-Grandma Nita here for his birthday! He got some fun stuff...and we went to the beach all day. Love you Caleb!

Grandma Jensen, Caleb and London

Caleb, London, and Grandpa Jensen

Love the face brother....

Lovin on his brother

Our two teenagers!

...ok, so maybe he got that face from me.

He asks forStar Wars stuff for almost every one of his birthdays!

ok, never mind...maybe he got that face from both of us...

Grandpa Jensen made him an Oreo cheesecake for his birthday cake

The grandmas!!

Grandpa also made a half blueberry/half lemon cheese cake too. They were all delicious!

Can you see the knife in Caleb's hands??

He got to cut it on his own

...and then he did what every smart teenager does. He licked the knife!

Beach day #2

2011-01-30T14:47:00.013-10:00

It was Caleb's birthday on Saturday and we celebrated by going to the beach! I will do a separate post for his birthday...but wanted to post the pictures from the beach and the Halona Blowhole. The blowhole wasn't doing much in the way of blowing, but there were lots of whales out...so we watched them! Very cool! The picture is from my phone, so the whale spout is tiny...but they were very awesome to watch!

Journal Jar #5

2011-01-30T13:08:00.000-10:00

What is something that you have always wanted to do but never have?

Let me see how many I can think of...

I would like to visit a foreign country. Not really right now...but I would love to visit the UK and Germany with Darwin when our kids are old enough to kind of take care of themselves.
I want to ride on a zip line tour. There was one in Maui, two in Juneau, and one that I know of here in Oahu...but I have never been on one yet. The price (and everyday life) are my only excuses.
Go to New York City and see a play on Broadway!
I would also like to visit the Statue of Liberty.
I want to go on a church history tour. I want to visit Palmyra, NY; Nauvoo, IL; and attend the Salt Lake City temple.
Go on a mission with my husband when we are old(er).

Ok...that isn't a very long list. haha! ...and I never imagined that what I wanted to do most was travel, since it seems that all we do is travel. Who knew!

The turtle and the shrimp trucks

2011-01-27T18:24:00.008-10:00

Today we drove to the North Shore to see if we could see a sunning green sea turtle and have lunch at the "famous" shrimp trucks. We had good luck! Brutus was just coming out of the water when we drove up!

After picking up a hamburger for Marcia at Ted's Bakery (which has DELICIOUS rolls...well actually all their food is good...), we drove up to the shrimp trucks. Dar and I got the fried shrimp (the were in a spring roll type wrapper and then fried) and Dar's dad got the garlic shrimp. He let us try some and his was very good, but also VERY messy! I'm glad we got the fried kind. It was already peeled and ready to eat. The garlic kind was in a sauce and you had to peel each one before eating it.

Dad enjoying his garlic shrimp

After eating we went to a cool antique shop and a roadside farmer's market. It was a fun afternoon.

Crouching Bear, Hidden Ninja

2011-01-23T20:26:00.002-10:00

These were just really funny. While we were at the botanical garden, Isaiah decided to put on a show for all of us. He was jumping and making all kinds of ninja sounding noises...and my taking pictures of it egged him on! =)

Enjoy!

Sunday stroll through the gardens

2011-01-23T19:51:00.004-10:00

Today, we took the family to the Wahiawa Botanical Gardens. It is so beautiful and peaceful there...a perfect Sunday afternoon place. (click on the pictures to see them better).

Mischief going on.... right here! =)

Journal Jar #4

2011-01-23T15:15:00.043-10:00

Have you ever been caught stealing or been in trouble with the law?

The very easy answer to this is, No.

I have twice, that I know of, left the grocery store with an item that was on the bottom of the cart that I didn't pay for. I can also tell you that I went right back into the store and stood in line again....with four children hanging off the sides of my shopping cart...and paid for the item.

On one other occasion, I got home and started unloading my groceries and found a box of popsicles in a bag by themselves that I did not remember putting in the cart. I grabbed my receipt and scanned it to see if I had indeed paid for them (because my kids have put random things in my cart before). I couldn't find the popsicles on the receipt, so I put them in the freezer and they stayed there for probably two weeks. The next time I went to the store, I took the popsicles with me. When I tried to explain to the customer service people what had happened, they just couldn't wrap their heads around it. They kept trying to give me a refund. I told them I didn't pay for them and I was just bringing them back, but they didn't understand...but let me leave them there. I think they thought I was some crazy person. =)

As for the law... I've never had a parking ticket, I've caused one minor car accident (when I was 19), and I have been pulled over once for a traffic violation (and that was within the last six months). I was driving on base and went straight through a left turn only lane and an MP was waiting to go through the same light on the other side of the road. He turned his car around and pulled me over. I had Brooklin in the car with me and I was embarrassed. He was really nice and just told me that he wanted me to know how that intersection worked so it wouldn't happen again and that he wasn't going to give me a ticket.

Visiting the USS Arizona Memorial

2011-01-21T21:08:00.010-10:00

We took the parents and grandma to Pearl Harbor today to see the USS Arizona Memorial. We went while the kids were at school. I love visiting the memorial...and when the kids got home they were sad and said they wanted to go to, so I guess they love it too.

Dar and Grandma Nita

Inside the memorial

That is the USS Missouri in the background

Looking at the turret

Palm tree huggers

2011-01-17T09:16:00.001-10:00

Darwin's parents and his grandma are here visiting us for three weeks. They got here on the 11th and are leaving on the 31st. Sunday we drove out to the temple grounds with Dad and Grandma Nita (Mom wasn't feeling good and stayed home to sleep). Grandma Nita got to visit with her granddaughter Holly and her family who are living in Laie while her husband Spencer is attending school at BYU-Hawaii. The drive up took a lot longer than normal because the waves on the North Shore were really huge...almost big enough for the Eddie Aikau surf competition...but not quite.

Girls with Grandpa Jensen on the temple grounds

Darwin with his Grandma Ray...also Spencer and Holly with their two and the two they were babysitting.

Kids with their Grandpa Jensen

Brooklin at the Maternity fountain

Darwin hugging all the kids at once! =)

Wow! A picture with me in it! hahaha!

Let the palm tree hugging begin!

Grandpa kept knocking on the trees because they sounded hollow.

Brooklin, the palm tree hugger

I'm getting in on the palm tree love.

Group hug!

Journal Jar #3

2011-01-16T13:21:00.000-10:00

Name the pets you have had.

I'm not sure I can name all the pets I've had...but I'll try.

1. When I was very little, my parents had two springer spaniels. Their names were Tater and Spud. Tater had several puppies and my parents called them "Tater tots"! We also had another dog when I was little, but I don't remember his name. He was not a nice dog. I can remember going out into the snow to play on the swing set one time and he knocked me over and jumped on me. I know I cried and was afraid to go out in the backyard. I think my mom made my dad get rid of that dog.

2. I know that we had a kitten (or two) when I was small. This is one of them. I am sitting on a rocking horse that my Grandpa made for me. I can also think of one other cat we had when I was just a little older. It was a tiger striped cat, and there is a picture of me painting it with a paint brush somewhere at my mom's house.

3. We had goats when I was seven. Our first goat was named Gertie and she was a white saanen goat. We bought her because my third brother (Joel) was allergic to cows milk when he was a baby and buying goats milk was very expensive. She had some baby goats and my dad milked her every day. I even got to try to milk her sometimes. We used to let the baby goats out of their pen and take them up to our front deck and they would jump and twist off the deck! We even let them in the house a few times. They were like puppies and we had a lot of fun with them.

We had goats when I was in middle school too. We had a goat named Gabby that was really friendly and a goat we called Maggot because she would chase us and knock us over and we did not like her. Gabby had a baby we named Geezer. My dad made a goat cart out of wood and the wheels from an old wagon, and Gabby would take us on rides around the yard. Gabby also got her head stuck in the fence all the time, so my dad put a garden hose over her horns so her head would be too big to fit through the fence. She looked really stupid...but it worked.

5. When I was six or seven, my dad had horses and cows too. We had a horse named Jake and a horse named Jughead. My dad used to let me "ride" on Jake. One time, he put me up on Jake's back and was leading him around our property. Jake got an itch on his back, and he had a bad habit of just rolling over and scratching whenever he itched...whether he had a full saddle and rider or not. I was small and was not in a saddle, just bareback, and I didn't know what was happening but he got and itch and down he went to itch it. I was very lucky my dad was there and knew what was going on and that I wasn't crushed. Jake rolled over my left leg up to my knee before my dad pulled me out of the way. My foot and ankle swelled up pretty good but nothing was broken ...and I got to hop around on crutches for a few weeks which I thought was cool until my armpits got sore. (Also when my dad was "breaking" Jake... he got bucked off and broke his leg. He was in a full leg cast for awhile).

6. We got bunnies one year for Easter when I was between five and seven. My bunny's name was Minnie and she was dark brown. My brother named his white bunny "Slim Good Body Fruit Tree" and my other brother's bunny was named Cotton.

7. We had a little dog named Babe when we lived in Arizona. We didn't have her very long, because she liked to jump on people and my dad hated that. We got rid of her and got gerbils instead. My gerbil's name was Squirmy and my brother's gerbil's name was Hermy. They had TONS of babies. We also had a few finches and a goldfish in Arizona too. My dad would tell people we were raising cat food.

8. My dad bought a horse when I was in middle school. She was a buckskin mustang. He got her from the wild horse drawing...something like they rounded up the wild horses and there was a lottery type of thing, and when your number got drawn, you got to go pick up (and pay a fee for) a wild horse. We named her Termite because she ate all the fence posts. She was my dad's other best friend for many years. She died just a few years ago, and it was so sad. She was old...but she was the best horse and my dad loved her. He has had two other horses that I can remember. He bought Babe (who was a retired race horse) when I was in high school, and Termite had a baby around the time Caleb was born.

9. When I was in high school, my dad bought a donkey and named him Bill Clinton. This is a photo of Brooklin loving on him a few years ago. He is really old too. Don't know how long he will be around.

10. When we were first married, Darwin and I had several fish. Darwin loves fish. The best one was our first oscar. He was awesome. We would buy him goldfish to eat and then have a psudo-nature show while he very carefully took out their eyes so they couldn't see him coming and then eat them head first.

11. After Darwin and I got married, we inherited a pot-belly pig. My dad and his friend each got a baby pot-belly pig, and on the drive home one of them jumped out of the back of the truck. Neither my dad or his friend wanted the remaining pig, so Darwin and I decided to take it. We named her Chub-chubs and she lived in the shell of an above ground pool at my parents house. (We were living with my parents at the time). We had to give her away when we moved to Kodiak, so we gave her to the Empeys because they had kind of a farm going on at their house...lol.

12. We had some pet rats when we moved to Juneau. Brooklin named hers Flower and Caleb named his Blackie. They did not live very long. Flower died on Brooklin's birthday... =( We bought her another one, but it was not as nice as the first one. A week or so later, Blackie also died and we were left with one naughty rat, so we took her back to the pet store.

13. We had two other oscars in Maui. They were in a 55 gallon tank and eventually got so big (and fought so badly), we had to get rid of one of them.

14. I think the last pets we owned were our gerbils in Juneau. We loved them and were sad that we didn't get to keep them longer. They were fun little pets.

Beach day #1

2011-01-15T21:59:00.020-10:00

Today we went to the beach!! We went over to Bellows beach on the east side of the island. I loved this beach! Not too crowded and it was only knee deep for like 50 yards out!

Relaxing on the beach

London with the boogie board

Isaiah digging a hole which later became know as "D-Valley".

Melissa

More digging

Grandma Nita and Marcia sitting on the beach

Darwin and Darwin...heading out to snorkel

My Caleb...who really looks like a teenager in this picture!

Brooklin

Marcia got tired and decided to take a nap.
Isn't she cute! =)

Journal Jar #2

2011-01-09T13:40:00.061-10:00

What could you teach someone?
Well I'm pretty sure I could teach anyone a thing or two. =)

But seriously... I'll try and come up with 10.

I've taught classes on sewing
I've taught many people how to crochet.
I've taught classes on how to lead music
I've lead a children's choir
I've been a cub scout leader
I'm a mom...so I've taught my children many things
I get many phone calls from family members asking me how to do things on the computer
I'm know some about how to take pictures, and could teach a basic class on that.
Darwin and I have taught MANY people how to do country swing dancing.
...and I could teach you how to cover an entire car with post-it notes. =)

What are some things I have taught you?

Venture Out

2011-01-07T09:59:00.000-10:00

I sat down on the couch yesterday to read while the maintenance guy was here fixing our dryer door...again. I had wanted to practice the piano, but then the doorbell rang and I didn't want to play in front of the repairman so I grabbed a copy of The Church News off my bedroom floor (my bedroom floor could use some work...) and started looking through it. There was an article title "Venture out" by R. Scott Lloyd (Church News staff writer). The subtitle was "Ships must leave the harbor". I decided to read on. The article talked about people who had courage to undertake difficult journeys, and how we were meant to leave our refuge places and experience the "seas of life". There was a quote at the very beginning of the article that I really love. I found this picture Darwin took in Kodiak, AK and added the quote to it.

I've been pondering this quote all day. It has made me think of all the times in my life when I have chosen to stay in my comfort zone instead of having the courage to act or speak up or just do it. I'm not saying that always stay near the dock... but there are a lot of times I could have done something and didn't because it would have meant sailing out of the harbor. I hope I can remember this quote and have courage when I'm not feeling confident.

Dole Plantation Maze- FUN! Tree through the truck window - not so much...

2011-01-06T15:31:00.041-10:00

Jan 3rd was the last day of Winter Break for the kids. (I go back to school on the 10th). Dar took the day off and we drove five miles to the Dole Pineapple Plantation to try out the largest outdoor maze in the world. This is the description provided by their website:

In 2008, Dole Plantation’s giant Pineapple Garden Maze was declared the world’s largest maze. The maze stretches over three acres and includes nearly two and one-half miles of paths crafted from 14,000 colorful Hawaiian plants. Walk through the flora of the islands as you seek out eight secret stations that each lead you closer to the mystery at the heart of this larger-than-life labyrinth, one of only a handful of permanent botanical mazes in America. The fastest finishers win a prize and enter into the history of Dole Plantation, with their names recorded on a sign at the maze’s entrance.

We paid for our entry and took off in different directions, each with our own strategy on how to find all eight stations the fastest. I ran the maze with Isaiah...and a map of the maze. Darwin stuck with Caleb and London, and Brooklin went out on her own. None of the others used a map.

I had to run a lot to keep up with Isaiah. He kept going through small holes in the foliage and I had to keep calling him back; there was no way I was going to fit through those tiny holes! At some point, Darwin's group met up with Brooklin (who hadn't found any yet) and she decided she wanted someone to go with her. (It wasn't very fun by herself, and she kept texting me asking me where everyone was...haha!) London decided to go with her.

It took Darwin and Caleb 56 minutes to get through the maze. Isaiah and I took 59 minutes. Brooklin and London came out around 75 minutes! We walked through the gift shop and bought chocolate made from cocoa beans grown on the North Shore and had lunch...including pineapple delight ice cream! It is so good!!

We left the gift shop full and happy...

As we were walking to where we parked our truck, the happy turned to concern. When we got closer, our concerns were confirmed. The entire back of our truck had been smashed in by a tree branch that fell from a tree in the parking lot. The parking security kid came over and told us it had happened an hour before...and that it happened often... =/ Darwin got an iPhone for Christmas and had downloaded the USAA app just a few days earlier. It was the coolest thing ever!! We touched "File A Claim" and it walked us through the entire process. It even had a place that we could take pictures with the phone and submit them with the claim! That took all of maybe 10 minutes...and we didn't know what else to do, so we called USAA to see if the claim really worked and what to do next. The guy who answered was able to pull up the claim and view the pictures as soon as I gave him our customer number! He was even surprised at how well the app worked! He set us up with a repair shop and a rental car right there in the parking lot! I would seriously do a commercial for them! It was so easy and convenient! Anyway, we drove to the repair place and then Enterprise came and "picked us up" in the rental car.

Overall we had a pretty good day,considering. Thank you USAA and iPhone!!

Journal Jar #1

2011-01-02T14:57:00.001-10:00

My mom sent Darwin and I a Journal Jar about 10 years ago for Christmas. It is a little jar full of questions on slips of paper. The idea was that by pulling these slips out of the jar and answering them (in notebooks she also sent) we would have a "wonderful family keepsake". I pulled out two strips and answered them in March of 2001...and that was it. The little jar and the two notebooks have been on a book shelf in my bedroom ever since then. Somehow, when we moved to Oahu the little jar ended up on my desk. It has been staring at me everyday for the past 5 months. So.... as it is a New Year, and a time for resolutions... I am going to try and answer one of these slips each Sunday and see how long I can go with them. If you would like to participate, you are more than welcome to answer the questions on your own blog, in a notebook, or as a comment on here.

Happy New Year!

Question #1

How old were you when you got your driver's license and tell about the experience

I was 14 years old when I got my first drivers license. I went to driver's ed classes in the summer of 1989. One of my driver's ed teachers was Mr. Janzen (who was also my 8th grade History?? teacher). We had some classroom time (that I don't remember too much of) and a driving range to practice on (which was a large empty parking lot with roads painted on it...along with places to parallel park and a set of painted on railroad tracks we had to stop at and look both ways) and then once a week we got to drive on the road in a brand new 1989 Ford Tempo!! The cars that we drove on the range were REALLY old and broken. I remember one time we were going to practice driving in reverse. The girl in the car with me was named Audra Booth and she was taller than me. She went first. We had to put the car in reverse and drive backwards clear to the other side of the range . Then when we got to the fence, we could put the car in gear (they were all stick shifts) and drive back to the starting line. She did awesome. Then we had to get out and change drivers. I adjusted the seat forward so I could reach the pedals, put the car in reverse, and waited for the teacher to give us the go-ahead. (We all had to wear headsets so the teacher could talk to us while we were driving and they were not in the cars with us). On "Go", I pushed on the gas...and my seat slid all the way back and the car stalled!! Stupid broken seat! I was so embarrassed! hahaha! I was able to get the seat to stick in the forward position and drive through the requirement...but I was all by myself at that point since no one else stalled their car.

Some other things I remember about getting my first driver's license are that my brother Micah (who is 15 months younger than me) had to wait until he was 16 to get his license. Idaho changed their driving age to 16 and I was in the very last group of kids who could get their license at 14. Another funny thing was my actual license. I was issued my first driver's license on August 2, 1989. The woman who prepared my license messed up on my birth year. She listed my birth year as 1914....I'm guessing because we were talking about how lucky I was to get my license at 14 years old before the law changed! I have a photocopy of my original license...I'll snap a quick picture of it and share! =)

HAHAHAHAHA! Do you love the hair?!? Can you see the birthdate with the year listed as '14? Oh how I wish I was still 095 lbs!!

The picture above my license is the first time I drove by myself without an adult in the car. I was driving myself in parent's station wagon about five blocks down the road to a babysitting job...lol! I think my mom watched me the whole way!

Meeting old friends...and a huge turtle

2011-01-01T19:36:00.016-10:00

We drove to Laie today to meet up with a friend of mine from high school and her husband. I met Jennifer when we were 11 years old. Her birthday is the day before mine and we had a double slumber party together at my house when we both turned 12. I don't really know when I met TJ, but we went to high school together too. =) TJ served his mission here in Hawaii, and this was the first time he had been back to visit. They were staying with Jennifer's sister Tara, who's husband is stationed here in Oahu with the Navy. I love being able to see so many people who come here to visit Hawaii.

Jennifer and I in the visitors center at the Laie Temple

Jennifer and TJ

Laie Temple

The family.

After visiting with Jenn and TJ, we drove to Laniakea beach on the north shore of Oahu to see if any turtles were out basking in the sun. We were luck enough to see one big turtle! There are volunteers who keep watch over the turtles so people don't bother them. They put a red rope around the turtles as a kind of safety zone for the sun-bathing turtles.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T17:57:00.021-10:00

We went to a New Year's Eve party with a few families from church. It was a disco theme. Caleb and London spent most of their time playing Rock Band on the Wii that was set up in one corner of the room. Isaiah and Brooklin played Dance Central on the XboX Kinect that was set up in another corner. Darwin and I also played the dancing game. =) It was a fun night and we let the kids stay up (after the party...we left early at 10:30pm) and play Cabelas Hunting on our Wii. Looking forward to a great 2011!

Bishop Loder on the guitar, Caleb on the drums, and Isaiah singing.

Dar and Brooklin

The funniest part of the night was when Bishop challenged Isaiah to a dance competition! Isaiah was so cute! =)

Geocaching in the jungle

2010-12-31T19:19:00.003-10:00

We decided to go geocaching on the last day of the year. We drove up to Moanalua and then went on a hike in a lot of mud. There were some ruins up by the second cache we found that were pretty cool. When we got to the park we realized that our GPS was out of batteries and we didn't have any in the car. Luckily we were able to find two caches using Darwin's iPhone with the geocaching app!! very cool stuff!

The cache

At the cache location with the iPhone.

Here are some of the ruins...and Brooklin up in a tree.

This was an oven right in the middle of the "jungle"

A little stream

When you look at this it doesn't seem very impressive, until you see the family in the bottom right corner!!

A couple shots of the muddy shoes...

Where in the world are Darwin and Melissa

Diamond Head Crater

Merry Christmas!!

Kids' Christmas Lists

LASIK!

Home Ethics

Finding Happiness

Fun at Old Navy

A MILEstone

First Days of School 2011

Scout Camp

Coast Guard Day

Soda Can Roses

Shopping with Dad

Welcome Baby Ruby!

Getting Real

5K Fun? Run

HP7 pt 2

Rubius Dell? You mean like Hagrid?

Volcanoes at the Bishop Museum

Sorry! and Squinkies

17 Years And Counting

Bowling!

4th of July

Favorite Uncle Cody

I posted this on Cody's facebook wall today... funny stuff!

This is a picture of Uncle Cody

Start Moving by: Von G. Keetch

Start Moving - July 2011 Ensign

I read this article this morning before church. It was very powerful and made me think about all the times I sit and wait for answers instead of actively seeking for the things I should be doing.

The Bishop Museum

The Bee Gees Said What?

Brooklin went to a Tri-Stake dance tonight. When she got home, she said "Mom, they played some newer songs and some old songs, like that one... Ah, ah, ah, ah, Stay in the light, Stay in the light"Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!!!(I'm pretty sure the Bee Gees were really singing "Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive")

***I decided to look up a photo of the Bee Gees for this post. Who knew they were THIS handsome??!! Hahahahaha! I was always under the impression there was at least one female singer...but maybe I was getting them mixed up with the B-52's?? (if that's possible...lol).

Underwater Robotics Class

Tree's

Father's Day 2011

Happy Birthday Isaiah!

Happy Birthday London!

Way Out of the Ordinary

The Red Dirt Monster

Coaster Art

Hard Work and Dessert

On To Bears & Seminary Awards Night

Progress

5th Grade Graduation

Fun at Target

Last year to be thirtysomething...

How We Got A Free Nook

Happy Mother's Day and Happy Birthday

State Track and Field Meet in Maui!

Yellow Car

Makahiki

Isaiah-isms

Tonight Isaiah and I went to London's music festival at the high school. Towards the end he was getting pretty bored and turned to me and says to me: Mom? Mom!

Me: Shhh!

Him: Mom! Can you get milk from a pig?

Me: What?! Well...yes.

Him: (ponders that answer for a moment and then says) Is it good?

Me: Well, baby pigs like it...

hahahahaha!

Caleb's Track Meet

My Hero

Another Semester Done! Two Left To Go!

I just turned in my last final for this semester! Now i have 28 glorious days of FREE TIME!!! =) ...then it is back to school to learn "Principals of Management". I think I will have time to sew now...and go to the temple! Hooray!

(I just finished Business Communications and Introduction to Business)

Here is a silly photo of me working on my final project for the Business Communications class. I had to make a PowerPoint presentation with audio. This is me sitting in an empty room, feeling like a goofball, and talking to myself...aka recording the audio.

I started this blanket during Spring Break and just finished it this afternoon. I don't know who it is for yet, but I like to have baby gifts on hand since I never have time to play, I mean sew, when I need one ready for a baby shower.

Happy Easter 2011

Coloring Easter Eggs

Isaiah-isms

Isaiah made us dinner tonight...Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets.

This is what he just said to me:

"I put 35 on the pan, and I tried not to put any mutated ones on."

HAHAHAHAHA!!

This is a picture of the Mickey Mouse nuggets from another day...do you see a mutated one?

Deep Thoughts by: Brooklin...and Caleb

Isaiah isn't the only one with random funny thoughts.

Yesterday in the car Brooklin said, "So if Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner got married, they would both be Taylor Lautner? You really shouldn't date people with the same name as you!"

What a goofball! hahaha!

Brooklin went to a Tri-Stake dance tonight. When she got home, she said "Mom, they played some newer songs and some old songs, like that one... Ah, ah, ah, ah, Stay in the light, Stay in the light"

Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!!!
(I'm pretty sure the Bee Gees were really singing "Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive")