Hawaii 2010

Here are some pictures of us in Hawaii this year. Thank you to Glen and Natasha for showing us such a great time around the Island, and taking some cool pictures.
Laie Temple (still closed for renos)



At Church and looking more fat than pregnant?!


mmm- Matsumoto's. Glen had sweetened condensed milk on his. I could barely get through my plain one without going into a diabetic coma.


Waimea bay- We stayed here at a little beach house. The water was really calm this time of year, but there are surfing competitions here in the winter.


Surf pro


Will this turtle bite my hand off?


Mauniwili Falls hike. This was super fun to hike up and swim in the pool. However, if you are pregnant, it's a little tricky to maneuver the huge wet roots on the trail.


Shrimp Truck! The most anticipated meal of the trip for most. Yes, I'm eating a sandwich and thoroughly enjoying it. I anticipated this experience to be the garlic-iest of my life, so I passed.

Truth hurts

I love our mac.

The truth-
I haven't figured out how to upload our pictures onto it. Therefore, I am unable to write a decent post of our goings-on.

So, for those of you who faithfully read- I think there are maybe 2 of you, including parents- I'm sorry, but the truth really does hurt.

Here's a funny picture from our archives just to keep you happy.

A month late?

Most of the time I'd like to think I'm on top of things. (Like feeding and dressing the boys, making sure our house doesn't become infested with rats etc.) Apparently blogging about my kids on their birthdays has completely evaded my vigilance in keeping family updated. Oh boy.

Without further ado, here's to my little Sam on his birthday- or a month after his birthday.

When Sammy was born, I was totally unprepared. I went into the hospital during the Saturday morning session of conference thinking that my water may have broken-in the shower? What are the chances of that! I was pretty certain that it hadn't, but I was humoring Dustin, who thought it would be better to be safe than sorry. (or he didn't want to watch conference, but I would NEVER imply that) After being examined by a very old doctor, who was the very least to say, the RUDEST man I'd ever met, I was confirmed to "be in labor". Without contractions. 'I'm in labor? Are you sure? I'm not due for another ten days and I'm not even having any contractions.' At this point I'm a little stressed as Max is running free all over the labor and delivery floor. (I needed Dustin to tell me that I was, in fact going to have a baby that day because I didn't believe creep face doctor). 'Could I go home until the contractions start? Would that be safe?' The nurse said she thought that would be fine if I came back as soon as I felt one contraction. The fetal monitor suggested otherwise- his heart rate was all over the map, reeeeeaally low and then back up again! So, induction was the suggestion.



Induced I was. Immediate contractions. I felt like a fake, though, because it wasn't my body that was preparing itself. Instead, a synthetic drug. That was a very odd feeling for me. Epidural. Wonderful. ME begging for a ham and cheese sandwich. Denied. Also denied was my notion of being in labor. I kept asking Dustin, 'Am I having a baby today? For real?' Like I said, unprepared. The whole pregnancy I shut out wonderment of how far along I was, where the baby should be at developmentally, and was sure he would come 2 weeks after his due date. This was based on Max being 2 weeks early and I did NOT want to be waiting for an entire month for baby #2.

"We've called for the doctor but it's time to push. Can you wait until she gets back?"

'Sure?'

Longest wait of my life. Easiest pushing. Beautiful 8 pound baby with ten fingers and eleven toes. Max loved him too, although it took him a little while to figure out what was happening to his world. They've been inseparable since. The bath is their favorite place to play, even though Max takes up most of the tub.

Sam is my sweet little guy who loves his dad, his brother, dragonfruit, and his puppy. He makes our family puzzle complete with his crazy hopping, and daredevil acts. We love you little buddy!








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Pictures that make me laugh

I can't help but laugh when I see these. Enjoy.

Thanks for the reminder, Easter Bunny!

Max and I were holding hands, walking home from visiting an elderly lady in our ward on Friday. There was a house on the first corner with Easter Bunny cut-outs in all the windows. I excitedly pointed these out to Max, thinking he would comment on the bow around the bunny's neck, or the basket of eggs. Instead, "Do those pictures remind us of Easter, Mom?" I replied that, yes, the easter bunny can remind us of Easter, but he certainly isn't the most important part. He knew that, of course. Silly me for even mentioning it, I should really know better. "We remember that Jesus died for us and came alive again....or resurrected."

HALLELUJAH! HE HAS BEEN LISTENING? I HAVEN'T BEEN TALKING TO THE WALL!!

"Great job, Max! That is exactly what Easter is about. Good remembering!"

"I remembered because you taught me, right Mommy?"

I wanted to squeeze that little hand forever and never let it go. I thought about him growing up and getting married. And the quote Pres. Monson shared from last genereal conference: “It is difficult for those who are young to understand the loneliness that comes when life changes from a time of preparation and performance to a time of putting things away. … To be so long the center of a home, so much sought after, and then, almost suddenly to be on the sidelines watching the procession pass by—this is living into loneliness. …" After that, I thought Death. I would miss my little Max and crazy Sam. Would they miss me? Did I teach them enough?

Then I remembered the Easter Bunny. Well, I remembered what he helped Max to remember: Our Saviour lives. He died for us and gave the ultimate gift of eternal life. Things may get hard later on in life, but I know I will get to live with my little buddies after it all passes. I'm grateful for this weekend of family and love, but most of all I'm thankful for the thoughtfulness of the Easter bunny to remind me.

What would Gram say?

My gram was my best friend. I think about her probably everyday (mostly thanks to the picture Dustin had painted of her and I together hanging in our room), and wonder what she'd think of me today. I would like to think this makes me a better person, because I cared deeply about what she thought of me. I wanted to be everything that she was. Aside from all of this on a much more superficial level, she made the most delicious buns and bread! When I was doing some Easter baking this week with my friend, we attempted Hot cross buns. That was a scary experience- I couldn't help but wonder: What would Gram say? These were very scary buns, so I comforted myself with 'She'd probably laugh, and say keep trying!' I'm not posting pictures because I didn't take any, but here are some of my other white bread adventures that I would hope she would enjoy. We sure did!


mmm scones!

Post Edit: R.I.P Chemistry

Last year I embarked on what was possibly the craziest thing I have ever done.

Chemistry 1000 (equivalent) through distance learning.

Yep, I'm nuts. Experiments with hydrochloric acid and two very curious boys can be impossible. People would ask me why I decided to take the class, to which I would reply, "It's my Moby Dick". It was the one class in high school that I wouldn't even attempt, because I was sure I would fail. Does that sound like me, or what? (I think not, but that is the effect that Chemistry has on my psyche.)

A-

Take that, stupid chemistry and stupid psyche for telling me I couldn't do it. More importantly, a HUGE thank you to Dustin. He was seriously my molarity, titration, dilution, molality- anything chem you could imagine- intravenous. I am seriously so lucky to know such a smartie pants.

Now that I'm an accomplished scholar (:S), what do I plan on doing, you ask?

Taking a break.

Maybe, when the boys are in school, I will go back with the stellar GPA that I have and get my Ph D in like Cancer research, because I can titrate like nobody's business.

I have been waiting for this grade for almost a month. I have been trying to be productive while cursing the lamest school on the planet. DO NOT TAKE A SCIENCE CLASS THROUGH ATHABASCA. I digress. Here are some of the projects I have completed while waiting.

Roman blinds. Harder than they look, especially for a less experienced seamstress, such as myself. My cousin Natalie would have done a much better job, if only she didn't live in Calgary.

The wall! The mirror- bargain basement finds make a very happy me. Thanks Lauren for all your input, you're awesome!

Uhhh- This new mac is stelar, but I can't find where to put my SD card in with the pictures. Soon!