Aloha!

My, it's been a couple of months...I guess the biggest news is that we are expecting a baby in February. The girls are really excited and love to give the baby "squishies", or hugs, and kisses. Ivy says, "After my birthday, the baby comes out." Last week as I was leaving to go to a doctor's appointment, Kezia asked if I was coming home with the baby. I had to disappoint her with another 5 months of waiting. Speaking of Kezia, her 4 year birthday is next Tuesday! She is quite excited and wants to make sure we serve ice cream in a cup. Ivy is being potty-trained... We'll see how long my patience lasts this time around...

Nate is doing well. We have a studio attached to our condo. Our tenants just moved out and we decided to take advantage of the extra room, so Nate moved his office over. It has been GREAT!!! Nate has the privacy and quietness he needs, the kids and I can be noisier, we can reclaim our bedroom now, which used to be his office, and Nate comes home from work now, which I think makes a difference--work isn't always calling. Although for him, he loves what he does. He can work over 12 hours a day and enjoys it, so that's good. Of course, that doesn't happen all the time, but I am glad he likes what he does. It's a good thing too, because there is a lot to do with several businesses going on, our top ones being the real estate and www.supsurfmag.com. Nate is just finishing up an e-book on how to stand-up paddle surf to add to his website. Nate surfed his first contest in July. He didn't advance, but it was still fun.

I am doing well, too. I am happy to have my bedroom back. I am enjoying this time when the girls entertain each other so well. It is a lot easier than having a child too young to interact with other kids. I guess somewhere in my heart it's too easy, cause here I go again. This pregnancy has been real cruisy-- only a couple days of prego yuckiness. The only thing is I feel much bigger than how I should be at this point, but oh well. Oh yea, and my larger-than-life belly button decided to poke out the first month instead of the last month. Fun. The first two weeks of August I taught Kezia and some of her friends how to swim. I really enjoyed teaching them. I love teaching people swimming and surfing. I guess it is something in the water. Speaking of surfing, I have been trying out Nate's stand up board, since I know I cannot lay on my stomach for much longer. The last week I paddled far out from shore and from one bay to the next, and the whole way, except for parts that were too deep, I could clearly see the coral and reef below. It was beautiful. I have also been swimming in the ocean. Swimming in the ocean has much more pleasant surprises than swimming in the public pool (ew! A floating hairball!) It's cool to see fish swim by right near you.

We were on the mainland for 3 weeks between June and July. We had a wonderful time. Erica, Nate's sister, kindly watched our girls while Nate and I went to a great business meeting in Dallas, Texas. Then we stayed with his sister and her family for a couple of days, which included a gorgeous hike in Big Trees national park where we got to experience the grandeur of the redwood trees. We also got to tease our love for rock climbing! Then we went to Utah to visit family and friends and to go to the last of the extended Hicken family reunions. We got to reconnect with friends we haven't seen in a while. It was a great trip with a big surprise: All my sisters are pregnant as well! Although we all knew about Tauna and Janae, Kerri and Cheri and I revealed our news when we were all together. We were all really surprised. (No, it was not planned ;) Erica, Nate's sister is due the same time I am as well. Must be something in the air.

Well, that's about it. Kezia said something funny tonight. We decided to spend the night at Nate's parents' house while they were out of town. As we got to the door, Kezia said, "Mom, let's say a prayer." I asked why and she said, "So the door will open." I suggested we try the KEY first, and she said, "Ok, maybe that will work." She was pretty happy when it did.