Mainland Trip: On the Road and the Miracle of the Cabin

On our way again to Colorado.  We stopped at some fort from Mormon history, as well as this Indian museum and got to see petroglyphs etched into the stone.  I love the different things our girls get exposed to when we come to the mainland!

 We were nearing the Colorado border at dusk when my sister Janae, who lives in Colorado, called me up. Now, you would think that we would have already have things planned, like where to stay, what car to get, etc.  But that's not the way we were able to roll this trip, so I explained to her that we were planning on finding a place to stay once we got to Grand Junction.  But she warned us that that town usually gets really booked up, and that we should call.  Janae is so good to me, and she said she would call around as well.  We found it was true-- a lot of the places were booked, and if they weren't they wanted us to pay Waikiki prices to stay there.  Then Janae called us and suggested we call a KOA campground.  They sometimes have cabins and if we had bedding, maybe we could stay there.  So we called and the man said they happened to have 1 cabin left, and he was just about to leave, so if we wanted it, we needed to book it now.  Total price: $50.  And it was a sweet place, too!

Back on the road with the crazy kids.  After much searching, we found this car for 1/2 the price similar cars were going for.  Don't know why, but we were grateful!

Mainland Trip: At Mark and Elaine's

My cousin Mark and his wife Elaine and family are probably in the top 100 coolest people in the world.  They generously let us stay at their house in southern Utah on our way to Colorado for our family reunion.  A big highlight was being able to get our first restful sleep after all the hub-bub of trying to prepare for the trip.  We kept saying, "We made it!  We made it!"

 The girls loved playing with Benson in their hidden playroom!  

 One day they took us four-wheeling to a waterfall in the middle of the desert.  Elysse and Ivy jumped off the waterfall!! WOW!!

 Then we went four-wheeling back. AWE - SOME. 

 Nate holding tight to the "Oh Crap!" bar.

My uncle Dale, Aunt Barbara, cousin Launa, and cousin Betsey and daughter all joined us for dinner.  ;)  Thank you, Mark and Elaine and family!  We loved being with you!

Mainland Trip Part 1: Getting on a plane

How do you get a family of 6 on a plane to Las Vegas in the middle of the summer on Buddie Passes?  Pray really hard.  As we were planning this trip to the mainland, we were looking at airfare of about $800/pp.  After searching all options, I remembered my friend who is a pilot for Hawaiian Airlines and she mentioned to me once that she has buddy passes that often go unused.  I asked if we could use them, and in her generosity, she let us use them!  The total price was $1500 -- not $4200!!!

Then we just prayed that we would be able to get on the plane going to one of the busiest spots for stand-bys in the middle of the summer.  We missed our first flight, and were able to get on the next one in the morning.  But it turned into a real blessing, because if we were to get on the first flight we would not have been able to sit all together.  Here we are rejoicing and so, so grateful!!

 Soul' first trip -- He was fantastic.

Yeah!  Turbulence Rollercoaster!!

Camping at Ho'omaluhia

It's been a long while since we had gone on a real camping trip (longer than over night) and all the while the girls have been asking when we are going to go again.

A couple of weeks ago Nate and I planned on camping this last weekend. But I didn't tell anyone because it seems like something ALWAYS comes up, and I didn't want to get anyones hopes up. Friday I packed up as quickly as I could, and when Nate finished his work and said we were good to go, I was soooo excited!!!! We packed everything into the car, and when the girls returned home from school we wisked them in the car as well. They were so surprised. All the way there they were saying how funny it was that they thought today was a regular day and then all of a sudden they were camping!

On our way to Ho'omaluhia. This place is amazing. It is true to its name, which means place of peace and refuge. You cannot come here and not be amazed at God's creations.

What I love most about camping is it's all about family. All other cares take a backseat. With so much going on with our businesses right now, it is high time our family gets the attention it deserves. I loved it! The girls found some friends to play with while we put up the tent. We cooked up some hot dogs and went to sleep Friday night. Saturday we hiked down to the pond at caught fish. I mean, we were pulling them out of the water like a greedy kid pulls candy out of a halloween basket! We lost count of how many we had each caught. I love this picture of Kezia: I was just taking photos of her fishing and happened to take one at the moment she felt her rod jerk. What a great shot!

And Ivy got the biggest fish of the day.

Sunday we went to Stake conference and then fed the ducks. We went into the banyan grove to swing on the vines, but this time most of the vines we had swung on on past trips had burrowed themselves into the soil! We did find one swing, which was super fun until it snapped, sending Elysse into a branch (no worries-- she's alright). On the way back to the campsite we stopped at our friend Nicole's campsite who happened to be camping there as well. We had a great time having dinner with them over the campfire.

Monday we played Kick the Can before heading home. It was a blast. I hope we get to go again real soon.

Happy 4th Birthday, Elysse!

Having been exposed to so many fun birthdays (Ivy's rock star party, Kezia's cat party, friends' pinata and bouncy castle parties), Elysse had some big ideas for welcoming in her fourth year. Luckily we were able to convince her that ice skating would make a great party. Actually, what really sold her was getting pizza at the ice skating rink. (Really, if you want a Burgoyne to do anything, just add food into the bargain.)

We got together with some of her friends at the beach in the morning and had lasagna (requested) and strawberry cheesecake cupcakes at night. The next day we skated as a family and had a great time.

Happy Birthday, Elysse!

Here are 4 great things about Elysse:

1. She is responsible and independent. She can do things all by herself.

2. She is learning her letters and numbers, and can write beautifully.

3. She loves to dance. At preschool, she takes center stage during the songs at circle time.

4. She is a caring big sister to Soul.

What?! Tarp Surfing?!?

Nate got me a great big huge tarp for Christmas. Here's why:

That's right - Tarp Surfing!! It is super fun. A lot more fun than I was expecting. Ever get jonesing for waves or want a taste of Hawaii? Get yourself a 50ft tarp at your local hardware store, a skateboard and you're set. I've never been barreled in the waves, but I have been barreled in a parking lot, and that's more than what most surfers can say!!

We tried this out while Nate's brother Brad was out here visiting. It was super fun to have him out here. Hopefully he can come live out here (keeping our fingers crossed!)

Happy 7th birthday, Ivy!!

Ivy rocks!

I mean, really, she's a rock star. And that's what she aspires to be. She makes up her own moves and lyrics, and practices them freely around the house. Her favorite was, "Yeah, yeah, I wanna be a rock star!" Check out her debut on these two videos:  ;) 

So naturally we planned a ROCK STAR party for her birthday. After cake and ice cream and pizza and gifts, we teased the girls' hair and gave them necklaces that light up.

Michael had just moved out of our front room, so it was unfurnished except for a platform bed, which we used as a stage. We decorated the room with black lights, Christmas lights, and disco lights, then played our "Party Music" CD to get all the young'uns dancing. It was soo fun! All these 7 year olds just having a great time! They loved going "on stage" and dancing for all to see.

Here's Ivy on stage:
Each girl got to lead the dance moves, then I taught them the classics -- you know, the "sprinkler", "lawn mower", "shopping cart", "worm" "robot" -- now they are dancing stars!

I think Ivy had a great time. I know I did!

Here are 7 Rockin' things about Ivy:

1. She has learned to read and can read very well.

2. She cares deeply for people and has a great sense of how people must feel under certain situations.

3. She recognizes feelings and promptings from the Holy Ghost and acts upon them.

4. She is a great big sister and little sister.

5. She is clean and organized.

6. She has a real and unique sense of style.

7. She wants to do what's right.

Happy New Year!

May we all make this year a great one. I saw a quote at my friend's studio: "Life is not about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself." May we all create ourselves into who we want to be this year.

We happened upon the Langs New Year's Eve at the beach and invited them over for New Years' celebration. Then I snuck away on a secret mission...


We have very good friends, the Monsons, who have been physically separated since July. Jessica was with their two boys in Tennessee going to school and Michael was still here with the army. Michael has been living with us while his family has been away. Well, just before New Years Jessica called to say she has had enough and was going to come out here indefinitely. She wanted to surprise Michael, and as excited as we all were, it was sooo hard to keep it a secret from him. Somehow though, he found out minutes before she came through the door on New Year's Eve!!!

We love these guys and their family. It is wonderful to have them all together again. And now they are living at Kay's house, so we are neighbors!

Soul Touching the Ocean

At six days old, Soul ventured beyond the confines of our house to see what the ocean is all about.

Sandy Toes.

Soul and I at the same beach where I labored, almost exactly one week later.

Soul and Daddy -- As the girls would say, "Now Daddy has someone on his team!"

Soul is very observant. He concentrates on the eyes of the person holding him, as though he's trying to figure you out. He is also (so far) a very peaceful child, despite all my fears and worries of him being super-active from the beginning! (Hey, with all that kicking inside me, I thought he must be!)

Welcome, Kalani Soul Burgoyne

Kalani Soul was born last Saturday. We are so happy to have him with us. He was born at home (which was planned) but it was not planned to have him born in the bathroom!

I got to labor in the ocean across the street for a bit until it got too cold.


Here he is just seconds after being born.


Kay got to help deliver Soul and was the first to hold him after he was born.


And here is Kay, my midwife, Soul and I looking like we're having a party in the bathroom! Don't be fooled -- it was a difficult labor!


Here we all are a bit past midnight.
It was definitely a combined effort for all of us to welcome him into this world.


Soul weighed in at exactly 9lbs, 22 inches long -- with shoulders 2" wider than his head -- a big boy.

Lying on Daddy's chest in baby bliss


Soul's wearing a onesie that Elysse had tye-dyed for him.



The girls fell in love with their brother the moment they saw him. (Sorry about the cheesy mom in the background!)