Kezia's 9th birthday

 We celebrated Kezia's 9th birthday yesterday!!

Kezia planned a simple party this year, and it was LOADS of fun!  All she wanted was a pinata, cake and ice cream, and go to the beach to play.  We added in one relay as kids were arriving.  The weather mostly held up, and with 15 good friends including siblings and friends' siblings, we were all in for a good time.  Kezia reeallly wanted a sea horse pinata.  With only 1 1/2 hours before the party started, we finally had time to go buy one.  We were both so happy when we saw a sea horse pinata hanging on the wall, just as she wanted.  Such a blessing!

Kezia has great friends.  I

 Elysse and Ivy decorated a sign for Kezia's party

 We played a relay as we waited for guests to arrive.

 Pinata time!

 Look at the anxiety of the kids waiting for the pinata to be smashed!  These kids are ready for candy!

 Go get em, tigers!

                                            Kay made a sea life cake, as requested by Kezia!

 Kezia and her wonderful friends

                                       I love the friend support in blowing out the candles!!

When we got the beach, there was hardly anyone out.  See all the kids in the water?  Those are all the partyers.  So fun to have friends who enjoy the water as well!  The kids were surfing, boogie boarding, or just playing in the surf break.  The conditions were perfect for the kids.  Super calm, but a bit of a bump to make things fun.

 

 

A few days later we went on a family (+friend, Kala) to the Fun Factory and to get Frozen Yogurt.  We usually only do a friend or a family party.  As we were driving up to the Fun Factory, I was wondering how Kezia weaseled two parties... oh well, the more fun the better!

 I love Kezia.  She is such a great girl and we are so lucky to have her in our family.  Here are 9 things about Kezia that make her terrific:

1.  She is self-motivated.
2.  She loves her friends and family members.
3.  She is compassionate and quick to help others.
4.  She loves to learn and read.
5.  She enjoys being around adults and joining in adult conversations.
6.  She is very pensive and has great ideas about different subjects.
7.  She has a strong testimony of the Gospel.
8.  She is a great example to her younger siblings and brings peace in the home.
9.  She is very unselfish.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KEZIA!!

Ivy's a Paddler!

Guess what?  Ivy's paddling!!!

If you know Ivy, you know that she does things at her own time.  She is not one to be pressured into doing something, but will do it when she is ready.  And when she does finally do something, she does it really well.  Well, today she figured she was finally ready to paddle on her own, and she was super super great!  She and grandma even paddled longer than everyone else! 

 

 

 Kezia was taking it nice and easy...

 Soul was taking it even easier.

Jr. Lifeguard Race

Nate and I both competed in the Jr. Lifeguard race -- the same race that Nate raced last year with all the girls on his board and made onto the cover of North Shore News.  It was a fun 4.5 mile race from Waimea Bay to Ali'i Beach.  Nate got 3rd for males and I got 1st for females.  Here we are getting our awards.  I was super stoked because part of my award was a beautiful sunrise shell pendant -- the rarest shell in the world, only found here  on the North Shore (and really, only on this beach).

Nate's awesome cousin Chris was visiting this week and somehow got convinced he could learn to stand up paddle on Wednesday and compete in a SUP race on Saturday.  However, he did AWESOME!  Just finishing the race with no training (and a backward blade ;) is a huge accomplishment -- and he didn't even come in last!  Do you see the turtle?

 There is a woman named Sandy who comes to the races to cheer her husband on.  She happens to have a dog, which, of course, means that the girls are first to meet her.  She is super nice and once helped watch our kids at the beach at another race because Nate and I had to get something.  Here is Kezia going on a snorkel with her.

Painting the Bridge to Grandma's House

The girls have been decorating the bridge that connects our yard to grandma's.  Kezia painted the large section and Ivy and Elysse each painted a step.  Here are some pics.

And uh, Soul wanted to help with the "Sun" paint.  You know the song, "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today"?  Well, today, there literally was sunshine in my soul. ;)

Arts Festival July 2012

At the Haleiwa Arts Festival, July 2012

 The girls love the kids art booth!

 Ivy is getting her arm painted.

An artist is teaching the girls how to make stained glass

And best of all, really good music to dance to!

Smiley Soul

Soul smiles all the time -- especially if there is a camera lens pointed at him.  Here's some cute evidence.

 And this night, I snuck in on him while he was sound asleep to take a picture of him sleeping.  As soon as I pointed the camera at him, he opened his eyes, smiled for the camera, *click* then went back to sleep.  He doesn't want to miss a shot! What a funny boy!

Mainland trip: At Janae's

We arrived at Janae and Enoch's house in time for Ryden's 9th birthday!

My sister Janae planned a really fun and wet water party for Ryden.  It was so much fun, and I love having fun -- especially if there is water involved!  I think some of Ryden's friends thought his Aunt was a bit strange to be playing with all the kids.  And do you like how Janae and my hair is cut the same?!?

 Aspen feeding Soul

 Ryden and Ivy drawing

 Aspen and Elysse rocking out to my Ipod

 Soul getting to know Jayda

 All the kids reading....

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!!