Day #3

Today we were up bright and early at 5:30 am (can you say v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n?). We got up and got out the door early to get to Hanauma Bay for snorkeling. The thing is, just getting to Hanauma Bay is a lot of work! It was an hour drive, a long walk and an instructional video. Then we rented snorkeling gear, had potty stops and finally set up camp at the bay. Its crazy how many climates we can experience in a few hour stretch: sunny & rainy, cloudy & windy, cold & rainy, hot & sunny, and the list goes on and on.

The kids had a lot of meltdowns at first....but we got into a good groove and ended up having a great time! We saw lots of fish, played in the sand....and no one got sunburned. High fives to us!

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This is the view from our time share!

This is how we get lunch made for everyone!

Aren't we a cute family?

All ten of us!

It was great when the tears finally stopped and the playing began!

Tucker was very pleased that Jordyn was willing to try snorkeling! She did snorkle for a while, until a very large colorful fish swam right infront of her mask. She jumped up and into Tucker's arms, saying, "I'm done, Daddy, hold me." Tucker was quite amused.

Peyton took a nap on the beach (all of 20 minutes).

Jordyn and Lindsay

Tucker, Dane and the kids

Beth and I keep discussing how much work it is to have these cute babies on our trip. It makes it quite different, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

My little Lexi Lou!

Can you see all of the colorful fish that swam with us today? Twards the end of the day all of us stood out in the water and let them to come to us. This was fun for some, but Lexi wanted NOTHING to do with it. She was in our arms and wouldn't even put her toes back in.

Day #2

My goal of posting every day is harder than I thought.....we're so tired by the end of the day.....but I'm still trying to make it happen! Here's our day #2!


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We ate at my favorite local spot, Kua 'aina. I love this place. We had Mahi-Mahi sandwiches with grilled pineapple, grilled onion and avocado. Seriously, your mouth can hardly fit around this sandwich its so big....and so good!

Table for ten, please!

Here's a shot of the view from our car. I NEVER cease to be amazed by the color of the ocean here. I LOVE it!

After lunch, we played near Hukilau Beach in Laie (by BYU-H). It was REALLY windy. Jordyn and Lexi love the water! Luckily, their Daddy does too!

Pey....not so much. She is usually a water girl, but she can't seem to get over the sand aspect of the beach. She screams when she even sees it, let alone touches it! I'm hoping this won't last the whole week! I love this thumb sucking pic.

See, she had a hard time. Once mommy settled back on the blanket with her and snuggled her up, she was happy!

Next stop after the beach was Matsumoto's for some shave ice! Mmmm, mmm. The girls loved it. And then they were c-c-c-cold.

The gang, minus me and Peyton.

I had waited patiently in the car so Peyton could get a nap. I got my shave ice last, and waited 25 minutes in line. I took this pic of my coconut & lilikoi flavored shave ice.....and next thing I knew it flew out of my hand and into a huge puddle on the ground. I was pretty bugged. Sweet-husband Tucker ran in and got me another one!

We got home and everyone was wiped out! We bathed and fed the kids (we're stocked up with Costco goods so we don't have to eat out a lot), got them settled for bed and then Tucker and I went on a little date! Tonight was our night and tomorrow is Dane & Beth's night. So we went downstairs (this time share is awesome, I'll take some pics tomorrow) and ate at a nice steakhouse on the beach and then walked around the grounds for a bit (and had fun taking cheesy pics of ourselves).

Pretty good for a candid self-portrait, huh?

Tomorrow is snorkeling at Hanauma Bay!

I'll say it again, this really is fun and worth it, but it is A LOT of work to do this with three little kids [six kids six and under with both our families]. We're not relaxing but we ARE making great memories. And that's what its all about..... right mom? :-)

Day #1 - Arrival

Well, after 24 hours of travel time, we are HERE! Aloooooha!


Wow, I tell ya, it is not easy to get to Hawaii with three little ones! I told my mom its sort of like getting to Heaven....not an easy road but SOOOO worth it!


Not only did it take DAYS of preparation, but...

- the drive to LA, and being escorted through the icy Grapevine
- the disgusting hotel room, which didn't have a port-a-crib and smelled like smoke
- the sleepless night
- the 6 hour plane ride (with everyone pooping, and peeing and getting wrestless...)

sure left me wiped out!


Anyway, poor me, right? We're here and happy. Here are some pics!

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ALL READY TO GO!

Pey loved the plane! She was actually really good - better than I thought. She watched Baby Signing Time for 2 straight hours!

The girls were great. Until the last hour when they turned a mix of tired-manic-and bored.

This kid cracks me up! She thinks she is so big!

And it's all forgotten now.....we've already jumped in the ocean and felt the Hawaiian breeze!

This was our view from the resort tonight. I love it!

We'll see what day #2 will bring!!

15 Month Update

*Peyton has been walking for about 6 weeks, and I can hardly remember her crawling anymore.

*She says: out, yes, no, nana (for banana), Jo Jo, mom, dadda, mine, shoe and this. But really, its mostly "ugh, ugh, uuugghhh!". She also signs more, owie, baby, thank you, and please.

*She walks around most the day with a purse and a baby - and keys if she can snatch them.

*Her sleep schedule has been bad. She goes to bed anywhere between 7:30 and 11:00 (preferrably 8:00) and gets up around 8:00. But the bad part is she wakes up like 5 times at night, and sometimes will cry for two hours for no apparent reason. She's almost done with a round of antibiotics, hoping her ears were the reason for the lack of sleep? Needless to say, we are TIRED around here.

*She shares a room with Lexi and somehow Lexi doesn't wake up during these crying spells.

*Peyton's eating has also been not-so-good this month. Things she does love are: eggs, blueberries, cheese, chicken, cooked carrots, and candy (when she sees my Sour Patch Kids, she will NOT walk away until I give her a little piece).

*She still sucks her thumb, but it is really only something she does when she is hungry or tired.

*Peyton loves her older sisters so much. She watches every single thing they do and wants to play with them all the time. They are suprisingly obliging with this. She even loves High School Musical and dances to the songs. Oh, the world of having older siblings!!

*She loves to cuddle and rock. She's a very affectionate baby and will give me (open mouth) kisses almost any time I ask.

*I love this kid so much!!!

We'll Miss You

I was very saddened to hear of the death of the President of our church tonight (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). I have been consistently inspired by President Hinckley over the past nearly 13 years he has served as our Prophet. His life of 97 years was devoted to serving millions of people and testifying of God and his Son Jesus Christ. Though sad, I am also so happy for him that he is now reunited with his wife.

President Hinckley was personable.

He was funny.

He was steadfast.

He was smart.

And most of all he was an example of immeasurable faith.

We will miss you President Hinckley!

First Piggies

Peyton's first pig tails!

Important Sugar Discussion

Today I ran into Longs Drug Store to get some antibiotics for Peyton (please let that help her fussiness!), and as I did, I passed the Valentines candy isle. Candy isles scream out to me....so I browsed it.

I don't love conversation hearts, but I like them enough to have them once a year. Plus I thought they'd be a fun little reward for the kids on the airplane next week. So as I grabbed a bag of the traditional Necco brand hearts, I noticed there were also some made by Brach's. I was intrigued, so I grabbed both.

The verdict? The Necco hearts are crunchier, and a little milder in flavor. The Brach's hearts are softer, but almost in a soggier way. I thought they Necco hearts were WAY better.

Just in case you were stressing over which ones to buy (I know, its an important decision).....now you know.

MORE Hawaiian Happiness

Speaking of Hawaiian things, have I mentioned that I'm part Hawaiian. Can't you tell? It must be my glowing white skin and freckles that throw you off.

Okay, Okay.....sadly, I am NOT of Hawaiian heritage, but I swear I'm spiritually part Hawaiian.

Hawaii is so much more than a group of islands and SO much more than a tourist spot to me. It is a place full of heart, full of love, and full of beautiful Polynesian people.

To back up for a minute. Back in 1977, my dad was serving in the US Navy and he and my mom were stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii. I was born at Tripler Army Medical Hospital. My parents spent their first few years of marriage across the ocean from their home in Southern California. I was nearly born while my Dad was stationed at sea!

Though I didn't live there long, I always felt a connection to Hawaii - and it was always fun to say "Honolulu, HI" when asked where I was born.

I didn't return until I was 21 years old. In the midst of my college years, and through a spontaneous turn of events, I uprooted myself out of my then-residence of Orem, Utah and followed my good friends Karli and Brittany to BYU-Hawaii near the beautiful North Shore of Oahu.

I will NEVER forget the day I moved there. I just packed up and MOVED to Hawaii. It was strange. My mom drove me to LAX and the nerves ran high as we missed the exit...arriving at the airport with like 20 minutes to spare. That was back in the day where my mom could have walked with me TO the gate (strange to think of that now), but we didn't have a second to spare so she let me off curbside with a big hug. I ran through the airport with tears streaming down my cheeks. It was all so fast and scary. I ran onto the plane, and realizing I wasn't sitting next to Karli and Brittany for the 6 hour plane ride to (what felt like) a foreign land, I cried a little more. A few minutes later, the flight attendant came up to me and said "Your mom said she loves you". I said "how?". He told me she'd run through the airport trying to catch up with me, and when she realized she'd missed me, she asked him to "tell the beautiful redhead her mom loves her". Isn't that sweet?

OK, so the sadness of leaving quickly died down and soon my mind was filled with total curiosity. What will it all BE like? (heavenly) What will it FEEL like? (hot and HUMID) What will it SMELL like? (plumeria and more heaven) What will it SOUND like? (beautiful ukulele music with silly lyrics. Oh, and the hum of the ocean)

From the moment I stepped off that plane, my heart was smitten. I was in love. What happened in the year that followed is for another post...or even a small book. I may have learned more about myself that year than any other pre-marriage year. I am so thankful to have had that experience. My heart is forever incomplete because I left a piece of it in Hawaii when I moved back.

I've been back to visit three times in the 8 1/2 years since I've been back. And I can hardly wait because next week will be make it four! Woohoo!!

We're going with Beth and her family, which will be perfect because she feels exactly like I do. Beth and I have been friends for 4 years. Really good friends. And of all the many things we have in common, two of the first we figured out were: 1) we share the same wedding anniversary 5/12/2000, and 2) we both went to BYU-Hawaii. It was a fairly spontaneous decision, but when she and Dane called a few weeks ago saying "you wanna go to Hawaii?", it was hard to pass up! They have a time share we can split with them (niiiiiccccee place, and cheap!) and we'd been looking at tickets anyway, so that was it! So four adults and 6 kids....should be chaotic and wonderful!

Aloha! And the countdown begins...

Hawaiian Happiness

I LOVE hawaiian sweet bread. I am a bread lover anyway, but this is at the top of my list. My mom always bought it when I was younger and now I buy it all the time.

The rolls and the dome shaped loaf are exactly the same, but somehow I think the loaf tastes better because you can just reach in and tear off a big chunk of sweet yumminess.

Breath of Fresh Air

I am so thankful to have good friends - both sprinkled around the country and right here in my own backyard.

Friends are priceless. They give me lots of laughs, give me advice, give me support, give me ideas and - perhaps the most importantly - they give me perspective.

On Friday night, I had a little girls' night out with Beth, Kandelyn and Lindy (a sister is the most priceless kind of friend!). On so many levels this sort of event is very healthy for my mental well-being. It always feels complicated to organize things with the children (there are 11 between us), but it is ALWAYS worth it. I come home a little refreshed, and little happier and a little more grateful for my life because stepping away gives me perspective.

Lettuce wraps, fries and a Coke at Chili's, laughing and sharing with the girls, treats from Target and then a movie (27 Dresses....it was okay).....it was just what I needed!

Thanks girls!

Milestones: A Little Less Baby

It happened so fast, I forgot to blog about it.

(Imagine that.)

The bottle. It's gone! And I didn't even really try.

See, I've neve really stressed about my kids having a bottle. I actually LIKE them to have a bottle. I think they need that sucking and comfort, and since I never really breastfeed past like 6 or 7 months, it makes me feel like they still get to be a baby and satisfy their sucking needs.

But by the time they are 1 year old, I have the "what is socially acceptable" monster lingering in my mind telling me they should be DONE with that horrible, sinful bottle. But, honestly, I DON'T CARE. I really don't. I'll say it for the world to hear: I like bottles.

But obviously, they can't be around forever.

Jordyn was probably 2 1/2 when I finally transitioned her to a sippy cup permanently. Wasn't too hard. Just stole Beth's idea of a new sippy cup and calling it a "big girl ba ba". Next...Lexi was the one I was most scared of because she was a bottle-addict. I just knew she'd have withdrawal symptoms - you know, the shakes, sweats, hallucinations. I dreaded it and had nightmares about it. Finally, when she was 2 years and 2 months old, I just DID IT. We actually lost her last bottle. So I had her help me look for it and we honestly couldn't find it! It was hard for about 1 1/2 days, and then it was over! Really, NOT so bad.

Peyton likes her bottle, but hasn't been as addicted as Lexi. So I haven't stressed about it too much, and since she's just 14 months old, I wasn't really planning to worry about it for a while.


And then it just happened. Two weeks ago, I was checking out at k-mart (hate that store) and there were two Nuby sippy cups misplaced by the stand. They looked bottle-ish (where she could still get the sucking) but they were a step-up. I thought "what the heck" and grabbed them. That night, I gave Peyton some milk in the new cup instead of her bottle. I thought she'd throw it and cry. Instead, she merely examined it a bit, acted a bit hesitant, and then just drank it. So, from that point on, I just never gave her the bottle again.

Its been a breeze! Its nice not to have that "hump" in front of me, and to know that she's perfectly happy with it. But, it also makes me a little sad, to be honest. It's just one more step out of baby-hood. I wish I could slow it all down just a little.

And now my almost-toddler loves pretty much any sippy cup. Especially if it's her sister's!

I'm a VIP in my Pre-School-y

Lexi loves pre-school. She goes two days a week from 9-12. Although she's very quiet and will hardly even whisper to her teachers, she still loves it.



She especially loves that her best buddy Jacob is there with her. Lexi and Jacob have been friends for about 4 years and are inseparable. They get along incredibly well. Lexi told me yesterday that, at lunch, Jacob announced they were going to get married someday, and even gave her a kiss on the cheek. She said "eewwww"....but you never know!




Yesterday Lexi was the VIP again. Which means she got to bring a show-n-tell item and I get to bring snack for the kids. She always knows exactly what she wants me to bring for snack. So yesterday she requested cupcakes. I made strawberry cupcakes and instead of loading the topss with sugary frosting, I just drew letters on the top with frosting. It was a fun idea and she loved them (although she specifically KNEW she wanted red frosting and I thought I'd save the teachers some staining hassle and made it white...).

Lexi brought her Gabriella barbie (from High School Musical) and her matching sing-a-long microphone. She was much too shy to show the kids, and since it was a foggy day (late schedule) yesterday, Jordyn was there to help out. Jordyn feels very proud when she comes to pre-school because she was there last year and all the teachers say hi to her. I love my girls!

But WHY Mommy?

How would YOU answer your four year old when she catches part of "The Biggest Loser" and wants to know (incessantly) why the man's "breasts" are showing on T.V.......when they look like this? She could not understand why it was okay for men's "breasts" to show when its not okay for women's....especially when they look the SAME (or....close enough).

None of my answers seemed to satisfy her....and I can see why, it would be confusing!

Oh and by the way, I found this pic off the internet....and I'm hoping that weight from a different country and is NOT in lbs or I am crawling in a hole if THAT is what 144 lbs looks like!

"I Knew I Love You Before I Met You"

I’m not one who publicly ‘dotes” over my husband much. I’m not sure why….I guess it just doesn’t fit with my personality. But when I read other people’s feelings for their husbands, it inspires me and makes me want to continue to look for the good in my own relationship.

We’ve been married almost 8 years (how did THAT happen?). And it seems so hard to weed through the busyness of each day and to remember that Tucker and I are not JUST business partners in this whole deal! Sometimes, when its late at night and quiet and everyone is sleeping (including him) I find myself pondering many feelings about my life that tend to stay buried underneath the noise, tasks and stress of the day.

Last night was one of those nights. It’s amazing how much you can love your children – with any previous frustration from the day melting away – when they are sound asleep in their beds! I often go in their rooms and check on them and feel so overwhelmed with love and thankfulness to be their mom. So, last night, as I crawled in bed, for a brief moment I had feelings as though I was viewing my life from a distance – which helps me to evaluate it better. And I immediately re-realized how blessed I feel for the husband I have.

There is no way in the world you can fully comprehend – before you get married – what a HUGE thing you’re signing on for. How truly intertwined your life becomes with this other person. Every decision is made in reflection of your spouse’s opinion. Meaning, they either agree or disagree with your viewpoint….and you have to learn to compromise. This can vary in degrees of difficulty depending on personalities involved.

Somehow, I got a husband who is easy to compromise with. He is patient and positive. He listens without getting upset. He even puts up with my controlling nature and gives me constructive criticism (in the right way). He makes me feel like I can be 100% myself. He has definite and strong opinions, but he’s okay when mine are different. He’s confident in himself. He’s happy. He’s fun. He accepts everyone.

I only have two complaints. Really, I can only think of two (and he knows these):
1. He buys too many clothes. When he’s in a mode of shirts, he has to buy every single color or pattern made. We’ve been through Polo shirts, long sleeve button up shirts, ties, and now its Hawaiian shirts. Its so insignificant, but for some reason it really bugs my “moderation in all things” personality.
2. He can’t hear me AT ALL when he’s watching a T.V. show or movie. I’ve really backed off on this one. We used to get into a LOT of unneccesary arguments about this one. The DVR has really helped our marriage. I can now say “pause it!”

The part that you REALLY don’t know before you get married is what kind of parent they’ll be. I would closely watch Tucker with his nieces and nephews and *hope* that was a glimpse into what kind of dad he’d be. Little did I know it did represent how he’d be, but it was only a TINY portion of what kind of dad he is! It’s really hit me lately how HUGE of a thing it is to choose to raise children with someone else. I am lucky that I ‘picked’ a good one! I feel so happy that my girls will grow up with their first, and primary, relationship with a male being such a healthy, loving, affectionate and interactive one. I love to watch Tucker with his girls. I love that he is 100% in this parenting thing with me. He has always been willing to feed them, bathe them, dress them, change poopy diapers, get up with them in the night, take them anywhere he goes, read to them, play with them, teach them…..there is not a single part of the whole parenting thing he will NOT do. He is truly my partner.

And lastly, I am thankful that he is a motivated person. He works hard at his job and really loves it. He supports my choice (our choice) of being a stay-at-home mom right now. Before we had kids, he feared this and wasn’t sure we could do it. But now, he wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m thankful to have a choice. He also works hard at his calling for the church. He loves to be the Venture Scout Leader and is passionate about the success of these boys (there are like 14 of them).

All in all, Tucker and I make a good team. Maybe either one of us would not be as successful or happy if we were with someone else? Who knows. But together we are a successful combination! Right now my girls are obsessed with being “lucky”. So, since Christmas they keep asking me “Mom, are we luckier than so-and-so because we got this-n-that?”. I keep trying to teach them that “EVERYONE is lucky….just in different ways”. And that’s how I feel about my marriage. I’m lucky in my own special way.

I love you Tucker!

These Are The Days

Saturday night + Kentucky Fried Chicken + Freaky Friday (the remake) + picnic on the floor = Good Clean Family Fun

Blogger Says

I've received quite a few emails asking me questions such as "do you have any tips on making my blog cuter?".

So, today, I thought I'd lay all of my 'vast' knowledge out here for the world to see.

First you must know....I don't know much! And what I DO know isn't really hard stuff. Its just that I have a bit of determination to figure it out. Even if that means to spend hours on my blog.... instead of on my homework.

Which brings me to another important point. You should really try working on your blog when you have something else really important you should be working on instead. Its a great distraction.

So, on to my point. I changed my blog AGAIN....hoping that it would be more viewable to all.

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Here are a few bullet point tips I have:

• There are but a few cool sites that have FREE blogger templates. (The only downfall is they will delete any customization you've done to your blog, like links....but it will NOT delete the content of your posts). Cutest Blog on the Block, Pyzam, and Finalsense.
• All these templates have the colors customized for you - but you CAN still go into your blog and change font colors...and sometimes font styles.
• I personally think they make the blogs too narrow. So, if you want to try something that is a *tiny* bit challenging, you can go to the "Edit HTML" tab and change the codes to make it wider. I changed my header, outer, main and sidebar wrappers to the following sizes:

#header-wrapper {
width:870px;

#outer-wrapper {
width: 870px;

#main-wrapper {
width: 610px;

#sidebar-wrapper {
width: 200px;

• Another tip: when you first change ANYthing in the HTML tab, do not click "save changes" until you are SURE you did it right. First, click "preview" and it will open a new tab and show you what those changes look like.
• For my header, I always just mess around in Adobe Photoshop. It is a difficult program, but very fun once you learn the basics (thanks Tucker for teaching me and thanks Alex for teaching Tucker!). But any basic photo editing program will work. Then you just make sure you save the photo as a .jpg so you can upload it.
• One more tip: If you know photoshop fairly well, you can go into your HTML code on your blog and find the background color # (it will say something like background color #553E3E). Then you can match the background of the header you are making in Photoshop by copying and pasting that same number into the color palate in Photoshop and it will be identical. Each color has a very specific number code.

Wow, I hope that all made any sense to any one. I'll add to this if I think of more......

Dear Peyton

My Dearest 14 Month Old Baby -

Why must you defy your previously perfect bedtime routine? What is the cause of this early stage of rebellion?

Is it that you love your special time with Mommy and Daddy too much to sleep?

Even when Daddy's just relaxing on the couch?

And Mommy's just doing homework?


Or maybe you love to be the cutest-baby-in-the-world walking around making us "cooo" and "ahhh" at you....with no competition from your sisters?




Or....secretly, maybe you love Grey's Anatomy just as much as we do?





Whatever the reason, my dear Peyton, it is virtually impossible to be frustrated at you for longer than .05 seconds because you are the sweetest thing on the planet.

We love you baby!