Kekoa and Disabelle

When we were in AZ a couple a weeks ago, Kekoa had a fun time playing with his cousins Julianna and Alyzabeth. Like any other girls their age, they have their fair share of Disney Princess toys and books. So while we were visiting Kekoa became acquainted with the different Disney beauties. Before long he chose his favorite and announced to me that he was going to marry her. Who did he choose? Belle. Kekoa calls her Disabelle. I really have no idea where that came from. My only hunch is that it is a spin from Enchanted with Jazelle, the princess. Maybe.
Well I thought it was a one day thing and a fling that he would forget about by the time we came home. But today while doing some grocery shopping he chose as a snack some princess teddy-grahams that had Belle on the box. He said there were no Batman ones so he decided to choose Disabelle instead. While I was at the Relief Society General broadcast he watched Beauty and the Beast. So I think he is pretty serious about diggin' this brunette. I do not know how much I like that he has already singled out a girl, even if she is only color on paper. But I think it is funny to record and remember so that when he does find his eternal companion we can see just how much she resembles this first-time crush.
m
PS. He is hoping that Batman will show up at his birthday party. When I asked him if he wanted Disabelle to come too he said no. Why? He said he didn't want Batman to marry her. I guess he was afraid of the competition . . .

My Ikaika

I love my Ikaika. He is so sweet. He is really starting to talk. His latest thing is to say, "Mommy, I have idea..." He then goes on to tell me what he thinks should happen. The best is when he says just what I have been trying to convince him all along to do. (Kekoa also did the "I have an idea" thing). Ikaika is my great little helper. There have been many times when I have asked Kekoa for help and before I know it Ikaika is off to complete the task. He is quick to volunteer to say prayers. He loves both his brothers. He is a mommas boy, but also needs his Daddy. Ikaika is wonderful part of our family and we would not be complete without him.
Love you Kaiks.
m

My Baby Baby

Sepa is growing up on me.
I gave him a bath tonight and he could not stop splashing the water in front of him. It was like he was trying to catch it before it got away. It was so cute. He didn't even care that he was splashing his face.
After his bath we played in the boys room until bedtime. Sepa had a blast watching the boys - as he usually does. He is not crawling yet and I am trying to encourage him to meet that next milestone. Today he was trying to reach a toy far in front of him as he was sitting. He stretched by laying flat with his legs still stretched in front of him. I helped him turn one leg around so that he could reach further. As we were playing in the boys room he found a toy he wanted to get. I was so excited to see him reach, stop and turn his leg back as I had shown him before. So fun to see him progress and learn.

Visiting the Rez

Last weekend we went down to AZ for a few days to visit my mom while Kyle did some recruiting for UVU. It was a grea trip (though that last couple hours on the way home is always killer). Here are a few pictures I took along the way -

In order to keep Sepa happy on the way down (while I was driving and Kyle was resting) I gave Sepa a peach to keep himself busy. The kid ate the entire peach and made quite the mess.
He was so happy afterward.

One of the fun things about AZ is all the outdoor entertainment.

Some dirt, rocks and a chain link fence provide hours of fun for the little ones.

Koa in the back of the truck, drinking a Diet Coke. At least it was caffeine-free I guess.

A favorite treat of mine from back home is steamed corn.
Sepa got a taste of it as well - as you can tell he was loving it.
Love the gummy smile.

Just a couple more for fun. Nothing too amazing, just documenting the trip.

Sepa - 8 months

I can hardly stand the cuteness and sweetness of this little boy. He is getting so big. I really think that he out eats Ikaika. The other day he had his first sucker. No worries - he also had a bowl of chicken soup with quinoa later for dinner.
I love this age - so excited about life. Mommy has definitely become his best friend. I love him. So who do you think he looks like? Kyle or I?

Joyful Reunions

(I meant to do this post last week before we left for AZ, but ran out of time).

On Thursday (the 11th) I bribed Kekoa with some Batman gloves to be a big boy and stay at Joy School by himself. He has wanted those gloves for months (visiting the same merchandise aisle everytime we went to Blockbuster) so decided he could do it. He initially wanted Ikaika to stay with him, but Kaiks wasn't ready to leave mommy so I told Kekoa he had to be brave by himself. I took him inside and got him settled with a book. When I told him I was going to go he said he would come open the door for me. Before he reached the door he stopped, turned around and said in a calm, but sad voice, " Mom, I think I am going to cry." It was so sad, I about cried right there. As a mother I never want my little ones to feel alone. I told him I'd give him a hug so he wouldn't miss me. I hugged him a little too tightly and he burst into tears. It was so hard for me, but I assured him and left.
The experience left me pondering about separations in this life. I have such a hard time with separations. I hate leaving my kids, cry when Kyle leaves town and miss my family and friends who are not around.
I thought of how this life is filled with separations. And then I thought of a talk given by a loving Father at his oldest sons funeral. Along with tender words about his son he taught some sweet doctrine. One was of how the Lord uses a brief period of separation to serve his purposes. He gave examples of Joseph of Egypt, Lehi’s family and Christ at the culmination of the great Atonement. He said that, " the Lord uses periods of separation to serve eternal purposes but ultimately He is a reuniter."
Though a 2 and a half hour period for Joy School isn't all that difficult to endure, it got me thinking about the glorious day when there will be no more separations. I am so thankful for the hope of joyful reunions that come because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

sorry. . .

I apologize to the frequent visitors of our blog who have see the Wonder Woman post every time they go to check for an updated blog. The picture is actually quite disturbing to me (though I so appreciate the text left by Kyle). If I was not in AZ with no internet access for 5 days it would have been pushed down right away.
But we are back now and I have things to post a little later on. . .

How Does She Do It?

I honestly don't know how my sweet wife does everything she does. I got home from class last night and told Michele to leave the boys with me while she ran some errands that she wasn't able to get around to. I wanted time with the boys and I also wanted to give Michele a break. I kid you not, she was gone only one hour and I was exhausted by the time she got home. Kekoa and Ikaika are Tasmanian Devils and Iosepa was a constant fountain of spit-up fun. I played with them for about 30 minutes and then I was beat. They wanted to keep going at a high pace and wanted me to hold them each every minute. The feeling that came over me was similar to the other times I was alone with the boys.....I am a weak person and I love my wife. I don't know how she is able to get anything done and yet she does.

Michele is Wonder Woman!!

I absolutely love her and am grateful for such an understanding, patient, loving and talented companion.

K

Park City Getaway

This past weekend we spent the night up in Park City as part of our anniversary celebration. I brought my camera, but this was the only picture I took as we were on our way home. It is part of our tradition to get an Apple Pie caramel apple from the Chocolate Factory when we visit. Sadly, when we got home and gave it a try, it was a yucky, powdery apple. Oh well...
But it was a great weekend. Can't say it enough - just being with Kyle is all I need for a good time.

Simple Surprises

Today we met Kyle for part of his lunch break. It was a nice treat since we do not see him everyday for lunch as we did once upon a time when life was a little simpler. Now Kyle is further into his career, we live a bit further away from UVU in our new place and loading up three kids is a bit of a chore. Anyway -maybe one day it'll happen again. It was nice while it lasted.
But today we loaded up, picked up Kyle and ran an errand (a quick trip to Deseret Book to check out a painting we are getting from mom for our anniversary). Afterward we stopped by a Peruvian restaurant, La Carretta. I have had Peruvian food once before and enjoyed it both times. This time was that much better though because of the good company of my sweet husband and sometimes crazy kids (Sepa was diggin' the food). I love doing spontaneous things like that from time to time. Most of all I just love to be with my family.
m

The Happy Couple

I am always posting pictures of the boys - so here are a couple of Kyle and I. It was taken by my sister Celeste right before we left for dinner on our anniversary. We are planning to take some pictures together (like an engagement session) with our good friend Maka Aulava who is an amazing photographer. If anyone knows anyone looking for wedding, bridal, engagement or family pictures - he's very talented. If I can ever find a time when Kyle is free we will get it done. I really look forward to it. I just think it would be fun to have some professional photos together to remember this part of marriage. I'll post them when we get it done : )

Count Your Many Blessings

Tonight we attended Stake Conference. It was good though we had to leave early because the boys were being such stinkers. The theme was about the tender mercies of the Lord. For the rest hymn we sang, "Count Your Many Blessings." I thought it would be valuable for me to just reflect on the many blessings I do have. I don't have a ton time to write, but I'll just do a few (on no particular order) -

a home • a wonderful husband • three sweet, healthy, loving children • the gospel • food to eat • a dependable job for us • good health • wonderful extended family on both sides • a dependable, comfortable car with heat and AC • eyesight • good friends • a wonderful mother • electricity • running water • an amazingly comfortable mattress • clothes to wear • a stand-up freezer • the ability to read and learn • freedom/living in the USA • a college degree • minimal debt • our own home • General Conference • prayer • great Ward • a great calling (RS teacher) • washer and dryer in my home •

okay - gatta get the little ones to bed - overall message - I am blessed and am grateful my life.

Potential?

Ha! Not that I would wish this upon my child - but I thought it was a fun picture for the times. It has been the presidential campaign I have followed the most - and all I can say is how grateful I am for the organization of the church.
m

Bouncing Back

Today's Joy School went a lot better - thank goodness. We had fun singing songs, learning the 'rules' of Joy School and doing an art project. I look forward to many more fun days : )
Here is Kekoa's masterpiece. I was so impressed that he created it so well. The project was to cut shapes out and then glue them together to make a picture. The only piece I cut out was the orange circle when I was demonstrating what to do. I think he has great potential in the area of creativeness and art.

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue
Sugar is Sweet
But not like my Hubby.
(okay so I am no poet... oh well)

Kyle got me a couple dozen roses for our anniversary. I just wanted to take a picture of them to remember just how beautiful they were. We are off this weekend to Park City to celebrate our anniversary (last weekend was just a little to crazy to make it happen). We both look forward to a little get-away from the craziness of life.

Labor Day Luau

Taimane - the Polynesian group Kyle dances with - has their big show on Labor Day. This is the
3rd year we've spent Labor Day Evening at Thanksgiving Point. This year was the coldest by far. We really had to bundle up to stay warm. I felt so bad for the dancers.
Here are a couple of pictures - Kyle dancing Fiji, Sepa staying warm with Uncle Miah, and Kekoa enjoying the food. Ikaika was buried under a blanket and I didn't get a picture of him. Only so much we could do with the kids in the cold. No matter what the weather we love watching "Daddy-dance."

Joy(?) School

So today was our first day of Joy School. I volunteered to be the first mom to teach thinking it would help Kekoa get use to the idea and be excited about it all. Well - in his case, it was just a hair short of a disaster. He had major meltdown and was crying more than half the time. I felt bad for the other students (these two sweet girls) who didn't know what to think or do. But we persevered and will try again on Thursday. As they say - try, try again.... sigh.