Families are Forever

It was a crazy weekend and I feel like my head is still spinning from all the things going on. I've been juggling things with photography, my calling, and my family. But I am not going to write about it all. I am only going to post about the most important thing that happened. We did did temple work for my dear, sweet grandparents. It has been something we have been wanting to do for a while. My siblings and I traveled down to the Snowflake, AZ temple to do the work. It was very appropriate with the session being in Navajo. We also sealed them together. It was such a sweet experience and I was thankful to be be there to witness it. In my personal journal I will write of the miracles that made it all possible. How grateful I am to know families are forever.

I Believe I Can Fly . . .

. . . or at least skate before I can walk. Today the boys were playing together. Ikaika pulled out some skates Kekoa got as a reward for potty training. Sepa watched Ikaika for a while and as soon as he got a chance he grabbed a skate and decided it was his turn. It was so cute to see his excitment at even the thought of being able to do something with his new toy. It made me laugh and I teased him that he needed to learn to walk first. It was a nice little lesson for me as I thought about it. I wonder how many times I don't even try because I think I cannot do something. Maybe I'll try to be more like Sepa and just skate.
m

These are a few of my favorite things . . .

Kaika's favorite things that is. . .

I wrote in a previous post about Kekoa saying that Ikaika likes two things - milk and his grandma. I didn't add that Ikaika replied by saying, "Yeah, and I like my grandma again."
Going hand-in-hand with milk is Ikaika's belly button. For some reason he likes to hold it when he drinks his milk. So here's the shot of Ikaika in comfort heaven.
m

PS. You can see the nasty bruise from his bump the other day.

SURPRISE!!!

I have been wanting to throw Michele and her twin brother, Uwe, a surprise birthday party ever since I realized that this was going to be the big 3-0. I figured that if I invited all their friends, I might be feeding about 400 people so I decided to turn it down a notch. I decided that I wanted to surprise them with mostly family and a few friends. Well, I got what I wanted.

Before I go any further, you have to know that I am the worst at surprising Michele. Of the ten times I have tried to surprise her since we have met, she has found out about the surprise eight times. I knew this going into my planning but I thought I would be sneaky this time.

(Back to the story)
I decided to do an online evite of friends that I had emails for. I went to the evite website and clicked on a number of emails that were already loaded onto the website from a previous party we had planned. My first location fell through so luckily my neighbors (thanks Fischers) were able to secure a room for me by Tuesday (party was on Saturday, 28th). I sent the email out and within one day, I received a confirmation that 33 people were coming. I then opened the list and realized that there were a ton of people that still hadn't replied or opened their emails. I also noticed that there were a bunch of people that were close friends who were not on the email list (most of my ward) because I didn't have emails for them. Later, I realized that the log-in email for the evite account was our family email account. I quickly opened the account and noticed that someone else (Michele) had already opened it. There went the surprise.

As the day approached, I was bummed about Michele's discovery, but was excited nonetheless. I anticipated about 100 people from phone calls, facebook messages, and evite RSVPs. Michele really likes Lon's Cookin' Shack BBQ pulled pork so I ordered enough for 100 people. I cooked enough rice and macaroni salad for 100 people. Michele's mom, sister (Celeste) and friend (Keisha) helped me all of Saturday morning to get ready (cake, decorations, food, drinks, music, etc.). It was a team effort. The time had finally arrived for the party.

We were still preparing some food at 4:00 (the announced time of the party) and figured that most wouldn't come till later. Celeste, Keisha, and I were at the chapel while Jeremiah (Michele's younger brother) kept Michele and Uwe at the house. We waited.....and waited....and waited. 4:10......4:20......4:30......."Hey someone just pulled up!!" Two of our friends (the Garcias) came in and we sat and talked. Jeremiah sent the text, "We are all ready. What should we do?" I replied, "Go ahead and bring them" knowing that we couldn't wait too much longer. At 4:40, two cars pull up with Michele, Uwe, the kids and the whole family. by this time the sad situation had turned somewhat humorous and we hid inside the lobby of the church building (sort of). "SURPRISE!!" we yelled as they walked through. Michele looked around as if to say, "Where is everyone?" She confessed later that she was thinking, "Where did everyone park?" in anticipation of a real surprise party. A few more people showed including the: Charitons, Hanamaikais, Loebels, Blanchards, Chuns, and others but it was pretty slow to say the least.

I write this blog not to make anyone feel bad for not coming (seriously) or not being invited (my fault - I don't have many emails) but rather to laugh at the memory of this occasion. If any of you would like for me to plan your surprise party, let me know. I just have to laugh at my lame attempt to throw Michele and Uwe a party. By the way, the food was amazing.

Michele, I love you always. If it's any consolation, the party was great in my imagination as I was planning. Happy Birthday honey!!

Love, K

The Big 3-0

Uwe and I turned thirty today. Instead of a play-by-play, I'll just say I felt how much Kyle loves me and wanted this birthday to be wonderful. It was.

Here's 30 random and not-so random things I've done so far in my life:

1. married the perfect guy (for me).
2. had three of the cutest kids ever.
3. graduated from BYU with a bachelors in Marriage, Family, and Human Development.
4. spent a year and a half at BYUH.
5. served a mission in Spokane Washington.
6. learned to tie my shoe, peel an orange, and put my hair in a pony tail with one hand.
7. visited Sydney Australia for a week and a half.
8. began a Masters program.
9. quit a Masters program after having my first child.
10. learned to weave a Navajo rug.
11. read the Book of Mormon several times (once in one sitting).
12. kissed the love of my life on top of the Empire State building.
13. attended 3 temple dedications.
14. taught early morning seminary.
15. crocheted an afghan for my grandmother.
16. learned photography enough to start a small business.
17. performed my first and last hula for a crowd of 100+ people.
18. attended a sealing of a sister I taught on my mission.
19. discovered/learned the joy of washing dishes.
20. changed at least 8,000 diapers (if not more).
21. kissed my babies at least a million times.
22. rode in a helicopter (would rather have not).
23. prepared temple names for my maternal grandparents.
24. received my patriarchal blessing.
25. planted a tree.
26. was president of the LDS sorority, Lambda Delta Sigma.
27. lead the music in sacrament meeting for our small branch for 4 years.
28. taught at the MTC for a year and a half.
29. donated my hair to Locks of Love.
30. started a family blog.

PS. My favorite thought for today was: 30 is the new 20.

My Brave Little Ikaika

I have been wanting to do a post of Ikaika for a while. I sometimes feel I am always writing about Sepa's cuteness and the new things Kekoa is doing. I don't want to leave my Kaika out. So here is one for him.
Ikaika by definition means "warrior" in Hawaiian. Well, today Ikaika decided to be a little to adventuresome and warrior-like and he ended up with a huge goose egg on his forehead the size a golf ball (just more in an oval shape). I heard him cry from the other room and I ran to see what was the matter. As soon as I asked him where he got hurt I saw the swelling. Scared me to bits. I am not one to deal with those types of things well. Anyway, he recovered and after a little popcicle on his head, the swelling went down to about half. I decided it was not the greatest time to take a picture so I decided to post these two instead. (Oh, I forgot to mention he was jumping around on the couch and hit the edge of our piano sitting right next to it . . . ouch).




Well, I love my little Ikaika. He has a heart of gold and has for the most part been very mild during the terrible two years.
Yesterday, Kekoa said, "Mom, Ikaika likes two things: his milk and his grandma." He hit it right on the button with that one. Ikaika really does love those two things. Happily grandma is coming into town this weekend for a visit and I have a brand new gallon of whole milk sitting in the fridge.

PS. Both of these shots I took practicing with my new lens (I got it before the NY trip). It is a Canon 85mm 1.8 and I love it.

Short

I got a hair cut this week. I had decided a while ago I wanted to do it pretty short. I like it most of the time. It just seems so moody - sometimes looks great, sometimes not-so. Anyway, I love this picture of my Kaika - his smile is so sweet and genuine.

Can You Stand the Cuteness?

One of the hardest parts about leaving to NY was having to leave the boys behind. I always say that I have clingy boys. Well, in reality it is I who am the clingy one. I love being with them and hate to miss any moment. Don't get me wrong, I need breaks from them just as much as any other mom, but it's hard for me to be away for long periods of time. What can I say? - they are just so darn cute.
They boys for the most part did just fine staying with Aunty Celeste and Keisha (angel girls for being willing!) while we were gone. I think that Sepa had the hardest time. We would ichat with them when we could and that helped. The only time Sepa was awake for the chat was on Saturday. He was so happy to see us. He just kept kissing the screen. Celeste took a picture.


How precious is that? He gives the sweetest kisses by the way :)

I also wanted to just record that yesterday he stood up by himself for the first time. He was so cute. He would pull himself up next to me and then let go looking straight at me for a reaction. We'd cheer for him and he'd beam with pride. I desperately tried to get a picture of it - foregoing the artistic shot for anything that showed him standing. But he was only comfortable with me next to him and I had no one to take the picture. So these last two were the best I could do. And just for the record I do not let my little ones run around in a diaper in the middle of the winter. I was changing him into his pj's when he got away to play. Anyway, I am so glad he waited for me to come home to reach this new milestone so I could witness it first-hand : )

Her Story

Kyle did a great job giving the rundown on our event filled trip. So I'll just highlight the things I loved best about our weekend getaway.
Actually, I'll do it with pictures:

One of my favorite things was the carriage ride through Central Park. From the moment I heard we could do that I wanted to. A horse drawn carriage through Central Park on Valentine's Day? Nothing sounded more romantic to me. It was so fun and not even the scolding lady on the side of the street could have dampened my spirits (she was protesting supporting cruelty to animals - the horses I guess).



Even though I am not terribly fond of heights I really enjoyed the observation deck on top of the Empire State Building. In retrospect I feel kind of bad for not trying harder to recognize what Kyle was trying to do in his re-proposal. I guess the freezing weather and hundreds of other people made it hard to immediately get into the moment. But it was a very magical time when we found a spot in front of an open door (so warmth was flowing through) and Kyle and I talked and he did the actual proposal. I am such a dork to have said that it was conditional on our renewing our vows on the beaches of Aruba in two years. In all seriousness, I would say yes to the eternities and back to this wonderful man.



Okay - not really jiving with the romantic picture theme, but aside from the companionship of Kyle this was my most favorite part about the trip - attending Wicked on Broadway. It was so incredible and I loved ever moment of the musical. Kyle said he couldn't read my reaction to it, but I was just so enthralled it left not room for expression verbally or on my face. It was amazing and I feel so lucky to have gone in NY. The cast did a perfect job. When I first found out we were going to go during the trip I felt better about missing an opportunity to get tickets to the show coming to SLC this summer. But now after having seen it I kick myself for not jumping at the chance. It is such a fun, creative show - go if you get a chance. And if you happen to have an extra ticket or two I am standing waiting like a kid pressed up against the glass of a candy shop. hint hint : )


I also loved dinner (we forgot to get a picture - though I am sure there were many willing waiters had we only asked) on Valentine's night. Kyle was so disappointed that we couldn't have our traditional Thai meal. I thought the whole thing was super funny and ironic. But I think it worked out just right. The Japanese place was decked out in Valentine decor and as cheesy as most of it looked, I loved the ambiance of the whole place with lit candles and roses. During dinner I was reminded of how one of my favorite things about Kyle is his willingness to give anything to make me happy (evidenced by a simple act of giving me his last bite of red bean mochi ice cream. I was sure I wanted the mango when I ordered, but later decided I liked his much better - a simple act, but very telling). It was a perfect dinner for the night.


All in all my favorite thing was simply being with Kyle. We have not really had time away more than a night to Park City since we've been married. I always say that I could seriously be with this guy 24/7 for eternity. Oh, good thing I am going to be : )

~m