Happy

I totally have a smile on my face because I just got off the phone with a dear sweet friend from my mission. We lost contact a few years ago and after a little miracle just re-connected. Mayra is a beautiful young woman my companion and I tracked into in the third area of my mission. She was only 13 at the time and was very friendly and open to talking to us. During the 8 months I was in Moses Lake, WA we taught her the discussions and became good friends with her, her mother and younger sister. I love them so much. The thought of them makes me so happy. Mayra was never baptized while I was there, but tonight she told me it has been a year now since she and her husband joined the church. I am so excited to be in touch again and to be apart of their lives. The news and reconnection is sure to keep me smiling nonstop for a week. Oh, happy day.

I love . . .

• snuggling during nap time as the boys hold my arm.

• Sepa's smiles when he sees me walk into the room

• Ikaika's prayers as he blesses everyone and everything (the other day I tried to get him to finish his prayer and he just kept saying, "almost").

• chubby little hands holding my face

• hearing the boys say their testimony as a part of FHE

• when all three boys pile on top of my lap (well, sometimes I love it)

• when Kekoa calls me Wonder Woman and Ikaika calls me Princess

• the sound of my boys' laughter

• slobbery kisses from Sepa

• being a mom

Kekoa, I need your help

Kekoa....this is Batman. The Joker is in town and I need your help. Please let me know if you want to help me protect people from the bad guys. Your father tells me that you are a strong boy. Your mother says that you are a good boy who likes to protect your family. I will contact you later to let you know how you can help me. For now, be a good boy and be nice to your brothers. Eat all your food and go to sleep when your mom tells you. If you want to help me, just write back "yes" or "no" (your mom will help you). Gotta Go.

BATMAN

Denver Gloom

I have been in Denver for the past few days for a conference (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities - HACU). It has been a great conference in terms of the information shared and applicability to my current job at UVU but I must say that I am glad to be going home tonight. I MISS MY FAMILY!! Ever since I arrived in Denver on Friday (with my colleague, Troy) there has been a constant gloomy mist in the air. It has been overcast and every time I step outside, I get a face full of mist. I like rain but I am not a fan of the mist. I hope I have a chance to come back to Denver when the weather is better.

I had a chance to ichat with my family each day and I cannot say enough how much I miss them. Michele, I'm so sorry to be gone when two of our children are sick. As Kekoa always says, "You ARE Wonder Woman." I miss you all so much.

Kyle

Getting Ready to Party

Kekoa's birthday is in a week and a half. His birthday party is going to be the Saturday after. Here's the invite I created for him. I was going for a simple, clean, cool look. Kekoa likes it anyway. I can't believe how old he looks. My baby is turning 4! Now its time to plan the actual party. Anyone willing to be the star guest and dress up as Batman for me? I got an adult suit of Ebay for twenty bucks.

oh, oh, oh, I forgot to mention how proud I am of the outfit Kekoa is wearing. I wanted a simple batman shirt - on ebay they were going for $15+. So I bought a three dollar shirt from Walmart, created a vector-based logo in Illustrator (my first) and put it on an iron on transfer and wallah! Batman.

Do the Dew

Tonight Kyle & I went on a short date together. It was just for a quick dinner, but we enjoyed the little break. I took Kyle to this little restaurant I heard of called Dew. It was one of the most fantastic dinners we have had in a long, long time. Their menu is simple, serving Vietnamese inspired sandwiches, rice & noodle bowls and incredible smoothies. If you are not afraid to step outside the common and safe world of burgers and fries you'll really enjoy this place. Here' s a link to their menu. And if you go on my recommendation and don't like what you order - bring your leftovers to me. It is located near BYU at 669 East 800 North. Enjoy.
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PS. Just for the record, I loved what I had - a Chinese BBQ pork Banh Mi sandwich and a taro smoothie. Yum. I am salivating just writing about it.

Bye Bye

Today Sepa waved goodbye for the first time. We have been encouraging and practicing with him for a while and today he finally did it on his own. He waved to our friend and neighbor Janette. Sadly no picture to go with this post.
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Being Kids

Today the boys played with their little neighbor friends Zoe and TJ (though TJ was taking his nap for half the time). Here's a fun picture of the ever popular car. The blown-out background kills the picture, but I loved their expressions, especially Kaika's. So cute.
In the middle of playing, Kekoa and Zoe decided to play "mommy and daddy." It was so cute to hear Kekoa call her 'Honey.' Zoe got a couple of her baby dolls and they played on their bikes, and inside with the dolls. It was funny to see the contrast as Zoe rocked her doll in our little rocking chair while Kekoa made his baby do a nose dive down a make-shift cardboard slide. My favorite part of the whole pretend playtime was when it was time for Zoe to go home. Kekoa insisted that he walk her home (She lives just across the street from us). I had to grab my camera. Here's the quick shot. He's got his bag and computer as well - hilarious.

The best part was it did not stop there. She then proceeded to walk him back to our house and then he walked her home a second time. What a gentleman. It reminded me of when Kyle and I were dating and we would make up any excuse to just be together longer (remember that first run-in at BYU, Honey?) So cute - the whole thing. Anyway, Zoe's mom and I are good friends and so I did some pictures for her last week. Here is one of Zoe and TJ together. Sweet little ones.

Cra-zy

Though I do not know if I'd ever even seriously consider something like this, I thought it was crazy to think of what is possible now days. Here's the link.
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In the same vein - tonight Kekoa made me laugh. While sitting on the toilet bowl he said, "Wouldn't it be amazing if I had four arms? Then I could go potty and drink water at the same time. That would be awesome." The things kids come up with.