Ready or Not . . .

. . . here we go.

Tonight we worked on setting up the loom for my rug. It was mainly my mother, Kyle and my twin brother, Uwe who put it together. Kyle did a lot to help and I just watched and took pictures. When I apologized for not being much help my mom reminded me that there was much more work yet to be done. Point taken. It was neat to go through the process. As you can tell from the pictures is it quite the project. I have decided that it is in giving attention to the details that the most beautiful creations occur.








I am excited to get working on it - though I must admit I am a little scared as well. I liked what my mom said to me. She told me not to worry too much about it, that the process is meant to be enjoyed. She also said that the rug will teach me how to weave as I go along. My whole purpose in doing this is to learn it enough to be able to teach my own daughters (or sons if they show interest) and to preserve my culture in this way. I never not think of my grandma whenever I look at that loom. In fact I am using a weaving tool that belonged to her. I love and miss her so much. And I have a feeling she is proud of me.

Giving Thanks

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving with delicious food and so many things to be grateful for. We hosted dinner at our house and made do with what space we had even with 11 adults and 9 kids. It makes me wonder where we'll be 5 years from now.
I love the Thanksgiving holiday. I love being with family and taking a break from everyday life. The boys love having Kyle home - I love it more. Along side having the gospel as a part of my life, Kyle and my dear boys are what I am most grateful for. Kyle is such a wonderful husband (note: no need for people to continue reading this if you are bothered by my sappiness). He takes such good care of me and the boys. He makes time for us no matter what his crazy schedule is like. He has such a good heart and is always thinking of others before himself. I honestly could spend all day everyday with him. He is my best friend.
I also love each of my three boys so much. I cannot imagine my life with out them. They very much little boys in the sense that they are rowdy, messy and at times mischievous, but the are such good boys who love each other and their mommy and daddy. Yes, I am still more than willing to have more children even with three boys ages 4 and younger. I love being a wife and mother more than I could ever express.
I am also so grateful for all the comforts of life we enjoy as a family. We have a love-filled home, a good job that Kyle enjoys very much, wonderful extended family, and dear friends. Kyle and I often find ourselves in awe of the blessed life we live. We without hesitation give thanks and credit to Heavenly Father for all we have and try to share what we've been given. How thankful we are for the life we've been blessed with. Happy Thanksgiving.

Here are some pics from an afternoon walk on the Provo River trail:

Monday Monday

I usually am not the biggest fan of Monday's, but when my two married sisters and my mom are in town it is a great day no matter what day of the week it is. We had so much fun being together with our six boys. The big plan of the day was for the moms (my sisters and I) to have an afternoon together without any of the kids. Our brave mom and youngest brother braved caring for all six of the boys. We decided to go to Jumpin' Jacks in the morning to "wear them out." It was fun. Spending time with my sisters was even more fun. We ate and enjoyed doing a little luxury shopping. It was a great day.
Here are some pictures I asked my sister to email me. The lame photographer never pulled out my camera.

Provo River

We live right next to the Provo River, but rarely get out to take a stroll on the trail. I don't know why it seems so impossible. But today we decided it was time. I was partly. . . well mostly . . . motivated by the need to scope out a spot to do some family pictures for a shoot tomorrow. Whatever work I guess. So I loaded up the boys, their bikes, a stroller and my camera and we headed to the trail. (By the way - captions will be above the pictures)


The boys were so excited to ride their bikes and look around. I told them I had to practice taking some pictures. Kekoa was so cute - he kept saying, "Mom, look I found a good spot here." And then he'd let me take a picture.


We got to a fun spot with a huge tree. I had the boys climb up to "practice" some pictures for me. Kekoa - what a poser. You think he's done this before ?

Here's what I get when I ask Kaika to squeeze his brother so I can get a close shot.

And here is the look I get when I ask for too many pictures. Classic face on Koa.

The boys were wanting to keep going and I finally convinced them to turn around. I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier - but it wasn't until then that I then realized we had to go all the way back to the car. We were only halfway done. Sure enough the boys got tired before we made it to the car. I got my work out, leaving the stroller to push Kaika 20 feet or so on his bike and then I would run back to get the stroller. I did that only a couple times then gave up thinking of how ridiculous I probably looked. Thankfully Kekoa came to the rescue. Here's how we ended our adventure.

Sepa asleep.

Kekoa walking with both bikes.

And Ikaika riding in the compartment below the stroller.

Hilarious. It was fun and despite the struggle at the end, I hope we'll have some more outings like this soon. Probably not until Spring though. I think I'll put Ikaika on endurance training until then : )



November 21, 2008
Sepa 10 - months

Not the greatest photo. He really hates the silly teacup. I think we may only do it for the next couple months and then I am calling it quits.

Here is a cuter one - though I messed up the picture by not having my settings right on my camera. Still cute . . .

Sepa - AKA - The Finisher

This may seem like a random picture. But it is what I found today after washing the dishes. Sepa was playing on the floor. He was quiet and content so I didn't pay much attention to him. It wasn't until I found this that I realized what had kept him busy the whole time. He had pulled down Ikaika's leftover bowl of noodles. Ikaika is not my biggest eater and there was a decent amount left. Well, Sepa licked the bowl clean. I decided to put him in his high chair and let him eat the rest in the pot. I now have nicknamed him the Finisher.

"What? Who me? I didn't do it"

Ikaika's Sayin'

(here's a picture to go along with the post :)

Ikaika has really enjoyed talking the last few weeks. He is so cute to listen to. Here are some times I want to remember.

~ Whenever Ikaika and I want two different things he will say, "I have idea . . . how 'bout . . ." He will then proceed to tell in detail what should happen (The funny thing is it usually is exactly what I was trying to get him to do).

~ The other day Koa was attacking me with kisses and I was rolling around on the floor playing with him. Ikaika came up, above my face and said, "Mommy, you s'okay?" (Are you okay?) So sweet - he is always so concerned about others.

~ I was feeding Ikaika the last couple bites of oatmeal in his bowl. I told him there were only a couple more bites. He said, "Momny don't count." I tried to offer him one more bite, but he held up his hand - palm toward me - and said, "Enough."

New Ambition

I wanted to write a little more about yesterday. For Arm's birthday (insider guys, sorry) Kyle surprised me with this loom to do Navajo rugs. It was something I started to learn a year or so before my car accident (my sweet grandmother was teaching me). I never finished the one I started. Weaving does require two hands so Kyle has promised to be my other hand in this process (I also see it as a challenge to figure out to do by myself as well - I am somewhat good at that after all these years). I do not know know how it will all play out - it is a pretty ambitious thing, but I do know that seeing it in my living room all day made me so happy.

News Flash

Ikaika went potty on the toliet bowl for the first time tonight. He decided to do it when Kyle and I were out on our date together. Maybe we should go out more often . . .
Oh, and he has the great moral support from Kekoa since Koa is almost more anxious for him to get the reward toy for going potty. Whatever works I guess. I sure dig the potty trained world of kids. But I am not declaring victory yet. I am sure there is still a long road ahead.
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November 13th

This afternoon I began prepping Kekoa for staying with a new babysitter (Celeste was not available). I told him that Daddy and I were going to go on a date together to eat dinner. He immediately asked why. I told him that it was "Arm's" birthday (that is what he calls my left arm). It has now been 12 years since my car accident. He was a little amazed and then said he wanted it to be his arm's birthday too. I told him his arm didn't have a second birthday - only mommy's. So then he asked if my other arm had a birthday too. I said not like Arm. Kekoa finished by saying again how he wants four arms so he can go to the bathroom and drink water at the same time. Such a funny kid.
Anyway, so Kyle and I did end up going to dinner - we had all-you-can-eat sushi. Then we spent a little time at Target doing a little scavenger hunt. But the highlight of the whole day was getting my surprise. Kyle had Uwe and Miah make me my own weaving loom for Navajo rugs. While we were out getting ice cream the boys brought it into the house and set it up in the living room. They did such an amazing job. I am so excited to have that be a part of my life again. It will be a challenge, but I am sure I can figure out something. And until then Kyle will be my other hand for help. I love him so much. As Sister Hinckley said of her dear husband, He truly gives me wings to fly. I love you, Kyle with all my heart.