I love Hawaii

I just had to share this really fun picture of our seminary graduation last week. The kids have so many leis that you can barely see their faces. I wonder what high school graduation is like...
This is Ryan, Kainalu and Caira (We miss you, Shatell!) - We are so excited for these guys!

This is the 15 graduates from our stake.

Windshield Wipers

I have been thinking a lot about windshield wipers this week. It has been a VERY cold and rainy winter (sweatshirts every night and morning - it sucks) so I have seen a lot of my wipers over the las few months. They were very obnoxious. They would squeak if the window was even a little dry and there was always a stripe down the middle of the swipe. The back window had a rather wide line that was being missed. But I just ignored them and cringed everytime they made that awful sound. Then the back wiper up and fell off. I decided that it was definitely time to invest in a new one. At the store I decided to splurge and buy 3 new ones. I put them on and would you believe that the swipes, smears, lines and squeaks all disappeared?

It is amazing how clear my windshield is now.

It occurs to me that our spirits are like windshields. When our "wipers" are strong and well maintained, our vision is crystal clear. There are no swipes or smears and the squeak is completely forgotten.

So, how are your wipers?

Awesome Movie!

A few months ago, Jeff and I decided that we would start a reward program with our boys. We set a goal with each one and when they work on that goal each day, they earn a "bead." When their bead jar is full, they get to go on a special date with mom and dad. Kevin has been working so hard and finally filled his jar. So last night it was his turn.

First we stopped at Burger King for dollar-menu-dinner and then we were off to the Lihue Bowling Lanes. It was an amazing game of bowling and no one bowled higher than a hundred (with bumpers.) It was so fun.

Then we decided that we (okay, I...) needed to see Inkheart. (It was the last night and I so wanted to see it in the theatre.) Can I just tell you that this is a FANTASTIC movie. It was suspenseful and exciting but there was no swearing (that I blatantly noticed) there was no sex, there was no gore or graphic violence! It was so great. Kevin said it was a little scary at the end but not too bad. I was so happy. But here is the big news... this is the first time ever that I can honestly say that I liked the movie better than the book. Can you believe it? It was a great flick! I have to say that it is very high on my list of favorite movies!


Oh yeah, and here is a picture of Naiya and Holly with the super cute mermaid onesie that I bought her. It has nothing to do with the movie but isn't she darling?

March Already?

First of all...

This is my birthday month so please feel free to tell me how much you love me. (I told my kids that they needed to tell me everyday.) Also, I gave myself a birthday pedicure and in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I did a French manicure in greens. I must admit, it's pretty fabulous - sorry, no pictures today... you'll just have to imagine.

Second of all...

Whew. February was full of amazingly fun trips and visitors. My house is a disaster but I am hanging on surprisingly well. (Thank You Celexa!) Anyway, I hope to post some pics of my crazy month. If not, I want the world - well, at least my world - to know that I love my best friend so much and that it is super hard to be so far away especially when times aren't easy. Thank Heaven for the gift of prayer and fasting on the behalf of others. And... I love Jeff's sister super lots and it was so much fun to have her and her family here! I really do hope that some day we can live closer together so we can spend more time together (Hey Kirst, let's move to Silver City!)

How do I love thee?

Just like every Domestic Goddess (Wife/Mother), I do a lot of things everyday to show my family, especially my kids, how much I love them. I cook for them, I pick up their toys, I hug them when they need it and I laugh at all the jokes. Today I am convinced the biggest sacrifice I make every week is 10 loads of stinky-boy laundry. Man, I love my boyz!

By the way, we had 30-foot waves last week on the North Shore. It was wicked!

Priorities...

So even though laundry, budgeting and dishes are my priority today I had to take a minute to show you this. We had the missionaries, Elders Hatch and Vea, over for dinner on Christmas Eve. In our family we always open up one present on Christmas Eve - pajamas (I know it's not very original.) So I made some t-shirts for the missionaries to open. Here is the cool part. They actually sent us a Thank You note. I have never in my 10 years of feeding missionaries gotten a thank you note. So, in honor of the mothers who taught these boys right - here it is, the First-Ever-Missionary-Thank-You-Note.

eeehhh....

For anyone who thinks that it is always wonderful in paradise...
Here is an after picture of an hour of my life today. (I spared you the "before" because it is way nast-o!) These are my garbage cans after they have been bleached and scrubbed. I have to do this about every 3 months because of all the disgusting green and black mold that grows on everything is paradise. I even have to use a clorox wipe on my shoes if I haven't worn them for a while.

Thank Heaven for clorox!

(Emily, if you ever need a vacation from cleaning your own house, just call me and you can come and help me clean mine!)