Two little funnies

Jocelyn is a funny mix of energy and crazy vs her total silent laid back side...As usual she has wreaked a little havoc lately. She loves painting the bathroom with lipstick or our furniture with her toothbrush BUT she is so cuddly and loving.

Last night Brent went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He noticed something pink or red on his brush but figured one of the kids tried to put their tooth paste on his brush...So he picked it up and started brushing away. After a few seconds he was like "YUCK! DISGUSTING! Someone put hand soap on my toothbrush!!!" Yup, Jocelyn had been playing in there during my shower and gave Brent a nice surprise....

Tonight we were "trying" to say a family prayer. We knelt down in a circle and all was quiet. Before I could figure out what was going on Cami was busting up. I opened my eyes and stopped praying and saw Jocelyn was reaching out and saying duck duck goose! Glad she has good associations with family and the floor.

What happens on vacations doesn't really stay on vacations...

especially when you come home looking like this....20 weeks later....and the surprising news is that it is possible for us to make a boy....now what do we do with a boy? (other than absolutely love him of course)...

The First Day of School!

Wow school started early this year and wow summer was way too short! Wow the house was quiet that afternoon and wow Jocelyn took a great nap!...I do really miss the girls and I catch myself clock watching until I can pick them up BUT it is nice to be able to get a couple hours of jobs done and have Jocelyn have a little peace.

Anyway, Cami started second grade and has a super nice teacher who she loves. Her teacher is really young but energetic and works really hard to challenge Cami. Taryn got lucky and got the same fab teacher Cami had in kindergarten. I must admit I was pretty worried for Taryn to be in such a structured place but so far so good. She has made new buddies quickly and came home with new phone numbers for play dates on the first day.

Taryn had a week of testing then got to start "real" school. This is a picture of the first day of "real" school. She is really proud of her backpack and yes, she did insist on the black leather when it was over 100 degrees....

TA-DA!!!! All ready to go but like three hours early.....

Taryn on her first day of school (just a testing day). She chose out just the perfect dress and of course insisted on curls in her hair.

Doesn't she look so grown up? What a pretty kid!

Cami anxious to get moving on her first day. We went to 7-yes 7-stores before she was satisfied with this bag and lunch box...She was excited to look older and doesn't really want any babyish cartoon stuff on her bags anymore....

Happily leaving the house and Taryn jealously watching from behind (in a nice way)...

So here's to a good happy year and tons of learning (and playing)!

Swimming lessons

What we for reals spent most of our summer doing was swimming. The girls made a lot of progress and can't wait for next year's lessons. Jocelyn even tried getting naked a few times and yelled "WA WA! WA WA! (water water) wanting to get in. I think I'll probably start her next summer.

The pool is obviously outdoors and not heated which made for some serious shivers with such a mild summer... BUT from my sitting in the 100 degree sunshine the shivers looked welcoming. Anyway here is what we did mostly every day all summer.

Taryn swimming across the pool.

Taryn distracting her friend...

Taryn kicking hard enough to splash everyone...

Taryn learning how to breath and swim at the same time.

Cami telling me to go away and quit taking pictures...

Cami learning chicken star rocket (elementary backstroke I think)...

At the beginning of the summer Cami would stop here at the side every trip down or back...By the end she could make it down and back without the stop.

Peek a boo!

The other day I could NOT find Taryn...I was starting to get a little concerned then she started to laugh....She had been holding really silently still to try and trick me. Very tricky indeed!

Father's Day

I love that our kids get really into holidays. They scheme and plan for weeks about all the surprises they are going to do. Cami always makes a homemade book and Taryn always makes snowflakes or cards in commemoration. We always make a banner for the kitchen for birthdays or holidays and breakfast in bed is a must. So for Father's Day the girls helped with breakfast in bed, then gave Dad gifts, and had Brent take a nap in his hammock while we made a fancy dinner. We even used the China.

Cami's gift was particularly fun for Brent. She made him a book with pictures of her favorite memories with him. The one he liked best was a picture of the two of them upside down on California Screaming Roller coaster. Cami's pony tails were sticking straight up and her mouth was open screaming. Brent had hands in the air and a big smile. Probably a very accurate account of their ride. What a good kid! Brent is a good Dad and he is lucky to have such beautiful good girls!

Oh look! Good things come from Bed Bath and Beyond! In this case a waffle iron and three little girls...

THE NAP which can be so elusive in our house..... not to mention weather cool enough to be outside in June is pretty elusive too-perfect afternoon!

Dinner with place mats, candles, and china.... Fancy smanchy!

Disneyland...the happiest busy place on earth!

We finally took the family to Disneyland! We went to Disneyland shortly after we were married and had a great time but a the end of the day we agreed not to come back until our kids were at least 42 inches tall and able to really enjoy it. Well two out of three hit the mile stone and we figured that was good enough.

Brent's sister and her family had a trip all planned and we joined in. I am glad we went with cousins and the girls thrived on the peer pressure. Cami even rode on California Screaming and the Tower of Terror (although there were some tears of terror she says she loved it). It was good for her self confidence.

The cousins were die hards we were up both mornings and at the park for opening and left at closing. The cousins are also pros and knew which rides to ride when and when to get fast passes and where to eat and when...It was way convenient for us to tag along.

And although Jocelyn wasn't big enough for rides other than the kiddie ones she enjoyed climbing every fence and took great naps in the stroller. We really scored having her as our baby.

The girls also loved staying in a hotel since we haven't actually stayed in one for a while. The pool was right outside our room and we wished we had packed our suits...I think the highlight for Taryn was being allowed to buy a treasure in the park the last day-of course a jewelry box and locket.

The drive is only 7 ish hours but the WHOLE way down, every two minutes Taryn asked are we there yet? We both thought we might loss it by the time we did get there.

And since it has been almost three months since we went and I am tired here are some pictures to tell the tell of Disneyland....

Jocelyn on one of the thousands of fences...on this particular one she was watching the ducks and saying "duck, duck, duck...."

When we first got to the park the girls REALLY wanted to go meet all the pixie hallow fairies (they have been reading the books) and on the second day we scheduled them in while the cousins were pursuing some other more serious adventure.

The girls favorite fairy.

Entering the park for the iconic Disneyland picture....our kids and their cousins....

The girls were totally beat after such long intense days so we let them sleep in the morning we left. It was really cute to see two little ladies in a ginormous bed still cuddled up to each other.

Jocelyn getting sunburned watching the parade with cousin Rachael. Jocelyn's favorite was Mickey and Minnie.Taryn's favorite was the whole Little Mermaid section and Cami just enjoyed the general splendor of everything. The looks on all three of their faces was worth the sun.

Cami and Taryn clapped the entire time.

The lines seemed really long to me-longer than they have in the past so this was a familiar site. At least Disneyland goes to the trouble of trying to make the waits as pretty as possible. Here the girls are looking for fairies by the ponds.-except Jocelyn who had a constant eye out for "duck ducks"

Taryn LOVED the tree house Tarzan rope place. I think Cami's favorite was the haunted mansion. We did each place multiple times...

Sweet Sweet Baby Faye....What a sweet baby!

The Little Mermaids

We have been enjoying summer vacation-which apparently included a vacation from blogging. I will slowly but surely try to get caught up but expect mostly pictures for a while....

We went to one of the opening nights of the stage production of the little mermaid. Brent's sister and her fam came down and it was really fun. I think the girls faces were glued to the stage the entire time and thankfully it didn't rain a drop (last year we all got SOAKED at Tarzan and being the great mom that I am I didn't even think to pack jackets-we live in a hot desert after all...).

I just got a new phone and hadn't quite figured out the whole camera thing yet....BUT of course we have to take pictures at every little picture thing so here it is.

Taryn, Natalie, and Cami's faces when Arial appeared...worth a thousand words don't you think?

The girls and cousins waiting in anticipation...Cami has officially discovered bunny ears and Taryn has not. :)

Cami's last day

She's done she's done she's done!!!! And she's mine, all mine, all mine all summer!!! Hurray! She had tons of fun with the last weeks celebrations and water fights and field trips to the park. BUT she is going to miss a couple of very good friends.

A Silly Hike

Last weekend we went on a fabulous hike with some friends. When we got back I realized I didn't have any great panoramic pictures or everyone smiling group pictures but I did have some very silly happy girls. It was a fun easy hike and there was a ton of water. Brent convinced Cami and Taryn to try the natural rock water slide and both had fun until they got hypothermia. Jocelyn had a great time kicked back with me eating pretzels. Good times....

Jocelyn giving Brent a wet willy...

Taryn happy to be hiking in a dress and ribbons...

And Cami exploring a cave and maybe licking it?

Preschool Graduation-A Sad/Glad Day

This is a very delayed post. I had issued with the pictures every time I went to post this so I would give up. Today I very patiently loaded the pictures one by one and what do you know it worked!

So Taryn graduated from the Busy Beehive Preschool May 23rd. She was so excited. She had worked really hard to pass off her counting to 100 so she could earn a king sized candy bar. She had worked really hard to get through some take home books and she loved every minute of preschool. Taryn is a passionate child and when she loves something it really is LOVE. Miss Megan was so patient and willing to work with Taryn that Taryn felt successful every day. That in my opinion is worth every penny and then some.

Miss Megan is very patriotic and I love that. They learn the pledge and say it everyday. They also learned a lot of patriotic songs. There are some veterans in Miss Megan's family and I love that she teaches them to value their country.

Taryn met this fabulous little friend and kindred spirit at preschool. Luckily they also happened to be in the same dance class too. We love her and her mom is really nice too.

Taryn also loved these twins in her class. I am really thankful she was able to make some great friends and I hope she continues to chose such good friends. She literally sobbed when she realized that these three girls would not be in her kindergarten class next year.

Taryn looking awfully grown up. And yes, she is wearing black leather boots even when it is hot outside....fashion first with this girl...

Taryn and the most wonderful preschool teacher in the world. Just by looking at her you can tell she is super nice. She obviously does preschool because she loves it, not because she has too. I seriously all ready put Jocelyn on her waiting list for 2013. :)

Hu-Veye-E (or Hawaii)

***SPOILER ALERT*** Ok not really spoiler alert but I do want to give fair warning that this post includes a bazillion pictures so look or scroll or do what you need to do.......

Whenever I think of the word Hawaii I think of my brother's wedding. The photographer lady opted out of the customary "say cheese" in favor of "say Hawaii." The way she said Hawaii was so funny to me at the time and now I cannot think of Hawaii-only Hu -Veye -EE.

Anyway, the most fabulous boyfriend/husband in the world took me on an adventure last week to Hawaii. We had been meaning to go for several years but I was ginormously pregnant or nursing a baby or Brent was working way too much.....SO finally we had no excuse not to go and just went for it.

We decided to go for the less touristy route and headed to Poipu Kauai. Every single minute of the six days was awesome. It rained nearly the whole time but no worries-we did come home sunburned from the 15 minutes of sun we got. Not that we delight in skin cancer but it would be a serious shame to go to Hawaii and not get ANY sun...

The first day we spent time at the farmers market trying all kinds of foreign fruits. Who knew there was such a thing as egg fruit? And it was about as appetizing as it sounded. The pineapple on the other hand was phenomenal as were the bananas. We also hit the beach in the rain and froze our noggins off but had fun in the HUGE body surfing waves. A highlight was gettingPukadogs for lunch. Hot dogs will never be the same to me. Coconut and polish dogs are a must have- a little slice of heaven with spice. We also stopped at spouting horn-like old faithful but smaller and every 30 seconds.

Sunday we went to church and then drove through Waimea Canyon (the grand canyon of Hawaii). Again the rain and fog decreased the visibility but WOW what amazing sites anyway. After getting totally car sick we made it back to our condo and slept for like 11 hours by accident-it is amazing how much sleep you can get when not woken by kiddos ready for breakfast at the crack of dawn...

Monday we did an awesome zip line tree top adventure. The platforms were literally 70-90 feet up in the tree tops (some were as tall as 200 feet). And once the fear of jumping off the platform wore off the adrenaline rush was great, especially when I realized I didn't really know how to stear. Usually, since having kids, I completely avoid anything remotely risky. BUT zip lining in the trees was totally worth it. That afternoon we hit the beach in the rain again and it was awesome! People were running for shelter, but hey we were in the ocean and already wet. There was no lightening so we body surfed on the HUGE waves again. It's probably the most fun I have ever had in the ocean, rain and all. We ate that night at a cool luau. Brent was so amazed by the hip action of the hula girls that he kept looking for some mechanical hip shaker thing.-He figured there was no way anyone could really shake it like that for reals. It kind of humbled me and my Zumba shakes....

Tuesday we hiked an AWESOME trail. (The Na Pali Costal Trail). We only hiked in a little ways of the 11 mile, two day hike. It was pouring and muddy and slippery BUT SO SO SO Beautiful and totally worth it! Someday I want to go back and do the whole thing. Although if you are lucky enough to ever do this hike watch out for skinny dippers in sea caves...Ya, YIKES! Since there was so much more rain than usual (according to locals) the waterfalls were huge and breath taking. -Like literally breath taking.

Wednesday we hung out on Captain Andy's Catamaran and went snorkeling. It was still raining and overcast but it did warm up for a few minutes and we got our amazing sunburns after leaving the sunscreen in the car...The water was a little murky but the views of the cost line was AMAZING. Several movies have been filmed here (Jurassic Park, the new Pirates of theCaribbean) and it is obvious why. The beaches were isolated and pristine but the green mountains raising thousands of feet right out of the water was where the serious awe was.

Thursday morning we flew to Oahu and visited Pearl Harbor. For some reason it was way more depressing than I pictured it being. It was so interesting to me that the presentations were very unbiased. I expected a very "Americans kick butt" presentation but it was very fair/open to the Japanese. Not what I imagined, but then again there's a huge population of Japanese and Chinese in Hawaii. In a way Japan was attacking their own. That afternoon we toured around the island stopping at macadamian nut farms, pineapple plantations, the Polynesian Cultural Center,BYU Hawaii (I had happy thoughts of my sister in law) and the Mormon temple. We got boat loads of shrimp from a hole in the wall truck and it was WAY delish. We finished the day atWaikiki Beach watching the surfers. After seeing all the tourist traps and people I was REALLY happy we opted to spend most of our time on Kauai (Thank you Melinda and David for the input. It couldn't have been more perfect).

It was really surprising to me the break down of the ethnicities in Hawaii. Only 5% of the population are actual native Polynesians. The other shock was all the feral cats and chickens. SERIOUSLY they are all over the place!

But the best part of the trip was coming home to three beautiful girls who we missed like CRAZY! Trips are fun but coming home is the best.

Pictures are in a reverse-ish order since I couldn't figure out how to effectively move them...sorry..

The best part of a trip-three hula girls.

One of the things that made me laugh out loud in the middle of a store-spam flavored macadamian nuts...spam is big there for some reason....

Waikiki Beach at sun set-at least it would be if the sun wasn't hidden behind the clouds.

Mormon Temple in Laie

Best Shrimp EVER-seriously on the side of the shack it boasted of being on the food network...

Self Explanatory...

USS Arizona between the palm trees.

On board the USS Arizona Memorial-made me curious to see the world trade center memorial.

So crappy picutre because of all the clouds ect- but picture green like the wizard of oz meets the blue of BYU thrown together in the most majestic boat cruise ever-then you'll know what the Na Pali Coast looks like.

This is our 15 minute burst of sun for the trip-awesome catamaran tour/snorkel...

This is when they turned off the motor on the boat and busted out the sails...Brent was a happy man. He's loved sailing ever since enjoying the Pontiac Yatch club in MI.

Some famous (I don't remember the name) waterfall close to Hanalee.

Snorkling post Na Pali hike on the beach at the trail head. It had a very cool reef and if you swim too close you will lose skin on your knee and salt water does kind of hurt a wound...

Brent diving deep.

Oh look-Amy rearranged someone else's love message to make her own...I hope they weren't offended to see their love was transient... :)

Cool Rocks on the Na Pali trail

Crossing the small creek to get to the other side of the trail...only it had been raining and was swollen to crotch deep water with a swift current...Don't ask if any of us wiped out...just ask how far up we were wet....

Just in case someone was faint of heart after having climbed the first set of switch backs this view was there to strengthen their resolve. Amazing!

The girls with the mechanical hips at the laua.

All you can eat buffet of all kinds of yummy Hawaiian stuff-this is the anticipation pose..

Zip line-The face says it all.

Brent pointed the camera down just to show how high up we really were...It doesn't do it justice...

Brent braving the one handed zip.

Orange helmets-not that they would do a lot falling from 90 feet up....

Waimea Canyon drive and lots of clouds...impressive none the less.

A shout out to the island mascot-not really but these were honestly EVERY WHERE!!!

Poipu Beach-Beautiful even in the rain...and very uncrowded.

The view out of our bedroom window/glass wall-it sounded even better than it looks.

Brent getting his Pukadog on....if you don't know Brent this is his "wow this is REALLY good" face.

Brent pretending to be Hawaiian or maybe latin?

Me too...

Self photography at spouting horn...

Spouting horn...

We saw this sign on our first day and I thought it was hilarious. After a few days I got it-they were serious about their feral problems...

And in closing I just want to give a shout out to my fabulous mom for loving my girls while we were gone. When we got back Jocelyn ran straight to my mom and hugged her legs not wanting her to go. Cami, Taryn, and Jocelyn probably love her more than us and I think that is great to have a loving relationship with Grandma. Another shout out to Brent's mom for helping us on our way so generously. It was a much needed stress relieving trip thanks to her.