Nick, Hannah, Dane, Paige, and Max!

Fun Day--January 5th!

2011-01-10T18:21:00.000-08:00

Temple beach is so fun to go to. It's like a 10 minute walk and it's beautiful!

Muscle man Dane--take that Grampa Kevin, a.k.a. Grampa Muscle man!

Paige is a sand girl, she usually starts to squeal after a while "my buns hurt" yeah sweetie--it's because you have sand in every crack and crevice! But she rolls and scoots and runs and throws and anything else you can think of to do with sand!

Dane loves to to cruise the beach for "treasures"! I call it junk, but to Dane it's a treasure! We are always taking home rotten coconuts, random sticks, bottle tops, fish bones, you name it, it's a treasure! And Paige and her sand bucket!

The girls! On this day, Dane was in school till 12:45, so Paige, Max and I went to the beach until then and then walked across the street to Laie Elem. and picked Dane up and went back. We stayed there for almost 5 hours--Max loves the beach too. He sleeps and kicks sand and tries to eat as much as he can while I'm not looking! He's at a perfect age to take to the beach! We are gonna have a lot of these in the next couple months!

Time is going too fast!

2011-01-10T17:36:00.000-08:00

Just a few cute pictures of kids--they make me a happy mom, a crazy mom sometimes, but definately a happy mom!

Paige playing on the jungle thing at the mall while we were waiting for our van to bet serviced!
Dane, Max and Wesley! Max is tired of being too little to run around. His legs and arms are moving constantly trying to get himself to take off!

Dane and Paige can't get enough of Max! I usually have to protect Max from being mauled and wrestled to death, but I'm glad they love eachother! It's funny, because most of the time Max giggles when Dane is wrestling him.

This little guy melts my heart. I don't know if the 3rd kid is just easier or maybe it's just Max, but he's darling inside and out. He thought it was pretty fun to sit in the boxes Christmas came in from Gramma Ginny and Ma Diane!

Happy Happy Baby!

I want time to slow down for the next couple months! It's strange to remember that when I first moved here I hated it and wanted to go home. I could hardly wait till it was over...but NOW I'm definately singin a different tune--a hawaiian tune! Some days I try to come up with a way to just stay here and then other days I can't wait to live in my little house again across the street from my parents. Anyhow--I love the experiences our little family is having here!

Just a Short One! Funny Stuff!

2011-01-07T01:24:00.000-08:00

Aloha from Paradise!

Wow--I'm behind! I have to get some funny things down before I forget! I have lots to post and fun pictures, but I need to have some free time and lately that's not happenin! So...

Dane and Paige were jumping off the couch and Paige accidently hit Dane and he fell apart. So Paige climbed up on the couch and turned so she was facing the couch. I asked her why she was mad and she said, "I'm just gonna lay here and worry about myself." I laughed pretty hard! I guess she's heard "worry about yourself" a few times. Hey, at least she knows what it means!

A couple months at Dane's class was one of the girl's birthdays and her mom brought cupcakes. When I picked Dane up, I asked if she was his friend, he said yes, so I asked what her name is and he said, "I don't know her name, she's brown, I only know her color"

Dane plays with a little Tongan boy named James every single day! A couple weeks ago, Dane started saying some funny little words, I didn't have a clue what he was saying, so I asked him and he said, "James taught me some words in tonga, that means candy in tonga!" By the way, James wants to eat EVERYTHING! Dane thinks he's a local boy--he doesn't like to wear undies anymore and he has started to shorten all his words! It's funny!

Happy Halloween 2010!

2010-11-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

We had a SUPER FUN Halloween Carnival for our ward--I got to help with it and I loved it!

Mr. T is our neighbor--I thought this was the most creative costume for sure!

My darling bumble bee--she loved her costume for about 30 minutes and then she wanted her wings off! Thanks to gramma Ginny for her adorable fluffy yellow swim suit that doubled as a bumblesee suit!
It's amazing how many adults dress up for halloween here! It is HUGE in hawaii! It was so fun that I decided I'm gonna dress up every year! Oh yeah!

This is funny--Max chewing on bread crust one minute.....

The next minute he was out! He mouth was still trying to find the crust though--it was funny!

The foxy pirate, the crazy witch lady (people couldn't figure out how I got orange hair--I never thought they don't use hair color because it doesn't show up on dark hair, who woulda thought), and the cute bumblebee!

THe carnival was friday night and Saturday night was trick or treating, and so it was costume time again! This time Paige did not want to wear her bee again so we pulled out her pink skeleton pajamas and painted her hair pink! She love it! Dane loved being Dark Vader!

The Pink Scary Skeleton!

Mommy and the little skeleton!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Dane is Super Citizen!

2010-11-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

Every month at Dane's school the teachers choose 1 or 2 kids from their class to be "Super Citizen" which means they have been kind of the outstanding kids for that month! Anyway--Daner got it last last month! It was a traumatizing day for me cause Mr. Akinaka forgot to tell us! I don't know how he forgot (I'll blame it on he's a typical man that forgets really important things)! So right after Nick took Dane to school he ran in the house and told me, so we jumped up as fast as we could and got to school before the assembly started! It's a big deal here too with balloons and leis and everything you can think of! I was on the verge of tears cause I had nothing for Dane, NOTHING! When I got to the school I had a couple friends there to watch their kids and niece get super citizen and I told them what happened while trying not to completely fall apart--well, they grabbed a couple extra leis they brought and gave them to me to put on Dane! The story ends with a really grateful mommy heart that had the extreme mad to sad to completely grateful all within 30 minutes! And Dane never knew that we didn't know--that was the best part! He loved it and we got to make a poster for his class and it's a big bumblebee transformer with his head on it...I'll don't have a picture of it yet, but I will! So Happy Super Citizen Day Dane!
He was so excited! I love this boy!

His T-ball friend Sia got it too! Cute kids!

I wanted some little naked pics of Max--He's such a darling little guy, so happy and fun! His naked body is adorable! I think he has his mommy's buns (mine are that cute naked too!

(ba haha)

Cute profile picture!

2010-10-15T04:02:00.000-07:00

Just a cute close up of Paige! I love this girl!
My sweet baby boy--he's trying to figure out what the strange thing that keeps flashing is!

A coupl weeks ago we went to the air show! I remember going to a few when I was young and I knew Dane was gonna love it! We went to a cemetary on top of a hill, with a lot of other people ( I guess that's what they do here) and hung out and watched it! It was incredible! If I was a boy, I would want to be a pilot, of something, a jet, a helicopter, something! I had goose bumps the whole time! They had it at Kaneohe Bay and the planes would fly up into Ka'a'awa Valley and come out and it was breathtaking! Cool!

There are jets around here somewhere--I think I put in the wrong picture!

Dane loves his little brother! He can't get enough of him. He even tries to wake him up when he's sleeping so he can talk, try to make laugh, or sometimes cry, tell him something or want to show him something! It's really cute! It was a fun day--it started out hard, but ended up really fun!

More Family Fun!

2010-10-15T02:45:00.000-07:00

In September, Luke and his fun family came for 10 days! We knew it was gonna be hard with 6 little kids, and it was, but it was lots and lots of fun! We just had to do things on their time, and their attitudes! We didn't get to do everything on our list we made, so I think they'll have to come back again soon so we can! Here are some fun memories!

The first day we went to Mala'ekehana and it was not the best beach for kids! We've been before and it was awesome, but everything depends on the time of year--this was not a good time of year for this beach, so we jumped off the tree and played in the sand pretty much the whole time!

Marshall wasn't so sure of the water--

The next day we did the PCC--it's always fun (don't ask mom, she'll tell you otherwise) Max and I waiting for the canoe pageant to start! It was kind of rainy in the morning and a cloudy day is perfect when you're at the PCC, but it all cleared up and it was HOT there! But still fun!

Teonna, Marshall and Paige waiting too! Teonna's soooo excited!

Saki (the one looking) is our upstairs neighbor! They are from Fiji and we love them! They will be lifelong friends of ours!

The cute kids posing in from of some pretty trees! I want Dane in all my pictures--look how fun he is!

We were trying to get a picture of the kids in front of the water fall and this is how it started....

We got the GREAT picture....

And then little funny things started...

The kids were tired and slap-happy!

Such cute kids--they had sooooooooo much fun with their cousins!

I wanted a picture with Luke and I, and for some reason, Luke can't take a cute picture--so this is what we got!

Oh lucky me got two weird pictures!

We rested for a day or two and just hung out close to home! It was fun for Dane and Paige to show Bentlee and Marshall all their fun friends and funny things they do here! Nobody really plays with toys, so they are always finding something to pretend or create! Marshall fit right in with the rowdy aggressive kids around here, but I think a few of them scared Bentlee, she's a little bit more cautious! We decided to go to all the kid friendly beached where the waves were little and there was lots of "beach" to play on! We went to Ko'Olina (one of our favorite spots) and spent the day there!

The Haouli couple if I've seen one--c'mon get a tan already! Just jokin! Hawaii is a lot more fun when you're not sunburned!

The girls love playing together-

This one is pretty self-explanatory! This is one reason I LOVE THE BEACH!

We went to the Dole plantation which was a lot of fun! Bentlee loves pineapple so it was fun for them to see how it all works!

Feeding the big weird gold fish--I know they aren't actual "goldfish" but they are giant and strange looking! The kids loved it!

This darling little guy was a champ--I love Brigham!

We went on the train around the plantation--we loved it! Poor Brigham was sad the whole time, so Luke and Teonna didn't get to enjoy it, but it was really fun! There aren't trains in hawaii and my kids are used to seeing the train in Pima at least a couple times a day--so this was a treat!

Another beach day at Turtle Bay--another great kid beach! The lagoon is nice and calm! Nick and I like to go there and pretend we are on vacation and staying at the hotel with all the richies-

anyway--Luke played some fun water games with the kids and Teonna and I both got to lay out a little--when I say a little, I mean a little! The beach with babies is not always the most relaxing thing!!!

The kids really did have a great time together! I love it here, but I am excited for the day when my little kids get to play with their cousins a lot! Dane and Bentlee both have strong personalities and it's fun to watch them try to get the other one to do what they want--and Paige and Marshall are both crack ups! For about 3 days, marshall called Paige "Max"! He kept saying that she was Max too! I loved playing sequence with Luke and Tee at night and trying to talk Luke into singing like Toby Keith (SOOOOO FUNNY)! I loved Teonna's and my talks at night while the boys were night dive fishing! I loved walking to angel's a getting shave ice! I loved deciding who was gonna sit squished in the middle of the babies and holler at the kids while we were driving (Luke always said he was car sick--yea right!)I loved them getting to see our funny little life here and all the fabulous people that we have come to love! It was so much fun having them! Maybe again!

Some funny little memories!

2010-10-15T02:18:00.000-07:00

We have some of the funnest friend here and a last month in between term and fall semester we decided to camp! Wellllll...it's not exactly the camping that I'm used to! um...first of all we camped at Hukilau beach which is 2 minutes from our house and hauling a load of stuff 2 minutes down the road is pretty much too much work for me. soooo--we took the bare neccesities and it was lots of fun, welllll.....what we got to stay there... with kids throwing up and Nick having to go to work everyday, and it happening to be a crazy week for everyone! A couple nights some friends had their kareoke machine and it was CRAZY FUNNY! I was never a kareokier--oh oh Now I am a kareoker! Anyway, when you come to hawaii and check out any of the campsites on the weekends, you'll see what we did! The kids LOVED it and I really hope we get to do it again! Not the most becoming picture of us, but hey-we're camping! Kinda!?!

This is how tired Dane was one night--he said he was gonna take a rest in Max's seat, about 5 seconds later--he was OUT!

Paige is a funny little girl! She thinks she is a lot older than she is and she doesn't want to miss out on anything! Two funny stories...so Dane is a "I want that" kid, you see it, he wants it! So the other morning they were watching cartoons and this jet thing was advertised and Dane starting yelling, "mom come in here, I want to show you what I want" so obedient mom that I am huried in the family room and he showed me the jet thing. A few seconds later Paige came over to me and said, "mom, I want one of those too--but can you get me a pink one?" And then ever since then, if Dane wants something, Paige wants the same thing, but a pink one! She was very serious too!

This is what happens after Dane goes to school--Paige plays with his toys! It's really funny, cause she'll get his ramps and little cars and this day she got his gun! She's a smart little girl!

The other funny story...the other night I took Dane and Paige on a walk after Max was asleep and Nick was studying. Lately we've been having problems with pestering, both of them can't keep their hands to themselves, sooo--we made a family rule chart and they picked the rules--that's a funny story in itself, (another time), when we were walking Paige kept doing something to Dane's head, I don't know what, but it was bugging him. I told her to keep her hands to herself and put her hands back in her lap and she said to me,"you keep your hands to yourself' I told her "sweetie, I am keeping my hands to myself" She said, "no you're not, see you're not" You might be thinking what a snotty little girl, but first I don't think she even knows what she's saying, and her attitude is hilarious! I might not think that in a few years, but I had to hide my face cause I was trying not to laugh! She always has something to say, and it's usually funny!

I can't even believe it!

2010-10-07T02:44:00.000-07:00

Yes--I'm still behind...My mom, dad, Allison, Brinee and Ruby came to play with us for 10 days--sooooo fun! We waited for almost 2 months from buying tickets to actually coming--Oh happy day! Loooovved it!

This is Allison's excited face just in case you couldn't tell--poor Ruby doesn't know what the heck is going on! She's till trying to recover from the 6 hour plane ride!

Mom and the 2 newest grand-babies! Max and Ruby are now little friends!

Dad had a serious case of sleeeeepy! It didn't take him long to find a corner of the couch to zonk in!

The little ones flayling their arms at eachother--that's what we did a lot of the time--look at babies!

At the beach--Paige and ma diane playin in the sand!

Allison says she would love to take Paige for her own--she's a lucky little girl to have so many people love her! She is a JOY to have for a little girl!

The babies chillin at the water park! I don't know why this is the only picture I have of this day--it was really fun!

We went to Kualoa Ranch--way cool! we took a movie sites/ranch tour and rode in an old green bus! We all loved it!

This is up ka'a'awa valley--heaps of movies have been made up this canyon!

Max was so tired (and a little confused) he was trying to get something yummy from papa Danny! (or his shirt anyway!)

Nick loves taking pictures with me--can't you tell!

It was gorgeous--ever bit of this island is gorgeous though!

A big scary ostrich that we were all trying to make do something besides dig his face in his big ol' weird looking body! Look at one close next time--it's strange!

Going on a horse back ride--a fake one anyway! We like calm fake horses!

Mom and her girls! I think we are the two luckiest girls in the whole world!

My darling little pumpkin head--ugh I love this boy!

My other pumpkin head at the beach! I could literally eat her up she is so delicious!

I LOVE MY SISTER!

It was such a fun time having family here--I won't lie, it's hard....but sooooooo fun! People think that everyday here is vacation, but real life happens like school, work, bills, groceries, dirty laundry, messy house, crying kids, grumpy husbands, BUT there is nowhere I'd rather be right now! It's funny when family comes and then leaves because at first I feel a weird little abandoned feeling and then it's like "what the heck--this is gonna be over before I know it, quit being sad"

My little boy is BIG!

2010-10-07T02:31:00.000-07:00

So I'm only a couple of months past due--but I have to get it all in! The second week of August Dane started school! Yup-my little guy goes to kindergarten! He never even went to preschool! When we moved here we tried to get him into headstart,but there was never any room, so...they do school year from january to december here, so since Dane will turn 5 in December, he had to start school! He was excited, but a little traumatized for a few weeks! I was sad he didn't get to play all day and run around like a free bird anymore! He loves it now! So here are a few pics on the first day of school!

Happy Dane!

Sitting down at his desk! His teachers name is Mr. Akinaka and Dane really likes having a boy teacher!

Shaka!

Paige wanted her first day of school picture too! We are not used to waking up early--I've spent 4 years training my kids to sleep in and now I have to re-train them to wake up early and happy! Not my favorite thing--we're still working on that one!

More Family Pictures!

2010-09-04T04:37:00.000-07:00

EXCITING!

2010-08-12T04:22:00.000-07:00

So a couple weeks ago we found out they are filming Pirates of the Carribean here! Then about a week ago, we were driving to Kaneohe and saw this awesome black boat out in the bay. Dane saw it first and yelled "Mom! A Pirate ship!" He was right--that's where they're filming! Sooo...this past Sat. night some fun friends (all moms in my fun ward) decided to take a girls trip to the harbor--and guess who we saw.............CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW!!! da da da

He was really cool to all the fans-- He took time to shake hands (including me) and thank people for coming! IT WAS SUPER COOL! And it was fun cause he was in character the whole time! I'm not a huge Johny Depp fan--but I did like these movies alot and I think he's a dang talented actor!

The filming from a distance--I'm amazed at how they make movies!

Just cool!

This is the Jerry Bruckheimer the producer! He produces tons of shows--TV and movies! I guess he produced all the Pirate's movies! He's kind of a little squirly guy--but hey...super rich!

I decided I like girl's nights out in hawaii--I have some funny friends here--in fact, I have funny friends in lots of places! I love my friends!

More...

2010-08-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

Lately I like to keep things pretty simple--I've learned that sometimes, less is more! Being in Hawaii definately makes me feel pretty slow--but I have to say that I love it! Here are just a few little happy moments...

After 3 kids, I decided I needed a bumbo chair and there is nobody here (like sister in laws) to borrow one from so Max got the first new bumbo seat--he thinks its pretty great to be a big kid and watch Dane and Paige level! And I think he's gonna be our most chill baby--he likes to just hang out and watch and he kinda just whines when he needs something! I spoke too soon--he's not just whining in this one! This is his first time in the ocean and I don't think he's a fan of the cold water---YET! He did chill out a little after a few minutes! I have two other little happy fishies though!

Max and Daddy!

This is Max's worried look, like if he's been in his seat too long, or he thinks he's getting hungry, or if he's left in a room by himself and he can hear voices in the other room! It's a cute face--dont'cha think!?!

Funny Kids!

2010-07-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

I think I have pretty funny kids! I know most kids are funny, but I think mine are extra clever! Here are a few examples...

Paige says these are her "kneefites" or "nephites" or "knee fights" however you want to say it...look closely what it is...they are my nursing pads! I don't take the stickers off on the back and I pulled them out so I could nurse Max one day and she pulled the stickers off the back and put them on her knees and said, "look mom, at my kneefites!" I started laughing pretty hard and couldn't wait till Nick got home to show him! I think she's confused, because we talked about the Nephites a few days before for family night, and she and Dane are always playing "warriors" and they make shields and stuff out of random things, so....Paige's kneefites! See, clever!

Dane is the champion inventor of anything that I throw away--he sees the potential in junk! He pulled out a black foam plate thing that some huli chicken was on and went in his room, well, about 15 minutes later he came out looking like this--a transformer! I say we already have a halloween costume ready--yeah! Hey-he thinks it's cool!

Dane always likes the bad guys, so he said he's a mean transformer! It's amazing what he comes up with...

Here is his mean partner--Dane made a costume for his dad too!

This is just a cute picture of Paige and Mela--these two are best friends that love to put the other one in time out...this is what I hear a lot...."Mela, stop or you're going to time out" "No Paige, you go to time out" I giggle every time! They are adorable little friends!

It's all Max!

2010-07-30T16:43:00.000-07:00

Max is the most wonderful little guy--he's so content and happy! He loves to "talk" and he just started half giggling the other day--soooo cute! Dane and Paige can't get enough of him, especially Dane. Every time he runs in the house when he's been out playing, he has to stop and give Max a dirty kiss on his head! He thinks Max is pretty much the greatest thing on earth...he's not the only one!

The cute boys at the beach--Max isn't too sure about the beach yet--he's starting to stay awake more, so he sits and watches while everyone else plays. He's gonna LOVE it when he gets to play too!

I know it's kinda blurry, but his little sleeping face is so adorable!

His concerned look!

This is what you get when you are Paige's little brother...a ride in her dolly stroller! He doesn't seem that big until he's in there! By the way, he stayed in there for quite a while!

My two darling boys! Dane tried to make bunk beds out of cardboard boxes the other day--he asked about 10 times if he and Max could sleep in them! I love when boys have brothers!

Max is almost 3 months, he loves to smile and jibber jabber to anyone that will take a minute to do it! All I know is Max is gonna be a fun kid!

Random Hospital Pics!

2010-07-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

These are all a little late, but I have to get them all in...here are some at the hospital!

This is while we are waiting to be discharged--with our newest little addition to our family!

Yeeeaaahh! My mom finally got here! She didn't make it for the birth, but came the day after and it was such a happy day! Aunt Jo made this adorable sign and mom brought it with her! We had such a fun welcome home--all the neighbor kids were waiting for us and they all pretty much jumped in the van with us when we opened the door! It was cute!

Dane had fallen asleep right before Max was born and then Nick took him home, so he didn't get to see Max until the next day--he was sooooooo excited to have a little brother! When he walked into the hospital room he said, "Hi mom, is that my brother? I can't believe my eyes!" He LOVES his brother! He told me the other day that he is ready for their bunk beds now!

Momma Diane gets to love on Max! This is grandkid #12 for my mom and dad and grandkid #8 for Kevin and Ginny! We wish everyone could have been there! It was such a happy day!

Nick and his darling kids! Wild kids--but darling! There will be more Max to come....

It's the Last 2 kid Beach Day!

2010-07-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

This was about 5 days before I had Max! We decided to go enjoy the beautiful day--for some reason, no matter what kind of day I was having being giant and pregnant, once I got to the beach, it all kind of just went away!
There was a big whole someone else dug, and the kids had fun playing trucks on it!

Of course Dad got buried--Nick is so patient and the kids love to bury him! And then the "Sand monster" climbs out and chases them--SO FUN!

There's a beached whale--someone call the ranger! This is the last time I will ever have just 2 kids at the beach! And look they're such happy kids too! hahahaha! Now it's nap time.....

My Tee-ball player!

2010-07-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

Dane got to play tee-ball for the first time this year because Nick was his coach! I loved watching both of them! He was the gold team and Nick came up the a team name--the warthogs! Don't ask...Nick got a kick out of it! Anyway, Dane wasn't so sure about it at first but by the end, he was a good little baseball player and had made some fun little friends! He loved being number 3!

Dane with his best cheerleader!

Game face!

This is a goofy face--but still a darling one!

Dane liked the helmets a lot--he wanted to have one! Maybe he'll get one for his birthday...or he'll have found something else he thinks he needs to have!

Beautiful Hawaii!

2010-07-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

How often do you see a gorgeous view like this driving down the highway??? In Hawaii--it's pretty often! All I know is Heavenly Father gave us a breathtaking world to live in!

I love this picture--there is nothing like sweet little lips on your cheek!

We took a drive up the Pali Highway and stopped at the lookout-BEAUTIFUL!
I'm so glad we are here!

Day at the Aquarium!

2010-07-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

This was back in April so I'm a few months off, but I need to put it in for journal reasons...

The aqarium in Waikiki is small but really cool-they have inside and outside stuff and my kids thought it was awesome, and they didn't get worn out from all the walking! Yea!

I don't love taking pictures when I'm pregnant, but I thought I could get away with looking small if I took one next to a giant tree-- Dane next to the water snake--he thinks stuff like this is really great!

Paige liked the "bubble fish" she kept saying. I'm not sure why she called it that, maybe because you looked through a big circle bubble thing!

Mr. Cool with his cute kids!

Red faced Paige taking a rest!

Family outings are always a little hard, but always worth it!

A WHOLE LOT goin on!

2010-06-02T01:25:00.000-07:00

Wow- time flies! I think about blogging all the time but for some reason (until now) have found "more important" things to do instead! Blah! Blah! Blah! I know--so there have been heaps of fun things going on...the most exciting of course is our little man is finally here! WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY MAX CYRIL DERUSHA! He's perfect by the way! He came May 10th at 8:58 p.m. he was 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 20 3/4 in.! He came out with the same little scowl on his face like our other two did! He's darling and is a pretty calm guy as long as his tummy is full! Dane and Paige are nuts about him--he causes at least 10 fights at our house every day! "He's looking at me, NOOO- he's looking at me!" is usually how it goes! So needless to say our days have gotten a little more complicated! No more hop up and head to the beach, at least not for a few weeks! He's gonna have to figure our how to be a hawaii beach baby real quick! I do have to say, Nick and I are both ecstatic to have our growing little family and in the hospital Nick said Max's birth wasn't as emotional as the other two, but just really, really exciting that now we have brothers and now it's "Nick and his boys!" He's such a proud, happy dad! Anyway--Life is Good! Real Good!
Here's Max...

Dr. Foley--such a great doctor! I'd like to have him deliver a few more of mine--he rocked!

I think that's a DeRusha face...I swear I've seen it before!

He makes me happy!

And here's the PROUD, HAPPY dad! (I think it's because they all come out looking like him!)

It really was a cool (and hard) experience being by ourselves for Max's birth! My mom flew in the day after, but I'm glad we got to figure it out on our own! Both of our kids were in the delivery room cause Dane fell apart at our neighbors house, so they brought him to the hospital and Paige was with us all day--she doesn't like her dad out of her sight! Don't get me wrong--life got a lot easier once my mom got here, but I'm thankful for the entire experience! I know it's a "once in a lifetime" one! Max is perfect and healthy and perfect! Oh...did I say that already???

Happy 2nd Birthday Precious Paige!

2010-03-09T00:42:00.000-08:00

Paige's birthday was Feb 27th and it was one of the weirdest days of my life...it all started at 3 in the morning when we got word that a sunami was headed for the hawaiian islands! WHAT THE??? Anyway, they didn't know exactly what was gonna happen but they calculated it would hit Oahu at around 11:30 am! So we packed up food and clothes and I probably shook my head back and forth at least a million times saying "what the heck is going on here" Well, by about 5:30 am most of TVA had gone up to the backside of the Temple where I guess we are supposed to go in an emergency like this, but our whole building just decided to wait and see (have stuff ready though just in case) and get up to the second level of the building if we needed to. SO...in total and complete confusion of my poor little girl's 2nd birthday--we decided to have her little party anyway! It was supposed to be a back yard water/slip and slide party, but it ended up being a funny little red rover/ring around the rosy party with all the kids in our building that stayed home! It ended up being really fun! And the sunami was quite small by the time it hit the islands--so we were totally safe! People around here were kinda disappointed and again I say "WHAT THE" Whoever the heck is disappointed a sunami doesn't hit needs to be hit! HARD!

Nick took this around 8 am--he was taking a "before" picture!

On with the party! Paige loved her day anyway!

My birthday girl! My heart literally goes pitter patter with this little girl!

Digging in the her funny fairy cake I stayed up making half the night--I think I'll stick to buying fancy cakes or I need to grow some more patience! This one cooked my goose!

Did I mention my cute Dad just got here the day before and he got to enjoy all the excitement! I'm glad he was here! AND he got to play some wild Ring Around The Rosy! These kids are adorable!

After games we all had pink cupcakes and pink ice cream cones cause that is what Paige wanted! All the cute girls on the steps in front of our door!

All the birthday party kids except a few! See--not one of them seems stressed about a sunami! All in all it was a fun day, a crazy long as ever day being that it started about 3 am, but it was a fun birthday!

Paige's favorite things she got were; a new baby with the cutest little baby blanket from Gramma Judy, a princess chair (she loves little chairs and stools lately), a strawberry shortcake doll, from Allison, that you can put makeup on (she loves to make things "look so pretty"), her bag of suprises from Momma Diane, and her potty training Barbie babysitter that came with a little sister Barbie that sits on the potty! She got some pretty funny stuff too--like her favorite snacks and some juice! In hawaii-you get neccesities for your birthday! She loved her day! And she couldn't bring her mom and dad more JOY and happiness!

Kaneohe Hot Rod Show!

2010-03-09T00:25:00.000-08:00

We just discovered that every third sat. night in Kaneohe there is a Hot Rod show! We were so impressed--we had no idea that cars like this would be in hawaii! I thought old rusty ones like the ones my dad has would be here instead! We had a great time! Dane was in absolute Hot Rod Heaven!
He likes this El Camino! And he's trying to shaka--he's concentrating pretty hard!

He thinks we need a buggy like this! I think so too!

My cute family by an I think a '57! Dad, you know?

I liked this one the best! Old cars make me happy!

This one is another of Dane's favorites! He loves all the ones with the motor showing the best! There are a bunch more pictures and most of them were taken by Dane--he's quite the photographer! I'm not joking when I say he has the same Hot Rod bug my Dad has! Dane makes all the loud engine sounds and the tire screeching sounds and he just loves it all! Take this kid to a free car show--and it's a happy life!

Random cute pictures!

2010-03-09T00:11:00.000-08:00

We got a fun valentines box from momma Diane and it had silly string in it! Dane thought it was amazing and Paige was terrified of it! Dane and a few naighbor kids had a hay day spraying eachother for about 5 minutes until it was gone! Paige pretty much bawled the entire time they were spraying eachother! It was funny!

Dane biffed it on his bike! He cried for like 30 seconds until he saw his knee and then he thought it was awesome that he had a bloody knee!

Our funny little neighbor girls all sitting on the step eating snacks! The one on the left is Mela (from fiji) and she lives upstairs, then Rachel lives next to us and all these girls are within a month of being the same age! They are so funny together--their new thing is to yank eachother's hair and you can see that Mela obviously has the funnest hair to yank so we have to protect her from Rachel and Paige! I love that Paige has her own little friends! And adorable ones too!

This girl is definately Hannah's daughter! She LOVES her barbies! She likes this one a lot cause it has "pink" glasses like her...

Funny Dane!

2010-03-08T23:55:00.000-08:00

Dane is my mischievious child and if it's quiet or there's a little cackle of giddiness--it usually means something is going on that shouldn't be! This is a sunday morning and Dane pulls my camera out of my purse while he's eating breakfast and a little while later he's snappin pictures of all sorts of stuff. So later I'm looking at the pictures and these are only about half of what he took! I'm halfway embarrased but I think it's really cute and funny what he thinks is fun to take pictures of!
Some of his monster trucks and cars...

His undies in a bucket...

Handy Manny on TV...

Morning Mommy--aren't you glad I get ready for the day!!!!

Aren't you jealous of what I wake up to every morning...

The funny little sister...

oops I already did this one!

And then of course a self photo! This kid has the best imagination and he wants to know how everything works and where everything comes from and why everything is the way it is and he doesn't neccesarily want Nick or I to tell him--he wants to think about it and figure it out on his own! I love my sunday morning photographer!

Another Fun Family Day!

2010-03-08T23:39:00.000-08:00

Nick and I have decided that since we aren't gonna be here that long, we need to see everything we can! This place is the Bishop's museum, (names after some people with the last name Bishop I'm pretty sure), anyway it's a little bit of everything...science, funny, Hawaiian history and cultural stuff! It was pretty cool!
Nick and the kids playing in the bug costumes! There was one building with a volcano and all sorts of cool science stuff and at the very top was a tree house thing which we ended up at for quite a while playing in the bugs!

Paige being I think a bee! I think!

On the giant snale! This was a favorite feature! Dane said he was the snale driver!

In front of just a cool tree! If you've never seen the roots of trees in hawaii--it's incredible! The roots are all above the ground! Both kids are making goofy faces--I think they are mocking me because I'm so fascinated by the crazy roots!

This is inside this huge hawaiian culture building...with lots of breakable things (notice Dane's face because he started to get a little out of control with the touching and running)! After this place we went to the space building with all the outer space things--I guess hawaii is pretty big into navigation stuff! It was a great day! I have to remember something funny Dane said...last sunday our ward Bishop was talking to me in the hall and Dane kept interupting, I told him to wait just a second while I talk to the Bishop, and he said, "Mom, you can talk to the Bishop at the Bishop museum, not at primary!"

Food Fest Spring 2010

2010-03-08T23:28:00.000-08:00

Food Fest is always exciting! Good Food! Good Entertainment! Just Good stuff!

The kiddos playin in the jumphouse! Paige likes watching more than jumping inside with all the wild ones! Dane was definately one of the wild ones!
This is backwards, but this is what happened walking home! Yeeaahhh! I love sleepy kids!

BYU really knows how to have fun! Really--they have lots of things for everyone to enjoy! This is at the beginning of the night so it's not that busy, but give it another hour and it's packed!

Dane at the run/target thing! He isn't quite sure what to think of this one! He wants to be big enough to do all the hard ones, and it ticks him off when he doesn't get to because he's "too little"

I had a meeting with some members of the general primary board in Mililani this night, so I only got to be around for a little bit! Nick was flyin solo and of course he did awesome! And the meeting was wonderful too! Primary takes LOTS of work!

Fun Family Beach Days!

2010-03-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

We try to have a family day every saturday doing something...this day was a beach day! The kids have really gotten excited about the beach and water! We found (with some help from friends) some awesome places to go with little kids where there is reef and so it makes like a swimming pool instead of waves! When summer comes the water is alot more still, but all through the winter it's rough so Turtle Bay beach and Ko'Olina are perfect!
Miss independant Paige doesn't want help with anything, including putting on snorkel gear!

Mommy and Paige gettin a hawaiian tan! We are trying to blend in, but my kids hair just keeps getting lighter!

This is Dane's favorite toy at the beach--he pushes it everywhere! I don't know what this kid would do without a dump truck!

Happy little girl!

This is at Turtle Bay beach! This one is fun to go to cause it's close and there aren't waves! Nick and I are still working on our beach bodies! It's too hard with so much good food around here! The beach is definately the best FREE entertainment here! Probably the best entertainment anyway! Aloha

Cute Cute Cute!

2010-01-28T18:31:00.000-08:00

I can't forget this...too funny!

(the scene) This past sunday I was doin something in the kitchen before church and Nick and the kids were driving little cars and monster trucks all over some blankets in the family room...

Dane: "You can't beat me, I'm chick hicks" (in this horrible monster voice)

Paige: (following Dane's path trying to talk in the same horrible monster voice) "Oh yeah, I'm a Child of God"

I couldn't believe it--I started laughing and couldn't stop for a little while!

p.s. if you do a monster voice and say it, you'll get the full affect!

Back in Hawaii!

2010-01-28T16:02:00.001-08:00

It feels good to be back in hawaii in the flow of school and normal life! The other night was our neighbors' kid's 1st birthday and birthdays are huge here! They had the BYU gameroom and lots of yummy food and all the games to play! It was super fun!

Dane and Paige playing the Wii! Paige isn't too into it!

Oh, but her dad is into this...rock band! Nick would play this day and night if we had it! Look how much fun they are all having!?! Oh...Nick says they are concentrating!

Nick took the kids to the beach while I worked on primary stuff last saturday! For some reason they came home with their swim suits off! hmmm...

All behind is the TVA--the apartments where we live. It's like one big crazy mormon family compound!

THIS is Dane's new bike! Here's the deal with this...when we moved here, Dane got a new little tikes 3wheeler thing, and a couple weeks before we took off for home, I found it completely destroyed, so that ticked me straight off! Soo, for Christmas he got a cool flame razor scooter that he loved and two days after we got back-- it was gone! We found it a few days after that and then the next day it was gone again! By far the most irritating thing about living in TVA and that it doesn't matter whose it is and they even have names and apt. numbers on them, other kids take them home and sometimes--you never see them again...hence Dane now has a rusty bike that we found by the dumpster and he got to pick the paint! BUT--he loves it and I don't think anyone is gonna want to take it! ;) We said we'd get a new bike when he learns to ride without training wheels, but it might be when we get back to the mainland! I'm so happy Dane loves this funky little bike so much! See...he's learning to be a simple hawaiian kid!!!!!!!!

Happy Days!

Back in Hawaii!

2010-01-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

Last few days in Pima!

2010-01-28T15:50:00.000-08:00

These 4 kids got to play together almost everyday! Bentlee always had Dane and the little ones doing something girly and most days Dane went along with it...this is one of the days!

They pulled out some old nighty things and were being kings and princesses! They would go in the other room and play and it was so funny to hide around the corner and listen to them! I love kid imaginations--funny little kids!

All the pregnant mommas! Keep in mind this is like 10 o'clock at night, so we're not so becoming! Teonna is due any day, Allison in late April and me, the beginning of May! More crazy kids to add! It's so much fun to have babies all at the same time! I do feel sorry for our poor husbands--we are kinda mean!

Babies, Babies everywhere!

More Outside Glee!

2010-01-28T15:30:00.000-08:00

If dad needs a nap, he takes a nap! I think dad has taken a nap on probably everything hard you can think of...this one, a 4wheeler tire!

Lucky Marshall got to cuddle up next to him!
Having delicious tin-foil dinners!

I thought this was cute--I told Dane to go hide in the bushes...8 feet from the fire was his hiding spot!

Mom and the two little boys--she was trying to ride by herself...that didn't work out! This ride lasted about 20 seconds! She did get a little one by herself though!

My EXTRA Fabulous mom and dad!

Dirtbike Excitement!

2010-01-28T15:20:00.000-08:00

Another fun thing we did in AZ was go on a few outside outings with the 4wheelers and buggies! Luke was a sneaky guy and bought this 50 motorcycle for his family and I think we're gonna have to get one when we get back to dirtbike country! It's awesome cause Luke made training wheels for it until they get good!

Dane and Bentlee takin it for a spin!
Paige wouldn't get on with Dane, but she would with Bentlee! They were cute!

Dane the Toughy!

Cruisin on the go-cart! This was ours when we were all little and my dad put some work into it and now it runs great! It's still a little big for the kids, but they'll grow into it real fast I'm sure!

Nick and his baby girl!

Snowy on Mt. Graham!

2010-01-28T15:02:00.000-08:00

A couple days after christmas we went to the mountain and played in the snow! My smart mom and dad got all the kids snow clothes, boots and mittens so we didn't have any cold, crying kids! It was one of the funnest days--all the kids loved it and the grown-ups did too!

Mommy and Paige

Paige slept for most of the trip,but she woke up in time to sled a few times with Daddy and drink some warm cocoa!

Adam has a good fake smile doesn't he! Hollen is the most clumsy and walking on uneven ground was not too fun for this little guy--Adam ended up dragging him around! It sounds bad, but Hollen kinda liked it AND it was hilarious!

Dane gettin ready to RIDE! I love my Boys!

Dane is a little more cautious than Tanner's kids, so he liked to ride a few times then sit and watch Camrom and Cooper do crazy ramps and stuff! I'm okay with cautious, it keeps me away from the hospital!

Happy Happy Holidays!

2010-01-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

Here are a bunch of fun Christmas Holiday Pictures...yep and they are in Pima! I really didn't want to miss Christmas time being at "home", I don't know, there is just something about it! Some might call me a wimp and couldn't do Christmas with my own little family in Hawaii, but I call it just loving home a lot! Things are wonderful there! So.....

Taking a cute picture in front of the tree! This is Paige's new posing face--not sure what's goin on there--but still cute!
Christmas morning at poppa Danny's and Biane's (Paige's name for my mom)! It was definately hard trying to get stuff that we could put in a suitcase to take back with us. We ended up needing a big box to take as luggage on the plane!

Paige loves babies, strolling babies, feeding babies, cooking for babies, and telling them to go to sleep!

Dane's pile...he already took half of it outside before I could pictures!

My handsome little shephard! The nativity keeps getting funnier and funnier every year!

Dane singing "Here comes Santa Clause" It actually shocked me that HE wanted to dress up and sing! Dane likes to do things if it's HIS idea!

Christmas Eve train car ride! The kids LOVE THIS, but the adults think these things are torcher chambers! This is definately one of Poppa Danny's best toys!

My Precious Paige!

My Darling Dane!

These are backwards, but this is at mom and dad's ward party! Lucky Adam and Stephanie were in charge--it turned out fabulous as expected!

Waiting in line to sit on Santa's lap!

A few days before Christmas is Camron's birthday and he wanted to have a ramping party! So all the kids went to the church parking lot and set up ramps and every ride toy imaginable was there--it was fun! Paige is trying to figure out Cooper's razor!

Waiting in Biane's buggy to go to the church! I really hope this is on my list of inherited things! Everybody love the buggy!

Mommy and the loves of her life (Nick is too, but he wasn't in Pima on this day yet!)

I loved being in Pima for Christmas--we got to enjoy lots of family and do quite a few things that we really wanted to do! Some of the things I loved most about this Christmas time were...sitting by the fireplace drinking hot cocoa, having cousins to play with everyday, having to be creative and frugal with Christmas, picking up my husband from the airport with that "we're home for Christmas" feeling, getting to stay at my parents house, planning with my kids for 2 crazy long plane rides, (it was hard, but funner and easier that I had planned)! All of it was great!

My Favorite Little Man Is 4!

2009-12-09T01:13:00.000-08:00

Dane loves pancakes, and he has a different request for me every time we eat em'! On his birthday he wanted a cake pancake and this is what he got! He is such a fun kid!
He was so excited for his birthday! He woke up at like 5 a.m to go potty and he saw the decorations in the family room and he came and said, "Mom, my birthday came, my birthday came!" I don't even know if he went back to sleep!

He's jumping up and down yelling at this race car set! He loves to race EVERYTHING! So this is a perfect Dane toy!

We get to sing happy birthday and light candles at least 5 times at our house! Paige loves to help/bug Dane!

Happy Birthday my sweet, fun, feisty Dane! Your mom loves you lots and lots!

A Bunch of Random Stuff!

2009-12-09T00:24:00.000-08:00

All of these are backwards, since obviously I forgot how to blog since it's been a while...anyway, just some fun things that have been goin on here in Hawaii! At our ward party this past saturday night! Dane couldn't believe that a pig actually got cooked and there is another pic of them cooking, but my wild little man who loves to touch weird things thought he's like to hold the pig head--yea YUCK! Ugh--it just looked weird and greasy! Anyone hungry??? Dane thought it was awesome!

Sitting on the "real" Santa's lap! When he came in, Dane grabbed my leg and said, "mom, I'm so happy that's the real Santa!" Paige isn't a fan yet! She liked him from a distance!

Here's our YUMMY Christmas dinner! They cooked these right outside our apt. so the kids stood and watched for at least 2 hours! I was impressed I have to say!

Now we go back to Thanksgiving...I have a funny story about our turkeys. I guess everyone thought we wouldn't get thanksgiving dinner, because I had a girl call from the local health center and ask if we wanted to be on a list for thanksgiving baskets...I said sure because I'm not gonna turn down free food! Well, a few days before thanksgiving a few little ladies showed up carrying this HUGE bucket of all sorts of food. I asked who did all this and who I should thank--well, one of the ladies said, "you can thank us by coming to our church!" They left and I opened the little card they brought and it was from the Seventh day adventist church! They brought us a book of theirs too! um...did they forget they were coming to BYU campus!?! Anyway, I giggled, AND we had LOTS to eat for thanksgiving! We did eat with a bunch of fun families that live in TVA--it was a great thanksgiving!

Nick carving his first turkey--he was a proud man! It was the closest thing he's been to skinning anything for a while, so he got kinda into it!

Dane and Paige got to the shaving cream in the bathtub and I still don't know if they each painted themself or painted the other one! These two are really funny in the bathtub! Their motor boats get REALLY loud!

I think stuff like this is funny--who cares if the entire can of shaving cream is gone because they've put a giant pile on every toy and shampoo bottle in the tub!

Paige and our neighbor Rachel! These two either love eachother or fight over everything! Rachel is funny, because she shows up at my door almost every morning and says "treat"

The kids were drawing the ocean and the beach! Sidewalk chalk might be the greatest invention yet! Some days I'll give all the kids around here a piece of chalk and they will color every sidewalk, water drain thing, bike rack, brick flower bed, doors, and walls they can possibly see! Our building is really colorful! Thank goodness it rains a lot lately!

We were making a wal-mart trip and going through the pineapple fields was beautiful, and then this showed up! Hawaii definately takes the cake on beautiful nature! WOW!

My life has changed dramatically the past 3 weeks--my homesickness is no more! I have no time to be homesick! I just got called to be primary president of 60 wild primary kids! I am so overwhelmed and trying to figure it all out! And it's funny, frustrating, but funny, but on the mainland the old president would meet with you and help you figure stuff out, but not here...it's like this, "oh, you'll figure it out, just ask if you have questions!" Oh is that what I do--um..I have tons of questions! Anyway--I grew a fabulous cold sore my first week! That's how good it's going! But hey--I'll figure it out right! I am excited, but really stressed! The kids are awesome and they love to come to primary so that's a great thing! It's all good--it's Hawaii!

This one's for you Nick!

2009-11-13T08:48:00.000-08:00

Here's another funny! Nick loves and I mean LOVES to watch Dog! Well, a couple weeks ago Nick was doing a survey thing for one of his classes at the Haunted Lagoon at the PCC and guess who comes????? Yup--Dog and his family! Nick was trying to be cool cause he wanted to talk to them and he did, but he said they were kinda rude...go figure! Anyway, he was really excited and so this blog entry it dedicated to my husband's DOG crush!

GO GET EM' DOG!

Just Some Funny Thoughts!

2009-11-11T17:01:00.000-08:00

These are some Dane and Paige isms that I don't want to forget......

(About a month ago) Dane: "mom, why are you sad?"
Me: "mommy's kinda homesick buddy"
Dane: "Do you miss our red house and casa manana?"
Me: "yea, I miss lots of things about Pima."
Dane: "don't worry, we'll go back to pima soon"
Me: "when are we gonna go back?"
Dane: "well mom, I think we'll go back when all the water is out of the ocean!"
(it didn't help with the homesick, but it did make me laugh)

*on sunday morning after I painted Paige's finger and toe nails for church, Nick was putting her in the bath and she fell apart, bawling and screaming...Nick told me I could take care of it!
Me: "sissy, why are you so sad?"
Paige: "get out, wanna get out"
Me: "you gotta take a bath, why don't you want to take a bath?"

Paige: (lifting her hands out of the water) "my singer nails, my singer nails" with tears rolling down her face.

Then I realized she didn't want her nail polish to wash off...we fixed that one!

Dane likes to go to the grocery store with me and when we do, we usually have a conversation that goes like this...

Dane: "mom, what are we buying here?"

Me: " food for supper buddy" (as I pick up something)

Dane: " do I like to eat that mom?"

Me: "yeah, you love to eat this"

Dane: " Oh, does Poppa Danny love to eat it too?"

Me: " yep, poppa Danny loves it too!"

Dane: "oh, OK, let's get it then!"

And some other STUFF I don't want to forget.....some of these are funny hawaii things that I've realized, so this list will probably grow over the next couple of years!

*In Hawaii, play doh never dries out. I'll find a glob under Dane's bed and it's been there who knows how long and it's as squishy as ever!

*In Hawaii, when you are getting ready to turn left and someone coming the other direction is turning right, they flash their lights at you to turn before they do...I think you'd have to drive here to understand--it's odd!

*Something I realized the other day about living in TVA is that my 3 year old has a few older friends and now when they play spy games, they like to shut the door and write secret notes and it kinda bugs me that they "have to have the door shut for it to work right mom!"

*You could wash your car 6 days a week here, and you would still have a layer of salt water on your windshield the next morning when you get in.

*When you get ready for the day, you might look okay, but give it about 4 hours and your makeup will be gone, your hair will be matted to your head cause it rained for exactly 45 seconds and then the sky is blue, and you wear anything that doesn't cling or stick or even a little snug, because it's miserable and then you end up with a yeast infection...(I know it's totally gross, and it fortunately hasn't happened to me yet, but I've heard some funny stories from my neighbors)!

That's all for now, I'll have some more soon! I really am starting to be thankful that we are here--it's taken a little while, but I'm a happy girl and I'm not being negative, these things are just funny to me. I'm not in Pima anymore, that's for sure!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2009-11-05T15:48:00.000-08:00

I was excited for a Hawaii Halloween, not knowing what traditions they do here, but then I remembered that Hawaii is part of the US and they do pretty much the same things here as anywhere else...just so you know! Allison was here for the holiday and she was fun to have! Our ward had a little trunk or treat and dinner in pumpkins (I've never heard of this before, but it was cool) Our trunk or treat only lasted an hour including dinner and games and I asked everyone why they did it so fast, they all told me that you want to trick or treat through the faculty housing and on the couple of streets over. They were right--the kids made out like bandits--the good stuff! Too bad Nick had snagged half of Paige's before we got home!

Paige already had a pumpkin costume, but when Allison was here we found these little wings and the cutest fairy tutu thing and Allison wanted her to be a fairy really bad--so here is my little Halloween fairy!
This was at the end of the night, Dane wanted to try a 'war head', he spit it out real quick!

The kids diggin in on the candy!

My Fairy! Once we found the wings and tutu, I told Allison now we need a leotard suit and hair stuff, but living in a little town with one grocery store, and the closest anything else is an hour away--we were limited and we ran out of time! But she was darling and wouldn't take off her costume at the end of the night!

Ninja Dane--everybody kept talking about his pecs and he never said anything until the end of the night and then said he didn't like em' cause nobody noticed his cool sword!

Dane and our little neighbor DK--he is Dane's favorite friend and they are mischievious together almost every day. He's leaving back to Pompei (an island off of micronesia) in December, so that will be sad!

This was our trunk or treat--I talked Nick into letting me paint his face! He was supposed to have a black cloke and wig, but he drew the line at the painted face...which I'm happy with! It was funny, cause our goofy neighbor told Nick when he saw him, "Ahh... Nick, you washed your face man!" It was a great night!

Dane bobbing for apples--he was confused with apples making smoke! He got pretty into it after a few seconds!

He's a apple bobbing CHAMP!

Monster man and his sweet girl!

YIPEE! ALLISON COMES TO VISIT

2009-11-05T15:04:00.000-08:00

Last week my super awesome sister came to see us! We had lots of fun! We didn't do anything spectacular--she just wanted to do the things that we do everyday...so we did the beach a few days and went into town one day and did walmart and costco, another day we strolled around Laie and went to lunch at the Hukilau Cafe! I wish I had pictures, but a few days before halloween, just Allison and I went to the PCC's Haunted Lagoon and it was by far one of the freakiest things I've ever been too! The whole thing was on the lagoon so we were on canoes and crazy stuff would jump out on top of us and then these crazy scary monsters would come out of the water and walk by us looking at us and junk--holy smokes it was scary! Poor Allison sat in front of me instead on the side and her shirt was really stretched out because my head was in it most of the time! It was a fun week--I'm so happy she came...there is definately something special about a sister!

Picking her up at the airport--for some dumb reason, she and I both were emotional--what the heck?

Dane has become really interested in coconuts and he loves to find them at the beach and spend the next 2 hours trying to break it open--it's not that easy! This kid LOVES the beach--loves to dig tunnels, build sand chairs, chase crabs, build walls to keep the water out, sit at the edge of the water and sqeal, and throw the sticks that wash up back into the water! His blonde little hair is getting blonder and blonder!

Allison and Paige eating snacks--Allison is gonna love this picture?!? When Paige goes to the beach, she likes to play for a few minutes, then sit on the mat under the umbrella and eat snacks! Then if she gets wet, it's pretty much over cause she's cold and just wants to be held! She is trying to decide if she likes the water or not--mostly right now it's only if Nick is holding her!

Lunch at the Hukilau cafe! The kids like to sit on the bench and look at the surfer pictures above them--this is one of our favorite places to eat--and it's one of the cheapest!

Allison was wonderful to have visit--I thought I took more pictures! But of course she and I looked like hags all week, cause for some reason in Hawaii, makeup doesn't stay on your face, and hair doesn't stay the way you do it in the morning, and all your clothes just stick to you and you just want to rip em' off--so needless to say, it's not a glamour island! We had a blast though--my kids love her, my husband loves her and I'm glad she loves us too! Thanks Sister!

Food Fest 2009

2009-11-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

At Byu a couple times a year they have FOOD FEST--sounds yum huh? Well, it is! All the clubs on campus make their native food and have a big carnival thing and sell it to anyone who wants to come! They did a benefit concert for Samoa and the Philipines and it was just a fun night (except Paige was really sick). Some of our favorite food were from Figi, Singapore and Dane liked these little chicken on a stick things from one of the asian clubs--I forgot! I didn't get any pictures of actual food fest, cause I was holding sad Paige and still trying to have fun, but since it was close to Halloween, they had all the kids dress up and have a little costume parade around the circle...it was cute!

Dane was my ninja man and Paige was a red-eyed little pumpkin!

A bunch of the kids before the parade started!

Nick was in the parade too... as Daddy! Paige thought it was cool that he was wearing her hat!

Before it's too late--Some Labor Day FUN!

2009-10-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

Labor Day camping in Treasure Park is always fun and something all of us look forward to--but this year, it came really fast and none of us felt prepared...so we kinda flew by the seat of our pants, but it turned out AWESOME and all the kids (since they are a little older and fight a little less) had a great time, all of us moms and dads really enjoyed eachother! Some of the best memories will be...
*Luke making fun of Tanner in work out mode (this is probably one of the most hilarious things ever,but unfortunately, Luke and Tanner only get in this mood every once in a while)
* trying to bathe 8 little kids in like 15 minutes in Adam and Steph's trailor before the hot water ran out and all of them screaming like they're dying (thanks Steph for making clean kids happen)
*playing cranium and laughing histarically at Tanner's humming kung foo fighting and Dad licking his lips 50 times while he draws
* sitting around the camp fire telling jokes
* Luke and Tanner dancing and hopping up on the hill side wearing glow in the dark glasses and ears--when those two get together--it's comedy!

--I love Labor Day Camping!

This is Poppa Danny's wood chopping crew--he said they all were picking up pieces of wood and hauling them to the trailor! He said he had a smile on his face the whole time! These kids LOVE their Poppa Danny!

My mom and the two littlest boys-cute Hollen (Adam's) and cute Marshall (Luke's)

Somehow I got to be in charge of crafts--so I decided that if I were a little kid, I would love to make bead camping necklaces and paint funny plaster monsters...it was funny and messy all at the same time! I was actually surprised how much the kids liked doing this--my craft brain is turning for all the years to come!

Playing games is a favorite activity--sequence is always fun and I got inducted into the cranium posse--that is a FUN game!

Uncle Luke busted out his balloon creations--I think my kids are the only ones that thought it was cool!

I don't know if 3000 miles away in Hawaii is gonna keep me away for next year--we'll see! Camping is definately one of my happy thoughts!

Let the Aloha Begin!

2009-10-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

Dane at the beach!
The kids at the Famous Hukilau Beach in Lai'e! Dane says this is his favorite one because it has little and kinda big waves!

Another pic at the beach, before the sandy mess has begun!

Mom and Dad at the PCC waiting for the Tonga village show to start--for some reason when they were here there was a heat wave and a sweat wave and mom wanted anything to get her bangs off her forehead--this is what she ended up with!

At the Luau before the night show at the PCC--good food, good fun!

I LOVE MY MOM AND DAD!

We are here and have been here for a couple weeks already, but blogging has kinda been the last thing on my mind...this is definately an adjustment! I'm deciding to write on this frequently so I can remember what happens here--it's all gonna go fast, and there are lots of things I want to remember! Okay this is what happened...Nick had an apartment ready for us in Hau'ula, about 5 minutes away from campus. It was a nice apt. but really small, a one bedroom. And I was worried and frustrated because I felt completely out of the whole school thing that Nick was getting to experience, WELL...a week after being here in our little apt. Nick was asked how fast he could move into TVA--the married/family housing on campus that is a whole lot cheaper and it's just a great place to live because there are kids everywhere and lots going on! SO...needless to say--we were thrilled to get to move in so fast being that we were #94 on the list of people to get in! I think Heavenly Father knows me better than I think he does and pulled for me on this one BIG TIME! Dane is in heaven and Paige thinks she is one of the big kids--they both LOVE living here, Nick loves it because he gets to be so close to school and just cruise across campus to come home and eat lunch or whatever and he is a happy camper! And I love it because most of the moms around here and in the exact same boat as I am and it's fun to all sit outside in the evening and watch kids play and visit! More updates and pictures to come soon!

Let's Get Goin!

2009-09-16T00:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I kinda feel like our adventure has officially begun--of course Nick is a bachelor and I'm a single mom, but we just figured out that it's not gonna be for too much longer! Nick has been in Hawaii for almost a week and he has found a job, bought a mini van for us and today called and said we now have a house to live in...so let the fun begin! I'm thrilled that we get to be a little family again soon--it's a lot tougher than I thought it would be, for all of us...in fact this past sunday Nick talked to Dane on the phone and after he talked to Dane, he told me that his little boy talked so good and that he's growing up so fast, and I said "Nick. are you kidding, you've only been gone 3 days!" Needless to say--Nick is in love with his kids! So I say...Let's Get Goin!

Pure Entertainment!

2009-08-19T01:07:00.000-07:00

My kids are flipped over their daddy and Nick had to drive the backhoe up to casa for some construction and they both got to drive on it with him all the way to safford! Ahh...the simple things in life!
My precious little girl started nursery this past sunday and loved it! She is my social butterfly who is ready to be big already! Her dad is so proud that she didn't fuss or cry or anything, just waved to us when we left!

More Monster Trucks!

2009-08-19T00:53:00.000-07:00

Just a few more pics of the Monster Truck show! Mommy and her favorite boy!

Cute Taylor and Paige!

I don't know how this little girl took a nap in the middle of the show, but she crawled up on my lap and shut her eyes and she was out for about 45 minutes--just needed to take a little nap!

All my kids!

We Love Monster Trucks!

2009-08-19T00:20:00.000-07:00

Every year all the Hoopes Boys go to the Monster Truck show--well, a couple weeks ago Dane saw the comercial for it on TV and kept asking when we're gonna go...so we planned a little family weekend in mesa! We got to take Nick's little girl, Taylor with us too! She's such a sweet girl and our kids LOVE her! And luckily she loves them too! It was a fun weekend!
Anyone that says the Monster truck show is loud is underestimating it...it's REALLY LOUD! I didn't realize we should have taken 3 or 4 ear muff things (I forgot what they're called) Paige thought they were pretty cool though!

She wasn't for sure she liked it at first--and for some reason, she covered her eyes instead of her ears!

And then of course she totally got into like the rest of the "classy" people there and started cheering when the trucks broke a tire or something!

Dane loves anything with monster trucks--the way they sound, the way they look, they way the ramp, anything...this boy LOVES being a boy!

Summer Fun!

2009-07-31T00:25:00.000-07:00

Paige is turning into a wild woman...I thought she was waiting for me to come in to take her clothes off...guess not!

This is how she helps unload the dishwasher--she pulls all her bottle nipples out first and has to look at them for a little while! And if I make her get off before she's ready, oohhh she's mad!

A couple weeks ago, Tanner's boys were here to play for the weekend and we did a favorite Hoopes summer activity...catch baby frogs at the river! This is seriously one of the funnest/funniest things ever--come over and we'll take you!

I know it's kinda gross cause you really don't know what you're gonna find at the river, but these little boys loved their "treasures" they found! They even found a rusted bike that they were trying to convince Poppa Danny to take and fix!

I am lame lately with taking pictures...my life is not my own lately, in fact I think I'm turning into a monster! BUT...I think things will be lots better now that Nick has successfully passed college algebra with a fabulous 87 in the class and now we have our husband and daddy back! I am really proud of him and it's been super rough around here! So time is flying by, and just an update...school starts Sept. 17th and Nick will go by himself for the first couple weeks to get our house kinda ready, all oriented in school and even have a few days to miss us before we get there! Then my mom, dad and us 3 will fly out to our adventure! Dane keeps telling everyone that he's gonna be a surfer, so I think he's pretty excited! Things are working out great--but they usually do (I guess that's what a little faith is for!) There is lots to do, but it's all exciting---so start saving your money for a vacation to Hawaii! Aloha!

Family Pics!

2009-06-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Last week we got some family pictures done...here are a few of the kids!

I can't forget!

2009-06-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

I have to write this down before I forget--I get sad when I know I should write something down really soon after something funny or cute happens and then I magically forget! It really ticks me off--so I am getting on it this time...yesterday evening Nick was taking the kids to his parents house to play while I was at work and when they were driving through Central by the Temple site, the chapel is looking like a chapel, anyway, Dane saw it and started cheering "the Temple is almost done! the Temple is almost done" then he sat back in his chair and he just said to himself, not real loud but loud enough for Nick to hear he said "that makes me so happy!" He was saying to himself and Nick said it just made him smile big! I think it's funny that Dane does NOT like church or primary, but he's excited about the Temple--he knows that it's important and it's exciting that we're getting one in the Gila Valley! The other funny thing I can't forget is just this morning Dane whacked Nick in the leg and asked him if it hurt. Nick told him no and Dane said with this tough look on his face, "that's cause I have a tough hand!" We laughed for a while! If anyone needs a funny little kid around to make you laugh for a while--Dane can come play with you! He'll make your day great!

Is this what I get to look forward to?

2009-06-01T00:53:00.000-07:00

I was trying so hard to get ready fast the other day cause it was gorgeous outside and we were going on a picnic, so I put my makeup bag down in front of Paige which I didn't think was gonna be a problem, well, she's obviously smarter that she looks cause in about 30 seconds she had the lid off the mascara and this is what her face looked like...then she was mad at me for taking it from her and cleaning her off!
I picked her up and showed herself what she looked like and she said "eww" I laughed! She's got that word down good! Everything is "eww" The funny thing is that at least you can see her eyebrows with mascara on them!

My funny little Paige!

Memorial day turned out to be super fun! We went to Roosevelt Lake with the DeRusha's and we had a great time! After looking at 3 different campsites (Nick forgot to ask where they were gonna be and cell phones don't work there) and Nick saying "if they're not at this one, we're freakin goin home" We found em'!

Dane was in heaven! He loves his Lamb cousins and they all were like little fishes in the water. They would take turns in the boat and on the shore--such patient kids! Dane found a little minnow and carried it around till it was dead and then insisted we bring it home-ugh! Such a boy!

Cute cousins Dayton, Sadie, Ava, and Dane!

Dane waiting patiently for a turn on the tube! When he finally got a turn, Nick tried to teach him how to roll off and Dane thought Nick was trying to drown him! He told Nick he can't come to the lake anymore!
Hopefully we get to do this again soon--cause it was a lot of fun! Good Family, good conversation, good food, just good!

Funny Dane!

2009-05-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

So Dane doesn't particularly like going to church...he doesn't like to be quiet, he doesn't like sunbeams, he doesn't like wearing a tie most of the time...well, a couple of weeks ago he was walking home with my dad (papa Danny) from church and when they were walking across the canal, Dane stopped and asked if he could throw his tie in. My dad told him "no!" Dane turned to my dad and said,"well maybe if I throw it in a fish will come by and eat it and we'll never find it, then I don't have to go to church anymore! Does that sound like a good idea?"
And just last week getting ready for church, Nick was dressing the kids and I usually do Dane's hair, well I was running late as usual and I told Nick to just put stuff in it real fast. So Nick put some gunk in his hair and said "there I guess you're done or whatever" Dane asked "well, do I look all ugly then?" I laughed pretty hard! I guess he's worried about his hair--yes! I've instilled great hair maintenence in my kids! Anyway, there are a few funny Dane stories!

It's decision time!

2009-05-06T23:17:00.000-07:00

HERE WE GO!So Life has been pretty crazy/stressful lately...and as of today, it's about to get a little crazier! Nick finished his last finals today and now we have a couple week break before he becomes captain Algebra all summer! I do have to brag a little--Nick got straight A's this semester and he did not have an easy load--SOOO proud of my guy! He and Emily are both graduating friday night, so lots of family will be here and it will be heaps of fun!

A couple of weeks ago we had a huge decision to make and Nick said it's up to me where we go to school, either NAU or BYU Hawaii...I made my pros and cons list ( I love list making) and I mailed his acceptance letter to BYU! So we will be Hawaii dwellers for a couple of years--I'm excited and nervous all at the same time! My husband is gleeful because he gets to play drums to pay for his school! We have lots to do, like sell our house, cars and pack up all our stuff and hopefully it will all work out great! Plus I get to live in a place I love! I love the people, the air, the easy going everything, and I have some awesome mission friends that live there--it's pretty sureal though! School starts the middle of Sept. so we got a few months, but I know it will go fast!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Easter this year was funny! On the saturday before, we always have an easter picnic, well, this year we didn't. Only 3 of the 5 kids in the Hoopes family were gonna be here and Dane and Addysen were the only ones that were big enough to hunt eggs (Paige would have tried, but it's a battle with Dane and Addysen) anyway, Ady and Dane fight like a cat and a dog, so Adam and I decided it would be easier not to have a picnic cause it would not have been a pleasant day. And after all that, Adam ended up flying that weekend! So my mom, Allison and I went to Tucson and went shopping. My awesome husband and dad played with the kids. Ahhhh! Easter Sunday was stinkin cold, so our egg hunt lasted about 1 minute! Then we just made messes with the toys and goodies in the easter baskets! Here are some cute Easter Pictures...

Happy Easter 2009!

These pics were taken about 5 minutes before church started so, it was a rushed photo shoot!

Dane doing his famous weirdo faces...

Another weirdo face...

I love my precious kids! They make me a happy mom!

2009-04-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

I forgot to turn this one--dangit...anyway, Dane is becoming very independent and the other day he told me he was gonna dress himself, well he did and he was walking kinda funny and kept pulling at his shorts, so I peeked down the back of his shorts to see what the problem was, and here was the problem! Wall-E was in his buns! He's a funny little guy!

I just like taking pictures of my funny kids--here are some cute ones at the beginning of the day when they are both clean!

HAPPY SPRING!

2009-04-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

The Hoopes family loves weenie-roasts a.k.a cook out...we will find any excuse to go on one out in the hills to ride 4-wheelers and eat food! A couple weeks ago, Tanner and his cute family came home and so we headed out to the hills! It was lots of fun, here are a couple pics I took... Tanner and Paige--he's gettin a sweet little girl in a couple of months! He's gonna be a changed man!

Everyone makin dumb faces--it's tradition in our family!

And I thought this would be funny just cause Tanner thinks he's pretty hot--not so much right now brother! That is NOT attractive! ha ha!

Hawaii Part 2!

2009-03-31T00:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pics from Hawaii! I got to go to a baby shower for a sister that I served with on Temple Square, she is from Romania and she and her husband both attend BYUH and another sister that we served with threw her a shower--it was good fun!

Temple Square 4-eva....Norcie, Nui, Iuliana, me and Jamie all doing the 2 finger point!

My cutest Laie friend Nui--she makes me smile really big! I love love love her! And yes, Paige has a cast on her arm, she broke it right before we left, I felt like a crappy mom!

We got to go to a BYU basketball game so Nick could check out the band--it was a fun night!

Dane "hangin loose" with the gecko! He thought this thing was pretty dang cool! He talked about the giant lizard the entire next day!

Me and my precious--

This is something New and Exciting! Hint, hint...Aloha!

2009-03-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, so for the past 2 or 3 months, Nick and I have been talking about where he's gonna go the school in the fall, and the crazy thought came to both of us that maybe we had a second chance at going to BYU Hawaii on a drumming scholarship (we could have gone right after we were married, but I said no way! too far!) So we started talking to people that might have a connection, and the Professor wanted to hear Nick play, well, crazy Hannah thought we would use our savings and take a family vacation and visit the campus and Nick could play in person...so needless to say, it was not an easy trip, in fact we were probably more worn out when we got home! Paige came home with an ear infection, so yea, that was fun! We will see as far as going to BYU goes...maybe, maybe!! Here are a few pics of our trip. It was actually not great weather, but it is still Hawaii!

Dane trying on his new goggles, he never wore them in the water...just our hotel room! And I think he got a size too big! oh well, he thought they were cool!

On the beach on Nick's birthday! This is right by Brianna's house, lucky girl! And notice we aren't wearing swim suits...everyone else only put theirs on ONCE, and I never even pulled mine out of the suitcase.

The birthday boy and his little present! Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

The daddy and the kids at Sunset beach!

Here's a DOOZY!

2009-03-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

Holy smokes, that month flew by! I thought about blogging, but never quite got to it...so now we're gonna post a doozy...

My precious Paige had her first birthday at the end of Feb. We had a crazy little party at Casa in between the friday lunch rush and dinner rush! My mom and Allison were both working, so we took the party to them. It was a fun little party, Gramma and Grampa DeRusha came and brought Gramma Marge. Momma Diane and Poppa Danny came, Gramma McBride came, Allison and Brian came, and Adam and Stephanie and their two kids came! We love family birthday parties!

Aunt Emily is going to BYU in the fall, and she got this for Paige in Provo! Thanks Aunti Em!

Paige rocks her little dolly and pushes her in the stroller too! Aunt Allison gave her this cute cabbage patch!

Paige LOVED her cake--her little face was purple for a few days!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET PAIGE!

This is my clever birthday crown--I spray painted a burger king crown and put little scrapbook letters and flowers on it! I thought I was pretty clever, maybe I'm not the first one who has thought of this, but I think I'm pretty smart...

Paige is the sweetest, happiest, most joyful little girl ever! I don't know how we ever got her...she makes us all smile every day! She loves to follow Dane around and bug him (she already knows how to...it's funny) She has her daddy wrapped around all of her fingers...and her mommy is absolutely flipped over her! WE LOVE YOU PAIGE!

What we call Fun!

2009-02-05T14:39:00.000-08:00

Dane and Paige love to play outside under our big tree, well...this day I was inside doing a load of laundry and I hear Dane laughing in his "doing something he's not supposed to" laugh, and I have my front door open most of the time, so I look outside and Dane had turned the hose on and I mean it was puddle in about 4 minutes! Paige was in heaven, she didn't know what it was, but it was dang fun to play in! I did laugh, cause I kinda wanted to hop in myself! By the way, I love Az in Feb. cause it was warm enough not to freak out that they were all wet!

She can get dirty with the best of em'

I think she wanted me to taste it, she wants me to taste everything...

BOYS LOVE TRUCKS!

2009-02-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

My cute dad started a tradition a few years ago when he started having a heap of grandsons...all the boys go to the Monster Truck show in Phoenix! We talk about it for weeks before and for months after! I swear their little vocal cords have to hurt after trying to make the monster truck sound, which I've heard is really loud! I'm glad my fabulous husband has a best little friend to take with him! They have so much fun together! Dane says the trucks are "reawy woud" (really loud)

Daddies and their boys...aahhhhhh!

I'm not sure what this is, but it looks fun--and just Dane's size too!

I forgot to flip this picture. This boy LOVES Monster trucks!

Dane looks a little scared--that's a big stinkin truck!

WELCOME 2009!

2009-01-27T14:36:00.000-08:00

I have to admit...I love New Year's! I love the feeling of a fresh start on whatever needs to be started over. Mine usually includes losing weight, saving more money, getting going on our year's supply and not being a naggy wife (I don't think I'm that bad!) Anyway, we have some different and exciting news. After lots of thought and prayer Nick and I decided that it would be a great thing for our family if he went back to school! He only has one semester left at EA and then we gotta make some more big decisions--we thought it would be nice to go into something that didn't depend on the economy...we'll see! Happy new year! A quote I love that goes along with new years planning is..."if you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

Christmas at the DeRusha's

2009-01-18T08:37:00.000-08:00

Dane has talked about a 4-wheeler for months--Santa was nice to Dane this year!

He kept saying, "is that por me?" "did Santa bring it to my house dist por me?"

Paige was so happy, she was trying to figure out what was happening!

Earlier in the day Christmas Eve, Auntie Brianna was here from Hawaii and came to love on Paige! Bri got to be here for 10 days--it was wonderful to have her here! She's a doll!

Nick was putting toys together christmas eve and Paige was his helper--she likes being Santa's helper! She could ride and not have Dane trying to push her off!

Christmas Eve 2008!

2009-01-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

This was a funny sight! Marshall is being so reverent!

My sweet baby Mary! I didn't know Jesus had a pacifier!

Everyone getting restless! except for Paige-she really likes looking at Hollen. She tries to eat him sometimes!

We had a great christmas season! The entire month was a crazy one, but lots and lots of fun things were happening! I needed a few more days though--like I always do. All of my brothers and Allison were here and we had a Christmas eve party at mom and dad's house! We started off on a tractor/trailor ride (the kids love it), up to G&G McBrides and the Hughes to deliver presents. Oh wait, back up, earlier in the day I started delivering christmas goodies and I went to the Powers family in our ward, well, Mike (the dad) made the coolest playhouse thing for his girls and he and Clarice talked me into riding the zipline back down. It was seriously super cool! I felt like a little kid! So back to the party...after the tractor ride we ate some yummy food and then tried to get our kids ready for the nativity story--their not too excited about that! Marshall and Paige were Mary and Joseph, Adysen and Bentlee were the angels, Hollen was baby Jesus and Dane and Camron were the wise men. We only had two cause Cooper fell asleep on the tractor ride! The nativity story lasted a whole 3 minutes (just long enough for us to take some pics) and then we played a few games, one of which was a white elephant! It was a fun night!

2008-12-17T22:24:00.000-08:00

December is full of birthdays in the Hoopes family! Well, mine was on the 15th and it was a fun day! When you get older, birthdays aren't so magical anymore, but of course that's what happens to all the holidays when you get older! But I did get to go a fun birthday date with Nick and when we got back, my family was there to eat delicious ice cream cake (my favorite) and open presents. I got some fun things, like a new shower head (woo hoo), a new clock, a new vacumm (another woo hoo), a fabulous Celine Dion CD and a couple of Target gift cards (I really love Target)! It was a fun day! This was funny--Nick asked me on our date what was my most memorable b-day... I told him it was my 20th at Fletcher Brinkerhoff's pool house! Now that was a party! Just thinking about it makes me smile! And giggle a little too, cause if you were there I'm sure it made you smile too! It made Nick pretty curious, but I told him he wouldn't understand--you had to be there!

DANE IS 3!

2008-12-17T22:15:00.001-08:00

Dane turned 3 on December 7th! We had a fun little party...it was on sunday, so we couldn't be too wild! All my family that lives here and G&G DeRusha came over and we played a few games, ate some Bolt cake and opened presents! We busted open a pinata too and that was funny! He got two little guitars so now he says he's a rockstar! He got a robot that shoots him and he can hide from, (Dane has a GREAT imagination), and he got a bike. He wasn't really into his bike, and on monday I found out why...he thought it was the bike we got for a buck from a yard sale and just painted it! After I convinced him this was a brand new bike, we was a happy guy! 3 years definately goes by fast! I love my Dane--he makes me happy!

2008-12-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know this is gross, but it's really funny! Well, to me anyway...Dane is really into picking his nose, and I mean like always picking his nose! He thinks there is always something there, and most of the time lately, there is, but even when there's not, he's still trying to find something! Tanner says that if I ever need to entertain Dane, just put a booger on his nose and he'll be trying to get it for hours...anyway, gross I know--but funny! He's just a gross boy!!!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME!

2008-12-05T08:07:00.000-08:00

This is my most favorite time of year! I love the chaos and excitement and parties and goodies and all those other things that go along with Christmas time! Oh, I I forgot the christmas MUSIC...it makes my heart happy! The other night my mom and I went to EA's Festival of the Carols and we took Paige! She was kinda squirmy, so I took her off to the side where the little steps are and we sat down on the floor. She crawled around for a minute then sat up and started wiggling her little chubby body! My 9 month old was dancing! (that might be totally normal, but I was excited!) She did it for the rest of that song and when everyone started clapping she would squeal and try to clap too! Needless to say, it was adorable! It made me love christmas that much more!
And yesterday, the three of us (Dane, Paige and I) were going to town to run errands. We have this little nativity set that talks and makes music and Dane likes it a lot! So he wanted to take it with us and while we were driving he listened to it the whole way--probably repeated 25 times! On our way home, he asked me "mom, what's a messiah?" I gave him an answer, then he asked "mom, what's dod (god)?" I guess we always refer to him as Heavenly Father, so why would he know who God was! Then he asked about the wisemen and the shepards! He didn't like any of my answers cause he kept asking them over and over! I was suprised that he was paying that much attention to it! Anyway--I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME!

My Most Favorite Little People

2008-11-25T23:38:00.000-08:00

I'm practicing posting pictures, and this is kinda fun! These are the most precious things in my entire world! Dane is a crazy man...needless to say he loves to get a laugh or a weird look, one of the two! And Paige is my little angel that just smiles and then tries to eat my face! I'm such a lucky, lucky mom!

2008-11-25T22:58:00.000-08:00

2008-11-25T22:49:00.000-08:00

This is our most recent family pic--Nick's mom had a photographer come to take pictures of the grandkids, so we decided to snag a few! I wish Paige didn't look scared, but this is about the only decent one of all of us!

2008-11-25T22:38:00.000-08:00

Holy smokes--YES! I'M FINALLY A BLOGGER! Really, I've wanted to be for a while and thanks to my cute sis Allison, I get to be now! It's kinda funny, because I really don't even know what to say now....so um, since it's the week of being thankful I would like to share some things that I am thankful for...here's a generic list...
-My fantastic husband who loves every part of me (I'm so lucky)
-My adorable kids who bring me lots and lots of happiness and laughs and pure joy!
-My family's health
-The Gospel of Jesus Christ (of course)
-Experiences I've had (good and bad)
-Friends-I have some pretty amazing friends
-I get to live in pima
-Not only do I get to live in pima, but I get to live across the street from my parents....
-My brothers and Allison
-My unbelievably incredible parents

Okay--so I think I'm done for now. That's not all I'm thankful for, but I'm starting to feel corny!