The Lambert Ohana

Roadtrip!

2012-01-19T14:23:00.000-10:00

Chris' little Corolla arrived in port just in time for us to check out of our Disney hotel, and begin our road trip. I was so excited to get out on the open road. In Hawaii the longest drive we could ever take was a drive around the island, and that only took an hour and a half. The only downside is that all 5 of us (plus all of our luggage and stroller) had to squish in Chris' little car for the 10 hour drive to Utah. Thank goodness for good electronics to keep all the kiddos entertained.

Once we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Utah, one of the first things we did was go car shopping. The next 10 hour leg to Colorado was going to be in luxury :) We were dead set on a Toyota Sequoia, but after renting an SUV in Hawaii for 2 months before the move, we realized we weren't ready to give up a mini van. Chris and I realized we still needed the sliding door, and captain's chairs. We decided on the Toyota Sienna. We LOVE it. Even if it is uncool to drive a Mormon Mom-mobile :) Masen was the first to "drive" our new van.

While in Utah we met up with the Bennett Boys (minus Jim) and my 2 sister-in-laws. I just love my brothers, and their wives. I always wanted a sister growing up, and my brothers married the perfect girls to be my sisters :)

Our last day in Utah happened to be Father's Day, so we took the best Father ever up to Sundance for lunch. It was co-old. Only 50 degrees. But it was beautiful! Sundance is probably my favorite place in all of Utah.

Next stop....Colorado!

Disneyland 2011

2012-01-16T09:22:00.000-10:00

While waiting for our car to be shipped to California, we decided to stay at Disneyland for a week. Since we didn't have a car we decided to stay on property at the Grand Californian. It was fabulous! I love the Magic Hour early entry, and I love the private entrance to California Adventure Park.

This was Masen's first time to any theme park, and he loved it. It is so much fun to watch his amazement.

Just a quick side note. You would think that southern California would be hot in June, but no. It was COLD. Especially to those of us used to Hawaii's weather.

The Incredibles was Dallin's favorite movie when he was little.

I realized how old I'm getting when It's a Small World ended up being one of my favorite rides :)

Prince Masen sitting on his throne, aka, Dad's shoulders.

Masen is obsessed with bubbles, so when he saw this bubble gun, we knew we had to get it for him. It kept him entertained for many hours while the big kids went on rides he couldn't.

Corynn and Dallin chose light up wizard hats as their souvenirs.

Masen was a little afraid of Rafiki (?)

Dallin and Corynn love the character meals. Here is Koda from Brother Bear, one of my personal favorites.

We had so much fun family time. We are already planning our next Disney adventure.

Farewell Hawaii

2012-01-16T08:34:00.001-10:00

It has been a wonderful three years in Hawaii. We've made many memories and friends, and we will really miss this paradise.

Here is our Aloha O'e at church. For those of you not familiar with the tradition, at the end of the church service they call onto the stand the person/people who are leaving. They sing the song Aloha O'e while everyone brings leis to them. The first time I witnessed this, I was totally unprepared and ended up crying like a baby for someone I didn't even know. Yes, the song is that powerful. So, when it was our turn I couldn't stop the waterworks. There are such GOOD people here. We will miss our Palehua Ward Ohana.

As the movers packed up our house, we stayed at a resort down the hill from our house. Good-bye Ko'Olina. We will miss you!

The next 10 days were spend in Waikiki while Chris signed out of work, and we shipped our car. In general I don't enjoy the hustle and bustle busy energy of Waikiki, but we make the most of our last few days here. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village where we enjoyed the beach, pools and shopping. I was lucky everything was within walking distance for the days Chris needed the rental car.

Aloha O'e, Hawaii.

Have I Ever Mentioned...

2011-05-24T19:06:00.002-10:00

...what an incredible view that we have from our house? While looking for a house, we weren't necessarily looking for one with a fantastic view, but it sure has been a nice perk. This past month I have been trying to capture as much as I can of Hawaii with my camera from my back lanai. This first one is a panoramic, with no zoom.

I captured this beautiful sunrise one morning. I just love how the sun streams through the clouds in front of Diamond Head.

This is our view of Diamond Head, Honolulu and Waikiki. On Friday nights during the summer we can watch the fireworks from the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

In this next picture, you can see a little of Pearl Harbor, even though most of it is obscured by the trees.

Here is a better picture of Pearl Harbor taken from our upstairs lanai.

Another gorgeous sunrise.

Even on a yucky day, we are still amazed at the view!

We feel so blessed to have lived in such a beautiful place. As we get ready to move on to Colorado, we will always have a special place in our hearts for Hawaii.

A House is Built with Boards and Beams...

2011-05-20T16:20:00.001-10:00

A Home is Built with Love and Dreams.

In the midst of celebrating all of our March birthdays, Chris and I were able to get away for a week to start our house hunting in Colorado Springs. (A big thanks for Grandma Carol for watching the kids for us!) After looking for what seemed like a long time, we found our dream home, and decided to build it. We are beyond excited! It is everything we never knew we always wanted :)

Here I am standing on the lot we chose. In a few short months this is where our house will be standing.

for any of you that may be interested in the specifics, here is a link to the house we are building :)

http://classichomes.com/floorplanresult.cfm?F_Sqfoot=0&F_series=0&F_bdroom=0&F_btroom=0&F_style=0&F_Model=EA37978E-135A-442B-9C41519F639D0711&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=addtoany

Aloha Kriegers

2011-03-31T21:45:00.001-10:00

Meet our dear friends, Bryan and Ellie Krieger. We met this family when we moved to Texas, and we were in the same ward. We instantly hit it off and have remained friends through the years. Bryan had a business trip here on Oahu for 2 weeks, so Ellie came to play too :) Working around Bryan's schedule wasn't too hard. His first day off we took them boating out in K-bay.

Bryan and Corynn trying their hand at kayaking.

Look at this handsome bloke. Even in need of a haircut, he is still a looker :)

Don't forget that sunscreen!

They stayed at the Marriott Ko'Olina Resort, down the hill from our house. They were kind enough to invite us over to play. The kids loved the resort pools, while I loved lounging, and catching up with a dear friend.

On their last day, us girls hiked up to the Makapu'u Lighthouse. The wind was ferocious and the skies a little cloudy, but at least it wasn't hot.

We had our binoculars out, looking for some whales. We saw a few spouts and tail flaps, but nothing too exciting. I guess since it was the end of whale season, we were lucky to even see that much action.

Time flies when having fun with friends. Their trip went by way too fast.

Birthdays, Birthdays, and more Birthdays!

2011-03-29T21:12:00.000-10:00

Since 4 of the 5 members of our family have a birthday in March, we are going to lump ALL the birthdays in one post.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

We begin our month of birthdays with Daddy's! Any of you who know Chris, know that he really does not enjoy a big celebration. He is very low key, and enjoys more of a quiet celebration.

Happy Birthday Masen!

Masen turns 2 years old. Since his birthday fell on a Sunday, we just did a little family party at home.

He loved opening all his little presents. His favorite? The balloon bouquet. He is obsessed over balloons these days. We have to go play with them every time we go to the grocery store :)

When things are a little too quiet, you know this little guy is into something. I found this little mischief maker painting the counter with his cake frosting. Even though I laughed and grabbed the camera, he still knew he was caught :)

Happy Birthday Corynn and Dallin!

This year we combined their birthdays, since they are only 6 days apart. They wanted a party at the Ice Palace, the only ice skating rink on Oahu.

Here is Corynn with a few of her favorite friends Kelly and Emily.

Dallin with his friend MeKail.

Singing Happy Birthday and blowing out candles.

The Great Aloha Run - 2011

2011-02-28T18:09:00.001-10:00

I have been looking forward to writing this post for a while now. I should start off by stating that I am NOT athletic in any way. I joke that I am allergic to exercise. When in high school I talked my way out of 2 of the 4 years mandatory P.E. I hate to sweat, and I hate to stink. As I get older though, I have come to discover the benefits of exercise. This past summer I was talking to a friend and mentioned that I would like to start running. She recommended a beginning runners book with a scheduled program. Just what I needed. I committed to this schedule, and decided to RUN my first race - The Great Aloha Run. This run is every Presidents Day in Honolulu, and it goes from the Aloha Tower near downtown, to the Aloha Stadium near Pearl Harbor...8.15 miles. I think it was a little ambitious, but I DID IT!!! I cannot express how proud of myself I am. I know to many, this may be a small thing, but to my little out of shape self, it was a BIG deal.

Here is my wonderful running companion, Chris. This picture was taken at about 5 a.m. before the race started.

I absolutely loved running with my husband. He was just the right person to motivate me to go a little faster. Here we are crossing the finish line together.

A few weeks after the race we received all the stats from the race. Our time was 1 hr. 35 mins. (I'm still upset about the 5 mins. wasted waiting in line at the porta-potty). I finished in the top 1/3 of women in my age group.

This was such a great experience, both personally and as a couple. I'm not sure I'm ready for a marathon, but you never know...this race proved to me that anything is possible :)

President's Parade

2011-02-11T19:19:00.000-10:00

Dallin's school has a fun tradition for President's Day. Each year they choose a few students from each class to represent a President. It is a huge honor, and Dallin was beyond THRILLED to be chosen from his class to represent Herber Hoover, the 31st President of the United States. They are asked to dress like the President would have dressed, then the Presidents and their First Ladies walk through the school in a Parade. After the parade, the school has an assembly where they give interesting facts about each President and First Lady. It is really fun and patriotic.

Here is Dallin with his (girl)friend, Lauren. She was not HIS First Lady, but they are really good friends.

Huh?

2011-01-20T15:06:00.009-10:00

A friend of mine posted this link on Facebook about a writer obsessed with Mormon housewives' blogs. I found it interesting since I am a housewife who is Mormon, and I also have a blog. Let me know what you think.

Internet Culture: Why I can't stop reading Mormon housewife blogs
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.salon.com%2Flife%2Ffeature%2F2011%2F01%2F15%2Ffeminist_obsessed_with_mormon_blogs&h=01e2f

I actually laughed when I read it. Really? People think Mormon housewives are shiny and happy, with perfect lives, husbands and kids? I admit I know some people who put on this persona, but I hope that anyone who reads MY blog will not be so disillusioned. I am just a normal person, who does normal things. I don't have any extraordinary skills or talents. I am not super opinionated, but I'm also not a pushover. I have good days, and bad days. I believe in accentuating the positive, but that doesn't mean there is no negative. I keep this blog as mostly a family journal, since I have given up on scrapbooking. It is also a great way to keep in touch with distant family and friends (many of whom have given up blogging. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge. I'm getting a little lonely in cyberspace). I guess I can rest assured she wasn't talking about me. I'm just keepin' it real.

And just because I believe no blog post is worth reading without some sort of visual aid, here are some random pictures of my not so perfect life :)
Grandma on the trampoline with her grandkids. Corynn at Bellows beach.Masen trying on Grandpa's cowboy boots. Dallin making a mess of chocolate cake at a luau.Daddy playing around with Masen's pajamas.More chocolate messes.
I love my life, as messy and chaotic as it sometimes is. I am content to be a stay at home mom, and housewife. I tell my husband that being a stay at home mom is monotonous, yet never the same, boring, yet exciting, thankless, yet fulfilling. I consider myself a feminist in that I believe women should pursue whatever they choose. I choose this. It works for me.

Mele Kalikimaka ~ 2010

2010-12-26T19:16:00.001-10:00

We loved having Grandma and Grandpa spend Christmas with us. The kids didn't wake up too early, and we took our time opening presents. Masen was so fun to watch this year and he exclaimed, "Wow," to everything.

The first present opened was Masen's Trike. He LOVED it. Grandpa was kind enough to put it together for him. Once he got on, it was hard to get him off. He was so adorable.

While cooking Belgium waffles for my in-laws the week before Christmas, my waffle iron died. My husband, who happens to really like it when I make waffles, got me a new, double sided, flip iron. I LOVE it! It makes the fluffiest, yummiest waffles ever.

Chris' parents got him this coonskin (?) cap. They figured he might need it when we get to Colorado. It doesn't get much use in Hawaii, but I'm sure he will wear it proudly in the snow.

Yay for new roller-blades!

At our house, we only allow the children to ask Santa for one present. Santa usually brings the ONE thing they REALLY want. This year Santa brought...

Laptops (or more specifically netbooks)! Dallin had been asking for one ALL month. He told us he was so sick of having to wait for the computer all the time to do homework, or play his little games. He really wanted his OWN, portable laptop. They were so excited!

We helped Mom with her collection of the Willow Tree Nativity set.

Chris was so excited to get his dad this special present. It is a flag that was flown over Pearl Harbor on December 7, 2010, the 69th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

This was my favorite present. My mom spent countless hours making me this gorgeous tree skirt. I absolutely love it. I know it was a labor of love, which makes it even more sentimental. Thanks, Mom!

We enjoyed such a fun morning of opening presents, playing with our new toys, and spending time with one another. We loved chatting with all our loved ones throughout the day. It really was a privilege to have Mom and Dad join us in our celebration.

Are you a Survivor?

2010-12-20T21:45:00.000-10:00

Ok, so I would like to say that Jeff Probst is my new BFF, but really there is a story behind this. I have a friend who's brother works on the crew of Survivor. She was going to visit him in Nicaragua when they were breaking down the set after filming the latest installment. When I found out she was going I asked her if she would get Jeff Probst's autograph for me. When she returned, she only had a buff (which is still pretty cool), but she said she didn't see Jeff the entire 2 weeks she was out there. Weeeelllll. A couple weeks later when I saw her she gave me THIS!

In case you can't read it, it says "Lynn, Hope you enjoy Survivor Nicaragua! I would never vote you off my island! Jeff Probst"

It turns out her brother saw him just a few days later, while in a warehouse, and they hurriedly grabbed whatever was handy and Jeff signed it for me. I was ecstatic! Thanks, Maurea, I will always cherish my Survivor souvenirs. I loved showing them off while we all watched the finale. Can't wait to see what Survivor has in store next!

Temple Day with Mom

2010-12-19T21:20:00.000-10:00

Since the Laie, Hawaii Temple had just re-opened, we decided to take Mom and spend the day there. Dad was gracious enough to volunteer to watch the kids at home. This is the first time Chris and I had done a session in this particular temple. We had watched the temple during it's 2 year renovation, we had toured the temple during the open house, and we were invited inside the temple during the dedication. We were thrilled to be able to finally go inside and do some temple work. I love being reminded of the covenants we have made, and the blessings that come with continued obedience to these covenants. I am so thankful to have a temple so close to us again, and I hope we can continue to go often.

Before our session began we had about a half an hour to tour the Visitor's Center. It was decorated beautifully for the holidays. I especially love this statue of the Christus.

Every Stake on the island of Oahu was represented by a Christmas tree in the visitor's center. I had to get a picture of our Makakilo Stake Christmas tree :)

After attending the temple we ate lunch at this little hillside restaurant. The food was so-so, but the view of the ocean across the street was worth it.

While eating lunch we were startled to hear crashing on the lawn next to us. We look up and sure enough someone was up trimming the coconut tree above us. You can bet we ate quickly and got the heck out of there before we were hit with one of those coconuts :)

Kaneohe Bay

2010-12-16T21:23:00.000-10:00

We were so excited to take Grandma and Grandpa boating in Kaneohe Bay. It was a beautiful day, and we had a blast.

Chris took us out to the sand bar and anchored the boat. We had brought a kayak and a paddle board to help pass the time.

Look at these two studs :)

One thing we learned about a paddle board; they are a lot harder than it looks...especially when it is windy. We all took a turn, and some of us did better than others. Here is Corynn giving it a whirl. She was probably the best at it.

Here's a funny story. At one point Mom and I wanted to take a turn in the kayak. I hadn't been in the water yet, and was a little hesitant about the cold. I sat on the edge of the boat with just my feet in the water, and was planning on just taking the plunge. Well, as I scooted in, my shorts caught on a nail so the rest of my body went in, while my bum was hanging in the air. Here I was hanging upside down by my shorts, with my head and legs underwater. Chris and Mom just looked at me for a second wondering what in the heck I was doing. It took a minute for Chris to realize I might need help before I drown. We laughed so hard. I wish I had it on camera.

Here is Masen and I snuggling after my near-death-experience.

After a while we decided to take the boat over where there is more coral so we could snorkel. Poor Chris cut up his leg on the coral while anchoring the boat. It's a good thing it was too shallow for sharks :)

Here is Dad and Chris snorkeling. I don't think there was a whole lot to see under the water, but the view above them was fabulous.

This is how Masen naps on a boat. All tuckered out after a long day.

After we turned in the boat we drove over to the beach on the Marine base. There were some decent waves, so we watched some surfers, and played in the sand.

Masen's shirt says it all...

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a fun filled day.

Grandma and Grandpa Lambert Visit for the Holidays

2010-12-15T18:31:00.000-10:00

We were privileged to have Mom and Dad Lambert come visit us for Christmas. After racking our brains we realized that in our 14 years of marriage, they had never been to our house for Christmas. They flew in a few weeks before the big day to play with us in the warm weather. Unfortunately, Dallin was still in school, so we had to play without him.

Our first stop was the Dole Plantation. I think this is Mom's favorite place on the whole island.

Grandpa and Masen chillin' a the Dole Plantation.

Next stop...North Shore, Turtle Beach. That may look like a rock behind Corynn, but it's actually a turtle.

Next stop...Waimea Falls. We didn't hike up to the falls, but instead strolled around the visitor's center. We loved the Christmas tree. Here in Hawaii there are trees that look like a cross between a pine tree and a palm tree. I am fascinated by them.

The next day was spent in Waikiki. Here is Grandma and Grandpa with Corynn at the boardwalk.

Such a great way to spend mid-December :)

While walking around, we walked past the lobby of the Moana Surfrider Hotel. We couldn't help but go in and marvel at the gorgeous lobby and Christmas tree. I think we were a little in awe because Hawaii doesn't decorate a whole lot for Christmas, so this seemed almost over the top to us.

As we were leaving Waikiki, we happened to see this cute Santa walking along the beach. Dad was quick enough to whip out his phone and snap a quick photo. Love it!

Deck the Halls...

2010-12-09T17:34:00.000-10:00

Decorating the Christmas tree is a favorite family tradition. I think Masen enjoyed it the most, as he loved taking the ornaments off as fast as we all could put them on.

Dallin needed a little bit of help from a barstool to reach the top of our 11 ft. tree.

This is Dad's idea of helping :)

Here are the kiddos posing for our Christmas card shot.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T20:40:00.001-10:00

This year we decided to break from tradition, and eat out for our Thanksgiving dinner. Usually we have some sort of company (last year was the missionaries, and the year before Grandma and Grandpa Lambert were here), and I cook up a feast. I told Chris I didn't want to go to all the work for just our little family ESPECIALLY since nobody likes leftovers. Chris agreed, so he made reservations at a sea side restaurant called The Sea Breeze. It is an open air restaurant overlooking the ocean. The location was ideal and the buffet was pretty good. I just loved that I didn't have to cook :)

Dallin was so funny, I just had to take a picture of his food choice from the salad bar. Really? Croutons with ranch? Gross. This was our view. Beautiful huh?

I Love to See the Temple

2010-11-13T20:01:00.001-10:00

After almost two years of renovation, the Laie Temple held their Open House for the public. We had always admired the exterior of the Temple, but now we could take our whole family inside to admire the interior as well. This was the second renovation of this particular temple, as it is one of the Church's oldest temples (built in 1919). Masen was being a typical toddler, and had a hard time sitting still. Here Chris is trying to keep him entertained while the rest of us watched a little video before heading into the temple. After the tour we tried to get a family picture in front of the temple. It was sprinkling a little, so there was nobody around to ask to take a shot of all of us. I loved this next picture! It showed exactly how this day went. Masen was such an uncooperative little stinker!

I sure love my Eternal Companion! We are so grateful for the blessings of the temple. Happy to know that he can't EVER be rid of me :)As an interesting side-note, Chris later made the observation that a temple has been dedicated (or re-dedicated in this case) in EVERY place we have lived since being married. We have been to 5 open houses in the past 14 years.

1) Mt. Timpanogos Temple in 1996

2) Columbus, Ohio in 1999

3) Raleigh, North Carolina in 1999

4) San Antonio, Texas in 2005, and

5) Laie, Hawaii in 2010.

I wonder what this means for Colorado Springs?

Happy Halloween...Kinda

2010-10-31T19:45:00.001-10:00

I have been in such a funk this fall. Probably because it feels like summer outside. There are many things I love about Hawaii, but I really miss fall on the mainland. I had such a hard time getting into the spirit of Halloween this year. While I was in Phoenix, Chris took Corynn and Dallin to pick out their costumes. They are big into Wizards 101 right now, so no big surprise that they both picked out wizard costumes. Kind of lame, but whatever. The day before Halloween, Masen still didn't have a costume. I seriously was thinking of throwing a swim diaper on him and calling him a beach bum. At the last minute I found this cowboy/sheriff costume. I thought he looked cute, especially with the binky :)We attended out ward's Trunk-or-Treat. We even brought a few of our neighborhood friends. Here is Dallin with his Werewolf friend McKell.The kids loved all the candy they got, and all the time spent with friends. I loved that it was over :)

Boating in Kaneohe Bay

2010-10-24T18:57:00.001-10:00

I had been buggin' Chris for a while to go the the Marine base and take that class that would allow him to rent a boat so our family could go boating in Kaneohe Bay. The problem is, the base is on the other side of the island, and it's an hour drive, and he would have to take it early on a Saturday morning. I guess all my nagging paid off. He took the class, and we spent a fabulous, sunny day boating. We have many friends that had told us about doing this, but we really didn't have any idea of what to expect. Chris took us out to the sand-bar where we anchored the boat and got out and walked around. What an experience. I felt a little like Peter in the Bible, walking on water in the middle of an ocean. What a handsome captain! Masen's turn at the wheel :)

On the way back to the dock Chris took us past Coconut Island, where parts of Gilligan's Island was filmed. Chris and I called this our test run. When his parents come out for Christmas we want to bring them out here, and let them experience this beauty of Hawaii. A couple things we learned 1) Bring more toys...nothing to do in the middle of the ocean gets boring fast. We plan on a kayak, paddle board, and snorkel gear next time. 2) Make SURE you observe the markers for coral. We got stuck on a reef when we weren't paying attention. Thank goodness we were able to push the boat out ourselves and didn't need the marines to come rescue us :)

Lynn's Business Trip

2010-10-18T21:16:00.000-10:00

OK, I admit it. I am jealous of all of Chris' business trips. After voicing this jealousy, Chris suggested that once a year I should take a "business" trip. He would take a week off of work and play Mr. Mom, while I travel to some sort of church conference. When my sister-in-law Jen suggested that all the Lambert women get together for a Time Out For Women, I knew that opportunity was knocking!
Since TOFW Phoenix is really only 2 days, and I had a WHOLE week (cushioned by both weekends) I was able to visit family and friends in the area. First stop: My Grandpa Wilsey's house. I ADORE my Grandpa. He was the number one positive male influence in my life growing up. I loved spending three days with him and his wife Barbara. Next stop: My friend Joyce's house. Our husbands attended dental school together, where we met and became fast friends. Another friend Debra came down from Vegas for the girl-friend-get-together. I LOVED reconnecting with these gorgeous friends.

We met up with yet another dental school friend, Natalie. If only Sue were there...our little gang would be complete. After three days with Joyce, and WAY too many late nights, I headed to my next stop: My sis-in-law Kim's house. While there we were able to see my niece Sarah get baptized.
Next stop: Downtown Phoenix for the conference. I had so much fun with my sis-in-laws, mom-in-law and niece. The conference was wonderful and uplifting. The company was fabulous. The hotel was fun. Loved the late night chats with the gals. Here we are on the first day (minus Shel).

What a fabulous group of gals. I really lucked out and married into the best family. I seriously LOVE these women!
After the conference, we met up with Chris' cousin Carrie, whom I had never met. I requested Olive Garden since there isn't one on the island where I live. I *heart* bread sticks and salad here. Although the service was a little off, we enjoyed every minute.

What a great experience this was! I'm so grateful for an understanding, and willing husband to hold down the fort for nine days. I teased him that this week would be "wife appreciation week," but really it turned out to be "husband appreciation week," for me. Thanks Hon, you're the BEST!

Corynn Goes to Utah

2010-09-27T20:06:00.001-10:00

Since Corynn has started Middle School she is on a track system, which means she gets big chunks of time off throughout the year. Well, for her break in September we decided to let Corynn go to Utah for 2 1/2 weeks (after much begging and pleading from both Corynn and Grandma Lambert) to visit family. It was hard to watch my little girl fly off across the Pacific Ocean all by herself. Armed with a cell phone and an unaccompanied minor pin, she was off. Everything went smoothly. All my worrying was for nothing.
She wanted to surprise her cousin Julia, who is her closest cousin in age. They went to Los Hermanos to celebrate Julia's birthday. Aunt Melanie has this cute dog named Dexter. Corynn was in pet heaven with Dexter and Grandma's cats, Callie and Blackie.

Corynn was able to attend her oldest cousin's wedding. Congrats to Tysen and Mandy. Here she is with a few of her younger cousins - Brenden, Julia, Paige, Makaya, and Collin. Grandma and Grandpa Lambert loved taking Corynn on Jeep rides up to the canyon. Here they are with Julia at Kennecott Copper Mines. Waiting at the airport to fly home.

I told Corynn that this trip was such a "growing-up" experience; not only for her, but for me too. It made me realize that my little girl is growing up. She is getting more independent and is growing into a fine young lady.

Kaneohe Bay Air Show

2010-09-26T19:40:00.000-10:00

This week-end the MCBH (Marine Corps. Base Hawaii) was having an air show in Kaneohe Bay. We were bored so we decided to go. The setting was beautiful, the planes were cool, and the boys were in heaven.Note to self; If you ever go to another airshow, bring your own chairs and umbrella. We felt lucky to snag this curb in the semi-shade to eat lunch.

Dallin waited in line for like an hour to get into the cockpit of this cargo carrier. I hope it was worth the wait :)
While Dallin was waiting in line, Chris and I would watch the airshow with Masen. At one point the Raptor started flying. If you have never seen a Raptor, let me just tell you it is FAST, and LOUD. It freaked Masen out so bad, he was screaming, crying, and shaking trying to run somewhere for refuge. We sat inside another plane, covering his ears until the whole ordeal was over. After that Masen wanted nothing to do with airplanes, and he made it abundantly clear he was DONE! As we were leaving the Blue Angels started flying, so we pulled over to watch them, until a police came and made everyone on the side of the road leave. Bummer.

Kauai

2010-09-07T14:38:00.000-10:00

Over Labor Day week-end Chris and I had planned a romantic belated anniversary trip to Kauai. Long story short - we ended up taking the whole family, and Grandma Lambert. It worked out great, and we all had a blast spending 6 days on Kauai.
We flew in before we could check into our hotel, so we toured around a bit. First stop, Wailua Falls. It was amazing to see people hiking down there and swimming.
We got some fresh coconut from a roadside vendor. It's a little different than we expected (not sweet at all, and a little rubbery) but still pretty good. We were lovin' our suite we reserved. It was right on the ocean, and big enough that we all had room to sprawl out. This is our dining lanai, and each of the other 2 bedrooms had a private lanai. Heaven!Here is the view from our room. Can you believe how beautiful?! The kids were more interested in swimming than anything else, so after unpacking we hit the pools. Masen loved the little toddler pool that had sand at the bottom. It was like his own private beach. After we wore the kids out swimming, we wanted to go explore this beautiful island a little more. I just wanted to drive around and take in the beautiful scenery. There is a reason this is called The Garden Isle. We ended up at the Kilauea Lighthouse. This is also a wildlife sanctuary, so it was cool to look down the cliffs onto the rocks below and spot a seal. I guess in the winter you can see whales too.That evening we took a sunset walk on the beach at our resort....and to our surprise, what did we see...but a seal, taking a nap right there on the beach. He was roped off since apparently seals can get aggressive when provoked. Who knew?Day two we explored in the morning. In the afternoon Corynn and Grandma went on a horseback excursion. The ranch was so beautiful.

For 3 hours they rode horses into the mountains, then stopped for a picnic at a waterfall where they were able to swim and let the horses rest. What an adventure! Look at those cute cowgirls!Day three was spent driving along the west side of the island up to Waimea Canyon, which was dubbed by Mark Twain to be the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." Mt. Wai'ale'ale was beautiful from what you could see of it. The top is ALWAYS covered in clouds, thus the wettest place on earth. It averages 460 inches per year! One year when the island was hit with a hurricane the mountain received over 680 inches. This is the most you can see of the Na'pali Coast by car. The cliffs were amazing.

We stopped off for a picnic near Kokee Lodge. There were so many chickens, it was crazy! They were totally unafraid of us, and would come right up begging for food. Day four Chris surprised me with a helicopter tour over the island. Grandma stayed with the kids (Mahalo, Mom!) while we were whisked away over land and sea.

It became a game of "I spy another waterfall." Literally, there were dozens of them.
The Na'Pali Coast by air.One of the pretty little coastal towns. After the helicopter ride was over, I told Chris that aside from getting married and the birth of my children, that was one of the biggest highlights of my LIFE!

Day five we took a river cruise up the Wailua river to the Fern Grotto. It was a huge platform boat with a tour guide who spoke in such a thick Hawaiian accent nobody could understand what he was saying. After a while I just tuned him out and enjoyed the scenery. If it weren't for the the kayakers and paddle boarders on the river, I would have felt like we were on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. Once we disembarked the boat we went on a little bit of a nature hike to get to the Fern Grotto. It was hot and really muggy, with no trade winds. Dallin was complaining so bad I finally told him to take off his shirt. Dallin was so happy shirtless I took Masen's off too. Here are my two happy campers.

Day six was a blur of getting ready to leave the island and pack in just a few more things before heading to the airport. This little village is the one that was filmed at the beginning of the movie "Outbreak." Here is Chris at Opaeka'a Falls. What a handsome guy :)

We were sad to leave this beautiful island. Chris and I still want to come back for our romantic getaway...someday. We loved the feel of Kauai. It is what I imagine old Hawaii would have been...very small, quaint, and laid back. Next time we come back we want to do more hiking and swimming at the many beaches. I look forward to that day :)

Mom Lambert Visits Kauai

2010-09-01T16:00:00.018-10:00

14 Years Together

2010-08-21T16:06:00.004-10:00

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times,

always with the same person.
~Mignon McLaughlin

Aloha 'Oe Grandma Carol

2010-08-03T21:51:00.007-10:00

The day that Chris got home from Vietnam, was also my mom's last day here in Hawaii. To send her off in style we took her to a luau. We went to the Paradise Cove Luau at Ko'Olina. It's one of our favorites because it is so family friendly. Before the dinner starts they have little stations of Hawaiian activities. So fun. The canoe rides are one of our favorite things at this luau. We always head to the canoes first, because by the time everyone else realizes this is part of the luau, the line is crazy. If you are lucky you can see turtles swimming. No such luck for us on this day.
Here is Dallin waiting patiently for his turn on the canoe.

They demonstrate how to climb a coconut tree to retrieve the fruit. Take my word for it, this is a TALL tree. I was a little scared for this guy.
This lady was our Poi ball instructor. I still can't get the hang of this game. Instead of swinging the balls, I end up hitting myself and anyone within a few feet of me. My family quickly learned not to stand next to me while I practiced :)My mom and I had fun making a crown of flowers. It's almost like wearing a lei on your head, and the plumeria flowers smell so good.

Isn't my mom adorable?While waiting for the Emu (pig) ceremony, we were treated to this beautiful rainbow.
Sunsets at Ko'Olina are so beautiful. Here is my mom with the grandkids.
We warned my mom beforehand that the food is NOT the reason to go to a luau. It's OK, but I'm not a big fan of Hawaiian food. After dinner the hula and fire dancers came out and performed amazing dances. Such a fun night, and the perfect send off for my mom. Aloha 'Oe Grandma Carol.

Chris' Humanitarian Mission to Vietnam

2010-08-02T07:45:00.001-10:00

Chris had the amazing opportunity to go on another Humanitarian Mission, this time to Vietnam. This trip was only about 10 days, as opposed to the 3 week trip last year to the Philippines. I say ABOUT 10 days because he crossed the International Date Line, so his days were all messed up! He flew 7 hours to Tokyo, Japan, then another 7 hours to Bangkok, Thailand, then another 2 hours to Northern Vietnam (Ha Noi), where he would be working. The following two pictures were in the Bangkok Airport.This is the government building where Chris worked at for the first of his two missions. It had much nicer working conditions than when he was in the Philippines (tents and run down class rooms). He used one of the offices as his dental clinic - no A/C, but at least he had a ceiling fan. These are the crowds of people waiting to be treated. Hard at work, showing his skills to the local dentist.Chris and his assistant took a field trip one day to visit a dental clinic, and meet with a local dentist. Chris was having fun messing around with the optometrist. What was the diagnosis?
He needs these ridiculous glasses! Sexy huh?Here is Chris with his assistant SPC Vestal and his translator (he was a Dermatologist). This is where Chris had his second mission site, another local government building. Ahhh....relaxing after a hard day of work. Now, those of you with queasy stomachs, may want to skip this next part. Chris and some of his colleagues went out to eat a traditional Vietnamese dinner one night. Their dinner included some stuff that I find pretty nasty, like river snake, worms (he said they were really more like grubs - like that makes it any better!?!), and crickets. Eeewww. They were able to enjoy a some sight seeing before heading home. Here they are in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.
This picture is taken from the entrance of the Ha Long Bay Caves. I thought this was just gorgeous.

Chris took the tour through the caves, and was treated to views like this.
The next day it was time to start heading home. They had one day to sight see in Bangkok, Thailand. Chris and his assistant toured the city together and were able to see many temples and the Royal Palace. They kind of got swindled by their taxi driver, who was also their unofficial tour guide, but I guess that's a risk you take.
They took a boat tour, and saw houses and shops built on the water. Kind of cool. I am so grateful that Chris is able to have these experiences at this point in his life. The only thing that might make it better would be if I could go too. Maybe someday when we are empty nesters.

Paradise Cove

2010-07-31T16:05:00.001-10:00

Our favorite beach is one that is just down the hill from our house at the Ko'Olina resort. Although this beach isn't technically one of the resort beaches, it is pristine, and relatively unknown. Some people even call it secret beach. My mom could NOT get enough of this beach while she was here. She loved swimming with the turtles. You aren't really supposed to touch them, but sometimes while swimming they will sidle right up next to you. My mom fed this little guy, and he followed her around like a lost puppy. She even named him Rocky.Here is Dallin and his friend Chance. Here is me and Masen playing with a ball on the beach. Yes, it is a basketball. The kid is obsessed these days.

The Black Pearl?

2010-07-30T14:22:00.001-10:00

For the past few months Disney has been filming the 4th installment of Pirates of the Caribbean here on Oahu. When they first brought in the Black Pearl at the beginning of the year we went to go take pictures of it. So with my mom in town, she wanted to go see it too. We took her to the harbor where it was docked, but it looked NOTHING like the Black Pearl we saw in Feb. Whaaat? (If you would like to compare pictures, refer to my Feb. post) It looked like it had been to burned to pieces, and possessed by demons. Crazy. It just made we wonder what in the heck happens to this ship in the movie. These next 3 pictures are at Barber's Point on the west side of the island. I think they made it hard to get a good picture on purpose. Grrrr. We heard they were filming on the east side of the island, so we went to go check it out one day. We did not get to see Johnny Depp (Dallin was so disappointed! He had his little autograph book and everything), but we DID find out what is up with this ship. It turns out that when Disney brought in the Black Pearl they filmed all the shots they needed to, then they transformed it into this ship, which is called Queen Anne's Revenge. No wonder it didn't look like the same ship.

Evening at Waikiki

2010-07-29T15:44:00.001-10:00

After dropping off Chris at the airport (Vietnam post coming soon), we took my mom down for an evening in Waikiki. We love to walk around the International Market, and the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, and then go watch the sunset at the beach. Follow it up with a yummy dinner, and we had the perfect night. We had bought my mom a new camera, so while trying it out I was able to get this picture of Masen.

Waimea Falls

2010-07-09T14:54:00.013-10:00

One of our favorite places to go on the island is Waimea Valley where you can walk to a waterfall. It's only about a mile, and the path is paved, so I don't consider it a "hike." It's such a beautiful stroll, I knew my mom would love it. Taking a break - not from the "hike" but to stop and enjoy the scenery.
There were a lot of people swimming in the pool below the falls. It looked like fun, but we were not prepared to swim.

On our walk back down the downpour started. Chris had teased me about bringing an umbrella when we started, but when we got stuck in the rain, guess who was laughing?

Proud to be an American

2010-07-09T14:11:00.004-10:00

Since the 4th of July fell on a Sunday this year, we started out the celebration on Saturday morning. Our ward does a cute bike parade for the kids, then a potluck breakfast. Corynn was so excited to get up and decorate her bike, but Dallin on the other hand was too tired to get up at 7 a.m. I guess he is enjoying too many late nights during this summer break. Here is my mom and I waiting for the parade to start. Brother Magaoay made a wonderful Uncle Sam as he led the parade. The kids made a couple of loops around the parking lot while some patriotic music was being played. So cute.We made a birthday cake for America. Nothing too exciting, but the kids love doing stuff like that.We had a fun 3rd of July, so it kind of made up for a boring 4th. Since it fell on a Sunday, Chris felt like we needed to uphold our standards to keep the Sabbath day holy. I admit I kinda wanted to go down to Waikiki and watch the fireworks over the ocean along with the rest of the island. Instead we got out the binoculars and watched the fireworks from our upper lanai.

I am so proud to be an American. I am proud of Chris' commitment and service to the Army, and our country. I am grateful for our founding father's who, with God's help, established this great nation. Let freedom ring!

Camping with Grandma Carol

2010-07-01T20:26:00.004-10:00

With my mom visiting for a couple months, the first thing we decided to do was take her camping at Bellows Beach. It's one of our favorite beaches, but the cabins are usually booked up to a year in advance. We lucked out and were able to go for three days. Isn't it beautiful?
My mom didn't want to sleep in the cabin, so she took the blow up mattress onto the patio so she could enjoy the night air, and listen to the ocean. She says it was the best nights sleep she's ever gotten.We enjoyed lots of beach time. The kids loved making sand castles, boogie boarding, and playing with Masen. My mom and I relaxed, swam and read. I felt a little bad that Chris had to work. He was a trooper though, and didn't complain about a longer commute from this side of the island.
Here's a funny side story. Just about 2 weeks before this camping trip we had gone to Bellows with the Strattons. Corynn was stung by a Portugeese Man 'O War pretty bad. The tentacle was long, and wrapped around her leg from mid-thigh to mid-calf. It left welts and blisters and the poor girl was in a lot of pain. She vowed to NEVER swim at Bellows again. So here we are camping at Bellows for 3 days. She stuck to her promise the first day, but by the second day she braved the water. She found this little baby Man 'O War one morning while walking along the beach.
Our cabin had a hose on the patio to rinse yourself off after a day at playing in the sand. I could not keep Masen away from this hose. He was loving it so much. I finally just stripped him down, and let him play all he wanted.

Aloha Stratton Family

2010-06-08T19:55:00.002-10:00

Last week we had the honor of having the Stratton family come visit us in Hawaii. This cute family has been our best friends for years. We first met in North Carolina, then we ended up in the same neighborhood in Texas. We are so grateful that all 4 boys chose to spend their family vacation in Hawaii instead of Disneyland :) Even though they stayed at the resort down the hill from our house, we still got together almost every day to have fun, and spend some quality time with them.These pictures are in no particular order. This was taken while swimming at the Lagoons at Ko'Olina. The kids had so much fun hunting for crabs and finding fish. One night we had the kiddos spend the night, so Ryan and Heather could have some alone time. I'm sure they enjoyed dinner, and a bike excursion, but honestly, I think we had more fun having a campout in the living room. Even Masen got in on the action and enjoyed playing in the tent.

I let them stay up late, eat popcorn and watch movies. We just LOVE these friends.
Here is the kiddos all posing at Waikiki Beach. What a good lookin' group of kids.
One day we all went swimming/snorkeling at Paradise Cove. It is one of our favorite beaches because you can swim with turtles. There were 4-5 there on this day, and this little guy was missing a fin.

We feel so blessed to have such great friends. Can't wait for the next party...maybe in Colorado?

Dad Goes to D.C.

2010-06-07T20:34:00.006-10:00

Last week Chris had the opportunity to travel to D.C. for an Army conference. While there he did some sight seeing with a few of the other doctors. They were amazed at his ability to get around the city, so he was voted to be the tour guide. It was nice meeting the President and First Lady.Hopefully the bill he signed in the oval office benefits the nation. The Army needs more dentists and hopefully his appeals to congress can affect change! Good try anyways.

May Day 2010

2010-05-22T16:44:00.009-10:00

For those of you who may not know, May Day is a big deal in Hawaii. Did I say big? I meant colossal! Ginormous! Huge! Bigger than big. It's so big that they have to stagger the performances at schools so that parents, grandparent, aunties and uncles can come too. So our May Day was actually half way into the month. Last year I was totally taken off guard. This year I was prepared. I showed up at the school an hour early, I had the stroller, sun shade, water-bottle, snacks, sun-block and a camp chair. I remembered the camera and video camera and I was ready for the 2 hour show the school was about to put on. It is like going to a fabulous luau where your kids are the performers (minus the food of course). At my kids' school, the fifth graders are honored to represent the Royal Court. Each of the eight Hawaiian islands are represented with a Kahili Bearer (he holds the colored staff), a Prince, Princess and Lady in Waiting. Corynn was asked to be the Lady in Waiting to the Princess of Kauai. She was so excited and did such a good job during the procession and ceremony.

As each represented island walks across the field a narrator tells about each island. I love hearing all the interesting facts about Hawaii.

Hawaii- The Big Island

Kahoolawe - The Target Isle

Kauai - The Garden Isle

Lanai - The Pineapple Island

Maui - The Valley Isle

Molokai - The Friendly Isle

Niihau - The Forbidden Isle

Oahu - The Gathering Isle

After the King and Queen are seated, the rest of the fifth graders put on a performance. There are chanters and hula dancers to entertain the royal court. Next, every grade puts on a performance.
This year Dallin's grade decided to try to put some humor into a touchy subject: Furlough Fridays. I thought the performance was cute, although I don't really find the subject all that funny. Irritating is more like it. I was also disappointed that it wasn't a Hawaiian theme like all the other performances. All the kids worked really hard on their dance, and it turned out really good, so I can't complain too loudly.

I'm having a hard time uploading the video of Dallin's performance, so you'll just have to take my word for it. He was a cute performer. It was such a fun day.

Aloha, Earl Family

2010-05-21T21:11:00.005-10:00

We had the pleasure of playing host to Chris' sister Shelly and her husband Scott, and their 3 kids - Jordyn, Brenden, & Paige- for their first Hawaiian vacation. We loved every minute of it. They arrived bright and early Easter morning after having flown all night. We joked to the kids that the Easter bunny was bringing their cousins instead of candy this year. Kidding...sheesh. I regret to say that this is the only picture we have of them. They had their camera out so much, I decided to be lazy and let them play photographer. Just one slight problem. I forgot to have them leave a copy of their pictures on my computer before they left. Oops. So, until I get copies from them, this is the one and only picture of the Earl family. Rest assured, though I may be short on pictures, I'm not short on memories. We took them to all of our favorite places, and pointed them in the right direction on days we couldn't spend with them. The LOVED boogie boarding at Bellows Beach, and they LOVED swimming with turtles and snorkeling at Paradise Cove. They went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and had a luau there, walked around Waikiki, and bought way too much stuff at the Aloha Stadium swap meet. We had a blast with these fun cousins, and we can't wait to see them again. So here's a big ALOHA to the Earl family!

Pinkwood Derby!

2010-04-20T13:52:00.006-10:00

As the Activity Days leader in my ward, I thought it would be fun for the girls to crash the Boy Scout's Pinewood Derby, and have a Pinkwood Derby. I had no idea what a hit it would be. We had 2-3 times more girls than boys.
Here is Chris and our brother-in-law Scott working on Corynn's car the night before. I made these cute cupcakes with racing flags.

Here are the girls setting up. My good friend Kelli helped with certificates and awards. She set up this voting station for each girl to vote on things like The Sportiest Car, the Most Creative Car, and the Most Sparkly Car. Amazingly she came up with 17 awards.
Corynn's car is the red one with the black stripe. She won her first heat, but lost in the second round.
Here are all 17 of my girls with their cars. What a spectacular group they are.

I am so thankful for my calling. It really is the best calling in the whole church. I just love all these cute girls. I told them to start getting ready for next year, because I think we are going to make this our annual tradition.

Birthdays, Birthdays, and more Birthdays

2010-04-03T16:20:00.001-10:00

Since 4 of the 5 members of our family have a birthday this month, we have our own form of March Madness. We go birthday crazy! Here is Corynn with her BFF Mya over for a small family party. If you can't count all the candles, there are 11 of them! She is growing up way too fast. Dallin turned 9 the same week.
Dallin is at that hard age to buy presents for. He is getting too old for toys, but not yet old enough for sophisticated electronics. After much agonizing, Chris finally caved and agreed to get him a Rip Stick. Since neither one got a birthday party last year (I had just had Masen) we went all out this year. We had a combined party at the beach. We had about 20 kids show up, along with many of their parents. I was a little worried about supervising so many kids at a public beach, but with the help of so many parents it all ended up OK. I was too busy with the party to get very many pictures. Here we are setting up.I am sad to say I didn't get ANY pictures of the kids swimming and at the beach. Oh well. Maybe next time. They loved spending time with so many of their friends. They each received many nice gifts, and lots of gift cards. In fact they each got enough gift cards to get the ONE thing they wanted that Chris and I refused to get them...Corynn got an iTouch, and Dallin got a new DSi. They had a VERY Happy Birthday!

The Big Island

2010-03-31T15:38:00.026-10:00

**WARNING** Extremely long post, with a huge picture overload.

With the kids on Spring Break, and Grandma and Grandpa Lambert visiting, we decided to take a vacation to the island of Hawaii. We rented a cottage at the Kilauea Military Camp and stayed for 2 nights. The cabin was nothing spectacular, but we enjoyed being so close to the volcano. The camp is located in the Hawaii Volcano National Park.The first thing we did was go and see the caldera. There are a few craters in the caldera, one of which was active while we were there. The steam vents were amazing. They smelled a little of sulfur, and reminded me of our trip to Yellowstone a few years ago. It was a little chilly, so it was nice to be able to reach out to the steam to warm up our hands.Next we headed over to the Thurston Lava Tubes. This was one of my favorite things on the Big Island. Flowing lava had created these tube/caves in the middle of a rain forest. After walking around the main tubes (which were lit), we were able to go further into an unlit tube since we remembered to bring flashlights. It was a little creepy hiking in the near dark, but we had a blast. After coming out of the lava tubes we took a short hike through the rain forest. I was amazed at how dense the forest was, when just a few miles up the road was barren lava fields. The name of this crater erupting is Halema'uma'u. Ancient Hawaiians believed this crater was the home to the volcano goddess Madame Pele. After dark we went to the observatory to watch the plume glowing orange. The park ranger told us that the lava was about 300 feet below the surface. While watching the plume at night, we couldn't help but notice the stars on such a clear night. There were so many, and they seemed close enough to reach out and touch. We loved picking out the constellations, and finding the Milky Way.
The next day we did some hiking around the lava fields. We hiked Pu'u Loa Petroglyph Trail where we were able to see some of the petroglyphs left behind from some ancient Hawaiian villagers. There were hundreds (maybe thousands) of little man-made holes dug into the the lava rock. It was explained that these were where the Hawaiians had buried their babies' umbilical cord to bless them and connect them to the land. Here is a picture of Mom pointing to one of the holes.
We hiked down to the shore line to see where lava had spilled into the sea and left this natural arch.
Here is where the lava flowed over the road in the 1970's.
What!? The road is closed? Ya think?
Day three, we checked out of our cottage, and started our 130 mile drive around the island to our resort. It was supposed to only be about 2 1/2 hours, but we made a day out of it and made many stops. One of our stops was at a black sand beach. We were told these beaches were made when hot lava collided with the cold sea, and the lava shattered creating this fine, black sand. Corynn and Dallin had fun playing in the little tide pools. I'm not sure if they found any fish or not.Next stop was Pu'uhonua o Honaunau which means "place of refuge." It was a fascinating Hawaiian village which had been preserved, restored, and eventually made into a National Park. We learned many of the ancient traditions the Hawaiians observed. They had so many strict laws called kapu. To me these rules seem strange. For example, men and women could not eat together, or even have their food cooked together. Lower class people could not walk or even look at the same trail that the upper class used. A person's shadow could not cross the Ali'i (chief). The penalty for breaking these laws was death, and if the offense was big enough, then the whole family was killed. The Hawaiians were afraid if they let the offender go on living, the Gods would punish the whole tribe by sending tidal waves, drought, or even lava. If the offender could make it to this place of refuge before he was killed for his offense, then he was given a pardon. The Hilton resort was amazing. We rented a two bedroom suite, so we could all stay together for the four nights spent here. This is what we found on our bed when we got there. Pretty cool huh?

Day four we spent at the resort beach and pools. I just loved this picture of Masen. He is dressed and ready to hit the pool. He even has sunblock in hand.
Here is Mom and Dad sipping their Lava Flows. It's a Pina Colada with strawberry sauce. Yummm.
We rented a kayak for the kids to paddle around in the lagoon. It looked so fun, Mom and I gave it a try.

The Hilton's pools were pretty spectacular. We loved all the waterfalls and slides.
Day five was lots of driving and exploring. We stopped at another ancient village, and while looking out at the ocean we saw some water spouting up. We grabbed the binoculars, and sure enough, there were whales. We made it to the northern tip where the road ends, called the Pololu Valley Lookout. It was beautiful. Since Masen was asleep in the car, I stayed with the kids, while Mom, Dad, and Chris hiked about half way down. From their vantage point on the trail, they were able to see a whale carcass. Yup, it's that white thing on the black beach. Sharks had gotten to much of it, and I'm sure it stank. That would stop me from hiking the rest of the way down :)

While waiting for the hikers to return, Corynn made a new friend with this cute horse. She is still my little cowgirl at heart. We stopped and ate a picnic lunch at a beautiful ocean side park.

Later that night we grilled steak, and ate in our suite.

Ok, here's a funny story. While we were grilling the steak, the hotel was having a raffle/give away. My mother-in-law told me she was going to win. Sure enough, when they called the number, it was her winning ticket. She had won a free ATV adventure ride! When she talked to the guy to reserve it, she mentioned that she was here with some family, and asked what kind of deal they could give us. They gave us a pretty fantastic deal, (we paid for 1 adult and 1 child) so Mom, Dad, Chris, Corynn and Dallin spent the next afternoon on ATVs. AND it just happened to be Dad's birthday! What a great present!

Here is the birthday boy, himself. 65 years young!This is the Mule that Corynn and Dallin got to ride in. They loved their chauffeur, Budda.The "big kids" got a quick lesson on how to handle the four-wheelers........then they were off. Afterward, we went out for Dad's birthday dinner. Our last day on the island was spent traveling back to Hilo. We took the scenic route. We stopped at the Waipio Valley Overlook, but it was so rainy and foggy we couldn't see anything. Our next stop was Akaka falls. Chris and Mom were the only ones who would brave the rain to go see it. By the time we reached Rainbow falls, the rain had slowed a little.

We now know that there are so many waterfalls on the east side of the island, because there is so much rain!We wandered around Hilo for a while, and found this statue of King Kamehameha the Great. This king is the most famous, and well known king in all the history of Hawaii. From the stories I've heard, though, I don't know how great he was. I guess it all depends on your perspective.
Finally, on our flight home. No matter how great a vacation is, it's always good to come home.
THE END.

Happy Birthday Masen

2010-03-26T13:47:00.006-10:00

My little baby boy is 1 already!? He has been the biggest joy and blessing to our family. We all love and adore him so much. Chris and I debated for years about whether or not to have another baby. Now that Masen is a part of our lives I can't believe we ever hesitated. We love you, Bubby! Corynn and Dallin are so good with Masen. Here they are all playing with his new toys.He wasn't so sure about the flame atop the candle. He tried more than once to grab it. After opening presents, eating cake, and getting cleaned up Dallin snapped this picture of him. At first I just thought he was tired, but when I picked him up he was running a fever. I felt so bad for not noticing it before.

Happy Birthday lil' guy.

Love, Love

2010-03-06T20:23:00.008-10:00

Last season Dallin discovered tennis, and instantly fell in love with it. His team won every match they played, so his coach decided to move them up to a harder league. Well, they were short one player to make up the minimum for a team in this new league, so Coach talked Corynn into trying tennis. They started competing last week, and both Corynn and Dallin are having a blast. Corynn assures me that she still loves basketball, but she is enjoying tennis until basketball starts back up in the fall.

Corynn is doing surprisingly well, considering she has only been playing for three weeks. She has even won a couple of sets, which is amazing in this harder league. I'm so proud of her!Dallin is consistently getting better and better. He has developed an amazing serve. While playing doubles he really rocks the front court position, and can always slam that ball straight down on the other side of the net. His opponent doesn't have a chance :)

Looking forward to a great season of lots of tennis. Go Tennis Menace!

Happy Birthday Dental Corps.

2010-03-04T15:01:00.007-10:00

March is such a crazy month for birthdays in our family, and as it turns out, we get to celebrate another birthday for Chris' job. The U.S. Army Dental Corps. turned 99 years old yesterday, and in celebration, held a ball. Usually Chris and I avoid these formals. Not only do they get expensive, but with being LDS, it is next to impossible to find a formal gown for me to wear. This year, we talked about going, but were still pretty much undecided until Chris bought the tickets on a whim.

I think getting ready for the evening was the fun part. I felt a little like Cinderella. I got a dress, matching shoes, jewlery, got my hair done in an up-do, and even splurged for getting my make-up done (which was a wasted effort in my opinion). The ball was held in Waikiki at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. What a beautiful venue. As we were arriving we were treated to a gorgeous double rainbow, then after signing in, we watched the sun set from the lanai. Here we are with Diamond Head in the background.After dinner, Belly Dancers were brought in for entertainment. Honestly, it was a little weird, but whatever.
Thank goodness for some friends, Steve and Amber Jensen. They were the only people I knew there. We sat at the same table so we were able to chat and catch up on our families and mutal friends.
It was a fun night, but I couldn't wait to get home. My feet were killing me, my up-do was giving me a migrane and I was anxious to get back home and see how the kiddos did (it was our first time leaving Masen with a baby-sitter).

Happy Birthday Chris!

2010-03-01T23:03:00.001-10:00

Here we go! March is a crazy busy birthday month for our family, and Chris' is the kick-off. OK, so I admit, I love to celebrate birthdays. And any of you that know my husband AT ALL, know that he DOESN'T. Every year I try to strike a balance to satisfy my itch to go overboard, while trying not to tick him off. I felt like this year was a good balance, even though Chris might think otherwise. I brought in a singing balloon bouquet (just a little overboard) and cake to his work. When he got home we all went to Chuck's at Ko'Olina for dinner. Even though the food isn't my favorite, the atmosphere is. We love the sun setting over the ocean, the beautiful grounds, and the completely open restaurant to enjoy it all. When we got home we opened presents and ate cake. And, to show how good I am, I didn't even buy another cake; we just had whatever was left over from his work. I didn't even have the kids sing to him, and definitely no candles. Only two presents...well actually three. First, a guidebook to the Big Island since we will be going there for Spring Break in two weeks. Can't wait!
Second, a new pair of swim trunks, since he might need them to go PARASAILING with his dad! His dad will be here in Hawaii for his birthday too, so this will be their combined present. (I really hope Dad won't read this before he gets here, so if any of you happen to talk to him before his birthday, please don't mention it :)I think Chris enjoyed his birthday. Happy 36th babe. I'm already thinking of next year...suprise party...streamers...live band...3 tier cake with sparklers on top...about 100 people. Get ready!

Presidents, Love, Whales, and Pirates

2010-02-15T17:56:00.008-10:00

Whew, time to catch up on blogging. After talking to my mom today, she asked what was going on with us, since we haven't updated the blog in a while. Oops. So, here we go.
In honor of President's Day, the kids' school does a President's Parade. Each class chooses a President and First Lady to march in the parade. Corynn's class chose her to represent Hillary Clinton. Striking resemblance huh?Happy Valentine's Day! Chris was thoughtful enough to get me an Edible Arrangements. He knows that I am way too practical for flowers. I love them, but I hate to watch them die, then throw them away. I love Edible Arrangements because they are not only beautiful, but creative, yummy, and even nutritious.

President's Day we decided to get out of the house and go do something I've been wanting to do for a while. Grab the binoculars, and try to go find some whales. Since whale season will be over soon, it was now or never. Chris brought us to the southeast tip of the island to the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail. What a beautiful hike.

Just when we were about to give up, we saw 3 whales. It was hard to get a good picture of them since our camera doesn't have a high zoom lens, but with the binoculars, we were treated to a real show. They were breaching, splashing their tails, and blowing water out of their blow holes. They were close enough to the shoreline, we could even hear them! It was the coolest thing ever! This was the best picture we could get.The views in Hawaii never cease to amaze me.On our way home, we decided to go to the Barber's Point Marina where we heard that Disney had docked the Black Pearl. We heard filming starts this summer on the next Pirates of the Caribbean.

My Little Runaway

2010-01-28T13:51:00.003-10:00

This week Corynn got in really bad trouble for 1. Dis-obeying me 2. Breaking a family rule and getting on You-Tube without an adult 3. Lying about it and 4. Continuing to lie even after she got caught. As her punishment I grounded her from everything for a month (just a side note, Chris thought a month was excessive, so he reduced it to two weeks). Well. She decided she didn't want to live with our family rules, and decided she was going to run away from home. When she told me she was running away I told her I didn't want her to leave our family, that I love her, and she would be missed. She told me she would stay if I ungrounded her. What a stink! She packed some clothes, pajamas, a hairbrush, a water bottle, blanket and pillow, then thought maybe she would need a jump rope so she could fish.While packing her bags she said good-bye to Dallin. I got out the video camera and told her she better leave a little message for Masen too because he wouldn't ever remember her. Her sobbing message goes, "Masen when you get older don't ever dis-obey Mom, then lie about it, because you will get in very bad trouble!" In the end, she decided she had it way too nice here, and she didn't really want to leave home after all. She assured me she will carry out her punishment without complaint. It's going to be a long two weeks! I just couldn't resist adding to my playlist "Runaway" by Del Shannon.

Christmas Morning

2009-12-31T18:48:00.002-10:00

It was so nice to have family here for Christmas this year. We didn't go all out for presents but kept it pretty simple. (As I write this and look at the pictures, it looks like a lot. Keep in mind though, this is for 11 adults and 3 children.) Usually Santa will bring the kids one big present each. Santa had wanted to get them something pretty spectacular, but since he waited too long, this item was sold out around the island. Corynn and Dallin were pretty happy with the Legos that he brought instead.My mom had given the kids a book about the birth of Christ, which I thought was the perfect way to start the morning. Grateful kids are the BEST!Santa also brought everyone who was visiting Hawaii a flip-flop stocking filled with some island souvenirs. Masen didn't really get into Christmas that much. He had more fun eating the wrapping paper and crawling in the boxes than he did with his new little toys. The real gift this season was having our loved ones here with us. When we first moved here to Hawaii, people used to ask me what it was like living in Paradise. I admit, there are a lot of good things about living in Hawaii, but without family, it can never be MY Paradise. With everyone here for Christmas, it was as close to Heaven as you can get. Now we just need Chris' whole side of the family here. Hint, hint!

Holidays '09

2009-12-30T19:17:00.004-10:00

This year my WHOLE family decided to have a Hawaiian holiday. The week before Christmas they started rolling in. The first wave was Kris, Serena, and Jeff. We drove them straight from the airport to Ko'Olina to catch the sunset. They got in 3 days before anyone else, so they had a head start on all the fun.Their first day here they decided to go on an 8 mile hike. I dropped them off on one side of the mountain, then they called me when they reached the other side. They said it was fun. I'll take their word for it :)

The next day we all went to Waimea Bay. I was sure to check the surf report, because this is the same spot they had the Eddie just a few weeks before with 50 ft. waves. They were only 5-10, but still, a 10 ft. wave will knock you flat. The life guards wouldn't let the kids go very far out. They decided to make their own snowman out of sand. I thought it was cute!On day three, Chris took them to Hanauma Bay to do some snorkeling. They had such a blast, they all went back again when the rest of the family arrived a few days later. They especially had fun looking for the state fish humuhumunukunukuapua'a. I just love to say the name :)Before going to the PCC some of us visited BYU Hawaii, the Hawaii Laie Temple, and Visitor's Center. The temple is currently closed and under renovation, but the grounds are beautiful, and the visitor's center was nice.This is called Laie Point. It's a beautiful natural arch formed by waves just a little off the coast. I had heard of it before, but didn't know where it was. I wandered around Laie until I found it. It was worth the wandering.Here are just a few pictures of the Luau at the PCC. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of the whole gang. Once EVERYONE got here they all had their cameras out. I didn't bring my camera since I had enough to worry about with a diaper bag and baby, and figured I would get copies of all the pictures from everyone. I'm still waiting...uhum. Can you tell I only had copies of Kris and Serena's pictures? That might explain why they are in almost every picture! The rest of our adventures include the Dole Plantation, swimming with turtles at Paradise Cove, professional family pictures taken, the International Marketplace, shopping, dining and swimming at Waikiki, and much, much more.

Now THIS is Paradise

2009-12-29T20:40:00.004-10:00

Whoa dude...check out the gnarly waves!

2009-12-09T13:04:00.004-10:00

Please excuse the surf slang. I couldn't resist. Yesterday after the kids got home from school, I decided to take them up to the North Shore to see the huge waves that we have been hearing about on the news. They were having the Eddie Aikau Surf Competition at Waimea Bay, and although I knew we would miss the action, we still wanted to see the 30-50 foot waves that had been predicted. The largest in 40 years! We stopped at Chris' work on the way up to see if he wanted to join us. He was a little worried about the traffic, and yes it was horrible. We finally got out and walked about a half mile away from the beach when we figured we could beat the snail's pace of traffic on foot. We were not disappointed. These pictures don't do justice to the size of these massive waves. It was incredible, not only to see the waves, but to hear them crash, and see all the mist in the air they created. There was so much foam, Corynn said that the ocean looked like milk.

Although the competition was over (congratulations to Greg Long) surfers were still out there enjoying the swells. Every once in a while one would ride in to the applause of hundreds (or maybe thousands) of people cheering for them.

I am amazed at nature's beauty. I am in awe of those surfers who can harness the power of these waves, and look so elegant doing it.

Gobble, Gobble

2009-11-28T11:28:00.003-10:00

This year for Thanksgiving we had Elder Shemph and Elder Gerrard over for dinner. I think we were all a little homesick :)

Oooh Maaaan!

2009-11-24T13:08:00.006-10:00

Why, WHY does stuff like this ALWAYS happen when Chris leaves?! Last week Chris had a conference in St. Louis. I drop him off at the airport Thurs. night, and the next morning, this is what I woke up to. When the police arrived I filed a report, and they dusted for fingerprints. Nothing. Drats. Since nothing was stolen he figures they were going to steal the car. The tint acted like tape and held the window together somewhat, so he figured they gave up when they couldn't get in fast enough. He informed me it only takes 20 seconds for a theif to hotwire a car. If I had a gun it wouldn't take me 20 seconds to shoot them...to hit them maybe.

Furlough Fridays

2009-11-21T08:54:00.005-10:00

With the flailing economy, and Hawaii's budget crisis, the state has implemented Furlough Fridays. So, between regular holidays and Furlough Fridays, my kids now have a 4 day school week virtually every week. This is on top of getting out early EVERY Wednesday. When are my kids supposed to learn?
So what do we do on all these days off? We get a season pass to the coolest water park ever, which happens to be down the hill from our house.Corynn, her best friend Mya, and Dallin at Wet n Wild, Hawaii. Masen and I love to chill for a few hours while waiting for the older kids to wear themselves out. I'm a little concerned about how my kids will fare once we get back to the mainland. I SHOULD be doing educational stuff with them on all this time off, but cummon....we live in Hawaii! I have a feeling we will be looking into the Sylvan Learning Centers once we move. Until then, bring on the fun!

Aloha Kellers

2009-11-20T22:59:00.001-10:00

Last month the American Dental Association Conference was held here in Honolulu. We were so excited, because this meant we would get to see some dear friends whom we hadn't seen for many years. The Kellers were our BFFs in North Carolina. We had all just gotten out of dental school, Chris and Dave were in the same residency, our kids were the same age (and attended the same pre-school), we went to the same ward...it was like looking in a mirror. After residency they moved to Germany, Virginia, and have now settled in Washington. We were so happy for the chance to see them, meet the younger two kids, and show them a little of this beautiful island. They stayed at Ko'Olina for the first half of their vacation, then came to stay at our house for the last part. We had fun swimming at their condo pool, swimming at a couple of beaches, going out to dinner, visiting the Dole Plantation, and listening to General Conference :) I hadn't taken any pictures of their stay, so as they were getting ready to head to the airport, I hurried and snapped some pictures in our back yard. Above is Rachel, Dave, then David, Bella, Savannah, with Ben on the ground (silly boy). Below is all the kids. They had such a blast playing together. Hey Kellers, next time the party is at your house!

Trick-Or-Treat

2009-11-01T14:15:00.009-10:00

Although the weather says it's July, it actually is Halloween. The past week has been so hot and muggy, it was hard to get into the Halloween spirit. In spite of the hot weather, the kids were excited to get dressed up and beg for candy. Dallin was supposed to be Darth Maul last year, but the costume was too big. One year later, thanks to a massive growth spurt, it fit him.Corynn wanted to be a vampire this year. She was very particular about her hair and make-up (hey, she might have some girly in her after all). She HAD to have sparkles on her face, because everyone knows that vampires sparkle (thank-you Stephenie Meyer). I tried to convince her to loose the fake teeth, because everyone knows that vampires don't have fangs. She didn't buy it.

Trunk-or-Treat has become a yearly tradition for our family. Corynn tried to ditch us in favor of going out with friends, but the mean mother I am made her spend SOME time with our family. I'm not ready to have a teenager yet.Here I am as Little Red Riding Hood, getting ready to put Masen in his turtle costume. Heaven knows I wanted to do a family theme for costumes, but really, Halloween snuck up on me too fast.As usual, the kids got way more candy than they can ever possible consume. We just threw out a storage baggie of last years candy! Sunday morning they were WAY more interested in candy than getting to church. Really, can you blame them?

7 Months and Growing

2009-10-18T16:13:00.008-10:00

I have a fabulous friend in my ward who was nice enough to take Masen's photos for me. She is one of those people who is naturally good at everything she does, including photography. I think the pictures turned out adorable. Thanks so much Molly! Some of the pictures look a little grainy because I Photoshopped them, then had to lower the resolution so blogger would upload them.

I Miss Fall

2009-10-16T13:47:00.006-10:00

These past couple of weeks have just felt a little "off." It was something I couldn't quite put my finger on. One day I finally realized what it is: I am missing fall. When this time of year rolls around I have a natural instinct to put on some jeans and sweaters, cook hearty, warm meals, and go to bed a little earlier. I put my fall decorations up to alleviate the longing a little, but it's hard to get into the mood with 85 degree sunny weather. Hawaii is mostly summer year round, but during the winter months it feels like spring with all the rain. Winter is a season I can definitely live completely without, but I am really missing fall.
Corynn, me, and Dallin at the Pumpkin Patch in Marble Falls, TX in Fall of '05Corynn, Grandma Carol, and Dallin at a lake in North Carolina in the fall of '04. Here we are raking our front lawn in North Carolina in the fall of '03. The falls were so beautiful there!
After browsing for some fall pictures, and noticing how few I have, I've come to realize that I have taken seasons for granted. When we move back to the mainland I will be sure to stop and appreciate ALL the seasons a bit more. Have a happy fall y'all - because I sure won't!

Maui Sunsets

2009-09-17T20:22:00.006-10:00

Chris has picked up a new hobby since moving here to Hawaii; he loves to photograph sunsets. While in Maui he had plenty of opportunity to capture some truly breath taking sunsets. The funny thing is, this is just a few of his pictures. I think we could make our millions if he decided to give up dentistry, and start his own post-card company. I'm glad he has such a beautiful hobby.

Maui....Take 2

2009-09-13T14:35:00.015-10:00

**WARNING** Extremely Long Post!

Alright, I put the title of this post "Maui...Take 2" because this is actually our second trip to Maui. Our first trip was last November with Chris' parents. We had so much fun, BUT we were only here for 3 days, and it rained most of the time. Once we got home I told Chris that trip didn't count! We had to come back. So....here we go again. Chris had an Army conference here for Mon.-Thurs., then he had Fri.-Mon. off for Labor Day. Since part of the trip was already paid for, we decided to extend Chris' stay and use the long holiday as a family Maui vacation. The kids and I flew in Wed. afternoon. After a little bit of trouble at the airport (who would guess there could be so much hassle for a 20 min. flight?!) we were off to Chris' resort. He couldn't meet us at the airport since he was at a Zip-line doing team building exercises. Lucky him. He met up with us later to get us settled, then he was off again to a Luau. I opted not to go, but stayed with the kids for some swimming and relaxing. This resort is on the northern west side of Maui in the Ka'anapali area.

One of the things I love about Hawaii is their traditions and history. As I was watching the kids swim I noticed men in traditional Hawaiian costumes (basically a loincloth and lei) going around lighting the tiki torches, and blowing in a conch shell. I thought this was pretty cool, then I noticed a man, similarly dressed, hiking out to a big group of rocks and lighting the tiki torches on the rocks. I asked a man sitting next to me what he was doing, and he told me of one the the Hawaiian legends about King Kahekili. You can read a brief synopsis of the tradition at the resorts site : http://www.sheraton-maui.com/pr_cliffdive.htm. It was so neat to watch this man do a short ceremonial dance? (for lack of a better word), throw a lei into the ocean, then dive in.

I think my kids are part fish. They would live in the water if I would let them.

Here are some pictures of the resort. It was beautiful, but because the rooms only had 2 full size beds, we opted to switch resorts as soon as Chris was done with his conference.
After checking out, we explored a little of the island on our way to our new hotel. We stopped in a cute, kind of touristy town call Lahaina. I made Chris take a picture of this cemetery which was right next to the beach. Chris told me he hoped we wouldn't get "cursed" for taking this picture. It was a little creepy.

We stopped at the famous Banyan Tree Park. This is only one tree, but it takes up the whole 3/4 acre park. The kids had fun climbing and exploring, and Chris and I had fun taking pictures.
Next we went to an area called the 'Iao Valley. We tried to come here last year, but the road was closed due to flash flooding. This time around there was no rain in sight. It was a beautiful, lush canyon. Here, we learned a little more of Maui's history. It was in this canyon that King Kamehameha finally took victory over Maui, after numerous attempts to conquer the island. The women and children took refuge in these mountains as they watched their men die in a vain attempt to keep their independence. The battle was so bloody, and there were so many dead bodies piled in the stream, they called the battle Kepaniwai, which translates into "the damming of the waters." As we were sitting is this peaceful setting, it was hard to imagine such a gruesome battle.

This landmark is called the 'Iao Needle. It is actually 1200 ft. tall. It sure doesn't look that big, huh?Ok, so now onto my FAVORITE part of our vacation. You would think it would be the beaches, or the mountains, volcanoes, or scenery, but no, it was our resort. By kind of a fluke we ended up in a suite at a five star resort, The Four Seasons. How we ended up here is too long for this blog, but if you would like to know the details, call me.

We were greeted with leis, then brought up to our room to this:The chocolate turtles were on a bed of sand (crushed graham crackers), with cookies and drinks. They also had alphabet sponges that spelled each kids' name in the bathtub, and put stuffed animals on their beds. I had requested a pack and play, but no...not at this hotel. They not only brought in a full size silver crib, with the cutest bedding, but also put a diaper genie in the bathroom, gave us organic baby toiletries and included a "shhh...baby sleeping" sign to put on the door, so housekeeping wouldn't wake him. Speaking of housekeeping, they had twice daily service. The evening service was to turn down the beds, turn on the lights, put on soft Hawaiian music, and put slippers next to the bed. Our suite had 2 bathrooms, and the master bath was bigger than my kitchen at home. Here is the kids in one of our 2 lanais. The other one had a dining set.The resort had 3 pools, although we only got to swim in 2 of them. The third one is a serenity pool and had just opened a few weeks ago. It was an adult only pool, because it had a swim up bar. I wish I had gone up there just to experience the underwater music.Here is Chris enjoying his POG. It has become our favorite island juice. The kids loved the keiki pools, and all the pool toys that were included. Here is the lighting of the torches ceremony again. I guess all the resorts do it?After the kids exhausted themselves swimming, they wanted to go to the game room. This "room" was actually 3 rooms. In one room was 2 pool tables, a Foosball table, shuffleboard, computers, and a big screen TV and couch. The other room had ping pong, and the last room was a sound proof room (thank-goodness) for all the video games. This was by far Dallin's favorite area. Here is Chris and Corynn rocking out to Guitar Hero. Here's the kids the next morning, waking up to Disney channel. I think even Masen is becoming a Hannah Montana fan.The resort offered complimentary keiki camp called Kids For All Seasons. It's a day camp for 5-12 year olds, and you can sign them up for individual activities, part day, or full day. Corynn and Dallin were so excited to go, and opted for the full day. See their individual blogs for their fun 2 days at keiki camp. Chris and I took advantage of a full day in Maui with no kids (well, we still had Masen). First we went shopping, and out to lunch, then decided to go up to Mount Haleakala, the name meaning, "house of the sun." It was so awesome! Everyone says to go watch the sunrise, but leaving my resort at 3 a.m. did not sound like something I wanted to do while on vacation. During the day was just fine, thank you very much. On my way up though, I can see why the sunrise would be so amazing. You go up...up...up above the clouds. I can just imagine the sun rising through the clouds. Once we got to the top, I really feel like I was on top of a volcano. In some places it felt like I was on the moon. The craters, the barren landscape, and the rocks were beautifulOne of the Hawaiian legends is that the demigod Maui had a grandmother that complained of the days being too short to get chores done. He came up to the top of this mountain where the sun slept in a crater and waited for it to rise so he could lasso it. Upon being captured the sun agreed to slow down 6 months of the year, and return to it's normal pace the other 6 months.The next day, the kids went to keiki camp again, hooray! Chris and I decided to take the road to Hana. They say it is Heaven's Highway. It is only like 35 miles long, but everyone told us to make a day out of it. There are supposed to be many waterfalls you can get out and see, and pools you can stop and swim in. Well, we had a baby asleep in the back of the car, so the scenery had to be enough for us. When we started, we expected a short trip and balked at the 35 mph signs. A little while into the trip, I (who never gets car sick....ever) got car sick. The roads are so twisty, windy and narrow. There are almost 60 bridges, and every single one of them is a one lane bridge you have to share with oncoming traffic. I expected it to be like the Alpine Loop (for any of you Utahns), but this drive made the Alpine Loop look like a freeway. I had read that there aren't really any good places to eat in Hana, so you should bring a picnic lunch. My own personal theory is that by the time anyone gets to Hana, they are so car sick nothing tastes good. The scenery was spectacular though, and I lament that there weren't more spots to pull over to take a picture. The few spots there were to pull over were all full of people hiking to the falls. We didn't dare stop in the middle of the road for fear someone would hit us coming around a blind curve.Once we got to Hana we found a really nice restaurant and ate lunch. And yes, it actually was very good. It felt good to get out of the car for a little while. Here is Chris after eating. I wasn't in the picture because my face was probably still green :) After being in the car so much, we all decided to spend our last full day at the resort, the beach, and the surrounding town. We had fun swimming, playing tennis, and chillin' in our room. Have I mentioned how much I loved our resort?

Here I am, waiting for the valet, getting ready to leave. We were sad to go. Chris swears that this is how he plans to vacation from now on. How can we ever be happy at a plain old Marriott ever again?! Once we got home though, and looked up how much our 5 star suite WOULD have cost, we agreed that this was probably a once in a lifetime thing.

13 Years and Counting

2009-09-11T09:43:00.006-10:00

It's hard to believe that Chris and I have been married 13 years already. Sometimes I can't remember life without him, and other times it seems we are still newlyweds. He was so sweet and came home with a lei and roses. I had wanted to do something big like a helicopter ride, or dinner cruise (OK, I have been watching waaaay too much of the Bachelorette) but Chris convinced me to go low key since we had a trip planned to Maui the next week. Some friends watched the kids while we had dinner at Ko'Olina at sunset. It was beautiful and romantic, even with a baby in tow.13 years ago, I don't think I could have imagined our life now. It's better than I ever dreamed, and so much of that is due to Chris. He is a good husband, father, provider, and priesthood holder. He is my best friend. Babe ~ here's to growing old together.

Back to School

2009-09-11T09:36:00.004-10:00

School in Hawaii starts pretty early, so on July 31st, it was back to school for Corynn and Dallin. Corynn, 5th grade, and Dallin 3rd grade.

We are looking forward to a great year!

Hook, Line, and Sinker

2009-08-30T15:07:00.005-10:00

Corynn, being the little tom-boy she is, has been begging to go fishing for years. Since neither me nor Chris fish, I was able to recruit my brother Jeff to take her and Dallin before we left to go home to Hawaii. I remember as a kid my dad took me fishing a couple of times. I liked it OK, but I hated cleaning it and eating it. Corynn and Dallin happily promised that they would help clean and eat it. Corynn caught her fish pretty early on, but after about an hour Dallin still hadn't caught anything. Just as we were about to pack up to leave, Dallin finally go a bite. Thanks goodness! Here they are with their spoils. They kept their promise, and were so excited to eat their own fish! The whole time, the only thing going through my mind was, "Yuck." I'm glad they enjoyed it though.

A Day Spent With Friends

2009-08-27T18:27:00.005-10:00

On our last day in Colorado Springs the Strattons came down to spend the day with us. We ended up a the Cliff Dwellings Museum, which was pretty cool. It was a series of homes/caves that had been built into the mountainside by Indians. It was a very "hands on" experience for the kiddos, who had fun climbing, running, and exploring.
This is the museum and gift shop, which was even more expansive than the homes/caves. I think I got lost in there once or twice.After the museum, we drove down to the Garden of the Gods area. It was just as majestic the second time. We walked around, took pictures, and let the kids get out all their energy. Here's a picture of the kids being their silly selves!
We had a blast with these friends. Living close to them would be just one more perk of moving to Colorado Springs.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

2009-08-17T17:00:00.002-10:00

While in Colorado Springs, one day we took the kiddos to the zoo. This zoo is built onto a mountain side, so by the time you reach the top, it's like you have climbed up a 10 story building. As we were huffing and puffing (it was probably the altitude...right?) we saw all sorts of animals. The giraffes were among our favorites.

Colorado Springs, or Bust!

2009-08-17T16:49:00.004-10:00

So, most of you know that Chris is a dentist in the Army. The Army paid for BYU, and Dental school, and a 2 year residency in Comprehensive Dentistry. We, in return, owe them 9 years active duty, of which Chris has served 7. So, in two short years we have some major life decisions to make. Do we stay in the Army with the good benefits, 30 days paid vacation, a pretty good steady paycheck, or give it all up and start from scratch, maybe go into debt big time to buy, or even more scary start up a new practice? The Army has had many advantages, but the HUGE disadvantage is that they tell you where you live. I have been drug all over this lovely country, and have seen some amazing places, BUT I miss family. It all comes down to me wanting to live closer to family. And Chris, being the wonderful husband he is, just wants me to be happy. I told Chris the only way I would maybe want him to stay in the Army is if they can get me closer to family, and the closest military installation is in Colorado Springs, Colorado. So, while on vacation to Utah this summer, we decided to take a little side trip to check it out. The drive through the Utah and Colorado mountains was beautiful. We stayed in a cute touristy town called Glenwood Springs, CO. Here is a couple of (not very good) pictures of the kids swimming in the hotel pool. We stayed with our friends the Strattons one night. Our kids were in heaven playing with their best friends from Texas, who had just moved to a suburb of Denver. Here is Brandt and Dallin, with Xander giving them bunny ears. Xander and Corynn have been friends since they were little. I still remember dropping Corynn off at Xander's 4th birthday party, shortly after they moved to Fayetteville, NC. I think we still have the Harry Potter wand she received as a favor. After leaving the Stratton's house (which is beautiful, I might add), we headed down to Colorado Springs. We drove around a little, and ran into this area called Garden of the Gods. There were beautiful rock formations with the Rocky Mountains in the back ground. Shortly after arriving in Colorado Springs, I turned to Chris and told him this was "it." This was where I wanted to live. It was love at first sight. I am smitten! We're going to try to get here with the Army, but in case it doesn't work out, does anyone know of a dental practice for sale, or another dentist looking for a partner?

4th of July

2009-08-17T16:02:00.005-10:00

For the 4th of July, my side of the family has a tradition of playing in Park City. It's a beautiful town with nice weather and you get the gorgeous mountains as a back-drop. First thing in the morning we met up on Main Street for the parade. After walking around for a little while, we ended up at this yummy pizza place for lunch. It was soooooo good, we didn't have any leftovers.

After lunch my mom and I headed for the outlets :D, while Chris took the rest of the gang to the resort where they have fun outdoor summer activities. Here is a picture with my niece Jordyn, Corynn, and Dallin eating ice-cream.

Here is Chris and the kids heading up the ski lift to the Alpine Slide.

Here come the girls! I guess Jordyn won this race!

Dallin loved jumping on trampoline. He got a little daring and tried a few tricks such as back flips and front flips. As long as he sticks to the tricks while he is strapped to a harness, we're good. He better not get as daring on the trampoline at home.

We all also went down the new Alpine Coaster. It's like the Alpine Slide on steroids. It was such a rush! Sadly, nobody was around to take pictures. I screamed so long and loud, by the time the ride was over I was hoarse.

While waiting for the fireworks to start we had a picnic and played cards. Here is my brother Kris, me, my brother Jeff, and my cousin Ryan.

Such fun times. Same place next year? Save me a spot :)

Reunion Photos

2009-08-07T20:52:00.005-10:00

Instead of hiring a photographer, we asked Chris' sister Melanie to bring up her SLR camera and take some family photos. I guess we waited a little too long into the evening after the sun had set before we got started. We were having too much fun visiting! This first picture is Grandma and Grandpa Lambert with all their grandkids. They have 17, with 2 more on the way! This is Chris' immediate family, from left to right, Shawn, Steph, Kim, Jen, Shelly, Mel, Chris, and of course, Mom and Dad. What a good lookin' group they are.This is our little family photo. This was my favorite candid shot.

The next morning, as we were all heading our seperate ways, they decided to hurry and get another picture since the lighting was better.

Lambert Family Reunion 2009

2009-08-04T20:49:00.012-10:00

This year Chris' family held their family reunion in a cabin in Big Cotton Wood Canyon. What fun we had with all 7 Lambert siblings, along with their spouses and kids (17 kids in all, 3 of them babies), and Mom and Dad. Chris calls it kid fest 2009 :) These pictures are in no particular order. Here I am getting our room set up for our 5 day stay.One night we had a Family Talent Show around the fire-pit. We enjoyed such talents as Mom's horse impression, Kayden's amazing musical talents, Ryan's bobcat impression, Corynn and Dallin's Ohana song, and many other wondrous delights. There was a lot of goofing around and laughter. I think we need to make this an annual tradition.The kids had so much fun playing with all their cousins. Between the hot tub, ping-pong table, pool table, and the great outdoors, there was never a dull moment. Here is Corynn and Dallin with their cousin John.
The hot tub (or hot pool as we called it) was a big hit with the kids. From left to right is Sara, Dallin, John, Corynn and Brendon, with Emily (I think) hiding behind Corynn.

One day we all took a walk around Silver Lake. It was a gorgeous day, with beautiful scenery. I think we took about a hundred pictures just in the couple hours we spent there.

One day was spent up at Snowbird Ski Resort. We all rode the Aerial Tram to the top of the mountain. It was COLD, and there was SNOW! In July! All the kids had a snowball fight, until Uncle Chris broke it up, with the fear of someone getting hurt. "Every party has a pooper, and that's why they invited Chris."After we came down from the mountain, some of the kids went mining for gold, at one of the activities offered at the resort. I'm not sure exactly what was found, but we called them "treasures".

Ok, I made Chris snap this picture, even though he thought it was indecent. This is my niece Jordyn giving Emily a piggy back ride. How cute! I think this is my favorite picture of my whole summer vacation!

The Fun Continues

2009-08-03T07:54:00.005-10:00

We spent time with the Lamberts as well. We all met up at the Kangaroo Zoo for some jumping fun. There was only one mishap when Julia fell from the top of one of these bouncers. She ended up in the ER, but thankfully, she only had a krinked neck. Here is a picture of Corynn and her cousin Paige.These cousins all had so much fun. Here is a picture of Dallin with his cousins Brendon, and Collin.We all met up at the Payson water park one afternoon. I don't know why I didn't get pictures of my kids (they probably wouldn't get out of the pools), but here is a cute one of my nephew John, and nieces Sara and Emily.Masen got to meet his great grandma Lambert for the first time.

The Start of Summer Vacation

2009-08-03T07:02:00.006-10:00

Alright, I've been home a week and a half from the mainland, so I guess it's finally time to blog about our summer vacation. The first 3 weeks in Utah I didn't rent a car, so I was tied to my mom and her car. I didn't get out and do a whole lot...just met up with family and friends, shopped, and ate out (A LOT). There are many good things about Hawaii, but shopping and restaurants are not among my favorite things on the island. I had to make up for some serious lost time. Here is a photo of my sister in law Julie just before she left for the summer to go work in Virginia Beach with my brother, Phil. Of course we met up at The Brick Oven, my favorite pizza spot! Here is my mom with Masen. She was just so in love with him. Every day after work, she would rush home to play with him. We spent quite a few nights up in the canyon. My kids love roasting hot dogs and making s'mores.

I know...I know

2009-06-26T04:38:00.003-10:00

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I have a perfectly good excuse. The kids and I flew to Utah a few weeks ago, and my mom's computer doesn't have a slot for my camera's memory card. What's the fun in reading a blog post with no pictures? So, as soon as I get to a computer where I can upload some photos I will be blogging again. Stay tuned.

Aloha, Anderson's

2009-05-30T18:22:00.013-10:00

Last week, we had the privilege of having the Anderson's come and stay with us for 5 days. These are some friends visiting from Utah, whom we met while we were all attending grad. school in Cleveland. We have kept in touch all this time, though we haven't seen them for 7 years. Has it really been that long?! It was so great to pick up where we left off, without skipping a beat. Aloha, and welcome to Hawaii! After a BBQ at our house, we took them to Ko'Olina, one of our favorite spots on the island. We wanted to show them the gorgeous sunsets. We enjoyed the evening walking on the sandy beaches in this beautiful setting, and catching up.

Dave and Emily took advantage of the 4 hour time difference, and were up and at 'em at 5 a.m. Saturday morning. They wanted to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, and the best time is really early in the morning when all the fish are feeding. Chris decided to join them, since he had not been yet. They had a blast, and got some underwater pictures of some amazing sea-life.
Emily looked fabulous in her snorkel gear!Next, Chris took them to hike Diamond Head. Chris called us from the summit, and told the kids to go out on the patio and wave, and he would wave back. Not that we could see him, but just the thought was enough. Here is a picture from the top. Beautiful!Later that night we all met up in Waikiki to have dinner with some other friends from Cleveland, the Belau's, who were in town for a convention. What a fun night of catching up with these long lost friends.

On Sunday, after church, we took Dave and Emily on a drive around part of the island. The Pali overlook was spectacular, even on a rainy overcast day.

Next, we headed to the Punchbowl, a military cemetery where many of the soldiers from Pearl Harbor and WWII are buried. Since the next day (Monday) was Memorial Day, it was special to walk around and reflect on the lives of these brave men and women. Each grave had an American flag and a lei. We were told that the school children of some local schools made the leis, and the Boy Scouts placed the leis with a flag at each grave. There were thousands. This picture does not do it justice.

The next day was Memorial Day. Dave and Emily had scheduled a private tour at Pearl Harbor, so we let them go, while our family slept in. It happened to be my birthday, so Chris woke me up to my favorite breakfast, Belgium waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. Yummm! When Dave and Emily returned, we headed up to North Shore for a Mexican lunch. We passed the Dole Plantation on our way, so we decided to make a quick detour. They couldn't leave Hawaii without at least trying the pineapple ice-cream. It's not my favorite, but then again, I'm not a huge ice-cream fan. After lunch (or dinner, by the time we got there), I wanted to try to find a beach I had heard about where there were supposed to be turtles. We went where we were told, but there was nothing. We walked around on the lava rocks, and saw some swimming in the ocean, but we really couldn't get close enough to get a good look. Oh, well. On our way back to the car, we saw some people on the beach looking at what appeared to be a large rock. As we got closer, we saw that it was a huge turtle. In Hawaii, the turtles are "protected" so there was a preservationist there to rope off the turtle, and make sure that nobody got too close. I was just glad to have seen one up close. "Dude...the name's Crush."On Tuesday the Anderson's spent the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center, and didn't get back until we were all asleep. They flew out on Wed. morning to go to the island of Kauai for the remainder of their vacation. After they left, I told Chris my favorite part of living in Hawaii, was showing it off to visitors. Sooo....who's next? Any takers?

Family Beach Day

2009-05-30T07:52:00.006-10:00

A couple of week-ends ago, our family decided to have a beach day. Masen had done so well at the Ko'Olina Lagoons when I went with my friend Shelly, I was able to convince Chris he was ready for the beach. So, we loaded up the van and headed to the North Shore. Corynn and Dallin were so excited. It had been a while since we have been to a beach with waves where they could boogie board.

Masen did so good. We slathered him up in his baby sunscreen with SPF 50, put on his rash guard, trunks and hat. He was so cute in his little outfit. We took him out for his first dip in the ocean. The water was a little cold at first, but we got used to it pretty quick.

After playing for a little while, Masen and I were sitting on a lounge chair, under the umbrella, and I had this surreal feeling wash over me. I was just sitting there listening to the waves crash, and the children laugh, looking at the beautiful scenery, and I had this feeling like I had been dropped into the middle of a commercial. Is this really my life? I snapped this picture to remind me of the moment.

Beach Bums

2009-05-10T22:26:00.005-10:00

Since the kids didn't have school on Monday, my friend Shelly and I decided to take our kids to the beach. Our beach days have been few and far between since I've been pregnant, and now having a newborn. Shelly and I set up some lounge chairs in the shade, and let the kids play for a few hours. It was pure bliss! The kids love to hunt for crabs. Usually they find tons of sand crabs, but this time they found a real crab. They were able to capture it in their bucket to show us. If I were a seafood fan, I might have been tempted to steam it up and eat it. The kids might have been sad to eat their pet, though.

Masen did amazingly well. We just spread out a blanket for him to lay in the shade, and he just chilled. He is a beach bum in the making. I guess I might need to get him a swimming suit soon.

Chris' Humanitarian Mission to the Philippines

2009-05-10T21:29:00.005-10:00

Last month Chris had the amazing opportunity to go to the Philippines on a humanitarian mission with the Army. I really wanted Chris to write this post, but he is always so busy, and when he is not busy, he is too tired from being busy. So, I will attempt to muddle through his 2 1/2 week trip. I apologize in advance if I get some things wrong. He took hundreds of pictures, and I tried to capture the essence of this trip. The Military sent out a group of about 20; including doctors (Pediatricians, Optometrists, Veterinarians) dentists, Pharmacy Techs, RNs, assistants and security. They visited 5 cities (or villages), staying at each one between 2-5 days each. He didn't have a phone to call me but he had spotty internet, so I received an e-mail from him every few days describing his experiences. He was hot and tired a lot of the time. He said it reminded him a lot of his mission in India.His working conditions weren't the best. It was very hot and humid working in these make-shift clinics. He was grateful when his hotel room had air conditioning. His patients were about half adults and half kids. In the few e-mails I received he complained about his hands hurting from doing so many extractions.

He loved working and playing with the kids.
I thought this picture was funny. If you are going to use the coffin, I certainly wouldn't want it back :)
The markets there were insane. There were some other pictures with boxes full of fish all over the ground. I can't imagine doing my grocery shopping like this.
Open wide!

On one mission they had to be flown to another island. They flew in a Marines helicopter (you know, the ones with the double blades). Chris got some amazing aerial pictures.

Chris told me that something that really touched him was how grateful the people were. He told me that it made him feel like he was making a difference. I guess it's not the same as here in the states. We take things like medical and dental care for granted, and we dread having to visit a doctor. Chris told me there were actually lines outside their tents for patients to be seen.

Here is Chris just messing around on a motorcycle. This is probably the closest he will ever get to riding one.

I'm not sure, but I think this picture is taken with some people from the Filipino Army. I know he worked with 2 other Filipino dentists, as well as 2 other American dentists. He said between the 5 of them they were seeing about 400 patients a day.

What an amazing experience he had. He has always dreamed of doing work like this, but we always thought it would be after he retired. We are so lucky for Chris to be able to fulfil some of his dreams, while the Army foots the bill :) Chris said it was very fulfilling work, but it was also very hard work. He says he might need a year to recover from this mission before he volunteers for another one. He is hoping to go to Nepal next.

Hoppy Easter!

2009-04-13T23:46:00.004-10:00

I love traditions, and Easter is one of those holidays where we have a few fun traditions. I always buy the kids matching Sunday outfits. I'm sure they will hate this tradition in a few years, but for now they think it's fun. They loved that they matched the baby. Another traditon is Easter baskets with lots of candy, and a stuffed animal instead of a chocolate bunny. This year they got Webkins for thier stuffed animal. Corynn got a skunk, because she is a little "stinker." Dallin got a lion because I thought it was cute, just like him. Masen got a bunny rattle in his basket.Another fun tradition we have is an Easter egg hunt. Usually we ask the Easter bunny to come on Friday night so we can do the egg hunt and baskets on Saturday morning. I like to keep the commercial side and the spiritual side of Easter seperate. This year though, it was raining on Saturday morning, so instead the Easter bunny came while we were at church on Sunday. It was such a sunny beautiful Hawaiian day, we did the egg hunt in the back yard. We have a tradition of having each child find one special Golden Egg that has money in it. In the beginning the Golden Egg had a quarter in, and over the years it has increased to $5. The kids know that the Golden Egg is usually hard to find, and sometimes they need clues. The only clue I would give them this year is that they needed to be VERY careful when they found the Golden Egg. Dallin wasn't being so careful when he found it and nearly got tangled in this huge spider's web.Thankfuly, I was watching him, and yelled from across the yard that he needed to watch out. Once he saw the spider he wasn't so sure the Golden Egg was worth the risk :) After some deliberation he walked around to the other side of the bush (even though it was in our neighbors yard), and was able to snag the egg from behind. He was one determined kid.

Here is Corynn and Dallin proudly showing off their Golden Eggs. Here is me and Masen watching all the fun.

Easter Portraits

2009-04-09T13:43:00.002-10:00

OK, so I'm really late on getting Masen's pictures taken for his announcements. I decided to get all the kids' pictures taken together in their Easter outfits, along with Masen's one month old pictures. I haven't found a good photographer here in Hawaii, so I just went to Sears (there's my first mistake). I was so disappointed with how they turned out. I guess I'm just used to the mainland kids studios; I LOVE Kiddie Kandids, and The Picture People. At least I got the disc so I can TRY to Photoshop the images. I am new at Photoshop, so we'll see how far I get. This picture was cropped (totally off center). Couldn't she get the baby even looking in the right direction? And she would only take one picture of each pose, so if it didn't turn out...too bad.This picture I Photoshopped. It was totally off center, and the light was so bright. If anyone knows how to make a picture look "foggy" in Photoshop CS3, PLEASE let me know how!Cropped again. SOOOO off center.I had to zoom in a little on this one. I guess I should have specified I wanted a close up.Notice the foot hanging out of the basket? It's little things like these, that drive me NUTS!This one was probably the worst of the bunch. It would have turned out cute, but Masen is crying. How do you Photoshop this? I think I'll just have to chuck it.Corynn's and Dallin's individual pictures turned out good. Maybe the photographer just didn't work well with babies? Next time, I'm hiring a REAL professional. Anyone have any recommendations?

Grandma Turns ??? Years Old

2009-04-06T07:31:00.002-10:00

For any of you that know my mother-in-law, you know she is young at heart. She has the energy of an 18 year old, and loves life! These past 2 weeks with her visiting us have been great. We have taken drives, gone to the beach, gone shopping, and our favorite activity; going out to lunch! Every place we go, she winks at me and tells me that we are celebrating her birthday today :) With all the "birthday" celebrations this week I think she has turned about 100. After many of these lunches, I started taking a picture of her with her "birthday" dessert.The Cheesecake Factory, Chris' Outrageous Chocolate CakeChili's, Paradise Pie

Red Lobster, Ice Cream

Keep in mind, this list doesn't include:

California Pizza Kitchen, Hot Fudge Sundae
Rosita's, Fried Ice Cream
Macaroni Grill, Chocolate Cake
Mexican in Kailua, Fried Ice Cream
P.F. Chang's, Tiramisu

Her REAL birthday is coming up next week on the 16th. Happy REAL birthday, Mom!

Masen's Blessing Day

2009-03-31T23:59:00.004-10:00

On Sunday March 29th Masen was blessed. He was so fussy that morning, he almost missed his own blessing! Chris took Corynn and Dallin to church early to grab a seat and ask some friends to stand in the circle with him, while I tried to nurse Masen and get him calmed down. We walked into Sacrament meeting about 10 mins. late, and was just taking Masen out of his carrier when Chris had to grab him and take him up to the stand. Whew! What a morning! I just can't resist a hat!

Dallin's 8th Birthday, and Baptism

2009-03-31T22:59:00.001-10:00

Dallin's 8th birthday turned into a three day celebration, with lots of fun, fun, fun. On Saturday we started out the day with opening presents. From Grandma he got some skateboarding toys, and from Mom and Dad he got 2 Wii games, scriptures with a case, a baptism scrapbook and activity book, some white shirts, ties and a CTR tie tack with a sword and shield on it. Next, we headed down to Waikiki to eat lunch at Benihana's. He actually chose Panda Express for his birthday meal (he LOVES Orange Chicken), but Grandma and I were able to talk him into somewhere a little more fun :)After lunch we headed home to get ready for Dallin's baptism. He was baptized along with another little boy in our ward named Liam. What a special day for these two boys. They looked so cute all dressed in white. We are so proud of Dallin's decision to be baptized. He is such a good boy and always tries to Choose The Right. We hope he can continue to progress and grow in rightousness. He has such a simple and sweet testimony. Here is a picture of Dad and Dallin as we are getting ready to leave for the church.

After Dallin was baptized many of the ward members gave him leis. This is such a fun Hawaiian tradition. All of his leis were filled with candy. Lucky boy!
Since we had cake and punch at the baptism, nobody really wanted birthday cake when we got home that night. We decided to save it for the next day, (Sunday) and we invited the Atkinson family from our ward over to help us celebrate.
On Monday Dallin chose to go to the water park down the hill from our house, and he invited his friend Alema. Dad took these two boys, and the three of them had a blast! They came home hungry, happy, and a little sunburned.

It was a fun filled 3 days.

Happy 10th Birthday, Corynn

2009-03-24T23:59:00.001-10:00

This is the birthday that never ends! Since Corynn's birthday was on Sunday this year, we started out the celebration on Saturday. It is tradition in our family to let the birthday person pick out where they would like to go to dinner (or in this case, lunch). Every year Corynn chooses Red Lobster, because it is the ONE time a year Chris and I will take her (we are not seafood fans). This year she really wanted Lobster. Where does she get this from?!?After our yummy lunch, we took a walk on Waikiki Beach. It was such a beautiful day, and it was made even more special because Grandma Lambert was able to celebrate Corynn's birthday with us.
On Sunday, we celebrated more with cake and presents. We have a strict rule of no friends on Sunday, but we let Corynn's best friend Mya come over to help us celebrate. Mya gave Corynn a Sea Monkey kit (we'll see how they turn out), Grandma gave Corynn (what else?) a Webkinz, and she got some clothes and a learn to type program from Mom and Dad. Her main present she will get at the Sea Life Park.
On Monday we all headed to the east side of the island to go to the Sea Life Park. Ever since Corynn learned we were moving to Hawaii, she has been wishing to go swimming with dolphins. She finally got her wish for her 10th birthday. The park was pretty, although a little on the small side. We saw turtles, fish, seals, and of course dolphins. Check out these video clips. The first one is of Corynn and Chris hitching a ride with the dolphins. The second one is Chris and Corynn giving the dolphins kisses. The resolution is low to make it easier and faster to view on blogger.

I think Corynn had the best day EVER!!!

Grandma To The Rescue

2009-03-20T23:25:00.001-10:00

Today Chris' mom flew into town to help out with baby Masen, and entertain Corynn and Dallin for their 2 weeks of Spring Break. I told her I feel like she is Mary Poppins, flying in on her magic umbrella to make everything fun and happy. I am truly grateful for her coming to help out. I married into a great family!

Here is a picture of Grandma being attacked by all of Corynn's Webkinz!

Masen is 1 Week Old

2009-03-14T15:43:00.000-10:00

It's hard to beleive that Masen is already a week old! Here is a short video of Masen at 1 week. He is so big, and has so much hair, it's hard to believe he is only a week old.

The first week is always the hardest, so I'm glad we are past that hump.

Baby Masen Arrives

2009-03-07T23:40:00.003-10:00

On Saturday, March 7, 2009, Masen finally decided to make his debut. Friday night at 10:30 my water broke, so we raced to the hospital, with contractions only 2-3 mins. apart. We made it there by 11:30, after dropping off Corynn and Dallin at some friends house. They were quick to get me an epidural because the contractions were so close, but once in place, my contractions slowed down. It was OK with me though, because Chris and I were able to get a few hours of rest (not really sleep:) At about 6:30 a.m. they checked me, and lo and behold there was his little head (have I mentioned how much I LOVE epidurals?). He was born pretty quick, and there were a few tense moments afterwards. He was a little tangled in his cord, and not breathing because of all the amniotic fluid in his mouth and throat. My Dr. had to hurry and cut the cord to get him over to the station to get him breathing. Even though Chris didn't get to cut the cord, I was relieved to hear his first cry. When they gave him to me, my first thought was how much he looked like Corynn when she was born, and my second thought was how quiet and subdued he was like when Dallin was born.

Masen, just a few minutes old, being measured and weighed. He weighed 8 lbs. 15.8 oz (we call him a 9 pounder), and 21 inches long. He was born at 6:37 a.m. Mom meeting Masen for the first time.Lynn, calling Grandmas and Grandpas to share the good news.
After they moved me to my recovery room, Chris went home to pick up the kids,take a quick nap, shower, and then came back to visit for the evening. Corynn and Dallin are so in love with their new baby brother.

Happy 35th, Chris

2009-03-01T22:56:00.002-10:00

Today was Chris' 35th birthday. I hadn't slept well the night before (so neither did he), so we decided to sleep in and skip church. The kids were baffled, because this was the first time since moving to Hawaii that we didn't go to church. The kids and I made him breakfast in bed, then we let dad have a nice relaxing morning. By the afternoon I was ready for a change of pace, so we brought him out his one present. Binoculars! Chris has been doing a little hiking lately, and we would love to go whale watching, so we got him some binoculars. He is the hardest guy to buy for! I think the kids were more excited about his present than he was.

After opening his present I wanted to go on a drive around the island to use this fun new toy. We ended up going out to lunch at a mexican restaurant on the North Shore (we had to keep reminding kids that this was the exception and not the rule, as far as Sundays go). It was really good...probably the best we have on the island yet (which really isn't saying a whole lot). Here is a picture of the birthday boy and the kiddos. Dallin had put the empty tortilla bowl on dad's head.

The kids had a lot of fun using the binoculars. I think they got car sick from trying to use them in the car.

It is days like this that I LOVE living in Hawaii. It was about 78 degrees and sunny, but really windy. The ocean was beautiful with white caps far out to sea, and big waves crashing. I kept thinking about when we lived in Cleveland, OH and March 1st was always SO cold. I remember holding my breath inbetween the car and house so I wouldn't breath in the cold air that hurt my lungs.

I was thinking about posting 35 things I love about Chris, but really it all boils down to just this; he is a great man, father and husband, and we love him.