Are you a Survivor?

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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?