Room Makeover, Kennedy Style....

When Kennedy was granted the wish of her own bedroom, she picked out a bedspread and pillows that she loved.  I had really good intentions of decorating her room shortly thereafter.  Thereafter turned out to be a full year.  But better late than never.  After a thorough dejunking, we headed to hobby lobby.  We found everything (and more) than her little heart desired to make her room hers.  My personal favorite find?  The zebra nightstand.  Complete impulse buy.  Yet just what the room needed.

One room down.  Too many left to count. 

Baby Locks....

Presley's hair was getting really long.  But it was also super thin.  I thought a cut might liven it up a bit.  She was excited to finally get to sit in the chair with the black cape on.  My friend Nikki did the honors.

Christmas......

This is the year I decided I wasn't even going to attempt to forgo the pajama ritual on Christmas Eve.  I've tried before, and it didn't bode well.  And besides.  How would I get my kids to pose in front of the tree if I didn't have the excuse of new pajamas?

Christmas this year was on a Sunday.  And we have 9 o'clock church.  Shawn and I decided that we would have the kids check out what Santa brought, go to church, then open presents after we returned from our meeting.  I loved it!  It made Christmas morning so perfect.  Usually it's over in 2.3 minutes.  This time it lasted until almost noon.  Fabulous.  Santa doesn't go all out around here.  We try to keep it pretty low key so the greedy's don't grab hold of our holiday. 

Pictures in case anyone doubts my seriousness in saying we don't go overboard.  We've found that keeping it simple also keeps it enjoyable.
My favorite part of Christmas morning?  The scramble on my bed, and the traditional line up of anticipation.

Presley recieved a trampoline that's just her size.  And her favorite fruit snacks.  She ate the entire box in 15 minutes.  And we let her.

Kennedy unexpectedly recieved a pet hamster which she named Russell.  Total surprise being as I told her she'd never have a pet while co-existing in my house.  I'm a total sucker around the holidays.  But I'll never admit that out loud.

Ethan got a few new rubiks cubes.  A 2x2 and a pyraminx.  Something you won't see me sneaking to play with.  Also the dart board he "needed" for entertainment purposes.  And to challenge his father.

Landon got the giant puppy his heart desired.  And a video game that made him smile.

And Jack?  He got paper.   Because that is what he wanted.  "Just a box of plain white printer paper so I can make stuff".  Seriously. Wish. Granted.

The best part of this particular Christmas was that Shawn was with us the entire day.  No pager interrupting the gift opening.  No epidurals pending.  No celebrating one day early or one day late so he could join us for an hour to celebrate.  The whole entire day.  With us.  Amazingly glorious.  And seeing that my kindergartner who just learned to read discovered a new passion?  Icing on the cake.

Holiday Extravaganza....

Kennedy's fifth grade class put on a musical performance this year.  The entire fifth grade participated.  Kennedy had a small speaking part.  And of course, she was the cutest one on stage.

Can you see her adorable little face?  She's the one directly in front of the boy with the dark green shirt with the blue stripe across his chest.  This is the portion where the group was singing as a whole.  I didn't capture her speaking part.
Ethan also had a performance this year.  His very first band concert.  This year he plays percussion. 

He's playing the bells.  Isn't he the most enthusiastic band member ever?  I love that I captured this particular expression on film. 

Ethan the Tween.....

The day after we returned from Hawaii was Ethan's 12th birthday.  This is the only picture I was able to capture that day.

Not the most attractive picture, but still cute enough.  Ethan.  My first born.  Twelve years old.  This age is such a milestone.  He was given the Priesthood, and now able to pass the Sacrament.  He's also able to attend the youth functions at church.  Crazy that I have a child old enough to participate in such events.
Ethan is still so extremely obedient.  He never lies to me.  And I know when he doesn't want to divulge the truth because he'll answer with "I don't remember".  What he doesn't realize?  I know he has somewhat of a photographic memory and nothing is ever forgotten.  Trickster.
This year Ethan is in sixth grade.  Only.  The advanced math class was too easy for him.  So.  He was bumped up to the seventh grade advanced math class.  And.  He's getting the highest grade in the class.  Crazy.  And he isn't braggy braggy like he could be.  He just keeps his accomplishments to himself. 
He reads constantly.  We gave him a Kindle for his birthday this year.  Fitting for his obsession.  So much easier for me than trying to keep current books available for his devouring. 
Ethan is so very grateful for everything.  He is always telling me things like "thank you so much for making me food everyday mom" or "thank you so much for....." fill in the blank.  With anything and everything.  I love his appreciation.  I give credit to his dad for teaching him how to be grateful to me for the things I do. 
Ethan, I'm so glad you are my oldest.  Your example of all that is good will hopefully be noticed by your younger siblings.  If they are as wonderful at 12 as you are then my life will be nothing but bliss.  I love you little man.  Even though you are growing up way too fast for my liking.

Hawaiian Vacation....Day 8....The End

Saturday morning we took what was to be our last morning walk to breakfast.

Knowing this was my last day in the sun, I headed for the beach quickly after breakfast.  Ed and Heidi showed up on the beach and we snorkeled for a bit.  It was a fabulous morning.  We left at noon to head in the direction of the game.  We had a few things that needed to be returned, and we also grabbed lunch.  When we got to the University of Hawaii they were directing traffic away from the University parking lot and shuffling us a mile away to the high school.  We finally found where we were supposed to park and started our hike.  We missed the kick off because of the parking situation.  When we found our seats I was shocked at where Shawn had chosen.  He chose 2nd row behind the BYU bench.  In a different stadium we would have been above the players heads and able to see the field.  In this stadium, not so much.  We were almost level with the team.  It took some getting used to, but it turned out to be fine.  Shawn loved that he could see the "behind the scenes" working of the players.  We watched as a phone would ring from the offensive coordinators box up top and Riley Nelson would pick it up to hear what plays were next.  Kind of cool.  The weather was perfect.  It sprinkled rain off and on, but just enough to be refreshing, not bothersome. 

Great game.  Especially because we won!  The Hawaii fans weren't happy.  Especially the guy at the end of our row.  He scared me enough I was afraid to leave to go to the bathroom.  Luckily he left at the end of third quarter so all was well.  We stuck around for awhile watching the players interacting on the field, with fans, and family.  It was dark by the time we got back to our car.  We walked from our hotel to The Hard Rock Cafe for a late dinner.  Then headed back to the hotel along the shoreline to pack up our suitcases.  We were up until almost midnight getting it all packed.  And then we were up at 4 am to make it to the airport for an early flight.  We pulled into the Kansas City Airport at 10:30 pm Sunday night.
What a great trip.  Just blogging about this makes me nostalgic to go back.  The sun.  The warm salty air.  The sand.  The food.  And the company.  I'm so grateful for a husband willing to make my wishes come true.  Even if it all surrounded his desire to see a BYU football game. 

Hawaiian Vacation....Day 7

Friday Shawn and I decided to forgo sightseeing for a day of nothing.  We both felt we needed another day of just....nothing.  Freedom to do as we pleased without an agenda.  We slept in and then ate cheesecake for breakfast in bed.  Great way to start the day!  After watching a movie while eating breakfast, I headed to the beach.  Shawn stayed in the room and watched another movie while I soaked in the sun on the warm sand.  I floated around in the ocean for a bit, then headed to the pool to lay on a lawnchair.  Total bliss.  I went back to the room at noon to put on some shorts so we could get some lunch.  We took our typical morning route and grabbed some lunch.  Then we decided to find a 7-11 for a big gulp.  We walked a direction we'd never taken and found some more beautiful scenery to sit and enjoy.

After we returned to the hotel I resumed my position on the beach.  Best.  Day.  Ever. 
This particular day was the day before the big BYU game.  Every time BYU plays an away game they have a fireside at a nearby stake center.  A few of the players speak, and often coaches will speak.  We met up with Ed and Heidi and drove to find the location of the fireside.  We found it with ease and got pretty good seats in the back of the cultural hall.  Sitting in front of us?  Brandon Doman (offensive coordinator, and former quarterback.  Also played for the 49'ers for a bit), his wife, and Ben Cahoon (recievers coach) and his wife.  Shawn was a little starstruck.  The speakers did a great job.  Coach Mendenhall did amazing.  And then after they all stuck around for autographs and pictures.  Ed and Shawn with Brandon Doman:

Ed and Shawn with Kyle Van Noy:

And finally.  Ed and Shawn with coach Bronco Mendenhall:

Little boys dreams do come true.  After the fireside we were starving so hit up a mcdonalds.  We ate with the locals who also happened to be BYU fans.  Lucky us.

Hawaiian Vacation....Day 6

Thursday we decided to go to Hanauma Bay to snorkel.  It's a protected cove perfect for snorkeling.  Back when Ed lived in Hawaii it wasn't as touristy as it is now.  He said he used to just show up and snorkel.  Now you have to pay to get in and watch a 5 minute video on what not to do as a snorkeler.  I failed to take any pictures of this place.  Mostly because we locked the camera in a locker with our car keys and cash so we could snorkel without worrying about it getting stolen.
The day was kind of overcast.  It was even sprinkling off and on, which is fine as long as you are in the water.  Shawn was in his wet suit and warm enough to stay in the ocean forever if he needed.  After 2 hours of snorkeling I left him to go sit on the beach next to Heidi to warm up in the sun.  Ed came and stood by us girls for a few minutes.  We started watching Shawn.  He didn't even have to move his arms or legs at all to stay afloat.  With the salt in the water added to the buoyancy of his wet suit he was unsinkable.  He was appearing to be having a great time.  He just kept getting further and further out.  He passed through the barrier part of the cove and just kept floating out to sea.  It started to rain.  And then rain harder, and harder.  We grabbed all our things and ran for cover.  Because of the rainfall we started to lose sight of Shawn.  We'd see a foot every once in awhile.  Ed headed out to try to find him.  Because we were hiding in an alcove to stay dry, there was nobody to give Ed directions on which way to head, so he came back to shore.  When the rain let up we started to be able to see more clearly.  We spotted Shawn again, this time swimming parallel to the cove.  Ed went out to help him back in.  Shawn was stuck because he couldn't find a way to cross without actually standing on the coral.  Ed helped him find a way through.  Shawn said he was having such a great time he just didn't even realize how far out he had gone.  I'd wished I was with him.  Or that the sun had been shining so I would've enjoyed sitting on the beach.  We ate lunch at the park, and then after 2 more massive downpours we decided to call it a day.  It wasn't letting up for long.  We drove a little ways to a look out point where we could see a blow hole.  And get out and climb just for some fun photos.

We headed back to our hotel to shower and get ready for dinner.  We decided to eat at PF Changs which was just a short walk from our hotel. 

And then after dinner it was after 8:00.  And.  We decided to walk around downtown instead of go back to bed.  Ed and Heidi had been hitting the town nightly after we went to sleep, so they knew of the good spots to look for souvenirs for our kids.  It's funny that Shawn and I love the excitement of the night life.  It's so much fun energy.  Too bad we're too old and tired to enjoy it every night!  It was strange to see Christmas decorations around town.  It was just too warm to feel like Christmas.

We wandered around for awhile, and then hit the Cheesecake Factory for cheesecake to go.  Perfect way to end the day.

Hawaiian Vacation.....Day 5

Wednesday started with our breakfast walk.  Perfect.  We were leaving at noon to head to the Polynesian Cultural Center, so had a few hours to kill.  I chose to use my time by the pool while Shawn chose to read up in the room.  I'm a sun worshipper.  Shawn is a sun avoider.  We're both okay with who we are enough to be comfortable doing our own things when it comes to this. 
We decided to leave at noon and eat lunch.  We ended up driving all the way to the city where the culture center is before we ate.  Since the Hawaii LDS Temple is down the street from the culture center, we spent a bit of time on the grounds before heading there.  The grounds of the Temple are beautiful.  Temple grounds are always well kept and beautiful, but there's just something about palm trees that makes everything seem spectacular.

After walking around the outside of the Temple we headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center to see what it had to offer.  I have to admit, we were kind of skeptical.  We'd heard a lot of good things about the place, but it sounded like it was mainly for kids.  Kind of not exciting if you don't have kids with you.  So when we got there at 3:00, and started looking around, we realized we should have gone right at opening.  So much to see, and only 2 hours before our scheduled Luau.  We started with a boat ride.

We landed in Tahiti.  We saw a sampling of how the Tahitians dance. 

Then we headed over to Tonga.  Where they host a pretty hilarious show.  Ed got pulled up on stage and did us all proud!

On stage they called him "Missouri".  Throughout the rest of the week we ran into people on the street that said "way to go Missouri!".  Who would've thought a little stage show would make one so famous?!  We bought a few souvenirs after the show.

Then it was time to head to the Luau.  We were treated to authentic Luau food while watching snippets of hula dancers. 

After the Luau we wandered around a bit before the big production of "Ka: the breath of Life".  No pictures were allowed.  But.  Trust me.  It was a great show.  It represented the Polynesian Islands through dance and custom.  It was beautifully done.  And made us stay up until 10:30!  Super late night for us old folks.