party weekend, part one

I'm really too tired to go into party details right now, but here are some shots of the nieces and nephews before the camera started acting all crazy on me. We kept trying to line up the grandkids for a picture, but someone kept acting up and his name starts with a "C".

Happy Valen-birthday to me

Isn't this cute? This is what I got for Valentine's Day/Birthday from Rick.

Project 40 (repost)

This is all because my mom called me a spoiled brat on facebook...can you even believe her? (don't answer)

Well, here are some pictures from last year about this time. And if you remember I was like, "Poor me. I can't walk. My foot hurts. Refill my ice pack. Wah Wah Wah."

And then I petitioned all of you to help me feel better by sending me birthday cards with funny, happy, feel good stories.

And you filled my mailed box and email box with cards and letters. And it was so fun!

Well, I was sitting on the beach this last week thinking that when this vacation ever ends I will get home and settled back into reality just in time to celebrate my big milestone birthday. So, it crossed my mind to fill my suitcase with chocolate covered macadamia nuts and to deliver it to the person who sends me the sweetest birthday card this year.

And then I was blog surfing and I found this cute girl named Kelli and this is how she is celebrating her birthday this year:

She is doing a service project that will result in one newborn kit for each year she is old to be donated to the LDS Humanitarian Services. She did it last year and it was so successful that she is making it a yearly tradition. And because I have no original ideas of my own and I copy others ideas, I am going to do the exact same thing.

This is how it works:

my church has a super-organized world-wide humanitarian effort, and the service missionaries who work in that area have given lists of supplies that are the most beneficial to third-world families with babies.

in places where women are bringing home their babies wrapped in newspapers, without hygenic means of changing and washing them (please, just imagine yourself in that situation for a moment), there are some basic items that really help:

• 1 double receiving blanket
• 4 flat fold (single thickness) cloth diapers.
• 4 diaper safety pins
• 1 pair booties or baby socks
• 2 regular-size bars of non-allergenic soap
• 1 newborn layette gown

these things put together in a 2 gallon ziploc constitute one kit. then they are collected in the humanitarian center, and then sent off in huge shipments to areas of need. so the 40 i want to put together this year is just a tiny drop in a bucket, but it's something. and even as little as this is, i can't do it without you! the donation guidelines are super strict because of the experience the service workers have with what works and what doesn't.

i need donations of the following items to equal these amounts:

• 40 double receiving blanket (see receiving blanket guidelines below)
• 160 flat fold (single thickness) cloth diapers- 100% cotton birdseye Cloth or 100% cotton diaper flannel approximately 25". Please do not use pre-folded or disposable diapers.
• 160 diaper safety pins
• 40 pair booties or baby socks
• 80 regular-size bars of soap (ivory or other non-allergenic brand)
• 40 newborn layette gown (please, no footed sleepers)
• 40 2 gallon sized ziploc bags

receiving blanket guidelines:

• fabrics: cotton flannel or lightweight fleece
• size: two pieces of fabric, each between 36" square and 45" square
• you may also use a medium weight fleece. it needs to be a single layer, 36" by 36" with the edges serged.

to make the blanket:

• with right sides facing each other, sew the two pieces of fabric together with a ¼" seam around the edges. leave a 6" opening.
• turn the blanket so the right side is out.
• you may also serge two pieces together, no turning needed.
• baste opening edges and topstitch around the entire blanket for durability.
• sew a 10" square in the center to keep the fabric from shifting.
• a narrow crocheted edge or piping border is acceptable but not required.

check over the list of things we need and email me with what you would like to donate. You can drop them by, or you can email me and I can give you my address if you need to send them. I will fill in the holes, assemble the kits, and drop them off at the Humanitarian Center.

here is the link for the newborn kits from Humanitarian Services.

I'm hoping that this little project I can redeem myself with my spoiled brat status that my mom has placed me in.

This is for you, Mom: I just want to serve.

Update:

plastic bags have been donated. 2 blankets have been donated. 15 gowns. 12 diapers.

Keep it coming.

This is on my nightstand...

Anybody have an opinion on this book?

Sewing 101 with Sierra

When we were in Hawaii, we were in a toy store where Sierra saw a cute jelly fish stuffed animal. She fell in love with it and I could tell that she really wanted it, but I don't care if it's free, my kids do not need another stuffed animal. So, I took a picture of it and told her that we'd try to make one just like it some day.

Well, some day was today. I taught Sierra how to sew on some scraps for a while so she could get the feel of using a sewing machine. Then she chose some ribbon and sewed straight lines up the ribbons. Then we found some bright green flannel and she cut out 2 circles. She learned how to pin the right sides together, but she was too afraid to sew the 2 circles together so I did that. Then she turned it right side out and stuffed it. I helped her sew the hole closed.

Then I showed her how to pull on the thread and make the ribbons ruffle.

I might as well have been magic. She thought that was the coolest thing ever. She is sleeping with her jelly fish right now.

Happy Fat Tuesday

Even though we have started our P90X program and it does NOT allow for fattening treats, we made a king cake to celebrate Fat Tuesday. We figured it was the least we could do since folks in New Orleans have been celebrating for well over a week.

However, I did only make half a recipe and I also took a few other short cuts to make it "healthy". It's about the size of an extra large bagel, even though it looks huge in the pictures.

And yes, that is pink frosting. (leftover from the Valentines cookies that we shouldn't have made and eaten this past weekend)

And yes, Cole is licking the knife.

And yes, the pictures are slightly out of order.

And no, he didn't put the knife back in and double dip in the frosting. But, it probably wouldn't have stopped any of us if he had.

oats

My new favorite food, again. when we went to Maui last year, we stopped at Costco and picked up a few groceries. I found these great oats and grabbed myself a bag. Loved 'em. So, I threw the half eaten bag in my suitcase and brought them home with me. I was a bit stingy with them for the rest of the year because I was unable to find them anywhere here at home.

Then, lo and behold when we went to Costco on the Big Island, I found my long lost favorite brand of oatmeal. I wanted to buy 2 bags--one to eat there and one to bring home, but then I remembered that I had only brought 1 carry-on and I didn't have room for extra oats. So, I only bought 1 bag. Oh they are yummy. I looked at Costco's website and they are not listed as one of their products so I assumed it must just be a local product.

But, I looked online and found out that they are located in California and I can order them online. And even better...I can order by the case.

1 case, 12 bags (48 oz. each) (Each bag contains about 34 servings) is $45.25. So, one of these days, I think I might be ordering myself a year's supply of oats.

**remember that purse I bought in Hawaii? well, there was just enough extra room to slip in the half eaten bag of oats, so I did get to bring some home after all.

**BTW, if you see these oats anywhere around town, let me know or just buy me a bag for my birthday.

Happy Birthday to Me: Project 40

This is all because my mom called me a spoiled brat on facebook...can you even believe her? (don't answer)

Well, here are some pictures from last year about this time. And if you remember I was like, "Poor me. I can't walk. My foot hurts. Refill my ice pack. Wah Wah Wah."

And then I petitioned all of you to help me feel better by sending me birthday cards with funny, happy, feel good stories.

And you filled my mailed box and email box with cards and letters. And it was so fun!

Well, I was sitting on the beach this last week thinking that when this vacation ever ends I will get home and settled back into reality just in time to celebrate my big milestone birthday. So, it crossed my mind to fill my suitcase with chocolate covered macadamia nuts and to deliver it to the person who sends me the sweetest birthday card this year.

And then I was blog surfing and I found this cute girl named Kelli and this is how she is celebrating her birthday this year:

She is doing a service project that will result in one newborn kit for each year she is old to be donated to the LDS Humanitarian Services. She did it last year and it was so successful that she is making it a yearly tradition. And because I have no original ideas of my own and I copy others ideas, I am going to do the exact same thing.

This is how it works:

my church has a super-organized world-wide humanitarian effort, and the service missionaries who work in that area have given lists of supplies that are the most beneficial to third-world families with babies.

in places where women are bringing home their babies wrapped in newspapers, without hygenic means of changing and washing them (please, just imagine yourself in that situation for a moment), there are some basic items that really help:

• 1 double receiving blanket
• 4 flat fold (single thickness) cloth diapers.
• 4 diaper safety pins
• 1 pair booties or baby socks
• 2 regular-size bars of non-allergenic soap
• 1 newborn layette gown

these things put together in a 2 gallon ziploc constitute one kit. then they are collected in the humanitarian center, and then sent off in huge shipments to areas of need. so the 32 i want to put together this year is just a tiny drop in a bucket, but it's something. and even as little as this is, i can't do it without you! the donation guidelines are super strict because of the experience the service workers have with what works and what doesn't.

i need donations of the following items to equal these amounts:

• 40 double receiving blanket (see receiving blanket guidelines below)
• 160 flat fold (single thickness) cloth diapers- 100% cotton birdseye Cloth or 100% cotton diaper flannel approximately 25". Please do not use pre-folded or disposable diapers.
• 160 diaper safety pins
• 40 pair booties or baby socks
• 80 regular-size bars of soap (ivory or other non-allergenic brand)
• 40 newborn layette gown (please, no footed sleepers)
• 40 2 gallon sized ziploc bags

receiving blanket guidelines:

• fabrics: cotton flannel or lightweight fleece
• size: two pieces of fabric, each between 36" square and 45" square
• you may also use a medium weight fleece. it needs to be a single layer, 36" by 36" with the edges serged.

to make the blanket:

• with right sides facing each other, sew the two pieces of fabric together with a ¼" seam around the edges. leave a 6" opening.
• turn the blanket so the right side is out.
• you may also serge two pieces together, no turning needed.
• baste opening edges and topstitch around the entire blanket for durability.
• sew a 10" square in the center to keep the fabric from shifting.
• a narrow crocheted edge or piping border is acceptable but not required.

check over the list of things we need and email me with what you would like to donate. You can drop them by, or you can email me and I can give you my address if you need to send them. I will fill in the holes, assemble the kits, and drop them off at the Humanitarian Center.

here is the link for the newborn kits from Humanitarian Services.

I'm hoping that this little project I can redeem myself with my spoiled brat status that my mom has placed me in.

This is for you, Mom: I just want to serve.

photo of the day

pretty much sums up what we all did this afternoon. sure felt good to be in my own bed.

Surfing Day 2 for Rick

Look how much Rick improved on his second day of surfing:

A big swell came into today.

A great couple of days for surfing.

There will be a lot of absent students in school tomorrow.

lava & coral graffiti

surf lessons numero dos

Just a little FYI for the single girls out there (Mom & Kris)...

these 2 surf instructors were hot.

The one on the left in the purple is your type, Mom.

And the one with the black/green top is tall, dark, and handsome with an emphasis on tall and handsome for Kris (it's hard to tell from the pictures, but his teeth are PERFECTLY straight).

Are either of you willing to relocate to the Big Island?

It's hard to be a surf instructor in the desert.

Cole

He's talking to himself.

No idea where he gets that from.

I'm on the lookout

for single men. Not for me.

For my mom and my SIL.

I found one, which one of you wants him?

And just so you know,

this man was RUNNING. I mean FAST.

That's why there is only a picture from the back and not the front.

That might be a good thing.

This post is for Kris

This is the restaurant where we ate dinner the night we were in Volcano Village. It was a toss up between this Thai restaurant and the Lava Cafe. It was nice despite what it looks like from the outside. I joked with Summer that if she ordered a meal here that she would have to forfeit her college savings fund to pay for it. She ordered anyways. She got yellow curry. It was so good that it was worth giving up college for that meal. I ended up ordering sweet and sour vegetables that I shared with Cole since I refused to order him his own meal. It seems like the most reasonable thing for him to eat. We ended up with 4 meals and we each just shared a little with one another. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I didn't take a picture of the meal because I didn't want it to appear too obvious that we were clearly dining out of our league.

I would definitely recommend this place again (maybe just not with the kids--I'm not sure they fully appreciate the cost of the such a tasty meal when they are perfectly satisfied with a dish of cereal for dinner.)

Sunset

You think those are clouds? well, they're not clouds.

It's Vog. Vog is volcano fog. And it reminds me of the inversions of home. Only warmer.

The only thing that gets rid of vog is rain or wind. Just like home.

my new calling...

Ward Florist!!

not really, but wouldn't that be the best??

Each week that we have been to Church there have been the most beautiful tropical flower arrangements in the front of the chapel. I wonder who does them. I want to do them. When we lived in MS there was an older lady in the other ward (never knew her name) that would sneak into the chapel each Sunday morning and place a bouquet of flowers near the podium. That's the calling I want.

Let's put it this way...if someone can arrange for me to get that calling, I will come home.

these pictures were taken at the farmer's market in Kona...

Where they also sell great pineapple and tasty pineapple/macadamia nut bread.

Choosing some bread:

Akaka Falls

this picture and story have nothing to do with each other.

Story:

Our first week at church, we sat behind a family that had just moved into the ward. Their membership records had just been sent to this new ward, so they had the family stand as they read their names and introduced this new family.

The second week at church, this fellow came up to us after Sacrament Meeting and introduced himself and asked if we were visiting or new in the ward. We told him that we were just visiting, but joked that if we liked it enough we might stay. He said, "well, let's get your records requested today and you can have a calling by next week!"

He ended up talking to Rick for a few minutes. He went to BYU-Hawaii for a couple of years and then he transferred to BYU, where he graduated. It's taken him 10 years to finally talk his wife into moving to Hawaii. He's working at the military base on a government contract. His daughter is the same age as Summer and she took her to class with her.

Well, at the bottom of the announcements last week there was a form to fill out for the new members to request their records. Rick laughed that he should fill it out and see what happens.

I did notice that Rick disappeared for a few minutes during Sunday School. I was teasing him that he slipped out to fill out the form to have his records moved into this ward. He said, "We'll see what happens next week!!"

So, this is what I have decided:

If they read my name and give my a calling I will see how it compares to my current calling of Cub Master. If it's an improvement--we'll stay. If not--we'll come home.

Only time will tell.

About the photo:

This was taken on our way back from Volcanoes National Park. It was in a beautiful little village of Honomu on the North side of the island. This waterfall is just 3 miles up the hill from the LDS chapel. We thought it would be cool to live on that hillside that used to be a huge sugarcane farm. Halfway to the waterfall. And halfway to the church.

Look Closely...

Yes. Cole is sleeping in the closet. He wanted to. He might end up with some kind of Harry Potter complex, but for now he is happy with the setup.

And Yes. That is a Book Of Mormon that he is reading.

Here is the story about that...

the kids asked if they should bring their scriptures on this trip. (Bad Mom alert) I told them No. Since we are super cheap and were not checking any luggage, I made the kids pack very, very light since everything they were bringing had to fit into their carry-on backpack. I told them that I had the Scripture App on my phone so that we would have access to all of the scriptures, the conference reports, the current Friend, New Era, & Ensign. So, I figured that we were covered with plenty of Church related reading material thanks to my iphone. Well, after just a day or two in this condo, Cole looked through the nightstand and found a Book of Mormon. He was so excited. Running through the place yelling, "This is the same book I got for Christmas." He held onto that Book of Mormon all day for days. He loves to open it up to the pictures. Then he thumbs through it and stops at a random page. He scans that page until he finds his "special letter" (C). Then we go through the page and find the letters for the names of the rest of the family. He thinks that's so cool--almost like he's reading.

If you would like your own copy of Cole's favorite book you can request one here

My new purse

Here is my new purse. I'm counting it as an early birthday present. It was a quite a splurge. It was about double what I normally pay for a purse, but keep in mind that I shop for purses on the clearance rack at Walmart or sometimes Target. And I've seen a few cute ones at TJMaxx. So, if I'm still carrying this purse around when Cole graduates from high school it is because I am trying to get my money's worth.

There were some really nice cowboy boots that matched, but I would have to sell off a kid or two to pay for the boots. Plus, my feet are still too swollen to fit into the boots that I have, so I guess I will pass on the boots. Plus, it's almost flip-flop weather and I will be back in style.

Smiles

Photo of the day

Blogger is not being nice to me and will only let me put one picture on tonight. UGH.

I guess that's OK, but this is the best view of me today.

(I still have not washed my hair--this is serious vacation behavior.)

But, we did something sneaky tonight. We snuck in to the Hilton Resort. And when they say "Resort" that is exactly what they mean. Seriously. Dolphins. Flamingos. Sushi. It's so huge that they have a boat OR a tram that will take you around the resort.

I might even wash my hair tomorrow and try to look classy and try to sneak back into the Hilton. I don't have any bling or even any red lip stick so I don't know if I will be able to pull it off. The Hilton probably has that fancy surveillance cameras with the facial recognition software. They probably have our faces sent to all of the security people on the 62 acre resort. One step onto their property tomorrow and the undercover security guards will swarm in on me and have me handcuffed in no time. I might be jailed and have to stay on the big island for some extended period of time to serve my trespassing sentence. That would be just awful...