Connor Gets a Haircut!

Connor and his hair!  It actually was very healthy and I probably accepted it a little more than I should have! I really couldn’t believe how long it had gotten.  He had only grown it out for a year!The ponytail wasn’t long enough for LOCKS of LOVE, but he will probably frame it and hang it on his wall!Wow!  That is a lot of hair!

The new do!  It looks even better now that he has figured out how to style it. For some strange reason, I do miss the long hair, but his new look is quickly growing on me.  I am glad he was brave enough to cut it off!  He is a cute kid no matter how he wears his hair.

Fourth of July

It was another great 4th this year.  Even though we got home late the night before from our trip, we just had to celebrate one of our favorite holidays!Braden was awesome to sleep out at the parade route to help to save us a great spot.  The kids loved the floats and bands.We had a special treat this year!  We had a great lunch at the country club.  It was fun having all of our favorite families together to enjoy good food and good company.     Halle and Sydney had Maria paint their faces.  And of course they had to add their own little touch!Jayden and Parker loved the fireworks and just being together.What a fabulous Fourth!  We loved sharing it with each other and with such good friends.  We are so lucky to live in this wonderful country.

Hawai’i

Rod and I were lucky enough to get to go to Hawaii in celebration of our 20 years together!  We had a great time.  A BIG thanks goes to my sister Cindi for watching my 5 kids for over a week! 

We went to Pearl Harbor twice.  The first time, they were not running the boats out to the monument, so we had to come back later.  It was interesting to learn about all that happened that day.  I am truly more grateful for all those who serve us to make our country free.

We hung out at the beach at Waikiki.  It was nice and not too crowded that day, but it was very windy. Diamondhead is in the background.

We went on a very pretty drive.  On the way up we could see all of the downtown.  Diamondhead is in the background.

Although the picture quality isn’t very good (we were using the self timer and sticking  the camera on the roof of the car).  It is cool how you can see the Punchbowl Cemetery in the background.

We went by the Punchbowl Cemetery.  Humbling!

We went by Laie Point.  Once again, it was very windy!

We hung out at Turtle Bay for a while.  The sun finally came out!  It was a very relaxing area.

We checked out the surfers at the Banzai Pipeline.  There wasn’t much going on, but we did see a few catch a wave or two.

We got a Hawaiian Shaved Ice, a couple of times!!!

Trust me when I say that a large was too large!

We loved the Kailua area.  Not too far from where we were in this picture, is where the president vacations with his family.

The view from the condo we stayed in.  Most mornings, it was cloudy or raining.  The nice thing about Oahu is that all you have to do is drive to the other side of the island to find sun.

We went to check out BYU Hawaii and also the Hawaii Temple.

We even went in the temple and did a session while we were there.  The temple was lovely inside and very peaceful.  We met the Mission President for the Hawaii mission.  He had three of his sisters visiting.  One of them lives in Wesley’s mission!

The Polynesian Culture Center was a lot of fun.  I am sure that the kids would have enjoyed it.  We even attended a luau.

We hiked to a waterfall.  It was raining and so the path was so muddy that in some parts it was hard to keep from slipping. 

I have to admit, I was a little unimpressed with the waterfall.  It was much smaller than the ones that we have in Utah.  I did think that it was cool how there is a deep enough pool of water to jump in.

You can see on my legs that we got quite dirty on this hike.  Every time that we crossed the river, we would wash off our legs and shoes. 

We sat on the beach and watched the canoe clubs practice.  Rod was impressed that all you needed for the sport was your own paddle.  He thought that sounded a whole lot cheaper than Lacrosse!

We kayaked out to Flat Island.  It was a beautiful day, but the wind made it a lot of work.

From Flat Island, we kayaked over to the island on the left.  Yes, it was as far as it looked!

We stopped by the Dole Plantation (just for you Mom) and got a yummy pineapple ice cream treat!  The place was a definite tourist trap, but the ice cream was so delicious that I wanted to go back!

This was our ride around the island.  It was a lot of fun, but it did little for my hair!!!

It may not have been the best weather, but we managed to find a little sun every day.  The best time was when we could just kick back and relax.

It was so nice to get away from the everyday routine and check out a piece of this beautiful world that we have been so blessed to live on.  Aside from missing our flight home, we had a wonderful time and I am already thinking of where we can go next and who I can convince to watch my kids!

Wesley turns 19!

It’s hard to believe my oldest is 19!  Where did the years go?  I am so proud of the good person that Wesley has become.  I am excited for his opportunity to serve a mission.  I know that he will make a great missionary and bless many lives!We took this great group of kids out to dinner to Wesley’s favorite Thai restaurant.  It was a lot of fun and an easy way to throw a party.

IIt’s hard to believe that I won’t be able to spend Wesley’s next two birthdays with him. It makes me so sad, but I know that  it will all be worth it in the end.

Happy Birthday Wesley!  I hope all of your wishes come true for this year and the next!   I love you!!!

Lacrosse Season

So this year was pretty crazy as far as Lacrosse goes.  Connor played on the JV and Varsity teams, Rod coached the Freshman Team and Braden played on a club team.  Braden’s team didn’t have a coach, so Rod ended up coaching Braden’s team too.  Needless to say, it was way too much!  Thankfully, Connor was able to help out with Braden’s team a lot after his surgery!

It is a lot of fun to watch Braden learn more and more about the game each season.  Rod is glad that they have added another Lacrosse junkie to the family!

It sure is fun watching these three practice together.  They even let Halle and Parker join in sometimes!  Our backyard is the neighborhood place to practice lacrosse.  Needless to say, we have way too many lacrosse sticks, lacrosse balls, and certainly too many indentations or holes caused from lacrosse balls!