The Globe-trotting Monson's

LOVE this...

2010-06-30T22:32:00.000+10:00

"You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big... question: Is that okay? Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change." ~Jim Rohn

Birthday number 28

2010-06-25T23:08:00.000+10:00

So today I turned 28 years old. I know this is not a significant birthday. I'm not a new driver, I've had the ability to buy lottery tickets and alcohol for years now, and my car insurance premiums have been lower for some time. Nothing is important or special about being 28, but nonetheless I have been doing a lot of reflecting today.
For the last 7 years I have spent each birthday very depressed. OK not very depressed, but not happy with myself. I don't want to sound ungrateful, I know I have a wonderful life. But you know how you have goals for yourself? Or you thought life would be one way at a certain time... and then it's not that way? That is how I feel on my birthdays.
I'm grateful for my health and for my family and for the comforts that I enjoy in life, but I get very down because I just don't ever feel like I am who I thought I would be. Or, I haven't achieved what I want to have achieved at this point.
When I was a teenager I would think of what I wanted to have achieved by the time I turned 25. I thought I would have a masters degree, be living in some fabulous city like New York or Paris, have a job that I loved, and maybe be thinking about getting married. I know that all sounds so juvenille! The older you get you do realize what is actually important... I mean PARIS... really?
Still with every passing brithday I have felt sad that I have no degree to hang on my wall, or sit in a file in the file cabinet. It has been hard for me to think about not achieving that goal. When I turned 20 my goal was to have an undergrad by the time I turned 30... at 24 that date got moved 40 years of age and the dream of having a masters was no longer in the cards. I refused to believe that it would never happen, but I also was getting more and more sad each that came by with no more progress completed.
But today I turn 28 and I am a full-time college student!!!! OK not right now... but I'm enrolled full time in the fall! I completed goverment earlier this summer, I'll be taking government 2 in July, then full-time starting August 30th! I can't begin to describe the relief I feel to be able to see the finish line. It is still far off, but I have started the race!
Thanks to my wonderful and understanding husband I'm on the road to getting my BSN (Bachelor's in nursing) and then after that I don't know what... PA, NP, CRNA, MSN... maybe something else!!!! I have always told Kelly that I wanted to go back to school and he always told me he supported me wanting to do that. Seven months ago I approached him with a new dream in mind. He listened to me and never once laughed. Even I was suprised at what I was telling him... Me, in the medical feild.... seriously?!?
Kelly listened and took me seriously and when I was done he said "Let's make a plan." I'm so grateful to have a best friend and companion who believes in me and supports me.
We made our plan and now we are "working" that plan. We will be moving back to Houston to continue my schooling, I will work really hard to make good grades and Kelly will play Mr. Mom when he's not flying.
This birthday is not depressing. I'm older and that sucks! I have adult acne and I'm carrying baby weight in unattractive places... but I'm still not sad. For me 28 marks the end of one of my great life's adventures - my life here on Guam; and the beginning of the next great adventure - road to BSN and beyond!
I spent my birthday getting beautiful homemade cards from Liam and Arie. They glued starburst on the cards and then ate the starburst before I could get to them :) Then I opened my present form Kelly and my Mom... my MACBOOK!!!!! I feel like an official student now! Our friends Bear and Erin watched our kids so that Kelly and I could go on a hike and then snorkel. FYI for anyone who wants to know... don't take your Lab snorkeling! Jet was having so much fun swimming next to us she almost drowned us! We gave up on snorkeling after about 10 mintues and swam back to shore with scratches all over our bodies! It was still a fun time with the hubby though. Next we picked up some Indian Food and then ate at home.
So far 28 is great! I'm so thankful to be healthy and to be living on a beautiful island with the man and kids that I love! I'm not much for getting older, but I can't wait to see what I've accomplished when I hit 29.

The Last First

2010-05-26T10:16:00.000+10:00

So our sweet little boy Ryder Zachary Monson is one years old!!!!!! His actual birthday was on May 20th, but we didn't have a party for him until a few days later. His real birthday was filled with a doctors appointment, several shots :( and running errands with mom. I know, not the greatest birthday!
So what has Ryder been doing lately.... he goes into a standing position all on his own now, he has taken about 4 steps on his own but he quickly crawls again, he has seven teeth (four on top and three on bottom). He HATES to have diaper changed or to have his clothes changed! He LOVES bath time, especially if it is with his sibs. He says Mama, Dada, Tay Too (thank you), buh buh (bye-bye but never when he's supposed to), and he just started giving really sweet open mouth kisses! Those are my favorite!
Ryder LOVES to be with Liam! He thinks Liam is so funny and he loves to play with him and laugh at him. Arie and Ryder are also developing a relationship, slowly but surely. He loves his Daddy too. He seems to be more comfortable when Daddy holds him; but is favorite person has to be.... ME! I know this phase of his life won't last very long so I'm soaking up every minute of it.
Ryder loves going ot the swimming pool. He loves finally facing forward in the car. He loves to carry around electronics, so we gave him an old remote and many old cell phones. His newest electronic toy is our super old iPod.
Ryder loves to place a toy in each hand and then push those hands along the floor as he crawls. Last night he was crawling around with an iPod in one hand and a remote in the other.
Ryder also loves to sing in the car and always sings when I sing. It is pretty sweet. Ryder also dances a lot. Out of all our kids he loves dancing the most! He also does a lot of low-key head bobbing when he just feels like kickin' back.
We feel so lucky to have Ryder in our home. His first year has gone by so fast, but every minute of it has been amazing. He is such a good baby and he is almost always in a very good mood. He is very patient with all of his family members and never seems to complain no matter how long we are out running errands. His smile is so warm and so sweet and I could just stare at him all day. His eyes are kind and he seems to really look at you like he knows you.
Ryder we love you! Our family could not be complete without you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BOY!!!!!!
Here are a list of Ryder's nicknames (we are a nickname family soooo here it goes...):
Ryder Cups
Fred Cupples
Cup Cups
Cuppies
Swamers
Swammie Swumps
Swoots
Cups in a Cups
Ryderson
Chupa Chups (thanks Aunt Jill and the girl in the Hong Kong subway)

running update

2010-02-27T20:42:00.000+10:00

I updated the left hand side of my running blog by adding the "Couch Potato to 10K" program outline that I have started. If anyone is like me and HATES running and has never had athletic confidence I highly recommend this program! It has totally worked for me. Check it out!

Being Accountable

2010-02-18T15:28:00.000+10:00

I have recently decided to make myself love running. I started a blog to hold myself accountable. I don't expect all of you to check it all the time, but I'm advertising the blog so that I know others know! That way I'll be less likely to quit at my life change!! LOL! So if you are incredibly bored and you want someone to laugh at, feel free to stop on by to www.runalyrun.blogspot.com!
I'll post pics of the kids later!

It has been a LONG time...

2009-11-15T21:13:00.002+10:00

So it has been a very long time since I have updated this thing. It just takes so long to download pictures that I get frustrated and quit! Well, tonight I'm going to try and keep my cool and give a little update on our family.
Everything has been going great around here. Liam is in a a pre-k program and he loves it! He is making some great friends and learning a lot. He doesn't like it when I ask him what he did that day, but he will offer up information willingly if he's left alone. Here a few of the things he has learned:
1. all about books - he knows where to find the author and the title page. Before we read any book he quizzes me on where the title page is and who wrote the book.
2. all about making healthy choices - he knows which foods are healthy and which are "junk". He has learned different ways of exercising; like situps, push ups, and a few yoga poses. The other day I cracked open a Diet Rite and Liam said "What is that mom?" I replied "my drink". "MOM! That is junk! It is a soda and it is junk!" He sure did put me in my place! LOL!
3. all about emergency vehicles and procedures - his class took a field trip to the airport fire department where they learned all about saving people from airplane fires. Kelly went along on the field trip and the kids were really impressed that he was a pilot. Liam was definitely the COOL kid that day (and I'm sure Kelly's ego was stroked as well). Liam also knows all about STOP, DROP, and ROLL.
4. 9/11 - when I picked Liam up from school on 9/11 he got in the car and was so anxious to tell me something, "MOM! DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED ON 9/11?!?!?!?!" "Yeah Buddy, I do, it was a very sad day."
"THE UNITED STATES WAS ATTACKED!!!! TWO VERY BAD MEN GOT IN A PLANE AND CRASHED IT INTO THE TWIN TOWERS!!!!!" He continued to tell me the details of that horrible day and it was very obvious it affected him. We talked a little bit about our country and how some people in the world don't like how we do things. I also talked to him about the military and all the great things they do. We are in the unique situation to be near 2 large military bases and many of our friends serve this country. It was cool being able to explain our soldiers and their sacrifice, while also giving a familiar face to them. I think it helped him understand things better. I named all of our friends and family who are in the military.
Liam has learned a lot so far this year, but those are the things that stick out to me now. He is also learning a lot socially. He is learning about making friends and dealing when people don't like you. It is a frustrating thing to watch your child learn, but it is necessary and it has been fun to watch him grow and develop and mature. He is also picking up on those annoying things that school age children do: he LOVES to copy us "Liam come here." "Liam come here!" , he also talks about tooting and poops all the time, and he loves to burp and then tell me that it was an accident. I'm sure this behavior will not change for the next 35 years. We have also learned that Liam is the class clown. I suspected this about him. When Kelly returned from the school field trip he confirmed that yes indeed Liam is a clown and loves to get a laugh! It hasn't gotten him in too much trouble, but I hope he keeps it in check. I guess he comes from a long line of class clowns (MOM AND JILL!!!!!!)
Arie is.... well Arie is Arie. She is the girliest girl you will ever come across, but also loves to play anything that Liam loves to play. She must always have at least one purse (usually she carries two), and she wants to where a dress or a skirt anytime she has to wear clothes. Everything is a princess something... princess ninjas, princess cereal, princess shoes, princess carseat, princess swords etc. She cracks us up and drives us crazy all in the same breath. She is definitely in the middle of the terrible twos, but she makes up for it with her dancing and funny remarks. She is a girl who knows what she wants and when she wants it and she doesn't take no for an answer. She is fiercely loyal to her family too, especially Liam. I will be punishing Liam for hitting her and she will say "NO MOMMY! You can't yell at Liam!" or "You CAN'T put Liam in timeout! He doesn't like it!" She never minds her own business and she rarely knows why she is getting mad at everyone. But she will do and say anything to defend her brother! She doesn't really care that much about Ryder yet. She only shows him attention when Liam does. Oh yeah - LIAM LOVES RYDER! Arie loves when I tell her the Princess Diaries. They are stories I make up for her. They always involve the same four characters... Princess Arie, Princess Saryn, Princess Georgie and Prince Braden. I think I've made up 25 stories about those 4 and if I accidentally tell it different than the time before she gets mad. It is such a joy to have our little Princess Lulu, but I'm not gonna lie... I've about run out of steam! My mother cursed me well!
Ryder is growing so fast and I hate it! He is coming up on 6 months and I can't believe that in another 6 months he will be a toddler :( He is roly poly and so sweet. He smiles constantly and his laugh is the cutest. He LOVES his big brother and he laughs at anything Liam does or says. He rolls all over the place and he still spits up about 45 million times a day. I'm sure Kelly and I have the permanent stench of spit up, but I don't care! He is so sweet and so wonderful I just can't get enough of him. I'm searching for any sort of special powder that will keep him a baby forever. No luck yet though :(

This is Liam with his classmates on their field trip.

Liam in the Fire Truck! No matter how old you are it is always cool to climb into a fire truck!

The Boys!

Richard Zachary with Ryder Zachary. Ryder rarely cuddles, but he took to Uncle Zach almost instantly. So sweet! We met up with my mom and Zach in Kauai about a week ago.

Can you get any sweeter than this?????

It seems as though you can.....

Liam LOVED the beaches in Kauai. And he fit in so well there. There were probably at least 15 boys with blonde shaggy hair at every beach we went to.

Arie strutting her stuff on Hanalei Bay. Thigh fat in a bikini is only cute when you are a toddler, so I let her rock it. Sadly though, I rocked my thigh fat too.

Momo and Zach dug this hole for them. Everytime a big wave came in it will fill up and Arie would say "YAY!!!! Our bath is ready!"

The bath did not keep her very clean.

Momo and Zach.

Where is Jill??? :(

Momo got Liam this gun and he took it EVERYWHERE!!!!! He refused to put it down for this picture. So instead of a sweet brother-sister moment... it looks like he has taken her hostage!

SO PRETTY!!!!! Don't you just want to ride a horse all over those mountains! "THE HILLS ARE ALIVE!!!!!!"

I just thought this was so beautiful!

Cna you see the name "Liam"? Kelly carved Liam's name inside the cave on the side of the road. I think Liam thought it was his cave after that.

Kel and Liam about to enter the cave!

This was a HUGE dead jellyfish that washed up on shore. It was pretty cool!

Liam "relaxing" on the beach. Anytime there is a lounge chair or mat or towel.. pretty much anywhere that people typically lay down... Liam will run, lay down, and say "Mom I'm just going to relax for a minute."

Arie creating art in the sand.

Liam got mauled by a crazed naked baby!

pretty light house

This crazy drunk lady took our picture here. You can tell by our faces that we weren't sure when she would take it.

Arie and her crack.

Momo never says no.

Ryder used this vacation to catch up on his much needed beauty sleep.

Kel and I went hiking. The hike was beautiful... me... not so much.

view from our hike

So there you have it. An update.

Attention Bloggers... I need your help!

2009-09-01T21:50:00.000+10:00

So has anyone actually published their blog to one of those books yet??? I think they are called "Blurbs" or something...
I was just wondering what people think of the quality, convience, price... everything really.
I've recently decided to do separate journals for my kids through blogger. I've decided it is really the best way for me to document their life. I'm not a scrapbooker, and I hate when my hand cramps up from writing. I thought it would be fun to journal their lives through blogger and then every year I could do one of those blurb books.
But I want to know what people think of that service. Is it quality? Is it easy to figure out? Is there an easier way to accomplish what I'm trying to accomplish?

Thanks for you help!

Ryder where are you?

2009-07-15T17:54:00.005+10:00

My mom has requested some recent pics of Ryder. But when I got on the computer I realized our most recent ones (which really aren't that many) are not on the computer yet. AND.. I don't know where the cord is to put them on the computer.
But I did find these pictures. These were taken 2 days after we got home from Houston. We invited a friend over for dinner that night because he took care of our house for us.
Here are Liam and Arie being their usual goofy selves...

And here they are at about 5 pm... I'm not sure if it was jet-lag, or them just trying to get out of eating Panang...

These are about a month old. I didn't realize that I had dressed all the kids in brown that day. I wanted to take a picture of them and this is what I got! Totally their personalities... well whatever amount of personality Ryder had at the time.

Ryder Zachary Monson

2009-06-06T05:00:00.019+10:00

Well here it is... a little bit about our little boy.
I guess I'll start at the beginning of our adventure. For those who don't care about the details of labor, you can just skip down to the pictures. But for our posterity and for those who love L&D specifics read on.
My doctor agreed to induce me at 39 weeks. We put my name on a waiting list to go in on the 20th if there were beds open; and if that didn't work out I would go in on the 21st for sure. The night of the 19th I about had a nervous breakdown from the great uncomfortableness (is that a word???) of being so pregnant. I knew it wasn't for sure that I would get in the next day, but if I didn't get in I had plans of giving myself an at home c-section! At 5:00 am I got a call from some wonderful person at the hospital saying that if I wanted to come in at 7:00 am I could have my baby!!!! I practically screamed YES! I should've tried to go back to sleep for an hour or so but I was so excited at the thought of not being preggers that I just couldn't sleep. I finished packing my bag and Kelly and I got clothes out for the kids and told Grandma that we were leaving. OFF TO THE HOSPITAL!!!!!!!!!!
Got there at 7, they took me to a HUGE delivery room, one nurse stuck me three times attempting to get my IV in (I couldn't get mad at her, my veins run away from needles), Kathy my main nurse stuck me in another spot and luckily my vein stayed, started me on pitocin by 8 am, contracting by 8:10. The contractions went on becoming more frequent and more severe, then 20 minutes later I could hardly feel them and they were hardly happening! So every 30 mintues Nurse Kathy would come in and up the pitocin. This went on for a while. My precious wonderful fabulous sister came to the hospital to hang out with Kelly and I. The only thing I hated about her being there was when she showed up with DONUTS and then she ate them in front of me. I've almost forgiven her.
Dr. Cantu came in around 12 and said she thought she should break my water and hopefully the labor would go quicker. She broke my water - OUCH!!!! Dr. Cantu then told me that if I wanted an epidural that I should go ahead and request it soon because there was a full house and if I waited too long to request it I may not get it in time. I told her I didn't want the epidural to slow me down and she ensured me that all the newest information said the epi's don't slow anyone down. Since I flew all the way the to Texas for an epidural, I had Nurse Kathy put in the request. Ten mintues later the anesthesiologist came in pushing his cart full of tricks! Normally I would've been so excited to see him. But normally you've been contracting for a while and you are already in pain so you don't mind someone jamming a long needle in your spine. But for me at that moment I wasn't uncomfortable at all; so I wasn't really looking forward to the torture I was about to endure. Aside from the "pressure" he told me I would feel, it really went well.
Minutes later I found myself good and numb unable to move myself from the waist down. Nurse Kathy came in and told me to lay on my left side and the she would come in 30 minutes later and roll me to my other side. She said that this should help me dilate a little quicker. At that point I was only a two!!!!
About an hour later Kathy finally made it back in. She said she would check me before rolling me over to the other side. Shockingly I was a 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From a 2 to a 10 in an hour!!!!! She said she would call the doctor and that if I felt the urge to push to try and ignore it until the doc came in. She was right!!! I almost immediately felt the need to push, I didn't know how I was going to wait. Luckily Dr. Cantu came in and got suited up and the fun began!
As soon as the stirrups (or whatever the awful leg holders are called) came out I looked at Jill. I normally don't like having anyone in the room except for Kelly. But Jill definitely helps me relax and she doesn't get all hyper and emotional, so I decided that I wouldn't kick her out. I did try to warn her quickly of all the awful things she may see and I suggested that she may want to stand by my head or something. She didn't seem too concerned.
Right before I started pushing Dr. Cantu asked all of us what we thought the baby would be. Kelly, me, and Nurse Kathy all said that we thought it was a girl.
I started pushing. Between the excitement of finding out the sex of our new baby and the priceless look on Jill's face I have to say that is was the funnest labor I've ever had. The epi was perfect, Jill was hilarious, Nurse Kathy was a dream, Dr. Cantu was AWESOME, and Kelly and I were so nervous. When I knew the baby was out I lifted my head to try and see what I would be raising, and I saw the umbilical cord and then I saw... well... testicles! Dr. Cantu exclaimed "IT'S A BOY!!!!!!"
We were so excited to hear those words. We had a new little boy! They put him on my belly while Kelly cut the cord. He looked so big! Well so much bigger than my other kids were. I was staring at his sweet little face saying over and over in my mind "Wow, thats my boy!" and "Yeah I'm not pregnant anymore!!!!"

They took him away and cleaned him up and then my mom came in. Momo got to see him for awhile and Aunt Jill held him too.

The best part of the experience was when Grandma and GG came with Liam and Arie. I was so excited for the kids to meet their new baby brother. They came in the room and they looked so cute! They climbed up in my bed and couldn't wait to see their little brother. They were so cute and gentle with him and it was really sweet. I just kept imaging how close they would hopefully one day be.

While we were at the hospital we had lots of friends and family that came to visit.

(Sorry that we didn't get pictures of everyone).
Liam and Arie also had the fun opportunity to add their hand prints to the hospital wall. It is a really cute program the hospital has to include the older siblings of the new babies. The kids get to put the hand prints on the wall with their names and the name of their new baby. Liam did a great job with his hand prints and writing his own name. He then requested that Kelly write the word "Batman" next to his hand prints as well. Arie's were slightly more sloppy. But they both had so much fun making their mark on our special occasion.

So now we had Liam, Arie, and .... well we didn't know. From the beginning of the pregnancy Kelly and I both thought we were having a girl. We never agreed on any boy names and so we gave up discussing them. About a month before I had Ryder I started thinking that it could maybe be a boy. I gave a little bit more thought to boys names. Then the whole week before I delivered I went back to thinking it was a girl. We finally agreed on a girls name and gave up on the boy name thing.
The morning that I delivered, after the hospital called me, Kelly suggested the name Ryder. I don't think he knows why that named popped in his head. We talked about the name about a total of five minutes but then we just didn't bring it up again because we thought we were having a girl.
Well out came a boy with all his parts and we starting to think that Ryder would be the name. When Liam and Arie showed up at the hospital Liam asked what the baby's name would be. We said that maybe it would be Ryder, and from that moment on Liam would tell everyone he had a brother named Baby Ryder. So then we knew... it was Ryder for sure.
And I already wrote about how we got the name Zachary. So now we are blessed to have Ryder Zachary Monson in our home. He is so good and such an easy baby. His disposition reminds me a lot of Liam as a baby. He is very easy going, only cries when we change his diaper. Even at night, he grunts when he's hungry and after he's fed he passes out again. I realize he's only two weeks old, but so far so good.
A his two week appt he weighed 8 lbs 4.5 ozs. My little boy is already growing up! It makes me so sad.
So Ryder - we want you to know that we love you so much and everyday we love you more and more. I can't even remember what it was like to not have you. We know as parents we are far from perfect, and I'm sure you will be disappointed a million times, but hopefully you will always know how much you are loved. Liam and Arie may pick on you and give you a hard time, but know that one day they will be your best friends. Welcome to our family little guy!

WHATS IN A NAME????

2009-05-22T14:02:00.002+10:00

Ryder Zachary Monson is our newest little guy. Zachary is my brothers name and he is so excited to have his nephew named after him. We were stuck on a middle name not really knowing what to do. Kel went to his parents house to help with the kids in the morning and after he left the birth certificate girl ( no idea what her title is) came by and said she needed the paperwork in as hour. I called Kel and told him that we needed to come up with somethingand quick. A little later Kelly called me and said "What do you think?" We both knew we wanted to use a family name but we haven't really agreed on the family names that we like. I wanted to suggest my brother's name but I didn't want to assume that he should be named after my family. I suggested it nonchalantly and Kel said "Good that is what I was thinking too."
So now Uncle Zach has a lot to live up to! :) We love Zach and we know Ryder will love carrying his name.
Pictures to come tomorrow.... I PROMISE!

ITS A.....

2009-05-21T13:04:00.002+10:00

BOY!!!!!!!!! Yes yes we had a healthy robust little boy today. he was born at 3:43 pm, 7 lbs 10 ozs, 20 3/4 inches long. He has chubby cheeks and meaty hands and he is soooooo sweet. We've also been told by the NICU nurses that he is the loudest in the nursery... why does that not surprise me?
We haven't decided on the full name yet, but we know his first name will be Ryder. We had never thought about this name before, but at 5 am after I got called to go in Kelly suggested it. We were both pretty convinced that we were having a girl so I honestly didn't think about it. But the more and more I said it the more it seemed to be the right name for our newest Monson. Liam and Arie came up to visit and Liam immediately took to the name Ryder as well. So I think we have a first name. Middle name is another story - we have NO idea what that will be. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have one though.
Kel and I are still being lazy but as soon as we put the pics on our computer I will put them on the blog with more details about our big day.
All I can say is I'm so happy to have another sweeet little baby to love on. And seeing Liam and Arie with him for the first time was a really sweet and priceless moment.

in the hospital...

2009-05-20T23:51:00.002+10:00

Well I'm FINALLY in the hospital!!!!!!! Got a call at 5 this morning telling me they had a bed for me. I've never been so excited to get a call tht early before. Right now I'm just eating ice chips and waitingfor the pitocin to start working its magic.

We'll keep you posted.....

Baby Update...

2009-05-14T01:07:00.002+10:00

Well as of now I'm scheduled to be induced on the 21st. I didn't really want to be induced this time but right now it sounds soooooooooooo appealing! But to be honest - I think I can induce this labor on my own. Never before with my other pregnancies have I had such a desire to walk, have sex, drink castrol oil, all tricks that supposedly work. Only problem... Kelly is still in GUAM! I want this baby out but I don't want to have the baby without him here. I need him in the delivery room and it would break his heart to miss out on our big surprise. But the minute he gets here I will attempt to get this baby out! In fact I may try walking home from the airport just to see if I can make something happen HAHA!
I've been reading online about all the things women experience when they are about to go into labor. I have never experienced these things because I have always been induced and my body never had those "signs" of labor. But I have to say A LOT of those things are happening to me and it is a little freaky. Normally I would be thrilled, but I'm so afraid of having this baby without Kelly. I try to only let myself have 1-2 projects a day. If I do more than that then the contractions start and literally feel like the baby is falling out of me! I tried to talk to Kelly yesterday about all the early labor signs I'm experiencing but once I mentioned the words mucous plug he got mad and wanted to immediately end our conversation! HAHA It was sooooo funny.
So Kelly will be here in about 5 days and I will be induced in 8. We'll see how that schedule ends up working out. My doctors appt. is Friday and I will be really interested to see what she says. Maybe Kel will be able to jump on the plane sooner and we can get this show on the road!
Wish us luck!!!!!
Only 8 more days till we know if we've been blessed with a HE or a SHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Liam

2009-04-26T00:51:00.002+10:00

I'm sitting on the couch checking my email (ok really I'm playing Mafia Wars) and Liam comes up, leansup against me, sighs, and says "Ahhh snog flag!"

????What????

Soooooo close!

2009-04-25T10:55:00.003+10:00

Well I'm finally in the 30's... days that is... until I have this baby! I feel like this pregnancy has lasted forever and I'm so ready for it to be over. Everything is going pretty good right now. Sadly Kel is in Guam while I deal with my heathen children on my own. Actually Liam has been unusually sweet and easy lately, while Arie is in the throws of the terrible terrible two's! I seriously think I forgot how bad the two's are. I also think she is figuring out that something major is about to happen. She never wants me to be out of her sight and she is always telling me what to do and when to do it. And she is always saying "I'm the baby." It will be interesting to see how she handles the change. Liam seems to be really excited about the new baby. He thinks we are going to have a girl. He is so set on it being a girl that I'm afraid he will be disappointed if it isn't one. Kelly and I of course don't care what it is... I'm just ready to not be pregnant. But if it is a boy, it probably won't have a name for a while. We can't seem to agree on a boy name. My dad has always been really good at predicting the sex of someones baby. I'd say he has only been wrong maybe twice his whole life! Papa predicts girl... we'll see! Some days I think I know and then other days I have no idea. I'm so excited about it being a surprise though! I almost don't even want to know when the baby is born!!! Does that sound dumb. There is a part of me that wants to wait and find out when I change the first diaper or something. I mean I know the surprise can't go on forever, but it really has been so fun. Even on Christmas morning there is a part of me that doesn't want to open any gifts because I like the anticipation of getting a gift and not knowing what it is. I was NEVER the kid who snooped through their parents closet to find their presents.
Well, I'm getting closer so that is good. I hope that the kids and I make it through this next month with out killing each other. I think I hear "I want Daddy!" about 10 times a day already!

Anniversary and Cruise

2009-03-07T21:49:00.017+10:00

This post is loooong over due. And considering Arie ripped off the "E" key on our computer two nights ago, I don't know if I will finish this post or not. But I will try.

Kelly and I recently celebrated our three year anniversary (Feb. 24th). I know three years really isn't that long, but it is the longest I've ever been married :). We actually celebrated our anniversary about 7 weeks ago. We flew to Singapore and went on a four day cruise to Malaysia and Thailand. Being as it was our first cruise we felt it was smart to only do four days - what if we hated being on a boat??? And living so far away from family it is hard to find someone to watch your heathen children for you! We luckily have great friends here who agreed to help out so that we could get away together. Thanks!
We started off flying to Tokyo where we had to race through the airport to make it to our next flight that would get us to Singapore. We made it right before they started boarding! It is always funny to see people running in the airport, but I think it is funnier when one of those people is a pregnant person trying to keep up with her long legged husband! And Japanese people don't do things like run through the airport... they are always way ahead of schedule.
From Tokyo we flew 7 hours down to Singapore. The flight seemed like a breeze! I'm so used to doing a 13 hour flight with two children... 7 hours with Kel was easy! Once we got to Singapore we took a cab to my see my cousin Bryant and his roommate Alex. I hadn't seen Bryant in soooo long and it was really great to spend time with him. We also had so much fun with Alex. She is a blast and her Mandarin skills came in handy when ordering traditional Singaporean fare! We quickly stripped out of our travel clothes and put on something we could sweat in. We weren't going to work out or anything; Singapore is sooooooooooooo hot and humid! A quick change of clothes, and then on to food! Food seems to be the theme when hanging out with Bryant and Alex. It is the theme of my life as well HAHA!

Ok - you know those moving sidewalks they have in airports? In Singapore they call them travellators! I thought it was funny! I'm random I know!

Kel in front of the Yu-Kee food house. Doesn't sound very appetizing!

The food in Singapore was soooooooooo good!!! I wish I would've gotten some pics of the delicious traditional Chinese desserts that we had. They were so yummy. Everyone says you gain weight when you go on a cruise but I think we gained all our weight the night before the cruise! Thanks Alex and Bryant!

The next day we spent the morning and lunch time with Alex and Bryant. They took us to a shopping mall that had the most amazing food court ever for lunch (here I go again about food). Once again we ordered more then we could actually eat. It was a mix of Dim Sum, Indian, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Singaporean. I think we hit up every vendor!
The ship was right outside the shopping mall at the Port of Singapore. We said our goodbyes and then hopped on the boat!

We got to our room... I know what you are thinking.. yes it was a little too 1960's in there. Don't worry, we had them push our beds together so that our anniversary trip wasn't completely devoid of "action" :)

We then had to head out with our life jackets to our mustre station. This was our "in case of emergency" drill. Boring but we tried to have fun... I look like I'm having fun... right???

Next we said our goodbyes to Singapore and then went exploring our ship "Legend of the Seas".

That was my first time to play shuffleboard. Kelly was so excited when he saw that they had shuffleboard, so I indulged him. Can you tell my pregnancy hormones made me a little competitive? I look like I want to kill someone!

This was our first cruise and I have to say I was so impressed! Our boat was the smallest in the Royal Caribbean fleet but I thought it was AMAZING!!!!! I couldn't believe everything that was offered.

That night we ate dinner and met the people that would be at our table the rest of the cruise. We were told by Royal Caribbean that this particular cruise was geared to the Asian customer. We were excited because we love all types of Asian cuisine, but we were thinking that we would probably be eating with a bunch of people that didn't speak any English. That wouldn't have been a big deal - I can't remember the last time we traveled to a place where people spoke English. We were pleasantly surprised to be sat at a table with a Canadian couple and an Australian couple. Both couples were retired. The Canadians had been visiting their daughter who lived in Perth, and they decided to give her a break and go on this short cruise. The Australian couple were using the cruise a jumping off point to a six month backpacking trip through Malaysia and South Eastern Asia. They were so great and they were a lot of fun to talk to every night.

After dinner we went to a show with the Canadian couple (behind their back we would refer to them and Mom and Dad). At the show we were introduced to our Cruise Director - the guy who is supposed to make sure everyone is having a good time. He was sooooo cheesy! The whole time I was watching him I kept thinking how much I would love to see my brother Zach do an impression of him. Not only was he cheesy and not very funny, but about 90% of the audience was from somewhere in Asia - his type of humor was totally lost on them. I think Kelly felt bad that no one was laughing at his jokes, because you could always hear Kelly laughing!

The next morning was our first stop - Port Kelang Malaysia. We decided that since I was preggers we would sign up for the organized tours. We normally don't do things like that, but we only had half of a day there and we didn't want to spend our time walking around aimlessly while my ankles got fatter and fatter. Can you tell how tired we were???

Ready to take on Kuala Lumpur!

First we went to the palace. Well we went outside the palace and looked through the gate at the grounds. Here we are doing our best to annoy the guards...

Next it was on to Chinatown. It was a lot like every other Chinatown - fake bags and watches produce stands, cheap clothes. We were lucky enough to find a vendor selling peanut pancakes. We thought they sounded interesting and smelled fabulous so we bought just one and walked away. I wish I would've bought ten of them!!!!! They were DELICIOUS! Then it was on to the Petronis Towers.

We walked around the gigantic mall at the Petronis Towers before loading back onto our tour bus. I was pretty tired on the way back to the ship, but I was still lucky enough to hear our tour guide go on and on about how Malaysians are a superior race - especially when compared to Singaporeans. It was pretty funny. Bryant and Alex told me that Malays are always trying to find reasons why they are better than Singaporeans. I think they feel like the ugly step child since Singapore broke off or something. We loved both places!
That night on the boat was the "formal" dinner. Kel didn't wear a tux but he did wear a suit and he looked schnazzy! We were able to chat again with our Canadian mom and dad and then we saw the show afterwards with them as well. It was a 60's British music variety show. It was actually very entertaining and all the songs were great.
The next day we would port at Phuket island Thailand. We didn't arrive there until 2 pm which was GREAT!!!!! Kel and I had signed up to take a Yoga class that morning but instead we slept in until 10:30 then laid in bed and watched Mamma Mia! It was a fabulous morning. We finally pealed ourselves off the bed, rushed to the Indian lunch buffet and then joined our tour group. Once again we decided to go with a tour because we only had about 7 hours and we wanted to get a lot done. It wasn't our first time in Thailand but it was our first time on Phuket. Our ship took us to the beach where the Tsunami hit several years ago. You really couldn't tell anything had happened. Everything was brand new. The beach there was sooooooooo beautiful! The sand was white with glitter in it and the water was so gorgeous. The water in Guam is fabulous as well but we don't have very many sandy beaches here so it was really nice to see. Another lovely part was all the European men laying out in there teeny tiny swimsuits! It would have been less offensive if they were naked!! HAHA!
We stopped at a typical tourist trap - Thai gemstone dealer. They brag about the low cost of their Rubies (which they smuggle in from Burma, but no one admits it) and then they are actually the same price if not more than the rubies in the states! We couldn't get out of stopping there - our tour bus took us. But actually it is part of the Thailand experience - if you don't get trapped in one tourist trap then you didn't have a successful vacation. Then we took a bus over to mainland Thailand where we went inside a Buddhist temple that was built in a huge cave! VERY COOL!

There were monkeys everywhere around the temple and there was this awesome little machine; that if you put coins in it would give you prayer of the day. I loved it!

We got back on the bus and toward the Phang Nga Bay. The Phang Nga Bay is really beautiful. Huge rock islands jut out of the water everywhere. Movies and like The Beach, two different James Bond movies, and Bridget Jones' Diary two were filmed in the Phang Nga Bay. We picked this particular tour because there wasn't a lot of walking involved and we thought it would be relaxing. At the start of it we sort of regreted picking this tour. WE felt like we could've seen more if we did Phuket on our own. Seeing the rock islands and the famous James Bond island was really beauitful though.

Everything we saw was really beautiful, but we just wanted to get back to Phuket in time to get a Thai massage before we had to be on the ship. Little did I know that the coolest part was just about to come! Well as I write this I realize what a nerd I am... We stopped at this village that was built entirely over the water. 200 years ago 30 Indonesian fisherman decided to settle on one of the rock islands. The only usable land space on the island they used to build a mosque. Everything else was built on stilts over the water. 200 years later they are a poplulation of 1200 or so. It was really incredible to see. It wasn't particularly beautiful in fact it was horrendously smelly in a lot of parts; but to see an entire population living this way was really incredible. We pretty much had to walk through other peoples houses to get to certain parts of the village. The grade school there was very small with a wooden basketball court built over the water. There were a few restaraunts, a small clinic, and lots of booths selling seashell crafts. The village used to rely only on fishing as a source of income; but ever since James Bond was filmed close by they rely on tourists stopping through for extra cash. The children were all filthy, but so precious! At one point a lady threw her monkey on me, demanded that Kelly take a picture of it, then demanded money! IT was so funny. We just felt bad because we only had like two baht to give (about 25 cents). There is only one other village in the world like this one and it is in Brunei. Maybe it doesnt sound interesting to anyone else, but it I thought it was fascinating. I'm so glad we chose the tour that was chose just so I could get a glimpse into a lifestyle that I had no idea existed. It was amazing.

Once we got back on dry land we ate a yummy Thai buffet then we sat on a very long bus ride back to the beach where we waited to be taken back to the ship. We weren't hungry but we did make it to the show that night and we spent a little more time with Canadian mom and dad.
The last day was just sailing. It was so relaxing! We spent most of the day laying by the pool and soaking up some rays. There were lots of activites on the ship; like a male beauty pageant (I laughed so hard I cried), and Harry Hudini like magic show, and lots of music and dancing. I accidentally got a little too much sun but other than that the day was fabulous.
We docked the next morning early in Singapore. We made our way over to Alex's and Bryant's place and got mentally prepared for another day of stuffing our faces ( I love those two). Singapore was really neat that day because it was the Friday before Chinese New Year and the whole city was being decorated. We ate in China town and did some shopping for the kids. Later that night we went to Arab street looking for some middle eastern/mediterranean food. We passed by the mosque during evening prayer and you could hear the prayer out on the streets. It was so beautiful, I wanted to go inside the mosque and join them... but then I remembered that I'm a girl and they would kick me out immediatly. OH WELL! We found a yummy Turkish restaraunt where we all attempted to gain another 5 pounds. Thanks Bryant and Alex again for the good times and extra pounds! I want to travel with them soon, but I will have to do my best to become anorexic the month before!

We made it back to Guam and back to our kids. We loved having time for just Kelly and I, but we were so excited to see Liam and Arie again we could hardly stand it! Liam immediatly started asking about presents, and Arie was so excited to see us she couldn't stop laughing for like 30 minutes.
Our actual anniversary date here on Guam was much more low-key. I decided to make some of Kel'l favorite things and do a little picnic. I cut up some veggies and made some homemade hummus, boiled some shrimp and made a cocktail sauce (70% horseradish, 30% cocktail sauce), some yummy eggnoodles (don't ask me why he loves them but he does) and some yummy lime perrier (that was more for me!). We dropped our kids off at a friends house, drove our Guam Bomb (our ghetto ride) to Agana Bay, opened up the back and had a picnic watching the sunset. Guam sunsets are some of the best in the world; in fact we know a couple that moved here 40 years ago because they heard Guam had the best sunsets. It was our most laid back anniversary but we both agreed it was our favorite one. We ended up renting some movies at Blockbuster and going to be early! I love you Kelly!

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-18T15:23:00.001+10:00

So everyday I look at the little baby counter, on the right of this blog, and see how many days I have left!! And FINALLY I'm under 100 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know the baby probably won't come on the exact due date - but I don't care. I'm so happy!!!!!!

Why Why!!!!!!!!

2009-01-30T23:08:00.002+10:00

I don't know why I do the things I do...
Both of my kids need hair cuts - bad. I know some of you are thinking "THANK GOODNESS SHE IS GOING TO CUT LIAM'S HAIR!" Well.. no I'm not. I will cut it but it will stay on the longer side. He has such great thick hair and he looks so cute with a surfer/island look. But I admit right now it is CRAZY long!!! I want to get it trimmed but the last time I took him to someone on Guam they totally hacked it! She told me it would look like Zac Efron (High School Musical - he is so cute!) and she did a HORRIBLE job! So now if I ever want it cut I just take him to my guy in Houston. I do think it is a little crazy to pay for haircuts for little kids, especially boys, but I really am going for a look with Liam and I don't want someone to make him look stupid! Besides I only cut his hair about twice a year, so I'm really not spending that much money. And my mom is so desperate for me to cut his hair she usually offers to pay for it. HAHA! Kelly keeps trying to convince Liam to "cut your hair to look like Daddy". And while I do think my husband is very handsome... well... he and Liam have totally different hair! I am not just going to let Kelly whack it all off! I'm standing firm on this one. Liam has the rest of his life to have a straight-laced look... why start now???
Well after all that ranting that is not why I'm writing this. This is actually about Arie. She has been needing a trim as well. She's never had a haircut really... 1/4 of an inch here, 1/4 of an inch there. And once we had someone trim her bangs. I haven't wanted to cut her hair because she has fabulous little ringlets in the back and I know if I cut her hair they will be gone. But the problem is that the hair that grows from the top of her head has no curl - it is completely straight! So her hair looks a little ratty. Or to use the phrase my family uses - it is a little "cat-sucky". Well after I bathed the kids tonight I decided I would try and trim her hair when she got out of the tub. It was a mistake for several reasons. One - because Kelly is flying and I didn't have anyone to make sure she kept her head still. What should've taken 10 minutes took 25! Second - I'm REALLY bad at cutting hair. Cutting hair really is a talent. I hear parents say all the time that they cut their kids hair and sometimes I'm thinking "yep you can definitely tell!" Other people, even though they aren't professionals, do an ok job. I'm NOT one of those people. When I put her to bed her hair was still half wet so I have no idea what it really looks like, but I'm nervous to see it in the morning. I'm nervous that the little tendrils will be gone forever, and that my last minute ambition of putting fringe around her face was the stupidest decision of my life! When it comes to my own hair I'm pretty much fearless. My attitude is that hair grows back, nothing is permanent. I love to experiment and have totally different looks (I don't really have that opportunity on Guam though). But when it comes to my kids hair I'm definitely freaking out!!!! I cut about two inches off of Arie's hair which is actually a good amount of hair! I'll take pics in the morning and hopefully it won't be as bad as I'm thinking it is. Doing hair is NOT my calling in life!

A LOT of catching up to do.....

2009-01-04T19:13:00.010+10:00

So it has been FOREVER since my last post on here. Its not that we've had incredibly boring lives lately it is just that I haven't had the patience to sit down and catch up on everything. I think the date on my last post was November 8th,, so I will try to go through our latest pictures and update everyone on our lives. This may seem really random with no thought behind it - but there is too much to cover for there to be any organization.

Kelly had his 34th birthday on November 12th. He and I had gone out to eat a few days before at this awesome local seafood restaurant called Proa to celebrate. Kel also had the opportunity to celebrate in Texas with family because he had some training to do. I don't have any recent pictures of Kel to put up here - I say recent because Kelly has lost 25 pounds!!!!!! He and a friend started a weight loss challenge together complete with a contract and everything. Kelly has been very motivated and has done a great job. I always think he looks good but he looks really good now! :) Because I don't have a picture of Kelly that shows off his new slender physique I will pay homage to him by listing my favorite things about him.

1. He doesn't take life or himself too seriously - Kel and I can act completely ridiculous together and laugh hysterically together and I love that about him. He isn't afraid to act stupid or goofy and he loves to try and embarrass me. Sometimes it works - but even then I'm grateful that he is like that.

2. He loves food especially my food! HAHA! I would be so depressed to be married to a boring and unadventurous eater. Kel will try anything and he usually loves it all. He also always goes on and on about the things I make. Maybe he is easily impressed, but I'll take the positive feedback anytime!

3. There is a saying that says "You can tell who a man really is by the way he treats his mother." Well I think they wrote that saying because of Kelly. He loves his Mom!!!! Not only does he love her but he is always willing to do anything for her. Now that we live far away he doesn't get to do things for her very often, but we when we lived in Texas (and when we visit), we pretty much have to be in an impossible situation for him to not drop everything to help her out. When we were dating and his Dad was in Iraq he would always tell me that he felt it was his responsibility to look after her and do things for her so that she wouldn't ever need anything. And now Kelly puts all that same energy and love into my Mom as well. He is always willing to help out and do anything that she needs, even before she asks for it. It is the running joke in our family that Kelly is my Mom's favorite kid. My mom says it isn't a joke because he really is her favorite.

4. He always goes out of his way to make sure everyone around him is comfortable and happy - if we are ever in a social setting he makes sure he talks to everyone and makes sure that those who don't really have anyone to talk to are included.

5. He is a PEACEMAKER - believe it or not it took me a while to appreciate this quality in him. Being a true peacemaker is a wonderful quality to have, but I often noticed that in his efforts to keep the peace in relationships in his life (family, work, friends) his feelings often got over looked. It takes a patient person and very loving person to be willing to always put aside their own feelings for the feelings of those around him.

6. He is very handy - he can pretty much do anything! He loves to fix things and he can usually learn to fix anything even if he hasn't seen it before. He says that I'm easily impressed, but he really is very handy to have around. My mom told me I had to marry him after he fixed my Uncle Craig's boat once. But he really has a nack for understanding how things work.

7. He is always willing to tell me when I'm right and he's wrong - ok ladies who wouldn't want that?!?! He doesn't tell me I'm right just to please me - believe me I've been wrong many times and he doesn't pretend I'm right to get me to shut up. But I have to say, being with someone who is not afraid to admit when they are wrong - and better yet admit when I'm right - is very refreshing! I need to work on that skill myself ;)

8. He loves adventure - I don't really want him to love some of the adventurous things that he loves; motorcycles, spear fishing at night, driving race cars. But I am really grateful that he has a love for life and a love to discover new things. He and I share a lot of the same passions and we really want to pass those things on to our children. He isn't afraid to do anything, and he is always encouraging me when I do get scared. I've tried things that I thought I would never try because of him. He won't settle on having a boring life, he wants to see the world our heavenly Father has created and he wants to show those things to our kids. A lot of people dread the thought of their kids leaving home. I know I will miss our kids greatly when we our empty nesters, but I also can't wait to have even more adventures when it is just the two of us.

9. He is an AWESOME father - Liam and Arie absolutely LOVE being with Kelly. He has so much fun with them and they have so much with him. He somehow got them to love brushing their teeth, they think it is party time at night when it is time to brush their teeth. He not only plays with them and makes sure they are well provided for; but he isn't afraid to show them affection and he really wants to teach them how to be good children and responsible adults.

10. He loves his Heavenly Father and his Savior Jesus Christ - because he loves them so much he chooses to honor his Priesthood and the temple covenants he has made. Kelly isn't a perfect person or anything, but he knows what is right and wrong, he knows what his Father in heaven expects out of him, he knows how to live his life to be an example for his children to follow, he knows the real meaning of integrity.

Kelly would probably be uncomfortable knowing I put all of this on our public blog for everyone to read. But he really is all of those things. It is those things and thousands of others that make me love and respect him more and more everyday.

Ok - Thanksgiving!!! We had the opportunity to meet my Mom in Hawaii for the week of Thanksgiving. Kelly's schedule ended up getting messed up at the last minute, so he didn't get to spend as much time with as he would've liked but the trip was still very fun. We didn't tell the kids that we were going to Hawaii to see Momo, because my Mom really wanted to surprise them. When I got off the plane in Oahu I kept telling the kids to look around to see if they saw anything special. When Liam saw Momo he took off running and screaming towards her. In true Arie fashion, Arie followed behind doing the same thing, only she had no idea why she was screaming. Liam jumped up to hug Momo and Arie hung back a little startled by the commotion. The trip was fun and we did a lot of fun things together. Best part of it was I didn't have to make anything on Thanksgiving and we didn't have to do any cleaning. Worst part was Kelly wasn't there and we weren't around a lot of family. Here are some pics of the trip...

Hawaii was a lot of fun. The weather was AMAZING!!!! The beaches were beautiful (including the surfers on those beaches - right Mom!). We sent Momo off to Kona so she could work and we took off back to Guam. Normally when we go to Hawaii we fly on the direct flight between Guam and Hawaii on a 767, but this time we decided we would fly with Dad! When the 737 (Kel's plane) goes to Hawaii it takes a unique route that has been labeled the Island Hopper. You basically hit several islands in between Guam and Hawaii picking up passengers and cargo along the way. It is a very long day, 6 stops in all, but I really wanted to experience that with Kelly as one of the pilots. Flying as a non-rev on the Hopper can be tricky because they will throw you off fast if they need to put more cargo on board. Being thrown off and stuck on these islands isn't exactly what you want to happen, but I decided I'd chance it anyway. Kelly's family friend, Dennis James, called the Island Hopper the "last bastion of really great flying in the world". The pilots out here consider it the only time that they really get to do their jobs. There are short run ways that leave you no room for error, and most of the airports are so tiny they look like little shacks. It is sort of the Wild West of flying. And most of these islands are so small and so remote it is a really cool chance to see them. Our first stop was Majuro just a tiny atoll about half way between Oahu and Guam. I wanted to get off the plane and take lots of pictures but the weather wasn't so great and....

... these two were out cold!
Our next stop was Kwajalien. Kwaj is actually an Army base and they wouldn't let us off of the plane because the whole island is a restricted area. But the kids still had a lot of fun...

They got to push all kinds of buttons and pretend to fly. Kelly definitely has one of those "Cool Dad" jobs that will be impressive for a long time.
Next stop was Kosrae. Kosrae is very tiny and very remote. Supposedly there is great diving there and people go there to connect back with nature. I loved going into the tiny airport here because you could tell that flying was still a big deal to the locals. The locals that got on the plane had on their best dresses and had tons of fragrant flowers in their hair. It made the plane smell great! Kosrae is also known for a certain citrus fruit that can only be found there. You can by a bag of 20 for about $2 from some of the locals at the terminal. They are small, green, and taste sort of like a tangerine only better. The thing is you have to finish all of them before you get to your next stop - agriculture laws or something. Another cool thing about doing the island hopper was that on those tiny islands airport security is really no big deal. The kids could run all over the runway while we had our layovers and they could really get up close to Daddy's "office".

Next was Pohnpei, also very small, remote and beautiful. Also a very short runway!!! Not that long ago a Japanese plane went off the end of it into the ocean! But those continental pilots are too well trained for a mistake like that... especially a certain FO Monson! His landings are perfection! After Pohnpei we were on to Chuuk. Chuuk was pretty. I really want to go back there too for the diving. After Chuuk we were finally home. Considering how extremely long the day was the kids did very well and had a lot of fun. It was really fun being on the plane with Kel while he was flying too.

After Thanksgiving it was time to get ready Christmas and to plan Arie's birthday party! Arie turned 2 on the 9th on December. We had to do a party for her because last year we hardly even celebrated her birthday - her FIRST birthday - we are horrible parents! The morning of her birthday we did b-day pancakes with a candle and we sang to her. Then for her party we had some kids over and we decorated sugar cookies. Arie got lots of great presents too.

It is hard for me to believe that Arie is already 2! She has brought so much joy to our family and I'm so grateful to have her as a daughter. Although I'm sad that she is growing so fast it is also so much fun, because the older she gets the more fun she has with her brother. Liam and Arie are quite the two-some! They bicker a lot and fight over toys, but they also have so much fun together. Arie worships her brother and he really does love her so much too. Listening to them play or watching them from around the corner are my two favorite activities. They crack me up! I'm so grateful for my brother and sister, and they truly are the two people I'd choose to be around anytime. I pray that Liam and Arie will have that some bond someday.

As most of you know Kelly and I are expecting baby number 3! We are really excited and we feel really blessed to be able to have another sweet baby in our home. We have decided this time around that we want to be surprised and not find out the sex of the baby. I thought my personality would NEVER let me do that, but I have to say it is so much fun! Kel thinks it is a girl, and if I had to guess I'd say a girl too. But what is weird is when I refer to the baby I always say "he" and I had a dream that I had the baby and it was a boy. Who knows!?! All I know, is I love the whole surprise thing. How many great surprises do you get in life anyway? I know, I know, it is a surprise if you find out at 20 weeks or at 40 weeks. But I can't wait for the doctor to say "It's a...."! It will be awesome.

Well this may be the longest post in the history of blogger. I actually have a lot of videos that I need to post as well, but those take forever!!!! and I don't have the patience tonight! So i hope everyone is doing great and I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and holiday season. OH YEAH!!!!!!! I'll post about Christmas later! HAHA!

Election 2008

2008-11-06T08:59:00.002+10:00

Well another Presidential Election is over. I'm sure many of you are disappointed by the results while some are very excited. I myself wasn't thrilled about either one of the prospects. Our new President - President Obama! While I don't agree with him on a lot of things, I have to say I'm so excited to see our nations first black president! I have had chills watching all the celebrations on TV for him. No matter how this election went history was going to be made, and it was really exciting to see which way it would go. I have to admit that although I wouldn't have voted for Obama, I'm so excited to see our country in a place where we will elect a black president.
I have always struggled with racism. Not struggled in the sense where I have felt like a racist!!! FAR FROM IT! I am APPALLED by any sort of racism and ignorance. It disgusts me the same way that sexual abuse and abuse of animals and children disgusts me. I have a really hard time being around people who make racist comments or who are close minded to the fact that we really are all the same. I hope all of those people have their feet in their mouths now. Of course those people will be the first to say when he messes up that it is because he is black. BOO on those people!
I do have a concern though that the history books won't be fair and balanced to Mr. Obama. He is such a media darling that no matter what he does, bad or good, they are going to LOVE him. Like I said I don't agree with all of his policies and ideas - but for me this post is not about that. I am really just so excited to see our country here in this place. I'm so excited that I'm alive to see something like this. I'm so happy that my children will see him as president, even if he does mess up. Hopefully it will make it harder for them to learn any sort of ignorance and judgement towards a persons race.
Racism is disgusting. It comes from fear, ignorance and insecurity. Those are three qualities that I can hopefully keep my kids away from. It is obvious that everyone in the nation wanted a change. I know that Obama wasn't the change that everyone wanted. I don't want a lot of the changes he says he wants either. But I do love the change of the face of this nation! We have always been told to pray for our leaders - lets continues to do that! We should pray for them whether we agree with them or not. We should pray for their safety and for their strength and health. Our country has taken a huge step forward in some ways. I hope he does a good job. I know I won't agree with him every step of the way but I hope he is good for this nation, because we really need something good right now.

Photo Tag!

2008-11-04T14:20:00.002+10:00

Thanks Marie - this one does sound fun! What you have to do is go into your picture files and upload the fourth photo in your fourth folder and the sixth photo in the sixth folder. Now.. lets see what those are....

> HAHAHAHA Marie you are in one of them!!! The first one is of our primary party, and the next one is under the water when Kel and I went diving!

I'm tagging... Ashley, Alli, Stacy, and Kristi!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T10:03:00.015+10:00

So it has been a looooooooong time since I've updated this thing - and right now I'm only going to talk about Halloween. Maybe I'll update more later.

Halloween this year was definitly the most fun so far. Liam really understood the holiday and has been super pumped about it for a while now. And if Liam is excited about something you can bet that Arie is also. This year we knew Liam would go as Batman. He has had a Batman obsession fo quite some time know and we knew without a doubt that is who he would be. Arie would've been Batman too if we would've let her, but Liam really wanted her to be a princess. When we went to the costume store we immediately found Liam's Batman costume but we had a harder time finding a princess for Arie. We had to settle on Tinkerbell - but I think it fit her personality perfectly!!!

A week ago we crashed a Halloween party at our old church. It was really fun to see old friends and it was fun for the kids to get to wear their costumes before the big day. Halloween day was also full of fun activities. Liam's school had a Halloween parade and then a carnival afterwards. And then last night we went to our old neighborhood where there was a big bounce house and a trunk-or-treat. It was really fun to hang out with our old neighbors and having a trunk-or-treat with people you know made it feel a lot safer.
That is Liam all dressed up on the way to his school's Halloween party. He's on the phone with Mo-Mo telling her all about how cool he is! Here is Arie also anticipating the party at Liam's school. she just LOVES any chance she gets to be with Liam!Liam's got his bag and he is ready to go! You can tell in those pictures he always has to look in an upward direction or his mask would slide down. Liam NEVER broke character the whole time - he even spoke in a totally different voice. Here is Arie trying to steal from the other kids cubbies. She looks sweet, but never trust her :) The next few are pictures of Liam's class. There were so many cute kids and it was really fun to finally put faces to the names that Liam is always talking about. And it was nice to meet their parents as well. Arie was on sensory overoad the whole time we were there. She got into everything and was basically being her sweet destructive self. We finally just decided that she couldn't be trusted and that she had to be held. She didnt' really care for that idea... After lots of picture taking in the classroom the kids finally got have their parade. They paraded out of the school to the Ace hardware that backs up to the school. The employees at Ace handed candy out to the kids as they walked through the parking lot and through the store. After the parade we went back to the school for carnival. There were lots of fun games, bounce houses, and they were raffeling off a Wii. Sadly we didn't win the Wii - oh well there is always next year. There was a lunch for everyone - the traditional Guam favorites of red rice, kelaguen and long grain rice noodles. YUM YUM!!!!! A few days before Halloween Liam realized that Kel and I didnt' have costumes. Well this upset him and became obsessed with us getting outfits of our own. We gave in and we all went to the Halloween store together. I looked for the cheapest one that would cover up my recent weight gain - I went as Bruce Lee the Dragon Ninja. Kel on the other hand had a very important role this Halloween. Liam was going as Batman so what else could Kelly be but.......... ROBIN!!!!!!!!!! They were the perfect crime fighting duo! Liam thought it was pretty much the coolest thing that ever happened. I have to say kel is such a good sport because his costume was soooooo HOT! He kept it on for well over an hour - which is way better that I would've done. Anyway - here we are at our friends Halloween party... Check out the super hero stance! Oh man!!!! Those two were hilarious! Once we got to the party we hardly saw Batman again. He spent most of the time in the bounce house. I on the other hand spent time following Arie around making sure she didn't steak other peoples candy and food. Our friends have one of those yellow and red cars - you know the kind for toddlers that look sort of cartoonish. Well Arie LOVES these! She hogged the car the whole night. At one point she got out and when she returned back to the car she saw that another little boy had gotten in the car. Arie stared at him for a while with a very angry face and then went up to the car, opened the door and tried pulling the boy out by his head!!!! The car became her obsession that night and she soon realized that her wings made it very inconvenient when getting in and out of the car. So she went from this ... to that!!!!!!!!! Once we started trick or treating Liam came back into the picture. I sat and handed out candy, while Arie sat in the back of the car with me and ate everything that I wasn't handing out. After the party we went home and spent an hour or so waiting for Arie to come down off of her sugar high. Once we put her to bed Liam stayed up with Kel and I while we watched Young Frankenstein. Liam loved it!

So funny - so true - not a G rating!

2008-09-06T20:31:00.000+10:00

Kel and I have been tossing around the idea of adding to our already hyperactive family. We know we want another little one - but when it came down to actually really trying to make that happen I got cold feet. I do want to still have another baby, but I also feel like... I'm young still, we have so much to do right now that isn't very much fun when your preggers, I hate being pregnant, and well I hate being pregnant. So we have gone back and forth recently on this issue. Our conversations are "Yes,now is a good time" to "Lets wait a few more months" to "Whatever happens happens" to "Lets wait a few more months". While we continue to battle with this issue, i would like to share some videos that have left me laughing sooooooooo hard! I'm sure anyone can relate to these, please enjoy!

http://www.runawaybox.com/video.php?vid=396

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGOohBytKTU

Update on nothing really important...

2008-08-16T20:09:00.000+10:00

So I started a new job recently. I don't think it will qualify as a "second income" anytime soon though. I only work about once a week! I got a job at a local furniture store... hmmm I just can't break away from the family biz! I really like the job though. I've been around furniture and interior design all my life so it I felt like it would be a good fit. It is a totally different ballgame from my Mom's store though. By the way - if you haven't been to my Mom's store - Eklektik Interiors - you are missing out!!!! It is so beautiful and very unique. This store on the other hand is very basic. For all of you people from Houston -- I'd relate it to a Gallery Furniture, but set up nicer. Extremely affordable basics. Some of the stuff has some style to it though. I really just got the job so that I could get out of the house once a week and save my sanity. GASP!!!! WHAT?!?!??!?!?!? A good mother - especially a good Mormon mother - would never utter those words! Well guess what? I meant it! I love my kids and feel fortunate to stay at home with them - but sometimes I've got to break free! Kel has been super Dad when I'm a work. Last week I got home he and the kids had just gotten back from the beach (something I'd never do alone!). Liam came running up to me telling me how much fun he had and how Daddy is the best Daddy, when I noticed Liam was running with a 16oz bottle of STRAWBERRY FANTA in his hands!!!!!!! No wonder they like Kelly more than me! Kelly just looked at me like "you weren't supposed to see that". Oh well! I thought I'd post some pictures of the goofy kids. When Daddy is around they just goof off and get dirty.

We've been trying to do better about getting the kids super sweet moments on video. They both love to sing so we decided tonight that we would try and capture there lovely voices live. Liam, of course performed perfectly. Arie on the other hand... basically with Arie, if she knows you want something from her there is no way you are going to get it.

Unda tha Sea!

2008-08-07T16:59:00.000+10:00

(just to warn you I had a little trouble at the end of this post with my videos - they didn't get put in the right place - OH WELL!)
Kelly and I took off on our first diving adventure together yesterday. We went out on a boat with a group of locals who dive every Wednesday together. We went to two different spots on the South end of the island by the harbor. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!

Kel and Dave have been diving to pretty much the best dice locations in the world - so to Kel the diving was a little boring. But for me it was soooooo much fun. It was my first dive since getting my certification. I loved it so much that I think I want to get my Advanced Open water Certification (that just means I can dive to deeper depths and do more challenging things).

We recently got under-water housing for our camera and yesterday was our first day using it - so basically the pics didn't turn out that great. But I'll put up the pics anyway so you guys can see some of the things that we saw!

Our first dive there wasn't a lot of coral and it really wasn't very pretty - but we did see an eel! He was sooo cool - he just stuck his head out of his hole and checked us out. But sadly we didn't bring the camera down on the first dive. Kel hadn't been under the water in about five years and it was my first official dive - so we decided to not bring the camera and of course we saw an eel and couldn't document it.

here are pics of our second dive which was much prettier. The only thing that sucked was that it was really overcast, so the colors weren't that visible.. but you can get the idea.

This next pic is of a flat worm. These little guys are famous around the Marianas and they come in hundreds of different color combinations and patterns - some of them glow at night!

I'm going to try to put up some of our videos but we'll see if it works!

We also had the opportunity to see a submarine. The sub came into the harbor where we were about to dive. It caused quite the commotion for some reason - coast guard boats went over to check it out and everything. We couldn't dive until it left. Here are some pics as it passed by us leaving the harbor.

If you look at the top you can see the guys standing on the sub - that gives you an idea of just how big those things are!

Hong Kong 2008

2008-07-20T16:20:00.000+10:00

We just got back from fun getaway to Hong Kong. We were gone for almost 5 days and it was really great. Our neighbors, another pilot family, joined us on the flight and in our hotel. We also had two families from our branch who were in Hong Kong as well while their husbands ship, the Frank Cable, was at port there. We got to see a lot and do a lot and I think it was pretty successful.

Our hotel was called the Regal Kowloon Hotel - as you might have guessed in Kowloon Bay. The location was really great. We were close to lots of nice shopping, Nathan Rd. (sort of like a 5th Avenue or Broadway), and right across Hong Kong island. It was also conveniently close to McDonald's. I know I know, who goes to a foreign country and eats McDonald's?!?!?!? I used to think the same thing. But actually we like to make it a tradition. McDonald's in other countries has unique items on the menus (Hawaii - spam, Philippines - the McRice burger, Bali - chicken fried rice, Hong Kong - the Pepper Burger and chicken pasta for breakfast), and Ronald McDonald usually has a special pose for each country he is in. And... everywhere serves chicken nuggets!!!!! So when you've had a long day and you aren't in the mood to get your kids to try dim sum or sushi... you always have chicken nuggets!

Our first day there we went to Lan Tao and the Ngong Ping 360. You basically get on a gondola and fly over the mountains to the little town of Ngong Ping. There are cute little shops and gorgeous scenery. There is also a GIANT statue of Buddha at the top of the mountain. You have to climb 260 stairs to get to the copper Buddha. At the base of the stairs was a gorgeous and very old monastery.

Goofing off on the subway - heading to Lan Tao...

Outside Lan Tao station - I would LOVE to own one of those apartments!!!!!

This was the sign before we got on the gondola - good thing we left our livestock at home!!!

The cart that would take us up to Ngong Ping.

Here are some of the views from our gondola, and yes, some of them are of the airport. Before I married Kelly I always felt like an airport ruined the view, now we take pictures and admire them!!!! HAHA! man-made island, with some of the most traffic in the world...anyone impressed yet??? I think only Sean and Allie will appreciate the airport pics....

View of the Buddha
Here is a view of a path/stairway that takes you up the mountain. It is called the Path of Enlightenment. You can hike the path instead of going on the gondola. I can't wait to go back when the kids are older so we can all take the path!!!! The path is really old (except for the stairs), and it looked like a really beautiful hike. Here are some pics of the little town of Ngong Ping. it was really beautiful up there in the mountains and it was a little bit cooler. The Buddha statue has been there for a long time, and so has the monastery. It has definitely turned into a tourist attraction though. When we got up there we were thinking oh what a cute little quaint Chinese village - and then we saw Starbucks and a gelato chain. Right then the mystery of the town died!!!! Oh well - it was nice to get some gelato!

And here is BUDDHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wanted to add the Liam climbed all 260 steps by himself!!! He was so excited to get to the top to see the Puma!!!! For some reason he always calls Buddha - Puma!

After we climbed down the steps from seeing Buddha we went into the monastery. When we walked in we could hear the monks chanting and it was really beautiful. We kept joking that we were sweating to the oldies - the 2000 year old oldies!!!! The monastery was beautiful we even ate at the vegetarian restaurant there - it is run by the monastery. The kids did a pretty good job with the food. Arie loves tofu, and Liam likes it if he thinks its chicken. I wondered about Liam when I looked over and saw that he poured some of Kelly's Fanta in his rice! I don't think that is the Cantonese way.

After lunch we watched a monrkey cartoon at a little theater (total tourist thing but we did it for the kids) then we watched another cartoon in another theater about the journey of Buddha. It was made so kids could understand his story, but I think Kel and I got a lot out of it too.

That night we babysat for our friends. Cody, the husband, is in the navy and is on the Frank Cable. That night they had a cocktail/appetizer function for the sailors and their wives. We watched their kids for them while they went out. Their kids were so good and Liam had a lot of fun hanging out with the girls. We took them to McD's (of course) and then took them down by the boardwalk to see the laser show. Everynight on Hong Kong island a several of the skyscrapers participate in a laser light show. The buildings light up and they have lasers that go off to music. The music changes every night with a different theme and they play the music on speakers on the boardwalk in Kowloon. The show was pretty cool and the kids got COTTON CANDY!!!!!!! It was Liam's first time with cotton candy and he did a lot of licking instead of tearing off and eating. I think next time he'll get it.

The next came the adventure that we traveled for.......... DISNEY LAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hond Kong Disney is quite a it smaller than Anaheim and definitly smaller than Orlando. But it was perfect for the kids because it wasn't as exhausting to get around the place! It still had the classics though... teacups, flying Dumbo, Its A Small World, and Space Mountain. Liam was so excited and Arie really got into it as well. There is a subway train that rns exclusively to disney and it is decorated with Mickey head windows and other cute things...

The first ride we chose was the race care ride. It was definitly the longest line we waited in - 45 MINUTES!!!! It was hot and humid and the kids got really impatient. I thought for sure their moods were ruined. They cheered up a little when they got their license!

After that thrilling race around the track we met up with our friends from church and let we let all the kids run around in the UFO water area. It was good for them to cool off.

Liam had a lot of fun - but Arie got SOAKED!!!!!

Next up... what else... Its A Small World. This ride was great for parents! The line was super short and you waited in air conditioning the whole time!!! We rode it two or three times. Liam sat with Avri and Logyn (when they are around he wants nothing to do with us).

Next was flying Dumbo, Teacups, and FOOD!!!! I have to say - based on food alone this is my favorite Disney. Our choices were sushi, dim sum, indian... and it was all really good!

And what do you think happened next?

After the kids woke up we went on a Tarzan jungle boat tour. Liam didn't really care for it because there were crazy cannibals that jumped out and lots of fire. After that we went to a 3-D show. I personally love these things and luckily the kids got into it too. Liam and Arie were both grabbing for things in the air and laughing the whole time!
In order to get in a little adult time we took turns with our friends Darren and Sheila riding SPACE MOUNTAIN!!!!!! We watched their son Mason first. When they were done it was our turn! We went in the singles line so we wouldn't have to wait very long, and thatmeans we didn't get to ride it together. I ended up being paired with an Austrailian woman in her 60's who was with her two girlfriends. We laughed so hard and screamed so loud we had tears running down our faces! kel go paried up with a Japanese guy who tried to duck his headto whole time! I have to say that Space Mountain was the best one EVER!!!! I think because it was newer and more modern. But it was darker and faster! So much fun!

Our next activity was probably the highlight of the day. We rode on the Buzz Lightyear ride. The jist of the ride is this... you walk in and a big robot Buzz is telling you that Zurg has stolen the battery cells and it is your mission to shoot the robots and get back the battery cells "Good Luck Space Cadets!"... you get in your own cart with lazer guns so that you can shoot the batteries and score points. Well after Buzz gace us the run down, you should have seen Liam's face. He was sooooo intense and so serious about his mission. He did not want to let Buzz down. Kel said the whole ride he didn't break character once! After the ride we walked out and saw the REAL BUZZ!!!! Of course we had to stand in line so Liam could met him. We were so excited for Liam to meet him we ran over to the line and forgot all about Arie!!!! Our neighbor came over holding her and laughing at us. Not our finest parenting moment but we're not trying to win any awards!!!! HA!

This day was tons of fun but it was a lot of work. At the end of the day kel and I wanted to call our parents and tell them thank you for all the times they took us to do fun things. Seeing the kids light up was worth every moment but it was a rough day. Sweating the whole time, wiping bums, changing diapers, holding the stroller just right while they napped... it was all worth it though! To prove how hot we were here it Kelly after our day at Disney... note the salt on his shirt from his sweat!!!!! CRAZY HUMIDITY!!!!

The next day was sightseeing and shopping. We went to Vicotria's peak with Darren, Sheila, and Mason. Then we all met up with a couple from our branch Kjirsti and Jeremy. At Vicoria's Peak there was a playground that the kids played on and incredible views of Victoria Bay and Kowloon.

This little girl followed Arie EVERYWHERE!!! I don't know how they communicated but Arie did everything the girl wanted her to do and they had a lot of fun together.

After Victoria's peak it was off to meet Kjirsti and Jeremy at the Star Ferry, and then on to the Jade Market!!!! YES - three buildings of JADE!!!!!!!!! Jewelry, figurines, cute old Chinese men and random finds. Next time you see me sk to see my pocket watch!

Awwwww babies first jade. Arie got her first pieces of jade - a Chines zodiac bracelet. You should have seen the way she was waving her wrist around!

I fell in love with his old Chinese man! Not only did he have the coolest finds ever (check out the goth/rock/weapon rings I'm wearing), but he told me if I bought rom him I'd be "lucky lucky". How could I not buy from him?!?!

Later that night Kel and I dropped our kids off with our friends Tara and Cody so that we could have a night to ourselves. We had a lot of fun. We went to the "Avenue of the Stars" and ate some yummy yummy food. Then we walked down Nathan Rd. and watched the city come alive!

Our last day there I had to leave Kelly and Liam in the hotel room. Kel was throwing up and Liam was complaining about his stomach too. Arie and I met up with Kjirsti and Jeremy and took a train north to the "New Territores". It was definitly a lot more like China. No english signs and a crazy market place. We visited the Man Mo temple and did some shopping.

Hungry anyone???

Last but not least here are some random shots of us just goofing off. Kelly and I are super lame sometimes - but we make each others laugh and we make oursleves laugh - and that is all that matters!

I can't believe I ended on that picture!

Off to HONG KONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-14T10:39:00.000+10:00

We are leaving for Hong Kong today. We'll be gone for about 5 days and we are super excited!!! Two families in our branch just happen to be going at the same time as us, and our neighbors are also going as well! So there will be lots of fun friends and lots of kids too. We plan on spending a day at Disney Land, and Liam is so excited about I literally think he is going to explode. Everyday he wakes up and asks me if I'm excited about going. I can't wait to see his face when he finally realizes we are there. I'm excited to see Mickey and the Princesses but I'm really looking forward to good food, big buildings, bargain shopping, old Chinese medicine men, and the humidity (not really that last one, but it will be there so I guess I'll get excited about it). I'll report back with details of the trip and some pictures.
I had the opportunity to go to a baptism this last weekend. We had four people get baptized into our small branch. I wasn't really thinking I was going to go, but my neighbor called and said we should go because we had taken one of the investigators to church a couple of times and we should be supportive. So in about 20 minutes I dressed myself and the kids and we took off. I'm sooooooo happy that I went. It was really neat. The talks were very good and hymns we sang we perfect. But when we went outside (yes our font is outside - how cool!) to see the actual baptisms I couldn't stop crying! It was so awesome. You could just see how happy the people were as they came out of the water. The spirit was so strong! Not only was everyone there happy about the event, but you knew those looking down from heaven were so happy too. I know it is good to go to new member baptisms for support, but I honestly want to go for myself too. It was an amazing spiritual experience!

lately

2008-06-27T20:01:00.000+10:00

Since our camera broke we have been borrowing our neighbors camera. Their camera is considerably better than ours so we have been trying to figure out how exactly to use it. Well, Kel has spent more time figuring it out than I have. I just turn it on and click! Hopefully after we get our own camera we will get better at taking pictures. Here are some that Kel took the other night when the fog settled on golf course at dusk. Having thick fog here is kind of rare so it was cool to see. This was the view out our back door...

Here are some more that Kel took while outside. I think this scenery is a bit more interesting :)

I especially love this next picture. It is totally their personalities!!!! Arie with the cheesiest grin she can possible display, and Liam standing sweetly next to her holding his package!!! HA! Boys have the fascination their whole life! I don't know if you remember the pics of my black eye... but that happened because of an incident on a water slide. Well ever since that event Liam has been a little scared of the water. He loves going to the beach and the pool, but he will only get in water up to his shins, or he will only stay in the baby pool. In the last two weeks he has starting putting his face in the water and holding his breath for around 5 seconds. THAT IS A HUGE IMPROVEMENT!!!!! Well I'd been thinking lately about getting him some goggles. I have had a few friends here who have told me that when they got goggles for their kids it really helped. Today we went to a sporting goods store to pick some out. Liam is always happy to get new things so he was excited to pick them out even though he had no idea what they were for. We actually ran into another pilot and his wife at the store. The wifes name is Catherine and she has been a swimmer almost all her life and she has taught swim lessons for many years. So we picked up goggles and arranged swim lessons. I'm so excited because we are trying to get to Palau and Austrailia as soon as we can so I really want Liam to snorkel. When we got home from the store Liam wanted to get in the tub immediatly to try out the goggles. When we were at the store Liam kept calling the goggles GOBBLES... then when we got home he wanted to get the tub with the BOGGLES... then while in the tub he thanked me for the WOBBLES!!!! So funny! Anyway as you can see he LOVED THEM!!!!!!!

Last but not least here are a few randoms...

no pictures

2008-06-26T16:54:00.000+10:00

Our camera decided to give up on us. One day it just decided to not turn on anymore. That was well over a month ago and we have not replaced it yet.
After Kel's 15 hours of internet research (seriously he took FOREVER) we have finally decided which one we want. Now all we have to do is find a way for it to be shipped to Guam!!!!! That is harder than it sounds. Hopefully we will have some pics up soon!!!!!!

clearing things up

2008-06-15T14:11:00.000+10:00

Ok, I guess the post I put up a couple of days ago was a little freaky. I didn't mean to scare anyone. Kelly is still working and we are fine. I was just complaining because the airlines are not doing well right now. Actually everyone in the USA is suffering from gas prices and the unstable economy. And as we know, if people don't have extra cash they don't travel!!!!! When people stop traveling then the airlines make cutbacks.
I was just complaining because I was frusterated that day. We are fine. But plenty of pilots from many airlines have no idea what is in store for them. Somebody needs to give the oil companies big huge spankings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To lighten the mood

2008-06-13T10:59:00.001+10:00

I felt bad afte my last blog so I decided to post what i found from a friends page.

You can only type one word. Send it to people including the personthat sent it to you.
1. Where is your cell phone?console
2. Where is your significant other? shower
3. Your hair? messy
4. Your mother? crazy
5. Your father? silly
6. Your favorite thing? traveling
7. Your dream last night? frusterating
8.Your dream/goal? Nepal
9. The room you're in? living
10. Your hobby? gardening
11. Your fear? sharks
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? wherever
13. Where were you last night? couch
14. What you're not? high-strung
15. One of your wish list items? wallet
16. Where you grew up? TEXAS
17. The last thing you did? blog
18. What are you wearing? grubbies
19 Your TV? off
20. Your Pet? Jet
21 Your computer? HP
22 Your mood? scared
23 Missing someone? not really
24 Your car? Toyota
25 Something you're not wearing? makeup
26 Favorite store? Target
27 Your summer? FABULOUS
28 Love someone? DEFINITLY
29 Your favorite color? green
30 When is the last time you laughed? today
31 Last time you cried? today

Ok - whoever wants to do this just copy and repost!

Just a little complaining.....

2008-06-13T08:37:00.000+10:00

Ok - Sorry that I haven't posted in a while and now I'm going to complain!

What the hell is wrong with our government?!?!?!?!?!?!? How in the world can it be legal for oil to be so high??????? EVERYONE is hurting from this and no one is really doing anything about it!

I'm seriously about to lose my mind thinking about it. We are paying $4.70 a gallon here! And that I don't mind as much - but I HATE what the rising cost of oil is doing to my husbands career! The airlines are hurting jsut like everyone else. And if they try to raise ticket prices by a measly $20 people get their panties in a wad and act like the airlines are this evil corporation tryig to steal from them. How bout this PEOPLE....... What about the people that work for the airlines? They are just trying to stay a float too in this mess of an economy! Come on - you have to have a family of 5 to even be effected by $100. So while everyone is crying over ticket prices going up, the airlines and the airline employees and their families are one by one being put out on the street. Why does it seem that every man is out for himself. What about the greater good?

Anyway - next time you find yourself at the pump moaning about the rising cost of gas -think of the airpline employee who no longer has a job now, and they are at the same pump paying the same price as you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

more water - and a wake up call

2008-04-21T20:22:00.000+10:00

Yesterday (Sunday) I finished my confined water diving. We learned a few more skills mostly pretty easy ones. A lot of taking you gear on and off under the water. We also had to practice skin diving (diving without gear) and that was pretty hard. He made us keep our weight belts on and I thought I was going to drown!!!! I swallowed so much ocean water yesterday. I was fighting off the urge to puke the whole time! I just knew i was going to be chumming the water. Luckily there was no puking. I'm anxious to get the open water dives done so that I can be done with the class stuff. It is fun and you learn a lot but i know there is more out there to see. We don't go any deeper than 20 feet in class and there is a lot to see at 20 feet. Imagine how much better it is the deeper you go!
One of the girls in my class was really cute. I had the chance to talk with her a lot while we were eating lunch or doing our 10 minute float test. She has been on island for about the same time as me. I assumed she was here with the military because I knew she wasn't Australian or with Continental. When I asked if her husband was Navy or Air force she said that he was Navy and was on a submarine!!!! I told her how cool I thought that was and she agreed and said she was really proud of her husband. The more I talked to her the more I got to know about her everyday life. Sometimes I find myself complaining because Kelly has to work a lot of nights and I'm always up early with the kids. Or if he has to work an island hopper and is gone for four days I just hate it. There are a lot of Navy families in our branch at church and I've realized that I'm pretty lucky. Most of their husbands get on their ships and they are gone for 3 or more weeks at a time!!!! Seeing the navy wives deal with that has made me grateful for having Kelly as much as I have him.
Well, this girl in my class, whose hubby is on the sub has it really bad!!! She said their normal schedule is 6 months on 6 months off..... can you imagine??????? Not seeing your husband for six months at a time?!?!?!?! And sometimes they have to go on "silent" mode where she can't talk on the phone or email him for weeks at a time! She said that his sub has been so busy lately that he isn't getting his 6 months off. She said the longest period of time she has had with him was 2 weeks!!!!!! Just listening to her made me feel really selfish and immature. She recently had a flood in her kitchen. She didn't have a husband to fix it or call the plumber - she had to do it. She doesn't have a dad here either to call over when her hubby isn't around. She does everything on her own. She mowes the lawn, trims the trees and bushes, and does minor repairs around the house. One of her friends, who also has a hubby on the sub, got a flat tire the other day, her fridge and freezer went out, and her water wasn't working. The girl in my class just said "I'll give her my other car, and we will just figure out how to fix all this. We don't have our husbands so we have to take care of each other." She said it so confidently. I know she is sad to not have her husband around, but she didn't complain the whole time I talked to her about it. She said her husband doesn't tell her the scary things about his job so that she won't worry - in return she doesn't complain to him about how long he is gone. She is amazing. All the military wives I know really amaze me. Every time I start to feel sorry for myself now, I know how stupid I'm really being. Not only are the military guys away from home much more than my husband, but often times they are put in very dangerous positions. I have a couple of friends who are pregnant right now and it is very possible that their hubby's will be gone soon after the babies are born!
I wish I could say I no longer feel sorry for myself - because I do. But when I find myself feeling that way I think of all the reminders I have around me or the women who really do run their homes on their own. I really admire those families for their sacrifices. I guess a four day trip is really nothing at all.

Under tha sea...

2008-04-19T19:28:00.000+10:00

So I finished my first day of the dive portion of my dive school. I had classes Monday night thru Wednesday night. Today was my first time in the water with all my gear on!!!!
Last night I could hardly sleep! I was seriously so anxious! Luckily I had a slumber party at my house so I was able to keep my mind on other things. No, Arie isn't already hosting parties... I'm the Achievement/Activity Days leader in our branch and I had a slumber party with all the girls at my house. It was really low key, but it was really fun. The girls kept me busy and they kept me laughing. When it was time to hit the bed I crashed, but only for a couple hours or so. Then I tossed and turned, thinking up horrible things that would happen to me in the water. I just knew that I would either get eaten by a shark or I would spend the next week in a decompression chamber from getting the bends!
I'm happy to report that neither one happened. We learned all about our gear; how to assemble it and put it on.. We also learned the skills we would need to have in the water while diving. We only went to about a depth of 20 feet today. That doesn't sound very deep at all - but considering we are not supposed to breath under water period - it was still a cool experience. I saw lots of really neat fish and a HUGE anemone. The only problem I had was that my ears didn't equalize very well. It would take everyone else just a moment to get to the bottom, but I had to stop every foot or so and equalize my ears! It was annoying. At the end of our day I couldn't even finish the last dive because I couldn't get my ears to equalize at all. I was really mad at first. But you can't push your ears or you could have major injuries!
Tomorrow I have a couple more dives, all in shallow water. When I get back from the states I can finish my deep water dives. Hopefully by then my ears will buck up and just get through it!!!!!!!
I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself and what I've done so far. When I go to a beach normally I won't get in water that is deeper than my waist!!! Here in Guam the water is crystal clear too! But today i was like a fish (a fish hooked up to breathing tubes and gauges).
Wish me luck for tomorrow!! Soon my hubby and I can share his passion and swim the seas together! ...Well... the shallow seas where the sharks can't get me!

Island Children

2008-04-15T08:47:00.000+10:00

I haven't posted in a while and I actually have had things to post about.... lazy I guess.

Living here on Guam life is very relaxed and casual. So casual in fact that my kids usually run around in their underwear and diaper. The only clothes we wear consistently are swimsuits. It has gotten so bad that when I try to put clothes on my kids Liam asks "Mom, where are we going?" Or if he sees me walk into the room with his clothes in my hands he starts crying and saying "MOM!!! I don't want to go anywhere!!"

The other day Liam woke up from a nap and we went outside to let Jet out. Our neighbor's girls were playing outside too. Liam wanted to play with them... I saw him run inside... when he came out he looked like this....
Yep - that's my boy running around in underwear and running shoes! And I love that he wasn't the least bit embarrassed! To make it even better, he was the only boy playing with about 4 different girls. The ladies love him!

Our neighbors daughter, Claire, is HILARIOUS!!!!! She was bragging to me about how strong she is, and to prove it this is what happened...

Did you see those cute little buns??? Arie also loves to run around like a little island girl...
When my kids do wear clothes, they choose to sport the latest designs courtesy of ALPA (thanks Honey!)...
Before I end this I just can't help but post these pics of Arie. She looks older everyday to me!

Sad day of shots....

2008-04-03T08:21:00.000+10:00

Well we took the kids to the doctor yesterday. Arie was a little bit behind in her shots, and Liam needed a clean bill of health for his new school. We thought Liam would get his ears looked at and Arie would probably get a couple shots. Sadly the visit was not that easy. Arie ended up needing five shots!!!!!! Actually they gave her some early so we didn't have to come back in 2 months. But 5 SHOTS!!!!!!!! It was sooooooooooooo sad! Liam also got three shots, and a TB skin test TB is so prevalent here on island so every child must have one in order to get into school. Those aren't that bad but he still didn't like it. He did pretty well with the shots. He cried but he go over it fast! Arie on the other hand, holds onto her anger! Who could blame her though with 5!!!!!! It was so sad watching her. Liam was crying while watching her too. It was sweet, but also sad. Good thing they have candy at the doctors office because my kids would never go back if they didn't have a reward at the end.
Liam's visit was really involved. Usually to get a clean bill of health they just just check the past records of visits, look in their ears, nose, eyes, throat, check their temp... the usual. But this time the Doctor did a really involved visit. She was asking him all kinds of questions and checking his fine motor skills. Most of the motor skills she was quizzing him on were for age four. He actually got all of them! I was even surprised by the things he was doing! I don't really work on that stuff with my kids - I don't want to stress them or myself out. Most kids do things at their own pace, so why stress out or make them feel bad about themselves. I have a neighbor who is an occupational and speech therapist - I told her one day to just tell me if she thought Liam as behind for any reason. I don't really know what to look for anyway. But watching Liam do everything that doctor asked him was really funny! He was having so much fun with it! Who knew fine motor skills were fun!
When she was testing Arie's motor skills it went a little different. Arie did really well, but she didn't buy into the "game" situation. After a while she just got really pissed that the doctor was trying to get her to do stuff. The doctor even laughed about it! Arie could do what the doc wanted her to do, but she wouldn't do it for long. She would look at the doctor and wrinkle her brow and then yell! I guess she just didn't have time for all that hul-a-bah-loo!!!!!! It was so funny. The doctor laughed and then said "She must be pretty smart actually to not fall for any of this." I think that was the doctors nice way of saying "WOW your 16 month old daughter has WAY TOO MUCH ATTITUDE!"
I already knew that!

Blowing P's....

2008-03-29T13:25:00.000+10:00

This next post is really about thoughts or events that begin with the letter P. I decided to name it "Blowing P's" after the adorable sound my hubby makes when he's sleeping. It is a hard sound to descibe, but if your husband does it then you know what I'm talking about.

Phillipines and Proposal...

Kelly's cousin Dave recently came to visit us with his girlfriend Terrell. It was really great to meet Terrell finally, and spend time with them. The trip was also special because while they were here Terrell went from being the girlfriend to the FIANCEE. The proposal took place on Gun Beach while we were hanging out. The best part was Terrell had NO clue it was coming! Earlier that morning we had all gone out to breakfast and Liam found some fake tattoos in a candy/toy machine. He wanted to get one, so Terrell found some change for him to buy it. She then thought it would be funny to get one for herself. The one that came out of the machine was the BEST most TRASHY one!!! It was a glittery white tiger with red roses all around it!!! I don't think we could have dreamed up a tattoo that would've been more white trash. She put it on her arm before we took off to the beach! So in all their engagement pictures she has a white tiger tat on her arm!!!!! That story will make me laugh for the rest of my life! I love it!

After they got engaged we decided to take a trip off island with them. We had some complications come up so we weren't able to go to Bali or Palau. I then starting talking up Manila. Kel and I had gone before and it was great. Not really a trip where you stay a long time, but definitly a GREAT shopping trip. I got Terrell all excited about the fabulous shopping we would do when we got there. Our first morning in Manila we headed off to the flea market with the amazing finds and... IT WAS CLOSED!!!!!! I seriously think it is the only time they have ever closed! I couldn't even believe it. And it wasn't going to open until the day we left! While I was super bummed Terrell and Dave just laughed it off. It was actualy a blessing in disguise, because we had to find something else to do. So many people had warned us to never venture out of Manila because it was so dangerous. Well I don't know what those people were talking about... we ended up heading south of Manila into the country side checking out a gorgeous lake with three volcanos in it! It was really beautiful and it turned out to be a lot of fun.

Those are pictures of one of the volcanos we saw and the town near the lake. For a last minute trip it was a lot of fun. The only problem was my packing job - I packed enough for the kids but not enough for me. I always have to repeat my clothes and strip layers off as they get dirty. One day I will be a professional packer... anyway... here is more of he trip...
These next pics are from the inside of our JEEPNEE! Jeepnees are the public transportation vehicles in the Phillipines and they are pretty crazy to ride around in. But we found the art and stickers inside to be entertaining...

The last picture, I put it last for a reason. I just want to say how happy I am for Dave. Terrell is an AWESOME girl! I love the picture below because it totally is her. She is a gorgeous girl, but she is also really down to earth, not afraid to be silly or look stupid. I had so much fun with her and she bonded quickly wth our kids. I'm so happy for Dave that he found someone like her. She is going to make a PERFECT addition to the family!

Picture Perfect... YEAH RIGHT!!!!

Last weekend I took the kids to our branch's Easter Egg Hunt. The hunt was at a beach park Saturday morning. I'm not very good a taking pictures, so I thought I would dress this kids up cute and take some pics of them that day. Pictures of kids hunting for eggs are always so cute and sweet. Well mine started off cute and sweet...

The next thing I know is Arie has picked up a butterfinger egg, squished it all up in her hand and then wiped it all over her outfit!!!! I picked her up to get her away from the candy and then I had chocolate all over my white shirt!!!! Too bad a didn't have on extra layers that day! Needless to say, this is how my picture perfect angel left the Easter Egg Hunt...
Proactiv...
I have considered myself to be lucky in some ways. I was able to glide through my teenage years without getting acne. I was surprised it happened that way. My Dad told me horror stories of awful his skin was in high school. My brother and sister both had acne as teenagers. I was lucky. I already had scaly psoriasis all over my scalp, neck, and arms. I was glad to not have zits too. I enjoyed much of my young-adulthood with relatively clear skin as well - then I got pregnant with Arie! My pregnancy with Arie was fun in some many ways (that sentence is LOADED with sarcasm), and one of those ways was with horrible acne! I kept telling myself it was due to hormones and it would be over in nine months. Well right after I had her I had an even more severe breakout. My skin never really healed and I continue to have breakout after breakout after breakout. I have finally come to terms with the fact that I have the dreaded...dun..dun...dun ADULT ACNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've complained about it a lot and tried several different things. At Terrells recomendation I decided to order Proactiv. After I placed the order online, I waited impatiently everyday for it to get here. Two days ago it arrived!!!!!!! I went through the package and found an offer inside. If you sent in your "before" pictures you could be selected to get free Proactiv. I'm not a girl who passes up a free offer, so I immediatly had Kelly come in the bathroom and take some seriously unflattering pictures of my teenage boy face! I feel like I've already humiliated myself enough with the black-eye picture, so no, I won't be posting the pictures. But I hopefully in the next month or so, if proactiv does what it claims, I will post some "before" and "after" pictures. if any of you have ever tried Proactiv let me know if it worked for you.

Pigtails...
Arie is getting so big with each passing day. She is totally insane too. She is super sweet and also gets in TONS of trouble!!! I swear all I do is follow her around picking up messes behind her. Or I'm constantly swatting her hand for doing something dangerous. She definitly keeps us on our toes!
Lately she is really starting to look older. Every now and then I attempt to fix her hair. I'm not very good at things like this. All I can do to my own hair is blow dry it. I've never been able to french braid or do updo's. I have almost mastered the art of pigtails though. The other day I went to fix her hair and i couldn't believe how much it had grown! She just had a hair cut two months ago! I put her pigtails in and her little curls were long and wild. Liam kept saying she looked a ROCKSTAR!!!!

Thanks Tiffany - I was bored...

2008-03-24T08:51:00.000+10:00

10 years ago......
I was in .... 10th grade at Cy Creek HS
My BFF was Jessica (still is) and my family had just gotten our sweet little puppy Thor (you wil be missed Thor RIP)

5 things on my "To Do" list:
1. DO THE DISHES!!!!!! It is so bad I'm embarressed!
2. Do the laundry - it seems like that is ALWAY on my to do list.
3. Pick up our transmission from the airport!
4. Help Liam pick up the toy room ( i cant wait unil Arie is helping too)
5. Eat something!

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. super salty edamame
2. no bake cookies
3. ice cold Dr. Pepper ( nothing is better than this)
4. popcorn with tabasco sauce
5. Easter candy - I can't wait until it is gone so this is no longer a temptation for me.

What I would do if I was given a billion dollars?
1. Pay tithing
2. Pay off all our debt!
3. set aside money for my kids to go to school and live comfortably (they will till have to have jobs though)
4. go back to school and get multiple degrees in all of my areas of interest
5. Let Kel retire so we could spend our life traveling together and doing humanitarian work in third word countries.
6.(I had to add one more) set up state of the art clinic and home in Country of Jill's choosing so she start her dream of saving the children of the world!

5 places I have lived:
1. Houston, TX
2. Lubbock, TX
3. Phoenix, AZ
4. Hilton Resort Guam
5. Yona, Guam

5 jobs I have had:
I HAVE HAD SOOO MANY JOBS ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY!
1. TCBY
2. Telemarketer (that lasted about 3 hours)
3. Waitress
4. Apartment leaser
5. MAKEUP ARTIST (can you tell that ones my fav?)

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I broke my neck once
2. I have a crazy fear of sharks and being murdered
3. I LOVE LOVE LVOE watching Shark Week on the Discovery channel
4. I burn incennse in my house all the time ( and no Kel and I aren't smoking doobies, I just love the smell)
5. I have a small fear a flying - but that will never stop me from seeing this beauitful world!

Thinking...

2008-03-19T11:00:00.000+10:00

I've had something on my mind for a while. The last time we were in Houston I had the fabulous opportunity to spend a little time with Saba. If you don't know Saba, he is my sister-in-law Allie's grandfather. For those of you who have never met him you are missing out. I absolutely adore him!!!! He is so loving. When I see him I'm usually with Sean and Allie and their boys. Saba always kisses his great-grand kids and he also kisses my kids. He loves his family so much and treats his friends just like his family. He is a true survivor. Not only did he live through World War II. He is a survivor of the Genocide. Being a young Jewish man in Europe he suffered horrible conditions. I don't know his entire story exactly, but I do know that his survival is a miracle and a blessing. He and his wife are true survivor's of a horrific time. Every time I'm around him and I hear him give "grandfather" advice to Allie or Sean, I secretly pretend its my own advice. In my mind I've signed the adoption papers and I've made him my own grandpa. Both of mine are gone, and I'm sure they like the fact that I've found a temporary replacement. If you can't tell... I LOVE THIS GUY!
The last time we were in Houston, Kel and I went to his house. While we were sitting at the table he pulled out a book that he and his wife Sapta (SP?) are featured in. The book contains biographies and pictures of the Holocaust survivors that live in Houston. I flipped through the pages staring at the faces of these people who had been though things I can only imagine. Things I hope I never have to know. Horrific things that are going on in other parts of the world right now to new generations and new groups of innocent people. He was showing me pictures of his friends in the book, and telling me little pieces of their story. Looking through the book, I started to go through the emotions of feeling sad for them, but blessed in my own life, because I have never known that kind of pain. Saba put his hand on mind and he looked my in the eye. His eyes are so full of love and kindness and experience. He told me as his eyes filled with tears, that life is a blessing, everyday is a blessing. He told me to always appreciate the blessings in my life, to love my family, and to tell them I love them, to appreciate my friends, to stop worrying about the small stuff, to stop worrying about if there was enough money or not, to live everyday for now and not for what I think will be in the future. He told me over and over that life and every day is a blessing, because neither one is a guarantee.
I wanted to memorize word for word everything he was telling me, because he truly speaks with experience. He knows the feeling of not being sure if you have tomorrow or not. Everything he said rang true for me, and my own way I already knew those things. He reminded me of them at a time when I really needed to be reminded.
My Dad suffered a major stroke when I was 17. Ever since that night my life has changed. I have lost count as to how many times I've seen the inside of an emergency room. I wasn't there because of a cut finger or dehydration (OK once because of the finger). I was there because my father was on his death bed. Countless times I found myself in my car flying down the freeway towards the hospital, wondering if when I got there my Dad would still be alive. Every time I would go home and walk in my Mom's house if my Dad didn't immediately appear, I would be scared to walk around the corner and find him on the floor. If it wasn't me going home, I would stress about my brother or sister finding the same situation.
I've watched my Dad go from being the smartest man I know, the most eloquent speaker, the most moving writer, the wittiest man alive; to becoming almost like a child again, someone who struggled for a year before he could say my name, and someone who had a library of books that he could no longer read. Watching his mind deteriorate has been painful to watch for everyone that ever knew him. I never thought I would see my Dad the way I've seen him for the past 7 years.
Right after his stroke I was angry and sad and every other possible emotion. Every morning that I woke up I would sit and think for awhile.. "Had I dreamt all of this?" And every morning I would wake and realize yes this is my life, yes this is my Mom's life now, this is Zach and Jill's life.
About the 5th time I had to rush to emergency room changed things for me. I think it changed my whole family. We became used to the not-knowing-what-was-next feeling. Instead of dreading in our mind an invented future problem, we became grateful for what we had right then. We no longer sweat the small stuff in life. We knew what it was like to have something go seriously wrong, so it made every other problem in life seem small and insignificant. Actually it made us KNOW that all those things in life that once plagued are minds were really nothing but a waste of time and a waste of emotion.
Through all of the bad came something so great! It was FREEDOM! Freedom from worry and from the unnecessary. I can actually say that I'm much happier person now. I look at my Mom and my brother and sister and I see the same realization. My family would be quick to tell you that as a child and a teenager, I was well, dramatic. I got my feelings hurt very easily. I thought EVERYTHING was a BIG DEAL. I stressed out easily, I worried about everything, and I invented things to worry about if there was nothing. But thankfully I'm free of those things.
Sometimes Kelly or one of my friends will get annoyed when I don't get upset or stressed about a particular problem. It isn't that I never worry anymore or stress. It is just that now I'm able to look at every problem and say "I know there are worse things in life." A lot of Moms when they are pregnant are emotional to say the least. They think of everything in life that could possible be wrong with their new growing baby, and they think of every possible danger too. My philosophy is "I'm not going to stress, until the Doctor tells me too."
I haven't survived a concentration camp, or feared for my life day after day. Saba has truly been through more than I will probably ever have to face. But what I've experienced in my life has thankfully taught me those lessons. I know that every day is a blessing. Allie said in her last post that she wants to be present at every event in her life. I want to be present for my life as well. I don't want to look back at my life and regret anything. Every moment should be seized. Most people at the end of their life will not wish that they had saved more money, or worked harder at their job. Most people will wish they had spent more time with their family. Most will wish they had taken that trip to Europe with their kids, even though it made things a little tight. Most will wish they hadn't wasted years of their life getting stressed about things that don't matter. Most will wish they hadn't gotten offended by something small, because those things don't make relationships grow. I'm so grateful for the long talks I was able to have with my Dad for my first 17 years. For the stories and cartoons he made for me. For the Daddy-Daughter dates we went on, and all the Shirley Temple's I slurped up. I'm so grateful for the time I had with him when he had his whole mind. But I wonder does he sit in his chair now and wish he had done more. Does he wish things were differently. Does he wish he hadn't gotten so upset over certain things?
I needed Saba to remind me to seize the day and to truly LIVE life. Sometimes I find myself mulling over the petty things in life. Sometimes I find myself stressing about things that will end up working out over time anyway. Or worse... stressing about things I can't control!!!! There is no BIGGER waste of time than that! I'm so grateful I had those few moments with Saba to bring me back to reality.
Now I need to go hug my husband and son because I lost my temper for no reason! Maybe I need Saba to call me everyday and remind me of how I should be living life!

Our boy is finally a man

2008-03-19T08:48:00.001+10:00

I don't know how happy I am about this post, but it was really important to kelly that I post it, because he was so proud.
Let me tell you about Liam's first leap towards manhood...

Kel was sitting on the couch about to turn the computer on when Liam walks up.
In his sweetest possible voice he says, "Hey Daddy, pull my finger."
Of course Kelly does, and yes, Liam toots.
They both die laughing.

Yes, yes, our little guy has mastered the art of farting on command! We are so proud (well at least Kelly is).

Nice one Al...

2008-03-19T08:47:00.000+10:00

I want to do this....

2008-03-17T08:48:00.000+10:00

CHECK THIS OUT!!!!!!!! I have dreamt of flying my entire life. I've always thought that if you can't fly in Heaven then I don't want to be there. Well now people are making it possible to fly on earth! I really need to grow some you know what and try this.......

BALI BALI BALI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-03-06T10:01:00.000+10:00

I have hesitated with writing this blog. The reason is because I don't think my words and our pictures can do it justice. Before we went to Bali all of our friends and neighbors kept telling us how great it was and how it would be my favorite place. They built it up so much that I went into the trip thinking that it would be fun but it probably wouldn't live up to what everyone had said about it. I couldn't have been more wrong!

Bali is so magical and so amazing. I hate to even start describing it because I just don't have the vocabulary to really let everyone reading this know how wonderful it is!!! I seriously can't go on enough about it. The people are deeply religious and spiritual and very devoted. There whole day is devoted to their religion and I loved seeing a whole cultural really embrace that and live it. The Balinese people are also very friendly and trustworthy and hardworking. They work so hard and they are so humble and happy. The island itself is incredible. Rain forest everywhere!!! When there wasn't rain forest there were rice terraces everywhere!!!!! To see the rice terraces in person was incredible. I think they are the most beautiful form of landscape. Functional, but also done with careful thought, to compliment nature and blend in. The buildings and homes are also built in this way. They want there homes and buildings to be built with nature and water in mind. Everywhere you go and everything you see is so unique. the whole time we were there Kel and I just kept looking at each other and saying "I can't believe we are here!"

We were also lucky to have my Mom on the trip with us. It was a lot of fun to have here there. Liam loved having his Momo there and she was such a huge help with the kids. Kel and I got to go out alone one night!!!!!! We never get to do that on our travels so it was a great treat. My mom was there on a mission to shop for a client. That made it fun because we got to shop for things that we probably wouldn't have made the effort to look for if we were there without her. There is sooooooo much art in Bali it is amazing! I love the Balinese culture!

I want to warn you that there are going to be a million pictures!!! Sorry, but I couldn't leave any out! I'll try to go in order of what happened on our trip and I will try to not ramble. But I also will not leave any details out...

The flight from Guam to Bali is about 5 hours. We arrived in Bali about 10 pm Thursday night. Here is Momo and Liam and me waiting in the passport line

We stayed at a little hotel just outside of Ubud the first night. This is Arie enjoying the front porch of our cottage These are some statues that were in the dining area where we ate breakfast. I think they are a cool example of the different types of Balinese art. These are a typical start to the Balinese breakfast... fruit plate and ginger tea! SOOOOOO GOOD!
After breakfast and a run to Internet cafe we had the hotel driver take us to seem some art at a museum. The art was beautiful but the property around the museum was the best. Here are some pics...

Next we went to the Monkey Forest. It was really cool. You are in the middle of the rain forest, with beautiful fountains and a stream running through the middle of it. You can buy bananas at the beginning and the monkeys will come right up to you and take them out of your hand. If they think you are hiding food from them they will climb on top of you to get to it. My mom didn't like it because she thought the monkeys had lice and would hurt her!!! She's so crazy! It was a lot of fun. The other great thing was that the whole jungle smelled like incense because the ladies were walking around placing offerings everywhere.

Kel and Arie got really close with the monkeys. Arie was never afraid. I spent the whole time taking pictures and trying to get Liam to notice that monkeys have thumbs, and that they look just like us. My mom made fun of me and said that was a little too deep for a three year old.

Next we were lucky enough to meet a new driver. His name is Sukaya. Not only was he a great driver who spoke really great English, but our trip ended with him as our friend. The Balinese people are very friendly and always willing to help. When we would go to eat and the kids were getting restless they would just walk up and pick the kids up and walk them around so that we could enjoy our meal. After the monkey forest Sukaya took us to a nice place to eat with a beautiful view. Liam crashed out as soon as we got there.

The next day was my favorite day! THE ELEPHANT SAFARI!!!!!!!!!!!! Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to have a pet elephant. This was a close as I'll ever get, and it was really good. A little background on the elephant safari... Elephants aren't native to Bali. And Australian man that lives in Bali heard about the elephants struggle for survival in Sumatra. Do to rapid deforestation and a farmers laying out poison, elephants are dying by the dozens in Sumatra. This Australian man decided he could help. So far has brought 27 elephants to Bali and he now runs the elephant safari. He was already a wealthy man so the money the park makes goes right back into the park for the elephants, and also for the hope that he can bring more to Bali later. We rode on the elephants, walked through the water on them, took our pictures with them, fed them, watched them do a talent show and enjoyed a really great meal at the end. Liam also got a really big kick out of it. He rode on an elephant named Boris, and Boris just happened to be in the talent show. Every time Boris would do something in the show Liam would clap his hands really loud and yell "Yeah Boris! That's my boy!" It was hilarious! The baby that is in a lot of pictures is named Debi. She is five and is the youngest in the group.

Here are some women carrying their loads on their heads and here is a pic of convenience store we past in the jungle.
The second hotel we stayed at Ubuad was really beautiful. It was two stories. The bottom floor was a HUGE room and bathroom where my mom stayed with the kids (thanks mom) And the top floor was a beautiful room and bathroom and a balcony. We also had our own pool. They cleaned the rooms twice a day and at night they would give a turn down service. They would putting the mosquito netting all around the bed and put flowers on your pillows. It was s uch a peaceful atmosphere. Here are some pics of us eating breakfast on the upper balcony, and some pics of our room. It was heavenly!
That day after breakfast our ddriver took us to see some of the temples. On Bali there was Buddhism and Hinduism for many years. Over time they have become predominently Hindu. But we saw a Hindu temple that was over a thousand years old, and a Buddhist temple that was over a thousand years old. Before you enter the temple you have to put on a sarong (men and women). You can give a small donation to the temple and borrow a sarong to wear. There are also signs in front that say if you are a pregnant or menstrating women that you shouldn't enter. They consider it to be UNCLEAN!!!! Anyway they were beautiful.

ON the way ou tof the temple we saw some crazy black bananas and we met up with this guy.... snake man...

The above picture is actually from the Buddhist temple. You will see in the next few pictures that the temple is now used by Hindus but origanlly it was a buddhist temple. I liked this one the best because there were lots of locals around. It was an exhausting walk though... 200 steps down, 200 back up!!!!

After the temples we went to the coffee.spice plantation. They grow coffee beans, cacoa trees, many different fruits, and many spices. You could walk through the crops and then sit down for some samples. While we wouldn't enjoy the coffee, we cold enjoy the fabulous aroma!!!! They also had many herbal teas we could try which were amazing!!! We tasetd tea and bought tons and tons of spices and cocoa (which I immediatly made no-bake cookies out of when I got home).
That after noon our driver drove us up into the mountains to this beautiful town where there is a volcano and dreamy lake at the base of it. We ate some great food while staring at a breathtaking view. For a while we thought we were back on Guam when the Japanese tourists started attcking our kids!!!! they love taking pictures of blonde kids. It is really funny.
After that super long day we did a little shopping with Momo. We went to a place where they make and dye batik fabric. It was a ton of fun for my Mom and I but Liam didn't last. And Arie does what Arie does best.. destroys!!! The last pictures I kept because I thought it turned out crazy!

Unfortunatly kel had to go back to guam that night for work. My mom and I stayed for four more days. Most of it was shopping and driving. We saw some beautiful art, ate some amazing food, and SHOPPED!!!!!! The next pics are from the Bali zoo. It was really fun. We took our driver in with us. He had never gone in before and he absolutely LOVED IT!! It was really fun to watch him see the animals. The zoo was neat because a lot of the animals were just roaming around! The conditions weren't as good as the zoos in the states so it was little sad to see that but other than that it was a lot of fun. My mom got pooped on by a bird, we saw beautiful white peacocks, and Arie had so much fun she would squeal with excitement at every new animal.
The last two days we stayed in Kuta. If you like to surf it is the place for you, so Jenni take Sterling there, but you will want to leave! I didn't like it. I thought it was dirty and gross. It didn't even seem like Bali to me. It was way too comercialized. I know there are beautiful beaches in Bali but that was not one of them! Arie got sick so I stayed in the room mostly. All in all it was an amazing trip. I can't wait to go back. I'm going to close with a quote from a book I'm reading. I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love. In the book the authr is talking about her love for travel. This quote describes exactly how I feel about traveling and seeing this beautiful world. I'll never stop no matter what hard things come my way...
"... traveling is the great true love of my life. I have always felt, since I was sixteen years old... that to travel is worth any cost of sacrifice. I am loyal and constant in my love for travel, as I have not always been loyal and constant in my other loves. I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless newborn baby - I just don't care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it's mine. Because it looks exactly like me. It can barf all over me if it wants to - i just don't care."

New post coming soon...

2008-03-01T09:05:00.000+10:00

We jsut returned from Bali yesterday and we are all still really exhausted, with piles and piles and piles of laundry to do. Hopefully I'll get some pictures put up soon though.
I would be a HUGE understatement to say it was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kel and Aly

2008-02-16T17:59:00.001+10:00

I got this from Brianna and Todd's page... in honor of Valentines Day I thought I would fill this out...

Who eats more? Wow this one is hard. I can definitly keep up with Kel, but on a daily basis it is for sure Kelly.
Who said I love you first? That would be Kel. I was thinking it in my head when he said it. But when he actually said it out loud I thought "What a weirdo! It is way to soon to know that!" I said it right after though!
Who is taller? - Kelly of course! Even in my highest heels he is taller and I love that about him :)
Who is smarter? Well Kel definitly has a lot of common sense that I usually don't have.. and Kel would say that I'm smarter... so street smarts its Kel, book smarts moi!
Who does the laundry? UGH!!!!!!!!! I do!!! I hate it. Kel would help out more but he says I'm too particular about the way I fold things so he is afraid to it wrong. Sometimes I think that is an excuse to not help out, but I really am that crazy about the way things are folded.
Who pays the bills? Kelly for sure! I don't even want to think about that stuff!
Who sleeps in the right side? If you are facing the bed I sleep on the left. But when Kelly is gone over night I usually sleep on his side because it smells like him (ok that made me sound like the biggest stalker)
Who mows the lawn? We actually don't have to take care of any property right now - but if we did it would be Kelly. If we ever get a riding mower then I want to do it every now and then just cause it seems fun.
Who cooks dinner? I do about 95% of the time. Lately the idea of cooking makes me a little suicidal so Kelly has been pulling up the slack!
Who does the dishes? Honestly kelly does it the most! The rule is if I cook then he does the clean up. But he does the dishes A LOT!!!! I'm so lucky. We don't have dishwasher where we live so it is a BIG DEAL!!!!!!
Who drives? That is definitly split down the middle
Who is more stubborn? I'm sure kelly would quickly say me. And I do not deny it. I come from a VERY long line of stubborn people. But my sweet hub is every bit as stubborn as I am. It can be frusterating when we disagree. But I respect strong personalities.
Who kissed who first? Kel kissed me of course! I held out for a while and on our third date I let him! HAHAHA
Who asked who out first? We were set up, so, neither! We both tried getting out of the date for months!! Then we finally gave into the pressure. But Kel asked me out our second date. I was not surprised LOL!!!!
Who proposed? Kel did! It was awesome!
Who has more friends? Kel has alot of CLOSE friends and best friends. I guess he wins that one. I have a lot of friends. But he has a lot more close friends than I do.
Who is more sensitive? I would have to say Kelly. I think he wishes I was more sensitive sometimes. I'm sensitive but it takes a lot to get me emotional or upset - or I have to be pregnant :)
Who has more siblings? Kelly does. There are 4 kids in his family, 3 in mine. But I would definitly say I've adopted his family and he has adopted mine. Infact I think my sibs would claim him over me now! :)
Who wears the pants? much to Kelly's dismay he married into a family of strong outspoken women. I would say we both wear the pants. I would never go against what he says, but we both make important decisions and I'm not afraid to speak my mind.

So there you have it. That was fun. After reading that I think.. poor Kelly!!! JUST KIDDING!!!!! Well sort of.... :)

Fashion Week 2008

2008-02-12T07:59:00.000+10:00

Here are some pictures of Monson Fashion Week 2008...

From the Playboy "Tomboy" collection: We have Arie modeling pink shoes (what a gal) with her most important accessory of the season, a plastic screwdriver. She is never seen around the house without it!

Backstage we find supermodel Liam practicing some of his siganture looks. Look out Derek Zoolander!!!

"See my happy face?"

"You handsome devil you"

Arie is also modeling the newest fad of wearing your breakfast. This is MAC Cosmetics newest collection called "Chocolate Chip Pancake Delight".

Here are some shots from Arie's latest calendar. Clothing courtesy of legendary designer MoMo...

Last but not least I will model my newest accessory...

Yes that is what you are thinking. MY FIRST BLACK EYE!!!!!!!!!! No my sweet husband has not suddenly turned into a violent abuser. We had a an accident at the pool the other day. Kelly was supposed to send Liam down the slide and then I would catch him at the bottom. Kel sent Liam down. Half way down the slide Liam got scared and stopped himself. Kelly sent himself down the slide and soon met up with Liam. Now they were both heading down right after each other. I saw them coming down together, but I noticed they were both on there backs and there was no way kelly would have been able to hold onto Liam. I knew I had to pull Liam out of the way before Kelly landed on the water. Well I guess my cat-like speed and reflexes failed me. I grabbed Liam before he went under, but I couldn't get myself out of the way. The side of my face met with Kelly's knee. It hurt soooo bad and me head was throbbing. I was trying to just keep my balance but I kept picturing in my mind what the scene would have looked like. I'm sure it was HILARIOUS!!!!! I was trying hard not to laugh because every sound made my head pound even harder.
The bruise is healing now. It has been interesting going around town with this thing. I haven't tried to cover it up with make-up because it just looks worse. So I get a lot of stares. And I'm sure when Kel and I are together in public he gets a lot of dirty looks!!!!! Oh well - for a black eye it is a pretty funny story. I wish I could've gotten the actual hit on video!

For the Moms in our lives...

2008-02-04T09:25:00.001+10:00

I have recently been requested to put up more pictures of our kids. By who??? Who else?!? Our mothers!!!!!!! I think even if I had a thousand pics of our little stinker-children the grandparents would want more!! :) Just kidding! Well as you have requested here are some pictures of our everyday lives...

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls.......

About a half of a mile from our house is a trail that leads down to one of Guam's many beautiful waterfalls. When I do the evening walk we pass by the entrance to the trail. Liam always asks if we can go down to see the waterfall. I don't like to take the kdis down there by myself because sometimes the rocks are slippery and it is too hard to hold both the kids myself. So when Kel was home one day we took the kids down to see the falls. Liam loves to hike and has learned to really like adventure. He loves to lead the way!

I don't know what Liam is thinking in this one... but it is a good picture of the waterfall!

He loves to wade in the water

Helping Arie in the water too - she has to do whatever Liam does!

Liam and Jet loving life.

Arie's many faces...

Arie loves Liam's new magnifying glass. She walks around the house with it smashed against her face. It is hilarious!!!!! We tried to capture some of the funny faces we see on a daily basis from our little girl.
FACE 1: No collagen needed

FACE 2: Elephantitis of the Face

FACE 3: Just Arie

FACE 4: Do you like my new veneers?

A Shave and a Haircut

We took the kids this last week to get their hair cut. There is a place in the mall called Princess Jolie. It is really a salon for little girls. You can get hair cut and throw birthday parties. They have a dress up station, mani's and pedi's, fairy movies; anything a little girl would want for a fun afternoon or for a birthday party. Well because the price was right, we decided we'd take our little boy there too! We took pictures of everything so that we can embarress Liam when he's older.
Liam watching a fairy princess movie while waiting for the stylist.

Arie is also waiting for her stylist

Spiderman getting his hair washed. (When the stylist asked him his name he told her it was Spiderman. I guess this girly place isn't rubbing off on him yet)

Spiderman wanted to try and channel Zach Efron.

Pete and Repeat

He likes the results so far

"I'm ready for my pedicure Madam!"

Arie getting her bangs trimmed. Kel had to hold her head still a little. Other than that she did great!

Well Suzie Q and Pumpkin... I hope you enjoy these pictures of your fabulous granchildren. We enjoyed taking them! Love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today

2008-02-02T14:16:00.000+10:00

Today is my favorite day on Guam so far. There have been many great days so far, full of fun, sun, ocean, all of it. But today is the best.I haven't done anything special, just the usual errands.I got home today, put Arie down for a nap, fed Liam lunch and then put him down for a nap.The weather here right now is AMAZING!!!!!! As soon as both my kids were asleep I opened every window and door in my house so the cool, fragrant, tropical breeze could air out and clean my house. I picked some flowers out of r yard and put them inside, making the new air smell even sweeter. Without my air conditioner on I feel more comfortable in this new clean air, than with the generated cold stuff.Outside all you can hear is wind. Occasionally there is a clink from a golf club hitting a ball, but that is it. Just wind really.There is a clear view of the ocean from where I'm sitting. It is just a big blanket of blue. Sometimes there are white caps on the waves, the sea is more rough today than usual.It is times like this when I don't miss anything I've known before. I don't care that is is Superbowl time. I don't care that I'm paying $7.00 for a gallon of milk. I don't care I haven't good Mexican food in months...This day takes care of all those things. Living on a spec in the middle of the Pacific is the best decision I've ever made. No day could be like this anywhere but here. No pollution, jsut tropical flowers. No noise, just wind and crashing water.Every gust of wind is cleaning my house and every breath I take is cleaning my body. I love it here!

As I was writing this post thinking of how beautiful andrelaxing today is, I heard a little noise behind me. I saw a few blonde hairs darting out from behind a wall. It was Liam, he was supposed be napping on the floor in my room. I got up to put him back in there when he said in an excited voice "Look at my tattoos Mom."

I look down and saw this....

As mad as I was I snapped a picture before cleaning him up. When I pulled out the camera he thought he was off the hook - see his smile.

2008-01-31T23:15:00.000+10:00

Giving up!

2008-01-31T15:31:00.000+10:00

Last night we had 2 other couples over at our house for game night. It was a lot of fun! It was very last minute and I didn't have any food in my house... what did I put out for food and snacks? Mini corn dogs!!!!! I LOVE THEM! I like them more than my kids do. I think I buy them secretly for me. I'm hoping they don't finish them so that I can eat the rest! The food was ghetto but it was fun nonetheless!
The first game we played was the Newlywed Game DVD version. It was so funny!!! I swear most of those questions are designed to get the men in trouble. One of the questions was "Men, would you say your wife last gave up, or tried tried again?"
When this question was read on the screen Kel and I cracked up laughing. Earlier in the day I was in a bad mood. Actually I wouldn't even say I was in a bad mood, I'd say that everyone around me was annoying the hell out of me and putting me into a mood that I didn't want to be in! I didn't feel very good and I just wanted to lay on the couch and veg out. Kel was on the internet (BIG SURPRISE - he is on the computer about 90% of the time), and Liam and Arie were just standing on the floor staring right in my face and whining while I was trying to just chill out! I ignored them for quite some time but the whining and hands all over my face was getting to be more than I could bear. I picked both of them up, plopped them on the floor in their toy room (full of the toys we have bought for them so that they can entertain themselves), and then I walked back to the couch and continued to watch E!News (the only real news). About 90 seconds later they were both back in my face staring at me like I was their private entertainment staff! They were putting their feet all over me wiping their snotty hands on me, yelling and whining demands at me... all while Kel is still on the computer about 4 feet away. I knew Arie wanted something to drink so I threw the blanket I was using on the floor and began stomping towards the kitchen, Arie following closely behind whining the whole way. I got into the kitchen and I yelled "I QUIT! I'm not doing any of this anymore! I just want to do nothing!" I thought to myself I'll just get Arie's milk and then I'll really quit. But then I decided that was too nice of me. I turned around and looked at my snot nosed baby girl and yelled "I'm not even goin to do that!"
I walked into the living room and slammed my butt on the couch cushions and proudly anounced "I'm not doing anything anymore! I'm not doing any laundry! I'm not entertaining anyone! I'm not feeding anyone!! I'm not responsible for anything anymore! I QUIT! I GIVE UP!!!!!!!"
I was serious and determined to no longer be the one responsible for all. I looked over at Kel to make sure he knew how serious I was, and to make sure it was sinking in how much he was to do now. But he was just staring at the computer screen smiling. He wasn't smiling at anything on the computer, he was laughing at me! HOW DARE HE LAUGH AT ME?!? Didn't he know how important my display of power was? Didn't he understand that I really was never going to do anything ever again?
Kel got up and got Arie some milk and then took Liam into the toy room. He came back to the living room and laughed at me again.
I'm sorry to report that my moments of doing nothing didn't last very long. But one of these days .....

Feel like crying?????

2008-01-30T14:18:00.000+10:00

My mom sent me an email earlier today that made me laugh so hard I was crying as I was reading it. This story is very similar to many experiences with my little Liam. All of you parents will get a kick out of this. It is classic!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A 3-year-old tells all from his mother's restroom stall.
By Shannon Popkin

My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we're in the library, the grocery store, or at a drive-thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old, and you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked. There've been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco.

Halfway through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second~to~the~last stall:

"Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toi wet pa per on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on DA toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?"

At this point, I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full ... 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left, before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity. Cade continued, "Mommy, you ARE going stinkies, aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh .. Mommy! I'm trying to see in dere. Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You are gonna get some candy!"

I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming newborn when you need her? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting.

Trying to divert him, I said, "Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll both have some!" "No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies. Oh! Mommy!" He started to gag at this point. "Uh oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!" As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall. I quickly flushed the toilet, in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: "OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone."

"Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!" He grunted as he tried to pull me off.

Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door. "Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under DA door? What were you wooking at, Mommy? You wooking at the wady's feet?" More laughter. I stood insid e the locked door and tried to assess the situation. "Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy." He started pounding on the door. "Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!" I saw that my "wait 'em out" plan was unraveling.

I sheepishly opened the door, and found, standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud. My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, "Where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract', where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy?"

But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin, while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, "I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow."

how little minds work

2008-01-30T09:44:00.000+10:00

Yesterday morning 10 am rolled around and Liam had still not woken up. He came in our room around 4:30 and asked to sleep on the floor (that is his new thing, so now we have a permanent "bed" on the floor for him). At 10 I decided to peak into our room and see if there was any movement. I saw Liam on our bed, under the blanket. I went in there and I saw that his eyes were open. I asked if I could lay down next to him and he said yeah. I snuggled up next to him and he looked up at me and said in a quiet little voice, "Mom, my stomach hates me!"
I asked him if his stomach hurt and he said yes, and then 30 seconds later he threw up! Luckily he only threw up twice that morning, he fell asleep soon after and woke up fine.
I just thought that was a realy funny way to describe how his stomach felt! He has the most creative and outlandish ways of saying things sometimes!

You will be missed . . .

2008-01-30T08:44:00.000+10:00

I am going to miss President Hinckley so much. The news of his death really came out of now where. Sure we all knew that he was an old man, but his energy seemed never ending. I never had the opportunity to meet him face to face, but just watching him twice a year in General Conference was such a treat. His warmth and love for everyone was so obvious. I always feel inspired when I see the different General Authorities speak, and I know they are great men, and I know they are called of God. President Hinckley had something different about him. Just one look at his sweet face and you had no doubts about how great and important he was. He truly loved the Lord, and he truly loved not only the people of the church, but he loved all the people of the world.
Most of our parents remember President McKay as "their" prophet. I will remember President Hinckley as mine. All of the prophets thus far have been wonderful men. But President Hinckley was the Prophet in my life when I definitely needed some guidance. I never met with him in is office, or spoke with him face to face; but his words gave me so much strength and continue to strengthen me always.
While I am sad that he is gone, I've also been thinking about what it must be like in Heaven right now. What a homecoming he must have received. I can't imagine the joy that he and everyone there must have felt to have such a magnificent Child of God return home again.

annoyed

2008-01-27T18:20:00.000+10:00

ok I just got done posting about our Sapporo trip and now I just have to say something about this.
I;ve been watching the reality show about the Miss America pageant and I just have to say - WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH MISS UTAH???????? She is a beautiful girl but she is possible the most annoying person I've ever seen. At first I though no one could be more annoying than Miss Alaska, but Miss Utah takes the cake. In fact she makes me want to take the cake from her and smash it all over her face!

Snow to Sun!

2008-01-27T17:06:00.000+10:00

We had to opportunity to go Sapporo Japan about a week ago. Kel had some time off so we loaded up the kids and took off for some fun in the SNOW!!!!!!! We left on a Tuesday morning and returned on Thursday night. Just a quick trip. Sadly Kel and I didn't get to hit the slopes :( but we did have a lot of fun watching Liam and Arie discover snow. Let me just say that it was COLD COLD COLD!!!!!!!!! We didn't have any cold weather clothes here (it is about 85 degrees year round) so we had to go to Ross and hope that we would get lucky, and we borrowed from many of neighbors who happened to have cold weather gear here. Thanks guys!!!!!!
Every year in Sapporo they have a world famous Snow Festival. Sadly we weren't there for that HAHA!!! But we were there while they were setting up. I suggest you get on the internet and look at some pictures so you can see how truly amazing the sculptures are. Being there for the set up was cool. Next year we will plan ahead a little bit better and hopefully be there for the real thing. Actually a lack of planning is my favorite thing about living here. I don't think we have planned a single trip an earlier than 12 hours before leaving! On-the-go is the name of the game here!!!
Anyway - I hope you enjoy pics of our crazy family!!!

Liam before we boarded our flight!!!!!

Liam and Dadddy on the train

Arie fell asleep - BIG surprise

Liam and me in front of the beginnings of a snow sculpture!

Liam and Arie taking a break from the cold in the department store toy section! I think Kelly like this section more than they did though. This store was amazing! 10 floors of gadgets really. There were 4 isles of toilet seats!!!!!!! Amazing toilet seats - they seriously were impressive!

Arie in front of the mini arcade games - these were CRAZY!!!!
a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_jzamPPTLbdc/R5w2paFy58I/AAAAAAAAAGw/B9TUGXDxE0g/s1600-h/100_1568.jpg">
sweet girl - sweet mittens

Liam and Daddy checkin out the super fat pigeons

Liam and Arie sledding in the park - they had so much fun doing this. Liam had one face plant that upset him. Arie laughed the enitre time she was on the sled - it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!

Liam told us several times when we were on the plane that he wanted to make a Frosty the snow guy. The last night we were there it was so cold I was kind of hopng that he forgot about Frosty. Suddenly he yelled out Frosty! and we saw that someone had already made a snowman in the park! Liam was so excited he ran up to it and started telling Frosty all about our trip. It was really cute! Years from now we will tell him that we made the snowman HAHAHAHAHA

Boys having fun in the snow!

Liam at the food market - he loves fish - dead or alive!

we were soon back to our home island. This is a picture from our hike at Gun beach - one of our favs!

Liam our professional hiker!

Jet also enjoys the beach.

And this makes 3!

2008-01-12T11:17:00.000+10:00

This is my third post for the day - but you'll be glad to know it doesn't include any pictures!!!! :)
Today I'm sad. My little sister and best friend has recently left for Costa Rica for a semester of study abroad. I'm so excited for her new adventure, but I'm sad because we can't talk on the phone!!!! Jill and I used to talk on the phone about 3 times a day. That may seem crazy, and maybe it is. Our conversations weren't always meaningful and important, infact they were usually about nothing! Most of the time we made fun of each other, made fun of our mom, made fum of Zach and made fun of each other again. Don't worry it is all in good fun - well some times we really meant the things we said HA!
I'm not sad that she is there - I'm really excited for her and I'm proud of her for being so brave. I hope her Spanish improves to the level she is working toward and I hope she makes life long friends. I hope she experiences every aspect of the country and its people and learns to love her brothers and sisters in that part of the world.
I love Jill because she is always up for an adventure! She isn't afraid to get out of her comfort zone and really challenge herself. She is close to her family but not emotionally dependent on them. I feel sorry for poeple who don't take advantage of everything in this life and in this amazing world that was created for us to explore. Jill is brave and she is some one I look up to.
I hope she gets out of her trip everything she was looking for. But mostly.....
I HOPE SHE GETS A PHONE CARD WITH TONS OF MINUTES OF IT!!!!! I NEED SOMEONE TO MAKE FUN OF ME TODAY! Love ya Peeschy!

Please forgive me....

2008-01-12T10:47:00.000+10:00

I'm normally not huge poster of pictures but I'm also not very good at sending pictures to family memebers or friends... so forgive me while I put up more pictures of our family.

Yes I did these pigtails...I'm so impressed with myself!

New Year's eve just before we went to the neighbor's

Liam and Arie's play date

WHAT A FACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arie likes all of Liam's toys!

Silly girl

What a sweet baby! But man I look ROUGH!!!!!!

I love you Dad!!!!

I told Liam to sit next to Arie - he sat right in front of her! typical!

LOOK he's huge!

This picture isn't clear but you still see her HUGE gap!!! HAHA Thanks Skeeter!