Lead...

When we were in Hawaii we saw this loving mother Duck leading her babies. In an odd kind of way I found myself identifying with this mother. I mean, it sounds kind of weird calling this Duck a mother but she is, isn't she? We watched her and her babies for a while. I noted how close the babies stayed to her. They basically mimicked her every move. There was no way that if that mother turned right, they weren't going to as well. They trusted her. Sometimes I forget how closely my children watch me. Just today, Grace put on some running shoes and begged and begged me to take her runnning. I asked her why she wanted to go so bad and she said "I want to be like you." It reminded me that I have to lead. My children ar relying on my example. Thankfully they are forgiving and see past my mistakes, but ultimately, I am leading them. That makes my job very significant. I hope I can live up to the task. I know this much, I am grateful for the chance. A scripture I love from the Book Of Mormon says “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” That's what I want for my little chicks. Peace, and knowledge that God loves them. I will do whatever it takes to help them achieve that.

Bunny ears...

Christian earned some money for practicing piano and graciously gave up two of his dollars to his two little sisters. The girls of course wanted to spend it right away, so after school I took them to the Dollar Tree. It didn't take them long to spot the bunny ears in the Easter section. They haven't taken them off since. As you can see, they even slept with them. (And yes, they are on the floor...long story, that involves little girls that are convinced robbers or monsters are going to get them.) Grace has her bunny ears on at school today. Watch out Easter bunny, your competition just brought it.

Music to my ears...

My sweet little Christian started piano in January. Once he puts his mind to something...watch out. He kills it. He has been playing every single day for many many days. At his very 1st recital Sunday he earned an award for practicing 100 days and will have his name placed in a children's piano magazine. Woot! Great job Christian...keep the music coming.

Arriving...

We arrived on oahu to a warm breeze. that was so refreshing. I get so tired of the cold and wet. The weather was so nice. I kept telling myself that if I lived there I would eventually tire of it. Hmm..not sure if that's true. The kids traveled well. Although Scarlett did throw up at our layover in front of a whole group of people. That was kind of not good, but then she was fine! Boy, did we get luckkkkky. We have not been to Hawaii without myself being pregnant, or having a child under two. This year it was just a bit easier, and even more enjoyable.

I was born to be on a beach...

This is our 3rd trip to Hawaii. We feel blessed to be able to come here, and realize this may not always be so. It's something we enjoy because we are always so wrapped up in schedules and running our business that we don't always get to spend as much time together as we would like. This gives us a big chunk of time to reconnect. I loved watching my husband just lay around. If you know him well, you know he never stops going. He needed time to rest. I also relished in him playing on the beach with our kids. They loved to dig random big holes in the sand. It must be a guy thing. I also loved for myself being with Chris and the kids nonstop for 10 days. No distractions. Just each other. And our kids were kind to each other (most of the time.) We did have a few moments but all in all, they were pretty darn good. I love laughing with them. We all mesh well. I loved running in the warm weather. Halee and Austin and I would go at night time when it was cool and quiet. Connor even wanted to come. I think eventually we will have a whole track team on our hands. I'm just so grateful we got to go again. The memories we made are something I will always and forever cherish.

Snorkeling the deep pool waters...

So we spent many hours by the pool. The kids never really got bored, so why mess with a good thing? We came up with a game that we played many times. We would throw 4 or 5 coins and a couple of keys throught out the pool and then two would go against each other with the snorkel gear and see who could find the most 1st. This was a game that entertained us often. One of my favorite memories of the trip. :)

More beach pictures...

A few pictures from our day at the Honolulu zoo...

Climbing rocks and laying in the sand...

We loved climbing the rocks that had the "Do not climb on the rocks" sign. But it was very safe and others seemed to take the risk as well. It was so fun climbing and looking at the waves crash on the rocks. Beautiful.

Walking the lagoons...

One of our favorite things to do in the evenings was to walk along the path beside the man made lagoons near where we stayed. The sunset was gorgeous. The family time was priceless. I loved every minute of it.

Shaved ice obsessions...

Our vacations are very predictable. Some might even say boring. We go to the beach, we go to the pool, we drive 45 minutes away just to get our favorite shaved ice. I blame this on my best friend who got us hooked on the delightful sugary treat several years back. We also found a yummy Shrimp shack that we fell in love with. Yep, we ate lots of good fried, tasty, sugary foods our whole vacation. No regrets.

Polynesian Cultural Center...

Once again we made it to the Polynesian cultural center. We love this place because it's good clean entertainment, and so authentic. Once again we were wowed, big time.

Laie temple and forever families...

Each time we go to Hawaii, we love to visit the LDS visitors center and temple. It reminds us that no matter where you are, the spirit can be felt. Eternal families can and do exist. It reminds us how grateful we are to be a family. We feel blessed to have been able to take all of our kids on this trip. The lord has truly blessed us to have opportunities that couldn't be had without his help. I love my forever family.

Enjoy the ride...

I loved this. It reminded me of the importance of looking at things in a positive way. I once read a book about mothering, that suggested if you take your kids on a vacation, just plan ahead of time for something to go wrong...then you will save yourself a lot of disappointment. We are alive. We are a family. That is what is most important.

The Canadian Tenors...

I love date night with my husband. My parents taught me by example the importance of going away with your spouse on a weekly basis. It's become a treasured time for us, to talk and reconnect despite the chaos of raising 6 children and running a business. What do we talk about on our dates? Raising our children and running our business. Pathetic, I know. However we also add in some other interesting topics too. Tonight we went to see one of my beloved groups, The canadian tenors. I got to know them on my favorite pandora channel (Josh Groban) and I fell hard. They have beautiful voices. Their kind of music, along with Groban, are what pulls at my heart strings. I loved listening to their inspiring songs while holding hands with the one I love.