Superbowl 48

It has been a long time since I've just sat and watched a football game.  But it's the Super Bowl, you say.  Nope, not interested.  Getting to church on time, interested.  So I agreed to watch the game with my husband after church if he would just help me get the kids ready and in the car on time.

We got to church a little late, so I joined him at halftime.  Loved the Bruno Mars show.  Really loved hearing how happy my husband was every time the Seahawks did something cool.  I liked the second half opening kick touch down and the Kearse touchdown was neat in the 3rd Quarter.  Laughed and giggled at the commercials.  Glad I watched it with him.

Congratulations, Seahawks.  Thanks for making my husband so happy to be from Washington State. We love you.

It's Pumpkin Time!

When we first started having kids I discovered a horrible secret!  Though Chris loves birthdays and Christmas and he can't get enough of Halloween costumes and decorating, he HATES doing pumpkins.  So after the first year that I carved Evie's pumpkin and did everything myself, I decided things had to change.  Now, we still go pick the pumpkins out as a family (be it farm or store) and then I do all the pumpkin fun after that.  Because I do it by myself we have found a less messy (sort of) and easier to complete way for our kids to do pumpkins.  WE PAINT!  Honestly, with little kids and the warm weather we've been living in for several years, painting is the way to go!

So I covered the kitchen table with one of those vinyl tablecloths taped down and covered my kids in Kmart smocks.  (super cheap)  They each got their pumpkin, a paintbrush, cup of water, and all the paint their little paper plates could take.  

I was pretty sure that both Eve and Joe had the idea down, but Liz and Al are still pretty little so I knew I would be multi-tasking a lot.  With Vaughn at the table my eyes were going to need to be VERY open!

Vaughn had a lot of fun and was finished very quickly.  He had a small pumpkin.  He was also finished quickly because there's only so much paint I think a kid can ingest before a hospital visit is necessary.  He loved it.

Each of the kids were very focused.  But like I said, Ally and Lizzy were a bit smaller than was okay to just let them go crazy.  So I watched Al do her thing and boy, was it fun.  

She loves to pose for all my pictures.

Lizzy was doing a great job until she realized I was watching.  Then her paintbrush got a little carried away as she went from concentration mode to singing mode to crazy girl pose!

focused

singing

pose!

Joe was having such a great time.  He's a very careful child when he's doing pretty much anything.  Artwork is one of the more difficult subjects for him because there are not a lot of rules and guidelines. He did do a beautiful job and helped keep the girls on track.  (by this time Vaughn had gone to bed, so it was just him and the girls).

Evie's passion is anything artistic and free.  She loves to paint, draw, color, create, make, or change.  She had so much fun doing the pumpkin that she of course requested some extra paper when she was done.  She still had paint left.

We had so much fun and the kids had a great time.  Their creations were fantastic.  This is still one of my favorite holiday activities.  So lucky I got to have great kids to share it with.

super cute video!

FHE at the Laie Temple

After such a long weekend, Sunday was absolutely wonderful.  Listening to soft, spiritual music, no appointments to go to, nothing to buy, nowhere to go except to church where you get to hear the scriptures and think about our spiritual life instead of the things we think about the rest of the week.  Talk about a rest!  What a blessing.

On Monday we always do Family Home Evening.  It's a night to just be together as a family and to focus on those principals that the kids need to learn like honesty, kindness, or service.  This week we decided to do something pretty special.  We decided to visit the Laie Temple as a family.  Chris and I go to the temple every month to do work for our ancestors and we love it, but it's not a little kid activity.  They are usually with a sitter.

So anyway, we all drove up to the temple and went inside the visitors center.  Chris and I had never been and it was wonderful.  We so enjoyed all the history of the building of the temple and how it has impacted the local Hawaiian culture in the area.  It was so fun and interactive for the kids.

 Walking to the temple grounds.  I was originally a bit nervous taking such small kids, but the Visitor's Center was well prepared and actually excited to see us!  The kids were unsure how to do this because they knew it was special, but also that they needed to be respectful.

 I so love the Christus statue.  This is obviously a reproduction, but its such a beautiful statue that we took a family photo.  The kids just sat and stared at the representation of Christ for a longer time than I had thought they would.  Kind of neat for mom.

 This display shows how the Book of Mormon is translated into so many languages.  Evie really enjoyed this one because she reads her own copy at home all the time.  She listened to the first verse of the first book at least a dozen times in at least 10 different languages.  She especially liked hearing the verse in Spanish because that's the language I speak at home.  I learned it on my mission to the Dominican Republic.

 This sweet Sister Missionary was so kind to our kids.  She walked through the whole exhibit with us explaining the videos and the displays.  I was so grateful to have such a nice person helping us out.  She really helped make the experience pleasant.  Joe sat at this display for a long time.  It shows different stories about real kids doing great Christlike things.

 This video showed the Apostles of the Lord sharing their testimonies about the Savior, the Book of Mormon and the Bible as the word of God, and of the latter-day Prophet and his work on the earth today.  I think I was the one that liked this most.  I had already heard these testimonies so I knew I liked them, but I also got to sit down and just cuddle with Vaughn while we watched.

 My kids sitting in front of the fountain.  It's water, it's blue, it's refreshing.  Of course my kids liked it here!

 After the visitor center we walked the grounds all the way up to the temple itself.  The grounds are really beautiful so it was an enjoyable walk.

 The temple grounds and the temple itself is covered in these beautiful statues and friezes.  I loved this one because of the fountain part.  The water came from here and then went all the way down to the lower level.  It was beautiful.  It is also a big part of Hawaiian culture.

 On the very top of the temple there are some beautiful friezes that depict the different times recorded in the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  The interpretations of these friezes is on the lower level of the grounds right next to the visitor's center.  This was all of our favorite part.

And that was our special FHE this week.  The kids had a new understanding and appreciation for the temple and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It was reflective and fun and so nice to share something so special with my kids.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity we had to do this!

Picking Pumpkins

Such a busy weekend!  Friday was Joe's birthday party, Saturday morning Joe went to basketball with daddy while the girls went to the tea party, and then in the afternoon we went to get pumpkins at Aloun Farms!  It was a long, but fun weekend!

So Aloun Farms is something I saw on a sign and then looked up online.  Normally there is an entrance fee of sorts, but it was a military day so none for us.  That's why I looked at it in the first place!

First of all, we had no idea it was more like a carnival that happened to also be a farm than the other way around.  There were food booths, rides, a live band, and of course, lots of fresh produce that was already picked or you could go pick it yourself.

After walking around for a while we decided to take the hayride to get a good look at all the areas where we could pick our pumpkins.  The kids loved it; Joe and Vaughn especially liked the tractor pulling the hay cart.

Vaughn kept looking over the edge at the tires.  Chris let him until he almost fell out of his arms.  We all giggled, but mom and dad were giggling with relief as opposed to the kids who just thought it was funny!

Then we took a water break.  Just because the calendar says October doesn't mean it wasn't over 85 degrees!  It was an overcast afternoon though so that was better.  It was also a little windy!

Then it was time to get down to business and get those pumpkins!  We had so much fun roaming around the plants trying to find "the one" that was just right.  Joe was very careful and found his pretty quickly.  Then he went and tried to help everyone else!

The girls all insisted on following each other.  It was a pumpkin picking pack!  So cute.

Lizzy found it and was so excited I was required to take her picture.  Good thing I was on board with that idea already.  She handed hers off to daddy for safe keeping...and hauling to the front gate.  They were heavy!

Have to be honest, I LOVED picking pumpkins with Vaughn.  He was very particular about his pumpkin and like Joe, knew exactly what he wanted.  It was so fun to actually be in this picture with him.

We had such a great time.  We decided before we left that we were absolutely going to come back next year with cash, more water, and a wagon of some kind to help us gather our pumpkins.  We had a wonderful little adventure!

Tamy's 34th Birthday

Ok, so yes I just told the world how old I am, and guess what?  I am proud of each year!  None of my years has felt easy since I was a little kid (but even then they didn't feel easy), so why be embarrassed by how many I have lived?  Each year I've lived has brought me to where I am and I am in a good place.

I have five beautiful children who I not only love, but often adore.  I have a husband who began as my best friend and is still my best friend after 12 years of marriage and all that goes with that.  I have two college degrees that give me the security and freedom to always take care of myself and my family when/if needed.  I am surrounded by wonderful friends both in the church and non-members who just love us.  I am strong in my testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ, his Atonement, and in the plan that Heavenly Father has for my life.  I am blessed with so much.  I even get to live in Hawaii, as if my life wasn't already good.  

None of the above means that my life is easy.  Just look at my pictures to see my laugh lines and the possibly permanent loss of my beautiful 6-pack abs!  That's life.  The good and the bad are what make life.  I am proud of the way we have worked through all our trials and challenges and come out on the other side stronger, happier, and more loving, if that's possible.

Chris and the kids did such a great job of making me feel special today.  I so love being a member of this family.  What a wonderful way to spend my day.

Aren't these great?  I LOVE flowers at any time, but bright, happy, ones for my birthday always makes my day!

 Chris was very sweet and took us to my favorite restaurant: Buffalo Wild Wings!  This one had just opened nearby so it was easy to get to.  Though I enjoyed it, I really enjoyed the craft store that was having a huge sale just a couple stores down where I got to buy a lot of fun things!

 My little sister sent this to me!  She is so amazing!  I loved this box so much.  I loved the yellow.  I loved the sunshine.  I loved all the bright, happy sweet things.  The part that really did it for me?  Each item in this box had a note on it.  Each item has a specific purpose and each purpose is to take care of me.  It was so thoughtful and so creative.  It really spoke to my heart about how much she loves me and how much she's willing to do to show me.  Thank you Beckie. You're amazing!

One of my favorite people of all time dropped by with her boys unexpectedly with this fantastic "cake".  Miss Amanda Kunz, Max and Andrew stopped by to sing "Happy Birthday" and deliver this sweet treat.  The best part?  She remembered how much I'm not into cake so she made it out of rice crispy treats!  What a great friend!

Thank you everyone for helping me celebrate my birthday this year.  I received many calls, texts, an email, and several FB notes!  All are greatly appreciated.  Thank you for thinking of me on my day.  Love you.