Tiare's Day

This past Friday I was able to help celebrate my cousin Tiare's 14th Birthday.  Her Mom threw her an awesome birthday party.  It was a beautiful set up. 

I helped with the party games.  We did some Survivor themed games complete with team buffs.  The first game was to determine team captains.  The four there at the beginning had to find as many worms (gummy worms) as they could in mud (chocolate pudding and oreo crumbs) using only their mouths.  It was hilarious watching this.

  

Once we had the team captains and teams picked they received their first clue to the Hidden Prize Idol.  The first clue was: 

A hidden idol you must find

Only if you use your mind

Where you hear the water flow

White flowered tree where Monarchs grow.

All the clues were like this and the girls ran around trying to find the answer and the next clue.  Between clues we played other games that included an obstacle course and a puzzle relay.  The games were fun and each team won one of those games which made it necessary to have a tie breaker.  To break the tie we had 2 people from each team search for worms and the winner takes all.   In the end boths teams won something.  

"Team Better than You" found the Hidden Prize Idol 

and "Team Win" won the most points to win the games.  

The food was delicious too!  There were hot wings and little pizzas, and then the good stuff, a chocolate fountain, fruit to dip, cookies and cupcakes.  Everything looked so nice and tasted even better. 

 Check out these chocolate dipped marshmallows that Auntie Cathie made!

 Mmmm mmmmm..... good!

Tiare has a great group of friends and they were so fun.  Such characters.  The girls got some swimming time after all the games and food.

 "Happy Birthday dear Tiare!  Happy Birthday to you!"

It was a great day for a great party with great friends provided by a wonderful Mom.  Everyone including the birthday girl looked like they were having fun.

Happy Birthday Tiare!

Ever been on a real Coast Guard Boat?

Yesterday was our Flag Day.  We were going to start our day clearing the land in Tafeta.  We were ready to go and listening to the radio when we heard that as part of the Flag Day celebration the US Coast Guard Cutter was in port and they were open to the public from 9am-3pm.  How fun?  We decided to go and we had a great time.

 We had a very nice gentleman (Ian) give us a tour and it was just our family.  He showed us all around and telling us some of the things they do.

 He took us up to the bridge and we spend a lot of time looking out of the binoculars and other equipment there.  I wish I had gotten a picture of one of the boys in the Captain's chair but  thought I might be taking too many liberties with that.  It was cool though.

 The boys are trying to see what was floating in the harbor and Skyler was just trying to see out the window.  ;)

 Riley got to use his sea legs too a bit.  Not as much as he wanted to though.

 He then took us to the flight deck.  Okay I may have these names all wrong so sorry.  While we were there they were working on the helicopter.  We were there watching them work when one of them came and asked if we wanted to sit inside the helicopter.  The boys were so thrilled.  I got a picture of each on of them in the chair.

 

I know, I was too close and you can't tell they are in a helicopter!  The guys said, "Just don't push any of the red buttons".  Oh boy,  that is like saying..."Push it!  Push it!"  I was trying to take pictures fast  so we could get out of their way and there wasn't any place to back up.  Cool memory even though the pictures don't show it all.  So fun.  

 We saw where Ian worked and some of the firefighting gear they had on board.  Then Ian took us to the galley so the boys could have a drink.  I offered the boys help to wash dishes but we weren't taken up on that offer.

Everyone had a good time and thought the whole tour was so awesome.  Skyler even woke up this morning saying, "That boat was awesome!" 

 Thank you so much to the US Coast Guard for making that experience available to us and thank you to Ian (and the helicopter guys) for their time in showing us so many neat things.

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter weekend celebration.  It started with an uplifting Primary Easter program on Saturday, April 7th.  Our Primary Presidency and their class leaders did a fantastic job in keeping the Easter program about the Savior.  There were 8 different classes and each one was about the Savior, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.  Each class was enjoyable and informative for all ages.  

Later that day we met up with our dear friends the Peters at my parent's house.  

The older 'kids' hid some Easter eggs for the younger ones.  We did this in two phases with the older three boys finding in one section and the younger three in another.  

Ready set go!  The older three get to hunting and Oli finds one right out of the gate!

And now the younger ones.  Go Brady and Skyler!

Skyler was on a roll and ended up with a lot of eggs.  

Jason was trying to show Riley what to do.  "See Riley, here's one put it in your basket."

Riley had more fun taking everything out of the basket.  

After the egg hunt, we had a BBQ, swam and played games.  We always have fun with the Peters. 

Look at these handsome boys.   

Easter Sunday we had a really nice day at church and then after all the meetings we sat down for a delicious Easter meal.  See the table centerpiece?  Alec and Brady were in charge of  that.  They incorporated the Easter eggs they found along with the palm leaves from the Primary Easter Program.   Look how colorful our table looks.  Everything was yummy.  

We ate and had a nice visit and discussion with the boys of the meaning of Easter.  It was really a wonderful Easter and I am so grateful for the sacrifice of our Savior for me and my family.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter with their families.  

Surprise!

Just a warning.... Settle in.  This post is a long one! ;) 

Where in the world are we?  

Ha!  What gave it away?  Well, Alec, Riley and I were able to take a wonderful trip to surprise my Dad.  He was scheduled to speak at the April Genreal Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint.  A few people had asked me if I was going and after a few times I started to think seriously about it.  How wonderful it would be to see my Dad speak in person.  So with the help of my Mom, I made our reservations and off we went.  I was so happy to be able to bring Alec with me.  He was a great help with bags and baby sitting and it was just nice to have that time with him.  

We arrived in Hawaii and had a lengthy layover that we were able to spend with Marly, Mai and Waika.  Marly was my high school friend and college roommate.  She and Mai have been great friends to me.  It is so nice to see long lost friends and it being like yesterday we when saw them last.  We were so grateful to them for picking us up and letting us crash with them for the day.  

We finally made it to Utah after a red-eye flight, a four hour layover and then another hour flight to Salt Lake City, Utah.  Does this happen to anyone else?  You finally arrive at your destination and your arrival gate is the farthest possible gate from the entrance?  I was so happy to see my Mom right outside the TSA waiting for us with open arms!  It was so good to see her.  

Well, we went back to her home and as you can imagine we all crashed.  I woke up hearing my Mom and Dad talking in the living room.  Oh, boy am I bad at surprises!  I thought I slept through it!  So I woke up Alec and had him walk out into the living room.  I hear my Dad say,  "Uh?  Hey!  What are you doing here!"  I came around the corner and Dad was all smiles.  He later told me that when he saw Alec it took him a minute to place him.  Success!  So we visited a bit and the fun began!

We did many things and one of which was to take Alec Snowboarding for the very first time.  Grammy had it all arranged.  Alec went to a class that lasted from 8am to 3pm and he had a blast! 

We ended up hanging around to watch Alec snowboard.  Emily and Olive drove up to see us too!  It was fun watching him but Riley had enough so my Mom took him to the car but he was just done.

Riley quieted down a bit after warming up and we hung out with Emily and Olive walking Main street and checking out the Outlet Malls.  Can you believe I didn't get any pictures with them?   We picked up Alec and after a bit more shopping we went out to eat.

 Riley got a much needed rest.  Sleeping babies are so cute.  

It was a treat to be able to go to General Conference.  Alec and I went to the Saturday afternoon session with Kim.   While we went to conference, Riley got so spend some quality time with his Uncles.  Yep, Adam and Jared watched Riley with the help of Marlo.  

Walking to the Conference Center was cool.  There were so many people anxious to hear the words of the leaders of the church.   The building is large and as you can see just steps away from the Salt Lake Temple.   

 Inside was gigantic!  I couldn't believe how big it is!  We were able to have seats on the ground and close to the podium.  The choir in the background was a group of missionaries from the Mission Training Center in Provo, Utah.   They sounded beautiful and the talks given were wonderful.

 Later Saturday afternoon, my brothers and my Dad took Alec to the Priesthood session.  He enjoyed his time with his Uncles and Grandpa.

The Big Day!   Sunday morning we were getting ready to go and hear my Dad speak.  But first, we had to drop off Riley.  Emily's sister Annie had agreed to watch Riley, along with Marlo and Olive so we could all go to Conference.   What a blessing that was.  Thank you Annie and Brandon!

 The pass off went smoothly and we made it back to the Conference Center.  Seated we waited to hear more inspired talks, including the one from my Dad.

 Look at these beautiful couples! 

Uncle Dave and Angie drove up too!  It was so great to see them there.  Dad did a wonderful job on his talk.  He spoke and said, "Speaking of vision, the book of Proverbs teaches this truth: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). If we are to prosper rather than perish, we must gain a vision of ourselves as the Savior sees us. ....As we put into action the teachings of our leaders, we gain a deeper understanding of our Savior’s vision for us." 

            Of course that is just a little tidbit.  You can find his entire talk on lds.org.  We heard many insightful messages throughout conference.  It was wonderful to be there in person and experience those special days at the Conference center.

Monday after Conference I was able to meet up with Jason's Mom and sisters.  It was nice seeing them and spending a little time with them  We wish we had more time to spend but we were so grateful that they took time out of their busy schedule to see us.  Alec got to spend some much wanted time with his cousins Ben and Mitch and I even got to see my niece Chelci (whom I haven't seen in years!) and her baby Rowley.  So much fun

How fun does this look?  

 We were able to have a combined Family Home Evening monday night.  It was so fun for me to experience some girly activities.  My Mom planned a "Fancy Nancy" evening where everything was fancy.  So much fun to be able to help plan that.  Adam gave a really nice lesson on keys of the Priesthood.  

It's a small world after all.  I ran into Sister Porter at the Church Museum.  It was so fun to see her and talk with her a bit.  She and Bro. Porter lived in Samoa for a few years.  

 Alec was a trooper during our shopping excursions. He helped a lot to entertain Riley and enjoyed goofing off a bit too.  

Our last day in Utah and we went ice skating.  It was just for an hour or so and it was a perfect activity before getting on a plane.  

 I love this picture of Grammy helping Alec on the ice.  

 A little bite to eat before we leave.  

 Thank you to my Mom and Dad for having us.  As you can tell we were able to do so many fun things and spend time with family along the way.  From the uplifting church conference to the fantastic snow boarding adventure to the fancy FHE.  We had an amazing time.  Although it was hard to leave, it was time to go.  Three planes, two storm systems to fly around, and many hours later we arrived home.  

It took us a long time to get through the Customs but when we did we were relieved and this is what I found in the car.

Isn't this precious!  My three boys piled into the car, beds made and they came to the airport.  So funny and so great to see them.  Home again, home again.