Aloha

Finally arriving in Honolulu and reaching our final destination, "The Hyatt Regency," and yes that is the Pacific Ocean right outside our resort. It was beautiful.
An early morning hike of Diamond Head reminds you how out of shape you are, my book said this was an easy hike.
There were about 5 sets of these stairs, talk about killing you off.
But this view was worth the dirty words that were said, some silently.
We finally reached the top.
While everyone snorkel's and surf's this is what Avery does, works on her balance. She stayed in this pose forever.
A family we met on the beach gave us boogie boards and said they were passed onto them from another family and asked that we pass them on as well. The girls had fun with the boards.
This was like watching Brett trying to learn how to snowboard, hilarious! He was a little slow in class.
Finally, Trevor and T.J. had basically had enough of waiting for their dad, so they took off. The boy's did great, Brett got the crap beat out of him.
I think Brett got up maybe once, but Trev and T.J. rocked the surfing thing.


We enjoyed the day at the Polynesian Culture Center, which is on the other side of the island. This guy was from Samoa and he was great. We learned how they make coconut milk. It was a great way to start our day here.
Yes, T.J. became hungry and McDonalds is right across the street from the PCC.
It didn't take Devyn long to become Hawaiian.
We took the tour of the Hawaii Temple which was beautiful. The grounds and presentation were really inspiring.
Yes, we were all doing our craft and T.J. is on his phone.
Trevor was determined to start a fire. He tried for about 10 minutes and then it started to smoke.


Yes, this guy climbs trees barefoot. Crazy!
Avery and T.J. learning the rules for the games. Yes, T.J. is looking to see who was texting him.
We make these kissing fish in Samoa, T.J. didn't join us, he was on his phone.
The final show at the PCC was awesome. They do such a great job. It was fun to talk to the students that go to BYU Hawaii and work at the PCC.
Pearl Harbor was our next stop. It makes your stomach drop to see how many men and women died that day.
You get a ticket and catch your boat out to the memorial. Everyone is so quiet and respectful of this area.
We did one more hike up to Manoa Falls. Avery was ready with her hiking stick. My book said that this was a very friendly hike. This guy is on crack. It was so slippery and muddy and steep we all had to get walking sticks so we wouldn't fall.
Devyn doing her Tarzan call.
Yes, that is T.J. on his phone, we are in a tropical forest and yes he is on the phone.






We finally made it to the top and it was gorgeous. The humidity was incredible. We loved this island and had so much fun. Maholo, Hawaii for a great vacation.

Summer Fun

Trevor played "All Stars" at the end of June. We had a great time and the boys had fun. They made it to the Semi Finals.
When I look at this picture all I can think of is red dirt on new white pants. Why? This is the last time Trevor will play on bases that are 60 feet apart, now he moves to 90 feet bases, help.
We all know the real reason to play All-Stars is to trade pins. These 2 little girls were concentrating so hard on their trading technique. This is Devyn's last year trading but Gracie has Mason's All Star years to look forward to.

We then ventured to Utah for the week after All Stars. One of our stops was Lagoon. We had not been there for about 10 years. It sure has changed, we had a great time. Devyn was all gung ho for the little roller coasters and her cousin Austin was kind enough to ride with her.
Avery and Caitlin loved the "Flying Aces" and it was so warm we stood and watched so that we could cool off with the air blowing from their planes.
The Cousins posing after lunch and taking a much needed break. We all had a great time and yes we rode the rickety rack old roller coaster and yes it is still the same. Of course, Brett wouldn't ride it due to it not being a smooth ride, after completing this mission I would have to agree.
All the cousins trampeling Grandma's flowers for a kodak moment.
We ventured to an Ogden Raptors baseball game, I believe they are double A, we had such a great time.
It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Springing Forward

Trevor celebrated his 12th birthday by having a lego cake and getting more legos. The activity for his big day was watching him play baseball, which we love to do.
We ventured to St. George for Mattie's baptism. The cousin's had a great time. Avery and her cousin Austin spoke at the baptism which was very sweet.
The boy's tried to catch this huge lizard all day, it was the greatest toy ever. I'm not so sure the neighbors liked the boys in their yard and on their fence all day.
Of course swimming was involved but for just a few seconds, it wasn't quite warm enough yet.
Trevor's Cubs team played great this season. They won the Majors Championship with a close game. It was a fun season and he had a really cute team.

Trevor was inducted into the National Honor Society. He thought it was about time he got flowers for doing something.


The girls meet season was fun. Avery's nemesis "THE BEAM" turned out to be her best friend. She was always taking first with great scores on on this 4 inch piece of wood. She did great!
Devyn got better with each meet. Her favorite thing is to march in, everyone clapping, walking to the beat of the music, and she likes to wave. She did great on every event.
This is Avery, I know I need to tell you who it is, her hair is curled, eye make-up on and yes, it is a dress. Now for the shocker, a bow was on the dress and she wore sandals with a little heel. Yes, it's a miracle, our little girl is growing up. There were no Nike, Adidas insignia on any part of her outfit. Oh yeah, she even danced.
Daddy daughter dinner was a pinewood derby night. This was Devyn's car, the purple monster with a polly pocket head glued to it. After about the 4th race, Polly's head took a hasty exit and a wheel left the track. They did great though, Devyn took 3rd place.
The cousins came for a quick visit and it was so hot, they swam all night. It was a great time.

Why I look forward to Wednesday........

I also look forward now to Tuesday, because Glee is back. Love it.

New Traditions

Our 19 year Christmas tradition of having a real tree was stopped and replaced with a beautiful tree I found at Ralph Jones the day after last Christmas. Between the cost, allergies, and only being able keep it in the house for maybe 3 weeks were the main reasons this time honored tradition was retired. We did miss the smell but a good Yankee candle filled that void. And kind words were uttered because this beautiful tree came prelit.

Instead of cookies, Santa was left with a cinnamon roll and a lovely letter from Devyn explaining to him why she needs a tv for her room and if it could be a flat screen with DVD player inside that would be wonderful.
I finally finished cross-stitching Trevor's stocking and it turned out so cute that I am sure it will take me another 2 years to finish the next one. Only 5 more to go.
Reindeer food is a big deal to the kids. There was a alot of glitter in this batch of food so I am sure that is how Santa found our house.
This was Avery's Christmas creation. She made the cake and decorated it with a little help from Trevor and Dev. Brett and I watched them put this masterpiece together, licking their fingers and then placing each candy in just the right place. It was a little to much for us, so we passed on trying this baby out.
These four hoodlums couldn't wait to pounce their way to the Christmas goodies. My kids have a great habit of sleeping in, it was after 8:00 a.m. before they even stirred. It took us a total of 45 minutes to open and totally ambush the living room with wrapping paper. It was an enjoyable and festive time.

It was supposed to be calm and clear......

We traveled to Utah on December 4th to spend Christmas with our families. The weather was supposed to be beautiful but you know I was listening to the weatherman in Nevada. Their big story is wind. This white stuff was delivered for our enjoyment along with a 17 degree high.
The boys prior to Aunt Anne cutting their hair. Now, Trevor can find his jacket instead of Aunt Jer's. That boy could not see and his neck pain will go away now that he won't have to throw his bangs to see.
The kids love playing games and of course posing for pictures in front of Grandma's tree.
We were able to open presents with everyone and enjoy watching cousins opening their gifts as well as grandma and grandpa.
After digging out our car we ventured to Clearfield for Brett's nephew's wedding. We left my parents house and it was pouring snow and we venture 6 miles away and its clear as a bell. Crazy!

This was the residue our poor car endured to get us home and out of that snow infested land. My poor van, as we drove down I-15 at 20 mph due to the black ice and blowing snow, cars were swerving everywhere. Brett layed on the horn and it just kept honking, it was frozen, or my car was pissed that we put her through so much turmoil. By the point of the mountain it finally stopped. We endured many finger gestures down I-15.


Our next worthy destination was more cousins in St. George. We could finally breathe, the sun was shining, there was none of the yuck on the ground. The kids ran and got their wiggles out to endure the ride to Vegas.
We ventured to see Santa so everyone could get their orders in for Christmas. Avery has grown so much over the last 3 months that Trevor had to sit on Santa's lap. He wasn't very happy.
The best thing that came out of our Utah trip was that 3 strong willed women talked me into a DVR. This beautiful piece of equipment was installed and we are enjoying recording shows that we always miss due to not being home. So thanks for the pep talk, now I won't miss my oc housewives, modern family, or any other smut that's out there. Thanks girls!!!!!

Are you In or are you Out?

"Are you in or Are you Out?" Those are the famous words that Heidi Klum says each week on "Project Runway." Avery's Project Runway 13th birthday party strutted its way into our house last month. Seven designers, staples, velcro, safety pins and belts were all put to use in designing their runway gems.

Food is a necessity for any designer so "Olive Garden" was the food of choice before the big sewing extravaganza started.
All articles of clothing came from a Target Clearance rack and they were all different styles. It was each designers job to completely change the outfit. These girls are used to wearing leo's all day so this was a difficult challenge. It was entertaining to say the least.
A red carpet experience occurred that next morning after breakfast. A lot of loud music and girls with the moves marched down the red plastic table cloths to show off their designs.
The girls had a great time and were glad that they were all gymnasts and not designers. Although, they liked wearing the clothes just not making them.
The party was a great time and who knows, maybe one of these talented young ladies we will someday see walking the red carpet in their designs. Happy 13th Ave!
While the girls were on the red carpet, Trevor was winning his fall ball championship game. Trevor was the tieing (Sp?) run on first and his friend got up with 2 outs in the last inning and hit a home run to win the game 3-2. Congrat's storm.

Well, gymnastics just keeps going and going and yes, that's our Devyn on the podium. She practices her "ladies, salute" form more than anything. She took second on vault with a 9.3. Her beam was great, she didn't fall, she just forgot the routine and did her own thing, for quite awhile, but hey she didn't fall.
She is very serious out there and loves every minute of it. Good job, Dev!