I Don't Know Where to Start..........

I need two hours at least. Hopefully Sunday.

Life is good. We are all happy!

Ryan got a new job as the Head Cross Country Coach and Distance coach for Kahuku High School. He will now be substitute teaching full time and unfortunately will have to quit Turtle Bay to make this all work. He is truly living a dream though. He is also starting a 5 race running series this weekend to get him ready for the Honolulu Marathon in December.

Staci is loving school and very busy with life. I am working out about 1-1.5 hours 5 days a week and feel amazing. The problem is it makes me hungry sometimes. Anyways, I love being a mom and being involved in the kids schools and activities. I am the Soccer Mom for Alissa's team! I am realizing I really need to study more and did not do so hot on my first biology test. This was also a first, a bad test grade. Oh well, my family is a lot more important to me anyways. I have been fighting a cold recently and can not wait for it to go away so I can stop being so tired. I feel so lucky to be in Hawaii and so blessed to have a wonderful husband and children.

Alissa is a social butterfly. She loves to read books and is a math whiz! She also is enjoying play dates with friends and growing up. Sometimes I really wonder how a five year old can be so spirited! I love her for it though! She is so spunky and exciting! Alissa just started soccer practise and will be taking dance classes in September. I miss having a piano to try to teach her on, because she really misses piano. Alissa also loves to sing, she will walk around the house singing songs. She is kind of going through a Barbie phase also. The best part is that Alissa is already dreaming of her birthday party. She is definitely always up for a party!

Kenzie started preschool and is doing great. I have to admit he is a little off the wall most of the time but is learning to sit still. He has so much energy and is a very happy kid. I was surprised to hear his teacher tell me yesterday that he is very strong willed. I turned to her and said, "Then you would probably be surprised to know that he is my most mellow child." She was shocked and decided I must have my hands full. I definitely have my hands full but they are full of wonderful children who truly know who they are and don't question it. They keep life full and busy with great joy. Anyways, Kenzie is still very inventive and creative. He loves to just sit and build things whenever he can. He loves to be a knight and fight or to learn crazy facts about weird reptiles and animals. Kenzie is also very helpful. He loves to help Taft with getting ready and help0 others.

Taft is now 2 and it is about time. This kid has such a great vocabulary that I have been asked if he was 2 now for several months. He is now potty trained and does such a good job of telling us when he has to go potty. He is very independent and loves to get dressed himself also. He really is growing up and so fun to be with. His favorite phrase right now is, "See, I told you so." He loves being the baby and giving everyone lots of hugs and kisses.

Well, I figured I would give an update on the newest member of our immediately family since I was updating anyways.

Mema is just finishing out things in Utah and will be here a week from today. We are so excited to have her in our family and can not wait for her to be here and see all the fun she has been missing. I have to say the thing the kids miss most is her imagination. They always ask to play all of the fun games she makes up with them and then reply that it is not the same without her. We truly miss having her around and can not wait to see her soon!

Wii Have Been Found!!

On any given afternoon this is what our house looks like. We used to have about nine kids over at a time and now we are up to at least fourteen. All of these kids live in the three houses next to us. They recently discovered our Wii and have been coming over everyday to play. In fact, I came home yesterday to them waiting on our porch. A few of them even have called me mom before. I love it because some of the other neighborhood kids feel welcome now too. I am teaching them that we do not swear or say mean things in this house and that we are always kind to each other. It has been such a great experience to have them all around. Today in fact we spent 2 1/2 hours learning to make pizza and they each got to make their own. All 14 of them. I love that they feel comfortable around us and that we can offer them a bit of a loving safe haven from some of the things they experience in their life. I feel so thankful to Heavenly Father for guiding us to this house!

Sabbath Day

Today was wonderful! Ryan was able to come with us to all of church. Usually he is only able to attend Sacrament Meeting. He was so happy!! At church they sang to Taft in opening exercises of Primary because his birthday is on Friday! He was so excited and dancing in the front of the Primary Room. He got a pencil, picture of Jesus with the Articles of Faith, a fruit roll and a handshake from a member of the Bishopric. I can not believe my baby is turning to this week! After we went out to our house common area and the kids played on the beach while I sat and watched the waves. It was so relaxing. As for tomorrow, school starts for Kenzie and Alissa

so we came home and got their supplies and clothes laid out because I will be at class in the morning while Ryan gets them ready for school. Since he is at work tonight we will be doing Father's Blessings in the morning. I am so thankful for my life and how blessed I am. Although I have crazy moments, my life is soo good!

Babysitting Group

I am surprised that these are all the pictures I had. I am going to try and start posting more pictures because this was like 3 or 4 weeks ago. We started a group here of three families ranging from 3-4 kids each and rotate each week watching all 10 kids so that the other two couples can go out. It is great 1 week watching all three kids and two weeks going out without paying for a babysitter. I have had so much fun with all these kids! They are all so sweet and fun to be with. I have only watched them all once so far but this week is my week again and I can not wait for them to come! The best part was when we played in pudding!

I LOVE SCHOOL!

I am so sorry I have not posted more yet but I just had to tell you all how much I love school! I love every part about it. The learning, the students, the teachers, and especially getting to go to a school centered around Christ where prayer is given before every class. I am sooo blessed I have a great husband and fantastic kids and am nourishing my self with learning and health and exercise and I feel fantastic! I am taking three classes right now. Biology, Jogging and New Testament. The classes are each six weeks long and it is the best! Today I got to jog my first jog which was a mile and a half and it felt great. It did take me 19 min and 45 sec, but for me that is an awesome time! I am eating raw again and am the lowest weight I have been in over two years! I am felling so much more energy and love being busy busy! I am still in charge of the fruit and veggie co-op too and that is so much fun for me. I have a walking buddy every morning and it is the best way to start the day! Life is truly so amazing here in Hawaii and I can truly say I have never been this happy in my life! I am so thankful to a wonderful family and husband who made it possible for us to be here!

A Night in Waikiki

A few weeks ago Ryan's old missionary companion, Chad was in town on business and we had the pleasure of taking him on our weekly date with us. This particular week we went to Waikiki at night. I happen to love Waikiki at night. It is not at all like Vegas with all the filth and focus of sex. It is so fun to walk up and down the street and see all the different people trying to make money by showing their talents. There are several musical acts, magicians, artists and many more. Here are few of the favorites from the night! (Besides hanging out with Chad which was the best part!)

These pictures were created by spray paint, forks, ripped paper and cups.

That is about is and this man belows talent.

The man below, juggled while doing the whole rubix cube in under five minutes!
This mans entire outfit was made of paper!

And this man was singing in Japanese!

What a fun night!

Fun Videos

When Ryan is at work at night we have some of our best performances. Alissa loves this song and dance that she learned at Downtown Thursday Nights in St. George, Utah.

She even taught it to the boys over the last few months!

Alissa has made some friends in our neighborhood that are a bit older than her, but they all love to dance and made up this dance.

Kenzie likes to sing the same song every time he films a video. He is super silly!

Just thought I would share some of our silly normal day to day things we do!

Question of the Week!

So, I am not exactly computer literate yet. I keep putting my SD card into the computer so I can download all of the fun and exciting pictures of our lives but I can not get it to work. Is it possible to be out of room on my computer? If you know the answer to this question or have any ideas. PLEASE POST HERE.

Calm

On a personal note. I wanted to sit down and write about my feelings. I look at my life and how amazingly blessed I have been and I realize how calm I feel. Even with the craziness of life and small children I just feel calm. School is starting soon for Alissa, Kenzie and Me. I often feel like this is going to be a whole new busy journey for us, but I still feel calm. I feel like the Lord will just guide us and that everything will be all right. I also feel calm because I live in the best place in the world and I have wonderful friends and my children have wonderful friends and my husband is extremely happy. I just think wow, this is truly amazing! And even though, we have moments of hecticness(if that even is a word) I still feel calm. I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father, and everyone else he put into our lives to get us to this point in our journey. I am also thankful to be able to brush things off that used to bother, and to be growing up every year. I am so blessed and I am so grateful!

Ward Camp

Believe it or not after all the fun of Ward Camp these are the only two pictures I came away with. It was well worth it though. We had the most amazing experience at Ward camp. It was five days of pure fun excitement. Ryan had to work through most of it which was sad. The kids and I were entertained every night with games, movies, luaus and all types of activities. Kenzie and his friend Housling spent most nights with flashlights looking for bugs and Alissa and all her girlfriends did hair and swung from tree swings. Ryan got to help out with making the lau lau which is a very traditional Hawaii dish made with pork wrapped in the lau lau leaf. I hope I am correct about this. It was really neat. Ward Camp was seriously amazing experience and I hope they will adopt again next year so we can go again. We will truly miss the Laie 8th Ward and only wish we could have stayed in that ward. We are so thankful though to be meeting new people now and enjoying the strength of our new ward family.

Random Pics

This is what we look like when we eat homemade grape juice Popsicles! This is Alissa's friend Makana. We truly miss having her as a neighbor.

I have to say Kenzie is the most clever little bug. He comes up with the best buildings and tower and toys and concoctions of everyone. The other day Ryan came upstairs and said, "Stac, where's the camera?" He came back with this adorable picture. Since Taft can pedal yet he left Taft on his bike in the back and hooked Taft's bike to the front, so he could pedal for him. What a sweet brother he is! He also loves to help Taft get dressed, brush his teeth and put his shoes on. I love these boys!

This is the apron we made for Ryan for Father's Day. I know I am so behind on pictures. Father's Day was lots of fun and we are so blessed to have such a fun cool Daddy in our family!

Garfield the Butterfly

This is the final result of our caterpillar. If you click on the grass you can see him in the grass. We had so much fun with our Monarch butterfly!

Crazy Busy!

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update until I can find time to post the last few weeks. For those of you who dont't know, we moved. We moved to the next town over call Hauula because we basically had a crazy landlord. The craziest part though, is that we moved with only four days to pack, clean and be out. I am so thankful for wonderful people to help us. The best part is that we also had ward camp for four days and Ryan working all the time all at the same time. Luckily, we got it all done and now just have to find furniture so we can put away our huge mess. We were living in a furnished place and this one is unfurnished so we are just waiting to find the time to go buy furniture. I have been checking on craigslist but no luck yet. Yes, I will admit it makes me crazy living in this mess.

Summer break is going by way too fast. I really don't want Alissa to go back to school but with me starting school that is life for now.

I start school in just a few weeks and I am a bit nervous but hope it goes well.

Ryan is working all the time and we still feel blessed that we have a great job.

The fourth of July was fun. The kids and I went to Turtle Bay to watch all the big fireworks and to play on the bounce houses. We saw lots of our friends there too! Afterwards we met Ryan's sister Aubrey and her husband and our friends The Becar's at our house for more fireworks. Ryan got home at 3:30 in the morning after working a 13 hour shift.

Today we went to our new ward and felt so welcome. Alissa and Kenzie are actually doing really well at the new place and adjusting well to the ward. Taft just keeps growing up. Everywhere I go people ask how old he is because he talks to well. I am always trying to find ways I can stop time and keep them from growing up. I guess I am starting to realize I will not get to keep them with me forever.

We truly love living in Hawaii and feel so blessed for all we have. I can not wait to get organized again and to just relax in our new house on the ocean! Hope you are all great and had a Happy 4th of July. I hope to post pictures soon.

I Love Summer Vacation!!

So, we have started a new chapter in our life. It is called Summer Vacation! It is a bit different having all the kids home now but I have to say that I absolutely love it. The first week we were transitioning and now we have gotten into a routine which is so fun.
The kids are loving their chore charts and I especially love starting and ending our day with scriptures and prayer! Twice a day is twice as nice!
We have Mommy School every morning from a bout 8-10. I have been using The Letter of the Week Curriculum my friend told me about here and then for Alissa I am using The Karl G. Maeser Academy curriculum which I printed from their website. It is my dream to use that curriculum to teach my children so for now I will just supplement with it since I don't have $500 a year for it. I love hearing Alissa recite poems about God and Christ and also hearing her learning the scientific method and how we use it to find out things about the world God created for us. I am enjoying them learning from me too. After lesson time and singing we have crafts and activity and then usually end with a snack. The kids even like to say they are going to recess once we are finished. My favorite is that they call me Teacher and I am not allowed to use any of my nicknames for them, they want to be called simply Alissa and Kenzie like a teacher would call them.
After this we usually go on outings, this week we went to the zoo and shopping in town! Or we will go to the beach or have friends come over or go play at friends houses.
I am truly loving Summer Vacation and don't think I ever want it to end!

Happy Father's Day!!

These were taken when we lived in Texas by my friend Melissa. Alissa is 3, Kenzie is 2 and Taft was a week old.

That is Alissa at a few months old.

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful, fun, crazy Dad! I am so thankful for Ryan and all he does for our family. He has been a father for over five years and does an amazing job! I am so glad to have chosen him to raise children with. We love you Ryan! You are the best Daddy!

Siblings

I absolutely love all the tender moments where I look at my children and see the love they pour out to one another. They can be so loving and sweet to each other and I cherish these times. I was in the kitchen yesterday doing dishes when I came into the family room to find these two cuties snuggling. Taft loves his big sister and all her sweetness! I am so thankful that my children have the opportunity to grow up with siblings who will help them to learn and grow in all aspects of life. What a truly wonderful blessing!

Good Byes

I took this picture at the airport when we dropped off my mom. It was so sad to say good bye. She left on Sunday after Ryan and I had spoke in church. I was thankful though that we coincidentally got asked to speak this same Sunday she was there. I was so glad she could be there. For those of you who don't know my mom, you are truly missing out. I truly believe my mom is an angel. She is the most loving, helpful and kind person I have ever met and I am so thankful for her example. She is an amazing grandma and the kids love her joy and imagination. I feel so thankful to be the lucky one to have her as my mom. We already miss her presence so much in our family and can not wait for her to rejoin us in a few months. Hawaii is truly missing something special without her and Kaui here. See you soon Mema!

A Night in Waikiki

The view from our room.

The gourmet food. I had to take this picture because it looked to pretty. This is fish with baby asparagus grown in Kahuku with sea water so nice and salty. It was yummy!

This it the little romantic table we got to sit at.

This is a Harley made out of wood at the Harley Shop in Waikiki.

Here is a picture of me. Ugh! For all of you who say I don't post pictures of me. This was taken at the pools of our hotels, which were right on the beach.

It was so fun up in our room we heard a bunch of noise and it was all the people on this Catamaran ride. It looked like so much fun. We had a great view!

What can I say except that I am spoiled! My mom decided to give us a night in Waikiki as a date, and I feel so blessed for it. It was needed more than ever. We had gotten used to having dates for awhile in Utah and then moving here left us with none. It was so nice to actually spend time together and more than just a few hours. I am so thankful for this night and all the fun we had walking the streets of Waikiki! The live music was great and hearing Ryan speak Japanese all night was probably my favorite part. Thanks Mom!!

Alligator Pond

It is crazy to think that with my mom being here a whole week we only went to the beach one time. That is the longest since we have been here going without being in the ocean. We wanted to try somewhere different, so we had heard of a place called Alligator Pond in Hauula that has no waves and is almost like a bathtub for the kids. They call it Alligator Pond because of this rock, which looks like an alligator. Once there our friends Sara and Ezra were there to play, they actually invited us. We also saw UB and Lindsey and both of their kids too. It was definitely a fun, happening place. The kids loved finding all the different fish too, with their friends! I am so glad we got to spend a day at the beach!!!

You can never have too many........

I was so glad we got to see this rainbow while my mom was here. We are so blessed to get to see rainbows several time a week usually. We also saw a double rainbow this same day. Doesn't God create the most beautiful things?