Aloha!

Colby and I decided to take a trip to Hawaii this year. We had never been before so we decided to go to Oahu. We both really wanted to see the Polynesian Cultural Center and Pearl Harbor. We absolutely loved it! I can definitely see us heading back that way again. We'd really like to go to Maui next time.

I loved seeing Pearl Harbor. 

Another view of the USS Arizona. 

I loved the temple and the grounds there. Soooo beautiful!

One of the lovely afternoons sitting on the beach. It was so nice not to have to worry about a schedule. 

This is us just sitting by the beach watching the sun set. That was one of our favorite things to do after dinner each night. There was a pretty park behind the beach that was right by our hotel. Only a 5 minute walk. 

Now that we've been we're wondering why we waited so long! We'd like to head out next year and take Kaelyn along for her senior trip. So much fun!!

Busy May...

Yesterday was Prom. We found the cutest dress for Kaelyn at an antiques store downtown. This dress is from the 40's. It's not really formal, but it's so Kaelyn. She had a good time. She got picked up in a group so we didn't get pictures of her and her date yet. I'll post those later. I can't believe that she's almost done with her junior year. She's been so busy with end of the year stuff like ACT's, AP tests and all that goes with it. I think she's ready for a break before the craziness of senior year begins!

 Kaelyn's best friend Kristina came over and they got ready together. Two very beautiful ( and silly!) young ladies.

 May is also the month of birthdays in our family. Emily's is today and Taylor's was last week on Cinco de Mayo. Taylor is now 14 and Emily is 12. No more children in Primary. Also, Emily is almost done with elementary school. She will be in junior high next year and has made the cheerleading squad. Should be fun times for everyone! I know that she's excited, but I can hardly believe how big they're all getting. It seems like only a year ago they were starting elementary and I couldn't wait until they were all in school.

 A right of passage in our house is that you get to have your ears pierced, unless you're Davis! ;-), when you are 12. You also get to start wearing a little bit of makeup. No eyeliner, just soft colors and no blush or foundation. The girls think I'm kind of overprotective, but I really don't like it when kids try to grow up too fast. Anyway, we took Emily to get her ears pierced yesterday and she had a little makeover done at the Clinique counter at Dillard's. She feels so grown up, but I like how the colors are very soft. She's wearing makeup in this picture, but the lady at Dillard's did a good job showing her how to apply and keep it natural. She's so cute!

Anyway, all is well here and Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there. Hope you have a great day!

Wizzies...

Kaelyn had to have her wisdom (wizzies) teeth out today. That's what the doctor I work for calls them. (Also the oral surgeon that took them out.) She was really nervous before the whole procedure started, but she had to admit after it was all over that it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be and so far she's not even swollen. Yay! I've had a pretty relaxing day hanging around the house while she's recovering. I've gotten a little more done on my knitted bag. I'm almost done with the knitting. Then comes the felting. I'll definitely have to post a picture of the finished product.

Does anyone else feel like Easter has snuck up on them this year? I always seem to feel unprepared for that holiday. I'm not sure why, but it catches me by surprise almost every year. I buy my egg dyeing kit in March and feel so ahead of things that I'm always shocked when it's Easter weekend and I haven't done anything else! Oh well, I guess I'll have to get the rest of it done tomorrow.

Happy Easter!

Spring!

I'm loving that it's finally spring...I just wish that the snow would be done for good! Today the weather had a hard time making up it's mind, but it's finally ended up sunny. This is the apricot tree in our new backyard. I'm really looking forward to some yummy fruit in a couple of months. We also have apples, pears, grapes and raspberries. Yay!I have a lot of friends who are having babies right now and my favorite thing to make are baby socks. They work up quick and they look so cute. :-)

I also have been working on another bag. I think that I'm addicted to them. This is called the Tree of Life bag and once I'm done knitting it I'm going to felt it and do an outline stitch to make the tree really pop. So fun!
Hope you're all having a fun spring so far!

Time off...

Well, most of you probably know by now that I was in a car accident a few weeks ago and broke my foot so I'm having extended vacation time right now. This is the first time that I have ever broken anything and I have to tell you that it's not fun. I've thought in the past that having some time off so that I could knit, read, watch movies and do whatever sounded great, but in reality it gets a little boring after a while. I have had some fun with my knitting though. I'm in the middle of a beautiful cardigan. I'll post pictures when it gets closer to being done, which I'm sure won't be long. :-) I like that I don't have to watch bedtimes and that I can get up in the middle of the night and work on it if I want.

We've also moved into a bigger house a few weeks ago. That was just a few days before my accident. Thank goodness that got all done. Mostly. We're still unpacking boxes and there are a few things that are still over at the old house that are mine, mostly shoes. I guess I don't need to worry about wearing those for a while anyway! It's probably going to be another month that I can't put any weight on my foot, but I'm hoping to be back to work in about 1 1/2 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Full Time Work!

Colby has found full time work as a machinist! We are very excited. He started last week. He's working the swing shift which makes it a little hard, but we are just so grateful that he has this opportunity. He is so excited that he is finally getting to use the things he learned in school. He's been hired on as a temp, but we're hopeful that he will be hired on permanently as soon as he's proven himself. From what they tell him, they are very busy.

Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive while we've been going through this. All of your prayers and good wishes have been truly appreciated. We definitely have something to be grateful for this Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween!

Well, here in Zion (wink, wink) we celebrate Halloween on Saturday when it falls on a Sunday. Anyway, the kids were excited and had a very fun time. It was raining so I graciously volunteered to stay home and hand out candy to the trick or treaters. Colby really appreciated that. ;-) I asked a friend of mine to make some costumes for the kids this year. She is a very good seamstress and it was so nice to not have to worry about it.

Davis decided that he wanted to be Captain Kirk from Star Trek. My friend, who's name is also Jessica, researched it on the internet to get the details right. She is so much fun.

Emily is Alice in Wonderland and a very cute one she is too.

Here are the three trick or treaters. Kaelyn was off on a band competition. She then went to a friends house for scary movies and treats. I think that sounds like a lot more fun when you're 15 almost 16.

Here's Taylor in her 50's girl costume. I absolutely love the poodle skirt. Jess put faux fur on the poodle. It is soooo cute!

Our next door neighbor's little girl was a 50's girl too. Her costume was one that my neighbor wore when she was 6 years old. What a fun tradition. I should have had Taylor wear some pearls too. :-)

This is Jessica's daughter(she's the clown and yes, Jess did make the costume! I've decided that she's Wonder Woman!) and a cousin. I thought they were so cute that I had to take their picture. We had a huge group go out trick or treating together. I think there were about 20 kids and 8 adults. Fun was had by all!

Today we're going over to my friend Kelly's house and having a fun Halloween dinner and some games with the kids. I made a pumpkin cheesecake to take. Yum! Hope everyone has had a great Halloween!