Viva Las Vegas!

Let me start by saying I have the greatest husband! About a month ago Kelly came home and suggested that I plan a little get-away. That was about all he had to say for the wheels to get turning in my head. For a few hours on Wednesday I thought it might not happen because of an emergency dealing with Kelly's work in California. I was pretty proud of myself for not freaking out and it eventually worked itself out so that Kelly could still stay with our kids. Thanks so much, Babe! So, the end result was that on Thursday I left to meet my sister, Melanie and my mom in Las Vegas for a long weekend. This is what we accomplished:

• two breakfasts at Denny's (gotta love the French Toast Slam!)
• one mani/pedi
• lots of shopping (I'm down a pant size! yeah for me!)
• two good dinners (one at Outback and one at Hugo's Cellar)
• one session at the Las Vegas Temple (where I met a brother of a friend of Kelly's family, small world!)
• three thrill rides (two on the Stratosphere which were CRAZY! And the roller coaster around New York, New York)
• watched one movie ("Dan, in Real Life" which was good,but painful to watch the awkwardness of the situation. Sort of reminiscent of watching "Meet the Parents" for the first time, which is now one of my favorite movies.)
• lots of laughing and making of jokes!
• one and one-half books read (finished "Love, Ruby Lavender" by Deborah Wiles, who wrote one of my favorite books called "Each Little Bird that Sings" I highly recommend both of these, they can be found in the children/young adult section. I started this month's book for my book group called "The Hiding Place" about WWII Holland and a family helping refugee Jews, also very good!)
• three hours laying by the pool (it was 85 degrees down there!)
• lots of driving around, looking for the movie theater (for all the lights and advertising that goes on in Vegas, I'll give you a dollar if you can find a sign for a movie theater without trying REAL hard!)
• lots of phone calls home to make sure everything was going okay (and because I REALLY started missing everybody!)
• lots of pictures taken (because of my blog. I know my mom and Melanie were probably so sick of me bringing it up!)
• hugs goodbye (and me,secretly planning for next year)
• lots of waiting in lines (for the rides, but the worst was the airport on Sunday! If you're "Leaving Las Vegas" give yourself a LOT of time. I got there almost two hours early and the people were telling me, "oh you might make your flight." I made my flight.)

I had such a fun time but I'm so glad to be home! When Kelly and the kids picked me up from the airport everyone was happy to see me. Everyone, that is, but Bronson! I think he was punishing me for leaving or something. He didn't want anything to do with me for the first few hours, he only wanted his daddy. I walked in to our house and everything was so nice and clean! Kelly even cleaned the bathrooms and mopped the kitchen floor. Like I said, I have the greatest husband! Thanks Mel and Mom for a fun weekend and thanks again, Kelly,for letting me go and taking care of everything else!

Kelly's 51 things...

I still don't have the consent form signed on this, but here goes. I know he has a secret desire for me to do this:)

1. Kelly was born in American Samoa.
2. Kelly isn't Samoan, he's Hawaiian (they're different, people!)
3. Kelly is very proud of his Hawaiian heritage.
4. He is proud that his kids are proud of their Hawaiian heritage.
5. Kelly pretty much taught himself to play the ukulele.
6. His dad was so proud of him!
7. Kelly grew up mostly on the Navajo and Hopi reservations in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona.
8. His dream job would be to go back to the reservation and be a teacher/coach.
9. He has an excellent Navajo accent.
10. He gets a laugh out of me every time he talks in it.
11. Kelly is smack-dab in the middle of nine kids.
12. He suffers from middle-child syndrome:)
13. When Kelly was in high-school he was the Bishop's son, the Principal's son, and a Kalauli, if he did something wrong he got in trouble three times!
14. Kelly is a sports fanatic.
15. He especially likes football.
16. His favorite college teams are Oklahoma, BYU, and whoever is playing against Oregon.
17. He still has issues with their scandalous win over Oklahoma last year!
18. Kelly is a hard worker.
19. He has worked for the same company for over twelve years.
20. Kelly likes to snowboard.
21. He scheduled his classes at BYU around his snowboarding schedule.
22. Kelly is a good son and brother.
23. He's a great husband!
24. He's a fabulous dad!
25. Kelly is very compassionate.
26. He's always looking out for the little guy.
27. Just ask the drunk guy from Warm Springs:)
28. Kelly is laid-back (understatement), but will not be taken advantage of!
29. Kelly is quiet.
30. He's also very talkative once you get to know him.
31. Kelly is understanding of women.
32. He grew up with six sisters
33. He now has three daughters.
34. Maybe that's why he's so quiet, he can never get a word in.
35. Kelly thinks about things before he talks.
36. When we were first married, one of the first bits of advice that he gave me was, "You know, you don't have to say everything that comes into your head."
37. When Kelly does talk, people usually listen.
38. Kelly is a natural leader.
39. Kelly is training for the Maui marathon. Maybe. In his dreams!
40. His wife will cheer him on from the nearest beach!
41. As quiet and laid-back as Kelly is, don't make him mad while he's driving!
42. He once threw a loaf of bread out the window at a driver that made him mad.
43. Another time, at a stop light he got out of his car, walked calmly over to the driver that made him mad, opened their door and punched the guy in the face.
44. While walking to our car after a Jazz game a car came really close to hitting me while I was in the cross-walk and he kicked the car.
45. Kelly really isn't psycho.
46. Kelly went into mourning when his favorite rappers were killed-off. He still gives props to Biggy-smalls and Tupac. May they rest in peace.
47. Kelly gets excited every time he sees someone of color in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
48. Kelly's middle name is Ali'i. It means "the chief".
49. Kelly's real last name is Kalaulipauliuliauheaokekoa. It means "the warrior who fights from the trees".
50. Kelly was the Prom King in high school. He wore a white tuxedo and had a Mexican mustache. He was HOT!
51. Kelly is still HOT!

So, there you have it! You can all say that you know Kelly a little better now.

Happy Birthday Maika!

Six years ago, I had this little cutie! I was thinking about what our life was like six years ago, and these are some things I can remember:

1. I just finished my job cleaning the temple at nights. (That was a hard job! I don't care WHO'S toilets they were, they were still toilets! Plus I was doing it pregnant)
2. I had an amazing Visiting Teacher. Thanks Darilyn!
3. I soooo wanted to have this baby!
4. On the way to pick up my mom from the airport the OB nurse called to cancel my induction because it was too crowded at the hospital.
5. Maika knew she better get here! I went into labor on my own and showed up at the hospital the same time I was supposed to get there for my induction. The nurse looked at me like, "Hello, didn't you get our call? We don't have room for you!" I was like, "Hello, I'm in labor here!"
6. On the way to the hospital Kelly asked if we could stop at McDonald's so he could get something to eat. I was like, "Hello, I'm in labor here!" He still gets teased about this and it's now a funny, cute memory.
7. When I first saw Maika I couldn't believe how much hair she had. I thought I had given birth to a little Navajo baby! Kelly thinks that's where all his hair went.
8. Maika was my biggest baby weighing in at almost nine pounds. Logan barely weighed six. Believe me, I felt the difference!
9. We were and are still are so happy we have Maika!

Maika is the family comedienne! She is always thinking of others, especially her sister, Logan! If we are out doing something during the day and Logan is at school, Maika always makes sure we get a treat for Logan too. She keeps us laughing. Whether it's her booty-shaking renditions to Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back", or her funny way of saying things. We love this girl and hope she has a very happy birthday!

The Last Few Days...

(I'm not sure why Bronson looks so unhappy in this picture!) Here's what our family has been doing the last few days. And can I just say that it's sooo frustrating to get everything laid out how you like it and then when you post it it gets all messed up! So I apologize if it's screwy but I gave it my best effort!

• Kelly worked from home on Friday, since the kids didn't have school and we decided to head to the pumpkin patch. It was nice weather and I think every other mother had the same idea because it was so crowded! But, it was still a lot of fun. We also bought a lot of fresh produce at the farm's store. Can you say Mango Salsa?

• On Saturday we went to our ward's annual Harvest Festival. It was so much fun and it's always a success! We had a chili cook-off, arts and crafts for the kids, apple bobbing, donuts-on-a-string, and fresh-pressed apple cider. Not to mention pumpkin and apple pies! Here are pictures of the girls getting help with their donuts! You can't use your hands, so when Maika's fell she ate it off the floor.

• We also took our boat in to get winterized, so Kelly is officially in mourning! We had a great summer and look forward to Memorial Day Weekend 2008! Lake Billy Chinook, here we come!
• Here are a few pictures of Bronson. I turned my back for a few seconds (okay, it was more like I left him in his highchair while I went to check blogs and email!) and came back to this: I left his oatmeal on the table, but I guess it was still in his reach, so he decided to help himself.

• And, finally, tonight I went to Bunco. Since it is October, we dressed up in our Halloween costumes. I've had bad luck the last few months and tonight was no exception, I came home without a prize. It was fun to dress up though and it was fun to get together with the girls. My girls however, we freaking out that I would dress up like this. Now they're begging me to paint their fingernails black, yikes!

10 Week Check-Up

So, I just had my 10-week check up and everything looks great! I can't believe what a difference I feel. Oh, and by the way I'm NOT pregnant, I'm talking about my Lasik eye surgery. I've been wanting this surgery for years. The first time I checked into it I was all gung-ho and then I surprised myself with Bronson. You can't have the surgery if you are pregnant. The second time I looked into it, they told me I wasn't a candidate because I was still nursing. That really bummed me out because I only knew you couldn't be pregnant. You can't have the surgery until you have been done nursing for 6 weeks. I was really tempted to stop right that day. But, I'm happy to say I made the better choice and didn't. On July 5th, my life changed forever! After years of wearing contacts and glasses, I can see better without either. Sometimes at night I still feel like I need to go take out my contacts, just because it was part of my nightly routine. I went to have my eyes checked as part of the post-op treatment and my vision is now 20/15! They also said with the type of surgery I had it can take up to 6 months to completely heal and that my vision could get even better. One of the best parts of the surgery is that I can see the clock on the night-stand in the middle of the night. I am still amazed that a procedure that takes less than 15 minutes to preform can be so life-changing. So, thanks to my husband for giving me this present! It's one of the best I've ever received!

Here are the before and after pictures. I had to wear my glasses for 4 weeks prior to the surgery (and yes, I know that both of these pictures are scary!). One funny thing that happened after my surgery: we were sitting in church and my eyes were still very sensitive to the light. I had to wear my sunglasses during sacrament meeting! I was getting some funny looks from everybody. Then I couldn't really focus on my notes for my YW lesson and Kelly was so sweet because he offered to take me home and teach my lesson for me! He just took his YM in with him and taught the lesson to both. Now that's an awesome husband!

3-peat

We just got back from what seemed to be the Senior Citizen Social Gathering of the Year! Every year our PUD (electric company) puts on a free spaghetti dinner. Along with the dinner they have drawings for prizes, free balloon artists (the best I've ever seen), and free caricature artists (some years good, some not so good). They also sponsor a coloring contest through the schools and Logan has entered the last three years. The PUD gives cash prizes,$10 for 1st and $5 for 2nd. Logan has placed 1st or 2nd each time she's entered, so we get to go. It actually always turns out to be a fun night but crazy too, especially when I take the kids places with out Kelly. People were coming up to me all night asking if all these kids were mine (we had our neighbor Taylor with us). When I say most of them, they look at me like I'm crazy. One lady put her hand on my shoulder and asked if I had a husband. I assured her I did, and that he was working, I think that made her feel a little better about things:) So, we had a fun night! At least I didn't have to make or clean-up dinner, and when we got home the kids went straight to bed! Hooray for the PUD! These are the caricatures we had done of the kids last year. We didn't have time this year. I think Nalani's and Maika's look the most like them. Logan looks like she's about 16, and Bronson was only 3 months old at the time. I really think these are cute though!

Counting My Many Blessings...

I loved Elder Eyring's talk in Conference about writing down the little things that happen in everyday life and recognizing them as God's hand in our lives. So, I decided to start my list. This will help me remember all the blessings I have and will also help me get through the hard days. I do, in deed, have much to be grateful for!

10/7/07- Humor.
10/7/07- Four healthy kids, who have a great father, who also happens to be a wonderful husband.
10/7/07- Nap time (for me and the kids).
10/8/07- Awesome friends, including my family, to talk with, laugh with, and complain to.
10/9/07- Getting to listen to Dr. Laura in the car while running errands. I love her!
10/14/07- Long, meaningful talks with my husband...makes everything better!
10/18/07- Maika...she turns six today!
10/28/07- Coming home to nice, clean house after spending a relaxing weekend in Las Vegas with my mom and sister.
11/6/07- Talking with friends over Happy Meals while the kids are happily playing.
12/10/07- Christmas time.
12/20/07- Nalani...she turns three today!
12/25/07- A happy Christmas.
12/31/07- A fun New Year's party, spent with good friends. A great year!
1/10/08- Going to the temple with Kelly.
1/28/08- President Gordon B. Hinckley- He passed away today. He was 97 years old. He was such an inspiring man who worked so hard until the very end! He was a builder of temples, he gave us "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," he inspired us to read the scriptures, gave us the "Be's". I will especially miss his cute personality and sense of humor, and his "cracky" voice while speaking such great truths!
3/3/08- Being able to say goodbye to my Grandma before she passed away. Being blessed with such a loving woman as my grandmother!
4/6/08-General Conference. I loved Elder Ballard's talk to mother's. Also the ending comments of President Monson.
4/6/08-Kelly! He cleaned the kitchen really well today. He also dusted, and cleaned the stair railings, and all the baseboards. What a lucky girl I am!!
4/12/08- A beautiful backyard! Kelly worked at building a wall so we can plant a small garden this summer. He's such a hard worker.

Aundrea, Private Detective

Lately it's been busy so I'm just going to list some of the things that have gone on in my life...here goes.

• For the past two days I've been on the hunt for the offending odor I smell in my house. I've been looking under furniture for sour sippy cups, diapers that never got put in the garbage, etc. Well, today I found the smell. As I was cleaning out the dishwasher and putting a bowl away, I got an extra strong whiff and let my nose do the searching. In the drawer I keep the place mats in I found a few of them stuck together with what looked like moldy scrambled eggs. Apparently I forgot to teach my kids to wipe them off before putting them back where they go. Needless to say, they are in the garbage and I get to chalk up another vote for Mother of the Year!

• Tonight as I was cleaning the kitchen after dinner I heard peels of laughter coming from upstairs. I decided to go investigate, this is what I found. It's a good thing Kelly wasn't here, he would not stand for this kind of behavior:) Bronson actually looks a lot like Logan did when she was a baby. I think it's pretty funny that he can fit into Nalani's clothes though. I got him out of the clothes as quickly as possible, but had to take a few pictures for blackmail purposes in the future! And, with three big sisters I'm sure this won't be the last we see of Bronson in dresses.

• I'm also a very lucky woman to have wonderful friends! Whether it's visiting on the phone, in person, over Happy Meals at McDonalds, or blogs and email. It's fun to stay in touch with you all!

Hopefully there won't be too many more mysteries to solve anytime soon, and thank Heaven for smelly candles to cover up the odor of stinky food, kids, garbage, and whatever else!