Christmas Morning

We spent Christmas morning at my mom's house! Eventhough we are only 5 minutes from their house, the other cousins we down and Kaiya wanted to wake up to Santa's surprises with them. I had a really hard time with this because for the last 5 years, we have always had Christmas in our own home with our own tree. Silly thing about it is that my SIL and I were talking, and it is totally opposite for them, they have rarely woke up on Christmas morning in their own home. Weird how we are so opposite yet part of the same family, guess I lucked out with family being too far away to have to travel and spend at someone else home. I adjusted, it felt a little different, but survived!!

Kaiya in the mean time had a blast! She slept in bed with all three cousins! They were like a little can of sardines the four of them! They woke up about 6:15 a.m. and Grammy kept them in their room for 30 minutes giving us parents little more sleep!! When all the cameras were on, we let them in to see what Santa had left!! There is just something about Christmas morning and seeing their response to Santa's generousity that I love!!

The Whole Group!

After Santa presents, we ate breakfast and headed to Uncle Cary's house to open gifts. About 11:30 a.m. Grammy and Uncle Colby left to get Granddad from the hospital.

Uncle Cary's House

We met them up at Grammy and Granddad's house, had Christmas dinner. And then realized we only have two hours before Kaiya had to meet her dad. We grabbed all the present from under the Christmas tree, and took them into Granddad's room! Each person had their presents and as always we started at the oldest and worked to the youngest! I would say we missed the Christmas tree, but I don't think any of us realized it was not present! ! I have to say, we are very much blessed with more than we need!!

We went back to our house Christmas evening and snapped a picture by our tree. Kaiya spent Christmas night and the following day with Achie and Dad. She got spoiled there too! Including a camera that she is a pro at using!



Sunday we went to Church with Grammy, Kaiya had a really hard time waking up!

Nutcracker

We started an annual tradition when we moved to AZ of taking Kaiya to see The Nutcracker Ballet at Symphony Hall. She loves it! It is the first time we wear of new Christmas dress, and we get our hair all curled and looking cute! This year, it was a little different. I didn't go, but Kaiya did. She got to go with her dad and her Achie (a.k.a. Grandma De Silva). I was extremely sad to miss it because in truth it was my want of a tradition, but sometimes we don't always get what we want in life. I don't have the traditional picture infront of the tree at Symphony Hall, but I did grab one of Kaiya in front of our tree before they left!! I will post it later!

Not the BEST picture of her, but it will do!!

Christmas Cards

So, I got a Christmas Card in the mail today! I had no idea who it was from, it had no return address on it. I opened it to discover it was from a LONG LOST friend of my freshman days at BYU-Hawaii. It was fabulous to know said friend looks happy in the Christmas Picture, and has three adorable little girls! However, I hvae a question,

WHAT IS WITH SENDING A CARD

after YEARS of NO CONTACT and

NOT INCLUDING a

RETURN ADDRESS???

How is anyone suppose to return a card and best wishes if you include no return address, and no contact information?? Hello? Just wondering!! Next year, do me a favor, don't send a card if you don't intend to let me return the favor! I appreciate the thought but come on . . . a picture doesn't answer the where have you been? How are you? Obviously you went from newlywed to 3 girls since we last were in touch, life is good, how good? You look great . . . tell me about your family! Hello!! Feeling a little flustered!

A Little Bit of Holiday Fun

We have had a bit of holiday fun in the past few days! We created our annual gingerbread house. Kaiya placed the candies after instructing mom what she wanted with the icing and where! She did a beautiful job. At preschool the other day as I was volunteering, some 6th grade helpers came in to assist. Kaiya didn't quite get her project (tissue paper candy cane) completely created. The kids went to use the restroom and I heard the 6th grade helper say to another, "Kaiya didn't finish. She has a steady hand. She always does a good job." Which is exactly Kaiya, slow, careful, and steady when creating things!!



We also finished off our Christmas shopping, I hope! Last night, we made our way to a Christmas party! It was tons of fun to be around good friends! They did a white elephant present exchange! Kaiya came away with a cook hot wheels racer! I have to say, I remember spending TONS of time in the basement with my brother playing with his little race track! I was quite excited, and Kaiya is loving it! Mom seemed to always have the gift someone else wanted to steal! We ended up with a new movie, UP! But, the best part was just being included and having fun! They did a fun nativity scene, and sang Christmas carols. We missed out part of that, but made it in for the end and enjoyed listening to the singing rifting through the hallways!

PreK Program

Kaiya had her PreK program today. She did such a great job!! Enjoy the video if you would like!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

12 Days of Christmas!!

The fun of Christmas has BEGUN!! Grammy's version of The TWELVE DAYS of CHRISTMAS has started!! Here is what we have:


The FIRST day of CHRISTMAS my Grammy gave to me:

Snowman Christmas Ornament
The SECOND day of Christmas . . .
Dora Crystal Kingdom Adventures Book

The THIRD day of CHRISTMAS my Grammy gave to me:

Donny, Marie, The NFR, and Lion KING!!

Kaiya and I were invited to go to Vegas with Grammy and Granddad. Initially it was just to go to the National Rodeo Finals. However, that SNOWBALLED into lots more fun!

We left Thursday after Kaiya got out of school and headed to Vegas. When we arrived, we got dressed and headed to the DONNY and MARIE show! Kaiya believed we were seeing Donny at Dancing with the Stars. It was a fabulous show! We enjoyed it, and Kaiya was entranced the entire time!!!

Friday, we spent most of the day at Cowboy Christmas shopping. Friday evening, we headed to the National Finals Rodeo. Kaiya enjoyed it, and couldn't wait for the bull riding.



Saturday came, and we had things we needed to get done for Grammy. That afternoon, we went to The Lion King matinee performance. Kaiya loved the costumes, and was exhausted, however was able to stay awake and enjoy the entire show.


We intended to go see the Atrium at the Bellagio (the one place I love in Las Vegas.) However, we woke this morning to the Las Vegas Marathon.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We hope everyone finds a reason to be happy and thankful this Thanksgiving!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Thanksgiving Mini Feast!!

Kaiya's class had a mini Thanksgiving Feast and I got lucky enough to go! Here is a picture of her fun time at CLASS!!

Thankful . . . .

Watched this GREAT video this morning . . . . I encourage you to watch!! (I am going to attempt to shut off my music, but until I get to it . . . . REMEMBER to TURN the MUSIC OFF!!!)

Happy Birthday Mom/Grammy!!

We spent today with Grammy celebrating her birthday! Kaiya started preparing on Tuesday for her birthday by creating a card for her. We went shopping for her presents and she was so excited! She did a fabulous job keeping OUR gifts for Grammy a secret! Yet, not so good with others! This afternoon, we took Granddad to shop for his present. As Grammy was opening her present from Granddad, Grammy asked, "Do you know what he got me?" Kaiya responded: "A RING!!" I about fell over!! It was good laughs for everyone! Kaiya was so excited to celebrate Grammy's birthday, probably more excited than Grammy!! Here are a few pictures from our evening!!

We helped Granddad make rib eyed steak, potatoes, and brussel sprouts for dinner. Kaiya picked out her cake! And she counted out the candles! She counted out 6 bundles of 10 and 7 single candles! We had to rally the troops to light them all!!

This picture of Grammy in all the smoke is my favorite! We all giggled quite a bit over it!!
Kaiya was so thrilled, she could hardly contain herself as she waited for Grammy to see her card she made for her! And was anxious for her to open her present. So excited, you would have almost thought it was Kaiya's birthday!!

Happy Birthday Mom/Grammy! We Love You!!!

Veteran's Day!

THE THINGS THAT MAKE A SOLDIER GREAT

Edgar Guest

The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die,

To face the flaming cannon's mouth nor ever question why,

Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red,

The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,

The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall:

'Tis these that make a soldier great. He's fighting for them all.

'Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a soldier brave;

'Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave;

For soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam

As when behind the cause they see the little place called home.

Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run,

You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun.

What is it through the battle smoke the valiant soldier sees?

The little garden far away, the budding apple trees,

The little patch of ground back there, the children at their play,

Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray.

The golden thread of courage isn't linked to castle dome

But to the spot, where'er it be — the humblest spot called home.

And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there

And homesick soldiers far away know spring is in the air;

The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green,

And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been.

He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call,

And only death can stop him now — he's fighting for them all.

Just want to publicly thank all those who have fought for this great country, because of them, I have all the simple things in life that I so much enjoy! While I was always taught to have a love for my country, and an appreciation for our Veteran's, it wasn't until recently that I gained a greater understanding of what these great men and women have given for each of us!

I want to thank an old friend and a new friend for welcoming me into their home on tons of occasions over the last few months. I thank them for the service he gave to our country, and for the service she gave for simply being married to him. I appreciate all they have done, I appreciate all they sacraficed while he was completing active duty tours, and all that they continue to sacrafice because of the effects of his tours. I have never been so proud to be an American, nor to have men and women of all ages so willing to go to place and fight to keep our country free!

IF YOU EVER HAVE A CHANCE

to sit and TALK to (or BEFRIEND)

a VETERAN,

I encourage you to do so!!

It will be a LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE!!

And eye opening experience . . . . Really get to know them in their personal lives and see what amazing things they have done, and what sacrafices their make in their everyday lives long after their duty is done because of the willingness they had to serve us, the American People!!

My mom sent me this Jay Leno quote on an e-mail about how lucky I was to be born in the 1970's! I think Jay has it RIGHT!!!

'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control,

mud slides, flooding,

severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another,

and with the threat of swine flu and terrorist attacks,

are we sure this is a good time to take

God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

Just something to think about!!!

I found this quote on my friend Erin's website! I had to steal it from her and SHARE!! Thanks Erin for sharing such a great quote!

A friend
Is
Someone
Who Knows
the Song in your
Heart
and can Sing it
to You
when You have forgotten
the words....

I have lots of friends and family who do this for me!! I have to say however, that I realized in the midst of feeling like I lost who I was, and trying to find who I am again, I have noticed that LOTS of friends who were this have surfaced. I mean friends I had lost track of long ago, friends that have always been here, and even NEW friends!! It is amazing how wonderful it is to have friends that do this for you! To all my life long, lost and found, and NEW friends THANK YOU!! I am starting to remember my song!!

End of Halloween FUN!

Happy Halloween!!!

A Few Pics of Random October Fun!

Kaiya and I made a quick trip to Las Vegas to visit our friend's and see their new addition, for October break.

Prasan took Kaiya to Schnepf's Farm, and was gracious enough to invite me along. We had an enjoyable time. Took turns taking her on all the rides, enjoyed her very methodical approach to choosing a pumpkin.

Kaiya demonstrated some big girl chatting on the phone skills, a preview I am sure of what I have to look forward to come the age of 16.

Kaiya and I toughed out the COLD for the ward Halloween party, eventhough I was sick! We went late, just in time for trunk or treat. We both dressed as witches!

Opportunities to Support BYU-H Bball!

Just thought to share this informaiton with those BYU-Hawaii alumni and fans here in the continental U.S. Last years games were INTENSE and totally worth it!! So, JUST a little FYI!!

BYU-Hawaii 2009-2010 Schedule:

Date: Opponent: Place: Time:

Fri, Dec. 4 Seattle Pacific Seattle, WA 5:00 pm
Sat, Dec. 5 Central Washington Seattle, WA 7:00 pm
Thur, Jan. 7 Dixie State St. George, UT 7:30 pm
Sat, Jan. 9 Grand Canyon Phoenix, AZ 7:30 pm
Tue, Mar. 2 Dominican* San Rafael, CA 7:30 pm
Thu, Mar. 4 Academy of Art* San Francisco, CA 7:30 pm
Sat, Mar. 6 Notre Dame De Namur Belmont, CA 7:30 pm

WORKS LIKE A CHARM!!

We put the NEW BLANKIE to the test this afternoon. Kaiya WANTED a NAP - I giggle inside on those days when she asks to have a nap! So, we got her all situated on my bed, for some reason she likes my bed for naps . . . blankie on top of her, one corner in her hand to rub the fuzzy side between her finger and thumb, and . . .

OUT like a LIGHT for THREE HOURS!!

The old blankie has been laundered, and put away in the cedar chest for safe keeping! Yes, I take after my mom . . . sentimental!!

End of an Era . . .

Before Kaiya was born, I was given the BLANKIE of all BLANKIES for her to have . . . it was soft and fuzzy on one side, and soft, silky, cool on the other side! It came with the perfect little tag along blankie. Kaiya fell in love with her blankie! She couldn't sleep without her blankie. She took the small version around with her everywhere for two years! When she turned two, she could bring it in the car only. At 3, the rule was she had to leave it at home. She is now 4, and continues to love that blanket here at home. She still must have it to sleep, cuddles with it when she is feeling sad, and has loved that blankie! We have had to replace it on a few occasions because velvet and satin are not as sturdy as they should be, but we didn't want to change because of her love for that soft velvet and satin!
She has grown to a big 4 year old now, and her little blankie is getting just a little too small. And, mom doesn't know how many more washes it will hold up for, so we went "looking" for some fabric that she might like to be made into a new blankie! Yesterday, our first day looking she found a soft fabric she loved, but she wanted a silky side too just like her blankie. So, we went to one more store to just "look." Well, just looking turned into buying, which turned into getting some tips from a dear friend, which evolved into pinning the blankie together, and that of courses led to the making of the NEW BLANKIE!! Kaiya didn't want to go to bed until the new one was done. I convinced her that her old blankie that has done the job of helping her fall asleep for the last 4 years would do it again one more night! She begged me to please finish it last night and come wake her up to give her the new blankie. I finally finished at 10:30 p.m. Here is her new blankie!

Favorite thing to do with the new one, CUDDLE under it!!

Look Like Meter - Updated

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

Student Accountability!!

What Matters Most.

Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall . . . SCIENCE!?!?

The other day, I was looking for interesting things to do with Kaiya. I came across a class called, "Nursery Rhyme Science" at the Science Center. The class was an hour and a half long, and only $15. So, I asked Kaiya if she'd like to go! She was thrilled! We registered and headed off to science class yesterday!! I AM IN LOVE!!! It was lots of fun for her!!

We did little science things all based off of nursery rhymes! The nursery rhymes we did yesterday were: Humpty Dumpty, Little Miss Muffet, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Mary Mary Quite Contrary, and a take home project for Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater! Kaiya is definitely a very inquisitive, bright, and as I have made a vow not to say this to her SMART kid!!! (No, I am not being rude! I just read some research somewhere that kids who were told they are smart don't do well as soon as they struggle wtih something because suddenly they must not be smart anymore. So, I try to find other ways to compliment her when she figures something out or does something well!!)

The Humpty Dumpty experiment was my FAVORITE!!! They read the nursery rhyme talked about what Humpty was, and what would happen if you dropped an egg! Kaiya spoke up and answered LOTS of questions!! She is so brave and willing to participate now!! Then, the teacher dropped an egg into a tub, it obviously broke! Then, the showed how you have to squeeze really hard to break an egg in your hand. After that, she gave each of the kids their own EGGS to try to save from breaking when they dropped!! Picture 4 - 3 year olds, 1 - 4 year old, and 2 - 5 year olds, with their own EGGS!! I was waiting for the BIG accident! Most of the three year old parents helped, I sat on the side waiting to see what Kaiya would do, as did the 5 year olds mother! After giving each kid an egg, the teacher pulled out a tub with cotton balls, bubble wrap, paper cups, moving blankets cut up, crinkle packagine paper, tape, and gave each kid the task of trying to keep their egg safe! The only requirement was the egg and its packaging had to fit into a sandwich sized ziplock bag!!

Once, she had gotten started, I went to ask questions!! When I reached her, she had put cotton balls in a paper diego cup, put the egg on top of those cotton balls, and was stuffing cotton balls onto the side, and then filling the top with cotton balls, and crinkly packing paper! Then, she started to wrap, the cup in bubble wrap! I stepped in to tape the wrap! Then, she stuffed that into the ziplock bag, and added some of the moving blanket scraps around it!! Now, to wait in line to KNOCK the egg off the table!!

I know these pictures are not great! I forgot my camera, so I used my cell phone!! But, you get the idea!!!

Packaging her egg!

Falling off the Wall

Can you the JOY of Humpty being still in tack!?!?

A POSE as the HAPPINeSS SINKS IN!

FRIENDS!!!

Kaiya and her little friend A! Tell me they aren't ADORABLE!!!

The Water Runs . . .

We made a visit to a friends house! Our friend was expecting a baby in late October. However, the first morning after we arrived, her water broke. Here is the following conversation:

E: My water broke!
Me: Are you kidding me? You aren't due for 6 weeks.
E: Yeah!

A few minutes later . . .

Kaiya: The water runs upstairs!
E: Did you turn it off.
Kaiya: Mom, the water runs!

Conversation about water breaking with her girls pregnancy, not with her boys.

Kaiya: The water isn't BROKE it runs!!

OH!! Silly ADULTS!!! Enter an early lesson about how there is water in a mommies tummy with the baby, and that was the water we were talking about not, the house water! Next, HELLO SMARTY PANTS!! How many 4 year olds will go check the water in the house????? We had lots of LAUGHS!!!

September 11, 2009

Kaiya and I made our annual trip to the Field of Healing today. This year, they didn't have the picture of the victims on the flags, and to be honest, I really missed it. It seemed like that helped it be more than a name, but you had a person, a face! However, I did enjoy that they added a little information about the person. And a few they told why they were where they were! I always let Kaiya pick which flags we stop and look out. She loves to stop at the one with "extras" such as a stuffed animal, a yellow ribbon, or a balloon. I was brought to tears a few times, and it surprised me. The first flag Kaiya wanted me to read to her was of a 3 year old girl, I began to cry. The next flag she found in the field of many was a 3 year old girl, who was killed along with her 8 year old sister and both parents. I am certain it had to do with the fact that Kaiya is so close to that age, and then that i have two nieces the exact age of the second set of flags she wanted read. I cried quietly and we moved on. It is just amazing to see a physical representation of the numbers from that horrible day, 8 years ago.



Kaiya wanted a flag, they were only a dollar, so we got it. They were those flags you put on your window. Of course, we had to put it on ours on the way home. As I drove, and felt like everyone passing us was staring at our car, I remembered the days, and months that followed that day. During that first year, it seemed every car had an American Flag, or a We WILL Never Forget, or some other item on their car showing a united America. There was not one other car on our way home with any type of American anything. How quickly it seems we all forgot.

First Day of Preschool

Kaiya started her second year of preschool today. She is one of two returning students! Is so excited for another year!! She couldn't wait to get to school! The first day, she was on of the helpers, which made her day!!



The exciting news for the first week is Mom gets to substitute for Kaiya's teacher on Thursday. It should be fun. I attended class today with Kaiya to refresh my mind on how the routine is. . . and it was lots of fun to see my little shy, bashful, reserved girl become the class leader, and very willing to speak up and answer questions.