Daddy's Birthday/Father's Day...

Happy Birthday Honey!!!!!!!! He had just woken up so excuse our PJs and crazy hair...but we wanted to give him his present FIRST THING.  It is so nice to have Savannah here to celebrate. Lee said all he wanted was his baby to be there so he got his wish. But you have to have at least one present to open on your Birthday! 

 I missed  one Birthday, Two Christmases and Two Anniversaries with my Honey, where I couldn't get him anything (all I could do was send him a card)...so I saved up and got him something VERY special that I knew he would use and treasure for a very long time...watch the video to see what it was;P

I love you so much...I hope I never have to spend one more holiday without you for a VERY LONG TIME.   

Savannahs first week HOME for the Summer!

The last time Lee saw Savannah in person was February 2010. I think this picture describes how their reunion went :)

It was 630am when she arrived so it was windy and "cold" (like high 70s) when Makenna and Brynn came out to give welcome home hugs!

We have a beautiful room set up for Savannah but she wants to sleep in the living room close to the TV and to our room;) Lee spent most of his childhood sleeping in the living room too...like Father like Daughter.

We were in the L&L's drive through and SAvannah asked to jump out and pick a flower...she's so funny. And NO it's not weird camera lighting, she has purple hair!!! That's a whole different post...

Right away we were playing with our old and new BFF's at the park. We would go every night to take Kayla to get some exercise. 

These girls are so funny and are just a blast to watch play together.

I just LOVE the dramatic poses and the one lone boy in the middle looking a little overwhelmed by all this girl power;)

Ellie is our new neighbor downstairs and her and Savannah hit it off right away.

                   Im still not sure WHY they decided to get in Kaylas crate but it was a funny picture!

 Ellie also had a long board that Savannah got pretty good at riding! We might have to invest in one next year;)

We had a house bbq at Castle beach and Savannah got to hit the waves!

These two girls are like fish, they could stay in the ocean all day.

These girls had the best summer together!!!

Whitney and Ellie carrying the surfboards down to the beach...Ellie got pretty good in the short few months living here!

Our first Sunday at church...Aren't they the prettiest little girls ever???

 Oma, Savannah and I had a girls day to get some shopping done. Here we are eating some yummy Korean food. Savannah actually tried and ate almost everything!

 Kahuku Library had a summer reading program, so we signed Savannah up. She started reading 20 minutes a day and got up to 30 by the end of the summer. She improved greatly on her reading skills and got some cool prizes every week as a bonus!

We had a super busy first week and were getting back into the groove of having an almost 9 year old in the house. Oma and Apa were so kind to help escort Savannah here and we are so grateful to them!!! Even after 2 1/2 year of being apart, the love and connection that these two have are undeniable. And of course Aunty Mibi LOVED having hugs and kisses from my stinker butt again. I cant believe how much she has grown in the year since she lived with me!  It's going to be a GREAT summer:)

May Day 2012

May Day is a HUGE deal in Laie. Each grade practices for months and the whole community turns out to watch! I go every year to watch my favorite "nieces" Whitney and Makenna perform. 

Of course, I get some quality time in with my favorite little baby, Kaitlyn!

Makenna and Whitney after their awesome performances.

Im so blessed to have such amazing friends who include me in their life so that I can have to love and laughter of children in my life all year round:)

Aunt Rea and Uncle Larry

I dont get a lot of family visitng Hawaii and so when I do get some, I am very happy to see them. IT was a short visit, but I was able to pick my Aunt Rea (Dads sister) and And Uncle Larry from PCC (Polynesian Culturla Center) and take them to the Temple. It had been over 10 years since I had seen thema nd it was so nice to get hugs and kisses from my Aunt and catch up a little. Although I have been to utah a few times over the past 10 years, I dont get down South because of a back injury. I always tell Lee that I need to get back to BEAVER and see my family. Of course, having them come here is pretty awesome too;P

Easter 2012

WE helped die eggs and do an Easter egg hunt with the Johansons...the girls are excited and ready to find some eggs:)

Whitney looking for her eggs. Katrina and eye hid them pretty good this year. Each kid gets a specific color so we can hide the little ones in obvious places for them to find!

Brynn looking really hard and found some pretty quick!

Kaitly found ONE and was done...she popped that baby open and was enjoying her treats. LOL We had to encourage her to keep looking for more!

Everyone found ALL their eggs and we had a fun time watching.

The things my puppy will do for a treat!

We were outside with the girls and SOMEHOW someone got the idea of harnessing Kayla up to a hand truck and see if she would pull it. 

Well after some adjustments to the hand cart and a whole lot of treats...she sure did!

The girsl gave her plenty of love and treats afterwards too:) Watch the video below...too cute!!!

Rainy Days and Memory Lane

We were in Mililani one day and Lee decided to show me where he used to live...he told stories of his childhood and reminisced...it was nice to see. We live in the town I grew up, so he has heard tons of stories and meets lots of old friends...so it was nice to go to his neck of the woods;)

I just love going to the park and having Lee there. I cant even count the number of nights that I would take Kayla by myself and think..."I cant wait for my Honey to be here with me"...and now he IS!

IT was pouring rain and we were at the Johanson's hanging out and the girls decided to have some fun...I had to snap some pictures!

Silly girls...I just love them!

Thanksgiving Weekend

I found this post in my drafts so its kind of late, but its a good one so Im posting it now:)

We went to the Turkey Trot to watch the girls run:)

Me and Kaitlyn hung out while Mommy took pics and video of the older girls doing their race:)

Brynn had fun on the spiderweb...

My Beehives came over for a movie night (all the girls over 14 got to go to a dance so we had a party so they didn't feel left out)!

Took my puppy to the beach and got some sun and relaxation in!

I love my Kayla!

Look at that FACE!!! She loves to dig in the sand:)

It was the STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS for Hawaii and Kahuku was playing Punahou. So I went with Des (my BFF) and her family.

Mason and I waiting for the game to start.

Des and her family...and WE WON THE GAME...craziest night ever. Had an awesome time with great friends:)

Just watch these videos and here the crowd at the game...you would think we were at the superbowl...

Sunday Dinner Recipes...

 I've decided to post my recipes on my blog (as they get a lot of attention on FB)! Sundays are my cooking days. We don't have church until noon and I can't sleep past 8am usually (darn body clock) so I spend my mornings cooking/baking, getting my Beehive's lesson ready and listening to Music and the Spoken Word! Its a nice relaxing morning and I get to experiment with new recipes. I am not a hue follow a recipe exactly fan, so I improvise a lot. Sometimes it works and other times not so much;P So be patient with me! I also add a lot of "in hindsight" comments because I'm always looking for ways to improve my recipes. Don't take this as a "they must not have turned out great" comment...its more of a "how can I make these even MORE evil and yummy" comment! Enjoy and let me know if you tried the recipes and how they came out!!!

Chicken Corn Chowder

1- Can Chicken (Costco brand)

1-Cup Canadian Bacon or Ham chopped into bite sized pieces

1/2- Medium onion diced

3- Celery stalks chopped finely (app 1/2 C)

2- Cups potatoes peeled and diced

1- Can sweet corn

Spray your crock pot with cooking spray and then add all above ingredients

Season with Garlic Salt, Pepper and Italian seasoning (I just do a few shakes but if I had to guess Id say 1 Tablespoon of each)

I didn't have any fresh garlic but if I did I would add a Tbs

Then add:

1- Can Chicken Broth

1- Can Cream of Chicken Soup

Cook on high for 4-5 hours (until potatoes are tender)

About 30 minutes before done cooking add

1-8 oz. Cream cheese

and stir until semi melted and let cook 30 minutes.

I had some leftover Half and Half so I poured in a bout 1/2 Cup for good measure but not necessary;)

Top with shredded cheddar cheese

PS- This only filled half of my crock pot (4-6 servings). You could double this recipe for a larger family and only increase cooking an hour or so.  I froze 2 servings fora rainy day!

It came out creamy and yummy and I served it with buttered sandwich bread and was DELISH! but of course would be fabulous with a a bread bowl!

Coconut Lemon Bars

I found this recipe on the back of my Best Yet Powdered sugar bag! 

1- Box of Lemon Cake mix

OR

1- Box of yellow Cake mix with 15 drops of DoTerra Lemon Oil ( I didn't have lemon cake mix and it came out fresh and very lemony)

1- Stick of butter melted

1- Egg

Mix together until it forms into a ball of dough

Press into a 13x9 pan

Sprinkle Coconut to your taste on top (in hindsight, I would have mixed 1/2 cup of shredded coconut into the dough)

Then in a bowl add

1- 8 oz. Package of cream cheese softened

2- Cups of Powdered sugar

3-Eggs

Mix with a hand mixer until silky smooth (in hindsight I would have added a few drops of lemon oil here too) then pour evenly over the dough

Bake at 350 Degrees 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown.

I used a glass pan so it took an extra 10 minutes for the top to turn light brown but then the crust was a little over cooked. Its like brownies...they look under cooked but settle well after resting. So just watch and gauge your batch:)

Let it cool for 5 minutes and then sprinkle with powdered sugar and coconut. (in hindsight I would have added the shredded coconut the last 10 minutes or so to get a toasted flavor)

I think they came out super YUMMY and perfect for a tangy summer dessert:)

The month of LOVE!!!

February was a pretty AWESOME month.  I was still in "bliss" from having my Hubby home and Lee was enjoying all the food and fun he had missed while away!

We went to Kakela Beach to look for someone and decided that it was too beautiful to not take a picture or two!

Our friend  Vangie moved back to Hawaii and spent a lot of fun weekends with us!

Lee surprised me at work one day (About a week before Valentines Day) and brought me some flowers:D 

Valentine's weekend, I came home from the temple and found this when I walked int he front door. It was a beautiful and romantic card and roses. 

When I walked upstairs, I found this hanging on our door...

Lee had set up a scavenger hunt in the house...he has always been romantic but this was adorable!

1. "Who holds the light"- This is our Christus statue and he had a pink key chain light to help me see my keys and keyhole at night!

2. "Where do dogs sleep"..this is Kayla's recliner chair and under her blanket was this Hello Kitty mouse pad (because I love anything HK :)

3. "A treat awaits you"...I looked in the closet first and then in the fridge and found these Chocolate/Pink cookies.

It was the cutest thing EVER and so thoughtful. And it didn't end there, he took me out and we went to dinner and did some shopping and have an awesome date night :D He set the bar pretty high for future special occasions with this one. Thank you Honey...you always know how to melt my heart!

Speaking of melting my heart...this picture does;) Yes Kayla's crate is THAT huge but in it are my two babies who I couldn't live without!

On Valentine's Day, I go these adorable little friends for my car and Roses:) Lee had an appointment in town so I dropped him off and was supposed to come home to go to the Temple BUT I thought, HEY I should stop and get Lee something for Valentine's Day. I remember Lee specifically telling me to go straight home and to the temple, which was a funny thing for him to say. Any who I went to Walmart/Sams Club in town and after getting what I needed in Walmart I got into an elevator to head up to Sams Club and as soon as the doors shut, the elevator didn't move. I pushed the floor I wanted and still now movement.  After pushing every button I could, I realized I was STUCK! Panic started to kick in but I decided to use the emergency button and get some help.  The operator couldn't get me to get it started so she told me to wait while she called for help. Al I could think was...I should have gone straight home like my Husband told me to;) Luckily I had my cell phone because after posting my ordeal on Facebook (heehee), I remembered I had downloaded the scriptures onto my phone the day before. So I read for about 30 minutes and stayed calm until I was rescued about an hour after I stepped foot in that elevator. I said a quick prayer of thanks and then drove straight to the temple, where I had a peaceful late morning/afternoon!

Our favorite girls came over when we got home from our V-Day dinner date and we had gotten them these flashing glasses and they brought us our "Valentines"...

Aren't these TOO CUTE for words??? This is Makenna...

Brynlee...

and Whitney. We just love these girls so much...they really light up our lives!!!

So after they left, Lee told me to get int he car and he wanted to go up to the Temple Visitors Center before they closed! I was like okay, random, but I humored him and we went. So we walked in and sat in "our spot" on a bench near a window where we can see the temple perfectly all lit up.  There were a bunch of tourists looking around and taking pictures and he called over an older gentleman and asked him if he would be a witness. It finally dawned on me what he was doing.......

He got on one knee...I started sobbing...and he was so nervous and the older gentleman had this huge grin on his face and I kept sobbing (like the kind where snot is running down your face...yeah...not so pretty) and he asked me if  I would be his Eternal Companion and gave me this ring!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course I said yes and then just sobbed into his chest.  Lee and I have been down a LONG and DIFFICULT road these past 10 years and I married him knowing that he was not an active member of the church. I knew what kind of heart he had and had faith that one day the spirit would touch his heart and show him the truth...and I was prepared to wait as long as necessary for that to happen.  So when it finally happened...I just was overwhelmed with happiness and joy and relief and gratitude...all at the same time.  Lee just hugged me and said, "I know...I know...you have waited a long time for this". All I could do was shake my head up and down and kept crying.  We still have a long road ahead of us to get to the temple to be sealed...but knowing that we both have this goal and that we are working at it together FINALLY meant the world to me.  The older gentleman congratulated us, I wiped the tears and snot off my face and gave my "fiance" a kiss.  We went home and I fell asleep knowing that no matter what would come our way, that we would get through it with the LORD by our side. Needless to say, it was quite a Valentine's Day...