Our faith

The most important thing to our family is our faith, which in many circles is quite misunderstood and even resented. There is so much about us that I wish everyone could know and understand, and to put some of the record straight, here is a great little info graphic that tells a little about what we do:

Summer 2012

Over a year since I last blogged? Crap. I may be dropping the ball here, but in my defense, I have been writing a magazine blog, and also been better about my personal journal. So I say that makes up for it. Anyway, here are some highlights from this summer:

Madison has been loving Activity Days and is set to start 4th grade. She's maturing more and more every day, in all the good and bad ways! She is less than a year away from earning her junior black belt in martial arts, and a couple of months ago was invited to join a special performance team called XMA (for eXtreme Martial Arts). They practice on Fridays, and the program integrates performance techniques and forms, as well as a lot of gymnastics, so it's been very fun. It's also a lot more demanding in every way--there are attendance rules, homework due every week, and appearance standards. It's really great for developing character and providing opportunities for Madison to learn and grow. My challenge is to allow her to take responsibility by not reminding her to practice, remember her homework, etc. It's my goal this year for karate and school--to let her fail in order for her to grow stronger and more independent. It's haaaaaaard, but I'm determined! As crazy as it sounds, JR and I need to be thinking more about where we want her to go to middle school in 2 years. I'm strongly considering home school, although they are opening a new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) school this year that would be cool too, since Maddie loves math. I am going to be doing a lot of praying about that big decision.

Chloe continues to crack us up with her precocious antics and one-liners. Someday I hope to convince her to do theater, because she is naturally hilarious. I regularly post on Facebook her little quotes that crack us up. She also started karate at the beginning of July. That means I'm at karate now every weekday afternoon Mon-Fri! It's a lot, but the kids and I love the program so much that it's worth it. She is so enthusiastic about it, she always has a smile and is already improving! Her reading is also doing really well, since this summer I required the kids to read at least 15 mins per day, in addition to doing daily pages out of summer workbooks I bought them. I think it has helped a lot to retain all the knowledge they gained over last school year.

I'm still not sure if I'm excited or bummed for school to start. Yes, I will have a lot more "kid-free" time, but we've been able to do some really fun things this summer, despite the fact that we were not able to take a true "summer vacation" this year. We picked berries, played in the water at Frenchman's Bar, Lewisville Park and Klineline, went to Alderbrook Park, hosted and visited with several friends and family members who came to visit from out of town, celebrated our 12th anniversary, and even got a brand new back patio built that is perfect for hosting summer get-togethers. I got to go to a whole week of Girls' Camp with the Young Women in my ward, which was incredible, and Madison had activity day camp. Both girls also went to KidSpace Child Enrichment Center (where both girls also attended preschool) 2 days per week (Wednesday and Friday) so I could have time to work and get things done. KidSpace is amazing, the girls absolutely love it. So the only guilt that has come along with having them go there is in using the word "daycare" which I hate like a 4-letter word.

In June, JR moved business territories from Vancouver/Clark County to the Beaverton/Hillsboro area, which has been a huge blessing. A couple weeks ago we went out to dinner with a bunch of his new partners and their wives and kids. Most of them are LDS with kids, so we all have a lot in common. I'm hoping I can join JR for his annual company meeting in San Diego in January and see even more of these great families and others we have gotten to know in the last 2 1/2 years since he started with Carmedic. I've been really happy with how the company is run and the blessing it has been to our family.

Madison's Baptism

Madison made the choice to be baptized yesterday! We are so proud of her. The baptism service was unlike any I'd been to. It was on a stake level, so there were 8 other children being baptized at the same time. They have a great system, though, and I was impressed at how smoothly and efficiently everything went. We all met in the chapel for talks on baptism and the Holy Ghost. The group was big enough for a full ward congregation! Then they broke the kids into 2 groups and took the first group and their family and friends to the room where the font is while the first group and their family and friends sang primary songs in the chapel. The baptisms of the first group of kids took place one after the other, then we went back into the chapel (after the first group moved into the font room) for confirmations. The whole thing only lasted a little over and hour. I've been to single person baptisms that lasted that long! It was a glorious day outside--the warmest since last September. The following loved ones were in attendance, besides our little family:
Great Grandpa and Grandma Kartchner (Don & Eleanore)
Grandpa and Grandma Kartchner (Denny & Patty)
Aunt Heidi, here all the way from Utah
Uncle Adam
Aunt Rachel and her 3 kids: Mary, Leah, and James
Great Uncle Lance and cousin Kylie



After the service we went back to our house for a luncheon. Aubrey and her 2 kids, and Brooke and her fiance Daron got to come to the luncheon, as they had just arrived in town that morning for Brooke's wedding later this week. It was great meeting Daron and just visiting, while eating some yummy food. I LOVE filling up our home with people, laughter and love!

Eight Month Update

Quick update on some highlights from the last EIGHT months:

Just a couple weeks after our trip to Hawaii in September, I was off with my business partner Julie and all of our kids to the little Bavarian community of Leavenworth, WA to do a "staycation" story for the magazine. Destination Leavenworth put us up in one of the most incredible houses I've ever seen. 5,000 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, game room, theater room, hot tub, on a river. Just spectacular. None of the pictures do it justice, but here are a couple:

For more professional pix, click here. Julie and I had a blast chilling with the kids, seeing the sights in this little town that has built a whole tourism economy around being an authentic Bavarian town--the buildings and houses along the main road are all old fashioned German and servers in restaurants wear lederhosen and stuff. Very unique and fun.

In January my sister Heidi was wonderful enough to come up from Utah to watch the girls while we took a trip to San Diego for JR's annual Carmedic convention. We hadn't been to San Diego since our honeymoon, so it was fun to revisit the temple and see the other sites we hadn't had time to see last time we were there, particularly the Mormon Battalion Historic Site, which is absolutely amazing, very entertaining and informative. HIGHLY recommended for members and non-members alike! In fact, I went twice while were there: once with a non-member friend (another Carmedic wife) and a second time with JR. I wish the kids would have been with us! In fact, the last few trips we've been on without the kids I've really wished they were with us. Not now and then), but they are so fun to travel with now that they're older and they can really get something out of seeing the world and other cultures and new sights. I would love to do more traveling with them in the future, as funds permit!

A couple weeks after the trip to San Diego, I headed over the bridge to Portland for a 2 1/2-day class/seminar called Empower U. Carmedic requires each partner to participate in this class before training for Carmedic, so JR had gone through it a year before and had highly recommended that I go through it. Seeing the HUGE impact it had on him (let's just say that the conversation we had on the phone after he took this class in Texas was nothing short of sacred--he was a changed man), of course I was eager to experience it. So I found myself in a hotel for 2 nights with a group of complete strangers and instructors that led us through a process that is very difficult to describe. Through exercises and admittedly extreme measures (nothing inappropriate), those strangers became like family to me and I came to understand my personal mission more clearly. After I returned home, JR and I were able to bond over the shared experiences we had, both having survived and learned a great deal from the class. Sounds mysterious and weird, I know. Call me if you want to learn more, or better yet, just visit the website (link above)!

This year, I've become involved with the PTA at Madison's school, and I'm loving it! It's really rewarding to see how many of our kids' learning opportunities are made available and I've enjoyed the friendships I've made. And it helps me get out of my "Mormon" bubble. All of my best friends are LDS, which I love, but it's fun to "get out there" and learn from many different kinds of people. This year I'm in charge, along with another PTA member, of the school carnival, the biggest event of the year. A tall order, but Sufia and I make a great team, and things are coming along really well, thanks to a great PTA board and incredibly generous community donors and vendors. Next year I'll take on the role of Volunteer Coordinator, rather than serving on the board. I want to make sure I remain available for more service in the church if and when needed (right now I teach Sunday School).

This last Saturday (April 23), I ran my first half marathon. The 7-9 weeks of training paid off--I ran the whole way, finished strong, and was very proud of my time (2:09:45 - avg 10 min miles). My sister Rachel and three of my good friends from my ward ran it too. One of them, Melissa, ran with me the entire time--we were exactly on pace for each other and kept each other going the whole time! The weather was spectacular, and all of our husbands and kids and even my parents were right there at the finish line. I'm stoked that I did it, and even more stoked that it's over. As much as I love running, I'm looking forward to getting back into a full body 6-day-a-week fitness routine, and I never plan on doing a marathon! One half per year with regular fitness in between would suit me just fine! And, no, I will not post "after" pictures from the race--they would horrify even the strongest of viewers!

My next challenge: going 100 days without eating chocolate or eating after dinner, starting Tuesday. Deep breaths in and out . . .

Hawaii!

We've been married for a decade! We celebrated the milestone by splurging on a trip to Hawaii, both of our first time there. Needless to say, it was AMAZING. Many thanks to my parents for taking the kids so we could go!

None of the pictures we took did the island much justice, but we did the best we could with two cameras!

We only had 4 days there, including travel time, so we packed a lot in a short time. We arrived Thursday afternoon and explored Waikiki Beach, a district of Honolulu where our hotel was. Here's a view of the main strip just a few blocks from our hotel:

Our hotel wasn't much, but we were on the 20th floor with a cool view, and we didn't spend much time there anyway, so it was okay!
Beautiful shot of a sailboat off Waikiki taken by JR:
This was the view of the ocean from our hotel room. There were always plenty of surfers out there.
The next morning we headed out on a 45-min helicopter tour of the island. It was my first time on a helicopter--so cool!
The views, of course, were unbelievable.



Pearl Harbor:Sacred Falls, only accessible by helicopter:
After the helicopter tour, we headed to Hanauma Bay, which is one of the best snorkeling spots in the world. You have to watch a short video about preserving and respecting the wildlife before you can even enter the beach. As soon as you step foot in the water, you're practically surrounded by many varieties of tropical fish, coral, and other wildlife. It was amazing.
Saturday we spent the morning exploring the North Shore (Waikiki is on the southern tip of the island).
We had a cool experience at a totally hidden and remote beach that a friend Leah, who used to live there, told us about. Before the beach there's a really cool jungle area that looked EXACTLY like the show Lost. I kept saying I felt like Jack and Sawyer were just going to pop out from behind the huge banyan trees. We explored the beach for bit, and on our way back up to the jungle area, we ran into a horseback tour from a neighboring resort and overheard the tour guide say it was where Lost was filmed. We also heard from someone else who was also there that Terry O'Quinn who plays Locke on the show now lives in a huge house not far from here. So cool!!!! Here are a few pix from that area:
Another great spot we got to see on the North Shore was Waimea Bay:

Too bad we didn't have time to get out and play at this beach, that cliff would have been a blast (if I ever would have built up the courage to jump that is).

Next stop was the Laie Hawaii Temple. We'd seen pictures, but it was breathtaking to see in person. This was built in 1915, after missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived as early as 1865. There is some amazing LDS history in this area of the island.
We couldn't go inside as it was closed for renovation, but we went in the Visitors' Center and walked the grounds. What a beautiful spirit. Near the temple is BYU-Hawaii:
And of course, the Polynesian Cultural Center, which is owned by the Church and is Hawaii's #1 paid attraction. It's huge, with villages representing each of the main South Pacific Island nations (Tonga, Samoa, Hawaii, Fiji, etc.). There are authentic dancers, activities, exhibits, and demonstrations, with a fun luau in the evening and an awesome night show.

The fire dancers at the night show were unbelievable. They had torch batons that they were throwing around and spinning super fast. Here's a sweet action shot JR took:
The next day we hung around Waikiki a little bit in the morning, then we were on our way home from an awesome vacation!

Family Pictures!

We recently got family pictures taken by a great friend of mine who also happens to be an incredible professional photographer. Check her out at www.leahslens.com! Here is just a tiny sampling of her great work (I'd be up all night uploading if I posted all the great shots she got!):



See, I told you she was amazing!