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3 hours 17 minutes...Shea's been informing me of the countdown all day. We're excited!

Farewell, old computer friend

So, finally Shea moved his office to the basement about two weeks ago.
Finally I got the old desktop in my "new" office/mom room upstairs. It was a happy time.
Then, I was checking my email yesterday with Lucy, when my computer shut off. No,it didn't do it by itself, Lucy had switched off the power strip. Apparently, the red light is tempting. You just have to push it.
So, I tried to reboot my computer. No worky. I tried several times. Nothing. I called in my professional technical support staff (Shea). Dead. He broke the news to me yesterday. My computer died.
For those of you who don't know this, computers don't have a very long life expectancy. I want to buy one and have it work for 15 years, but my loving husband tells me 3 years is about right. Most non-work, computer question people he gets calls from are trying to revive their dinosaur machines, and it drives him crazy! He doesn't mind fielding the calls; he just gets annoyed when people use the excuse that they bought "a brand new part xyz only a few years ago!!!" It's pretty funny to me; I try to explain to him that not everyone knows what he does about computers. We all want them to work for a long time, especially when we spend so much money on them.
I'm just going to count my blessings that I have a gifted computer-literate husband. I'll get a new computer soon, I hope. Now to decide on the options I need...a new Mac perhaps?

We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet

Although it is sad to think that President Hinckley will not lead the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints on the Earth anymore, I can't help but feel joy thinking of the sweet reunion he is having with his sweet companion, Marjorie, and the Savior. He has led us in love, inspired us with his energy and willingness to work, and taught us by his words and example.
I am thankful for my testimony that the Church is true--no matter what. We will have a new prophet now who will lead with as much ability and inspiration from the Lord as we continue to live in this last dispensation. How grateful I am for the service of President Gordon Bitner Hinckley, and for the way my testimony grew as I followed him. I will miss him.

On the menu

for tonight it's a yummy Mexicanish soup. This recipe is from my good friend, Michelle, who now resides in India!

3 chicken breasts (boiled and shredded)
1/2 onion
1/2 pepper (I used a can of diced green chiles tonight)
3 cans chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. salsa
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. sugar

Sautee onion and pepper. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until ready to eat. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips. Yum!

My 6 random facts...and after that I have no more secrets

1. My favorite treat in the whole world is a Diet Coke and a handful of cinnamon bears. Yum. I can't chew and drink at the same time; that's gross. You take a sip. Swallow. Eat a bear. Repeat probably too many times to be beneficial to your dieting attempts.
2. I don't feel like I have one really creative bone in my body. I don't enjoy scrapbooking because I never like how it turns out. I don't draw. I don't endeavor to complete small decorating projects for my house. They never turn out.
3. I was the perfect daughter--until it came to coming in at curfew. For some reason, I just couldn't get home on time. Luckily that never got me into trouble except from my parents. I was grounded for two unconsecutive months the year I was 16. I've changed my ways, and I'm very obedient now.
4. My SILs know this, but I get depressed after seeing a Broadway show--whether on Broadway or just here at home. (This only lasts one evening.) I hate it to be over. If I could have any talent I wanted, it would be to sing like a Broadway star.
5. I've worked at Mr. Mac, Old Navy, Dillards (for three days), Pier 1 (my favorite job), Novell (for 2 weeks), and L&T Construction as a receptionist/accountant.
6. Michael Jackson is a sick and unattractive person, but...I love to watch him dance. He's one of my favorite artists. I love Janet too. Shea and I went to see her 6 years ago in Salt Lake. If Michael were on tour, I'd go see him in a heartbeat.


For those of you who I want to know more about...you'd better post again! Rachel, Michelle, Valli, Andrea, Julie, Jerianne, Debbie, Ashley, Renee...I'll be checking.

to do lists...and how to tell if you're a cool mom

I like lists. I always have a mental list of the things I would like to do, should do, and absolutely must do in a day. On vacation my list was simple. Make the beds so our room didn't look like it had been ransacked, clean up clothes, eat, hang out by the pool or at the beach, read, eat, play with the boys, surf, eat, apply sunscreen...you get the picture.
Real life has set in, and we've had a productive week. I have finished the laundry, cooked dinner 5 out of 6 nights (which is a huge pat-on-the-back for me), volunteered in the boys' class, done homework, cleaned out my and Shea's closet, organized and streamlined all the toys, taken the stuff to D.I., helped Andrea address all her and Jake's wedding invitations, printed and mailed her shower invites, helped Shea move his desk/office to the basement finally, watched American Idol (okay, not productive, but something I wanted to do), and hung out with my cute family.
We've become new subscribers to Netflix recently. We've enjoyed rewatching season 3of Lost, and now Shea and the boys are watching episodes of Thundercats. My boys--all three of them--are in heaven. Shea loves sharing something from his childhood with his boys, and they think it is so cool! Does anyone else remember Liono, Tigra, Cheetara, Snark, and the gang?

Their fascination just goes to prove that, for today, I'm a hip mom. I brought Shea a Thundercats belt buckle from New York in October. Camden and Cooper thought it was cool then, but now...there's no end to the praise for my purchase.

Travel details

I need to record the details of our trip for my journal. This is more for me than anyone, but if you really want to know...

Day 1
We left Friday at noon and arrived in Honolulu Friday at about 4:30. The flight was great except Shea had V8 spilled all over his arm and had to smell himself for 5 hours. The stewardess who spilled offered to buy us cocktails, but I ordered a Diet Coke instead. The boys did really well on the flight, even though we were on the back row.
After arriving and meeting up with Adam and Ashley, we headed to our hotel, the Marriott Ko Olina. My parents stopped off at Costco to stock up with food. We spent the evening on walks and in our room.

Day 2
We spent the day enjoying the resort and "sitting hard." According to my brothers, "sitting" is the thing to do. We all went to the beach--sunscreen, drinks, and books in tow. My boys made some new friends and spent the day building sand castles and swimming. The bigger boys checked out our hotel's lagoon sea life and snorkeled.


Day 3
Church. The ward we attended had 3 baby blessings all performed by grandfathers or the bishop. One was voiced in Hawaiian. It was very neat. The ward also sang "Aloha Oi" at the end of the meeting to a ward member who was moving. We need something cool like that here on the "mainland."
After church we went to Turtle Bay for brunch. We did not stay there, we just enjoyed fresh seafood, Japanese cuisine, and a million delicious desserts. The coconut macaroons were to die for.
We continued around the island to Laie where we toured the temple grounds. On our way home we took the road through the mountains back to our resort.

Day 4
Shea and I went to the time share meeting. Interesting. The kids spent time at the pool and the beach and we joined them for the rest of the day. We went to Waikiki that evening for some shopping and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Our shopping was cut short since Cam and Coop fell asleep soon after we bought their shark tooth necklaces. That was their only souvenir request, and they were very well taken care of in that department. Shea and I sat in front of the restaurant with them while we waited for our reservation.



Day 5
We went on the Ko Olina Cat (catamaran) for a 4 hour boat ride, snorkeling, and whale watching. It was so cool! We were able to snorkel for over an hour in a "warm spot" known for its cool sea life. In our group we saw turtles, sting rays, needle nosed fish (Cooper's favorite) and all kinds of other fish. I am so proud of my boys for getting in the water. They are very timid when it comes to swimming, and they were terrified of getting out in the middle of the ocean. They did so great though. My arm was very sore the next day from swimming the whole time with Camden clinging to me. Cooper went with Marc, and he did so well.
Our captain was a great whale spotter and he was able to tell us all about the humpback whales that migrate to Hawaii every January to give birth and well...let's just say we learned a lot. We were able to see them so close! The boys loved it.
The rest of the day we spent at the pool.
My parents, Olivia, Adam and I went back to Waikiki for more shopping. Adam needed shoes, and my mom needed a new heirloom bracelet since my boys lost her other one this spring somewhere. Oops.



Day 6
Surfing! We went to a beach in Haleiwa and had a surf lesson by Uncle Bryan and his crew. Everyone went except Grandpa, Grandma, Cam and Coop, and Uncle Cam who just had nose surgery. Everyone got up the first time and had a great time. There were so many people enjoying the great waves, so it was a bit crowded, but still fun.
After mastering the waves, we ate at a great little fast food joint in Haleiwa and went to watch the Pipeline shoot the backdoor surfing contest. With 20 + foot waves, we were amazed at the craziness and talent. We stopped at Matsumoto's for shaved ice with ice cream in the bottom and headed back to the resort.



Day 7
I thought this was our last day, but I was wrong. I knew we left on January 11th, but I didn't realize that since our flight was an overnight, we'd actually be home on the 12th. Yea! Another whole day.
We spent the day at the resort again. I could have spent so many more days just hanging out by the salt water pools, the clean beach, and "sitting hard."

Day 8
We spent our last day exploring a beach by our hotel. We wanted to do some body boarding on the waves, but we picked the wrong beach. It was so ghetto. The locals were not nice and we didn't feel safe. My dad turned around at one point and saw two guys with my mom's purse in their hands. He asked them what they were doing. They said they were just getting their board wax. Yeah, well, not in my mom's purse. We got it back without any more incident. We left right after that. We decided that our resort was a much safer place to play.
My parents took us to Outback for dinner and then we were off to the airport. Our fabulous vacation was over.



It was a week filled with great company, good food, many Nerts and Hearts games, laughs, good books (The Great Gatsby and The Mistress of Spices), shopping, amazing weather, and wonderful in-laws who took such great care of my baby Lucy. Every time I called she was happy and they were loving having her. I was so worried about leaving her, but she was perfect--so they say. Thanks Jerry and Candy!

Hawaiian Paradise

Happy 8th Birthday Brigham!

Happy birthday to one of the coolest, sweetest kids we know. Brigham is a great cousin to Cam and Coop. We miss being there for your big day, but we'll see you soon. We hope you have a great one!

Time to relax...

It seems like the holidays this year were more crazy than usual. My shopping was done early, but I still felt like I had something to be in charge of every week. Now, it's time to sit back and relax in tropical Hawaii! Shea, Cam, Coop, and I leave on Friday. Lucky little Lucy gets to stay here with her Nana and Papa. I may be a mean mother, but it wouldn't be a vacation if we took her with us. I would be doing the same thing I do now, only in the sand instead of the snow. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my boys and my hottie hubby. We haven't been anywhere together since April 2004. We've taken several whole family trips since then...but it's not the same. We'll be in Hawaii with my parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law. Camden and Cooper are the only grandkids going, so maybe Shea and I can get a date in during the week.
This morning I had a primary "meet your teacher" breakfast. It was very low-key, but we had a great turn-out, and it was fun! I'm so glad it's over though. We're ready for all the class changes this Sunday, so I feel better about not being there. Teachers have new manuals, sharing time is coordinated, key callings have been filled...primary is a lot of work at the first of the year! I had no idea, but I now have a new appreciation for all the work of past presidencies.
Camden and Cooper finally got to have a sleepover at Boston's house last night. We had been so busy with the holidays and they had been in Hawaii for two weeks. The boys were so happy to spend time with their cousins and Aunt Shannon. They even came home with fresh haircuts! You can't beat that. Thank you, Shashi!
Also, we finally got our couch for the basement, so we can actually watch movies while sitting on it and not the floor. Yea!



Last, but certainly not least...happy birthday yesterday to my darling sister-in-law, Ashley! I love you and admire your commitment to your family and your exercise regimen. You are a great aunt to my kids, and I love spending time with you. Hope you don't get sick of me in the next week!
And, drumroll please (Rachel).....pictures of the basement! I'm such a picture slacker.