Beach Party

Darrell is being a tough guy in the tug of war. It was the adults versus the youth in the ward. Of course the adults won. They have years of growing those love handles. :)

Collin did the egg toss. He and his partner, Ryan, never caught the egg. Not once. But it took about 10 drops to finally break the egg.

Donut eating contest. None of us participated, but it was lots of fun and very funny.

Collin and Ryan waiting in line to go down the waterslide. It was madness. Tons of kids!!!

Ready....Set.....Go!!!
Splash!!!

Poor little Brody is so exhausted. His regular nap time is about 12pm and we didn't leave the park until about 2:30pm and he was completely drained.

The Naked Truth

So my little Brody has been a nudist lately. I let him run around in just his diaper when he first wakes up in the morning. I figure "Why not?" because he lives in a hot tropical climate. I get him dressed when we leave for the day.

A couple days ago he was pulling at his clothes. He does this sometimes and I take his tshirt off for him. Then he tugs at his pants and those come off too. We were home for the day so again, why not? Then he tugs at his diaper. Hmm..now that's pushing it. I really don't want a fully naked baby running around, do I? Well, we do have laminate flooring throughout the house. Go for it, Brody!

The boys were running around the house. Brody's chubby thighs were bouncing with every step he took. It really was so cute! The the inevitable happens. He pees on the floor. No big deal. I grab a towel to clean it up. Then all of a sudden Brody takes a step right into the pee and he slips and falls right into the puddle. Not only do I have a baby crying because he fell down, but he is also covered in his own urine.

I throw him in the tub and turn on the water. Then I clean up the mess. Everything is all good. And of course I let him run around naked for another hour or so. :)

Burnin' Down the House....

So we had a little excitement today. I made it to the gym (first time this week) and I was about 20 minutes into my work out. I hear a fire alarm go off. It wasn't in the gym, but I could tell it was close. I waited a few seconds then went to the front doors of the gym and Sunny (the lovable Hawaiin front desk guy. Think Hawaiian Santa Claus.) He said there was smoke coming from the bar next door and we needed to get out. I ran over to the Kidz Korner (lame) and grabbed the boys. The girl in there hadn't even heard the fire alarm, because the door was shut and the tv was on. Talk about making my heart race. So everything was fine, not really that dramatic, but the bar was on fire next to us. As far as I could tell no one had been in the bar yet. They serve lunch there, but it was 9:30 in the morning and I don't think anyone would be there yet. The boys, especially Brody, were really excited to see the firetrucks, 4 in all, and several police cars too. I moved my truck across the parking lot before the fire trucks got there so we wouldn't be in the way. We watched smoke pour out the front door of the bar for about 15 minutes. Very exciting! I don't know what happened, but I will ask next time we go to the gym. Crazy!

Here is the picture from my camera phone -

You can't really see much, but the building that is on fire is the one right behind the fire truck on the right and the gym is the next business to the right of that.

Two Little Monkeys Swingin' in the Tree

My boys are 100% Grade A all boy! I babysit other kids, but they are all girls and I am just not used to that. They whine and cry and I just don't know what to do sometimes. "Just get up and wipe your hands on your pants." Sheesh! Girls don't do that! They cry for like 10 minutes. One little 5 year old girl was limping around for about 2 hours after she scraped her knee when she tripped. So funny! I love my little monkeys and if we ever decide to have another kid then I am crossing my fingers that it will be a boy.

Just a Reminder

Hawaii's time zone is much, much EARLIER than the time zone you are in right now. I had a very early birthday yesterday. 4:45am! Then 5:30 am! Phew!

Get your gun!

Darrell and I were just hanging out on the couch watching tv. Darrell got up to go to the bathroom. He yells out from the bathroom, "Get your gun!"

I am thinking, "What is he talking about?"

Darrell says, "Get your gun. I have found some wild game."

This cockroach was massive. The antennas were so long. Disgusting! I just can't get used to life with bugs. I would never choose to live in Hawaii!

I have to keep telling myself it's temporary! Only 7 more months.

Playing With Gramps!!

The boys loved playing with Grandpa this weekend. It's nice to have family visit. We are out of the way here in Maui, so it's nice that he came. Collin just loved playing with and bugging Grandpa. We got to do one of Collin's favorite activities - Miniature golf. The kids had a good time. So who's coming to visit next?

Helicopter Ride

My father in law, Britt, was in town this weekend. We wanted to show him a good time here in Maui so we thought we would take him for a helicopter ride. Darrell, Britt, and Collin went for a helicopter ride around Maui. They had some beautiful pictures. I didn't get to go with them because the baby couldn't go, plus I had to babysit so I just scheduled the flight for when I had to babysit. Maui really is beautiful. Too bad it's so stinkin' humid!

Happy Mothers Day

Darrell made me breakfast in bed. The only reason that it was in bed though was because I got back into bed after getting up a few times. It was sweet though. He made waffles and scrambled eggs. The kitchen was a wreck, but it was worth it.
Darrell was ordained to an Elder today. His dad, Britt, came to ordain him. He arrived Thursday and is going home tomorrow (Monday.) While he was here he went on a helicopter flight, snorkeling, and some mini golf. Good times. I will post some pics later.
Back to Mothers Day. Darrell made dinner too. Yep, some yummy carne asada tacos with homemade pico de gallo (sp?). Delicious! I should take a picture of what it looks like, because it is something from a TV cooking show.
Oh yes, and I can't forget that Darrell changed a poopy diaper. It was a nasty one too! Ha ha! Darrell never changes diapers so this was a nice gesture too.
We just ate some ice cream for dessert and chillin' on the couch. It was a good day. Glad to be a mom.

What do you want to be when you grow up?....

Darrell's answer: A Cop

My Special Talent

As far as talents go I really don't have any one thing that I am particularly good at. Every craft type project I attempt is mediocre at best.

I have found something that I really call a talent, but you may not agree. My talent is: I can sleep through Darrell's alarm! (Now if Amber could sleep through Warrens alarm.)

I bet you thought I was going to say something really good, but for me this is such an awesome talent. I used to get really bugged at Darrell because he doesn't turn his alarm off immediately. He will let it ring for a minute or two, causing me to be fully awake, turn it off myself, or just be mad at him. Sometimes all three.

I have programmed my brain to sleep through it. I am really into mind over matter stuff and in being in control of your body. Well I have learned to not hear Darrell's alarm. I can still hear the little pads of feet walking down the laminate hallway in the middle of the night.

No more waking up at 5:30 am! I get to sleep all the way until 6:30-7:30 am. That's when Collin needs a pop tart and some juice. He is very cute.

Say What?!?

Ok, so one more blog post for today. Just my Collin saying funny stuff again.

This last Sunday at church during the sacrament, Collin wouldn't sit in his chair so we just bypassed him when the bread came by. He noticed after it was too late for him to take one. I told him he should have been sitting in his chair like a big boy.

He said "that's ok. I will get it on the second round."

And then today I babysat Sasha for the first time in over a week. (Her grandparents were in town.) Collin forgot her name so he called her "colorful striped girl" because that's what kind of shirt she was wearing. Now striped is not one syllable, but two. Stripe-ed. The rest of the morning it was striped girl, even after I reminded him of her name.

The stuff that comes out of Collin's mouth both surprises and humors me. He is a smart little guy and always likes to tease. There was another little funny story, but I forgot so I will post it later.

Workin' Girl (and Boy)

So just recently we started paying our tithing again. The bishop asked Darrell, "What? You can't part with your cold hard cash?" Pretty funny.

Everyone has their two cents to say to us about their "tithing blessings" and it's good to hear, but our focus right now is to be out of debt. It's extra hard right now to part with our "cold hard cash," but we know it's the right thing to do.

So Darrell and I are very sarcastic and like to joke about things that maybe we shouldn't. We will probably get struck by lightning one of these days. We keep joking and saying,"I can't wait for those blessings to start rolling in."

Last week Darrell worked 2 hours extra overtime which rarely happens. They have a pretty set schedule. So that's almost an extra hundred bucks. Then the gal that I babysit for on Thursday and Friday evenings is going to need me a few more hours every week, starting in a week or two. That's my gig that pays $10 per hour so that is pretty exciting.

So we have figured out what our tithing blessing is: more work! We pay our tithing and we get more work, but more work equals more money so that's an ok thing.

On a similar subject here - I made $200 last week babysitting!! Go me! I had 22ish hours. That was because one gal needed me 4 days instead of 2 because her mom was out of town, so from now on it will be a little less from her. But like I said my higher paying gig will need me more so that's good.

Collin Darrell

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Brody Allen

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Tag! You're it!

Alright, this one is for Brooke. Everyone who reads this is tagged and needs to fill out their own!

Joys:
1. Watching my kids grow up to be such fun, great boys!
2. Having both kids take a nap at the same time!
3. Spending time alone with Darrell.
4. Spending time all alone in silence, just reading a book or possibly watching a tv show that Darrell hates. :)

Fears:
1. Having my kids get hurt or kidnapped.
2. Getting eaten by a shark (or a killer clown fish) in the ocean. Yeah, I live in Maui, but refuse to go snorkeling.
3. Darrell getting hurt at work. His job is dangerous, but he isn't worried. I worry for the both of us.
4. Someone breaking into my house and not being able to save my kids. I have chronic bad dreams so there are about a million scenarios that I have dreamt.

Goals:
1. Survive each day!
2. Finish my degree. Gotta live in one place long enough though.
3. Be out of debt by the end of the year. We are still paying off Brody! 1-2 more months and we are done. Phew!
4. Get down to my college cheerleading weight! Oh wait, this one is from Brooke's blog. Oops. I guess this one belongs in the daydreaming section.

Obsessions:
1. Keeping the house clean, especially sweeping and mopping. Our condo is so tiny that any clutter takes up a lot of space!
2. Getting out of debt and making a budget. I am constantly tweaking and checking the numbers.
3. Checking the ads on Craigslist every day. I wouldn't want to miss out on a good deal on a piece of junk.
4. Not going to bed early! Darrell likes to go to sleep at 8pm some nights. I will stay up and torture myself, but I have to go to bed at least after 9pm!

Surprising facts:
1. I have lived in about 20 places since I have been married, almost 7 years.
2. I took violin lessons for about 6 years. Haven't played for a long time, but I imagine I am still really good at it. :)
3. For being such a chicken, I have actually been skydiving.
4. I am the funniest person I know. Surprising, I know.


Daydreams:
1. Winning the lottery.
2. Having a full time live in housekeeper/cook. (Suzanne! Spoiled girl!)
3. Having a part time live in housekeeper/cook.
4. Having Darrell do a load of dishes and bring home take out.

Guilty Pleasures:
1. Dr.Pepper. It's my best friend, really.
2. Buying scrapbook items that I never use. I just like to have them there, knowing that someday I will use them...maybe.
3. Going out to lunch with the boys about once a week. Food is so expensive here, but it is nice to get out once in a while.
4. I can't think of another one. I don't indulge myself enough I guess.

Hawaiian Floral

I don't know about everyone else, but I was sick of opening my blog and seeing right up Brody's nose. Here are some beautiful flowers that are found around my condo complex. Very beautiful! There is a public garden that I need to go to again and take lots of pics. Very exotic and amazing plants. God really used his creative and artistic side when he made Hawaii. Gorgeous!


Pardon some of the pictures, Collin took a lot of them. He is very much into being the boss these days. (More than before if that's possible.) He did a pretty good job though.





These are the plants that are in my backyard. Aren't I so lucky? I don't even have to water them!
These yellow flowers are all over my little front lawn. This tree and its flowers are one of my favorites.

Almost every tree has flowers growing out of them. Notice the yellow in this one.