More pictures from our Hawaii trip...

I finally got the pictures from Cole's camera...

These "pine" trees were so neat!

Sitting on the beach watching surfers on the North Shore... I'm not pissed off, just look like it. Ha
My hot hubby

Cole took a pic of this dude wearing a raincoat, while out paddle surfing...

The sunset from Cole's Aunt and Uncle's deck

This is me surfing for the first time. ;)

(If you really believed this was me- I love you.. haha)

I love this picture- my hair was CRAZY in the wind... Really though- the humidity was hell for my hair- which is why it looks awful in ALL of our pics :)

Cole and I on the Army Base standing where they filmed a few scenes in "Pearl Harbor"

This is a park we went to see some HUGE monkey-pod trees.

This is the "Hibatchi Tree" (monkey-pod). Named by the owner of Hibachi- and their company's logo. Cole's uncle told us that tours bring buses of Japanese tourists to see this tree, they all want to see the Hibatchi tree. These things are MASSIVE! I wish one of us would have stood underneath to show the scale! A beach we passed driving up to the North Shore

Cole and I after snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. See what I mean about my hair! Ha!

I'm not sure where we took this...maybe Waikiki?

Me on the Battleship Missouri

Cole and I on the USS Arizona memorial

This is the Battleship Missouri, picture taken while we were on the boat tour of Pearl Harbor.

Crazy Snow storm

We got so much snow yesterday, that school was cancelled! I decided not to go to work, since reports were that the roads were nasty. We hung out at home, baked, watched movies, played in the snow... We even lost power during the night from the storm, but it was back on so I could bake during the day. :)

Cute story: When I told Shyler school was cancelled, she put her head down, walked down to her bedroom and said she was going to watch tv. I heard her sniffling so I went downstairs to investigate. I found her standing by her tv crying! Broke my heart. I said, "Honey, it's ok, they'll do the Polar Express when you get back to school". She sobbed, "that's not why i'm crying...I just really want to go to school!"...

Snow Bear

A day or two after our Hawaiian vacation, Cole went out with the kids to make a snow-bear. :)

Tan in the Winter

Cole and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary in Hawaii (our anniversary isn't actually until June, but we needed to use the tickets.) Plus his Uncle Ron and Aunt Vickie live on Oahu and are only there for a few more weeks, so we jumped at the chance while we could, to stay with them. They were awesome and helpful and we had an incredible time!

Cole's uncle Ron picked us up from the airport with Lei's- It was perfect :)

Swimming with sharks on the North Shore

Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay

Battleship Missouri

USS Arizona Memorial

Because Cole's uncle is in the military, he was able to get us a special tour of Pearl Harbor- here we are on the boat before heading out around Ford Island.

The day I got back to work, I had a fortune cookie after lunch, and it told me this...

I still haven't gotten all the pictures off Cole's camera- there will be more posts.... ;)

Being Grateful

Last night Shyler told Easton, "You should be grateful for who God made you"

How often do we forget that? If only we could continually show our gratitude for all God has given us and for ourselves. Be grateful and be proud of all your little quirks and for being YOU!

Halloween Pics... FINALLY

Myself (Jersey Shore) and Nena (Awesome Witch)

Myself, Easton the Bat, Shyler the Witch, and Cole- His Awesome Self

My little artist...

Shyler decided to draw a boy pilgrim and a boy indian for a school assignment...

Please see below...

Things to remember...

I hope Lindsey doesn't mind, but I'm totally copying her and posting some things about our family that I want to remember in the future (and if you know me, you know I have a TERRIBLE memory, so writing it down is crucial).. so feel free to skip reading this post if you desire...

Shyler-
Shyler is a mini-me. When we ask her to help wake her brother up in the mornings, you can always hear her in his room using the same words I would us and speaking in the same voice- it's especially funny when he's giving her a hard time, and you hear her scolding him and counting, "1...2...you're going to get a spanking..."

Shyler loves to sing. I can always hear her singing in her room, whether it's songs from the radio or ones she's made up. She also knows how to use my iphone voice recorder, and quite frequently I find recordings of her singing her little heart out.

Easton-
Easton is a happy boy. I love to wake him up in the mornings- before opening his eyes, he always gives me a big smile. And he is always ready to give me a morning hug and kiss.

He arranges his shoes meticulously in his closet. They are always lined up neatly in pairs and once when I was putting them away, he stopped me, "Mom! That's not where they go!" and moved them slightly over to the "correct" spot.

My recent life in photos...

Last weekend I took a jog up the canyon near our home... Does your exercise come with such great colors and views?

Peach Days

In early September, the kids and I went to Peach Days with my brother's family... The kids had lots of fun on the rides...

Above: Mary and Easton 4-Wheeling in the Jeep...

Above: Shyler, Grace and Clip...We did not inform the kids how fast this ride would whip them around...as you can see from Grace's face (middle)...she thoroughly enjoyed it... HAHAHA..we are evil moms, we were laughing SO hard!

Above: Shyler on the kiddy rollercoaster

Above: Mary and Grace riding the kiddy coaster- Grace was still a little upset about the previous ride...

Bathroom Makeover

Above: Before- Our bathroom was painted a peach color...

Below: After- Inspired by my retro lighting we've never changed and the gold speckled swan image tiles in the shower- I went for a bright turquoise...Cole was quite surprised when he came home from a hunting trip... haha. I think he's gotten used to it now. :)

Halloween Transformation

Below you will witness as I transform from an ordinary makeup-less mother to...

Jersey Shore- represent!!!!! haha.

Just a fun picture of Zoey enjoying a nice little ride out to Grandma's...