What does it mean when...

What does it mean when all your 2 year old's prayers go like this
"Dear Heavenly Father, please bless Mama, that she will be nice. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
ALL OF HER PRAYERS!

In heaven in Hawaii

So our little family was blessed enough to go to Hawaii this summer for a reunion with my side of the family. It was HEAVEN! It was crowded (28 people in a 3 bedroom house + a 1 bedroom apartment that was not yet totally finished), and noisy (17 kids from the ages of 14-3months) but it truly was HEAVEN! For the most part the kids got along amazing well. All the cousins loved playing with each other. We only really needed to regulate the kids who were 3 and under but that is to be expected right?
While we were there we did a lot of things we miss while living in Utah, here is a short list:
- Eat Hawaii food (Hukilau cafe, Papa Ole's, Genki Ramen, 7-11, Sam store, Laie Chop Suey,Malasadas, Matsumoto, Ted's Bakery, Tita's Grill, etc.)
- Swim at the beach (who is the dork trying to teach her children how to SHAKA?)- Surfing
- PCC
- Feel the Hawaii breeze
- Let the kids try ulu, sugar cane, manapua, pake cake, musubi, hawaiian sun
- Let the kids smell plumeria ("melia" as my dad says), the salt air
- Let the kids get to know their cousins- Mike + Kahi sleep (try to) on a twin bad
- Horse back riding at Gunstock Ranch (beautiful!)
- Ezra lost his 2nd tooth
- Attended a temple session in the renovated Laie Hawaii Temple- Visited with amazing friends
- Wrestled, laughed, and played with family- Jump off Waimea rock (a 1st for Nia and I)
- Drive around the island
- Family photos from the so very talented Mark Lee
- Introduce Lydia to Grandma and Papa

All the important things were done on this trip. When we left we were tired and ready a rest from our vacation. It was amazingly fun to have Mike go to Hawaii with us this time. He got a killer sun tan, I will let him share the picture if he chooses. We miss Hawaii, oh man, WE MISS HAWAII! We miss the people, the food, the weather but not the prices.
This trip reminded Mike and I how blessed we were to grow up in Hawaii a place where people truly do LOVE. We had amazing experiences where people showed us and our children more love than we felt we deserved. It was a great reminder of the things we feel we would like to teach our children. We will be back. A HUI HOU!

1st grade is... WIERD

Ezra started first grade on Monday. It is weird (read: sad, lonely, and WEIRD) to not have him around. Monday morning we made him his lunch, hopped in the car and Mike waited with the girls while I took him. He was really excited, made sure the girls were going to miss him, "Abbi, are you going to miss me?" and then off we went. While waiting outside his classroom I could tell he was getting more and more nervous. When the teacher opened the door and invited everyone in, he grabbed a hold of my hand and started to cry. I was caught off gaurd cause anyone who knows Ezra, knows that he is usually really brave and excited to try new things. I knelt down by him and asked what was wrong. He said, "I just can't believe I am not going to see you for most of the day." I grabbed him in a firm hug and didn't want to let go myself. But alas, I let go and so did he. I walked him into his classroom and sat him on the rug and then left. It was tough.

1st grade is weird for a couple of reasons:
1. Ezra is going to a duel immersion school so the first half of his day EVERYTHING is taught in Spanish. He is having a hard time with that right now (we were warned that he would) but we still feel it is the right thing for him.
2. His 2 best friends Preston and Andrew are in a different class. He does not like that.
3. He is in all day school now and is really not keen on the idea of not eating lunch at home with the girls.

Ezra is going to do great for a couple of reasons:
1. Ezra is a bright kid and deserves a challenge. He will learn that he can do "hard things". That is a great lesson for all of us to learn.
2. Ezra gets to eat lunch with his 2 best friends everyday! That is good news!
3. While I totally miss Ezra, 4 kids at home all day is not so fun. He needs to have time away from his crazy sisters and will love them (and me) even more when he comes home.

Later that day my neighbor watched all the girls so I could surprise Ezra and eat lunch with him. I showed up and waited in the hall. When he came out of class he yelled, "Mama!" It was so fun for both of us. He kept touching my arm just making sure I was there. He later told me that he really felt like crying in his class but "something" inside him was telling him to be brave. We talked about how that was the Spirit doing it's job as the comforter. He thought that was cool, so did I. We enjoyed lunch together and he told me a little about his morning. I left after watching him run out to the playground.

When he got home that afternoon he spent some time reading a book to Lydia. These two are really good buddies (more on that another day). Lydia enjoyed every minute.
That afternoon we surprise ambushed Mike when he got home from work (I highly recommend doing this, it was so much fun!)
Ezra and I spent about 30 minutes filling up water balloons and finding good places to hide. When Mike got home he found this on the door.I was waiting in the back yard for him to have time to read the note. I heard him say, "What the crap?" and then I started counting down 5-4-3-2-1. At about 4 he yelled, "I have the laptop." I yelled back, "Well, you better drop it." He grabbed the bag and ran to the front of the house where Ezra was waiting for him with another attack. At least that was the plan. I ran around to the side of the house to get him with a balloon and start laughing when I saw Ezra running at Mike too. The plan worked I thought. That was until I realized that Ezra was trying to get me. He is a trader. He started yelling, "Boys against girls!" So lame, and so fun!
Our evening ended with a lot of playing and a lot of laughing. Abbi kept saying, "Mom, this is the best day EVER!" It really was.

Here today, gone tomorrow...

Disclaimer: I have looked and looked for a recent, in focus shot of Mike to put right here and there is nothing because sadly, I am the person who takes the photos of Mike and yeah, I am the one that can't take them in focus. Sorry...

In the last post I talked about how amazing and helpful and loving Mike is. I said there was more to come and here it is.

Since we got married Mike has always been super involved. He cooked for the first few years and is still happiest in the kitchen. I am a lucky girl. I often call him during the day to ask him how long I should cook this or what I can use to substitute for that. He always lovingly, and patiently tells me how to make dinner. Oh, and he never teases me about it. That means a lot to me.
As the kids have come into our family he has never complained about doing dishes, changing diapers, cooking dinner, vacuuming, watching the kids so I can get a break, etc. He is amazing.
With the addition of number 4 I must say that I was really nervous. I did not know what to expect. I had this sinking feeling that it was either going to go really well, or horribly wrong. No in betweens this time, just one or the other. Because of Mike, this have gone really really well.

He has been conscious of everyone lately, from helping with Abbi's birthday party to taking Ezra out for a bike ride just so they could spend sometime together to cooking dinner and letting me rest so that my kanckles could go away and everything in between.

Tomorrow morning at 5am our little family will pack in the car and take Mike to the airport. He is going to Florida for 5 days, for work. My emotions range from excitement that Mike is finally in a job that he loves and they love him, to sheer terror at the thought of being alone and exhausted and alone for 5 days. I have found myself in tears a couple of times just thinking about how much I am going to miss him being around. Is that silly? I have not told him, although I guess I just did. Honestly, the kids and I are going to be just fine, I know we will. We have lots of friends and neighbors and family that are aware of our needs this next week and are more than willing to help. The truth is, I LOVE being around Mike. He is my sanity, my reason (for everything I do, including having and loving our children), my happy place, my everything. So yeah, Mike is leaving and I am sad for my own very selfish reasons. So, shoot me!!!!