To my mother....

When I came home from aerobics on Friday, my girls made me special notes. It was a very nice surprise and very unexpected. Emma had cleaned the whole kitchen and Malissa cleaned my bedroom. Here is what it said in their notes.

Emma wrote- To a Mother who works all day. I think time for her to ger her pay. Some cookies and the cleanest kitchen in the world. A mother who looks beautiful with her hair all curled. To my mother not my brother.

Malissa wrote-To a very special mom- To a very nice mother who has three girls and a brother. I cleaned the room with a broom....When I was born in your tummy, Emma's cookies looked yummy. To a very special mother!

Family Night

Last night for Family Night we did something a little different. First we started out at home with a little lesson on temples. Then we had the kids sit in the back of the van together for the rest of the lesson. They each took turns rolling the die that told us where to go. If they rolled a 1 or 2 we went left. 3 or 4 straight and 5 or 6 right. We ended up at a dead end which gave Josh the opportunity to talk to them about preparing to go to the temple and how you shouldn't relay on a die to get there but that you need to prepare yourself. Josh then had Malissa tell him where to go by telling him left, right or straight. He told her that she could get help from her siblings but she was determined to get there herself. (since we were only a few minutes away) The night ended with a beautiful view of the temple and icecream for dessert.

Last weeks lesson was fun because the kids worked really hard together. If you can't guess the story by the small picture, it is the"Tree of Life." I love object lessons and I especially love when the kids are not fighting when they are doing something together.

Photography 102

Last Saturday I took a Photography class. It was a class about lighting which I was really interested in. Most of the class was spent in the classroom and the last two hours were hands on. Because it was snowing outside we took pictures indoors. A few of the girls in the class brought their kids to be models for us and then we each took turns modeling for each other. All of these pictures that I took are not edited and I did not use a flash The pictures are taken by a window or in the doorway. Natural lighting is so great and I learned so much from this class! I can't wait to take more! By the way the reflector that you see in the first picture has many uses! You can use the gold side for a tan look, the black side for newborn shots and the silver for a natural look. It can also be used as a diffuser.

Cake in a Mug

I found this great recipe that only takes 5 minutes from start to finish. Emma came home and made two cakes to share with her siblings. Here's the recipe...

A large microwavable mug

4 Tablespoons flour
9 Tablespoons of hot choclate mix (3 packets)
1 pinch of salt
1 egg
3 Tablespoons water
3 Tablespoons of oil
Cooking spray

1. Spray the mug with cooking spray
2. Mix all the ingredients in the mug
3. Make sure it is mixed well
4. Microwave for 3 minutes
5. The handle of the mug is hot, so use a potholder to remove it from the microwave
6. Tip your cake out of the mug onto a dish.
7. Enjoy your treat!

Variation
Chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, or whipping cream on the top

A Change in......

WEATHER........We went on a last minute trip to Kauai. We had a wonderful time with the kids! I love their sunsets! This time we brought the tripod........what a view!

Our favorite place for smoothies.....Banana Joe's. Frozen pineapple, banana, or papaya blended in a special blender made to look and taste like ice cream.

Kauai is known for their chickens. They are everywhere! Claire loved chasing them whenever she had the chance.

During the "tsunami" we went to Waimea Canyon and went on a gorgeous hike. The arch behind us was spectacular!

This was what we were hiking to...a small waterfall with a swimming area. It was freezing cold but the kids loved it!

We love hiking!

I love lighthouses. So, any chance I get I love to take pictures of them!

Malissa loves to collect rocks. She found coral that looked like the head of a Dinosaur.


Taro Farm



Glass Beach.....one of our favorite spots. The whole beach is covered in sea glass. There weren't too many big pieces of sea glass but it was still fun finding treasures.

Emma's sea glass collection.

Luke, Emma and Malissa were so proud of the dam that they built at Secret Beach. The waves were too rough to play in so they decided to have fun playing in the stream.

Cool sea turtle taking a nap.

This day was really windy to snorkle but Emma and Josh had fun anyways at Poipu Beach.


Claire was afraid of the water. Malissa was such a good big sister and helped her in the little water area.

Puka Dogs.....fancy hotdogs. The kids loved this place! You can put coconut, mango, or pineapple relish on your hotdog. Emma chose to have a plain hotdog with ketchup.

We decided to switch the girls rooms. Emma was in the larger room so it made since to put Claire and Malissa in Emma's old room. The only problem was the colors were all wrong for their bedding so I spent President's Day painting. Emma's new room is now blue and Malissa and Claire's new room is a pretty taupe. Of course I still need to put a few more things up on the wall but here it is for now.

Growing up....

Emma was in a play last week. All the fifth graders put on a Patriotic play. Emma was a narrator and a lady in waiting. It was a great program! We are so blessed to live in a free country! Happy President's Day!

Great job fifth graders!

Claire finally has enough hair to wear piggies. Doesn't she look older?

I made Abraham Lincoln cookies for Emma's class and Luke decided to decorate one to look like Elvis. I thought it turned out pretty good.

Heidi Celebration at School

Malissa loves her teacher Mrs. Carver! After her second grade class read the book Heidi they had a celebration on Friday with food, games, and lots of fun! Malissa also loved dressing up as Heidi!

Three legged race with friends.
Malissa participated in a wheel chair race. She said it was harder then she thought!
Emma and Malissa went to a Valentine cooking class with their friends on Saturday. They had fun making cupcakes, cookies and Valentine cards.