Jon & Maeva

Surprise Surprise!

2011-12-15T19:40:00.000-08:00

We surprised the kids today... check it out. I was hard to keep the secret from them but it was worth it. They were so excited when we told them.

Photoshoot!

2011-12-15T15:50:00.000-08:00

Here is our Christmas card photoshoot. I managed to get to pictures done before Christmas this year, now lets just hope that I can get them sent out!

Best of Julien!

Best of Logan!

Julien and Logan are the best of friends!

Best of Kia Ora!

The cutest kids ALIVE!

Jon and me!

Christmas Party

2011-12-10T16:45:00.000-08:00

Our ward put together an amazing Christmas party. It was one of the best Christmas parties I had ever attended. The gym was decorated like the streets of Jerusalem in the days of Christ, with food stands, and toys stands. While we ate we were able to listen to Christmas Jazz music performed by members of our stake (they sounded amazing). Finally, the evening ended with the Christmas story reenactment and songs. It was a wonderful evening.

One of the funnest part of the evening was that the majority of the members who came where dressed up as in the days of Christ. Julien and Logan came as shepherds, and Kiki was a little lamb.

As we entered the church we had to pay taxes (food donations) which I thought was brilliant.

Kiki and Jon enjoying the music

Our awesome jazz band

The nativity scene.

flick flack!

2011-11-30T15:43:00.000-08:00

Kia Ora enjoying the rain!

Turkey Day!

2011-11-25T15:30:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was great! We were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with some of our dear friends down here in Lake Jackson. Everybody had brought a lot of food. It seemed like we ate all day long. We also played games. The highlight of the night was getting our spines readjusted by our friend Dan who is a med student. He spent a good 30 min to 1hr per person (and there was a lot of us). I feel so blessed to have such great friends down here, an amazing family, a healthy mind and body, the true gospel of Christ, and much much more.

Festval of Lights

2011-11-23T05:03:00.000-08:00

Every year, the city of Lake Jackson puts on a festival to celebrate the Christmas season. There are lots of fun free activities for kids to do, vendors, food stands, performances from local studios, and a parade. It is a very fun atmosphere.

The kids enjoyed rock climbing, along with bungee jumping, jousting, and much much more.

Kia Ora had a little fun of her own. She and I went on a little train ride, she also enjoyed dancing to the music during the performances, taking a cat nap on her daddy, but most of all she loved her first cotton candy tasting.

The kids got to touch and hold reptiles from a wildlife refuge stand.

Mami loves

2011-11-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

My mom loves to spoil Julien, Logan, and Kia Ora. She is always sending them sweet packages. The latest was a package for Kiki with her very own knitted blanket along with another baby doll with a matching blanket. Kiki loves it so much. I am grateful to have such a loving and caring mother to love my children so so much.

Cirque Mechanics-BOOM TOWN

2011-11-13T23:31:00.000-08:00

(not sure why the boys are not smiling cause they said they had a blast, probably to many pictures)

Last night we went to the Miller Theater in Houston to see Cirque Mechanics perform "Boom Town." It was incredible. The show was simply phenomenal. We met up with some of our friends there and had a pick nick as we waited for the show to start. And actually while we waited, my friend Alena and I got interviewed and video taped about what we liked about the Miller Theater. It was kind of fun!

Andreah and Alena.

Logan, Andreah's husband Chris and their baby Tristan.

Matt and Becca and their girls.

Our group

Kiki, Jon, and Emma.

Emma is Becca and Matt's little girl.

She is too cute, and for some reason loves Jon so much.

Julien resting before the show!

I added this youtube video of the show we saw last night so you could get a glimpse of what we experienced. I was so impressed that I am going to look them up and see when and where they usually perform because I want to see them perform again.

I recycle do you?

2011-11-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning, I took the kids to a recycling service project put together by the city. It was great! They got a cool shirt, hot dogs and drinks, and most importantly to beautify our planet! They were so excited. It was wonderful to see them be so happy working, doing something that is truly making a difference. I want to keep doing things like that as a family. Serving others changes something inside of you. It makes you a better person, and I loved to see that excitement and change in my own children.

Julien and Logan's pack!

Julien's Veteran's day celebration!

2011-11-11T18:45:00.000-08:00

All the 4th graders from Julien's school got to do a Veteran's day program. They sang and had speaking parts. He was so cute to watch. I was not fast enough in recording his speaking part, but I did get a few songs on video. Below is my favorite. Enjoy!

Lettuce for you!

2011-11-09T20:11:00.001-08:00

I just had to put this video up of Kia Ora feeding Jon. It was too funny! This girl is such a character, she is so cute.

Super movie night treat!

2011-11-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

Every Friday night, we have a family movie night. We eat good treats, and snuggle up by each other, and watch a movie. This week I got some coconuts for our treats. The boys helped Jon open the coconuts and drain the juice, after which Jon made delicious coconut lemonade and served it to us into our very own coconut cups. It was a very fun treat!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T01:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! This year, I had to work on Halloween which was a bummer because I didn't get to see the kids go out and trick or treat around the neighborhood, and poor Jon had to be Mr. Mom. We did get to celebrate as a family at our apartment Halloween party a few days before.

Logan wanted to be Tom from the book series Beast Quest.

Julien was a grim reaper.

Kiki was an adorable troll doll.

Jon dressed up as a 80's rocker, and I was a "ramalama" zombie dancer.

hallo halloween treats!

2011-10-31T00:54:00.000-07:00

This year Jon's mom sent me a Halloween treat recipe book, so I put it to the test and made all sorts of yummy treats.

Chocolate covered pretzel sticks.

This was not in the book, but I thought the kids would enjoy eating some spooky crepes with nutella, and green whip cream.

A yummy wormy noodle dish with scary finger nibblers, and a worm infested punch.

Nutter Butter Ghost!

Pumpkin cakes.

Bonny Bread sticks, with mummy calzones! The kids loved this dish, they thought it was so cool. And so did Jon and I.

Monster Cupcakes.

Mummy Pork roast.

This was probably my favorite dish of all. The pork was so juicy with a nice crispy phyllo dough. It was topped by a delicious mustard fused cream sauce.

Pumpkin popcorn balls.

Broom stick.

These are just a few of the things that I tried to make our Halloween month a little more exciting this year. Every day the kids would come home from school, and would be so excited to see what would be waiting for them on he kitchen table. You may be thinking that it is a lot of sweets. No worries, we made sure to give most of the treats away to our friends and neighbors. And yes! We most likely gained a few extra pounds, but that's why we go to the gym every day!

Renaissance Festival!

2011-10-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Jon and I took the kids to a renaissance festival in Conroe, Texas. We started off our outing by a quick stop by the Kolache Factory for some kolache, a sausage inside a delicious bun. It was very very good. The kids liked the kolaches also.

After a long three hour drive, we arrived at our destination. The renaissance festival was so cool. It was it's own little town, where the majority of the people there were all dressed up, talked, and acted as if they were from that area.

There was a lady laying on the ground at the entrance as part of her act I'm sure, and Logan, the funny kid that he is, went up to her and poked her with his sword. It was too funny!

The festival had a lot of entertainment, and shows going on all day at various locations. We were able to watch a few of them, like the Ded Bob Show (a ventriloquist show), a whip show, and an awesome jousting show. There was so much to do and so much to see. We mostly walked around going into the different vendors, eating lots of good food, and people watched.

Jousting!

There were also many classes offered where you could learn how to blow glass, do leather work...

Logan got to make his very own coin!

We enjoyed some delicious food at the Barbarian Inn.

I was amazed to see how many people were dressed up into such beautiful costumes, and were acting their parts. It was stepping into a different time period. I got to pose along side of many people whose costume we liked or we thought were outrageous.

Marie Antoinette

Conan the Barbarian.

WOW! That was an interesting one. Jon insisted in taking a picture of him, because he was literally only wearing a little loin cloth around his waist. Conan grabbed me to pose with him and was making me feel very uncomfortable. I tuned out most of what he said to me as a matter of fact.

The one legged, toothless pirate.

Jon took a picture of him without asking and he got really mad, calling Jon a soul stealer. He told Jon, that I needed to pose with him, then threatened to spank me with a with his paddle if I didn't. He was actually quite nice and funny after talking to him.

While we were there Jon discovered this new costume trend he really likes called "steam punk." The steam punk costumes are very elaborate. Below are a few pictures of some people all dressed up in that style.

Kiki enjoying a ride from her daddy.

Julien and Logan were so excited when we told them that they could dressed up for the festival if they wanted. Jon dressed up too (but it was a totally wrong area). He dressed up as a rocker.

Although it was a very long day, we had an amazing time. It was so worth it. We are happy to have the Renaissance Festival be one of our new fall traditions in our home here in Texas.

You've got a friend in me!

2011-10-27T10:12:00.001-07:00

Kia Ora and her baby dolls are inseparable. Wherever Kiki goes, Mama follows. Kia Ora is so concerned with her baby that when she doesn't want to take care of her anymore, and wants to play with something else, she will give Mama to someone else and makes sure they keep her in their arms. This sweet girl is too cute! I just had to make a little movie for her so that she always remembers how much she loved her baby mama.

Birding Nature Center

2011-10-15T22:59:00.000-07:00

Today was the perfect day to go to Matagorda County Birding Nature Center. Jon rented a golf cart to go around the park. It was honestly the funnest part of the outing. The park was not very big so we were able to see everything. There were so many cute little gardens, ponds, and animals out and about. It was a beautiful place.

While we were there Jon took the opportunity to complete Julien's naturalist badge.

Below he is pointing out poison oak.

Loving the golf cart!

Golf cart fun!

More golf cart fun!
You may notice that at the beginning of the video Logan was on the cart and at the end we was not. The kid laughed so hard that he fell off the cart. Don't worry, no harm was done. In fact, Logan thought it was so fun that he wanted to do it again.

The kids and I in front of the butterfly garden.

The animals were so comfortable around humans it was cool to see them get so close to us.

Logan chasing an armadillo

Kia Ora and I in front of the herb garden.

october+ texas= BEACH!!!!!!

2011-10-08T22:37:00.000-07:00

Today was so nice and warm out that Jon and I decided to go to the beach (perhaps the last time we will actually be able to swim in it until the spring). We had a great time.

Our adorable princess Kia Ora, so happy to be by the ocean,

chasing the waves and digging in the sand.

Logan loving boogie boarding.There had been quite a lot of wind and rain this week which made the water a lot more agitated which was perfect for boogie boarding. There were actually quite a lot of surfers out (for TX).

Julien soaking up the sun!
He was hoping to fish, but had no luck because of all the waves.

Our cute kids enjoying the warm sun and the sand. Kia Ora did not seem to mind getting burried.

She loves playing with her brothers.

Murder Mystery Dinner!

2011-10-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

Last night, Jon and I had one of the funnest dates EVER! We participated in a murder mystery dinner. It was so much fun. I am not at liberty to give any information on the plot because the game has not yet been released. Our fabulous hostess's cousin writes murder mystery dinners and gave her the one to try (the text is currently getting reviewed and published). This much I can say, we were wizards.

Below are our fantastic hosts, Chris and Andreah Matthews.

We had a very big cast. It was a fun and creative way to hang out with friends.

Below is our amazing cast.

Jon and I had so much fun that we are eager to participate in another one.

bike rodeo

2011-10-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

The kids had a bike rodeo this morning which was supposed to be this amazing tradition in their school. The kids learned about bike safety, and keep their bike in proper shape, after which they did a little obstacle course with their bikes. I think they had fun. I know Kiki loved to watch them.

Logan

Julien

a house full of cubs!

2011-09-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well it is once again the start of another cub scout year! We had a bunch of very excited boys at our house. Julien was so thrilled to finally be a webelos and Logan become a wolf.

Below is Julien showing off what he learned with his den this month. He was happy to have earned this citizen pin.

Here is Jon pinning up Logan's bobcat badge. Logan and Jon worked hard this month in order to get the badge. I just love to see such a big smile on my little man.

Racing away! For some reasons Logan thought he would be able to travel faster by crawling. LOL! What a kid!

Clean break

2011-09-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

Well about three weeks ago Jon was warming up tossing a football before a flag football game and snap went his pinky. He said it hurt but did not think much of it and continued to play. Once he got home and showed me his finger I knew right away it was broken or perhaps dislocated. It was all swollen, blue, aching, and very sensitive to the touch. The next day he went to Dow's health clinic and was advised to go to hand and wrist specialist because it was indeed broken. The bone was completely broken in half with a few chips. The doctor said the break was in a spiral, joking that it must have been a pretty good throw. So poor Jon got his hand casted, but it didn't last long because he got sick of the cast and took it off HIMSELF (what a good patient, eager to be fully recovered! sarcasm). He said that the cast was too restrictive and uncomfortable. Needless to say we are hoping that Jon's pinky will soon be as good as new very soon, and not too crooked since we decided to forgo surgery.

A day at the Park

2011-09-11T18:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Jon and I took the kids to Hermann Park in Houston. The park is huge, and there are so many things to do. We started out visit by going on a train ride to see what there was to do.

We then headed to the play area where the kids played on the swings.

After being asked over and over again to go to the splash park; We agreed and took them. Houston has a ton of free splash parks so we were prepared today and made sure the kids had their bathing suits on.

While I was watching the kids at the splash park, Jon went and got us some treats.

Logan is showing a little frog he caught.

Once the kids had enough fun playing in the water we feed some of the animals there. Ducks, geese, turtles, squirrels, nutria (yap that is right we feed a nasty, probably disease infested, muskrat.)

After a nice picnic dinner, we ended our outing at the Miller Outdoor Theater to watch a free Japanese Taiko Concert. It was very cool. Kiki enjoyed it too, dancing to the beat of the drums.

My favorite part of this picture is Jon in the background. Too funny!

Kiki dancing to the music. Some of her moves look like they came straight from an African dance.

She cracks me up.

Nerd it up

2011-09-08T18:07:00.000-07:00

Julien has developed this cute sense of humor this year. Today he walked into the living room dressed like a "nerd." After showing us his new look, he would go back into his bedroom change his style and hairdo, come back out to the living room, and act like a different nerd. He is just too cute.

Downward Dog

2011-09-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

Ever since Kia Ora was a young baby I have done Yoga with her. The girls at New Haven (my old job) thought it was so funny to see a baby do boat (a tricky abdominal workout) without help. I would also massage and stretch her feet and her legs. Kiki has now (since she was 11 months approximately) mastered downward facing dog. The funniest thing about it is that I can just call it out, and Kiki will stop what she is doing and get into the position. Sometimes she will stay into downward dog for a while and wait for me to push her to do a somersault. This little thing is so so smart.

Cutest Kids EVER

2011-09-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

Before church, the kids were reading books. They were so adorable that I had to snap a shot.

Baby Mama!

2011-09-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

Kia Ora got a baby doll for her birthday, and they have been inseparable ever since she got it. Everywhere Kiki goes Mama follows. The doll cries, giggles, and says mama, so Kia Ora has decided to name her baby Mama. It is so cute watching Kiki go around the apartment saying "Mama! Mama!" grabing her baby and giving it a big kiss. She loves to feed her baby and give her a sippy cup, sit her down and show her a book.
Further more, Jon and I started going to the gym and have been dropping off Kia Ora at the daycare. The days that Kiki does the best at the day care are the days when a little girl (who looks just like her mama) is there. Kiki sits next to her, pats her head, kisses her, and calls her mama. She is too funny and stinkin' adorable.

2011-08-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

The plant Jon works with at Dow bought tickets for the employees to go see the Astros play. Jon and I did not want to pass up that opportunity. It was so much fun! They had food vouchers for everyone, so we didn't even need buy dinner. I got a chance to meet some of the people Jon works with. We had a blast! Below are some pictures of our fantastic activity:

As you can see we all have Astros gear. Jon was so excited about going that he surprised us all with jerseys and shirts. The kids could not believe their eyes when Jon presented them their jerseys. They absolutely loved them.

The kids wanted to stay to the very end to see the fireworks.

cha-ching!

2011-08-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

Watch out people! I am a working photographer. (Okay! not really, but let me explain.) Kim hooked me up with this awesome job with the company she works for. I simply had to go around Houston taking pictures of places with a door mat saying welcome to Houston. It was the best paying job I have done for the amount of effort I had to put into it. Plus I got to visit pretty cool stuff! I love the fact that I have a sister looking out for me. Kim, I'm ready for my next assignment whenever you are! Love you sis!

Logan got baptized!

2011-08-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

Logan got baptized on August 7th! It was a very nice and spiritual baptism. Raphael spoke on baptism, my dad on the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Alex bore his testimony. We were grateful to have family want to share this special day with us.

Logan loves his aunts and uncles, and they love him too!

All in white!

Time with the Fam

2011-08-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

While my family was here we got to do a lot of fun things together like...

...the BEACH!

...Fishing and netting!

Alex actually caught a shark!

Jon got really good at catching fish. He was catching 6 to 10 fish per toss of the net. We brought the biggest ones and ate them. Below is a picture of my dad teaching Jon how to cut and clean out a fish. I don't think he is enjoying it too much.

... being silly!

...going out to eat!

Julien tried oysters for the first time! He seemed to enjoy them.

...building legos!

...movie watching!

...birthday celebrations of course. We have so many birthdays in the month of July and August. It seems that we celebrate every couple days. Logan's is the 21st of July, my mom 25th, Kim 26th, Kia Ora the 28th, Alex, August 2nd, Julien, August 4th, Jon, August 8th, and Joey the 19th.

My parents got Jon a very rare Spiderman comic book. It was the only one missing from his series. I think he was pretty exciting.

...lots of long talks!

...more beach time!

... multiple pool outings where we had the pool all to ourselves!

...a quick trip to the Children's Museum of Houston!

...and much much more!

...saying goodbye was hard to do but we had so much fun and made so many unforgettable memories that we are looking forward to another reunion very soon.

What are you doing here? & How did you come here?

2011-08-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

Surprise! Surprise! In Logan's own words: "What are you doing here?" My mom surprised the boys by arriving late Wednesday night. They were so excited to see her.

Two days later Kim made a surprise arrival! I loved to see their faces as they opened the door. It was so cute.

Finally Papi, Alex, and Raph joined the fun!

We surely missed T who is still on his mission in France and has just a few weeks left, along with Audrey and Joey. Audrey actually had a ticket to come and visit us for Logan's baptism and be with the family but had an accident and had to have an emergency surgery on her knee and was advised that she could not get on a plane so shortly after surgery. She was pretty sad and disappointed and so were we. We missed her very much.

Happy 10th Birthday Julien!

2011-08-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

Julien turned 10 years old today! I can hardly believe how fast the days and years go by. I still remember when he was a little toddler climbing on everything, unbolting the door while I was in the shower and knocking on our neighbors door naked, or playing Spiderman, wanting to be called Peter Packer... there are too many memories to tell and recount. He is growing up way too fast, and thinking about the fact that in less then 10 years from now he will be moved out of the house in college, and/ or on a mission hopefully brings my stomach to knots. Julien is the sweetest boy. He is so sensitive to everyone's feelings. He is so caring and loving towards others. He is a great big brother. Julien has developed a cute sense of humor too. He loves to laugh and make others laugh with him. He still is a very talented swimmer, and a very smart kid. We are so blessed to have him be a part of our family.

Photoshoot!

For his birthday Julien got snorkeling gear, a Pirate of the Caribbean Lego set from Mami and Papi, and some cash from Jon's parents. He was so excited about all his gifts.

Birthday Cake!

Happy 1st Birthday to the most beautiful girl of all!

2011-07-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

Kia Ora turned 1 years old today, it was a very bitter sweet feeling for me. I am excited for her to grow, learn, and get older; yet I am sad that she is no longer in that tiny little infant stage. We are so lucky to have Kia Ora in our lives. I truly feel blessed. She is the sweetest, most beautiful girl of all. She already has such a strong personality; she is assertive, and a cute and sassy girly girl. She loves to hug and kiss us all. She is crazy about her two older brothers. We are enjoying every moment of her.

Below are a few pictures from a photoshoot I did from her special day.

Kia Ora got a baby doll for her birthday. She just loved it so much. She was kissing it all day, and wheeling it in her shopping cart. It was just too cute.

Birthday CupCake!

Kia Ora was so funny as we were singing Happy Birthday to her, she was acting nonchalant about things piking at her fingernails. It was too cute. But when it came time to dig into her cupcake after some encouragement of course, she had so much fun, and left quite a mess for me to clean up.

Happy 8th Birthday Logan!

2011-07-21T22:58:00.000-07:00

Logan turned 8 years old today. I can't believe how fast the days, months, and years pass by. I still remember him as a little baby, and toddler, and young child. Logan is such a cute boy. He is so smart, and talented. He is a great little helper around the house, and an even greater helper with his little sister Kia Ora. He is a great big brother, Kiki adores him so much. He has the most adorable face. I love to hug and kiss him; I hope this lasts for at least another 8 years. I feel so blessed to have him in my life. I love him so very much.

This morning I made pancakes and a fruit salad for breakfast after which we opened one of his presents.

Jon creeping up on Logan with his present.

Logan decided on pizza for his birthday dinner. I was a little skeptical since Logan hates cheese, but after confirming several times that it was exactly what he wanted, I went ahead a picked up pizza. Well... indeed he ate pizza with no complains, he simply scraped the cheese off before eating the slice.

Logan opening one of his presents from Mami and Papi.

After dinner we headed to the pool to tryout his new snorkel.

Exercise Time w/ Coach Jon

2011-07-12T23:43:00.000-07:00

Today Jon took us to the park for some exercise. He had us to laps and soccer drills. It was so fun to be outdoors and playing ball with the boys. We all got a good workout. While we played, Kia Ora played with her little phone, answering it by saying A O! It was so cute that I had to pull out the camera to take a video.

Brazos Bend State Park

2011-07-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Brazos Bend State Park to enjoy some time in nature. The kids were able to touch some pretty cool and scary creatures like a tarantula, an alligator, and a snake. Logan just went for it and was not afraid to pet them, Julien however was not so sure about it.

We saw really cool wild life. It was cool because the animals were not at all afraid of getting close to us...

...which can be scary when those animals are ALLIGATORS! Yap that is right there were two alligators there hanging out. One of the people on the dock was fishing and before he left he threw his live bait in the lake right to the alligator. The alligator opened his mouth so wide and snapped to fish with so much quickness and force, it was frightening!

Julien and Logan too wanted to fish, and were actually hoping to catch an alligator.

They are to funny.

On our way home we stopped by this cute little man's home who was selling some of his fruits, and vegetables, along with other homemade product from other locals. I bought a jar of honey because I love honey and was so intrigued. It is really good honey.

my mom is mean

2011-07-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

The mean mom that I am has Julien and Logan do homework every morning of the summer for the exception of the weekend of course. They both have a general math review, times tables and divisions, reading comprehension, language arts worksheets, 10-15 sentence essays, and 30 minutes worth of reading. Some may think it is a little excessive, but it should only take them 1:30 minutes to do it all. I just want to be sure they don't forget the things they learned in their previews grades over the long summer break, and want them to feel prepared for the new school year. At the beginning of the summer it is always hard for them to start that routine, but now the kids are so used to it that they get up early and do their homework all on their own with no complaints. I am so proud of my hard little workers.

The Ring of Power

2011-07-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

The pool was closed today, so instead of doing our daily afternoon swim, the kids decided they wanted to make a movie. So Julien, Logan, and I (and Kiki of course) spent the afternoon plotting a script, shooting and editing a video. It was so fun to see them get so into it. After we got done video taping, we did a little photoshoot. Those kids are so brilliant, and creative. I must say, it was fun for me to do this with them. We only had time to make part one and they are hoping to do part 2 really soon. Make sure to ask them about it when you talk to them, they are so proud of it.

4th of July

2011-07-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

Honestly, there was not much to do here for the 4th on top of the fact that there was a fire band due to the drought we have been having; so Jon and I decided to spend our day at the beach, followed by a BBQ with our good friends Matt and Becca Meservy.

The boys were having a blast falling back, crashing into the waves.

The person next to us fished for crabs and was able to catch pretty big ones. It was so cool. The kids and I often catch them but have not been able to catch such big ones.

After the BBQ, we all enjoyed popping some snaps on the driveway.

This was hilarious! Julien and Logan were calling out spells as they threw their snaps on the ground. They are so funny. They love Happy Potter, and can't wait for the last one to come out.

Pigtails

2011-06-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

Kiki sported her first pigtails today. Her hair is finally long enough that I can up it up without little wispies everywhere. She is so cute! I am having way to much fun with her.

Galveston!

2011-06-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

Today we spent a wonderful day at Galveston. It was such a fun field day. By the time we got to Galveston which is no more than an hour away for us, the kids were already hungry for lunch, so we stopped and had dinner by the ocean on the seawall.

Then, we headed to the visitors center for more info on all the things we could do there. Let's just say we are going to have to go a couple of times in order to do all the things we want to see and do. The boys had to take a picture with the pirate statue in the entrance of the visitors center. It was so funny seeing them pose.

We then took the ferry to a peninsula in hopes to see dolphins since we heard from multiple people that they follow the boats. Unfortunately we did not see any, I guess it just means we need to take another ferry ride on our next visit. The kids still had fun walking around the boat, feeding the seagulls from the back of the ferry.

After our ferry ride we headed to Sea Wolf park to visit a WWII submarine and battle ship. The kids absolutely loved it. They wanted to go and see every part of the sub and ship.

Julien in front of the missals.

Logan clever as he is got on one of the bunks and pretended to be sleeping.

Jon was a little nervous going down into the submarine afraid he would not fit, but he did.

See his surprised face!

Julien and Logan taking control of the sub.

We ended our day at Galveston at "the Spot" which is a delicious, cute, little burger joint that we had heard a lot about. It was really good, and a very fun environment.

All in all, we spent an awesome day visiting, and enjoying each others company. Let me just say Texas is hot, and we were glad to get home to an air conditioned apartment.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

To my Dear Husband

I feel so blessed to be married to such an amazing husband. He is so dedicated to taking care of us and making sure all of our needs are met. He is brilliantly smart, a very hard worker, and loving husband and father. I could spend hours watching him play soccer, swim, snuggle, build legos, fish ... with the kids. Life is good!

Babe thanks for being a great dad to our three beautiful children. I love you more than you know and am so happy to be sealed to you for time and all eternity.

Julien and Jon

Jon and Logan

Kia Ora and Jon

To my Dearest Dad

My father truly is the greatest father and person in the world. Never once in my life have I thought otherwise. He is so loving, caring, charitable, and genuine. He is kind, soft spoken, and never has anything bad or negative to say about anyone. He is smart, and very knowledgeable about life, the gospel, anything and everything. Everyone who meet him just automatically feel drawn to him because of all those qualities. He is a great example of who I want to be. He is a wonder grandfather to my children and a great example to them also. I love him so much and am grateful to have him in my and my family's life.

Trip to the Sea Center

2011-06-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

Today we visited the Sea Center. The Sea Center is a fish hatchery, they also have aquarium with gulf specific sea creatures, and a board walk where you can see wetland plants and animals. It was a fun cheap activity for us to do.

The kids loved the touch tank; Kia Ora was so intrigued with all the little creatures that she was pulling herself down to try and grab things.

Here we are on the board walk. It was very hot, and we did not see any wildlife, but it was still fun and relaxing.

Finally in Texas!

2011-06-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

We finally arrived in Texas after 6 long weeks of been apart from Jon. We got in late last Friday night and were too tired to do anything, but Jon had planned a fun day at the beach for the following day that we were all very much looking forward to.
Jon bought all sorts of beach equipment to make our outing more enjoyable. Each of the kids got a new beach towel, and chair. The boys got boogie boards, and Kia Ora got a beach shovel and bucket set.

Jon also got a fold- able table and canopy. It was nice to have some shade especially for Kia Ora who is not acclimated to the sun and heat. Jon had prepared a nice picnic too. It was a perfect first day in our new home town.

We are loving Jon's new work schedule. He leaves home early and gets home early, doesn't have to do homework after he gets home or go to the lab Saturday to do more homework. We actually see him multiple hours everyday. I still remember the time when the kids would literally not see Jon for an entire week, because he would leave when were where still asleep and return after they would be put to bed. Those days were so hard on our family, but I am starting to see the blessings that came from all those hard sacrifices our family made while in school.

One of the things the kids love to do is hanging out at the pool. We have gone to the pool everyday this week for the exception of Sundays of course.

Kia Ora very gracefully presenting a devellope to her dad. She loves to lift her little leg and point her toes. It is the cutest thing. She is headed to the right direction.

Saturday morning is soccer time with the ward/ stake. While Jon and the boys played, kiki and I enjoyed lounging around on the grass under the warm morning sun.

Body Logic's "Uncovered"

2011-06-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

We finally got pictures from Body Logic's first show. Body Logic is a dance company that was started by a some of the girls I danced with at UVU. The company is a little over one year old. We have had the opportunity to perform at various venues ever since the company was assembled. This past April was especially wonderful for the company as we put together our very own show for the first time. We nearly sold out the house both nights. We actually made a profit. It felt amazing to know that we were so successful.

I choreographed a piece titled "Terminal Velocity" which was very athletic and fast paced. The dancers did an amazing job embodying my vision. I would love to go back, rework it, and reset it.

Pictures from "Creatures of Habit" choreographed by Claire Bagley.

Pictures from "Cassandra" choreographed by Angela Banchero-Kelleher. Angie is a former Repertory Dance Theater dancer, and currently teaches at UVU. She is an amazing artist. We were so lucky to have one of her best works in our show.

We performed many more pieces, but those were some of my favorites.
http://bodylogicdance.blogspot.com

After the show, I was able to participate in a little photoshoot. Here are some of my best shots:

Cutest of them all

2011-06-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Best of Julien, Logan, and Kia Ora in a photoshoot I did with them yesterday. They have the most adorable faces. I could kiss and squeeze their little cheeks all day long. I love them so very much.

Kennecott Copper Mine

2011-05-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

Before leaving Utah I wanted to visit some Utah specific sights with the kids. We decided to go to the Kennecott Copper Mine. All the trucks and machinery the miners use are huge. It was very impressive, and interesting.

Soccer master!

2011-05-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

Once again, another soccer season has come and gone for Logan. He has had so much fun playing this year. Logan actually played indoor soccer this winter as well as the regular spring soccer. He has gotten quite good. He said he scored an average of 1 or 2 goals per game. He is so much fun to watch.

Draper city soccer had a clinic with the Real Salt Lake soccer team where he got his shirt and ball signed, and got to play with them. He was so excited to meet real soccer players.

Derby Race

2011-05-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

Julien and Logan got to participate in the annual Derby race with Julien's scouting troop. They had a blast.

Skyping with Dad

2011-05-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

Skype is one of the greatest communication tools. Since Jon has been away the kids and I have been skyping with Jon every day. It has been great for him to be able to see what and how the kids are doing. It is especially great for Kia Ora who is growing up so fast and forgets people so easily. We do not want her forgetting her daddy. Above is a how a typical conversation plays out with our cute little Kiki.

Happy Mother's day!

2011-05-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

This mother's day was bitter sweet since I got to spend it with my mom, the most amazing mother of all, but Jon was not there to celebrate with us since he was in Texas. I did however get spoiled. I got several cards from the kids and my parents, a cookbook written by Logan's 2nd grade class, a gift card, and a delicious Edible Arrangement from my cute husband.

My mom had prepared an amazing dinner, pineapple coconut mahi-mahi, with artichokes, and potatoes, with surprise sorbets for desert that were served in real fruit shells. It was so good.

The best part of the day was talking to Thiefaine, and Raphael who are on their mission in Toulouse, France, and Montreal, Canada. T got to skype. It was fun to see him face to face. They are both doing very well and are amazing missionaries. I feel so blessed to have them in my life, they are such good examples to my little family. I am very eager for them to come home.

CRACK ME UP!

2011-05-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

Kia Ora adores her brothers just as much as they adore her. They just love to make her laugh, and she can never get enough. They crack me up. Above Logan is jumping off of my bed shooting hoops into a laundry basket with a water bottle; and Kiki is having the time of her life watching him.

sleep tight

2011-05-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

After doing some of my evening chores, I came into my room to find the cutest thing I ever saw. Logan and Kia Ora asleep holding hands. It was so precious that I had to take a picture to remember this sight forever.

Splits and Boats by Julien Ward

2011-05-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Julien planned a banana splits and boats party. He talked about it all week long. On Saturday he went shopping with me for all his ingredients. Sunday, he wrote up his menu and took peoples orders on what they wanted.

Here is Julien putting together Papi's ice cream, "the Special." "The Special basically has every topping imaginable.

Papi was pretty surprised when he say that his ice cream was the size of Mt. Everest.

Logan and Julien showing off their ice cream sundays

Julien earns his Bear!

2011-04-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Julien worked really hard this year in order for him to earn his Bear. He now can't wait to join the Webelos group. I can't believe he is almost at that age. He is growing up way too fast.

Graduation Party!

2011-04-24T22:23:00.001-07:00

For Jon's graduation, my parents put together a party for him to celebrate his accomplishments. It turn out so good. I know he and his friends had a lot of fun. One of my good friends from work helped be put together some awesome cupcake toppers. Take a look!

My mom got croissant sandwiches, wraps, chips, veggies trays, and of course her famous punch. We also had bratwurst, along with Jon's amazing baked beans, and kielbasa sausages. It was a lot of food.

Here are the cupcakes, over 100 of them. Yep! It took forever. We had three different flavors: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, all made from scratch the strawberry cupcakes were made with really strawberries (they were delicious).

Mini Diplomas toppers

Caps

BYU obviously

and the name of the company Jon will be working for

DOW

Jon's friends:

Ben and Lenzy and Remi

Alex

Tyler and Joanna

My aunt and uncle Paul and Marie Lize

Reggie

Aaron and Tiffany

Manil and Indu

The Hoffmans

Joe

You might be wondering why they are holding up a one dollar bill; well they both signed the dollar and made a packed to mail the dollar back and forth one to the other with every 50 000 dollars they make.

Aaron

Stacy and Andrew

Dave and Ian

Nicole

GRADUATION!

2011-04-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

Today Jon graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering. It has been a long and hard road for us, but we made it. I am so proud of Jon's hard work and dedication in being a good student and fulfilling his goal. Not only has he finished his schooling in a difficult field of study, but also from a difficult and competitive institution, and he has done very well, furthermore, Jon was offered an amazing job with Dow Chemical.
Here is a video of Jon receiving his diploma. I have never seen him smile so big in my life. I got at little chocked up when I saw him.

After the ceremony we went to a lunch in put together by his department.

After the lunch in we headed to the book store to grab some keepsakes for the kids, following by pictures, and milk shakes.

Our new BYU Grad!

A cute picture of the kids after the ceremony.

Jon has wanted a picture of our family in front of Timp with snow on top and clear blue skies for a while now. Today we were finally able to grant him his wish.

Kia Ora tired after a long long day.

Heat Transfer party

2011-04-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

One of the classes Jon took this semester at BYU was called Heat Transfer. So every year the teacher apparently throws a party where you can walk on coals (since there is a transfer of heat between coals and feet if one chooses to walk on them). Of course Jon would not miss such an event. Above is contemplating what he is about to do.

Ouch! LOL! That looks like it hurt! Jon only got 2 small blisters though.

BLD's first show

2011-04-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you know this, but a couple of friends from my graduating class and I at UVU started our own dance company about a year ago. We are called Body Logic Dance Company. http://bodylogicdance.blogspot.com/
We are still a work in progress, but moving at lighting speed. Each of the girls on the company have a responsibility, we meet to talk about possible performance and teaching opportunities, take class, and choreograph. In the fall we were able to find a venue to host a show for us. So the first week of January, choreographers got started in creating their works. I choreographed a piece title "Terminal Velocity."
We performed our show "Uncovered" Friday 8th and Saturday 9th of April. It was a wonderful show. We had a pretty good turn out. Jon and Kiki were there every night including tech/dress rehearsal. The boys, my parents, Alex, and my girls came also. It was so great for them to show me their support. So many people came that we filled the space and actually made a revenue. Yeah! I am so proud of all the girls. It was a lot of hard work and dedication to put a show together. But we did it, and we were awesome. I am eager to get started on our next one.
Although I am moving to TX, I am hoping to stay connected and go back every year to set pieces on the company. Dancing is more than what I love to do, it is a passion, it is deeply rooted inside of me, it has been a part of me for nearly 25 years, parting from it would be impossible. I know I will have the opportunity to teach in TX, but creating and performing is different, it is a way I communicate, and release my artistic impressions.
Above is a picture of Kiki and I stretching before the show. I will hopefully post pictures of the actual performance soon.

April Swim Meet

2011-04-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

Julien had another swim meet. Here he is swimming front stroke:

Julien swimming back:

Julien swimming fly:

Isn't he so cute? It kills me to see him so at ease in the water.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

The kids had a good Easter. They were so excited about the Easter Egg Hunt that Alex had to hold down the door before they could go look for all the yummy treats.

Emily and Jay come to visit

2011-04-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

Jon's cousin Emily, with her husband Jay, and two kids Nicolai, and Alexi came for a visit. It was nice to be able to see them knowing that it might be a while before our next visit. We all went to the ice skating rink. It was a lot of fun.

This semester Jon has been taking a hockey class at BYU. He is loving it, and has become quite good at skating. Simply hearing some of their warm up drills sound nearly impossible. One of the things that Jon had not master yet was skating backward so he decided to do a little practicing while at the rink.

Take a look:

I LOVE YOU BABE!

Coolest uncle

2011-04-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

Julien and Logan love Alex so much. He is almost like a big brother to them. He does so much for them. We will miss having him around everyday to play and help out with homework.

House hunting trip

2011-03-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

These past couple of days Jon and I were able to go to Texas for a house hunting trip. It was nice to be able to get away for a couple days, relax, scope out the area we will be living at, and find a place to stay.

Well Texas is hot and sticky. Jon and I were sweating as we stepped off the plane at 9 pm. Kia Ora got a little sunburn on her arms simply by walking from the car to the apartment office doors/ apartment showings. Hopefully we will get use to the climate sooner than later.

The first 2 days was strictly business. Our sole objective was finding a place to live. Believe it or not the renting market is not very big. We ended up having to sign with a place called the Gateway. It is only a 2 bedroom since they did not have 3 bedrooms available. Besides we are hoping to save up a little money to get a house within the next year.
The apartment complex is pretty nice: pool, basketball court, volleyball court, playground, and a fairly nice grassy area with a gazebo.

The final day some of our friends took us to the beach, which turns out to be just 15 minutes away from our front door. The water was so nice, you could hardly tell where the sand ended and water begun. Jon actually went swimming, and Kiki had her first encounter with the ocean.

Below is a picture of one of the plants where Jon will be working at. He is very eager to get started with Dow.

We are all very exciting for a new beginning in Lake Jackson, Texas, and think it will be a great fit for our family.

Julien's Book Talk

2011-03-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

Julien had a big project due yesterday. It took us about a month to prepare for it. He had to draw an original front and back book cover, make a comic book page of his favorite scene, draw pictures of the leading characters in action along with their description, a news paper review of the book, bring a prop that relates to the book somehow, and do a presentation. This project seemed a little hefty for a 4th grader. But after many weekends, and late nights, we managed to get it done. And I think he did an amazing job.

Happy St Patrick's Day

2011-03-18T07:12:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to do something fun for the kids for St Patrick's day. The cook at work gave me some great meal ideas. So on my way home I stopped by the store to pick up some key ingredients and then started my delicious St. Partick's day dinner. Below are the recipes. The kids enjoyed it very much (except for Logan who would not eat the "green" in the potato pancakes, that kid is so picky!)

St. Paddy's Green Potato Pancakes with Pale Green Horseradish Drizzle

1-1/2 pounds Yukon Gold or boiling potatoes, cut into large (about 2-inch) pieces
2 teaspoons salt for boiling
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons cream
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Heat oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.

Bring a large pot of water (about 4 quarts) to a boil. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain. Place the potatoes in a large bowl. While the potatoes cook, thaw the spinach in a microwave. Place the spinach in a sieve over a bowl and press out as much water as possible. Reserve the spinach water for the Pale Green Horseradish Drizzle.

Heat the butter and cream gently until melted. (A heatproof measuring cup in a microwave on low setting works well for this. Check every minute or so until butter is melted.)

Mash the potatoes together with the spinach, butter mixture, flour, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste.

On a lightly floured surface, pat the mixture into 1/2-inch thick cakes, about 3-1/2 inches across. Mixture makes about 12 cakes. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet on medium-high until hot. Brown the cakes on both sides, and 3 minutes per side, making sure they don't burn.

Drain the cooked cakes on the paper towel-lined baking sheet, and keep warm in the oven until all cakes are made.

Serve hot, with the Pale Green Horseradish Drizzle.

Pale Green Horseradish Drizzle

4 teaspoons spinach water, reserved from pancake recipe
2 teaspoons reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish

Mix together the spinach water (4 teaspoons only) with the sour cream and horseradish until smooth. Mixture will be thin. Drizzle it over the pancakes right before serving, or to nap an appetizer plate, drizzle a small amount on the plate and set 2 pancakes on top.

Makes about twelve (3 to 3-1/2 inch) pancakes

Lime steak

Steak

kosher salt

pepper

lime juice

lime, sliced

shallots

Marinate the steak in kosher salt, and lime. Cook steak with kosher salt, pepper, and shallots. Top with lime slices when ready to serve.

Shamrock Shake

4 TBS chocolate syrup

8 mint creme oreo cookies, crushed

1 cup of milk

2 cups of mint chocolate chip ice cream

Pour 1 TBS of chocolate syrup in 4 cups. In a mixer blend together the ice cream and the milk. Pour the milk shake mixture evenly in each up. Top shake with mint oreo cookies.

makes 4, 1 cup serving

Minty St Partick's day drink

Sprite

mint leaves

3 kiwis, without skins, cut in slices

8 green skittles

Pour sprite in cups, put in 1 or 2 mint leaves, 2-3 kiwi slices, and 2 skittles.

Makes 4 cups

Fresh Food Feeder

2011-03-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

Okay so a fresh food feeder is a very lame word, but it is a very cool product. I found it at Walmart the other day, and thought I would share. It is a mesh bag which seals. You can put all different kinds of fruits, veggies, cookies in it. The baby will chew on it without any risk of chocking on food. Kia Ora really likes it.

Kia Ora loves her big brothers

2011-03-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

Kia Ora loves her big brothers. She laughs and get very excited when ever she sees them. She also loves to kiss them.

Audrey and Joey's Wedding

2011-03-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

Audrey finally got her wedding pictures. They turned out beautiful! I thought I'd share a couple (few compared to the thousand the photographer sent.) Audrey and Joey got married the 30th of December 2010.

Getting ready.

Audrey and Joey

Audrey and Joey's first look.

Our beautiful bride Audrey.

The handsome groom.

Bridesmaids

Family pictures.

The boys, our cute little ushers

The ceremony.

The party.

And here I am tearing up the dance floor. LOL

Family photos.

Cake.

Audrey and Joey were so sweet in sharing their special day with us by getting us our very own cake. That very day, Jon and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. It was by far the best anniversary celebration.

Calculating my move...

...and the kill!

Of to the honeymoon.

Here are a few details of the room and Audrey's accessories. Everything was so beautifully done.

I made this pillow for Audrey and Joey's rings. It is made out of my mom's wedding dress. I thought it turned out pretty good.

Kia Ora is crawling

2011-02-23T21:37:00.001-08:00

At 6 months and 3 weeks, the Kikster is crawling! She crawled 4 steps yesterday night. The rest of the night I was trying to get her to do it again so I could get it on video, but no luck until today. This little girl is a serious athlete (hopefully she will be a dancer type of athlete). Kia Ora has been sitting on her own since she was 4 months, and started rolling at 5 1/2 months. She is growing up way to fast.