New Years Resolutions

I love the feeling of having a new beginning. You can start from scratch, ignore the way that last year's goals fizzled out and try, try again. Here are some of my New Years Resolutions:
Educational:
1. Finish writing my book.
2. Design a webpage
3. Take the GRE
4. Finish Queen Liliuokalani’s autobiography/and Healing the Child Within (Sara gave me two years ago).
Physical/Emotional Well-being:
5. Work on my food addiction-eat less junk food
6. Participate in at least a 5k
8. Go back to my hip hop class
9. Have regular girls’ nights
Charitable:
10. Get involved in the community
11. Help someone who needs help
12. Hold a charity dinner.
Hobbies:
13. Take a sewing class
14. Make Lani an Easter dress
15. Refinish my chairs
16. Reupholster my sofas
Wants:
17. See Wicked
18. Hold a 4th of July party in our circle
19. Have a 30th birthday party
20. Go see my parents in California
21. Prepare a will-notarized
22. Have a date night once a month-the temple every other month (every month is not realistic for me)
23. Spend more quality time with my kids.
24. Next year, enroll Ian in preschool
25. Teach a Hula class at Golds Gym
26. Get a new desk
Financial:
27. Spend less money (after the after-Christmas sales)
28. Save money every month.
29. Totally finish the house. (Trim, shelves for toys, some electrical...)
30. Stick to my budget.
Church:
31. Do my visiting teaching without kids.
32. Make a bulletin board for primary.
33. Read the Book of Mormon with Aaron.

Belated Family Letter

Okay, I meant to send this out, then email it out, and well here it is on the blog...some may call it procrastination, I call it modern technology...

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, we have faced a few challenges this year. Perhaps it is when faced with adversity that we are able to realize all the amazing things we have. They are not always recognized, but they are definitely there. In the spirit of Christmas, we’d like to share a few from our lives to yours.

Brad completed his MBA in March. In an effort to remain productive and keep up the study habits, he has begun working towards his CPCU, the highest insurance designation. A temporary setback, in October Brad ruptured his esophagus. Despite the seriousness of the injury Brad was in the hospital for only one week and did not undergo major surgery as most with this injury would have. Instead the tissue is repairing itself and with a diet of soft foods ice cream and follow-up visits, Brad is home and wrestling (gently) with the boys.

Three kids have been a small challenge in my life this year. Luckily, having one in kindergarten at least offers a reprieve from constant fighting. Somehow I am still able to finish project after project. I am also blessed to have Spencer and Jeni as well as Ben nearby this year to step in when necessary, like in October. It is nice to be able to trade off with Jeni as well as invite myself along for her and her sisters’ girls’ nights. However, I have found amazing support through our ward and close friends during trying times; that should not have surprised me, yet it did.

Aaron started kindergarten this year. He excels at all things academic and I am happy to have found an environment which seems to encourage this. He is a great help to me, almost always doing what I ask him to do with his younger brother and sister. Brad has implemented a new time out consequence in which Aaron must read a book to Ian or Lani when he gets in trouble.

Ian, our teddy bear, wants to grow up, but he feels he may miss out on the perks of being a baby. Despite his destructive tendencies, he loves anyone and everyone and shows it with his many hugs and kisses.

Kailani seems to learn a new word daily and already has dance moves we envy. She thinks her brothers are hilarious, but often makes her own trouble independently. She has a flair for the dramatics, but when you look in those blue eyes it’s hard to say no.

As we think about the past few months and look around our cozy home, it is impossible to ignore the blessings bestowed upon us. We hope this Christmas Season brings joy to your home as it does to ours!

Love,

Brad, Tara, Aaron, Ian, and Kailani

Attempt Number One

Merry Christmas to me-I got a sewing machine last week. Here is my first attempt at making something. I thought I would practice on a baby doll dress and work my way up to making Lani a dress. I think I went backwards because it is so hard to sew in the little nooks and crannies. Maybe I'll try Lani's dress next. Luckily, Lani hugs her baby so tight that you can't see the imperfections.

Update III

Lani loves to take care of her little baby. She wraps it in a blankie. Not hers, those are off limits even for her baby. But she kisses it goodnight and pats her back. It's the cutest thing. Her favorite new words are "Let's Go" and "Good girl." My girl is growing up so fast.

Update II

Thanksgiving. I apologize for the lack of pictures. Thanksgiving was at my house this year and well, so relaxing that I did not take out the camera very much. I helped with the meal, but whenever my mom comes it's like I start to do something and a few minutes later she's already done it. Plus, Jeni and Spencer brought half the food along with cousin Nona and Malia. The pictures are of the play that my mom helped the kids put on for us about Farmer Boone and his turkeys with a surprise visit from a Transformer that went into Space...Aaron made it up. My parents are moving to California (so much closer for visits) so it was great that we were on their way. We enjoyed their visit even if they did bring their dog, Boone, along with them.

Time for an Update

I feel sometimes like I am so busy, but I'm really not. My kids just need their own game system so they will stay off my computer;) Right now Lani is asleep and the boys are watching a movie so I can finally update. I'm sorry this will update backwards on the blog. Oh well. First of all, I love Fall. I hate raking, but I love to see the leaves Fall. I like to color over them and hang our pictures up and the chill gets me in the mood to start baking. And after everything that has been going on in our lives (I feel I've been playing catchup with my "home responsibilities"), it is nice to go outside and play in the leaves. The kids have a blast.

Just like Jana

I am told Lani has similar fashion tastes to those of Aunt Jana (like 20 something years ago). Of course, Lani has no rocking horse and keeps her diaper on (for now). But she does have some great dance moves in those boots!

Litttle Samarai Class

Last day of class I remembered the camera:


This is usually how the first 15 minutes of class goes. The kids run around while the teacher gets the mats out and decides what to do. (With community ed classes you get what you pay for-not much).


This is the usual warm up. Notice, Cousin Arie running around, Aaron is left of the guy jumping in circles, and Ian has to be held by the instructor.
This about sums up the rest of class. The teacher tries to explain something while the kids wrestle. He really forgets there are three year olds in his class. Example: Cousin Arie can't sit still. Aaron takes it well.
Ian is actually so tired by 5pm that he is spastic (defense mechanism against sleep). Half the time he is going crazy trying to beat up Arie or anyone else in his way.
Meanwhile, Lani is on the sidelines playing with her new friend. Well, she follows her around to sit by her anyway.

And that is our karate class. It really is pretty hysterical. I'm considering investing in real lessons (as opposed to what we got). I mean, I already invested in the gi attire. Some say this encourages violence, but if you know my boys, you know that violence occurs without any encouragement in my house. Aaron might as well learn how to defend himself, right?

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Projects

I can't help myself. I always have a project going on. It might keep me sane. I always feel better when I see a finished project. In the past few months I have refinished my old kitchen table as well as my new kitchen table. I am working on refinishing some chairs. In between I decided to build some storage space in my basement entryway. I bought the stuff yesterday and put it up today. Brad's in California this weekend so I wanted to get it done before he got back. I can't take all the credit because I needed my brother, Ben, to use his strength and help me keep things straight. But as the engineer, I am pretty proud of my work. I made all the cuts myself, too, even though the table saw scares me. To celebrate, we had my other brother, Spencer, and his family come over for dinner and root beer floats!

Brad is home!

Yeah, Brad is home. He is not up to his usual strength, just looking at our kids seems to tire him out:) But at least he now gets a steady flow of applesauce, cream of wheat, and an array of soups. Soon he will graduate from liquids, but we are taking it slow. By the way, Kristen, who really needs sleep?
Thanks for the prayers, love, and support we have received. We are blessed to have such a support system to take care of us whether you are near or far. We did not even realize just how serious the injury was until the doctor showed Brad Tuesday morning the original cat scan taken last Wednesday. His esophagus was cut through and around in a semi circle, then on through the muscle. He truly is fortunate to be home without a scar over his chest.

FYI

On Wednesday, Brad was admitted to the Thoracic ICU because he lacerated his esophagus (there are underlying issues that we didn't take care of before this so...here we are). His doctor is hoping that while they pump him with antibiotics for any possible infection, the laceration will close on its own making a surgical procedure unnecessary. Today he was moved out of the ICU to a regular patient room until probably Monday or Tuesday. He is bored out of his mind so feel free to visit if you can. We will be going hospital trick or treating in a little while.

Chelsea is here to help, but unfortunately is having a few difficulties of her own and last night got to have a little reunion with Brad in the ER (Yes, Brad can talk people into letting him leave the ICU). The hospital thanks us for our business:)

Edit: Brad's hospital phone is (801) 507-4403 if you want to call.

Pumpkin Carving

Girls Night

Gardner Village-"Puttin' on the Witch"
For a fun girls night, I went out with my sister-in-law and her sisters and we got witch makeovers. We had a great time finding our inner witch!

Fall Break

Sorry, no pictures. This past weekend was Aaron's Fall Break from kindergarten. I seek to make my kids' lives as busy as possible so this was our weekend:
Wednesday-Tracy Aviary, karate lessons
Thursday-Children's Museum, Cousin's Birthday Party
Friday-Gardner Village with some friends we hadn't seen in a long time, Babysat cousins
Saturday-Uncle Spencer and Aunt Jeni babysat my kids (took them to the park and Mcdonalds), then we went to the park
We had planned on a Pumpkin Patch for Monday, but somehow Lani got sick (probably from running around so much). We'll leave that one alone for a few days.

Saturday at the Park

Not too far from us there's a park called Germania Park. We really like it because there's a paved path that goes along the Jordan River Parkway and there's also a playground and a big grassy area. It's great for playing, skateboarding, bike riding and just about everything.

Cookie Decorating

Last week's Monday night activity: Halloween cookies. You may notice, Ian does not like frosting on his cookies. I know, wierd. And Daddy is all about his masterpiece of a cookie.

Gardner Village

Gardner Village
Aaron had a day off from school so I felt we had to do something fun. I packed a lunch and we were off. The kids had lots of fun looking at the witches, feeding the ducks, and watching the other kids. I bought way too much fudge. We didn't even make it to the petting zoo-maybe this week.

15 Months

Lani's 15 Month Checkup:
21.44 lbs
30.5 in
Lani handled 3 shots like a pro, despite Aaron's yelling over his flu shot. She is our little chatterbox lately, especially when Daddy comes home. She hears the door, walks to the stairs and starts her gibberish mixing in "Dad" every other sentence. I think she's telling him about our day. She does so many things we tell her to including throwing away our trash and taking things to her brothers when I ask her to. She is at the stage where she actually enjoys putting away her toys and shows me for my approval. She twirls in circles to music and smiles all the time. She is our little sunshine even though her independent streak is starting to show through her stubbornness.

Happenings

This week Aaron was sick, then we all got flu shots, then Ian got sick. I am not looking forward to Winter. Also, the boys started their Samarai class along with cousin Arie. It's great. They jump and run around the gym and roll around the mat for an hour. They went to bed so well Wednesday night. Pictures soon with the gi uniforms:) I've started carpooling with a lady down the street getting Aaron and his new friend Caeden back and forth to school. It is so great to only make the trips half the time (there is no bus system at this school). The kids are keeping me really busy. Lani is down to one nap a day, every other day during this time Ian and I do "school time." I've forgotten what "quiet time" is anymore now that Ian does not nap and will not sit through a movie. This is requiring real mental exercises to prevent yelling at my children. Now that they are in bed and I look at the pictures of the last week I wonder, why would I ever be mad at them?
Aaron reading to his brother.
Look, I'm a transformer.
GQ shot.
Courtesy of Aaron, the photographer.

Aloha Festival

Last Saturday we went to the Aloha Festival in Midvale. The boys made bookmarks from palm fronds, we ate shave ice, and watched the halaus perform. It was a fun family day with a little culture thrown in. However, it began with Aaron whining that he didn't want to go to the Hawaiian Festival because he said, "I don't like Hawaiians." So much for having a cultured child. He forgot he's Hawaiian.

Lani and the Giant Peach

Today we went to the Farmers Market in Murray with Jeni, Arie, and Zoe. (Did I mention my brother moved back here? It is so nice to do stuff with my family. Plus, it seems Arie and Ian are similar in many ways, meaning they are both bouncing off the walls most of the time.) So, Jeni and I bought a box of peaches and a box of pears and split them both so we could have yummy fruit. My kids love fruit (see above). So, I left the box of peaches on the floor to deal with later not even thinking that Lani would notice and get into them. Well, she did. She ate that whole peach all by herself. Notice that smile.

Skater

We ran over Aaron's bike a little bit ago, so he's been able to practice on his skateboard a lot lately. He had his first field trip last week at school and he had so much fun. I dropped him off in the morning and they didn't come back until 2:30. (His kindergarten is just half-day.) I felt a little bad that I didn't go to help chaperone, but he survived the whole day without me. He came home with an uneaten sandwich that I had packed him. That means he had a healthy lunch of fruit snacks and a capri sun. He says his bestfriend is Amethyst and they play Transformers together at recess. He loves his teacher, but he comes home with 2 pages of homework somedays. I think it's excessive, but I make him do it anyway and we made a deal so he doesn't complain too much anymore. He was all torn up last week because we sold our fish. I had to explain that Po Po was going to a better home. Koi fish just need more room than a 10 gallon tank. It was a little traumatic, but I think he got over it once the lady gave him a 5 dollar bill.

Buddhist Monk

Brad buzzed Ian's hair a little close this time. But it's okay because we all feel very lucky when we rub his head. He also volunteers to pray a lot. Sometimes I try to convince him to meditate, but he just doesn't have that one down yet. I'm trying to get him in a Samarai class. He'll look so cute in that gi or keikogi uniform and hopefully get some exercise. He is a ball of energy that sometimes explodes on his brother and sister.

Table Painting

This is Lani's new art form:

We call it table painting. It's easy, really. You just take some food, like yogurt, and paint the table with it. Masterpiece. She's also really into her daddy these days. She can't get enough of him. She even calls him dad. Not da da, dad. She's so funny. She's a little smarty too. She has added "uh huh" and "bye-bye" to her vocabulary. We rarely have communication problems because she likes to take my hand and drag me to whatever it is that she wants.

If you haven't seen this...

it's very funny: SNL video

Who doesn't love Saturday Night Live?

Palin VP nominee

Okay, I think serious concerns have been raised about the Palin nominee. I've been an Obama supporter since I first heard about him. I like his idealism, his attitude toward change, and the fact that he opens up the subject of race in a country that sometimes tries to hide the existence of racism. (I'm not necessarily a democrat, I just like Obama.) I don't know that he will be effective in the White House, but I am willing to give him a chance. On the other hand, McCain does have experience, military and otherwise. But, Palin? I'm not sure about her. Matt Damon also raises some concerns about Palin.
Did anyone else know that Palin was mayor of about 7000 and governor of less than the city of Salt Lake? Anyway, I think she is very inexperienced. I admire her showmanship and Glenn Beck's view here paints a nice picture.
Still, apart from her lack of experience in foreign policy, I have other concerns as well, but in that department maybe I'm just too traditional for modern America. Anyway, I think everyone should seriously look at the candidates this year. Do some research and make an informed decision. I doubt my vote will make much of a difference in Republican Utah, but I will cast it anyway.

No, no, no

Little Lani is learning to communicate very effectively. Mostly, she likes to shake her head no at me a lot. But really, it's like a whole head and shoulders movement where she twists and turns. It's cute and I thought you guys might enjoy seeing the "No" dance.

Speaking of dancing, here's another cute one.

Vegas Baby

Friday night we arrived at the California Hotel which caters to Hawaiians. It's like going to Hawaii without the ocean (especially since all my cousins and some Auntys were there). The kids were tired, but we dragged them to Freemont Street anyway to enjoy the lights and the crowds. After a little dancing to the bands and over stimulation of lights we called it a night. Saturday we went to Town Square Mall where we did some shopping and the kids enjoyed a really cool park with fountains and a treehouse. Aaron could've stayed there all day. After some breakdowns, we decided to go back to the hotel for some "quiet time." Unfortuneately, my kids decided to show their true colors and not sleep. After another buffet, we set out for the strip. There are kid things on the strip, but so much walking and if you have a stroller, you have to take about 5 elevators to get anywhere-kind of a hassle. So after M&M World and the Coke Factory and Gameworks we were done and more than ready for some shuteye (after another 5 elevators back, of course). Sunday provided more rest for the kids. After breakfast with the family we found a sacrament meeting, then headed back to the hotel where all the kids fell asleep together. Instead of sleeping like we should have, the parents watched 1/2 a season of the Justice League on Brad's laptop (If you know what that is, then you know it was a little ridiculous and yes, my family is full of geeks, Brad now one of them). We finished the day on the bus with my cousins who payed for it to take us to the different attractions on the strip-this is the way to go. We visited Ceasars Palace, the Bellagio fountains, and the Stratosphere (the ride was closed, thank goodness!) Monday was kind of sad due to our impending departure (except for when I won $60 on a machine). It's interesting to get together with my Father's side of the family. I don't know them very well, but they are very open arms and I feel like I find another piece of my puzzle around them. I'm glad that my kids are able to meet them at a young age and grow up knowing a little more of their history. But next time we go to Vegas, I don't think it will be a kids included trip:) For all the kid-friendly hype, I don't think it really is a kid place. Plus, the casinos all smell like smoke.