Take Your Daughter to Work Day

I was looking through my pictures and realized I didn't blog about Take Your Daughter to Work Day.
Kaiya went with Cirdan this year and had a ton of fun! She loves to hear him on the phone and then copy what he does and pretend that she is talking to customers booking jobs. I put together a backpack with activities for her in case she got bored and also sent along a camera. These were the only pictures she took...

Bladi...

Mail slot...

Oh Boy! It's a Boy!!

We are all super excited to be getting a baby boy!!

Memorial Day

On Memorial Day we had a BBQ over at Nate and Amy's house. We were hoping for some nice weather but like almost always...it rained. Before we left for the BBQ Kaiya was sitting in the kitchen. All the sudden she screamed, "Mom!!!" I looked out back and saw a coyote in our backyard just standing there looking at our house. We all ran to the window and I grabbed my camera. He stood there looking at us for a minute and then turned around slowly and walked back up into the woods. This is the 2nd time we have seen one in our backyard during the day. We hear them at night but this is a little too close for comfort.
Also notice the tree that fell down in our yard...anyone need any firewood??

We ate hamburgers and hot dogs at Nate's house and had a bunch of yummy side dishes. It's always fun to get together. Seems like this time of year with all the birthday's...we have been seeing a lot of each other. For dessert my mom made homemade ice cream, Nate made a yummy dutch oven cherry and peach cobbler and I made the apple pie I have been craving for a couple of months.
My mom took the kids outside and the adults stayed inside to play the Wii.

Cirdan, Ella and I (Kaiya stayed at my parents house that night) stopped by the cemetery on the way home. On Memorial Day I always love to see all the flags and to think about the soldiers who gave their lives.

Kaiya's Field Trip

I was able to chaperon Kaiya's field trip a couple weeks ago. The 2nd graders went to Game Farm park in Auburn and went on a scavenger hunt. They each had a book and the chaperon had a disposable camera. Each page told them what to find...for example...
Find a plant with a skinny leaf
Find a bush with blooming flowers
Find a tree that will stay green all year
Once they found an item they would describe it in their Research book and I would take a picture of them next to the item. The teacher then printed off all the pictures and put them in their books. It was a really fun field trip to be apart of.
I had a couple boys in the group that I had to keep focused and by the end of the day I was ready for a nap.
This school year is almost over and I am really looking forward to having Kaiya home during the day!

Short video clips from Hawaii

Driving around Honolulu...

Cirdan jumping in the pool....

Cirdan and Greg Boogie Boarding...

Polynesian Cultural Center...

Hawaii - Day 7 & 8 - Going home...(written by Cirdan)

Last full day in Hawaii :( I woke up and made some pancakes. I threw some pineapple in the pancakes for Greg and I. Staci and Greg were still sleeping when Heidi and I ate. I thoroughly enjoyed waking up and eating outside. It was sunny, warm and we were right on the golf course.....great way to start the day.

I was determined to use all of the pictures in the underwater camera. Luckily everyone was cool to go snorkeling again. I used up most of the pics but saved a few for the turtles.

Greg's cousin works here at Kahuku Grill. He wasn't working the day we ate there though so no hook up. Good thing it was worth full price....well worth it. Great shrimp and great salad.

Staci wanted to stop at this place Angels to try the shaved ice with coconut milk. We were deciding if we should all get one. Greg and Staci decided to share and good thing this time that I couldn't decide what kind I wanted. The 4 of us ended up sharing it because it was HUGE.

We planned that the last full day we had would be spent at the Polynesian Culture Center. A few minutes after we arrived we got lei'd and got our picture taken. Greg's uncle works at PCC, and had a map with all of the shows were the best and what times. He had it all laid out for us which was pretty sweet.

Get your pose on.

This was the first little show we saw- New Zealand. It was okay.

We arrived early to the Samoa show. It's a can't miss...this probably one of 27 pictures Heidi took while we waited for 10 minutes. Heidi+camera+downtime=tons of pictures :)

The guy who did the show called 3 different guys up to play the drum. He would start with a sequence and have them repeat it. It would get harder and harder. He also had them do all the yelling that accompanied the drumming. There was a big group from Korea and from China. The guy in the picture here was absolutely hilarious.

We were getting ready to throw spears. I guess I was acting a fool getting ready to launch my spear.

They have a show that all of the different countries perform on small boats. It's like a parade kind of thing on the water. Dancing, stomping, war chants and the like. Fiji was probably my favorite.

These are the Fijian girls. Their dancing was the best...

This was the Tongan show, best part was watching one of the guys climb a tree. He also showed us how to crack the coconut, get all the meat and milk out. Dude has obviously done it so many times he could do it in his sleep. It was impressive. His jokes- not so impressive.

Right before the Luau

Entertainment during the Luau

Nice pic of Greg and Staci

Looks pretty good huh! Rolls, Mahi Mahi, pulled pork cooked Emu style (underground), teriyaki chicken, salad bar, noodles (they were flavored like chicken) rice, pineapple and sweet potatoes. Well it wasn't as tasty as it looked.

Coconut cake, coconut pudding, chocolate cake. Decent but not great. Good thing that we didn't have to pay full price!! Thanks Uncle Steve! It was fun but not worth the money. Next time we are in Hawaii it would be fun to try a different Luau and see the differences.

Greg and Staci with the M.C. of the Luau. Small World. He served his mission in Washington and was in Greg's ward. He sang at a Funeral, Greg remembers him well. There was a missionary who sang Oh Lord My Redeemer when I was younger. It was the best version I have heard hands down. It was so powerful I still remember it. I am 99% sure that Elder Siosi was the one who sang it.


Oooooh the Night Show! Greg's Uncle had great seats all ready to go for us. He really catered to us and gave us the VIP treatment. We didn't have to plan or worry about anything. He took us to our seats at the Luau and the Night Show. He had our whole day mapped out so we could get the most out of our day at PCC.

Tuesday morning...

We woke up and got our stuff packed. Heidi and I took some pictures of the condo we stayed in and ate some breakfast.

Our packed car. Greg's uncle came by that morning to take our leftover food and to say goodbye. He also offered to take the keys and boogie board back to the owner of the condo so that we wouldn't be super squished in the car.

Apparently this gecko wanted us to take him home. Either that or he was looking for a quick ride to Honolulu from the Northshore.

On the way to the airport we stopped one last time to see if the turtles were out...they weren't. Bummer.

We also had to stop at the Dole Plantation and had to get some more Pineapple ice cream before heading home.

Sad to go home. We were all supposed to be sitting in different areas of the plane away from (which would have made the flight even longer) but the lady at the airport was super nice and got Greg a seat next to Staci and Heidi a seat next to me.

(Heidi)-When we got home Ella was really sick. She had started throwing up on Saturday (while we were in Hawaii) and then passed it on to my mom and Kaiya who had it on Sunday and Monday. Ella for some reason didn't get better until the next Friday. We were happy to be home to take care of Ella and to see Kaiya. We had thought that we wouldn't get sick and that it passed but Cirdan got sick on Thursday night and was in bed until Tuesday.

Going to Hawaii with Cirdan, Greg and Staci was a wonerful vacation and a great time. I will have many good memories forever. We definitley needed one last hoorah before our baby is born. I missed my girls a ton and Ella is still punishing me that I was gone so long by having to be with me 24/7. But looking back I am glad that I went.

Mahalo Hawaii!

(Cirdan)--The trip was fantastic. It was great to spend time with Heidi. We don't get very much time together without kids obviously. Being able to relax when we wanted, play when we wanted was wonderful. (thanks Val) I desperately needed the break from work. I really got recharged. Having the ability for my mind to be free was also beneficial for my business. Stepping away and simply having time to think will pay off. Greg and Staci are amazing, genuine people. Sharing this trip with great friends made it unforgettable. I hope they enjoyed their time with us as much as we enjoyed them. We had a ton of fun. So many laughs....I haven't laughed so hard that many times in who knows how long. I have so many great memories of our trip.