On September 19, 2008 Amazon.com will have Meeting Lizzy available for purchase.
This book was written by a high school friend of mine and I'm so excited to get my hands on it and have a great time reading it.
SarahBeth has been working for years on this novel and I'm so impressed that it's published!
I know that most of you are avid readers so I had to post this to let you know that there will be something new to fix your eyes to on September 19, 2008.
I'm so excited and proud of SarahBeth for working towards her dreams never giving up and achieving her goal!
Click on the back cover of the book to get a better view of the story's summary.
Congratulations SarahBeth on your achievement!
We had way too much fun. . . we spent the entire morning cleaning our crazy cluttered house so we could accommodate everyone. The Settles, Petersons, Jamie, Damon, Kaina, Carol, and Kimo got to our place at about 5pm and that's when the party started. The kids had too much fun. . . and that's what matters most. They shot each other with the air powered "bazooka". Then they had a egg walk. . . raw egg on the spoon and raced around a chair and back. The egg toss was next and then they did a three legged race. The mamas made all the kiddies bunny bags outta brown bags and construction paper. Then the hunt was on. The kids found the eggs in less time than it took us to hide the eggs. Then we ate. . . mmmmmm korean bbq beef. . . teriyaki chicken. . . kaubi ribs. . . mac salad. . . potato salad. . . rice of course. . . fried noodles. . . hotdogs. . . cookies. . . grilled pineapple with your choice of adding li hing powder to it. Piko's mom and Wayne came by with Aunt Judy and Uncle Gene. It was really nice to see them and we made them eat because we had so much food. Thank you everyone for making all the delicious food and coming to our home to have some fun.
There is a piece of Hawaii really here in Utah. Not meaning the many Hawaiians that live here or the Hawaiian Cultural Center that is almost two years old now but an old piece of Hawaii. Way back in the days after the Mormon Pioneers settled Utah during the building of the Salt Lake Temple a group of Hawaiians arrived to help with the construction of the temple and to partake of the blessings of attending the temple once it was completed.
The Hawaiians picked their own little place to settle in Skull Valley. . . it reminded them of the dry desert west side of all the islands and they could see the Great Salt Lake in the distance that reminded them of the ocean. The LDS church helped them fund and build a little settlement that became a ranch and farm. They made it beautiful and raised enough food and live stalk to feed the settlement but not enough to sell commercially. Because the Settlement was not making enough money and many of the Hawaiians were dying of small pox and influenza the ranch was sold and many of the people returned to Hawaii. Most of these people settled in Laie and helped build the temple there.
Today there is a memorial cemetery that we go to every Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the lives of the people who once lived there. We have a big luau on the Saturday before Memorial Day when many hula halaus and other polynesian groups perform. It is such a wonderful place. . . not because of the environment. . . it is dusty and desert. . . but because of the fun we have with the many friends and families that come from near and far to join us in this celebration. I love Iosepa. . . it is one of the places I have in Utah that keeps me from missing Hawaii too much. It is a place that contains the ALOHA Spirit.
I write about this wonderful place because I'm so excited to go again this year. I know I have two months to go but I'll spend these two months prepping for it! I've got Iosepa on my mind and it over ruled our fun Easter weekend. We had a great weekend. I'll blog about it tomorrow. I've been feeling yucky lately so that's why you haven't seen a blog from me for a while.
Then we went to our Auntie Dora's to hang out and I just went to sleep. I've had this horrible cold that's now in my lungs. When I seem to be getting better I go out and then get worse.
I wish I felt better so I would have thought to take a pic of the amazing meat loaf that Auntie Dora made. It was amazing. . . it had ground beef, ground pork, ground pork sausage, bologna, spam and parsley in it. It was one of the best meat loafs I've ever eaten.
This is what I learned this weekend from chatting with my friends and family. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Just listening means more than giving advice. Learning from other's life lessons saves a lot of heart ache. Finding a friend that has experienced a similar situation as you is worth more than gold. Faking that you are sleeping is so dishonest. . . you know who you are! Home cooked meals taste way better than any expensive restaurant. Staying up late getting to know each other is worth the headache the next day. Don't let anyone talk you out of what you really want, especially when you are redoing your kitchen. Where there's a will there's a way.
I wonder, If you had the chance, would you pick up your family and all
you own and move to Hawaii. There really is a lot to think about when
considering this move. Would you do it? (my friend Amy Davis posted this on her blog)
I was thinking about how free I feel when I'm at home. . . to be able to look out into the ocean and breath in the fresh fragrant air. To be able to go beach when ever we want to and eat shave ice year round without feeling cold. To step outside in the middle of December without worry of putting on snow clothes. That's freedom to me. To only have to drive for a maximum of 2 hours to get to the farthest end of the island. To be able to wear rubbah slippahs every day. To have a mango tree in my back yard. To eat Portuguese sausage, eggs and rice at McDonalds. To pick up a spam musubi at 7-11. That's freedom to me.
Gas prices don't bother me. . . cuz it's expensive everywhere! The cost of milk don't bother me. . . cuz I no like milk. Being stuck on a rock don't bother me. . . cuz being surrounded by land is more confining to me than anything.
I miss the people. I miss falling asleep to my neighbor playing music all night and singing with his drinking buddies. I miss the smell of the salt from the ocean on the breeze. I miss the warmth of the sun. I miss real luaus with real entertainment. I miss the sound of the cock crowing early in the morning. I miss green mountains. I miss plumaria trees. I miss eating at a L&Ls that all the food taste different. . . . here they put the same sauce on everything. I miss the sound of the gecko clicking. I miss the food. I miss my family and friends. I miss the ALOHA spirit.
On the down side. . . I dont' miss the ants and mosquitos oooooooow and cockroaches. I don't miss the sweaty days. I don't miss the neighbor's nasty dirty yard. . . with plenty old rusty cars parked on what used to be a lawn. I don't miss the traffic. I don't miss the large influence of drugs and alcohol (then again that's everywhere in the world now days). That's all . . . wow the things I miss out number the things I don't. That tells me that moving back to Hawaii is well worth it for me one day.
I will make the best of where we are right now but never lose sight of my Hawaii. We're going to two family reunions on Kauai in July and then to Oahu for fun. I'm so excited. I must start my list of places I like eat at! GRACE'S here I come. . . please tell me you're still there!
So naturally because I was doing too much at once I was destined to burn a batch of Snickerdoodles. Snickerdoodles are Jaclyn's favorite. . . I know this because I had all my Sunday School kids fill out a questionnaire of their favorite things.
Well because I burnt the second batch of snickerdoodles there was only enough cookies for all of my kids to just have one. . . with a couple extra (luckily because Kolu stole one and hid under the piano to eat it but he only got one bite because I caught him and then took the cookie away and gave it to Keiko.)
We got to church eventually . . . doing everything at once if very less effective and doesn't get anything accomplished in a timely manner. . . and I found out that Jaclyn wasn't going to stay for Sunday School so I just gave her the bag of cookies and a big hug. . . then we took a couple pictures and that was the last moment I shared with Jaclyn. . . I'm not too sad because I know I'll see her again.
She is the only blonde in the pictures to the left. She is such a cutie! She is so innocent and sweet! Just an all around good girl. I need to go shopping with this girl she's got great taste!!! I love her to pieces and will miss her tons!
I really love teaching Sunday School to teenagers. . . they really rock and are so full of life! My teaching technique consists of about 15 mins of gospel doctrine then15 minutes of letting the kids talk about whatever they want to with me and me applying the lesson back to what they are talking about. . . and it always applies! I'm so blessed to have such a great bunch of God's children in my life. . . I love you guys~!
Once I thought someone took my spatula when I took it to a potluck and I about had a BF. . . then my husband found it and put it in the car right away. . . All I can say is don't mess with my mini spatula!
If you have any pampered chef needs I have a friend Miken who is a Pampered Chef Demonstrator. Here's her website if you need to make an order especially if you want the amazing mini spatula.
Ok so I've been horrible about follow up when I said I'd do it I didn't and yuk I hate that fault in myself. So here is the follow up the that super old post TWINS. . . I said I'd let you know who the real twins are and hello I didn't so here it goes. . . Hea and Hana. . . You all were right. . . there's just no fooling you guys at all.
Hea and Hana are such amazing cousins. . . I love them so much. . . they are like night and day. . . Hea is a lot taller than Hana and much more girly. Hana is way athletic and loves to snow board. But the both of them are just as compassionate and loving. They care so much for their family and friends. . . they find a way to include everyone. . . they speak the truth always and our children love them to pieces. I'm so grateful to have them as a part of my life. . . marrying Piko has blessed my life with so many wonderful people. . . thanks hun for having great relatives!
Yes everyone, I'm still not done with reading No Doubt About It by Sheri Dew. It's such an extremely spiritual book I can only absorb a couple of pages a day. . . there is so much to ponder and think about between the covers of this book. I have to share this passage with all of you from the last paragraph of page 113:
"If we hope to avoid the distractions and deceptions of the adversary; if we hope to feel peace even when life's circumstances are troubling; if we hope to have divine direction for our lives, it is vital that we learn to hear the voice of the Lord. Yet too often we fail to seek and ask. Perhaps we don't know how and haven't made it a priority to learn. Or we're so aware of our personal failings that we don't feel worthy, don't really believe the Lord will talk to us, and therefore don't seek revelation. Or perhaps we've allowed the distractions and pace of our lives to crowd out the Spirit. What a tragedy! For the Holy Ghost blesses us with optimism and wisdom at times of challenge that we simply cannot muster on our own. No wonder one of the adversary's favorite tactics is busyness--getting us so preoccupied with the flurry of daily life that we fail to immerse ourselves in the gospel of Jesus Christ."
When I read this I thought of how caught up I've been in everything else these passed two weeks that I've not taken the time out for my Heavenly Father to guide and direct me through the chaos and irritations like I should have. . . I shouldn't be making time for prayer and scripture study. . . that should be automatic in my life. . . I should be making time for the other things in life after I've conversed with the Lord for the day.
Life flies by too fast. . . without the Lord's guidance how do we know if we are making the most out if it?!
Thank you for all the well wishes on our new addition to be.
I hate the first trimester of pregnancy!!! No matter what I eat I just feel so sick. I'm grateful that I just feeling sick and not running to the bathroom all day. So, counting my blessings is what I'm doing in the midst of my little trial. . . it could be worse, right!
One thing I do like about the first trimester is wondering what the sex of the baby is. I'd love to have another girl just for the sake of clothes. . . I won't have to buy anymore (well at least not too much more)! I love girls too because I can do her hair and dress her cute. I love Strawberry Shortcake. I love pink. She can wear the cutest jewelry. They understand what "no" is a lot faster than boys.
I'd also love to have a boy because they are so easy going and funtastic. . . I love Ninja Turtles and Transformers. . . I love that they can pee on the side of the road when we are on long road trips. . . I love that they only need two sets of shoes (one set for school and one set for church).
I don't want to find out the sex of the baby this time but Piko does so I guess we'll be finding out. . . I don't want him to know while I'm in the dark. That would just drive me crazy.
As a side note I'll be posting on my blogger again as well as on vox just for you Miken starting tomorrow! It'll be the same as what I post on here. . . nothing different well unless it's a private post then you won't be able to view it on blogger just on vox.
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