Pictures from Samoa

Sorry it took me so long. Here are some photos from Chris' recent business trip to Samoa!





They had to visit all the schools, including some on the various small islands. In order to do this they needed a plane. The governor of Samoa let them use his plane.

An LDS Temple in Apia, Western Samoa. There were church buildings everywhere. He ran into missionaries too. I guess there are a lot of members of our church there.

Aerial view of one of the islands.

This is a beach on the Mauna islands of the American Samoa. It is one of the top 10 beaches in the world. Beautiful and secluded!

Chris was so excited about his picture with Charlie the Tuna from the starkist tuna factory! He kept telling me about it and was anxious to show it to me and kept asking when I'd get it put on the blog. Too funny! I think he must have seen a lot commercials as a child!

They went to a traditional bar-b-que where they cook a bunch of foot in a pit in the ground with banana leaves and coconut shells and some interesting seafood.

Isn't it beautiful? I want to go with him next time he visits! We keep talking about Hawaii, but the thought of crowds of people turn us off. Samoa is a bit more cultural and, well, dirty, but it sure looks peaceful! He said he might have to go to Hawaii for work next, so I may make it there too. We'll see.....

Kid Quotes to Make You Smile

"It feels like there are bugs on my feet!" Courtney, feeling the tingly sensation of the feeling coming back to her feet after an unusually long time spent sitting on the toilet!


" Whenever Jenna smiles it makes me feel good. I get all warm and happy inside." McKayla

"You know Mom, I feel safe at Grandma and Grandpa's house." Courtney

McKayla has no problems with her self-esteem: "I always have good dreams. Last night, I dreamed about myself!"

"MOM ! THERE'S CORN IN MY NOSE!" Courtney, who has also had other things mysteriously end up there.

"Hey look at that airplane! It is cleaning the sky!" Courtney spotted a jet airplane on a clear blue day with its cloud trail. It guess it looked like scrubbing bubbles!

"But I like it that way!" McKayla's response when Chris and I pointed out that she had a wedgie.

"Mom! Sparkly things are NOT garbage!" Courtney, after spotting something I had thrown away and neglected to sufficiently hide. (Do your kids pull things out of the trash that they declare are treasures?)

Memorial Day Weekend Fun!

We started out the weekend by enjoying a Storm baseball game (the local minor league team). It was "mormon night" and our ward had a tailgater in the parking lot ahead of time. The kids had a great time, but we didn't stay long enough for the fireworks. The girls were too tired (except Brianna) and it just wasn't worth it. Besides, Jenna had a cold and started coughing so much after running up and down the grass hill in the kids play area that she threw up (all over Chris!).




Here is McKayla sleeping in the backseat of Chris' car (the other seat was folded down.). I think she was tired!




On Saturday we went shopping to get Chris prepared for his upcoming fishing trip in Alaska. We also took the girls to see "Race to Witch Mountain." They gave me mixed reviews. I only saw the first 20 minutes of it before I ended up walking the halls with Jenna who only seemed interested in running up and down the aisle of the theater. I had thought about just shopping while Chris took the older 3, but thought I'd give Jenna another chance. Big Mistake!

We then came home to set up the tent for our weekend "campout" in the backyard. We even enjoyed s'mores made in our own backyard campfire built in our new chiminea outdoor fireplace. We all loves s'mores!

The kids slept great in the tent, even Jenna, but Chris and I became keenly aware of our age. It just isn't so comfortable sleeping on the ground. The soft grass didn't seem so soft. We brought out the waffle pad for the second night!

On Sunday we had a backyard bar-b-que of tri-tip steak, corn on the cob, fresh pineapple, and homemade Vanilla ice cream (the custard version). We cooked the ice cream mixture before church (it has eggs) so that it was all ready for the freezer when we got home. We all agreed it was WAY BETTER than ice cream from the store.





Then on Monday (after two GREAT nights sleep in the tent!) we went hiking up Mt. Hollywood. The hike wasn't hard, only 3 miles, and the trails are wide and clear. It actually is a great hike for families. However, probably not the best hike when your kids have stayed up late two nights in a row. Still, it was nice to get out and see a new place. Griffith park really got burned by the fires two years ago, so I guess it isn't beautiful like it used to be. It was still neat to see the great views. The smog and fog limited our view that day. We read that it is best to go just after it rains and you can see from the ocean to the mountains. Considering that summer is coming, it could be 6 months before that happens! There was a drinking fountain up at the top and we found a garden area that has been replanted.

We thought we were going to get closer to the Hollywood sign, but partway through our hike we realized we had taken the wrong trail. Oh well. Maybe we'll hike it another time. We still got to see the sign and can say that we hiked to the top of the actual Mt. Hollywood (there is a geological marker).

Overall, we had a busy and fun weekend as a family. The girls got along great, we got some exercise, and made memories along the way.

If you click on this picture, you can see it bigger and see the famous sign in the background. It really wasn't as far away as the picture makes it look.

You can see the observatory in the background.

Missing My Husband

Since we started dating, Chris and I have never been apart for more than 5 days. So when he told me he was going to have to go to Samoa for 2 weeks I was feeling really sad! I knew it would go by relatively quick with the kids in school and busy with their activities, but that is such a long time away!

My two other posts describe the two major events that took place while he was gone. But this post will be more sappy....Though, he has been home a week now, so it is harder for me to "wax eloquent" when the feelings have passed.

Having him gone for so long was so hard! I'm used to 2 or three nights, but this seemed like forever. The girls kept asking when he'd be home and really missed him too. What really made it hard was the lack of communication we had. Normally we talk on the phone several times a day and then end with a lengthy conversation in the evening after the kids are in bed. Then we'll hang up and one of us will call again to say good night right before we turn out the light and go to sleep. So, even though he's gone we stay really connected.

This time, with the cost of cell phone use and the time difference we really couldn't talk much. It was always short and in the middle of Chris' workday. So, he'd inevitably be surrounded by a bunch of people. I'm sure you've all experienced this. You just can't have a normal conversation when you know a bunch of people are listening.

The whole time my heart just ached so much to have him gone. He'd send me little text messages and stuff that made it obvious he felt the same. I'm glad I can say we still feel this way after 11 years of marriage. On Friday, he was due home about 11pm. I stayed up watching movies while I waited. When I finally heard the garage door opening I ran outside and we gave each other the biggest greeting. I couldn't stop the tears, I was so happy to have him home! That complete feeling of love and joy and relief was just too much. (Especially when I knew that he was feeling the same way.) Just a joyous reunion. I'm so lucky to be married to him. He is my best friend and such a wonderful husband and father. Life just isn't the same when he's not around.

Mother's Day

This year was a different kind of Mother's Day for me. Chris was in Samoa and I was home with my 4 girls.

On Saturday we went to the San Diego Zoo, which was an adventure. The kids got home from school and we did all the chores on Friday so that we could leave first thing in the morning. The house was all neat and tidy and I was feeling excited about our trip.

Usually Chris drives when we go on longer trips, but this time I had to drive. I got the kids set up with a movie and we left about the time Jenna was expected to take a nap. They had chosen the movie "Cars." Brianna set up the movie, but as it started it was in Chinese. I pulled over and tried to fix it, but couldn't figure it out. All the settings appeared to be in English. Very strange. "No Problem," said the kids. They were willing to watch it just the way it was. (amazing!) After a while, I suggested they turn on the subtitles, so that at least they could read the words. Brianna got that figured out easily and they were in business.

The drive was very peaceful. Jenna was asleep and the girls were engrossed in their movie. If nothing else, they got some nice exposure to the Chinese language! There was only one problem, the trip was now VERY BORING for me! When we travel, Chris and I love to chat without interruption when the kids watch a movie. But I had no one to talk to, only a long drive on a pretty empty freeway (relatively speaking). Just imagine: An hour long drive with the movie "Cars" in CHINESE blaring through your speakers! At least the girls could see the movie and use their imagination. All I could do was listen to a bunch of nonsense words! I couldn't even tell where they were in the movie until a song came up. It felt like an eternity!

Once we got to the zoo, the day was great. They had a booth set up for the kids to make sachets for their moms for Mother's Day. We saw a gross out bug show and Brianna got to have a Madagascar Hissing Cochroach on her shoulder for about 10 minutes up on stage. I love to see her get over her shy tendencies. The girls and I rode the tram and I had to send my little girl all alone in one of the cars! (There is a 4 person maximum.) She loved feeling grown up and I knew she'd be fine, but it still made me feel a little nervous!

On the way home the kids watched "High School Musical." This time it was in English! So the drive was quick and pleasant for me. I was feeling so good I treated the girls to dinner at Carls Jr and let them play in the playland. We got home in time to see the end of High School Musical on the big screen TV and enjoy a bit of dancing to the music at the end. Courtney's got some moves!

The girls went outside and played for about 30 minutes and then they all went to bed. I got to enjoy the fact that my house actually stayed clean for another day! Success!

MOTHERS DAY!

The morning started out quite early. Brianna was so excited to give me my gifts she had made at church and at school that she had woken up her sisters at 5:30 am in order to suprise me. They snuck into my room (I heard them, somehow) and I heard Brianna whisper "Ok, 1, 2, 3 go....HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!!!" It was so cute to see them standing there with their gifts, but I was absolutely exhausted from having been up with Jenna that I told them thank you and had them put them on the nightstand. I assured them I'd open them soon and was very excited, just still very sleeply. Meanwhile, Jenna woke up. I layed down with her and nursed her (for what ended up being her very last time) and she went back to sleep. I put her in her crib and asked the girls if they could all go downstairs and watch TV and let me sleep in a bit. They agreed and were relatively quiet (I can always hear McKayla when she talks, even from upstairs with the door closed). I actually got to snooze until 8:00 when Jenna woke up. She never sleeps past 7:00, so this was quite a gift!

The rest of the day was normal. I had to deal with the kids, do the clean up, and take them to church. Another gift from Jenna, she actually sat through the entire Sacrament Meeting!

Not a bad Mother's Day, just different. It did leave me totally missing my husband, though!

Housekeeping: A Dangerous Job

I have had so many things I've wanted to share on my blog, but I've been held back due to an accident I had last week. Here's the story:

Chris was in Samoa for two weeks and I had a list of projects and things I wanted to get done before he got home. One thing on my list was to have the house completely clean when he got home. Not just the usual "liveable clean" where things are picked up and appear tidy, but deep down clean. Well, I was behind on the shower cleaning and decided to start there.

I don't know how many of you have a glass shower enclosure, but if you do you know the problem you face when it comes to cleaning the door. It has to be rinsed off, but you certainly can't rinse it with the door open because the floor would get soaked. You either have to be inside the shower and get completely wet (ie: rinse it while you take a shower), or you have to stand on a very tall stool or stepladder and reach over the top of the door and rinse it off. I opted for the second option this time around.

After letting the Scrubbing Bubbles do their job, I finished wiping down the glass with my scrubber sponge. Ready to rinse... I got one of our barstools from the kitchen and stood it in front of the door. I turned the shower on hot, grabbed an extra large cup, and began filling it up from the shower and dumping it all over to rinse off the soap. (For years I've been saying that I'm going to get a hand-held shower like I bought for our last house...still haven't.) I hold the cup in my right hand and keep my balance with my left hand resting on top of the shower enclosure. Everything appeared sparkling clean, so I proceeded to jump off the stool, my left hand still resting on top.

As I jumped off the stool, I realized that my wedding ring had caught on the top of the shower. As my body plummeted to the ground (I jumped with enthusiasm) my ring stretched out and ripped up my finger before it finally broke free from the shower's grasp. Courtney happened to walk in just as it happened.

I first felt the pain and then glanced down to see my ring now somewhere near the top of my finger. I grabbed a towel and squeezed, as I noticed blood. I told Courtney, "Mommy just hurt her finger REALLY BAD!" She says, "Don't worry mom, I hurt my finger once and I know it hurts, but it will be OK." I looked at it again and immediately moved it to see if it was broken. Still worked, but looked really mangled up. I plunged my finger under the faucet. I needed first aid supplies. They were in the downstairs bathroom. We headed down there, where I immediately stuck my finger under the cold water again. Courtney offered to get me some icewater and quickly came back with a cup with crushed ice and water. (I'm so glad the kid is learning to read the lables on the fridge dispenser!)

I realized I needed another adult, because things looked really bad and I was there alone with two kids. I asked Courtney to go get the neighbor. She said, "OK Mom, I'll be right back. You just stay there." The neighbor was home and came running over (not knowing exactly what had happened just that I was hurt.) She saved the day by driving me and my kids to urgent care and watching over them while I was attended to.

One miracle that day was that Jenna actually never cried or freaked out because a stranger was holding her. It was even her naptime. She was just totally quiet and subdued the entire time--totally out of character for her! It was like she knew this was serious.

Turns out my finger wasn't broken just severely sprained. I was missing quite a bit of skin. The doctor said it looks like my ring caught on my finger in four different places before it finally came off. I had to wear a splint and had my hand all wrapped up. The feeling in my hand took a while to come back.

It has been 11 days now and I still can't move my finger very much. The skin is closing up, but it looks like I may end up with major scarring. I hope not. My ring it badly bend up , but I'm hoping a jeweler can heat up the metal and work some magic on it. Courtney is my hero in how she managed to stay so level headed and help me out. She insisted on helping me change the bandages over the next several days too. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing 4 year old!

I'm told I'm lucky I didn't lose my finger. Often when this happens everything gets pulled off (like pulling a corn-dog off of a stick) and they have no choice but to amputate.

The moral of the story is: Don't wear any rings when you climb up on things!

Oh, and needless to say, my "do to list" went largely unfinished!

Jenna Turns 1

Isn't she adorable! I can't believe it's been a year already. She is such a happy kid. I think she spends most of her day smiling and laughing. Her sisters love her so much and she knows it!

Happy 9th Birthday Brianna

I am a bit late posting this. Brianna turned 9 on April 6th. I can't believe my little girl is already 9! This is a "non-party" year for our family, which means we don't have big parties with our friends, but we do something as a family. However, we chose to give the kids the option of going to Disneyland with mom or dad on their birthday (they get in free on their birthday this year.). However, Brianna chose to go to Knotts Berry Farm instead because there are more big roller coasters. Her and Chris went together and had a wonderful time! Still, she did end up having two friends spend the night the weekend before her birthday. (It was her first slumber party.) They had a great time. On the day of her birthday she wanted me to bring her lunch from a fast food restaurant to eat at school. We had a party that night (she wanted everyone to be in their pajamas) and had homemade German Chocolate Cake. I'd say it definitely was a special time for her.

I remember when it was just her and me hanging out together all day while Chris was at work. We would watch out the front window and see the neighbor kids get on the school bus in the morning. I'd play kids music all day and we would sing and dance together. We went for walks every day and almost always stopped at the park. She was my buddy and my complete focus was her. Life was so simple then.

Now she is growing up and getting ready to finish 3rd grade and start 4th grade in August. I was looking at her 2nd grade yearbook and was amazed at how much she has changed in just one year. She is losing her "little girl" look and has entered the "tween" years. She listens to music on her MP3 player and loves watching "Drake and Josh" and "ICarly."

She is such a great kid. Her teachers always rave at how well behaved she is. She works so hard and is very determined to be successful in school. She gets 100% on most of her tests and LOVES to read! More importantly, she really tries hard to do what is right.

I sure love you Brianna. You have always been and will always be my baby girl. (Even if you are the oldest.)

Chris' Latest Woodworking Project

About two months ago Chris finished building an entertainment console for our family room. We don't know the proper name for it. It isn't really a TV stand, as the TV is mounted on the wall. We had been playing with the idea of completely filling the space with built-ins, but we decided against it in the end. It is a huge space and I think it would overwhelm the room. Anyway, there wasn't anything free standing big enough in the store (I wanted storage) and Chris was anxious to expand his new hobby so he built us one. I LOVE IT! Good job Chris!

Hiking at Santa Rosa Plateau

Saturday was another busy day at our house. Chris rented an aerator for the lawn and actually did the front and backyard himself! Way to go babe! The girls did their weekly chores of cleaning the bathroom and such and I did some chores inside and outside the house. We were rewarded by some lemonade and cupcakes at our neighbor's lemonade stand (my kids reminded me, once again, that they want to have lemonade stand and "why won't you ever let us do that?" Memo to self: let the kids have a lemonade stand before the heat of the summer sets in!) and after some lunch were ready for another Saturday adventure!

Chris and I have wanted to hike at Santa Rosa Plateau for quite a while. We went to the visitors center during one of our geocaching trips and it was too hot and dry to seem appealing. Plus, the vernal pools were dried up from the Summer heat. So, now that it is Spring and we've had rain we took the trip! It was a perfect day! The weather was warm with a cool breeze and the Spring flowers were out in full bloom.

Perfect day for a 4 mile hike with 4 kids!!! :) One of them had it easy (a nice ride on Chris' back) and Brianna didn't seem to have a problem and was the most enthusiastic of the kids. Courtney got tired, but was quite the trooper and didn't ask to be carried at all. McKayla, however, complained A LOT and we got the complete run down of all her aches and pains! To her credit, she came down with a bit of a fever and cold the next day, so she probably was feeling weak and tired from a cold that was coming on.

Our first stop on our hike was at the tree in the picture above to take a fun photo and let the girls do a bit of climbing.



Our second stop was to the vernal pool. This is a pond of sorts that fills in the Spring and dries up in the Summer. It was much bigger than I expected. There are fairy shrimp that hatch out shortly after they fill up, but they had already died for the year. The eggs lie dormant in the dry bed and hatch when there is water. This vernal pool has species that can't be found anywhere else in the world. The Fairy Shrimp can lay dormant for hundreds of years before water shows up and they hatch.

We did see lots of other little critters including tadpoles and garter snakes swimming in the water. The kids were very excited to see their first snake in the wild! (Rather than at the zoo.)



Our next stop was to snap a photo of, look closely, a rattlesnake! The first one we've seen in the wild! The kids were very freaked out, and I have to admit I was a bit creeped out. Thankfully, it stayed in its spot and we didn't see it crossing the trail like the hikers who passed us did. You'd think that it would have made McKayla keep up with us better, but it didn't.



Our final destination was the adobes. This is the oldest building in Riverside County. The kids had fun climbing up the rocks and checking out the HUGE oak tree which gave us plenty of shade. We enjoyed a rest before heading the two miles, partly uphill, back to the car. The hike back went by fast and was fun as we sang a few rounds of "The Ants Go Marching One By One" along the way. I'm sure the other hikers enjoyed a few laughs at our expense.

Jenna is enjoying a break from the backpack. (Chris is enjoying giving his shoulders and back a break too!)

Courtney loved the flowers and we counted at least 10 different ones along the trail.

We had a great day hiking. We definitely need to do this more often. 4 miles was a bit long for the kids for our first hike in a long time, but they really did a great job. Great scenery, great weather, great company! Courtney asked on the way home if Heavenly Father likes it when we go hiking and I answered, "Definitely! We get to appreciate and enjoy the world he created for us and we get to exercise the bodies he gave us." Gotta love a good hike!

Geocaching!

Two weekends ago we finished up our chores and took the girls geocaching around town in the afternoon. We haven't remembered to bring the camera with us on our other "adventures" so I was glad to finally snap a few shots. These ones were taken only a couple miles from our house in some undeveloped areas. It is a pretty time of year to be out and about in our area. The girls are a bit spooked about the possibility of finding rattlesnakes and we are a bit nervous ourselves when we end up trampling through the grass and shrubs. Thankfully, none seen at this point!

Knotts Berry Farm

While the girls were off-track we took a trip to Knotts with Leanne and her kids. My family had never been and the girls had a great time! Brianna was in heaven, as she is a major thrill seeker and there were lots of "big" rides for her to go on. Even better was that there were other big kids to enjoy them with her. It was great to go with Leanne because we were able to take turns watching the smaller kids and could actually go on some of the bigger rides too!

McKayla and Courtney love big rides, but they aren't quite tall enough for most of them. Still, they had a great time. Overall, Knotts was a fun place. Certainly not up to par with Disneyland, but definitely not nearly as crowded (not crowded at all that day) and there were more big rides and more small rides close together that the kids could hop on and off quickly and run from one to the another one. I'm so glad Leanne invited us to join her and the kids. Chris wondered how it was with two moms and 10 kids between us, but it actually worked out great.

Brianna had so much fun that she chose to go again with Chris for her birthday!

My Sister is So Funny!

Courtney has always had the special ability to make Jenna laugh. Jenna has had this rolling belly laugh for quite some time. I always capture it on video as she is winding down, so this isn't the full laugh she usually has. Still, it is precious. I don't have a digital video camera yet (though my other one finally broke down, so it shouldn't be long now!), but I managed to catch this on my regular old camera. These girls have so much fun together! I just love watching them play.

ENJOY!

Father-Daughter Dance!

Last night the girls went to the annual Father-Daughter dance at their school. They love this event! They get to get all dressed up and have a date with their dad. This year Chris got the girls corsages and suprised them by ringing the doorbell and "picking them up" for their date. They do pictures at the dance and everything. Lots of fun. Brianna let me really work on her hair and we had her in all curls. I even had some glitter spray left from Halloween so I glittered up their hair too. Don't they look beautiful?

When the doorbell rang we all went running downstairs. A few minutes later we hear some cute little sounds upstairs and realize that we left Jenna up there! She was calling down to say, "Hey, what about me?" Chris didn't forget Courtney, though, and she was given her own flowers even though she wasn't old enough for the dance yet. After the big guys left we went to Carls Jr to enjoy milkshakes and play at the playland. For her, this was heaven! All afternoon she kept asking, "When are they going to leave for the Father-Daughter dance?"