Aloha!

We survived June! We moved at the end of May, had my sister's wedding June 12, and just got back from almost 2 weeks in Hawaii. It's been really fun, but we are looking forward to some normal, around-the-house kind of life.
Tanza's wedding was BEAUTIFUL! It consumed my life for a good while, but everything turned out so great. The biggest nail-biter was the weather. We has rain forecasts that just kept getting worse and worse, so every day my dad was on the phone ordering more tents. The day before we had a forecast that said it would rain the 2 hours right after the sealing (picture time), clear up for a few hours, and then start again an hour before the reception and rain through the night. The day came, it clouded up, and NEVER RAINED! I heard it rained a lot in other areas, but where we were it was great. I am so glad. Tanza was such a beautiful bride and everyone had so much fun at the reception.
Mike, Tanza's husband, is from Molokai, Hawaii, and we were able to attend their reception there as well. His family is so sweet. It was great to meet the people there and enjoy the culture. Only 8,000 people live on Molokai and we both really enjoyed the laid-back style and friendliness of the place. Plus, our rental car was a jeep!
After the reception on Molokai we were able to spend a week on the North Shore of Oahu with my parents and brother, as well as Mike and Tanza. We has such a good time swimming in the pool, playing on the beach, and just relaxing. William likes to drink whatever he's swimming in, so he preferred the pool over the ocean "because it's too salty." We went snorkeling, ate an entire pineapple every day did a little shopping (the swap meet is my favorite!). Greg's favorite was Pearl Harbor. We saw the Arizona (the boat underwater with the memorial over it), the Missouri (the giant battleship), the Ronald Regan (a HUGE aircraft carrier that was at dock in the harbor, visiting), and saw a military submarine coming into port with the sailors all lined up on top. It was a lot of boats and guns, but it was pretty cool.
Overall, our trip was so much fun, but next time I think we'll leave the kids at home!

Nick, Greg, Will, Tanza, and Isaac at the Polynesian Cultural Center night show.

Tanza, Isaac, Mike, and my parents.

Ancient Hawaiian temple ruins by Pupukea.

Shave Ice

Iolani Palace, Honolulu

Why don't we live here?

Dole Plantation train ride with my mom

Breakfast at the Hukilau Cafe, Laie

Greg on the USS Missouri battleship with the USS Arizona memorial and Honolulu in the background

View from our condo window on the north shore

Tanza and Mike's announcement

What's under your bed?

This week I packed the food storage that was under our beds:

That didn't include the food from our pantry, kitchen, or basement! Plus, we still have shoes, luggage, sweaters, and beach towels under there. I think we need more space!

Yesterday we went up to Golden Spike National Historical Monument. They do a reenactment of the ceremony that was really cool. We thought William would like the trains, but he didn't really- they were loud. Isaac thought it was interesting, though. It was so amazing to think about what life was like in 1869 and how it changed with a trans-continental railroad. It was something that was celebrated across the country with fireworks and parades. There was even 800 people who came to the original ceremony out in the middle of Nowhere, Utah.

And a couple of random pictures.

(I think this one is funny because it looks like Greg is putting Zac in the trunk).

Our New Place

Things are going well with our new house. We had the inspection on Friday and it went well, so we are on our way. We will be so sad to leave, though. We have loved our ward and neighbors. But we are excited to be closer to our families, and it will be nice for Greg to have a shorter commute. The next few weeks will be full of packing. If you have any spare boxes, feel free to bring them on by!
Here are some pictures from Isaacs birthday a while ago. We went to visit Greg's sister and her family in Wyoming because her little girl and Isaac share a birthday, so I made them a shared cake. William is such a sweet boy; when we go to the house and I went to get the cake out of the trunk (where it had been riding around for 24 hours) some of the lettering was a little smashed. I was kind of distressed over it until William, who had come to help me empty the trunk, patted my leg and said "It's ok, Mommy." And you know, it really was ok.





William and Joseph, hat boys.


Going on an errand with all 3 boys. It's a tight fit, let me tell you!


Isaac "helping" with laundry. You may think it would take days of neglect to get your house like this, but with our boys, it's a matter of minutes!

HE DID IT!!!

On Friday, April 23rd, Greg GRADUATED!!! We are so excited! Greg had been in school since before we were married (our anniversery in June will make 6 years). He has been hired full time at L-3 Communications in North Salt Lake (where he has been working as a co-op) as a Manufacturing Engineer.
On top of that, we are in line to buy a house in South Jordan and should close on May 19th. We are very excited. It's a cute tri-level with a great yard for the kids, a big kitchen, and right by a park.

still kicking...

We are still here!
Our lovely HP has had yet another melt-down and we have sent it in for repairs. Again. Thank you to the Peterson's for letting us borrow their laptop so I can occasionally keep in touch with reality.
We are at five weeks to the end of the semester.
Cute litte Issac had his first birthday last week. He is the cutest little trouble-maker I've ever seen. I'll post pictures later.

Happy Birthday Will

Our little William turned 3 last month. Having a birthday right after Christmas is not quite what I wanted for him, but we don't always get to decide these things, do we?

This is him wearing his special birthday hat he made himself.

A new tool set just like Daddy's.

I made Will a Cars birthday cake in the shape of a race track with little car crackers driving around it.

Both boys got bath towels that are so cute. Will likes the bear...

so Isaac is the shark.

We got to go sledding with Auntie Tanza and Uncle Mike before they went back to Hawaii. Will had an awesome crash but he did eventually get back on the sled. What a brave kid!

It's official

I must be getting old because my baby sister is getting married! She is engaged to her long-time boyfriend Michael Tupola from Molokai, Hawaii. They are getting married in June, which means this year will be even crazier for our little family than we had thought, as they will be having the wedding and reception here in Utah and a reception in Hawaii.
Speaking of weddings, I finally applied for a business license for flower arranging (mostly for weddings, but other things, too). I've been wanting to get one for a long time- I've been working with flowers for almost 15 years and arranging for 10. I have one wedding coming up at the end of February that I'm excited for. I love doing flowers! Greg is really good about putting up with the fact that when I'm arranging he doesn't have a kitchen or a wife for a couple of days.
Otherwise, we are plugging along trying to survive another Utah winter, already looking forward to spring with all the beautiful daffodils and tulips.