June 2013

We started off the month of June by welcoming Hailey, Aubrey and Brynley's newest cousin Penelope into the world. We were able to have Lilly and Lilla come over so we could watch them a couple days and then Aunt Corine also came to visit so she could help out. We had lots of play dates with cousins the first part of June and a couple trips to the beach with Aunt Corine as well.

 Sorry for the crazy eyes, still haven't figured out how to take good pictures on my phone

Hailey made this doll by herself to give to Penelope.

Right after Corine left I went to Young Women's camp as a leader. I was very apprehensive about going and leaving my girls but I had a lot of fun and was glad I went. They were a great bunch of teenagers and I must have felt like one too because I got a huge pimple on my face during camp which is way out of the ordinary now that I am older :) Before I left Hailey and the girls with their dad planned a going away party for me. They decorated the play room with a goodbye sign with drawings from everyone and we had sub sandwiches and chips for dinner. It was nice not having to worry about dinner and it was very thoughtful and sweet.

 

May 2013

May started off with Uncle Shiblon visiting and Auntie Kalo leaving to move to Utah, unfortunately I don't have any pics and we were sad to see them go. We then celebrated Charlie's birthday. Since he is super busy with his new position as President of the home builder he is working for we opted for a simple family celebration. We had his parents and Mich'ele, Lilly and Lilla over on Sunday for a mock Café Rio Salad. Another unfortunate thing is I ended up needing a lot of help preparing it so Charlie helped quite a bit with his birthday dinner which turned out delicious by the way. I had to make it up to him on his actual birthday so I brought him lunch at work but was unable to see him because of meetings so I left it for him. That evening we did a progressive dinner around the house.
We started off outside with fruit and the girls gave him books that they made.

 We then went into the dining room for salad and sharing of what we like about daddy and favorite memories but I forgot to take the picture.
The main course of lasagna and bread was served in the play room while we watched a slide show of pictures with music.

 We then had mudslide pie and present opening in the family room.

Another event in May was Hailey advancing from Brownie Girl scouts to Junior Girl scouts. I currently do not have the photo's but will add them as soon as I get them. That same day Aubrey also graduated from preschool.

 This picture of Aubrey and Hailey looked like to Charlie and I what a future picture will look like someday with Aubrey graduating from college, they look so mature in it for some reason.

May also marked the end of the school year. Both Hailey and Aubrey did really well in school and enjoyed the teacher's they had. We celebrated with an end of the year party with some friends at a bounce house place.

The next day we celebrated Lilly's birthday with a pool and BBQ party and Hailey and Aubrey spent the night as well. The summer break has been in full swing for a week now and we have gone swimming five times and been to a few parties. I'm waiting for things to slow down but I think we may have a full fun summer ahead of us.

April 2013

Hailey celebrated her 9th birthday right after spring break while my parents were still here. She took the day off and spent individual time with everyone from the family.

Grandma and Grandpa Brown took her to breakfast at Denny's and they played games and told stories in the grass while they waited for me to pick them up.

 From there I took Hailey to the zoo and we went through the sand art exhibit and then we went on the kayaking tour. We saw two giraffe's up close that were play fighting and we were both able to steer the kayak which I was nervous about.

 After the zoo Hailey went to Stake and Shake with Daddy for lunch.

After lunch Hailey came home and went swimming with Aubrey while Grandma watched from afar so they could enjoy their individual time together.

 After swimming Hailey went with Grandma and Grandpa Pahulu and Auntie Kalo and did some shopping at Target and Charming Charlie. Hailey came home with some new shoes and jewelry and she picked out some jewelry for her sisters as well.

When they got home from shopping we had a family dinner/party. We had taco's for dinner and Auntie Kalo planned a few games, she opened presents and then we had cake and ice cream.

 As usual Kalo and Grandma did an excellent job on the cake. By the end of the day we had one happy exhausted birthday girl.

Grandma and Grandpa Brown finally had to leave so they could go on their mission so we had one last family dinner and took some pictures. They will be missed but we are excited for their upcoming adventures.

Hailey had a daddy daughter dance with the girl scouts in April as well.

March 2013

St. Patrick's day was on Sunday this year so I made a little rainbow treat and some green lemonade for lunch after we went to church.

 We had Grandma and Kalo over for some corn beef and cabbage at dinner time to celebrate our Irish roots.

 

We went on our first family camping trip during spring break. We went up to Savannah, Georgia with some friends. It turned out to be a lot of fun and worth all the prep work to buy camping gear. The kids loved playing in the leaves and wandering back and forth between camping sites playing games. Brynley is in a princess phase where only skirts and dresses will do so she insisted on a dress so I just snuck some pants underneath.

 The first night was freezing so we had to bundle up but during the day the weather was perfect and the second night was great as well.

 During one of the days we went and explored down town Savannah. It was neat to see all the old buildings and think about the history that took place there. We visited an old cathedral and the founding place of girl scouts. We also met a very friendly homeless man at this fountain and were able to share some snacks with him and he shared his testimony of Christ with me which helped inspire me.

 On the way back home we went on a tour of one of the civil war forts. Most of it was mounds with the buildings underground and it was a fun place to see. The kids once again went running along exploring.

My parents also came for a last minute visit to see us before they were to leave on their mission to Texas. We had two weeks with them and enjoyed being able to have them here with us.
My dad is always a good sport and spent one morning playing in the tent with the kids. We had to do a practice set up of the tent and it ended up staying up for a few days.

 My mom always loves to read to the kids and they love for her to read to them.

While they were here we celebrated Brian's birthday

 We also celebrated Easter with them here.

 Here are the kids at the kid table eating Easter dinner

 The kids also did an egg hunt in the backyard supplied by Grandma Pahulu

February 2013

Time for some catch up of the year since half of it is just about gone, time flies when you're having fun.
Valentine's Day has turned into a fun family holiday at our house. I prepared cute table settings and a cheese fondue and chocolate fondue meal for dinner/dessert along with our traditional games. We thoroughly enjoyed our cheese fondue for dinner but that is as far as we got for the night.

 Hailey ended up not feeling well and slept here while we ate dinner.

 After dinner with one girl down I decided I was too tired to finish the festivities so we ate the heart cakes that Grandma Pahulu brought us and watched T.V. in bed to finish out the night. Didn't go as planned but I didn't mind one bit.

 Hailey's girl scout troop went on a Sea World field trip with their mom's. The majority of the visit was a guided tour so we could learn about animals and then we did a couple shows but by the end of the night it was freezing and we couldn't wait to get out of there.

One of the highlights was watching a manatee eat it's lunch.

 Grandma Pahulu celebrated her birthday at the end of the month. She is a leap year baby so we celebrated it on February 28th, we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then back to their house for cake and some songs performed by the girls. Hailey was fearful for Aubrey's life because of all the peanut shells on the ground at the restaurant and Aubrey being allergic but I tried to assure her she would be fine as long as she didn't eat any.