March

March was just one of those months we all tried to survive. I just didnt feel good at all and had no energy. I felt so bad for the kids and tried to be fun. We had a play date at the park and met up with some friends for lunch one day. We also we to lunch with the cousins. St. Patrick's Day ended up landing on a Sunday, and it just happened to be my turn to cook dinner. So to be fun, I wanted to make an awesome dessert. After searching the internet, I decided on rainbow cupcakes. They turned out great and can't wait to make them again. Next time I will add more food coloring to make the colors pop out more. The kids loved them, and that's all that matters.

Kylee's surprises

I love checking on the kids each night before going to bed. My favorite is always Kylee. It's always a surprise to see what she has done in the time we say good night till when she actually does fall asleep. The other night, she decided to pick up her room. Usually she just plays around. She knows to be so quiet, because if we hear her, she gets in trouble. This particular night she placed all of her dolls and stuffed animals around her or on her bed. Her favorite doll is tucked under her arm, and she is fast asleep. After long days of sassy attitude, my heart is full of love for my sweet little girl.

Snow - Arizona style!

Toward the end of February, we got a burst of cold air and and a huge storm rolled in. We thought it was hailing but looked almost like snow. It was just a bit too slushy to be real snow. The kids were so excited, and I am so glad I grabbed the camera. I tried to get them to go out and play in it, but it was cold and the thunder scared them off. When the storm blew over, Drew ran through it, but decided it was just too cold to play in in. Yes, we are from Arizona and proud of it!

Day 4 and 5 in Hawaii

So after having such a busy weekend, we decided to keep Monday more relaxed. We slept in, went to breakfast at a yummy restaurant near the base, and headed to the beach. We wanted to paddle board, but it was just not happening for me. I just didn't have the balance or the courage to stand up. So Ryan tried it solo and he fell into the freezing water twice. I knew we needed to try something else. It was just too windy and the water too cold to paddle board on this trip. Instead, we got a 2 seater kayak. It was hard work, but tons of fun. Right on the base near Kailua is a marina. The guy at the rental place told us to just kayak in the marina for a little bit to get the hang of things. Then, if we feel up to it, head out into the open ocean. So we took his advice and so glad we did. That wind was just not on our side that day. We kayaked around the marina and decided it was just too choppy to head out to the open water. We were bummed to only be out on the water for an hour, but now we can say we kayaked and paddle boarded in Hawaii, well sort of. We then drove to a really nice and quiet beach and walked up and down it. I decided to try and collect some shells for the kids, but we couldn't find any. All we found were various rocks. It was so relaxing and nice to have a non-interrupted chat with each other. That night we went into Honolulu for dinner and went to the International Marketplace. What an awesome little market.
Day 5 was our heading home day. We decided to get up a little early and drive around most of the entire island. We stopped at a bakery for breakfast/lunch and got our last picture of Hawaii on a little beach right by Waikiki. Our return flight was entertaining because my friend and her 3 girls ended up joining us on the flight. We had so much fun but so glad to get back home and see the kids. Ryan's parents came down from Utah to help out, and we were so grateful for their help. Next time we go to Hawaii, I want it to be a family vacation!

Day 3

Day 3 we got up and went to church with our friends, and then headed to the Botanical Gardens right by their house. I guess we are nerds and love botanical gardens. On our honeymoon, when we visited Catalina Islands, we went to the Botanical Gardens there and loved it. That was are favorite memory of Catalina. We got lucky and on Sundays they have group tours, so we decided to go on it. Our tour guide was so boring and got so distracted with lots of stuff, having nothing to do with the gardens, that the 1.5 hour tour ended up being 2.5 hours. That was even after we left early. We did learn lots of interested things. On our way back to the car, Ryan spotted this historical site, a charcoal kiln. It was pretty cool. We then hiked up to the look out before heading back to the base. It was a perfect Sunday in Hawaii!

Hawaii Day 2

Day 2 of Hawaii was probably my favorite day. We got up early and drove up to Laie and got breakfast and did the first morning session at the temple. It was absolutely beautiful and a wonderful experience. I think Hawaii temples are our favorite. We have been to the Kona temple previously, and the people are just the most humble and friendly people you will ever meet. We then got shaved ice where the Obama's go to when they visit Laie every year. Then, it was off to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We were there pretty much right when they opened all the way to the end of the night program. It was an amazing experience, and we learned so much. We went to our first Luau, and the food was so yummy. So glad we did it. The night program was a perfect ending. Ryan rubbed my feet the whole drive home back to our friend's house. I was exhausted but such a perfect day.

Flying out to Hawaii

 

Back in October, we decided to wait and try for baby #4 because of insurance issues. I was so bummed, so when Alligant offered $199 round trip tickets to Hawaii, I immediately jumped on it. Little did I know that our insurance would get figured out and baby #4 came into the picture. I was so sick in January and kept praying I could handle Hawaii. Well my prayers were answered and we flew out to Honolulu on Feb 8th and came back on the 12th. It was such a nice break and miraculously felt great those 5 days. We flew out bright and early and visited Pearl Harbor right when we got in. It was different than I thought it would be, but a great experience. We then headed to the other side of the island to stay with friends in Kailua. One of my good friend's husband is stationed there on the base. They were so nice to let us stay at their house while we were in Hawaii. 

Positive!

It's POSITIVE! We found out on December 27th that baby #4 is on his/her way. We were so excited and also hard to keep it a secret from family during the holiday and Utah vacation. I was feeling so great until January came. The day after we got back from Utah, everything went downhill from there. Hence my lack of posts. I was so exhausted and nauseous, I spent most of the day in bed. I was so happy to keep myself from throwing up, thanks to my essential oils. I thought I got so lucky this time around till 20 weeks came and I threw up. I did it again at 21 weeks. I am now at 23 weeks and happy to finally be feeling better. YAY!

First Painting Project

 Back in November I bought this old dresser off craigslist. I prepped and painted it all in one week. Ryan spray painted the hardware because I couldn't find the right hardware to replace it. I finished it just in time for my November oils class. I LOVE it. Not in love with handles but will change those out later when I have time to figure it out. I was pretty proud of my first painting project. Ryan still needs to hang the TV, but I am happy I have a nice TV stand for now.