Visitors!

Aunty Linda and Uncle Phil were in town from California last week, so we headed over to their rental in Kaaawa for Dinner with them, as well as Kawika and JJ's families. It was the perfect evening with family, friends, and good food. Being all the way over here makes us appreciate our time with family so much more - nothing beats it.

Jenna LOVED rubbing Uncle Phil's head. It was so funny - Linda held her there for a good half hour while Jenna just rubbed away.

Stare Down

Jenna had a play date with Sariah, her friend born just 3 days after her. They had fun checking out each other's tricks. Sariah played with toys, while Jenna rolled back and forth, back and forth across the living room.

Rolling, Babbling, Toe Grabbing Girl

Diamond Head

On Saturday Honolulu was about the only spot on the island that wasn't supposed to be rainy all day, so we celebrated my 28th birthday hiking Diamond Head and going out to dinner. Jenna did a constant "Ummmm, Ummmm, Ummmm" the entire hike (please put that trick away!), which I am sure the people in front and back of us really appreciated :) The views up top were beautiful.

Ogden Reunion!

Thousands of miles away, we are still able to stay close with our best friends from Ogden. When Rachel and Richard heard we were coming to St. George for a few days, they spread the word and drove down from Ogden along with Spencer and Rachel, Dave and Melissa, and Scott and Megan. Talk about great friends! We only spent a day together but it was so, so nice. I remember when we first moved into our married student ward, a member of the bishopric talked in sacrament about how we would make lifelong friends while attending the ward. I remember distinctly thinking that there was no way, because Sam and I had been there a couple of months and felt so awkward and out of place. A year later, and we had made such great friends that I am sure we will be close with throughout our lives.

After Cafe Rio, we headed to the neatest park. It's full of lots of spinning/sliding toys that I am pretty sure adults enjoy as much as the kids (at least us adults)

Then headed to Menchies for some frozen yogurt

And ended the day at Richard's parent's house for some Around-the World ping pong - definitely one of our favorite games!

The girls (minus Rachel Coleman, who had to take off early)

The boys (minus Spencer)

Saying our good-byes... it was a bittersweet car ride home! It was so great to see our friends again, and at the same time so sad to say good bye. We are very grateful to have such wonderful friends.

5 Months Old

Time is flying. Jenna is 5 months old today, and such a sweet and happy baby.

I Love:

Sleeping on my hands

Bath time

Anything outside

When Dad comes home

Being thrown in the air

Swinging in the hammock

I Don't like...

Wind

Sleeping anywhere besides crib

Being set down :)

So Proud

Jenna's new trick is balancing on Dad's hand. No matter how hard she is crying, if Sam stands her up on his hand she breaks into a big grin and looks so proud of herself for pulling it off. She always looks around to make sure everyone is noticing her stunt, and loves it when I clap for her.

Hukilau Weekend

When Ashley and I were roommates, for about a year we went to Hukilau Beach every single day. We would ride our bikes down after class and swim, body board, and get tan. Then Ashley had a body boarding mis-hap and refused to body board with me (really I think she decided body boarding wasn't cool), and I got a car and we made our way to more impressive beaches on North Shore. But Hukilau will always be my favorite spot. The waves are usually always perfect for body boarders of my skill level (think white wash). We met Ashley the other weekend and it was my perfect day. The two of them traded off holding Jenna and I got to body board with Sam and Ashley for a good few hours. We had many-a-contests to see who could go further on the same wave, and Sam loved trying to run me over when I wasn't paying attention :)

Good Morning!

This morning the waves were BIG. The report said 18-20 feet (which means 30-40 foot face), and maybe they weren't quite that big, but they were impressive. We woke up early, grabbed our blankets and beach chairs, and headed to Waimea just to watch them for about an hour before Sam headed off to work. Poor Jenna is going to be quite the weather weenie like her Mama. She has a hard time handling wind or anything below 75 degrees :)

The Big 3-0

I couldn't not post this picture from 10 years ago, when Sam was 20. Oh, baby! Sam turned 30 on Sunday. We went out to Cheesecake Factory the night before, and then he had quite the exciting birthday between early morning meetings, church, and home teaching :) We did manage to get away to North Shore for a few hours to pick up Ashley and have dinner with JJ and Ahu's family, as well as Kawika and Pua's family. Sam first moved to Hawaii with Kawika, and they stayed with JJ for a few weeks while they found an apartment. Nine years and a lot of kids later, and we still are able to all get together.