The Other Lawtons

Blue Bell Creamery

2011-06-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

There are many nice things about summer break, but the one I love most is that my girls get to spend time with their cousins. Today we made a trip (a first for me) to the Blue Bell Factory in Brenham. Had a short little tour then enjoyed a cup of deliciousness for lunch.

My sprouting girls enjoying all the ice cream decor.

The cousins and Durr kids, minus baby Krew.

Riding the cow...too bad I didn't catch it's name...

I know everyone loves Blue Bell, but I am still a Dreyer's fan if I have to eat ice cream.

Blue Bell ice cream is the 3rd selling ice cream in the nation...go Blue Bell.

"How's that different from any other day?"

2011-06-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

There are so many quotes that we have taken from tense moments and incorporated into our lives on a daily and even weekly basis that make us laugh. The title of this post is one of them. It's from Daniel Lawton...thanks, man. So it's Father's Day and both Mark and I would like to say, "How's that different from any other day?" In asking what "special" meal he wanted, he rattled off a list of 5 or 6 ideas, stating that everyday is Father's Day because he gets fed daily. So I make him hiyashichuka.

Hiyashichuka

He eats, then cleans up the dishes because that is what he does on his "special day" and everyday. Then we have FART time on his "special" day (FART stands for Family Afternoon Rest Time)...it's something we do every Sunday, except for this Sunday I rest for longer than he does. And to make the day even more "special", we have FHE and then play games...well, we do that every week, so really, how's that different from any other day?

Here is how it is different...he got BREAKFAST!

Homemade cinnamon rolls, hot out of the oven!

But truly, it is a special day because I have been blessed with a wonderful husband of twelve years and my girls have the best father. On his special day, we are reminded that he is actually our special gift. We love you Marklavious! Thanks for being the best of the best! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

June Recap

2011-06-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

Will I ever become a true blogger? Probably not...so here goes, another month's recap of what has been going on in our little world.

The end of May was fast and furious. I met with a childhood friend for lunch. She was in town for a museum conference. Hadn't visited with her since before my mission so it was a nice treat to see her. Thanks, Katy Knight for taking time to watch me eat, literally!

May 26th-27th was a fast trip to Dallas for Mark and I and while we were gone my newest nephew decided to arrive, Krew Dalton Erwin! We met with our new accountant and felt a little blown away with what we need to do to prepare for the future, but it was very good and we are excited for the challenge. Thank you Sabrina for watching our kiddos!

May 31st-5th Grade Party...need I say more. Leilani along with the other 5th graders enjoyed a day in honor of them with a talent show, Chick-Fil-A for lunch, and tons of water fun outside! They are celebrating the last days of elementary school...can you believe I have a middle schooler now?!?

June 1st-The last day of the 2010-2011 school year. It's been a great year for the girls and we are so ready for SUMMER!

Swim practice is now every Tuesday through Thursday in the morning and the girls are loving spending time in the water to escape the hot Texas heat. It's a great way to start the day.

June 3rd-4th-Mark leaves for Port Aransas for a High Adventure fishing trip with the scouts. He leaves with 22 boys, 8 canoes, 1 trailer, and 3 cars. He comes home with the same, minus one scout tub...oops! While Mark is gone, we decide to go on an adventure ourselves. We team up with Miss Penny and her clan and head to Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. We come home with everyone we left with and all our gear! Haha!

The week of June 6th is a reminder that I am getting old...on the 6th I have a doctor's appointment with the hand specialist to see what's growing in my left hand...it's just a ganglion cyst and he removes it right on the spot...not expecting that at all but now it's gone. Just some numbness and pain in my hand a few weeks later. The following day I am at another doctor's appointment, I want to get my pterygium removed from my eye, but the doc wants me to wait....not happy. Then Thursday I go in for my mouth...yes, a sign that I am getting older and not neccessarily wiser as I was unable to tell the opthamologist that I wanted to proceed with the eye surgery. I'll wait till school resumes and then I'll see if I've gained any wisdom to voice my opinion.

11th-Finally returned the canoes from the scout high adventure and spent the day in Beaumont with Grandma and Grandpa Lawton, and Uncle Dave. It was awesome and relaxing! Enjoyed some yummy eats and lots of pool time.

17th-We celebrated Aidyn's 7th birthday with a ton of kids in the backyard, two waterslides, an above ground pool, a fun relay, pizza, pizza and more pizza and lots of presents from generous friends. Thank you all!!!

18th-The girls have their last dual swim meet and Aidyn places first overall for her freestyle! Way to go Ai!

Now that's a June recap...doubt that pictures will come, but atleast we have a reminder of what's up in our life. Don't you just love it?

May Recap

2011-05-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've blogged, but it's not because there hasn't been much going on...it's because we have been so busy that there isn't any time! A quick recap of May with details and pics to come.

Swim team started for Aidyn and Mia, Leilani opted not to swim this year

5th-8th: Buffalo New York (Grandin printing press, Smith Family Farm and Sacred Grove, Hill Cumorah, Whitmer Farm) and Niagara Falls

13th: Mia's 9th Birthday

14th: Girls on the Run (GOTR) 5K and Mia's Birthday Party

21st: Girls first swim meet against Spring Cypress and the Memorial Hermann Texas Ironman in the Woodlands, TX

Mia's 9th Birthday Bash

2011-05-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

Mia normally has a family party to celebrate her birthday, but this year she decided she wanted a friend party so we had a combined family and friend birthday bash.

It was a full house, or I should say a full yard with lots of food and fun.Xiomara Lira (xiomascakesandmore.com) made this beautiful display of edible yummy's for Mia.

Sugar cookies decorated as beachballs that Leilani and Miguel (Xiomara's son) decorated.

A layerd jello cake with Mia's picture.

An excited Mia. She though the cake was "really cool".

Lots of water games...

waterballoon toss, followed by a waterballoon fight and a drenched Mark, bubbles, chalk, waterslide and water kickball.

Food: Hamburgers and hot dogs, fruit, veggies, and chips

Swimming in the pool

The Ladies (Holly, Cheryl, Sabs, Ai, Mom Lawton & Di)

Grandpa Lawton grilling burgers and dogs

Friends, friends.....

...and more friends!

and finally...presents.

Thanks to all of you who helped us celebrate Mia's birthday! She had a wonderful day!

GOTR 5K Houston

2011-05-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

A while back I has asked Mia what she wanted to do for her birthday, she said she'd like to run a 5K together. Fortunately for us, there was the Girls on the Run 5k the day after her birthday in the Bridgelands so we signed up to run it. It was Mia and Aidyn's first 5K. They ran the whole thing and finished in 39:05. I was a super proud mom to see what my girls accomplished. Out of the "girls" Leilani placed 3rd (two 35 year old women came in ahead of her) and 12th overall. It was a great time and we hope to run another race together again soon!

My awesome girls who love to run! (They must take after their father!)

Happy 9th Birthday, Mia!

2011-05-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Mia,

Today is Friday, the 13th, and the best day ever because today is your birthday! Today you are 9 and we can hardly believe it. It was a miso soup and rice morning, a sushi lunch and stroganoff dinner with fresh green beans that you picked from our garden...some of your favorites to eat. You are becoming such a lovely young lady and we love being around you. Your laugh is so contagious and fills our home with happiness and your laid-back personality is refreshing and becoming a lifesaver for me with the hormones that we have infiltrating our living space! We love you for your diligence and dedication to do you best at whatever you do, and for the sweet spirit and tender testimony that you have. You are wonderful and we love you, love you, love you! Happy birthday to our Mia, Mia!

Love,
Mom and Dad

Seabrook Half Marathon 2011

2011-03-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Mark is awesome...need I say more. After having limited amounts of sleep because we were camping and staying up late, well, and who can really sleep while they are camping, he woke up at the crack of dawn with Derwin to drive 75 miles to make it to a 7:15 am race start. He placed 1st in his age-group and 4th overall. Way to go old man! We wish we could be like you!

A picture of "the guys" that ran the race L-R (Marklavious, Jeremy Kartchner, Cory Cryer, Brian Crandall, Daniel Erwin). Fast times!

Havasupai Falls Here We Come?

2011-03-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

We are planning a backpacking trip to Havasupai Falls this summer...to get ready for it the girls had a mock campout with their sleeping bags and sleeping pads upstairs in the game room.
Their campout didn't last long...they all ended up sleeping in their own beds...the floor just was not comfy enough...perhaps we won't be able to say,"Havasupai Falls here we come" afterall!

Rodeo

2011-03-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

The first day of Spring Break did not start with the sun shining or sleeping in...we were up and on the road by 8:20 am so Leilani could have a 90 minute violin lesson and we drove in the most dreary of weather. The sky was dark and the rain came falling down...not what I had in mind. We ran a few errands, had some lunch, went home to crash for 30 minutes and hoped that the rain would let up so that we could enjoy some family fun time in the afternoon at the carnival. By the time we picked Mark up at the office, the rain had stopped, the sun came out, and the weather was perfect for playing. The kids had a great time going on rides and playing games. Well, Mia didn't exactly have a good time on rides like this...she gets motion sick too easily!
Aidyn recruited Leilani to go on every vomitous ride with her and loved every minute of it!
This year there was a new exhibit at the carnival featuring butterflies. We went there while Mark checked out the exhibit featuring the Ford trucks!
"Take you for a ride on my big green tractor..." Mark dreaming about owning a big green tractor and the girls singing a little bit of Jason Aldean (yes, I had to google that).
This year we missed the rodeo and barely looked at the livestock but here is proof we atleast had a few sneezes.
The girls spent more time outside playing games and riding rides rather than checking out the livestock show...they are growing up, sad, sad, sad.
Mia surprised us and won a stuffed frog! Fun times for her!
Leilani played a few games and tried to win something, anything, but ended up with nothing (well, Mark gave her the basketball he won).
And look, I am a part of the family! A picture of me and my girls!
Mark holding all the girls "junk" and wondering if spending all this money was worth it.
Ai recruiting Leilani on yet another vomitous ride...oh so fun, especially because there was a boy sitting a few swings behind them that was bawling like a baby the whole time! Hahaha!

It was a fun time, glad we could "invest" our life savings into having an outing that the girls really loved!

I went for a run...

2011-03-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

...and came home to see that my backyard was on FIRE. Not really the best thing to come home to...the perimeter of the dark area was lit up in flames about 8 inches high. Can you say random?!? So the first thing I think is, "shoot, I've got company coming on Friday and my yard is on fire", then I thought, I'd better get the fire by the fence under control before the fence goes up in flames too and our neighbor's house burns down. I run to turn the hose on, it is not there so I go on a hose hunt...find it, drag it from by the sportcourt to the spicket and run to the fence, hoping to beat the fire down before it beats my fence up. Fortunately, I was successful and got part of it saturated. In the meantime, I called the office as I was having issues with getting the sprinklers on, told Mark the backyard was on fire and that I needed to have him tell me how to turn them on manually. Imagine, he is in total confusion as I am speaking rubbish about the sprinklers and a fire...I hang up the phone. Eventually the sprinklers kick on (I was doing things backwards) and the fenceline is under control. I am now at ease...

We don't know how or why it started, but are grateful that there was no real damage. The grass will grow back and if it doesn't we'll replace it. Our house is still standing and no one got hurt. It's a little easier to replace grass than a house.

HASSA Musicale

2011-03-05T20:37:00.000-08:00

From Janice Kapp Perry to the HASSA Musicale...Leilani performed the Rumanian Dance by Bartok. She played beautifully and I was proud of her for sharing her talent. Though at the end of the day she when I told her how I felt, she responded by saying, "sometimes I wish I didn't have a talent". It was Saturday. She had worked hard all week so she could play on the weekend and that was really all she wanted to do. She woke up early to play at the women's conference and then off the perform at a musical for her teacher. It was nearly 4:00 in the afternoon when we got home and she wanted to enjoy the the day but it was practically over. She was a good sport. When Sunday came around and it was time to play for the stake fireside, she packed up her violin and left with a smile. What a good little girl I have.

Janice Kapp Perry

2011-03-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

Leilani was asked a while back to play her violin with a friend, Jarad Cook (on the viola), at the Cypress Stake Women's Conference and a Youth Fireside. The guest speaker would be Janice Kapp Perry. Yes, Janice Kapp Perry. What an amazing woman with an amazing husband. They have both given so much service to the church and to spreading the gospel with her music. I was refreshed by their down-to-earth spirits. I think Leilani will appreciate this moment more in the future than she does now when she fully appreciates who she played for. But for now, she just wants to be a kid and not spend the whole weekend playing the violin.

My DaDDy, by Aidyn

2011-03-02T20:03:00.000-08:00

Need she say more? She loves the man! She wakes up extra early so she can eat breakfast with him before he leaves for work. He leaves at 6:00am. She cries on the mornings that she misses him by a few minutes and has to call him on the phone to tell him good morning. She mows the lawn with him. Eats snacks with him. Jumps on the tramp and shoots hoops with him. She's pretty much obesessed him. It's a good thing that she loves her daddy so so much. The End.

3rd Grade Nature Trails

2011-03-02T19:19:00.000-08:00

For now, the Cy-Fair school district still has an opportunity to do some fun activities that cater to the kids. Today was one of those days, 3rd grade Nature Trails. Learning outside...does it get any better than that?!? The weather was lovely, the 4 stations were fun and the kids were happy to be outside! I'm glad that I can be a stay at home mom so I can volunteer to help at the "school" for learning activities like this! Mia filling out her worksheet

Lever Station

Some 3rd Grade Friends

Word Monster

2011-02-24T19:27:00.000-08:00

Have you ever felt like it's been one of those hours? Or Days? Or weeks? Well, Ai felt like that reviewing for her spelling test yesterday...rather than writing words, she created this beautiful word monster instead. I have her to thank for this beautiful artwork that expresses how I feel inside. Thank you, child, for drawing on paper what I cannot voice! You are truly an inspiration!

Ode to the wii

2011-02-22T19:35:00.000-08:00

Wednesday the 16th, our household looked like this bundle of joy below (though "joy" was not how she was feeling as she was running a fever of 103). Sickness infiltrated our lovely home and it was quiet and clean (as in everything in it's place). It gets a little old having a quiet and clean house because the kids are sick. Sometimes looking like your house is lived in is not such a bad thing! Monday the 22nd, she was able to eat...finally...after 4 days of not eating at all. And if you know my girls, they LOVE their food! Suzanne Calvert brought over the most delicious lunch for us that day, Chick-Fil-A. It hit the spot and had Leilani and I smiling from ear to ear! Thanks, Suzanne-you truly are the BEST!

Tuesday all three girls went to school. It was a memorable day and I felt FREE to have time for myself and FREE from sickness! The girls came home from school, removed their shoes, dropped their backpacks at the front door, walked through the house to the back door, slipped on a pair of flip-flops, and went straight to the backyard. We enjoyed the tramp and sport court that was replaced by the wii for a few weeks, enjoyed a dinner outside and stayed out there until Aidyn had to go to voice lessons. It was the BEST TUESDAY EVER! I am so glad to have my kids back!

Cheers to our health and the great outdoors! Good-bye wii, until we meet again in sickness.

Not So Fun Mommy-Daughter Days

2011-02-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

So 12 days ago my sweet Miss Ai informed me that she felt dizzy. That's okay, I told her, it's most likely because you're tired. That was Friday the 4th. Saturday, she told me the same thing,"Mom, I feel dizzy", and Sunday, the same,"Mom, I feel dizzy". Monday morning comes along and the same thing,"Mom, I feel dizzy". Enough already with the broken record! I send her to school anyway. A phone calls come that afternoon from the school nurse informing me that Aidyn had a dizzy spell, fell down, and hurt her wrist...oh, and she's running a fever too. Nice. When I picked her up she told me,"atleast I didn't fall into the toilet!" And thus begins the not so fun mommy-daughter days. Running a fever of anywhere from 99-105. Going to school, then being sent home, or not even going to school at all! Who knows, she may have to repeat the first grade all over again due to all her absences in the past week. I finally decided that enough is enough and took her to the pediatrician today, which was really quite awesome. We switched from 1960 Pediatrics to Bluefish Pediatrics-no wait, service with a smile, and a doctor who talks to you for more than 30 seconds. Here is our doctor visit pics...the nurse gave Ai a lollipop before they swabbed her nose for the flu (which was negative, thank goodness). She thought that was pretty cool. Then it was off to Quest Diagnostic to get some bloodwork done. The phlebotomist drew three vials of blood and Ai did not wince at all. She just sat and watched in awe that her blood was going from her arm, through the needle through the tube into the vials. I was bit worried as there was a little boy her age that went before her and he was crying and screaming like a girl. She did amazing, no crying or screaming like a girl...no problems at all. We joked that Leilani would have passed out for sure.

A close-up of her getting stuck. CBC with diff, CRP and ESR-hoping that all things are within normal limits.

Then off to Panera to get her favorite cheese and brocolli soup in a bread bowl, which she actually ate! We had just started eating when the phone rang and the caller ID said "Swenke Elementary". Hmmmm....Aidyn is with me so who could they possibly be calling for? Yes, my lucky lady Leilani is sick...lovely.

We quickly eat what we can't take home (like the soup) then head home to pick Nani up. At first we were making great time...then the traffic just stopped. Oh man! I am determined to get to the school because I know that Leilani would not be in the nurse's office unless she felt like dying so I did something that I wouldn't normally do. I drove off the freeway, onto the grass that separated me from the frontage road then moved about 10 yards and was at a standstill...again. With the thought of my eldest daughter in the nurse's office at school I decide to go ahead and 4-wheel it once more, popping the curve, getting partially stuck and having to rock back and forth to get past the steep and grassy slope that would get me onto a field that I hoped would take me to a road that could bypass all this stalled traffic. Boo to the big truck who dumped hazardous waste all over the road I needed to exit. I finally made it to the school. Did I leave a part of my truck in the grass? Probably. Do I care? No, because I am no longer flustered that I am sitting in traffic, I have daughter number 1 at home safely recovering, and daughter number 3 at home snoozing and hopefully recovering for the 12th day in a row. The end.

Mark's HEART ATTACK

2011-02-13T14:00:00.000-08:00

This Valentine's Day was pretty low key as the girls and I did not feel like our normal selves (that means we were sick).

It started for Leilani on Friday the 11th-she attended a rockin' Valentine's Party at a friend’s house and said it was the "coolest party ever!"

Saturday night was our 3rd annual Newlywed Game, Fiesta style. Sadly, I did not have the energy to take pictures or decorate so I did not document the evening, but the food and friends were fun. Dan and Sabs took home the "Perfect Pair" prize. I'm thinking we are going to have to start making trophies for future games.

Sunday we celebrated Di's birthday and Sunday night is why I'm really writing this post. Sunday's activities had come to a close. The kids were bathed, scriptures read, prayers said, backpacks and shoes were by the front door and the kids were fast asleep...or so we thought. Mark and I were getting ready for bed when I heard something outside. I thought it might be Aidyn as she wasn't feeling well. I mentioned it to Mark, he thought it was nothing and we started talking again. I kept hearing the noise but disregarded it as I figured if Ai needed something she would vocalize it. We keep talking and Mark tells me how he wants to share a poem with me. Sure, I said, thinking that it was odd that he suddenly become poetic...this is where the fun began...I am already laughing and I haven't even typed it up yet...

Imagine Mark and I sitting in bed talking...he then becomes poetic and wants to share a poem. Oh, so sweet…and awkward too! But alas, the poem is in the kitchen so he has to get out of bed, open the door and get it. He does just that...opens the door.

Me: Look at our door! (The door has been heart-attacked and I see a glimpse of Leilani's pj pants dash past in the dark)

Mark: (Walks out of the bedroom into the powder bath where the nightlight has been left on. He wants to turn it off, when suddenly he turns to the left, crouches down into attack stance and yells) AARGH! (He charges and grabs at my daughter's arm)

Leilani: (Screaming) Dad!

I was dying of laughter at the whole split second event, Mark and Leilani were screaming out of fear into each other's faces. The end result was a lot of adrenaline, eventual laughter, and a beautifully heart-attacked door from our three girls, and yes, he still read me the poem.

Happy LOVE Day!

Thanks for making it memorable Mark and Leilani!

Stretchy Like Your Stomach

2011-02-10T13:12:00.000-08:00

The day has finally come! Three weeks of bathing a child who normally doesn't need help has been quite a task (yes, to those of you young mothers, it is easily forgotten once you don't have to bathe them anymore). Aidyn is getting her cast removed! Hooray! But this post isn't about her, or about how she romped around on it broken and castless for 10 days after she jumpled off of her top bunk into a sea of toys before we brought her to get it checked out...this post is about ME and the little self-image I once had! Ai and I made a little lunch date out of getting her cast removed. I scheduled her appointment during her lunch and recess in hopes that she wouldn't miss any instructional time. It was a pretty good plan, except that the appointment took much longer than I expected. Since we hadn't had lunch we decided to grab a bite to eat before I took her back to school. No problem. She went, had fun showing off her "new" castless leg and came home (yes, with a fever of 101, but that is another story). The first thing she says when she walks in the door is,"Mom, my skin (from her cast leg) is stretchy like old skin, it looks like your stomach". Well, thank you, dear! For those of you who know me, I am not the most confident in my looks, BUT I have, for the most part, thought I had a pretty nice belly. Even after delivering three babies. So you can just imagine that what I though looked so "nice" looked like old skin to my baby girl. Yes Aidyn, you crushed my world! And gave me the best laugh all day!

Name That Book School Competition

2011-02-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

There are many things I love about Mia, but the characteristic that I admire the most is her confidence. Last week she came home from school announcing that her 3rd grade team had made it to the Swenke Elementary Name That Book Finals...Wow! I didn't even know that she was part of a team! I didn't know that she and her friends spent lunch and recesses reading, studying and reviewing 100 book titles and storylines. She never asked for an opinion or told me what she was doing, she was just doing it. I would have been scared to death to be a part of a team like that! Who am I kidding, I still am! This is a picture after the school competition in which six teams (two from each grade, 3rd-5th) participated. We are proud of you girls, and especially proud of our Mia-who seriously stares fear in the face and isn't afraid to try new things!

Happy New Year?

2011-01-02T12:38:00.000-08:00

With the beginning of the New Year we all seem to make resolutions but today is the day my resolution comes to an end. In 2007, I stuggled to train to run a marathon, 26.2 miles, with young children still home. I ended up getting injured and only ran a half marathon on Jan 1, 2008. I felt like a loser as I fell short 13.1 miles of my goal to do 26.2. In 2010, I had three children in school and had gotten past feeling like I always had to be doing something for someone else. I decided to take time for me. That meant that I was going to exercise consistantly. Though my social life suffered, my exercise did not. I said that I was going to exercise and I did. I ran, I swam, I cycled. In the end I ran a few half marathons, getting an under 2:00 hour half -marathon PR in Provo, as well as my slowest half at 2:13 in the hills of Huntsville, competed in a small Navy Seals competition, and did a 100-mile bike ride (Tour de Cure) for diabetes with my hubby, father in law, and friends McCall Sessions and Todd Maddox. I'm sure in the process of exercising, I lost a few brain cells, enough to sign up for a marathon, but felt good that I had a stable base built to successfully complete my failed goal of 2008. Though the Texas Marathon did not go as I hoped for with my time, I overcame a huge roadblock mentally. My first 3 loops of the 4 loop course was going well, then at mile 19.5, my left knee gave me serious trouble and I had to walk, walk, walk, attempt to run, and walk again. The last 7 miles were the slowest and could have been the most disappointing, but amazingly I enjoyed every moment. I did not let that setback bring me down and that was huge for me. I successfully finished the marathon and checked it off the bucket list...well, that is until I do my next one in June where there no walking is allowed!

The New Year Runners...Daniel Lawton (who placed 1st in the marathon), "Derwin", Di & Jeannine (who ran the half-marathon), Me, Dad and Mark...missing from picture is our friend Christian Rauch.

Standing tall, even with those 10 pound medals hanging around our necks. And Mark has good reason to be doing so. Mark qualified for Boston, running a 3:09:52! Congratulations and see you in Boston in 2012!

The matching ladies...JUST DO IT! We did!

Thanks for the memorable new year day and not so memorable New Year's Eve. Next year I will be up late, stuffing my face with all the yummy Japanese foods I missed this year!

Find Your Happy Pace

2010-10-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday mornings are rarely a day for us to sleep in. This one happened to be just like any other Saturday morning...an early long run or ride morning BUT this time it was going to be FUN because we were headed up to do the Huntsville Half Marathon with our friends. We left the house at 5:45am and carpooled up with Daniel Erwin, the Cryer's and Teerlink's (Steph's sister, Whitney and her hubby Jared). We arrived early, thank goodness, so we could all use the bathrooms (which, by the way smelled lovlier than ever) and get the jitters out of our system. It was the toughest 13.1 miles I have ever run...the hills kicked my trash and it was tough for the tum tum (I felt like throwing up at mile 8 and tasted vomit at mile 11.5). It was the first time I stopped to walk during a run because I was feeling so bad (yes, the last 2.5 miles were dreadful. How am I going to survive 26.2?). I was attempting to settle my tummy and in doing so...let the minutes pass by so 2 hours came and said good-bye. In the end I had my worst run at a 2:13 but it was all good. Mark ended up taking 2nd overall and 1st in his age-group (GO MARK!) running a 1:29. Considering the hills I'd say we did pretty good. Find your happy pace!

Happy 34th Birthday, Mark!

2010-10-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today is Mark's birthday. He is 34 years old. We are now the same age...what a relief, he was worried that he married an old woman. Today actually ended up being fun because the youth temple trip got cancelled which allowed Markus to be home to celebrate his birthday. We had a family party on Sunday for Jack-Jack, Sabs, Daniel and Mark, but it's always nice to celebrate on the day of your birth...that sounds weird. So, we made a surprise dinner for Mark. Steak, salmon, fruit salad, mixed sweet and gold potatoes, and a yummy green salad with salty and sweet. He even got the "you are special today" plate. And look, I am a part of the family. Erwin has been living with us so he was able to take a picture of all five of us. Thanks, Daniel!

The meal was yummy, the company was the best and the cookie cake was a nice try...

It was my first attempt at making a chocolate chip cookie cake...it will probably be my last as well as it was a complete disaster! So I spread out the dough, it smells lovely, and I pop it in the oven. My house smells of delicious cookies baking but it's a little too soon so I walk over to the oven to check up on it...yes, it's the slime monster overflowing all over my oven. The cookie dough was dripping over the sides creating a cookie oven for me to clean. It was awful. Cookie everywhere and then, I overbaked the darn thing! So looks are deceiving! It looks good but it was as hard as a rock. Good thing I had a snickers ice-cream cake for a back-up plan in the freezer to redeem myself!

Happy birthday, Mark. Thanks for being the best thing that we have! Love you more!

Happy 8th Birthday, Mia!!!

2010-05-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

Mia-Mia,

Today you are eight years old. What a wonderful 8 years it has been with you in our lives! It has been so fun to see you blossom into a bright and beautiful young girl-so full of life and energy! It has been espescially fun to see you grow in confidence. There was a time where you seemed to struggle trying to get your individual attention from Mom and Dad-always having to wait on Leilani or Aidyn. Now, you don't wait-you state your need right away and get your individual time with us, now making Leilani and Aidyn wait :). Thatta girl! You have developed good friends and a great sense of independence. I love to see you shine like that! Happy birthday, Mia! I am so glad you are ours! Keep being great! We love you!

Down Time

2010-05-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

Some days...well for the past few months it seems that most days Mark and I are burning at both ends of the candle. So this morning I decided that I needed some down time. Rather than being responsible I sent my kids off to school without a homemade lunch-yes, they are eating at the cafeteria today and yes, they will tell me how awful it was when they got home. We had the Boy Scouts at the house yesterday evening-the window is broken, the floors have cookie crumbs and grass on them, and the tables are covered in fingerprints...it all remains that way now as I type. I have not called the repair man for the window, I have not swept or mopped the floors and the table still is covered in fingerprints. Atleast I ran the dishwasher and wiped the island down. I put on my running clothes and went for a run-leaving the dog behind as she wimpered for me. I didn't look back to say good-bye to her...I just kept running without an ounce of remorse that she desperately needs to get out, probably even more that myself. Today I actually got dressed and did my hair after I showered, I even painted my face with some make-up...it helps to make me feel a little prettier I suppose. And now, I sit here...wasting time...and loving it despite the mess I am surrounded by. There has been so much going on...I will post as fast as my computer allows so watch for posts below as they will be in chronological order (okay, let's get real, they probably won't happen, but for the sake of keeping a history, this is what has happened in April)...Swenke Field Day, Provo-City Half Marathon, Hiro's graduation, LeeAnn's bridal shower, the Lonestar Triathlon and violin recital, and the birth of baby Naomi, Ellie's 4th and Mom's 60th birthday party, Klein High School Fun Run, Sabrina's Diaper Dinner, camping at Garner State Park with Dave and Ale's family, and the beginning of FAST swim team. Fluff in the face is great...I'm enjoying this down time now...I'm sure I'll regret it tonight!

What do you do on Saturday?

2010-04-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

This Saturday started off with a bang, literally, as the race gun went off. Uncle Daniel was hosting a Fun Run at the high school for the booster club. The girls went to "support" the race and ran, ran, ran. Mark and I were proud of the girls, Aidyn placed 4th in the K-2nd grade division, Mia placed 2nd in the K-2nd division, and Leilani placed 2nd in the 3rd-4th grade division. It was great to see their dad's running spirit in them! Here is a post race picture...sorry about the poor exposure... In addition to running the race, we were lucky to have great-grandpa Hansen here for the weekend and here to watch the girls race.

After the race we played...Ai, Leilani and I went shopping and Mia went to play with a friend...good times...relaxing...just what we needed! Then it was back to the grindstone once we all came back to reality-practicing instruments because that's what we love to do best around here (NO WAY!). Once the torture of practicing was accomplished we had a yummy dinner of leftovers and made SLIME!!! The girls loved it and I never knew that elmers glue, borax and water could entertain my kids so well! They loved it!

We ended the night watching a strange movie that featured nature talking...the girls enjoyed it then we called it a night...well, after watching an episode of BURIED ALIVE...a hoarding show that scared my kids into always keeping their rooms and house clutter free! Let's see how long that lasts!!!

Well, hubby just waled in the door...yes, it's midnight, and I think I will go say "hello"...

Daughter or Dog?

2010-02-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

We finally had some beautiful weather yesterday so we decided to have a family play day. We took advantage of the weather and played a game of croquet. It was fun. At one point during the game, Mark was trying to explain something to Leilani and raised his voice a little to speak over the wind. To which, Mia's response to me was, "Dad's talking to Leilani like she's the dog". Mark rarely raises his voice and when he does it is mostly to discipline Reshenka the dog so I guess I can see where Mia is coming from...she's a little confused, is Leilani a daughter or a dog?!? Okay, I don't get it...but it made me laugh!

Still Rockin'

2010-02-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

Leilani and I had an opportunity to go on a Mother-Daughter cruise with our friends from San Antonio. Despite the rocking boat and vomiting, we had a great time. The food was plentiful, the friends were wonderful, and spending time with Leilani was just the best. It was nice to get some one on one time with her...she's so grown up! Here are some pictures of our trip... Happy Valentine's Day...Leilani is making sure that her carnation survives by putting it in water.

Playing some mini-golf on the top deck of the ship...

Sporting her favorite purchase while in Cozumel...the blue fan...

Making Carnival's version of Build-A-Bear. Losing her ring and bracelet in the process, and unstuffing the animal to find that in the process of stuffing her lion, the bracelet and ring got stuffed too!

No, we are not in Madagascar or NYC Zoo...it's Cozumel...

Freezing our tooshies off at a beach in Cozumel...

Leilani screaming, "I LOVE MEXICO!!!"

Dancing girls...

Our formal dining night...more food...

Going down the waterslide in the freezing weather with the wind wisping our breath away on the boat...

Enjoying a pina colada by the pool...

Swimming...

Eating ice-cream and bacon for breakfast...

The trip was great, Leilani felt like royalty and I felt like a roly poly. Thanks for the fun time Cari and Becky!

An Evening in Paradise

2010-02-07T16:26:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again when love is in the air with the anticipation of Valentine's Day. Some people think it's a time of romance but as I am the least romantic person ever I push aside romance and think party instead. We held our 3rd Annual Newlywed Game with our friends. This year our theme was "An Evening in Paradise". We decided to have our own little Luau, minus the fire dancers.

The decor-paper lanterns, fishnet tablecloths with shells, and of course, all of us dressed up in our aloha hats, hula skirts, coconut bras, and lei's.

The menu this year included...egg rolls and teriyaki chicken,Chicken heck...

Pani Popo...Fruit kabobs and veggies for color...and Guava cake for dessert...YUM! Oh, and we can't forget the pina coladas and strawberry daquiri's!Here are the Ladies...Jeri, Dustie, Cheryl, Sabs, me, and Steph.

And the gents... Eric, Jeremy, Brian, Mark, Daniel, and Cory.

Thanks for hanging out with us...we had a great time!

The 100th Day of School!

2010-02-03T16:20:00.000-08:00

It's the day Aidyn has been waiting for...the 100th day of school! My baby has officially been a kindergartner for 100 days now. During that time we have received 6 (I've lost count) phone calls from the school nurse...falling flat on her face, blisters, bloody nose, scraped up back, hitting her head and more. She has gone from being so excited to attend school like her sisters, to dreading school and wanting to stay home with mom, and then back to loving school. She has a great teacher and has made such good friends. She's reading and writing and talking like a big girl. Here she is in her 100th day shirt that we made-100 googly eyes in honor of the big day! Happy 100th day of school!

Violin Recital

2009-12-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

Tragedy struck the night before this year's winter violin recital...Leilani jammed her right thumb, making her unable to play her violin. Boo! It was quite the disappointment as she worked for three months to perfect La Folia, a seven and a half minute piece. But fortunately all was not lost as our youngest maestro was able to perform. Aidyn played Lightly Row and looked like a princess in her fru-fru dress that left a glitter trail to mark her path. She did a great job and is determined to get a trophy! Whatever works to get the girl to practice, I guess! Good job, Ai and better luck next time Nan!

Happy Turkey Day

2009-11-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

What would a Lawton family gathering be without some sort of sporting event?!? It wouldn't be a Lawton gathering without one! We greeted the cold Thanksgiving morning early with a Turkey Trot.

This group of kids participated in a kids race...

and the pictured adults did a 4-miler...

Then it was back to the house to finish the Thanksgiving Feast...ooh the spread was great and oh so tasty!

This is Halloween!

2009-10-07T19:47:00.001-07:00

Oh how I love Halloween! Last week we went to pick out the girls costumes...of course, Leilani is going to be HARRY POTTER!!! I love this pic of Nani in her costume so I just had to do a pre-Halloween post...especially, as a Halloween post may never come to pass!

Happy Haunting, everyone!

Tour de Cure-September 19th, 2009

2009-10-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes there is a lot of pressure in life...a lot of times being married into a family of athletes is a lot of pressure. So instead of running away and hiding in a dark place, you join the pressure and end of up having a great time. Here we are at the Tour de Cure, the inagural ride for diabetes. Dad represented our group (Dad, Dave, Mark, and myself) by wearing this red jersey.

While Mark and Dad were away riding their 100 miles, Dave and I waited for our turn...our longest ride yet, 64 miles. Unfortunately the course was 7 miles short so we only rode 57 miles...we were both disappointed. I have to say thanks to Dave. I will ride with him again anytime. He was great to listen to me hack my lungs out for 3-1/2 hours, slow down for me when I was feeling it, and share good conversation!

Here we are at the end. All of us posing together. And yes, I really did ride, but my bike is on the bike rack already. Thanks to our awesome family who always support us (mostly dad and Mark) on our quest to push ourselves!

Mark and I sporting our TEAM LAWTON jerseys. Dave refused to wear his, but next year...

So in the end, the ride was great, the training was fun, and the time spent together was worth all the pressure I felt and feel to keep up with my hubby. Thanks, babe!

Oh, What a Week! We're EXHAUSTED!!!

2009-07-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

It's been one of those non-stop weeks where we have early mornings and late nights and no time in between. Now it's Sunday evening, Mark has had a sore throat all week and now has a cough, and all three girls are running a fever...we are exhausted! But despite the exhaustion, we had such a FUN week! Here is a summary of what kept us busy this week...

Monday (June 29th) was tri-camp, errands, then music lessons...

Tuesday (June 30, 2009) we took lunch to the office to bid farewell to Jennifer, our sweet front desk employee, cleaned the house like crazy, ate dinner, then went shopping! The girls had a blast shopping, especially Aidyn as she got to spend a gift card that she recieved for her birthday. It was fun to stand back and watch the girls walk ahead of me at the mall, to see their purses swinging by their side and their faces smile excitedly as they walked past something that they liked.

Wednesday (July 1, 2009) we cleaned house...again, and took Aidyn to the pediatrician-middle ear infection. We went to swim lessons, then came home and got ready for Cub Scouts. I've been working with the Cub Scouts for about a year now.

It has been a fun experience to be a Den Leader and to have my girls experience all the fun that the boys get to experience. On this particular evening we made two claypot stoves, baked pigs in a blanket, and roasted smores in the backyard.

Thursday (July 2, 2009) we had some friends come over the play, then cleaned...again. We wanted to surprise dad by finishing his study. This required us to clean the guest room as it was covered in all the items that the study occupied. This took the majority of the day, but we got it cleaned just in time to go to swim lessons, then run to the church to set up for the July 4th Breakfast, run to Party City to buy the tableclothes and decor for the July 4th Breakfast, drop by Kroger to pick up lunch items for canoeing, order pizza, and stuff our faces right as our cousins pulled up in the driveway to stay the night before heading out at the crack of dawn the following morning to go canoeing. Unfortunaely, the one thing we were not able to accomplish was going to Sams to pick up the fruit for the July 4th Breakfast.

Friday (July 3, 2009) we (Dave and Ale's family and us) pulled out at 6:45 am to make the hour and a half drive to Sour Lake where we met Mom and Dad Lawton, and Aunt Lori so we could pick up the canoes and canoe! We had a blast on the river. This is the only picture I have as I forgot the camera at home and I chose to leave the phone in the car...just in case! We had a great time on the river, paddling where we could, getting high-centered on the sandbars and walking where we couldn't paddle. Had a nice lunch on the sandbar and came home burn-free!

We went back to Beaumont after canoeing and enjoyed the refreshing 94 degree water of grandma and grandpa's pool, ate a yummy BBQ then off we were to rush to the store before it closed. We made it to Sam's by 8:00 which gave me 30 minutes to pick up fruit to prepare for 150 people. Got home, put the kids in bed, then Mark and I washed fruit and got things together for the July 4th Breakfast. By 11:30 pm we were worthless so we went to bed...

Happy 4th of July!!! Our day began at 4:00 am to prepare the fruit (it had to be freshly cut) that was our table centerpiece. We had 22 tables, 12 melons, 7 3-lb cartons of strawberries and 5 3-lb cartons of black grapes. It was a crazy morning but we made it to the church by 6:30 am to finish setting the tables and getting thing ready for people to arrive at 8:00 am. We had about 85 people show up. Richard Smith put on a wonderful breakfast, cooking 120 breakfast burritoes and 140 pancakes. He had a great crew. Thank you to all who helped! You are all lifesavers! All in all I think it was a success.

Afterwards we came home and crashed. We slept for a couple of hours then took the girls to Nestle. We'd been planning on taking them since Thursday and it just never happened so we were determined to take them after the breakfast. They had been such good sports waking up so early, helping to set the tables, and helping to clean up afterwards.

We headed to the Kartchners at 5:00 pm for a yummy BBQ dinner and a game of Blockus, then off to Tom and Holly's at 9:00 pm for fireworks.

It was a crazy busy week, we are all exhausted, but had a great time! Even though we had a great time, we are hoping for a quieter week this week!

Kiwanis Kids Triathlon Series

2009-06-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

The girls joined a triathlon club through the YMCA this summer. It has been fun for them to "train" and log their workouts. Basically, it's been a lot of fun riding our bikes, running and spending time at the pool. Their first triathlon was in Langham Creek at the end of May (30th) before the tri-camp started. These photos are from the most recent race that was on Saturday, June 27th, in Pearland, TX.

Warmed up and waiting for the race to begin...

See Mia swim,

Transition...

See Mia bike,See Mia run and run so fast that the fan club missed her cross the finish line!

Good job, Mia!

See Leilani swim,

Transition...

See Leilani bike,

See Leilani run,

Congratulations, Leilani!

And, of course, thank you to our wonderful fan club! While the girls were in Austin enjoying a day out watching Mamma Mia! Grandpa, Uncle Daniel, Kolby and Olivia were there cheering the girls on. Thanks for your support and for a fun day in the sun...beach pictures to come later...

We are so proud of our girls. It has been fun to see how they improve each time they go for a run, get on the bike, or swim laps. We love watching their confidence boost as the task gets easier as they get stronger. All their hard work is paying off! Keep having fun girls!

Mamma Mia!

2009-06-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

What a fun Saturday I had with the ladies in the family. Mom Lawton, Sabrina and I met Holly and Ale in Austin to watch Mamma Mia (as soon as I get pics emailed to me, I'll post the pics)! Sabrina surprised us with these fuzzy boas and then we got in trouble for taking pictures of ourselves in the theatre.

The performance was wonderful. Hilarious and inspirational. I am definitely investing in some outfits like the ones they wore! Afterwards we ate dinner at Sandra Bullock's restraunt called BESS. It was good. Here we are (mom's taking the pic) enjoying our private little booth (it had curtains that we could draw for privacy) while we waited for our "green" grub.

And finally a little note to Ale. I am lucky to share a birthday a day apart with such a wonderful sister. Ale, you are amazing and I love you forever and always! I have been blessed with such a great family away from home. I couldn't have hand picked all my sisters and mom better. Kathy, Ale, Sabrina, and Holly-you are the bomb.com! I love you and thanks for a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday, Miss A!

2009-06-25T20:47:00.001-07:00

My baby girl has turned 5 years old...she can tap my shoulder while standing on her tip toes, she does not fit comfortably on my lap anymore, and she has lost all her baby fat. When and how did this transformation occur? I know not, but it's gone by quickly and my baby is starting kindergarten in the fall. Aidyn, we love you for all of your spunk, your independence, your strongwill, your love of monster trucks, your love for riding your bike, your cute bottom that we are no longer allowed to pinch, and the sweet and sensitive girl that you are. Though you are growing and will someday go out on your own, you will always be my baby girl! I love you!

Omaha

2009-06-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've done a post. So many trips have been taken since Spring Break in March and yet no post of anything. Our most recent trip was to Omaha/Council Bluffs where we visited with Grandpa Hansen and a load of Lawtons...1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc cousins...We flew in Wednesday night, stayed at the luxerious Western Inn in Council Bluffs and slept as best we could...

Thursday we woke up early and went to Great-Grandpa Hansen's house...

...to build a fence with friends and family,

...feed the horses,

...spend time with the cousins,

...and enjoy a yummy dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Friday was our day at the zoo. The Omaha Zoo was AMAZING and HUGE! We had a good bunch of us tromping the zoo grounds- Grandpa and Grandma Lawton, the McDougals, the Kennedy's and us.

Later that night we got together with everyone (I think it was over 50 people) for dinner at the Pizza King. The portions were out of control...HUGE, HUGE, HUGE!

Saturday was the "official" Lawton family reunion day. Started out the morning with a visit with Grandpa Hansen before heading out to the reunion.

The girls enjoyed every moment and inch of Grandpa's property and were sad to have to leave. BUT...they had a blast at the park with all the Lawton side and the Furnell Family, especially with the twins.

We played a game of softball with the cousins, took a trip down memory lane visiting old homes and schools of mom and dad, vistited the Kanesville Tabernacle and had a huge fried chicken dinner with the Lawton side.

Sunday was Father's Day (Happy Father's Day, Mark), church, a visit to Grandma Hansens grave, a look at the Omaha temple, then back on the plane to come home. All in all, good times were had, much more than anticipated, and we are so glad we were able to go.

How many Asians can you fit in one car?

2009-04-14T13:21:00.001-07:00

A whole bunch! We visited the Children's Museum in SLC with the family. Good times!

Grandma and Grandpa Takahashi

2009-04-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

It has been a long while since I've done a post as my internet access has been quite limited or non-existant! Here is one of my favorite pics of the girls with G&G Takahashi while we were visiting in Utah over Spring Break. We love you!

Time for Another Break...

2009-02-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

I don't really appreciate these breaks considering the cirucmstances that they come by. Mia had a trip to the doctor today so we could get the great news that she has strep throat. Fun times...not.

Time for a Break

2009-02-12T11:07:00.001-08:00

This week has been the longest and craziest week of the new year. The schedule has been non-stop, every morning, afternoon, and evening with some sort of scheduled committment. It's been a whirlwind and I am waiting for the breakdown to come. Lucky for me, but not for Mia, life gives us moments to take a break when babies get sick. Mia is home from school for the second day. Below she is out cold! But because she is home, and I am forced to stay home, cancel my commitments and take a little breather. I sure hope she feels better soon!

An Artist in the Making

2009-02-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

The "Certificate of Achievent", presented to Leilani Lawton reads..."Because of your excellence in artistic expression, your artwork has been selected to represent Keith ELementary in the 2008-2009 Annual Cy-Fair Elementary Art Exhibit at the Instructional Support Center building on February 10, 2009". Signed by the art teacher and Principal. Leilani was so excited to recieve this opportunity. Below she is standing in front of the Keith wall of artwork. Her "excellence in artistic expression"...a 2-litre recycled bottle turned fish.

Good Job, Leilani!

Finally!

2009-02-09T11:24:00.000-08:00

It felt like the day would never come, but after two years, the day has finally come where Mia has graduated from her Suzuki Piano, Book 1! We are so proud of all of her hard work! Way to go, Mia! Below she is with her friend, Emily Paule (who also graduated), and teacher Ineza Childze. The graduation consisted of an opening and closing song, and 4 surprise songs. The surprise songs were inside inflated balloons that they had to pop. It was exciting for Mia, a relief for me, and quite nervewracking for Mark! The video is 10 minutes long so it's a little much to post, but close your eyes and imagine 10 little fingers making beautiful music!

Too Good to be True

2009-02-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

Alas, I thought the day had come where Aidyn would forever sleep in her own bed. She did it for a week, I got overexcited, snapped this shot, just to have her waking up in our bed for the past two nights. Some things are just too good to be true!

The Best Volcano Ever

2009-01-26T15:00:00.000-08:00

Every year the third graders at Keith elementary have an opportunity to build a volcano. In searching for the most creative way of producing "lava" we watched lots of You-tube clips, and did a lot of online searches. However, the best idea came when Leilani was hanging out with Uncle Daniel, our chemistry teacher. He suggested using sodium dichromate with a magnesium band. This was different from the soda and vinegar, or mentos and coke idea so we decided that's what we would use for our lava. The idea for the volcano had been born! Here we are working together as a family on what is to be the best volcano ever!And here is the finished product of the best volcano ever. In addition to the volcano, we did a little landscaping that included trees, sand, and a river. Leilani wanted to put a climber on the side of the volcano, but it would have been too small to identify once we had it to scale. And yes, it was so the climber would become covered in lava...she must be my daughter...

The big day came when all the third graders were able to erupt their volcanoes. Aidyn raced me to the school, her run showing her excitement that the time had finally come and we checked Mia out of school so she could witness the volcano greatness...we were all excited. After waiting for about 10 minutes, Leilani's class walked out, each with their personal volcano in hand. They sat in a circle and the eruptions began. Everyone had a turn at success and then it was Leilani's turn. The wind was blowing and in order for her volcano to erupt she needed to ignite the magnesium band, after a few tries, it caught spark and we had an excited crowd. As quickly as the excitement came, it was taken away with the same swiftness when the wind blew out the sparks seconds later. We could not light it again. So the greatly anticipated moment became a moment of temporary failure and disappointment. Her friends told her "sorry" and we went home. I could feel Leilani's disappointment as her eyes filled with light tears. It was crushing...BUT we would not fail. We got home, placed the volcano in the middle of the sunroom where the wind was not a factor, and lit her up! The feeling of failure and disappointment dissipated and success was on her side as we witnessed the best volcano eruption ever. I hope you enjoy the eruption as much as we enjoyed it in person!

My Sister

2009-01-25T16:51:00.001-08:00

You know when you are just having a really bad day/week...you wake up tired and the first thing you see is that the dinner dishes from last night are still in the sink, loads of laundry are not put away, there are crumbs on the floor, shoes scattered everywhere, your kids aren't cooperating, and neither is your spouse, there's too much to do and you are running way behind schedule all with a rental car because your truck is in the shop because of a dumb little mouse that caused so much havoc in such little time costing you thousands, and life just doesn't seem to be going your way? That's when talking to your sister makes everything bad look better, really. My sister is the best, I mean, just look at the picture...well, and then the other day, when I was having a very bad moment, she just said,"Just stay upset, it will make you feel better. I love you, BYE!!!" Her comment made me laugh and made me realize that I didn't really want to stay upset...or did I?

Kudo's to Sachi for winning the "BEST SISTER EVER" award!!! Love you!

Oh, and P.S. my mother in-law just asked me to be a guest speaker for her youth lesson next week...the topic "The Joys of Womanhood"...I told her I'm not sure I should be talking about this after my weekend....HA!!! Perhaps this week I'll find joy in all the little things that are driving me NUTS! Yes, I know, I need a major attitude adjustment...smile!

Lazy Monday

2009-01-19T14:55:00.000-08:00

If I could change anything in our weekly schedule, I wish that the girls did not have lessons on Monday. The reason...school holidays usually fall on a Monday and music lessons are never off. So, although we did not get to completely have a lazy day on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we got to have a half-lazy day in the morning. I enjoyed sleeping in until 7:00, Leilani read in bed, and the younger two enjoyed an hour in the tub creating bubble art! But since it's too much of a challenge to change our schedule I suppose, a half-lazy day is better than no lazy day at all!

So, this is why I have kids...

2009-01-11T13:58:00.000-08:00

Aidyn has never been a great cleaner-upper when the sisters are aound, BUT when it's just mom and Ai, she goes to town. Here she sits, happily separating the laundry...

then she loads the washer...Perhaps this is why I have kids...hmmm...

A New Years Day Feast

2009-01-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is breakfast...and WE LOVE IT!!!

Ozoni...

Sushi...

and all the toppings....

And of course, the otoshidama (money envelopes) that the kids recieve!!!Akemashite-omedeto "HAPPY NEW YEAR"!!!

A New Year's Eve Tradition

2008-12-31T16:04:00.000-08:00

Growing up New Year's Eve was always one of the traditions I looked forward to. We always tidied up the house from top to bottom, scrubbed ourselves in the tub from head to toe, and ate our long noodles (soba) for long life. This is a tribute to the noodle tradition that I hope will never die. The girls loved it!

Rachel also shared a tradition of hers growing up...making homemade cream sodas. On the flavor menu-chocolate and pomagranate! YUMMY!!! Cream and cherries, anyone? Leilani enjoying her pomagranate mixer!

Kuni(x2)-PI

2008-12-31T15:15:00.000-08:00

New years eve, and new years day was a great time for me as I was with my family in Utah taking part of the traditions that I grew up with and sharing them with my own family. We were enjoying a regular, quiet evening, waiting for the countdown to ring in the new year when suddenly dad comes bursting in the house yelling,"Hiro, somebody just hit your car! Kuni, come!" So then out rush Kuni and Kuni, dad and son, side by side in an attempt to catch the car that hit my brother's van. Our quiet evening now became an evening of excitement as Kuni-PI was on a not so hot trail to find the perpetrators. Hiro was out by the van filling out a police report while Rachel and I were peeping through the blinds speculating that we would save an innocent life from the drunk drivers that did the hit and run. As luck would have it, the Kuni-PI's were able to find the truck that hit the van and they were pulled over by two police cars, cited for a hit and run, and yes, drunk driving, and their truck was impounded. As all of this was happening, we raised our glasses in a "compai" and rang in the new year via speaker phone as we were at home and dad and Kuni were with the police.

The heroes of the night, our own KUNI-PI's , holding a piece of the damaged van!

The Biggest & Best Snowman Ever!

2008-12-29T06:28:00.000-08:00

The second best thing about visiting Utah in the winter is the SNOW!!! The girls have been having such a wonderful time being "cold". They've skiied/snowboarded in the backyard, had snowball fights, and have just hung out in that white stuff that we don't get in Texas! We spent the afternoon making the biggest and best snowman ever!
Then had a photoshoot with The Snowman. I don't think it ever got an official name. Here we have, from L-R, Mark, Grandma Takahashi, Leilani, Ollie, Aidyn, Mia, Grandpa Takahashi, and Uncle Russell (our favorite neighbor from across the street).Next we have our family. Do I look like I'm bigger than Mark or what!?!And lastly, of snowman photoshoot pictures, is Sachi and I...and um...my dad, too! We had no idea he was hiding behind the snowman so when we saw the pictures we laughed till we couldn't breathe!

Family

2008-12-26T07:20:00.000-08:00

After the 26 hour drive from Cypress, TX to Orem, UT the girls were ecstatic to be at Grandpa and Grandma Takahashi's house. As always, the family and cousins were there to meet us. Before we could get unloaded and unpacked the kids were bundled up and outside enjoying the snow!

Then, as tradition has it, when family gets together the games come out! It was a 12:15 am bedtime for the girls, a 1:30 am bedtime for Mark and I, a 2:00 am fast food run and 6:00 am bedtime for Kuni and Sachi, and I'm not sure about Isa, Hiro and Rachel. Let's just say, it's always a good time when we get together! The boys are playing our new favorite board game...Blockus..get ready to play, Lawtons!

And a little later on...it's Rock Band time!!! Leilani was amazing at the bass, and Mia can keep a rythm on the drums that you cannot believe! Oh, yes, and Miss A can sing! Can you tell we are having fun? Rock on...

Christmas break...it's okay, I guess...

2008-12-23T06:20:00.000-08:00

For all the exitement and anticipation for Christmas break, it really isn't what the girls had hoped for so far as it's been errand after errand after errand. But today, we decided to do something fun. The girls picked out some cute fleece fabric from Hobby Lobby and made scarves! Atleast today the whole day was not a bore!

Has it really been 10 years?

2008-12-19T06:26:00.000-08:00

It has been a DECADE of marriage! Who would have thought it could pass by so quickly! It started out with a morning at the school, making gingerbread houses and attending class parties. Then, off for my surprise! Aunt Sabrina (thank you, btw) watched Aidyn for us during the day and Aunt Holly (a super huge thanks to you, too) watched the girls after school and over night until we returned the following afternoon. It started out with a little shopping...Mark wanted to get me something "special" to remind me of our 10 year anniversary. He has always been the romantic in our relationship. He took me jewelry shopping. For those of you who know me, I don't really wear jewelry. I rarely wear my wedding ring unless I go out. In fact, as I type this post I am ringless. Nonetheless, I was excited to see what they had in store and excited to see what I would like. After about six jewelry stores, I found the perfect band to match my wedding ring. Last year Leilani was Mark's partner in crime. He asked her to find out for him what kind style of jewelry I liked. After weeks of her bringing me jewelry advertisements and weeks of worrying that she was going to have an expensive taste for something I don't find practical, I told her,"Mom just isn't into that kind of stuff". But I have changed my mind as I have found the perfect ring. I love the ring Mark got me and am just disappointed that I will have to wait for it to be fitted before I can wear it!
After the shopping we headed to our surprise destination...Cleveland, Texas. Mark picked the most perfect place in Cleveland called The Resort at Artesian Lakes, previously known as Chain-O-Lakes.

He got a little one room cabin surrounded by water named "Dr. Anson Jones". It has a little picnic table and swing on the porch. Quaint and quiet, a perfect combination!

We had dinner at the Hilltop Herb Farm & Restraunt. I think we both enjoyed the waitress more than the food. Let's just say that they were very laid back!

We enjoyed the great outdoors watching a spider weave its web, observing the industrious life of ants, playing on a ropes course, finding the perfect little red mushroom, and seeing an alligator too up close and personal!

But mostly we enjoyed the time we had together celebrating our milestone, reminiscing upon each year of our marriage, the struggles and the success, the sadness and joy and the blessing of finding each other. Good does get better. Happy 10th Anniversary, Mark! I love you!

Gingerbread Houses

2008-12-19T05:04:00.000-08:00

First grade is a great during the holidays. Why? Because it's gingerbread house making time, not to mention the holiday party and the last day of school before Christmas break!

Mark had an opportunity to accompany Ai and I this time. Mia was so pleased to see her daddy! Mark didn't realize what a big deal it was to attend these sort of school functions. He was amazed at how about 60% of the parents were in attendance and he made a comment on how he would like to be at more of them in the future. What a dad!

Mia made a beautiful gingerbread house...

And recieved a letter from Santa's Elf!

The class parties were next. Below is Leilani with an eaten plate of goodies playing M&M bingo. What a great time!

Destination: Wally-world

2008-12-18T18:09:00.000-08:00

So tomorrow Mark and I will celebrate our 10 year anniversary. What a long, strange trip it's been! Actually, it has only gotten better. This is not an ode to Mark, that will come later, rather it is a post to capture the comment Mia made in the car this afternoon. Mia and I were coming home from Olive Garden where we had the annual office Christmas lunch. We were discussing our Friday schedule and how mom and dad were going out of town to celebrate our anniversary. Mark, being the romantic that he is, has planned a surprise. As it is a surprise, I have no idea where we are going. I could tell Mia is a little concerned about our destination as she asked, "Mom, what if dad takes you someplace like Walmart? What will you do?" I laughed as I truly felt her father's pressure in trying to "please" me. So I replied,"I will just be happy spending time with your daddy." She said,"Oh, but hopefully it's not Walmart!" I love that girl!

How do you Ello?

2008-12-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

This is how Leilani Ello's!

It's Saturday!

2008-12-15T18:45:00.000-08:00

Leilani had a school program tonight entitled "IT'S SATURDAY!" The whole 3rd grade was involed and they did a fabulous job. Unfortunately for us we did not get any good pics of Leilani (she is standing behind the boy wearing the blue pj's), but for posterity, here is a general shot of part of Keith elementary's 3rd grade kids.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was fast and furious. We enjoyed a visit with all of Mark's family and then spent Thanksgiving day with the Beatty's in South Padre. Good times.. below are our mermaids Mia, Leilani, Becky Beatty, and Miss A.