A trip to Montgomery, Alabama...

The fourth graders at Kenny's school have a tradition of traveling to the State Capital in Montgomery and spending the day touring Historic sites that make up the tradition and culture of the state of Alabama. I was lucky enough to be able to go along as a chaperone and take in the sites of places I have only heard about and never seen in person. From the place where Rosa Parks got on the bus and changed history forever, to the steps of the capitol where the Confederacy came to an end. Walking down the same road Martin Luther King, Jr. led the infamous march to the capital gave each of us a new perspective on the history we have here in the South. Pictured here are Kenny and a group of his friends standing in front of the Eternal Flame monument built in honor of fallen ward heroes.

A bit of Christmas cheer...

When you least expect it the teenagers of the world can certainly surprise you! We scheduled a Christmas caroling trip to a retirement home near our church. All the youth and their parents were invited to join us! We had a tremendous turnout and the residents at the Cogburn Health Facility enjoyed a bit of Christmas in the halls of their home! Most of the residents were bed ridden. Only a few could get around by wheelchairs. So instead of them coming to us we took our show on the 'road' and caroled up and down each wing of the home until each resident had a carol sung by their doorway! I don't know if it was just the large group of youth we had with us that night or the acoustics from the hallway but I could've sworn we had a choir of angels singing with us!

Christmas with the Nikolakis's...

Seventeen years ago Jessica's teacher Ms. Nik lost her father on Christmas day due to a stroke. She was a junior in high school then and since that year Ms. Nik, her mother, Ms. Peggy and her brother, Mr. Johnny have traveled out of state on vacation for Christmas. Not being able to stay at home for the holidays because it proved to be too painful at first and then continuing the tradition because it was something they enjoyed doing. This year however Ms. Nik took in a young boy in her class named J.T. as a foster child and because of him they decided to stay at home for Christmas.

We were invited to their home early Christmas morning before we went to the homeless shelter. We opened presents and had a wonderful southern breakfast of grits, sausage and eggs! Kenny and Jessica kept J.T. company and Ms. Peggy found the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on satellite for us to listen to while we opened some presents. What more could I have asked for?

Jessica and JT are very good friends at school and Kenny loves having a younger "brother" to play with. It was a fun morning for all of us and we enjoyed being around friends who hadn't been home for a Christmas morning that was full of excitement and joy for a very long time.

Hawaiian Cast Party...

One final gathering for all the people that helped out with our Ward Christmas Luau! Food was flown in from Hawaii and more was cooked right in our own home. There were so many more people that showed up to our Christmas Luau than we had expected that most of the dancers and singers didn't have the chance to sample any of the food. What better way to thank them for their help than by throwing our own little mini Luau! Laulau (Pork wrapped in Spinach Leaves), Lomilomi salmon (Diced tomatoes and onion with raw salmon), Poi (Smashed Taro root), Kalua Pig (Roast pork with sea salt)and Kim Chee (Fermentated Spicy Cabbage) were all on the menu for our final cast party! Put a little IZ Kamakawiwaole music on and it felt like we were right back home in Hawaii! Thanks Keola, Ulu, Beverly, Hanalei, Elder Reis, Elder Tovo, Elder Enu, and Elder Sebreros our Honorary Hawaiian!

Christmas is for giving...

This year we spent Christmas day at a homeless shelter in downtown Mobile. We shared a religious service with them and distributed toys and clothes to those standing in line. The kids donated three bags of their own toys that day and I watched as the saw first hand how different some people spend their Christmas. The hardest part of the day for me was when I was helping the men find clothes that they could take with them in preparation for a chilly evening ahead and one of them said, "I just need a pair of socks, ma'am." My heart sank as I knew that there were no socks in the clothes that we had sorted for them. I replied, "I'm sorry sir. We have no socks today." Needless to say Arnold's closet got a thorough cleaning when we got home that night and all the extra socks I could find in there were sent to a new home. A more deserving home. A home where socks on a chilly night make all the difference in the world. We are so thankful for all that we have and for the friends and family that we are able to share it with! We love you. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Hawaiians at school...

Boy! December just rained Hawaiians here in Mobile! Jessica had her class Christmas party the week before school got out and sure enough the theme was "Hawaiian Christmas". Although the food ended up being more untraditional with ChikFilA nuggets and Pineapples from a can...the entertainment was strickly local! Elders Reis, Tovo, Enu and Sebreros serenaded the group and even got a few parents dancing! Our school will never be the same again! Mele Kalikimaka!

Hawaiian Christmas luau...

Nothing like a bit of Hawaii here in the deep south! 40 lbs of cooked Korean rice, one 250 lb wild boar cooked underground in an IMU, 1 gallon of Korean kim chee, 4 sheets of Coconut haupia, 6 pans of Pani popo, 15 bowls of macaroni and potato salad, 100 dinner rolls, 250 shell leis, and 462 guests! Who could ask for a better turnout than that?

Mystery reader for the day...

Arnold paid a special visit to Jessica's 2nd grade class last month and played the part of mystery reader. We checked in at the front office and the Asst. Principal Mrs. Whinston called down to the class with the intercom to let Jessica's class know that the mystery reader was on his way down! You could hear the screams and giggles! Jessica's teacher had all the kids put their heads down on the desk and when she turned on the lights they looked up to see Arnold sitting in the 'reading' chair with one of our favorite books! The Icky Sticky frog!

Jessica's Thanksgiving program...

Jessica participated in her first ever Thanksgiving Day Program at school. With a packed gymnasium with many, many proud parents the program went off without a hitch and the students all did wonderfully! I, having had the job of being in charge of everything that day from refreshments, to seating, to costumes, forgot my camera so this is the only picture I have from a friend who forwarded it to me via email. Great job Jessica! We are so proud of you!

Wishes sometimes do come true...

For about five years now Kenny has tried every year in September to get us to buy him a snake for his birthday. We were able to get by a few years in Utah when our neighbors (The Bielstein's) would bring us the garden snakes they would find while weeding their amazing garden, but since moving to Alabama we haven't been so 'lucky'! Then one day someone at work mentioned to Arnold that their teenage son had outgrown his snake and was looking for someone to take it off his hands. Great! Just what I needed. So the Saturday before Kenny's birthday we drove down to Pascagoula, MS and picked up a three year old California King Snake for Kenny's tenth birthday. Kenny couldn't stop smiling. He also couldn't stop saying, "I can't believe he's really mine!" Two months, four frozen dead rats, and many, many hugs later....we now can officially say we have a new addition to our family. His name is Taz and he's a snake. Future visitor's beware...

Small miracles...

On any given day after the kids are sent off to school I would follow a normal routine of cleaning the house, organizing my files, paying some bills and watching a little tv while folding some laundry. On this particular day however our satellite went out for no apparent reason. A little annoyed but not particularly devastated I went about my day until the phone rang. One of our Stake Presidency members was on the line asking if Arnold were home. I immediately thought....hmmmm I wonder if its for a new calling in our Ward? Odd that the Bishop didn't call. And then after relaying that Arnold was at work that day President Emertson proceeded to ask if I had watched any tv that morning. Another odd question and then I remembered how the satelitte had gone out and I had turned it off hours ago. He then asked me to call Arnold and to make sure that he was okay. Pres. Emertson had gotten a call from someone who worked across from the Pascagoula refinery telling him that they were all being evacuated because of a fire in one of the plants. My heart dropped and the tears began to flow. I thanked Pres. Emertson and hung up the phone. I knew I couldn't call. I knew there would be 1000 other wives probably phoning in for the same reason. So I waited and waited some more. Until finally a call came from Arnold's supervisor's wife, Christine. She said that her husband, Johnny, had called her and talked for only a few seconds. Basically his message to her was....There's been a fire...I'm okay....call Lisa and tell her Arnold is okay too. I could finally breath! Three hours later Arnold came home and the hug I got from him as he walked through the door was a little tighter, his smile a little brighter, his "I love you" a little sweeter and our dinner together that night as a family a little more divine.

A first for everything...

In July after we got back from our long summer trip Lisa and I went to Troy State University for three days to attend Lisa's first Five Stake Youth Conference! Mobile Alabama stake joins each year with Panama City Florida, Ft. Walton Beach Florida, Tallahassee Florida, and Pensacola Florida stakes for our annual Youth Conference. There are over 500 youth involved with the three day conference and the Young Men and Young Women (ages 14 to 18 years) stay in the dorms, eat in the cafeteria, attend workshops, participate in service projects and have nightly dinner/dances!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Some may say this day is all about the fried turkey, the sweet potato casserole, the homemade rolls or grandma's pumpkin pie. But we think there's nothing better than spending Thanksgiving with our family! (Even if its a few days early!) Arnold's brother, Aaron and his family spent a week with us this month and before they left we made sure to celebrate by having a Thanksgiving dinner together. Who could've asked for anything more? We're certainly grateful for our family! We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Dear old friends in fun new places...

While on our trip this summer we stopped in Missouri to tour and visit all the church history sites in the Independence area. We stayed in the Mission Home of the Independence Missouri mission with Pres. and Sis. Hacking who we now from Utah. They are serving as Mission presidents of the mission and have been there for about two years now. It was fun to see them, catch up, and learn from all the wonderful experiences they've been having on their mission!

Its been a while....

Several weeks have gone by since I last posted on our blog. Lots has happened and we've managed to keep busy but most of all we've had fun! Birthdays, freshman year of High School, Student Council elections, Homecomings, Cub Scouts and refinery fires. Well most of the things have been fun... Hopefully we'll be able to get everyone caught up as I post a few pictures from some of the things we've been up to the last couple of months!

BFF...

While in Utah Lisa was able to visit with several friends she has kept in contact with since we moved to Alabama. I think the IM term BFF describes it exactly how they see it. Best Friends Forever...

EFY at BYU was AOK...

Lisa had a great time at Especially For Youth in Utah this summer. She was enrolled in the third session at Brigham Young University with 1400 other young men and young women ages 14 - 17. She spent five days at the conference. Living in the dorms, attending workshops on faith, dating, and modesty. Going to banquets and dances. Attending talent shows and service projects.

After it was all said and done Lisa made 32 new friends, brought home 100 new email addresses, decided she likes "California" boys, and realized how important her testimony of Christ really was to her. Is there any better way to spend a summer?

And then there were 1400...

Sometimes here in the South we can feel a little secluded from the world. Living in Utah we were surrounded by members of our church. Neighbors, doctors, teachers, and friends. Even strangers on the street shared something with us as many of whom were members of our faith. Here in the south we sometimes walk a lonely road. Misunderstood and often criticized. For a 14 year old teenager that can be alot to bare.

Living here in Alabama, Lisa is the only teenager in our subdivision of 80 plus homes that is a member of our church. In a community of more than 20,000 plus people she is one of only 50 active LDS youth. Lisa is one of only a handful of LDS students at her new High School which will house over 1300 students this year. And she is most definitely the only YW in her Ward that knows what its like to live in Utah and be the majority instead of the minority.

Hence the reason we wanted to send Lisa to E.F.Y. this year. Not only was her roommate a member, but so were the counselors, hallmates, parents, and friends of over 1400 youth who attended her session at EFY!

Dancing the night away...

One night before Lisa went off to EFY her cousin's friends came over to visit. They were introduced and Lisa learned they had just gotten back from a week at BYU for EFY! She was thrilled to have someone to talk to about the experience with and hear everything they did and all the fun they had.

Then they mentioned the "dancing". Lisa was horrified to find out that at some of the dances they actually played the WALTZ and the FOX TROT! Quickly coming to her aid the boys spent the next hour and a half teaching Lisa the dance steps they just learned at EFY the past week! What a fun way to prep for her conference!

Perfect timing...

One of the reasons we drove to Utah this trip was to take Lisa to E.F.Y. (Especially For Youth) at B.Y.U. (Brigham Young University) in Provo. After registering Lisa online for her session at EFY my brother Jonathan called to tell us that he would be graduating with his Master's of Business Administration the same week we were to arrive! What perfect timing! We were so excited we could be there for the event!
It wasn't until several weeks later we learned that he had also been asked to give the commencement address at the graduation services! Keep in mind this is the little brother that use to torment me as child growing up in Hawaii. Who hid my things and teased me in front of my boyfriends. Who dented the front end of our Mercury sedan only to fix it with duct tape and spray paint hoping no one would notice. The same brother who let my mother perm his hair when he was 6 years old and dress him up like a girl. The same little brother who grew up to be an amazing father, husband, and friend. Who could ask for a better brother than that? Congratulations Master Jonathan! We are so proud of you!

Holding onto hugs...

We were able to meet my nephew for the very first time this trip! It took a bit of convincing, but he finally realized we weren't all that bad! He wasn't too fond of Arnold or I but he LOVED Kenny! And Kenny LOVED having a younger "brother" to play with!
My brother's youngest son loved to box! He's definitely got a good swing! And he loved to box with Kenny! I think my brother's daughters were happy for the respite while we were there!

Fun with the cousins...

One of the best parts about the trip is that we were able to visit with so many family and friends along the way!
These are my younger brother's kids who live in American Fork, UT. We stayed with them the entire time we were in Utah! Their oldest is Lisa's age. Their middle child is a year older than Kenny. And their younger daughter is Jessica's age. How perfect is that?

Somehow little brothers always grow up...

While in Utah we were able to visit with Arnold's younger brother, Steven. It was the first time we were able to see him since his return from Novosibirsk, Russia where he served a two year LDS mission.
Before Steven left for Russia we had each child stand next to him and take a picture so that we could document their growth while he was gone. To our surprise the kids were not the only ones that grew while Steven was on his mission. Arnold tried to tiptoe in this picture so that the difference wasn't so significant, but he finally conceded and accepted the fact that his 'little' brother wasn't so little anymore!

To the rescue...

Somewhere in the middle of Colorado we stopped in at a Wendy's for lunch. While in the parking lot we watched a 53 ft semi-trailer turn a sharp corner and proceed to run right over a concrete post designed to help avoid such incidents. The driver of the semi tried to correct the problem by reversing back over the post and inevitably got stuck.
We sat and watched for a few minutes when Arnold turned and looked at me and said, "You know...I have the equipment in the back of the van to help them." I couldn't believe my ears! I called his bluff and said quite smuggly, "Okay...you've got twenty minutes. Let's see you lift that loaded 53 ft semi trailer off of that concrete post." Well the challenge was on. And Arnold proceeded to free the trailer from the post by hand in less than 17 minutes. I knew I had to get pictures because no one would believe me. And of course, Arnold wanted to document his "win". That'll teach me to ever challenge him again.

Cats and dogs...

I tried to snap this picture of Kenny and Aunt Sooz's cat when Kenny was rubbing noses with it. I wasn't fast enough so I said "Smile!" and this is what Kenny came up with! Doesn't he look just like the cat?
The kids enjoyed playing with the animals as much as they did visiting with family.

Family...

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap some pictures while we were all together in Colorado.
Arnold's parents and Arnold's older sister.

No better place to learn how to drive...

One day at the farm I realized I was by myself and it was quiet all around the house. Then I realized I could hear a tractor off in the distance and knew that Arnold and the kids were up to something! They all took turns driving the tractor up and down Grandpa's field! What fun they had! Now if we could only teach Lisa how to signal and use her rear view mirrors for something other than makeup applying we'd be set!
They stopped just long enough for me to snap this picture and they were off again! For this one Jessica was the driver and it was quite a while before she would let Lisa back on again!

Only in Colorado...

As we were driving around in Alamosa, Colorado we spotted this unusual sight at a drive through in town.
If you look closely you'll see a woman on a horse going through the drive thru. We had to get a picture knowing that no one would believe us!

Shrek up close and personal...

While visiting Arnold's parents in Colorado we had a chance to take the kids to see "Shrek". Not the regular movie version in theaters...but the real life giant version of the horse named Shrek! He stood something like 50 hand lengths tall and had the biggest deep dark eyes we'd ever seen. Kind of a fun way to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa!

On the farm...

We have always loved the farm. It is so quiet and serene. I loved this picture of Kenny and Jessica. The first morning we woke up I went to see where everyone was and they were just sitting there quietly looking out over the fields. I ran to get my camera but they heard me creep up behind them so I snapped this one instead. I think they were thinking about how nice it was to be back at the farm too!
The kids loved the calves! Lisa couldn't stand the smell so all I got in this picture were the two that didn't care!
The kids were so excited when they saw this slide! We use to have it in the back yard of our Woods Cross house. It served its purpose for many years before we let Arnold's dad haul it off to the farm! The kids loved seeing it again and I couldn't resist a picture!

To the bat cave...

Carlsbad Caverns is located in southern New Mexico and in a nutshell is an underground cavern of rock formations that resemble everything from the mouth of a whale to the top of a chinaman's hat. The park contains 113 caves, formed when sulfuric acid dissolved the surrounding limestone, creating some of the largest caves in North America.
Each formation in the cavern had unique names assigned to them. Some of our favorites were the Big Room, King's Palace, the Green Lake Room, Witch's Finger, Fairyland, and Rock of Ages.
There is an elevator that takes you down to the base of the cavern, but Arnold said that in order for us to fully appreciate the depth and beauty of the caverns we needed to WALK the 1 and 1/2 miles down. So we did. And he was right. It was simply amazing. And the kids loved it. And now we can cross off one more thing on our list of places to show our kids before they grow up and become too old to go on family trips with their parents.

Cactus and caverns...

Jessica has been by far the best picture taker of the trip. None of the others let me pose them and click away like she does. She's a natural. So for the rest of the blog if you see a bunch of pictures of only Jessica its because she seems to be the only one that really enjoys being in them!
Or at least stops long enough for me to take one!

Eight hairy legs...

As we entered New Mexico Arnold nonchalantly looked over at me and asked if I saw that "spider" crossing the road. A little confused, I asked him, "What spider?" When he said, "That Tarantula!" I thought Kenny was going to explode! So we had to do a U-turn and back track a few hundred feet until we finally found him quietly crossing the road.
Lucky for me my camera had a zoom lense so I was able to stay as far away from the spider as possible. After a few pictures the spider decided he was ready to crawl back into hiding. In unison, Kenny and Jessica both asked, "Can we keep him? Pleeeeaaaaase?!" I looked at them both and said with a smile, "Sure...if you plan on walking home." Needless to say that was the end of that conversation.
State number four was New Mexico. We enjoyed the unique landscape and the adobe style homes. We certainly weren't in the "South" anymore.

Time sometimes stands still....

The days we spent with Granny were so fun! The generation gap between her and the kids slowly began to fade as we spent time visiting, reminiscing, and looking through treasures she had kept safe and sound over the years. We even fit in a manicure and pedicure for Granny while we were there! Jessica thought that was the greatest thing ever! Next to putting on the choir concert of all the songs she had learned this year and getting Kenny to dance for Granny! We don't think he would've done it for anyone else!
One of the things I loved the most about the trip is the way Granny's face would light up when she saw Arnold enter the room. She and I talked for hours about the time they spent together while he was a young boy. All the fun things they did. The memories they made. All the trouble he caused.... Of course, Arnold denied all of it, but a little bit of it seeped out when we took this picture. As a boy Arnold would run in and out of the room and Granny would always get after him to slow down. He always would...but just long enough to smash down her hair with the palm of his hand. Granny took such great pride in her hair with all the combing, teasing, and spraying...I can totally relate to that! What a fun memory for them to have and an especially memorable picture for us to share!

Don't mess with Texas...

After a sixteen hour drive straight through Mississippi, Louisiana, and almost all the way across the state of Texas we arrived in Pecos where Arnold's grandmother lives! We had a fun visit with her! The kids have grown up quite a bit since our last visit with her when she says they were still "running around like babies". While in town we visited the Pecos zoo (a drive through zoo where you literally drive past all the animals watching each one from the comfort of your air conditioned vehicle. Trust me! It is unlike no other and the only way to visit a zoo!), the local playground (only a few hundred feet from the famous drive through zoo), and the local Walmart!
The blue bottle tree is something the kids hear about from Arnold all the time. He remembers as a child going to visit Granny in the summer and collecting the blue bottles to put on the "tree". He and granny were out and about one day when she spotted the "tree" and told Arnold how beautiful she thought it looked. It was just a dried out branch from another tree but its branches twisted in a way that made it pretty and unique. Arnold pulled the tree out and carried it home. Dug a hole and placed it in the spot it still sits today in the corner of the backyard at Granny's. The kids counted 78 blue bottles. It was fun to get a picture of them standing next to the infamous blue bottle tree!

One thing we miss the most about being so far away is the chance to be around family. Being able to visit Granny in Pecos, Texas during our trip made us realize how lucky we were to see her and enjoy hearing all the things she remembers about Arnold growing up. We'll cherish the time we spent with her in Texas!