Busy and Lazy

This last week was pretty good! Christmas was fun and relaxing. Well, more like lazy! :) W/ the kids out of school, I've been home watching them, while Nani and Matt are at work. They've been pretty good, surprisingly. For me, it's been a little... boring. I LOVE my nephews, but it's hard to keep them entertained w/ out one or both fighting w/ the other. The little one has a temper, so when we play games and he loses, he gets really upset! We let him win a lot, but it gets pretty boring when he's the only one winning. Plus we don't have any transportaion to go anywhere. I'm not used to staying home all week just watching kids. I miss working and being out of the house, but then I think to myself... "How are you gonna be a stay-at-home mom, if you can't handle it part-time now?" I guess I'll figure it out whenever it happens. :)

Two days before Christmas was Kai's birthday. We had a little party and it was fun. We had pizza and then some cake and ice cream. He got presents, of course, and then we played games and hung out.

Christmas eve was pretty busy! Nani and I got paid that day and I still had to go shopping. I got a couple of things for the boys earlier, but I still needed to shop for Nani and Matt. We went to the mall and it was crazy! First off, traffic was a mess, then parking was ridiculous too! There were tons of people in every store and the line was always crazy long! But, luckily for us, we found a parking spot pretty quick, when we got in line I was the next person, and we were able to get things pretty quick and at really good prices!

Then it was off to go back home and start the dinner! It was simple this year, since it was just us and one of Matt's friends. We had ham, potato salad, and rice. The ham was soo good! We ate it for four nights straight! And it kept getting better each time!

Nani started a new family tradition. She was wanting to get the boys something every year but wasn't sure what. I then told her about a family from my mission, the Pattersons, who gave their kids pajamas every year, and that was the present they opened every Christmas eve. We all got pajama pants! The kids later went to bed and then it was time for Nani and I to be in Santa's workshop full-time. During the night we were in there, but now we were able to really get things done. We finished around 2am! Nani didn't realize how much she got until we sat down to wrap everything. It's funny because she said every year she thinks the boys won't get much for Christmas but then when she puts everything under the tree it's a lot more than she expected. :) She buys things slowly and then every time she goes out again to shop she tells herself she'll just grab a couple more small things but ends up getting more than a couple. Everything adds up and the boys always have an awesome Christmas morning.

I wasn't expecting much, or even anything for Christmas. I think I mentioned in a previous blog, my sister paid for me to come out here and got me a job w/ her while I'm here, so that was a lot already. Well, I got a beanie from Emily's mom, Retha, and then I got a few other things from my sister and my parents. The picture shows what I got. And I read the entire book in just a few hours! Maybe this time next year I'll have "someone" to blog about. :) *fingers crossed*

After we all opened presents, Nani and I went back to sleep. It was a lazy day. The next morning we got up and went out for a drive, to get out of the house. We weren't sure where we were going but no one wanted to stay in the house. We ended up going down to North Carolina and we went to the Outer Banks. We were in Currituk and went to take pictures on the beach. We got stuck in the sand! At first we weren't in too bad but as Matt tried to get out, it sunk in more. You can see in the picture how the car leans toward the front passenger side.

About 7 cars went past us, until anyone stopped to ask if we needed help. 7! Seriously?! We eventually were towed out by some very nice people w/ a truck! It took a while because they had a chain, but were afraid it'd take the bumper off the Honda, so they used a smaller tow rope w/ a hook, that broke off of the truck. They tried the chain again and were having some problems. I went off to the side, by that time we had been stuck for close to 20 minutes now, and said a prayer. They tried again and we were pulled out! We thanked the guys and we went our seperate ways. Right after we said thank you and started to drive away, the sheriff came driving up. Apparently they are crazy about people stopping or parking along the beach. Someone told us that they'd come and give us a ticket if we didn't hurry. Talk about timing! I know it was because of the prayer that I said, that we were able to get out of the sand and drive away w/o a ticket. It's the little things like that, that strenghten my testimony. If the Lord hears and answers something small like that, you KNOW He answers bigger and harder ones too!

Well, I hope your Christmas was an enjoyable and memorable one. I hope you have a fun and safe New Year and until next time... Be strong, be happy, and find the joy in your life!

'Tis the season

Hello all! This last week was pretty good!

On Friday we went to see the lights at the botanical garden, here in Norfolk. It was awesome because we took the top off of Matt's Jeep and went through it listening to Christmas music. There were a lot of trees that you drive between, and they had decorated those w/ lights, which were hanging down. We were able to really see the lights above us. Way cool!After that we took the boys to "Toys 'R Us" to pick out toys for two other kids, that are less fortunate. We then took those toys to the mall, just across the parking lot to "Stuff the Bus" w/ Z-104, the local radio station. Last year they stuffed 10 buses, totally shooting their goal, of about 4 buses, out of the water. When we got down there, they finished filling 11 buses!

(A shot of the filled buses, it goes down pretty far)

(The boys helped to fill bus # 12)
(My munchkins next to one of the filled buses)

It was neat because at least half of those buses were filled w/ bikes! And not just little bikes, but there were some bigger ones too! I have never seen so many toys to be given away, in one place. It was so nice to see the "Spirit of Christmas" being showed by so many people. I mean, every year there is the Salvation Army, the Armed Forces, Toys for Tots, and many other organizations collecting for people and families. But I have never seen the end product of it. Of course it wasn't the end of the bus thing, but I mean, there was a lot to look at already! I guess I'm just trying to say that it was really nice to watch my nephews be apart of something bigger than all of us!

Remember the "reason for the season" you guys! I just want you all to know that I am so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ! For his ultimate sacrfice, and for opening the doors to eternal life. I'm so excited for this time of year, to celebrate w/ the rest of the world, the birth of our elder brother, Jesus Christ. It's great that no matter what you believe in, Christmas time is a time that we can all at least attempt to be unified in sharing love to everyone. Many do it in forms of service to the needy, or in giving to others, or just in actually being "home" for the holidays! Wherever you are this holiday season, be sure to let your family know how much you love them and be sure to thank the Lord for the many blessings you and your family has received this and every year! I love you all and wish the a most wonderous and joyous Christmas! Be strong, be happy, and find the joy in your life!

(Christmas 2007 in Hawaii)

Running around Virginia

It's been a pretty good week so far! I've been enjoying work, which is a definite plus, and my nephews have been making me laugh, for the most part. :) I decided to add some pics this post, so you wonderful people could see my cute little guys. First, let me tell you a little about work.

As you know, I've been working w/ my sister at the Langley Airforce Exchange, aka "the BX." How it got that name I do not know. Last week I was a fragrance model. Basically, I was one of those girls that stand around asking to spray you w/ a new perfume. Not something I enjoyed, because my table was set up next to two other ladies modeling other designers. Talk about competition. I had four fragrances from Dolce & Gabana, two for men and two for women. W/ any purchase of our product(s), we also had a free gift. I had a couple of things to offer. We had a light blue "beach" bag- not really a beach bag but thats what it looked like, to go along w/ the fragrance of the same name, and we had a towel. Also we had some boxes to use for wrapping. Nice boxes I must say, they even came w/ tissue paper! :) Well, I was supposed to keep track of what was purchased and we did about $250 in just D&G. I think we could've done more if I was set up next to the other two ladies. I felt bad because they needed to sell their products too, but at the same time I needed to get mine out there! All in all, we did pretty good for ourselves, but fragrance modeling is not my favorite. I just didn't like to have to bother anyone to smell my products or feel pressured to get anything.

As for my little munchkins, they are definitely a hand full! But how could you expect anything else out of two boys aged 8 and 6? We went to the park this weekend out in Pungo, a cute little town about 30-45 minutes away. I took some pics of the boys and Matt swinging and playing on the playground. It was COLD, but still fun!

The next day the boys and Matt put the Christmas tree up while Nani and I went shopping. My mom later asked me to take pics of the boys in front of the tree. These are some we took. :)

I am enjoying my stay out here in Virginia. I definitely miss everyone and everything back in Utah, and especially in Hawaii! I hope to visit my family in the islands again sooner than later. :) Work is good, sometimes I get to change things up and just stock products on the sales floor or organize the many boxes in the back, and visiting my family is fun too! The boys are getting big so fast, and it's always nice to be w/ my older sis and her hubby!

Today, my sister and I went cruising! After taking the boys to school, we had breakfast at "Bagels and More." Which, by the way, was really delicious! Then we headed over to "Toys R Us" and then over to the Lynnhaven Mall. It was cool, they have 2 level carousel on one end. I know that sounds weird, 2 levels, but basically it looks like a typical carousel and then the inner circle is a level up w/ more chairs, horses, etc to ride. It looked pretty cool! When we go again I'll be sure to take a picture. I want to ride it w/ the boys. :)

We also met up w/ Matt during his lunch break and went to "Tropical Smoothies." They have really good sandwiches and smoothies. There isn't a "Jamba Juice" here. I got my sister hooked on a different flavor. She usually just got strawberry-banana, lame! After that, we came back to Norfolk to get the boys from school. We orginially wanted to check out some stores for Christmas gifts and then watch "Blind Side," but w/ the show started too late and we were 30 minutes away as well, so we would've been late to get the kiddies. Instead we just went window shopping.

Well I hope you all are doing well. It's so fun to keep up w/ your blogs and see what's going on w/ you all. Have a wonderful week and I hope to post again soon! Love you all! Be strong, be happy, and find the joy in your life!