We all crashed for the night, only to be up at 4:30 Hawaii time.  I went to the store to get medicine (I was sick by this time) and a few things for the trip.  We didn't have a great plan for our trip (since standby is so uncertain and we didn't know if Marcie would be with us.)  We did some sight seeing of the 'dragon teeth' and then headed to Ka'apalua bay for some snorkeling and water fun.  Mariah just loves the sand and beach.  The other kids were happy there too.  I felt awful, but you might as well be sick on a beach, right?
 We crashed again and I was just praying I would feel better the next day.  When we all woke up by 5 am, we decided to jump in the car and head up to Halea'kala crater.  We were sad we didn't get there in time for a sunrise, but the sunrise we did see was beautiful too.  The van we got had a DVD player and the drive was exactly the length of a kids flick!  Perfect! The crater was quite the drive and we were all worried about getting sick, but finally we ascended 12,000 feet and were at the 'top of the world'.   It was FREEZING cold! and windy, but we were able to see the Big island and a beautiful sun.  The views were spectacular.
 We timed it just right so EVERYONE (except the driver) fell asleep on the drive back home.  It was perfect to arrive and head right to another beach (Napili beach).  Thanks for taking one for the team, Honey! This one had a wicked crash and we all got taken out by it, we moved down the beach and it was so calm and easy coming in.  We snorkeled and saw another turtle.  On Marcie's first experience snorkeling, I gave her a snorkel that didn't work, so she kept breathing in water!  I felt so bad, but she gave it another go and it was perfect.
We hot tubbed and cleaned up and spent the evening in Lahaina.  We ate at Cheeseburgers in Paradise and witnessed another spectacular sunset on the beach.   Marcie and I shopped around a bit.  We watched a movie at our condo before bed.

On our last day we were conflicted about what to do.  The kids were tired and the weather wasn't great.  Marcie and I went on a walk on the beach and had a great time talking about boys and dating and such.  She is such a fantastic and fun girl.  She will get someone very special.

 Back at the condo we checked out and headed back to the beach we liked, as we drove up the coast the clouds got thicker and thicker.  We had completely unpacked and headed down to the beach before deciding to try driving back down the coast to another beach.  It was the right choice!  Ka'anapali beach was sunny and perfect (and we discovered that what we thought was Ka'anapali beach this whole time was NOT... We have been staying at a beach just north of Ka'anapali).  Hallie was done for the day.  She just laid curled up in a towel most of the time, but the rest of us soaked in the sun, sand and water.  Even Mariah branched out to playing in the waves.  We saw more turtles snorkeling... SO close to us.  We could've touched it (but didn't of course!).  I was so proud of Jackson snorkeling.  He is brave and excited to see the fish.  I loved going out with him.

We packed up and tried to clean off in our condo's hot tub/ bathroom area.  We weren't very clean, but we were happy to have a sunny beach day.  We grabbed a snow cone on our way into town to see the I'ao needle.  This is the part I'm mad about.  We had plenty of time to catch the earlier flight, but didn't check to see that our flight had been cancelled!!   The needle was pretty with some breathtaking sights.  We got some dinner and headed to the airport when all of our plans fell apart with our flight being cancelled.  I was so stressed, but luckily there were several flights with enough seats on them to get us home... we just had to sit in the airport for 4 hours AND have a layover.  honestly, I was just happy we got off the island that night!  The kids slept the whole flight (as did the adults).  the layover was quick and mostly painless.  We were home by 1 pm in time for an afternoon church.  It could've been better, but it could've been worse too.  The flight was much quicker for Marcie getting home, so we were happy it all worked out.  It is stressful to have others flying on buddy passes.  Another beautiful Hawaii trip for the books.

This 12th day fell on a rather busy mommy day.

1 My day begins with getting kids dressed (since we are all on Hawaii time still we are LATE in the mornings and always rushing around! )

2 &3.  My babysitter for the girls fell through so I had to take them to Jackson's school to decorate gingerbread houses.  The girls LOVED all the candy right at their level.  Hallie was mostly distracted with my phone, but eventually the candy won over and it was hard to help Jackson much.  He didn't seem to mind and was just happy I was there.

4,5, &6  I took the girls to the Science center in Arlington.  Mariah was thrilled to be able to spot a snake (in a glass case) and frogs.  She kept yelling for me to look.  Hallie completed her entire Scavenger hunt and was very attentive to the details.  She has several girls her age in this playgroup/ward.  So we are excited for her friendships to develop.

7.  I am finally feeling like we are getting to know people, but am still feeling a little lonely.  I was gone for 4 weekends and no one called or missed me at all.  I didn't miss anything here, which makes it difficult to want to be here more.  I know I need to be here to improve friendships.  After the science center, all the moms took off within 1 hour.  I am use to just hanging around and enjoying mommy time.  Luckily, Abby stayed for a while and we got to talk and let the kids play in the leaves and the outdoors (the weather is gorgeous).   I am still hopeful that these friendships can develop into deeper relationships.   I waited to leave until too late (the other moms know how to not push their kids to the breaking point... not me!)  So Mariah threw a major tantrum.  Wish I'd gotten a photo of that!

8.  I met up at Dave's work for a minute and then went to get food for myself.  I got In'N Out and they asked if I wanted to eat it in the car and then proceeded to give me a lap food catcher and make it all ready to bite into!  It was delicious.

9.  Gas is SO cheap!  I paid $2.12/gal.  It is nice that it is more affordable, in a world where everything is getting more expensive.

10. After school, I took the kids to Costco to pick up some photos.  They loved playing with the toys that are out for Christmas, esp. this 'olaf'

11.  Dave and I went to "Torchy Tacos"  for dinner (the kids were there but don't like Mexican).  Dave loved it.  I knew he would!  It is fun to find new places to love.

12.  I spent the evening cutting our our Christmas cards, addressing envelopes and stuffing them.  It was a process to put it all together, but I love thinking about our friends through the different stages of life.  I sure miss many of them.  I hope these cards help us to stay in touch and keep our friendships

 We went to the Museum of Natural curiosity one day.  The kids loved exploring and discovering.  It was a bit difficult to have kids of such varied ages and abilities.  I was glad that my mom and sister were there to help.
 

1. I woke up before the kids and started unpacking suitcases

2. and making Jackson a lunch.

3. I enjoyed the peaceful lit Christmas villiage Dave set up last weekend.  (it was SOOO cold this morning and this seemed to emit a warm glow)

 4. The kids and I flew home from our trip to Phoenix late, late last night so I let them sleep as late as possible.  This meant waking Jackson up at 7:45... just 15 mins before school started.  It was tough to eat breakfast.

5.Mariah and I got to eat breakfast just the two of us.  She didn't eat much, this is normal.  I think she is hungry most of her life.

6.  I couldn't figure out what to do with my day since Hallie wasn't even awake yet.  I was too cold to want to go anywhere, so I headed out in the garage to the treadmill.  I was really worried about Mariah getting on the treadmill, so I opened the car for her to play in.  Hallie found us (She woke up AFTER 9!!) and the girls played in the playroom while I finished my workout. I am trying to increase speed, and a treadmill pushes me to run at a specified speed.

7.  I had a mountain of laundry to fold and I had time to fold while my visiting teacher and I were visiting.  I'm glad to have these visits.

8. Hallie and I made homemade noodles for a chicken noodle soup on this bitterly cold day (in such a sharp contrast to beautiful, warm Mesa yesterday at the park).  She was very proud of her work.  She is fun to cook with.

9.  I menu planned for the week and made it simple by going for 100% soups.  Yum!  It is suppose to be cold all week.

10.  We shopped at Aldis before picking Jackson up from School. This store has a learning curve, but I am now enjoying the savings.

11.  After reading with me and doing his math homework, Jackson, all on his own completed this 'potion' experiment.  He did a great job.  He was so kind and loving and helpful all afternoon.  This is rare since the kids usually fight and annoy each other after school so much.  Knowing Dave wasn't coming home tonight made it so much easier to handle.

12. We ate home made chicken noodle soup and everyone was able to find a couple of things they liked from it.  (And I enjoyed all of it!)   The kids spent the evening doing 'crafts' and coloring while I cleaned up and played with Mariah.   Telling Jackson it was bedtime made all the good attitide he had all day disappear and his anger and frustration came pouring out and he ended up going to bed without the full routine.  He was really sad.  I was proud of myself for handling his tantrum with calm and peace and following through with consequences.

+ I didn't get a photo of Tasha and Kelly who came over to watch "The Fault in our Stars" with me after the kids were in bed.  We stayed up talking until midnight and I fully enjoyed having a little girls night.

As I reflect on this day, it really is just a day in the life of a mom, meals, laundry, cleaning, kids and more routines that aren't that exciting, but I had a fantastic day and spent time with my kids that I love.  It was a great, albeit mundane, day.

 except for being brewed by Hallie...

 My cousin is serving the Fort Worth mission, so since we moved here, I've been on the hunt for him.  the stars aligned and one night I had a Relief society meeting the same night as a district fireside. It was great to see him, so happy and full of light.  I love our big family.
 Hallie's hair was getting to be impossible to comb and even worse to keep looking combed, so we trimmed it up!  I like it so much better... not as many fights!  But I miss those cute curls!

 A really great park opened up right by our house.  It has all sort of unique play structures and activities.  We've been visiting frequently with the weather finally cooling off a bit.
 I've been teaching preschool this month.  Our first week we learned "F" and visited the firestation.  It was great for the girls to be on a field trip with friends.  The firefighters were so friendly and fantastic (also F words!)




 We got really lucky because that same night, we had a neighborhood get together and we got to see the same firefighters, who remembered us.  There was a bounce house, facepainting, snowcones and more.  It was great to meet some neighbors!


The best part of this night was Jackson saying, "Hey that looks just like Oscar Travino!" Right before they announced the major of NRH, OSCAR TRAVINO!  I was shocked he knew him AND recognized him!  Turns out he learned about him THAT DAY in school!  We introduced ourselves only to find out we moved into the home of one of his city managers he knew well.  It is a small world, even when you are not Mormon :)
My ward has weekly playdates at parks around.  This girl wants to be a big girl and swings and climbs all over.  She loves ladders, fences and other precarious situations.  Keeps me on my toes.
 Jackson got invited to his first party of the year.  It was so great to meet other moms of parents that live near me.  This is what I like about  going to a neighborhood school and knowing we will interact for years to come through our kids. 
 Jackson ran 32 laps (3 miles!) at his run-a-thon.  Every even lap he ran the whole way, every odd lap, he stopped to get a drink and walk for a section.  He was diligent and never gave up.  the atmosphere and support from parents and teachers were fantastic.  He is loving being a Gator!

 Our neighbor friend is also in 1st grade with Jackson.  They enjoy playing together when they can find the time.

When my oldest brother's family (from Colorado( let us know they were planning a Disneyland trip over fall break, everyone wanted to join.  Brother #3 lives in Cali doing medical school and #2 lives in Arizona.  And we get to fly free.  Of course, my parents in Utah didn't want to be left out, so they drove into town, too.
Friday morning we headed to the airport SO early.   It is so hard to get out of DFW and I really dislike the early morning flight and having to wake kids up at 4 am, but those are the sacrifices we have to make.  We were getting there in great time, until we got to the shuttle.  The shuttle took 45 mins to get us to the airport and we had only planned 15 mins.  We were so late, and with construction and taking wrong turns in the airport we were getting later and later.  Checking bags was tricky because we were only 25 mins before the flight.  Security was a bear, but we got to skip the line because we had kids and strollers.  We were going so fast.  I literally ran for 5 mins... sprinting with a stroller and backpack. Up and down elevators and escalators, etc.  I got to the gate and the agents said they had been waiting for us.  I was so relieved to make it, but then, since Dave was a ways behind me, they wouldn't give us the tickets.  The let a few other stand-bys on and then Dave showed up just as they were boarding.  We were SO upset.  We knew flights for the rest of the weekend were super full, so all our anticipation and excitement was going down the drain as we tried to make new plans.  At one point, Dave was ready to go home. The kids were getting antsy and hungry (the plan was to eat on the airplane).  It was so depressing to be that tired and sweaty (from running) and not headed to our destination.   The next flight to Phx was open, but from Phx we couldn't think of a way to cali (rental cars were $600!!) and flights were full, full, full we decided to try for phx anyway and as a back up plan flying into LAX after a 5 hour layover, Dave taking the train to Santa Ana to get our car and coming back 1 hr to pick us up.  NOT a very good plan and it would take literally ALL DAY to get to Cali.  But we wanted to be with my family enough to make it worth it.   By the time we landed in phx, the next flight to Santa Ana had opened up with 6 seats and we only needed 5 WHEW!  We were so glad to be headed to our destination, but sad that we were going to miss Sea World (Where we have a season pass).

Once we got our car (upgraded to a minivan!!), we tried to think of something to do. We headed to a local pumpkin patch.  It was hot, but the kids got to run and move.  Jackson got a bloody nose and there was blood all over him, his clothes, shoes face and even several pumpkins!  He looked like a mess!



Mariah didn't stop all day, buckets, sand, digging.  She was in her own world, with freedom to do what she wanted and she LOVED it.
Most of the boys got buried at some point.

Daddy and Jackson braving a wave.  Hallie got taken out by a wave earlier and that kept her away most of the day.  She still talks about the wave that knocked her down.

We spend Sunday going to church with Shane.  It seemed like mostly a student ward, so I actually felt old!  There were so many kids.  I forgot what a super big ward was.
We drove by the redlands temple.
We had a BBQ at Shane's apartment complex.  It was right by the pool so I was super anxious about one of the kids falling in. but eventually was able to relax and have fun.  The kids watched a movie in the 'theater' they had and we got to talk and have fun with siblings.  Since we never spent the night together, we never got kid-free time which is always more fun with my siblings, but the cousins had a  great time together.
 Monday we went to Disneyland.  It was our first trip with our kids and we wanted to make the most of it.  We got a bunch of food in the morning so we didn't have to worry about meals or leaving the park later.  Then we headed to the park early.  We arrive around 8:10 but with parking and shuttle and standing in line to get in, we didn't get in until 9 am (it opened at 9).  I raced to stand in line to get an Elsa and Anna showing.  Luckily, MaryAnn got to me right before we requested tickets, so her girls could go too.  Ryan and MaryAnn's family and our family stuck together all day and worked the system.  We would get a different fast pass on each of our passes, then one adult would ride with the boys and then the other adult and the boys and 3 year old girls would go again with a stroller pass.  It was awesome to not wait in line much (Esp. because Mariah is a total wanderer and hard to control in a line. )  Jackson and Dayton loved the big rides and the girls loved seeing the characters.  We felt bad we could never hook up with my other  brothers or my parents, but it worked out great that we both have kids the exact same ages.
Dave took the kids on the tea cups... I hate that ride!

I stood in line to get tickets to stand in line again to see Elsa and Anna, but the girls loved it and I think even the boys were pleased.  Mariah was having nothing of it and clung to me.  But Bree couldn't get enough of touching and talking to them.


Space mountain... look at those boys faces!
On the submarine.  Mariah liked looking out the window and seeing the fish in the water.
We watched a Beauty and the Beast play that was a perfect stop for our aching muscles.  Then we finally met up with my family and watched the parade together and ate all the snacks we could handle.
Seriously, my family is exploding!  My parents have 13 grandkids under 6! (only 11 were here!)  No wonder we couldn't all stay together!
I was shocked at how well everyone was doing with no naps and no breaks, but finally around 8:30 pm, both girls passed out.  Mariah woke up an hour later and I went alone with her on Dumbo and Buzz Lightyear.  I feel like she didn't get catered to because we were going on the bigger rides, so I tried to make up for it, but I think she was just zoned out.  We stayed until they kicked us out of the park and rode Buzz Lightyear several more times.  at 11:15 pm (this is 1:15 our time) we stopped at the shops and got souvenirs for everyone.  The girls woke up and were ornery.  Jackson had quite a hard time picking somethings, but once he decided, he curled up in the stroller and crashed (2 am our time).  Mariah got a Minnie Mouse baby with a blanket, Hallie got an Elsa barbie doll, and Jackson got a take-apart Olaf.  We also got a family ornament and a magnet for our collection.  Including souveniers, parking, tickets and food, we paid around $90 for the day trip (Thanks to the rewards from our disney credit card).