Ing Ohana

went to a dinner the other night where i met some of dane's family for the very first time. everyone was friendly and the food was great. it was a very fun night for us and the kids.

great hosts! darren & kaloi


darren, kaloi, dane, & kailani




we ended the night with some singing. really cool.




ani wouldn't cooperate. all the kids were trying to get her to stay still...



still upset but sarah's got a good hold on her...

our last full day in sd, we visited the san diego wild animal park. if you are only able to go to either the zoo or the wild animal park, i would recommend the wild animal park. between the two i think we saw every possible animal we wanted to see. we went on a monday so it was pretty empty and the weather was very nice. it was the perfect day.

you can buy food to feed the deer. the area is very clean and the kids really loved it.






they also have a place where you can feed the birds. they are very aggresive and they don't like to be touched. bray made the mistake of trying to pet one and it took a snip at his finger. we had just started to try and get a bird to come to us when one flew straight and landed on my head. bray thought it was funny and the girls were maybe a little frightened. britt had to coax it off my head with her nectar.







the lions were pretty cool. they had about seven little cubs (they weren't so little) and they had a rock just like the movie lion king.



we went on the safari ride. it is extra but very worth it.


we ended the day with riding the carousel. britt said it is usually very busy but it was empty that day.




thank you britty, jt, and maile for having us. we had a great time and enjoyed being with you.

on the third day we went to the san diego zoo. aunty britty knew the ropes and we saw most of the zoo from a double decker bus. it is a very hilly zoo and it saved us having to push the strollers up and down hills. we went to the petting zoo so the kids could play with the sheeps and goats. once that was done, we took the sky tram to the opposite side of the zoo to see the polar bears and then we were done. fast, quick, no cranky kids, and not a lot of walking. it's the way to go!

riding the double decker bus


ani was my seat partner


cool looking rhinos


feeding the animals at the petting area




excited about the animals


uncle jt & bray catching the sky tram


bray was scared to turn his back the snake


it was huge!

On the second day we used our season passes at sea world. they had trick or treating for the kids. a lot of the kids came in their costumes and it was pretty hot that day.

checking out his treat bag


watching the killer whale show


shamu, shamu


we knew the tanakas were in cali but we didn't know until the end of the day that they were at sea world the same time and at the same shows we were at. we finally saw them playing in the water and that was it for bray. we had to undress him before we left.

For UEA last week, the kids and I went to visit Britt, JT, and Maile. The weather was beautiful and we had so much fun hanging out. The first day we flew into town we went to lunch with Nikki Lim. I don't know her married name but she has a sweet little girl Emma. We met them at the mall to eat, ride the train, and let the kids play together. The last time we saw her was probably in 2002 when dane, nikki, and nikki's husband graduated from BYU together.





we just couldn't get a picture of them all looking AT the camera

...it is Kea's Birthday and she wishes it!

For me to blog more... so I will grant that wish. I do have an excuse to my bad blogging these last couple of months. I don't know if everyone knows yet but we are expecting baby #3 in April. I've had the usual tiredness and some sickness, usually at night. I like to blog at night when the kids go to bed and I'm either falling alseep or just too lazy. so that's my excuse. it is getting better.

for malakai's actual birthday we went to the aquarium and chuck e cheese.

the birthday boy...


checking out the sting rays


doing puzzles. this kid loves puzzles.


wonder where this leads?


my brother is a crazy driver!




he was very excited to meet chuck e. there were a couple birthday celebrations going on and bray was a little jealous he was visiting their tables.


he likes air hockey


bday boy


boys and their guns...


we just got home from visiting the lee family in san diego. i have to upload those pics but i'll do it soon!

last saturday we were busy at malakai's 1st birthday party. we love parties!


the birthday boy eating his birthday cake. actually, was there an cake in all that frosting?




Jess did a great job at face painting


bray's spiderweb


ani's buddy dorie








beautiful averie and i


a game for the big kids

i think chris (jo's friend) and aaron both tied for fastest pitch

then they got creative and had to add up the speeds from their left hand and right. then they moved on to throwing a football and kicking soccer balls.




Happy Birthday Malakai. WE love you!

as promised, a post with pictures. we only had these pictures on our camera, so i promise to be better at taking pictures.

last week we did brayden's yearly check-up for his heart. he has been going every year since he was two weeks old. we thought since he would be older this year things would go more smoothly. well, we can wish. he hated it as much as ever. dane had to finally promise him a new toy to get him to sit still for the x-rays.

everything looked so good in the x-rays, Dr. Su canceled his EKG. if anyone is in need of a great cardiologist, we highly recommend Dr. Su. He is an amazing doctor.. he takes the time to explain what all the tests show. it is worth it to us to drive up to primary children's to see him every year. so until next years x-rays and EKG...