And we're back ... sort of.

Mom gave me her camera for a couple of days, so I can show you what we've been up to and I can take some "1st day" pics.

First off: my missionary returns!

My more than a little handsome newphew served his mission is Cambodia, but spoke Vietnamese. All of the sudden he's this grown up man, ready and able to take on the world! It's great to have him home.

We also had our annual "putt n' swim" end of summer mini golf/swimming party at my parents house yesterday afternoon. How fun is it to be together with your family, laughing and just having a great time?!

So tomorrow morning I send my girls off to school. Don't worry, I've got my kleenex ready. It's a great thing to get back into a school-year routine, but I'm sure going to miss my little stinks all day long. I'll post some more pics tomorrow before I have to give my mom's camera back to her. Thanks, Mom!

Sorry, guys, I got nothin'!

I've been trying to think of something clever and witty to dazzle you with, but . . . nothin'. I'm more than a tad bugged because my camera's on the fritz. We may need to pull in a birthday favor a little early. Sigh.

The highlight of this week was the return of my handsome nephew from his Cambodian mission. Seriously ladies, line forms to the left! I guess we share some common genes, but I can't see any. I'd love to show him off, but remember how my camera is not functioning right now? Sigh.

I've purchased my back to school box of Kleenex, two this time! We're excited and ready to go. And in case you're worried about me, my back to school blues last about 5 minutes and then I'm headed off to buy myself a celebratory soda! And I'm sure the Guy will make sure I still feel needed.

So, I promise to resolve my camera dilemma and post a list of some of my latest pet projects soon! Think scrapbooking, crocheting, sewing, canning ... have I gone off the deep end a bit? Don't answer that!

Calling All Readers!

All of you readers out there (you know who you are) why don't you join me at Goodreads? I've been having the best time tracking what I'm reading and getting great recommendations for a growing "to-read" list. If you sign up and want to be friends, let me know.

Happy Week to All!

Aloha!

After several days I'm finally emerging from my jet-lag haze (I'm pathetic, I know) and getting back to real life!

Our vacation was one word ... fabulous! We can't thank everyone enough who made it possible for us. Grandpa, Nana, Jim and Kathie... you're all amazing. Some of our favorite spots:

-- Kua 'Aina Hamburgers (of course)

-- Liliha Bakery cocoa puffs (we had these bad boys in our hands within an hour of arriving)

-- Ala Moana mall (if only we could afford to actually buy something there!)

-- Lovely Ladies' Luncheon (Thanks Kathie!)

-- Matsumoto's Shave Ice ... these are no snow cones, people!

-- The Polynesian Cultural Center (ask Adam about this one!)

-- Teddy's Bigger Burgers (sigh, more food!)

-- Kailua Beach (at least the big people liked it (Bug and Guy both got slammed into the beach, end of beach experience!)

-- A true favorite spot was Jim and Kathie's pool and home theater. At least I think the theater was our favorite spot, I never really stayed awake long enough to find out!

-- Haleiwa Joe's, where the scenery is gorgeous and the Prime Rib is indescribably huge!

But beyond all the food and the fabulous scenery was the great time we had being with our family and friends in Hawaii. We celebrated Grandpa's 90th birthday, caught up with old friends and were generally spoiled! I have to admit it was a little hard to come home!

But we did come home to our life, family and friends here! We're now getting ready to start school, 3rd grade and Kindergarten! Get your kleenex's ready, people!

A Mountain Party

Over the 4th weekend, we all gathered at our cabin for a birthday party/4th celebration/general family cabin fun-time. All my family was there, except for my missionary nephew (who comes home next month -- yeah!) and my nanny niece who was too busy raking in the money to join us. Didn't blame her a bit, though. I look at the money some of these babysitters make and sometimes I think I'm in the wrong line of work!

The birthday "kids." Bug, her Daddy, Uncle P. and her Auntie. Happy Birthday, everyone!

Our three trouble-makers cooking up a cousins' team for the Wasatch Back Relay next year. I volunteered to drive the van and hand out the band-aids! C'mon, Adam, you know you want to!!




I have cute kids. 'Nough said.

Two of my all-time favorite ladies, doing one of my all-time favorite things . . . dishing up cake and ice cream!

My favorite pic from our day. My greatest happiness in life is knowing my children have such a strong relationship with all of their grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins and just love being with them. It makes me think that between the temper tantrums and messy bedrooms, I must be doing something right!

Up next: Aloha!!

Celebrating the Fourth and Auntie Kara Returns!

Our home is right across the street from the local golf course, and every year they do a big carnival and fireworks show. Sounds like a reason to party, don't you think? So we gathered BJ's cousins and family friends (honestly, I think Lindsey Lohan could have showed up and we wouldn't have noticed, there were so many people there), fired up the barbeque and celebrated!

The carnival, to be honest, was alot more pricey and not as much fun this year. But the kids didn't know any different, and had a great time.

(BTW, see those sock's Bug's wearing? I made those . . . just sayin'.)

After dinner, the cousins started running laps around the house. I think my favorite moment came from my favorite red-head. She climbed on the rock wall, and yelled: "Attention all parents, look at me!" At this point she started doing a striking impersonation of Elvis singing "Aloha-oi." I love you, Maddie!

This is about a third of the kids at our party. We had a great time, and nobody got lost! Yeah me!

The next day our favorite Kara returned from her London adventures! Yeah us! How did we celebrate? We ate, of course! What did we talk about at dinner? What we're going to eat on our Hawaiian vacation, of course! We're not stress eaters, we're celebratory eaters! Erin also came up for the weekend and we enjoyed a 7 hour game of Monolopy and a good old-fashioned run through the sprinklers. Nana made a very true comment as we watched Aunties and girls run through the sprinklers: "We don't need a pool, we've got sprinklers!"

Right after I took this pic, they all dragged Kara through the sprinklers, just so she could match Erin. Thanks, ladies!

Up next: A Mountain Party!

A Road Trip, Eh?!

It's been one of those summers where we've been so busy living life, I haven't had the time, or the energy, to blog about it. So I'm backing us up a bit to our road trip up North. The kids are fabulous road-tripers, except for bug's motion sickness, so we really enjoy a nice long drive. And now that I have a lap-top, guess what I spent most of the drive working on? Digital Scrapbooking, of course. Stay tuned for an update on that one.

The Guy really took to his Great-Grandpa while we were in Canada. This time we camped out at their house instead of the local hotel, which gave us a lot more time to just visit and have fun. Grandpa was a fabulous sport to let Guy "push" him in his chair, and Grandma gave cooking and punch-needle embroidery lessons. We even attempted Chinese Checkers. Help, Erin!

So I came home with more projects that I left with, which DH is absolutely thrilled about, and we're already trying to decide when we can go back. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!

Next up: Fireworks and the Return of the Roving Kara!