Hawaii Day 3

Aloha & What A Day!! The pictures do not do this place justice. We went to Kealakekua Bay where we kayaked to Captain Cook Monument, then snorkeled along the reef. There were so many beautiful and colorful fish. Scuba diving is not allowed along that portion of the reef and it is in excellent condition. We walked along the shore line to a small light house and then tried to open a coconut, without any luck. The videos are pretty funny. After kayaking back along the island we then headed back toward Kona. On the way we stopped at GreenWell Farms where they produce coffee and we took a tour. We came back to the condo because we were exhausted and took a nap. We then cleaned up and went to our first Luau. It was yummy food, great entertainment, and ate with fellow travelers, which were very nice. We did not get to talk with the girls today but are missing them, hence the picture. We are having so much fun and look forward to tomorrows adventure. Aloha!

Hawaii Day 2

So we were up at 3 am Island time last night so we went to eat at Denny's and do a little grocery shopping. Since we have a really packed week, today was a rest day with shopping, eating, sight seeing, and of course, relaxing around the pool and hot tub. We tried this really great International Market and I could not resist the Kona thrift stores. We got to try some Island delicacies and the Kona Brewery Company, which is known for its pizzas. While we were eating we had an audience of birds and a baby mongoose. The weather is so nice and we are still adjusting to the time change. Tomorrow brings another adventure packed full of kayaking, snorkeling, and a Luau. We are having a blast, but keeping in touch with the kids. They are having a great time with Nana. Thanks Nana!!

Old Memories, New Memories, & Memories to Come!

This is one of the last pictures with my Papa and we will miss him. Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, love, and prayers.

I have the sweetest husband in the world and he brought me some beautiful flowers. We are also are celebrating our 10 year anniversary. I met him when I was 16 and I am still head over heals for that man!! I feel so blessed and thank you Anthony for so many wonderful years with many more to come. Also my husband is so sweet we are headed to Hawaii tomorrow for a good long 10 days without children. Thanks to Nana for keeping the kids and since this is the longest we have left them I am a little nervous but once I am there I am convinced that will diminish. =) Just to be safe we are set to web cam with the kids while we are gone.

This is a video of the girls I just had to post. It is Lula singing and Phoebe dancing. It made me smile.

Worm Update, Container Garden, & Grandfather

So the worms are doing great and eating a lot. They are growing, thriving, and they are finally outside. I figured out why they kept trying to crawl out all the time because I did not have enough nesting and bedding for them. Once I added more bedding they seem content to stay put although I have the occasional straggler but nothing like before. They are also producing "Black Gold" aka poop. I will give an update a little later.
I LOVE PLAYIN IN THE DIRT!

I put together a container garden about 2 weeks ago. I planted squash, cucumber, tomatoes, strawberries, and 4 different types of herbs. Once some of the seed have sprouted I will have to transplant to big pots but so far so good. I am excited and wanted to do one for awhile, hopefully it will be a success. If it goes well then I will plant more variety next year.

Also please continue to pray for my Grandfather as he is not doing well. Thanks!

Buffett 2009

We Are The People Our Parents Warned Us About!

It was that time of year again to see good old Jimmy Buffett! We all had a blast and look forward to next time. Thanks to Nana for keeping the kids. Thanks Josh & Kathy for a great time as always...many more to come.

What's a Name

I was inspired by my friend Kathy and my Aunt Lisa to do this with the girls names.

I plan to keep an eye out for better ones but the girls and I had fun searching for the letters. I want to frame them out eventually.

Easter Weekend

Saturday we drove to Alabama to see the newest addition to the family. Baby Marki is so sweet and adorable. We spent the day and it was wonderful. So proud of my little Amber for her sweet family. Congratulations!

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday! So thankful for the Resurrection of the our Lord and Savior! We are so blessed and the weather was perfect today. We went to church, out to eat, and then we had a egg hunt at the house. It was fun and the girls both enjoyed it. They even hid the eggs for Anthony and I so we could have an egg hunt too. Thanks again to Nana for making the girls Easter dresses. They were so pretty and Lula said "she loved her dress that Nana made her". Big thanks to Nana! The girls also enjoyed their Easter Baskets that the Easter Bunny left for them on the front porch.

The girls bible verse for this week and thought I would share.

Egg Dyeing, Mom in Town, & WORMS........

We had an egg dyeing party at Julie's house on Monday. It was fun and thanks to Julie for the bunny cake and offering up her house to dye eggs. With 10 little ones that is very brave. We all had fun except Phoebe who would not even touch an egg because she was mad, what else is new! =)

My mom came into town on Tuesday, which I was really excited about! The girls were happy to see her too. My mom also made the girls beautiful matching Easter dresses and they look great. I wish I could sew like that but maybe one day. She was only able to stay a couple days and had to go be with my grandparents. My Papa is not doing well and I am glad she is able to be with them both during this difficult time. So please lift my family up in your prayers as we are unsure about how long my sweet Papa will be with us. My mom is coming back soon to visit some more with us.

WORM, WORMS, & MORE WORMS....... so I decided to start my own composting worm farm. They eat all your perishable trash and they make great soil for your garden and plants. I try to keep as much out of my trash as possible and I was attracting everything animal in a 5 mile radius by throwing food out in my back yard and with my girls there is a lot of waste. I got on line started doing research and I placed the order. I went in with a friend of mine so it would save on shipping etc.. My little wriggly friends arrived on Monday all 2000 of them. =) At first I was asking myself what I got into because I make this container of nice bedding for the worms, I did everything the research told me to do, but no matter what this creatures continued to try to crawl out and escape from their container, which has a lid. As you can see from the second picture the lid is taped completely shut. The reason is because the first night we had them I kept the container in the house because it was going to freeze outside. I woke up in the middle of the night because I kept hearing this beeping noise in my house, it was driving me crazy. Anyway I go downstairs and standing in kitchen waiting to hear the beep again when all the sudden I notice a worm in the middle of the floor. So I turn the light on and to my horror there are worms all over the floor! I start to panic but decide to start the worm roundup. So there I am at 3 am trying to pick up all these worms out of my floor. It is pretty funny to look back on it now. So that is why the lid is taped shut and thankfully no more worms got out. The next morning I did find one casualty because I missed seeing it. I did put more bedding and soil in the container and they don't even try to crawl out now. The weather is warming up so I am looking forward to putting our slimy friends outside. I never did find out what was beeping in my house and have not heard it since.

Walk Through Holy Week With Jesus!

Palm Sunday - Jesus enters Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11)

Monday - Jesus clears the temple (Matthew 21:12-17)

Tuesday - Jesus teaches (any passage from Matthew 21:23-24:51)

Wednesday - Jesus' death foretold (Scripture says nothing about what Jesus did this day. Read Isaiah 53:1-12)

Thursday - Jesus celebrates Passover (Matthew 26:17-30) and Jesus is arrested and tried (Matthew 26:31-27:26)

Good Friday - Jesus is crucified (Matthew 27:27-66)

Saturday - Jesus lies in the tomb (Scripture says nothing about what Jesus did this day. Discuss what Jesus' followers might have thought and felt).

Sunday - Read about the women going to Jesus' tomb from Matthew 28:1-15 and celebrate Christ's triumph over death.

This came from "Cents"able Momma


Easter Story Cookies~ this was such a great idea! Link

Welcome Baby!

My cousin, who is near and dear to me, had her first baby girl. Marki Lee was born April 2nd, weighting in at 7lbs 1oz, and bald as can be; but beautiful. She is so cute and I can not wait to hold her and love on her next weekend. Congrats Bill and Amber on a beautiful baby girl! We look forward to being in her life and watching her grow. Praise to God for healthy mom and baby!

Weekend Fun!

We had another unsuccessful attempt at soccer this weekend but at least Lula did not cry. Here is a picture of her team the Lions.

Phoebe on the other hand had a blast kicking the ball and playing on the empty soccer field.

This was a cute picture of Pheebs that I wanted to share! For those of you wondering she in no where close to being potty trained but I figure it will click with her eventually.

Here is the other paint project that I finished up. This is the laundry room that we plan to turn into an office hopefully in the next month or so.

Also wanted to add that we thought we were in the clear with no one else getting sick from Phoebe's episode from last weekend and week but we were wrong. I was the unfortunate one to get sick but thankfully feeling much better now. I would rather me than the girls or Anthony get it, although Anthony seems to handle it better than me so maybe it should have been him. I am kidding or am I. =)

Happy Birthday Anthony/Daddy!

So yesterday was Anthony's Birthday and thankfully he got back from his business trip in time to celebrate with his family. The girls and I decorated the house and baked him a cake before he got home. Then he opened presents, which the cycling shoes fit...thanks Harpers for the help, and we took him out to dinner. It was a fun day and we feel so blessed to have such a wonderful man in our lives. He did have to come back to a hot water heater not working but was able to fix it quickly, lets hope there is no leak. =) The girls were trying to help.

Free Diapers

I have been doing this for a about 2 years and wanted to share. There is a market research company located about a mile from my house and they do research on many things but what I utilize the most is their diaper studies. They give me free diapers and all they want is my opinion; they pay me money too. So far most of the diapers have worked great and all the information is entered online. They are always needing people and asking me if I know anyone, so if any of you locals want to try it here is the info
Free Diapers
For those of you who are not local try finding a research company near you.

Good luck and happy savings.