Kids to the Rescue!

A few weeks ago our stereo was stolen out of our car... so on the way to the hike last week... the kids saved the day! They provided music for us.

A week of crafts! So fun!

I has been a fun week of crafts. First the kiddos made Balloon People. We painted and decorated the balloons and the shoes(which we cut out of old cereal boxes). Kailea had fun painting - she mostly just hugged her balloon. The ghosts were done by Treston and Aiden. I never realized the art involved in twisting a rubber band around something... but they sure loved it when they got the hang of it! They went through an entire box of tissues! Then we made little wood and q-tip sculptures. Aiden got started right away stacking and building whatever came to mind(he is a very artistic little boy). Treston learned a good lesson that everything does not have to be perfect... once he figured out that art is art... he had fun building his works of art.

All in all - a fun time with arts and crafts. I even made a sculpture :-)

A Beautiful Hike!

It has been a while since I have posted one of our weekly hikes... so here goes. This last week we went to Hau'ula Loop Trail. A beautiful almost 4 mile loop on the North Shore of Oahu. It is very close to Laie Temple and the PCC. Beautiful!

The Superstars!

Usually every day (can you imagine the amount of undies we go thru?)... after school the boys decide to take a dip in the pool to cool off. This morning we did computer work and then I left them downstairs to have lunch while I put Kailea to bed. I came down to a quiet house and looked outside... I love to see them playing together and laughing. I was excited to get some pics... without them knowing! They are pretty sure they are the best swimmers ever!! ;-) It is fun to see them learning so much lately. They will sit on the bottom of the pool and hold their breath for as long as they can. I hope they can be better swimmers than I have ever been! Even though Stephen is gone so much.. I know our time in "paradise" will be full of wonderful memories! :-)

What a Bat-ty Day!

We have been home schooling for about 8 months now.. and completely love the fun times we have enjoyed. Every week we do a craft. Ofcourse with Halloween around the corner it is easy to choose crafts for the week. Last week we did black spiders... this week BATS! It was fun. They had a blast running around like bats... I tried to capture a few fun images to share!
I have really enjoyed this opportunity to teach my kids. We know for sure that I will home school until we leave here (in 2010) after that I guess we will see. But hey, I wouldn't mind going to a Space Camp too! :-) I am blessed to have the opportunity to learn so much with my kids.

And God Remembered Rachel...

Conference this weekend was just great! I loved getting up at 6:00 am and having 1 hour to myself to enjoy the talks. My favorite session was Saturday morning. I usually can never remember exactly who said what until I get the Ensign. And then I devour it again. In one of the talks on Saturday morning - it was quoted "And God remembered Rachel"... you may be thinking why is that worth bringing up? I know we all go through trials and those are hopefully the experiences that make us better people. Sometimes through those trials I get so caught up in surviving life from day to day or month to month that we do not realize that God still... remembers Brandi! I am so happy to know that my Heavenly Father loves me and wants only wonderful and pure things for me and my family. I am overjoyed to know that I have an eternal family... and God will continue to remember me. I love the Prophet Gordon B Hinckley; what an amazing man! I just want to give him hugs and tell him thank you every time I here his name.
So if you are having a hard day or a good day... God remembers YOU!
Lots of Love! :-)