3 day weekend

When I was leaving work on Friday I could just feel the holiday in the air. Everybody was saying "have a good 3 day weekend" and "are you doing anything fun?". I walked out of there thinking "we've got to go somewhere; we've got to do something fun!". When we were all home and discussing our plans I realized that going away was not an option; not even for a day trip. I consequently came down with a really bad case of cabin fever. It took me all of Friday night to snap out of it. (Sorry to my family for my mood). What did help me snap out of it was pulling out the photo albums/scrap books. Just looking at all of the fun things we've done over the years, all the opportunities we've had, and seeing the kids grow put me in a great mood. I then found a *good black and white movie on t.v., pulled out my scrapbooking stuff and had a fun night.

Our big finale for the weekend was playing baseball. Luke's scout troop planned a family baseball game for this afternoon. There were 6 families and we split everyone up into 2 teams; the old and young combined. It was alot of fun.

So if anyone asks tomorrow how my weekend was I will truthfully answer that it was great. If they ask me what I did, they may not understand how scrapbooking and baseball makes a great holiday weekend, but I do, and thats what matters.

*(the movie is called "Stalag 17". Its about a German prison camp in World War 2 It was a pretty heavy movie but had some comic relief here and there. It is actually what the t.v. show "Hogan's Heroes" was based on. If you have Comcast On Demand, check it out under free movies.),

Graduation season part 2

SENIOR CLASS SPEAKER: She gave a thoughtful, bold and entertaining speech. It came after the recognition of the A and B honor roll kids. Mariah's speech talked about how each of them are a success for surviving high school enough to be graduating at all. She even pointed out specific teachers and teased them a little bit. I was surprised, but thought to myself "well, she submitted this speech and they chose her to give it, so it must be okay".



After the graduation we were able to present her with these leis. Thanks Mae for helping us make them! The thick yellow ribbon signifies that she was part of "Leadership" all year long. This meant she had a " zero period" class an hour before school everyday. She helped plan and set up rally's, spirit week, and lots of other activities. It was alot of work and a great experience.


Proud Dad


Proud Mom


Mariah graduated with her cousin, Malia Hanaike. They started school together, being in the same kindergarten class. Their names have been getting mixed up ever since. There have been times where we have gotten mail from the school about Malia and her parents have gotten phone calls from the school about Mariah. Good thing neither one of them ever did anything too terrible. In the yearbook and even graduation program their information got a little mixed up. It said by Mariah's name that she is going to Skyline College next year and by Malia's name that she is going to LDS Business College (a Mormon school). This is HILARIOUS since Malia's family are definately not Mormon. We (the parents) have had friendly, ongoing teasing about each other's religious views for years. It was so fun to congratulate them for their daughter's wonderful choice of schools. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! As Mariah and Malia were walking up to the podium next to each other to receive their diplomas they decided to switch places so that their names were read wrong. Fortunately the announcers were not fooled.


It was a wonderful graduation. Its been an eventful 4 years. We are so proud of our Mariah.

before the prom

We took these pictures a few hours ago. Isn't she beautiful!



Her date. They are very good friends and look like they're going to have a great time.




I wanted to get a picture of the LIMO they were going in (a LIMO! Can you believe it? They all pitched in their own money to get it.) but we had to go before it got there. I'll be thinking about her all night long, hoping she has a wonderful time.

Good Charlotte

Last night Hillary and I were reminiscing about her childhood and we had some good laughs. One particular memory was about a rock group called "Good Charlotte". When Hillary was in the 8th grade she went through a "grunge" sort of stage. I won't call it goth, but she always wore black, had a skull bracelet and had a "Good Charlotte" poster above her bed. She also went through the stage of sneaking things that didn't belong to her. Mostly candy. So one day, after she had gone to school, I noticed that some packages of Starbursts that I had bought for a primary activity were missing. I went into her room and found the remnants of the empty packages. I was mad and started thinking of an appropriate punishement. I then became creative and started to laugh and laugh. I helped myself to her "Good Charlotte" poster. I took it off of her wall and put in on my wall, above mine and Reggie's bed. When she got home I didn't say anything. Pretty soon she came out of her room asking where her poster was. I told her to go look at my room. She says now that at the time she was mad but also trying not to laugh. She just couldn't believe that that poster was above our bed. After a few days I gave it back, but I don't think she ever put it on her wall again.

Hillary soon out-grew that stage. From high school on the posters on her wall have been of Audry Hepburn, the ocean, and tons and tons of friends. It was alot of fun laughing about all of this last night.

I love Hillary's camera

Hillary took these pictures. We've been walking past this scenery/these cliffs all of our lives. I love that she has captured it in pictures. I admit, when it is foggy our city looks like the most grey, dreary place ever. But when it is sunny we remember that we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

a cheesecake, a chick flick, and a night of scrapbooking . . .

I love the father/son campout!


Oh yeah, Reggie and Luke love it too. Reggie didn't take any pictures this year, but here are some from last year:

a poem, by Samantha

Ode To My Bed

"Oh my bed, how well you make me sleep
with my long green pillow made of silk.
The blanket to keep me warm, so dark
but very blue. You make me cozy throughout the
night. And even though you creak when I
get up to get ready for church or school
or a bathroom break, I know you will be
there when I come back inside."


Samantha wrote the above poem for homework. She did a great job! How many of us get up in the morning and look back longingly at our bed, wishing we could crawl back inside. Samantha has passed the age of thinking bed is an undesireable thing. She would sleep past noon everyday if she could. Thats what summer is for, which starts in 4 weeks.

Anyway, its a great poem!

80 and 91

This week my parents both celebrated their birthdays, my Mom turning 80 and my Dad turning 91. They are both doing well and still going strong. We celebrated today with a birthday cake for both of them. It was priceless to sing to them and watch them blow out the candles together (we just gave them 2 each). I wish I took a picture. But then again, there's always next year. They are both going to have to live forever because I just can't do without them.

another great mother's day

A nap, an amazing meal cooked by my family, homemade cards, a new pair of shoes, and everyone watching I Love Lucy together during dessert. It was another great mother's day, thanks to my thoughtful and hard-working husband and children.

more and more

Since the wedding planning has been in full swing I have been appreciating my Mom and Mother-In-Law more and more. The wedding planning is alot of fun, but it is also alot of work. Julia is way more organized and independent about it than I ever was, and yet there's still alot to do, help with, and support to give. When I look back on my wedding it seemed to have run so smoothly and everything worked out so easily. And when it was over Reggie and I rode off into the sunset. Now, being behind the scenes, I am realizing more and more what it took to make such a wonderful wedding. I think our mothers probably got 0 hours of sleep for the whole weekend. And yet they managed to look so beautiful, so put together, smiling in every snapshot.

So Happy Mother's Day to our Moms. As the years go on we just love and appreciate you more and more.

"because I said so"

So I'm sure everyone has done this. You look at how others are raising their children, or you look back at the way you were raised and you decide that you will do things differently. You watch other parents or think of your own parents and say to yourself "well I'll never do that"; "I'll use this approach instead". Then you get in there and reality hits. Then you all of a sudden see that even if your way is better, it sometimes feels impossible, and you end up doing exactly what you've seen others do. When this happens, one good thing is that you gain more respect for your parents or the parents you've been observing. You become less proud and less judgemental. And you forgive yourself when you, even for a moment, do exactly what you said you'd never do.

Now I'm not talking about any serious issues.

What I'm talking specifically about right now is the phrase "because I said so". I've always thought that I would give my children, and the kids I work with, answers when they wanted to know why there is a rule or why I've made a decision. Ha! How foolish I was! I still want to answer their questions, but I've realized their strategy. I've realized that most times they don't really want to know why. They want an answer so they can debate it with you. They just want to keep the dialogue going, because if they do, there is always a chance that you will change your mind or get so frustrated that you just give in and say, "Fine!" "Go ahead!"

Now I'm not trying to insult the children here. I absolutely understand this strategy. I realize that I do this when I'm trying to get out of a ticket or a late fee or a missed deadline. If I keep the people on the phone, even after they've said no, I still have the hope that they will change their mind, or look into it further, or see if there is something they can do. So I don't blame the kids at all. I have just realized that sometimes "because I said so" is the only appropriate answer. The parenting classes I've taken and the orientation I've gotten from work is "don't let the kids draw you into an argument. Don't lose your temper. Just keep calm and enforce the rules". Of course, at times, I've decided to try to be the "nice" adult and end up thinking "What have I gotten myself into!" as the kids are talking circles around me.

So whats my point? I don't know. Maybe: "Don't judge other parents too harshly" or "Why do my kids have to have such good language skills?" or "Good thing I never took up drinking." I don't know. I will still try to answer my kids questions, to a point; I will still try to remain calm as I am enforcing the rules at school, and I will, when necessary, not be ashamed to say "because I said so".

student of the week

Samantha was named Student of the Week at her school. She is so happy. It means she had her name announced over the loud-speaker, she got a certificate, and she got a "head of the line" pass; this means she gets to go to the front of the lunch line everyday for a week. She is loving it.

About the picture: a couple of weekends ago Reggie took the kids and a camera to the city for the fun of it. Samantha didn't really want to go; she is a home-body who loves the computer, t.v., etc. But she really started enjoying herself when she got a hold of Hillary's phone. She loves texting.

"And now we will hear from Mariah Hanaike . . . .

our Class Speaker". This (or something like it) is what will be said at Mariah's high school graduation, right before she gives a speech that she wrote for the occasion. This girl should major in journalism or something. She obviously has some wonderful writing skills. Hurray Mariah!