Things my Dad taught me

1. Never be afraid to try new things. My brothers and I frequently joked around as kids that our dad would try any food. I remember watching Indiana Jones and seriously asking my dad if he would eat monkey brains just like they did on the movie. He of course promptly replied with "yum, my favorite!"

2. Duct tape will fix just about anything! and spoons aren't just for eating, they're great tools for digging, scrapping and cleaning....(hence that spoon is long gone!)

3. My Dad has a logical approach to just about every situation. Therefore statistics are good indicators of if a situation is safe or not! My Dad is famous for saying, "that chances of that happening are so slim." The rest of the family is famous in replying with "You do it, then I'll do it. (Goes to show statistics aren't always right)

4. Integrity. If anything else I have always appreciated my Dad's integrity. I remember as a kid, him telling me to always strive to do the right thing because even if others can't see it, people eventually figure out the truth. I've never regretted following those words.

5. Don't make rash decisions! It's usually best to keep a calm head and think things through. When I'm not sure how to handle a certain situation, I know i can find some great advice from my Dad and if i can't ask him for his advice, I know I can think about what he might do.

6. Have a sense of humor and enjoy life! My Dad is a wise crack and I like to tease him that I get my sense of humor from him!

My Dad, way back when I was in high school, was always trying to teach me valuable life lessons.

My Dad "What do you do if you get a flat tire?"

Me "Easy!"

Dad " okay, what do you do then?"

Me "Call you!"

7. Last but not least love! My Dad has a big heart! When Justin first met my Dad he was so intimidated by this giant guy! It made my laugh because I saw my Dad as a big teddy bear. He has all the love in the world for his family, always has and always will. He's not perfect and he doesn't expect anyone else to be, he forgives easily and finds it hard, not to find something good about someone.

buddies

Last night Ikaika announced that I was cute buddy while he and his daddy were cool buddies! ha ha, sometimes I wonder where he comes up with this stuff. Justin couldn't be more thrilled however, when Ikaika get's so excited to be best buds with Daddy!

As of lately, Ikaika's new favorite shows are creepy crawlers and believe it or not, National Geographic especially about dinosaurs and crocodiles! I thought it might be scary but Ikaika thinks they're so fascinating and loves to explain what he's learned to anyone who will listen.

Plus I had to post this....

Nothing like playing Sonic the hedgehog on a lazy Sunday afternoon in your underwear. He makes me so proud :)

Things I'm looking forward to....

Playgrounds, parks, flying kites, slides, swings, picnics, fairs, cotton candy, amusements park rides.....

camping, camp fires, dough boys, tents. etc....

This is a pic I think is from our one and only camping trip last year, we'll definitely have to remedy that this year especially since it was so much fun :)

Bear Lake, swimming, boating, getting my tan on....

A few things to get me through long hours of homework.....

Laughter is good for your health?

Ever wonder what exactly laughter does for your body well, according to Web MD:

We change physiologically when we laugh. We stretch muscles throughout our face and body, our pulse and blood pressure go up, and we breathe faster, sending more oxygen to our tissues.

Give Your Body a Boost -- With Laughter

By R. Morgan Griffin

In other words, it changes the way you feel.

The other day after a sleepless night of nausea, achiness (ya i made that up) I woke up feeling even worse but still determined to get Ikaika and I to school. Well funny thing happened, while Ikaika and I sat on my bed to enjoy some of the sun's rays that were streaming through my window, I felt a tug at my arm and looked up in time to see Ikaika roll off the bed. You might think I'm mean but it was sooooo funny! Ikaika thought he was silly and promptly asked me "Mommy why did you push me off the bed?" ha ha, ya right! When I told him he wasn't paying attention so he fell off, he smiled and said "I know." He and I laughed for a good 5 minutes. If you know Ikaika, this isn't the first time, due to lack of attention and focus that he's fallen off the bed and I'm sure it wont be the last. He always makes me laugh and did I mention he called me "baby mama" yesterday too! He of course didn't understand what he said but it made me laugh :)

What did he just say???

Sometimes Ikaika has the most interesting things to say, sometimes it's just gibberish, either way it's pretty funny.

After showing Ikaika a daddy long leg spider he announced to my parents...

"I just saw a long legged daddy!"

Saying goodbye to my parents: "Goodbye, sweet guy! Goodbye stay in your home sweet home!"

Asking my mom for otter pops: "Can I have a beaver pop?"

and did I mention in an effort to get out of eating the rest of his dinner he "accidently" dropped it on the floor for the dog. Never mind the smile he was trying to hide when I asked him why he did it! lol

and to top it off for today, after repeatedly bugging my mom for a yogurt, this was her reply.

"You know your being really annoying"

Ikaika" Ya I am" (grinning from ear to ear)

He makes life so much more fun or should I say funnier! Love my little guy

I hope they call me on a mission

On May 18th Stockton finally received his mission call! He had waited all month for this, well all of us had been pretty anxious too and even the day he received his call we weren't so sure it would be there since it took all day to get to the house.

Justin and I got the mass text announcing it was there and by the time we got there, cars lined the road. It was amazing to see the love and support he received from friends and family (Several people were holding phones out, so those who couldn't be there could hear it!) because he has been looking forward to this for some time now and he will be the last of his friends to leave on a mission this year.

So we are all pretty excited, especially him and very proud of his dedication to serve the Lord. I think he'll be a fantastic missionary and look forward to hearing all about it after he leaves. Where is he going, well your going to have to check the video to find out!

"Missionary service is not easy, but it is infinitely worth it."

M. Russell Ballard - 2005, Apr. Gen. Conf. "...be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you." Peter . - 1 Peter 3:15 Oh and the video is sideways, don't know how to fix that but let me know if you do :)

Play Dough Cookies

Looking for a fun cookies recipe well, try this Play Dough Cookies recipe I found at yummly.com. Yes it is edible and very cool to look at. Ikaika had a lot of fun making shapes with his cookie dough just like real play-dough :) I posted the recipe below

Yummly

Play Dough Cookies

Source: AllRecipes Rating: none

IngredientsServes: 12

3/4cup butter (softened)

3 oz cream cheese

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 3/4cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4tsp salt

food coloring (assorted colors of paste)

24 lollipop (sticks)

Method

1 In a bowl cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth.

2 In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir till soft dough forms. Divide dough into fourths. Tint each with a different food color. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.

3 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Working with half of each color, shape dough into 3/4 inch balls and for each cookie place 1 pink, 1 green, 1 blue and 1 orange ball together to make 1 large ball. Shape into a 12 inch long roll (like a snake), starting at one end, coil roll to make a 2 3/4 inch round cookie. Place cookies 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Carefully insert lollipop sticks into bottoms of cookies.

4 Bake cookies for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container.