I'm trying to be like Jesus

Ikaika gave his first talk at church yesterday! His topic was, if you couldn't tell "I'm trying to be like Jesus". I thought if he said the words to the song and held up pictures he would have a lot of fun. Justin and I didn't know if ikaika would actually participate and were prepared to share Ikaika's talk for him since he had been really reluctant to practice for the family.

Well sure enough when it was Ikaika time to talk, he didn't even wait for Justin! He marched right up to the little pulpit, grab the mic and started rambling nonsense into the mic. He thought he was awesome, the kids and teachers were all laughing.

Justin whispered Ikaika's talk to him and Ikaika reluctantly listened and it lasted till about halfway through the talk when Ikaika decided he didn't need his dads help. He turned to Justin, said" shhhhhh daddy, don't talk" and started that incoherent rambling again! ha ha ha, it was so cute and so funny. Meanwhile I had labeled all of the pictures justin would have to turn to during all of this but he was so concentrated on ikaika, that out of 10 pictures Justin managed to only show 3. Of course I don't think anyone noticed because Ikaika was definitely center of attention.

After a good laugh, I started to wonder if that all Ikaika thinks we do when we give talk, or maybe that's all he hears! lol! It was a lot of fun and definitely a memorable moment!

Bratwurst And Shrimp Boil Recipe

We tried this recipe the other day for dinner, it was pretty good, something different. My brother cooked it on his mission, it's pretty simple and if you like bratwurst this is a good recipe for you. The recipe calls for one package of beer brats but we used spicy brats instead. It turned out really well, the brats are very flavorful, but next time i will use two packages instead. So if yo want to try something new, bon appetit!

The Ingredients:

1 (19oz package) brats ( two packages are better, the brats really make the meal, i used spicy brats)
1 lb shrimp, peeled ( I used about two lbs of frozen shrimp)
1 onion cut into quaters ( I used a sweet onion for my boil)
8 cups of water
2 lbs small red skin potatoes
5 ears sweet corn, split in half (since corn isnt in season I got a package of frozen corn)
2 (12 oz) bottles of beer
1 lemon cut into halves
3/4 cup crab boil seasoning
melted butter and lemon wedges (to serve with boil)

Directions:

Preheat the grill to a medium heat and grill brats until just browned. cut into two pieces. Bring onion, water, beer, seasoning and lemon to a boil in a 10 quart pot. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in the corn then cover and cook for 3 minutes. Finally add the shrimp then cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until shrimp is done. The sausage internal temperature should reach 160 degrees F. Serve the boil with melted butter and lemon wedges.

Happy 24th bday babe!!!

Justin's lovely birthday cake. funny story behind it, justin made his own cake and forgot to grease the pans, so it was falling to pieces! Luckily with enough frosting we were able to stick it back together. It was actually very good!

Ikaika and his favorite toys, they go everywhere with him.

Grandma and Ikaika

Justin has his coke, and one of his fav dinners, shepherds pie! yumm


Family photo time...
Tyler, Justin and Heidi!

Grandma Heidi and Ikaika

blowing out the candles, Ikaika's favorite! (no matter who's birthday it is)

Carly and her friend Jill

Me and the love of my life!

Happy Birthday Justin!

If you haven't figured from the title, it's Justin's birthday today! It's great, a day all about you! Though we are getting older and birthdays aren't what they used to be when we were kids, I still love taking the time to make sure justin knows just how much i love him and how much he means to our little family.
Justin and his sister Carly's birthday are 4 days apart, so they get to celebrate their birthdays together, something i think they really enjoy. Their birthdays tend to be a lot about family, something i know that is really special to justin and me.
I have a few surprises for justin today, and hopefully will post pics soon. I just want to say, that I'm so glad to have justin in my life and that i am able to share all these special moments with him! I love you babe! MUAH!

it's been awhile

I checked my blog the other day and realized how long it's been since i"ve written and decided i should get caught up on a few of the events that have happened since my last entry.

the most recent would be sterling home coming! My little brother served a full mission in Texas, Lubbock. He returned in January and we are all thrilled to have him home and to hear all of his stories.

All of us at the airport. Sterling arrived 30 minutes early,

thank goodness my uncle works at the airport and was there to greet him.

Of course we decided to show our Snap-On pride

and wear matching shirts!

Now of course there was Christmas. We had a lot of fun and all the family get togethers. Here's a pic from christmas morning. Ikaika had a blast!

I was so proud of Ikaika, he wasn't scared of Santa this year! He could hardly wait his turn to sit on Santa's lap

Carly and I at Ikaika Birthday Party in November. Can't believe my baby is three already!



Ikaika told his daddy to stop singing, justin thought it was hilarious! ha ha

so thats just a few of the things that happend to this point and i'm working on staying current. This week has been horrible, Ikaika has been the sickest he's ever been. We took him to the Kids fair last saturday and got his face painted. It was a very fun day but then the next day, he had pink eye! yikes! After that a cold, then an ear infection and now at the end of the week, still working off that cold. Now I'm sick and i hope it doesn't take nearly as long to get feeling better.

welcome home elder raso!!!

Justin's brother Tyler just returned home from serving his mission in Iowa. It was a really fun event welcoming him at the airport since we hadn't officially met him yet. long story short we met the family just a few weeks after he left to the mtc, we've written him on his mission and talked to him on the phone for christmas and mothers day.

Lots of family came, we missed those who couldn't . Tyler is a jokester just like the rest of the family, so we've been pulling all the pranks out on him while he's still a little rusty from the mission.

A funny thing happened at the airport. These two couples came out before tyler did and immediatly told justin he must be the brother, he looked so similiar to ty. He didn't know what to say.

There were some tears, lots of smiles, we were all glad to have him home. hopefully i'll have more pictures up of ty's homecoming and our adventures this summer.

Just some fun family pics.