Hawaii Fun

ALOHA

 from beautiful Hawaii! 

We left this....

for this!!!!

We've had an awesome time here in the land of Paradise. 

Some of the highlights include....

Water sliding at Hawaiian Waters

Swimming in our own "private" lagoon complete with sea life :)

interesting sand sculptures including "boy with sand boobies"

snorkeling....

Molten Lava Cake at Chili's...

Liam's remark was "this is the BEST day of my life! 

while shoveling in chocolate cake 

Beautiful Hawaiian girls

Having yummy chicken at Maui Mike's

and of course...golf!

We even had an adventure with an island-wide power-outage caused by lightening...when does that ever happen?

Unfortunately all of our snorkeling gear was stolen out of the garage since we were stupid enough to leave it out. :( 

But after a good nights rest, the sun came up the next day and another day of glorious sun and fantastic weather was upon us....and we are happy to be here in Paradise :)

 

Leiderhosen Dance

A Christmas Eve tradition in the Seolas household is to enjoy cheese fondue...

Gavin and Liam dressed for the occasion...and earned $20 each!

Random randomness

Alex's imitation of his favorite cartoon character Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes

Isn't Gavin sooo cute?

I really was convinced I was pregnant with a girl when I was pregnant with Owen, but I SWEAR I didn't put him up to this....it was all his idea. Thank goodness he is a boy as he doesn't make a very cute girl!

Alex again imitating Calvin...honestly it's hard to get a normal picture of this kid.

Owen and Duke when we got to "puppy-sit". Owen loves, loves, loves to snuggle and cuddle with Duke...Duke's a good sport :)

Liv loves Duke almost as much a Owen...again, Duke is a good sport.

I have no idea what Liam was doing, but he looks like Santa's little Elf (that's meditating?).

Word to the wise...

This is a warning...to any who are weak in the stomach...STOP HERE! THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE PRETTY!

So we are on our way home from Grandma and Grandpa's house tonight and one of my kids (who will not be named) said "Mom, I'm gonna barf!" AHHHH, not in my brand new car! was my thought. What I said was "hang on while I pull over". This child said "Nope, I'm gonna barf right now!" And she did! Not just a little barf, but explosive, all-over the car barf. To make things worse, I roll down the window because Gavin starts dry-heaving from the smell. Well apparently it's a really bad idea to roll down the window going 75 with a child with explosive vomit! I had no idea until we got home and I saw the damage....(I really did almost take a picture of the car and my child covered in vomit, but decided it was too gross...oh, the sick mind of a blogger!).

The first thing I saw was the outside of the car was covered in vomit. HUH? Then I opened the door and it was EVERYWHERE!!! All over my child, in her hair, all over the seat, the floor, the million things she had left on the floor were covered. Oh, and when I opened the window while we were on the freeway the vomit blew back onto Liam who was sitting right behind this child and was all over the backseat and the opposite back window. HOLY COW!!! I didn't even know where to begin to clean up! I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. I have never been good at cleaning up vomit, that's been Rob's job. But since he was out of town there was no one but me. So, I started laughing and composing this blog in my head while I was cleaning out the car. Honestly, I had no idea that vomit could be so explosive! 

So, word to the wise...

1. If you have a child who tells you they don't feel well and you have a 30 min drive home it would be a really good idea to grab a barf bag of some sort before starting off.

2. If your child is barfing in the car while you are driving 75 on the freeway, DON'T open the window....REALLY BAD IDEA!

3. If you don't know if you should laugh or cry, then laugh...it sure makes the situation a little easier to deal with.

Happy Birthday Liam

Today we celebrated Liam's 7th birthday at Jump on It! What a great place to take 12 high-energy, loud and crazy kids to play and run around. We were a little worried as there was a blizzard in full force when we were scheduled to leave. But thanks to this awesome 11 passenger van equipped with 4WD and a DVD player (we borrowed from our friends) we not only packed in 9 kids but made it safely to our destination.

Notice the Cuties Liam is sitting by...it says a lot!

Ice cream cakes from Maggie Moos ROCKS!

I think this is a sign of brotherly love and not Gavin preparing to strangle Liam.

Happy Birthday Liam! 

We have cherished every moment (well almost) you have been in our lives :)

We love you!

Snowman Fun

Tender Moment

Last night while I was tucking Liam in for the night he looked at me with those big golden eyes and says in such a tender, heartfelt way..."Mommy, you are prettier than the puppy! I love you as much as this house. If this whole house was filled with love that's how much I love you". Talk about melt my heart :)

I love you too Liam!

New Christmas Traditions

Now that our kids are older we decided that we could make the trip to downtown SLC to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. We headed out on a Thursday evening hoping that it wouldn't be too crowded which would expedite keeping track of our kids and hopefully bring them all home. The weather was dry with a slight chill to remind us it was winter. Perfect conditions to bundle up and experience the sights of Christmas. 

We started out with dinner at our favorite German Deli called Seigfrieds. We had spaetzle and bratworst (reminiscent of Rob's mission to Switzerland) and picked out our favorite Swiss chocolates for a treat. As we left the restaurant to walk the short 2 blocks to temple square Liam says, "I want to see a Hobo!" Rob cautioned him by explaining that homeless people were sometimes dangerous because of drugs or alcohol and were best left alone. Liam thought about it for a minute and said, "Will you be with me dad?" After Rob affirmed that he would Liam then exclaimed with more enthusiasm than before "Then I want to see a hobo!" Oh, the innocence of youth!

We stopped in the Tabernacle to warm up for a minute and enjoy the beauty of the building. 

Girl Power!

Not sure what the kids were doing...maybe looking for the new Christmas star?

All in all we really enjoyed seeing the lights, the Nativity and the Christus at Temple Square. The beauty seen and the Spirit felt help us to remember why we celebrate Christmas. And yes, we did bring all of our kids home with us. :)

Merry Christmas Mom and Dad!

Part 1: The Plan

A couple of months ago we were talking about Christmas and what we should do for Mom and Dad. Rob mentioned that we should get them a puppy. I kind of laughed and thought..."no way could we get them a puppy. They'd kill us!" And then I thought about it a little bit more, and the idea sounded better and better each time I thought about it. As we discussed it we knew we needed a smaller breed of dog that they could travel with, and would be a great companion dog. One that would snuggle up and just love you, but also be happy and energetic too. Rob knew the best breed to get. A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. So, being the research guy he is, Rob looked up on the internet for a breeder to call and get more information. To our surprise, there was a breeder right here in Alpine! What were the chances of that? It was fate. However, I was still nervous about giving my foot-loose and fancy-free parents a puppy! I needed reinforcements, or atleast someone to share the blame if it went badly. So I called my siblings and talked it over to see what they thought about it. They were all for it except my one sister who had asked Dad about getting a puppy and was told "Hell no!" I don't blame her.

Part 2: Picking a puppy

After talking to the breeder we decided we needed to go see the puppies (the breeder had 9 to chose from!) to see what we thought and if it would be a good dog for them. So we bundled up the kids and my brother and his wife and headed over to see them. Our first impression was that the 3 parents (2 females and 1 male) were so sweet and didn't bark at all when we came to the door. Very good first sign. Then they started to bring in the puppies...all 9 of them. I kind of felt like we were in the 101 Dalmations movie...there were puppies and kids everywhere! A puppy for each of us to hold! How cool was that? The puppies were sooo sweet. We had a really hard time choosing just one. After 1.5 hrs of playing with the puppies we finally narrowed it down to 2, a boy and a girl. We couldn't decide between them...they were both so stinking cute! I said to Rob, "Maybe we should get both of them and keep one for us." (What was I thinking? We already had a dog! and 5 kids! I was drunk on puppy love!) Rob actually said "let's think about it". Whoa, we needed to get out of there...fast! We finally decided on the female thinking she might be a little smaller than the male, although the male was definitely cuter. After thinking about it for a couple of weeks, looks won over size and we decided on the male.

Part 3: The Surprise! (my favorite part :)

We decided we wanted to give my parents the puppy a little before Christmas to give them time to adjust to having a dog before company came for Christmas. So, we agreed on a day to deliver the puppy and to surprise mom and dad. My brother Matt arrived at their home before the rest of the crew and set the stage for the surprise. 

He sat my parents down on the couch and blindfolded them until we arrived at their home. Then we came in and presented the gift!

(Due to major technical difficulty, or I should say major technical retardedness of the blogger, the sound on the video isn't working :(  But hopefully you get the idea) I posted this video on my Facebook page and the sound works...so go there for the full viewing experience :)

Meet Duke Albus Wilfric Percival Brian Dumbledore Hansen...

They'll call him Duke for short

Can we just say  "Love at first sight?" 

Mom says this was the last thing she expected, 

but is "warming up to him".  :>

Way to Go!

5:00 am is a really hard time to get up and go to the temple. Especially when it's dark and cold outside and you are all snuggly and warm in a nice cozy bed. After a little convincing, Alex got up and got ready to go do Baptisms at the Lone Peak Temple this morning.  I was so proud of him for his commitment and desire to go to the temple...even at 5:00 am. When we walked out of the temple we stepped into a light flurry of huge snowflakes. What a beautiful sight.

Breakfast at Kneaders was a welcome treat. 

Way to go Alex! Love ya :>

Words to live by...

Owen learned this song at Primary and has been singing it constantly since. 

Good advice to all!

VIVA!

Last weekend Rob and I had an early Anniversary Weekend in downtown SLC. We had so much fun! The highlights were Christmas shopping at the Gateway Mall (pretty much finished all of our shopping, woohoo!), TWILIGHT!!!! (LOVED IT!!! but Edward's hair was really lame. Shamelessly, I even bought fangear!), James Bond movie (not so much loved it), massages, great food, lots of smooching, and the best part was the COLDPLAY VIVA TOUR CONCERT! 

Rob bought tickets for the concert last summer, and the seats were amazing. We both love their music and it was fun to see them perform. They were really classy guys and put on a great show. Holy Cow it was loud though. We both used earplugs and my ears were still ringin' after the show. Oh, and I had a really hard time centering us in the picture...

The colorful stuff in the background was thousands, maybe even millions of cool vellum butterflies. You couldn't see through it because it was so thick. What an amazing way to celebrate 15 years together.

Littlebit big!

Today Owen said, "Mom, I'm a littlebit big. I'm little but I'm big. See my body? I'm a littlebit big."

He is getting so big. He can even write his own name. Pretty good for a 3 yr old! Oh, and he took this picture of his own name, which is why he cut off the "n".

He wanted to watch "Pirates of the Carribean" but I told him he was too little because he still won't go potty in the toilet. (Oh the shameless tricks we try as parents to potty-train. I'm starting to get desperate though!) That's when he told me "I'm a littlebit big". I guess he means he's big enough to watch Pirates, but too little to go potty in the toilet? Oh the complicated world of a 3 yr old.

Mom post this on your blog!

Liv and her cousin Kelly were using watercolor paints to paint their faces. Kelly is a clown and Liv is a scary clown? Not really sure...but they had a lot of fun! Liv's first comment was, "Mom take a picture and post this on your blog!"

I actually think they did a really good job. Who knew that Crayola watercolor paints had so many uses? I'll have to remember that next Halloween!

Amazing!

I don't think the pictures show how beautiful the moon is...or maybe it's the photographer? Anyway, the full moon was breathtaking tonight.

God Bless America!

Today is Veterans Day. Normally I don't think too much about this holiday, other than a quick thought of gratitude to the Veterans who have served our country. But today was a little different. Gavin's grade presented a Veteran's Day Program to honor, recognize and thank the many veterans living in our area and who have served our country so well. The program was a compilation of patriotic songs and readings written by the 5th graders themselves. I have been to this very same program just last year, and only remembered it was very long. Probably because I had to try to keep Liam quiet for almost two hours :)

 This year, I had a very different experience. I was fighting tears through the entire program from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the honoring our veterans in attendance. I felt overwhelming gratitude for those who have served and are now serving our country. I felt their sacrifice of leaving their families, of living in difficult circumstances, and even giving up their lives for freedom. I feel so blessed to have people willing to serve our country.

 I think the changes in me are because of the recent debates over the war in Iraq.  I believe that we all will need to take a stand on what we feel is right and then be willing to fight for those freedoms. I feel that the preservation of our country lies in the conviction and devotion of those who live here. I felt deeply moved by the many sacrifices that have been given so I can live under such conditions of freedom. I'm thankful that we live in a nation that teaches our children these principles and to honor those who have so bravely served. It was so neat to have my dad there and be recognized for his service in the Army National Guard. His patriotism runs deep and strong. What a blessing it is to Remember and to be Grateful. 

God Bless America!

 

 Gavin looking so handsome in his white shirt!

The 5th graders and the Veterans who attended

Grandpa and Gavin after the program

Quirky? Who me?

I was tagged by my amazing friend Traci (loved your quirks btw). Here is the tag...

LIST 6 quirky habits you have...TAG 6 quirky friends & LINK the person who tagged you.

 Traci's blog is called The Pinneapple Diaries and is AWESOME! 

Check it out!

So, in response to Traci's tag  here is my list of quirks...

1. I am largely a creature of habit. I ALWAYS do ritualistic things in exactly the same order. For example....I ALWAYS undress top to bottom, but get dressed bottom to top. In the shower I ALWAYS wash right leg, left leg, mid-section, left arm, right arm. But when I put on lotion it's left leg, right leg, mid-section, left arm, and then right arm...I ALWAYS put my right sock on first. And many other things I wont list...Is this being quirky or just OCD? Most definitely it's TMI!!!

2. I get REALLY grumpy if anyone tries to steal a bite of my food...ESPECIALLY if it's a bowl of cereal or ice cream and ESPECIALLY if I haven't had any of it yet. I'm willing to share if I offer it to you, otherwise HANDS OFF!

3. When I make hot chocolate the powder ALWAYS needs to go in first, and then the water. Never the reverse. Otherwise you get lumpy hot chocolate.

4.  The two middle toes on my right foot are different from the 2 on my left. The toes on my left foot are the same length and are short. The two on my right are different lengths with the 1st one being longer. I looked at my parents feet and realized I have a foot like my mom and a foot like my dad...How's that for being a pleaser?

5. I HATE to read instructions. I usually just blunder my way through something thinking I know how to do it already. I can't tell you how many times in school when I'd jump head-first into a math assignment without reading the instructions fully. I'd get most of the way through it and then realize that I didn't do some CRUCIAL step and would have to start all over again. Thank goodness for user friendly programs like BLOGGING! (ever noticed how simple and no-frills my blog is...that's because I refuse to read the instructions on how to do all of the bells and whistles!)

6. When I read a magazine or clothing catalogue I ALWAYS start at the back of it and work my way forward. 

So after making this list I'm wondering if they are quirky habits or if they're just OCD issues...hmmm. I guess it depends on who you ask. So, I'd love to hear all about my fun friend's quirkiness IF nothing better than to help me feel better about my own issues. :) So TAG to Tracy Portrey, Laura Broadbent, Amber Hansen, Amanda Laycock, Jen Traina, and Katie Fowles. (Julie B I can't wait to read yours too since Traci tagged you first!)

It had to happen....

So, look at this cute, angelic face. You would never suspect that this sweet little boy would be up to something would you? This cute little face is actually the face of a very inquisitive, very smart and very resourceful little boy. So, what happens when this cute, smart, inquisitive boy gets an idea in his head such as, "I wonder what it would feel like to cut my own hair?"

The results....a very large, not very easy to hide bald spot in the middle of his part!

When I asked him what happened, he replied with a sheepish grin, 

"the haircutter person made a mistake."

I guess so!

Love ya Liam!