Draper Temple Open House

The Draper Temple is set to open next month. It is about 10 minutes from our house and the Open House has been going since January. Our stake actually had to staff the first day of the Open House (in Jan), one day in Feb, and the last day (next month). 

We took the kids to the Open House this week. Some people said that they were too young to understand or remember, but we are hoping that somewhere in their little "hard drives", it will register and that they will be able to remember something about the things they saw, heard or, more importantly, felt. We took lots of pics with them and the temple - again hoping looking at those later may spark memories. 

Reagan already asks about it. We took our ward's primary up to see it during the construction and each day when we drive to the gym, Reagan points out the temple up on the mountain. She then repeats that Daddy and Mommy were married in the temple, but not that temple - the temple by Grandma's work (remember my post about having lunch with Mom and walking around Temple Square with them?). I think she gets a little bit. 

Anyway, here are some pics from our day at the Open House (which was a cloudy, stormy day - as you can tell by the dark clouds). It is a beautiful temple with a great location and, best of all, it is "ours".

 

Tutu Cute!!

As you will recall, Reagan is in dance class now. You have to know that I love dressing her for dance class. It's actually tough to find really cute tutus (maybe the ballerinas of today don't like the frufru of a big, fluffy tutu - but I do!) I found a kiosk at the mall that sells tutus and I got one and then a friend of ours has a business where she makes tutus (and matching accessories) as well as bracelets and other things. She has 3 boys and I tease her that she has a pent up princess just struggling to get out. So, she makes cute, fun, girlie tutus and bracelets. She actually sells the tutu and matching crown or clip for the price of what I paid for the tutu at the mall (and hers are way cuter and better made). We have a simple hot pink one, a cute Valentines one with hearts all over it and a pretty white one with pink flowers all over it.  I smile each time I look at them hanging in Reagan's closet or each time she wears them to dance class (or around the house) so, I thought I'd better post about them. Have a look..... they are tu tu cute!

ps - if you are interested, our friend who makes the tutus is Stacey Abbott - 801-619-3100 or daisiesanddragonflies1@gmail.com. She has tons of different colors and will even custom make whatever you want :)

My Message

We were waiting in the pediatrician's office when Reagan grabbed my phone and said she needed to use it. Cole was playing with the camera, so, I decided to start filming her. How funny. She calls Matt and then she says she has a message and starts punching her fingers all over the phone like she is texting. This is even more funny to me because I rarely text, but she spent so much time with Shannon on our trip and Shannon is the texting queen. So, here she is - apparently responding to her message. Finally, her message "came off" and she is struggling to get her message "off". I can only imagine when she is actually old enough to have her own phone; we'll probably be in serious trouble. Until then, she'll play and probably call or text any one of you programed into my phone - let me apologize in advance for leaving you a crazy message or blank text. So sorry. Oh - and while I'm at it, let me apologize to the 911 people for the several calls that they have received from us (I appreciate that you should be able to call 911 regardless if the phone is locked, but that makes it problematic in our house). What a crack up - check her out....

Royal Awareness

For Christmas, Santa brought Reagan a trunk full of princess clothes and accessories. On Christmas Day, she opened it and tried one on and I swear that she hasn't opened the trunk since. Then, last night, her 4 year old niece, Anistyn, came over and she opened the trunk and put on one of the outfits - forget it. Reagan had all three outfits on by night's end and this morning... pjs off - princess dress on. I'm not sure if she was overwhelmed on Christmas and has not gotten around to this toy or if she needed to be a bit older to appreciate it or if it took Anistyn to clue her in on the fun she could have. Whatever it was, she's into it now and it may be for good. After all, who wouldn't want to be a princess? 

Maui - Day 10

Our last day here - we take the red eye home tonight. Again, we wanted to get in all the "outside" time that we could. We packed up and checked out and then headed for the pool and the beach. Cole napped in his stroller and Reagan couldn't be stopped to sit, let alone nap. It is our tradition to go to Mama's Fish House on the night we leave Maui, so, we waited as long as we could before needing to come in and get ready in order to make our reservation time. Mama's was great - great scenery, great food and a great way to top off our 10 days here. For us, Maui is the perfect combination of not too busy (Oahu) and not too quiet (Kauai). We love to vacation here and we especially love Ka'anapali Beach. It is so nice to walk along the path by the beach, the views are great, it is usually sunny and there are great places to stay. So, thanks Maui for a wonderful trip - see you next time! Here's a collage of our last day in paradise.

Maui - Day 9

Knowing this was our last full day in Maui, we wanted to get the most out of the day. We got up and headed to the pool. Steve is battling a horrible chest cold, so, he just kicked it by the pool and we hit (again) the pool, the pirate ship and the hot tub. 

Shannon and Matt went to scope out a new mexican food restaurant for lunch and Steve and I put the kids down for naps. That afternoon/evening, we just wanted to be outside, by the beach, for our last night. We walked by the grass and the beach and then headed down to the Hula Grill (I know, I know- again). 

After dinner, we were returning to the hotel and Cole (the independent one) wanted to walk alone and tripped on a break in the sidewalk. Steve picked him up and all I saw was blood. It was coming from his nose, coming from his mouth, it was dripping down his shirt and then all over me. We ran to a restaurant bathroom and got him cleaned up. No missing or chipped teeth - I think he just did a faceplant and hit his nose and mouth - bloody nose and fat lip. Poor guy - it really was one of the scariest things that has happened to me as a mom. It wasn't that bad, but it looked HORRIBLE. A few minutes later, he was calmed down and smiling and interacting with everyone, but I couldn't put him down - I felt so badly. I just had to carry him, to hold him, and to try to make it better.  Good thing his well-baby 15 month visit with the doctor is this Friday. After the trauma, we walked back to the hotel and put our babies to bed for the last night in the hotel. Tomorrow we head home.

Maui - Day 8 ps

Ok - So, we are on the 5th floor and there is a place where we walk to our room where the window overlooks the roof of a lower floor. During our stay, there was a bird that hit the window and died. Shannon and Matt pointed it out to Reagan and she is kind of obsessed with it. She cannot walk to the room without climbing up to look out the window and comment on the bird. 

She has re-enacted how the bird hit the window and is so sad each time we walk by. We have tried to distract her, but to no avail. Matt and Shannon had her say a little prayer for the bird (in hopes of finally bringing this thing to a conclusion) which they were kind enough to video for me. Check it out. It really is sweet, but sort of sad how affected she has been by it. Nice that she also includes Steve in her prayer as he has been sick with a chest cold, her request for M&Ms (can't hurt to ask, right?) and her "toesies" as Shannon has been kind enough to paint them again and again on this trip. Nothing is too small for the big man upstairs. Anyway, since it has been a part of each of our days here, I thought her litte bird was deserving of a ps post. It is a memory of our time here so..... here's to Reagan's kind heart and here's to other birds learning from this one's mistake and staying clear of hotel windows.

pss - it was gone the day we left - Reagan said "it fly away and it clean up" (feathers gone????)

Maui - Day 8

Today was a bit windy and a bit cloudy, but with all the sun that we've received in the past week, that was just fine with us. We headed out to the pool early and spent much of our time at the pirate ship. Marriott employees came out with pirate hats and gave the kids games to play and prizes - Cole scored a rubber ducky with a lei and Reagan chose a keychain maracca. 

We had lunch by the pool and then came inside for naps. For dinner, we headed to Longboards (a restaurant in our hotel) and then walked down to Whaler's Village where there was a band and hula show going on. 

There was a gorgeous sunset tonight which Matt was able to catch behind our family - love that pic. Sorry to include another slideshow - but there are too many pics to include in one post without a slideshow.

Maui - Day 7

Superbowl Sunday!!!! What a game. The festivities started about 11:30 am here, so, getting ready, watching and talking about the Superbowl pretty much took up the whole day. 

We did spend some time walking around by the pool and I watched Shrek with the kids on the other tv in our room, but boy... what a nail biter. It was really down to the last seconds to see which team would prevail. Fun - although it would have been better to see it at home on our bigger tv and with more friends and family. 

Hey, we're in Maui - how can we complain, really?? 

Maui - Day 6

Again, we headed out to the pool early. Shannon and Matt were taking their first scuba lesson and we wanted to get some pics of them. Shannon was scared that she was going to see a shark. I remember when I became scuba certified - you just don't know what to expect. Our scuba instructor brought cheese whiz for our first open dive. He would squirt it in the water and the fish would come right over and eat - it freaked me out. Luckily, Shannon and Matt didn't run into any sharks, but they swam with 6 or so turtles, Matt saw some eel (the instructor didn't point it out to Shannon) and they saw lots of gorgeous fish. Way to conquer your fears - You go Shans!

After Steve worked out and joined us, we had lunch by the pool and then Brett, Annie, Meg and Drew came to join us at our pool. The kids (and adults) had so much fun playing together in the pool, at the pirate ship and in the hot tub. By late afternoon, we were all tired (plus, only a small nap for Cole and no nap for Reagan) so, we elected to just head to Outback for dinner. Cole and Drew were less than excited about sitting in high chairs and not being able to run around, but we still had a good dinner and then headed home to bed. Here's another slideshow of our day.

Maui - Day 5

We were up early today for another sunny day. We headed out to the pool first thing and had breakfast by the pool. Steve hung with us for a while and then went to work out. He re-joined us for some more swimming and fun. Then, we went inside to get ready. 

We met Brett, Annie and the kids for a Whale Watching Tour. We all piled on a boat and headed out into the ocean. We thought we had a great show with a mother whale and her calf being "accompanied" by two other males. 

Well, after having our fill of their breaching, fin slaps and hearing the sounds of their "singing", the actual show started. They were right next to our boat, under our boat and right in front of our boat - so cool. It was like the little calf had just learned to breach - he was jumping out of the water and falling back in - really neat to watch and the 2 males were "being aggressive" with one another and it was quite a show. 

Unfortunately, with the rules on not holding kids (they have to have their feet on the ground or be seated), plus the rolling of the waves and the crowd on the boat, we didn't get the greatest of pics, but here are some.

After our whale watching, we headed back to the room and Shannon and Matt went out to dinner. A long, sunny, tiring, but great, day - can't wait to see what's in store for us tomorrow.

Maui - Day 2

Today we got up early (well, I got up REALLY early). Shannon, Matt and Steve headed to the workout room, so, I decided to take the kids on the walkway that borders Ka'anapali Beach. We packed up the stroller and headed out. When we started, it was cloudy and misty. We saw swans, flamingos, a cat and whales breaching in the ocean. By the time we hit Black Rock, it was full on pouring. Lucky Cole was in the stroller and partially covered; poor Reagan was on the step and, along with me, looked like a drowned rat. We ran almost the whole way. Reagan kept saying "Mama, I wet." Yep - me too Reagan.

With our exercise completed for the day, we wanted to hit the pool, but it was still raining. Shannon needed some shorts, so, we made the trek to the mall. We had lunch in the food court where Cole made it his personal mission to growl at all of the birds. Then, while Shannon and matt shopped, the kids played at the arcade and at this little play area in the mall. It was really cute - rubber pieces of sea life (octopus, turtle, eel, etc.) that the kids could climb on, jump off of, crawl through and slide down. They had a great time waiting for Shannon and Matt.

After returning home from the mall, we met Brett, Annie, Meg and Drew for dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp. I spent most of the evening trying to keep Reagan from jumping out of the window. It was an open window (no screen) and the restaurant hangs over the ocean, so, she kept looking into the ocean to see what was out there. Without having naps, the kids were less than perfect, so, after dinner, we decided to call it a night. Here's a little slideshow of our Day 2.

Maui - Day 4

The weather forecast said sunny today, so, we didn't want to miss it. We headed out early to get the chairs we wanted by the pool. We had breakfast out there and swam while Steve worked out and got showered. Then, Steve joined us and we hit the beach for some fun. Cole didn't like the sand on his feet and didn't like the waves hitting him, so, we headed back to the pool and swam some more. What a nice day. We met lots of friends as we hung out at the pool.

  

Then, we spent some time at a little playground area at our hotel. The kids loved climbing, sliding and playing. Cole, the climber, climbed straight up this seriously steep slide. After that, we spent some more time just sitting by the pool and playing on the grass. Reagan was pouting at one point and I had to snap a pic while she removed herself from the rest of us, sat down and hung her head (too cute Drama Girl). 

Shannon and Matt offered to watch all of the kids so that Steve and I could go out to dinner with Brett and Annie. How sweet. We asked Brett and Annie what they wanted to do - they said they were just so excited to have a babysitter, they would be happy to sit on the beach and veg. So, we stayed by the beach and headed back to the Hula Grill for the 2nd night in a row - how boring are we??? What a nice evening. Matt and Shannon said the kids were good (hopefully they were being truthful) and we had a great dinner with Annie and Brett. Again, we just listened to the music, ate, talked and reminisced. Brett is Steve's youngest brother - Brett was 3 days old when Steve returned from his mission (and nobody in the family had told Steve that his mother was pregnant - surprise!). So, they definitely didn't grow up in the house at the same time, but they are certainly alike - so funny to see and hear them talk. After our dinner, we headed back to the hotel and put our babies to bed. Here's a slideshow of our day.