Kami & Ben

The Lawnmower!

2009-08-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

Kai experienced his first ride on the lawn mower today! Cash usually freaks out if anyone is on the lawnmower besides himself but luckily he was down for a nap!He seemed to enjoy it! No tears were shed...except by Cash when he discovered that his dad had betrayed him!

Domestic Diva strikes again!

2009-08-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

This time I made freezer jam! Yummmmmmm!

Domestic Diva

2009-08-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

I am officially a domestic diva! I made my very first batch of strawberry jam and I did it all by myself. I'm not making any promises that it actually tastes good but at least I tried!

Biker Dude

2009-07-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

My mom is the best sport ever! She was trying to entertain Cash and Kai the other night for me so this is what she did to keep them busy. She pulled them round and round in circles all through the house! The boys LOVED it! You can't really tell by the serious look on Kai's face but he was truly loving it! These boys are so dang funny!

Spanish Fork Rodeo!

2009-07-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

Nalani was out of town this week on a business trip so Jed invited me to go with their family to the Spanish Fork rodeo. I figured Kai wouldn't truly appreciate a rodeo yet so I left him home with my parents.

Jed and his partner in crime cheesin it up for the camera. Cash makes such goofy faces sometimes! It cracks me up!

Cash enjoyed the rodeo for all of about 15 minutes then he just wanted to get down and play. They only problem was that we were packed into the stadium like sardines so there was no opportunity to run around. It then turned into a game of "how to distract Cash!" First we tried Red Vines and that lasted for about 10 minutes!

He even tried to share the gooey end with me! Thanks Cash!
The Cash played peek-a-boo inside Jed's shirt which actually lasted about a half hour! Too bad Jed's shirt is officially stretched out to the max now! My only fear in doing this is that he would one day try this with Nalani's shirt and he would end up flashing everyone!

Then Cash tried his hardest to see if he could poke Jed's eyes out, or pull his nose off, or pull his ears off. He's a determined little man!
I kinda laughed when I downloaded all my pictures to my computer because they were all of Cash and about two of the rodeo! Cash is way more fun to look at then any stupid rodeo anyways!

A few random pictures...

2009-07-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Nalani bought this cute little red chair for their living room and the boys love it!

We even got them to share for a minute or two!

Okay, sharing time is over!

I love this picture of Kai and my mom! He looks handsome and she looks beautiful!

Splish Splash

2009-05-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

We have discovered that the boys LOVE the hot tub!

I'm not really sure what Cash was doing here but I think he looks so stinking cute!

Jed was such a good sport to get in with the boys and keep them happy while they splashed around!

What a cute little stinker!

Of course we had throw some fun toys in the hot tub for the boys to play with.

Kai was in hog heaven! He loved floating around on his back splashing like a mad man!

Crawling Maniac

2009-05-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

Kai is trying his hardest these days to keep up with Cash!

Trip to the farm

2009-05-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

Kai's first trip to the farm! Jed took us out to his dad's farm a few weeks ago and Kai didn't quite know what to think about it all but I thought it was awesome! We counted 25 babies in the field and they were so dang cute!After we fed the cows we went back to the house and the boys played in the sandbox.

Here is a random picture of Kai that I love. He is learning how to pull himself up and he gets so excited when he actually succeeds a little!

Tulip Festival

2009-04-24T15:06:00.001-07:00

About a month ago my sister-in-law Meridith and I went to Seattle with the boys to have a little fun. While we were there we went to the Tulip Festival in Marysville. The tulips weren't in full bloom yet but they were still beautiful!

I'm pretty sure this was Meridith's favorite part of the trip!
Chocolate covered strawberries and bananas.

Kai's crawling...kinda

2009-04-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

I promised Ben I would post a video of Kai showing off his great attempt to crawl so here it is!

Ben in the crowd

2009-04-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

Where's Waldo...I mean Ben?
I was hoping Ben would have a chance to write a little something but his internet has been really slow lately so it's hard for him to add to the blog.

You have serious mad skills if you can find him in this one! I think he's the one leaning on the barrier with his hands crossed.

He's not in this picture but I think it's awesome how President Obama is not only shaking hands but hugging everyone as well!

Ben met the President today!

2009-04-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned for more pictures and stories from Ben!!!

President Barack Obama makes surprise visit to Iraq

by Associated Press
Tuesday April 07, 2009, 4:10 PM

AP PhotoPresident Barack Obama greets military personnel at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq.

President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Baghdad today, according to an Associated Press report.

He spent about five hours in the Iraq war zone, where he met with the top U.S. commander there and the Iraqi prime minister. Obama also address troops stationed at Camp Victory, the largest military facility in Iraq.

This was Obama's first visit to the country since he became president. It capped an eight-day international trip in which he traveled to Britain, France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Turkey.

The president is expected back in Washington, D.C. tonight.

Kai Videos!

2009-03-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

This first video is my new favorite! Ben is on the computer talking to Kai through Skype so Kai can see a live picture while Ben talks to him. I think Kai is convinced that the computer is his dad! Every morning when I open the computer and Kai hears Skype ringing he gets really excited! It's so fun to see him smile and coo and Ben!

In this video Kai is showing off all his funny old man faces that he loves to make! I say old man because it looks like he forgot to put his dentures in! The poor boy still only has one little tooth barely poking through!

Sleepy Kai

2009-03-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

The other night I was sitting on the couch typing away on the computer as Kai sat and played in his exersaucer. I was trying to get him nice and worn out so he would sleep good all night! All the sudden it got really quiet so I looked up from the computer and this is what I found...

Kai was playing so hard that he fell right asleep! It's rough being 8 months old sometimes!

I couldn't help but laugh!!!

Easter Babies

2009-03-17T13:31:00.001-07:00

Happy Early Easter! Okay, so it's St. Patrick's Day today but who's keeping track? My sister Maile sent the boys these bunny ears in the mail the other day to celebrate Kai's first Easter. So of course, Nalani and I immediately started taking pictures! How could you not think that these two are the cutest boys in the world?

2009-02-27T14:27:00.000-08:00

Ever since Kai was just a few months old he has loved to roll and play with his tongue.

Just ask Nalani, she will tell you how "freakishly long" it is!

He is just so cute I can hardly stand it!

Here is one of his favorite faces he likes to make!

And of course, I have to throw in a cute picture of his cousin Cashy!
Kai has finally gotten to the point where they can play together and Kai won't bawl hysterically when Cash makes a loud noise! He was a little dramatic there for a while!

FOB Falcon

2009-02-17T10:28:00.000-08:00

Well this is my first time posting. I hope you like it. This is part of the office that I work in. SGT Jones works at the far left desk. Can you see the blue tape dispenser on the desk?
This Picture is of the street outside the building where I used to live down the road on the left goes toward the gym and DFAC (Dining Facility).

This is the hallway outside of the room I had when I first got to FOB Falcon pretty ghetto huh?

2009-02-10T15:22:00.000-08:00

Ben told me the other day that he checks the blog every day and is getting sick of looking at the same pictures! I guess that was a hint to update the blog! Here are a few random pictures to keep Ben happy for awhile! Cash and Kai are finally getting use to each other but Cash loves to pick on Kai and Kai hates it! Here is a good example of Cash pulling Kai's hair. Kai immediately started screaming after this picture was taken.

Kai loves to suck his thumb! Especially if he is drinking his bottle! He slips his thumb between his lips and the bottle! What a nerd!

How can you say no to that cute face?

Cash, once again, poking at Kai in the face.

What good eaters...they already love fruit!

Bathtime was the best...for Cash anyways! Cash splashed and splashed, and Kai screamed and screamed! He was not a fan of sharing the tub with Cash!

There you go Ben! That should keep you happy for a few days!

Off to Iraq!

2009-01-10T21:38:00.001-08:00

A week ago Saturday Ben left for Iraq. He has spent the week in Kuwait doing some training then he is off to Iraq. Here are a few pictures of us the morning he left. We had to meet up with his unit on base at 1:30 am. We hung around until about 5:00 am when they loaded them all up on buses to take them to the airforce base. It was a long sad morning!

Kai was wide awake and really hyper about 3am!

Ben hanging out with buddy one last time before he leaves.

Ben tightening the straps on his gianormous gun! Uggg!

Ben's unit getting ready for formation.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T23:23:00.001-08:00

Wahoo for presents!

He thought this toy was pretty funny! If you hit the hammer it makes crazy noises.

This picture doesn't even need a caption! So dang cute!!!

My big fat update!

2008-12-21T22:02:00.000-08:00

This past month has been a crazy whirl-wind vacation! Ben leaves for Iraq in January so we had one last hoorah before he leaves. Here are some random pictures from our trip! This first picture is the HUGE Christmas tree they have in the entrance of Disneyland. It was amazing!!!

This is "It's a Small World" from the outside. They light up every square inch!!!

Mele Kalikimaka everyone! I was so excited when I saw this sign!

Awwww...Ben in front of the Disney Princess Castle!

After Disneyland we headed to Ben's sister's house for Thanksgiving. Kai was entertained all week by his cousins.

And loved on by his Aunt Barbara and Uncle Ray!

This was on the USS Midway downtown San Diego. It's a retired Navy ship that the public can tour through. It was so cool! If anyone has plans to travel to San Diego, I highly recommend this!

You can't go to San Diego without going to Sea World! Here is Shamu showing us his mad skills!

We had to sit right down front and center to get the best view possible...even if it meant getting a little wet!

One other thing that is a "must do" in San Diego is going to my favorite restaurant of all time, La Fiesta! They have the best mexican food ever! Below is a picture of Ben in a food coma! We both ate so much we were sick!

Awwwww...yummy!!! This picture kind of makes me drool just looking at it! I want more!!!

After San Diego we headed for Vegas. I decided I am not a big fan of Vegas but the shows were tons of fun! The picture below is the stage at Stomp Out Loud. I wish I could have gotten some picture of them performing but they would have hauled me out of the theater so I refrained! The show was a ton of fun but major sensory overload! I think my eyeballs were spinning by the time we left!

We also saw the Blue Man Group. The show was awesome but they still kinda freak me out. I was praying through the whole show that they wouldn't walk up to me and start staring at me. They are just too creepy for me!

This is by far my favorite picture of the trip!!! Ben flew home from Utah but Kai and I flew to Seattle for a few days to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Maile decided she didn't want to miss out on any fun so she drove up from Portland to see us. Quinn spent the whole weekend smothering Kai. It was hillarious! We even managed to get a smile out of Cannon! I've decided that Cannon is adorable but only when he wants to be!

Ben was so excited to have us back home again that he greeted us both with a lei! Kai thought his was really tasty!

We are finally back home again but only for a few more weeks. Ben leaves the first week of January for Iraq. The day after Ben leaves, Kai and I head to Utah to live with Nalani and Jed. It should be an adventurous year! Everyone please keep Ben in your prayers! Merry Christmas Everyone!

Shake...rattle...and roll!!!

2008-11-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

Kai started rolling over the other day! Being the dorks that both Ben and I are...we made him do it over and over again until he was mad! In the first video we were trying to get him to roll over and he let out a big yelp of excitement. The second video he actually rolls over!

Sorry for the cheesy baby talk from both Ben and I!

Mmmmm...Baby food!

2008-11-12T22:42:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a very exciting day for Kai! Not only did he get to dress up as Super Man but he also got to try baby food for the first time!

As you can tell from this picture...he loved it!!!

I was finally figured out how to upload video clips!

I was a little embarassed when I realized how easy it is!

Landon loves his Baby Kai! Unfortunately Kai did not feel the same way!Kai has discovered his feet this week! He is very excited about it!

Wow, that is one awesome pouty-face!

I'm obsessed!!!

2008-10-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

I am officially obsessed with taking pictures of Kai!!! I downloaded all the pictures from my camera today and realized that every single one of my pictures where of Kai!

I just can't help it when he is so dang cute!
At least I include Ben in some of them!
He's practicing being Superman for Halloween!

Look at what a big boy he is sitting on daddy's lap!

Oh my gosh...that smile makes me melt every time I see it!

He is crazy about his tongue!

Okay...seriously...how could you not love that face!

This is his cooing face! I love it!!!

One last heart melting smile!!! This makes me want to pinch his cheeks just looking at it!

Sorry Nalani but I think Kai wins for cutest baby ever!!!

Hello-oo-oo Ladies!

2008-10-27T01:02:00.000-07:00

This is one of Kai's favorite shirts!

I'm not really sure what he is looking at but it must have been fascinating!

Ahhh...big smiles
Ahhh...more big smiles for mom!
And even some for dad!

Ben finally got Kai to giggle the other day so I need to figure out how to download videos so everyone can hear him laugh! It's hilarious!!!

What does Kai love more???

2008-10-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

His Bumbo chair, his horse, or his fist?

This picture says it all...his HORSE! This is what happened when the horse fell out of his hands last night! A major melt down! I think I can see the red standing out in his hair!
Oh...thanks mom...life is all good again!
What a stinker!!! Please pray for me!!!

Bumbo chair and smiles!

2008-10-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

Kai is finally strong enough for the bumbo chair! We put him in it last night and he hardly knew what to do with himself. He let out these big squaks of excitement!

He looks terrified in this picture but I promise he was enjoying it!
Doesn't he look like such a big boy in this picture!
This is his serious face!
I have tried for weeks now to get a picture of Kai smiling and I finally got one with the help of Ben!
Concentrating hard on daddy!

Through the eyes of Austin

2008-09-28T00:24:00.001-07:00

On Cody and Meridith's wedding day Austin was itching to take pictures so I gave him my camera and told him to have at it! It's funny to see the wedding from Austin's point of view! My only regret is that I deleted some of the good ones before I thought to do this blog!

Okay...so this might be my favorite picture!

No...maybe this one!

Nope...this one definitely wins!!! It took my a second to figure out this was Nate!

I think Maile may have grabbed the camera and taken this one?

All the kids loved the candy jars!

And of course a nice blurry picture of the happy couple with dad and mom O.

That pretty much wraps up the wedding pictures that were on my camera!

I will have to snag a few off the blogs to add to my collection!

Just a few random pictures!

2008-09-25T00:52:00.000-07:00

I am WAY behind on blogging so here are a few random pictures to keep everyone entertained while I sort through my pictures so I can do more good blog updates.

Baby Kai looks so tired as we ride the train at the Dole Plantation!
I've discovered that I can't catch Kai smiling with my camera because the flash scares him way too bad. I just get lots of pictures of him looking terrified!
Cody and Meridith's wedding
Shocker....Mom is holding Kai! =)
This use to be Kai's favorite chair but he informed me the other day that he is over it!
The fam waiting in line at the Dole Plantation to ride the exciting train!
Yip...they still look just like each other!

Stay tunned for more exciting updates!

2008-09-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Friday was my b-day so we went to the Cheesecake Factory with our friends Karl, Amanda, and their son Landon. Landon was not amused when they delivered bread to the table next to us and didn't give him any! He was ticked!!! He got over it quickly when they finally brought him his own bread! Life was even better when they brought him mac and cheese!!!

This is Karl and Amanda that we do pretty much everything with!

I had a very fun b-day and Ben spoiled me rotten! I am so grateful to have such a loving husband. When I asked him why he spoiled me so much for me b-day he told me he was trying to make up for not being here next year when he's in Iraq. That brought a few tears!!!

I'm finally updating the blog!

2008-08-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Most of you know already that Ben was in training for about a month right after Kai was born. After being in training for about a week and a half he was able to come home and see us for about 11 hours! This is a picture of Ben when he first got home! It was such a great day because I didn't have to change any diapers or feed Kai all day long! Ben was just too excited to see his little man again...he wouldn't let him go!

After Ben returned to training Kai and I headed off to Seattle to spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma O. Kai was so good on his first airplane ride and slept the whole way! Few! Grandma O. is convinced that Kai already loves the Love Sac so she kept putting him in it to watch tv! He looks pretty happy to me!

Caution! This kid is Extremely Cute!!!

After staying in Seattle for about two weeks we headed off to Utah to visit family. Here is Kai hanging out waiting for something exciting to happen.

Be careful what you wish for Kai! Here come Cash!

These are definitely the cutest babies in the world!!!

Beach Time!

2008-07-21T17:57:00.001-07:00

Friday was Baby Kai's first adventure to the beach!

My mom and I finally left the house and went up to the North Shore to visit a friend who's attending BYU-Hawaii.
We were paranoid to take the blanket off him because he has such fair skin. We didn't want him to turn into a lobster on his first trip to the beach.
What more could Grandma O ask for? She's standing on the beautiful beaches of Hawaii holding her favorite grandbaby!

A Taste of Heaven!!!

2008-07-12T01:39:00.001-07:00

A few nights ago this bouquet of chocolate covered fruit showed up at my door from all my siblings. This is the side that wasn't devoured in the first few hours...

This is the side that was devoured in the first few hours! Can I just say that this was the best gift ever! My mom and I were in a chocolate comma by the end of the night!

I can't get over how stinking cute my little man is! He loves to have his hands right up by his face all the time or he gets mad!

Grandma O just can't get enough of her new grandbaby!

She has worked hard to earn the name Baby Hog!

Kai first bath!

2008-07-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

Grandma O and I finally gave baby Kai his first bath today! I know...we are kinda slackers but it's been an exhausting week!

We both thought he was going to scream through the whole thing but he ended up loving it!
Oh so happy!!!
He's finally all squeeky clean! Now mom needs a bath!!!

No comments on the nasty hair and greasy face!
Grandma O...loving life!!!
Oh so clean! We got him all changed and he stretched and stretched!

Dang he's cute!!! Check out that blonde hair!

Baby Kai is home!

2008-07-06T23:43:00.000-07:00

I know....I know....we aren't doing too well on keeping the blog updated with fun pictures! We are all exhausted! As you can see below....even the cat is exhausted...oh wait...he's just lazy!

Kai has decided that it is tons of fun to be held 24/7 and if we try to put him down he screams bloody murder! He's already in control! Yikes! We all take our turn holding him trying desperately to keep him asleep!

I love this picture! Grandma O is exhausted but still smiling because she's holding her new grandbaby in her arms! Nani the cat is watching guard and loves Grandma O!

Here are a few more pictures from the hospital. By the second day Kai had already discovered that his fingers are really fun to suck on.

There is no denying who this baby belongs to!

Baby Kai is Here!

2008-07-02T23:08:00.000-07:00

Yep he is here. Baby Kai made his appearance at 9:19, July 1st, weighing in a 6 lbs. 14 oz and 18" long. He is as big as a peanut. Mom O is doing this blog because there is no wi-fi in the hospital. This baby is definitely a mini Ben. He has strawberry blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, and blonde eyebrows and eyelashes. I told Kami, "Oh dear, this kid is going to give Cash a run for his money!"

I can tell you Tripler hospital is the biggest thing I have ever seen. And chuck full of khaki uniforms everywhere with doctors that look like they are barely out of high school. Some of the wives were in there having babies when their husbands are deployed. The other side to that is they are having a bizillion babies born this month because it is 9 months since the last group came back from Iraq. They said they had 400 babies born there in June. Every time a baby is born you here "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" played over the intercom. It was playing all day long.

Well this is as good as I can do tonight. We will do more when Kami gets home day after tomorrow.

Enjoy!

2008-06-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

Well...I was really hoping to post some cute pictures of the new baby Kai today or tomorrow but I don't think that's going to happen so I'm trying to find ways to distract myself! My doctor seems to think it's fun to tease me with the idea of being induced then snatch those dreams right back! Rude!

Ben's work through us a rockin baby shower on Friday at work. One of the ladies who was in charge of the shower put together this baby cake made out of diapers. I'm sure all you Utah people havc seen a million of them but I had never seen one before and I thought it was the coolest gift ever!!! She went all out! She even made her husband sit down and help her assemble it! She had tied ribbons around some little onsies and placed them all around the cake! It was soooooooo adorable!

I have also finally finished baby Kai's crib set! I had so much fun making it but I was so glad to finish it before he arrives! I found all the fabrics at JoAnn's when I was visiting Nalani in Utah a few months back. Ben thought I had lost my mind when I came home with so much fabric but he loves how it all turned out so I won in the end!

Safety Pins Rock!

2008-06-01T15:15:00.001-07:00

About a month ago I decided to wear a new maternity skirt to church that Nalani had given me. All my other skirts were way too tight to wear so I was delighted when I put on this new skirt and it actually fit. Well...I thought it fit...it was a little loose but it was comfy so who cared! As I stood up to leave Sacrament meeting I felt the skirt slip down a little so I quickly pulled it back up and life was good. By the time I got to primary the skirt seemed to be getting looser and looser! It was slipping and sliding all around! I was being to get a little concerned. Pretty soon they dismissed all the teachers to Relief Society and Priesthood to give us a little break for the week. I stood up and took about 5 steps before I felt something brush across my ankles. I looked down and sure enough...my skirt was laying around my ankles! Luckily I had a black slip on that looked pretty similar to the black skirt I was wearing. I quickly bent down and scooped my skirt back up around my waist as I heard a few gasps and giggles around the room! The only thing I could think to say was, "Oh, the joys of pregnancy!" I made a quick exit and vowed to never wear the skirt again! Today I woke up feeling a little brave! The skirt was just so cute and I really wanted to wear it again. I was determined to not make the same mistake again so I came up with the most brilliant idea ever....SAFETY PINS!!! I pinned the skirt to my "unmentionables" and it worked out perfect! I am happy to report that I wore the skirt again today without flashing anyone! What a day!

Baby Bump!

2008-05-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

For some strange reason my stomach is growing larger and larger by the minute!

I just went to the doctor today and found out I am going to be induced around the 30th of June! Hooray!!! That was very fun news to find out!!! Ben gets home from a month long training course on the 26th of June and my mom flies in on the 30th of June.

Good timing for both of them! Just a little over a month to go!

Cirque Hawaii

2008-05-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Ben and I went to the Hawaii Cirque du Soleil with our friends Karl and Amanada. It was AMAZING! We had a blast but didn't get any good pictures so I had to steal some off their website to give you the full effect!

We all had such a good time but our stomachs were all in knots by the time we left. It can be pretty intenst watching them dangle off each other from ropes clear up in the air! I was a little worried that it might just send me into labor! It was awesome!!!

A face only a mother could love!

2008-04-25T00:19:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I went in to have an ultrasound done and the technician told me that Kai didn't have a big enough belly and I wasn't feeding him enough. She told me my homework was to go home and eat a cheeseburger and a milkshake! Every pregnant women's dream! The bad thing is that I have no appetite which is the cause of the small belly so I had to go into force mode the past two weeks and eat everything I could force in me! I went back for another ultrasound yesterday and I did awesome on my homework. Not only did my belly grow, but Kai's grew also! When she took the measurement she said, "Oh my gosh!!! Let me measure that again and make sure it's right!" He had gained a little over a pound in those two weeks! Good job Kai! She sent me home and told me to continue eating! Rough life huh!

These pictures always kind of crack me up because unless you have the technician explain what everything is, they are hard to figure out! It's almost like on of those optical allusion pictures!

"Is it a horse....or an old woman?"

In this picture...if you can figure it out...you can see Kai's chunky little cheeks. Apparently he wants to take ofter Cash!

Here is a random picture of Kai's cute little foot! Oh so adorable!

I can't wait to tickle those cute little toes!

Favorite Vacation Pics

2008-03-23T02:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favorite pictures from my recent trip to see my family and friends!

My friends threw a surprise baby shower for me and it was SO fun!

Totally cute puppy set!
Thanks Chari...way cute!
Nalani, mom and me...just missing Maile!
The cute little chunker Cash...believe it or not he is just a few days old in this pic!
Awww...proud grandpa!
My snuggle time with Cash!

Uncle Cody!
Grandma flew in a few days early so she wouldn't miss out on anything!
I gave Melissa some sewing lessons...

She is a born natural!

2008-02-28T12:28:00.000-08:00

Last night we took Hayli, Chelsi, Austin, and a friend Mitch to The Training Table for dinner. They each took turns putting their hands on Nalani's stomach and poking it because Cash was moving and kicking all through dinner. We had a fun time but I think everyone's favorite part of dinner was feeling Cash kick and squirm.

2008-02-15T14:19:00.000-08:00

BOYS...BOYS...AND MORE BOYS...IT'S A BOY!

HE WAS PROUDLY SHOWING HIS "PLUMBING" FOR US TO SEE! BEN WAS SO PROUD!

HERE IS A CUTE LITTLE PROFILE OF HIS FACE AND CHEST!

2008-01-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Ben had the day off so we went to the Pali Highway Lookout. When my parents were here they kept telling us we needed to go because it was so beautiful. I took a picture of the historical description because I thought it was cool...especially the last paragraph!

The lookout point was definitely beautiful!!!

2008-01-19T19:16:00.000-08:00

GARAGE SALES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last weekend was "baby day" in our neighborhood and everyone was selling their old baby stuff. The neighborhood didn't plan it that way but somehow it turned out to be the best garage sale day ever! My neighbor came knocking on my door Saturday morning and told me I needed to get my booty out of bed and get shopping. I begged and begged Ben to get in the car with me and drive around the neighborhood. After much resistance he agreed to drive me around and listen to me freak out at each garage sale we came to. Here is all the stuff we scored!!!

Baby swing
Ben practing fatherhood in our new umbrella stoller.
My FAVORITE purchase! This bassinet is like 5 things in one! It's a bassinet, changing table, rocker, it plays music, and vibrates. The lady who owned it still had all the new stickers on it along with the instruction manual and all!
Barely used car seat for Ben's car
Stroller / Carseat combo
Butterfly play mat....I bought this with Carrie in mind! Maybe I'll sacrifice this one and mail it to her!

As you can tell...I am a true Bell at heart. I just kept thinking how proud Aunt Barb would be of me and all my good deals! When we got back home Ben said to me, "I'm sure glad your not one of those girls that has to have brand new everything!" I'm all about a good deal! I also scored a highchair and a playpen. Here is the real kicker...I got all of this for about $100!!!

2007-12-24T22:09:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Dad and Mom! This year Ben and I surprised my mom and dad with matching baby bibs to let them know that a new member to our family is on it's way! I am 3 months along and we are expecting a new baby around the 7th of July! Yea!!! The secret is finally out!!!

2007-12-16T11:23:00.000-08:00

WARD CHRISTMAS PARTY IN HAWAII

Our ward Christmas party had a talent show and these are pics from the show.

2007-12-16T11:21:00.000-08:00

BEN & LANDON

Everyone took a turn trying to get Landon to sleep. Ben had him for 5 seconds and he passed out. A dad in the making.

2007-12-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my friend Amanda and I participated in a local craft fair. This is us in our booth modeling and showing off some of the stuff we were selling.
I made a bunch of receiving blankets bundled with matching burp clothes.
I also made some funky half aprons for cooking or crafting.
This is one of the wreaths that my friend Amanda made.
It was kind of a weird craft fair so we didn't sell very many items but we still had fun doing it. At least my mom took pitty on me and bought a bunch of the blankets off me to give away as baby presents.

2007-10-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

I have had these window panes sitting in my parents garage and my apartment for the past 4 years or so. When our stuff arrived in Hawaii Ben took one look at those windows and said, "You seriously moved those windows here!" I responded, "YES, I seriously did!" They came out of Grandpa and Grandma Bell's house when they replaced them all and I thought they were way cool! So I finally hung them on the wall in our new place and I LOVE them!

Koa and Landon are new BFFs! Landon tugs and pulls on Koa, and Koa fights back by licking Landon to death! It's pretty entertaining to watch! Landon belongs to Karl and Amanda that we met when we first got to Hawaii. We now live right down the street from each other and do everything together. We even trade of making dinner every other night! It's awesome not to have to make dinner every night!
We are trying to make Landon learn how to crawl. Amanda and I make him practice everyday! He's getting close but he still hasn't figured out the whole coordination thing!

2007-10-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Here are three very good reasons why I have not updated my blog lately...

Reason Number 1:

We moved into our new place and boxes are everywhere! Take note of the snowboard...who goes snowboarding in Hawaii???

Reason Number 2:

This is our very hyper new addition to the family! He is a 4 month old Chihuahua / Fox Terrier mix will all the energy in the world!

Reason Number 3:

Our new cat that thinks he rules the house! Who are we trying to fool...he does rule the house! If he does get what he wants he bawls like a baby until he does!
So I know by know you all think we are crazy for getting a dog and a cat but I had to promise Ben he could get a cat if he would let me have a dog! It's all about compromise!!!

2007-09-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we went Cosmic Bowling with some friend that are staying in the same hotel as us. There is a big bowling alley on base and our friends love to bowl so we have taken up a new hobby! BOWLING!!!

Here's Ben's showing us his awesome moves!
My new BFF Amanda and her cutie Landon!
I had a hard time focusing on the game for some strange reason? Landon is soooooo distracting!

Landon and his daddy...Karl.
Here we have a lovely picture of Ben rolling his eyes at me while I attempt to take the 50millionth picture of him!

2007-09-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

Ben and I went to the North Shore the other day and I took some fun pictures of our adventures.

We also saw our first gecko ourside our hotel room! How fun and nasty all at the same time!

I saw these two little kids on the beach and it reminded me of something that Cody and I would have done to each other!

2007-08-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Hawaii and life is good. Our first day in Hawaii we rented a convertible and drove half way around the island. It was BEAUTIFUL. We reached the Hawaii temple just as the sun was about to set so we took a few daytime and nighttime pictures. On our drive there Ben saw a sign that said BYU Hawaii, he looked at me and said, "There is a BYU Hawaii." I just about died. How can you not know there is a BYU Hawaii. We had a good laugh.

This last picture is one of my favorites because it is the view you see when you are standing right in front of the temple. The palmtrees are all in perfect rows and the grounds are amazing. Can someone please remind me why I didn't get married here? Cody...can you please marry someone who would be okay with getting married here.

2007-08-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

This past week I decided it was time to get a tan! Nalani, Maile, Quinn, Cannon, and I all headed to Seven Peaks for a fun filled day in the water! Maile soaked Quinn and Cannon in sunscreen and I decided it would be great fun to not put any one at all! Bad mistake!!! As you can tell I got burnt to a crisp! The best part of my burn is that you can tell I picked up Quinn towards the beginning of the day. He left a killer hand and arm print on me where the sunscreen rubbed off as I carried him across the hot cement from one pool to the next!

This is definitely the first and last time you will see me in a swimsuit on my blog! Oh wait...Hawaii is coming...nevermind! Just so you all know...my burn really is worse than it looks in these pictures! I am now covered in major blisters that are just waiting to pop!
Bye the way...we fly out Saturday to move to Hawaii!!! Life is great!

2007-08-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Ben and I had one last "Hoorah" in California before he had to ship out.

We went to SeaWorld in San Diego and it rocked!

The Shamu show was my favorite! I was ticked that it was so short!

Here's Shamu gearing up for a big splash to the audience!

Awww...cute little sealions!

She seriously stood on top of the whale and rode around the tank on it's head!
No one is allowed to leave Disneyland or Sea World without eating at least one churro!

2007-07-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

WE ARE MOVING TO HAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right...Ben received his first Army assignment! We are moving to Hawaii for 3 years! Everyone better start planning their vacations now! We want to see each and everyone one of you visit us within these next 3 years! Who can pass up a free place to stay in Hawaii?

2007-07-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Friday was cowboy day at work for Ben so we went to the good ole Walmart Thursday night and hooked him up with his very own cowboy shirt! Shocking that they would have a cowboy shirt at Walmart huh! When I took this picture Friday morning I felt like he was on his way out the door to his first day of school or something! He's just too cute!!!

2007-07-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

Okay...okay! I guess it's time to update our blog since everyone is sending me hate mail! Here are the last few pictures from our honeymoon. These are the pictures from our Mini Jeep adventure in Ensenada. We are so hard core!!! Ha ha ha! Ya right!

I took these last few picture just for Uncle Carl because the minute I saw these building I thought of him! I knew he would think they are so cool! The first one was made of all wine bottles and the second one was made of a whole bunch of wood pieces nailed together all crazy and funky!

2007-05-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

Catalina Island

Our first port was Catalina Island. The ship can't dock right up next to the island so we had to take little shuttle boats from the ship to the dock. These are the fun little "shore boats" that we took to get to Catalina.

This is Catalina Island from the dock. It was a pretty cloudy day when we first got there but it was still beautiful!

You can see our ship way off in the background. I had to wear Ben's jacket because I didn't bring a jacket or sweatshirt with me. I was convinced that it was going to be at least 90 degrees the whole crusie! It is that "power of positive thinking" that I inherited from my mom!

We went on a glass bottom boat tour and it was still just a tad bit chilly! Ben is just so cute in this picture I could resist posting it!

This is the glass we looked through on the bottom of the boat as we fed the fish!

Catalina Island is BEAUTIFUL!

Another purdy picture!

I took this from the top of a building and I just thought the boats looked so cool!

This is the famous Casino on Catalina Island! Back in the day people use to travel in from all over to attend the big dances that were held here. The building is huge and beautiful! They have a big ballroom on the top floor and the woodwork is amazing! If you ever go to Catalina you have to do the tour of the Casino.

Ben...looking oh so cute again! The sun finally came out and Ben ended up getting a little sun-burned! That's a red head for ya!

2007-05-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

OUR HONEYMOON

For our honeymoon we went on a crusie to Catalina Island and Ensedana. When we arrived at our room I discovered that Ben had arranged for a bouquet of roses to be sent to our room for. There were also rose petal spread out all over the bed. Awww...precious!
Every night we were greeted by a new towel animal! This is our friendly pet dinasour!
Don't worry...this snake doesn't bite!
Awww...precious...a heart!
My personal favorite...the elephant!

I was so excited about the towel animals that I bought a book to teach me how to make them all. I bet you all can't wait to be a guest at our apartment so you can find a towel animal waiting for you on your bed! Ha ha ha!

Don't worry...there are more pictures to come...

2007-04-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

Reception Time!

Here is a picture of the yummy candy buffet! No comments about the chocolate! Sharon is still bitter!
Yummmm...the food rocked!
My best friend from school...Kelmy!

The fearsome foursome! Rachel, Teresa, Kami, and Becky!

2007-04-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

My friend Kelmy took my camera around with her all day so here are some of my favorite pictures that she took at the temple right after the wedding!

Awwwww....the happy couple! Quinn and Taylor are precious!
Awwwww...the happy couple...wait....what???
I think Quinn was stealing the show looking so cute in that little tux!
What is it with my Elivis face? Someone really should have told me how stupid I looked making that face all day long!

2007-04-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

Wow! Someone is excited to eat chocolate cake!

I know everyone is going to be hounding me for a good blog update so I will start with one of my favorite pictures of the week! You can tell I was really excited to sink my teeth into that cake! I promise I will update again with more pictures but my apartment is really scary looking right now so that wins on the priority list!

I just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who helped at the wedding and reception! I know there were a ton of you who helped set-up, clean-up, and helped with all kinds of fun tasks! It was the best day ever and I owe it all to my family and friends. Thanks for all the love and support that you have given to Ben and I over the past few months! We had such a fun day and we were happy you were all able to come!

2007-02-15T00:48:00.000-08:00

I thought I posted these pictures but Nalani informed me today that it was time for a blog update and I realized that I was slacking!

Ben is finally done with his training course for the National Guard! Hooray!!!

When he was all done I flew up to San Fran and drove back with him along the coast.

Here are some of the pictures from our journey home!

2007-01-28T22:59:00.000-08:00

I thought about posting a picture of the winning cake, instead I am going to make you come to the wedding to find out the winner! The only hint I am going to give you is that it is definitely going to be death by chocolate!!! Yummmm!!!

Ben is up in San Francisco this month doing some training for the National Guard so I went up to visit last weekend. Here are some pictures from our fun adventures!!! This first picture is of us going over the Golden Gate Bridge! I was so excited I wanted to turn right around and go back over it again!

2007-01-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

Muir Woods (just outside of San Fran)

Those are some huge Redwoods!!!

Rice-A-Roni...the San Francisco treat...ding...ding!

We even made it up to Napa Valley for a little wine tasting adventure!

Okay...so we didn't drink any wine but we ate a ton of cheese and crackers!

Ben took me on a horse drawn carriage ride downtown SF!

Precious!!! Too bad I wasn't smart enough to get a picture of us sitting in it!

Try going down this hill in a motorhome!

Sea Lions at Pier 39!

2007-01-01T19:18:00.000-08:00

Cake #1

Cake #2
Cake #3

Okay...so I have decided that my wedding colors are going to be pink and brown...now I have to decide on a cake. As you all probably know...I HATE making decisions so this planning process is torture for me! You each have to cast your vote and let me know which cake you like best. I want to do a chocolate frosting cake with either pink flowers around it or a pink ribbon around it. I can't decide if I like the round or the square cake better. I also can't decide if I like the flowers under each tier or the cakes just stacked right on top of each other. Do you like 1, 2, or 3 the best and why???

2006-12-15T14:57:00.000-08:00

I'm engaged!!!

It's been waaaaaaay too long since I have updated my bog but finals are over with and I actually have time to breath again. Ben came down and surprised me on Wednesday night with a real purdy ring! I am sooooooooooooo excited!!! I am the happiest and luckiest girl alive!!!

2006-11-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE!!!

Ben came home with me this past weekend for my mom's big 60th Birthday party! He got to meet the whole family! Yikes! I made him watch "Meet the Parents" on the flight to Seattle to fully prepare him for the weekend! He wasn't so amused when his luggage was the last suitcase to come off at the baggage claim. He was more than a little nervous that he would have to survive the weekend without his suitcase.

I love this picture because I look about 6" taller than Ben! It's the only picture I had of us together from the whole weekend so I guess I'll just have to deal live with it!

Here's Ben on the top of the Space Needle. He was so excited to go to the top!

Downtown Seattle at the waterfront. It was freezing cold but it was such a pretty day!

2006-10-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

San Diego!!!

Ben and I went to San Diego on Friday and had a blast!!! It's only about 2 hours from my house so we made a real fun day trip out of it! First we went to IHOP (because they only have those in San Diego...ha...ha...ha), then we headed to the Aquarium, the temple, and the beach. We then took a little tour around Coronado Island and headed back downtown San Diego where we ate at a kick booty Mexican restaurant! It was soooooooooo good but I forgot to take a pic of us!

I love eating at IHOP for some strange reason! They have the best cinnamon roll french toast ever made! I seriously love it!

Oh how scary! The shark is eating us!

The San Diego Aquarium sits on a cliff that overlooks the ocean....it is beautiful!

The San Diego temple looks like a castle! It is way cool but it's really hard to get far back away from it to get a very good picture of it. It sits right next to the freeway and is surrounded by apartments, condos, and office buildings!

The beaches in California are amazing! This was our attempt at taking a picture of us on the beach. I guess you can kinda see the beach but we are just such a dang cute couple that I had to add this picture anyways!

2006-10-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

This blog entry is dedicated to Uncle Carl!!! This is one of his favorite places on earth!

When I discovered that we needed to take a trip to the Transfer Station to take a load of garbage out of the new house I instantly thought..."Perfect Blog Opportunity!"
All loaded up and ready to go!

Transfer Station Entrance!!!
Houghton Transfer Station & Recycling Center!
Waiting with much anticipation for our turn on the scales!
It cracked me up that they have to post a sign that says no cell phones!
Can you see the excitement on this man's face?

2006-10-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

Part 2...

Waiting in line for our turn!
There aint no messing around in this place!
The CLAW!!!
Here comes one of the dump trucks! You should have seen the look on everyone's face as I was frantically taking these pictures!
I had to jump out of the truck and run to take this picture! I only got a few weird looks for taking this one!

2006-10-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sunday Night Dinner at the Orams!

Charlie, Kami, Liz, and Teresa

Kami is in town so it's time to party! A bunch of friends from the singles ward came over for Sunday dinner last week so I discovered it was the perfect opportunity to take some pics for the blog! I am finally starting to catch onto capturing the "perfect blog opportunity!"

2006-10-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Washington Flowers!

The Clarks always post pics of their pretty flowers growing in their yard so I thought I would post a pic of the pretty mushrooms growing in my parents yard.

Only in Washington!!!

2006-09-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me!!! Ben and I went to Hollywood Blvd for my birthday and wandered around. Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to have someone take a picture of us together!

We tried to take a pic of the real Hollywood sign but it was too small so we had to settle for the fake Hollywood sign.

Happy B-day to me!

2006-09-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

Travis Simon came to play a few weeks ago with a few of his friends so we ventured over to Venice Beach!

Here is a picture of Travis showing off his awesome farmer's tan!

Look at those sexy white legs...Yes Nalani...I am working on getting them tan!

Kami and Kelmy...on the way to the beach!
Do we look excited...because we are!!!

2006-08-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

Spoiled? Who me? Definitely!!!

Let's get this party started

2006-07-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a little left out of the Oram/Clark blogging club so I am going to join the party!

Look at this hottie on his b-day! Oh so handsome in his new church duds I got him!