Party Time!!

How you celebrate a November Birthday in Utah!!

You get to be surrounded by family, cousins and good friends!

Everyone wears sweaters , pants , shoes while you get sung Happy Birthday .You get to have both Mommy and Daddy there!

You get to eat yummy cake with lots of sugar!!Uummm Uummm Good!! I think we have a sugar lover! Then you get to get all dressed up in layers and layers of clothes to go see the Christmas lights and temple square!!

The Utah Cake:



I have become obbessed with cake lately, while I was pregnant I started watching cake shows and so I have been excited to make Kai's cakes for her. They are nothing to fancy but they were fun to make. For the family party Jared and I decided that we will always have the rest of the family decorate the cake with things that they love about the person and for the friend party it will be a more fun cake!
The things on this cake included:
Water girl
Bite
Klingon
Mellow Yellow
Toy Hider
Mr. Burns
Squirt
Everything when Dad is gone
Sweet Cry
Eat
Tags
Boobs(Jared put that on because Kai LOVES to nurse)


How you celebrate a November Birthday in Hawaii:

For starters you team up with your buddy Brinley
and have a Pool party together!

And then you get to go swimming!
Even in the cold pool water!

With lots of fun friends who mostly played in the Hot Tub
and wore swimsuits and barefeet!

Then you get to eat lots of yummy cake again!!
Kailie is crying because I pushed the cake away while we sang, she didn't like that and maybe because she was sad her Daddy wasn't there!Taking time just enjoying the cake!

After Kailie had been eating her cake forever and very neatly I decided to just help her out a little bit!

Don't Worry!!

She loved it!!

We were all commenting how this will probably be her only birthday pool party since it is November, actually December after all!

The Hawaii Cakes:

Kailie's very neat area that she ate!


I had a really fun time making the decorations for these cakes. My good friend Cameo taught me how to make these using Royal Icing. It was fun and definitely something that I am still learning and working at but maybe by the time Kailie graduates High School I will have mastered it.
The theme was ocean animals just in case you hadn't figured that out. Very fitting for a girl who's name is ocean and who loves water!

The Eddie went and so did the people!!

The Eddie Aikua surf contest was on yesterday and it was awesome!! Beautiful sunny day, clean glassy waves, an epic day according to the experts like Kelly Slater who placed but didn't win!
We left about 7:45 and thought for sure we would be stuck in traffic but we actually did not hit any at all, of course we had to park 2 miles away and walk but we were definitely moving faster than the cars!! All morning the news was reporting how backed up it was and all the crowds. It was crazy the news reported tens of thousands of people!

The whole group out there went for this wave except for the guy on the right but I think he made it safely over!

It was so awesome to see this amazing contest, I wish Jared could have been there with us!
My friend Andrea and I were talking while watching this and saying how we definitely cannot call ourselves surfers because our little 1- 3 ft waves just don't cut it but I am okay with that. In this picture the surfer is dropping in, definitely the exciting, dangerous and for me scary part of surfing. I don't even like to drop down a few feet because the few times I have I usually flip forward over my board and then I fall in the ocean which is not my favorite place so I try to avoid falling in the water!! I just stick to my white water and enjoy that!

All these pictures are courteous of my friend Andrea who took some great shots while I was tending to my baby who is little sickly so not so fun for her!

Thanks Andrea for coming with me again, it was fun to see!!

Eddie Would Go!!

This is not Eddie!! Just some crazy surfer from today! The water wasn't really that blue. I was standing next to a guy in a blue shirt and somehow the color came into the photograph!

If you have spent any time out here in the islands then you have probably seen bumper stickers, signs, t-shirts, etc... that say Eddie would go! Eddie was a huge big wave surfer out here and I always assumed that this saying referred to him surfing the big waves but my kind husband informed me of the real story behind the saying! Apparently Eddie was on the Hawaii kayak team that was kayaking from Hawaii to another polynesian island such as Fiji, Tahaiti, I can't remember which one but on the way they came into trouble and Eddie left the group to go and see if he could find help and was never seen again. His team was rescued but the sacrifice of Eddie was not forgotten!(a good sized wave)

The reason I thought this saying meant Eddie would surf the big waves is because there is a surf contest out here called the Eddie Aikau and it is on one the biggest waves in the world. The contest only happens ever couple years because the waves have to hit a certain height! Jared and I have been dying to see this contest and finally it might happen tomorrow!

They thought it would go today so we (me and some friends, Jared of course is gone right now) headed up the north shore this morning bright and early along with everyone else that lives on this island.The Crowds and this is just the small section!

Kailie spent her time chasing puppies just like her mom!and climbing everything just like her dad!

The contest was a no go but the waves were awesome and the surfers were crazy!!

This was the biggest set we saw! IT was HUGE!! There are two waves in this picture! They don't look that big but then you see This!!

Those guys are 6 feet or so and that wave is BIG, BIG, BIG!! It was awesome!!

One lonely surfer surrounded by thousands of people!

This is Sharks Cove one of our favorite snorkel spots! Definitely don't think anyone was snorkeling there today!!

I hope it goes tomorrow because after all these were just wossey little waves that anyone could ride no problem!! It looks overcast and rainy but actually it was just the sea spray from all the huge waves!

By the way today is also the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack which is something we should always remember!!

Remember Note # 2

Remember Note #2: Justin Stubbs

Why he is noteworthy: When I was a sophomore in college I remember thinking about who the happiest people I had met were. Justin who was a friend from High School was at the top of the list! Justin grew up in a humble home. His dad was a custodian for the church and Justin did most if not all of his clothes shopping at DI. I think a lot of us would be down about this but Justin turned it into a positive thing and made his own style. He was always happy and looking for ways to help others laugh, but never at the expense of someone else! He is a true testament that money does not equal happiness and is still one of the happiest people I've met!

If you don't know what a remember note is go here to find out more!

The Birth Day!!

It is so hard to believe that a year has gone by since the birth of our baby!

She went from this

(4 lbs. 9 Oz. 18" long)
to

(17 lbs. 29" long)
This!!

I have had a strict rule this past year which is the Baby cannot have any sugar such as sweets, deserts, etc. until one year. I think we have done pretty good except once when she was given a cookie by her friend Abbi and took a bite before we noticed and another when she was chewing on a kit kat and broke through the package and got a small bite. So since Jared was gone for this special day he demanded that I not give Kai any sugar such as Birthday Cake until he gets home. I decided that a girl can't have a first birthday without some sort of cake so pancakes is what she got!

I think she was a fan of her special Birthday treat!

Time for presents:


Kai checking out her present from Mom and Dad
(Sweet Deal off Craigslist $5, you gotta love craigslist)

Getting ready to open presents from the Grandparents!


Checking out her Birthday card from Grandma and Grandpa Theler,
making sure it tastes good!

Showing off new doll from Papa and Grammy Gardner
Thanks for the gifts Grandparents!!

Although it seems like she had a Happy Birthday it was really a tough day for her! She had her 1 year appointment and the poor thing got 5 immunizations and then had to get her blood drawn. She cried harder then she ever has and then was pretty clingy the rest of the day! She is of course small on the charts only 3rd % for her weight, 10 % for her head and a whopping 60% for her height! But don't feel too bad for her, she will be getting 2 Birthday parties. One in Utah with all the family and one with her buddy Brinley to follow the Hawaiian tradition of having a big first birthday! She will be getting lots of cake and it is definitely well deserved!

We have enjoyed this past year with our sweet baby! I don't think Jared or I have ever experienced so much Joy!
Happy Happy Birthday Kai Kai!! We love you!!

A Birthday letter to Kailie from her Daddy!

Dear Kai,

So, you are now officially 1 year old! It's been a long time coming, but think of all the things you've learned to do:

Drool
Suck on things (some attached to mom....and some not)
Eat Puffs
Smile (with and without teeth)
Snuggle (rarely)
Take Naps
Poop, pee (sometimes on dad and mom)
Laugh
Cry
Bath
Crawl
Walk!!!!
Sit up, Stand
Crawl off the beanbag
Crawl on the beanbag
Eat Sand
Eat Peas, pears, carrots, applesauce etc
Impersonate Klingons and Mr Burns


You seem to do new things all the time. I really wish I could have been there for your first b-day, but dad had to be in a tiny pacific island fixing peoples ears and helping them to hear. They are really poor and we can do a lot of good things. I promise I'll be there for your next one and get home as soon as I can. Tell your mom I really miss her and wish I could be with you both!

Love,
Dad

We've got a Walker!

Kailie has this rule that she lives by which is she has to wait until Jared is gone away to do anything new like crawling and walking! The little stinker took her first steps today and of course Jared is in Palau so he missed it. She officially took her first steps during young women's today. I was just sitting there silently watching my baby girl take one step and then stop and then another step and then stop and then two more steps and I just wanting to yell out, Kailie just took her first steps but of course I couldn't do that right in the middle of the lesson so I just sat there quietly freaking out inside! Jared and I both knew that she would start walking while he was gone so it wasn't a huge surprise but man the girl just has the worst timing!
This video is mainly for Jared so he can see. I took it as soon as we got home from church so it is her second time walking and I must add that she is way faster this time, the first time she was so slow.
So here you go Babe, your baby girl will be walking all around the next time you see her!




This second video is a better shot of her whole body! Enjoy babe, we wish you were here with us! We love you!

The Witch has landed and gone!

I love Halloween and the fall time! Out here in the islands we don't really get a fall so I try to make our home all Halloweeney! This year it seem to come and go so fast, we didn't even get to carve pumpkins or anything but we did have a fun Halloween party!

It seems the theme this year was family costumes.

A Witch, her Broom Stick and Black Cat and Cowboy and Cowgirls!

The Rock stars! Check out the baby's Spikes! Swat man was definitely the most real costume of the night!

Then there was the Shark, Turtle and bitten Surfboard!

I love dressing up so much, see here for some past costumes but this year I was so excited to have Kai and Jared dress up with me!

The shark and the turtle are best buds although the turtle is so cute sometimes the shark nibbles at her!

I had fun making Jared's Surfboard. I am not very artistic but I love to make things like this! A surfboard is not complete with out the fins. This costume was definitely not wearable for long periods of time since you can't sit and the top blows off in the wind and is too tall for most indoors but it was still funny and so fitting for Jared!
The babies had fun eating all the candy while the big kids went trick or treating! I am sure most of our trick or treaters got drooled, bitten into candy since the babies played with it all night!

Dinner came after! It would not be complete without finger cookies and Pumpkin Casserole! Delicious!

It was such a great Halloween! We love all of our friends out here they are family to us! It was nice to spend the evening together and enjoy this great holiday together!



By the way here are the eight funny things about the moped post!
1-crutches
2-broken foot, in a cast(who goes on a moped with cast on there foot)
3-Who drives a moped with a broken foot
4-at a drive-thru- they are at drive-thru ordering food, who thinks lets take the moped with my broken foot, you hold the crutches and then we will order some food!
5- They ordered drinks?
6- and food
7-can't hold on how does the passenger hold on when she has crutches in each hand and food and drinks?
8-crutches again because seriously think about how dangerous it is to have crutches on a moped. What if the wind catches and they go out and hit something and take you with it. What if they hit the ground, etc.

Anyways, we thought it was pretty funny and silly!