Go Team Red Sox...

My nephew Keoni plays little league baseball for the Kaimuki team-Red Sox. He loves it! They practice every Monday (I think) and Friday from like 5-6p.m. I think. This saturday he had a game against the Yankees (NY is the Yankees...right?) Anyway the boys had fun but they lost. I don't know what the score was nor do I want to know. I think they lost by a lot!?! But I don't think the kids really realized it. The other team was so good. They were catching the ball and throwing it to their pitcher and getting our little ones out so fast! Meanwhile our team is looking to see where to throw the ball, some not paying attention when the ball came right to them! Like Keoni. I think a ball came right to his glove but he wasn't paying attention until it hit his glove. He didn't catch it but scrambled right away to get it. It was so funny. And these kids can really hit too! Some were hitting farther than I thought they could (to the outfield). After the game was over the kids went and got snacks and drinks and I just so happen to catch Hailey doing cartwheels in the field and Belinha trying to do them too. It was the cutest thing! Belinha would run by Hailey put her hands on the ground and then put one leg up in the air. I guess that's a cartwheel for her (or what it looks like to her). All and all my family had a fun time just enjoying the outdoors and each others company.......and cheering on Keoni of course. It's probably the most exciting thing that happens to us all week.

"Where you lookin' Oni?"

Belinha trying to do a cartwheel

The ball is in the trees....see it?

Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!

(When the runners can't run cause you threw it to the pitcher)

The team

The Rookie card shot

Wise Women...

1. You can use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

2. To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich; add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

3. If you live in a two-story or multi-level home, have a cleaning supply center on each floor so you won’t have to drag all your cleaning supplies up and down the stairs. A big bucket or basket works well. A broom, dust pan, and mop is convenient, too.

Wise Women...

1. Wise women learn to detect when they are truly running faster then they have strength. Sometimes it means saying no. No is not a bad word.

2. Let your calendar help you to remember. Write down all the birthdays that you want to remember (including friends, students, and visiting teaching sisters), when you need to oil your paper shredder, when you want to wash the car, when the library books are due, when Blockbuster videos are due, when you need to return something at the store, when someone has borrowed something from you, when you’ve borrowed something from someone, write down when family ID’s and driver licenses are going to expire, make a note when that Costco membership expires (so you can prepare for it ahead of time in your budget, instead of getting caught off guard at the register), etc., etc., etc. Calendars come in all sizes. Get one that works for you and use it like a madman intent on being successful! Move any notes that haven’t been dealt with to the next month so it won’t be forgotten.

3. What are you waiting for? It might work out great to buy all the birthday cards you need for the year. You could take that a step further and have them signed, enveloped, addressed and ready to go. Just before you stamp and mail it off, slip money in it if that’s what you do. There are things in our lives that we can do ahead. Call it your “what am I waiting for” plan.

Happy Birthday Eva...

On tuesday was my sister-in-laws birthday! We won't say hold she is. Anyway my brother got the family together (who ever could make it) at the Outback in Hawaii Kai. We had dinner (I had the awesome two lobster tails with ceasar salad, and a baked potato with EVERYTHING on it. It was sooooo good!), sang happy birthday, and watched her open up presents! I think she enjoyed the night at much as she could but poor thing was sick. She went home that morning from work sick. Sorry Eva! Hope your feeling much better now!

I haven't had this in soooo long! (where's the other tail?)

Jump, jump, jumperoo...

We just bought Dezi this new toy called a jumperoo. He loves to jump and I got tired of holding him and putting him in the air, so I saw this at Walmart for like $90 then saw the same one at toys r' us for $70. Isn't that crazy! I thought everything was cheaper at Walmart (besides the NEX). Anyway he loves it! I put him in there every morning so I can eat my breakfast. I think he knows the routine now so he looks forward to me eating breakfast.

Oh yeah he also started to put his lips together and blow spit. It's his very new first thing that he discovered. Alot of spit and alot of bubbles!

He also has discovered his toes. Now that he is flexible enough he will eat his toes all day if he wants. It's kind of gross (childhood memory) but it's kinda cute at the same time!

Dezi's firsts...

Dezi has his first tooth! Yay! He has been teething for about a couple of months now. He has been very good about it though. Not really fussy. It did bother him a few times but nothing really bad. He just made 6 months on the 28th and already he has one and the other one is just starting to peek out. I can see it right under his gums. I think that one should be coming out pretty soon. How exciting! I get excited about all of his first things. The first time he grabbed a toy, the first time he smiled, the first time he laughed and talked. I got so excited about all of them! Anyway here are some pics. I hope you can see it.

I cut his face off I know.

there's that tooth!

Wise Women...

In my ward, a sister has started what she calls wise women. It's basically emails back and forth on tips that can help us busy women get through our day or help us out in our lives! She emails everyone a specific topic, and then who ever wants to comment on what helps them for this certain topic can do so. She then puts everyone's ideas all together on one email and sends it to everyone so we can read all the creative ideas that are given. So here are some of the ideas that women have sent. Hopefully it will help you in your busy lives!!

1. For me, being a stay-at-home mom, I've split up my laundry days to Mon. Thurs. & Sat. I'd rather do 3 batches every 2-3 days than do 10 loads on a Saturday. I don't do laundry in between, it gives me a chance to get out, relax, enjoy other things and not see a continuous pile of laundry on the sofa everyday. Getting children (and spouse) involved in helping plan meals is another thing that has been successful. It saves me from spending time wondering what everyone "feels like having for dinner" and everyone gets an opportunity to help in the kitchen, at least once during the week, cooking one of their favorite meals. Those are just a couple of ideas that have worked well in our family.

2. Learn not to procrastinate. Don't put things off for tomorrow unless you absolutely cannot do it today. Know your own schedule-what you can work on and when you can work on it, then accomplish it. When you are able to get those little things out of the way, you'll find you have more time to do things you want to do-things you enjoy. It's a lot easier than you think, so if something is nagging you on your mind, just do it (clean that bathroom or put away that pile of clothes). You'll find it was simple, fast, and now the rest of the day is yours!

3. One thing I do is write 2 scriptures for each day on the calendar ahead of time. My children are little and cannot sit for scripture reading, so we choose 1 scripture for morning and 1 for night. I used to just open the Book of Mormon and read a random scripture, but that doesn't always work. (I still want to read from holy writ rather than story books so that my daughter gets into the habit of reading from the Book of Mormon.) So I'd go in the index and look up scriptures by topic ahead of time (that are meaningful to a 4 year-old) and explain them to my daughter.