THE HIGHER YOU CLIMB, THE BETTER THE VIEW!

(See the parking lot below)

Boy oh boy am I glad this day is over. Today Brent and I spoke in sacrament meeting. Max gave a talk in Primary. Emma gave the scripture and prayer in Primary. You would think that would be all, BUT we were also in charge of Sharing Time in Primary. It all went well, but, like I said, I'm glad it is over. We came home today and relaxed for a while. Then we went to Pali look out. It was beautiful. There was a battle there over the Island of O'ahu. Kamehameha defeated the enemy to gain possession of O'ahu. It was cool to imagine the battle. Max wanted to hike up the mountain. It was very steep. We made it up pretty high before I made him turn around because I was worried he would slip and fall to his early death. The view was AMAZING. I really wish our pictures could have done it justice!!

Saturday Fun

Shaved Ice

Singing Songs

Watermelon seed spitting contest

The Flower Girl

Coloring

SO we get a little bored during the days without a car and we can only swim for so many hours in a day, so every Saturday afternoon we have been going a 'Kids Club" that is an outreach program sponsored by a church right outside of our apartments. The first time we went the kids were REALLY shy, but after we left they wouldn't stop talking about how fun it was. Now it is a weekly event. This week was a watermelon party. They had a watermelon seed spitting contest, shaved ice, face painting, balloons, a coloring contest and a raffle (which Emma won). They sang songs about Jesus and played the ukelele. I have made pretty good friends with one of the ladies that helps coordinate everything. She and I were busy talking when I looked up and saw Max, Emma, and some other kids kneeling around a table under one of the tents. I asked Nora what they were doing and she said they were receiving Jesus in their heart. Emma didn't quite understand. She said she he wouldn't fit in her heart (she is so literal). Everyone was so nice there. It's a really good thing for a lot of the kids in the apartment complex. Right after that we went to the baptism of a boy in my primary class. It was a good baptism.

Sharks Cove

Our friend Hailey has lived here for five years, and she recently decided move back to the mainland (interesting timing...we are doing our best not to take it personally), so we went snorkeling with her at Shark's Cove before she left. I know, doesn't sound so appealing by the name, but it is named Sharks Cove because of the shape of the rocks. Wow, it is by far the best place to snorkel here in Hawaii. The fish were amazing! The water was unbelievably clear. Max stayed close to shore. He found a slug and some lizard fish that were hiding in the rocks. Emma is a snorkeling pro. She went all the way out with each one of us. We saw all kinds of fish, some crabs, and even a sea cucumber... We decided that Heavenly Father used a lot of creativity when it came to fish. Some of the colors and shapes of the fish were unreal. I will be sure to take some photos of the fish and post them next time.

A Special Thanks To The Tooth Fairy!

Emma FINALLY lost her two front teeth. Here she is grinning ear to ear because it took a lot if work for her to get them out. She lost one before we came to Hawaii, and the other came out a couple of weeks ago. The Tooth Fairy took real good care of her this time. She misplaced the tooth so she couldn't put it under her pillow the first night, then she found it and put it under her pillow the next night. The Tooth Fairy brought her two shinny Sacajawea dollars. She was very excited that there wasn't a deduction for misplacing the tooth the first night. About a week later, we were looking for the laundry card and couldn't find it anywhere. I told the kids we weren't going anywhere until we found it. About ten minutes later, here came Emma with her tooth in hand. She was SO excited because she was convinced that the Tooth Fairy had brought her tooth back. She said the Tooth Fairy left it on the top shelf of the hall closet in an check box. And that's not all, but she also left an envelope to order new checks AND a check register book. What a nice Tooth Fairy!! Emma had a perma-grin for the rest of the day. She said she thinks the Tooth Fairy brought it back so she could take it home to show her grandmas and friends. I love that she is such a believer!

Photos by Max and Emma

Say Cheese!!

Our camera recently stopped working...I just couldn't figure out what went wrong. I took the SD card out and uploaded the pictures so we could use it in our new camera. I was amazed with how many pictures there were an the card. THEN...I saw the images. More than half of them were not taken by the adults in our household. It was really pretty funny to look at some of the pictures the kids had taken. Emma took many pictures of her cute baby cousin, Jara. She seemed to captured her every step (literally). Needless to say, Emma is now saying she wants to be a photographer when she grows up (her other considerations are a "Wal-mart worker", a teacher, a "flower fixer" or a "hair, nail, and make up doer upper"). So...we hope you enjoy the above photos courtesy of Emma and Max

Happy 4th of July!!!

The fourth is always one of our favorite holidays. This year was so much fun. We went to Maunalua Bay where there were lots of fun activities on the beach. We opted not to spend it with tourists at Waikiki. There was a great band playing Hawaiian music, free face painting and tattoos, and what is the fourth of July without some cotton candy? There were over 10,000 people there with unbelievable patriotism. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the fireworks above the ocean and among the palm trees. We all had a good time. On the way home, we had a history lesson about the Star Spangled Banner and the birth of our great nation. Happy Birthday America!

Happy Birthday USA

Baby Reed (AKA Little Cal)

Look who's three months old!!!!

Reed will be three months old tomorrow. I can't believe how much he has already grown. I am constantly pinching myself when I think that we actually have another little one. We are all so in love with Reed. Even Max has been known to sing and talk in a super high voice to him (he usually sings "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid). Emma has been a big help with him. She holds him when I am making lunch or dinner, and she loves to talk and play with him. Reed is such a good baby (as long as he is being held or talked to). Brent likes to inform me that it is okay to put him down sometimes when he is sleeping, but everytime we stop jiggling him and start to put him down, he wakes right up. I don't mind; it's just nice to have a little one to hold. He has been to so many places in his short life and he has been such a trooper. He is actually the perfect age to take to the beach. He just sleeps in his carseat. I think the sound of the ocean is very calming. Reed has started to laugh and he goos and coos SO cute. Sometimes we just lay there and carry on baby conversations. Today Max said, "Mom, I think I know why Reed likes to smile and talk so much to you". When I asked him why, he said, "I think it is because you are beautiful." Talk about melt my heart!! We think Reed is looking a lot more like a Leavitt now. You would think, by naming him after his two grandfathers with dark brown eyes there would be a small chance his would be brown too, but nope... they're BRIGHT beautiful blue. We wish you all could see just how fun he is!!! I guess you will just have to wait a couple more months!