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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Well, it's been three years since I've really posted anything.  I have a tendency to give up on things if I can't do them perfectly :).  I just watched a great talk about that very subject though so I'm going to post it and perhaps keep a bit of a family history going, even if it's not "the cutest blog on the block."






Monday, January 23, 2012

Monday, March 15, 2010

My amazing trip to Hawaii



For the two or so people who check my blog, you know I'm, well... lazy...when it comes to blogging. In that spirit, I cut and paste the post from my friend Hilary's blog about my amazing trip to Hawaii with my college roomies.

A big shout out to Bjorn and his parents for taking great care of the kids while I was partying in paradise. I even came home to a very clean house thanks to my mother-in-law, Veronika.

Highlights: Polynesian Cultural Center, Pear Harbor, flying out of Honolulu just a few hours before the Tsunami warning was issued, snorkeling, Akaka Falls, the boiling pots, Rainbow Falls, Waipio Valley, Kona Stake Conference, attending the Kona Temple, The City of Refuge, the beach, whale watching, and seeing dolphins and sea turtles in the wild.

Here is Hawaii by the numbers:

5 -number of times we told fellow travelers we had 25 kids between the 6 of us and were roommates in college 15 years ago.

1 -number of fellow travelers who were actually glad we told them our story unsolicited.
(We stopped after the 2nd day)

30 seconds -amount of time it took for us to pick up and be ready to go to the next location.
Having 6 Moms and no kids is a LOT easier than having 1 Mom with 3-6 kids.

1 Tsunami warning issued while on the Big Island of Hawaii

3 -number of husbands who called in the wee hours of the morning after said Tsunami warning was issued

10 -number of times we repeated the word "Aloha" back to the speaker during the Kona Stake Conference we attended.

1 -number of picnic lunches we "crashed" after said Stake Conference. It was yummy and yes, a few of us even had seconds.

4 -number of times we had to stop for cabbage leaves.

40 -number of K-1 trivia questions submitted for our personal trivia game.

3 -number of questions Cyd got right.
We are just glad she remembers us because she certainly didn't remember much of our time together in college.

48 -number of random wikipedia-like facts Heather gave us during our week together. Her new nickname? "Wiki"

1 -number of times someone on the beach came up and said he had just bet his wife 20 bucks we were from a particular state that will remain nameless at this time. Kaylynn's response was, "Is it that obvious?" He was very happy to have won the bet. I guess we did kind of stick out like sore thumbs.

942 -approx. number of pictures taken by the 6 of us during our week in Hawaii.

102 -approx. number of pictures we have each appeared in during the last 10 years of our lives.
We are usually the ones taking the pictures, not being in the pictures.

64- number of times we used the word "charmed" during our trip

6 -number of AWESOME husbands who essentially said, "Go. Have fun with your friends for a week and don't worry about anything here." Seriously, they were
SO great.

4 -number of minutes used up on the camcorder of us walking away from the camera so we could see what our own walk looks like.
Just one of the many super dorky things we did during our time together.

4 -number of clear syllables in the way Heather says the word "interesting".
In-TER-est-ing. The rest of us only use 3. In-trest-ing. Interesting, isn't it?? (Or is it "in-TER-esting?" You be the judge.)

8/ ea. -number of post cards Malinda and Kaylynn mailed to their kids.

35 -number of times Cyd spontaneously bursted out into song.

3 -number of injuries I sustained while snorkeling/playing in the ocean.

0 -number of injuries everyone else sustained put together.

6 -number of minutes Ker-dog and Cyd spent trying to speak "whale" (think Dorie in "Finding Nemo") in an effort to get the whales to jump out of the ocean. It must have worked because we saw a LOT of whales during our trip.

2015 -the year we want to go on our next trip!!

The trip was such a success we decided to go on another one in 5 years. That will give Keri time to move to a new location so we can go and visit her all over again. She was definitely the "Hostess with the Mostest" that is for sure.


Friday, February 12, 2010

LuLu and her Angel Donor Ashley



Here is the article about my niece's lifesaving transplant and her Angel/Hero who made it possible:



I just saw LuLu the other day and am simply amazed at her "extreme makeover"...from sickly (but still so sweet) to energetic, comfortable, and HAPPY. We have much to be thankful for in our family.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

LuLu got a liver!


LuLu finally got a "gently used" liver from her anonymous (for the moment) "Angel Donor." See all the amazing details @:


www.liverforlulu.blogspot.com

She finally has a lovely liver to match the rest of her lovely parts!


Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Little Lulu

I've really been meaning to blog about the everyday events of our lives but for some reason I only end up blogging when we travel on the other side of the planet, a new human joins our family, etc... Well, our latest blog-worthy story is my sweet, almost-one-year-old niece London. Check out her blog at:

http://www.liverforlulu.blogspot.com/

I just found out today that my liver would not be a good match for little Lulu. Her mom (my sister Liz) had the perfect size to donate but less than ideal arterial branching; her dad (James) had good arterial branching but the liver was too big for London; and me...big liver AND weird arteries. I mean, I knew I had my quirks...I just didn't know they extended to my organs. I was so hoping to be goldilocks with the "just right" liver...anyway, it's been a sad day. The only analogy I can think of is that I've been high on the thought that I'd be able to help my sweet little niece and now I'm in my post-high crash. Liz called to comfort ME today. My sassy little baby sister has turned into an amazing mom/girl (sorry, I still can't call you woman, Liz! ;)

Anyway, if anyone even reads this (since I only blog quarterly at best), please keep London and her family in your prayers.

*News flash--the plan right now is to keep London stable and get her big enough to receive her dad's liver...staying hopeful ;)

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Our Little Benjamin Button (thanks, Liz!)

Short male, receding hairline, soft tummy, slightly ornery when not getting what he wants, no teeth, and a cataract. What kind of guy comes to mind? Probably not our cute little Stephen Thomas who was born...oh five months ago or so (blasphemy in the maternal blogsosphere, I know!) Oh well, here's a sneak peak into one of many chaotic moments that have kept me away from not-required-to-survive activities (i.e. blogging):



So yes, the biggest news since I last blogged six months ago is that we have a new addition to our family. It's been a slightly difficult recovery for me and Stephen but here we are five months later, all alive. Little Stephen has evolved from a colicky, fussy baby to a very fun, giggly guy with two teeth. We're blessed to have him in our family. Here's a little slide show of his first five months (including a picture of what he may look like in the future...thanks to a little modeling from his big bro, Alexander):