Trip to Utah

 About a month ago, right after the girls got out of school, we had the opportunity to go to Utah to visit some of my family.  Thanks to my enduring mother-in-law and her car full of teenagers going to EFY (a youth camp at BYU), my brood of three and I hitched a ride in their Suburban for an eleven hour trek from our home in California.  My sister Tausha met us in Salt Lake City at eleven o'clock at night to drive us another thirty minutes or so to my parents home.  I am so grateful to all who made this fun trip possible: those who drove us places, my parents for providing their home and warmth (love the hugs and stories), siblings and their spouses for taking time away from their normal schedules to hang out with me, friends for coming to play, and my wonderfully supportive husband who was stuck back at home working and enduring a terrible cold alone!  The girls had so much fun visiting their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and especially enjoyed the hours and hours of playing with cousins.

On memorial day we had the treasured opportunity to visit the Bountiful cemetery where 4 generations of Parkins (my madian name) are buried.  We got to place flowers on several graves including my great, great, great grandfather John Parkin, as well as my Dad's mother and father's graves.  It was wonderful to see my parents take my daughters by the hand and point out where their ancestors were buried.  On the drive back from the cemetery my dad gave me the grand tour of Bountiful/Woods Cross which included driving by the homes that his great grandfather, grandfather, and father had built, and the home he grew up in as a boy.  I just love hearing my dad's stories from his childhood...his memories are so vivid and detailed.

 On another day we got to visit the Museum of Church History and Art in downtown Salt Lake City.  There is a fantastic, interactive exhibit currently going on there that is geared specifically toward young chidren.  It is called "A Book of Mormon Fiesta: A Latin-American Celebration."  The kids had a blast...it is definitely worth checking out if you are ever in the Salt Lake area.  I think the exhibit is scheduled to run until January 2013.

The kids were excited to meet a "pioneer woman" when they first entered the museum!

 They got to fish out of Nephi's Ship on its way to the promised land.

 Eve and Sammy posing with the temple that they just built.

 Here the girls are with some of their cousins learning a Latin-American dance.  They loved the skirts!

 Savanah, Aunt Casey Anne, Ty, Sammy, Chloe, Grace and Eve in front of the Salt Lake Temple.  It is so beautiful.

 Tausha (and Sammy) giving a talk in General Conference?  It sure looks like it behind this replica of the podium at the Conference Center!

 I love this picture of the kids in front of the statue of Jesus Christ in the Temple visitors center.  When my little nephew Liam saw Christ with His hands outstretched he said, "Jesus wants to hold me."

 Daphne loved riding in between Liam and Ty on car rides.  She really took a liking to her rowdy "boy cousins."  I think she rather enjoyed their wildness...that's how she rolls.  She also really liked...

 ...the spicy chili candy they would feed her...

 Here is Daphne with her own paleta (as her cousins called it.)  She couldn't get enough of this sweet and spicy treat.  I think Aunt Miriam was very pleased that her little niece took such delight in the chili flavor...none of the other cousins lasted past the first lick!  Daphne won the prize of getting an extra paleta to bring home and enjoy.

Fun with silly Uncle Jeremy

 Another day of fun was spent at the Fun Center.  The kids got to jump on bounce houses, ride scooters in a roller rink, and play kiddie arcade games!

Love this mom shot!

Daphne saying good-bye to Ty

The kids got to spend time playing at their cousins' house and a lot of time playing at grandma and grandpa's house.  We enjoyed many large family dinners all together.  We got to celebrate my nephew Sammy's birthday. I got to go shopping and running with my sister ( I love one-on-one time with her.)  I got to visit with my dear friend Chelsea late into the night, and then have her come back to my parents' home the next day to play with her three adorable children (I'm waiting to post pictures til I can steal them off her blog!)  I also really enjoyed spending time with my mom and dad after we put the kids to bed each night...I got to hear some more of my dad's stories and we even played "31" one night.  It was a really good visit...I'm so glad we did it!

Piano Recital

Grace had her first piano recital last night.  She has been taking lessons for the past year and seems to be quite musically gifted.  She is excellent at reading music, but also enjoys playing around on the keys and creating her own songs.  She has composed three songs so far and has even written them out note by note on staff paper.  She has also written words to go along with one of her compositions which she performed at a church talent show last fall.  We are so proud of our little musician!

Grace, along with other first year students,  receiving her award for taking part in National Guild.

Grace with her piano teacher.

It Happened in Monterey...

 Aaron, the girls, and I spent a wonderful few days enjoying Monterey.  On Saturday (after running a half marathon) we drove out to the central coast and enjoyed some yummy local hamburgers and sweet potato fries.  The girls of course were so excited to sleep in a hotel that we didn't waste any time putting them to bed that night.  The next morning we went to church in a nice Monterey ward and then spent the afternoon napping and exploring the beautiful beach.  Aaron and the older two even sneaked in a quick trip to the hotel's in-door pool before bed-time! The next day (Monday) we spent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  The girls were fascinated by all the different marine life.  It was also fun to walk down old cannery row. We headed home that evening exhausted and happy.  I love taking trips and making memories with my family!

We broke out the Saltwater's...

 ...now it is officially spring!

A Little Piece of Paradise

Aaron and I recently returned from a wonderful get-away to Hawaii.  The girls stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while we flew over an ocean to a fun-filled and romantic island paradise (I know, I know...it sounds like a travel ad, but I'm being so sincere!)  We really packed in the good times during our five day stay on the island of Oahu.  We spent ample time at the beach, but didn't do much laying around.  We swam, played frisbee, snorkeled, kayaked to a small island of the shore, and surfed!  Yes, surfed...we took lessons from an awesome lady on the north shore of the island who has lived there most of her life and used to compete professionally.  She was an excellent teacher and Aaron and I both rode the first waves we attempted.  What an amazing feeling to catch a wave standing on a surf board!  The lesson lasted about two hours and each of us caught several good waves.  I was so surprised at my ability to get up and hold my position as I glided through the water, and at how much I enjoyed the feeling!  This was our favorite part of our trip for both of us. 

We also went on a beautiful 6-mile hike/trail run that was breath-taking.  Although we stopped a few times to take some pictures, we ran quite a bit of it (some of it was unrunnable because of steep inclines, exposed roots, and slick footing.)  In the end we both wished we went a little slower so we could have enjoyed more of our spectacular surroundings, but it was still so much fun.  We spent an entire afternoon/evening at the Polynesian Cultural Center.  It is truly a fun cultural experience and a great representation of several of the Polynesian islands.  Our favorite spot at the center was the portion that represented Samoa...the guy that put on the show was hilarious.  We also enjoyed a Luau there that night followed by their nightly show which was a delightful production of singing, dancing and story telling.  Earlier in the day we also checked out BYU Hawaii and the Hawaiian LDS temple which were both close by. 

We ate at some amazing restaurants (I think we had sushi at least 3 times...both of our favorites), went dancing, went for walks on the beach, and ooooed and awwwed at our spectacular view of the ocean from our balcony.  We could actually lay in bed and see the water out our big window (we totally got hooked up when we checked into our hotel, with an unexpected room upgrade because the guy liked us!)  I feel so blessed to have been able to go on this trip.  I loved being able to spend every minute with my best friend and companion.  I am so in love with my husband!  He makes me laugh and we have such a good time together.  He truly made being in paradise paradise!

Our first night on the island, after an evening of dancing and a walk on the beach.

A night view from the beach right outside our hotel (in Waikiki)

The view from our room's balcony early one morning while the moon was still in the sky.

There were so many cool trees on the island that we fell in love with (a tree-climbers dream!)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints church building in Honolulu where we went to church on Sunday...such a cool building!

Aaron at the beginning of our hike/run

During the Hike

One of the splendid views on our hike

Aaron as he's catching a wave!

With our surf boards following our north shore surfing adventure.

In front of the Laie, Hawaii Temple

One of the shows at PCC during the day

Just after our Luau at Polynesian Cultural Center

A stop on our scenic drive to Kailua Beach

Kayaking from Kailua Beach (ok, so that's not us, but we couldn't take a picture of ourselves kayaking so we took a picture of these guys doing it...but that's more or less what we looked like!)

My knight in shining armor!

This is Hanauma Bay...the amazing location that we snorkeled.  I was surprised by the many different types of fish we were able to see.  It was fun to have such a close encounter with sea life.  One little fish literally stared into our face masks for quite so time, which made us laugh under water!

View of the Bay after snorkeling in it.

Aaron swimming "laps" in a calm section of beach.

Green Feast

Tonight we enjoyed our St. Patrick's Day "Green Feast."  The menu consisted of a hodgepodge of green foods which really didn't belong together, and would have never been served side by side at any respectable meal!  But on a night like this green eggs, green fluff jello, grapes, avocados, celery "ants on a log," shamrock cupcakes, and a side of peas can live in harmony on a green St. Patrick's Day plate!