May 18th

Today is the day my mom passed away 8 years ago! I miss her dearly but have been blessed with wonderful friends and family to lift me up when I have hard days. My youngest brother, Brad, told me this year was a hard one for him and I wish I was there to hold him as I did once I got home from my mission just months after her passing. He was 12 at the time and would lay in my arms and cry so hard his body would shake (if you have ever do this you know how exhausting it is and hard to regroup). He has come a long way and had several experiences to help him grow but there are always times that are harder than others. For me, attending the temple has been a blessing on those harder days as well as to watch my children and imagine the joy she has as she mothered us on here. Trust me, she is still mothering : ) One thing I have learned from this experience is ... Heavenly Father has a reason for having us forget what it was like to be in His presence before this life! I long to be with my mother because I remember what it was like to have her at my side. It has only been 8 years and it still hurts at times to have her gone. It has been 30 years since I left our Heavenly Father's presence ... do i have the same longing to be with Him? If I could remember what it was like I wouldn't let silly temptations get in my way or my natural person get the best of me. I definitely have had experiences in my life that have given me glimpses of what it might have been like, being in the temple is one of those, and they pick me back up and encourage me to push on and live as He would have me live in order to return to Him after this life. I can't say THANK YOU enough to those that have been there through thick and thin : ) I miss you Mom and love you a lot!!!!!!!

Taylor: played racquetball and then went to the store to get his neb : ) that was forgotten yesterday. He then went to talk to people about a job interview!!!! There was a job presented to him about a week or so ago and he has been filling out papers and getting more information on the job until today. Last semester he had the opportunity to work and the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) as part of a research group and this is a continuation of that. he was just the one to had out the surveys, but now he is going to be using the skills he learned at Microsoft in the program of Excel to help them with the information they receive. There were several hours before his interview and we needed to drop off some paper work in Kaneohe (about 30 min south) so we headed down there. Little did we know that Sears was having a huge sale on their men's dress shirts and pants. Since Taylor has lost 30 lbs (6 lbs away from his high school weight) he needs new clothes. He is having to dress up a lot doing this project for Turtle Bay and he only has one pair of pants that he wears to church, he found a really nice pair for $10!!!!!! and a shirt and tie combo for $20!!!!!!! He is looking good, but back off he is MINE! We got back from there with an hour to spare so we played as a family before he left. He GOT THE JOB! there is a few more paperwork type stuff he has to do on Friday and then its official. He came home and played with Brennan for about 2 hours while Brooke and I took a nap. Then it was dinner and off to stunt. He has been stunting for a while because one of the girls went to her brother's wedding.

Amy: went to meet Lauren but she didn't feel good so I worked out at home and man did it feel GOOD!!!! There was a few days I missed blogging because I was sick or I typed something and wanted to add a picture so I am trying to catch up. I am only missing 2 days now so that's the goal for tomorrow : ) I have had some pretty intense headaches lately and today was one of them. It wasn't as bad as they have been but it was enough to be a nuisance. My guess is they are from not sleeping consistent and not as much water as I have been with our new eating habits. Once we got back from the mall I laid on the bed and didn't want to move. That's why Taylor allowed me to sleep once he got back!!!!!! It felt so good to sleep : ) I woke up we had dinner and then it was bed time for the kids.

Brennan:had a better day today because dada was around more!!! He loves his bananas and would eat one every 5 minutes if I let him, but one is enough for his poor little system. The question of the day has become ... did Brennan have a banana yet today? Good thing we live in Hawaii where they are grown : ) Tonight while I was making dinner the boys went a walk to talk to some of the Elders who signed up to help play with kids during a Relief Society activity tomorrow and one of those was Sean, Bannock's dad, and the 2 of them had melt downs because they didn't get to play. Funny boys will see each other tomorrow! He put up a 15 minute fight tonight before falling asleep.

Brooke: woke up while I was working out but played and squealed in her bed for an hour or so. Thank goodness because Taylor was playing so I was able to finish my workout. I need to get video of her rolling all over the floor and getting pinned in all kids of funny places. I left her clothes off for a little bit this afternoon and Brennan found her belly. He had the juiciest raspberries I have ever heard and Taylor and I laughing so heard we teared up only egged him on more. He gets so much pleasure from simply clapping so after every one he would clap and laugh with us. I wish I had video if not just the audio from that but we were laughing too hard to do anything : ) Tonight she played on the floor while Brennan fought and then she still played more while I started this. She finally is out after I put her in the swing. She doesn't like to be held when falling asleep : (