Today I attended a funeral. I knew Heather as a fellow band-teacher and woodwind instructor like myself. In fact, I've been teaching a little elementary band twice a week for her - until her scheduled became less hectic after Marching Band season. We weren't close - but, it still felt like family in so many ways. My heart aches for her family and the band members she served selflessly.

When I found out the news (when I arrived in Las Vegas from Hawaii) I cried a lot. When I went to elementary band on Monday afternoon - I cried a lot. They had a counselor there to speak to the students about how to deal with death and I found it very comforting myself to hear the counselor's comments. When I watched the AF band perform at their competition on Tuesday night, I sobbed. When I attended the funeral today, I cried even more. Sitting there and being a part of the celebration of her amazing life - one can't help but to be reflective and pensive in the greater meaning of life and the eternities. And to think that we were just fellow band directors - not even close friends. I can't even fathom the emotions that have been felt by those who were really close to her. My soul aches for them.

They sang the Hymn, "Be Still My Soul" at the start of the meeting. I'm sure I have sung this hymn many times before, but the 3rd verse was so powerful in this setting;

3. Be still, my soul: The hour is hast’ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

I am so grateful to know that life goes beyond what we see and know around us. God is real. Our Savior is real and His sacrifice is beyond my comprehension. Knowing that Heather jumped up and essentially sacrificed her life to spare others in the bus with her gave me just a glimpse of that sacrifice. To know that He did it for me is overwhelming. And despite the tragedy, I'm grateful for all these experiences this week that have helped me feel even closer to my Savior.

Thank you Heather.


Here's a link to her obituary:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/obituary.aspx?n=heather-christensen&pid=134367127

Kaua'i

As many of you know, we got to go to Hawaii for a week with our good friends Rachael and Greg. We went to Kaua'i and I had no idea how amazing that place would be. I wish I had taken a picture of a bumper sticker we saw there which said, "If you love Kaua'i, send your friends to Maui." This island was paradise with so much to do. I started this post thinking, I'll just post a few pictures - but it turned into a BUNCH and I still have more to share! It'll give me plenty to write about for the next few weeks....



Sunset from our condo (special thanks to Shayne's parents for letting us use their timeshare to make this possible!)

Queen's Bath

Snorkeling Queen's Bath (we snorkelled EVERY DAY! and lived in our swim suits)


Hawaiian Shaved Ice goes WAY BEYOND a snow cone. I can't explain it - but I'm ready for another one.

Wailua Falls

Not only did we see the falls, we took a little treacherous hike down a steep hillside and SWAM under the falls! The water was muddy - but so refreshing after that muddy hike!



Kipu Falls. My only regret was that I didn't dare do the rope swing by these falls. I should have just done it (as Shayne did!). When will I get a second chance?!?!



Wild roosters EVERYWHERE! And they were tough to catch too.....

The 4 of us - at the top of Waimea Canyon - which is coined the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." How that Grand Canyon just exists on this island is beyond me - my pictures didn't come close to showing the grandeur and immensity of this place.

Sunset from Waimea Canyon

We did a rafting trip to see the Na Pali Coastline. It is a part of the island that does not have roads - and you can see it 3 ways: by boat, by air (helicopter or airplane), or by an 11 mile hike. The boat trip was AWESOME. En route we had some company:

This was a landmark that I was thrilled to tell my boys about. We love the Popeye move (with Robin Williams) and this is where they filmed the ending scene with the octopus!

Na Pali Coast (this is just 1 inch of the most amazing scenery I've seen in my lifetime)

can you find the turtles?

There are probably 50+ turtles in the previous picture. I focused in on this picture so you can see the turtles better.

We weren't prepared to do an 11 mile (overnight) hiking trip along the Na Pali coast - but we did venture on the first 2 miles to a remote beach. It was HOT and HUMID - but the scenery was once again, breath-taking.

Na Pali Hike

Next to the beach, there was a creek/river/stream that flowed down to the ocean. That particular beach is considered dangerous - so Rach and I cooled off in the stream. It was SOOOO refreshing.

On our last day - we went to an area called "Secret Beach and Secret Lava Pools". They aren't very secret anymore - but we were the only ones there. I took about 75+ pictures at this one site - the waves were massive and powerful. I tried to capture it on film....

(Where's Waldo... I mean Greg?)

For my eternal sweetheart:

May we continue on our path, hand in hand, loving each other more every day. Thank you for loving me!

Hunter is 7!

7 is so BIG! We started a new tradition this year - no friend parties on the "odd number" years. Just a date with mommy and daddy and a family party. We took Hunter to I-HOP for breakfast and he loved having just mom and dad's attention... even better, he was given an ice cream sundae--at breakfast! Lucky him, he got to go to 2 other parties on his birthday - there was no lack of friends or cake on his big day!

On Sunday night, we had a family dinner/party. I made the cake myself and I even surprised Hunter. He saw me throwing away the scraps and I commented that I didn't know how to make a cake and I was giving up. He was so, SO disappointed to not have a cake! Then I showed him a little square that I would decorate just for him. That evening, he convinced his cousins that there was only 1 small piece of cake for him and that he would just have to give everyone Gummy Bears instead of cake! I'm glad he was trying to find a way to make everyone happy. And we had plenty of cake for everyone!

The cousins.... lots of boys around here! And I love the cry you can SEE on Cole's face... very typical.

Someone else loved the cake too!

Danny was helping Chanin practice the piano. He LOVES to play the piano!

1st Day of School

This post is especially for Grandma and Grandpa to see!

Hunter started the 1st grade and it is a very long day for him and for me! I thought I'd be happy for the long day - and don't get me wrong - I AM enjoying it. But at the same time, there's a little part of me that keeps looking at the clock and gets shocked that he still has another 3 hours to be gone!! He is loving school and he likes to tell me that he's one of the nicest kids in the class. I think every mom wants to hear that! And I'm positive that he IS a nice kid.

Cole started preschool. He did preschool last year - but we decided to take a plunge and stay closer to home. He gets to go with 3 neighbor buddies and he is having the time of his life. I think that Cole can tell that it only takes 3 minutes to get there (rather than 20) and he thinks that school is "SO SHORT!" He keeps asking why Hunter's school isn't so short. I'm grateful that Cole has a buddy to play with all day. He and Connor wander back and forth between their houses all day, everyday! His favorite part about school is the "secret playground." It isn't very secret - you walk past it as you go into the preschool!

PS I have to post a funny story about Cole playing at his friend's house:

Cole doesn't "have" to take a nap, but usually he does fall asleep in the later afternoon since he gravitates to his blankie and the couch for some "chill out" time. He had been at Connor's all afternoon the house became very quiet. Connor's mom noticed that Cole wasn't playing with Connor so she asked, "Where's Cole?" Connor replied that he went to get something upstairs. So she started to look for Cole in the kitchen (he has snuck into her pantry before), in the bathroom, then when she tried to open her bedroom door, she could barely open it. Cole was squatting, on his knees and bum in the air, with his head into the corner behind the door FAST ASLEEP. I'm not sure how to better explain it in words, but hopefully you get the idea. How he chose that spot for a quick "power nap," we'll never know.

Yummy-licious

When we got home from Cali - look what I found in my garden! FYI - my veg. garden was an UTTER FAILURE. But, I can grow berries!


And yesterday I did a first - CANNING! Shayne thought I should put on a pioneer dress for the occassion (cause I actually have one!). I hope they taste as yummy as they look - and a big THANKS to Rach for making this happen. I wouldn't have done it without her.

It's a very DARK video, but not in the evil way! Hunter tore up the dance floor at the wedding reception. Here's a clip of him dancing with Laura-ba-dora!

No more gates!

Yeah!! Danny can manage the stairs now!

California

We went to our best friend's (LAURA) wedding in California. The amazing part about being there for her wedding was that we really got to spend time with her and her fiance (Maynrad) and it was SOOOO MUCH FUN!! PLUS, we got to be there for her INCREDIBLE and BEAUTIFUL wedding. I'm so sorry that I didn't take very good pictures of that day. Bummer. But here are a few. And FYI, Shayne added his commentary to the pictures.

The quilt made with Love for Laura and Maynrad

My mom did most of it, but I (yes, me!) did do the squares in the middle. I really helped sew something beautiful!
Our family at the wedding. Please note all the kid's shirts are clean, which may very well be the first time in our history.

"Blisters"

Laura and Maynrad - IN LOVE! (Maynrad lost his right hand during the wedding, but he was a good sport about it).

After the wedding, we had a family vacation in Sunny California. We had lots of time on the beach and we did the 3/1 pass to Sea World, Wild Animal Park, and San Diego Zoo. By the end of our "park" adventures, the kids were burned out on animals. They would have preferred Disney, or any place with rides, but it was fun to do something different. Here are more pictures to highlight our adventures.

The boys at the beach. Danny's really got to work on that tan.

"This is the worst tasting brown sugar I've ever eaten".

The boys under the sink. They are NOT coming of the closet.

I took away a shell he was trying to eat...

Hooray for disease!

It's a little funny to think that the boys enjoyed this part of the "Wild Animal Park" the best - it was an animatronic dinosaur park. Basically, our kids would rather see extinct animals.

"Our parents only had to pay $16 to see these lame dinosaurs. It just goes to show that whining pays."

Notice the dinosaur is giving the kids the same look that Hunter is giving Cole. That, "I could SO destroy you" look.

Snorkeling with Cole at La Jolla in San Diego was an absolutely highlight for me. He really did snorkel (with adult gear on!) and it was a surreal experience. I LOVED that moment in time and I will never forget the way I felt as we pointed at fish and swam hand in hand! By the way, who can make snorkeling gear look attractive?

Cole with Elmo

Funny Story - Cole ran right past Grover to get to Elmo. It cracked me up that the photographers begged him to go back claiming that Grover has feelings too! But, as you can see, Cole was thrilled to have his picture with Elmo. And it seems to be a RARE moment to have a SMILING Cole in a picture - I'm glad I got it!

Cole's the one on the left

En route to our home, we stopped in Vegas and got some play time with our cousins - who were there for the Labor Day weekend. We love family. It's so much fun to be together, anytime, anywhere.

Hunter and Carson playing together. Doesn't Carson have the bluest eyes you've ever seen?

This is my feeble attempt to show how girls would flock to Danny - at the pools, beaches, where ever we went. He is a magnet! Is this an indicator of his future?