hawaii

A bunch of things fell into place and we had the opportunity to go to Hawaii last week. Let us just say that Hawaii is AMAZING.

We had originally planned to take Jonah, but my mom offered to watch him the whole week (yes, she's a saint). We missed him so much and he was so cute when we got home. He was really excited to see us. If we could have found a way to transport him there without the flight and the time change, we would have taken him for sure.

And we got to stay with Scott's cousin who is graduating this semester from BYU-Hawaii. Adam and Stacey were the best hosts and helped us have the perfect vacation. We stayed up way too late every night (like 1 am, which is 5 am Utah time) playing Hand and Foot and Hearts, eating a lot of popcorn, and laughing a little too hard.

We had a blast and we want to go back........so bad.

I have a million pictures, so here are a small fraction of them. There are just not words to explain Hawaii. I used to think it was overrated because everyone went there, but Hawaii is not overrated. It is AMAZING.

We started off at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. It definitely wasn't the highlight of the trip, but we learned some interesting things and got the yummy pineapple ice cream.

This is how a pineapple grows. They cut the tops off of ripe pineapples and plant them in the ground and then the fruit grows out the top. Kind of neat - we had no idea how pineapples grew.

We rented a Jeep. It was fun, but we had to keep the top on most of the time because it rained pretty much every day.

Then we headed to Waimea Beach on the North Shore. The North Shore was definitely our favorite spot. It is really chill, the waves get big, and the beaches are gorgeous.

We even saw a celebrity at Waimea! Adrian Brody walked by us a couple times so I had to snap a picture.

A turtle on Turtle Beach. I had no idea how huge these things were. There are people who rope them off and make sure tourists don't touch them. Apparently they know all the turtles by name.

After Waimea and Turtle, we went into Hale'iwa to get Matsumotos shave ice. If you go, get it with ice cream and condensed milk. Sounds weird, but it is so good. This picture is on Sunset Beach. We were going to watch the sunset, but it was too cloudy.

The next day, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was really interesting and we had a good time at each of the shows. Our favorite was the Samoan show. We loved it so much we went twice. The Samoan guy was hilarious. I kind of have a secret wish to be Polynesian now.

Wednesday was snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, swap meet, and Pearl Harbor. We loved Hanauma Bay--lots of cool fish around the coral. There's not much to say about the swap meet other than WOW. It's a little like Canal Street in NYC - too overwhelming for me. Pearl Harbor was also really cool. That night, we went to the BYU-H basketball game because they were in the NCAA Divison II Sweet Sixteen (I think). They played Cal Poly-Pomona. They ended up losing by ONE POINT in the last three seconds. It was so sad, but it was a really fun game. The Polynesian students were crazy.

The next day was cloudy in the morning, so we played around on Hukilau Beach for a while until it got too cold. This was the day that they had the earthquake in Fiji and Tonga and there was a tsunami advisory for Hawaii. We were glad nothing happened.

It cleared up in the afternoon, so we went down to the tide pools at Sharks Cove and hiked up on top of the reef. It was pretty neat. Pretty soon, the tide started rising so we decided it probably wouldn't be safe to be up there. Usually the waves crash over the top of the reef and down into the tide pools.

These are the pools from on top of the reef.

Then we went to Banzai Pipeline and watched the surfers for a while. There were some crazy good surfers and a lot of them were girls and little kids. Crazy. These waves were pretty big, but nothing like they get in January.

Then we watched the sunset on Sunset Beach. It was a little cloudy so we couldn't see the horizon, but it was beautiful nonetheless. I didn't edit any of the sunset pictures at all. That is what the sunsets really look like.

Same sunset closer up.

The next day, we had planned on hiking Chinaman's Hat but Adam couldn't go with us and I kind of chickened out (you wade through 200 yards of ocean and then hike up the island that looks like a Chinaman's hat). Before we left, Adam told us to not get eaten by sharks, so that freaked me out a little bit. Instead, we went back to Waimea. It was gorgeous the whole day. That was our favorite beach by far.

Scott wanted a picture of him with his boogie board. But don't tell him I told you that. He will get mad at me.

This sunset at Waimea was absolutely gorgeous. The picture does not do it justice.

The last full day, we went down to Waikiki, where we saw this crazy fellow. He was dancing up on the rock wall in this awesome get-up. Who knows what sorts of drugs were pumping through his system.

We also decided to take surfing lessons. It was worth every penny. I didn't get any pictures of both of us because they wanted to charge us a meager $60 for a CD with all of our photos that they took. That was almost more than the lesson itself! But surfing was a blast. We both got up pretty much everytime and we were exhausted after our time was up from the paddling. It is hard work. After we were done with the lesson, we could rent the boards for $5 (the cheapest thing in Waikiki), so Adam and Scott went out. Adam was pumped because he tried surfing before but could never get up and he got up a couple times.

Waikiki was fun because it has the big city feel and there is great shopping, but there were just way too many people.

The sunset was also gorgeous there.

After our day in Waikiki, we went to Duke's for dinner. It was really yummy. We sat on the patio and I had the best fish tacos I've ever had in my life.

The whole group. After dinner, Scott and I did some shopping and then stayed in a hotel that night.

We flew home the next day to our baby and snow. The snow was depressing, but seeing Jonah definitely was not. We had such a great time and we cannot wait until we get to go back...probably not for a VERY long time.

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when the humans are sleeping, the mice go creeping

Let me just preface this by saying that I hate rodents. If you read this post, you know that mice are one of my big fears. I don't know why, but I just hate mice. I don't mind spiders, but I hate mice. My children will never know the joy of owning a rat, hamster, gerbil, or any other type of rodent. Sorry Jonah and future children, too much for me.

I also want to say that I grew up in a house of mice, and not mice that were welcome. We lived in a house surrounded by fields on all but one side, so we always had mice problems. I'm not sure why my mom never got a cat, but I'm kind of glad because I hate cats almost as much as I hate mice. So anyway, I should be used to mice. But I'm not. I remember walking into our storage room and seeing mice desperately trying to get off the sticky pad they had been lured onto and every time I saw one, it made me want to barf.

So yeah, I hate mice.

So now to the point of this story: We have (or had) a mouse in our house. I know! Nasty, disgusting, vomit-inducing. I know people associate mice with disease and dirtiness, but I swear, I am not diseased or dirty.

At night, I feed Jonah a bottle in his bedroom in the rocking chair and then I usually put the bottle on the ottoman and put him in his bed for the night. On Sunday night, I left the bottle in his room that night and somehow it fell off the ottoman onto the floor (probably got knocked off when I got up and somehow I missed it and forgot to bring it into the kitchen). So Monday morning during Jonah's nap, I was cleaning up the house and went to his room to get the bottle I had left there the night before. I picked it up and noticed that there was a hole in the nipple. A hole in the nipple of this $8 bottle! I wondered if it had fallen on the heater and had melted, but it was too far from the heating vent for that to be possible. I noticed that there were teeny tiny little bite marks all over the nipple and immediately my heart sank. A mouse had eaten the nipple of the bottle. I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to throw up.

I called Scott to tell him what happened and he told me to go get mouse traps and we would strategically place them throughout the house when he got home from work. I did just that and we put one or two in each room. We even used the sticky pads that I remembered from my childhood but I told Scott that he would be cleaning those up if any mice got stuck on them. He agreed because he used them (plus setting the mice on fire with OFF mosquito repellent) on his mission in the Dominican Republic and he knew they worked the best.

So a little later, we were eating dinner at the bar in the kitchen and I looked up and saw a mouse scurry from the hall to the pantry. It confirmed my fears. I didn't think I could finish my dinner, but I did. Because it was so good.

Jonah slept in our bed because I couldn't bear the thought of him sleeping in his room and a little mouse playing around in his toys at night (and maybe even in his bed, but I don't go there or I want to throw up). I'm pretty sure if he were old enough, he would not want to share his toys with a mouse. It was a long night because none of us sleep well when he's in our bed...except maybe Scott.

Jonah woke up around 6:30 and wouldn't go back to sleep, so I got up to make him a bottle and to go to the bathroom. We had strategically placed one of the sticky pads underneath a cabinet in the bathroom where there is a large, dark space (that was my idea, thank you very much). I hurriedly looked under the cabinet to see if the trap was successful, and to my delight, there was a lump on the sticky pad. I didn't do anything about it though, because I knew it was still alive and I would throw up if I saw it trying to get off. I got back into bed and told Scott about my discovery and he didn't believe me so I told him to go look for himself. He came back and said that there was sure a mouse on the pad and that it was sure still alive.

He properly disposed of the mouse in the outside garbage can (thanks hun! You're the best). And that was that. I felt like I had my house back. Until I called my mom to tell her the story of the mouse. She proceeded to tell me that mice live together in threes or fours. Great. So the traps are still set and I will live in fear in my own home until we catch three or four mice. She also told me that at one point during one of their infestations that she caught at least eight mice. I don't know what I will do if we have to catch eight mice to be done with this.

The thing that disgusts me so much about mice is that they are like uninvited guests. They come in unannounced, sneak around all day scurrying all over your things, eat your food, throw parties in your bedroom while you're sleeping, and poop on your carpet without cleaning up after themselves. At least babies wear diapers and dogs can be potty trained. Mice leave you with the consequences, but you did not choose to have them there. So basically it is a breach of my agency. I'm being punished for someone elses actions.

cute

this picture seriously melts my heart.

sledding

I took Jonah sledding with my mom and siblings on Monday and he seemed to enjoy himself.

five months

Jonah will be six months old in three days, but I just have to document this. I can't believe he is already almost that old. The last four months have flown by.

Here he is next to the froggy. He is getting pretty tall.

At five months, Jonah can:

Eat solids. He is a GOOD, MESSY eater.

Spit up a lot. If you're holding him above your head, just watch out!

Blow bubbles. He does it all day long and gets his shirt soaking wet from all the drool that spills down his chin.

ALMOST roll over. He is getting so close. He also sits up pretty well but I don't have a picture of that.

All I can say is that he has been a really easy baby the last month. He naps well, sleeps well at night, eats well, and laughs A LOT. We loved him when he was hard and we love him now, but it is just so much easier!

big boy

Jonah loves to drink water from a cup. I'm not sure what the thrill is all about, but it sure excites him.

packing on the pounds

Jonah has gained maybe a little too much weight, don't you think?

russell family vacation: part deux

Since Jonah decided to interrupt our family vacation last August by being born, we decided to take another one in January. We started at Kerri's basketball game, went to dinner, and then headed up to the cabin. The next day we went to breakfast, went tubing at Soldier Hollow, and had an adventure with Sterling's flat tire. We had made reservations for Sterling and Lorie at Chez Betty and when we went to the car after tubing, we noticed Sterling's car had a flat tire. So, Sterling, Lorie, Jonah, and I drove back to the cabin so they could make their dinner and Scott and the girls could fix the tire. They ended up not being able to fix it because his car did not come with a spare tire, just an air pump and some jelly stuff to hold it in until you can get a new tire. Needless to say, they showed up to the cabin in a cab about three hours later with a huge platter of fried Mexican goodies from Don Pedro's.

We all had a good time hanging out, playing Phase 10, Hearts, and our new Wii. Kerri, Scott, and I also made a sweet sledding hill down the neighbor's driveway, across the street, and down another hill. We're looking forward to the next Russell Family Vacation, whenever that may be.

Scott forgot to bring snow boots, so he had to borrow Grandpa's sweet boots with no traction and warmth. Doesn't he look a little like Santa Claus with the red shirts, suspenders, and black shiny boots?

Jonah and Dad on the kiddie hill.

christmas 2008

So it's February, but here is what our Christmas looked like:

Christmas trees.

Mom, Jonah, and Christmas cracker crowns.

Grandma and Jonah.

Jonah as Baby Jesus (3 times).

Christmas jammies.

Drooling over his new girlfriend (Kit Kittredge).

Goofy Dad and tired Jonah.

Opening presents.

A baby with lots of crap.

We went a little overboard on his presents, but it was a good Christmas with family, too much food, and a lot of love.

eight crazy years

I don't get political on my blog and this will probably be the last time I will mention anything like this, but in honor of our great former President, George W. Bush, please read this post by my dear, sweet, sister-in-law. I promise you will laugh. It sure has been eight CRAZY years.

four months

Okay, once again I am behind, but I have the dumb camera excuse.

Jonah turned four months before Christmas. All of his pictures are on my camera, so here he is at 4 1/2 months, but you get the point.

And here he is at one month. I can't believe how much he has grown.

At his four month appointment, he weighed a whopping 17 pounds 3 ounces and measured 25 inches. That means he is short and fat. Actually, his height is in the 50th percentile, which is average and his weight is in the 90th percentile, which is above average. So he is just obese.

At four months, Jonah:

• is no longer nursing. He quit a few days after I wrote that he was still nursing in the morning. I think I jinxed myself. He just plain hated it and I wasn't going to force him into something he didn't want to do.
• likes to hold his own bottle. It's pretty funny.
• is very stingy with his laughs. He is not very easily amused.
• is sort of shy. He buries his head into my shoulder when someone new comes and says hi to him.
• is very cuddly and I love it.
• basically sleeps from 9-6:30. Anyone know how to make a baby sleep in? It would be nice for me not to have to wake up that early seeing as how I usually don't have anywhere to go. I have tried keeping him up later but he gets so ornery if he is up past 9:30, so I figure I would rather be up early with a very happy baby than up late with a fussy one.
• takes very good naps.
• is now a very happy baby. Long gone are those fussy first two months and boy, am I glad.
• loves to grab things, hold things, and put things in his mouth. He also LOVES to suck on his hand.

Jonah has been a really fun baby this month. He smiles a lot and we think he kind of likes us. I thought I really loved the newborn stage, but this is so much better because he can actually interact with us and I usually know what he wants. In the words of my mom, the more I get to know him, the more I love him!

more wedding

Here are some more pictures from the wedding I took on Scott's camera. Mine still won't let me get pictures off of it.

The lovebirds:

Lauren's dress was gorgeous. When we were dress shopping I told her that when she tried on THE dress, she would know it was THE dress. I was sort of kidding, but she knew when she tried this one on that it was the one. And she found it at the first dress shop. Talk about low maintenance! I went to like ten places.

Jonah zonked out and looked pretty comfortable....

The Russells were very supportive and came to the reception. Maybe it was just to see their favorite grandson...

And no, Lorie is very angelic, but that is not a halo around her head.

Jonah and his beautiful Aunt Kelli:

Jonah in his cute outfit. It kind of looks like leather, but don't worry, it's velvet...or probably velour:

Jonah was surprisingly well-behaved and we all had a great time. I can't wait to see their wedding video because Scott, Emma, and I were dancing towards the end and Emma was doing some Elaine-style dance moves but she didn't know the videographer was filming her. When she found out she was so embarrassed. I hope he puts it on the video.

Anyway, I love going to weddings no matter what anyone else says. They are always special and make me remember my wedding day and why I chose to marry Scott. This one was no exception.

the wedding

My camera is being stupid and won't let me get my pictures off of it, so these are pictures from Emma's camera. I would really like to post about our Christmas festivities, but that will have to wait until I can figure it out.

Lauren and Brandon were married on December 30th and it was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding. We are so excited for them and excited to have Brandon in our family. Weird how those kind of things happen. I never expected him to be my brother-in-law when I took him to that Harvest Dance back in high school!

Here's a picture of the Russells. I think it's cute except for Jonah is turning his head. Oh well. You can't expect much from a four-month-old in the way of posing for photos.

And here's a picture of the whole Daines fam-damily. We are continuing to grow at an unbelievable rate.