What you do when you're bored

I'm bored!  Kurt left to drive to North Carolina today to help his cousin move and he won't be back till the end of next week.  The kids are asleep so I'm making a post that you won't normally do unless you're bored.  I stole this idea from my friends blog and I thought it would be fun to do.  There's a list of 99 things that you copy and paste.  Then you bold the things that you've done.  It's amazing how much you can't remember.  

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee 

Wow, I hope that wasn't too much information for some of you!

Quarter of a Century Old

I thought I was bad at being late in Hawaii, I find myself being extra slow at things here in Cedar City.  It was my 25th birthday Monday December 8th and I didn't post anything quickly because I didn't take any pictures that day and I still haven't taken any pictures since.  So anywho for my birthday I made myself pancakes the way I like them made from Bisquick, a little raw and gooey in the middle with lots of butter and powdered sugar.  The kids and I played until I took them over to my friends house so I could go to the dentist.  YAY!!  For my birthday they gave me, a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, chap stick and another appointment for today to get my cavities filled!!  Later that night we picked up some take and bake pizza at Papa Murphy's and took it to our friends house.  Kurt showed me the pizza after it had been baked and he had had the pizza people write HAPPY B-DAY! in in with sausages.  It's funny how excited you get, over a little thing like that.  Then my friend Cheryl surprised me with a cake and after we watched Kung Fu Panda. 

That day as I was waiting in the dentist chair I was thinking, I'm just barely 25 and what am I doing in life?  Do any of you think that occasionally?  Then I think, Oh my gosh!  I'm barely 25 and I have two kids with another on the way.  What was I thinking?  I could be traveling the world right now, could've finished school and started a career, could've gone on a mission, blah blah blah!  Then something reminded me of breakfast that morning.  Drew said the prayer and she said we were thankful for the Spirit.  That's something she started including in her prayers a couple of weeks ago, something we didn't teach her.  But after we said amen Drew exclaimed, 

"Mom!  I felt the spirit!"

"You did?"

"Yeah, That's Jesus!"

It's amazing how much little children surprise you.  I'm really bad and have never taught her that.  I'm really wondering if it was a lesson she had in nursery and if it was, how thankful I am for their lessons.  For those nursery teachers out there, even if you think the kids aren't listening, I'm sure they hear a lot more than you think.  Then my next thought went to something my sister in law said.  She's in the Primary presidency and they take kids from nursery who are going to be in primary next year, and let them come to singing time to get them used to it.  She said that every time they have a picture of Jesus in primary while Drew is there, she'll yell and the top of her lungs, "That's MY Jesus!  That's my Jesus!"  So Drew got to help by holding the picture during one of the songs.

Then I feel guilty for ever thinking I could've done something better, more productive, than bring these children into the world.  So, YES!  I'm now 25, have two kids with another one on the way.  I've had a problem saying that for while now, feeling the non-mormon public eye on me, thinking the opposite of what I've been wanting to feel.  I've finally realized that it's not what I think people are thinking, it's what I've been thinking of myself.  Does that make sense?  I'm so happy I have my little family, that seems to be getting bigger every 19 months.  I have my ultrasound this Friday and I'm SO excited to see... it.  We're not going to find out what it is so don't get your panties in a twist.  It's just "baby" till it pops out.  Then I fly back home to Hawaii, by myself, Wedneday the 17th, for my sister Breana's wedding on the 20th!  I'm so excited.  Which reminds me my sister, Nikki, and her two month old baby, Collin, are the only ones coming from her family and she needs a baby sitter for Friday the 19th while Bre goes to the Temple for her first time.  We were wondering if there was anyone in the Hau'ula-Laie district that would be willing and able to baby sit for that period of time.  He's a REALLY good baby and takes a bottle easy peasy so let me know if you'd be up to it.  Sorry, had to add that in but you know how it goes!  

It was fun reading all my face book messages, emails and cards I got from everyone, and the voice mails- sorry I haven't called anybody back!  But thanks for your thoughts!  It was a good day and I'm so grateful to have such wonderful friends and family!

Trying Something Out

So... I kinda started another blog.  I don't know if I'll be able to keep it up as much as I want to but it's been sitting at the back of my mind for a while now.  It's called A Few Of My Favorite Things.  I'd be watching a movie and love it so much I'd want to blog about it but never did because it would be kinda random.  The same thing happened with some songs, and some artsy fartsy thing I'd find.  So I thought to put everything I love onto one blog.  Check it out, make a comment, or even post if you want.  I'm trying to keep it to a post a day so cross your fingers that I'll be able to do it!

New Move Resolution

You know how everyone makes New Years resolutions, well I like to make resolutions every time I move.  So here are some of things that I want to work on when we move to Utah.

1.  I want to be more out going.  I'm definitely a person who would rather have someone come up to me to start a first conversation than the other way around.  I do good if there's a group of people and I know at least one other person who knows other people.  I can make friends that way but it's more of my comfort zone to sit by myself than to go and introduce myself to others.

2.  I want to be more open minded about Utah.  When I lived in Utah I was the person complaining all about it but I realized that I was being rude and very close minded.  I hate when people trash talk Hawaii and I don't want to do that Utah anymore.  There are it's good qualities.

3.  I need to cook more.  I HATE cooking.  But now that I really haven't been cooking I've seen the crap that my husband feeds my kids and himself and it needs to change.  I've been calling myself a smart body, like a smart house, because I can literally detect healthy food from crap food just using my nose.  Whenever I smell crap food I dry heave and have to run from the house.  So my goal is to have three meals on the table with healthy snacks in between.  I'm afraid this is going to be the hardest task for me.

4.  Besides being more outgoing with making friends, I want to be more outgoing with every other aspect.  I want to do more service, because of my lack of cooking/baking I've never given anyone brownies or snacks or treats.  I know you don't have to give treats as the only means of service, but it's the best tasting and one that I've always enjoyed.  I want to fulfill my calling 110% even though it may be in the nursery or primary, please no! :)  I want to go to all the church activities and relief society events that I can.  I would only go to the fun ones or the ones that would have dinner, but I know I need to be better.  Those functions are for us as women and I probably have missed out on a lot of good things because I didn't want to go.

5.  I think with being more outgoing comes the need for more confidence.  I'm always over thinking and sometimes I have and other people have, missed out on a lot of things because I'm not confident enough.  I've baked cookies to give other people before but then I think they're not good enough, or I've wanted to call somebody but don't because I think of what they could be doing and I don't want to disturb them.  I say, "I'm sorry" when things aren't even my fault.  I need to stop thinking and be more confident!

Now that my brain is working I've realized that these things are just scratching the surface.  I want to change so much more.  I feel like I've already started because before when we decided to move to Utah I had in my head a picture of how I was going to behave.  Being a recluse, rolling my eyes at the people there, complaining about the weather, yada, yada, yada.  I've realized I need to step outside of myself.  I've missed out on some fun things just because it started to become a fad and I don't like to be another lemming but it was really something I loved to do.  I'm getting really excited for this move now.  I actually can't wait to be dry, and cool rather than hot and sticky.  I'm excited to meet new people and try new things.  I really don't know how if I'll succeed in anything on my list but I wanted to write it all down, with you all as my witnesses, so that I'll at least try.  Wish me luck!

Surprise surprise!

Hiyah!  A lot of you have probably wondered where I've been.  The person you can rely on to post every other day because I have nothing better to do has gone MIA.  Well lately I have not been feeling up to posting or even blogging all together.  Read on readers if you want a story.

July 28th I couldn't take it much longer.  I was two weeks late for my period.  The month before I was a week and a half late when I finally spent the money to get a pregnancy test.  Both test taken a day apart were negative.  I really wish I would've saved a test.  They are just annoyingly expensive to me.  All of this was going through my head when we passed it.  A huge UGLY sign in Kanehoe that announced a Free Pregnancy and Counseling Clinic.  Hahahaha!  Kurt and I HAD to do it not because it was free but because it was too funny of a situation to pass up.  It looked like a place a pregnant teen would go if they didn't want their parents to know.  We thought it would be kinda funny if I played it that way.  So I go in and Kurt stays in the car with the kids.  I walked through the doors and thought this isn't as ghetto as the sign made out to be, it looks okay.  Then I noticed the crosses and signs with a  scripture quoted on it.  The thing I missed as I walked in was the little fish symbol for Christ in the corner of the sign.  Hahahaha!  It made it that much better.  So I go and sign in and the nurse immediately tells me that you have to make a $5 donation to cover all the costs as she pushes a clear donation box at me.  I almost laughed and turned around but I gave them $5 in quarters.  The nurse then led me to a room that I thought would be like a doctors office but the other thing I missed was that it was a counseling center too.  So instead of a patient bed there was a couch.  Okay whatever that's kinda cool.  I knew she wasn't a doctor and I wasn't going to be checked but still a couch was to get comfortable and I just wanted to take the test and go.  But I sit down and she starts asking me questions.  So I am supposed to be comfortable.  I give her all the personals and then she goes more personal.  She asked how many partners my husband and I have had and I said just each other and then she asked if I have ever taken and STD test.  No I wouldn't need to.  By the look on her face she was going to give it to me.  She started shaking her head and was about to tell me how you can never trust your husband then my mind started working.  Wait!  I have two kids.  Don't they give you an STD test at your first prenatal visit?  My pregnant teen cover was blown but it was better to tell than to have to hear her lecture.  She relaxed but she wasn't through yet.  Her next question was, "Do you have a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ?"  umm... yes...  "Well let me tell you about my experience finding a relationship with him.  The next 45 min she told me her life story.  Now I really wished I wouldn't have come.  It just was not worth it.  I started to write what she had said to me but Kurt and I concluded that it wasn't good for the soul.  Let me just say that as she was bearing her testimony to me it strengthened mine and my choice to be a member of this church.  Every trial she told me about would've been prevented if she lived like us.  I wanted to bear her my testimony but it didn't feel right.  And how she gained a testimony through her experiences I have NO idea.  So finally after my spirit took a couple of hits she finally said it was time for the test.  I went in the bathroom, peed in a cup and she gave me stick to stick in it.  Then we went back in the dreaded counseling room.  This time when we sat down she asked if I wanted to see her babies.  Hmm... her kids?  Nope.  She whipped out this velvet box and opened it to reveal babies to scale of size and weight at 6 weeks 7 weeks all the way to 12 weeks.  That one she wanted me to hold.  That was it.  If she asked me to do one more freakish thing I was gone!  I'll hold your scary baby but if there was anything else I had to do to just find out if I was pregnant I would take my $5 donation back and leave.  I held the baby, gave it a little shake because it was rubbery and handed it back.  Last question she asked before we found out,"If you find out the test is positive what are you planning on doing with the baby?"  Now my slow mind went through a thousand answers at once, name it, feed it, hold it, I could've used a twix right then but then I caught on.  Keep it?  Right answer.  She held up the test, I signed a paper and I finally was released.  So for those of you who haven't figured it out yet, because I am apparently an open book, I'm pregnant!  

Now to answer questions that you may or may not be thinking.  It was NOT planned.  I actually got back to the car and bawled.  One of my biggest fears was to have three kids three and under.  If you could personally handle three kids three and under more power to you.  Get them done and over with, but for me...I never mentally thought I personally could handle it.  I wanted to have the next one in October 2010.  Call me bad, call me evil, but I cried for a couple of days after.  We're supposed to be leaving for Korea in the near future.  I do NOT want to have a baby there!!  I googled a ton about having a baby in Korea and the c-section rate is 40%!!  So now I'm terrified.  Through my self pity I got to thinking why would Heavenly Father give me a baby that was not planned on, when there are too many women who are having a hard time getting or keeping a pregnancy?  The only thing I could think of was that this pregnancy was not only not planned but I really shouldn't have gotten pregnant.  So... even though having a baby may not have been on our agenda it was on the Lords agenda.  At least that's what I've been telling myself.  So why have I been so MIA?  I feel like CRAP!  All I want to do is lay on the couch.  This is the worst morning sickness I've had.  I don't throw up but that doesn't mean that it's not as bad as if I did.  My poor mom and husband have been waiting on me hand and foot.  They have been SO good to me.  I can't eat the same thing twice, I can't make my own food because the smell of everything makes me dry heave, but I need to eat every other hour.  So they name things off and will make late night runs to get me what sounds good at that time.  My poor kids are SO neglected by me.  If Kurt has to go anywhere the kids will sit in front of the tv till somebody comes home and takes care of them.  So this post has taken over a week to write because I only come on the computer when I feel somewhat okay.  Then to tack on more to my pathetic body I woke up Saturday morning with a crick in my neck.  I have to turn my whole torso to look to my right and a sharp pain hits when I move my head a quarter inch towards my shoulder.  I'm going in for a massage tonight and I'm praying it helps because I feel bad when I have the 'just kill me now' feeling.  Moving on I should be due March 22nd but my kids are always small to start off with and the first ultra showed I should be due April 1.  On Friday my Dr. will make the final decision for my due date.  With the baby due then Brody and baby will be two years apart and Drew will be turning four in July.  We've concluded to have one more soon after this one and be done!  I was praying I was having twins with this pregnancy so I wouldn't have to go through the morning sickness again, but I have no luck.  It's okay though.  If I calculate correctly my kids will be out of the house by the time I'm 45.  That sounds good to me.

ps i'm happy, just feel like crap

Another Shark Movie

Sorry this video is all over the place.  There were so many at one time I didn't know which one to record.

Da dum, Da dum

I was SO lucky enough to swim with the sharks this morning.  Hahaha that sounds funny.  Well yesterday on my friend, Shanae's, blog she invited anyone and everyone to go swimming with her with the sharks.  This is something that Kurt and I have always wanted to do but could never afford it.  So I happily wrote her a have-fun-wish-I-was-going comment.  The day before I checked Mark Lee's blog, who's a photographer and he and his adventurist wife went for their 10 year anniversary.  You know how these things always work in pairs or threes.  He has water housing equipment for his DSLR and had an awesome picture on his blog.  Anyways, I forgot about it and went on with my day.  Around 9-9:30ish Kurt heard the cell phone ring, thankfully, and it was Shanae asking us if we were still interested.  The group that Rob Potts put together needed one more person and they were going to offer us the last seat at a discounted rate.  Shanae suggested we talked about it and call her back.  I got of the phone and explained everything to Kurt.  His birthday is on the 8th of August and I suggested that he go for his birthday present.  Kurt was really excited!  After a minute in his own fablehaven he stopped me and said, "Why don't you go?"  It kinda took me by surprise.  "Well... I get sea sick, your birthday is coming up, and this is something you've always wanted to do."  Plus since moving to Kailua, Kurt has not had a man session to himself and I've had some fun girl's nights out.  Swimming with the sharks seemed like the best way for him to boost his testosterone.  But he was pretty admit and very convincing.  So I called Shanae back and announced that I was the lucky winner.  I was SO excited.  We finished watching our movie and went straight to bed so I could actually get up for my 4:30 am wake up call.  When I say go to bed I mean lay in bed and stay up half the night talking about how exciting the next day would be for me.  Then finish the night off with making fart noises and laughing hysterically like we were 10 years old.  We finally got tired and fell asleep.  Let me tell you 4:30 came pretty early and again felt really late.  I woke up three different times afraid that my alarm clock wouldn't go off.  At 3:30 am Kurt got up and I asked him what time it was.  Okay I had an hour.  As I fell back asleep and entered the dream part of my REM cycle I dreamt that I indeed had slept in.  Eyeyah!  I practically laid in bed for the last hour.  I arrived at Shanae's house with perfect timing and we we were off to pier 35 at the Haleiwa Harbor.  Before we got on the boat Rob offered me Dramamine which I gladly took and for the rest of the time was ever grateful!  Thanks a million Rob!  I would say, and I'm no expert, that when we got out there, there being three miles of shore, it was pretty calm.  The captain and his one man crew explained to us that they don't have to bait and wait for hours.  The sharks know the sound of the engine as being a grab or fishing boat where they get the left over bait and crabs that are too small to keep aka food!  It took us five seconds to stand up after the boat stopped and see the first shark.  It was amazing to me that I'd lived here my entire life, surfed for seven good years and I had to pay to see my first shark.  It was worth every penny.   Even though they don't have to bait the sharks, every minute or so the captain or his one man crew would throw pieces of meat to the sharks and they would gladly feast.  We broke up in three groups and every group got to be in the water for 20 min.  You step into the, I would say and someone correct me if I'm wrong, 4x7 ft. cage in the water with snorkel gear on and then they lower you away.  You drift away a good 15 ft from the boat and have fun looking like a fish in a fish bowl with cats all around you.  We had about 15 Galapagos sharks swarming around us, or maybe they were the same 5, but 15 is my guesstimate.  If we weren't sane and if the crew hadn't specifically told us not to, we could've reached our hand out and touched them.  They were swimming all around and beneath us, it was just amazing.  As if the day couldn't have gotten any better, as we were going back into the habor we saw a pod of spinner dolphins.  As Shanae said, "Killed two birds with one stone."  Thank you SO much Rob for putting this together and let me sneak my way in.  Shanae I'm so glad you called us.  You were the best person to go with.  Then thank you Kurty for suggesting I go.  It was so much fun!

These seven pictures are from Shanae.  I personally believe she should have a career in underwater photography.

The Fun's Gotta End Sometime

Tuesday May 20th Kurt and I played intramural dodgeball.  We were unstoppable!  Our team was awesome and consisted of Taylor Stimmel, Shane Boyd, Russ and Christy, and us.  Unfortunately a member of the other team had a date at 9:00 so we had to postpone our championship game until Thursday.  Thursday rolls around and Kurt decides he's too seasick, from spear fishing for five hours that morning, to play our final game of dodgeball.  We had to play short one person.  This is the result.  I didn't get my hands fully underneath the ball that was being whirled at me and it hit my finger straight on.

When I noticed the shape of my finger after being hit I pulled on it twice trying to straighten it.  Then I had Taylor pull on it and it still was crooked.  Poor Taylor took off half of the skin on his hand as he skidded on the floor fighting for the ball and Shane hurt his shoulder from the Tuesday before when he had to do a tuck-and-roll to catch a ball.  After the game Shane drove me home because I felt too sick to my stomach to drive.  He and Kurt convinced me that I had to let someone pull on it as hard as they could.  Shane gave me a spatula to bite down on before he held me down and Kurt yanked.  I wanted to vomit and felt like fainting at the same time.  After much deliberation we decided to go to the E.R.  A BIG thank you to Shane and Mary Boyd for watching our kids from 9-11 pm.

Now for those of you who have been to Kahuku Hospital, it's a bit scary.  Before we left we were joking with the Boyd's saying that the janitor was probably the x-ray technician.  We weren't that far off.  After taking three pictures of my finger, without a lead vest, did he ask if I was pregnant or had a chance of being pregnant.  I don't know.  Maybe it's just me but I thought your supposed to ask those kinds of questions BEFORE the x-ray.  For a split second I thought of saying "yes" just to see the sweat trickle from his forehead.  But my body was in too much pain from the awkward positions he put my hand in, so I didn't.

Even though the janitor/technician was freaky-scary, and the hospital reminded me of something in a horror movie, it was a good thing I went in.  If you can see there's a chunk of bone that broke off from my ring finger on my left hand.  The E.R. Dr. said that there's a chance that I might have to get a screw to attach the two pieces of bone back together.  I had wanted to break my finger so that I hadn't come to the hospital for nothing, I know crazy right?  But now I was nervous with the idea of surgery.  The break had a specific name which I can't remember but it's where there's so much pressure on the tendons that it breaks your bone.  I guess I shouldn't complain.  The guy in the bed next to me, behind the curtain had it worse.  He had cellulitis on his leg and it must've been so bad that they had to put a catheter in and give him crutches.  When you are in the E.R. although you cannot see what's going on you can hear what's going on.  

Kudos to you cellulitis boy!

This is what my hand looked like after the nurse wrapped it in the E.R.

This is what it looks like after the visit with my Doc and what it's going to look like for the next six weeks.  After checking the x-rays he said that it would probably be worse if I got a pin in it.  I would have bad arthritis if I got a pin in it but if I didn't get it screwed then it will most likely never reattach.  

I'm really sick of physical pain and agony.  So far in my entire life I have broken my collarbone on a see-saw, my pinky playing basketball, my arm and dislocated my elbow falling out of a tree and now my ring finger.  My doctor told me today, "Didn't you know mom's aren't supposed to have any fun?"  I know he was joking but I felt the truth in it when he was putting my finger in it's plastic splint and I had to lay down before I fainted from the pain.  After everything, after all this we lost to a bunch of lilies!  

I blame Kurt.

Noelle Jell Bell

Unfortunately this was the only picture I could find of myself that was somewhat decent.  I'm always behind the camera unless I take a photo of myself, like this one, or I ask Kurt to take one of me which is only for our work out and I am NOT posting those.  Well I have the best and hardest job in the world.  I'm a stay at home mom.  I love being able to raise my kids but the hours are horrible.  What is it about having a second child that makes your house that much harder to clean?  Obviously there's another child to help make a mess but, I swear as soon as its clean it gets messy again!  After this blog has been up for a little while I promise to make it more interesting rather than it sounding like one of those christmas lettersthat sums up the entire year.  Enjoy!