Aloha!!

I guess I should start off by saying, "Aloha!" as Todd and I just returned from a fabulous

trip to Maui.

Thanks a TON to "Grammy" who flew up from Oregon to watch the kids for the week. I could do a whole separate post on the "Rowell Olympics", games they played, croquet tournaments, each kid getting to pick meals for the day, etc. etc. The kids had a blast and

so did we! Thanks Grammy, you Rock!!

Picture of Grammy with Nathan & Tyler at Christmas

The night before we left, Nathan kept waking up during the middle of the night crying that he didn't want us to leave. We tried to comfort him and put him back to bed, but a little while later, he would be back up crying. He even told us that he was going to say a prayer that we wouldn't go to "Who-why". (That is how he says Hawaii) Since our plane was leaving at 6am, we had to get up at 3:30 am. We could NOT go to sleep, we were just too excited. We kept saying, "I can't believe that we are going to be in Hawaii tomorrow! " We FINALLY fell asleep at 1:30am, and that is when Nathan's visits began. So after getting about 2 hours of sleep, I put on my

"Beach or Bust" shirt and off we went to the airport...

Re-enactment photo

We flew into Seattle and then on to Maui. Because of the 3 hour time difference, we arrived in Maui at 11:15 am. We drove straight to our condo right on the ocean in Kahana, marveling that we were really in Maui. We opened the door to our condo and were thrilled as the Hawaiian music was playing as the ocean waves were crashing below us. It was awesome. We looked around a bit and decided that we would go straight to the beach. We went to one of our favorite beaches to swim at... Napili Beach. We played in the water and enjoyed being together ALONE. We stopped for sandwiches on the way home and took them back to eat on our lanai (that is what the Hawaiians call a balcony). We decided to lay down for "just a few minutes" and then were going to clean up and watch the sunset. We woke up 2 hours later and it had already set. We were exhausted from no sleep, and the time difference...

Saturday we woke up and went to our favorite breakfast restaurant, The Gazebo. It is right on Napili Bay and worth the wait. And you really do have to wait awhile. One of their specialties is Banana Macadamia Nut pancakes...

After breakfast, we headed over to the Maui Flea Market (Todd's favorite part- ya, right) and stopped at the store on the way home. Then we headed over to a beautiful beach called Kapalua, that is known for it's awesome snorkeling. We saw lots of cool fish, including the biggest puffer fish I had ever seen!! We went home and got cleaned up and went to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner, Leilani's...

It is right on the ocean in Kaanapali, and we were able to watch the sunset there.
Very romantic!

On Sunday, Todd made us breakfast and we ate on our lanai.

We decided that we would drive part way to Hana. Those of you who have ever driven the whole way to Hana, know just how long it takes. They even sell shirts that say, "I survived the road to Hana!" There are a lot of one lane bridges, beautiful view, twists and turns, and waterfalls, beaches, etc etc. We had driven the whole way about 10 years ago and so we just went part of the way this time...

We stopped along the way and hiked up to Twin Falls, it was a really pretty hike. But I probably should have picked better shoes than flip flops to hike in.

The waterfalls were really neat.....

And those much braver than us, jumped off the top... NO thank you!

This is a peninsula on the way to Hana. It is one of my favorite places. There is all this black lava rock, and the water is the most beautiful color. The waves just crash against the rocks, it is absolutely amazing!

We ate our sandwiches there, in the car, because it was just SO windy. You wanna know just how windy it was? Check this out...

LOVE the hair!! My kids think this picture is pretty funny!

The views were fantastic...

The flowers were beautiful...

But, the company was the best!

See? Windy!!

We drove home and decided that we would watch the sunset on the beach right outside

our condo...

I LOVE this picture!

What a fun day!

"Zip" on by later in the week to see what what we did on the rest of our trip...

The Treasure of Motherhood

My Mother's Day started off with a bang. First, I was able to sleep in, and then got a back rub when I woke up (thanks Todd). The kids made me waffles (toaster waffles) and wrote "We love you" in peanut butter. Trevor serenaded me with "Twinkle, Twinkle little star" and "When the Saints Go Marching In", (the only songs he knows since he has been teaching himself to play the guitar) while Brandon and Tyler made my bed.

Next, I we had a treasure hunt to find my presents (thanks Brandon). The clues were up and down and up and down the stairs...

(For some reason this picture wouldn't turn the right way)

Everyone helped with the clues that lead to the treasure...

The last clue lead us to the basement. And here is what I found...

Tyler had made me some things at school and scouts. One was a coupon book. It included coupons for: a 2 minute back massage, doing dishes, a car wash, and breakfast in bed. He also made me a cute card...

Tyler also made me this cool bag to carry my stuff in

Nathan drew me a picture. It is of me and him. Apparently I have a HUGE Ice cream cone and he is trying to eat it! And he also had a big kiss for me.

(His card said, "Dear Mommy, I lub you. I lub you because it's going to be Mother's Day. I like gibing you presents on Mother's day because I lub you so much. I really lub you so I'll hug you. Happy Mother's Day. It's a special day! Lub, Nathan"

Trevor, Brandon, and Todd also made me really nice cards.

And because my family know me so well, and knows that I am obsessed with taking pictures, they bought me a digital key chain that holds 120 pictures. So that I can carry them around with me where ever I go. Great idea, huh?! And, it's PINK!

After church, Todd and the kids made dinner. They made yummy nachos. Todd wanted to be sure that it would be something that everyone would be able to help out with. Pam and Loyd came for dinner and brought cheesecake for dessert. It was a really nice day.

I am so grateful for the wonderful family that I have been blessed with. I have an awesome husband who loves me and our children more than anything. I love all my boys and know the Lord knew what he was doing giving them to me. I used to be sad that I never had a girl, but now I truly appreciate my boys and what they teach me, and know that my family is just how it was intended. As crazy and hectic as our life sometimes is (especially during Baseball season) I wouldn't change it for the world. Being a Mother is a challenge, no matter how many kids you have. Sometimes you feel like you are doing a great job and sometimes you fell like you are failing miserably. But then you hear your 4 year old say a prayer, or tell a scripture story in detail, or you see your older kids cheering for their younger brother for hitting a grand slam, giving him high fives, and telling him how awesome it was, seeing them help each other out, and having fun together, and you realize that maybe, just maybe, you are doing a better job than you sometimes give yourself credit for. I am so lucky to be able to stay home with my kids. It may not always be easy, but it is always worth it. The real treasure is being a mother to my 4 precious boys. Seeing the great young men they are turning into makes me proud beyond words. Thanks for making my Mother's Day and my life wonderful! I love you!

The Most Important Job In The World

The most important job in the world doesn't offer an hourly wage or days off

or paid vacations.

But it does offer real feelings,

shining faces,

bedtime stories,

small victories,

priceless memories,

and many wonderful moments of joy....

I am so very blessed to have such a wonderful Mother. I am so thankful for all she does for me, for all she has taught me, for all the good advice she's given, for being my cheerleader when I really needed one, for loving and accepting me for who I am, for always being there when I have had every baby, and for helping me after, for loving my husband and kids the way the she does, for being fun to be around, for sharing my addiction to Ross, for always remembering us in her prayers, for actually wanting to live across the street from us, for always coming to visit us just to spend time with us, for working so hard, for being so faithful in the gospel, and for having a strong testimony and raising us with the gospel, so that we could have the kind of family that we were raised in.

"Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels."

-The First Presidency, 1935

I am so grateful for my angel mother...

I love you Mom, Happy Mother's Day!

Nathan recants

This is Nathan. Nathan is 4 years old and has many funny idiosyncrasies. (You can read about Nathan's other OCD tendencies in an earlier post) One is that he does NOT like Santa. When asked why, he says, "Because I don't like his beard and boots." So, not only does Nathan not like Santa, he really doesn't like anyone with a beard. So, last year when our friends The Pate's came to visit, he cried and wouldn't come out of his room. He wanted NOTHING to do with Everette, who has quite a long beard. He pleaded with us to just let him stay in his bed. This was at 3:00 in the afternoon. It was so very embarrassing- Finally after the whole day of them being here, he was ok being in the same room with Everette. And even ended up liking him as they left. The funny thing was that after being so scared of him, he talked about him and asked his wife how he was doing. Well, fast forward about 8 months... The Pate's came and stayed the night with us on their way to Montana. Nathan was excited to see them, and especially "Ebrett" (Everette). When they arrived, he told "Ebrett", "You're the only bearded guy I like." It was priceless!!

We tried to tell Nathan that is was just hair and to touch it- and, of course I had the camera ready!

The kids played pool and watched a movie while the adults went out to dinner

(I forgot to take a picture- dang it!)...

Thanks again guys!!

(My) Brandon and (Her) Todd are very much alike. They both enjoy helping with cars, building things, fixing things, and any kind of work.

We finished off their short visit with a trip to Cabella's. I know, it looks like the zoo. But it is the biggest sports store ever.

We are so grateful for their friendship!!