It's all about LOVE

In years past, I wouldn't lie we have had a hard time balancing out the commercialized side of Easter and the true meaning of Easter. The area we live in makes it hard sometimes to keep all of the Easter celebrations under control. Every city and church offers a full range of activities from Easter egg hunts and carnivals. It's very easy to get caught up with all the fun activities and not enough emphasis on the true meaning of the holiday which is the Savior.

While I think it is really important that the true meaning of Easter (and of other religious holidays) be the focus of the day, I do think it is ok to have a little fun with holidays as well. Basically, there needs to be a balance. Leroy and I managed to make it back in time to celebrate Easter with the kids. We only had a few days before Easter to come up with our plan of action. The weather caused most of our plans to change at the last minute but to tell you the truth it really helped us to keep the holiday more simple and more spiritual.

Here's what we did to make the holiday more special with the kids plus grandma and grandpa Nichols were here to celebrate Easter as a whole family. We dyed Easter eggs, indoor Easter egg hunt, and we attended a very nice Easter egg hunt at Landon's friend church which was really nice plus it had a good balance between learning about the atonement and the fun side.

My mom made Resurrection rolls with the kids. Everyone really enjoyed this activity and they taste good as well.

Ingredients:
One can of crescent roll dough
8 large marshmallows (or one for each roll you’ll be making)
Melted butter
Cinnamon sugar
Bible or Easter storybook
Assemble rolls and read the story:
1. Read John 19 while the oven is pre-heating according to the package directions. If you’re really on top of things, spend the week before reading John 12-18 with your kids.
2. Unroll the crescent rolls. Explain that this is like the cloth they wrapped Jesus in.
3. Give your child a marshmallow and explain that it represents Jesus… all white and pure because He was without sin.
4. Roll the marshmallows in the melted butter. This symbolizes the embalming oils.
5. Roll the marshmallows in the cinnamon sugar. This is like the spices used to prepare his body for burial.
6. Wrap the marshmallow in the crescent roll cloth, pinching the dough together securely. Don’t worry about the shape so much, they’ll taste the same no matter how you roll or bundle them. This represents how they would have wrapped Jesus’ body. I like to brush them with more melted butter, but it’s not necessary.
7. Put the rolls in the oven (symbolizing the tomb) and bake for the amount of time specified on the package.
8. While the rolls are baking, read John 20:1-18.
9. Open the tomb and remove the rolls. When they’re cool enough to handle, break one open and discover what happened to the marshmallow. Jesus is risen! At this point, I also read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. Jesus is coming again!

Several years ago, a good friend gave me this Easter bunny cake pan. She told me that every year she would make this cake for her kids and it was a special tradition and she was going to pass it onto me. I made it one time, several years ago. Every year, I would feel the guilt of not making the cake. So, this year I decided to stop making excuses and I whipped up this really cute Easter cake.

The final three activities:
1.) Easter baskets that contained only candy no gifts. I'm really surprised how many people give their kids bikes and all kinds of material gifts. This I used to give the kids bubbles and kites in their baskets but I wouldn't be doing that anymore. I don't want the holiday to turn into a huge production plus I don't want it to be so commericalized.
2.) Several years ago, I put together my own set of Resurrection rolls. I just googled it and made one that fits our family. The kids love this lesson and I just have the older kids read each strip of paper. The set contains twelve eggs with a message and symbol that tells the Easter story.
3.) I pulled out all of the pictures from my gospel picture kids. I had the kids take turns telling the story about the Resurrection. I'm super surprised that Landon knew every picture and story. This was the last activity we did on Easter which was followed up with Easter Bunny Cake!

Oh my, I'm not sure if any one is still reading this post but I just have one more thing to say about celebrating the Easter holiday. I love getting the kids new clothes to wear for Easter Sunday. While in Hawaii, I was able to pick up my mom and the kids matching Hawaiian dresses.

I know that the Savior lives and he made it possible for us to return to him because of the Atonement and Resurrections. The greatest gift he gave us was LOVE so we would be able to return to him and Heavenly Father in Heaven. So, it's all about Love.
 

My Favorite Things in Sunset Beach

Three spots that every person needs to visit while at Sunset Beach on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.

1.) Ted's Bakery

The absolutely best thing about Sunset Beach isn't the beach it's Ted Bakery! I love their pies and the Chocolate Haupia Cream Pie is utterly to die for! We ended up making two trips to Ted's. This would explained why I gained ten pounds on our trip to Oahu.

Drooling...seriously, the best thing ever created!

2.) Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau State Historic Site

A little less than two miles past Sunset Beach on the Kamehameha Highway (and before you get to Waimea Bay), watch for Pupukea Road on your left (across from Pupukea fire station). This road will take you up to the Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau State Historic Site and O'ahu's largest Hawaiian heiau (temple), covering almost 2 acres.

The name is translated as "hill of escape". Believed to have been constructed in the 17th century and expanded in the 18th century.

As indicated on the park's website, "Undoubtedly, this heiau played an important role in the social, political, and religious system of Waimea Valley which was a major occupation center of O'ahu in the pre-contact period."

Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1962 in recognition of its importance to Hawaiian culture and history. Also in 1962, the 4-acre property encompassing the heiau was placed under the jurisdiction of State Parks to preserve this significant site for future generations.

Human sacrifices took place at this Old Hawaiian Temple but don't let this scare you off.

3. Old WW2 Bunker and Lookout

This is the most amazing part of the Old Hawaiian Temple site is the little path that leads down to an old WW2 bunker that over looks Waimea Bay and Sunset Beach. This part of the site you will not find in any travel book. We use to come to this very site when we used to live in Hawaii over 11 years ago. The view is breath taking and down right beautiful. The pictures don't do justice. Plus, if you come to this site you can spot whales during the winter months. We use to stop off at this very spot to spot whales and it's amazing to seem them out in the ocean.

One of the best kept secrets on the North Shore. All three places are worth stopping at plus don't forget to check out Sunset Beach! So, instead of three places it's actually four! A little bit of pie, breath taking views, killer waves, whale watching, and a very interesting historical site. If you ever get a chance...check it out. You wouldn't regret it!

 

Flood 2011

Six days of rain equals lots of excess water which leads to dam's in the area overflowing with water!,

We seriously, didn't see the sun shine for six days straight...just never ending rain!

The sky did managed to clear up for a few short hours which resulted in a quick last minute trip Tanyard Creek. I figured with all of the rain that the waterfall would be AWESOME! We managed to hike up to the very top of the Dam and worked our way back down to the waterfall.

The simple flow and force of water is amazing. Just check out the photos. I have never seen such a powerful force of water coming down the waterfall before at Tanyard Creek. We have been coming to Tanyard Creek since Landon was only 4 weeks old.

We spent the rest of the time exploring different areas of the creeks. It wasn't too long before the sky went from sunny to a real scary black clouds. It seriously, happened with a blink to the eye! I told the kids we better cut this hike short and head back to the van. We barely made it back before the rain started to come down again in buckets full of rain!

On Top of Lake Windsor Dam...Flood gates are OPEN!

Checking out the views of Tanyard Creek Waterfall!

Spring time is my favorite time at Tanyard Creek!

Too much of a good thing can quickly become bad thing. We love rain but enough already!

Plus, it's expected to rain for a few more days...hopefully, we wouldn't have to build an Ark!

My Old Alumni

Flashback without any old photos of me at BYUH; sorry, all of my photos were from pre-digital age! While on the trip, we decided to spend three nights up at our old stomping ground at BYU-Hawaii. I attend from 1996-2000 and Leroy attended from 1995-2000 (yes, you read that right...it took him two major changes which realized in an extra of schooling)! Like, I said we decided to bum around the school and check out all of our old favorite spots. You wouldn't believe how many people came up to us thinking we're students attending school. I thought it was really funny. I don't look like I use to back in the late night 90's. I'm not 18, 19, 20, or 21 yrs old but over 30! It was just like being young and just barely married with no responsibilities. We literally just walk around the school and reminiscing about how life use to be. Carefree, adventitious, and down right FUN! It wasn't an accident that Leroy and I ended up attending school together at BYUH at the same time. Seriously, blessing in so many ways. Going back to my old Hale left me overwhelmed with tears and emotions. I can't believe how much fun; I used to have with all of my old room mates. BYUH opened the doors for so many wonderful experiences. Seriously, the best four years of my life.



Life changing events to place at this very special school. Don't ask me what I learned in the classroom because I really wasn't paying to much attention. Life experiences have helped me to grow in so many ways especially meeting my husband and being sealed together forever in the Laie Hawaii Temple back in Sept. 1998.

Wow...it's crazy to think we have been married for almost 13 years. I want to be young and carefree again but that's not very realistic. Thanks, for taking this short trip down memory lane.

A time to reflect

The first day on our trip was spent traveling to the island of Oahu and getting ourselves settled in Honolulu. We spent the first night on the floor of Leroy's brother William apartment on a blow up mattress. It really wasn't to bad and it made this really interesting but then again we're really cheap.

The next day, Leroy decided to go into work with William to help him with a computer network problem. I figured it would be bonding time for them and it would be a good time to see some of the historical sites by myself. Leroy doesn't like going to museum and has different ideas on what he likes to do while on vacation. I took this time to hit up the palace and some of the museums that are right next to the palace. Here's a list of things to do while in Honolulu if your a history buff.

As one of the two palaces in the United States, a visit to the ‘Iolani Palace is definitely something you shouldn't’t miss. There are guided tours available that takes you to the first and second floors of the palace in addition to a self-guided tour of the basement gallery exhibits. If history is your thing, then this is one of the best places to experience and see Hawaiian history first-hand.



There are also things to see around the palace. Fronting it is the world-famous King Kamehameha Statue, and across Punchbowl Street from the statue is Kawaihao Church. On the same grounds as the church is the Mission Houses Museum and the King Lunalilo Mausoleum.

The Hawaii State Capitol is also just behind ‘Iolani Palace in addition to the Hawaii State Library. Honolulu Hale (city hall) is across Punchbowl Street from the palace as well.



The end of the Hawaiian monarchy is sad and depressing. I know this is a little bit sad of my part to admit but I have never been to any of these places before in Oahu. I used to live their and never went to the palace or any of the historical building. If you haven't been before and you're planning on returning back to Hawaii make sure to take a couple of hours to hit all of the historical sites. It's a very humbling experience.

Book Reviews

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows Book Review: I have mixed emotions about recommending this book. I didn't exactly love it or hate it! I did find the book interesting but I didn't realize it was about the German occupation in the Channel Islands. My two biggest issues with the book...The book is all letters being written back and forth from friends. I would of like a little bit of narration in between all the letters plus it would of made the book flow a little bit easier in the beginning. Also, something else bugged me about this book but I'm not going to get into with this post. It's a nice historical novel but it's okay in my opinion. I would give it three stars out of five.

3 Willows-The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares

I swore off this writer after finishing The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book number four. I wasn't happy with the last book in the series. So, when I came across this book...I had my doubts. Sometimes, it's best to end a series not keep it going but I was wrong. I LOVED IT!!!!!! I want more stories about these three friends. The author has redeemed herself. This book is good for girls 14 and up. The traveling pants series is good for grown woman looking back into their own teen years. I wouldn't recommend them for actual teens.

Flip-Flop Girl by Katherine Paterson

I accidently, deleted the picture of the book. ARGHH, I hate Blogger.com and this is one of the reason I don't like to blog much anymore.

I love Katherine Paterson books...I mean...I love them all.

It's a quick short read but it still delievers a powerful message at the end of the book.

It's about friendship, death, no judging, and owning up to mistakes.

This book is good for anyone 8 years old and up!

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I'm hoping to make it to book group but it's always starts so freak'n late at night. If I don't make it than I will come back and write up a review. This book is a classic and it's message is so powerful. I would read it over a hundred times and never get tried from reading it.

 

New Adventures

Landon started another new adventure....BASEBALL!

My little guy is the newest member to the Yankee's baseball team.

Landon had his first pratice yesterday, it was so cold and windy outside. I felt really bad, he didn't have a jacket to wear but it wasn't too long before he had all of the boys of his team warming up.

As soon as we made it to the field, I introduced myself to the couch. I told him that his was Landon's first time ever playing baseball. I was super nervous, all the kids had super fancy gloves and equipment. Landon had on his Gold Rush 5k t-shirt, sweat pants, and nike's running shoes. Can we say this boy is a runner not normally a baseball player. Poor, Landon had his cheap baseball glove. I can't believe my eyes on how much parents must spend on fancy equipment. I felt a little on the cheap side but we will be trying to upgrade his equipment next week.

The wind was whipping around like crazy...I tried to take the kids to play at the park but it was too cold outside. One day it's nice outside and the next day it's gone all crazy cold, again. Landon looked really outside on the field. The kids were busy throwing and catching the ball back and forth to each other.

Well, Landon's practice came to an end. His coach came up to me and asked if he heard me right when I told him that Landon had never played before? I told him that was correct and this was his first time playing. Well, it turns out that Mr. Landon is a natural. His couch told me that Landon plays really good.

I feel super blessed to have a son that is good at anything he tries. He never gives up on himself except for the occasional "I have to be prefect meltdown" and he truly believes in himself. Right now, in karate Landon has his yellow belt. In less than six months he has earned two belts. His teacher is super hard and he makes the kids earn their belts. A lot of sports just give the kids medals for being there but Landon's teacher really makes them earn them.

One last thing, they like to practices on Sunday, which we will not be attended; too bad! Also, the new night that has schedule for practices is Monday night at 8:00 pm. Who in there right mind schedules practices on a school night that late at night. I'm not sure if Landon will be attending Monday nights because he has Karate from 5:30-6:30pm.

So, Bentonville Youth Baseball is already on my bad list but hopefully, it will be worth it in the end.