Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day

The kids this morning with our father's day breakfast.  We wish we could have brought some to Papa and Grandpa too:)  We had cheesy eggs, bacon, waffles with cinammon syrup, strawberry topping, and whipped cream.

I am lucky enough to have amazing father's in my life.

My father-in-law Burnett is just one amazing guy.  He is always so fun to talk to and always has interesting things to say.  I appreciate his example to be faithful and obedient and have lots of fun while you do it.  He is an amazing father to his boys, I have seen it firsthand.  You can tell that because those Facer boys are special, and I think it has a little something to do with their dad.  He is also an amazing Papa to my babies, and loves them a lot.  We miss having Papa around. 

My Dad is one of my very favorite people.  Everyone who knows my dad loves him.  He's just got that ability to make everything fun and make everyone feel apart of it.  I always remember going to bed every night listening through the walls to the Star Trek opening song.  It was such a weird comfort to me knowing my dad was there, just eating his vanilla ice cream, holding the fort down.  My dad has had a lot of success in his life but I know that for him, no other success compares to that of his children.  He is one proud dad.  My dad knows how to make life special, even when it's not perfect.  He knows how to make the best out of a situation and look at the bright side.  He is such a good grandpa to my kids.  He takes every opportunity to spoil them or try to make them smile.  We miss our grandpa/dad a lot these days. 

Now I get to talk about the father of my kids:)  Ryan is a great father.  He knows how to set an example, build their confidence, and have a lot of fun.  He is constantly playing pretend (puppets, puppies, chickens, monsters, flying) with the kids, Amelie will try and have me join in but just give up because lets face it, Dad's are just more fun.  He will send me texts just saying, "I miss you and those babies.  Tell them I can't wait to hang out with them when I get home".  Ryan never tires of being with his kids.  He doesn't keep score about who had them all day (like he did yesterday) and takes advantage of the time he gets with them.  I know its hard for him to be at work but he never compains about waking up super early, working 12 hour days and not getting to surf nearly as much as he should:)  His top priority is us and no one can mistake that.  Ryan also has an amazing testimony and has no problem sharing it as often as he can.  What a great example he is to our little ones.  They're going to be great missionaries just like their dad.  He also loves me endlessly.  What better example from a father to his son about loving his wife, or to his daughter about how she should be loved.  Ryan is our protector and our biggest fan and that makes him the best father around.

I know that most of the world doesn't consider their Heavenly Father a literal father.  I do.  He is a perfect father with perfect love for his children.  All the amazing, good, and beautiful things I have in my life are from him.  He loves me enough to know what husband I needed, what kids he would trust me with, and the simplest details that make life beautiful for me.  There are so many needs that are unspoken yet he truly understands me and can comfort me when no one else can.  Isn't it amazing to know that someone is in charge and his plan is perfect.  I am so grateful for that knowledge I have.  I hope I can be a better missionary to share these beautiful truths to others.  We all deserve to know.          

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Visitors are the best!

 Up the trail of Diamond Head hike
 A gorgeous lookout spot that almost gave me a heart attack
 Beautiful views in every direction.  We were all so hot and sweaty by this time but so excited to be on top of the world!
 Trying to spot sharks.  Or maybe a sea turtle or two. 
 Devin was my surrogate husband helper cause Ryan had to work this day.  He tag teamed Ami with me.  I can't begin to describe how many funny/exhausting moments we had trying to get up that mountain.  I love being with Andrea because we can just have these crazy moments where we both burst into tears/laughter over the silliest things.   
 Seriously this girls face.  She is going through a major "by myself" phase.  You love it and hate it.  Mostly love it though.
 Oliver is into the "being cool" stage in life.  I swear we've got a preteen on our hands at times with him.  He thinks tattoos are the coolest, refuses to wear a shirt (but must have one over his shoulder) and insists on wearing a hat at a tilted angle.  Notice how he won't crack a smile in most pics.  He is still my sweetheart boy though.  That kid has a heart of gold. 


We hit this beach a few times and the kids loved it because it had awesome rocks to climb and lots of sea turtles.
 Mara Jane was totally my bff by the time the trip was over.  It took a little time but she totally warmed up to me and loved playing with me (when her mom wasn't too close by:).  She is so funny and sassy, I can't wait to see her personality come out more and more.  Love that little baby girl!
 Ollie and his perma-shaka
 Gorgeous giant green leaves and the blue blue sky
 Andrea and I got our toes done on a girls night.  It's just so nice having pretty toes:)  Our girls night consisted of hole in the wall sushi (including a fly...don't get me started), a coldstone session that included 9 reeses peanut butter cups (seriously this employee was Coldstone's worst nightmare), and some amazing conversation with one of my favorite girls. 
 Beachtime nap
 This was minutes before that dress came off and I couldn't get her to wear her swimsuit.  My kids+hawaii= nakedness
 These girls were in their element.  There are so many adventures to be had at the beach. 
 Wave!!!

 Ollie was in heaven with Cam and Andin here.  Seriously, they just get along so well.  Ami was SO sad when they left:( 
I wish I would have gotten more pictures but I only brought my camera out a few times because we were just having too much fun soaking in the island with friends.  Having visitors I can already tell will be a huge perk of being in Hawaii.  It's so fun to take people around the island and show them all of our favorite spots.  Andrea and Devin were such easy guests to have.  They cleaned and cooked and bought food, it was pretty wonderful to be honest!  And we get along so well it was just easy and fun to have them around.  We had nightly SNL viewing, many Ted's sessions, surfing, relaxing, shopping, hiking, laughing and beach time galore!  I can't wait for more visitors.  It makes missing family a little easier.  SO grateful to be in our sweet little beach house that has enough room for guests.  We had such a great time, thanks for coming guys.  We LOVE you!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

V-land session yesterday

I finally brought our little video camera yesterday to film to boys and got a few good ones.  Here is one of my guy, he's looking good if you ask me:)