Pearl Harbor

On our way back from Waikiki we decided to tour Pearl Harbor. Todd had the camera so the pictures are crazy. This is the only picture of me at Pearl Harbor.

My dad with a Harpoon (he worked on this missile during his career at MacDonald Douglas)

Dad and Timmy with a torpedo

I thought Pearl Harbor was really amazing to visit. The book I was reading at the time (Unbroken by Laura Hildenbrand) was about a POW during WWII who was held by the Japanese and was stationed in Hawaii before his plane went down so I had all sorts of stories going on in my head as I walked around. It's always so humbling to visit memorials for those who serve our country and gave their lives so I can live in a free country.

Hawaii - Waikiki Beach

One of the things I really wanted to do while in Hawaii was try paddle boarding. The first thing I had to do in order to paddle board was buy a new outfit - I opted for a new pair of board shorts and swim shirt (it was an excellent choice for my activity and was very comfy). My dad and Timmy were staying in Waikiki the first night we got there so my dad picked us up in the morning and brought us down to meet them at the beach. The beach was crowded and crazy but perfect for renting paddle boards (and the boys rented surf boards too). It was harder than I thought it would be and it took the first half hour of my hour rental before I could stand up without falling off. But after I cruised around on my knees for a while I got the feel for it and then I was able to stand up and cruise around. There were a few turtles out where we were and every time I saw one I would loose my balance and fall off my board. They were bad luck for me.

The crazy surfer dude who rented us our boards giving us some first timer advice

Here we go

I paddled like this or sitting the first half

Todd was the first one up and I was the first one to fall off

Now Todd and Timmy are both standing

I didn't stand up on my board until my dad had already left with the camera - but I was so excited that I did manage to stand up! Originally my goal was to be able to stand and paddle 5 times before falling but I lasted way longer until the turtle showed up.

Hawaii - The Hotel

Todd's traveling finally paid off. He took me to Hawaii for 6 days and the flights and hotel cost $20. We stayed at the JW Marriott at Ko'Olina in Oahu. It was absolutely AMAZING!! And because of Todd's status we got upgraded to an Ocean view deluxe room for free :)

Here is the view from our balcony

Our room service breakfast on our balcony

Delicious!

There were 4 private man-made lagoons that were never busy

This is the beautiful trail I ran on every day.
The only problem was that out and back was only 2.5 miles so I had to keep going back and forth.

Sitting on the beach reading while the boys snorkeled - HEAVEN!

Look at that water!

Easter Outfits

Since I will be gone for Easter this year I dressed up my kids in their outfits the week before for church. Tayson was sick so it was just me and these adorable kiddos. I love love love Lukey in a tie. He is just so handsome. When we got to church he looked around and then said "mom, only 2 of the other kids my age are wearing ties....but I guess it's ok".

Farm Day

Every year our neighbors have "farm day". They invite everyone over to learn about and play with their animals. They always have lots of baby goats and fun stuff to do. My kids LOVE it! I tried to get a quick picture of the kids but they wouldn't look at me and Tayson and Ryan were making crazy "gang" signs.

Seriously how cute are these 2?

Luke taking the kids for a ride

Tayson's turn to pull

Tayson holding a baby goat

Bubba with a goat

Claire wouldn't pick one up and Sophie chased them around and around but wasn't ever big enough to pick one up. She was fearless though and was pretty much attacking the poor goats. She of course wouldn't let us pick one up and hand it to her for a picture.

Feeding the mama goats

Todd pretended to dump Tayson into a big bucket of water - he I don't think he was really going to do it....but you never know.

He's too cute!

We made the kids pose on this tractor
(no matter how crazy their outfits were I still think it's a cute picture)

Now it's Luke's turn to get dumped in the water.

One last pose for mom before we leave....please!?!

I loved Todd pushing Sophie home on the scooter.

Timmy's Birthday

Happy birthday to my awesome brother! I think I made him late for work because I made him sit down and have birthday pancakes with me and the kids. It's really one of the only Schultz birthday traditions we have (unless you count singing Happy Birthday as loud and slow as possible a tradition....)


I let him pick whatever dinner he wanted (he chose Beef Stroganoff) and then I invited everyone over for cake and ice cream to celebrate with him. I am super lucky to have him living with me especially since I get so bored and need adult conversations during the week when Todd is gone. I love having him around since we both love to eat at the same spots and we love shopping. Happy happy birthday little brother!

My little daredevil

Today I was at work and I got a call from Meggan that Sophie jumped off the boxes in the front room (the ones with our wood planks for our floor renovation) and she had split her lip open and probably needed stitches. I told her I'd meet her at the InstaCare. At the InstaCare they had a nurse look at it and said she would need to go to the ER since it crossed between the pink of her lip and her skin (there is a fancy schmancy word for it but I can't remember). While we were meeting with the nurse Sophie showed her a small patch of eczema on her hand and told her she had an owie and needed a band-aid. The nurse made her day when she put one on and Sophie said "thank you I all better now".

So off we went to the ER. Meggan went home to take care of the boys and Claire and I headed over. They got us right in. In triage Sophie knew the drill and held our her arm for the blood pressure cuff then her finger for the oxygen check went right to the scale and turned her head for both ears to get checked. The nurse said Sophie was the best patient she had had all day. She has been to the doctors enough to know what to do.....I don't think that's a good thing. Anyway the doctor said with stitches on her lip it was best to sedate her because if she wiggled she would have a more visible scar on her face. They used some drug that was a conscious sedative so she wasn't really knocked out but her brain was pretty much disconnected from her body. Her stitches went fast but it took her so long to wake up. She couldn't focus her eyes on me, she couldn't talk so she would grunt, she puked saliva all over me and she kept jerking her arms and legs. Finally after a few hours she was able to hold her head up and answer a few questions so she could come home. She is sound asleep on the couch right now and hopefully when she wakes up she'll be a little more like herself.

showing off the injury

her real "owie"

At the ER

showing me her "watch that says Sophie Johnson"

Claire took a picture of Sophie recovering. She got a sweet little baby doll before her stitches and named it baby Hannah because that was her doctor's name.

The finished product

Sound asleep on the couch watching Barbie movies and sleeping with baby Hannah

"icing" it with a popscicle