Proof

Here is the photographical proof that Lianna and I were in Hawaii.  The pictures don't look too good through blogspot... but they are amazing when you see the originals.

 This is by far my most favoritiestesed picture I took

I hope you liked it

shhh... we're going Wegistered Nurse job hunting..

We are now scouring the market for places hiring new-grad nurses. Six rejections, and 2 interviews later, we are still waiting with baited breath, bells-on, with fingers, legs, arms, and eyes crossed for one of the hospital positions to call back and say "We are pleased to welcome you to our team!"

In light of all this, it's testimony time! I absolutely know that Heavenly Father is taking care of us. He has given us food, shelter, and enabled us to pay all our bills when I (who is the budgeteer of the family) saw no way to stretch our money over all those things. I know that He is watching us, knows both me and my husband personally and loves us infinitely. I have complete faith that my husband will find a job, and that it will be in a place that is perfect for us. Part of me is a little worried that it's time for us to become like the proverbial currant bush, and I'm not looking forward to any sort of chopping, but I know that, in spite of my fears and worries, only the best lies ahead.

Aloha Family

At the beginning of July we went to Hawaii! My mom is from there, (90% of her relatives still live there) and there was a big family reunion. It was amazing. Imean, Oahu is nice all the time, but seeing almost the entirety of your relations is what really makes it wonderful.
We stayed in a beach house with my Mom, Aunt, my Brother and his lovely Wife, my Sister, and 3 awesome Cousins! Eating my mom's amazing cooking for a week, buying all the fruits and juices and foods you can't buy anywhere else, smelling the flowers, the ocean.. and of course some ocean and beach time..plus old friends.. Well anyway here are some highlights:

Spent the night with our good friends, and snorkled with them the next day. I highly recommend this snorkle site for proficient swimmers; it's locally called Electric Beach and there are tons of fish everywhere. (check back in a couple days for more pictures here.. they're just not all edited etc yet.)

We even saw dolphins!

Visited with more good friends and their adorable son!
Spent time with my little sister, brother and his wife, and mom, played in the water with cousins,

how fun is that?

not as much fun as this!

My mom and my aunt, soaking up the sun

took a gorgeous hike..

Went to two family reunions - can I say YUM?

PoPo's (grandmother's) side

 
 

We visited the "Blowhole" where a small crevasse in the rock allows sea water to shoot up 20 feet in the air like a whale blowing water.

My husband told us to smile like we really loved each other, and this is what came out of both of us.

Visited the Laie Temple - it was closed for cleaning while we were there, which was a very sad day for us.

It was such a wonderful, wonderful trip. Can't wait until all the pictures are edited!!

happy anniversary!

Today is Teo's first Year anniversary of being our family doggie!

One year ago today we brought home our canine compadre from the Denver Dumb Friends League.

Then, he was so skinny! you can see his poor little spine sticking up in that picture above. He weighed in at 38 lbs at the vet, was curious but quiet, and didn't know a rubber ball from a decorative feature. His bark was so quiet and rare that we wondered if he'd had his vocal chords removed. His tail, as you can see in the picture, was long but never terribly curly. He refused to crawl into the up to 50 lb dog size kennel, in spite of me (L) climbing in there to entice him, and treats, toys, cuddling.... instead he lived for months in a 80 lb dog size kennel.


Now...
He is well adjusted to family life. He weighs just over 50 lbs, most of which is lean muscle. His tail curls even when he is in trouble, or sleeping. He vigorously defends our home, expresses his opinion, and terrorizes squirrels, rabbits, and cats with his deep woof and knows how to find his BALL, his SQUEAK toy, his STICK, and his TOY (all other instruments of fun). He loves his smaller kennel.
And we love him! His personality is so fun, forgiving, and loving. His worst qualities are a propensity for excited jumping on you, and eating through soft and hard toys when left to his own devices. Some may argue they also don't like his licking habits, but I happen to love doggie kisses (so eww all you want, he probably won't stop .... because .. well, I encourage it). If all adopt-a-dogs were like him, I'd do it again and again and again! We love you, Teo and are so glad you are with us!
ps. we have also decided against DNA testing for now, and instead are opting to wait until they are more accurate. Since we have his personality pretty well figured out and just want to know out of curiosity, we decided it can wait.