Airman Leadership School

When we first found out that Brandon had to start Airman Leadership School two days after my due date I wasn’t thrilled.  I was counting on his 9 days of paternity leave.  I finally came around because I knew that we really didn’t have a choice and it would look bad for Brandon to postpone it.  For some reason we were under the impression that ALS was pretty easy.  We were wrong.  Brandon was working longer hours than we were used to and when he was home, he was studying.

All the hard work paid off.  At Brandon’s graduation he got the Academic Achievement Award and Distinguished Graduate Award.  I am so proud of him!  I also loved that the graduation was a semi-formal dinner and I got to get all dressed up.

I love the shoes but my feet were KILLING me!

I am grateful for ALS because we got to know the Larsen's better.

The head table

Jacob's Birthday

When did this happen?   How is Jacob 6 years old already?  I know every parent says this but it is so true, “They grow up so fast!”  We took Jacob and one of his friends to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday.  I hate Chuck E Cheese but the kids absolutely love it.  I don’t have a problem with the games but the food is awful!  The important thing is, Jacob had a blast.

I love that Jacob did a fist pump for blowing out all the candles.

Jacob’s Top Ten

1.       Lego Star War’s game with Daddy-anytime Jacob has a choice of what to do with his free time, he wants to play this game with Brandon
2.       Gymnastics-he goes once a week to an all boys tumbling class and looks forward to it every week.
3.       Dessert-every night after dinner he asks for dessert.  He is happy even if it is one starburst.
4.       The beach-He LOVES the beach and the water.  He just got a mask and snorkel and loves looking at all the fish.
5.       Legos-He wants every present to be a lego present.  I am so tired of stepping on legos!
6.       Castles, Knights and Dragons-he got a lego castle for Christmas and since then he is hooked.
7.             Family movie night-We all pile into Mommy and Daddy’s bed on Friday nights, eat popcorn and watch a movie.
8.       Making a Space ship in his bed-he drags extra pillows and blankets into his bed to build a “spaceship” to sleep in.
9.             Riding his scooter-He is getting better at riding his scooter and always loves the chance to practice
10.       Primary-If we miss church one week , he wakes up on Monday and says, “but we didn’t go to church!”

Tsunami Warning

On March 10^th, following a 7.9 magnitude Earthquake off the coast of Japan, the tsunami sirens ring here in Hawaii.  That was a very scary moment.  It was about 10:30PM when the sirens started going off and they went off every hour until 3:00AM.  We had no idea what to do at this point because we had only been here for a few months and had never had to worry about a tsunami.  I’ll admit that during the first hour I had to talk myself out of panicking.   Once we learned more about the tsunami’s size and our evacuation zones I was much better.  Thankfully we did not have to evacuate and the tsunami did very little to the island.  Our prayers go out to everyone in Japan.

More Visitors

Dad and June got here the day before Jacob’s birthday and stayed for 5 days.  Jacob thought it was so cool that Papa and Nanie were here for his birthday.  It was really nice to have two extra set of eyes at Chuck E Cheese because it is a mad house. 

One of the days they were here we spent the whole day at the beach.   All of the kids were in Heaven except Maci.  I swear she was going through a growth spurt or something because all she wanted to do was eat.  So I basically sat in the shade most of the day feeding Maci and watching everyone play.  I had a great time!

We were able to bless Maci while Dad and June were here and it was really nice to have family here for such an important event.   

I love this picture!

I don't think you could get more people on a paddle boat if you tried!

Peyton plays with his ears when he is tired.  Papa wanted to play too.

This is Jacob's heaven.

I don't think Papa is even moving but Zoe thinks she is super strong.

Peyton's turn on the boogie board.

This is the sign of a very good day.  We hadn't even gotten out of the parking lot yet.

First Family Visitors

Mom and Mark were the first family to come out and meet Macil.  They originally planned to come out before my due date to do some sightseeing.  The only problem was Maci was 10 days early.  Everything worked out though and Mom and I were able to do a big project while she was here.  I have wanted to refinish the dressers in the master bedroom for a long time.  I have had these dressers since I was a child and they were a little out dated.  Mark thought we were “biting off more than we could chew” and Brandon said, “You are both very ambitious women.”  We are also two very stubborn and determined women!  One week after Maci was born we stripped, sanded, and refinished two dressers and I am so happy with the result!

Before

After

My Mom has given all of my children their first bath at home.  I am so glad she was able to be here to do that for Maci, even though it looks like Maci isn't enjoying it.

Mark was a really good sport and played Twister with the kids...Zoe cheats!

The kids had a great time playing with Poppy and Lita!

Macil's Birthday

Macil was born on the perfect day at the perfect time.  The day before she was born, I had a doctor’s appointment.  I was excited about this appointment because I knew the midwife would strip my membranes and hopefully get labor started naturally.   If not, I would have been induced 5 days later.  I guess I was a little bit too excited because my blood pressure was a little high.  I was kept at the hospital all afternoon and really didn’t think I was going to go into labor because I wasn’t able to be out walking to get things going.  Four hours later I was finally able to go home and I wasn’t having any contractions.  I took Zoe and Jacob to gymnastics and was surprised when the contractions started.  One of the other Moms noticed and I blew it if saying they would probably stop when I got home.  Later that night, they didn’t stop. 

After the kids were in bed, Brandon and I stayed up late playing Canasta.  At one point I looked at Brandon and said, “I’m scared.”  I don’t really know what I was scared of.  I know how this baby birthing works, I’ve done it 3 times before.  But, I think I was afraid of the fact that I knew how much my body was about to hurt.  Brandon gave me a blessing to help comfort me and calm me a down a little bit.  After that, I was in complete denial of being in labor.  I kept telling Brandon that if I could just take a shower and lay down, I was sure the contractions would stop.  I finally got in bed at 1:30 in the morning.  Brandon stayed up after I went to bed and I wasn’t really sure why that was.  I just focused on relaxing and stopping these contractions.  I don’t know why I wanted the contractions to stop.  This is why I was so excited about my doctor’s appointment right?

 I fell asleep with the watch in my hand timing my contractions.  I woke up at 4:30 because the contractions were pretty rough.  But, of course I was still in denial.  I lay in bed not wanting to wake Brandon or the kids up.  I also didn’t want to have to call the Addington’s (our friends that were going to take care of the kids) that early in the morning.  I finally woke Brandon up at 5:15.  He jumped out of bed and told me had already packed our bags and we could be out of the house in a few minutes.  I love my husband so much.  When I went to bed, Brandon stayed up and packed a bag for myself and the kids.  While I tried to tell him the labor would stop, he hugged me, got me comfortable in bed and stayed up getting our bags ready anyway.

We dropped the kids off and got to the hospital at 7:00 AM.  I was still able to walk so I thought we had plenty of time before she would be born.  By the time we got up to Labor and Delivery I changed my mind.  She was going to be here any minute.  I looked at the nurse and said, “She is gonna be here soon.”  She looked at me like,  “uh-huh sure, calm down pregnant lady.”  When they checked me, I was 7 cm and feeling like I wanted to push.  At this point I had to get in a wheel chair and go from triage to my L&D room.  I was so mad that they didn’t just take me to my room first.  I TOLD them she was going to be here soon!  I started pushing as soon as I got in the bed. 

This was the first Delivery that I actually felt in control of.  The contractions came in sets of three, 2 hard 1 a bit easier.  I could breathe and really focus on what was going on.  I was able to hear the Midwife and nurses coaching me and actually do what they were saying.   I could hear Brandon cheering me on and giving me confidence.  Macil was born at 7:55, less than an hour after we got to the hospital.  The midwife told me I was a pro and should teach pregnant women how to go through natural labor and delivery.  I laughed and said, “Sure, all you need to do is have three kids first.  On the fourth one you’ll have it figured out.”

Macil was born on the first day of Brandon’s leave.  Brandon took leave so we could get the house ready for Macil and family visitors, but having her early let us have some time together as a family to just enjoy it.  This was the most “enjoyable” labor and delivery out of all of my children.  It might be because I know it is my last.  I am so happy that Maci is here and our family is complete.

Look at that hair!  She has the most hair out of all the kids.

Going home.  She looks so squished still.