Sunday, December 1, 2013
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Throwback Thursday- Florida!
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Friday, June 21, 2013
Flashback Friday:
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013
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Saturday, April 6, 2013
The madness of March: Island hopping part 1
March has certainly been a month of madness for us this years. Happy madness! Jason and Shanna finished up their visit to the great state of Hawaii. We enjoyed having them stay here for part of their trip. Katelynn especially enjoyed the extra attention and more people to play with. While they were here we went to Hanauma Bay, the swap meet, Waimanalo Beach, Cheeseburger in Paradise, and Waikiki. We visited the houses from Lost, ate shave ice, and saw turtles at the turtle beach!! We took pictures of the sunset at the temple. Another day we made lei's at the hotel they stayed at two years ago which was super cool. We body boarded at Waimanalo- always a fun time! Too soon they had to leave, but one week later Andrea came to visit! Things got really crazy because during the next 2 weeks our little family flew on a total of 10 airplane rides (not including layovers).
First, Andrea, Katelynn, and I flew to the Big Island. That covered the first two planes because mid-air during our first flight the plane had to turn around and land back in Honolulu (something to do with the landing gears- as the steward said, "nothing to worry about, we just have to fix it in Honolulu because that's where the materials are"). Oh what fun that was for Katelynn (not). We had to wait a couple hours before they got a different plane ready for us, but we finally made it. Later that day, Steve flew off to California to present a paper at a conference.
Highlights from the Big Island icluded Rainbow Falls, Mauna Kea (the volcano) both during the day and during the night, hiking to see petroglyphs, seeing old lava flows, and the steam from lava flowing into the ocean. We drove crater road, stopping at the Thurston lava tube and other sites along the way. We drove to the black sand beach, where Katelynn tried to eat the little black rocks. One morning we went to the farme's market for some shopping and some spam musubi and other yummy snacks. We hiked Akaka Falls along with millions of little inchworms, a few of which hitchiked on our clothes and even decided to join us for the car ride to the aiport (yuck!). We stopped at the Mauna Loa macademia nut farm and enjoyed free samples while Katelynn enjoyed chasing the birds on the grass. (Mostly she was just glad to finally be out of the car for a while). Right before going to the airport, we found a beautiful Japanese Garden and Park, called Liliokalani Gardens, where we walked around and enjoyed the last few hours of our time on the island.
It was quite the adventure with finding places (we got lost a couple of times), trying to get Katelynn to nap, (it seemed she would fall asleep in the car right as we reached our destination, so we would keep driving for a while, or just take turns seeing the sights), and keeping Katelynn happy on the long car rides, (new toys, snacks, someone sitting by her, music, and signing time and baby einstien definitely helped us!). Not to mention helping Katelynn sleep in a different place and being on a somewhat crazy schedule. I ended up having her fall asleep in my bed and then moving her to the crib. Despite the change in her routine, she was quite the trooper and we enjoyed her smiles, laughs, and excitement at seeing any birdie or other animal.
Saving one of the best things for last, we stayed a cute little hotel, the Dolphin Bay Resort. It was run by friendly locals who loved seeing little Katelynn. Fresh bananas and papayas were available 24/7 right outside our door. Fresh banana bread was delivered every morning, and hot chocolate was available for those who don't drink coffee (so thoughtful!) There was a mini kitchen in our room and it was clean with fresh flowers in vases when we arrived. They had a walking path through their property where we could see the bananas and flowers growing. There was beautiful stone stairs and big vines and leaves. At night it was filled with I'iwi birds whose chirping sounded magical and lullaby-like as we fell asleep. It was an enjoyable place to stay.
We flew home on my birthday, and Steve flew back from California the next day. And that was only the first week. :)
First, Andrea, Katelynn, and I flew to the Big Island. That covered the first two planes because mid-air during our first flight the plane had to turn around and land back in Honolulu (something to do with the landing gears- as the steward said, "nothing to worry about, we just have to fix it in Honolulu because that's where the materials are"). Oh what fun that was for Katelynn (not). We had to wait a couple hours before they got a different plane ready for us, but we finally made it. Later that day, Steve flew off to California to present a paper at a conference.
Highlights from the Big Island icluded Rainbow Falls, Mauna Kea (the volcano) both during the day and during the night, hiking to see petroglyphs, seeing old lava flows, and the steam from lava flowing into the ocean. We drove crater road, stopping at the Thurston lava tube and other sites along the way. We drove to the black sand beach, where Katelynn tried to eat the little black rocks. One morning we went to the farme's market for some shopping and some spam musubi and other yummy snacks. We hiked Akaka Falls along with millions of little inchworms, a few of which hitchiked on our clothes and even decided to join us for the car ride to the aiport (yuck!). We stopped at the Mauna Loa macademia nut farm and enjoyed free samples while Katelynn enjoyed chasing the birds on the grass. (Mostly she was just glad to finally be out of the car for a while). Right before going to the airport, we found a beautiful Japanese Garden and Park, called Liliokalani Gardens, where we walked around and enjoyed the last few hours of our time on the island. 
It was quite the adventure with finding places (we got lost a couple of times), trying to get Katelynn to nap, (it seemed she would fall asleep in the car right as we reached our destination, so we would keep driving for a while, or just take turns seeing the sights), and keeping Katelynn happy on the long car rides, (new toys, snacks, someone sitting by her, music, and signing time and baby einstien definitely helped us!). Not to mention helping Katelynn sleep in a different place and being on a somewhat crazy schedule. I ended up having her fall asleep in my bed and then moving her to the crib. Despite the change in her routine, she was quite the trooper and we enjoyed her smiles, laughs, and excitement at seeing any birdie or other animal.
 |
| Akaka Falls |
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| Black Sand Beach |
 |
| Black Sand Beach |
 |
| Hiking to Akaka Falls |
Saving one of the best things for last, we stayed a cute little hotel, the Dolphin Bay Resort. It was run by friendly locals who loved seeing little Katelynn. Fresh bananas and papayas were available 24/7 right outside our door. Fresh banana bread was delivered every morning, and hot chocolate was available for those who don't drink coffee (so thoughtful!) There was a mini kitchen in our room and it was clean with fresh flowers in vases when we arrived. They had a walking path through their property where we could see the bananas and flowers growing. There was beautiful stone stairs and big vines and leaves. At night it was filled with I'iwi birds whose chirping sounded magical and lullaby-like as we fell asleep. It was an enjoyable place to stay. 
We flew home on my birthday, and Steve flew back from California the next day. And that was only the first week. :)
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
February
It's February! What happened to January? I guess we are staying really busy with a 9 month old and Steve's work, school, homework, papers, prepping for presentations at upcoming conferences, planning island hopping trips, exploring more parts of the island, cleaning, doing callings, getting over sicknesses, etc, etc, etc. A typical month for most people probably. :)
To highlight a few things from this past month- Katelynn turned 9 months old! And she's acting like it. She's being a big girl- sitting up straight in her high chair, wanting to feed herself, not wanting to drink from a bottle, putting herself to sleep, getting toys out, pulling books off her bookshelf, playing quietly in her crib after waking up, being happy with people other than her parents, laughing, playing games like running away when we say "I'm gonna get you. . . ", squeezing my nose to hear me say hoooonk, and more things like those. Two new things that she does that I love: she cuddles and hugs and kisses her stuffed animals and her blankets. She loves her monkey lovey and sleeps with it now. She has even started making the aahhhh sound we make when she cuddles with something. And she has started to dance to music. Right now she still shakes her head, but she has also started waving her arms to the music. It is so cute to see her press the buttons on her toys to start the music and then start shaking her head and waving her hands. She is so stinkin cute! She is such a good sleeper right now too, (knock on wood). I think she is making up for all those months of horrible sleeping. She puts herself to sleep (in fact she doesn't like us to rock her, which is a little sad), and sleeps from 8:30 to 2:30 when she wakes up to eat and then sleeps until 7:30 or 8:00. She takes two good naps during the day too, although I'm not sure how long she sleeps because when she wakes up she just happily plays until I go check on her. She's so happy when she wakes up, which makes me happy!
Another thing we've done this past month is go to the Punahou Carnival. We had our friends over for a barbeque on our rooftop patio (we made yummy kabobs), and then we walked over. This carnival is a fundraiser for the private school across the street from our apartment. It is really big in Hawaii, because, well, it's the only carnival/rides/park on the island. People come from all over the island and it is crowded!! We still had a lot of fun playing games and buying malasadas! I even won a hello kitty for Katelynn (poor girl was crying while I played because of the noise, but she gave hello kitty a big hug when I gave it to her).
I also took down the snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and replaced them with some cute hearts I made. Katelynn loves when I put up new things. She notices right off (since I put them up during her nap) and stares at them and talks at them. It's cute. We also went to Brian's birthday party. He turned one! We hang out at Friday pay group sometimes and Katelynn and Brian always smile at each other in church, and talk to each other. We've also visited Hadley and Heather at their new house and played in their yard. We also hang out with Benson and Lauri a lot- going shopping or just visiting. And walks- lots of walks to Makiki park and playing in the grass. We also went to the Foster Botanical Gardens- I loved taking pictures of the flowers. So pretty.
A few weeks ago we also went to the North Shore to see the big waves. Katelynn loved crawling around on the sand (and only tried to eat it a couple times). We saw huge waves, and some cool surfing. We also stopped by the turtle beach and there were three turtles resting on the sand. It was cool!
We also tried a fun new restaurant. It was Gyu-taku, Japanese style. We sat around our own little grill, ordered veggies and meat and grilled it ourselves. It was pretty yummy and we went during lunch hour so it was on the cheaper side. It was on the windward side of the island, and while we were there it was really rainy. On our way home we stopped at the byodi-in temple with a good view of the mountain because there were lots and lots of waterfalls coming down. It was really neat to see, I tried taking pictures, but they really didn't do the sight justice. :)
To highlight a few things from this past month- Katelynn turned 9 months old! And she's acting like it. She's being a big girl- sitting up straight in her high chair, wanting to feed herself, not wanting to drink from a bottle, putting herself to sleep, getting toys out, pulling books off her bookshelf, playing quietly in her crib after waking up, being happy with people other than her parents, laughing, playing games like running away when we say "I'm gonna get you. . . ", squeezing my nose to hear me say hoooonk, and more things like those. Two new things that she does that I love: she cuddles and hugs and kisses her stuffed animals and her blankets. She loves her monkey lovey and sleeps with it now. She has even started making the aahhhh sound we make when she cuddles with something. And she has started to dance to music. Right now she still shakes her head, but she has also started waving her arms to the music. It is so cute to see her press the buttons on her toys to start the music and then start shaking her head and waving her hands. She is so stinkin cute! She is such a good sleeper right now too, (knock on wood). I think she is making up for all those months of horrible sleeping. She puts herself to sleep (in fact she doesn't like us to rock her, which is a little sad), and sleeps from 8:30 to 2:30 when she wakes up to eat and then sleeps until 7:30 or 8:00. She takes two good naps during the day too, although I'm not sure how long she sleeps because when she wakes up she just happily plays until I go check on her. She's so happy when she wakes up, which makes me happy!
I also took down the snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and replaced them with some cute hearts I made. Katelynn loves when I put up new things. She notices right off (since I put them up during her nap) and stares at them and talks at them. It's cute. We also went to Brian's birthday party. He turned one! We hang out at Friday pay group sometimes and Katelynn and Brian always smile at each other in church, and talk to each other. We've also visited Hadley and Heather at their new house and played in their yard. We also hang out with Benson and Lauri a lot- going shopping or just visiting. And walks- lots of walks to Makiki park and playing in the grass. We also went to the Foster Botanical Gardens- I loved taking pictures of the flowers. So pretty.
A few weeks ago we also went to the North Shore to see the big waves. Katelynn loved crawling around on the sand (and only tried to eat it a couple times). We saw huge waves, and some cool surfing. We also stopped by the turtle beach and there were three turtles resting on the sand. It was cool!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
2013
I'm the worst at staying up to date on this blog, but the good news is its still January and I am writing a post! There have been lots of things on my mind the past few months. And we've been pretty busy the past few months as well. Steve finished up another semester at UH. Katelynn is 8 months old, crawling, and climbing up on everything. In family news Jeanette had her baby girl, Camilla. And Laura had her baby boy, Ryker. There were complications with the birth and Ryker is still in the NICU, but is making progress and we are praying everyday for him. It's times like this I wish I lived closer, but at least I can still pray from far away.
We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. We were able to go to Utah for 2 1/2 weeks to spend time with family. Katelynn LOVED the attention and being with cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Steve and I even left her with grandma's to go on a few dates and to the temple. And it snowed!!! How I loved wearing my boots, gloves, socks, and coats. Katelynn wasn't sure what to think about the cold and the snow, but she still smiled when we took her outside even if her little nose turned very red!
We also went sledding one day with Ben and his kids. We only kept Katelynn outside for a couple of minutes because the snow was coming down in giant flakes. Then grandma watched her inside while we kept sledding :)
Another fun thing we did in Utah was go to Temple Square to see the lights. It was sooooo cold! First we went to City Creek, the new mall they opened up across the street from Temple Square. We walked around, ate dinner and walked by the Macy's candy windows. They used to do the candy windows when it was a ZCMI and Macy's started the tradition up again. I remember seeing the candy windows when I was little, so it was fun to see them again. Then we walked around Temple Square looking at all the lights and stopping by the visitor's centers to warm up. On our way out Santa passed by and we were able to get a picture of Katelynn with Santa! (She never got the chance to sit on his lap- maybe next year).
Of course while in Utah we celebrated Christmas. For Christmas Eve we had all the little kids dress up and act out the nativity scene at my parents house. Then at Steve's parents house we ate their traditional chicken kiev dinner, sang Christmas songs around the piano, and told Christmas stories.
Christmas morning we woke up and Katelynn played with her gifts from Santa and looked through her stocking. We ate cinnamon rolls, oranges, and breakfast casserole. Then we went to Steve's parents house for more yummy breakfast- banana french toast and we opened gifts. Katelynn like to eat the gifts and bows more than open them.
This year the Moody's decided to all make gifts for each other. It was neat to see what people came up with. We each got a constellation named after us from Dad Moody, a painting of a special place from Mom Moody, pillowcases from Mike and Emily, a birthday and Christmas countdown from Jeanette and Evan, a picture Aaron had taken, a cd from Alan that had a hymn redone with noises and voices from the family, and a rice bag, hot cocoa mix, headbands, and candles from Heather. We gave everyone different photos we had taken around Hawaii and a round glass ornament filled with sand and seashells we had collected from Waimanalo and Ewa Beach. I also made korky bows and flower bows for the litte girls, and Hawaiian print bow ties for the little boys, as well as a onesie with a bowtie for Ryker. I was going to take pictures, but forgot to before I gave them away! After opening presents we returned to my parents house for soup, salad, rolls, etc for dinner. And then we all got to talk to Corbin! He's been on his mission for a little over a year and just became a zone leader. He is doing well and speaking great spanish. Then we opened presents there- it was a little chaotic with everyone! But super fun! We gave Zac a bag stuffed with diapers and inside a few diapers were some small gifts. The little kids got a kick out of watching him open each diaper to see if there was something inside. :)
We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. We were able to go to Utah for 2 1/2 weeks to spend time with family. Katelynn LOVED the attention and being with cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Steve and I even left her with grandma's to go on a few dates and to the temple. And it snowed!!! How I loved wearing my boots, gloves, socks, and coats. Katelynn wasn't sure what to think about the cold and the snow, but she still smiled when we took her outside even if her little nose turned very red!
Of course while in Utah we celebrated Christmas. For Christmas Eve we had all the little kids dress up and act out the nativity scene at my parents house. Then at Steve's parents house we ate their traditional chicken kiev dinner, sang Christmas songs around the piano, and told Christmas stories. 
Christmas morning we woke up and Katelynn played with her gifts from Santa and looked through her stocking. We ate cinnamon rolls, oranges, and breakfast casserole. Then we went to Steve's parents house for more yummy breakfast- banana french toast and we opened gifts. Katelynn like to eat the gifts and bows more than open them.
This year the Moody's decided to all make gifts for each other. It was neat to see what people came up with. We each got a constellation named after us from Dad Moody, a painting of a special place from Mom Moody, pillowcases from Mike and Emily, a birthday and Christmas countdown from Jeanette and Evan, a picture Aaron had taken, a cd from Alan that had a hymn redone with noises and voices from the family, and a rice bag, hot cocoa mix, headbands, and candles from Heather. We gave everyone different photos we had taken around Hawaii and a round glass ornament filled with sand and seashells we had collected from Waimanalo and Ewa Beach. I also made korky bows and flower bows for the litte girls, and Hawaiian print bow ties for the little boys, as well as a onesie with a bowtie for Ryker. I was going to take pictures, but forgot to before I gave them away! After opening presents we returned to my parents house for soup, salad, rolls, etc for dinner. And then we all got to talk to Corbin! He's been on his mission for a little over a year and just became a zone leader. He is doing well and speaking great spanish. Then we opened presents there- it was a little chaotic with everyone! But super fun! We gave Zac a bag stuffed with diapers and inside a few diapers were some small gifts. The little kids got a kick out of watching him open each diaper to see if there was something inside. :) 
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