Just the 3 of us

Future Tennis Pro

2011-11-14T15:27:00.001-08:00

This is what I am talkin' about...she's going to be one serious tennis player!
Okay, maybe a "cheese-y" one sometimes too!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

Where did the goat go?

Mr. Potato Head

2011-10-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

Still loves her tags!
I made Maeli a smoothie one morning, but this was the only cup that had a lid and a straw...worked out to be a pretty good chin rest!

All I can do is laugh...thanks Mr. Potato head!

Washing up after lunch on a Saturday afternoon..and she ended up in the sink! Turns out she loves it. Give her a cup & some water...and she is one happy baby :)

Hawaii 2011

2011-09-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

Our first stop in Portland for Uncle KeKe's wedding...brought back memories from 2006 :)

Off to the zoo...

Early morning walks on the beach while camping...

Haunama Bay

Maeli LOVED the water!

Chillin' on the beach

Oh, Baby has she got some MOVES!

2011-08-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

Videos!

2011-08-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Maeli loves to dance in general...and this time she was dancing to "Baby..." she dances even better in the car!

Maeli loves to hide/play under her blankets...the best part was at the end when we took the blanket off, she was still smiling! We watched this one over and over and just laughed & laughed all night long...

Maeli gets a little excited to play the Wii, especially Mario Bros.

July Happenins'

2011-08-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

Every baby has a picture of playing in toilet paper, right?
This balloon is so soft...works just like a pillow!

Discovering the tupperware drawer...

Soooo Tired! Exhausted after playing at a friends pool for 3 hours.

Anyone happen to find my sticky notes...I can't seem to find them???

This is as close to walking as Maeli gets!

Just what every girl needs: a pair of cowboy boots and bunny ears!

This time she put them on herself!

Baby Girl Turns 1!

2011-06-16T10:02:00.001-07:00

Maeli turned 1 last Friday, June 10th! Here's all the fun of the day:

Maeli loves balloons! The night before her birthday, we snuck into her room after she had fallen asleep, and tied balloons all around her crib. Boy, was she excited the next morning. She was so excited she got up at 5am! I guess that's what we get for putting balloons in her room :)

Birthday Girl!

Maeli loves her new books...

She would tear off little pieces of paper, and then hand them to me...needless to say, it took awhile before she got to the gift!

She got some new sports balls. Only 3 more years until little league!

Mom & Maeli :)

The Birthday Cake!

Mom, what is this???

She didn't have much interest in the cake at all...I put a piece in her mouth, and she spit it out!

Get back here toots! She had more interest in crawling off the table to get her new toys...

HaPpY bIrtHdAy MaEli mOo!!!!!!!

Maeli's Lost Toy

2011-05-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

Ummm....Mom, I think one of my toys is under the blanket...
Ehhh..I think I got it!

Watch out...

She has figured out how to kneel in her crib. (not standing yet, whew! )

My Little Helper

2011-05-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

Maeli does a great job cleaning the floor...

And the cupboards! Can't wait until she can unload the dishwasher!

Playing a little Wii with Dad

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here's what we've been up to...

2011-04-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

Reach for it....... Ah! Got it!

Maeli has a new favorite toy: a ball. Yes, training has begun!

These pictures are funny because Maeli is not a pacifier baby. I had these in her drawer, and gave them to her to play with to occupy her while I changed her diaper. She had fun with them!

My mom got Maeli this super cute bunny that flaps his ears and dances to a song, and everytime we turn it on, she does her "Stevie Wonder head move."

Playing on her tummy...

Maeli is doing really well eating foods, so we have skipped baby food and we're going straight for the real thing!

More bunny...when we put it on her tray, she always gives it loves :)

We Van Every's call this a "cool dude..." but in this case, it's "cool chick."

This is Maeli's cheesy smile. Ha!

And the best for last...Maeli having a good ole' time laughing. Pretty cute! (But one crazy mom) I My favorite part is when she covers her mouth with her hand when she laughs. Ha ha!

Maeli Girl

2011-02-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

Just doing some stretches...

Pretty in blue too!

7 Months!

2011-01-19T15:11:00.000-08:00

Maeli is 7 months old now...she is sitting up really well by herself (not expert yet, but getting there) and is such a happy baby. She loves to watch other little kids, and giggles all day long!

So fun!

Thanksgiving Bumbo

2010-12-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

Maeli loves the bumbo chair...
Can I have some more oatmeal, please?

She is starting to grab everything...
Happy Thanksgiving!

Would you like some turkey?

No thanks, I'll have some fingers instead :)

Wait! Let's add a bow. Ah, yes. There we go!

Yup, I got here on my own! Rolling all the time now!

Baby Food

2010-11-28T18:55:00.000-08:00

When Maeli first started eating oatmeal, she would stick her toungue out like this...too funny!

Maeli's 1st Adventure with real food...and messy faces!

BOO! or should I say MOO!

2010-10-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

I always call her "Maeli Moo"... so of course, she had to be a cow for Halloween!

(click on to enlarge)

2010-10-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

Flowers

2010-10-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

Aaahh..the bath is so nice...

2010-10-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

...that I fell asleep!

Look Alikes

2010-09-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

Who does Maeli look like? (click on to enlarge)

Maeli LAUGHS!

2010-09-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

Drum roll...I got Maeli laughing on camera! The angle isn't the best, Kawika was at work, so I had to hold the camera myself while doing the silly thing that got her to laugh... but I can't believe I got it! With that said, I sound really weird and make goofy noises. I don't always talk like this. Okay, okay. Maybe I do. Just with Maeli though.

Maeli LIVE!

2010-09-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

She has become quite the talker and the kicker! More to come...

Toys!

2010-09-21T17:06:00.000-07:00

Maeli has started playing with a few toys, she's not totally into them yet, but she's getting there :)

Pink n' Brown

2010-09-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

2010-09-10T10:21:00.001-07:00

I guess babies aren't always smiling, right?

I caught you...

2010-09-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

Maeli has started sucking her thumb. Well, actually it's more like chewing. She sticks it between her gums on the side of her mouth. Must be pretty tasty!

Yup! Caught you again!

She's on the Move!

2010-09-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

This is what Maeli looks like when I put her down for bed at night...

And this is how she is when she wakes up! Holy shmokes! Slow down!

Labor Day

2010-09-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Belated Labor Day!

This is pretty much what we did on our Labor day...yup.

Watched football. All day. On the couch.

We thought it would be a great idea to get some wings to kick off football season on Saturday, and then have enough for leftovers for Sunday lunch after church.

Oh, boy was that a bad idea.

Kawika & I got food poisioning. It was horrible.

So puking, sleeping, and eating nothing was our labor day celebration.

But at least Maeli wasn't sick, and we got to put on a

festive outfit and take some fun pictures.

Hope your's was better!

Hawaii Mornings

2010-09-06T16:08:00.000-07:00

We went camping right on the beach while we were in Hawaii, so we got to enjoy some beautiful morning walks...

Maeli Brynn

2010-08-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

The small picture just doesn't do justice! Here's a bigger print :)

Grandparents with all 3 grand kids. It's crazy to me sometimes that we have our own kids now!

Maeli lookin' cute all dressed in white for her blessing

Maeli all dressed up!

2010-08-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

Maeli all dressed up for her first week at church! Girls are so much fun to dress... I admit that I already have days where we play dress up! I guess it comes from all those years of dressing up my brothers in girl clothes...but this is WAY better!

Bath Time!

2010-08-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

Put ya hands up in the air..and wave them from here to theya!

2010-07-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

....at least that's what Maeli likes to do when she is sleeping!

She's Here!!

2010-06-24T16:36:00.001-07:00

Maeli Brynn Lawther

June 10, 2010

6 lbs 9 oz

19 in.

Maeli (May-lee)

2010-03-10T15:45:00.000-08:00

There will finally be more girls than boys at our house....

Yup! She'll be here in June!

2010-01-07T16:26:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are alive once again! Things are going well for us...Kawika has done some traveling back East for work lately (which is why I have found some time to update my blog), and I am enjoy playing sports all day in my PE classes. Really, where else could I find a job where I get to play softball & dodgeball all day AND get paid?? It's a pretty sweet gig, especially when I'm not coaching.
I was a horrible holiday photographer...and got zero pictures with all our families. We spent a week in Oregon, and then my parents and brother came down to Vegas for a visit. It was a real treat to spend time with both sides of our families.
So because I don't have any holiday photos to share, and what a boring post it would be without pictures, right? Here are a few fun pictures from our trip to Texas back in August.

Here's Kawika playing with Tyson & his glow sticks

We pulled out the doctor kit...yup the one that I played with when I was a kid.

What a classic toy!

I know, I know. He's not mine, he's Bryan & Nicole's...but pictures of myself just aren't as cute.

Hawaii Vacation

2009-07-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Hawaii this year, lots of fun on the beach and great times with family. This was our first time to see the kids since Paka & Mandy moved to Hawaii, so we were thrilled to be there! We only stayed for a week, we got all the tourist attractions out of the way last year, so we hit up all our favorite spots this summer!

Unloading the beach car- lots of work, but well worth it!

Shark's Cove- great snorkeling spot-we saw TONS of fish.

(Yes, we had a baby. Sorry we didn't tell anyone. Cute, isn't he?)

Ahh...fresh fruit at a fruit stand.

Happy Hawaiian Birthday to Kawika!

Hangin' out with the kids

We went swimming at this BEAUTIFUL swimming pool. It just shouts tropical!

Pearl Harbor- we missed this one last summer :)

And no Hawaii trip is complete without good food! (and lots of it) Kawika's favorite- Korean BBQ.

Haunama Bay in the evening

Aaaahhh.....

2009-06-07T17:02:00.001-07:00

Summer vacation is finally here! School is offically over, and I am officially on vacation for 3 whole months. Ahhh.....

Elder Van Every

2009-06-07T16:53:00.000-07:00

I met my parents up in Utah last month to take my youngest brother, Taylor to the MTC. He will be serving in Colorado. He has been in the MTC for almost 1 month now, and is doing great! . We have three missionaries out between both families now- Kawika's two younger brothers are also serving. Keke is going to Mexico and Kimo is also in Colorado. We'll have lot's of letter writing to do over the next two years :)

What was your excuse?

2009-04-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

As you can imagine, being a PE teacher I get many "excuse" notes from students...trying to get out of any running that we do. Here are two of my favorites- so if you ever need to get out of running in PE, perhaps you could try one of these:

So apparently we all need to wear really great eye protective gear outside, as getting any kind of air in your eye really hurts. It just so happens it hurts even more on mile day. Maybe next time I would have more sympathy if she said she had the flu...

My favorite part on this one is- "any subject"... watch out, you may do some jumping jacks in English class. I love the P.S. part... since when do parents include a "P.S."? This student apparently forgot this was a note for the teacher and not the girl sitting next to her in science class. I guess she did sound somewhat adult when she said "menstrual cycle". And, we don't want any PE student tired- I mean you could almost die if you leave class feeling a little tired! Don't you worry though- I hold firm....actually, I try not to laugh when I read it, and then respond..."Nice try, go get dressed. You still have to run"
Guess it keeps my job entertaining :)

Grandma Van Every

2009-04-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

My grandma passed away last month, and I was able to make it to the funeral. In fact, all my siblings and I made it up to Idaho, so we had a great time together. Just as with all funerals, there were many tender moments, but it was such a great family gathering altogether. All my cousins, aunts, & uncles were able to make it (except one cousin on a mission) so it was a pretty neat occasion. We still managed to have fun as a family while remembering grandma. She was a great woman, just as all grandmas are. Here are some pictures from the trip: (sorry they are backwards)

We love you and miss you grandma...

Christmas Part I

2009-02-15T20:45:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures from Christmas...I would post a lot more, but sometimes I get rather impatient with how long it takes to upload one picture. Anyone else feel the same? I don't know if it's my computer, but man it feels like it takes FOREVER. Hence the reason I am not the best blogger. But....here are some pictures from our Christmas in Austin!

The trail of lights. It was a rather chilly night

We went to a DNBA game- we had great seats up close...and the players were HUGE!

Ahhh....Bluebell Ice cream-what a treat.

Family Picture! One of my favorites!

Update in Order

2009-01-09T16:37:00.001-08:00

Since I have been horrible at updating my blog, we'll get all caught up...but we have to go in order. In November, my parents came down for a weekend to help us with a few home projects, and it was SO great, we got so much done.

Project #1: Garage Shelves. No Van Every home is complete without shelves in the garage!

Ta dah! All done.

Project #2: Begin installation of wood flooring downstairs.

BEFORE:

PROJECT COMPLETE!

(We still have to get a piece of carpet installed in the square)

Just as many of you, we got snow too! For about the first time in 30 years, school was cancelled and we had a sinful city full of snow.

Backyard:
Christmas Pictures to come!

Movin' Right Along...

2008-11-25T18:11:00.000-08:00

Well, we bought a house. Yes this one. And we live in it.

Okay, it's done and I am so lame that I have not taken a picture of the outside, but a picture will soon come. And I am even more lame that I did not think to take pictures of the inside before we moved all our stuff in it. So needless to say, the place isn't quite organized to perfection and it's still under construction on the inside as we are putting in all new flooring. To a brand new house you might say? Yes, because as many of you know, builders charge a billion dollars for most upgrades...so when you can do it yourself its great to save those pretty pennies. I will share pictures once it looks like a house again. Hopefully soon.

We have had company come down since we moved in 2 weeks ago, and we have made great advances on all our projects. My grandma came down two weeks ago, and my parents came down last weeked. It was GREAT. Thanks to the veterans! (I mean as in Pros in home improvement) Pictures to come!

The Green Hulks

2008-10-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from our visit to St. George last weekend. (Sorry, I am a little late). As always, we had tons of fun with the kids! I think they should stay this age forever, they are too fun!

It was a freezing cold morning

Always gotta have a muscles picture!

All tuckered out!

Celebrating Mandy's birthday eating yummy Thai Food and Sushi! Mmmmm....

Tagged!
8 TV shows I love to watch

1) Dancing with the Stars

2) Super Nanny

3) Reba

4) Cosby Show

5) Family Feud

6) Jeopardy

7) Wheel of Fortune

8) Sports (as you can tell, we don't have cable, so my selection over the past 2 years has been quite limited!)

8 Favorite Restaurants

1) Pin Koaw (Thai food)

2) Pho Haoung (Vietnamese)

3) Chipotle

4) Tropical Smoothie

5) Ohana's

6) Chili's

7) My Husband's Kitchen

8) My Dad's Pizza

8 Things That Happened Yesterday (I picked Friday, it was a more 'normal' day)

1) Made my PE kids run/walk 3 miles on the track

2) Then gave a motivational speech on exercise, and why it's important

3) The sewer was backed up at our school...we had the nasty smell in the locker room for about 4 hours. Yes, it was disgusting.

4) Listened to Glenn Beck on the radio reveal truths about Barack Obama

5) Went to Sam's club to buy water/gatorade to sell at school

6) Talked to an old college roommate and laughed about the good ole' college days...like our roommate having a pet rat that eventually developed testicular cancer and had balls the size of...well, golf balls.

7) Ate baked potato w/ steak for dinner

8) Watched a movie with my husband

8 Things I am Looking Forward To

1) Having a family

2) Living in a house

3) Holidays- Christmas!

4) Going to Texas

5) Summer Vacation

6) Seeing all my nephews: (Tyson, Kianoa, Keawe, Makaio)

7) Going to bed

8) Barack Obama losing the election

8 Things On My Wish List

1) New living room furniture

2) Bedroom Set

3) A house

4) Lasik eye surgery

5) New wardrobe

6) 6 pairs or Nike Tennis shoes- various colors to match outifts

7) A chef

8) To move back to Texas

8 People I tag

1) Holly

2) Jenny

3) Melissa

4) Tiffany

5) Shelly

6) Kristen

7) Amber

8) Tyler

Funny Chillins

2008-09-23T16:31:00.001-07:00

Every now and then when I am not collecting cell phones or telling students to take out their various facial peircings, or to quit saying the "F" word...I get to enjoy some funny comments like these ones:

Right now we are doing an aerobics unit, and today we did a cardio kickboxing video. After about 20 mins, the kids were getting exhausted so we took a little breather and I let them get some water. (I always do the workout with the kids from the back so that I can make sure they are all participating...and I get my workout for the day as well.)

As the students in my last period class were walking back from getting water, an exhausted student looked at me and said...

"Mrs. Lawther, this is your 3rd time to do this workout video?"

I said, "Yep! Sure is!"

She said, "You're crazy! Man, being a PE teacher is worse than being a Math teacher!"

Ha, ha! That one made me laugh. Maybe I should tell that to the Math teachers. Think they would agree?

Summer Vacations

2008-09-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

Aaahh...our trip to Paradise...

I have finally found some time to post some pictures from our amazing trip to Hawaii in July. We had a great time, and took lots of pictures.

Delicious Cream Puffs

Gathering our own coconut from the coconut tree

What a man!

Our visit to the Valley of Temples. We brought some flowers to put on Kawika's grandparents grave. Pretty neat that he has family buried at such a historical site.

Haunama Bay- we did some snorkeling here one morning...so beautiful!

Having some dim-sum (sp?). It was....different. But good.

Since we were in China town, Uncle Ronald and Kawika thought they would practice some Kung Fu moves. No matter how old they get, they will always be boys at heart.

Picking up some fishy goods at the marketplace.

Getting ready for some more snorkeling! I wish I had an underwater camera to show you all the fish we saw. I will remember that for next time. I could have stayed in that water snorkeling for hours, it was so fascinating!

We were driving along the coast when we spotted these huge turtles! I was pretty close...

And... I got to pet the turtle. (Yes, the little 7 year old is stealing my Kodak moment)

Shave ice! The most delicious Hawaiian treat. Out of our 14 day trip, we have Shave ice on 12 of those days. No kidding- and it was mostly my request.

Hawaii Temple. Gorgeous.

Since this was my first time to Hawaii, we had to make our rounds to all the "tourist" attractions. (Thanks to Kawika's family for taking me along even thought it was probably their 45th time to go to all those places) Here are the pictures from the Polynesian Culture Center.

They look identical. Actually, Kawika, your tongue needs to hang a little more to the right.

I couldn't get over how beautiful the water was. Talk about Paradise!

Squid anyone? (I think I passed on this one too)

Visiting the Punch Bowl

Kawika's Parents- Yes, they didn't have a clue we were in the picture.

Boogie Boarding. It took a couple of crashes, but I eventually got the hang of it and had a blast.

This was a really cool sushi restaurant. Behind me is a belt of food that is constantly moving. When you see something you want, you just take the plate. Pretty neat concept.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Since we live in the desert, it's been a while since I have seen a good ole' rainbow. It was impressive!

We went swimming at this pool...it was right on the edge, so that it looks like it goes right into the ocean. What a sight!

Sea Life Park

We had a luau that night at the sealife park. What a show! We were had front row seats to the show. We were so close we could feel the heat!

When the thaitian dancers came out, they pulled volunteer dancers from the audience. And guess who got picked?? I must say he had the best hip shaking of them all!

And for the record- spray tans do not last. Mine came off after about 2 days. It looked great while it lasted. So my idea of trying to blend in with all the dark skinned Hawaiians didn't work so well, and I had to go back to being a good ole' Haole. Oh well! And as always, vacations have to come to an end. We can't wait to go back! We had a real busy summer this year with girls camp, weddings, and a trip to Texas (which I will have to post another day) I am back to teaching and Kawika is back to work. Can't wait for next summer!

Time for a Post!

2008-07-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know why it is...but I have to change the template everytime I sit down to write an update! I guess it's too fun changing it up...or maybe it's the same concept as me having to try on atleast 3 outfits before we go anywhere. Must be!

My Mom and Dad came down for my cousin's wedding- neither the groom nor the bride are from Vegas, but they decided to get married here! Lucky us! We loved the company, and it was great to see some of our family. Besides the wedding, mom and I got to go shopping, and any guesses what my Dad and Kawika did? Yep! 18 holes at 5:30 in the morning before the wedding. Always time for golf! Here are some pictures from the wedding weekend:

This is our "waiting for pictures" picture. Every wedding needs a few of those!A quick snap while posing in the 110 degree weather- Smile!

The men figuring out how to get Gma and Gpa back to their hotelMaking his moves...sorry Kawika, she's taken.

Yup. This is what most of our pictures look like these days...

No wedding that the Van Every's attend is complete with out some Boot Scootin' Boogie!

The Bride and Groom. Congratulations, we wish you the best!

Goodbye...

2008-06-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

Goodbye to... 40 students desks, 4 bookshelves, 3 computers, 150 dry erase markers & 8 erasers, 38 college banners, 21 posters, 30 dictionaries, 2 file cabinets, 125 textbooks, 21 fluorescent lights...

Goodbye to...daily objectives, homework assignments, daily agenda, higher level thinking...

Goodbye to... emails from parents who wonder why their "perfect" child has a 23% in the class, the grade book, printing tests & homework assignments, "one on one's" talking to Johnny about why school is more important than skateboarding, why marijuana is not an effective way to attract the opposite sex, and why listening to an Ipod during class equals detention...

Goodbye to grading & returning papers...

Goodbye to file cabinets full of tests, lessons, band aids, movies, screwdrivers, fly swats, candy, hot Cheetos, items taken from children such as: cell phones, sunflower seeds, Ipods, cell phones, shoelaces, hats, cell phones, basketballs, balloons...and cell phones

Goodbye to room 406...

Good bye to Las Vegas High School...
HELLO SUMMER!!!

(Also, along with that goodbye, I got a transfer to another high school to teach PE. Wahoo!! )

New Email Address

2008-06-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, so...BYU just totally deleted my whole email account last week...I was so mad!!!! I mean, okay, maybe I am a loser for still using it two years after I graduate college ... but they usually send you an email notifying you that it will be deleted. Instead, mine just magically disappeared. Argh! So this is my new email address:
mvlawther at gmail dot com

Have a great weekend! :)

Summer is Almost Here!

2008-05-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

I love the feeling that summer is right around the corner! Two reasons I can feel the seasons changing: I only have 2 1/2 more weeks of school (wahoo!) and it hit 100 degrees yesterday. The days of sweating while just bringing in the groceries are back! Yes!

We have just been busy with work & studying (okay, only Kawika on the studying part). Here is a picture of my brother, Andrew. I thought it was funny! The other Elder in the picture is huge, I think close to 7 ft. Andrew comes home in about 3 months...I can't believe it!

Back To Pennsylvania

2008-05-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

Kawika's grandfather passed away two weeks ago, so he made a trip back to Pennsylvania this month. I am really glad he was able to go, everyone in his family was able to make the trip out, so they had some great family time. This was his last grandparent on his side, so it's kind of a bummer I didn't get to meet him, but of course, I will someday :)

All the grand kids...yup, there a goofy bunch!

Sushi Master

2008-04-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

Kawika got a new sushi roller so we decided to make some sushi for dinner last night. He is getting close to becoming a sushi master!

Of course, he needed the outift to help him concentrate on rolling...

Finished product! Still getting use to eating sushi :)

This time it was a BOYS Weekend in Vegas!

2008-04-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

We have been so lucky to have so many visitors this month, we have been loving it! Mandy & the kids came down with Kawika's mom from St. George on Saturday. We went out to our favorite Thai restaurant, followed with the festivities of the strip.

This was my first day for shorts this season...good thing summer is right around the corner, those legs of mine need some dimming, they are blinding!

Oranges for dessert! So cute! (the boys, that is)

We headed to St. George on Sunday afternoon to check out Zion's National Park for a hopeful camping trip on Memorial Day weekend. It was a chilly day compared to Saturday...

We stopped for a few Kodak moments, and the kids (including Paka & Vika ) took off up the STEEP rocks.
They made it!

Grandma Lawther & Makaio didn't make it quite as far :)

Whew! Alright, back down the mountain we go!

Keawe had too much fun the first time, so off he went for a 2nd time up! He was quick!

As we were getting all packed up to go home, I found this in my bag!

Guess we'll have to take him home with us!

Girls Weekend in Vegas!

2008-03-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

My Mom, Aunts and Grandma came down this past weekend to visit, and we had SO much fun. It was fun hanging out with all the girls! Thanks for coming! I love having company! Here is what our weekend looked like:

We went to a show at the Luxor. The performer was Ron Lucas- he was a ventriloquist. WOW!

2008-02-27T19:58:00.000-08:00

Celebrity Match

2008-02-27T19:42:00.001-08:00

Thought this would be fun...don't know why I care if I look like someone famous, but entertaining!

Texas in the Kitchen

2008-02-16T16:28:00.000-08:00

We made Valentine sugar cookies last Saturday before Kawika headed to Philadelphia for the whole week! We were making cookies to send to my brother, Andrew who is on a mission in Cali. And...I just had to catch him in his Texas shirt! I would have to say he looks good in burnt orange!

Finally Got the Camera Working!

2008-01-29T19:50:00.000-08:00

Here are some pix from our Christmas in Oregon!

Christmas Morning opening presents...(after the men played golf, of course)

Paka & Mandy's Family

Vietnamese Lunch- Yum!
Scoot over! I always had company on the bench as I played the piano...

Just one worked a little better!

Mmmmm...Christmas!

2007-12-21T20:53:00.001-08:00

Merry Chirstmas Everyone! We are heading to Oregon for Christmas this year, we fly out on Sunday. I 'll have to post some more pictures when we get back. Here is a little bit of Christmas from our house....hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!!

Can't have a Christmas without sugar cookies!

This was my first year to have a REAL christmas tree, and I am sold! The smell is definiatly worth it! It wasn't as messy has I thought it would be. But then again, he is just a little guy! Although, I do have one confession to make- I killed the poor thing early on. Kawika went out of town for a week, and I didn't water it enough, so it was all dried out by the time he got home. Whoops! Good thing we have to get rid of it tomorrow anyway before we leave!

Happy Holidays!

Duck Day

2007-12-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

I know, I can't believe I am wearing green! It was college day at our school last week, and most of my BYU-I shirts are pretty worn out, so as I was searching for a college shirt this bright green was just staring at me. Kawika couldn't have been more proud to see me in green.
( I know Dad, I need a longhorns shirt!)

6 Things

2007-11-10T14:32:00.000-08:00

6 Things:
I think these things are quite fun!

The rules:A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I have to shower twice a day- One in the morning & one at night! I have to feel "clean" before I go to bed. I developed this one in high school- we would practice in the gym before school, and then do weight training after school, so I ended up taking two showers a day. Never kicked the habit!

2. All the hangers in my closet have to be the same color- white. Kawika has red hangers and every once in a while he will put one in with my white ones- just to get a kick out of it. Of course I notice right away, but he think's its pretty funny.

3. I LOVE playing volleyball. Can't get enough of it! I have played on two leagues here in Vegas- a womens & then a co-ed team with some teachers from school, and to my surprise, they were very competitive- which is great! Kawika also plays volleball, so he shares my love!

4. I have started playing tennis. Kawika loves to play tennis, so I told him when we got married that I would learn so that he could still play.(I had never played before) He is a great teacher, very patient. It took me almost a year to get it down, and now I love it! (but volleyball it still #1)

5. I had three ingrown toenails when I was in 4th grade, and I had all 3 roots removed. My toenails are quite slim!

6. I have to color my hair about every 2 months. I like to change it up, and it helps to give volume to my very fine hair. I learned how to do highlights from one of my roommates in college, so it only costs me about $5.00. I will do my own hair, but I haven't dared to do anyone elses!

Well, if you haven't been tagged, you're it!

Big Ol' Update

2007-11-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

Well...needless to say, time that I updated our blog!

Things are going well here in Vegas, Kawika is still working with his accounting firm, PBTK and is a couple of months away from busy season. I am also still teaching at Las Vegas HS and i just finished volleyball! Our freshman team went undefeated in districts! It was great fun coaching, but I am happy to get home at a decent time now and eat more home cooked meals :)

Last weekend we went up to Mt. Charleston for the day to get out of the CITY! It was refreshing!

What?! There are green trees in the desert???

Kawika starting the coals for dinner

What a shot, I know!

This is me going cross-eyed...

And this is Kawika....nice try!

Our scrumptious tin foil dinners!

This is the sign that the girls on my volleyball team made me-

we had an away game the night of my birthday, so they put this sign up in the other school's gym, along with tons of balloons in the stands. It was a crack up, but very thoughtful!

Gma Comes to Vegas

2007-09-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

My grandma actually came this past July, but I forgot to post! Kawika was out of town for a week, (and I hate being by myself) so my gma came down to spend some time with me and help me pick out a sewing machine :) Thanks grandma! This is us in front of the Bellagio- we watched the water show 3 or 4 times, one of my favorite things on the strip (okay, probably the only thing). Gma trying out the slot machines- she brought her roll of nickels but they don't take coins anymore!

I would have to agree with her, they are not as fun anymore since they don't take coins!

Elder Van Every

2007-09-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

My brother, Andrew is serving a mission in Anaheim, CA-he has been out for 13 months and is doing vey well! He has served in both Spanish & English speaking areas. I just can't believe that he has been out for a year! What ever happened to little brothers staying "little?"

San Diego

2007-08-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

I was in San Diego this past week attending an AVID conference for school. I went with seven other teachers- we had great time, but left California with lots of work to do!

My Hotel room all to MYSELF

$4.00 for a bottle of water- yah right!!!!

This was just a portion of our district- there were over 4,000 people at the conference. Whoa!

This is our site team. Go Las Vegas High!

Things about Me

2007-08-11T17:26:00.001-07:00

(Sorry, I am a little late on this one) I was tagged to share 7 things about myself- things you may or may not know:)

1. I am an obsessive vacummer- mostly b/c I like the lines on the carpet. As an adolescent, vacuuming was my therapy. When I was mad about something- the whole house would get vacuumed. My family now jokes when I vacuum- is something wrong?
2. I am a cancer surivor (just minor) I just had a gut feeling to get checked last summer- and sure enough there was a mole that didn't look right. It was a malignant melanoma- had a little cut and dig to get it out, and it's all gone!
3. My NEW favorite food is Thai food. I LOVE phai thai & edmamames. Can't get enough of it!
4. Carbonation free I have not had a carbonated drink since my freshman year of high school- going on 8 years. My husband use to try to trick me into drinking it!
5. My biggest pet peeve is laziness. Can't stand when people are too lazy to clean up after themselves or too lazy to do their school work (that's the teacher in me)
6. I am super anal. Where do I begin on this one? In high school, I use to plan at the beginning of the week what I would wear everyday to school. When I write on the board for my classes, I usually erase it atleast 2 times before it looks just how I pictured it. You should see my silverware drawer. Not perfect, just anal.
7. I wish I could get lazer skin therapy- or whatever is would take to have clear skin.

I tag Katrina & Nicole

Lollipops

2007-07-20T17:50:00.001-07:00

I was looking through some pictures, and ran across this one , thought it was cute! This was taken last summer while we were in Oregon. Those are Paka's (Kawika's brother) little boys, Kianoa & Keawe :)

Trip Down South

2007-07-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

We went down to Austin to visit my parents over the 4th of July & had a blast! Of course, vacations never last long enough...time flew! We got to see lots of rain, although everyone there was sick of the rain, I enjoyed it since we don't see much rain out here in the dessert. Here are some pix from our trip:

Eating dinner at the original 'Salt Lick' - great environment, so authentic :)

Tyson & Uncle Taylor

Bryan, Nicole, Michelle, Kawika
You can bring your own drinks to dinner- so we brought water & Gatorade instead of beer!

It is Andrews (serving a mission in Cali) birthday this coming Monday, so while we were visiting, we tried to get a picture of Tyson holding a happy birthday sign to send to Andrew on his birthday. Of course, it went straight into Tyson's mouth every time (so funny), so finally we rigged it so that you could still see the sign while the popsicle stick is in his mouth. We took probably 50+ pictures to try and get a good one. It was too funny!

Tyson & Aunt Michelle

In this picture I was looking at him in the mirror across the wall, making him laugh- that's where he is looking. He just woke up from his nap, so he was full of extra smiles!

Bryan & Nicole

Dinner at the 'Oasis' on Lake Travis In Austin, TX

Night Swimming!

I know this pictures looks totally awkward....but we were playing the a dunking game, and it was hilarious. Love the goggles!

That was it! Great trip, hope to make it out soon again.

Thanks Mom & Dad!

I think I will always love Texas!

Happy Birthday!

2007-06-23T13:53:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Kawika's birthday yesterday...and I do have to say that I love celebrating birthdays- so much fun! This was the breakfast that I made him, filled with his favorites: Cheese eggs, bacon, fruit, OJ, and a crepe filled with Nutella, cool whip, bananas, & strawberries.

Add a little ketchup...

SO tasty!

This was one of his gifts- he got a new driver. Boy was he thrilled!

Then it was off to dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant.

After dinner, we went to a show-Oceans 13. It was good- much better than Oceans 12, but still doesn't beat out Oceans 11.

Blowing out his candles on my PITIFUL looking cake. I could not get the dang frosting to work with me. It tasted great, but oh so sad looking. Hope I have better luck next time!

Happy Birthday Kawika!

Home Teaching Butter Yaki Style

2007-06-22T09:49:00.001-07:00

Last night we got all our home teaching done! (Or should I say, Kawika). We invited the couple that Kawika home teaches, along with our home teacher & his wife and niece. We made butter yaki- it was a big hit! Then we played some exciting rounds of snarf (a card game) and had cheese cake for dessert. It was a fun night :)

Van Every's Come to Vegas

2007-06-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from March when my parents & brother came to visit. We had so much fun!

The water show at the Bellagio

Caesars Palace

This dance game is really pretty challenging...Taylor was pretty good at it.

Of course, no trip can be complete with out a round of golf!

Bum Buddies!!

Exhausted from all the excitment (or should I say, golf)

School is Out- HOORAY!

2007-06-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

School ended on Friday-whew! Here are some pictures of the kids I teach. I had atleast one student in each class that did not speak English. At least I didn't have problems with them talking too much!

My Classroom

2007-05-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

This is my classroom at Las Vegas HS- I teach Freshman- this semester I ended up teaching a careers class instead of health, which I wasn't thrilled about, but it ended up being a pretty successful course. I worked especially hard trying to convince the kids to get an education instead of working on the strip for the rest of their life :) We have exactly 11 days until school is out- I am SUPER excited for a break. Thank heavens for summer vacation!
This is my desk...usually piled with papers to grade

My front board. We were doing a finance unit- I was teaching how to "write a check"

What a Cutie!

2007-04-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

Since I don't have any kids of my own, I will just have to post pictures of Bryan's! I can't believe how much babies change in a matter of weeks!

Teach 'em young! They were saying the prayer for dinner at my parent's house, so Bryan thought he would have Tyson fold his arms too! He is probably thinking, 'Dad, what in the world are you doing to me??'

Playing with mom :)

Deer in the headlights! I thought this was was too funny!

Baby Tyson!

2007-04-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

So I know I probably put way too many pictures on here...but I can never choose which ones! Here are some pictures of the first baby on my side of the family- Tyson David Van Every. He was born on January 29, 2007. He is so adorable...and I haven't even seen him yet! I will get to see him when I go to Texas in July. This is the most recent picture I have of him...he is starting to smile more and be more awake, so they are able to get some better pictures. He is gaining weight really well, and starting to get some baby rolls! So cute!

Tyson loves Uncle Taylor!

Bryan titled this picture 'just hangin'...thought that was kind of funny :)

This is the day of his blessing...

The young and the old snoozing!

Bryan almost got the finger

Tyson had some jaundice, so here he is soakin in the sun

Wedding Pix

2007-03-31T17:45:00.000-07:00

I finally created a blog! I have been meaning to do this since..well, October. Where does time go? We are here in Las Vegas, staying busy with work and enjoying the cool weather before it gets sizzling hot. I just started my new job in January- I am teaching Health & Careers at Las Vegas High School. Kawika is working at an accounting firm, and can't wait for April 17th- the end of busy season! Here are some pictures from our Wedding back in October...there are lots of them! (I am still figuring out how to navigate the web page, so sorry for some of the upside down pictures. )

Christy- the BEST brides maid ever!!!

This was the day before the wedding- gettting all set up for the reception. Actually, we were on pizza break.

My hair dresser did a great job on my hair! Nicole, (my sister in law) came to the rescue- and did a fantastic job! My hair looked great! Thanks Nicole!

Of course, no family gathering is complete without volleyball!

Right before heading out to the temple. Some of our friends in Florida told Taylor to give me hug for them- here it is!

In front of the Portland temple.

Coming out of the temple...

This is the best picture I have of our cake, we did a cupcake cake. Neither of us really knew how to cut the cake- yup, we cut it right down the middle. Needless to say, it basically fell apart after we cut it. Whoops!

Okay, so I don't know how to turn the picture...sorry. Another Hawaiian tradition is to have a 'money dance.' This is when Kawika & I dance, and people come and stick money in my dress or kawika's shirt. When money is placed in my dress, Kawika has to take the money out with his mouth. I was a little nervous about doing this- but it turned out to be a blast! In this picture, Kianoa (kawika's nephew) put a $20 in the front of my dress. He did it on his own, no own told him where to put it! We were dying laughing!

And then there is the TEXAS side! Our family did a little 'boot scootin boogie.' I was a little better at this dance!

This is Kawika's sister and mom. These are the pro hula women.

2007-03-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

This is at our reception. We had a dinner, dancing, and lots of fun! I had to perform a hula- (its Hawaiian tradition) I practiced for about a month...but I am not a natural like his mom and sister. Kawika sang the song on the guitar. Definitely a memory to never be forgotten!

2007-03-31T17:38:00.000-07:00

2007-03-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

Here are all the boys! Kawika has 4 brothers...good thing I am use to being around boys!

2007-03-31T16:19:00.000-07:00

These are Kawika's nephews, Kianoa & Keawe. They are so adorable- we love them!