To a President Who Likes Mandates.

Let's give him one in November. 

Are you registered to vote?

14% of Americans who think they are registered, are not. 

Make sure YOU are.

Thank You, Justice Roberts.

fas·cism 

 [fash-iz-uhm]

noun

1. a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

Last Book Group of the Summer.

 Our last book till fall was Girl in Hyacinth Blue.

June book group is always hosted by this lovely lady on her back patio, where we inhale fruit smoothies blended to perfection by her dedicated husband.

The weather was perfect.

Ashley played beautiful  background music...

...that was enjoyed even by our youngest member.

So much wonderful conversation,

beautiful music,

and delicious food.

Aaaah, summer?

Let it begin.

For Michaela

What happens when someone knees 

himself at the tumbling gym.

And Then There Were 5.

With the arrival of Zach today, we now have a total of 5 cousins with us.

Here is the breakdown:


Hawaii cousins: 3
plus
California cousins: 2
minus 
Hannah Labit (Washington)
minus 
Elijah Labit (Washington)
equals:   
lots of kids running around, 
one tired Mom/Auntie 
and tons of fun!

Happy Birthday, Or Was It?

Because I went to Girls Camp this week, I promised Cecil we would celebrate his birthday on Sunday--today. Of course Uncle Michael took him out to dinner and a movie on the actual day of birth, but he had to wait til today for the cake and presents part.

For his birthday breakfast, he chose Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal. Odd choice you might think, but considering what he had to choose from, that sounded like happiness in a bowl to him. (Sidenote: All of the cousins hate the Labit breakfast cereal. Most mornings they just have cinnamon toast...) 

The first bowl I made, I put in milk (almond for his milk allergies) - however, there is no milk in oatmeal in the Halliday family. 

Then, in the second bowl, I put in too much water. (I am not usually this accommodating, I was humoring him because it was his birthday, of course). 

Finally, he settled on a bowl of cornflakes with the aforementioned hated milk. Hmmm....


For dinner, we had Cafe Rio Salads...homemade. He was so excited and hungry. After one bite, he declared, quite politely, that it was too sweet. He then had a cheese quesadilla. 


Finally, it was time to open the presents. He opened the first one and said, "Oh, I have this at home." 


Tomorrow we head to Wal-Mart to exchange.

Happy Birthday Cecil.

We tried.

P.S. In no way is Cecil whiny or spoiled. It was just a series of unfortunate events.

Lucky Me.

I had a friend once who used to say 

that there was no such thing as luck--everything good is a blessing.

When it comes to the men in my life, I certainly believe it.

  

I was lucky enough to be blessed with my dad.
Truly, I know of no one who tries harder to be just what 
God wants him to be.


And then there is this guy...

...so lucky to be blessed with him.
He works tirelessly to fulfill all of his many, many responsibilities.
He's a great dad of teenagers,
and a wonderfully patient husband to a wife that has a little bit of a problem with patience....

Whatever it is,
luck or blessings- 
I have it good.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

A Day In the Life.

Trying to keep 8 kids entertained during the summer is no small feat...everyone has their own idea about what to do to for fun.

We are just taking it one day at a time and hoping that somehow, everyone feels their own little bit of happiness for a moment or two.

Yesterday, we went to the fountains.

The boys were highly entertained.

They seemed to think that water shooting up out of the ground was pretty exciting.

The girls, however, were  happy just watching and chatting...

Alyssa braved the water for a few minutes here and there.

The boys also loved the park right next to the fountains.

Where Alyssa was more than happy to keep the swings moving.

Afterwards, we had a little bit of ice cream and headed home.

Even though at times it's chaotic, busy, stressful, and crazy, I can't  help but just feel joy as I listen to the sounds 

of all these cousins just being together.

 It's a pretty wonderful noise.

Summer Is For Sleeping.

Every morning this week, I drag three boys out of bed and send them off to Spring Creek's "Wings" summer camp. For $25 each, I get three hours of peace and quiet where I can work on my preparations for the impending Girls Camp Experience next week. 

They get breakfast, lunch, non-stop activities, 

and the chance to make some cool stuff. 

Yesterday they brought home these cool tie-dyed pillow cases

 to lay their exhausted heads on:

Of course they are only posing,

but let me tell you, each day these boys are going non-stop. 

By the time bedtime rolls around, 

Jake falls asleep before his head hits the pillow. 

Cecil, however, tells me "it's way too early to go to bed (10:30), I'm not even tired!" But in less than 10 minutes, he is out. 

Then, before you know it, I am dragging them out of bed to start another day. 

If only I could figure out how to get some sleep myself!

The Second Wave...

(Molly, Kaitlyn, and Alyssa at the airport)

The Hawaiian exodus has begun.

The Cook family has decided to give up paradise 

and move to Provo, Utah.

Go figure.

It's sad and happy for us.

Sad, because our Hawaiian ties are being untied.

Happy, because, duh, they are not going to be an ocean away!

Right now, the house is one big cousin party.

Have mercy!

Alooooooo-ha.

When Molly Gets Bored on a Sunday Afternoon...

...she obviously wants to do Hipster makeovers. 

Don't we all?

Kyle and Elijah were the lucky candidates.

 

I know, you don't know whether to laugh or cry at Kyle's painted on skinny jeans...

All in a day's work...I suspect Molly is going to add a whole new dimension to Labit family life...Shabbat Shalom.

First Installment of Cousins Has Arrived!

This summer we get a rare treat: lot's of cousins are visiting from the Labit side of the family. Cousins we hardly ever get to see are spending some quality time with us and the first to
 arrive are the Californians.

 Cecil is in LOVE with the birds.

 Molly has brought untold amounts of stuff and has made a home for it all...

...including these treasures brought especially for Girls Camp!

Second installment from Hawaii arrives Wednesday...

Happiest Day of my Political Life until November 8th.

Scott Walker won his gubernatorial recall election in Wisconsin. 

A happy day for the republic. 

I am waiting to "recall" a president in November. 
 Read more about it here.

From firesides to campouts, this is the longest post ever!

The week in pictures:

Wednesday night we went to Julie's  YW's activity. It was an evening focusing on what to expect at a temple wedding...

Tyler and Camille were the guest speakers. Tyler told Ashley that his remarks were prepared especially for her :)

Honestly, don't you hate when people say, "they are such a cute couple?"  But they really are such a cute couple and they shared some wonderful thoughts about why they chose each other.

Good stuff -I hope my girls listened well.

Julie did a wonderful job at planning and presenting.

 We went to Cafe Rio afterwards and Beth was apparently 

super hungry.

Friday night was the annual Father/Son camp out.

Will amazingly conquered another fear and decided he could sleep away from home. Awesome.

Saturday night I attempted to make Will's Star Wars birthday cake.

Epic movie, epic failure.

(Lightsaber or Q-tip?)

Sam's Club to the rescue.

Sunday was Michaela's last day at church before leaving for Washington. 
Her friends heart-attacked our garage while we were gone.

Awww...

We then celebrated the two birthday boys. 

The kids were in rare picture taking form!

Happy Birthday, Jordan and Will.

Goodbye Grandma.

Goodbye Meghan.

Goodbye Michaela.

Sniff. Sniff.