Too much to catch up right now . . .

Quick over-view of the past month---but not enough time to expound on all the events----July is CRAZY!!

 Tom and I were a "ma and pa" for our stake trek.  It was an incredible experience.  (more stories to come!)

 We absolutely LOVED going with our two teenagers!

 Keaton came with us to Lake Tahoe this year and it was awesome! (we flew out the morning after we got home from the Trek!)

 Look how cute Kelsey is and how BLUE that Lake Tahoe is!

 Spencer with his cousin Luke, and Hailey with her cousin, Olivia.  Best buddies this whole trip!

 Monday after Tahoe, construction for Kea Lani is completed!!!  So, for FHE, we moved into our shop.  It was "all hands on deck!"

 No organization yet ---just moving stuff off the floor for the health inspection tomorrow!!

Tired kids . . . we are hoping to be open by Wednesday!!!  It's a family adventure, that's for sure!

Fun Fourth Filled with Frolic and Faves!

Well, my Fourth of July week started out on a sad note . . . I decided to cancel my yearly exodus to Utah and stay home to help get our business ready to open.  For the past 10 years I have made my way to Utah and enjoyed the beautiful weather and summer thunderstorms.  (LOVE those!)  But this year, I just had to make a choice and even though I missed seeing Kelsey dance in Stadium of Fire (for her 5th year in a row) I have been incredibly busy and am glad I was here to help.  

Ever since Kelsey was a little girl, we had this little "thing" that I would say, "My Kelsey" and she would say, "My Mommy."  I am so glad that she hasn't gotten sick of that or too old for that!

 I went looking for Hailey the morning after Kelsey left and I found her asleep in Kelsey's bed.  She said, "Mom, I just feel safe in Kelsey's room.  (very insightful!) Plus, she has a really soft, fuzzy orange pillow!!

 Kohler had some friends over this week from his EFY group.  This one, in particular, has caught his eye.  She is a doll!  We absolutely LOVE her!!!  Her name is Lexi.  She helped Hailey make brownies!

 Since I have always been out of town for the 4th, I didn't have any decorations.  Well, we couldn't have that, now could we?  So, check out these awesome fabric lanterns that I found at Rod Works for only $5!  

 Yummy Red, White, and Blue Crepe Breakfast!  Oh yeah . . .

 My awesome helpers getting our food ready for the big party!

 I was super excited when Tim, my hilarious brother in law, called to see what we were doing on the 4th.  He lives up in Scottsdale and his wife and kids are up in Utah (with Kelsey!).  I am SO glad he called us because it was so much fun having one of my "faves" with us on the 4th of July.  Speaking of faves, Tim is the biggest fan of deviled eggs and Mountain Dew I have ever seen.  Of course I had to have those for him!

 Another one of my "faves" - my awesome sister, Melanie (here in one of her signature goofy poses! ha ha!) - has her birthday on the 4th of July!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELANIE!!!

Kohler's EFY company got SO close during EFY that they named a Facebook page after their group, "GOT SERVED."  They keep in touch and all got together for a party at our house on the 4th.  It was awesome!  They are all amazing kids and we LOVED having them over.

 Of course, we broke out the ice and made a TON of shave ice for them!

Lexi and her awesome friend, Rachel!

 I am so thankful to live in a country where we can get together with family and friends without soldiers or guards asking us where we are going or what we are doing.  I am thankful that I can fly my nation's flag outside my home with pride for what it stands for.  I love this nation and am so thankful to all of the men and women who, on a daily basis, strive to protect that freedom for me and my family.  We are so truly blessed!

Time with Just the Little Ones

Last week, when my teenagers were gone to EFY, I took advantage of the fact that I had my "little ones" ALL to myself.  They aren't really little anymore (Spencer is 10 and Hailey is 6) but in our family, they are the "little ones."  I can hardly believe they are getting that old and that my little Spencer will be a 5th grader this year.  It blows me away----- So, amidst all things I had to do with Kea Lani---I took the opportunity to go and PLAY with them.  On Tuesday we headed up to the Arizona Science Center and had a ton of fun!

       We built a very "balanced city" on this wobbly circle board.  We watched an IMAX movie all about prehistoric sea creatures (which Hailey loved because she is obsessed with dinosaurs and reptiles!).  They bought fun souvenirs from the gift shop with the money they earned washing/vacuuming my car---and we even laid on a bed of nails!  It was pretty cool--
      After we were done with the Science Center, we walked outside in 105 degree weather and headed over to the Doll and Toy Museum. It's in this darling little home that probably is well over 100 years old but has been preserved and is now part of the Heritage Home Collection in Phoenix.  I have always wanted to go through this museum but with my older kids, they didn't really want to do it.  So---away we went.  It cost $1 for my little ones to get in.  Do you love it??

This was probably one of my most favorite miniature collections.  It is a Millinery Shop and reminded me so much of "Hello Dolly" and the fun shop where Millie worked!  I just loved the attention to detail with all of the fabrics, ribbon spools, and lace.  I could have stared at that for hours!

 OK - so even though Spencer looks TOTALLY bored, he was having a great time!  I just didn't give him a chance to smile before I snapped the photo--ha ha!  This was our favorite doll house.  It was amazing and had everything you can imagine or would want in a doll house.  We all decided that we wanted to move in and live there.  I especially loved the wrap around porch---my dream.

 Spencer LOVED LOVED this collection.  His dad has a bunch of these old Star Wars guys and it was fun for him to check them all out.

This was one of the last rooms of the museum.  I thought it was really cute but Hailey said, "Mom, this is actually kinda creepy!"  ha ha---the more I looked at it, gazed into the blank stares of those dolls, and thought of creepy music from a horror movie---it sort of freaked me out too!  

At the end of the day, we got in our car and sang "Apples and Bananas" with every vowel or sound they could think of.  We  stopped for tacos and cinnamon twists at Taco Bell and slowly made our way home.  I didn't want that day to end.  I missed my teenagers that week terribly---but being able to focus on my little ones without wondering where the big ones were and what they were doing---was, in a word . . . delightful . . . and the best part, was that I was able to take my two little "dolls" home with me!

Neighborhood "Shave Ice Training" Weekend!

It's official . . . we have hired 20 employees, 3 shift managers, and one General Manager to run our shave ice store and this weekend we decided to do some quality training!  (my brother in law, Tony, created our logo.  He did such a great job!  We love it!!)

 We had each employee invite their own families to come and enjoy the shave ice treats they created (after 2 hours of verbal training :)  When we heard that many of the employees families weren't able to come, we quickly texted some neighbors and asked them to come down!  We needed pretend "customers" to serve!

 Poor little Hailey wanted to be a "worker" so badly.  She only has to wait about 10 more years . . .

 Here I am with some of our managers giving some instruction or listening to ideas (either way, Cassie looks shocked at what I am saying! ha ha)  Shiloh, the gal in the black shirt (far right) is our General Manager.  We had over 60 applications for her position and interviewed about 15 or so.  We even had Kohler and Kelsey sit in on the interview process so they could see what it takes to get a job.  All of us felt really good about Shiloh and we feel blessed to have her heading our team.  Cassie, Jake Hixon (far left) and Rebecca (not shown) are the other 3 managers and we feel confident in their abilities and personalities.  

 Here are some of the "minion" workers!  ha ha-----Nathan, Trevin, Wyatt, Keaton and Brandt.

 Kelsey and Breanne ----Kelsey can work in the store even though she is only 15 because she is the "owner's daughter" and that is allowed through the state.

More minions - - - Brandt and Natalie.

 Our house got "power-boxed" between midnight and 3 am the morning before our second training day which meant that some punk kids came and shut off 8 breakers to our home.  Our freezers were totally shut down and we lost a lot of our ice.  So, Tom had to go and buy a saw to cut some blocks of ice (that we had to purchase) into smaller blocks so they would fit on our shavers.  

 Because of the shortage of ice, we were making more "kid boogie boards" than the previous night.  (great rainbow Nathan!)

When Jake took his first bite of the night, he said, "Oh my gosh . . . I forgot how GOOD these things are!"  Then, he made a face that I asked him to recreate for a picture.  This is his "Oh My Gosh, I'm in Heaven" face!!

 Brandt sneaking in his first bite of white heaven ("kea lani!")

 Kohler is the only non-manager that is allowed to shave.  He had some training up in Utah with Tom and our cousins, Stef and Clint.  He is getting pretty good at shaving.  It really is an art!

 Here is Tom with some friends, Steve Beck and Scott Gillette.

 See the hibiscus flower clip in Kelsey's hair (pink shirt)?  The girls are going to wear those or plumeria flower clips in their hair.  So Hawaiian!

 OK - so don't mind my crazy facial expressions in these next two pictures, but we decided to make a couple of "Long Boards" for a tall teenage kid and his dad.

 This was the first attempt of the night to make such a large order.  The first one turned out ok until . . . 

Poor Trevin got it and the kids before him had poured too much syrup and with the 105 degree weather, when he put on the snow cap, it all collapsed into his shirt!  This photo was taken right before it collapsed.  You can tell Trevin looks worried!  It was pretty funny and we all laughed---of course, we made the kid another one and it turned out great.  The heat was a bugger, though.  Our ice cream was melting, our syrups were warm, and it didn't make for the best products of the weekend---but still, the kids all learned a lot!!!

We are getting ready in every which way, shape, and form.  All we need is our stinkin' construction permit from the Town of Gilbert.  We have been waiting for over one month for that thing.  We are crossing our fingers for this week so we can get in there, remodel, and get this store open!!!