Best weekend ever!

WARNING: MASSIVE POST 

Well, I can't really say that, since my brain is such mush at the moment I can't really remember most of my weekends, but this was by far a super duper awesome one.

We headed down to Turangi for 4 days to go to the snow with my brother and his family.  They moved away at the beginning of the year and we miss them so much.  It was nice to spend some QT with them all.  They boys loooooove their cousin Hannah, and me and my SIL Amy are kindred spirits.  And John's my favourite brother.  So we were all pretty happy campers to see them.  We stayed in the same airforce house that we Brunton's used to as kids when we went on our trips to the snow. 
Memories!

Day 1

We drove down, unpacked and went to the trout farm to feed the fish and went for a little walk by the river.

 

   

 Look at those little fishies jump!

  

It was just ridiculous how many fish there were.

 

   

There was this really cool tree cave that the kids hung out in.

Day 2

We got up at the mountain nice and early and were surprised at how few people there were.  We got to park at the very top in carpark 1. Last year we parked in carpark 7, so the day started really well.  There wasn't as much snow as usual because we've had such a short winter, but there was still enough for us!  We had such a great time sliding and making a snowman.  We didn't think the kids would last very long, but 2 hours later they were still going strong.  It really could not have been a better snow day.  Then that afternoon we went off to the hotpools.

 
me and my little snow baby.

 
Our awesome little snow man.

 

 
Ripping it up, literally.

 
Malachi was so determined to go on his own.  I wish I'd got a picture of how big this hill was, probably 500m long the slide, and he blasted down on his own again and again. Little ripper.

 

Thank goodness for Aunty Amy and Uncle John, who were soooo helpful with Lani so me and Tui could play with the boys.

 
The lifts are all part of the fun.

 
All smiles after a great day on the mountain.

Day 3
It rained. Oh well.  We played games, watched movies, and went back to the hot pools. And then the skies cleared and we went through one of the thermal walks.

 

 
Lovin that warm water.

 

Yes, Tui is walking over boiling mud, in RUBBER JANDELS, holding my baby....sigh...

 
This was one of the pools that the hot water came from for the hot pool we visited. Pretty awesome.

Day 4
We watched General Conference together.  I'd gotten the idea from a friend of mine to make it more interesting for kids by having cups of lollies with key words on the, and when ever the kids heard the words they got to have a lollie from that cup.  It totally worked  All 3 kids sat for the full 2 hours and listened their little hearts out to hear the lollie words.

 

 
Happy little people

We've decided to make it an annual event, our snow trip with my brother's family, coz it really was the best weekend ever.

Chopity Chop

The deed is finally done.  Our little curly man has had his first haircut.  It took some serious prep to get his kid ready - he was NOT keen on the whole idea.  If we'd ask him, "Vili, you wanna have a haircut?" he'd usually say "No, Malachi have a haircut".  And we loved his curls so much, but it was getting a bit ridiculous.  Any time he'd sleep his curls would turn into a mattered knotty mess, and he refused to let us brush it.  And he had started scratching his neck coz his hair made it itchy.  It did look good if we could brush it and put oil in it, but that was such a rare occurrence, mostly he just looked like a rugged sheep. So I decided it was time.  We prepared for the worst, I brought lollies, bribed him with the promise of a new car, brought my Mum along for assistance.  And what do you know, he sat through it all like a angel!  We went to JustCuts, and they were awesome!  They had a jungle animal cape for him to wear, a DVD player with Fireman Sam on it for him to watch, a lolipop waiting for him.  I would totally recommend them for children's haircuts!!

Before

 

   

During

 
The Support crew.
 

 And After

 

 

 It still has all it's curl, which we are so glad about. But it's controlled and cute and we love his big boy haircut.

 

Lani @ 5 months

This little girl just grows more yummy every day!  As well as GROWING every day.  She weighs about 17lbs (8kg) now, and is wearing the same size nappies as Vili.  It's not so much that she's really big, she just has these amazing thunder thighs and big ol' gut! We still haven't got her officially rolling over. It's weird, when she has clothes on, she makes absolutely no attempt to roll over, but when she's naked she'll give it a go.

Rolly polly baby.

  

   

This is about as close as she gets to rolling over, although she has managed it once or twice.

She has certainly found her lungs, and she makes these horrific screeching and screaming noises all the time, especially if it's already noisey, she just adds to it. And she loves hearing other people scream too. She's found that if she pulls on mummy's hair or earings then mummy makes this great squealing noise, which makes Lani laugh. lol  She makes the cutest little cooing sounds, the occasional ma-ma, lots of growls, and most recently, blows lots of raspberries.

With her Great Grandma Desiree. 

We haven't really officially started feeding her solids yet. To be honest, I just haven't had the time; meal times are already busy enough as it is. But we have given her the odd thing, like a little piece of banana, or an apple to suck on, and she's munched a few baby num nums too.

   

Lani loves to be outside, watching the trees, licking the wind. So we've been going on lots of walks. She hates the jogging stroller, but loves the umbrella stroller, go figure.


Malachi remains her number 1 fan.

  

She remains our little tummy sleeper. We've tried her on her back and side, swaddling and not swaddling, but this is how she prefers to sleep. And it makes her fatty cheeks stick out and look so cute!

 

She loves the water, the bath, the pool, where ever she can get it. She loves to dip her hand in and suck the water off. When we go in the pool she kicks and splashes and has a ball. 

 

Oh we just love this little girl. She's the apple of everyone's eye in our family. And we are loving this fatty smiley goobery stages she's at right now. But I'm excited for her to start sitting and crawling and exploring the world.

 

General Conference Oct 2012

So for those of you not in the loop, twice a year our church holds a world wide conference of all it's members where we get the chance to listen to our leaders speak to us on topics they feel inspired to present about.  It's also a chance for those not of our faith to hear a little bit about what our church is really about (there is soooooooooooo much negative, incorrect information passed around about 'The Mormons').  But mostly for me I feel like it's an opportunity for me to have my spirit renewed, to refocus on what's really important, and to hear a Prophet of God speak.  I always come away feeling like they've written their talks specifically for me, almost like they know exactly what I'm going through, what my weaknesses are, what I need to hear (well, they don't, but the Lord does and he gives them a few hints I suspect).  I loved everything that I heard, but there were a few things that really stood out to me this conference that I wanted to share.

- Quentin L Cook spoke about how the world today is NOT a culture of righteousness, and that if we don't feel close to our Father in Heaven, it's because we have moved, not him.  To regain that closeness, we need to emerse ourselves in the scriptures.  He said that the way we treat those closest to us is of vital importance, no matter how we were raised.  And he said that it may not be "cool" to be God fearing people, but it's still the right thing to do.

- Ann M Dibb made the statement "I'm a Mormon.  I know it, I live it, and I love it".  For me this was a challenge to put my money where my mouth is.  I am so incredibley grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a Mormon, and I should never be ashamed to tell people, to talk about what I believe in.  She said "Are we as devoted to our religion as we are of our careers, interests, sports, texts and tweets?" So true!  For something so important as my faith, am I dedicating enough of my time to it?

-Dieter F Uchcoft talked about living without regrets, spending the time with our families that they deserve, developing real relationships instead of just ''clicking'', and becoming the person that God intended me to be.  He said we need to devote ourselves to the pursuit of holiness and happiness, that external circumstances don't determine our happiness, WE DO, and that "it's not a race, it's a journey, so enjoy the moment".

-L. Tom Perry said we need to make 'home' and 'family' something to write home about; that we need to create stronger family ties by praying for help to love, understand and guide our children, by praying and reading the scriptures as a family, by organizing our families, and teaching by example which means I can't just tell my children to be kind, I have to show my children how to be kind.

-M Russel Ballard encouraged us to serve others more.  He said that "service is the very definition of religion" and posed the question "what would be the cumulative effect of millions of small acts of service and kindness on the world?"

-Linda K Burton went right along with that and she said that we are surrounded by those who need our kindness, and that when we are serving others, we become the saviors hands.

And President Monson summed it all up beautifully by saying that if we would step back, consider our blessings, we would find greater happiness in our lives.  He said that the Lord is in all our lives, and that he WANTS to bless us.  If only we were more aware of how he blesses us.

Ok, so that's alot. Lol.  But it really was just all so good!! My testimony was strengthened so much, to know that God really is aware of us and our every little need, and I'm so grateful for a living Prophet and Apostles who are here to receive the revelation from the Lord that I so desperately NEED in my life.  If anyone missed out on watching it, go here and watch it, you will not be sorry. :)

Dare Devils

There's that saying, "Boys will be boys".  My boys don't usually fit that stereotype.  Except when it comes to their bikes.  Those boys are dare devils like no others!!  They are constantly giving me heart attacks with their speed or dangerous maneuvers.  There is a BMX bike track down the road from us, that is meant for older children with proper BMX bikes.  But my little toddlers rule that place with their sponge bob and plastic 3-wheeler bikes.  I've finally convinced Vili to wear a helmet to give me some peace of mind.  He's the worst, he tries stuff even Malachi won't.  These boys go up and down ramps 5-6 meters high, goodness knows how fast they are going.  Most of the hills I wouldn't even attempt to ride down (but then again, I am a sook lol).  So far we haven't had any major falls or grazes (touch wood), so for now I'm content to let them keep at it. After all, it makes them so happy.

 

Vili Let's hope baby girl can keep up with her brothers!