Table for Eight

Lu, Bam, and Zu at the Grand Opening of Dunkin' Donuts. I realize on the heels of yesterday's post about over-indulgence that there's major hypocrisy irony with my post today. But, we have a new neighbor in our 'hood. So I HAD to take the kids and make proper introductions. Right? Tap. Tap. Tap. Anyone still here? I'm telling you, life is a lot more complicated than I ever expected it to be. Even though we went here today, I still haven't tried a donut. Holding out. ***** PS: Elder Meehan had a great Halloween week on his mission. (They actually had a tornado warning, so Halloween was celebrated on November 1st. Eeek!) We miss him so much, but know he's having an amazing experience there, so it's all good. November 2013.

Bam as Alice In Wonderland. (PS: Thank you Marthe--her church youth group leader--for MAKING this dress!) First of all, I just have to say this: our daughter Bam is hands-down the most peaceful person I know. Just thinking of her calms ME. She finds happiness in every new day. It's incredible. And this photo is a super-amazing reminder/example of that for me. (Plus, I've may have said this before? But I think adopting our children has given me an extra helping of gratitude for their personalities and traits. They are sometimes like Dave and I, but others times so SO different. I'm really grateful for that/this.) Okay now: it's Halloween week and I have 2.8 million things on my To Do List. And while I could write the list here, and give you a serious laugh-attack, I thought I'd just share the 2.8 millionth thing on the list. It pretty much sums up how I'm approaching life right now:  DAWN's TO DO LIST # 2...

I am SO excited: today is my first day back at BYU after a very very long break. (My last class was in April--before the Survivor Caramoan finale!) I love BYU. Absolutely everything about it.  So I'm really happy to have school begin today. I hope wherever you are today, it's a great day. Much love. Sidenote: This is an "old" photo taken last year on my first day of Fall semester at BYU. Elder Meehan took it. And, we heard from Elder Meehan late yesterday--so I thought I should repost it. (Psst: All's well in Indiana. He's doing great. Yayhoo!)

One of my favorite days with Dave and Jay. Oquirrh Mtn. Temple, June 2013. We just heard from Elder Meehan--his last phone call before leaving the airport on his way to serve his mission in Indiana. Ahhhhhh! It was awesome. We had 60 minutes with him! (Sidenote: For anyone reading who is new to LDS Missionary service: while Jay is on his mission, he does not use the phone for personal calls, with the exception of Christmas Day and Mother's Day. We can email once a week and send snail mail anytime. So this phone call was literally our last phone call until December.) It was SOOOOO good to hear his voice! (Oh, before I forget, his wake-up call for the airport was 2:30am this morning. We were able to speak to him at about 5am-6am. He had checked his bags--which were 49lbs each. So, he just made it the regulation weight, woo!) And it's incredible to hear how just 14 days of turning your heart/mind in a new direction can change you at your core. He's still t...

Our oldest two daughters: Bam and Papapa. (I think that's paint on Papaya's hands?)   Well, cellphones totally change camp for ME ... because thanks to Bam and Papaya's leaders, I was able to SEE how they are doing after just their first day of camp. Woo hoo! Thank you, Caisa, for hiking up the mountain to find cell service. It was so cool to hear the kids were there safe and having a ton of fun! (Funny, after Survivor--where we are completely sequestered from communication/media for basically 2 months--I can barely go a few days without getting an update on our kids. I mean, I will wait if I have to, like with Elder Meehan's mission updates, but overall, I just like knowing where/how all the bambinos are doing. Yanno?) Papaya and a friend hula. Our ward/congregation Young Women. PS: Oh, how I LOVE the funky socks. Camping is way more fun when you have funky socks!   Shalom!   Bam and her ju-jitsu friend hula. Young Wom...

Our whole fam--dropping Elder Meehan off at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Well, this was a HUGE week for our family: Elder Meehan (Jay) began his service as a full-time missionary for our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). It was really an emotional week, filled with highs and lows.  We're so happy/excited/proud of Jay for serving a two-year service mission. But it's definitely hard to say goodbye for two years. (We will only have written contact for the next two years. And a phone call on Christmas and Mother's Day.). It's a bit like sending him off to college AND Survivor in my mind: It's going to be an awesome adventure, filled with experiences that are life-changing. He's one amazing kiddo to do this (and we are fortunate to be able to send him). Here are some of the photos from his send off at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. (We are fortunate to live in Utah because we were all ...

Zu and Bam--on Bam's 16th bday this month. Before Survivor Caramoan (the game vs. show) , I was able to blog almost every day consistently. But I'm telling you, Surviv or has been was one MAJOR life-changing experience for me (and our family) . And since re turning, my whole life has been d ifferent. And I don't mean that in a bad way, I'm just saying that I'm a completely different version of myself after playing Survivor two times in 12 months . Completely. If you're a Survivor fan , then you know that Malcolm played two seasons back to back--with only 3 weeks in between seasons. Brandon, Cochran, and I however, were the next "most recent" returning players, having played Survivor Caramoan exactly 12 months after our first season, Survivor South Pacific. And if you're watching this season, I have to just share this--because it blows my mind ... a t this stage in the game ( D ay 28 ) Cochran and I ha ve spent 56 ...