Lynn's Graduation From BYU-Hawaii

I'll make another blog post about our Hawaiian Vacation when/if the car rental company sends us our digital camera back (we forgot it in the car!!!). These are pictures that one of my friends took:
These were two of my college roommates, Jamie and Adrian. Jamie lives in Hawaii and Adrian lives in Utah. Adrian kept telling me how sorry she was that she couldn't come out for my graduation. Then when I was there I saw Jamie approach (who I was expecting) but then Adrian snuck up on me from behind! I was so happy to see the two of them that I started crying! Best surprise EVER!
I got a bunch of leis and I was so happy! Do you see the one in the middle at the top? A Polynesian mother made it for her daughter who graduated but her daughter had a ton of leis being put on her. The mother saw me and walked up to me and put it on me. She said her daughter didn't need any more. Isn't that the sweetest thing ever? I have missed the Aloha Spirit so much and that was a shining example of it!
Afterwards we went out to eat in Haleiwa at Pizza Bobs. I ordered the Avocado Bacon Cheeseburger and it was the best burger I've ever had! No lie!
On our way back to the condo we stopped at a fruit stand that was also selling jewelry. Mom bought these bracelets for us girls so we could be "bracelet buddies"!
Once Kien warmed up to the water he had a lot of fun in it.

Kien's Words

A couple of videos to make Grandma proud of Kien with the words that he can say now.

There's a Bat in My House!

No, I don't mean a baseball bat- I mean one of those freaky looking rodents with wings. I was having a nice Sunday nap on the couch when I heard Bret yell "Wake up Lynn, there's a bat! Get off the couch!" The bat had landed on the curtains above the couch where I gently lay... sleeping... unsuspecting...

Bret tried to figure out how to handle the situation. The internet said to use leather gloves but we don't have any. So instead he got a pitcher and trapped it in there. Enjoy the pic and video's.

Model

Okay, so I finally got the ensemble complete because I wanted to wear the dress to Erin's wedding (Bret's sister). If you are a member of the family then you can see the wedding pictures on the All Paynes Blog. If not, sorry, but you probably wouldn't be interested in seeing them anyways. Well, here's me with the dress, the chunky jewelry, and the shoes.There's that chunky bracelet to match!
Isn't Bret so handsome with his brothers in their matching ties? My husband hardly gets any blog time so here he is in all his handsomeness. Dan is missing though because he is on his mission. We missed you Danno!

Fun in the Sun

On Thursdays I watch Sophie and today was so nice that I had the kids play outside in the kiddie pool. They had a lot of fun and I got to work on my tan.

Kien LOVES basketball. I think we're going to have to buy him a hoop.
The poor kid was so tuckered out that he fell asleep on the couch while I played with his hair.
Video's for Grandma Hicken.

Random Recipe

I was chatting with my old roommate from BYU-Hawaii on facebook. We talked about how we used to sit around and make up recipes and try new things together. We'd look at our cupboards and see what we could possibly combine to make a meal. Stir fry is one of my favorite "throw together" meals. Sometimes all it takes are some spaghetti noodles, a bag of frozen veggies (oriental blend), and some teriyaki sauce. Here is the GOOD recipe for stir fry that I gave my friend online and it's what I made just the other night.Vegetable Stir Fry Recipe

• Broccoli
• Carrots (Julienne or Matchstick)
• Yellow Squash (Sliced)
• Zuccini (Sliced)
  
• Red Onion (Sliced)
• Mushrooms (Sliced)
• Sugar Snap Peas or Snow Peas (Trim ends)
• Japanese Noodles
• 1 bottle of House of Tsang: Korean Teriyaki Stir Fry Sauce
  

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Again, you can substitute spaghetti noodles but I think Japanese noodles taste better. Drain noodles and set aside. Saute vegetables in olive oil or butter, depending on how healthy you want to be. Once they are cooked through, add noodles and the Korean Stir Fry sauce. Stir until completly mixed. You probably won't use the whole bottle of sauce, maybe half of it (Depends on how many noodles and veggies you cooked). If you want, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Really, you can add whatever veggies you want. That's the wonderful thing about stir fry.
(You can easily add meat to this recipe. If you do, just cut chicken, pork, or beef into stir fry slices and marinade in Yoshida's Gourmet Sauce for 1-2 days. The longer you marinade the better it tastes. Trust me on the brands of sauce I give you, I've tried every teriyaki sauce out there and these are the best. Cook the meat in pan with oil separate from Noodles and Veggies and then combine all with sauce.)

What Happens in Vegas Ends up on Blogspot

Well Kien and I went to Vegas with Amy, Brian, and their daughter Hannah. We went to Tonia's house and had a delicious dinner with them. Then Tonia took us out to The Melting Pot for dessert. It was so delicious! Kien was crazy though and made a mess. He kept putting his hand in Tonia's drink to take out the ice. He saw everyone using prongs to stab their food so he used Tonia straw to stab at everyone else's food.I think his mouth is full of marshmallow.
Here is Amy and Hannah. She was so well-behaved.
Then we went home and put the kids to bed. Then we watched Twilight since Tonia had not seen it yet. However, Amy and I fell asleep and Tonia braved the movie alone. She said it was not as scary as the book. (She was really afraid of James when she read it.)

The next morning Kien woke me up bright and early. We were the first ones down stairs and we went into the back yard to find that it had been toilet papered. When Tonia came down she thought it was pretty funny. Then she eventually made her way out to the front of the house. The front was also TP'd but in addition, it was also egged along with her son's car. Suddenly Tonia wasn't laughing anymore. Brian was very nice and cleaned a bunch of it up until the kid who was responsible came over to clean up. The kids were outside while we gathered up the TP.

Here is Bailey & Sadie (Tonia's girls), Kien, and Hannah. The girls were so cute in their matching polar fleece bear suits that I was kicking myself for not bringing Kien's blue bear suit to match. Oh well.
Then we went shopping. I was in the market for a dress for graduation this June and the girls helped me out a ton. They told me what to wear and Amy applied all her knowledge that she's picked up from the show "What Not to Wear". I felt like I was on the show as the girls brought back different things for me to try and telling me that I HAD to have a chunky necklace with a chunky bracelet that was a different color from the dress. They were DEAD SERIOUS when they told me I HAD to have a bracelet. I thought they were teasing me but nope- it was a RULE that I was not allowed to break. I had a good time with them.
Here is the dress I bought on a pretty model.
Here is the sweater I bought to go with it. Tonia had an amazing coupon that she let me use. Thanks Tonia!
Here is the chunky jewelry they had me try on. I didn't buy it from this store but I will be on the lookout for good, turquoise, chunky jewelry.
Then we went back to Tonia's since the kids were in Nuclear Meltdown Mode and Brian had had enough of babysitting. Here we are as we were leaving to go back to Cedar. Thanks so much Tonia! You are a wonderful hostess. Thanks for taking all the pictures Amy and Brian!