A New Year! So it has begun. . . . Wooo! Hooo!

aaaaaah . . . just breath in the newness and freshness of it!!! And Hurray! January is here!!! I guess it has been here for a couple weeks. Anyway, it has been great so far. No Inversion! Snowing every few days, and some sun in between has been great!

We had a wonderful Christmas with our kids!! Christmas morning and spending time with just our little family of four (and Zephyr) were my absolute favorite parts. It was the most relaxing and fun, with the least stress involved. Don't get me wrong, I liked seeing other family and such, but I have to say, being with just my hubby and kids will always be my most joyful of times.

Scott is still working at Skywest airlines as a Ramp Supervisor. ( just to give all a heads up - his flight benefits have changed and we do not get buddy passes anymore from Skywest.) He says all the time that he is ready for a change. He has had a longtime desire to get on with the Highway Patrol one day. He is looking at getting into the Police Acadamy this Spring or Summer. I am excited for him and his goals. I am still working at The Sharing Place: A Grief Support Program for Children and their Families; running a Support Group there and doing family interviews. I also work at the YWCA as an Activities Specialist. The teens and kids there teach me something new everyday. Hana is in her final year of Pre-school, with the big K starting in the Fall. She is a very social girl and is EXTREMELY attentive in all things. It is cool to watch her mind work. Conrad is a fun, loving, crazy little man. He brings joy, and playfulness into our home. It is wonderful.

Luckily we were all pretty healthy through the holidays. Then January came and Conrad got a little eye infection, but we nipped it in the bud real quick, so he is fine. As for mommy, I was blessed enough to get Strep Throat this weekend. It totally took me out! It came on Sunday, and yesterday I felt like my body had been slammed against a brick wall. Its no fun being a mommy while your sick. Thankfully it was Scott's day off yesterday and he and the kids had a very fun filled day. They went to Cabela's; did a little shopping for dad. Then they went to the Living Aquarium in Sandy, McDonald's for an late lunch and the pet shop to look at the animals. What a fun day! Meanwhile, mommy was drowsy on Lortab, and in bed all day. aaaaaah. Fun for all! ;)


(I will post pictures soon)

I think mostly Scott and I are excited for what this year has to offer us. Abundance in all things . . .

Merry Christmas to All !!! From the McKinnons!

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope your holidays are merry and bright!!! This is our holiday message from our family to all of you . . .

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1313779629

Turn up the volume on your computer and go to the link/website above! If is doesn't work, just copy and paste it into your address bar. It may take a minute or so to load, but be patient, it is worth it! We hope it brings some smiles, or laughs into your holiday season!

Pass the Cheer!

The picture of this cup makes it kind of hard to read - so this is what it says:

"Pass the Cheer . . . A good way to pass the cheer when you are on the road is to pay the toll for the car behind you. Do this and you might start to look at stop lights as holiday lights instead. Red means stop and be thankful for a moment. Green means go out and do nice things."

Aaaaaahhh! Starbucks. The home of delicious hot holiday beverages. I hope we can all take some time to "Pass the Cheer" this holiday season, and even all year long. Here is my story about how the cheer was first pass to me. . .

When I was in Indiana a couple weekends ago, my friend and I stopped at their local Starbucks drive thru. My friend Tamara was in front of me in her car. I ordered and pulled up to the window. The woman at the window said "The person in front of you paid for part of your order, so you now owe $1.56." I thought, oh that was nice of Tamara, but then the woman continued. She said, "We have something we do called Pass the Cheer. You are welcome to pay the $1.56, or pay a little more and pass the cheer for the next person behind you." I thought, "This is pretty cool." So I handed the woman $4 and told her to put whatever is left toward the order behind me.

I wonder how long the cheer was passed that day. (Hopefully there wasn't a scrooge who stopped the cheer - that's got to be some bad carma ;o) The cup above was the one I got that day at Starbucks, so I thought I would share the thought and experience. I hope we all have the chance to "Pass the Cheer" sometime.

I love you all!!! Pass the Cheer and Have a wonderful holiday season!

Visiting friends is always fun . . .

I got to visit my fun friend

and her family in Indiana this weekend. Tamara and Jimmy lived here in Utah for about 1 year, from July 2006 to June 2007, and we became fast friends with them. (They now live in Indiana)Hana and their daughter Kyla were best friends instantly. Kyla was born 9 days before Hana, so they loved having their b-days so close together. James is about 10 or 11 months younger than Conrad. As you can see from the picture above they loved playing together (when James was feeling good - he was sick when we were there) Of course we planned the trip to come over Kyla's 5th birthday (picture of Hana and Kyla, above, is at her party).






Now these pictures above and to the left side are of the fabulous experience it was, and continually is, traveling with just me and my two kiddles. As you can see my loony son must be restrained in unique ways, or he would be lost by now in some other state. Hana, as I have said before in other blogs, is a seasoned, and very well behaved traveler. Of course she has her moments, when she is bored or tired, but don't we all.

Anyway, it was a good trip. I am now getting ready to have Hana's birthday party (she turns 5 this Sunday, Dec. 16th). Wow, December is way too busy. I need to take a few of the extra things off my plate next year. :)

My teacher, Hana! I sure love ya . . .

This picture is Hana's first day back to preschool in Oct. this year.

I am finally blogging after a 2 month break - not on purpose.

I wanted to blog today about my sweet daughter, Hana. I am amazed at how quickly she is growing up. I find my self wanting to stop it somehow. She now is tall enough to reach things on top of our microwave, which is on out counter. I know that does not sound so great, but it is just a conformation that she is growing fast. Just yesterday she could bearly reach the light switch - ya know?

Scott and I also decided that we know how to do this parent thing with 2 year olds, because we've done it before. However, Hana is turning 5 in less than two weeks and we don't know how to raise a 5 year old. AH! Sometimes we feel like we are in over our head. :)

I have also recently taken on another parttime job, working at the YWCA, with kids and teens. I leave for work right after Scott gets home in the afternoon. I am still really enjoying it, but it has been a big change for our family.

Hana has said to me a couple times that she wishes everything was back the way it was before. She first explained that a couple of her preschool teachers are different, and she wished that they were the same again. Then she wanted her bedroom back the way it used to be (when we had the bunk bed set up and Conrad's crib up ) - we now have the bunk bed separated and the kids sleep in each of the beds. Then the final heart breaker for me was when she said "And I just want our family back the way it was, too. Mom, it sure is hard having so many changes." Well, there goes a little piece of her childhood, toddling out the door. Oh Man! What do you do? Yes, I have to agree with Hana, it is very hard watching changes happen - especially with my kids.

Don't get me wrong, I am very excited for my kids to continue experiencing life. What a great adventure! But ya know - I also hope I can be there for them the way that is need for them to have the fullest life possible. I guess it is a daily "giving up." This is where I put my hands in the air and say "I give it all to you, Father. Show me the way and Thy will be done! I give it up! It is Yours - knowing I will be shown my role in this beautiful life!"

I have also realized how individual my sweet children are. I mean in the sense that they are separate from me and each other. They are not mine. They only belong to themselves and the God or Goddess that they are. They are their own people living their own life experience. It is hard to explain from my true perspective, and everyone will have their own interpretations of what I am explaining. All I can say is that I am so glad I am their "mom" right now. I "know" these people or Spirits who have joined in on this particular life adventure. We are friends and they have gifts they have brought with them. It sure is a beautiful thing remembering that.

Airplane travel as a way of life . . .

Above: Hana is ready to fly! Hana is definitely a seasoned flyer. It is hilarious as she walks down the halls of the airports wheeling her little bag behind her. She walks like a little woman with a purpose. Scott says she looks like a little business woman.

Hana has been flying since she was about 1 month old. I remember the first time we flew to St George with her. She was tiny and we surprised my parents and fam with a little trip to St. G. I had called Brad, or maybe it was Becky, to come pick us up at the airport in St. G. We walked into my family's house. My dad was sitting on the couch - just in view of the front door - and he saw us walk in. His face lit up and he haulered to my mom in the kitchen, "We got a baby here!" Everyone was so surprised and excited. Good memory!


Above: Scott and Hana, as we get off of the small 30 passenger EMB 120 prop airplane we fly on to St. G. - Look at her :), all about business. :) It was a little rainy and cold that day we arrived back into SLC from sunny St. G. We didn't have jackets, and were wearing tanks and shorts.

Below: We put on our jackets as soon as we got our bags. Burrr. Here are the kids riding on the bus back to our truck, to go home. Conrad is getting pretty good at knowing what to do in an airport as well. Their favorite is putting their own belongings in the bin to be scanned when going through the security check point. Especially Conrad. He thinks he is so big. He has to take off his own shoes and put them in the bin by himself. :) Funny kid. They also love it if they have the puffers on the metal detectors. Funny. I just love 'em.

For those of you who don't know - Scott has worked with SkyWest Airlines since before we got married. He has been a Ramp Supervisor for the last 5 years, or so. It is pretty much a way of life now, for us to travel by airplane. It is very convenient for me that SkyWest is based out of St. G. so there are several flights a day that go there. Scott sees my uncle Harv every once in a while as he flies through. He also works with Jodee Hazon (spelling?). She is an aunt on the other side of the fam of some of my fun Glauser cousins, Steve's family (Tam's sister). Jodee keeps us informed sometimes with some of the Glauser happenings and updates, since we are so out of it most of the time. Funny. Oh well, we'll get on the ball soon.

Anyway, it is an awesome benefit to fly for free. Although, we have traveled quite a bit lately and are taking a little break - for a couple weeks anyway. ;) I am excited to fly once again to St. G. in a couple weeks to stay with my family for the weekend. Oct 20th. All the boys are going on a hunting trip, so all us girls and the kids get to hang out. Everyone is welcome to join us. It will be fun!!! It is beautiful weather in St. G. in October! Anyway, we will be there. ;)

ALOHA Maui!!! A little dream come true!!! Sept. 17th - 20th

Wow! MAUI!!! What a cool place!! This is a huge lava field in Makena, near Kihei, Maui -where we stayed!

This is Hana and I at the Makena lava beach. The little drive there was a skinny road surrounded on both sides with an enormous lava field - amazing - with the old volcano in the back ground (the above top picture).

Well - we finally did it!!! We went to Maui!!! What a beautiful, fun, relaxing, little dream of a vacation!! About a 1 1/2 weeks before we left, Scott found a condo, thru his buddy's timeshare. Scott had time off anyway for this week and we were trying to find somewhere to fly. So what better place than Maui!! We were so excited when it all worked out!!!

Conrad and I over looking the pier, with all the whaling and some tourist boats! Near the Maui Ocean Center. Cute kid!

We arrived on Monday night. Then stayed until Thursday night. On Thursday we went to the Maui Ocean Center! The most amazing, extremely large aquarium we have ever seen. It was a very fun place for the kids. We learned a lot about all the animals in the ocean. In their huge Open Ocean section of the aquarium we saw five different types of sharks, two kinds of sting rays, and tons of huge and colorful fish, all swimming together. The kids loved it - Scott and I loved it! Then there was a tunnel where all those sea animals would swim over us! It was amazing!

We took the great advice of my uncle Brian Neff and went to the Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant, in Lahaina, on Wednesday night. It was a very cool place. Good burgers! Great atmosphere! We all loved the great live music. We also sat upstairs next to the balcony as you can see and it was additional, perfect entertainment for the kids to look over and see all the people, cars, and bikes. As Brian said - Lahaina definitely is like the Park City of Maui. We did a little souvenir shopping. It had a great time! But the restaurant was the highlight that night!

Chaka! Scott and Hana hangin out, playin around in the ocean. On Tuesday we went to the beach right across the street from our condo. It was a great one for the kids. The waves were not too big and they loved the water and the sand. Fun fun day - light sunburns, but not too bad. It was pretty funny - there was a smaller wave that took Hana out. She tumbled as we watched with surprise, as all we saw was her little bum and legs do a summersault in the wave. She popped up and just stared at us - no tears :). All we could do was laugh and give her high fives for how awesome she handled the wave. She laughed and thought it was pretty funny. She was pretty proud of herself too. Feeewww! (wipe the brow) She handled it a lot better than we thought! (Although this was not the last time this happened -read further)

The kids with the "tootas" - sea turtles - at the Maui Ocean Center - they were so cool to see. The kids loved them.

We had a fabulous time! We realized that activities with the kids were limited, also because it was such a short trip - so we spent most of our time different beaches.

The story of Big Beach . . . This was a cool beach - maybe for older kids :) ! Tuesday afternoon we went to Big Beach - and upon arriving, we realized why it was called Big Beach! It was a pretty big beach, but also the waves, as they curled, were about 10 feet high and every once in a while there was one about 15 or so feet high. Wow! It was a little scary for the kids - so Scott and I did a little body surfing on and off while the kids played on the beach. Conrad came in with me for a few minutes - it took some persuasion to get Hana to come out with us. Finally she came in with Scott - holding on very tight. We were enjoying the large waves - out just past the point where they were breaking. Suddenly Scott looked at me and pointed out to the ocean and said "Um, Amy!" I looked out and saw a huge wave suddenly upon us with no way of avoiding it. I said "Wo! Okay, hold on!" I embraced Conrad with his head a little above my head (mean while Scott was just a couple feet more toward the shore- and he said all he was thinking was "Please don't break on us!") So the wave came and I did my best to keep our head above water. We made it - it splashed our faces quite a bit. But it did curl right on Hana and Scott. I turned and they were gone. A half second later Scott pops up without Hana. He looked at me and scrambled for only a few seconds to find her as the wave went back out. Suddenly Hana stands up on the sand, popping her head out of the water. With a very disoriented, surprised look on her face. I instantly grabbed her and was holding her and Conrad. Scott came up quick and grabbed her from me. By that time the waves had pushed us more onto the shore. Hana's hair was tossled - again no tears. We just went for the positive approach again. "Wo! Hana that was awesome! You did great! You just popped right up! You okay? (double checking) You did exactly what you were supposed to! Good job!" She again was shocked, but proud of herself. For the rest of the trip she talked about how awesome her tumble in the ocean was, and also added that she never wanted to do that again. :) We then continued to just look for seashells on the shore at that beach. ;)

We also rented snorkle gear and went to a very cool beach with great reefs right off the shore. Scott and I took turns all day, snorkeling. We also rented a boogie board with a window in it and took Conrad out on it. He was able to see a couple fish too. Unfortunately, do to the experience that day before, Hana did not join us in the ocean for the rest of the trip. But that is okay. We all had a great time though.

After an incredible vacation and great memories, it was time to go - took the red eye flight- last night (Thurs night). The kids slept the entire flight home! It was great! Yet Scott and I didn't sleep too well! So we are tired and now going to bed - so that is our great Maui vacation in a nut shell!! Love you all!