The Spieglers

Snorkel Fun

2012-01-25T19:19:00.003-10:00

For Father's Day we took the older two boys on a snorkel trip that went all the way around the island of Lani, we were hoping for Dolphins btu we did not luck out! It was still a fun trip though, minus Dallen getting horrible sea sickness.

Stephen and Dallen before he got sick
This was his position after he got sick

Our Famliy minus Micah and the orange boat we went on

Me and Trey

Micah turns 2

2012-01-23T09:42:00.005-10:00

So I know I have not posted for ever, and that in just 3 months he will be three but here are a few pictures from Micah's second birthday. It was fun in the backyard with trucks and swimming, followed by Happy Meals and dump truck cake. This 2 year old was happy!

Trey getting blasted by Daddy

Micah's trucks that came to the party

His cake was actually pudding dirt cups served in a dump truck

Dallen's 6th Birthday

2011-10-03T09:21:00.003-10:00

We were still in CA for Dallen's Birthday so we did a repeat of the family party we had for Trey. My sister JoAnn made Dallen an incredible Mario Brother's cake. We had Dallen's cousins and both sets of Grandparents there. Then when we got back to Hawaii he got to celebrate his birthday again with his school class and ice cream sandwiches.

Wearing the crown he got at school

Opening the WII game he got from my sisters

Trey and Nate

Aunt Annie and his cake

The birthday scene

My birthday boy eating his birthday dinner

Happy Birhtday to Trey!

2011-09-07T09:24:00.004-10:00

Trey celebrated his 4th birthday while in California this past March. We did not have big friend parties for the boys this year since we took them to Disneyland. We were with cousins and grandparents though so both of the older boys still lucked out with fun parties. We also were with Aunt JoAnn so she made them awesome cakes. Trey still is in love with Transformers (he really is a mini Stephen) so he requested having a "Skyfire" Transformer cake. Skyfire is Trey's most favorite Transformer....too bad the version of him that he likes is from the 1980's cartoon (he has never seen the movies, since he is only 4). Skyfire is also what he wanted for his birthday. However the Skyfires that are for sale from 1980's cost in the $100's. We were eventually able to find one from ebay from a seller in Hong Kong. It was a version that was only released in Asia and did not cost as much. Trey still plays with his Skyfire almost every day so it was worth every penny!

Blowing out candles

Opening Skyfire

Daddy teaching Trey how to transform Skyfire

We had all the kids eat donuts tied to strings

After the donut eating

Trey went with Daddy and got to pick out his own Birthday lunch, he chose curry and rice

Me with my big 4 year old and Skyfire

Trey with Aunt Annie and the awesome cake she made him

Water Fountain Fun

2011-09-04T20:29:00.004-10:00

At an outdoor mall here they have a water feature for kids to play in. We had a lot of fun!

T-Ball

2011-08-12T15:26:00.003-10:00

Our kids are getting bigger and with that come organized sports. Dallen and Trey have done a tumbling class, but this was the first time we have ever done a real sport with our kids. Trey was too young to play, but Dallen had fun. He was on the Orioles, which he at first thought was the Oreo's! Stephen ended up being an assistant coach and so we all were involved. When Dallen would think about it he has a great throw! It was a great time and now we are on to soccer. I figure we will try a bunch of sports out and see what they like as they get older.

Getting some pointers from Dad

Stephen got a ball signed by all the kids as a thank you

What a star!

I think this was what he was most excited for the whole season a trophy with his name on it

Great location for a morning of baseball

That is our star!

Dallen's Dancing Day

2011-08-11T13:32:00.003-10:00

Right before Kindergarten got out Dallen's school put on a dance performance. All the kids in the school participate as part of their Hawaiian Studies Class. It is a big deal each grade learns a dance and a Hawaiian Chant. They also have a king and a queen and a prince and princesses that represent the different Hawaiian Islands. The kindergartens did the Macarena...

The Royal Court

The Queen doing her solo dance

Here he goes rockin' it

"chicken, chicken, cross over, hip, hip, sway, sway, sway"

So cute in hi Aloha Wear, I can't believe that he is already started now in 1st grade!

Christmas 2010 Picture Overload

2011-06-08T07:51:00.016-10:00

We did Christmas all month. We had fun Christmas stuff in Hawaii and then went to California and met up with family there for more fun. Then it was finally on to Utah for actual Christmas. My side of the family go together this year for Christmas and all of my sisters were able to be there. I love big family Christmas and the best part is that there is no fighting when we all get together.

Christmas Morning

Micah unwrapping a tiny piece of paper at a time

All the kids lined up Christmas morning waiting to see what Santa left

Trey with the loot for Santa

Out Christmas story acted out on Christmas Eve

The cookies we decorated

Trey and a squeeze bottle of frosting

Dallen and I decorating

Stephen and my outfits for the sweater party

My brother in law won the contest for best sweater, but the judges were paid off

The sweater crew

Why we love vacation

Swimming at my parents hotel pool

Seeing Temple Square Lights with Stephen's brother's family

Sledding in my sister's backyard

My sister from CA and I made a rockin' snowman

Our stop in CA playing with Nana

Sunset on a COLD CA beach

We took the kids to toys r us and let them look around we don't have toy stores on Maui

Dallen, Trey and cousin Nate showing off their "tats"

With Stephen's sister's family The Nancarrows

Giving G Grandpa Hippo his present

Grandpa was with us right before Christmas and we made a gingerbread house

With Santa at the ward Christmas Party

Dallen school performance

In their new Christmas PJs

Trey with cookie love

Trey with his letter to Santa

Dallen writing his letter

Makahiki Field Day

2011-05-25T13:52:00.006-10:00

A few months ago at Dallen's school they had a fundraiser event called Makahiki Field Day. The kids were supposed to dress up as Hawaiian Warriors and compete in "Hawaiian Style" track and field games. Dallen won 1st place for his costume, not bad for a Haole Boy. He was so excited to get first pick of all the prizes!

Halloween 2010

2011-05-23T16:59:00.005-10:00

For Halloween our house was filled with Superheros. Dallen was Batman, Trey was Superman and Micah was Captain America. It was SUPER fun

Trey

Dallen

Micah, I was proud of his shield that I made!

I loved the wings on his head

Getting ready to throw his weapon

Best Friends

Our three supers

We then had fun on the trampoline in our costumes

Thanks to Alison for this awesome cape, I don't know why they would make superman without a cape

My Boys

2011-05-17T14:26:00.008-10:00

On Mothers Day I figured they could not tell me no to a phoot shoot!

Micah

Trey

Dallen

Doing crash snuggles

My Babies

Micah

Trey

Dallen

SOOOOOO FUN

2011-05-13T19:55:00.006-10:00

In November of 2010 Stephen and I had the opportunity to go to Tahiti without the kids for the week. All our frequent flier miles finally paid off, so we went for it! It has been our dream since being poor college students to someday go to Tahiti and stay in on of those over water bungalows........we finally did it 10 years latter. We had so much fun. We stayed on the island of Moorea and swam, sat in the sun, adventured, snorkeled, scuba and just enjoyed each other. Thanks to everyone who made it possible so we could.

The view from breakfast every morning could not be beat. We loaded up on pastries and nutella every morning

This is why you need to get away with just your husband, not bad for a self picture!

Snorkeling with the sting rays, this was quite an adventure, we swam across the open channel in the pouring rain

One of the many sharks we dove with. There were reef sharks and lemon sharks, big ones.

Not only was the bungalow over the water but we had a window in our floor to watch the fish. This is stephen through the window

One of the beaches we stopped at the day we took our scooter around the island, you could do the whole island in a matter of hours

BEAUTIFUL

Another reason to go on vacation

Tahiti is truly amazing with its ragged mountains covered in green

This was from our swim deck we had off the back of our place

This is one determined palm tree

One of the views from our place

Random Fun From 2010

2011-03-21T10:34:00.003-10:00

Just a few fun pictures from 2010

All three snuggled up to watch Tarzan

I went to check on Trey and found him asleep with my socks on

Dallen and his first business selling limes from our tree, he made $40 in 2 hours!

Micah in his crib

Micah wanting to be big with Trey's batman cape and backpack on

Watching Daddy play Angry Birds on IPOD when they are supposed to be in bed

Micah's cute fat legs, he is not a baby like this now

ice cream cones in the backyard

oh to be this free!

Cute as can be

Making orange juice with the oranges from our tree

Not fun, but Dallen asleep sitting straight up after getting home from having surgery on his arm when he broke it

Surfs Up

2011-03-17T07:58:00.003-10:00

So for Christmas in 2009 Dallen got a surf board. These pictures are from January 2010, our first attempt at surfing. The boys did really well and most important they had fun. They are now much better, since the water is warmer and we got them a different, much more stable board.

Dallen is Up! Though the board is behind a wave

Practicing

I love this picture of Trey, he is barely 3 and doing it old school

Wipe out, anything he does it is full force!

Micah on the beach with me a messy as can be

Tide Pools

2011-03-15T20:29:00.003-10:00

Just a random day of fun at the tide pools our favorite beach

one of my favorite pictures

looking at the sea urchin they caught

Dallen holding a starfish

Looking at the crab and fish that Daddy caught with his net

Grandpa's Visit July 2010

2011-03-14T13:43:00.005-10:00

Last July our Grandpa came to visit. He was able to be here for Dallen's first Day of Kindergarten and to paly with us. My boys LOVE their Grandpa! Micah can even say Grandpa! They love to go to the beach, snorkel, do puzzles, jump on the trampoline, play board games, read books and in general just play with Grandpa so much until they are all to tired they have to rest.

Can you tell they love him?

Before he left to go home, see Micah even let Grandpa hold him!

Sliding across the floor in a cardboard box

Micah like our other boys loves to fly in the ocean

Trey and Grandpa looking in the tide pools

Doing puzzles

Grandp teaching Dallen the fine art of Minesweeper on the computer

Born to Paddle

2011-02-28T16:49:00.003-10:00

We were up on the Westside at a beach one day in August and Trey had a kid size paddle. He paddle around in the ocean for probably an hour and half just as happy as could be. He was so determined too, would not let anyone help or give advice.

La Perouse, January 2010

2011-02-25T14:04:00.002-10:00

We drove down South about 15 mins until the road ends one Sunday afternoon to watch the sunset and to let the kids explore on the rocks. We got a great sunset and some whale breeches.

Micah enjoying a sand and rock dinner

Stephen having fun playing with my new camera, great clouds and sunset

Dallen and Trey being boys

Trey showing us his dinosaur bone that he found

A good whale breech even if it was far away

Great Grandpa's Birthday

2011-02-23T09:26:00.004-10:00

So Stephen's Grandfather had his birthday last year on April 1st and Stephen was able to go to California and be there with his cousin Mary and her family and all of Stephen's uncles. He had a great time and a bunch of my family happened to be in town for Spring Break so he got to see them as well. Stephen go to meet our new nephew John before I did! I am happy we are taking the whole family this year for his birthday.

This is Laurin, isn't she a cutie? This is Stephen's cousin's daughter

Stephen was able to go see the new Mormon Battalion Visitors Center in Old Town

This is the awesome cake my sister JoAnn made for Grandpa's birthday.

My newest nephew baby John

Some of the Spiegler ladies

All of the brothers

Easter 2010

2011-02-17T14:01:00.004-10:00

So it is almost a year latter, but here is Easter 2010. We had a whole party weekend for Easter. It was Dallen's 5th birthday that weekend as well. It started Friday night with an egg hunt at Church. Then Dallen had his best friend from Utah who was visiting sleep over. We woke up Saturday, dyed Easter Eggs, made a volcano cake, went out for pizza, saw How to Train Your Dragon in the theater and then had Dallen's birthday party.......no we are not done. Sunday we woke up and met some friends at our favorite park for breakfast and an egg hunt. Somewhere in there we also snuck in three sessions of general conference. It was a blast!

Dallen decorating eggs

I think he is excited, what do you think?

Micah being entertained with an Oreo while I make Dallen's cake

The boys had a lot of fun swinging on this still attached dead palm frawn

Dallen going for it broken arm and all

The boys watching Stockton swing

Dallen looking for eggs in the putting green

Trey going to town on his goodies

Micah getting in on the hunt

California Part Two

2011-02-16T14:24:00.003-10:00

So here is the rest of our trip. Dallen and Trey's first trip to Disneyland! All I can say is that it truly was a magical day. We were able to leave Micah with my sister and parents and rocked it with the two older boys! Our first ride of the day? SPACE MOUNTAIN

Daddy and Trey at Space Mt

My boys waiting for the parade to start

Dallen got to do Jedi Training and battle Darth Vader, it was so cool

My little Padawan

Meeting BuzzLight Year

Me and my boys on the Carousel

The face of a little boy who sees Woody coming down the street!

California May 2010 (Part One)

2011-02-07T14:19:00.006-10:00

Last May we were able to go on a family trip to CA. While we were there we took Dallen and Trey to Disneyland for the first time, went to Sea World for the first time, played with cousins and Grandparents, saw old friends and I even snuck in a couple of girl days with my sisters. It was a great trip

Grandpa showing Trey some sharks teeth that Trey tried to then climb into!

Sea World now has a bunch of Sesame Street themed rides, this is Trey and cousin Nate having fun.

Micah playing in toddler land

Sea Worlds star and my least favorite animal

The three "tough" dudes ready for the show

Trey feeding the sting ray

Dallen and Nate planning our route

Some Spiegler men, Stephen, Micah, Dallen Grandpa Hippo, Trey and Grandpa

Micah showing Papa toys

Dallen and Jimena hanging at Hippo's house

Catch Up 2010

2011-02-03T14:15:00.006-10:00

So I am finally going through my pictures from 2010 and editing them so here are a few that I have done recently. The first set is from our family temple trip to the Big Island in June. We love going to the Big Island, it is one of my most favorite family vacations.
Second is a few pictures from Dallen's first day of school. Grandpa Fred got to be here for it, which was neat. He did great going on the first few days, and then the next week after the excitement wore off he had some tears, begging and pleading. We got through though, and Dallen loves school now, and it thriving. He can already read 20-30 page books!
Lastly are pictures from this last 4th of July. We had a backyard party with friends, food and fireworks. It was a lot of fun and great to have a bunch of my favorite people over to share my favorite holiday with! Enjoy

Micah flying high with help from Daddy

Dallen and his diving skills

Trey doing crazy man jumps

The Kona Hawaii Temple

Daddy and Micah

Dallen and his "to infinity and beyond" jump

Dallen and Trey on Father's Day

Dallen's First Day of School in his school uniform with backpack on

Dallen and Daddy walking to school

Trey telling Dallen bye, this was a hard adjustment for these best of friends, worst of enemies

Dallen watching the show

Trey very happy about sparklers

All of us decked out in our 4th of July gear

Trey enjoying the spread

Merry Christmas

2010-12-14T09:39:00.003-10:00

Merry Christmas to you all from Stephen, Effie, Dallen, Trey and Micah

3 Birhtday Boys

2010-07-29T21:54:00.005-10:00

All three of our boys have their birthday with in a month of each other, so it is crazy around here from March until April. For Micah's first birthday we had an elephant cake that his brothers wanted me to make. Micah's brothers and all his stuffed animals from his "jungle themed" nursery joined us for his "jungle" themed birthday party. We started off the party in the backyard with a baby pool and a slip n slide. Micah really loved the pool, not so much the slip n slide. He also loved his cake!

The birthday cake smash

The elephant cake, just like when I was young

Three brothers in the pool

Micah loves to "splash splash"

Trey's starts out the birthday festivities. We started the day by going to the beach. Poor Dallen was still in a cast, but he was getting off two days latter so we wrapped it up and headed to the beach. Trey got buried and Daddy dug a large hole. We then went home by way of McDonalds were they were able to get a happy meal, which is a big treat for them, I never by the meal. Then it was time for a Transformer birthday. Trey is crazy for Transformers and has been now for about a year. His favorite is Optimus Prime so that is the cake that he wanted. We had Optimus on a big center cake and then cupcakes around with mini transformers on them.

Dallen with his poor arm making drip castles

Trey buried in the sand

The cake that Stephen did free hand

Daddy and Trey

For Dallen's birthday he really lucked out. It was Easter weekend so the whole weekend felt like one big party for him. Also his best friend Izzy was back visiting from Utah so she was the only friend invited to this family party. We stated the day decorating Easter eggs. Then we went to Dallen's favorite pizza place for lunch. After that it was off to the movie theater to see "How to train your dragon" in 3-D. We then came back to our house for his dragon party. I loved his cake. I got all the dragon toys from different McDonalds to put on cupcakes, and then I made a large volcano that was actually smoking with dry ice. I also made little volcanoes for the kids that had dragon eggs on top that hatched in water.
Happy Birthday to all my Babies

At the pizza place

The dragon cake

Me and the birthday boy

Boys at the Beach

2010-03-30T22:04:00.003-10:00

Some of these are very old, but they are all fun. Cannot wait to get my boys back to the beach, Dallen's cast and pins were taken out yesterday and now is in a splint so we are headed back. I guess that is why the beach is on my mind, that and I can see it from my windows constantly calling to me....yes I am bragging now

Sunset at the beach is some of my favorite times with the boys, no messing around with sunscreen or all the gear, just fun

The fearless paddler

Micah is 2 weeks old

The boys love big holes at the beach

Dallen truly rocks it snorkeling

Right before Micah was born, when the beach was easier

Dallen has a new love for drip castles

Ok so it is not the beach but yes, three in diapers for a brief period. Dallen still wore a diaper at night at the time and Trey was not yet potty trained. Happy to say now that only Micah is in diapers, our budget is happy too

Love this, Micah couldn't yet sit up and got a few face plants of sand, maybe that is why he loves to eat it now

A NEW POST!!!!!!

2010-03-26T10:22:00.005-10:00

Do to lack of time I had stopped blogging, and I had thought the fad had run its course so I had mostly given it up. Recently though some family members had asked me for a new post so here you go. Here are a few from Christmas and Halloween, so enjoy.

Christmas was great. It was the first time that is was just our little family. We missed our family (especially my sisters) but at the same time it was great to just be mellow and do exactly what we wanted to. Christmas Eve Day we spent at the beach, I had the stomach flu but we had fun anyway. That night we went to our favorite pizza place for dinner which is always great. After doing the Christmas Story and leaving treats for Santa, Stephen and I got to work wrapping while I had us watch "Meet Me in Saint Louis"....Stephen loved that. Then it was bed until the throwing up started at 4. Finally at 7 the next morning we did Santa, then breakfast then presents. We ended with dinner and a Hawaiian Sunset.

So the treats they were leaving for Santa, this was before Dallen woke up at 4 am throwing up, poor guy, no yummy Christmas treat for him.

Trey opening the book Santa brought at the Ward Christmas party

Did you have fire dancers at your Christmas party?....We did!

This was how Christmas Day in Maui ended on our lani, pretty nice!

Our family at the pizza restaurant we went to for Christmas Eve dinner, it rocked no dishes everyone was happy

Micah enjoying his first cinnamon roll

Trey kissing the Christmas ball that had a picture of Dallen on it as a baby

Dallen opening his present from Stephen and I, still very under the weather. Cool gift though, Trio Building Blocks, like legos but better

The cutest Santa ever

Here is Halloween

Cute as a Duck!!!

Trey's Fireman costume was so awesome, it looked real!

Dallen was Dash again from the Incredibles movie, so at least I am getting my money out of that costume.

Mele Kalikimaka

2009-12-20T22:20:00.004-10:00

Merry Christmas! We love and miss you all and hope your holidays are bright!

Lazy Days of Summer

2009-09-08T12:50:00.003-10:00

I know it has been forever since I posted. Here are a few pictures from this summer at the beach, some of the pictures are here in Maui, and some at Oceanside Beach in CA when we went there in May.

Trey and a big shovel, his favorite

Dallen covering cousin Tyler in sand

I love this picture, it is Nate, Dallen and Tyler jumping waves in CA

Dallen and a crab he caught, he loves to go crab hunting

Teeny, tiny Micah at the beach, he is only about 2 weeks old here

Trey trying to do "shaka"

Happy Fourth of July

2009-07-04T22:15:00.000-10:00

Dallen, Trey and I spent a great 4th of July together. Effie is in Utah with Micah to see her brother Rick before he deploys to Iraq. Effie spent the day with family; football, picnic, pool party...she can tell you all about it later.

I spent the morning with the boys at our favorite beach. The waves were big, so we spent most of our time digging a huge hole on the beach.

After a little rest, we went to a friends house for a BBQ and some swimming. The boys had a blast swimming with other kids, and Dallen loved showing off his swimming skills for the older kids and adults. Trey thought it would be fun to run and jump in the pool, fully dressed and without his lifejacket. I had to drop my full plate of ribs and jump in after him. The little turd just laughed and smiled, so it was hard to be mad at him. He actually turned around in the water and had started swimming back to the edge before I got there. He probably would have made it back, but I wasn't about the find out.

When we got home we did some fireworks in the backyard. Dallen saw the neighbors big fountain of fireworks and asked why ours were smaller. I told him that little kids get smaller fireworks, and when he's bigger we can get the good stuff. Apparently at four years old, size already matters.

Here's a few pics from our day...enjoy.

I'll probably get in trouble for putting 'unedited' photos on the blog...sorry Effie....

Announcement

2009-06-20T15:37:00.003-10:00

Aloha! This is the birth announcement we did for Micah. He is just under 3 weeks old in this picture and still skinny. We hope you all come to Maui and meet our little guy soon. Love Stephen, Effie, Dallen, Trey and Micah

A Quick Peek

2009-06-12T14:50:00.004-10:00

So this is Micah. Things have been so busy around here. Three is a lot of kids, especially when your oldest is four. We are having fun, but it is a lot of work too. We are now back from our trip to CA and we are working now on getting ready to move by the end of the month. We are staying in the same city just moving to a new house with a big fenced backyard for my crazy monkeys to play in. So here is a quick peek of Micah

Laying in the sun, just a 2 weeks old

I am so glad he takes a pacifier

My three boys with their blankets

My three boys

He loves to be snuggled into the couch, that is where he is right now

Our first family photo just hours old

Baby Boy Spiegler has Arrived!

2009-04-28T23:44:00.004-10:00

After a long week, Baby Boy Spiegler has arrived. Still nameless, he decided to join us April 28, 2009 at 5:51pm. He weighed in at 8lbs, 6oz; 20.5 inches, and a 36cm head...covered in blond hair! He's absolutely perfect.

Effie did an awesome job. I'm always amazed at how strong she is. She's so amazing!

Dallen and Trey are so excited to be Big Brothers. Trey kept asking to "hold a baby" and was so tender and sweet. Dallen was a proud big brother of two, telling all of the nurses that he's the oldest. Dallen was immediately protective of baby, teaching Trey to be soft and explaining why you have to be quiet around babies.

She'll post more later...I just wanted to let you know he's here, and share a picture with you. It's not the best shot(from my phone), but he's less than 5 minutes old so he's still so fresh from Heaven and a little squished and swollen from a long day.

Thanks for all of your prayers and help over the past week. - Stephen

Birthday times Two

2009-04-27T10:47:00.007-10:00

Dallen and Trey's birthdays are exactly 2 weeks a part, so we had a very fun and exciting 2 weeks around here. Here are a few pictures from the events

For Trey's 2 year old party we went to an awesome park by our house that is right above a panoramic view of the ocean. We just had a few friends come and we had hot dogs, Trey's favorite. We also played "starburst baseball," had sword fights with foam noodles, did dirt cups freeze tag, it was a lot of fun and not a lot of work.

The birthday boy making sure the park looked its best

Trey stealing chips

Dallen sword fighting with the other kids

Our 2 year old

Trey and his dirt cup in the back of a dump truck, he is obsessed with trucks

For Dallen's birthday we had a very similar party. However we started off the party with a family trip to Dallen's favorite restaurant for pizza. We also had shave ice at Dallen's party which he loved. Dallen also request a cake that looked like a blue dragon.

At the pizza restaurant. I love that Dallen likes pizza with all the fixings.

Dallen drinking shave ice

Dallen and I with his blue dragon. It was a pain to frost, so a big thank you to Stephen for doing it for me

For his birthday Dallen got a bike and a Lightening McQeen helmet

Catch Up -Christmas 2008

2009-04-21T14:31:00.005-10:00

I have posted some pictures from my sister's wedding at Christmas, but here are a few actual Christmas pictures.

Seeing reindeer at TG Point

Chandler and Dallen jumping on the tramp

3 Families stockings "hung by the chimney with care"

Trey opening a "dig dig" from Santa

Daddy showing Dallen how his new buzz light year works, after getting out of the package for 20 mins, i do not know why they package children's toys like that

Dallen staying up way to late with Mia and Vivy

The 7 foot snowman we built in Sarah's yard

Our family nativity scene

Trey getting royal treatment from Daddy

Dallen sledding

Oh Baby

2009-04-02T09:51:00.004-10:00

So last Friday I had just a normal OB check with the doctor. The doc did the tape measure test where they see how big your stomach is and that should be about how many weeks you are. I was measuring small when she did this test so she sent me for an ultra sound to check the babies size. So I went for this ultra sound yesterday and I was a little nervous, I told myself not to be but you can't help being a little nervous. So this is what the ultra sound reveled, our big guy is already 7.5lbs, his body size is in the 80th percentile, and the size of his head is off the charts. Keep in mind I still have 4 weeks to go and they do not give epidurals on the island of Maui. We are very happy that all is well with our big guy, but please start prying that he will come early and not be an 11lb baby.

moments that take your breath away

2009-03-11T14:59:00.005-10:00

Words cannot truly describe this. Stephen took Dallen out on his paddle board (like a surfboard but bigger, and you stand up on it with a paddle) for a ride, what they got was a memory that will last a lifetime. It is whale season in Maui. The whales come here to have their babies in the warm water. Stephen and Dallen were able to see a mom and baby whale up close and personal. There also happened to be some really nice people out there on a row boat that took a ton of pictures of Stephen and Dallen and then got our email address and sent them to us.

Mom and baby learning to swim

Stephen paddling past

The whales decided to swim directly under my boys and then come up the other side, Stephen had to sit down so that the water rocking did not flip the board

Winter Wonderland Wedding

2009-02-18T15:31:00.005-10:00

Two days after Christmas my sister Sheri got married in the Salt Lake Temple. She and her three boys and Mike and his son Ethan were able to be joined eternally as a family.....it was great. Here are a few pics from all the festivities.

My oldest brother Rick could not make it from Japan, but the rest of the Reeves 6 were there, this is the night before the wedding

This wedding truly was a family affair. JoAnn was in charge of hair and make-up, I was in charge of photos and Sarah was in charge of cakes. I think we all rocked it if I do say so.

It was the middle of winter in Utah and the sun was setting so yes they were cold, but we still managed to get some good pictures

Families really can be together forever

Thanks to my husband Stephen for sacrificing his suit and laying down on the freezing ground for this picture, no way I could being pregnant

Some of my parents crazy Grand kids

Me, Sarah, Sheri and JoAnn, my favorite girls in the whole world

A first dance

Merry Christmas

2009-01-23T08:53:00.003-10:00

Here is our Christmas Letter and Photo for all of you that I did not have an email address or a physical address for. Know that we thought of all of you this Christmas Season and we are thankful to have you in our lives.

Merry Christmas
We just wanted to drop you all a quick holiday note to let you all know how much we miss you all. We hope that this holiday season finds you all happy and healthy. We are still living in Hawaii but we moved this year from the island of Hawaii (or The Big Island) to the island of Maui. We have been here about 5 months and are enjoying ourselves, though we do miss our family and friends. We want you all to know that we love having visitors and are more then happy to show you all around the islands if you ever get a chance to come this way. At this Christmas season we would like to send you all much aloha. May we all take the time to remember the true reason for this season and may are thoughts and actions be an example to all of that precious Child that was born to save us all.

Stephen’s Christmas Wish:
For the water always to be flat and smooth for paddle boarding. That diving visibility will always be at least 50 feet. That Dallen will never be too old or big to want to go crab hunting. That Trey will always sprint to the door yelling Daddy when he comes home from work. That there will be another couple’s only vacation in our near future.

Effie’s Christmas Wish:
For many more sunny, fun days at the beach. That babysitters will no longer want to be paid and be available at least twice a week. That Dallen will always love books as he does now, and that Mommy will always be his best friend. For Trey to always have his chubby, dimple smile and to stay small just a little longer. That we will become independently wealthy and Stephen will never have to work again, so then it really will be an endless summer.

Dallen’s Christmas Wish:
That Mommy and Daddy will want to catch lizards all day and that the lizards will not hide from him. That Daddy will not have to work, so he can always say yes to crab hunting. That he will not have to take naps anymore. That Trey will get bigger so he can be his constant playmate and play starburst baseball. That his cousins will come to visit him and go to the beach. For many more days paddling with Daddy, and that he will get bigger so he can SCUBA dive with Grandpa and catch lobsters.

Trey’s Christmas Wish:
That Mommy and Daddy will let him play with the computer. That Dallen will never lock his door when he is playing blocks or trains. That Daddy will never get tired of throwing the beach ball at him. That he can live outside digging in the sand table. For Mommy to try clothes on him all day. That he will learn to control his little body better and not get anymore “ouches.” That he will be able to swim as well as he thinks he can. For everyone to always be as happy as he is.

Mele Kalikikmaka
With Love Stephen, Effie, Dallen and Trey

You Want to Know a Secret????

2009-01-19T16:51:00.003-10:00

So we have finally told our parents, so know we can let everyone know. We are going to be having another baby boy on April 27th 2009. We waited until our trip back to the mainland to tell our family in person, it was a lot of fun.

Back-Up to Halloween

2009-01-15T20:10:00.006-10:00

I never posted pictures of Halloween, and I really needed to. Dallen was Dash from The Incredibles, still to this day if you ask him who he is he will say super Dash. So I did not mind forking out the money for his costume, he loves it. Also it was huge on him, so hopefully he will wear it for many more Halloweens. I did not want to spend too much more money on Trey's costume though, because of Dallen's. So I, who cannot sew, made Trey a Baby Jack-Jack costume, check it out.

This was not his first year tick or treating, but it is the first year he understood what was happening

He could not have been anymore happy if they had been handing out $100 bills at the door

Dash and Jack Jack, Trey would keep his mask on if Dallen had his on, peer pressure works

The Halloween craft we made with some friends

Tasting the black frosting for the haunted house we made

The house was totally pre-assembled, we just decorated it, it was very nice

Back On Line

2009-01-15T20:07:00.003-10:00

Well we are back from our month long vacation to the mainland. We spent our time in Utah and California. It was a crazy vacation with our two little boys but it was worth it and I would do it again. I am very happy I was able to see so many of you. I did not get to see everyone that I wanted to so hopefully we can get together next time. The trip was so, so busy with all of my family, Stephen's family, Christmas and my sister's wedding that we ran out of time for a lot of things. We love you all and hope to see you all soon.

My Computer Broke

2008-12-14T08:13:00.002-10:00

Well about a week ago we turned our computer off one night like normal and the next morning it would not turn on. We are now trying to get everything off of our hard drive and are then sending it into HP to have it fixed.....so there will be no blogging for a while. Also I am already off on my mainland month long tour to California and Utah, so Merry Christmas to all.

My Favorite Holiday

2008-11-05T20:34:00.005-10:00

I realized that I never put in a post about my favorite holiday, which is the 4th of July. I love everything about this holiday, being with your family, being outside, eating, fireworks and most importantly having a chance to remember how TRULY grateful I am to be an American! This year 4th of July was crazy since it was combined with our friends The Casuga's baby Helaman's first birthday party and a little going away party for us. If any of you have been to a Hawaiian first birthday then you know what a crazy event this is.......by the way this event is uasually paid for by the Grandparents! We were also given a scrapbook that night by all of our friends and ward members from the Big Island and were wished "Aloha Oe," so it was a great night

Our very tired firework boys

One of Trey's many faces

The child in Stephen coming out......the fireworks were crazy, I guess that is what happens when you have 100 plus people that all bring fireworks

There was live music and dancing which was great. This is one of my favorite teenagers ever, Kiya who is the big sister of Baby Helaman

All the men did a Fijian Warrior dance, which was very cool, the guy in front is Nephi, baby Helaman's Dad and our Bishop

My friends the Vuniwais doing a Fijian fan dance

Baby Helaman did not last for all of his party

Dallen loved the sparklers, though he did light a ladies shirt on fire

Our 4th of July Family

My friend Amanda cooking some of the food for the party, all of those Taro leaves were turned into edible food......she is amazing like I have said before

One Last Time at 69

2008-10-14T22:42:00.012-10:00

Like I said before my favorite beach in the world is on The Big Island, so the day we moved to Maui we went there one last time with our good friends the Vuniwais

Dallen can swim by himself, unlike Trey who thinks he can swim and is always trying to drown himself

I just love this picture, Trey the explorer taking it all in

Vili and Ali

Trey and his Daddy having a moment

Stephen flipping Jona

My friend Amanda, also known as Super Mom (4 under 5 no doubles)

Dallen loves all things you can do in the water

Trey loves to fly at the beach, when he comes out down he is making the sign for "more"

Me and my boys

Jona, Dallen, Jacob and Nia

and lastly

2008-10-14T21:58:00.017-10:00

A few more things we miss on The Big Island

These are the fountains at The Mauna Lani Shops (where our friends own an ice cream store) the kids loved to play here

The Vuniwais and the Beviers, another reason we miss the Big Island and our kids miss their kids so much
A farwell dinner for the Beviers, they moved back to Arizona, so we both left Amanda, sorry!

Boys will surf anything. This was an awesome day, temple, beach, adult only dinner

holding a sea cucumber at Pine Trees

Trey misses Auntie Sarah a lot (not to be confused with Aunt Sarah)

The most awesome park in Waimea. We had a normal routing of park and then McDonalds for lunch and ice cream cones. My friend Sarah loved Mickey D's cones as much as Sheri and I do.

Dallen's favorite...the hamburgers you can sit on

My friend Sarah

Palmer Knows Best

2008-10-08T20:33:00.004-10:00

Last Christmas, my sister Sarah and I were shopping at Kohls with her 4 year old Palmer and my two boys. Kohls always has cheap stuffed animals by the check out stand that you can buy to support Children's Hospital. This time the animals happened to be from Dr Seuss books. Palmer, who loves babies, was of course was paying special attention to Trey and insisted that Trey wanted a teddy bear that was from the book "Hop on Pop" Sarah told Palmer that he could buy his baby cousin an animal. Then we both tried to convince Palmer that he should pick one of the "cuter"animals, such as Horton the Elephant. Palmer would not budge though and he insisted that Trey wanted that one, so that is what he bought for his baby cousin. Well Palmer was 100% right. Today Trey will not go to sleep or go really anywhere without blankie, his Teddy and a La La stuffed animal. It really just amazes me how much kids see that we miss.

A picture from that shopping trip, we actually had a good time with those three at the store

His normal postion

Giving Teddy kisses

Remember- A Trek for All Eternity

2008-09-23T15:42:00.004-10:00

I do not even know how to describe the Trek that Stephen and I were able to go on. It was one of the last things we did before we left the Big Island. We were called to be Ma and Pa on the first youth trek on the islands. It was the most incredible, spiritual experience I have ever had. I did not have the best attitude going into it either, but it has forever changed my life. I can truly say that it is through sacrifice and hard work that you come to know God. I cannot express either how much I miss "our kids" it was so hard to say goodbye to our 7 at the end of those 4 days.

This was our company captain and also our Stake President. This is probably the nicest, most spiritual man I have ever met, really I could totally see him as a prophet. Here President Auna is leading us all in a "hooray for Israel"

This is sister Auna, she with her husband hand in hand walked all 20 miles

Our family pushing our cart up a huge hill, we were the smallest family, but also the strongest

As the Treker's way of giving back to the owners of the ranch that we did the trek on we pulled fire weed for them, the stack that my family gathered was the biggest by at least double, i love those kids

The hoe down we had one night, with hula after

Here is our family, Langi, Kenna Teahi, Mele, KeKai, and Pono Spiegler. We also had Austin but he had to leave part way through with the stomach flu

On the last morning for our family devotional we found this spot and sang Joseph Smith's First Vision, it really felt like we could have seen Heavenly Messengers ourselves sitting there

My men waiting to sign up to become a part of the Mormon Battalion, this really had a huge effect on everyone taking all of the men away. Then the girls had to push all of the carts by ourselves up the biggest hill you have ever seen while all the men had to stand at the top and watch. After we pushed up the last cart one of my sons picked me up and carried me

Pioneer Games, this was Joseph Smith's favorite

This is Teahi, he was only 15 and was a horse, here he is pulling our cart by himself

Pa and I looked the other way while our kids did this. We and our kids lives have forever been changed for the better because of this experience, it was so awesome. At the end our kids did not want to leave. All of their families were there at base camp waiting to take them home and instead they picked up there sack lunch and came back to eat one more time as a Spiegler Family

Candids

2008-09-23T15:20:00.006-10:00

I have not posted in a little while, though a lot of you haven't either. So here are a few candids of just normal day life.

A last family photo at my favorite beach in the world, 69 on the Big Island

Can you see why this beach rocks? The best color of blue water, awesome trees, dolphins, great sand, jumping rocks, a rope swing....and so on

Trey, 15 months

Dallen 3 years

Trey's first haircut a few months ago

Trey being a kid

Hawaii and an ice cream cone, it does not get much better

yes he is a prodigy, already reading the scriptures

Dallen's "snack" that he got for himself

Puna, Lava Trees and an Exploding Volcano

2008-08-31T16:13:00.008-10:00

Before we left the Big Island we went and found true beauty. We went to a part of the island called Puna. It was so beautiful! Waterfalls, lava trees, and great snorkeling. We were also able to see actual lava flowing into the ocean and creating more land.

a "self" photo

Trey showing of his "little indian" skills

The miles of tide pools where Dallen learned to snorkel all by himself. He was able to see an octopus.

Daddy being nice and carrying his boys across the sharp lava rocks. That is really great of him considering that Trey weighs 30 lbs. and Dallen about 36lbs
This was one of my favorite places. The monkey pod trees make a roof that was breath taking

Dallen standing in front of a lava tree. They are trees that were petrified when the lava flowed and cooled on them

We forgot our tripod so it is not the best picture, but this was a once in a life time memory. Before the sun went down all you could see was steam and then as it got darker and darker (really you have not seen dark until you experience Hilo side Hawaii dark) you could see the red lava flowing into the ocean. It was so incredible to see God creating the Earth still. It was a hike with two small kids to get there but well worth it

Utah after Lake Powell

2008-08-30T08:38:00.010-10:00

So for the end of our month long mainland tour we stayed and played with family and friends in Utah. It was a great time, and I love seeing Dallen with his cousins. Thanks to everyone who let us crash at their house, borrow their cars and showed us a good time on our vacation.

Stephen and I love to come to Utah because it is so easy to get babysitters. Here was an afternoon out eating food and seeing a movie

Mike and Sheri

Jon and Mindy

Sarah and Darren

All the kids eating Mickey D's cones

Hanging with Jon, Mindy and their clan

Another night out kid free. I was single for this one, Stephen was back at work

Super Star Reeves playing baseball. Dallen loved watching Reeves play and cannot wait until he is big enough. Dallen can sing all the words to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

Dallen, Tyler, Kaden

Dallen got himself dressed one morning, all by himself, without being asked. He has Trey's pants on, but it was still great

Palmer and Dallen

We were able to see some friends that use to live in Hawaii with us. Here is Dallen with Izzy

Dallen loved Sarah's pool

Trey standing up to cheer for the kids playing soccer

Once again I need Tristen

Palmer was too cute playing soccer

Capri being the rock star that she is

Dallen's favorite part of the soccer games, eating the half time oranges

Lake Powell - A Big Post

2008-08-26T07:46:00.010-10:00

As a part of our month long mainland tour last May, we went to Utah to go to Lake Powell with 5 of my 6 brothers and sisters and their families. It was a blast! Thank you again to Sarah and Darren for letting us all come with them on their awesome house boat. It did not even matter that the weather was not as warm as it usually is at Lake Powell we still had so much fun. just not having a schedule for the kids and never having to put them in a car seat for a week rocked. We played in the water, played in the sand, had a top of the boat dance party, did karaoke, played games, did crafts, and so on. My family ROCKS

part of the crew on S and D's speed boat

Stephen doing doughnuts with the jet ski, i love that LP turns him into a kid again

My brother Pete and Corbin

The boys cliff diving

Sheri, Tyler, Sarah and Palmer

Wake Boarding. So I am the weirdest wake boarder ever. I have no problem getting up which is supposed to be the hardest part. However I cannot stay up, I fall after being up for a min or so. Maybe I am just a chicken. I braved the cold water and tried again this time, but it did not go so well. It did not help either that I was put to shame by my 8 and 11 year old nieces

Matt tearing it up, I love the look of this pic, the lighting was great

This is what I mean

Tristen, beautiful as always

Capri putting me to shame

Stephen rockin' he always goes for it

There was also tubing, which is so much fun, a favorite of Stephen's

I did not have my camera for the tube battle that Mike and Stephen had but it was incredible. Stephen held on flipped upside down on the tube dragging in the water and was able to flip it back right side up and keep going!

Halle and Ressie

Matt and Amanda and Stephen and Tristen, these girls are brave

Tristen and Stephen

Dallen loved the tube as well. Here he is with cousin Tyler and Stephen. Don't let kids as small as Dallen go on by themselves. We found that out the hard way when the front of the tube totally submerged as the boat took off. Luckily his cousin Luke was with him and Daddy dived in to grab him

Amanda, Capri and Tristen

Stephen and Matt trying to get Matt's tube back

I need a Tristen!

Have I told you that Trey loves water activities!

The only picture of me at Lake Powell

Daddy caught a lizard for Dallen

The boat did a great job of putting my kids to sleep

cousin fun, what a great family to be a kid in

Lego Land

2008-08-14T16:43:00.004-10:00

If you have kids under the age of 6 and have never been to Lego Land you should take them. We were able to get free tickets from our Brother -in-law Loren and take the kids while we were in CA. Dallen loved it, he could go on almost every ride and was able to ride his first roller coaster. There were so many fun thing I cannot put them all on here. Trey's favorite part was the water park, I do not have any pictures of it though since I sent the camera off with Stephen to take some pictures of Dallen, also I did not want to leave my camera unattended while I followed Trey around the water park

California Knows How to Party

2008-08-14T16:03:00.009-10:00

California was one of our stops. We were able to see a whole bunch of family which inluded, both sets of Grandparents, Great Grandpa Hippo, my sister and fam, and Stephen's sister and fam. Here are a few highlights

We spent one day at Susie and Loren's house, which the kids love. They get to swim, ride horses, play with all sorts of animals, and bask in the So Cal sunshine. You will not see me in the pool though, the water was too cold, I guess I have been spoiled with warm water after being here.

Dallen sliding down the slide and then swimming to the edge all by himself

Trey is as fearless as his brother, and loved the slide with Daddy

We were also able to see my parents. My Mom was recovering very well from back surgery and Dallen enjoyed going on evening walks with her to loosen her back. The boys also loved being with their cousins, and I love being with my sister JoAnn as well....there are some pictures of JoAnn and her husband playing on a co-ed soccer team....did I tell you how much my sister rocks!

Dallen and Nana heading out to walk

Luke, Halle and Dallen

Trey is a monkey, he figured out how to climb up on JoAnn's trampoline in on time

Meet Halle Ann Severson. She is a true Diva through and through. I love her ring the most. Watch out world when this girl hits. I forgot to mention too that she is beautiful

My favorite fat, happy baby

I had to take a picture of this while it lasted! This is Nate, Dallen's closest in age cousin. You think they would be great friends, but Nate has it out for Dallen...truly tried to terrorize him. Someday baby Nate and Dallen will be best of friends, but not this trip

All the kids at the park, JoAnn's 4 and my 2

Dallen telling Papa all about soccer

Trey's one true love, a Ba-a-ll

My sister and her husband Matt after scoring a goal together

All the boys, Stephen, Trey, Great Grandpa Hippo, Dallen and Grandpa

Dallen thought he had died and gone to heaven. We took him to Soup Plantation (Sweet Tomatoes) and they had all of his favorite foods, including all you can eat soft serve ice cream

Trey and his first ice cream cone he got to hold himself

Dallen's 3rd Birthday--a back track

2008-08-04T21:18:00.003-10:00

Back on April 7th it was Dallen's 3rd birthday. We had a big party planned, but as it would turn out Dallen and his Dad had the stomach flu on that day. As it turns out so did the people who's pool we were going to use for the party, and most of Dallen's friends. So the plus side Dad was home for Dallen's birthday, too bad they were both sick. We still had fun though, with presents, pizza and cake.

playing in the cool parachute that Aunt Sarah and family got him

sword fighting with his new swords

Trey checking out Dallen's present from Nana and Papa

we spent a little extra this year and combined the boys presents to get them a sand and water table. this is the best present that we have given to them yet. they both still play with it almost every day, and will stay playing for at least 30 mins

dallen got an extra guilt present from us. i felt so bad about him being sick that we gave him the lego thomas we were saving for a different occasion...i know great parenting

Lastly the cake. We looked at different cakes on the Internet, and he wanted one that was way too fancy for me to have to make. I then showed him a picture of a cake that his cousin Palmer had, and he was sold. It was chocolate cupcakes with plastic dinosaurs on top. I also made a larger volcano cake in the center. We ended up driving the cupcakes to his friends, since we had so much cake and no people to eat it. It was a great time though

Welcome to Maui

2008-07-18T20:32:00.003-10:00

We have officially moved to Maui. We arrived here on July 5th and moved into our new house on the 8th. Which is why not a lot of post have been happening. I will get back on it soon. We are really going to miss The Big Island, Our Friends and a Great Ward, but we are excited for more adventures.

Happy Birthday to Trey

2008-06-23T13:49:00.014-10:00

I know it has been forever since I posted, but I do have good reasons. I was out of town for a month, packing to move, going on a pioneer trek, and being a mom and wife. Here are a few pictures from Trey's 1 year old birthday back in March. Trey loves water so our friends Ryan and Amy were nice enough to let us have his party at their awesome pool. It was casual, and fun, just right for our 1 year old.

He loves balloons like most babies, but he does not cry when they pop, he laughs.

He was getting his molars at the time, so he could not keep his hands out of his mouth.

Did I mention that Dallen is a dare devil in the water, he can swim by himself.

The boys

They were supposed to be standing for a picture, but Dallen could not help himself

His cake was a fun-fetti cake. The other kids were ice cream cones that were made out of cake as you can see Dallen eating below.

The top part that he is licking is frosting covering cake, I thought it was pretty cute.

He was not shy about the cake

His present from Nana and Papa, 4 cars that he loves

Easter Weekend

2008-05-08T07:43:00.005-10:00

Easter Weekend was full of Easter fun. Friday night we started it off by letting Dallen dye his first Easter eggs. He picked out which dye box we were going to do at store and then that night we set to work dying 18 eggs. The next morning we woke up early and went down to Stephen's job site. A few of the guys Stephen works with and their familes and some friends from church all got to gether at a big open grass park that Stephen's company built to have a egg hunt. The boys both loved it. We got so much candy that we still have a ton of it. The next day on Sunday we went to a friend's house for an awesome Sunday brunch and anothere egg hunt. This time though we were hunting the eggs the kids had dyed. Then it was on to church for the real meaning of Easter.

My boys in there Easter best. This picture is right outside our church building. Pretty beautiful spot for a church

Playing with an Easter egg instead of smiling for my picture

All of the kids who did the egg hunt

Dallen going after the eggs

Trey and his first egg experience, he did not like the grass on his knees

We did not have an easter basket, but we have a lot of beach buckets so that had to do

Dallen making a funny face like his eggs, he wants to send this picture to Grandpa Hippo he said

He is getting so big, he counted all of his eggs, exactly right by himself

I let Trey get just close enough for a picture, he was so happy about it

100% Boy

2008-05-08T07:36:00.002-10:00

A few weeks ago I went down to Stephen's work to meet him for lunch and to let Dallen see a cement mixer pour cement up close. It was the highlight of Dallen's week being so close to the mixer and seeing the guys smoothing it out. Thanks to Daddy for thinking to invite Dallen down for that.

Fire and Ice

2008-04-19T16:13:00.002-10:00

So this was one of the most surreal moments of my life. How often do you get to stand up on the top of a mountain in the snow and look down at the blazing hot ocean? A few Saturdays back we went with some friends and drove up to around 11,000 feet to where there was snow on Mauna Loa. The summit is around 13,000 feet but you can only dive to around 11,000. It was a fun experience one that I will always remember, but probably not do again, at least for poor Dallen. Dallen threw up 10, yes I said 10 times while up that mountain. The altitude and bumpy road was too much for him. He loved being out and in the snow but the second we had to get in the car to drive home he started throwing up. Poor kid was so nauseous. I was proud of him though all of the throw up made it into a bowl. The second we were off the mountain his color came back and he was fine.

The bright blue in the distance is the ocean, not sky.

Trey discovering the snow

Dallen and Stephen pausing to give a "shaka" while making their snow man

The finished snow man, having just gotten back from Utah we were the only family with gloves

Climbing up the hill to go sledding on a Boogie Board

Dallen and Stephen going down. Dallen and I also went sledding, but hit the lava rocks at the bottom and went flying, I managed to save Dallen, but my hands and knees got some good cuts.

Even though he got a little wet, the last thing we had to do before we left was Dallen laid down to make a snow angel.

Ode to Trey

2008-04-13T15:51:00.004-10:00

I LOVE this baby so much. He is the sweetest, happiest baby ever. Always smiling and everything makes him happy. I truly believe that we are all born with our own special spirit and personality......he is living proof of that......I have never met a more good natured baby including Dallen. We just had his one year check up so here are the stats. Head 19cm, Length 31inches, Weight 27lbs, and 8 teeth with two more on their way......yes he is huge, which is why I feel like he grew up too fast.

He is almost to walking

I was getting ready to up Trey down for a nap but had to stop and do something before I gave him a bottle, so I set the bottle down. No worries he helped himself

Big like Daddy

2008-04-13T15:48:00.003-10:00

"Dallen what are you doing? You could hurt your ear!"
"I want to be big like Daddy"

Kids are always watching, Dallen was apparently watching when I pumped up our exercise ball

and you thought laundry was boring

2008-04-13T15:44:00.003-10:00

This was how Dallen helped me do the laundry last Monday. Kids have a great way or reminding us that anything can be fun if you have the right attitude and take the time to let it be fun instead of just rushing through.

Play Time.....nothing better

2008-04-13T07:24:00.009-10:00

Just a few quick pictures of some fun day in the life stuff.

We got this tunnel maze set for the boys for Christmas. We ended up taking it back because it was a piece of junk, but the boys had one afternoon in it.

Stephen entertaining the boys with Nick Jr. on the computer so I can finish dinner.

Dallen loving the Matter pillow he got from Grandpa for Christmas

My boys love avocado, as you can see they eat it out of the shell with a spoon

Dallen painting a scripture rock for Family Home Evening, he loved it

Green Sands and Black Sands Beaches, and South Point

2008-04-12T10:14:00.014-10:00

Another new post, just for Mindy. I thought I had been rockin' about posting, but I guess it was not quick enough for Mindy. Let me remind her though that he last post about her family was Easter, so she is lagging as well. For this adventure my family and our good friends the Vuniwais went on Friday night and stayed at condo down in Kona. We had fun that night talking until all hours of the morning. The next day the boys got up early and went surfing. Then we all went adventuring. We went to Green Sands Beach, jumped off cliffs, and went to a true black sands beach, it was the big island at its best.

Dallen, Jacob, and Nia building a boat at the condo

Green Sands

Don't adjust your monitor the sand is really that green. It is because of the semi precious stone that is found in this area.

Trey's fat feet!

Nia trying not to get blown away, it was really windy down at the Green Sands Beach. It is near South Point (the southern most point in the USA), so the wind blows with nothing to stop it

Dallen's being a kid

Green Sands Beach, I was the only one to go in the water, mainly because nature was calling. The current can be strong here and it was pretty cold with the wind

South Point

Stephen and Villy looking at the huge hole that you can jump into. You can jump in the and swim under the rocks and come out in the open pacific.

Hawaiian coast line look up towards Kona. It is a neat feeling being on the edge of the pacific ocean with nothing for thousands of miles.

Villy taking the plunge. You jump off the edge of the world into the open Pacific. It is about a 40 foot drop and then you can swim up under the rocks in the picture before.

I love this picture. It shows how clear the water is. I was standing on the cliffs above, so about 40 feet up and I could still see that far into the water.

Black Sands Beach

I love seeing Dad when they are being good Dads

The Vuniwais

Her are a few reasons we love them

1. Dallen has three different friends he can play with, they have a 5 year old, 4 year old, 3 year old and a 1 year old.

2. They are so nice and helpful, they make us want to be better people

3. We have a great time withe them

4. The kids are so loving and sweet

5. I get two girls I can play with, not that I don't love my boys, but a girl would be nice

Christmas Tour 2007

2008-04-11T09:20:00.035-10:00

So I call it our Christmas Tour, because that is what it truly was. The kids and I were on vacation for about a month. It all started right after we got back from Fiji. My parents were here with us in Hawaii since they had watched the kids while we were gone. Since we would not see them for Christmas we had a mini Christmas Eve here with them. We had dinner, hot coco with candy canes, opened presents and watched a Veggie Tales Christmas. A week latter we got on a plane to spend Christmas in CA with Stephen's family. Then we all flew to Utah to see friends and family there, then the kids and I went back to CA to spend time with my sister and parents. So here it goes.......

Still in Hawaii

Dallen's first letter to Santa, he wanted a Dinosaur, Lightening McQueen, and a Dig Dig.

Taking his letter to the Post Office

Nana was a very good Nana and spent a long time letting Dallen decorate the Christmas Tree, even though we were not here for Christmas, this made putting the tree up worth it.

His present from Nana and Papa was perfect.

Saying thank you for the present.

A week latter we got on the plane for CA and Christmas

California and Grandpa's House

Racking leaves for Grandpa, remember when this used to be fun!!

Uncle Loren made Dallen's trip and let him drive the mini excavator that they have at their house. Uncle Loren and Aunt Susie have a modern day farm at their house that the kids love.

Me and my boys for church on Christmas Eve

Christmas morning was great. Dallen got the dino he had been asking for. Most kids change their minds about what presents they want, not Dallen. He saw this at Costco and never thought of anything else.

Trey and all the Christmas loot. We actually did really well this year and only got the kids one gift and a couple stocking stuffers'. I took a ton of stuff back to Wal-Mart, I was very proud of myself.

Dallen and his dig dig

We also saw Grandpa Hippo while in CA. Dallen loves eating with Grandpa Hippo since he can get ice cream every time. He also loved that Grandpa Hippo let him take home a couple hippos of his own.

Utah, just for fun

Then it was on to Utah. Palmer my nephew is such a sweetie. We stayed with my sister Sarah while we were in Utah and Dallen had a blast playing with all the Eady kids, but especially Palmer since they are closest in age. Palmer also has a soft spot in his heart for baby Trey. Palmer insisted when we were at Kohls one day that Trey wanted this teddy bear. It was not the cutest one, so Sarah and I tried to get Palmer to pick a different animal for Trey. Palmer insisted though that Trey wanted that one, and he was right. Trey still prefers this Teddy over any of his other animals.

Palmer, Trey and Teddy

Dallen and Palmer just out of the bath watching the deer out Sarah's front windows

Crazy cousins on the Kohl's shopping carts

We also were able to see friends while in Utah. This is baby Holden, our good friends the Tate's baby. He is only 1 week younger then Trey, can you believe it?!!!

This is my girl Mindy, and her sister in law, my friend Jen. Mindy had a tea party for me while I was there, thanks Mindy it was excellent as always.

Snow Time

Dallen loved the snow. He played with Stephen for a long time sledding playing with trucks in Sarah's backyard. He also liked sledding with his older cousins down at the school, especially because the older kids still view Dallen as a baby and like to baby him. Dallen would sit on the sled and they would pull Dallen back up the hill.

The sledding crew, Me, Dallen, Sarah, Chandler, Capri and Palmer

Dallen milkin' it from those older cousins

Back to California

Back in CA we hung out for a few days with my sister JoAnn and Nana and Papa

Trey playing with the same Fischer-Price elephant I played with as a kid.

Dallen loving Nana's very old cat

Cutie cousin Halle

Dallen enjoying the Severson kid's new Christmas present, a trampoline

Dallen and his cousin that he still calls "Baby Nate" Nate is exactly in between Dallen and Trey in age, almost to the day. Nate I am sure will be the much fought over cousin when these boys are older.

That is a good vacation!! Dallen sitting up on Nana's couch fast asleep.

To end this wonderful tour was my cute husband at the airport waiting with flower leis for us!!

The End

Fiji

2008-03-25T16:08:00.019-10:00

So I do not even know where to begin to tell you all about Fiji!!! As you can tell from the many pictures I am posting about it, it was the BEST!!! Thank you first to my parents who flew out from CA to watch our kids for 8 days while we went. Secondly, thank you to Stephen's Dad for inviting us. So here it goes..........

We have seen incredible sunsets in Hawaii, but this one took our breath away.

This is the island of Bega that we stayed on. It is very remote. We took a 6 hour plane flight, 2.5 hour bus ride, and then an hour boat ride to get there. There are only 9 villages on the island and the one resort that we stayed on. There are no roads, the largest vehicle was a John Deer Gator that the dive shop had.

The diving, one of the main reasons for going was amazing. You know the coral reef that they show in Nemo in the very beginning on his first day of school? It was like that in color and activity. We dove every morning, two tank boat dives.

After the dives it was time for an excellent meal and then relax until we ate again

Did I mention the food was incredible?!!!!!!!!!!!

Every afternoon there was something going on. Bega is known as the Fire Walker Island. These guys were doing the fire walking ceremony for all of us. Yes they did walk on fire in bare feet!

One of my favorite things was when the boys from a couple of the villages came and preformed a war dance, it was great.

We made friends with the dive masters on our boat and they invited us to come to there village and play volleyball, here is Stephen going at it

Dads are all the same everywhere in the world

"Bula" everyone we met was so nice. The Fijian people that we met were the warmest, genuinely happiest people I have ever met. It really made me think about my life

We each had our own beach front "Bure" to stay in complete with a private yard with a hammock and splash pool. Once again it was awesome. What this trip did for Stephen and I was incredible.

So ended our trip in Paradise. I Love You Stephen

Back Track to Christmas

2008-03-09T17:34:00.003-10:00

Trey is not represented very well on this blog, so here are a couple from Christmas.

Waipio Valley

2008-03-05T18:16:00.013-10:00

So we took the steepest paved road I have ever been on down to the bottom of Waipio Valley, and it was worth it. San Fransisco has nothing on this road, there is actually a guard at the top that checks to make sure you have 4-wheel drive or you are not allowed to drive down. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. If you have ever been on the Hawaiian Airlines web page, (which I hope you all do and come to see us) this valley is the picture you see. This island is truly amazing, it has all of 2 of the earths climate areas. The last picture is not from the valley it is from the side road that we took on the way home.

This huge rock stuck in a tree the picture does not do it justice!

Just Like Daddy

2008-02-23T16:24:00.005-10:00

There is a country song on the radio and it is a kid saying to his dad how he wants to be just like his Daddy, and how he is watching everything his Daddy does. This is truly the case with Dallen and Stephen. Dallen loves his Daddy, and vice versa

Baby Luau

2008-02-23T16:05:00.005-10:00

For first birthday parties in Hawaii, they have "Baby Luau". It is a huge party usually put on by the Grandparents. This party included, horse rides, jump houses, cotton candy and shave ice, along with other games. After that it was a full sit down dinner with a show. Too bad for Trey that he is not Hawaiian, all he will be getting is a cupcake

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

2008-02-23T15:54:00.008-10:00

So, first thank you to my cute husband who made these wonderful outings possible. The first is from a girls outing to Oahu to go shopping for the day. We woke up caught the early flight to Oahu, literally shopped all day and caught the last flight of the day back home. So much fun, we had a convertible mustang to make it just that much greater. We were a little crazy by the end of the day and thought we were so funny taking pictures of our self.

The second photos are from my sister Sheri's Birthday. I happened to be in Utah to take care of some business so I was able to round up the girls for a night on the town. Fun, Fun, Fun

Boys

2008-02-13T15:10:00.009-10:00

Just a quick few pictures of my boys.

Two of my sisters come to visit

2008-02-13T15:00:00.005-10:00

So I am going backwards in time again. Two of my sisters and their husbands came for a visit in October. It was a lot of fun. The highlught for me though was kayaking and swimming with the dolphins. There is a bay here in Hawaii that you can Kayak across, the highlight of this bay is not only that it is calm but several pods of wild dolphins like to swim here. We lucked out and the dolphins were there. It was incredible. I only had a small point and shoot camera, so the pictures are not spectacular, but you can get an idea of what it is like.

Turtles at "A Place of Refuge"

This is a baby dolphin spinning in the air which is why they are called spinner dolphins

The water is truly that clear and color

Grandpa's Visit

2008-02-12T15:57:00.000-10:00

Back in November Stephen's Dad was able to come see us thanks to a friend of mine here in Hawaii (she works for the airline). Dallen loves his Grandpa and we all had such a good time with him.

Dallen loved the mask and snorkel we got him, can you tell.

Halloween

2008-02-12T15:48:00.001-10:00

So I am going backwards in time, but I just went through all of my pictures so here are a few. For Halloween in our house we had two dinosaurs. Dallen was a Teradachtyl (sp?) Petri from "Land Before Time" and Trey was a T-Rex

Merry Christmas 2007

2007-12-15T16:11:00.000-10:00

I know we have not posted forever so here you all go. Here is our Christmas Photo and letter, enjoy.

Mele Kalikimaka
From Stephen, Effie, Dallen and Trey Spiegler

Aloha to all of our family and friends, here is a short Christmas note to let all of you know what we have been up to this year.

The most exciting news that has happened for our little family this year occurred on March 24th of 2007. We had another baby boy added to our family. Our newest addition named Trey Wesley is the sweetest, happiest, chubbiest baby. He is such a good, happy baby that always has a smile for whoever makes eye contact with him. He has grown very fast in his first 9 months of life, he already weighs 24lbs and has 6 teeth fully in. He can sit up great with a “Buddha” like belly sticking out and does an inch worm crawl to get wherever he wants to go. For those of you who knew Dallen as a baby, it maybe hard to believe but Trey cries even less then Dallen did. I do not know how we got blessed with such great babies, so we are making sure we enjoy every moment of it.

Our next big news for this year was our decision to move our family to Hawaii. Stephen was offered job from a company in Utah to come to the Big Island of Hawaii and do some work. After weighing the pros and the cons of this opportunity we decided that if we were ever going to do something like this then now was the time. So we packed up our house in Lehi, found a renter, grabbed our 2 year old and 2 month old and hopped on the next plane bound for Kona, Hawaii. We arrived on island in the beginning of June and have been enjoying ourselves ever since. We live in a place called Waikoloa on the Kona side of Hawaii. We love being so close to the beach; we still go a couple times a week. The boys love the water. Dallen can already swim by himself and Trey splashes and smiles the entire time he is in the water. Another great part about living here is all the visitors that we get. Some of my family and Stephen’s family have already come to visit in the 6 months we have been here. We would like to invite all of you to come see us here in Hawaii. Lastly, another great aspect of being here is Stephen’s job. It has been a great experience for him and he has enjoyed all that he has learned here.

Dallen was of course a big event this year as he was the last 2 years. He is getting bigger and more like a kid everyday. In fact as I type this he is riding along the floor on a yellow dump truck that is much too small for him to be riding on. He is such a character. He loves trucks, dinosaurs, puzzles, books, cars and anything involving water in any form (he has his own snorkel gear that he uses!). He is also the best big brother. He is so sweet with Trey and protective of him. A common phrase out of his mouth is “my baby Trey.” This gives me hope that having the so close together means that they will be best of friends, not worst of enemies.

Other than that, life has been normal for us. We have enjoyed a couple of trips this year, a big family trip to Lake Powell with my sisters and their families, and then a trip for Stephen and me with Fred and Jimena to Fiji (thanks again to Nana and Papa for watching the boys). We hope 2008 is just as full and exciting and we are so thankful for all that we have been given. We hope to hear from and see you all sometime soon. Merry Christmas.

Akaka Falls

2007-08-22T20:41:00.000-10:00

We took a road trip a couple of weekends ago to the other side of the island. Among other things we were able to see Akaka Falls, it has a freefall drop of 420 feet, it was so amazing. The scenery all around it was so beautiful

What a Drop!

Dallen's favorite part of the falls, a dead palm frawn, just like his Mommy...right JoAnn?

Our family at the falls

All the trees and flowers here are really amazing

Dallen and his friend Isabell that came with us drinking fresh water off some leaves in the jungle

Makalawena, Hawaii

2007-08-20T14:53:00.000-10:00

Well this last Saturday we spent the day exploring Hawaii. We drove about 20 mins, south to go to Makalawena Beach. It was about a 30 min off road adventure over lava fields to get down to the beach, but it was worth it. Beautiful, soft white sand, calm crystal clear blue water, and turtles, it was awesome!

This is an image of the beach from Google Earth

This is the road that we took to Makalawena

Dallen and Daddy playing in the water

The water is incredible, it is so clear it is like being in a pool

Trey loves the water, and the great thing about Hawaii water is that it is always warm

This is what we had to drive over to get to the beach, I could not believe that both of the kids fell asleep

After we can home from the beach this was the view from our back porch, the palms you see are in our side yard, so hopefully this will convince you all to come see us.

My Boys

2007-08-16T16:12:00.001-10:00

Trey 4 months old, this is his most natural state, smiling. He is the happiest sweetest baby, just like Dallen

I have been having fun taking there pictures. Dallen is 2 and Trey is 4 months

Welcome to Hawaii

2007-08-16T15:48:00.000-10:00

Well after a lot of work and some fun vacationing we finally made it to Hawaii. For the first month we stayed in a furnished condo. It was a really nice condo, right across the street from Stephen's work. We had a lot of fun there with the awesome pool and such. We then found a house to rent when all of our stuff made it here and have been moving in and having fun ever since. Here are some pictures of the highlights thus far.

Trey happy to be living in America on the 4th of July

Daddy and Dallen making the most of Dallen's new fire truck big boy bed

Playing at the pool or at the beach is a favorite family activity. Our boys love the water, Trey likes to sit in a floatie and go all over and Dallen is non stop movement, going under water, jumping in, kicking his legs and blowing bubbles

Dallen watering Stephen at one of The Big Islands famous Black Sand Beaches. This beach required a 30 min off roading trek over lava fields but it was well worth it once we got there, we had the entire beach to ourselves the entire day.

It does not get much better then that. The water here is so amazing, not to mention warm. Here is Dallen and Stephen playing in the water after a long day of scuba diving at my favorite beach.

We're leaving on a jetplane...off to CA

2007-08-15T23:06:00.000-10:00

Then it was on to CA, we had to pack with us everything we might need for the next month since that was how long it was going to take our stuff to get to Hawaii on the boat. We looked very comical in the airport. On top of all the stuff we also had a double stroller.

In CA we were able to see family and relax a little bit before heading to Hawaii

At Moonlight Beach

Dallen and Trey with Papa Reeves, Grandpa Spiegler, Daddy and Great Grandpa Hippo

Day out with Thomas

2007-08-15T22:58:00.001-10:00

After Lake Powell we were able to spend a few days in Utah and take Dallen to "A Day Out with Thomas" we went with some good friends of ours, The Widdowson's. The kids had a good time even though it was very crowded.

Off to Lake Powell!

2007-08-15T22:47:00.000-10:00

Before the move to Hawaii, we got to spend a perfect week at Lake Powell with my sisters and their families.

Dallen's favorite part of Lake Powell was paddling the "little green boat" with Daddy, he loved that he could paddle it himself.

Even though we were on a huge houseboat at Lake Powell, 6 week old Trey still had to sleep in a small tupperware container...unless he wanted to sleep outside with the rest of the kids

Dallen so happy to be at lake Powell

Dallen all decked out to be on the boat. It is crazy what we have to do now a days to keep our kids protected from the sun

Effie, Palmer, Halle and Dallen all geared up to go on the tube, hit it!

Good times at Lake Powell, Dallen with some of his cousins Tristen, Reeves, Capri, Palmer, Amanda, Chandler, and Luke

Our "Going Away" Party

2007-08-15T22:35:00.000-10:00

Shortly after Trey was born it was time to move out of our house in Utah. We had an awesome going away party put on by Sarah and Mindy at my sister's house.

Some friends, Emily Carlson, Mindy Widdowson, and Kelly Dearth at the party.

Our Brother-in-law Darren giving a good show off the diving board at his house for our pool party.

It was fun to see all of the friends and family that could make it. Now come see us in Hawaii!