Blast From the Past!

As Finola Hughes would say, "How do we look?!"

Here is the Drew Boy we all remember!

Drew Boy....is now Drew Man!

Last Wednesday Karen called to tell me Austin Drew was at Mimi's for the night as he had a layover before heading back to school. I was so excited to see him as I had not laid eyes on him since way before he left on a mission. When he came downstairs at Mimis to greet me I could not believe my eyes.... No more Drew BOY....but a Man stood in front of me. Still that sweet smile and kind disposition that I fondly remember remained. Austin shared his mission photos and played a game of Quiddler with Mimi and I. Of course Mimi won and is still the reigning Queen of Quiddler. Austin, thanks for being you! Love, Auntie Tricia

Still More Kaity!

First Christmas

In capable hands

"Baby off the table...."

Pictures by Grandpa

Kool Kaity

Dave came to visit Tricia at Pammy's in Hawaii and all the boys challenged Dave to a wretling match...him against all the others and look who is leading the pack...Our one and only girl..................Kaity Kins!

Kaity hanging out with the kids................
Kaity hanging out in the trees....and she still does.........

Kaity and Dave doing the victory cry after wrestling all the boys to the ground all at one time...................When Kaity saw Dave pinning one boy after another she made a decision....she switched from the kids team to Dave's. Kaity has continued to make many other great decisions in her life! Happy Birthday Kaity, We love You.... Grimsmans

More Kaity!

Moving to Davis from Santa Barbara

Early training

The Fam

Cousins' Camp with Chelsea, Liz, Cedar, Flor and a friend

Big Sister

Pictures by Grandpa 1981 - 1985

Kaity!

Happy Birthday, Kaitlin Mildred Palmer! I so love you and enjoy your company and always have. What fun it is to be your auntie and now to know and love Gio and Zeke (and Danny too). May this year be joyful for you. Kudos for your 27 years! (I was 27 when you were born.)

Happy Birthday Sis-in-Law

My introduction to Kaity was her wedding invitation where I immediately thought "This has to be one of the coolest girls on earth." Then I met Kaity and thought "She IS one of the coolest girls on earth." I am so glad that she is Christian's little sister and am even more glad that we are such good friends.

There are so many reasons why I love Kaity but I'll stick with 27 for now.

1. She is stunningly beautiful but isn't a showoff about it. She also doesn't make you feel bad about looking "just normal"
2. She shares clothes.
3. We have a good system going where we share the boys clothes.
   
4. She is always on the lookout for good finds from the swap shop
5. She hooked us up and continues to hook us up with those finds.
6. She LOVES to clean. Whenever she comes to visit she always cleans up and insists on washing the dishes.
   
7. She loves to clean but is totally cool with the boys making a mess. (I admire this so much)
   
8. She has the most energy out of anyone that I know
9. Her energy is contagious, thank goodness. Just being around her gets me pumped.
   
10. She is silly. She can laugh at herself. I have a very physical memory of almost peeing my pants one day in Hawaii when Kaity was modeling these tight leopard print pants.
11. She has initiative. I sit around and think of a million reasons why I should start doing something. Meanwhile Kaity already finished whatever it was that needed to get done.
12. She is super fun mom and is raising some pretty cute and smart boys.
    
13. She is married to super fun Danny.
14. She gives me good books to read :)
15. She makes the best rice krispie treats and snickerdoodles.
16. I have good phone conversations with her.
17. She gets excited over little things.
    
18. She comes and visits us.
19. She'll disagree with me but compared to ME and most people I know Kaity is NOT a complainer.
20. She is smart and passionate about similar issues that I care about.
21. She breaks the stereotype that girls can't play sports. She's good at surfing, ultimate Frisbee, diving, and soccer.
22. She is so sweet. I like how she calls Pammy "Mommy" how she calls Christian "Chrissy" and how she is so kind to those around her.
23. She is quick to compliment.
    
24. She is easy going. She's always up for whatever is going on.
25. She has good taste in earrings
    
26. She likes to eat and eats whatever I make whenever she comes to visit.
27. I love Kaity so much because she is a good listener. I've been able to tell her so many emotions that I've had and thoughts that I would normally be sacred to tell anyone. She just listens and isn't critical.
    

Happy Birthday Kaity. I love you like I love my sisters and am so glad we are part of the same family. Can't wait to share your birthday with you.

xoxo Da

Ben-Jammin is 24!!!

August 27, 1984

24 Reasons why I love Benjamin Lance Chase:

1. He is my bestest, one in whom I can confide with in everything that is going on in my life. I know that he won't judge me, and I know that he loves me, which is the best thing ever!

2. He has such a strong testimony of the Gospel, and I admire that. I could tell that Ben was and still is an amazing missionary because he is always wanting to share the Gospel, and change people's lives for the better.

3. He treats his mother and his sisters with the utmost respect, and I cherish that because I know he will treat me that way as well...

4. My family is in love with him as well as every mother, auntie, and grandma, in Laie :)

5. For many of you who have played football, basketball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, any kind of sport really; I am sure that everyone would agree that Ben is badness in anything that involves having to be athletic. He is just a natural, and everyone who has to play against him dreads it, because they know that they will get a run for their money. Ben gives 110%, which makes it hard for fatties like me, because I only give, maybe 60% ha ha.

6. Ben has always set a good example, to me, as well as to everyone he comes into contact with. When Ben and I went to Michigan this past December, we played basketball with the Workman's. It was the girls against the guys, and it was obvious that Ben knows how to play ball extremely well. Eric and Sam (his brother-in-law and nephew), don't always get the chance to play the game and so it was easier for others to steal the ball or work them. Even though Ben could have easily made all the team points, he didn't. Ben set such a good example to me in learning how to be a good teammate. He would pass the ball 90% of the time to the guys and helped guard off the rest of us so that they would be able to make the basket. I cannot explain to you how proud of him I was, especially that night.

7. Ok... This will be the first time admitting this but.. Ben is hilarious! Even though I always tell him that he's not (I just don't want his head to get any bigger than it already is! haha), he really is. He is super witty (a Chase quality), and quick on his feet, which is refreshing.

8. Ben is so stinkin' smart! Book smart as well as street smart, I might add.

9. Not only is he really, really smart, but he is totally humble about being smart (which is 100 times better!)

10. Now being smart also comes with working hard, and Ben is the hardest worker I know. Whenever we would be at his house studying, I would always try to distract him and try to get him to pay attention to me! He never fell for it though, which made me sad at the time, but grateful now because when we get married, I will never have to worry about having a slacker of a husband!

11. Ben wants to marry me! Enough said.

12. Ben is so good with his money, something, that I hate to say, is not something I am good at. I can say that being with Ben has definitely helped :)

13. Ben is so willing to give of his time to anyone who will let him. He has always been helpful to me when I needed to run errands, or if other people needed help. For example, Ben and I must have been dating for a couple weeks when we were driving home late from going to Foodland. It was raining super hard and there was this couple hitchhiking right in front of L&L. Without hesitation, Ben asked them if they needed a ride and to where. The couple were really nice, and were in fact, complete strangers. I cannot tell you (yet again), how proud of Ben I was. We had only been dating for such a short while, but I knew that I was not going to let him go that easily!

14. Ben is a really good listener. Sincewe have been apart this whole summer, one of the only ways of keeping in contact is through the telephone. There is always something going on so I am constantly telling Ben stories and vice versa. When I am upset, he listens and comforts me, and never tries to cut me off or ignore me. He truly cares and he listens so well, that I can't hear him breathing, and I think that he's hung up. He hasn't, he's just listening...

15. Ben is full of surprises and he loves giving them to me. Last year Ben went on a "football roadtrip" with his buddies and he called me at 2:30am asking me for directions to my mom's house. I was so out of it and confused as to why he wanted to know all of these things. As we were talking, he was describing major street names and places; then it hit me: "he's in Sacramento and he didn't tell me?!" He convinced his friend, Moana, to go to my house and visit my mom himself. I cannot begin to tell you how happy and surprised both me and my family were. I could tell that I was annoying Ben because I would call every 2 minutes to see what him and my family were talking about! My mom was so happy that it was all she could talk about for several months. I loved that he did that without saying anything, and knowing that it would make very many people happy.

16. Aside from being athletic, Ben is a really good dancer. He is the only person that I can dance silly with and not have a care in the world.

17. Ben is just a great guy. When I first saw Ben, he was walking with this girl to the library and I was so sad because I thought that he was taken. One of my best friends, Tuli, said, "Ben is the only good-looking haole boy in Laie that I would date. He is an awesome guy who just got off his mission and can speak Spanish."She didn't have to say anything else. When I would tell people that Ben and I were "talking," I kid you not, every single person would always talk about how great of a guy Ben was. I knew that there was something special about him, and I am so happy that Tuli introduced us.

18. Ben is a really good teacher. Ben is so not of the world that it drives me insane sometimes. For many of you who know me, know that I cannot live without my phone, it is my lifeline. Well, last year my phone was out of commission for about a week or so and I was completely devastated. Ben, on the other hand, was so excited! It was a good detox period because I got to spend more time with him without being worried about who was calling me. He also taught me that there was more to life than being "coconut wireless."

19. He is amazing with children of all ages. Whenever I would come home from work, the Spring boys, as well as Mikey, Minami, and the Wagner's, would all ask the same question, "Where's Ben? Where's Ben?" It got to the point where I would just go home and tell them that he would be over later! At first I was jealous, but I've realized that I'm so lucky to be with a guy who loves kids, especially kids who love him back.

20. Ben is so religious about his workouts and being healthy. He is always trying to motivate me to work out with him and eat better. Plus, he never stinks, even when he's been working out for 2 hours. He has nice smelling sweat, which is very important.... To me at least.

21. Ben is so good at going with the flow, it's one of his mottos for our relationship, and it is something that I love about him.

22. Ben is so good at having fun. When there was nothing to do at the Spring's house (weird huh?), he would always come up with something.

23. Ben is the creator of the "HOO-RAH!" (ask Ethan, Isaiah, and Truman for details.)

24. Ben is so so patient, which is a quality that I would like to emulate. Trust me when I say that I am not always easy to deal with, but Ben has never given up on me.

I know it sounds so cliche, but there really are a gazillion reasons to why I love my Ben. He is the most amazing man I have ever met and I am so so grateful that he was put in my life. In the 2 years and 3 months that we have been dating (sorry Benny, I had to tell them), I have learned so much and I have grown. I love everything about Benny, and I am so glad that he is my best friend. I'm sad that I can't be there physically on your special day, but I am there in spirit. Thank you to everyone who has read this novel. I promised Ben that his post would be extra-special, and I hope that I have been able to live up to it. Te amo muito, Ben :)

Can we get a HOO-RAH for Benny's 24th!!

Conversation with our three year old

Gio: "Can I have another one of these?" (Refering to the chewable vitamin C.)
Kaity: "Sure."
Gio: "Are you a nice mom?"
Kaity: "Yes."
Gio: "Because I'm not screaming and crying?"

conversations with our two year old

This picture was taken while Christian was having a serious conversation with Enzo about why you can't wear 4 boots to church.

and this picture was taken after Enzo walked out of the door two nights ago saying that he was going to Grammy's house. He packed his own bag. Inside was a toy, a book, a pair of shorts and 8 white t-shirts. I think he knows more than we give him credit for.

The Ethiopian Elvis

At Kahanas. I had to grab a picture of Mikey rockin' out with his awapuhi styled hair. Even if the pictures are bad, the humor of it is there.

Faculty Club

We have been swimming at the Backy Cub a lot lately. It is like our own private pool because there is rarely anyone else there. The boys love it. They are pretty good at doggy paddling with their life jackets on.

Fiber Art Show

My friend Ana Paula and other Santa Cruz artists participated in the 4th Annual Fiber Art Show. It was so fun to see the creative pieces that people made from recycled fiber.

This is one of Ana Paula's piece. She decorated individual match boxes and put a magnet in the back and covered her ENTIRE fridge with it. Here she is showcasing only a few of the boxes.

This is another one of her pieces featuring voodoo dolls that are trying to love.

This was a gigantic hand made quilt using recycled hemp.

I want to own this felt necklace!

I thought this quilt was classic. However my favorite quilt is the one below made entirely out of used tea bags.

Sorry the pictures are so dark. I am trying to have a loving relationship with my camera but it's getting harder and harder.

An Enzo Dance Party

Enzo likes to fold up our rug and dance/run in circles around it. For those of you who aren't close enough to enjoy quality Enzo time I've posted a short video of Enzo moshing to the wheels on the bus go round and round. Notice the windsheild wiper motions with the hands part way through.

A few fun waves at the lane

I didn't make the barrel but I thought the sequence was nice. It's funny because I was just whining about not having any surfing pictures yesterday and this morning I saw my friend John on the cliff watching the surf, and then like five minutes later I realized he had a camera and was taking pictures. Way cool. I did land the floater in the next sequence and a fun little mid-august surf session. I was actually warm in the water which is always nice and only happens like twice a year here. Hopefully this will help everyone that's not in Hawaii want to come a visit.

As long as I'm doing a post about surfing in Santa Cruz, I had two funny surf experiences with my rip curl wetsuit that Jesse picked up for me at the outlet down south. It has these red and black letters on the shoulders and chest and down one leg and as my friend Avery put it, "Apparently you didn't get the nor cal memo about all black wetsuits." Then like three days latter I paddled out to 4-mile and a guy in the line-up says something to the effects of, "Judging from your wetsuit you're not from around here." At least I can say I'm from Hawaii which is somewhere as cool as Santa Cruz, if I was from so-cal or the valley it might have been time to paddle in around then. Enjoy the pictures. If I ever get more I'll just put the best ones. It was just so fun to get some actual surfing pictures of myself.