Family Night at Sunset Beach.

Family Night was wonderful today!!

The waves were huge, so we couldn't go out too far, but that didn't stop most of the Harms clan.

This is what Briana can be found doing most of the time.  Either reading a good book or sketching a beautiful picture.

Brandon was really having fun showing Bristol the beach for the first time.  She is now about 2 months old and this was her first excursion to the beach.  WE all really enjoyed the look of awe she had in her eyes as she watched the waves.  You could almost see her wondering how to get up and chase after those big brothers and sisters.

Braelynn is our little beach model this evening.  She stood in the sunset and posed for a wonderful scene.

Here is Bristol with a huge smile of approval for our family night adventure.

After 8 batches of Rice Krispy Treats on the stove and 6 children covered in Rice Krispies we have made the ultimate 6th grade Social Studies project.  Brandon had to make a large Sphinx and he decided it would be really cool to make it out of Rice Krispies.  Well we packed and piled these things, let them harden a little and then he set about carving the Sphinx.  It was really an all afternoon project, but we have accomplished what the Ancient Egyptians did.  Phew, glad it is over and if any of you are wondering, yes we are still finding Rice Krispies everywhere.

Update:  Imagine a classroom full of 6th graders as Brandon walked in with a GIANT Rice Krispy Sphinx.  That day Brandon was definitely the most popular kid at school.  His teacher did give him an A.

A Beautiful Baby

Beautiful Baby Bristol is getting Bigger.

One little Indian

Brooklyn came home from Kindergarten today and she had turned into a little thanksgiving Indian.  I love moments like this.

The Oldest and the Youngest

Yes, that is absolutely adorable!!  I asked Briana to hold Bristol for a moment after school and walked into the kitchen to do something.  When I returned a few moments later this is the picture I found.  How precious is that?!!

Bryant's Sunday Funtime

So Bryant decided to have fun today. Every Sunday when we come home from church we tell the kids to gather whatever they would like to and take it to their rooms for quiet time. They all gather books, crayons, paints, paper, toys and whatever else sounds like fun and retreat to their rooms. The entire purpose for this quiet time is so that Mom and Dad can take a nap, because, hey, getting seven kids to church and back can take a lot out of someone. Well, today Bryant snuck out of his room and made his way stealthily to the kitchen. He then proceeded to fingerpaint with the flour.

 Yes, that is flour all over the floor.  When you discover something like this as a parent, you have two choices.  You can either absolutely lose your mind and freak out, or you can grab your camera, take a picture and realize that someday you will miss this cute little smile.  Luckily, the nap behind me, I chose number 2.  I don't know what would have happened if this had presented itself before the nap, but Bryant did help clean up and then enjoyed his bathtime.

The Winner!!!

BRANDON WON!!!

Tonight at the Sargeant Smith Theatre, on Schofield Barracks, HI, Brandon won the 2009 Schofield Youth Idol Competition, or Our Youth Got Talent Competition. We are so excited for him. This afternoon we invited over our good friends, the Amacher family, and we had a potluck here at the house with Grandma and Grandpa Dover also. We enjoy our friends so much and they are so much fun to be around. Then we all loaded up into our cars and drove over to the theatre.

Brandon was the second performer out of five. We were so amazed by how much fun he had singing his song. He performed, "Who's Loving You" by the Jackson 5. He absolutely ripped it up. The entire theatre was screaming and shouting his name. They could not believe how well he sang the song.

At the intermission everyone voted and a man came up to me and asked if Brandon would be interested in coming to his recording studio and recording the song. I got his name and number. Then a woman came up to me and asked if Brandon would perform at her Scholarship pageant in the spring. I also took her name and number. After the performance another woman came up and asked if Brandon would perform at the NAACP commemoration of Martin Luther King in January. Wow, I became a manager overnight. I told Brandon that I will only charge him 50% of what he makes. (I was kidding)

Anyway, at the very end they brought all of the contestants out on stage and announced that the 2009 Winner of the Schofield Youth Got Talent was. . . Brandon Harms!!! He was speechless. Literally. When they asked him to say a few words the only thing he could think of saying was, "Thank you voters." We will have to coach him on good acceptance speeches next time. Well this is what our star won. 1. $200.00 (He is having a hard time deciding what to spend it on) 2. 2 professional voice lessons in Waikiki 3. A huge trophy 4. A chance to record his songs in a recording studio (They just said they have to get clearance from the artists first)
Wow, what a night. We'll post his performance soon.

Haircut Day

So we gave three cute girls a trim today so that they would look top notch. These are definitely some of America's Top Supermodels, Don't you think?

Garage Sale Finds

I am the master at garage sales and finding deals. I just love it when I find a deal and feel like I have saved our family great deals of money. My husband and I think differently. While I see all of the dollar signs that I have saved his brain is working in the opposite direction, but this find left a smile on his face. You see for years I have thought these little bike trailers were the coolest things. They attach to the back of mom or dad's bike and the little ones feel like they are riding their bikes, but they are going the same speed, thus mom and dad don't have to wait every few feet for little ones to catch up. So I have priced these before and to my dismay they were in the 200-300 dollar range. So you can imagine my sheer joy to come upon one at the garage sale here on post and bargain the eager seller down to $10.00!!! He actually didn't look too happy, but he didn't want to put it back in his garage even more. When he saw all of the looks of anticipation on little kids faces, as he helped me to load it into the back of our car, his sour face quickly turned up and he said he was glad it was going to a family that would get a lot of use out of it. So here are the pics of Brooklyn and Bryant's first test ride with Dad. What a great day!

Happy Birthday Brandon

Happy 12th Birthday Brandon Moroni Harms!!

What a blessing it was in our lives that you came to our home. Brandon was born the day after Lee arrived home from Basic Combat Training at Fort Leonardwood, Missouri.

He made sure he waited for his Warrior Dad to be there for his debut!
Brandon requested pie from his Grandma Dover, instead of cake for his birthday. Brandon loves pie and it doesn't really matter what kind of pie it is, he loves it all.

He was really surprised when he opened his present this year. He had no idea that he was getting . . . . A Nintendo DS Lite. Can you see the look of joy and surprise on this guy's face? He has hardly set it down since the box was opened.

We had his favorite foods for dinner, which is a family tradition. (chicken cordon bleu nuggets, chicken nuggets, pink lemonade, and cheese scalloped potatoes.) We topped the night off by watching GI Joe. Brandon was in heaven. We love you Brandon!

Honoring Heroes!

We love Veteran's Day!! We love that there is an entire day devoted to remembering those who have served and are serving.

We woke up and had the privilege of walking in the Wahiawa City Veteran's Day parade. Our church group entered because we all decided it was important to show our support for all of our military. (we are missing one sleepy teenager, but she really was dreaming about her support)

The children all walked and waved little flags and were all smiles until. . . yes, it poured down rain on us. Bryant and Bristol were well protected with the rain cover on the stroller, but Bethany, Braelynn and Brooklyn all huddled under me like little ducklings trying to seek cover under their mom's wings. Luckily, another friend had brought a giant umbrella and poncho to save the day. Brandon, our Boy Scout, marched in the front with the flag of the troop. He looked great in his uniform alongside our own Veteran, Daddy.

Bristol even had her own shirt to match the family that day.

Lee, thank you so much for your willingness to serve our country and to help those who serve with such courage and sacrifice in their hearts. We are so honored to have a real American Hero under our roof. We know that you love this land that we live in and also are ready to defend the Liberty that we enjoy with everything that you have.

America, America, God shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!! God Bless America.

I can Smile!!

So we have reached a wonderful milestone. It happens to be one of my favorite!!

Although, today wasn't the first day that Bristol smiled at us.

It was the first that we caught it on film.

I don't think she had any idea what would follow. Picture in your mind, eight people all trying to make you smile. Each person lining up for their turn. When they are successful everyone giggles, when they are not the antics become sillier and sillier. This is the true, "Make me Laugh", because if you can make a baby laugh, you can make everyone laugh.

"It's my turn to feed her!"

So Bryant decided it was his turn to feed baby sister today. After all of the children were at school, I made Bristol her bottle and Bryant wanted to take a turn feeding her. He grabbed a sock to put under chin to catch any excess milk and tried to make sure that all of the milk stayed inside. He kept saying, "Keep the bottle in your mouth."As you can see in the next picture he didn't realize that it would take a little longer than he had hoped. He is definitely started to get bored, but he hung in there for the long haul. What a great big brother!

Rising Star!!

So Brandon had his debut performance on stage last night in the Schofield Barracks Military Youth Idol. They put Brandon as #1 to perform. He was so nervous all day long, but boy did he nail the performance. Sorry if the screaming in the video is really loud. We ended the video before the audience absolutely exploded at the end of his performance. We were so proud of him. He really pushed through his fears and ended up feeling great about all that he had done. I remember when he was three and we could not get him to stop singing Jingle Bells. I thought I might absolutely lose my mind. Lee commented last night, "Remember when Brandon would sing Jingle Bells 24 hours a day when he was little. Wouldn't it have been easier to take if we had been able to see tonight's performance?" I think life is a lot like that. If we could only see a little bit further into the future we might be able to better understand what is going on today. Well, stay updated for what the future holds for this amazing young man. He is truly making his father and I stand back in awe.

Good Luck Brandon!!