Funny boy

 Cannon on the way to school as we were dropping him off at the gate. He says mom you know when you were yelling at me “hurry up cannon you’re gonna be late”— well I was having a funny face contest with myself and you won. 

😂😂

This kid has been quite the character lately! In addition to his sense of humor, he has had quite the growth spurt!! His church clothes no longer fit him - the jacket and pants shrunk too small. 

Also he has been having to wear an eyepatch when he woke up one morning with double vision. So he just takes turns moving the eye patch from one side to the other so he isn’t  seeing double 😬. we’re hoping to get some answers about why this would happen and how we can help him get  better. Hopefully soon!

Japan trip last day

Leaving our last traditional house — this place was okay- but not our favorite. At least the grocery store wasn’t too far away!

Walking into Disney Sea and feeling pretty good about ourselves - there wasn’t even a line… but apparently it was because the park had already opened and we were the late stragglers 

The tower of terror line— the kids were actually pretty disappointed that we waited for 60 minutes for the shortest elevator ride. 😬😬😂. “That’s it??”

Waiting for a very long time at theme parks is not my favorite… but what else were we going to do?

Brielle was so excited to find the alien dumplings— mochi balls with chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. We all thought vanilla was the best!

Sausage and roll— we got a big kick out of how this looked. It wasn’t too bad for a snack to keep us going a little bit longer 

Leaving the park with the whole gang- we needed to stop for dinner on our way to the airport. Another adventure on its own when me and the kids made it through security and Ben’s tickets was cancelled. Thankfully he was able to call someone and get another ticket home- just on another airline and arriving an hour before we landed. It actually worked out because then could drop off his luggage and come back to the airport with our van to pick us all up easy breezy

One funny thing that happened as we were in the airport, we stopped at one of the last places to buy some souvenirs and Cael was in charge of one of our carryon suitcases and so we grabbed our items and purchased them and walked all the way to the end of the long hallway to get to our gate where we waiting for 45 minute before it was time to board. As they started calling the first section to start boarding the plane—  we were loading up our bags and I asked where is that silver Carry-on suitcase?? the last place I could remember was back in the shop and so I said “Connor ran as fast as you can!! And he booked it down there. As the last people were getting in line to board the airplane— I was trying to look like we were ready but also trying to delay as much as possible to give Connor the time he needed to get back. It was very nerve-racking trying to and hoping that the suitcase was still there and also feeling frustrated that Cael  left it in the shop. Thankfully someone had just put our suitcase in the closet and so when Connor asked if it was there, they quickly grabbed it from him and he was able to run all the way back and board the plane. Just as the last few passengers  were checking in and walking  through. Talk about a funny story we will never forget! Also the fact that Connor ran back to get it and not Cael— seriously should have made Cael go get it!!

 After our all night flight we landed back on our island! Cannon said he watched 4 movies and when there was 2 hrs left on the flight he tried to sleep. When we did get back home he and Brecon both crashed while the rest of us got on our church clothes and made it just in time to share all of our adventures on our trip with them. 

It always feels good to be back home!

Here we go JAPAN!!

I was feeling so nervous about this upcoming trip, not quite having a good travel itinerary, being nervous about the language of having a fear of how we were gonna get from the airport to our hotel— All of these worries really immobilized me for at least a week before our trip even though I wanted to have fun with friends that were visiting the packing and preparation were taking a lot of my energy— and so I was doing a lot of homework and not leaving the house 😂😂

But then we got on the plane and away we went!!  Now all that we needed to do was just enjoy our trip, right? The first thing that we ran into was we were not able to get any Japanese currency at the airport, but we needed to buy tickets to get us to our Airbnb that night which is about an hour away somehow Cael found a train and we bought tickets and I don’t know how we got there, but somehow we we did!! Sweaty hot and tired we made the short walk from the train to our little home for the next four days

Day one begins. We were able to get local currency from the ATM in the 711 hallelujah!! We bought breakfast at the convenience store and headed out for the day

Osaka castle- after a few mistakes on the trains and subways, we finally made it to our first destination of the day. Connor’s phone was the only one that we were able to get Wi-Fi and Internet access so he was our navigator and I have to say he did pretty good most of the time . It was so hot and we were sweating making our way up to this historic location— Cannon almost didn’t make the climb up to the top— but thankfully with our Osaka Day Pass our tickets we didn’t have to wait in the long line like everyone else—  we were able to make our way all the way up the stairs to the top. Each level of the castle was a museum with some interesting history and artifacts. I think my favorite was the samurai armor. But the heat and humidity were really starting to wear us down

A short distance away from the Osaka Castle was another attraction that we could enter with our amazing pass the mini figure museum. This was OK and pretty fun to stop at at least there was some air conditioning and cool place for us to recover before heading out to find lunch. Cael and Connor ate Hot noodles while the rest of us got McDonald’s. A good break to cool down and rest for the next adventure.

The zoo was a fun little stop on our day although we were all starting to feel pretty exhausted and ready to head back home. We were entertained by the chimpanzees and we got a little scared when one came flying up and hit the glass right in front of us! Screams and giggles

I was happy to see a red panda before we decided to leave

We then worked our way over to a tower where we could go down a slide with our ticket! It’s pretty fun, but Brecon said it shook his brain so he was ready to go home.

The famous shot in Osaka!! We did it! I was still feeling pretty anxious and nervous about traveling in this country with all of my kids, but amazed also at how great they all did on our first day!! 
 

Cannon gets stitches

 Now I can’t play Minecraft at my fullest potential 😭😢”

We were at the community center for a fun evening with inflatables music and giveaways and games 

Cannon was playing with Mason after we just gone to the pool exploring all the different activities 

Mason wanted to play some of the interactive games that they had 

And Mason was playing  ski ball and Canon thought it would be fun to go under like where the ski balls fall and then roll back slowly and try to dodge the balls but then Mason didn’t throw a ball for a while (he started talking g to another friend) so Canon poked up his head And Mason had thrown a  bocce ball and it hit him right above his right eye BAM!!

Cannon said “Then I looked down kinda - it kind of hurt then I saw red juice on my leg then I went back out of it and Mason thought I just had a ketchup packet is on your face then tell me about what happened next then he is like oh that’s coming out Blood 🩸 

Then we looked around. I was looking down holding onto Mason, making sure I couldn’t like I’m looking down because the blood was going into my eye, holding onto Mason and walking around then some gramma asked if we needed help - she went ahhh!! and she took us to the people that had a microphone with the music 

They made this announcement “attention. We have a lost hurt child cannon flat, platt. and then he started waving, and then that’s when mom started waving and coming toward the place to get me. 

Of course mom told me not to get hurt before we came to this activity because we were heading to do a sleep study at 7:30. This was really going to slow us down. 

So we walked across the street to the swimming pool - with some tears and outbursts- and Connor talked to his work friends and Jose Garcia went and got some first aid materials Band-Aid and a patch and some tape so we could stop from moving around so much cause those flaps of skin were really opening up good 

And he stitched my eyelashes with a butterfly Band-Aid it was pretty funny 

We start calling people to ask if they have any derma bond and Steri-Strips at home and then going to the urgent care on Schofield — we walked up at 6:32 and they close at 6:30. There was still another door where people were inside and my mom asked if they would help— “just go to the ER” and they were closing and they sent us to Wahiawa emergency room 

Mom started crying because dad usually takes care of this kind of thing and he was in Japan. Why wouldn’t they just take care of us?

So we headed to the Wahiawa emergency room.

We arrived and the ER was the quickest I had ever been to. After getting our information, we were called back within a few minutes. Cannon was able to hang out and we talked about how everything happened.

And then the nurse or PA came in and we got put back in a room where he was able to get some medicine to numb up his eye and they were able to put in six stitches. It was one hour from when we checked in to when we were walking out to the car, a tender mercy for sure.

Luckily, mom was able to get a hold of the sleep center for my sleep study and just let them know. We would be about an hour late for our appointment and that was fine as much as my mom was worried about that as much as I was worried it turned out OK

Stake conference Talk for Connor

 

Good morning brothers and sisters and aloha,

(Smile and look around. You are gonna do great!!)

I’m super happy to be standing here today and especially because I’m able to talk about the savior, my relationship with him, and stories about him in my life. Three things that I want to cover is the importance of music, Relationships with others, and following in our Savior’s footsteps.

One of the things that I have been trying to get better at is playing music on the piano. I was taught the piano at a young age by my mom.  Thank you mom!! As I've grown I realize the importance of making and listening to uplifting music. An example of this is how sing before the sacrament is administered, the sacrament is the most important ordinance we participate in each week. The scriptures say “the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me” so we should really sing our praises while singing at church. We also know that The power of music influences and invites the holy spirit. So as we invite the spirit into our life through uplifting music we are setting the right tone in our life and in our homes to help us become more like him

Another way I grow closer to the savior is by creating relationships with others. I am constantly creating relationships with people around me - being a military kid every 3 years has given me many chances to meet so many different people all over the world who have influenced me. Many of my friends, teachers, and leaders have helped me grow and become better. Many of my friends have also helped guide me to make the right decisions. I can strengthen my relationship with the savior by reading my scriptures daily and going to the temple. So as we try to be like the Savior by loving those around us we grow closer to the savior.

In a few years I need to be ready to have the strength to go out as a missionary and spread the gospel in areas that might need it. The fact that i love sports and that they are helping me to prepare for my mission by pushing me to work hard is helping me with skills that give me more confidence in my body and my mind. Going to seminary this year has really helped me in my testimony and love for the Savior. I have learned from the scriptures that “I can do all things through christ who strengthens me”. Jesus served  those who could not help themselves.  So I need to be ready to use my body to serve others, and by doing so I  am becoming more like him. 

We can grow closer to our father in heaven as we create meaningful relationships, lasting testimonies, and strive to serve him . As a young man I am trying to mold my mind and my body and my spirit to create the kind of person that is who to my Heavenly Father wants and needs me to be.

Testimony

Stories of Jesus in my life remind me to keep growing - better and better.

The gospel is true

Families are forever so be nice to your siblings 

Ready for a change- time for a short cut

 After a few of the things that have been going on, I was starting to feel A little stuck. We weren’t moving so I couldn’t change that— I just got forced out of my church calling— couldn’t change that no matter how much I wanted to. And so I turned to what I could change— my hair. Honestly- I had had my long hippie braids and only wore my braids during the day for so many years. Pretty boring …

So I looked up a couple of images that I could show the hairdresser and Ben was like yeah you should do it in a very supportive way. But this was pretty impulsive idea and when I got there that day, lady didn’t even try to talk me out of it—and one thing I am a little frustrated about is I could’ve donated so much hair For locks of love, but she didn’t even offer…. She also asked how long I had been thinking about this style and I said 3 days— that’s not very long!!

And then she  just went right to it. I didn’t even have time to change my mind. It went short quick and there was hair everywhere. Three times they came in and swept up the floor!! She did a great job with the initial cut and styling it and helping me feel so free and fun with my new shortcut.

Ben has said it has changed my whole look to a more sporty type of lady!

I was feeling pretty good about the big change that had happened until Ben showed me the before and the after pictures —I couldn’t believe what I had done!! Major regret in a way but I also knew I couldn’t do anything to go back. So now I’m going through  another chapter and phase and it’s gonna me fun!

It’s just hair… right?

Family portraits