The Perfect Date : )

It all started Friday afternoon (11/14). I was tired, emotional, & exhausted from Science Camp...and that's when I got a phone call. Mitch asked me out on a date. : ) He acted like we had never met before, and he asked me out like it was our first date. We set a time, and I didn't know anything about where he was taking me. I just knew I needed to be hungry, wear a light jacket, and have shoes with socks.

Come 6pm, he had a boquet of flowers for me, and had even arranged a babysitter already. (I love him so much!) Next, he took me out for NYPD Pizza. He let me talk like there was no tomorrow, and we left. When he started driving east, at first I thought we were going bowling, b/c you need socks for that. The ony ice skating rink I knew of was in Ahwatuke, so when he headed east, I had no idea where he was taking me.



Apparently, there is a new Polar Ice in Gilbert! I was so excited when he pulled in the parking lot. We got our skates, and held hands as we skated around on the ice. He's so romantic. : )


These shots are decieving, because it was so crowded that night. I've never seen so many people in the same skating rink before & the ice was extremely rough. They even pulled out the zambonie for a while. As you can tell by the pictures, Mitch is a pro, and I'm definitely a beginner.



When we were done, we got some delicious Cold Stone ice cream for free (had a gift card). We kissed at every red light, just like we did when we were dating, and Mitch even let me have David Archuleta music on. : ) He knows I'm such a ham for love songs. Haha.

The only reason you see me crawling on the ice is because it happened once & Mitch begged me to pose for a picture again, because he thought it was so hilarious. Well, whatever...it's a small price to pay to have had THE PERFECT DATE. Thanks Mitchell Jay Borden--I love you & I think we should get married. : )

Lunch with Sarah

You know, I've had friends join the Church before, but for whatever reason, some of them have chosen not to stick with it--usually they didn't have a lot of family support, so they started not going to church. I met Sarah Kreycik at Steve Madden a few years ago, and I really feel like it was a moment in time that was guided by fate. I was in a really bad place with work--my family had just had a crash and burn experience, and I HAD to get another type of job. So I applied at the mall, and in my head I had a bottom-dollar price that I had to at least get paid or else there would be no way I'd work there. When I got the call from Sarah, that was the exact price I was offered, and so though it wasn't fabulous, I took the job & quit looking. I was the only LDS person working there, and while I wasn't judging my friends for their actions, because they grew up with different backgrounds, it'll suffice to say that I became less naive just by listening to their stories. They always respected me and made efforts to not cuss around me, and they would tone down the details of their night-life & parties as they talked to me about what they'd been up to. For a while I stalked shelves & so I was in the back a lot opening up boxes of shoes, and while it was lonely & not a beautiful place to be confined in, sometimes my co-workers would come back there & ask me questions about why I live the way I do. I had quite a few miniature discussions about the Church & the teachings of the gospel with my friends at work, and it was very apparent that Sarah was on her own time table and she made comments insinuating that she'd never join the Church. Sarah was at a point in her life that had led her to not believe in God. I don't know how she changed her mind, but she did. She called me one day after she randomly went to a nearby non-denominational church, and I'll never forget the message she left on my phone telling me that God was exactly what she needed. As time went by, she came over & started asking me more questions. She ended up meeting a boyfriend named Jared at a bar, who was actually a less-active member, and they started going to church with his family, and out of the blue about a year ago I got a call from her telling me that she got baptized. A while after that she called and told me about getting her patriarchal blessing, and her husband getting the Melchezidec priesthood. Now she's expecting a baby, and she and Jared are planning to get sealed in the temple hopefully in February. I am so happy for them. We went to lunch on Veteran's Day, and had a great talk. She talked about the impact one positive person can have on someones life and the lasting effect of the way they treat you. She has no idea how much joy her actions have brought to me, too, though. It's amazing to me the way that she and her husband have turned thier lives around, they are influencing others for the better, and they are finding happiness in the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I think about them I burst with happiness that they are headed towards a temple sealing and that their choices will affect generations to come, because they will raise their children in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. How great is my joy.

Sopping Wet

We have a security screen door, so the door can be open for the nice weather, but my kid is still inside the house. Well, Mitch was outside watering plants & Tyson was mesmorized by watching. Next thing I know, Mitch sprays off the screen door. Brilliant, right?

About 10 minutes later, I'm noticing what happened, and Tyson's clothes needed to be changed. So here's our dialogue:
Djo--"Mitch, are you going to change Tyson's clothes?"
Mitch--"No, he's fine."
D-Jo--"What do you mean he's fine? He's sopping wet."
Mitch--"Do you even know what sopping wet means?"
Tyson--(pointing to his shirt)"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeee."

We were dying laughing. He was right on cue!

Baby Einstein & Cantaloupe

Tonight I was cutting up cantaloupe & Tyson was pulling on my legs because he could hardly wait to eat it. I said, "Just a minute and we can eat this while we watch 'Baby Einstein'." What did he do? He ran to the T.V. & turned it on. : )

After we were situated on the rug with some paper towels, a plate, and the movie going, he took his first bite-sized piece. As he was munching, I put a paper towel on his lap, and he gingerly picked it up to wipe his lips. It was so adorable! When did he learn how to use a napkin? I don't know, but it was a moment in time that I wish I could save & replay forever.

Tyson's 1st Hair Cut (Bittersweet)

He wasn't sad, but I was sad to loose his baby curls. It was time, though. He's was getting scraggly! He's so cute walking around like a little boy now!
After!

How many adults does it take to give a 16 month old boy a hair cut?

Just 2 and a sucker. : )

The last time the baby curl will ever be on his head. : ( I'm so sad he's growing up!

It's Too Bad AZ Isn't a Tropical Island

I wanted to finish my Hawaii post, so I didn't forget our fabulous trip. This was at the airport when Lins dropped us off. Thanks, Lins, for a great vacation & for letting us use your car & for driving us everywhere, and finding us a place to stay. You are the BEST! We love you!
Hukilau Cafe was the cheapest restaurant, with the BEST food, and HUGE portion sizes, not to mention, it was withing walking distance of our house!

This is what you see when you drive in Hawaii. It never stopped amazing me that we were driving from town to town and Kamehameha Hwy was on the shorline.

A big, fat, scary, sleeping pig, named Wilbur.

This ostrich, Buster, has famous legs, b/c he starred in Jurassic Park.

Me & Buster

Me & Mitch at the top of the Jungle Tour.

Our tour guide was nicknamed "Turtle." She did such a great job that everyone tipped her at the end.

We had some very determined ants come in the kitchen. They hauled the chip UP the wall. Talk about team work!

Thurs afternoon we swung by the Dole Plantation. I LOVED IT!

Pinapple Deej

Pinapple Mitch

Did you know that pinapples grow ON TOP of the plant's leaves? Niether did I!

We conquered the world's largest maze. We found ALL of the 8 secret stations, and were running b/c we were trying to get a good time. It took us 50 min! Haha, but we had so much fun.

Punchbowl Cemetery

Mitch next to a Borden tombstone. (A Myrna Borden married to a Edward Borden, whose child was Jane Dale Borden).

D-Jo next to Sandy Tenney's tombstone. I felt really emotional at the cemetery once we found tombstones that are connected to our family names. It made it more personal, and I have a deeper gratitude for those who gave their lives fighting for our country in the Pacific. We found a tombstone that read, "Unknown." It was so sad, but it is a gorgeous national monument.

Diamondhead Lighthouse

The Diamond head tunnel leading to the top.

The Diamond head staircase from Hades at the very end of the hike.

The Diamondhead crater view w/Ocean background.

This is the mountain we hiked & we took a picture of it from Punchbowl Cemetery.

Hanuama Bay snorkeling was FANTASTIC! We saw 5 sea turtles!

Blow hole & sunrise Thurs. AM

Hukilau Beach stormy night swim!

Tarzan

Haiku Gardens & pond

My little surfer dude, Halloween '08

This picture is slightly decieving. It was actually Mitch who took Tyson Trick-or-Treating. I sat at the door reading & passing out candy & we took a shot when they got back. He was SO CUTE! Thanks to Halloween, he has now added these words to his vocabulary: Trick-or-Treat (Tee-Tee), Thank you (day-doo), and candy. Oh, how I love my little surfer-dude!
These pictures are from the Halloween Spooktacular at the Lovell's a couple weeks back. It was a great party. Mike & Erin came as Thriller characters (Jodi even painted her nails green for the occasion!)

Because we went to Hawaii the week of this party, we decided to have costumes related to it. Mitch: snorkeler (yes, he walked around with his flippers on), Tyson: surfer, D-Jo: Hula girl. Good times!

This is a picture Erin took at the party that I snagged from her blog. Adam & Liz came & Adam spent 20 minutes in the car trying to get his Zoro mask to work right. : ) The Zamora's totally party hopped everywhere we went this month! It was so funny. It started with the Halloween Spooktacular, then the ward Trunk-or-Treat, & James & Carly's party. So fun!

This is Tyson's loot from Halloween. It was so heavy for him, he was literally lugging the jack-o-lantern around & staggering as he almost tripped on every step. Was he ready to quit? Oh, no, but Mitch & I were worn out!

Thumbs up for a great Halloween!

Capt'n Crunch

For breakfast, we were eating Captain Crunch this morning as a family. After a bowl & 1/2, Mitch says, "Hey, he's only picking out the berries!." Sure enough, Tyson has already decided at 15 months that the berries are the best. I swear that was not my doing, but I think it's hilarious. It's probably as funny to me as it will be to Mitch if/when Tyson decides to follow his suit to not eat broccoli.