Hawaii

I need to write about this trip right now because it was so amazing I don't want to forget a single thing. First off I feel so lucky and spoiled that we were even able to go to the beautiful islands. I hope everyone can someday experience them because they are like nothing else. We are lucky to have two sisters that live on two different islands Shelleen lives in Kauai and April lives in Maui. Shelleen was the one who actually talked us in to going (thank goodness she did!) We were talking on face time one Sunday night and she told us that there was a great deal on airplane tickets and it wouldn't last very long plus Channing was turning two so we would have had to buy him is own ticket. So we said let's just do it! We booked the flights the next day and we had only a 1 1/2 months to wait. I was so excited!! We all were.

 

Our flight was on August 22 @ 1:50 am. Note to self NEVER do a red eye again. That was not a fun flight at all! Channing slept most of the time but we had to hold him on our lap so it was very hard for Chad and I to get any sleep. It was a 6 hour flight and we slept probably a total of 3 hours. It was very hard to get used to the time difference, it's 4 hours earlier there. So I was tired a lot of the time but still tried to do as much as I could. So we got to Honolulu and then got on another plane to go to Kauai. Chadd and Shelleen picked us up and gave us beautiful lays and Channing an awesome sand toy bucket. We got to their house and tried to take a little nap then we were off to explore. We went to a local farmers market and got some nice and fresh Hawaiian fruit. YUM. We went to Poipo beach which is just down the street from their house. The sand was different, it was like tiny pieces of sea shells and stuck to our skin like crazy. The water wasn't cold at all not exactly warm but comfortable.

 

We got to go eat at Puka Dog. Let me just say that place is amazing!! Shelleen is actually the manager there. We hung out at her pool and took a walk down the street to watch the sunset and the sea turtles. It was so beautiful.

 Chad was able to golf on one of the most beautiful golf courses ever. Tiger Woods has actually played there. It was one of his favorite times in Hawaii. Shelleen, Channing, and I went into the little town had lunch and did a little shopping. Then we met up and did some sight seeing. P.S. there are chickens everywhere!! Channing loved it. He would always chase them and trying to copy their sounds.

 

 

We got to go the the North Shore (Shelleen lives on the South) and we went snorkeling. Snorkeling was one of my favorite parts of the trip I loved seeing the world in the ocean. It's amazing! Pretty colors everywhere. It freaked Chad out a little just not knowing what was around him and hearing crazy stories of the ocean but he enjoyed it too.

Thanks to Shelleen and Chadd for watching Channing, Chad and I got to go on the most romantic date ever. We went to a fancy restaurant called The Beach House. We got at least 2 hours to ourselves and got to remember why we love each other so much. I love talking to Chad. We just get each other and can be exactly who we want to be with each other. This date was also a favorite for both of us.

The last day in Kauai we went out to breakfast on the golf course. For lunch we had to get our Puka Dog again! Then we went to the beach one last time. Chadd and Shelleen were awesome hosts, They made this trip all about us and anything we wanted to do we did. They were so much fun too we had some really good laughs with each other.

 

Now we were at Maui with April and Robert. The beach is literally across the street from their house. It was so fun! Robert took us paddle boarding. That was a blast I stayed on the whole time and got to paddle out to the reef and look for turtles. Chad had a little more difficult time just because the board wasn't his size so he kept tipping off. We sat Channing on a board to see if he would go out with Robert but he didn't really like it so he played in the sand with April.

 

 

We went on a beautiful hike to a waterfall! It was a little scary because the ground was so muddy and slippery. Its just amazing how green and alive everything is there. So refreshing. Except the mosquitoes Chad and I came out with about 20 bites each!! It was so bad!

 

 

This is the aquarium. It was cool to see the huge sharks and sea rays and for Channing to get to see fish since he couldn't snorkel. He loved it and still talks about the sharks and fishes. After the aquarium we went to the plantation and got to look at all of the plants Hawaii is known for. That was cool and educational. The tour guide told us everything about coconuts. He was great you could tell he was so passionate about Hawaii and all that it has.

It was such an amazing trip! We made so many memories and got to experience something different. We will definitely be going back someday.

Channing's Birth story (2 years later)

Well my sweet little Channing just turned 2 a couple days ago (I will do a post on his birthday party another day) and I don't think I have his birth story written down anywhere. So I decided now would be a good time.
Channing was due on Aug 23, 2010 and on that day I really thought I was going to have Channing. I had been taking blue cohosh (natural labor starter) the whole day and I went to turbo kick with Linzie to see if jumping around would start my labor. On the way home from the gym I had been feeling contractions very regular about every 6-10 mins they weren't painful though. I kept track for a couple of hours and thought okay this is it he is coming tonight. We walked for hours, I did jumping jacks, played basket ball, and walked up and down stairs, We called family members and my family drove up from Logandale. We did all that till about 2 in the morning and I just needed to lay down. Once I relaxed my body everything stopped.
Nothing happened for another 9 days. My doctor stripped my membranes a couple times and that hurts like crazy! On Tuesday night I remember taking a bath and getting very emotional thinking that Chad and I weren't going to be all alone anymore and our lives were about to change and I was as big as a whale so that made me cry a lot too. Once I got out of the bath at about midnight Chad and I spent some time together and I started feeling painful contractions. I couldn't even lay in bed, I had to get an exercise ball and bounce on that. After about an hour I told Chad it was time and I really wanted a blessing so we asked Dallan to give a blessing with Chad. After that we started walking around the neighborhood till 2am and we decided to call his mom. We drove to her house and she helped massage my back and she walked with us around the temple until 4am we decided to go to the hospital. My parents got to the hospital right when we did and we walked into labor and delivery. They put me in a room and said if you progress from 4 centimeters to 5 in an hour you can stay. Luckily I was at a 5 by the time she came in next. So we went to the delivery room and tried to get a little sleep but that didn't happen contractions where getting stronger. At 8am Dr. Rogers came in and broke my water and that is when I start to forget because I was in a different place with the pain being so bad! I remember going to take a shower so I could have hot water on me but it hurt so bad to be standing during a contraction. I think I was at a 6 we he broke my water and it seemed like every hour I dilated another centimeter. The contractions were SO SO painful! I screamed at the top of my lungs and felt like I never got a break from them. Everything went so fast! When it was time to push Chad was on one side holding a leg and a nurse was on the other. Pushing was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. I felt like I was pushing harder then I even thought I could. The doctor called in code blue which was the respiratory team because Channing's heartbeat kept getting slower he even threatened a c-section if I didn't get him out soon. I thought I had been pushing for hours but I only remember them telling me 45 mins. Once he came out and laid on my chest skin to skin all of the pain disappeared and it was the best feeling in the world! I kept saying "he's so cute! he's so cute!" and he really was. He was born and 11:21 am on September 1st. He weighed 8lbs 14oz and was 21 inches long! Talk about huge baby! No wonder I gained 40 pounds and looked like a hippo. But I would do it all over again for that little man. Chad and I both cried when he came out. It was a pretty traumatizing experience for him because he saw how much pain I was in and couldn't do anything about it. It made me fall in love with Chad even more just knowing this was our family that we created! I cant wait until all of our children are here on earth with us.
Here are some pictures from the day Channing Eric Clawson was born.

Trying to get some sleep.

THE cutest baby in the nursery.

Holding our sweet boy.

Big chunky baby.

Instagram

*I want to start writing right after events happen because I never remember as much as I would like to and its annoying.

So I'm going to start with a weekly Instagram post. This is a catch up on everything after the fourth of July.

We had a girls night and made yummy nachos.

 

 

Channing and Mykah make the cutest nerds ever!

 

 

 

Family night at Subzero.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful rainbow above our house

Playing at the rez on our trip to Logandale.

Just hanging out.

Playing catch with cousin Jordan and Charlie.

The Burr reunion. My handsome boys.

 

 

Snuggling with aunt Shelleen on her visit to St George.

Temple night with Dallan and Jordi. Its always nice to go back and be where we were sealed for eternity.

Carden and Channing after uncle Jason's baptism.

Cute baby Link!

We are going to Hawaii!! So I made a count down for it. So excited!