My Hawaiian Son!! 2000~2002

Joe posted some pictures and I could not pass up the chance to blog them! I would give anything if I knew about blogging when Joe and Walker served there missions! Looking at these pictures brought back many wonderful memories! I remember when Joe left, I truly did not think I could make it for two years without him! Joe was the first to serve a mission in our families and I had no idea what to expect! My health was not the best and I struggled with depression and I felt by him leaving for two years this would just do me in!! I cried my self to sleep for about the first 3 or 4 months! 

The letters came and they just got better each time! We did not email back then and I would write quite often! I remember the first few letters I received from Elder Scheurn, I could hardly read his hand writing but with in a few months he handing writing was beautiful! Joe went on to serve a life changing wonderful 2 year mission! When I look at these pictures my heart is full of gratitude for him and the example he was and is to his brothers and entire extended family!! Walker has told me on many occasions....If Joe would not of served a mission....He would probably not served a mission. And I know if  Joe and Walker would not of served a mission....I know for sure Rhett would not be serving now!!

I am thankful for this pioneer in our family!

Mahalo Elder Scheurn!!

Not sure what is around Elder Scheurn's waist in this picture!!

Joe and Rhett have some of the same facial expressions!! They both are hams!! I will have to find some of Walkers pictures too because he has the same expressions as well! I think they all get it from their dad!!

We are thankful for life time friend we have from Joe's mission!!

The "karate kid"!

Joe and Erin have four little "Hawaiian" of their own now!

Poliahu, Kia, Ke'ela and Kapono!

(hope I spelled my grand kids names right)

December 29. 2012

It is confirmed Anziano Nolan Rhett Scheurn's release date is

December 29. 2012!

Tom will be his new companion on this day for the next 10 days or so until the three of us get back from Italy!! 

Anziano N. Rhett Scheurn will be released by President Jay Andersen upon arrival in Gilbert, Azizona!!

I am so exited!!!!!!

Some of my most favorite pictures!!!

In some ways I am sad that Rhett will have to leave this part of his life!!! I am so thankful that Rhett chose to serve a mission. I am also thankful that he has loved his mission and in some ways....I know he will be sad to come home!! Italy will for ever be part of Rhett's life!!

Rhett you mom LOVES you!
I am ever so proud of you my 
sweet boy!!

Fathers Day and.... Birthdays!!!

Just a little behind on some birthdays so I thought I would do a combined post! I think the more grand kids we get this might be the best way!

I will start with these two HANDSOME CUTE boys!!!! 

Vance Turner Cowart turned 7 on May 31! I can't believe this kid is seven! Mima LOVES this boy!! I remember when he was born like it was just a few days ago! He came into this world such a good beautiful baby!! Posey and Ben were living with us at the time.  It was a blessing to be able to give him a bottle at night and snuggle with him before he went to bed, we grew very close and we still are super close! He always has kind words for me!! Vance is one of the sweetest, sensitive boys you will ever meet!!

One of my favorite things Vance says to me all the time is...".Mima can you comb my hair like a missionary"!!!! Vance's favorite sport is baseball!!! Go Giants!!!

Vance, Mima and Pops LOVE you more than you know!!!!! Happy Birthday!!!  

Noah Kia Scheurn!!! 

My Noah boy turned 6 on June 4th!! This boy is a snuggler and yet can be very intense! I love when Noah needs his back and arms tickled! He will just snuggle right in and lift his shirt, this is my favorite time with Noah!! This boy is super competitive! I think he gets this from Pops!! When Noah is tired he will fall asleep sitting straight up! You can see how intense he is in this picture!! This is a good boy too!!

Not sure what Noah's favorite sport is. He loves football but the way he rides legs when he wrestles....Noah could end up being our wrestler!!!

Noah, Pops and Grammy LOVE you!! Happy birthday sweet boy!!

Vance and Noah love to be with each other!! I think they enjoyed sharing their cake together at Mima and Pops house!!!

Lets move to this "hot mess"! This birthday girl is hilarious!! Gweneth Ke'ela Scheurn turned FOUR on June 16th!! Where do I start with her!! I will get to the point...THIS GIRL WILL BE A STAR SOMEDAY!!

Gwen is "take charge Marg" and likes to run the program!! She is the best little sister and the best big sister!!

Gwenie's favorite things to do is DANCE, sing, DANCE, swim, AND DANCE!! I have to say Gwenie stole the show at her dance recital!! Gwenie Pops and Grammy love you so much, Happy Birthday!!

(BTW this girl has Pop wrapped around all his fingers)!! 

Ellie and Lucy, Gwen's cousins came to sing happy birthday to Gwenie!!

In fact all her cousins came to sing Happy Birthday...."CHA-CHA-CHA"!!!! Gwenie loves her cousins!!

Rocking out to HAPPY BIRTHDAY....CHA-CHA-CHA!!!! Mr. Competitive Noah boy trying to blow the candles out before Gwenie can, it looks like!! Look at those cute chub cheeks on Gwenie!! Let me just say that happy birthday cha-cha-cha- get get very loud and some what over the top! 

Happy Fathers Day to Blake, Joe,Walker and Ben!!!

These are the fathers to our grandchildren and we love you all! I can't believe Walker will be a father the end of December! We are so excited for this new baby!!

Tom Scheurn Happy Fathers Day!! I am so VERY thankful to you for the WONDERFUL father you are to our children! You have done so much for all your children in every way! You are the best example EVER! You have taught your children well.... by example! You have taught your sons to work hard! To never quit! I  know Rhett is a great missionary because his dad has taught him to work hard and to give all he can!! I know our boys would rather be with their dad any day over a friend!  They all think you are funny...even when I think you are not! All you children and grand children LOVE you!! One of my most favorite things to do is to just sit and watch your children tease you and laugh with you! I am thankful to have the best father ever for my children!  I know your love is endless for all your children and for this I am so thankful!

What I am most thankful for is my "eternal" companion"!

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about, how blessed I am to be your eternal  companion and sweetheart! I am not sure why I am so blessed but I do know I am so very blessed to have you as a husband.... and father of our children! There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank my Heavenly Father for you! I love and cherish the time we spend alone but.... I am so thankful for your example of service and hard work you give to many and to the Lord! I am thankful for the way you honor your priesthood.

I am thankful for the love and respect you show me, For the big and small things you do for me.. Some of the small things you do for me are actually huge, and I thank you!! I love when you make eye contact with me and just smile as if to say I love you! 

I just want you to know how much I love and adore you, Tom Scheurn!!

You will forever be my sweetheart...

Happy Fathers day!!

 
A little "chicken Fry, by Vance Cowart...enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-EjyJg1eSI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
 

It's A Summer Thing????

When you think of summer you think of a garden, Right?. It has not always been a garden thing for the Schuerns! We have tried and failed!! But in the last several years Tom has now became a FANTASTIC garden boy!! 

Tom actually put more cherry tomatoes in that large ones...Not by choice, but they all have been great!!! He thought he bought the large tomatoes but...They were cherries!!! 

These onions are so good! We make chives with them we use them on salsa and Tom grills them. They are the very best!

We have never had such wonderful cucumbers!! They have been great!! Vance has been staying over at Pops and Mima and he loves to go pick a bowl of cherry tomatoes and then I slice a cucumber and this is one of his favorite lunches!! When ever he blesses the food for dinner he always prays that everyone will eat their vegetables!!

We planted red, yellow, and green bell pepper and they have been delish!!! We took squash and bell peppers to FHE with our young Single Adults last Monday when they made pizzas and they loved having fresh Vegges!!

Now the onions have been out of this world!! I make salsa and I have to say it ROCKS!!! The peppers of all kind have been great!!! Beauties!!! 

So to chicken!! THIS IS NOT A SUMMER THING TO DO!!! Especially when it is 108 degrees out side!! I was running low on my chicken because I pretty much use it for everything! Soups, salads, dips, casseroles  stuffed cheese crisps, enchiladas , sandwiches, soft tacos and the list goes on! I knew I would not make it through the summer with what I had left from the last time I bottled it!!  

Zaycon food was coming through and this is where I always order. 1.89 lbs is a good buy! It comes in a forty pound box! Poesy said she wanted some too so I told her to come help and we would split but....she got busy and did not come to help and I ended up doing all 80 lbs my self!!  

It actually went very smooth!! I think I got it down to a science! 

As I was waiting for the first batch to cook...My visiting teachers came and they asked me why I was playing a Christmas playlist on my iPod!! I explained that I love Christmas music but the real reason why...... I was trying to pretend it was winter outside and cold weather!! Because you should not bottle chicken in the heat of a summer in the middle of the day! By the time you are down you are ringing wet with sweat!!

The finished product!!

AND it is all worth it!!!

Thanks Tom for all the work you do in our garden!

It is one of my favorite things!! 

Love you Tom Scheurn!!

Cruising In Alaska With My Sweetheart! 2012!!

First I just what to say....Best cruise EVER!!!

Tom is a warm weather kind of a guy but this girl is a cold weather kind of our gal!!!

Nothing better than cold crisp air!! The BEAUTY of this cruise is just absolutely gorgeous! 

Cruises are by far our favorite vacations and are always relaxing yet...I always seem to worry as Tom usually ends up scuba diving when we cruise to warm places....and this is always a little stressful for me but there was no where to scuba dive here! All we could do is enjoy the PEACEFUL beautiful surroundings of Alaska as we walked around and toured each port. I have to say  though, my most favorite part of my cruise was having TOM SCHEURN ALL TO MY SELF!!!!!

I know this sounds a little selfish but....I loved being with my sweetheart for TEN days....just the two of us!!

SO FUN!!!!!!!!   

We arrived in Seattle Wednesday, the 23rd of May! We spent the fist two days in Seattle! We had a great hotel  down town! I had never been to Seattle, and Tom has only flown in on his way to ski in Canada. We know for sure two days was not enough time to see all we wanted to see so will for sure go back. The first night we ate at a fancy eatery on the water called Elliot's! The food was ok, but the atmosphere was fantastic!We had rented a car but there is not a lot of parking down town so we did not use the car to much.  Did a little walking up and down some pretty steep hills and was ready to call it a night! Thursday morning we slept in a little. We then got up and hit the day at a run! We walked, shopped and ate and we walked, shopped and ate some more!!! The fish markets and fruit and vegetable stands were something to go see just in them selves!!  The weather was amazing!! We ended the night at Benihana Japanese Restaurant! AND we walked back to the hotel!!! 

Friday morning we managed to go to Nordstroms one more time to find some gloves and a few last minute things!  At 1:00 pm we boarded the ship! I will say it was pretty pain free! Sometimes it takes hours to board going through customs, room assignment ect... It went very smooth! I think one thing that helped, this ship was....It smaller that any other cruise ship we had been on, there was only about 1600 people so I am sure this help!!  We unpacked our suitcases and Tom want to go.....EAT!!!!!!! 

We had a fantastic stateroom on the ship! We departed from Seattle, WA at 4:07 pm!  We went out on our balcony to say goodbye!!!  

Last minute business!!!!\

We were at sea all day Saturday! We had a great day! Being at sea is actually one of my most favorite days of a cruise!!! We read, played cards....We both are champs :), played some backgammon, we both are champs :) and ate! AND we walked stairs! We had some favorite places on the ship and this was one of them, the library. I am telling you this was a slice of heaven!!!! 

Take a GOOD look! You very rarely see Tom Scheurn so relaxed and STILL!!! Did I tell you I adore this  sweet boy!!!

This would be our first so called stop. We entered the "Arm of Tracy" about 1:00 pm Sunday! We had traveled 848 miles since we left Seattle! The temperature was around 46 degrees with a moderate breeze. When we saw the first floating piece of ice we were so excited!!! The glacier was more than impressive and beautiful! 

The ship did hit a few large pieces of ice....And I was thinking....please no "Titanic". Sometimes this area has to much ice so you do not get as close to the glacier. We were not sure how close we would get to this glacier! Again words don't describe the beauty!! 

This picture is from the front of the ship as we leaving the glacier around 5:00pm. Just so fun!!!

As we looked across at this little island by the glacier, we saw two little dots of color! When we zoomed in with the camera we realized someone had set up camp! We are not sure how they got on the island! We saw no boats and it did not look to soft or level to camp but....they were camping!!!

We could see someone in the green tent! The blue iceberg looked like a blueberry shaved ice!!! 

We saw many Bald Eagles!! This one seemed to just keep a close eye on our ship! Never flew away!!

Random pictures from the same day!!

The water looked very deep green, yet the ice was so blue!!

This is the "Mendenhall" glacier from land in Juneau! We hike back a short way to get closer!! 

Mendenhall Galcier!

This pieces of ice looks small but were huge! As I sat out on my balcony....I was praying we would go by it, instead of into it!! PHEW.. barely!!! 

These icebergs were nerve-racking!!

The water falls were just GORGEOUS!!! They were a lot bigger than it looks from here!!

We arrived in Juneau Monday the 28th of May at 7:00 am! It was 49 miles from Tracy Arm to Juneau. We were cleared to disembark shortly there after!! What a great town!! We took a small tour of the town by a man that was born and raised there and he was a wealth of knowledge!! The weather was in the low fifties and forties! 

Again we shopped and walked. Tom would look good in anything...Don't you think? Me not so much! :)

Sitka was our next stop!! We arrived Tuesday May 29 at 7:15 am! It was 213 miles from Juneau to Sitka. This port is the only one that we were tendered into the town, We loved this little town! This would be one I would like to go and spend the summer there, actually I would spend my summer any where in Alaska! This town just had a sweet small town feel! The people were so friendly.

The weather here was warmer. Sitka does not get a lot of snow. It weather is like Seattle! 

(for some reason my camera date is one day off need to fix this.)

New golf hat??? What do you think???? Tulips EVERYWHERE!!!! 

We arrived in Ketchikan Wednesday May 30, 2012 at 7:00am. It was 225 miles Sitka to Ketchikan. The weather was in the 40's. This is when we received the sad news Ken Ellsworth was in an accident, he was on our mind allot as we walked around this cute town!

Ketchikan...LOVED this town! I know I keep saying loved but I love Alaska!! I know, I know I have not spent a winter in Alaska but...I think I must be part Eskimo! Love the cold weather and always have! If  I had to pick white sandy beaches or cold snowy mountains and pine trees....hands down....The cold!!

Had a nice visit with Sarah!! We talked about salmon fishing! She prefers Coho  Salmon!

 We find a cute little Cafe and had some "DELISH" hot chocolate and caught up on a little busines!!!

And did I tell you I love this cute boy!!

Ketchikan is where we bought two cases of different types of Salmon! It was great, we were able to sample them and they shipped both cases home! Yum Yum!!! We left Ketchikan 12:45pm. This was a short amount of time SO...It looks like I will for sure go back to Ketchikan!!!

We sailed the rest of the day and through the night 574 miles, and the next evening we arrived in Victoria, BC close to 8:00 pm. This day at sea I had finished my book and this is when I became the champion card player between Tom and I!! :D)!! He might not agree! We also received the news of Ken passing away! I felt very helpless and sad! We had arrived late due to a big head wind and our time was very short! We did not feel like doing to much. We caught a cab and went quickly into town and ate a nice dinner!!

We walked around quickly and find Darth, listen to him for a while! He could really play the violin!

This is the Parliament building before and after dark! This too was a great town we would like to come back and see! We set sail for Seattle at 12:00 am. 

Victoria to Seattle was only 77 miles and we arrived at about 7:00 am Friday morning! We were cleared to leave to the ship at 9:15 am!

I feel like I should explain this picture! No this is not Tom's suitcase!! Tom gave me this set of luggage years ago and everywhere we go people stop and ask where it came from! Then the next comment is.....I bet you never get your luggage mixed up with anyone!! No I don't!! It is by far the strongest suitcases I have ever owned! They are super light weight and super durable! AND when you are a real man you are ok with pulling them around for your wife!!

And did I tell you how thankful I am for Tom and I love him!!! 

So to sum this post up.....This was my favorite dessert!! Not sure what it was called but let me just say...it was warm and full of dark chocolate!! (it was small not as big as it looks) Actually by Wednesday night I could no longer go to our dinner table! I was just over the food! Tom never got that way! He ate 3 meals a day... along with some extra fruit we bought in Seattle and don't forget the midnight buffets Tom hit! I swear Tom can out eat ANYONE!!! We would barley get done with a little lunch and he would look at me with a smile and would say....I wonder what we will eat for dinner AND what time do you want to eat!!! Just like his Nanna!! It got to be a joke with us! On Saturday when Tom was back at work he text me and said...What is for lunch and then he would text me and ask what is for dinner? He is a  CHOW HOUND!!!!!

And did I tell you he thinks he is so funny and I love him!!!

Tom's favorite clam chowder...mine too! We love clam chowder. It is hard to find some as good as my homemade chowder, but this one for sure was! We found this at a little food stand in Seattle!

 I can't believe how much this vacation was needed!!  We enjoyed every minute of every day! At first I was thinking TEN days!! Are we going to be able to stand each other 24/7 for TEN days!! 

In concluding this post I have to say how thankful I am for such a great husband who planned this vacation many months ago! Who works so hard to provide for our family!! There truly is not  better husband in the world!!....But what I am most thankful for is the  knowledge I have that Tom and I have Eternity to spend together!! 

Tom Scheurn....I LOVE YOU!!!