Rhett!

Welcome Baby

Rhett James Auth

Born November 28th at 5:08pm
6lbs 13oz

This is one tough little boy! Despite a long labor (story to come soon), and some complications, he arrived healthy with an Apgar score of 8 out of 10. In the three days after birth he has gained back all but three ounces of his birth weight (it takes most babies two weeks). So, you can guess that he is a good eater. He has big feet and long delicate fingers. He didn't get Timber's uni-brow or the strong brow that Miley got, but he does have a healthy head of dark hair. He is a chill kiddo, only upset when he's wet, hungry, or cold. We shower him with golden love and are so happy he has finally joined us!

Chicken Massacre

When Timber got in the van this morning to go to work, there were two big dogs in the back yard. I exclaimed concern for the chickens and he went tearing down the yard with the horn blazing. The dogs took off, but they had been there for quite awhile having a feathered festival. All six of the chickens are dead. Timber said the scene is so bloody that I won't even go down there to take a look.
We've always thought of the hens as a production line for eggs and manure with an edible end. But their all to quick death really got me down. I felt lost this morning without the purpose of taking Miley in the wagon for our stroll to feed the chickens. Humph.
Timber is trying to sort the situation out with the owner of the dogs. Apparently the dogs aren't ever let out of their yard...but their gate was accidentally left open last night. We feel at ease that we don't need to worry about crazed, chicken eating, feral dogs freely roaming our block seeing as how Miley and mean dogs don't mix. But dam, my heart feels squashed.
Anyone know who we can buy chickens from?

Gift Ideas

For all you mainland shoppers who want to get holiday gifts in the mail soon here are some measurements, ideas, and wishes that may help you shop.

Miley will be 18 months old this Dec. She fits perfect in 18m clothing...but if you want an item to last longer, buy 24m size or bigger. We love dark colored items! Miley is tough on clothing and I can't seem to get stains out of anything (and I feel like I should have stock in Oxy Clean). We like solid colored, elastic shorts because they are easy to match with fun shirts and they are easy to put on. We've only found a few pairs of shoes that work for her. The crocks are the choice shoe for the moment and she's in a 4-5.
Rhett-James will be just newborn this Christmas. We have most everything we need for him.

Here's some fun stuff we could use.

• Wooden stepping stool so Miley can get on the potty and/or wash her hands.
• Kid size chair or chair-table set
• Swing for the almond tree outside
• Easel and/or art supplies
• Books! (we love books)
• Thermometer (the newer roll across the forehead kind)

Family gifts...

• We'd love to have a 4 person tent to take the fam camping. An all mesh body with a sturdy rain fly would be best for our Hawaii weather.
• We could use a new car...although shipping costs from the mainland are quite high.
• We love visitors especially folks who want to babysit and give us a date night.
• Our Craftsman drill's batteries no longer hold a charge. (new batteries or new drill?)
• We don't have some basic tools...pliers, witre cutters...and we definitely don't have the organization (drawers, peg board....) to keep tracke of em.
• Timber loves fudge, t-shirts, and never seems to have a properly working headlamp.
• I'll be newly sans belly and will be working my way back to regular fitting yoga clothing.
• I'll be nursing so nursing tank tops would be awesome!

Clowning Around

Caramel apples.

Good friends.

Red noses.

Live music.

Dancing.

Skirts that twirl.

Chocolate.

Authome.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Harvest

Last weekend we drove up to Waiamea for the HPA Pumpkin Patch festival. It is a complete harvest fest with everything from face painting to pony rides. We met the Lewis family (Mark, Jaime, Betty) and the Wissman family (Brian, Carrie, Mason) and all enjoyed a day tooling around the up-country. It felt like fall in the cooler weather, with all those pumpkins around.

Timber and I laughed our bums off when he put a toy rat by Miley on a hay bail. She furrowed her brow and pointed at it before gently touching it with a very concerned demeanor. When she discovered it was fake, she grabbed as if saying, "This is an ugly toy."

She played ball toss and soccer kick games...but did NOT go into the maze. She looked at the dark tunnel and ran in tears. And daddy thought she would enjoy the haunted house!?!???

Hope you are enjoying this fall. Happy Harvest.

Toddling Around

Nothing new here.

We're just enjoying a dry fall and heading to the beach often.

Miley is such a water girl!

She just has a ball if there is water involved! Here are some photos of our latest outings.

Miley's miles

So Miley is a year and 4 months old.
Here is what she is up to...
Words she says
---Mom----Daddy---Hi--- --Bye-bye---- Go-go-go------ Ohhh
---Cat---- -Cow -----Moo---Woof--------Fish------------Chicken
---Cheese -Please---Baby---Bubble------Betty (her best friend)
---Book ---Guava---Honu---Pool--------Baba (for drink)
Words she signs
---more---eat---up---bye-bye---potty---rain---wind---sleep---fish (she also points)
She loves
-playing "bucking bronco" with dad

-the chickens

-bead necklaces

-to eat. (guava, berries, cheese, salmon, and chicken top the list)

-her blanket. it is a must have for naps and bed time

-twirling and dancing

-Betty Jo. She is an 11 month old friend.

-the book How do I Love You?... and will always turn to the page with the bear.

-looking from side to side in her car seat so much that she gets rats nests in her hair.

-dogs and cats

-to play on mommy and daddy's bed. She'll flop down in the pillows. She takes everything off our night-stands. She'll do downward dog and then roll over summer-salt style.

-swimming! She enjoys pool and ocean time and is getting really good at kicking and moving her arms.

Cluck Cluck

We just bought 6 hens and thier coop/run set up. We love these gals! These ladies are about a year old and are laying eggs like magic. We get an average of five eggs a day.
We came into this chicken raising in the easiest way possible. Our friend Julia just started grad school on Ohau (different island). She had two flocks of hens at her place here on the Big I. Her house sitters didn't need that many eggs, so she decided to sell a flock and their abode to us. It is a portable coup and run: aka chicken tractor. Sounds glam right...well it is mostly just functional. The coup is made a 3'x3'x'4' hut with a set of wheels on one side so we can tilt it and roll it around. It has two nesting boxes and space for the gals to roost at night. The run is 10'x3' pvc and wood structure covered in chicken wire. It is open on the bottom so the gals can peck and scratch. They love to rip up the grass, so we move the thing daily.
We make about 4 trips out to see the gals each day. Partly because Miley LOVES the birds. (Partly because Timber and I love 'em too.) Miley calls them CHEGEE and stubbornly points outside for us to got for a visit.
I'm reading up on chicken care, so hopefully the ladies have a long and productive life here with us.

Summer 2010

This summer was Authome. We had a great time here in Hawaii and then an amazing trip to the mainland.

Here are some highlights.

1. Mike and Sarah's Wedding: July 3rd. Timber was the officiant. I was a bridesmaid. The ceremony and reception were at Unky's farm. I loved the song Nakil played and sang as Sarah walked down the isle...tears. I loved the parasols we gals held. Drinking during the ceremony was a kick (well it would have been if I could've drank). I enjoyed the potluck style dinner. I loved the firecrackers and the power outage (only in Hawaii). Congrats Mike and Sarah many blessings for a life of love together.

2. Colorado Tour with the Ball-Comers. Emily picked us up at Denver International and we drove up into the Rockys near Salida. The drive was so beautiful. Whew, I missed mountains and pine trees. We stayed in a rustic cabin at Bunny Lane with Aaron, Emily and Kyana. Miley and Ky had a blast together. (Almost as much fun as Aaron and Timber had.) We hung with the Ball-Comers for J and T's wedding, at the Peak's house, on the river, and all the way to Mike and Lainie's house. So many good times. We love this family and are stoked to have finally met Ky.

3. Jason and Theresa's wedding. J and T got married in a field by a creek with the chalk cliffs in the background. It was beautiful! Timber was a groomsman so we got to enjoy the rehearsal dinner and more time with the wedding party. I really liked hanging with J's mom Jennifer.

The night of the wedding we upgraded our lodging from the rabbit cabin to the hot spring resort. There were two heated swimming pools that Miley and I lived in for a few hours the day after the wedding (Timber watched World Cup).

Here's shout out to Stormy and Louisa I am so glad they made celeb appearances for the wedding. It was great to meet Louisa! They flew down from Alaska got Louisa's car and were road tripping it back up to Ak to be at work the next week.

4. The Peaks! We spent a couple days with Jeff, Katy, and Huxley at their place in Palisade. We were out of the cold Colorado mountain air and into the HOT, dry, desert. Good thing Jeff kept us busy with events so we couldn't think about our brains frying inside our cabezas.

We shot BB's, wrestled goats, road the swing bike, took wagon rides, fed chickens, ran through sprinklers, admired the dory, ate peaches, adored Huxley...

The Peak's farm house is so cute and their barn was full of toys for our river trip. We borrowed their raft and river board and a plethra of river gear. Thanks friends.

We are grateful they let us use their place as a staging area for the river trip. Everyone showed up at their door to get ready for the riv. (Aaron, Emily and Kyana arrived with us.) Mac and Steph drove in from Jackson Wyoming. Nicole and Greg Bun came up from Moab. Dave Gelber (what the heck was our Hilo friend doing in Western Colorado?) arrived in from Denver. It was quite the party at the Peaks. We feasted on Elk burgers (Mac's huntin' skills) and fresh greens from Katy's garden the night before put in.

5. River Trip! Kip and Katy (newly weds) drove in from the Aspen area and met us at the boat ramp in the morning. After running shuttle and rigging boats, we shoved off for two days on Ruby-Horsethief and a day run of Westwater. This section ofthe Colorado River flows across the border to Colorado and into Southern Utah.

Miley did great on her first riv float. She didn't like the pfd, but tolerated it. She loved tooling around in the eddy at our campsite, Blackrocks. I loved the red sandstone cliffs, the muddy water, and the relaxing flow of life on the river...food for the soul

6. Mike and Nana's Ranch in Norwood CO. We met up with all the West girls and Ry and Mike in the Telluride area. (Aaron and Ky were having such a good time with us that they decided to hang out for this weekend as well. It was great to stretch out every possible moment with them.) Mike and Nana bought their place there..um...about a year and a half ago. It is a quirky house on amazing property up in the clouds. (Just walking around made this sea level gal huff and puff). We enjoyed Mike's birthday and were treated to the Norwood Rodeo. Yee-Haw. Miley pointed to the calves at one point and said "cat".

7. Grandma and Grandpa Auth's. We flew back to LA for some parent pampering. I was in desperate need; I caught a cold that hit hard just as our plane landed. I spent three days napping. I got out of bed just to eat a bit of food, and then back I went. Some guest I am:( to make it worse, I gave the cold to Dick and he was sick for a week after we left.

Miley had a great time with the grands. Dick dug out a stroller from the garage. Timber asked if it was from when Dick was a baby...but it was really just from Timber's tot days. I looked at the rusty thing and thought, "no way is my daughter getting in that thing." Miley promptly climbed up in it and wanted to GO, GO, GO. Turned out being a great stroller! We cruised around the block looking at the flowers. Miley always wanted to stop at the park down the street. FUN! Timber and I enjoyed a date night just the two of us. Yipee for grands baby sitting!

(Dick I need some photos for this post. I don't have any)

8. Milford with the Wests After LA, Timber flew back to the Big I to start the school year. Miley and I headed up to Nor Cal. All of my sisters were at mom's sanctuary. I haven't been there in the summer since Timber and I got married. It was gorgeous. Mom has developed even more of the yard. There is a grape trellis, fire pit, blooming flowers everywhere, and plenty of boulders for Miley's climbing enjoyment. We spent a lot of time outside enjoying summer.

The garden was amazing. Cedar and Mom picked beans every third day. We ate a lot of fresh beans and managed to pickle and can 4 batches of dilly beans. YUM.

Miley loved the dogs and cats at grandma's place. The dog loved her food droppings. I loved that the dog did the "sweep up". I loved being with my sisters and my mom. I really wish we all lived closer to eachother.

So that was our Authome summer. Many thanks to everyone who made our travels so wonderful. We are blessed with and abundance of friends and family.

Pregnant!

We're expecting another kiddo.

We found out last Thursday,

it's a boy.

New baby will join us at the beginning of December. Good thing my mom and Quill are coming to help out Dec 9th. When they leave, Dick and Nancy arrive. Jen and Jared will be here at some point for the holidays. It will be a family filled season as it should be. Yippee.

We're open to help with this little guy's name. Although Joachim doesn't make the cut. Sorry Mom.

Miley and Mason Birthday PARTY

Miley's buddy Mason is just a coupe weeks older that her. So we parent folks decided to celebrate their first birthdays together in one huge party. Carri and Brian (Mason's parents) were a great team. I really don't think we could have pulled it together without them. They did a run to Costco for food. That might not sound like much, but Costco is on the other side of the island. They also came over the day before the party and helped us with yard work, cleaning, decorating, and food prep.

We took a short break to watch our friend Eli climb the coconut tree in the back. He went up so fast, I almost missed the action. He chopped down about 40 coconuts: bombs we were afraid would take out some of our guests. One of those puppies would surely kill ya if they landed on your noggin. We enjoyed the refreshing coconut water from a few nuts before heading back to work. The guests at the party enjoyed choke coconuts. Timber learned a sweet way to chop them open and insert straws for your sipping pleasure. Our friend Sonny, didn't use the machete; he stiled the process with a sharp stick. He could hack into em in a few minutes. The coconuts were a hit!

I stayed up late the night before the party making the cakes. I made Mason and Miley their own little cakes. They were actually sugar free, oil free muffins. I shaped each cake into a personal sized number one. Then I frosted them with yogurt. They were perfect little cakes for the first timers.

Then I made a huge cake for guests. DISASTER! I started with two boxes of cake mix. They didn't even fill the bottom of the pan. Timber and Brian valiantly went to the store to get more. I used four more boxes...and then had too much. The 12x18 inch pan was too big for the batter to bake evenly. The outsides were done but the middle was still a marshland. When it was finally done in the center, there was quite a crust on the outside of the cake. Yuck.

Now, imagine flipping a 12x18 inch cake out of the pan onto cooling racks. Bad image? You're right. Timber helped but the darn thing held tight to the pan and then finally camp out in three large pieces and hundreds of dry crust droppings. At this point (probably 10:00pm) I was still optimistic that a bit of frosting and magic could salvage the thing.

At 1:00am I was less optimistic and almost called Carri and Brian to pick up a cake at KTA in the morning. Somehow, a first birthday fairy dusted me with some magic and we managed to pull the cake together. (Lots and lots of butter cream frosting.) The magic even allowed me to find space in the fridge for the beast cake. I think it turned out fine. Our guests ate it up so quickly neither Timber or I got a piece.

On Saturday morning, we were up early. Brian and Carri hit the store for the keg, ice, and other last minute items. Timber and I were moving tables, putting on table cloths.... When we joined forces, things came together wonderfully. The inflatable pools were set up, balloons were filled, bowls of fruit were prepared, the cakes were decorated... The party came together. When the first guests arrived, we were finishing up, but ready to enjoy the company. The guys had the BBQ ready, there was plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, there was a heap of rice, nachos, and lasagna. YUM!

After a bit of lunch, Miley and I went in the pool. This inflatable pool is the best. It is a whale with a tale for shade, and a spout that sprinkles water when hooked to a hose. She loved it! We splashed and played with other kiddos who joined us. Then daddy turned on the spout and interest was ignited again. There were kids jumping through the sprinkler into the pool. One time, Eli, plowed right into Miley. She came up smiling. She just loves the water. She didn't want to get out, but we had to take her out and warm her up. Her jaw was chattering.

After more playing and enjoying the company, it was time for cake. Mason, however, had a bit of a cold and was taking a nap. He slept forever. So we went ahead and gave Miley her cake. It worked perfectly that there was a small rain shower, so everyone came into the carport. We all sang a powerful "Happy Birthday". Miley loved being the center of attention! She thought the flame from the candle was amazing. She was a bit confused about the cake at first. Then with some help from daddy, she dug in. After a few seconds she decided to forgo her hands. She leaned over mowed the thing. Timber picked the cake up, so we could get a photo and Miley wined with attitude, "Daddy that's MY cake!"

Mason wasn't so sure about his cake. He didn't like all the attention (after waking from a nap and having a bit of a cold, you wouldn't blame him). He had a couple bites, but I don't think he liked the muffin/cake.

We had a wonderful afternoon with friends. A few folks stayed late in the evening to help finish the keg. We are so grateful to Carri and Brian for the team party. We are blessed to have wonderful friends and a cool community for Miley to grow up in.

Miley's first birthday was AUTHOME!

Here's to many more.

(although I don't think we'll have such a big celebration

until she's at least 16.)