Our Little "Kioki"


Ok, for about a week now we have been hearing these tiny little cries coming from behind our apartment. On several occations we have even formed a serch bergade looking for the sound. This morning, much to our delight, we finally found where all the noise was coming from. While we were making waffles we started hearing the cry again. We peeked out the window and saw her ( i have decided its a girl). She was curled up next to the fence just whinning a way. She is the cutest little thing ever! We have named her "Kioki" pronounce "Kee-o-Kee" (a hawaiian sounding name we made up") She is still super scared of humans but we are determined to tame her :)




We gave her milk and water (mixed) and she loved it!

MOMENTS:

For all those who have attended school, a lecture, a meeting or anything that involves sitting in one place for a long time, you might relate to this.

My mind feels like its a million miles away. The teacher is speaking but all I hear is a monotone muted noise passing through my ears. I hear the sound of the clock slowly ticking, tick, tick, tick......My back starts to ache due to old stiff plastic chairs, that have been sitting in these tiny musty white walled cells, they call classrooms, for way to long. I am sure my dad sat in these very chairs over 20 years ago. My eyes wonder from wall to wall searching for something anything to entertain my mind for a few seconds. My hand grabs a pen and starts to doodle aimlessly. I catch myself writing "what am I doing?, what am I going to do?Father, what does thou want me to do?" As I write the last question my mind snaps back into reality and my soul starts hungering for answers. Graduation is right around the corner and I am still clueless. I seek for direction, guidance, answers. A job, further education, kids??? The long hand finally hits 12; students grab there packs and head for the door. My thoughts rapidly escape and I carelessly toss my stuff into my pack and follow the crowd to the door. Up next, spanish class.

Cookies

I am totally obsessed with baking, I seriously will spend hours looking on line for top rated new recipes. This recipe is the best sugar cookie recipe ever! I have taken (seriously) hundreds of cookies to our neighbors and ward members, they love them. I also found this killer icing recipe that is the best yet.

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Royal Icing:
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups powdered sugar

Directions: Whip egg whites and lemon juice up until fluffy. Add powdered sugar. Stir really fast. You must use this icing quickly because it hardens. If you want to keep icing store it in an air tight container in the fridge.

The "White Glove"

Yuck, Yuck, and Yuck! How the heck does one little one bedroom apartment get so stinkin dirty? This weekend we had our infamous "white Glove" inspections. Mike and I woke up killer early and cleaned for four straight hours. (talk about a workout) We scrubbed, we wiped, we cleaned every crack and crevice in the house, we cleaned under the fridge and oven (super Yuckness), seriously we cleaned everything.

At eleven our inspector dude came. He seriously walked in, took a quick look around, didn't open or move anything, said good job, gave us a candy bar, and then left. Mike and I were like "what the heck did we clean for?" We seriously laughed so hard cause if we would have know that that's all he was going to do then we would have slept in and enjoyed a leisurely Saturday morning. Well I guess the good think is that our apartment is sparkling clean :) Oh and i am sure that if we would have had a female inspector person then the white gloves would have come out. Gotta love mens' sense of "cleaning inspections" lol



Yucky disgusting rag!

Funny Funny....

Ok, so we don't own a TV so in order to feel somewhat civilized we watch TV episodes off the Internet once a week. The show we started watching last week was Dancing with the Stars. Wow, this show totally sucks me in and in seconds i feel like i am in the audience right there in the action.

So the other night we were doing our ritual Dancing of the Stars episode. After the first performance I raised my hands and gave them a strong applaud, it took me a few seconds to realize that first, I am not really there and they can't hear my appreciation for their dance. Second, the show is a re-run. Third, that wow I am a total geek (Mike was laughing hysterically) for being so sucked in to this tv show that I actually applauded them. Fourth, it's probably a really good thing that we don't have a tv.

This story of two amazing people will give you a new perspective on life. I was told this story and shown this video clip in Relief-Society a couple weeks ago and it moved me to tears. Later that night I showed it to Mike and felt the same overwhelming feelings of gratitude for my Savior. Please read the story and watch the video! I promise you will be glad you did :)

THE STORY:

Rick was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt. As a result of oxygen deprivation to Rick's brain at the time of his birth, Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Dick and Judy were advised to institutionalize Rick because there was no chance of him recovering, and little hope for Rick to live a "normal" life. This was just the beginning of Dick and Judy's quest for Rick's inclusion in community, sports, education and one day, the workplace.

Dick and Judy soon realized that though Rick couldn't walk or speak; he was quite astute and his eyes would follow them around the room. They fought to integrate Rick into the public school system, pushing administrators to see beyond Rick's physical limitations. Dick and Judy would take Rick sledding and swimming, and even taught him the alphabet and basic words, like any other child. After providing concrete evidence of Rick's intellect and ability to learn like everyone else, Dick and Judy needed to find a way to help Rick communicate for himself.

With $5,000 in 1972 and a skilled group of engineers at Tufts University, an interactive computer was built for Rick. This computer consisted of a cursor being used to highlight every letter of the alphabet. Once the letter Rick wanted was highlighted, he was able to select it by just a simple tap with his head against a head piece attached to his wheelchair. When the computer was originally first brought home, Rick surprised everyone with his first words. Instead of saying, "Hi, Mom," or "Hi, Dad," Rick's first "spoken" words were: "Go, Bruins!" The Boston Bruins were in the Stanley Cup finals that season. It was clear from that moment on, that Rick loved sports and followed the game just like anyone else.

In 1975, at the age of 13, Rick was finally admitted into public school. After high school, Rick attended Boston University, and he graduated with a degree in Special Education in 1993. Dick retired in 1995 as a Lt. Colonel from the Air National Guard, after serving his country for 37 years.

The Beginning of Team Hoyt

In the spring of 1977, Rick told his father that he wanted to participate in a 5-mile benefit run for a Lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Far from being a long-distance runner, Dick agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair and they finished all 5 miles, coming in next to last. That night, Rick told his father, "Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped."

This realization was just the beginning of what would become over 1,000 races completed, including marathons, duathlons and triathlons (6 of them being Ironman competitions). Also adding to their list of achievements, Dick and Rick biked and ran across the U.S. in 1992, completing a full 3,735 miles in 45 days.
In a triathlon, Dick will pull Rick in a boat with a bungee cord attached to a vest around his waist and to the front of the boat for the swimming stage. For the biking stage, Rick will ride a special two-seater bicycle, and then Dick will push Rick in his custom made running chair (for the running stage).

Rick was once asked, if he could give his father one thing, what would it be? Rick responded, "The thing I'd most like is for my dad to sit in the chair and I would push him for once."

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