aiga sa memea

well, well, well

2011-11-29T14:13:00.001-08:00

Yea, not much has happened to me since I last wrote unless you consider the fact that...

We had baby Fatu at the end of August. Happens to be the same day my little brother was born, some years prior. He, Fatu, was the biggest baby I had at a wopping 8 lbs 13 oz. Ok, so maybe doesn't seem that big to some but to me he was already grown! haha The first day he was lifting his head, he's like a little man inside a baby's body. He is now over 16 lbs and only 3 months old. I tell ya, I see little newborns and I don't remember him being that small...oh, wait, he wasn't! My brother, the same who shares his birthday with Fatu, and his wife recently had a baby. She weighed in at 6 lbs something oz. Tiny, Tiny, especially by Fatu's standards! But, all is well...he is healthy and just as handsome as can be!

My Dad passed away recently...on Nov 17. It was difficult as imagined but I seem to be taking it a little better than I expected. He was diagnosed with Liver Cancer in June and had no symptoms. My mom was still in Texas and he was still in Atlanta so I went with him to his oncologist appointments to see what can be done. He decided to do radiation at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, where my oldest brother happens to work as the Head of the Cancer Center. He did the radiation the week before I had Fatu and everything seemed to be going ok. He was then released from his calling at church as a counselor in the Branch Presidency of a Vietnamese Branch at the end of Sept. In October, we found out that the cancer had grown into his lungs. It moved fast and he fought hard. He waited long enough for most of us kids to get to him to say our last goodbyes. He will be missed but I know that we will be together again and that is what gives me strength.

BOY OH BOY! It's a...

2011-07-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we found out what we are having a while ago but things are so crazy that I haven't posted anything about it. We are going to have a BOY! Can you tell I'm excited!? We would have been happy with either a boy or a girl but this way William will have a brother! And with the new house, the girls will have their room and the boys in a room of their own! William is so happy to finally have a room where he doesn't have to share with the girls!!!

We are loving our new house! We moved in at the beginning of June and still in the phase of getting the house in order. Most of what we have is unpacked with the exception of some things that I just don't know what to do with right now. We are slowly meeting our neighbors...the ones we have met so far though are great...and there are kids to play with, which is fantastic! We shall see how the rest of the summer goes! We only have about 3 weeks since school starts on August 4! Early? Yea, it sure seems like that to me too!

long time no see!

2011-04-02T12:00:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been a long time since I put anything on here. Not sure if anyone even wants to read it since it is so unpredictable as to when there will be a post...and what it might say.
There has been a couple of pretty big things that happened to us these last few months.

1. We found out in December that we are expecting another little one into our crazy little family! We are so happy and the kids are really excited to have a little brother or sister! We have yet to find out what we are going to have but will be happy with either a boy or a girl!

2. We just bought our first house! Yea, crazy I know, but we found a great house for a great price and are extremely happy to finally have a place that is ours! It's only been a few days since we closed on the house and have a little bit of work to do before we can move in...change out the carpet, paint, appliances, and put in some new pipes that someone decided to steal (good thing it was only the exposed pipes down in the basement)!! Plus we don't want to transfer Krisalyn with only a month and a half of school left. S0, even though it is ours...the reality probably won't set in until the end of May when we actually move in!

Yea, pretty exciting things happening! Hopefully I will start posting more regularly to update on everyone and everything for those who are interested.

First day of Kindergarten

2010-08-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

Krisalyn started Kindergarten today! We were both extremely excited. I thought that maybe I would tear up a little but to my surprise there was not even the urge to do so! I was so excited for her that you would think it was my first day of school! I couldn't sleep last night and I seemed to wake up every hour to check the clock just to make sure I didn't miss the alarm and make her late! I had the alarm on for 6 am...Ioelu called around 5:30 and said he was on his way home (he got off early to go with us!) I went to ask Krisalyn if she was awake. When she realized what day it was, she jumped out of bed and ran to the shower! I hope this excitement for school lasts! Here are some pictures of Krisalyn's first day!

Ready to go to school!

Her Teacher, Mrs. Shaikh!!!

with mommy

with daddy

kiddos

2010-08-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

Krisalyn lost her first tooth!
Since the picture, she has lost 3 more!

Oh, how they love each other!

Shaka!

Cheeky kids!

I have such cute kids! I know, I am biased!

Exciting weekend

2010-06-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

I have been so terrible keeping up with this blog! It seems like every time I try to start a post, I get interrupted and then I just forget what it is I was going to put up! All well, I guess I'll just tell you what's been up lately. I can't find any pictures from the beginning of this year and now our camera is gone so can't put up any recent pictures!
So last weekend was our 7 year anniversary! We had been trying to plan to do something great since Ioelu works for Delta and had even gotten that week off! To make it easier on my parents we had reduced our week trip down to the weekend...hoping we can take a weekend trip to Hawaii and make it back for Fathers Day! Yea, that didn't happen...my mom wasn't able to make it down that weekend and so we decided to take the kids with us to Hawaii. They were so happy to see their cousins and the beach! It was good to see great friends and family! Our time in Hawaii was wonderful! It was getting back that wasn't much fun! We got to Hawaii on Wednesday night...being delayed in Atlanta for 4 hours because of a mechanical problem...who would have a problem with that though, because I would rather fly in a plane that is safe rather than one that has a problem no matter how small they say it is. We had fun Thursday and Friday visiting with family and friends...Saturday spent the morning at Swap meet and tried to get on the 4 oclock plane back to Georgia. Didn't make it...ok, that's part of the game you play flying standby. We made it on a flight to Portland...spent Sunday in the Portland airport...flew to New York that got in at 6:30 Monday morning and happened to get on a flight to Atlanta at 11:00 am...that's where things got even more crazy! Everyone was boarded on the plane and ready to go when we hear someone yelling, "NO don't do that...don't close it!" only to find out that one of the flight attendants locked the arm of the door before closing it and deflated the emergency slide! Yea, great fun! We were all de-boarded and told that the flight was delayed until 1 pm. OK, that's fine. Then we hear on the intercom that all those on that flight need to report to the gate...only to find out that the flight is now going out of La Guardia instead of JFK and those who are flying stand by have to find another fight home. To make matters worse..the agents at the gate were not willing to help us! Oh yea, I was not happy...two days in three different airports with three kids who didn't understand why we couldn't get home. So we finally made it on a flight and got seated when Ioelu asked if I had the camera! During the time at JFK airport I lost the camera and have no clue where it could have been. That was the icing on the cake! We had so many great memories on that camera with so many great friends! The last picture we had on there was one taken while we were boarding the flight from Portland to JFK...the pilots let the kids sit in the cock pit and take a picture with one of them. I thought it was awesome and was excited to post in on here but alas...it is gone and most likely we will not be getting it back but who knows, maybe it's just lost in the lost and found!!! It was a fun filled weekend in which we spent most of our anniversary and all of Fathers Day in airports! Oh, the joy! I cannot really complain about standby because it is a lot better than paying a full price ticket! It is now an experience we can look back on and say...all well, better luck next time...and at least we made it home in one piece!!!

gotcha some updates...

2010-04-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

...FROM DECEMBER. These are some pictures I found so far. I have no clue where the pictures are from the beginning of the year! So you are stuck back in December with me at the moment.

Me and Ioelu at Stone Mountain

The kiddos on top of Stone Mountain.
When I told Krisalyn we were going to Stone Mountain she asked what it was. My response...a big rock! She wasn't too excited but once she got there it was alot more fun than just a big rock!

Krisalyn and Kyra getting ready for their movie debut! We recorded them for our Ward Christmas video. They wanted each family to make a video of them singing a Christmas song. Can you guess what song they are singing?

Mele Kalikimaka...is the thing to say!

Christmas Morning! YAY!

Well, that's all I have for you at the moment. Enjoy the short update from 5 months ago!

Sorry for the delay...

2010-04-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry for all you who check this thing. I have been lazy in my updating but I'm going to try to update with pictures so bare with me! It is coming soon, promise!

Family Photos

2009-12-13T20:11:00.001-08:00

Ok, so the last time we took "professional" family pictures was when Kyra was about a month old...yea, I know! Well, there is a lady in our ward who is going to school for photography and I asked if she needed any models. A couple weeks later, she ran up to me and said that she had time, so we got with her last Wednesday for some pics. I had no idea where to go to get some good ones but luckly she knows her way around better than I do. She found this really cool University that looks like castle walls. This place was so great! I was so excited to be getting the pictures done and she did a great job with what she was working with! The kids were definitly a handful and did not cooporate but she got some good shots. So here they are.

Daddy and his girls
like father...like son

The girls

Sisters!

Yea, I think this one is going to be our Christmas card!

Not quite sure, though!

Love this picture of the little man!

So, if anyone would like a Chrismas card just send your address...and I'll try to pick a good picture! (and when I say good, I mean one that I think I look alright in!!!! We are our own worse critic...right!?)

Best Friends

2009-12-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

Last week we took a couple days to drive over to South Carolina. It was a long drive but a lot of fun! We went to go see a couple friends, Misi and Jenny, that we knew from BYU Hawaii. Krisalyn and their daughter are like best friends. They were born only a week apart and up until they moved from Hawaii, they played a lot together. Now we live about 5 hours away and decided it was about time for a road trip! If you didn't know any better, you wouldn't think that Krisalyn and Oceana had been apart for three years! They played every minute of the day together! It was nice to see such great friends together again! Kyra and William were not alone...well, Kyra mainly. They do have another daughter, Aaryah, who is between William and Kyra, so they weren't too lonely! I think William, though, was really getting tired of all the estrogen in the house! He wanted to do everything that Daddy and Uncle Misi were doing, especially eat with the big boys! At one point, Ioelu was singing and drumming so they can dance the Poly dances. They did the Tahitian hip shakin, the Maori tongue stickin' out, and Pearly Shells! They had so much fun! It was great to see old friends...hopefully we can do it again soon!

As promised...

2009-12-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

...pictures from our adventures a few weeks ago. William wasn't feeling too well from cutting more teeth, so he wasn't his typical, running around getting into everything, self! He kept the backpack on pretty much the whole time and kept his hand in his pocket! It was so funny! When we went to get the photo with Santa, William refused to get on his lap and we were only allowed to take one picture with our camera. All well!

what's been going on...

2009-11-23T12:49:00.000-08:00

Just want to start off by tell those few of you who read this...Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband, who will do anything to ensure my happiness, who loves me so much even when I know that I get on his nerves. A man who tells me I'm beautiful no matter what time of the day it is...or what day for that matter! A man who supports me in whatever I want to do and wants me to follow my dreams. A man who is such a great father to our children and loves them so much. I am blessed with three beautiful children, who at times can be terrors but I love with all my heart...and great friends, who know me and like me anyways!! You guys are great!

I got back from Trinidad last week. Yea, it was an exciting trip. My best friend got married to a guy from there. It is an interesting story of how they met...long story short, she went to visit her parents who were serving a mission, met this man and was smitten! So, they were married in Trinidad and went on to the Dominican Republic to be sealed. I wasn't able to go to her sealing but was able to go to the civil wedding. I was looking at pictures of her that her sister posted from the temple on facebook and let me just she was radiant! She has always been beautiful but that day she was beaming! Brides always have that glow to them when they get married but there is definitely a different glow when you come out of the temple after being sealed to your eternal companion.
Trinidad wedding.
Sealing in Dominican Republic temple

My main purpose in going to Trinidad was, of course, the wedding but we did get to go to Fort George the next day, before we had to get back on the plane. Fort George is a pretty cool historical site. It looks over the city of Port of Spain and was initially built in the 1800's to for protection but was never used. On a clear day, you can look out and see Venezuela on the horizon, since it's only like nine miles out.
When I got back...yep, that's right, I went all by myself. Aah, it was a nice break but I was happy to be home with my man...and the kids.

Later that week, Ioelu, the kids and I ventured out to see the Delta museum. It was pretty fun...and free, which makes it even better! We got to see some of the planes that Delta use to fly. It was pretty cool. We then went on to the mall where we found Santa (I didn't know he would be there so early) a cool little train that we could ride and the carosell that the kids love! It was a great day!

I'll be putting up pictures of our adventures soon.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

It really sucks not having a camera...but luckily, my dad has his and let us borrow it for trick or treating. This year, trick or treating was ok. We miss going out with our friends to trick or treat. Up until last year, we did our Halloweens in Laie with such wonderful friends. There is nothing quite like the Trick or Treating on Moana and Ioesepa Street. Last year we spent Halloween with a great family, the Churchwells, and had a blast. It is so much fun to share the spooky holiday with friends. This year, although it was just our little family, it was still fun. Our ward did their trunk or treating on Friday and the girls were so excited! It was good, and the kids, got a lot of candy. Luckily, we didn't have to buy candy for Halloween night trick or theaters. We handed out the candy kids got from the trunk or treat! (just don't tell the kids! hahaha) It really didn't matter much because they received plenty of candy that I don't know what to do with!
So, here are some pictures of the kids in their costumes.

The Rose Princess

The butterfly Princess...with out the wings

Roarrrrr...the little dragon! When people would ask him what he was, he would say "ROAR"...so cute!

My little posers!

Trick or treat!

Ioelu dressed up for work on Friday and is awaiting the results of the contest they had. He won the morning shift and now the supervisors have to figure out who it is going to be.

This has nothing to do with Halloween but I think it's pretty funny...in a good way. I visit teach a couple of great women. I was talking with one of them, with her husband, trying to figure out a good time to go and see her. As we were talking, I pointed out Ioelu. Her husband got so excited and said something like "Your married to that really cool guy that wears that skirt thing" Yep, that's me! He was telling me that ever since he saw Ioelu in one he wanted one. So, last week, Ioelu gave him one of his and they wore them to church on Sunday. I missed it, due to a couple kids being sick, but they came over to take a picture of the two in their lavalava's. Ioelu said it was pretty funny at church because now, instead of everyone looking at him, they are now looking at the other guy. Funny! I think he can handle it!

I'm proud to be an American...

2009-10-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Ioelu officially became an American Citizen! Can I get a CHEEEEEEEEE HOOOOOOOOOO!!! It was so great to finally have everything done! No more applications...no more money...no more waiting! We had problems in the past with immigration taking their sweet time through the process, sending the wrong information to us (which of course, freaked us out trying to figure out what to do) but in the end it all worked out! I am so proud of him. He is such a great man. A loving father and a wonderful husband.

Ioelu and I got to the immigration office for his 7:45am interview and test. The ceremony was not going to be until 2:00 pm, which was great because we were able to pick up the kids and my dad for the ceremony. Even though the kids didn't really understand what was going on, I thought it was great to have them there to share in his moment.

Unfortunately, we still don't have a camera, but I had my phone and took some pictures from the ceremony. Now, I just need to figure out how to put them onto the computer!! So, in the mean time, you all get to enjoy pictures of when Ioelu went to D.C. with a group from school.

Even with so much corruption and terrible things going on, we are so blessed to live in the United States. We have so many opportunities. I cannot even begin to express my love for Ioelu and all that he does to provide for us.

During the ceremony, they played a few videos and one of them was this song. I absolutely love this song. It is definitely one of my favorites, the words really touch my heart. It is just a beautiful song and I get choked up when I hear it. I am so proud to be an American! I know most if not all of you have heard it but I wanted to share it anyways.

The other things that are going on in our life...let's see.

1. We heard back from Samoa last week and was told that they found Ioelu's brother and family alive and safe. Now, the only problem is that one of the brothers who went looking for them is now in the hospital with a terrible swelling in one of his legs.

2. Ioelu is now working full time! He is relieved and I am, again, so proud of him, and blessed to have him in my life.

3. My dad is now home from the hospital. For those of you who don't know, he was in the hospital for a couple weeks because of a staph infection he had in his legs. It was terrible. He couldn't get up and walk for a good portion of the time he was in the hospital. When he was finally able to walk with out too much pain medication, he was transferred to a rehabilitation center/nursing home to finish recovering and work with a physical therapist. That was the worse thing that could happen. He was only there for about 3 maybe 4 days and got very depressed. It was just a terrible place to be. Needless to say, his doctor approved him to come home and finish his medication. It is a great relief to be here and have someone to care for him as he is recovering.

4. I am going to be going to Trinidad next month. Yea, I am pretty excited. It is not going to be along trip but a trip none the less! One of my very best friends is going to be getting married there and of course, I am in the wedding! hehehehe! She met him while visiting her parents who were serving a mission there, and now, they are ready to tie the knot! I really hope all works out for them and they are as happy as Ioelu and I are! I really want the best for her and hope that this guy is worthy of her! She is such a wonderful woman and deserves the very best in a husband! I have never met the man, but I am sure she chose a worthy man deserving of her love!!

5. The kids are growing tons and getting into everything! As much as I love them, those child safety locks and everything else do not work! We have a gate leading into the kitchen, which the kids climb over, making it pointless to even put it up anymore. The "child lock" that I have on the cupboard doors under the sink doesn't seem to work especially when little William likes to play with the door. They are constantly getting into the fridge and so far there has been at least 2 gallons of milk spilled on the floor. No not all at once, it was more like a half a gallon at a time! I try to clean it up as best as I can but let me tell ya, milk on carpet is not the best smell in the world! Me, being the perfect mom that I am, tells my kids that is it is ok...YEA RIGHT! Ok, so I'm not the perfect mom that I had hoped to be when I had kids, and I will definitely admit that I had lost it...more than once! But that is another reason that I am so blessed to have Ioelu. When I am at my wits end, he is there with the gentle reasoning, and vice versa!
I do have really great kids. Even though there are those times that I am pulling my hair out because of what they did, I love them so much and cannot even imagine my life without them!
Which reminds me of something that Krisalyn had asked me on Sunday. She was looking at a magazine, showed me a picture of a beautiful woman and this is the conversation that we had.
her: "Mommy, why didn't daddy marry her?"
me: "Well, because he married me."
her: "Why didn't you marry the guy who asked you?"
me: "Daddy did ask me."
her: "No, the other guy."
me: "Well, if I married him, than you wouldn't be here."
her: "But, he should have married her because she is beautiful and has a beautiful necklace."
me: "What about me?"
her: "You have beautiful earrings."
and before I can say anything else she says, "I love you Mommy."
OH, the joys of parenting!!!

Mixed Emotions

2009-10-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

September 29, 2009 was a day of mixed emotions for me.

On the one end of the spectrum, as many of you know, was the tsunami that hit the islands of Samoa and American Samoa, along with others. What a tragedy for those living there! My heart goes out to the families who were affected by this disaster. Many people lost loved ones, their homes, and their belongings. As I looked at pictures posted on the internet, it makes me so sad seeing the people that I love so devastated. I look at the pictures of the mothers carrying their children who have died into the morgue and I can only imagine how much their heart aches having to bury their children so young! We found out that most of Ioelu's immediate family is ok, but he has an older brother who lived in a village that was hit hard. The village was leveled and we have no idea where his brother, his wife, or his five kids are. They lived very close to the beach and right now the only speculation we have is that they were washed out to sea. And if that is the case, may they rest in peace and wait until we meet again! I am so blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints! The knowledge of what happens after we leave this life and that families are forever has really gotten us through this terrible tragedy.

ON the other end of the spectrum, Krisalyn turned 5 years old. I really can't believe I have a 5 year old. No, she is not in school yet which I know she is a little bummed about, but next year she will have her chance to finally go to school! That will be very crazy for me...I know! Anyway, we had her birthday party last Friday and she had such a good time. She had a butterfly theme party and I really tried to keep it low budget, so I made the cake a pinata. I got most of the things we needed from the dollar store, and found these cute butterfly nets on clearance at Tuesday Mornings, that I used for the goody bags. I took pictures of everything except the goody bags...unfortunately I didn't have enough for my kids to get one, so I can't really recreate it...all well, just believe me when I say that they were cute! Here are some pictures of the party.

Thinking back when...

2009-08-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

Well, we don't have a camera. I have no clue where it could have gone to. I mean, the house isn't that big, and I always forget to take it with me when we go somewhere, so it has to be somewhere at the house, right?! It has been gone for a few months now...and although I don't take as many pictures of the kids as I should, I miss taking the few that I do!
I haven't really updated on the kids for a while so I thought it might be about time. The time has just flown by since each one was born.

THEN

NOW

Krisalyn

Smart
beautiful
full of excitement
very caring
wants to know everything
loves to dance
loves to dress up
loves being the big sister...most of the time
Loves her Pierre Bear

THEN

NOW

Kyra

very funny
beautiful
smart
loves to dance
loves to tell jokes
loves to have fun
loves to laugh
loves her horses
loves her big sister and little brother

THEN

NOW

William

Momma's boy
Loves to tickle
handsome
loves his cars
loves bananas...or anything else ;-)
loves to tackle
loves to run
Loves his sisters

I don't remember if I posted it or not but I think it is absolutely beautiful of Krisalyn and Kyra.

I like this one because of Williams expression...priceless!

Can you tell what song they are singing?! :-)

Just a quick note...Ioelu started a blog, in case anyone was interested.

What's on my mind...

2009-07-30T06:50:00.000-07:00

Seriously, there is so much on my mind! I don't care very much for politics but what has been going on lately has really been bothering me. I was visiting one of my very best friends a few weeks ago and we started talking about citizenship. She is about to marry a man from Trinidad...and she knows, obviously, about Ioelu and his immigration status. Well, as we were talking, her aunt jumped in and was talking about her son-in-law and how he had been in the US for something like 26 years. She mentioned that the immigration office had told him that when he took his citizenship test, it would be in Spanish. Well, he went to take it and lo and behold, it was in English so he failed it. She was so upset on the fact that it was immigrations fault that he didn't pass! It took all that I had to hold my tongue and not tell her that it was his own fault. 26 years living in the United States, you would think that the guy would learn enough English to pass the test!

The other issue I have is this whole racial thing going on about the cop that arrested the Harvard Professor. Come on people...he was doing his job! The guy didn't get arrested because he was black, or because he was breaking into his own house...he got arrested for disorderly conduct, which is a legitimate reason no matter what color you are! And for Obama to be so quick to judge this police officer without knowing all the facts! "Racism is still a big issue in America" REALLY? Maybe it's because people can't stop bringing it up! To people like Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton, it is a very huge issue! Why is that? I can't stand the way they just assume that everything that happens is based on race. People who do something wrong deserve to be punished...that's the way it goes...and in the words of Michael Jackson, "It don't matter if you black or white" or at least it shouldn't. This country will never be free from racism until we, the people who live here, stop letting it be in issue! We need to grow up and treat everyone with respect. We are all here for the same reason! We all make mistakes and need to stop putting the blame on other people...people, who despite what some think, are just like us, equal in our rights as human beings.

What do you think?

2009-07-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally decided to do this and I'm not sure what I think. I had no idea what I was doing or how to get it onto the blog so I had it done like 7 times. I did it 3 times for William and each time the percentage would come out different. The first one was looking 4% more like me, then 3% more like Ioelu, then 100% equal. Maybe I should have used the same picture on all of them! All well, close enough!

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Roots - Dynasty

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Free genealogy search - Vintage photographs

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family genealogy - Genealogy search

Happy Anniversary...Delayed!

2009-07-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

So, last month was our 6 year anniversary! YEY! I wonder how many people thought it would last?! I did! haha We are still going strong! :-) Well, I wanted to reminisce a little bit of the past so I posted some pictures.

Ahhh! Our first date. Yep, the '02 Fall Ball. Back then, I seriously didn't think that anything would happen between us but as fate would have it...that was the first night of forever!

This is one of the few that we have while we were dating. (Any of you remember those bright puletasis we wore that year ('02) for Cultural Night!?) I am not one of those who take pictures all the time, although there are times that I regret that fact. This was taken on the weekend my parents came over to have the "can I marry your daughter" chat. You know what I'm talking about! That was a definite must in my book! Although he denies it...Ioelu was so nervous! All went well though!

Taken by one of my wonderful sisters, I think this is a beautiful picture and I just wanted to share!

For our anniversary this year we wanted to do something spectacular... Yea, I know, it was only our 6th anniversary but still. We left the kids for the weekend with my parents and headed over to Arizona! Yea, some of you may not think that that was anything spectacular but for us it was. We got to see some great friends from Hawaii that we haven't seen in a long time. Some of whom were moving to New Zealand the following week. Moa and Netta, you guys are great! Thanks for letting us spend some time with you and your kids! Monica! It was so great seeing you! Your kids are beautiful and I hope to come and visit you again soon!

Since this is in honor of our anniversary...I wanted to write a little dedication to the man I share my life with! Many times he asks me why I married him, as I'm sure many of us ask our spouse the same question...maybe for reassurance, justification, or just wanting to be reminded. And many times I just tell him because "I love you". It is very hard for me to say what I am feeling...I get way too emotional and because I'm unsure how the other person will respond...although the second reason isn't really the case with Ioelu. So, I want to tell him some of the reasons why I love him so much.

He can always make me laugh!
He dances super fly! ;-)
He is super duper hot!
He loves me no matter what I say or what I look like!
He is a very hard worker and wants so much to provide everything for me and his kids.
He is there for me when everyone else seems to turn away!
He is so patient with me and all my foolishness!
He helps me become a better person!
He is my best friend!
He honors the Priesthood that he holds!

These are just a few qualities that I love about the man I chose to live forever with, and some may be a little superficial, but you gotta be attracted to the man you wake up next to every morning, right!? Anyway, I am not an elloquent speaker...I don't really know how to put my feelings into words, so I tend to wrap up my feelings in a simple phrase..."Because I LOVE YOU!"

I love him with all my heart! I can't even begin to imagine what my life would be like with out him, and frankly I don't want to! I am so blessed to have a man who can go with me to the temple! A man who is a worthy Priesthood holder! A man who is such a wonderful Husband, Father and Friend! So, Here's to my man and to the rest of our life together!

Is that the President?

2009-05-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

The other day I was on the internet and Krisalyn saw a picture of President Obama and asked me who he was. So I told her that he was the President of the United States. Here's the conversation I had with her.

K: "Mommy, who is that man?"
Me: "Well, that is President Obama, he is the President of the United States."
K: "Oh, I thought President Monson was the President."
Me: "President Monson is the President of the Church, President Obama is the President of the United States, where we live."
K: "Oh."

So, today at church we were sitting in Sacrament meeting and she turned to me, pointing to an African guy who was going to sit down with his family and asked, "Is that the President?" Of course I told her, "Yes, you should go shake his hand!" Just kidding, although that would have been funny, I just told her no.

3...going on 30

2009-04-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

Warning: This is probably going to be pretty boring...it's pretty much a play by play of our last two days!
Let's see...where to begin. The past couple days were two celebrations rolled up in one...well, sort of. Monday was my birthday...good ol' 30! What am I going to do...I am now in my 3rd decade of existence, and hope there are many more decades to come! The day started out to be just another ordinary day. I cleaned the house, got the kids ready to go to the mall to ride the carissel (ok, so that doesn't happen everyday...but you get the picture) and take Kyra to pick out a birthday gift. Tuesday was Kyras birthday and since Ioelu had Monday off, we decided to take her to Build-a-Bear and have her pick out her own bear (a pink one she named Princess Bear). She really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we met up with my parents at the Cheesecake Factory and had some yummy food! We finally got the kids to sleep and Ioelu and I headed out to see a movie. We went to see Duplicity...which, in my opinion, was a waste of $20. Because Kyra's birthday was on Tuesday, I wanted to do something special for her 3 birthday. We just had a little family party. We played Princess bingo, had some cake and ice cream, watched as she opened her gifts and laughed as she would hug each one and say how much she loved it. The only gift she didn't hug was an outfit she got from Grandma...she opened it, slid it across the table to Ioelu and asked for the next one! She is such a funny girl! Yea, I know toys are more important to her at this age but she is going to look so cute in those clothes!

Funny things said...

2009-04-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

Krisalyn says the funniest things. I really need to start writing them down! Here are a few things that she said...

One night we were sitting at dinner with my dad and Krisalyn was saying how she wanted to be a grown-up already, but that she didn't want to be "old, old, old, old, old like Grandpa!"

Last night at dinner I asked her if she knew whose birthday it was tomorrow. She guessed everyone except me, so finally Ioelu told her it was mine and said I was going to be old. "Yep," I said, "I'm going to be old, old, old." So I look at her and she starts crying! Of course, I ask her why she is crying and she just says, "I don't want you to be old old old!"

Today at breakfast she asks "Mommy, can you make a cake for your birthday today?"
"I don't want to make my birthday cake" I said.
"But, everybody else can eat it!" She replied.

Fresno

2009-03-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we went over to Fresno to see Ioelu's sister, Lila, and her cute family! We were only there for the weekend, but we had a lot of fun! I loved hanging out with Lila and the kids and getting to know her a lot better. They have been waiting for us to finally make it over so they can bless their son, Talaitoa. He is a handsome little one! He's got the cutest dimples! We also got to meet their daughter, Arieta! She is beautiful! Krisalyn and Kyra had so much fun playing with her while we were there! We all miss them and hope to be able to see them again soon! Here are some pictures from our trip.

Baby Talaitoa

Ioelu and the kids at the park!

This was one of the few I could

get of him!

I love this picture of Kyra!

The girls...ALOHA

Krislayn loved climbing the tree.

The cutest kids ever! OK, so I'm biased!
What parent isn't! ;-)

William had so much fun at the park, he

found his own way up to the slide!

Ioelu with his niece and nephew the night we got to Fresno.
Poor guy, he was at the SLC Airport all day with the
girls until he could catch a flight to Fresno. He had me
and William go on the earlier flight. Oh, the joys of flying standby!
Not complaining though! We made it there!

The girls, the night we got to Fresno!

Krisalyn and Talaitoa!

WHAT THE HECK!

2009-03-05T13:35:00.000-08:00

As much as I love this country...I am definitely not liking the people who make the laws! Most people know that I am not married to an American citizen. We spent mega bucks to get him his Permanent Residency and we have just filed for his citizenship. NOW, I hear about this Amnesty Bill that is going through Congress...AGAIN...which is going to have us, the American taxpayers, paying for illegal immigrants to live here, like we don't already. But it gets better! If this is passed, illegal immigrants will get their citizenship within 24 hours, not have to pay back taxes, and qualify for the earned income credit! We are also going to have to pay for immigration lawyers! Gang members who are not citizens will get their citizenship within 24 hours, as long as they say that they won't be involved in the gang! ("Ok, I promise I won't have anything to do with my gang, sucker!!) Are you kidding me! What is this all about! I have no problem with people wanting to come to America! Come, WELCOME! This country was a refuge for immigrants, and still is! But, I just want everyone to be treated right...especially those who are doing it legally! You can bet that if this bill passes, I am going to fight! Demand for the hundreds of dollars that were spent to legally have my husband, and others, live and work in America! Is Congress really that dumb!? Seriously, I wonder how much they are getting paid off to pass this bill. That's the only way I can see this getting passed because as we all know, it's all about the money! I know not all of those who work for us in government are this crazy! But again, if this is passed, in all it's stupidity, I will go down fighting, because it just isn't right!

Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-02-24T19:35:00.000-08:00

This skirt is so cute! Seriously what little girl would not love to twirl in this! There is a giveaway happening for one of these. Here is the link if any of you want to enter. Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!! There is also a link on the blog of how to make it for those of us who may be unlucky to win!

family pictures

2009-02-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of pictures of us. We finally were able to get some family pictures.
Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE ONE!

2009-01-29T12:48:00.000-08:00

Our little William turned one on the 18 of January. I can't believe it's already been a year. He has grown so fast so quick. He has been such a great addition to our little family. His sisters absolutely adore him. He is such a happy little boy and we are so blessed. We love you little one! Here are some pictures of him throughout the year (it was hard to choose so there are quite a few!:-}).

Someday...

2009-01-16T03:35:00.000-08:00

Someday, I will take my wonderful husband with me and visit the rest of the United States. I have to at least do that before I travel the world...right?! So since I really don't have anything to post right now since I've been up all night, all of you who read this get to see all of the states I've been to. I've noticed that it's mainly the southern and western states, and alot of them I have only driven though...like Kansas. No offense to Kansas or the people who live there but it kind of sucks to have to pay to drive through the state. You would think that if there were going to be a toll to get into Kansas and a toll to get out that there would be something to see other than grass and cows!! hahaha Well, I guess they have to eat somewhere!

visited 21 states (42%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or try another Douwe Osinga project

FUNNY!

2009-01-09T22:54:00.001-08:00

This is for all of those men who do not want to be in the 'dog house'!
I found this and I thought it was hilarious! I have never seen it before and for those of you who haven't either...I hope you like it.

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/videoPage.aspx

Healthy Competition?

2009-01-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and proud to be but the competition among members is getting WAY out of hand. There is even a comedy movie about 'Mormons' and their basketball. There seems to be a competition about everything...clothes, hair, money, boys, games...and it is ridiculous! This has been on my mind for quit a while but it hasn't been until recently that it's really bothered me. There's the Turkey Bowl tradition in the church on every Thanksgiving. It seems like every ward participates in a Turkey Bowl. Well, this year was the first year that Ioelu had participated. We just moved here to Georgia and he wanted to make some friends in the ward. Yea, I don't think that really happened. Why? Because they are too freakin' competitive! Ioelu doesn't play football...doesn't really know how...so he just did what the team told him to do...sack the qb! Well, the Quarter Back wasn't happy and changed positions to block Ioelu. He started getting agressive and so instead of just touch football, Ioelu tackled him. He really wasn't happy with that and stormed off the field saying a few choice words. Ioelu went to go talk to him and apologize, telling this guy that he (Ioelu) was getting too caught up in the game. The guy told him that it's ok because he didn't know that he had a pulled hamstring! OK, correct me if I'm wrong...and I could be wrong...but I thought if you had a pulled hamstring then you wouldn't want to play on it! I would think that it would hurt! So, we thought that everything was alright. That was until a couple weeks ago when someone announced in Priesthood that there was a football game going to happen...BY INVITATION! Yea, you heard right! You could only play if you were invited. Why in the heck would they announce it in Priesthood if that was the case. So, Ioelu went up to whoever it was and asked when the game was...their reply..."Oh, we are not sure yet." What a bunch of crap. (yea, can you tell that I'm really upset?) If you don't want people to know about your game, than don't announce it in Priesthood! It's that simple! Again I ask, why do we, as latter day saints, get so competitive...in whatever it may be. Another example comes from a friend of my parents who is from Romania. He is living here now and when he first came to Georgia, a few years ago, he asked my parents where a good place to play basketball. So they told him about the times that guys go to play at the chapel. Well, he went and told my parents that never again will he play there. This guy is not a member and was really turned off by the way these people were playing! EFY: Some people just want to play for fun. It's not like you're in the NBA and getting paid for winning. GET A CLUE PEOPLE! We all need to think about what the affects can be when we get so competitive. We need healthy competition...not petty competition where we get mad at the little things because someone is winning!

Ok, my ranting and raving is over. whew!

JANUARY ALREADY!?

2009-01-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say HAPPY NEW YEAR'S everyone!

Appointment for Santa?

2008-12-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

Dear Santa,
Get new helpers!
Love, me

Ok, can anyone tell me that they have heard of this. I think it is so ridiculous! We, my mom and I, decided to surprise the kids by taking them to go see Santa yesterday. It was the first time I had been to this mall since we moved here and I thought it would be great...See Santa, get the rest of the shopping done and be home by 6. NO, what happened was, we got to the mall, found where Santa was and got turned away because we didn't have an appointment to see him?!! WHAT! Does anyone do that? Apparantly this was the first year for this mall to do this and hopefully the last. All those poor little kids who just want to go and see Santa but can't because the stinkin' elves can't fit them into his schedual. What takes so long that you have to make an appointment? My kids weren't really affected by this since they didn't really know that that was the big suprise. So, we left the mall, ran our errands and went to another one which took about an hour to get to because the traffic was horrible, and there saw a great Santa. He looked like the real deal. We didn't get home until almost 11! But, All in all it turned out to be fine and the girls were happy to see him and I was happy because they were happy. (The pictures will be up as soon as I get them onto the computer.)

I love putting up conversations that I have with Krisalyn because they are just so funny to me, so here's another one.
On the way home from seeing Santa I had asked her what she told him she wanted for Christmas. I had no idea she wanted these things. Here's part of the conversation.
She said "I told Santa that I wanted an Ariel that didn't swim."
"Really," I said, "Well, what if Santa can't bring you an Ariel?"
Kr: "Why?"
me: "What if he runs out?"
Kr: "He can't run out because he makes his own toys!"
me: "OH!"
She just cracks me up!

What am I going to do with her!

2008-12-04T13:43:00.000-08:00

So last night we were sitting down for dinner and this was the conversation I had with Krisalyn.
Kr: Mom, when I get bigger and married can I have babies.
Me:Yea, when you get old like me you can have babies.
Kr:But I don't want to be older, older, older like Grandma and Grandpa!

OH, the disrespect! My dad and I just busted out laughing!

"Poor Poophers" A Dedication to the dog

2008-12-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

In Memory of Pooph

Disclaimer: I have always been an animal love but never really understood why people go to the extreme for their pet...clothes, diamond callers, taking them everywhere you go, leaving them millions of dollars in your will. It just doesn't make sense. But with that said, Pooph was part of the family...the part of pet!

Pooph was my parents dog that they had for about a year and a half. My brother and sister in law found him on the side of the road and took him in, later giving him to my parents. The kids loved him and he loved them. He was their protector. Kyra loved to lay down next to him and pet him. On Monday, he did not want to eat or drink anything. We all thought he just didn't feel good. Tuesday morning came and Krisalyn came in looking for him. Later my dad informed me that he had died sometime early that morning. This is my kids first encounter with death but certainly not their last. When we told Krisalyn, her response was "Poor Poophers, he's dead" and ran falling onto her bed crying. I later asked her if she knew what being dead means. She just shook her head and being the articulate mother that I am I told her, "It means he's not coming back." Yea, probably not the best thing to say! "Then whose going to bark at the door when people knock?" "Well," I said, "I guess you would have too." "No, mommy, I'm not a dog!" was all she said. All throughout the day, Kyra would go looking for him carrying food to feed him. Krisalyn would just keep repeating "Poor Poophers, he's not coming back." When my mom got home from work Krisalyn told her the bad news (She fortunately knew already). Here's the conversation she had with grandma
gm: quoting the movie she told Krisalyn, "Yea, He went to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus in Heaven because after all, all dogs go to heaven."
K: "Well, when is he coming back to see us?"
gm: "He's not coming back to see us, he is going to wait for us to go see him"
K: "OK"
She seemed so content with that answer. Oh, the innocence of youth. I wish I still had that innocence!

We Gotta Walker!

2008-12-01T14:00:00.001-08:00

William has been walking for a couple weeks now and I just thought I would tell everyone the wonderful news! I say wonderful because now I don't have to carry him around while I'm chasing after the girls! He is such a cute little walker. (I say that now). When he has something he knows he shouldn't have he starts running...or rather walking faster than his little wobble...giggling along the way! He is getting to be a very big little man, and very handsome (No, I'm not bias) So there you have it, news on my little walker.

Better late than never!

2008-11-27T18:15:00.000-08:00

I finally got my camera emptied onto the computer and can now put up pictures from Halloween and the festivities. October was a bitter sweet month for me. We were just settling, in a sense, in Texas, made some great friends and caught up with the old, then we moved. So to all our wonderful friends in Texas, we miss you! Here are some pictures taken the last two weeks of October.

The kids at a great Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound. I had always wanted to take the kids to one. They had a lot of fun.

I think the wagon was for the huge pumpkins but this was a great way to push the kids around.

ALOHA! They love doing the Shaka!

William didn't really know what to think about all the pumpkins but he had as much fun as the girls!

The girls are at the age where they know what Halloween is and were really excited when they finally got to go Trick or Treating. It was so cute! Krisalyn was a princess and Kyra was Snow White one night and Cinderella the next night. Gotta love garage sale costumes!

Trick or Treat at the Trunk or Treat!

Ioelu's never got into Halloween until this year. He had more fun then he'd like to admit!

I helped get him dressed. I guess he won't be letting me help him anymore! I love being a nerd for Halloween because I can act like myself and people think it's part of the costume! I was told by a friend that I shouldn't be a nerd...don't really know why, maybe because it's not very original so instead of dressing myself up as one, I got Ioelu too! Gotta keep up with tradition! He makes a great nerd.

Here's our family photo! We went trick or treating with some great friends, the Churchwells, and have a picture of their beautiful daughters with us. Thanks for sharing your night with us! We had a great time!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2008-11-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Well, tons have happened and more is yet to come but just wanted to update now that we have a computer we can use! Let's see...we moved...again! We had only lived in Texas for about 8 months and now moved to Georgia. Let me just say...as much as we miss Texas and the friends that we have there, Georgia is beautiful! We unfortunately lost a bunch of the kids clothes coming up here somehow! Not sure what happened to them but they are gone...their warm clothes, which totally sucks! Other than that we are just trying to get settled in. The kids are coping with the change well, and seem to be happy, although they really miss their friends. Little Will is not so little anymore. He is starting to walk slowly around the house. I think it's so cute when little ones start to walk...it's like they are sneaking up on you! Well, like I said earlier...more is yet to come, I have to find my camera to post the cute pictures from Halloween and what not.

BUBBLES!!!

2008-10-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

So has anyone seen those stackable bubbles? My sister got some for Krisalyn's birthday and they are so cool! The kids love them! What makes them great is that tons of bubbles come out when you blow and they don't pop the instant that they hit something. When they do pop they are easy to wipe off, unless they get in your hair, as you can see with Kyra...then there is always the bath! If you don't mind a little mess, seriously it's not much, then these bubbles are great!! Here are some pictures of the kids having fun with them.

Four Years and Counting...

2008-10-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

Krisalyn turned 4 on Monday. I can't believe how fast these years have gone by. It seems like yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital and now she FOUR! Man, what am I going to say when she's 10 or 16 and dating...or 20! Holy cow, I need to try not to think about it.
So, we celebrated her birthday the Friday before her birthday and had a little party at the park...nothing big, just some pizza, cake and ice cream. And let me tell ya, I loved it...not a whole lot of planning needed to be done. All the kids wanted to do was go to the playground. Oh, the simple pleasures in life! I am so glad that we have friends here to share the celebration of her life! My mom was here in Dallas for a business trip, so on Monday she stopped by and we had a little family party...lucky Krisalyn. Ioelu asked if it was a good idea because she would probably think that every day was her birthday. So, what did I do? I decorated the house and had us celebrate for family home evening because my little sister and my mom were here visiting from out of town. What can you do!hahaha
Here are a few pictures of her day and some of the fun things she received.

WHAT TO DO!

2008-09-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, what is the world coming to when you can't live without a computer!? Ok, so maybe I can but it's nice to have one...right!?! Our computer is in the process of being fixed by my wonderful brother, who, thank goodness, wasn't hit too bad by Hurricane Ike. He just got it last week but it's been in the shop a couple weeks before that...long story. What can you do right!? Well, right now I can take full advantage of my cute little sister visiting us for the next couple weeks, and her computer!...hahaha.
So much going on these days. Krisalyn is turning 4! HOLY COW! It's been 4 years already! Kyra is getting so big and talking so much! She also has such a temper! Must be the Samoan gene! hahaha, just kidding...don't hate! And, Little William is ready to take his first step any day! He looks like he wants to but not quite there! He's also getting his cute little teeth and biting!
Somedays, like today, I can't believe that we have three! Hopefully, I will do a good job raising them!

WAY TOO FAST!!

2008-07-25T11:50:00.001-07:00

The kids are growing way, way, way too fast! As exciting as it is, it's also sad! My little ones are getting bigger and soon they will be teenagers and not want to be seen with me! Ok, not so soon but you know what I mean! Krisalyn gave the baby a new nickname. His name is now Chewy! Why? Well, it's because he likes to chew on everything...like all babies. One night Krisalyn started calling him that and it just stuck I guess. He especially likes to go to the feet, which is funny...and gross! He's also been crawling for about a month now and is getting his first two teeth. The first one broke through and I just noticed it yesterday! Boy, how time flies! The girls are getting so big as well! Krisalyn wants to be the mommy, wanting to help with the baby (most of the time) and Kyra, well, she is in the terrible twos and doesn't like to do anything we tell her. She's into hitting, pulling hair, and spitting but thank goodness, got over the biting! She definitely independent! When Krisalyn went through her "terrible twos" I thought to my self, 'Hey, this isn't too bad, she is actually pretty tame compared to others I have seen." And then....Kyra got to be two! Wow, total different experience. Not that I would trade it for anything but feel like I got both extremes! Ioelu always tells me that her stubbornness must come from me...maybe, but I think some of it came from his Samoan genes!!! I love those genes anyway! So I have some recent pictures that I finally uploaded from the camera.

Here's "Chewy" at a picnic for the 4th of July. Ioelu found some Samoan friends and we had an imu. Yea, he was really excited since he was, and still is, getting tired of my American food! I like this picture cause it looks as if he's asking me why I'm bothering him and his pork! No, we don't feed him like this on a regular basis. Jelu just wanted to give him some taste of 'real' food! All I have to say is that it is good there is an L&L here. And really good that it is better than the one in Laie!

Doesn't he have the cutest smile?! Yes, I'm biased but what mom wouldn't be right!? hahaha

I'm so glad the girls love each other most of the time! I'm glad I have sisters I am close to and I hope these two can be as close as I am with my sisters!

TAG team back again...

2008-07-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist the title since my friend Tia tagged me. It's been a while but I am finally getting around to posting...not ignoring!! Anyway, in this tag I need to tell 6 facts about me and let me tell you, there are some beans I don't want to spill since my parents will probably read this. Hahaha, just kidding, I don't think I did anything in my life that my parents don't know about, and if I did, I can't think of it! Well, I think the way this works is that I say 6 interesting things about me and tag 6 other people...so your names will be at the end of the post and since there are only 9 people that I know that look at this blog from time to time it's not hard to choose so beware I might just tag everyone! hahahaha
Ok, well, let start...hummm....

1. I love, love, love Chocolate. Although it's nothing uncommon, it's true. And my figure is paying, ugh! When the temptation is there...it's hard to control myself...good thing the temptation is not frequent. The two most tempting choc-o-late things are yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chili's Chocolate Molten Cake (if you haven't had it...I totally recommend it!). Who can blame me right!

2. Random....I can wave with my second toe...without the others moving. Weird and random, I know, but it's actually pretty funny. My sisters always made fun of me when I did it...and it was usually after they requested it!

3. Not too interesting but I'm one of seven kids...smack dab in the middle...three older and three younger. And I married someone who is smack dab in the middle as well...six older and six younger. Crazy, I know, and when we first got married he talked about having that many kiddos!

4. I love to clean (except the dishes!). Honestly I do...it seems to be a stress reliever for me. When I was younger I would clean in the middle of the night because I didn't want anyone coming in and messing it up right after I had just cleaned it. What ever I was cleaning had to be perfectly clean and if someone would put anything in the sink or walk on the floor, I wouldn't be happy. A little extreme, I know, but I wanted it to stay clean. It's a little tough now with three kids and I'm so tired by the end of the day that I can't do it in the middle of the night. So kuddos to all of you who can keep the house beautiful with your little ones running around. It drives me insane sometimes when I can't get the house perfectly clean and my sweet hubby keeps telling me that it's ok cause I have kids...then I go to someone else's house who have kids...yea, you get the point. As much as I love my girls...they have definitely learned how to get things for themselves but not how to put them away.

5. I use to be one of those girls who was in love with the New Kids on the Block! Wow! I can't believe that they got back together and are on tour. It seems so weird. Needless to say, I don't think I will be one of those screaming girls in the front row! It's just so funny to me now! Yea, being a young girl, I thought they were so hot! Now I wonder what was wrong with me!

6. My new favorite drink is blackberry sprite. YUMMY! I have gotten tired of the regular sprite but Sonic has a blackberry syrup...or something...that they put into it and it is so refreshing. If I drink soda, it's the only kind I drink...so hopefully Sonic doesn't get rid of it any time soon!

Ok, now I'm going to tag...um...lets see...I know I'm supposed to give six names but I'm going to change my answer to anyone who wants to do this tag, since not many people come on here that I know of.

In my next life...

2008-06-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I got this email from my friend Amanda and thought it was really funny! And, I just wanted to share.

Gonna Be a Bear

In this life I'm a woman. In my next life, I'd like to come back as a bear. When you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that too.

When you're a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake up to partially grown cute, cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.

If you're mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that.

If your a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess weight.
Yup, gonna be a bear!

Glad to call you mine!

2008-06-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

Five years ago today I made one man happy!! And in return he has made me so happy! Saying yes was one of the best things I could have done and I am so glad to call him mine! He is such an amazing man. I can't believe it has already been five years! Sometimes it feels like yesterday! But now we have a love that is stronger than ever and it will continue to grow through the years. I am so glad that our love is forever, and I can't imagine what my life would be without him. Here's to you, Jelu! Here's to forever!

So, come back in time with me and share our day!

Let's hear it for the girl!

2008-06-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

Three cheers for Kyra!! Yes! I am so ecstatic that we only have to buy diapers for one now!! With the cost of gas on the rise and diapers costing at least $60 a month, who wouldn't be excited to save that $60 for...I don't know...gas! Kyra is now potty trained! Hallelujah! How did I do it? Easy...tile floors and no money for diapers! With that, it only took her about two days to realize what she needed to do! She was definitely ready though since she always took off her diaper and ran around wild and free! (Yea, daddy didn't like that much!) I just wanted to share my total excitement with all of you who may read this!

Missing Samoa

2008-06-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been almost a year since I went with my hubby and girls to meet his family in Samoa. Lately I have been thinking alot about it and have been missing it. Yea, it is different from what I am used to but I had such a great time while I was there. It was nice to meet Jelu's family and see where he grew up. One day we will be going back...not sure when but we will go. They definitely need to meet the new addition since I was at the end of my first trimester when we went. We were there for two and a half months and had so many pictures to choose from. These are from the first folder I looked in. What great memories. As I was trying to figure out what pictures to put on this little slide, I remembered all the great times.
To all of you back in Samoa...we miss you and love you and hope one day soon we will spend time together again! This little slide show is dedicated to you. It only has a few pictures of the time we spent, mostly of family. So I hope you all enjoy.

Day at the Zoo

2008-06-03T16:40:00.001-07:00

Animal fun!

2008-06-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

Well, a while ago we, meaning myself and the kids, and my sister went to the Fort Worth Zoo. It was sad that Ioelu wasn't able to go since he had to work but we tried to have fun without him. The zoo is pretty big and with Krisalyn and Kyra running around and my sister healing from a knee surgery, it was taking a while to get from one place to another. So we didn't get to see even half of what was there, but there is always next time. I promised Krisalyn that next time Daddy would be with us and we will see the Lions! What we did see were some elephants, gorillas, monkeys, giraffes, and some birds. Yea, those were all at the front of the Zoo. I had been there before a few years ago but I had no clue on how to get around, even with the map! Craziness!!

Meany

2008-05-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so lately Krisalyn has been so mean to Kyra. I don't really know why but she will lock her out of the room, she will hit her for no reason, or just make her cry. Kyra can stand her own ground but for some reason Krisalyn just gets to her. So, just now when I was telling Krisalyn to be nice to her sister, this was her reply. "I don't want to be nice...nice is boring!" Well, what can you say to that! hahaha Sometimes it is so funny what comes out of her mouth. The other day she found a bookmark in a book and was telling me to look at it. She said, "Mom, look, this is from China." I thought it was so funny and wanted to share.

Tea Anyone?

2008-05-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

Krisalyn, Kyra and I had a tea party the other day. It was nice to have friends with us...the pink elephant, Mickey and Minnie, Lion, and others...we had a great time!

Trip to Houston

2008-05-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

So, a couple weeks ago we, my sister, Renee, myself and the kids went to Houston to visit my brother, Tony, and his wife, Cathy. We only went down for a day, so we were only there for a few hours but it was really fun. On the way down, Krisalyn and Kyra were singing and dancing to some great 80's music...

Well, we got to my brothers house and the first thing I see is this huge dog!
At first the girls were scared but once they realized that it was such a great dog they kept wanting to play with it. It was pretty funny because he kept wanting to sit on them!
Anyways, Tony and Cathy took us to Chuck E Cheese. It was the first time for the girls to go and they had so much fun! It was nice for me too because Tony and Cathy ran around after the girls! It was a nice break...I didn't have to run after them but still got to be there to see how much fun they were having! It was great! Here are some pictures of their time at Chuck E Cheese.

The good ol' Carousel.

Chuck E Cheese...where a kid can be a kid...no matter how old!

Let's go for a ride Chuck!!!

She is riding "The Giant", a ride at Six Flags.

Thanks for the great time, Tony and Cathy. I hope we can do it again soon!

To all my friends out there!

2008-05-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

This is to all of you out there who have been there for me when I needed a friend! Thanks!

Thanks to my sister, Emma, who sent this to me! Nice to know I am one of your friends!!!

God determines who walks into my life .
It's up to me to decide who I'll let walk away,
who I'll let stay, and who I'll refuse to let go.'
I like you because of who you are to me ... A good friend!

Proud to be your Friend!

HAPPY FRIENDSHIP WEEK TO YOU !!!

YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I am honored!

Tragedy in the boondox!

2008-05-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, so there was a change to this post...hopefully nobody read the original, but with my luck they probably have and never want to come to this site again! It was a crazy night last night. The tub that the girls use has a problem with the drain...the plug does not really work the way it should which is fine unless the girls are not done playing in the water! With the plug down, the water slowly drains giving the girls about 10 minutes to play in the water (which is plenty of time, unless I want a couple more minutes to just sit and relax!!!) Well, this time, the girls were in the bath and once the water was drained, I told them to sit there until I get back from seeing what was wrong with the baby. I got back to see both of them out of the tub, Kyra trying to turn on the sink to play in that water and Krisalyn telling me that she was cold and needed to be washed. What came next was something totally unexpected but seemed to be inevitable! As I was getting Kyra down from the sink, I turned just in time to see Krisalyn fall to the floor crying! She had tried to climb into the tub (something she does all the time!) but because the floor was wet from them climbing out, she slipped and hit her mouth on the way down. She was on the floor bending down holding her face so I didn't know what she hit until I got to her and she lifted her head. There was tons of blood on the floor, so I knew it was more serious than I had thought. Krisalyn, seeing the blood, screamed even louder now because it was hers! Kyra also started crying when she saw the red puddle on the floor. It turns out, she bit her bottom lip when she hit the tub. I was not happy! I was the one that told her to get back in! Her lip looked so bad! So, I took a picture of it...she didn't really like it but I did it anyways...here is what it looked like last night after it happened.

Ok, so the pictures may not look as bad as I might have made you believe...I tried the best I could taking the pictures. Today, she's got a fat lip and it's more bruised but I'm glad that it wasn't more serious...like breaking a tooth or something.
So, I hope all of you who read this post don't think I am a terrible mother because I let my kids (well, really only Krisalyn right now) climb into the bathtub by themselves, I'm just one, of many, who is trying the best she can and can't stay calm all the time when crazy things happen, As much as I would love to be one of the few who can!

lets see if this works...

2008-04-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

OK, so I finally made the time to upload the pictures from our camera and hopefully I can get them on to this post with no problem! We had a little over 400 pictures on the camera...a lot of which Krisalyn took (she is a very good photographer!) However, I have had a problem getting all the kids together and happy to take a picture. Most of the time they will be happy and then right before I snap the camera, Kyra will move, probably because she gets bored waiting for the picture to be taken! Anyways, here are some that I got...

These were taken within the last couple weeks. They are the two good pictures of all three kids!

The girls LOVE William! They always get into trouble wanting to kiss him all the time and being right in his face. Most of the time he doesn't mind...he really likes it but there are the other times where he just hates it because...well, you know, how it is having someone always up in your face. But here are more pictures of the three
William just looks soo cute in this picture...He is getting so big, it's still hard to believe he is only 3 months!
Here is Krisalyn and William and the next picture is Kyra with William. I just love the face that Kyra is making! I don't know what she was doing as I took the picture!!! Enjoy!

Testing the waters

2008-04-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

First of all, I want to apologize to those who I have not told about this blog...which is pretty much everyone except Ioelu...thanks Monica for finding me!!! I just started doing this blogging thing a few days ago and I am still trying to figure everything out. I didn't want to tell anyone about this until I got it perfect...at least the way that I liked it, but that may take a while! So far I have changed the title of this blog three times and looked at changing the background. That's the good thing about this, you don't have to be stuck with something once you click save...especially if you are like me and can't make up your mind! Now I need to figure out how to put pictures up and the other cool things that I see on my friends blogs. Who knew so many people blogged!! I guess blogging is the new big thing! Well, it's not too bad...I mean this is the best way, I think, to keep in touch of everyones life that you don't see everyday. I'm glad I got the idea from Angela and Monica, even if they may not know it. I kinda felt left out, you know. I would go on their blogs and see the cool things that are going in their lives. Ok, you got me...although they do have cool things going on in their lives, it was really so they can have my name on their friends with blogs list! Can you blame a girl?! No, the real reason was so that my friends could know what is going on with me...even though I lead a life that may not be very adventurous, to say the least. Well, I guess I can't really say that it doesn't have it moments. I mean, I have had a tea party with my girls, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Elephant, and tiger. That is pretty fun...until Kyra starts throwing all the food around. At least it's the plastic brand and easy to clean up! I go and hang out with Chuck E Cheese while Uncle Tony and Auntie Cathy take the girls on fun rides, and I got to go to the zoo with my three favorite little ones and hang out with the gorillias.
Well, if you are interested in knowing about the kids...they are growing so fast, it's hard to believe! Little William is 15 pounds already...he is only 3 months old!!! That's probably pretty common but it just seems like he should still be little, you know what I mean!! He started rolling over a couple days ago. He is only able to roll half way but soon it will be all the way, and then crawling and on to walking!!!! That's life right! Krisalyn and Kyra are getting big as well. Sometimes I look at them and can't believe how tall they got or how much they are talking. More Kyra for the talking. Kyra, now, talks so much. Krisalyn, although she has been talking for a little while, cracks me up with what she says. Things like, "I'm so proud that baby is my brother." or "Mmm, let me think", or "Mom, when are we going to paint and make the house pretty?" Oh, GOOD TIMES!

First timer meets blogger

2008-04-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't really know what I am doing. This is the first time for me but I decided to start this because I am so bad at emailing and I wanted to keep my friends informed with my life! So, I hope I do an ok job!
OK, so it has been two months since we left Hawaii for Texas...some may say why, but those who have lived there know why we would leave such a beautiful place for Texas! Texas isn't that bad, and Ioelu seems to like it although it's not an island. At least now we still have some money left in our account until the next paycheck, hence the reason for our great move! We did however move to a house where the old tenants left it a real mess. Disappointing at first but with a little TLC we can make this place a nice home! Ioelu and I just finished painting the living room and hall ways...let me tell you, it looks a hundred times better...from a pale pink (yes, you heard right...pink in every room except one of the bathrooms and that was blue!) to a dark beige. May not be everybody's favorite but anything is better than what was on there before. We will see what my mom thinks when she sees it tomorrow. My brother in Houston said that mom didn't really like the color on his walls...which is a lot like what we have but all well!!! What can you do, right!!!
So our girls are pretty excited to paint the house. Everyday Krisalyn asks when we are going to paint the house and make it pretty. It's nice to be able to have a place where we can do what ever we want to the house and not worry about the landlords! No, it's not our own house but it belongs to my parents who want us to try to fix it up and make it decent. It is definitely a fixer upper but the rewards are great when we see the finished product!!!