things that make me smile

The way Tali looks after she eats tomato soup

How Malia and Kina kept these homemade masks (cut out by Tali, painted by Malia and Kina) on for hours before finally taking them off to go to bed.

That Malia LOVES to vacuum and help clean the house.

Amalani's impression of the Olsen twins

These four happy kids

Brave Kina holding the big hairy spider at the Bean Museum (she was the only child brave enough to do so).

Kina and her ice cream cone

These three laying on their stomachs watching Puss in Boots, our new favorite movie.

Saturday morning (a.k.a. Waffle Day)

Naptime.  Need I say more?

And finally, seeing those three cuties all clean and jammied and excited for movie night.

What can I say? I smile a lot living with these three kiddos.

kinas first haircut

Last night Kina found some scissors and cut one of her pigtails off.  (Awesome!)  Today, Wayne's cousin (and recent beauty school graduate), Mata came over to fix it giving Kina her very FIRST haircut.  She did an awesome job.  It's really short, but thankfully it's curly and has a totally cute shape. Thank you Mata! 

happy birthday michael

February 25 was my little brother Michael's 22nd birthday.  To celebrate we went bowling at the Provo Beach Resort as a family on Saturday then we had a potluck with cake and ice cream on Sunday.  It was a wonderful weekend partay to celebrate our favorite little baby brother.  

Maddox and Malia - I love kids in bowling shoes!

My broooothers

Michael tbowing after he got a strike.

The whole group. The winner of the night? That'd be David.

Of course, we decorated the house for Michael's little bday party.  Malia helped me color this banner.

It was an awesome party - complete with pony rides for the kids.

Happy Birthday little brother!

i love that my dad has an iPhone

Yesterday Malia wanted to write a letter to her Papa in Hawaii.  She told me what she wanted to say and I wrote it down then she wrote it on her paper.

This is her letter.

This is my dad's letter I got in return

. . .with these pictures

Avocado tree

Mango tree

Malia asked me to read it and looked at the picture over and over again.  After she asked me, "Mommy? Why does Papa love me so much?

pics from my iphone from january and february

The title of this post is proof, unfortunately, that when I'm tired I'm extremely uncreative.

The merry-go-round at Provo Towne Center. Kina's shoes remind me of Bruce Lee.

The other day, Auntie Isa texted me because she saw this book at Costco with my Dad in it.  I went that day to pick it up.  I loved reading it - got a little teary at times reading of my Grandma Kuka in Samoa.  My dad isn't a man of many words and I'm SO thankful we have this record of his testimony and family history.  It's a treasure.

Tali's new favorite hobby is putting on clothes. This is the fun ensemble she came up wiith this week.

Konner and the Kinas

Tali was so proud of herself for making this little brick chair.

Found these on my phone. I love that Kina loves taking pictures of herself.

Uncle Michael brought his little pet turtle, Crush, over to meet the girls. The girls were SO excited.

We finally finished coloring the little cardboard house that Grammy gave the girls for Christmas.  It's a hit. We love it!

I finally joined a little dance group.  Mary and Lala Ah Mu organized a bunch of ex-PCC dancers and it's been a blast getting together and dancing again.  I love these people!

st-st-stuttering

For as long as I can remember, Kina has had a stutter.  It's just always been there.  She stutters with every sentance and any sound. At the beginning of this year, Kina started going to speech therapy.  We meet once a week for an hour and have homework and exercises we do at home.  Kina loves going to her "school" and her teacher is wonderful. Already I can see an improvement, and the goal of the therapy is to completely cure it.  I'm excited and very optimistic!

happy heart day

Like I've said before, I'm not a huge lover or hater of Valentine's Day. To me it's just another day that I have to worry about my husband spending too much money (money that we don't have) on a gift haha.  Having said that, I have to give Wayne a big A PLUS on Valentine's Day.  I believe his goal was to make me feel special and loved and he did both those things.  He left for work early in the morning, but I woke up to a decorated house and this candy bar poster . . .

Then, I found this little sign with a ribbon that led me to. . . .

. . . this little set-up downstairs.  It was roses and Cheat Day cupcakes (my favorite!)

At night Wayne took me on a fun group date with some friends. Thank you Wayne! It was perfect!  Hope everyone had a very happy Valentines Day!

viva las vegas

 Wayne and his rugby team have gone to Vegas for the USA 7's Invitational for two years in a row. After a bad experience last year, I swore I'd never go again.  I have to be honest - I don't love that my husband plays rugby (for many reasons but that is a whole 'nother post!) BUT he does, so I decided to support him and we went together. AND I have to be honest again - I had SO much fun on this trip.  It was just a weekend, but it was a blast.  

The night we arrived our friend, Jaymz Tuaileva called and said he had tickets for us for the show he dances in, The Donny and Marie Show.  These tickets are sold on-line for over a hundred bucks, so we were very excited. Wayne couldn't go with me because of a team meeting, so I called my dear friend, Mary Ah Mu and we went together.  It was SO fun! I love watching shows and this one just enough entertainingly tackiness to have a fun and silly time.  Afterwards, we took a picture with Jaymz and one of the dancers in the group.

Marie and Mary - a lot of people mix us up.

After the show, we watched the Bellagio fountains (Mary had no idea they actually went with music) and then ended the night with frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity's (it's something I've heard about for YEARS and seriously, it did not disappoint. It was SO delicious!). It was such a fun night.

And this was the reason we were there! The Humless 7's rugby team. Wayne actually put the team together and organized the sponsors.  It was a great group of guys.  The team came complete with a tent, a food table, a sound system and a DJ - it made the whole experience very enjoyable for us. It was easy and FUN to cheer our little hearts out the WHOLE time.  It was like a party all day everyday.

Wayne with the ball.  The athleticism and teamwork of our team amazed me.  They were all so good and worked so well together. It really was beautiful to watch.

We had Humless gear and posters to go along with our awesome Humless cheers. . . okay, maybe they weren't totally AWESOME, but at least they were loud!

Me and Wayne

Kika and the tall Asian (with an English accent!) rugby player that all the girls were admiring the whole day.  After I took this picture he walked back to his hooting and hollering team with his arms all up and flexed.  I think Kika made his day.

Our tent was so popular, even Erykah Badu stopped by to cheer. Oh - KAY! hahaha

Aaaand . . . (drumroll please). . . after two days of tough competition, Humless WON!  Horaay! 

the FAM

Yes - we were the Best. Cheerleaders. Ever.

It was a fun, short trip!  I had such a blast with all my sister-in-laws and friends I met up with there.  Seriously, the weather - PERFECT! the people - PERFECT! the trip - PEERFECT!!
Viva Las Vegas!

flo's funeral

Last week, my cousin Flo passed away.  Our fathers are brothers but we are over twenty years apart.  Of course, like all funerals, it was very sad, but like all funerals it was wonderful to see and visit with family.

Some of Alisa Toelupe family at the funeral

The four siblings (Uncle Harvey, Aunty Ireen, Uncle Lafi, Uncle Pupi) at the after-party at Aunty Ireens house

Me and my cousins.  Love them!