Our Treasured Moments

Christmas Makeover

2010-12-22T23:23:00.000-08:00

This morning we (My SIL Claudine and I) did a mini bedroom makeover for my In Laws for Christmas. We decided to do 2 days before Christmas since we knew how busy we were going to be. We only started planning everything last week so not bad for a week plan. We painted their room, got a new bed sheet, new curtains, added a picture frame and some vinyl, VOILA...Claudine and I had so much fun doing it. W's parents had no clue we were redoing their bedroom. It was awesome! W's Mom had tears in her eyes as she saw her new bedroom. She loves her new room and we couldn't be happier for them. So Merry early Christmas Mom and Dad from W's family and the Brinkerhoffs...:)

Before

After

David Archuleta Christmas Concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

2010-12-18T22:11:00.001-08:00

What a beautiful evening that was. Tonight I had the opportunity to go see David Archuleta with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. I had tickets so I invited Alison, Erin, and Jessica to go see it. Since this concert was such a huge demand we were told we had to be there at least 2 hours before. In past events people who had tickets were turned away and missed the show. So we decided to be there at least 2 hrs early. We got our parking spot with no problem walked to the conference center and to our surprise huge lines were already forming yes 2 hours early, crazy! Plus they weren't letting people in yet so maybe that's why there were huge lines. There were about 200 people in front of us. We waited for about half and hour then went right in. We found good seats on the plaza and waited for the concert to start. We waited for at least an hour and a half. But it was so worth it. David is such a cute boy. His voice was amazing and the choir sang beautifully as always. I'm so glad that I was able to video a little bit at the end of the concert. Michael York did an amazing job narrating.

After the concert were hungry so we ate at "la gourmandise" wrong choice because so was everyone else...That place was packed. We waited for about half and hour and of course I couldn't wait any longer I went and talked to the waitress to speed things up. For dessert I had raisin pudding sooo good, to die for...We didn't get home till 11PM I know that's how much fun we had. Thank you ladies for a fun night!!

Jessica, Erin, Alison and I

Waiting in line

The stage

The end of the show

The orchestra

At the end of the concert

Yummy French Dessert!

From our Family to Yours Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2011...

2010-12-18T05:17:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Lynette took those beautiful pictures of my family and I made our Christmas Card. Not bad for a first time...

Friends and Neighbors Christmas Gift...

2010-12-18T05:07:00.000-08:00

Hinarei and I were so excited to make our neighbors Christmas Gift. We wanted chocolate and that mix taste of sweet and sour so we came up with drizzled pretzel, so yummy! Hinarei had so much fun helping me make over 20 treats and I am still not done. She also helped deliver half of them. It's been very cold lately but that did not stop Hinarei to brave the cold and deliver cheers of treats to our neighbors and friends. We have received many treats and gifts from our dear friends and neighbors and we couldn't be more happy to live in a place where you feel loved. From our Family THANK YOU for being such great friends and neighbors.

What a great helper

Love that sweet and sour taste!

Got this free printable tag from one of the blogs that I follow. I just added a personal touch.

Box full of treats ready to be delivered

School Christmas Party...

2010-12-18T04:53:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to go help out with Hinarei school Christmas Party. Hinarei was so happy to see me and that she got to sit next to me. I helped with the craft table. We made a reindeer and the kids loved it. They also had a story telling station, singing station and a game station. The kids said "Thank You" to all the Moms that came to help in different languages. That was pretty cool. When it was time to leave Hinarei gave her school teacher her Christmas gift. We loooove Mrs. Wells. She is so personable and so dedicated to the kids. So happy Hinarei is in her class. A lot of Moms asked me if I were Hinarei's Mom and told me what a sweet and kind girl I have. She's always on the look out to make others around her feel loved and safe. Hinarei has such a big heart and she's always willing to give a helping hand. Love you honey for a great example you are to me.

Love that smile

Cute

Hinarei and her school teacher

Hinarei Christmas Recital

2010-12-17T22:29:00.000-08:00

Tonight Hinarei had her last dance recital of the year. Papa couldn't come he was on call and that night he was very busy but that did not stop Hinarei for having so much fun. She did amazingly. She was so excited to perform. Everyone did such a great job. At the end we watched a short video of Legacy Dance past performances. Miss Mo you thank you for being such a great dance teacher. Hinarei looks up to you so much. I am so glad that you are her dance teacher, you are definitely THE BEST!

Ready to perform

After the recital we went on a daughter mother dinner at our favorite place to eat "Rumbi".

After that we went to Target so Hinarei could pick out a gift for her little brother for Christmas and let me tell you he is going to loooooove it. Then I got a Gingerbread kit house for our family. Love this time of the year.

Day 3, 4, and 5

2010-12-17T21:35:00.001-08:00

Wow I've been slow reporting our 12 days of Christmas countdown. So on Day 3 we got some Christmas cards so cute.

On Day 4 we had candy canes that we hang on our tree.

On Day 5 we had yummy hot chocolate with Hershey kisses love those. Our kids are having so much opening one package at a time.

Love that snow man container

The top one had Hershey kisses

The bottom had hot chocolate

Merry Christmas...

2010-12-15T07:22:00.000-08:00

From our family to yours Merry Christmas. Enjoy the dance!! Now go make one for your family. Thanks Kristy for the link.

Day 2...

2010-12-14T16:58:00.000-08:00

Tonight after dinner we opened the 2nd gift of our 12 days of Christmas gifts countdown. We got strips of scrapbook papers and glue to make our own family chain. The kids were so excited. We had so much fun making the chain. Raimana wanted to use the staple Hinarei wanted to use the glue instead. It turned out so cute. We hanged it in our kitchen on top our bay window. So cute! Thank you Claudine and Brian. Can't wait for tomorrow!! :)

Our cute paper chain...

Dentist Appointment...

2010-12-14T16:41:00.001-08:00

Ok I have to write about this. This morning I got a call from my dentist office asking me if I wanted to go in today instead of Friday so it actually worked out fine for me since both of my kids were at school. So I got ready and went in. My top left tooth has been very sensitive for several months and I had a cavity there that my dentist took care of it last Summer. He checked my tooth and did xray he came to the conclusion that I had a root canal. He asked me if I wanted to do it this morning. At first I was like "What?" I never had one so it took me by surprise. After thinking for a minute I decided to go ahead and do it. To my surprised it was such a breeze. I did not feel anything. He really did an amazing job. If you live by me his office is right off Redwood Rd Dr. Mckay love him. I will really recommend his office. He shares the office with his brother in law and they are both very good. Plus it's very close by saving on gas!! :) I haven't had any pain at all and was able to eat on that side with no problem. I don't know if it was just me or the Dentist but root canal is really nothing. It might cost good thing we have good dental insurance. Today I used up my insurance for the whole year. I only had $10 left from my insurance for the rest of the year sweet!! Good thing there's only couple of weeks left in 2010...

Living Planet Aquarium...

2010-12-14T16:30:00.000-08:00

I took the kids to the Living Planet Aquarium on Monday and they had tons of fun. On that day only it was Free for everyone so Kristin and I decided to go but Josh got sick so I took Ben with us. It was crowded but we only waited 10 minutes in line and we were in. They even served you some smoothies for the kids. Fun! I was so bummed because I forgot to take my camera with me I know how crazy is that? So I tried to take some pictures with my phone but of course there are not the same. Ben touched every fish he could but Hinarei and Raimana were too scared to touch a stingray even a star fish, seriously!! Those kids are definitely not Polynesians LOL :)...Of course their favorite spot were the Penguins. They entertained us for a long time. It was a lot of fun. Plus it was my first time going there with my kids. The membership fee is very affordable but it is so far away I guess we shall see, I might change my mind down the road :)

12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

My dear sister in law Claudine gave us 12 days of gifts to open leading up to Christmas Eve where we would open the 12th gifts at our annual family Christmas Eve Dinner. She has our family for the gift exchange this year and she came up with the coolest idea. I loooove how she hand crafted the numbers so darling. So tonight we opened the first gift during FHE and it had lots of cute Christmas Tags and stickers soooo cute. I love them all. Plus how did you know I needed some Tags? :) Thank you so much Claudine you are awesome. I can't wait to share what we are getting tomorrow. :)

12 Days of Christmas

Love those tags, aren't they darling? My SIL made them she is so crafty!

Love those Christmas Tags

The Note

I love those tags that I decided to hang on our Christmas tree as an ornament.

Primary Nativity Scene

2010-12-09T19:00:00.001-08:00

Hinarei was part of the Primary Nativity Scene for our Ward Christmas Party. We only practiced once and I thought the kids did an amazing job. Thanks to Emma's Mom we didn't have to worry about the costumes because she provided all. The primary children sang 2 Christmas songs and between the 2 songs they played the nativity scene. It was a beautiful act. Sorry my pictures are blurr.

Hinarei played Mary

So well behaved.

Lights Display

2010-12-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to see some neighborhood lights display in the valley. One house definitely caught our attention. The whole house and its front yard was synchronized with music and lights. It was pretty fun to watch. Plus you could see Santa through the window walking and waving at people. Love this time of the year. The kids loved it.

Family Pictures...

2010-12-08T21:17:00.001-08:00

I love how our family pictures turned out and I couldn't asked for better pictures. Thank you Lynette you are definitely the BEST! Here are a few of my favorites.

My Family

Love that cute smile

Beautiful

Brother and Sister

Love her eyes!

Cute

Visit from North Pole

2010-12-05T14:51:00.001-08:00

We visited Santa at Flips and Miss Mo did an awesome job. The kids made some Christmas ornaments, took pictures with Santa thank you Matt those pictures are beautiful, got some goodies and we even won a $25 gift card to Hollywood Connection. Sweet! As you can see on the picture Raimana just got up from his long nap. But at least he still gave me a smile. Precious!

Love that picture!

Hinarei with Santa

Raimana and Santa

She did it...

2010-11-10T08:38:00.000-08:00

I am so excited for Hinarei a couple of months ago (I know I am so behind) in October she wanted to ride her small bike without the training wheels. I hesitated because she tried before and fell multiple times so she hasn't touched her bike for a while. One day out of the blue she asked to ride her bike. There were no training wheels and I didn't want to put them back on so I told her she had to ride it without. She said it was fine. So I helped her for about 20 minutes and before I knew she was pedaling all by herself...I was surprised. She was sooo happy and couldn't wait to show her Dad. We were so proud of her. So now she wants to ride her bike all the time...I guess we know what Santa is going to bring her for Christmas...:)

Look how happy she is!! We are so proud of her.

And off she goes...

Boyz II Men Concert!!

2010-09-10T23:01:00.000-07:00

We were lucky to have free tickets to go watch the Boyz II Men concert at the Fair. I was mostly excited to go see them Wayne not so much he just came to be with me, thanks babe :) Back then Boyz II Men was a BIG hit in Tahiti and I can still remember listening to their album over and over again. Since we had 6 tickets we invited Tati Emily and gave out 2 tickets to complete strangers because W's friends couldn't come anymore. The couple we chose actually drove all the way from Provo to go see the concert tonight and when they got here they realized the concert was sold out!! So I'm glad we made their night. They sat next to us and we actually had a lot of fun with them dancing, singing and sreaming!! The girls group behind us were actually louder, but it was all fun!!
This month is actually their 20th year anniversary, wow I can't believe they have been around that long!! Let me tell you Boyz II Men was sooo popular in Tahiti, so some of my friends from Tahiti couldn't believe that I was actually going to their concert. I guess they better have the Boyz II Men go to Tahiti because it would be a HUGE hit!!
Thank you so much Debbie for watching our kids. Sorry for the pictures they are kind of blurr...

I Love their voices!!

Raimana's Birthday Party with his buddies

2010-09-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

Today we had Raimana's Birthday Party with his friends from Joyschool. He was so excited when I told him that today he gets to celebrate his birthday with his friends. They all came Josh, Lucy, Lance and Grace, thank you so much for coming Raimana had a great time celebrating his birthday with you guys!! They ate cup cakes, ham sandwich (Raimana's favorite), grapes, strawberries, cookies...We also made a craft a Sun, they sure loved it. Then it was time to open presents and Raimana loved them all. Thank you!!

Raimana with his buddies

Sandwich, Grapes, Strawberries...

The Birthday Boy

Party Favors. Winnie the pooh spiral books.

Cute!

Fun craft!

Store bought cup cakes of course from the clearance bakery rack!!

Raimana 1st day of school

2010-09-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Raimana 1st day at Joyschool. We are 5 Moms rotating between each other. We teach 4 hours a week 2 days a week. We treat it just like a regular preschool and more. Raimana is loving it!! I am so glad Kristin, Emma, Dani and Jen are part of it they are such great ladies to do Joyschool with. Our kiddos are going to learn so many amazing things this year, we are very excited about it. I just love it!! Plus it's only 5 kids so lots of one on one teaching with the teacher (Mom) and the child. Plus the kids already know each other so it makes the transition even better. Thank you ladies for making this happen. Plus it's saving us tons it's FREE!!! Love it!!

Happy Birthday Raimana!!!

2010-09-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little boy turned 3 today!! Seriously!! Where did the time go??? When he woke up this morning I told him "happy birthday" he was so excited!! He kept saying "it's my birthday today?" We asked him what he wanted to do and he said "Are my friends coming?". Raimana was supposed to have a birthday party yesterday but since he was sick all week I had to postpone for the following Friday. We decided to take the kids to Chuck E Cheese. We've never been there and let me tell you this place is awesome!! Raimana was in Heaven!! He tried every single ride and game!! We stayed there for at least 3 hours!!! The kids had so much fun.

However Raimana sometimes would forget where we were sitting and before we knew it he had eaten someone else pizza and showed us a couple of tokens that we know we did not give them to him...Then later he came back with tons of tickets in his hands and we knew he couldn't have won that many...Little stinker...:) After Chuck E Cheese we went home and he blew the candles on his woody cake that I got at Walmart last month for $1.50. I just put in the freezer and took out last night. Raimana couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the cake. Oh precious!! He's into the toy Story thing and love anything about the movie. He got fun birthday gifts and played with them for the rest of the afternoon. That evening we went to Mathias 1st birthday party. My friend Anabel did an amazing job. The theme was circus and the set up and decorations were AMAZING!! I loved the balloon center pieces and the party favors, the menu, I mean everything. Good job Anabel. I am so happy that both of our boys share the same birthday...I stayed and helped Anabel cleaned up and was able to get to know her parents a little more. They are the sweetest parents ever. They drove all the way from Vegas for their grandchild's birthday. How precious is that!! Love it!!

Raimana is 3 years old!!

Love to look back and see the changes year after year...

He looks so happy to be at Chuck E Cheese

They had so much fun

They loved playing that game...

Can't get enough of that cute smile

Enjoying his pizza

Enjoying his drink

She loves to take her picture

Hinarei got very lucky. She got a golden ticket worth 10 tokens for having her picture taken on the first try!! Way to go girl!!

Cute!

Raimana up in the playground

Raimana Birthday Cake "Woody"

Raimana loved his birthday cake!! He couldn't stop saying "look it's Woody on my cake"

Light up the candles

Cute smile as we sang Happy Birthday to him in 3 different languages

Love that cute smile!!

Buzz light

Mathias 1st Birthday Party. My friend Anabel did such a great job!! Look at the room!! Gorgeous!!

Love the cup cake stand and the party favors. The popcorn was very yummy! I need your recipe girl.

Love the food display

Of course the kids had a lot of fun jumping in the bouncer

The pinata was tall and had lots of candy

Back to School 2010

2010-08-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

Today was Hinarei's official back to school day. Last week was only introduction and testing so not really an official back to school week. She's been waiting for that day for so long that she kept asking me yesterday if tomorrow she was going to school.
Last night W gave her a priesthood blessing for her school year. She sat on the chair quietly and closed her eyes during the whole prayer. She was so excited to receive a blessing for school. This morning the thunder woke her up and couldn't go back to sleep. I made pancakes for breakfast her favorite. She picked out her school clothes the night before and hanged them by her door with her backpack and shoes...This morning was very cold so we didn't walk to school and decided to drive instead. Sorry Lynette!! I'm still not used to this cold weather!!! :) Wayne came along and wanted to be there for H's first official day to Kindergarten. She was so excited to have her Papa on her first day of school. They went in class and we stayed for a while to peek in to see what she was doing. I can't believe my little girl is big enough to go to school everyday. I did share a few tears but I know she will do good in school and make good friends. Here to a new school year, yea!!!

Hinarei 1st day of Kindergarten. Today was RED DAY at school so she had something red on her shirt.

Daddy's little girl

she is so excited

Is that a smile? Hinarei was so excited to see her friend Madelyn arriving.

I can't believe they are both in Kindergarten now. Even though they are not in the same class at least I know they will play together during recess.

4th of July Celebration!!!

2010-08-12T22:24:00.001-07:00

We had the best 4th of July Celebration with our good friends the Watts...Thank you so much Lynette for the invite we really had a great time with your family. You have such a fun and cute family...It was so much fun to get to know your parents more and your brother's family. We had never been to our city 4th of July celebration and let me tell you it was the BEST by far!! There were tons of people from all over the valley. It was pretty chili up there but the location and the ambiance was awesome!!!

We got there right on time to get some of the best spot to watch the fireworks...We were right up the hill and you watch the fireworks coming right in front of you. We couldn't get a better spot that this one. Thank you so much Lynette!!! We had dinner and let the kids played...Hinarei and Raimana had so much fun we are definitely going there next year....Count us in Lynette we might bring the whole Munanui clan with us....:)

Love the view and look at all those people. Good thing it only took us half an hour to get home!!

Hinarei with her friend Madelyn with their matchy shirts

My kids with their patriotic outfits

Raimana and Papa

Proud to be an American

Raimana with sweet Izabel

He loved playing with those binoculars

Love the sunset!!

Lynette's family!!

We had fly over (that was pretty amazing), 4 parachuters came down and one was holding the American Flag!! So proud to be an American!!!

Look at this amazing view of the Sunset as it was setting right behind us. Break taking!!

When it got dark, the kids loved playing with glowing necklaces and bracelets..

glowing sword

FANTASTIC DISPLAY OF FIREWORKS

They even had heart shape fireworks and an American Flag fireworks, amazing!!!

My Little Artist!!!

2010-08-12T22:02:00.001-07:00

Wow where should I begin!!!! I guess one event at a time...Here we go....

Hinarei took Art Class during Summer and she loved it. Dani her art teacher was amazing. She did an excellent job with the kids and they painted the most beautiful and unique masterpieces ever. Hinarei loved going to art class with her buddies. So here are some of her accomplishments. We are so proud of Hinarei.

Hinarei and her art teacher Dani

Hinarei wall of arts

She has accomplished so much

Love this painting

This one is one of my favorites

Dani made this cute crayons case. Thank you Dani Hinarei loved it.

Look what's inside

My dear friend Lynette made those beautiful artist folders with each art the child made. Thank you so much Lynette you are definitely the most talented woman that I know. Plus she did that as a service project working on her Young Woman Medallion she's been in YW for couple of months now and is loving it.

Love it

The refreshments setting. The kids painted this canvas.

Love this, thanks Lynette

Block Party!!

2010-06-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

We had a block party on Monday night and we closed the street. It was nice seeing people outside of their homes for a change. We had hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, and desserts. It was a nice turn out!! I got to know my neighbors a lot more. Of course the kids had tons of fun with their friends playing around. At first it was very hot but good thing the shade gradually came to our side of the street. Can't wait for our next one.

The kids love their umbrella chairs. They wanted to carry with them instead of being on their chairs.

Raging Waters Performance...

2010-06-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

After we came back from our trip to St George I decided that I would try and take H to her dance recital at Raging Waters. To my surprise she did amazingly!! Way to go girl, we are so proud of you. She went right in and did her best!! We are so happy for her!! After the performance of course she couldn't wait to go swimming. She had a great time at the kiddie pool and I even made her go down the big slide that falls in a 9ft pool, I know crazy!! Plus she went down all by herself. Good thing she had her arm floats on. She liked it but would rather go swimming in the kiddie pool. I don't blame her!! It was a little scary for me!! Lynette and her family was there and so Erin with her new born baby Nathaniel, such a cute baby. The girls all did an amazing job. Miss Mo you are awesome!!

Love the umbrella

Ready to perform

She did it!! Go girl!!

A big smile right after her performance

Love those girls!! Going to the wave pool.

Art Museum, Drive-in, St George Vacation...

2010-06-26T17:36:00.001-07:00

We have done so much the last couple of weeks that I don't even know where to start. How about I start at the beginning!!:) Couple of weeks ago I went along H's art class to Utah Museum of Fine Arts. I've been there before with my French class when I used to teach so it was nice going back there. The Museum was amazing!! The kids did awesome, they were very quiet and attentive. Dani is such an awesome teacher. We had lunch there and I had the biggest panini Turkey Sandwich ever. It was so yummy!! Thanks Lynette for those pictures mine didn't come out right!!:)

Love that picture

Dani with her art students

The kids did an awesome job

Love the horse made out of wood

The Art Class Students

Drive-in

On a Friday night we decided to go see the new movie Toy Story 3 at the drive in. W's brother family Dean came along and we all had a great time. Even Tati Emily joined the fun with Arii. The kids loved the movie and laughed hard at times. I was brave enough to watch the second movie "Prince of Persia". We love drive-in we can't wait to go back again.

Toy Story 3

Tati Emily and Arii behind her late big brother's truck. She was able to fit a full mattress in the back!! That truck was a big hit with my kids.

ST George Vacation

We left on Monday to Saint George. It took us about 9 hours to get to St George because we went through Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. I have never been there and last time W was there he was probably R's age. The drive was long but the view was amazing. It sure was a nice drive through both national parks. The kids loved it. We stayed at W's parents Time share the whole week. I love how they have everything in there for your convenience (washer, dryer, kitchen with utensils, pots, pan, dishwasher, barbecue I mean everything...) I think this was our cheapest trip ever. We took the kids back to Zion National Park and hiked up the Emerald Pool trail and made it to the first one. On our way back we let the kids soak their feet in the river. We pretty much spend most of our days at the pool since it was in the late 90's...It was so relaxing, I can't wait for our next getaway in August with W's family. We love Summer!!!

H and her Papa

H and her cousin Teave

Beautiful

Wow

Amazing View

Zion National Park

The kids loved the tunels

So magnificent

Gorgeous Sand Stones

Town Square St George

Loving the water

So cute

H had lots of fun

This one was her favorite

Taking a lunch break then back to the pool

Doing some coloring after spending hours at the pool

Back to Zion National Park for a nice hike up to the Emerald pool.

My boy was so brave

We all made it to the first one

Beautiful

After a long hike we let the kids soak their feet in the river

Love that kid

Ready to go to swimming

That's how far he made it in the pool!! Little stinker!!

H had so much fun with her Dad. Those 2 can play forever!!

Love it

Girls night out and a suprise visit!!

2010-06-13T22:00:00.001-07:00

On Saturday afternoon I went out with my friends and W's sisters to watch a movie. We went to see "letters to Juliet" and what a beautiful movie that was. Also the best reason to see "letters to Juliet" is for the scenery. It was so beautiful and magnificent. I was just contemplating the warm earth tones and blue vistas of Verona, Siena, Lake Garda, and Argiano. Oh how I heart Italy!!! So to keep up with the scenery we decided to have dinner none other place else than Olive Garden. At the dinner table we kept talking about Victor and his thick Spanish accent when speaking in Italian. So funny! He was so hilarious. The waitress enjoyed listening about the movie that she was so excited to go see it. Thanks girls for a fun night out. Can't wait to go see Eclipse at the end of this month.

Beautiful Movie

Guess what?? My brother showed up at my house an hour after I got home from dinner with the ladies. I was so shocked!! He drove all day from San Francisco to here. I know he is a crazy man!! But I was happy to see him at the same time. My brother is the type of person who doesn't like to stay at the same place for more than a day. Since he loves driving He decided last minute to drive all the way here. He only stayed with me less than 24 hours then decided to go back to CA. At least I got to see him. He goes back to my home country next week. At least he spoiled me and the kids before he left. Thank you and love you brother!!

Free School Lunch...

2010-06-10T08:20:00.001-07:00

After Art class I decided to take the kids to the school free lunch. It did not disappoint them! They loved it! They were all so happy to go get lunch at a school.

Here they are are walking to the school cafeteria

Picking out what they like

Carrots good choice Ben.

My cute little boy

Enjoying their lunch

Enjoying their lunch at Lynette's house before heading to the candy factory!

I found out about the free lunch when I took the kids to the library to get some books to read during summer!

Then after we had lunch at the school the kids still wanted to play so I took them to McDonald because it was very hot outside. I got some sundaes for them and they played so good together!

CANDY FACTORY

Yesterday my dear friend Lynette invited us to go on a candy tour. I'm glad we did the kids had an awesome time! There were a lot of rules but the kids did an amazing job not stepping out of the yellow line, not touching anything and making sure they had their hair nets on at all times. We sure ate lots of yummy treats, taffy, jelly beans and of course I had to buy some candy at their candy store. Love it! thank you so much Lynette for the invite. You are awesome! Glad we were part of your 100 things to do this summer. Maybe I should start my own list too. I don't know about 100 things though!!:)

The kiddos in front of the candy factory

Inside the candy factory. Love those hair nets! Even baby Lincoln had one. I know they are very serious about it.

ACTIVITY DAY GIRLS ACTIVITY

Then that evening we went for a walk around bountiful lake with the Activity Day girls. The girls had a great time!

The cute girls!

After Activity Day we took the kids around our neighborhood. Raimana is getting pretty good at riding Hinarei's scooter!

Hinarei Summer Art Class!

2010-06-10T08:01:00.001-07:00

Hinarei started going to art class and let me tell you Dani is an amazing art teacher. She does the cutest things with the kids. I am so glad I put Hinarei in that class. She is loving it and plus she gets to go along with her friends Ben and Madelyn. Thank you Dani for the pictures and ideas.

They paste newspaper clippings onto canvas. It will be a patriotic painting!! I can't wait to see the end product.

Love it!

Painting her treasure box

For art history lesson they learned about Jackson Pollock and his action paintings in which is flung, splattered, dripped and drizzled paint! So here are the kids splattering and dripping paint all over their canvas. How cool is that?

The kids are working on drawing the flowers in the pot.

Taking some well deserved break!

In deep concentration!

They started a new mini abstract in which they spread light molding paste on canvas board.

Here they were drawing the airport tower toy!

The kids LOVED my spin art machine! (RoseArt brand) They had a great time taking turns making these awesome creations..

Hinarei's Birthday Party!!

2010-05-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun time celebrating Hinarei's 5th birthday. I can't believe my baby girl is 5!! She is sure growing way too fast.

This is Hinarei's poster for preschool

We had so much fun doing it.

Hinarei wanted to me to read one of her favorite books "Pinkalicious"

Enjoying Maman's cup cake

Hinarei in deep conversation

Party Favors "flip flop" for the girls and "spiderman" stickers for the boys!

The cup cake stand!

Hinarei wanted a princess cake so I made her one. Not bad for someone who is not a baker.

My little princess. Love her petti skirt!

The Happy Birthday Girl!

Picking up candies from the pinata! Thanks Lynette for helping.

Hinarei's friends!

My dear friend Erin had her baby shower last month. She is having a boy! She's almost due and I can't wait to see her little bundle of joy.

End of Preschool!!

2010-05-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

The end of preschool is near and I can tell you Hinarei loved going to preschool with her little friend Madelyn. Her teacher Miss Michelle is an amazing teacher I wish Hinarei could get a teacher just like her in Kindergarten. We are sure going to miss her a lot.
She gave all the children a CD with photos of them she compiled throughout the whole year. She is truly an amazing teacher. Love it!

I just love that girl so much.

My little preschooler is now ready to go to Kindergarten next fall. I'm a little choked up!!

Cute.

Ready to sing! They did such a good job. The songs were awesome!! Hinarei said her part very well "February was dino-mite. We learned all about dinosaurs and Terex was our favorite."

Hinarei with her best buddies, Madelyn, Summer and Benjamin

Hinarei accepting her diploma.

Yea you made it Hinarei. We couldn't be more proud of you!!

Then right after the preschool program we went to Park City for few days with W's parents. It was a last minute getaway and I'm glad we did the kids had tons of fun.

My little mermaid. She loved the water.

My handsome boy did not want to go in the water!!

Until Papa got him!!

she's loving it!!

Brr it was so cold!!

Playing chest!!

Waiting for the bus to arrive!

Hinarei and Mama'u

Going for a walk with Mama'u and Papa'u

Craft time

Having fun!

Having fun at the park

She picked up those flowers for Mama'u.

Those little animals were everywhere outside of our room. The kids loved looking at it.

Look at how much snow they had up there!!

Riding the free bus in park city. They had a great time!

Last month we went to Heiana dance recital and she did an awesome job. Way to go Heiana.

Love the pose

Hinarei and Heiana. Hinarei was so happy she got to see her cousin perform.

We are so happy for Brian who got his master last month. Way to go Brian, congratulations to you guys!!

Last Saturday we went to Michael's baptism. We are so proud of you Michael, that is awesome. Then right after the baptism we went to Brian's Graduation Luau. The food was yummy and the ambiance was excellent!! Good job Claudine!

Hinarei and her Papa. That girl is in love with her Dad. So cute!

My handsome little boy with his cute smile.

"I'm Singing in the Rain"

2010-05-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

Okay Hinarei practiced all week for her first dance competition ever. She was so excited. She knew all the dance move. She really got pumped up until the day of the competition arrived. I put her dance outfit on, put on some makeup and loved every moment of it until she saw the crowd in the gym area and froze. She did not want to go dance. She stayed with her team before the performance and I thought she would get over it but at the very end she did not want to go and perform. Poor thing!! Thank you Lynette for trying and being there for her, you are awesome!! Oh well at least I got a picture of her in her cute outfit!! However my friends daughters did an amazing job, way to go Lydia, Madelyn and Brielle!! You girls ROCK!! Plus a lot of people wore blue to support our team so Legacy Dance won the Spirit Award 3rd year in the row, so yeah for pizza!! To top it all Hinarei Dance Teamates won 1st place in their category even better!!! Congratulations!!!

What a Fun Weekend

2010-04-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

Our fun and busy weekend started on Friday. This was the day Hinarei had her First Piano Recital. She practiced a lot and did so good but when it was time to show her piano skills to her family she did not want to go. Poor thing!! I guess she was so shy and scared of all the people that were there. So after the recital was over and everyone was eating she started playing her melody on the piano. How cute!! Hinarei loves playing the piano and I know next time she will be fine. Thank you Mama'u and Papa'u for coming and Tati Claudine, Tati Emily and Hinarei's cousins. You guys are awesome!
After the recital we went home and had pizza and salad. Of course we had to watch the Jazz Game and what a game that was!! Yea go Jazz!!

Look at that cute smile! Right before the recital.

Group picture

Hinarei with her Piano Teacher. She wanted to give her teacher a bouquet of flower.

Go Jazz!! Yea!! 3-1

Saturday April 24th

I had a very busy day on Saturday. I started off the day going to my friend Kristin's baby shower. She is having a girl and has 2 boys so I couldn't be more happier for her. The food was delicious and it was nice just being there to celebrate Kristin's baby girl arrival in less than 2 weeks now. Then I had to leave early to go to Madison's baptism. I found out that she was getting baptized on Tuesday and had to plan her baptism for Saturday. It was a little work but I was able to find people that she knew to participate in her Baptism. I even called some of her classmates from primary to come and support her and they did.
Let me tell you about this little girl. She is 9 years old and has the biggest heart. I first met her a couple of months ago while visiting less active children from primary. We knocked on her door thinking it was the family we had on the list but to our surprise that family had moved out and the Gibson's family was living there now. We introduced ourselves and tried to find out if they were members or not.
We realized they were less active and had just moved into the neighborhood. We met Madison, her little brother Caleb , Zachary, Amy the Mom and Jeremy the Step Father, a very sweet family. Of course we invited them to come to church on Sunday. Then one Sunday I see Madison at the Church with one of her friends who happen to be a member and both share the same first name. I know how cool is that!! She invited Madison to come to Church and to Activity Day Girls Activity. To make a long story short, Madison on her own asked to receive the missionaries into her home and her parents agreed. She read all the passages in the Book of Mormon that the Elders asked her to read. She says her prayers morning and night and is being a great example to her little brother. Now at her baptism the Spirit was so strong and everyone in attendance could definitely feel it. She is such a special girl with a great love for her Savior Jesus Christ and his teachings. I look forward seeing her coming to church every Sundays in primary and see her beautiful smile that instantly brightens the room. It was a great Baptism.
Then at 1PM we had a Primary Activity and toured the Visitors' Center at Temple Square. We weren't sure how many people would show up but we had a pretty good turn out and really had a great time. The sisters Missionaries gave us the tour and the kids were very quiet and reverent besides my little boy who just wanted to go play. It was fun to be together as a family in a very special place. The tulips were blooming everywhere. I love this time of the year.
After the tour we had treats and off we went to our friend's Emily birthday party at Central City. Her Mom works there so we had the place all to ourselves. We played volley ball, basket ball and ate pizza. The kids got to play outside on this cool playground. So everybody was having a great time.
We went home late and Tati Emily came along. We made some crafts and decided we were hungry at 11:30PM I know very late. So we had grilled chicken and salad!! We stayed up very late and just hang out together. It was a busy but yet an awesome day.

Lynette and Kristin

The table

Madison and her grandpa

Love this time of the year

It was so hard to get a smiley picture of him

Some of the primary children by the Statue of Christ

The sisters Missionaries who took the primary children on a tour of the visitor's center

Sweet!

Coco

Raimana was glued to that little dog. He wanted to pet Coco all the time.

Having Fun at the playground

Cheese!!

Hinarei playing part of her song while everyone was having refreshments.Cute!! Way to go Hinarei we are so proud of you.

My Heavenly Father Loves Me

2010-04-11T23:12:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite primary songs.

Temple Date, Night Out, and Ice Cream...

2010-04-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

Today was such a beautiful and warm day. Totally the opposite of yesterday!! I am so glad Wayne and I were able to squeeze in a Temple Day. My sister was kind enough to watch my kids. She actually took them to Kangaroo Zoo. I know, I have the Best Sister Ever!! The Endowment was beautiful and very inspiring.

After the temple we joined my sister and her hubby to a night out. We went to eat at the Texas Roadhouse the food and the ambiance was awesome!! Thanks sister for inviting us for dinner. Love ya!!

Then later that night we went to eat a Daddy Doug super-sized Banana Split at Leatherby's. The kids loved it!! All I can say it was a lot of ice cream!!!

Photo Shoot!!

2010-04-08T08:14:00.000-07:00

I know it took me forever to post these pictures. Back in December a member from our Ward Rob Ingles' Photography took pictures of my two beautiful children. He did an amazing job. You can see the rest of the pictures here . He is very talented. He set up a studio in his basement and I'm telling you it looks so beautiful and professional. It was a very laid back and relaxed photo session. He took some amazing photos and you should definitely look into having him do yours!!
Go check out his portfolio online www.jealouspictures.com. Their family picture was taken by him alone and put together. Isn't that awesome?

Love that picture

Hinarei in her dancing outfit from last year

My little boy

My beautiufl kids

Joy School and The Last Song!!

2010-04-08T00:22:00.000-07:00

Here is a cute picture of Josh, Raimana and Lance (Lucille is missing) our cute little Joy School. Every Monday Raimana gets so excited to go to joy school and be with his buddies. He has already learned so much. They are such cute kids and I am so glad that 3 of my friends who are very talented are doing it with me. Thanks Kristin for taking the picture and thank you Dani for dropping my boy off my house last Monday. You ladies are awesome!! Thank you for teaching my boy. Emma you are awesome!!

We went to see that movie last night and I thought it was great. If it wasn't for my niece Vaitiare who pretty much begged us to take her watch that movie my sister and I wouldn't have chosen to go see that movie. However it was a good movie and we really enjoyed it!! So thank you Vaitiare for being so persistent!! Tonite was the girls night out because last night the boys went to see the Jazz Game which actually turned out to be a great game. Go Jazz!!

My Sister Family is In Town

2010-04-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday my sister's family arrived in Utah for General Conference Weekend and Spring Break. Her kids have 2 weeks Spring Break but good thing they came right on our 1 week Spring Break. Hinarei was counting the days, she was so excited to have her cousin Tehani over and play with her. That is exactly what they did. Hinarei wanted to be in the same car as Tehani and go wherever Tehani would go. They are only 9 months apart and Hinarei thinks she is the coolest of her cousins. So sweet!!! What a fun weekend we had!! My brother's family was supposed to be here as weell but there was a strike in Tahiti so they couldn't board the plane. We were all so disappointed. Oh well good thing there's always a next time.

On Friday afternoon we took the kids to the Movie to watch "How to train your dragon" What an awesome movie. It was my first time watching a movie in 3D and it did not disappoint me. My sister and I were with the little ones and we had a blast. The bigger kids and the hubbys wanted to go see "clash of the Titans" not that great of a movie if you ask me!!:) In the evening we attended the "Tahitian Missionary Reunion". The Stake Center was packed. I think there were at least 300 people if not more. A lot of groups came from Tahiti and it was nice seeing old friends and visit with them. Good thing we had enough food for everyone.:) What a fun evening!!!

That was an awesome Movie!!!

Hinarei first time going to a 3D Movie. She loved it but sometimes she didn't want to wear the glasses. So I guess I will only take her to watch the regular movie and save money. :)

Raimana with Teva they can't wait to go watch that movie.

Tahitian Missionary Reunion. The food was yummy!!

Hinarei enjoying her dinner.

On Saturday morning, we all got up early so we could follow General Conference. The talks were so spiritual and inspiring. It was AWESOME!!! As always Babe goes to General Conference and help with Interpretation. He supervises the Marshallese Group and is loving it. During the AM and PM General Conference we had a little Easter Egg Hunt for the kids in our backyard. They had tons of fun!!! Raimana was sooo into it and got lots of eggs.

That night we had dinner at Terava's house my sister's childhood friend. We had barbecued "heart Cow Beef" and it was yummy!! I know it sounds gross but it is soo good. You should try it!!:) Thanks Terava for inviting us, dinner was great. I want the recipe of your rice salad that was yummy!!

Easter Egg Hunt

Having Fun

Look at all those eggs!!

Picture Time!!

Cow Beef Heart before they barbecue it. We forgot to take pictures when it was done. Sorry!

On EASTER DAY we watched conference and had dinner with Babe's family at the Stake Center. We invited a couple Tahitian Families visiting from Tahiti. The food was delicious and we had a little fireside about Easter. Then we had the kids do Easter Egg Hunt, it was a lot of fun.

The Tahitian Group with the Munanui Family

My beautiful niece Vaitiare

Hinarei dancing on the stage

Raimana got the big Easter Egg basket!!

Raimana with his cousin Teiki. They are only couple of weeks apart. So cute.

Here's a picture of them when they were a couple of months old.
Teiki and Raimana. So cute!!

Yesterday we got pounded with few inches of snow I know I thought it was Spring too but not just yet!! I guess you never know with mother nature, especially in Utah!!! So I decided to take my sister's family sledding on the benches. There was tons of snow and they had a blast. However it was very windy and cold but it didn't stop my nephews and nieces going down the hill and had a blast. Babe joined the fun right after he finished work. Raimana and Hinarei had so much fun going down the hill in the snow.

The kids playing outside with the snow.

Trying to make a snow man.

Sledding at the East Benches!!

Having a great time!!

Hinarei had tons of fun playing in the snow. She actually went down the hill all by herself. She has improved a lot since the beginning of this winter season. We are so proud of her.

LDS First Presidency and 12 Apostles Song

2010-03-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

My friend Kristin shared this great song to share with the kids to help them learn about the prophets as General Conference is near this is a great song to learn. My kids love it. They want to watch and sing over and over again.

Eclipse the trailer

2010-03-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

I can't wait to go see the movie.

Children Museum

2010-02-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

Okay yesterday I went with Kristin and Suzanne to Discovery Gateway. It's been a while since our last trip to DC so it was time to take the kids there, especially that my membership expires next month. I got this idea from Jen, thanks Jen for this great idea it's been awesome and the kids loved it. We have a container of marbles, and an empty jar that they filled with marbles. Every time they obey us, share really well between each other and with friends when they come over, clean up their messes at the table, in their bedrooms, and say "please" "sorry""I love you" or anything else worthy of praise, they get one marble or a couple depending on what they did. For example, cleaning up bedrooms 4 marbles, sharing toys, 2 marbles, and so on... It's been such a treat to see the kids filling up the empty jar. So since they have been so good a trip to Discovery Gateway was definitely a must and plus they get to play with their friends.
They just had a great time with Kristin's kids and Suzanne's boy. We were there for almost 4 hours that's how much fun they had. While the kids were playing us the Moms just hang out and talked, it was very nice. Thanks Kristin for the ride, we definitely have to do it again.
Last month I took the kids to Kangaroo Zoo and so other women from my ward. The kids had tons of fun. My kids play so well with Kristin's kids that we stayed there for almost 4 hours too and I totally forgot about Hinarei's piano lesson!Oops!!:) At least Hinarei and Raimana were having lots of fun!!

They played so good together

Having Fun

Aren't they cute?

Love Piano!!

2010-02-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't updated my blog for a while first I was very busy with family and kids, then my camera broke, and now the camera I'm using is not that great of a camera I guess I need a new one!! Hint Babe!!:)
Last month Hinarei started taking piano lesson and she loves it. First I thought she was too young to play the piano but after hearing other people including her piano teacher telling me about all the benefits of learning the piano early I was thrilled I was able to get her in. Her piano teacher is the Primary President and right now she is teaching 17 kids but she is an amazing teacher and Hinarei loves her. Every day she wants to practice her piano and right now we don't have one just a small Barbie piano we got her when she was two. But she loves it. Maybe Santa will bring one this year or the next who knows??:) Another Hint Babe!!:)

2009 Holidays and Happy New Year 2010!!!

2010-01-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

We've had such a busy and fabulous Holidays that I honestly don't know where to start. All I can say it was a BLAST!! The Yim Family spent the Holidays with our family. They are visiting from Raiatea one of the neighboring islands of Tahiti. Last time I saw them was about 3 years ago we spent some time with them in Raiatea. Now the grandkids are so big and beautiful. I will try to put as many pictures as I can to show you how much fun we had with them. Despite the chilly days and nights we were able to do a lot of things.

Uncle Michel is Mama'u little brother. He has 5 children and 3 grandkids only girls. For some of them it's their first time seeing, touching and playing in the Snow!!!

Christmas Sing a Long at the Energy Solution
Monday 22nd of December 2009

The Yim Family arrived in the afternoon around 4PM. They drove from LAX and made a stop in Beaver. We were so happy to finally see them. That first night we took them to the Christmas Sing a Long at the Energy Solution, thanks Lynette for the idea. It was definitely packed but they loved it. They tried to sing even though they didn't know the words in English but they just sang in French instead. I can't believe I stood in line for 45 minutes for stupid free hot dogs, oh well I guess it was worth it.

Love Christmas Songs

Singing

Lehi, Raihei, Virginie and Kelly

Heiana and Hinarei enjoying their drinks and hot dog

Photo Shoot
I wanted to give pictures of the grandkids to Auntie Pauline and uncle Michel for Christmas so I asked my dear friend Lynette to work her magic and they were AMAZING!! We did it at her house for a short time. Thank you, thank you soo much Lynette the grand parents got chocked up when they saw the pictures. They REALLY loved them. Thank you again you're The Best!

Kelly, Raihei and Nelly

Raihei 5

Nelly 8

Kelly 8

I LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE

Despite our busy schedule we were able to attend the temple with few members of the Yim Family. It was such a great experience. Virginie had never seen a live endowment and she really enjoyed it. It was a great day.

Thursday 24th of December 2009
Since uncle Dean had to work on Christmas Eve we decided to have a game night instead and celebrate our Family Christmas on Christmas Day. We first had dinner at a buffet, drove around the neighborhood to see the lights, then ended up at Papa'u church and played game all night. We also set up the cultural hall for our dinner the next day. We played ping pong, basket ball, board games and more...It was a very FUN night!

GAME NIGHT

Playing board game. We had to translate in French so they would know how to play the game.

Playing Basketball

Having fun

Uncle Michel and Papa'u playing pingpong

Christmas Eve Dinner

CRAZY JIM BUFFET

Enjoying dinner

Buffet dinner

Neighborhood Christmas Lights

I'm not a Ute Fan but those lights were awesome!

When we got home late that night we did our traditional gift from the Tree. Virginie loved that idea and wants to start that tradition starting next year.

We did not forget the cookies for Santa. She definitely want to do the same next year with her family.

Christmas Day Morning

Guess who woke up the first?? Raimana. He noticed Santa ate the cookies and drank the milk.

Hinarei wanted a pet shop set since last year so she was very excited when she opened her gifts.

Men made breakfast for us, so nice of you guys!

Family Christmas Day Celebration

What a beautiful Christmas Day we had with the Yim Family. Dinner was delicious, the program was very emotional, the gifts awesome. We got a Garmin GPS from Wayne's parents and we love it. We all shared a skit including Christmas songs, performances, instrumental, and more. Of course the most important we focused on Christ and the reason we are celebrating Christmas at this time of the year. We truly had a wonderful evening.

Hinarei with Mama'u

Auntie Pauline getting emotional after seeing the beautiful pictures of her grandkids

Hinarei loving her crown set

This is how my son spent most of the day sleeping peacefully. He didn't get to open his gifts from his cousins and grandparents but he was able to ride his new quad he got for Christmas later that night.

Leoni was very happy for the gift we got her family

Hinarei and I got 3 built a bear bunny for her cousins for Christmas. We made their bows. They loved it and wanted to take the box with them all the way back to Raiatea.

The Yim Family were showered with Love and lots of gifts. They were very touched.

Leoni starting our first emotional exchange

We had to talk about the person sitting next to us and what we like about them. Leoni started to cry and it carried all the way to the last person. Very emotional night.

Our live band Nephi playing the guitar

Mama'u and Papa'u doing their spiritual skit

The girls doing a performance they learned at school

Michel enjoying the delicious Christmas dinner

We had such a great night.

Jazz Game
The next evening we got tickets for the Yim Family to go see the Jazz Game.

Enjoying the Jazz Game

It was a fun Game

National Anthem

Hinarei and Raimana pass time during the Jazz Game

Hinarei and Tekehu having a very late dinner after watching the Jazz Game.

The Spoken Word

We woke up early on Sunday morning to go watch the Tabernacle Choir "The Spoken Word". The Yim Family really enjoyed and couldn't believe how beautiful that place was and hear the beautiful choir. It was a very special moment for them. Sorry most of the pictures are blurr!!

Isabelle (non member) and Michel

Raihei's Birthday Party

Raihei turned 5 so we celebrated her birthday at our house. We had 23 adults and 12 kids running around in my house. That's a lot of people but we were able to fit everyone in.

The Birthday Girl

Bowling

it's playtime!

Hinarei with her Dad. She did not want to go play bowling!!

Virginie playing bowling

She almost did but just wanted to pose with the ball.

Go Isabelle

Go Michel

Waiting for their time to play

THE LIGHTS AT TEMPLE SQUARE AND THE JOSEPH SMITH MOVIE

It was sooo cold that night 14F but at least we were able to take a picture of them with the Temple in the back.

Love that picture

Irena and Freddy waiting patiently for the Joseph Smith Movie to start

After the Movie

In the theatre

Raimana was soo good

Hinarei with her cousins

Waiting for the Movie

SLEDDING

We had so much fun sledding at this awesome Golf Course. The slopes were amazing and tons of room. The cousins had lots of fun. They did not have the proper gear for sledding as you can see, some of them were wearing shorts but they had so much fun that they forgot about the cold. We went up there twice and both time they had a BLAST!

Lehi going down the hill

Nelly

Uncle Michel

Nelly and Kelly

Hani

CRAFTS

Helping Hands

The girls were so happy to put the birthday gifts together I had to do for primary. 100 birthday bags!!

HUMANITARIAN CENTER

We took them to visit the Humanitarian Center and I am always amazed to see all the things that the Church does to help those in need due to natural disasters. We were also able to go visit the Church Truck Company that is located right behind the Humanitarian Center. To my surprised the director is the father of our old 1st counselor in our bishopric who just moved out. What a small world!

The kids played Go Fish while waiting for our tour to start

Uncle Michel by this huge truck. He always wanted to see this kind of truck up close.

Well He even got in

Joey's dad let the kids pull the Horn

They usually don't give tour in that area but since we know this guy who actually lived in Tahiti for many years so we were able to see what kind of merchandise the Trucks transport. It was pretty neat. It just reaffirms me how much the Church does for others and how everything is well organized and well done.

I am not done I still have to get pictures of our New Year's Eve Dance and the New Year Day. Since my camera broke I borrowed papa'u camera so as soon as I get the pictures from his camera I will add more pictures.

I love the sound of the "ukulele"

Going down the Hill

"Santa Is Coming"

2009-12-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

I just had to write about my little boy. These past couple of days whenever he hears the word "Santa" he would say "Santa Is Coming" joyfully and repeatedly. It is the cutest thing I've ever heard from him. I am so glad my kids believe in Santa and hope they will for a very long time.

Family Pictures

2009-12-17T23:47:00.000-08:00

This is the time of the year when we take our Family pictures but this year I actually had our pictures taken back in the Fall. Once again my talented friend Lynette was kind enough to come take our family pictures. I am telling you she is an Amazing Photographer and my kids just love her which made the process a lot easier. Thank you so much Lynette you don't know how much this mean to me. Those pictures are darling and here a few of my favorites.

Love that cute smile!

Our Sweet Little Princess

Watch out for those eyes!

Love those cute eyes!

My Handsome Boy

My favorite picture of my sweet boy

Brother and Sister

Cute!

Our Family

Hinarei Last Performance of the Year!!

2009-12-17T22:59:00.001-08:00

Tonight Hinarei had her last Performance of the Season held at Flip's Gymnastic. Babe had to work that night so since I am part of this amazing group of women called "babysitting co-op" it didn't take me long to find someone my dear friend Kristin to watch my little boy while I take Hinarei to her performance. Hinarei did an amazing job, she performed well and had a great time. It was very fun watching all the different groups perform, they all did an awesome job. After the performance Miss Mo gave each girl a cute kitty bag and Hinarei loves it. After dance we went to our favorite yogurt place, it a was really fun night. Thanks Kristin for watching my boy.

Posing before going to Flips.

Raimana wanted to be part of the picture too.

Another pose before her performance

Thanks Miss Mo for this cute bag, Hinarei loves it.

After hard work comes the reward. She was in heaven!

We are so proud of you Hinarei, you did an Amazing job!

What have we been up to lately!!!

2009-12-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

I know it's been months since I last wrote on my blog so please forgive me if this is a lot of information all at once. Well Christmas is right around the corner and I didn't even write about Thanksgiving.

THANKSGIVING

We spent Thanksgiving with Wayne's Family and friends living in the valley. We actually held the event at our Ward Building. There were tons of food, I made my first Turkey and it turned out GREAT I forgot to take the end result picture of the Turkey I'll do next year. Thanks sista for your help. We pretty much spent the whole day there, eating, talking, making cute crafts, playing volleyball and basket ball. It was a very FUN day.

Those were fun to make. We painted those small blocks, put ribbon and all you need to do is modgepod your pictures. Thanks Claudine for this fun craft.

BIRTHDAYS

The birthday girl Hinarava

Hinarei was invited to Hinarava's birthday and they made Gingerbread Houses. Hinarei had a great time making her gingerbread house with all kinds of candies, she loved it.

Teave's Birthday

Hinarei and Raimana were very happy to celebrate their cousinTeave's birthday. He's 6 years old and right now He is Hinarei's favorite cousin to hang out with. The following day she asked us to take her to Teave's house so she could play with her cousin. She bugged us the whole day.

HAVING FUN!!
KANGAROO ZOO!!!

My dear friend Lisa gave us some free passes to Kangaroo Zoo it is a fun place with huge inflated bouncing and sliding. The kids love going to that place. We took the kids a couple of times already. They even got free slurpee since Lisa was working. Those are fun Family Night!

DISCOVERY GATEWAY

I've been taking the kids to DC quite often this past couple of weeks. I'm so happy we got a yearly membership and we are definitely going to renew it. The kids just love that place. Every time we go there we spend a good 2 hours that's how much they love being there. Plus every time we go there are rarely anybody there so they pretty much own the place.

Raimana loves playing with those magnets to build things.

Raimana and Hinarei loves going to the market

Raimana loves planes, helicopter, pretty much anything that flies.

Our Future Pilot

"THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG" MOVIE

This week after taking the kids to go play at DC I decided to take them watch "The Princess and the Frog" movie. Hinarei had been wanted to go see the movie since it came out last week. So I took the challenge to take a toddler to the movie. We had lunch at McDonald and of course we had to have popcorn at the theater. To my surprise Raimana did great, he stayed in his seat most of the times and ate his popcorn. When he was up he would just go around and come back so we had a great time. Hinarei loves the movie and couldn't stop talking about it.

H1N1

Who would have thought that Santa Clause would be at the same place where the H1n1 flu vaccine was given. The kids got their first shot last month so today I took them for their second shot. Since I didn't take them to see Santa, Hinarei and Raimana were pretty excited to see Santa. At least I got 2 things done at one place. Both kids cried this time probably because they still remembered their first shot. Poor thing but I'm glad we are all vaccinated except my hubby who thinks he's invincible!!:) Men!!!:)

Happy Birthday Sista!!

2009-12-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

Manu surrounded by her 6 children and her wonderful husband Darryl

I just want to wish a Happy Birthday to my Dear Sister Manu. Know that I love you and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful sister like you. Hope you are enjoying every minute of your special day because you deserve it.

Happy Birthday Glitter Graphics

Happy Birthday Glitter Graphics

Yea!! Go BYU!!!

2009-11-29T14:22:00.000-08:00

What a game!!! Both teams played awesome and at the end BYU won. Go Cougars!!!

"New Moon"

2009-11-20T21:42:00.001-08:00

I saw the movie today with my dear friend Ala and I loved it. We had the best seat in town, no wait just walk in 15 minutes before the movie started. Love it!!! New Moon is so much better than "Twilight" and Jacob all I can say is WOW!!! I can't wait to see "Eclipse" Next Summer.

"I know that My Savior Loves Me"

2009-11-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

I love the primary new theme for next year " I know My Savior Lives" and the new songs the children from primary will be learning especially this one " I know my Savior Loves Me".

Love Oprah!

2009-11-04T20:06:00.001-08:00

I would totally be part of that show if I were asked to. I just love that video!

Halloween Party!!

2009-11-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

We had a family Halloween Party last night at our house. It was so much fun to see all the grandkids going around the neighborhood trick or treating. Raimana was having so much fun!! Love Jules' house decorations very scary! We sure all had a great time. Thanks Dad for handing out candies!!

Davey Jones AKA uncle Dean. He dressed up at work so he could get a day off. How cool is that?

The Trick or Treaters

Jules' house was scary!

The kids had so much fun trick or treating with their cousins

Go get some more!!

And off he goes!!

After trick or Treating the kids ate tons of cookies!!YUM!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2009-10-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

Have a Safe and Fun Halloween Day!!

Trunk Or Treat!!!

2009-10-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to Wayne's parents ward for trunk or treat since our ward didn't have one. The kids were soo excited to go trunk or treating with their cousins. Papa'u trunk was decorated and up we went to the trunk or treat. It's always fun to go to Wayne's home ward for activities. The members there are so caring and loving. Plus Wayne and I lived there for 3 years and have worked closely with many of them in the ward. So it's always a pleasure to go back there and see how's everybody's doing. I can't believe how many of the kids that I used to teach in primary are now all grown up attending YW and YM, it makes me feel old!!!:) They had hot dogs, chili's, beignet, hot chocolate, YUM!
The kids had a blast doing trunk or treating. Hinarei pretty much went around 10 times with her cousin Heiana. They were both dressed as princesses, sooo cute. They even gave out some toothbrushes and toothpaste he must be a dentist. Wayne said growing up they had a dentist in the ward and is glad that once again another dentist is in his home ward!! After eating a lot of candies Hinarei brushed her teeth with the one she got from Trunk or Treating. Raimana went through all the trunks once and started eating his candies then spit them out!! Little stinker!!
We sure had a fun Trunk or Treat with family.

My little pirate and little princess

Ahoi!! My cute little pirate. That hat did not stay on his head for long.

Check out his sword

And off he goes asking for candies

He sure had a lot of fun

Searching for more candies

The princesses

The Little princess started to be cold

Trunk or Treat. All the grandkids by Papa'u trunk with Tati Leoni.
Hinarei, Michael, Teave, Heiana, Tamatea, Raimana, and Teiki. They sure had a BLAST!!

School Halloween Party!!

2009-10-28T23:19:00.001-07:00

Hinarei went to school this morning dressed like a princess. I love her dress if only I could find one my size with the same price I would wear it. I got it last year after Halloween for a great price. Today was Hinarei preschool Halloween Party. Her dear friend Madelyn was soooo beautiful in her Mermaid outfit sooo adorable. They were both very happy to be dressed in their Halloween costumes. When Hinarei got home she was sooo excited to show me what she did and what she got. She put together some Halloween treats for her classmates a yoyo and chocolate. I forgot to take a picture of it. Thank you Madelyn for the chocolate love the wrapper Lynette you always come up with the cutest thing. Looks like it's going to be a fun Halloween week.

My little Princess

Princess Ruby and Ariel the mermaid princess aren't they beautiful!!

Pumpkin Patch!!

2009-10-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

It's this time of the year again where we take our family to the Pumpkin Patch in search for the perfect pumpkin. Since I've already bought some pumpkins at a great price we just want to get one more to add to our collection. So the kids had fun searching for the perfect one. But guess what? We didn't find one because the kids were tired looking for one and wanted to go play in the maze instead. So good thing I bought some earlier in the month. We let the kids go wild in the maze and they sure had tons of fun. I love this time of the year!!

Searching for the perfect pumpkin

Is this the winner?? Nope!!

They rather be there instead

Hinarei and Raimana played hide and seek the whole time they were in the maze. It was so cute to watch them play together and get lost in the maze. Good thing you can help them from the top especially Raimana who got confused few times.

Raimana First Hair Cut!!

2009-10-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

Raimana had his first hair cut a couple of weeks ago and did great. Thanks Dad for being his private barber!! I forgot to take a before picture but I was able to find a recent one. Thanks Audrey for reminding me.

He did not move at all!!

Not so happy!!

Still not moving!!

A before picture (he was at his doctor visit)

After picture. His new hair cut, all happy!!:)

Class of 2009

2009-10-23T13:21:00.001-07:00

I love Hinarei's class pictures. They turned out beautiful. I'm sure it's not hard to find her on the front row on the left. Hinarei looooooves going to preschool and is always excited to show us what she learned or made in school.

Hinarei Class Pictures. Her teacher is Miss Michelle.

Cute Smile!

Pumpkin Monsters

2009-10-21T13:44:00.001-07:00

It's this time of the year when Hinarei asks to make a pumpkin monster. I got those pumpkins for such a GREAT deal. So today we made our pumpkins look like MONSTERS!! But they don't look that scarry to me!!:) The kids really had a fun time working on their own pumpkin and ended up doing Maman and Papa's pumpkins as well. Then Hinarei said "we need to put them outside" so we did. Hinarei is going to be a princess and Raimana is going to be a Pirate. It's going to be a fun Halloween!!

Scary Monsters in the house

So cute

My handsome boy

Proud of their masterpieces. The one on the bottom is Hinarei's pumpkin she made at preschool.

Scarecrow Festival

2009-10-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. Hinarei had her dance performance there so it was a perfect day to go there so we thought. Wayne couldn't come because of work but his mom came and so Hinarei's cousin Tekehu who just had a baby sister last week. Raimana stayed with Papa'u and had a great time with his grandpa. Thanks Dad! At the festival there were tons of activities for the kids to play with. Hinarei and Tekehu really had a great time together. They just played, played and more played!! They really loved the inflated slides. Before Hinarei show starts we got some happy meal for dinner. Around 4:00PM it started to rain and it was very windy. At first it was bearable but when it got closer to Hinarei's performance the wind really started to pick up it seemed like a big storm was coming. Hinarei was very cold, tired, and sleepy. She kept complaining about it. Plus the dance company before us performed forever on the stage. Anyways! During her performance Hinarei did great she really had a great time but towards the end she started to cry because she couldn't find her star on the stage, poor thing! She was very upset about that!! It's okay Babe you are my star!! I Love You!! But besides that she had a fun day with her cousin Tekehu and she did great during her performance.

Tekehu, Mama'u and Hinarei

Love Candies!

She's loving it

New Addition to the Family

2009-10-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

I introduce you our newest niece Vaiana Caridad her proud parents are April and Dean. She was born a month early she weight 6lbs01oz, and 19 inch long. She is so beautiful. She is doing very well for a premature baby. We weren't able to go see her at the hospital due to the H1N1 flu restrictions. So we were finally able to go see her today at her house. She is only 4 days old and loves to sleep. Congratulations again to Dean and April, she is a beauty.Dean and April already have 2 boys so a girl will definitely bring more JOY.

Family Temple Day

2009-10-11T22:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had our Family Temple Day with Wayne's family. His parents and brother and sisters with their spouses. We try to do a quaterly family temple day with Wayne's family and so far we were able to do it. I love this tradition it just keeps us all even closer. Elder Bennett and Sister Bennett from Tahiti came along waiting to go to Madagascar. We went to the newest temple Oquirrh Mountain Temple. We had to call in advance to make a reservation and bring our own temple clothing. It is such a beautiful temple. The celestial room was beautiful and I love the huge chandelier as you walk up to the chapel. So beautiful. After the temple session we had lunch at Olive Garden. We really had a great time. I can't wait for our next Family Temple Day. Thank you Stephanie for watching my kids. You ROCK! Hinarei is still talking about how fun she had making cup cakes with you. You are AWESOME!

Me and Wayne after the session

Family Picture with Elder and Sister Bennett

Love the View of the valley

Having Lunch at Olive Garden

Friends and Family in Town!!

2009-10-11T22:25:00.000-07:00

My brother and his family are in town

My brother family surprised me for a quick visit over General Conference Weekend. It was so nice to see family from Tahiti. The kids had grown so much.

My brother Hiro and his family with his Mission President.
Almost 17 years since he last served his mission.
Hiro was very happy to see his Mission President.

Hiro with Rahiti his youngest son who is 2 1/2 years old, potty trained and he goes to school all day in Tahiti. I know crazy!!

Hiro, Noelani his wife and Heilani his oldest daughter who is only 14 years old and is 6 feet tall. I know crazy!!

Tahitian Mission Reunion. Noelani's parents are here to go to the MTC they will be serving in Madagascar for 2 years.

After the priesthood session we met up our hubbys at Leatherbys ice cream place on North Temple. It was sooo yummy!! Babe was at the conference center all day doing Marshallese interpretation and so his parents for Tahitian interpretation.

Look how big that ice cream was?YUM!

My friends are in Town

My friends Raureva and Izabelle came also to Utah for General Conference. So imagined I had a full house. It was soo good to see my dear friend Raureva. We had such a great time together. They would spend the whole day shopping and come home dead tired. We had a girls night out and took Izabelle to the JSMB Roof Restaurant to show her the view of the temple. We really had a great night. Before that we went to see the Joseph Smith movie and I literally couldn't stop crying, Joseph was truly prepared himself to be a prophet of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and that he did see God the father and his son Jesus Christ. This was a wonderful night! Thank Girls!

Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration

This is a film about the life and legacy of Joseph Smith, founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is being shown in the Legacy Theater of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Raureva, Izabelle, and Myself having dinner at JSMB

What a privilege we had to hear the voice of the servants of God guiding us and strengthening us through words of caring, loving, and humility. I've came out of this spiritual weekend with more strength, hope, courage and willing to do my Heavenly Father's will and to find opportunities to even serve more those who are in need.

"I Love To See The Temple" By Hinarei

2009-10-09T21:23:00.001-07:00

Hinarei loves singing that song but sometimes she's shy when we ask her to sing in front of people so I thought I would film her and show to you. I love her own cute little words, "Sunday" instead of "Someday" and "Beauty" instead of "Duty". She is soo adorable! I love her so much. She is our little singer!

Circus Parade

2009-10-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

Couple of weeks ago I took the kids to Gateway to watch the circus parade. The kids really enjoyed it. We loved watching the elephants they were so cute walking holding each other's tail. After the parade I took the kids to Discovery Gateway and I can't believe we stayed there for 2 whole hours. It sure was a full day for me. At least the kids had a fun time that's what matters!!

Waiting patiently for the parade to start with Sunglasses on.

Big Buddha from Fox13 News

Cute little Pones

The elephants

How cute

He loves Discovery Gateway

Having Fun

Raimana got a sword

Hinarei got a butterfly

Family Matters!!!

2009-09-26T08:28:00.001-07:00

Does God Exist?

2009-09-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

Growing up in a French Education Environment most of my teachers in High School would teach us that Apes are our ancestors and that God doesn't exist. I have never believed them and every time argued with them on that matter. Of course they just made fun of me in front of the whole class. I am so grateful for my testimony that I know that God exist and I know that he loves me. Please share this video with your friends and family and let us not take the name of God out of our everyday lives.