30 Day Photo Challenge...THANKS Kika!!!

I came across this blog post by the one and only Lady Latu and I.LOVE.IT. In fact, I love it so much that I'm going to be a blog biter and do it as well.

I soooooo miss the days of email chains and quizzes that felt so much more intimate than FB Status updates or Myspace bulletins. Funny how the networking tools designed to keep people connected feel so...um...idk...TOO connected? Or connected in a way that feels unreal, with a lack of genuine "friendship" and way too many people. So in reality, we're disconnected. Hmm. Maybe that's why I'm so happy and free in my own little blogging corner of the world with all 4 of my loyal followers. LOL

Whatever the case...here goes day ONE of my 30 day Photo Challenge. I hope more people do it! Enjoy!

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts.
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with longest.
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 04 - A picture of a night you'll never forget.
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory.
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 - A picture of something you love.
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 17 - A picture of something that's made an impact on your life recently.
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.
Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little.
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.
Day 25 - A picture of your day.
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

Day 1 -


Ten Facts -

1. The picture above is one of only THREE pictures that I could find of myself alone. Of all the hundreds of FB photos I have, I'm ALWAYS with a sibling or child. LOL

2. I wanted to have 10 children until I had my first child. Now I'm happy with three. Ha!

3. I'm a reality TV junkie and I HATE it.

4. My poor hubby is a sports fanatic and I couldn't care less about sports ANYTHING.

5. I'm tall for nothing - 5 feet 11 inches but see previous fact re sports.

6. I baked my first batch of cookies alone when I was in the forth grade. I've loved it ever since.

7. I secretly speak very fluent Tongan. It's funny when folks have no clue and I've caught crap talkers countless times. LOL

8. I am driven by the idea that my siblings and children just might be watching my moves sometimes.

9. Said siblings and children don't know it but I'd give my very last dollar without hesitation if they needed it.

10. I used to read myself to sleep as a kid and get in trouble for reading late into the night. Yes, I've always been a dork. LOL

So long Osi!!!

Talk about busy! Last weekend was Osi's missionary farewell and THANK GOODNESS that was the last one in our family for a little while. It sounds a little selfish but after 3 farewells in 5 months I'm starting to get a little worn out from goodbyes! LOL I did have fun though and I am extremely proud of my brothers who are out serving the Lord. Now it's time to prepare for 3 homecomings in two years! LOL

GOOD LUCK Osi!!!! I'm sure you're going to be an amazing missionary! I couldn't be more excited about the last minute change which means that instead of reporting to the Brazil MTC, Osi is in Provo. That means he and Mark are going to be there together. I'm sure it was a sweet surprise for Mark to see his brotherman and fellow wolf-packer (LOL @ their G.A.Y term for their crew) in the MTC. Especially after the long journey they took to get to where they are.
So now it's time to support from afar! Below you'll find addresses for all of the elders that I try to help keep motivated. ANY and EVERY elder or sister could use a little support so feel free to add addresses for those who I haven't listed.

Elder Siaosi Tupou'ata
MTC Box #121 BRA-BEL 0425
2005 E 900N
Provo, UT 84604

Elder Mark Ata
MTC Box #92 PHI-QUE 0412
2005 E 900N
Provo, UT 84604

Elder Tali Tuihalangingie
1500 South Beretania St.
Suite 416
Honolulu, HI 96826

Elder TY Faaumu
1099 Byron St. #4
Elgin, IL 60123

Elder Likio Pope
MTC Box #206-0309
2005 E 900N
Provo, UT 84604

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Since Mark left RIGHT before Valentines Day he asked us to help him with something for Hannah. He had most of the plans set but he wanted to make sure she felt EXTRA special. So us sisters got together and surprised her by decorating her room on Sunday afternoon and leaving the gift and letter that Mark left behind for her. Those of you who are married or have children (or just woman in general! LOL) know how sweet it is to have amazing sister in laws! Hannah and Mark aren't married BUT she can still get an idea of what kind of sister in laws we'd be. LOL So with the help of her mom Tofi, we made it a point to go together and share a little love with Hannah and Iga. We had fun throwing Hershey kisses all over her floor! LOL

Siua and I usually do the typical dinner and a movie on Valentines day. Nothing too crazy because it's always so busy everywhere. This year, after talking with my sisters, we all decided that we were going to do something fun for the kids. So we forfeited our yearly dinner plans and started party planning.

Valentines day morning started off amazingly well! When I got up for work the first thing I saw was a huge card from my three youngest sisters. Tasha, Lani and Jigz stayed up late the night before making cards and writing letters for each one of us older sisters. They made one for Madre as well. I LOVE kind gestures like that! Who needs expensive gifts when someone is willing to spend TIME on you? It was so sweet and I was humbled by their kind words and thoughtful deed.

I made my way into work and got completely caught off guard when I got an Edible Arrangements delivery. I'm not one to sugar coat things, I would tell you if I was kinda hoping for or expecting something. But I REALLY didn't think that was happening this year. We just got back from Utah and our funds were runnin' low so I thought a Valentines Day surprise was out of the question. I thought WRONG! Gotta love the way my hubby always comes through especially when I least expect it.

My two sweet surprises set the tone for the entire day. Our kiddies Valentines day party was so much fun! My sisters and I all came together with something for the kids. When there are 7 of us with the addition of Mark's girlfriend Hannah, it's feels easy to pull together a last minute bash for our babies.

Tasha took care of decorations covering the garage with hearts and cupids, Hannah put together a Valentines day card craft and a cute drink idea, Salomay made a big old tray of yummy brownines, Kris got a bunch of goodies to decorate the heart shaped mini cakes I made and youngest sissies Lani and Jigz put together sweet goody bags for each of their nieces and nephews. We had a blast!

After the kids made their Valentine pouches, decorated cakes, made their drinks and had a dance contest (I have to post a clip of the dancing!) they were given their goody bags and it was time for bed...NOT! They were wired! It was after 11pm and they were still runnin' around on a sugar fueled rampage. We didn't mind it much since Hannah brought her Glee Wii game and we got super happy singing our favorite tunes. I'm sure the neighbors were wondering what kind of crazy people sang THAT loud and let their kids stay up THAT late on a school night.

In the end, we ALL had fun. It's memories like these that I love creating. I'm so lucky to be blessed with each one of my sisters, including Hannah. I love how we can come together for our babies and make it happen on short notice. Gotta LOVE big families!

Paalam at magandang kapalaran!

"Good bye and Good Luck!" in Tagalog.

Seeing Mark off at the Airport was a whole lot harder than seeing him off at the MTC. Something about the whole family saying their goodbyes was more difficult.
He was SOOOOO nervous the night before he reported at the MTC. It was obvious that he was scared and when you asked him he didn't deny it.

We tried to do a ton of fun things in the days leading up to Mark leaving. We arrived in Provo on Sunday night so after checking in and grabbing a quick bite to eat the night was DONE. Most of Monday was spent shopping to get all of his last minute things. We did however get to spend Monday night with the Popes. We had a BLAST! The kids had so much fun with Aunties Mata and Tia during their dance contest and before we headed back to our hotel they brought out a cake for Spencer who's birthday was the following day. I could've spent my entire 4 days over at the Pope's place. It's so warm and welcoming. Aunty Isa is one amazing chic! She does it all and I just love to soak it
up!

Tuesday was FUN. Madre wanted to make sure that Mark's last full day was spent doing things that were more fun. It didn't hurt that it was also Spencey's 5th birthday. Even more reason to enjoy the time in Provo. We tried to get up for the early breakfast at the hotel that was FREE. It was a huge spread of fresh waffles, fruit, and all the fixin's. Yeah, that didn't happen. FREE is nothing compared to sleepin' in. So we missed that but had an early lunch date with Aunty Vai so it was no biggie. Before lunch we spent most of the morning at the Provo mall shopping and taking advantage of Mo's Nordy's discount. Gotta love a great deal! We also managed to stop in Build A Bear so that the kiddies could make souvenier bears. Mark found an "Elder Bear" costume so he made one of those for Hannah. Only in Utah right?!? They had a blast! After the mall we headed over to Chuck A Rama for lunch with the Latu's. It was so nice to see them. We had to rush though because Likio was going to enter to temple that afternoon and we didn't want to keep Vai too long. So after stuffin' bears and our tummies we spent some time at the nickel arcade and the kids played lazer tag. Once they ran outta nickels we headed to the hotel for playing in the snow and swimming. Crazy combo right?!?! Lucky kids! There was an indoor pool which is what made that possible.


And then it was Wednesday. Time to say goodbye. Mo spent the night at the hotel with us so that we could make another attempt at free breakfast before Mark left. Yup, we missed it again! So we opted to go to Cafe Rio instead. BEST CHOICE EVER! It was so yummy! Mark was so nervous so he barely ate, but we all grubbed! LOL Right after Cafe Rio we headed up to take pictures at the Provo Temple before saying our goodbyes. Auntie Isa, Baby Jack and Likio joined us for a few quick snapshots. Most of the pictures were on the Ogees camera so I don't have them. :-( Thank goodness Mo took my camera and got a few pictures for me. The drop off is so quick! We literally drove into a parking lot, stopped where they told us to stop and unloaded his bags. After a few quick hugs he was walking away. No time for tears!

I was so glad we had the opportunity to go to Provo and see him off. I'm sure he's going to get the hang of things quickly. We've already heard from him and so far, he's enjoying it. We had a BLAST in Provo! I would totally go back. We ended up having to drive home. URGH! THANK GOODNESS it wasn't too bad of a drive. The kids were excited to be going on a road trip. I on the other hand don't like long drives. BUT we made it home safely and that's all I could ask for.

Ahhhh 14...

Don'tcha just love going down memory lane? Especially to a time when you were just turning 14 and oh so free? I DOOOO!!!

An old co-worker once told me that in her culture they believe that if you're around young people, they allow you to "steal" their youth. Meaning they keep you young as well. In that case, I should thank THESE ladies and all 5 of my younger, hotter sisters for keeping me YOUNG! LOL

I planned a day in the city with friends for Jigz's 14th birthday. Jigz had no idea about the plan and they had a blast! She and Kris share a birthday so I wanted to make sure I did something extra special for both of them. Sorry Kris, while I hope you LOVED your edible arrangement surprise and the combined bday dinner, nothin' beats turnin' 14 with a group of GALS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to BOTH of my AMAZING SISTERS! Gotta LOVE stealin' their youth! ;-)

My chaperone buddy and sneaky surprise planning helper was Lani and as usual, she did an AMAZING job at taking pictures of these goofy gals.

Wasn't it nice to just spend a day out with friends and family at that age? Not a care in the world!-


To still have the guts to ask to take a picture with a random stranger like this -

Just having fun shoppin' and goofin' off-



Of course it wouldn't be as much fun without a cool chaperone who's just a "little" older. LOL Okay maybe not. HAHA
At the end of the day, it's all about those who you know have your back. They'll get older and they may even grow apart but they'll all have a special place when Jigz's thinks about her "14th Birthday" one day down memory lane.THANK YOU SO MUCH for coming to make Jigz feel EXTRA special ladies!