2009 come and gone!!

This year has been such a whirlwind of a year. I had a lot a "firsts" and fell off the wagon a couple of times. The biggest thing in 2009 was my 3oth birthday, crazy huh! I couldn't believe that I was 3o and that I am almost 31...lol! Hey 3o is the new 20 right? At least I don't look it....hahaha!

I have so many memories and good times that

I am thankful for and having lived for 30 years is one of them.

I am grateful for my wonderful husband and children.

I am blessed to come from a wonderful family with parents still married for time and all eternity and siblings who love unconditionally.

I am thankful for my first big calling as the Young Woman counselor, it has blessed me beyond words.

I am surrounded with smiling faces from the time I wake up til I fall asleep. (My children)

I love the Lord and am grateful for those in my family who have taken steps to become closer to Him.

This coming year, I want to reinvent myself physically and spiritually. I want to become a woman of service and charity. I want to learn about, study and know my children individually. I need to be a better organizer of time.

I pray that we all live another year surrounded with those we love and with only those who lift our spirits!!

Goodbye 2009!! 2010 Here I come!

Education.

I got an A in both of my classes this past semester, wooooowhooo!!! I've been in college off and on for the past 10 years, seriously! Both Sol and I have been and have decided that we really need to get serious with our education and finish ASAP. We take turns going to school, but starting January, he'll be full time and I'll support him wholeheartedly til he's done at the U and then it's my turn. Okay, this semester was the toughest one yet for me. I had English and Communication. I thought if I took these classes, they would go hand in hand and it would be easy for me. Nope, I was wrong. I did have to write ALOT of papers, but they didn't even go with each other. This made it very stressful. Writing 2 sometimes 3 papers a week was madness. Both classes were taken online, which made it convenient for me, but hard at the same time. I felt sorry for my family, because I neglected them during this time. I had to learn to prioritize my time with them and to teach them that mommy has school too. I have always loved English and wanted to major in it, but I don't know if I have the passion to write anymore. Life changes and we change along with it, sometimes you remain the same, but most often you learn and grow into new things. I really don't know what I'd like to do, but what I do know, is that I want to graduate from BYU with a degree. This has been my dream since I was a little skinny girl..lol and it still is. But I wanted it to be from BYU Hawaii, and since I know that isn't going to happen, I'll settle for BYU Utah...lol I enjoy learning and pray that my kids will follow me and their fathers example. GOOOOO Me! I'm my #1 cheerleader.

Juniors honesty..lol

So a couple of weeks ago we were scheduled to feed the missionaries. My son's basketball practice was changed to that same night, so I had to find someone with the priesthood to come take my husbands place. The first person I thought of was my dad cause he only lives around the corner. So as my son Junior is setting the table, Jasmine is sweeping the floor, I tell Serena to call grandpa and ask if he'll come over. My son Junior who is setting the table casuallly says, "and mom make sure to tell him to brush his teeth." And he just kept doing what he was doing, all serious and focused. I started laughing hysterically and said, "Junior why would you say that?" He again still focused and serious said, "because when he picks us up for school in the morning, sometimes he doesn't have to time to brush his teeth." I couldn't even control my laughter at this point. I had tears streaming down my face. Junior looks up and says, "mom it's not funny it's sad." I still crack up thinking about that story. If you know my dad, don't laugh..lol j/k Kids are so funny sometimes!

Pictures w/ Kayleen

On the first of this month, we had an appointment with Kayleen to take our family pictures. The last time we took pictures as a family was when we had only our 2 oldest. Three kids and 8 years later we decided to take the opportunity given to us to take them again. My sis Anna was scheduled and rescheduled with her in laws about 5 times, and finally gave up on it and asked me to take the appt. I was so excited because it was such a good deal. Kayleens work is beautiful and I couldn't imagine what or where she would have us go. Kayleen had us meet her at This Is the Place park and we drove about 5 minutes up the canyon to take our first set of pictures. So my sis Anna, her family and mine all got out at and parked on the side of the road. Kayleen had us walk through this beautiful field of waist high golden grass. I knew right then that these pictures were gonna be beautiful.

Let me just tell you that it was 3pm and freezing. My daughter Ebony was whining about the cold and I said, "Beauty knows no pain." LOL (That's a saying Isa would always say to us when we were single and thought we were so cute in our outfits with no coats)hahaha Anyways, we spent about an hour in the field and then went back to the park and spent another hour there. The sneak peek she sent us were ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! I'm so grateful that we took the opportunity to work with Kayleen and I would recommend her to everyone.

I told my husband that all I want for my birthday is all the pictures she took of us..lol. We'll see....

Solomons speech.

Today Solomon had to give a speech at a Scholarship Business Luncheon up at the University of Utah. He was accepted into the Business program up there about 3 months ago and was asked by Rich Kaufusi to represent the scholarship recipients by giving a speech. So being the man that he is, he didn’t write it til last week. He was super nervous and read, re-read and re-read his speech about 100 times a day leading up to today. Rich helped him out so much by adding things into his speech and practicing with him for the past 4 nights. He didn’t have to, but he went the extra mile to help Solomon out.

So today finally came. We arrived 20 mins early and were given name tags. Solomons was all special and magnetic, while mine said “Solomon’s wife.” lol I got a blank one and wrote my wonderful name on it..hahaha! Anyways, we headed up to the 4th floor suite at the stadium. I’ve never been up there or even knew they had suites( that's how much I know about football) sad. Well we found our table #22 ( my fav number) and it was right in the front next to the podium. This made Solomon even more nervous. I took so many pictures and that didn’t help Sol either. So we sat at our beautiful table, mingled with other students and with Solomons donor. His name is Rick and he is the president of CIT banking. He was such a kick back kind of guy. He instantly calmed Solomon down and just made him feel at ease. We ate our delicious lunch and then Solomon was called up to give his speech.

I just have to say he did WONDERFUL! He has such a commanding presence and tone about him that everyone was instantly attentive when he spoke. It seemed as if he was a natural and that he had done something like that before. I seriously almost cried because I was so proud of him. People stood and applauded him when he was done. I couldn't even stand because I was so emotional. I can say that I saw my husband spiritually/ emotionally grow before my eyes today. It was a breath taking experience.

We have taken steps that should not be taken for granted and are very very grateful to those who helped us get there and who continue to walk with us. In the words of my husbands speech, “ we MUST balance optimism and realism, intuition and planning FAITH and FACT.” Alooooohha

LEALAO'S

My first Thanksgiving!

This year I will be celebrating Thanksgiving for the first time without my WHOLE familia. So I was searching the Internet to see what traditions I could start with my children and what ways we could show thanks. Thanksgiving is often looked past, but I want to make it a staple to do something special besides eat with our family, which in my eyes is special enough. But my daughter Serena is very adamant about us celebrating Thanksgiving with thanks. She gets offended when we walk in a store to see that the decorations have gone from Halloween straight to Christmas. So heres to our first Thanksgiving. Check out this article I got from the parents magazine it has some good ideas of Thanks!!

Thanksgiving is always a meaningful holiday, but this year, families seem especially eager to celebrate life's blessings. "People are looking for ways to acknowledge what's good in their lives," says Jane Hammerslough, author of the new book Dematerializing (Perseus Publishing). To help children make the most of Thanksgiving, plan activities that can become part of your family's traditions.

• Many families take a moment on Thanksgiving Day to let each person say aloud what he or she is thankful for. Hammerslough recommends expanding this practice to name one small thing every day that brings you joy: pretty weather, a delicious dinner, a conversation with a friend. "When you make a point of talking about little things that you're grateful for, those things seem to multiply," she says. "It's all about setting a positive tone for your kids."
• Use your "gratitude list" as a springboard to help others. "If your kids say they're thankful for good food, figure out a way to share a meal with someone less fortunate," suggests Hammerslough. If time with family tops your list, reach out to someone in your community whose family lives far away. Kids often say they're thankful for toys, so let them help you put together a basket of unused or nearly new playthings for a holiday toy drive. "Sharing with others helps kids connect to the concept of gratitude in a meaningful way," Hammerslough notes.
• Plan projects that reinforce the importance of family. Kids can create and fill in a family tree poster to display on Thanksgiving, or make collages from duplicate family photos. Grandparents will be delighted to receive a watercolor painting of the family created by a grandchild or a Thanksgiving card adorned with a child's hand print.
• Remember when, as a kid, you traced the outline of your hand on brown construction paper, cut it out, and drew a turkey's face on the thumb?Children still delight in simple Thanksgiving crafts, including making pinecone placecards, cardboard napkin rings, and Pilgrim hats cut from black construction paper. Be sure to photograph these creations for the family scrapbook.
• Collect favorite recipes that can become part of your family's traditional holiday meals. The November issue of Child includes healthy,appealing side dishes that kids can help to make. Little ones can start the day by mixing pumpkin raisin muffins and fill pie crusts with apple- or pecan-pie mixture to top off the meal.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I love the holidays. I Christmas shop all year long and stash it all over my house. I become obsessed with QVC (ask my family, I'm constantly watching it) because I can shop through all the people who shop with them and I want to be there, sad I know. I put my tree up the first week of November. If today wasn't Sunday, it probably would be up already. My husband loves the holidays too, but he is a typical man and shops Christmas Eve. He loves the rush of things and the holiday feeling out in the stores. I on the other hand want everything done with by December, so that I can go out to all the sights, such as the Temple lights, a sing along, sledding, and just spending time with my kids and family. I like to plan Christmas months in advance and I know my family is sooo not thinking about it, but I don't care, I am...LOL!
The spirit of love and joy during the holidays is what I wish I could feel in the world year round. Maybe that's why I "act" like it's Christmas year round, because I want to feel that special feeling. We have a tradition that we do as a family every Christmas. My kids have a piggy bank that they put any money they find in all year long. In December we take them to pick a child off the Giving Tree and buy them a gift. We've done this for 3 years now. It's a humbling feeling to see my kids want to give to someone in need. They really think long and hard as to what to get "their" child. We're seriously at the store for over an hour just picking a gift. It's a fun tradition.
What are some of your traditions? Or what do you think is a good one for me to start with my family?

Happy Halloween!!

I love love love this time of the year. Even though I never dress up, I always encourage my children to and I take them where ever the fun is happening this weekend. Last night we went to the freakiest backyard haunted house. Seriously it topped any other haunted house I've ever been to. They had all the creepy characters, and bloody Mary was the winner. For reals she played her part so good. My kids hated it, except for Jas. I think almost all of them were crying. My sister Anna, brother Bubs and I went with our kids and spouses. At least the adults enjoyed it...lol!
Well here's a Halloween song I remember from school. I taught my kids and they sing it every year.

Halloween, halloween,
Lots of fun on Halloween,
Black cats and ghost
Skeletons too
Witches, bats they all say..BOO!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN. Be safe and eat lots of chocolate!!

My Anniversary Gift!

This is the first year that my husband and I didn't do anything special. Life is so busy with kids, work, school, and life in general. Unfortunate things happened this month that didn't allow us to celebrate financially. We decided that we'd celebrate later. Well on the morning of our anniversary I checked my email, because that is how we communicate now since I've been phone-less and this is what I received...

My Love,

I am Magically in love with you...

You are Adorable...

You are Radiantly beautiful...

I am Crazy about you...

You are Irresistible...

You will Always be SEXY...

Marcia, I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART...

Solomon Lealao

He would so kill me if he knew I posted this, but isn't he so cute. I am a sucker for poems and love letters. This was the best gift ever. I love my husband!!

Technology?

How come every time I need to upload pictures, something wrong always happens. Okay about a month ago I was at my cousins baby shower. I was the only one who had a camera there, so I took all the pictures. The day I was going to upload them onto my computer, my nephew knocked my camera out of my hands and broke it. I still have the SD card, which is good, so at least I can save those pictures to a CD. Well yesterday my husband asked to use my phone because his was charging. I let him use it while he went on a couple of errands. And what happens, he loses it. Can you believe that? I was using my phone as my temporary camera. I had pictures of my daughters birthday party, memorable stuff like that. I know its partly my fault. I should always have a back up. But too late now. I have no phone, no camera, no back up. What to do , what to do?
Just needed to vent!! UGghhhhh

Gabby!!

Gabs turns 1 today. I cannot believe that my baby is one already!! She is so beautiful and the joy of our lives. She loves to eat, especially from her bottle, which is gonna disappear at the end of this month. She screams when she wants something. She absolutely adores her siblings. It's so cute, because whenever they come home from school, she covers her face with her hand and say "ow" and they come to her rescue. She so know how to get her way with everyone, especially Serena. Serena adores her and they sleep together every other night. Gabby's favorite though is Eby, but don't tell the other kids that. Ebony makes Gabby laugh like no one else can. She is literally rolling with laughter whenever Ebony plays with her. It's too cute.
Gabriella started walking at 11 months. She has always had beautiful curly hair and big brown eyes. She is such a doll. She loves me unconditionally and I pray that never changes. When she sleeps with me, she has to hold my neck and our noses have to be touching. Precious, I know. I call her "feti" because she is..LOL and it's funny because she responds to it when I call her. Okay and wrong too..hahaha But Gabriella is named after my older sister Eta. I didn't like her Tongan name, so I gave her the English version of Sulieta, which is Juliet. So her name is Gabriella Juliet Lealao. I love this girl and so does everyone else, especially T.J., my brothers son. He adores her so much, that she has gotten sick of it...LOL! No one likes that Gabby is growing up.
Happy 1st Birthday Gabby. Mommy loves you!!

My Ebony!

Today is my Ebony’s birthday. She is 5 years old. I have always called her “my Eby,” I don’t know why, but I just have. She has such a great imagination. I love this about her. No matter where she is or what she is doing, there’s always some kind of character to it. My brother Kel nicknamed her Dorbony, because last year she was obsessed with Dora. LOL Now my sis Anna, has nicknamed her Carrie, because she said she is so evil..LOL! Ebony has learned to roll her eyes, and did it to Anna first..hahaha It was hilarious. Now she uses it on her all the time. They have a love hate relationship…but its all fun. She has imaginary friends that she feeds at the dinner table and talks to everyday. She tells me her dreams or nightmares in detail everyday. She is one special girl.

Ebony is beautiful. She is my lil white girl, but out of all my kids, she is the most polynesian. Her favorite food is bologna and string cheese. She loves to sing and dance. Her new favorite person is Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. She is such a cute big sister to Gabriella. She is always willing to help me with whatever I need. She tells me I’m skinny…LOL and then on my fat days, she tells me I’m “a little bit fat.” hahhaha I love this girl and all of her imaginary friends she presents to me everyday. Happy 5th Birthday my Ebony! Mommy loves you!

Mr. Fix It.

My husband has had a very hard week this week. He got in trouble at work, both of our toilets were running constantly which cost us an extra $120 on our water bill, and a part on our dryer broke. He turned his anger toward fixing the problems, instead of being like me and praying that they just go away..hahaha
Well we scheduled to have 2 plumbers come out and give us estimates on our toilets. I also looked on the DIY website and found steps on how to do it ourselves, but we wanted to see if that was the problem. Well the first company Rotorooter (I think) gave us an estimate of $210. But he was very honest and told us that we could fix it ourselves if we knew how to work a wrench. Right there, a challenge and a gift went out to my husband. I could see in his face that he was thinking "yeah I can work a wrench, but I don't have one." Good excuse huh...LOL! Then the next company came Neerings and gave us an outrageous estimate of $380. He said that he needed to fix some "extra" things in one of the toilets....yeah right!
So my Mr. Fix it husband went to Home Depot purchased the parts and 2 wrenches for $40. He had both toilets done and working properly within 30 mins. Crazy huh. Thank goodness for honest people in this world, who understand that we're all struggling. We saved ourselves over $200. I'm so proud of my hubby. I tried to take a picture of him while he was being Mr. Fix it, but he wouldn't let me in the bathroom...it was so cute though..LOL!!
So the moral of my blog is to ALWAYS try to DIY things before you waste your money!! Now onto project #2.

Marcia Fierce came out today!!

First off, I want to congratulate my son on his 5 touchdowns!! He tore up that field today…GOOOOO JUNIOR!!

But unfortunately, I’ve officially banned myself from my sons football games. I seriously get waaaayyyy too crazy and involved when I’m there. Today was the worst it’s ever been. Lets just say that the coach and the president of the sucky stansbury league came up to me and we exchanged some words…lol!

I was so heated and angry with the cheating refs and an annoying snitch that I seriously wanted to cuss them all out! I held my tongue and cheered away. It didn’t help that we sat on the opposing side of the field, but hello, we were there first and I wasn’t going to pack up all our stuff and move.

Anyway, that was my wild morning. Lucky for the rest of the Ute league who are playing against my son, I won’t be there anymore!! LOL

My daughters are starting up their games on Saturday. Soccer and softball are more safe to cheer at for me and those around me. (I hope..ahhaha) Sorry to all who sat with me and especially sorry to your children. I’m just crazy with football, when I know someone who’s playing!! But hey, if you're crazy like me and have no shame, come cheer with me...LOL!

Okay, now I'm gonna go repent!

Audrey!

I was blessed to have a play date with one of my childhood friends Audrey (Lose) today. We haven’t seen each other for years, so I was so excited when she called me out of the blue and invited me to her beautiful home. I knew before I went there that her children were both special needs children, but I didn’t know how demanding of a responsibility it was on her.

The night before we went. I talked to my children about special needs kids and asked them to be kind and quiet because I just didn’t know what to expect. My children have never been so good. They played well with Audrey’s daughter and were very respectful to her and her needs. I was so proud of them. And to have Audrey tell me that my kids were well behaved made my day.

As we got to talking, Audrey broke down and told me that her children have never said mom or mommy. Her kids are 6 and 3 and they both are autistic. I was sadden to hear her struggles as a mother. The word mom is something we expect our children to say early in their lives, because we are the ones constantly with them. And to hear her cry because her children cannot or have not said that word to her made me realize how much I take my “normal” children for granted.

I was very humbled and grateful for the time I spent with Audrey and her children today. She is such an inspiration to me. I asked her how she was doing and if she needed me to help out with anything. And she said, “you know autistic children are just like other children, they have their good days and their bad. I struggle just like you at times, it’s no different. There are just some other obstacles that I have to take that are different from yours. But really mothering is all the same.” I wanted to cry. Here I was wanting to help her, and instead she helped me.

I told her that the Lord sent her these beautiful innocent children because of her patience and love for them. She is such a beautiful woman. I’m honored to be her friend.

Mi Vida Loca!! LOL

Okay, here's my life as of next week.

Monday-free day (FHE)
Tues. Jasmines soccer practice, Serena's softball practice and Juniors football practice
Weds. Serena's soccer practice, Juniors football practice and my mutual
Thurs. Serena's softball game and Juniors football practice
Friday - free day (get ready for a long Saturday)
Sat. all the kids have their games from 9am-2pm
Sunday-Relax kind of

But remember that I'm in school as well as my children, Solomon works two FULL-time jobs (crazy I know) and we both have big callings.

So how do I get this all organized? I'm thinking I need to make a big calender for my whole family to see and some kind of system going. But I just don't know where to start.
What I do know is that I need to take care of me first and foremost, or I will explode. Everyday that my kids have practice, my "plan" is to walk the big soccer field for the hour with my 2 youngest, just to get a lil extra physical activity in.

What's funny is that when my kids were younger and home all day, I would say, "I can't wait til they grow up and do something outside the home." And now I'm saying can't you all just sit at home with me. It's madness I tell you...madness!

I'm grateful for my children and their dedication to school and sports. I promised them that I would support them in every good thing they want to do, and that's what I'm gonna do. They are actually setting the example for me.

Craziness here I come for the next 2 months. Thank you Lord for winter... I'm gonna seriously hibernate and get fatter...LOL

All that for Nothing..lol

In my post before this I was stressing about my lesson for my YW and guess how I did...I didn't even do it!! LOL I teach the Mia Maids and the Laurels and only 1 of my girls showed up on time, so therefore, we combined and the Beehive teacher just taught her lesson. Then a half hour later 5 of my girls showed up. I was disappointed because I worked so hard for this lesson, just to not present it. I told my girls that I was sad that they didn't show up on time because I was all prepared with a great lesson. They apologized and I just handed out my lil thought/treat. It was a Now and Later candy and I attached the saying, "What you do 'now' will affect what happens 'later'-make temple marriage your goal." At least I got to do that part of my lesson that literally made me sick to my stomach for 3 nights..LOL!!

A Challenging Reward!

I was called as the 1st counselor of Young Womans last Sunday. It's funny because I knew I was gonna be called into the YW, but I didn't even think it would be 1st counselor. I thought for sure secretary, or maybe I was hoping, but in the end I was called. Anywayz, I have to teach a lesson on Sunday. I haven't taught a lesson in 5 years, and it was given to Primary children. I feel that I need to step it up and get into the swing of things with our youth. So I made myself a Facebook account, so that I could "stalk" them...LOL
My lesson is titled Group Activities: A Basis for Wise Dating. OMG, I've been married for almost 11 years and so much has changed since then. I kind of feel inadequate, but pray that the Lord gives me the strength to teach these YW what He wants me to teach them. This day and age is tough for our children and especially our youth. I want to be and instrument in the Lords hands in reaching my YW in their times of need. Pray for me that I will be able to!

Schools In!

All of my children except for the baby (of course) are back in school as well as myself. We are extremely busy right now. My son is playing football, my daughters are both in soccer and maybe softball and my husband helps coach football and works 2 full time jobs. Life is CRAZY!!! Sometimes I wish there were 5 of me so that I can be everywhere at all times. I kind of understand polygamy in that way...LOL! No but seriously when my life slows down or whenever I get a minute to myself, I like to read and catch up on all your blogs. They keep me sane..hahahaha! Things change from day to day and we never can predict the outcome. Like yesterday, my daughter Jasmine, who is a tough girl on the outside, but very sensitive on the inside. Well she and a classmate got into an argument. This little jerk, I mean girl, called my daughter ugly and told her she looks like a boy because she plays sports and that her clothes are ugly. Well I told her that its not right for people to call names and that the little girl is jealous of her. And to make it worse, she came up to me an hour later and hid behind a pillow asking me if I thought she was ugly. So many emotions came over me, sadness, anger, pity. I said to her, "Jasmine you are very beautiful and don't let anyone tell you different. People only say hurtful things when they are jealous of you. I love you Jas and that's all that matters."
This is the part of parenting that I am not looking forward to. How do I protect my children and not get involved at the same time? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
Good luck and keep writing, I need the sanity!!

Yay Me!!

I just wanted to put myself up on my soapbox for a minute. Like I said in my previous post, this week was finals. I just finished last night and both my teachers emailed me my grade already.....drum roll please...lol I received an A in both of my classes!!! All that work really paid off. OK now off my soapbox. goodnight..lol

Finals...ugggghh

I'm in school and this week is finals. I remember doing finals when I was younger and at Snow College. Back in the day I could hang with all nighters and still function the next day. But now that I'm grown and old, it's not working so much. LOL I want and need my education for me and my familia. Oh the sacrifices mothers make....are we crazy or just craaazzzyyy?? hahaha Wish me luck!

My 2 guys!!

OK so my son just started football this year. I've seriously been dreading this time in his life because my husband was a football player and a very good one at that!! LOL I was afraid that he would put too much pressure on our son to be the best. But honestly, he has done the total opposite. If you know my husband, he hasn't had a really good relationship with our son. He wasn't raised with a father, so he didn't really know how to form that father/son bond. But football has made a huge change in their relationship. I LOVE it!! My son loves is too. He practices with his dad everyday and they "talk" football now. It's way cute. My husband is one of the coaches because he didn't want to leave my son alone. He's so worried that people will treat him wrong. He only wants him or I taking him to practice for the first month until he gets used to it. Isn't that sweet! haha
My son was put into the running back position, but doesn't know if he likes it yet. It's funny because he doesn't really know much about football except through video games, even though his dad is totally obsessed with it. Goes to show you how distant their relationship was huh!! Well I'm happy with the way their relationship is growing. I guess it just took something common between them to spark that bond. Go EAST!!!

My Jas!

While out in Hawaii, we celebrated my daughter Jasmines birthday. I needed to give her a shout out since I wasn't able to out there. Jasmine is my dare devil daughter. She loves to try new things and tries her best at it. She "thinks" she can do anything better than her brother can. She won't back down to no one even if they're bigger and stronger than her. She will fight until that person either gives up or feels sorry for her. LOL I love this girl so much. She can work my nerves when she wants her way, such as trying to convince me to let her play football..NO..but she doesn't like that answer. Anywayz Jasmines birthday is the fouth of July, which is so fitting for her firecraker personality. We went to Hawaii early just to celebrate her special day with all her cousins. We camped on Waikiki Beach and had a huge bar-b-que. I swear I only seen Jas for about an hour the whole 2 days we were there. She lived in the water. She never wanted to come out. I made her come out once to eat and she ran right back in. It was funny because I told her to come back and put sunscreen on and she ignored me, so I told her, "don't cry to me when you're burnt tonight." And what did my know it all daughter do, cry all night that her shoulders were burnt. hahahaha It was a lesson well learned, because after that, every single time we swam and she came out, she reapplied her sunscreen on her own!! This is my daughter in a nutshell. For those who know her, wouldn't be surprised at what I wrote, because that is how Jas is. On the 4th her aunt bought her a $100 Hannah Montana cake and 2 huge boxes of fireworks. We watched the fireworks from the beach, it was beautiful!! The night went great and I think that was probably my favorite day of the whole trip. Love you Jas!!

Home SWEET Home!

I am soooooo very grateful to be home. My familia and I were in Hawaii for 11 days. I know everyone is probably thinking, lucky for me...NOT! I usually have a good time, but this was just too long of a trip with in laws. I know I'm being selfish, because my hubby has to deal with mine all the time, but I'm just not used to it. I love them, but I love them enough to stay a way too...LOL. Don't get me wrong, I did have some good times out in paradise, but honestly the good does not outweigh the bad. I loved being with my kids and hubby when we were able to be alone, which was the last 2 days, but by then it was a lil too late. My kids and my hubby had a blast and didn't want to come home. They cried when we left, while I was secretly smiling inside. Its always bitter sweet when we leave Hawaii, but as my title says, it was only SWEET for me this time around! Aloha!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOO!!

Okay since I blogged about my daughter on her birthday I feel obligated to do it for my son as well. His name is Solomon Jr., but he goes by Junior. I call him Boo. I don't know why I started calling him that, but now he's stuck with it. Its funny because my nieces and nephews used to call him Boo when they were younger, and he didn't like it from them, he only wanted me to call him that. He is my only son and he is such a handful. I could take all 4 of my girls somewhere and have an easier time than if I took him alone. I think he feels like he always has to fight for attention because he's the only boy. No matter what the case, I love him. But yesterday I took him out of summer school early and took him shopping for his birthday. We went to Albertsons and he picked out a cute "football cake" and then we went and bought him some scriptures (something we get our kids when they turn 8) and then we went to Burlington to find him a suit. Okay now understand that I did this lil shopping thing with my girls and I thought Junior would like it. Well I was wrong. Boys are so not the shopper type. He was so tired by the time we got home. The whole time we were looking at clothes he said stop looking at the girls clothes, its not their birthday. It was so funny. Boys are so much easier to shop with. He just looked at one suit and tried it on and said okay lets go get shoes. Thats all he cared about. It was interesting to see the differences between my girls and my boy.

But at the end of the day Junior said to me, "mommy I like just spending time with you by myself. Can we do this once a week?" I was so touched. I realized all he wanted was to just be with me. He is such a sweetheart. He does things for me just out of the blue. Like when I'm working out, he brings me some water. Or if I fall asleep on the couch, he puts a blanket on me or tries to wake me up to go to my own bed cause he's worried that my back will hurt in the morning. He's such a cutie pie. He honestly is very good looking, which kind of worries me. LOL

I love my Boo and just wanted to wish him a very Happy 8th Birthday!!

My Crazy Life so far.....

Okay I finally have time to blog. And I found my USB to upload my pictures. So alot has happend obviously between April and now, so I'm gonna sum it up all in this one blog. First was Angela's shower. She is one of my bestest friends. We grew up together from the time we were babies. This baby is her first baby after about 5 years, so we planned to throw her a baby shower. One of her 5 that she recieved..lol. Well we all gathered at Isa's house. Of course cause she's the best host and she cooks the best food. I did the games and we all just sat around and ate. She recieved alot of good info from the rest of us mother and she got alot of good gifts. We love you Angela!!

Next was Tala and Kels talks at church in St. George. Tala wrote about it already but I just wanted to let you all know how strong the spirit was in that ward building that day. It was so strong almost all the grown men were crying. It was such a beautiful sacrament meeting and so worth the sucky flight to get there...lol! Tala spoke on Celestial Marriage and even though she hasn't been sealed to her family, you could tell and feel that she is ready. What a great example she is to all her know her. And Kel spoke on Come what may and Love it. OMG what a perfect subject for him. Their honesty and humility was so humbling. Even the stake president commented on how humbled he was by both of them. Good job Kel and Tala. I love you!

The day after we got back from St. George, we flew out to Reno for my niece Cia Si'i's 6th grade graduation. She has grown so much and is blossoming into a woman its scary. She's the first living grandchild in our family and so she hold a special place in our hearts. Well that and that she's named after me...hahaha okay she's named after all us sisters. Her full name is Marcia AnnaLina, cute huh! Anywayz, I bought her this beautiful, old Hollywood style dress, and she fit it like a glove. I'm so proud of her and all of her accomplishments. She should be a model because she's all legs and she's beautiful inside and out. I love you Sis!

Okay a day after that my kids had their last day of school. Every year we do the same thing. We make candy cards for their teachers. Its always so cute to hear what ideas they have for their cards. Usually the same line of "you're the best teacher in the whole 'milky way'' is always used. But the teachers love it. This is such a fun thing. I love it, the kids love it and most of all the teachers love and appreciate it! Okay I forgot my camera so Anna came with her camera phone, good thing and took the teacher pictures. Oh and Anna just had to leave her mark on my girls shirts. They had all their friends write on them and Anna wrote the funniest things on the back. They didn't like it and didn't think it was very funny, but it was....Thanks Anna..lol!

Now lastly I tried to throw my sister Anna a surprise baby shower. Her birthday is on June 5th so I told her that on June 6th we were throwing her a party, just us girls. But obviously she found out. It was the thought that counted though..lol! My friend Isa made and bought all the decorations, that my dad put up and didn't want to take down cause he was so proud of himself. My mom and Betty (Lames girlfriend) did the food. Klarah did the fun games. And I hosted. I just wanted to thank all those who helped. I couldn't have done this without you. And for all who attended, you were all fun guest to have. Thank you!

CONGRATULATIONS ANGELA!!

I just wanted to tell one of my oldest and dearest friends congratulations on having her first baby. She had a boy yesterday. He is 7lbs. 1oz and 21inches long. She said that he has a lot of hair and he is so cute. I'm going up there to visit her today. I'm so happy for her, because she and her husband have been trying for 5 years to have a baby and now he's here. His name is unknown right now. She's calling him Wolfjack...lol til her and her husband can agree. I just wanted her to know that I love her. CONGRATULATIONS ANGELA!! I'll post pix's tonight!!

Crazy Girls!

KJ blocking Serena from the cupcakes.


Some of her money...lol


Jaih and Serena after winning

Cute eggs the girls decorated.

Toss the egg!

Wow! Thats the only word I can use to describe my daughters birthday party today. She asked if she could invite 8 friends and I said yes. I only expected 2 maybe 4 girls to come because we live out of her school boundaries. NO they all came. I was surprised!! It was so cute to see them all interact outside of school. I secretly watched my daughter Serena with her friends. I wanted to see if she was different, and I'm proud to say that she is exactly the same at home as she is with her friends. Thank goodness! Her friends were telling me who my daughter liked and were teasing eachother about certain boys at school. It took me back to my "younger" years...lol I miss the innocence of youth!

The party was a success. She got cute and thoughtful gifts from her friends. One even got her a bag of hot cheetos. hahaha She loved it! My familia mainly gave her money, $89 to be exact, cause that's all she asked for. Anna (sister) got her a cute lil outfit for church. Serena's somewhat of a nerd, and I got her a box of rocks. All shapes, sizes and colors. It came with a book. She loves it. Her favorite gift came from her dad, well it was a tie with the $89 she recieved, an MP3 player. We uploaded songs after all the guests were gone. She thinks she's so cool now....lol!

Kids are so spoiled these days. I complain sometimes, but I can't help but to keep spoiling mine! Craziness I know, pure craziness!!

Sac Town...wedding!!

The boys & Eby after the wedding.


Gabby and Serena


Anna, Me, Lame, Eta and Lina

All of us w/ the wedding couple.

Lexi, Lina, some girl, and Anna

Joseph & Melanie

Glen, Aunt Darleen, Mom and Dad

Mom, Dad, PJ, Lame, and Bubs

Marcos, Joseph, and Lame

Joseph right after the wedding!

Before we left to Cali, my week was crazy. I over scheduled myself with dentist appts., helping my husband with his finals and life itself. So on Friday morning I was totally exhausted. I was supposed to take the first flt. with the rest of my family, but I wasn't even packed and was too tired to get up. So I waited til the afternoon flt and flew with my girls all by myself. Luckily Lina, my sis, took my son the day before, so that helped me a ton.
Anywayz all was good, the flt., the car rental, the girls kind of, until I had to try and navigate through Cali and their traffic. OMG, I totally missed the exit I was supposed to take and ended up an hour away from my aunts house. Anna tried to help me but couldn't. A lady at a gas station wrote down directions that made me get more lost. So finally my aunt gave me simple directions and I found the place. Wow, I felt so sorry for my kids because I was taking out my frustration on them. lol It was crazy. But I apologized to them that night and asked for their forgiveness and they forgave me quickly...I wish I could be as innocent and forgiving as children sometimes! Hey I made it up to them when we went to the swap meet the next morning. I was surprised at all the things my kids got. It was so cheap. Serena got 10 things since she is turning 10 this Wednesday. Couple of the things she got were shoes, a purse, and a lot of jewelry. My son got a skateboard and my other two girls got a lot of hair things, purses, toys and more. I only spent $60 there, which was wayyyy good for me, seriously!!
Hmmmm.. well the time spent with my moms side of the familia was good. My aunt Darleen was so excited to have us all there. She put us up in her rental house and "allowed" our kids to go a lil crazy in her beautiful house, game room, and all. Her husband Glen and their son Glen Jr (who was crushin on lina.lol) were also very kind to us.
I think it was shocking to them to have so many people in their home. And kids at that. The youngest child their is 13 and there has only been she. We came with my 5 kids and Bubs (brother) 2 kids., and Eta (sister) had her 3 too. So all the kids at one time was a lil bit of a shocker to them. I should have taken a pic of their faces, when they seen all the kids. hahaa
My moms side is Catholic. We went to my cousins wedding held at a Catholic church and it was all so new and interesting for me. I was curious as to why they did certain things, but I never got to ask anyone cause we were all there for only one thing and that was the wedding.
The reception was just hilarious. Alcohol was flowing freely in the building and I swear my sis Lina and my dad looked and danced more drunk than anyone there. I know people thought they were a lil tipsy, but nope, thats just "how they do." lol Thats a saying that my sister lina's dancing buddy kept saying...inside joke..lol!
All in all this trip was a fun trip. I loved the Sacramento weather and I miss it. I loved being with my family and finally seeing my moms side after sooooo many years. I hope we see eachother more. We were raised apart, but it feels like an undivided family when we're together. Loved it!!!

My Daughter

I was just thinking tonight as I was watching my oldest daughter Serena, what did I do to deserve her? She is such a big helper to me. I often call her mini mom. I also call her 'ears' because she is at that age where she doesn't know if she's a child or a teen. I always tell her to go play with children because she wants to be with adults ALL the time. This worries me, not because she is nosey, lol, but because she is growing up. Serena will be turning 10 years old soon. I can't believe I have a 10 year old! She is beautiful and sweet. I love her and want her to remain a child forever. The world is a harsh place and she is too innocent to be living in such a place. I'm very over protective and worry way too much about most everything. This can hinder me or help me in being a mother. But I pray that my daughter will choose the right in all she does and says. The Lord sent her to me first because she is special. She asked me once, "why did Jesus put me as the oldest, I have to do everything?" (which she does) I said, "Serena, you have a special calling as the oldest child. Jesus sent you to help me and daddy. He knows that you have more love for this family than any of the other kids and He wants and needs you to show us all the example of unconditional love." She smiled and shyly said, "so I am special." I said in wonder, "why would you doubt that of course you are, never ever forget that Serena." She said, "ok, thanks mommy for telling me that."I remind her whenever I can that she is special and that her father and I love her. Again as I sit here and write, I'm in awe at the blessing she is in my life. Even with all the stess she gives me sometimes, the blessings greatly outweigh it all. She is a daughter of Heavenly Father who loves me and I love him for sending her to me. I love you Serena....Happy Birthday soon!

Birthday dinner...lol

A couple of days ago, me, Anna, Isa, Mele, and Lyni went out to Chuck a Rama for Isa's birthday dinner. I don't know if Isa would like me to write her age, but lets just say she's OLD...lol!! Well not yet! But anyways, the birthday girl arrives fashionably late as usual..hahaha We didn't want to eat until she got there and the restaurant was pretty empty, so we just kicked it and talked. Isa arrived and we ate and talked some more. Then more people arrived and our conversations got a lil loud so as to hear eachother. Someone, I'm not gonna name names, started talking about a subject that most people keep hush hush. But no, she was so loud, and drew attention to our table. Lyni said to her , "can you be quiet." And then put her head down. It was so funny. I know you're wondering what it was, but I'll have to tell you face to face...lol. This night was a 'had to be there night'. Even if I told you what was said, it wouldn't be as funny. I just wanted let you all know that I love my girls, even the ones who couldn't make it. I could only imagine what our conversations would have been if we were all there....LOL Love you all!!

Kids say the darndest things..hahahaha

Since March 30th, my kids have been on Spring Break. Yes 2 whole weeks of what the freak do I do with them...lol No but I usually have something planned, and I did, but my baby Gabby changed all that when she got sick again. She was in the hospital about 3 weeks ago with RSV, and has now gotten sick with a cold. I'm not going to take the chance of her getting that sick again, so my older kids have been stuck in the house for 2 days now.
So now that plans have changed a bit, tonight we had a game night. We played games for 5 hours straight. First we played BINGO and whoever won got choc. chips. Next we played Scrabble Junior to help my Jas with her spelling and last and most fun of all we played Taboo. In the game of Taboo, you have to describe to your team a word, without using certain words. Well I was describing to my son a word. I said to him, "this is what mommy and daddy are to you." And he said, "mean." The word I was trying to describe was parents. I couldn't stop laughing, I'm still laughing while writing this. If you know my favorite and only son, you'd understand why he said this. Another hilarious moment was when I was giving clues to my daughter Jasmine. I said "this is what Eby always has at night." And she said, "pee pee undies." The word was dreams. OMG, I was rolling. I couldn't control myself anymore.
This was a great way to end our night. Filled with laughter and joy. I love my children very much and love when they say the darndest things!