Chillin on a Sunday Afternoon

I had to work a crummy 3:30 am shift this morning so I didn't make it to church. I was looking so forward to getting up and getting my kids dressed up for church in their new church clothes but it didn't happen. I was able to get home from work just as they were walking in the door from church. When dad gets them or they get themselves ready it just isn't the same. I appreciate the effort thought honey. I decided to snap a few pictures anyway. Maybe next Sunday since I don't have to work and church is at 11- Yeah!

Christmas 2008

Well it's been a long time so I have some catching up to do. Luckily life has been either pretty uneventful until now or I have just been to preoccupied with other things. Thanksgiving has come and gone and now Christmas has come and gone. This year was kind of a weird year for me in the sense that the Holidays didn't really feel like the Holidays. I had a really hard time getting into the "Christmas Spirit" this year. Every year after Christmas I say next year we won't spend as much, we will have a smaller Christmas but it seems like every year it gets bigger! Well this year we did it, we had a smaller Christmas, a Christmas of praticality is what I called it. Each of our kids got one thing that they really, really wanted and everything else was necessity. Vai really wanted a pair of boots, Makaila wanted a video Ipod (she got a video MP3 instead), Mckay wanted Bakugan battle brawlers, Tila a Littlest Pet Shop House, and Isaac a truck to push. This year instead of the pj's they usually get they each got new church clothes and dress shoes, snow pants, coats, mittens, boots, and hats. The Christmas gift that turned out to be a hit this year though was the whoopee cushion grandma put in McKay's sock. Isaac entertained us all morning.



This year was fun for the kids because it was the first time Grandma and Grandpa Goodwin have been to our house on Christmas morning. We also had uncle Devin here as well and yes, that is him talking about gambling and poker in the background. I think all the kids were really happy and nobody complained that there wasn't more and they seemed to be keep themselves happy and occupied all day! I think definately this year less was more because they weren't so overwhelmed. Christmas night we went over to my parents to eat dinner and Taylor and I ended up having to take Isaac to the emergency room for four stitches in his foot just inside and below the big toe. I had a drink in little glass and he wanted some and so I gave him the last swallow and after he drank it he dropped the glass and it broke. Needless to say he stepped right into a big piece of glass.
Once we were able to leave the hospital we headed back to my parents to pick up our kids so we could go home. We were so ready to get home and put our kids to bed but the storm hit and when we tried to exit the police had blocked off the road to SR 92 and were not going to let us through. We had to turn around and go back to mom and dad's and spend the night. Friday morning was waisted playing Wii Fit and I hold the ski jumping record and yes I am dang proud. When we finally got home I took down all of my Christmas decorations and through out my tree. I am so glad that I don't have to vaccuum up pine needles anymore!

Then and Now...

So I don't really like having my picture taken so I don't have very many pictures of myself. Since I started blogging and I joined facebook I decided to try and find a decent recent picture and I couldn't. We went over to my parents on Halloween and I was taking pictures of all the kids in their costumes and so I asked Emily to snap a quick picture of Taylor and me. When I got home and saw the picture it reminded me of another picture.... Our engagement picture years ago. I looked at it and thought we really haven't changed that much. Well someone has lost a little hair and both of us are a little chunkier but we still love eachother and that hasn't changed.

Happy Halloween!

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY MAKAILA!

I just wanted to let you know how much we love you and feels so blessed to have you as our daughter. You are such a good girl and good example. Never forget you are a daughter of your Heavenly Father. He has blessed you with so many Gifts and Talents. You are an exceptional leader, athlete, student, and friend. We hope you always continue to use those gifts and talents to bless the life of yourself and those around you.

I Should read before I post..

So I should really read my entries before I post them. I tend to ramble and my fingers start moving and I have a lot of typographical errors and run on sentences. I probably seem to be a little uneducated but what can I say I graduated from Lehi High. My husband is tongan and he is correcting my english, shouldn't it be the other way around? Actually people are always surprised when Taylor opens his mouth because they expect him to fob out. Taylor is very well spoken and he doesn't even speak pigeon after all the time he lived in Hawaii. So I am sitting at work waiting for the email that I have been awarded PTO. Hope it comes soon we are slow and I've got things I could be doing. Tomorrow is Makaila's 10th birthday and I need to do some shopping and cleaning we have the whole family coming over tonight.

The Big Win

Friday night Makaila's soccer team had their biggest win of the season with a 2-1 win over Sparta Premier. The team played awesome together! Over the summer we played against Sparta and tied 2-2 then one month ago played them again and got killed 7-0. This game was payback and our girls came out determined to win. Makaila started it out with the first goal, a nice slip kick right in front of the goalie. The whole team got excited and did not let down. Way to go girls! This was Sparta's first loss this season. Sparta has been playing together three years and they have paid coaches. We are just starting our second year and we have parent volunteer coaches. I never thought I would be a soccer mom but I am loving every minute of it. I can't believe how much I love to watch her play. McKay and Tila keep asking when will I sign them up for soccer. One keeps me busy enough I don't know how I would get all of them to practice and games. McKay has been asking me lately to sign him up for football which is kind of surprising if you know McKay. I really need to go down to the Legacy Center and see what I can get him into. Tila is like Makaila and just wants to play soccer. I asked her if she would like to take a dance class with her cousin Olivia or try gymnastics but she said no she just wants to play soccer so maybe I can find indoor soccer for her this winter.

Last night I drove up to Park City for Makaila's soccer game. I have to brag, Makaila had an awesome game! She scored 4 goals and her team won 4-1. I never thought I would be a soccer mom but I am so happy that she has found something that she loves so much. Makaila is a natural athlete she is good at everything she does. When she was in Kindergarten we signed her up for Jr. Jazz. We went to her first game and they spent the first game and they had all the kids line up and gave them a basketball and showed them how to dribble. We watched each kid take their turn as they tried to dribble down the court and none of them could do it so I anxiously waited for Makaila to see how she would do. Makaila took that ball and full of confidence dribbled it all the way down the court. Some of the other parents turned to Taylor and I and said wow when did you teach her to play basketball. Makaila is full of confidence and determination and whatever she set her mind to she accomplishes. Last season her soccer coach gave each one of the girls a nickname when they passed of their Black Eye Goals. Coach Doug asked Taylor what the word for leader or chief is in Tongan and the word is Si'ifi. Si'ifi has become her name and when she is on the field and I am cheering for her yelling Makaila never comes to my mind it is always GO Si'ifi or GO SI, win it SI, it has become who she is out on that field. I hope my little Si'ifi can continue to go through the rest of her life the same way as she is on that field confident and determined and a leader. I love you Si'ifi!

Swimming with cousins one last time.

Kindergarten starts a week later than the rest of the school but Tila couldn't wait for school to start that she got up and got ready with the other kids for their first day of school and cried when she couldn't ride the bus. I thought Tila looked so cute I wanted to take a picture of her and Isaac of course had to be there too.

And for the girls...

I took this picture of my girls after their cousins baptism I just wish I could get them all to look at the camera.

It's been so long that I have a lot to say ....

or just picutes I want to post. Back in May my brother got married and I thought this was such a cute picture of McKay I had to put it up.

School has started and I have 4 of my 5 kids in school now. The first morning with just Isaac at home felt a little weird. Isaac does not know what to do with himself he is so used to having somebody to play with and I am not used to being the entertainer but we are adjusting. When we moved here last February I put my kids on the waiting list for Renaissance Academy but had no luck so they started at Ridgeline in Highland which is where they bus the kids in Traverse Mountain. Two days after school started I got a call from Renaissance that they had an opening for my 1st grader so they could get my other kids in also. Ridgeline was a good school and my kids were OK there but we decided to make the move for the smaller class sizes and the fine arts emphasis. I have been so impressed my kids are now excited about school and learning. I was really glad I hadn't bought school clothes yet. I had promised my kids when we went to California the end of this month we would do our shopping there. I didn't think I would like uniforms but I actually love it! Vai is in 9th grade at Timberline Junior High in Alpine. It is so weird that she will be 15 in January and in High School next year. I don't feel like I am old enough to be raising a teenager.

I still want to be on vacation!!!!

Thursday morning we got back from 10 days in paradise. Where and what is paradise depends on who you ask. Paradise for me is Maui. Taylor and I flew out to have some time to do what we wanted to do and celebrate our anniversary and then three days later my mom brought our kids down. Paradise to me is being somewhere beautiful, warm, and tranquil and having the person you most want to be with there with you. I had it all in Maui. Three days for Taylor and I to have alone is unheard of. We slept in, went to the beach and soaked up the sun and ate lots of good food! Taylor has always loved sushi and it was something I thought I would never share the love for but I have to say I love sushi. I think the reason I had never liked sushi was because I had not had good sushi. I would eat a California roll every now and then but not really love it. After a trip to NYC last December and eating a ToDai I came to love sushi. While on Maui we wanted to go to dinner for our anniversary and we thought about going to Roy's which is always worth it in Hawaii but last minute decided to try and new place call Sansei Sushi. I highly recommend it in fact we went back the next night after 10 for their 50% off and karaoke. There menu and presentation is amazing!!! I tried to find a picture to post but I couldn't copy of of their website but if you are ever in Hawaii and want good sushi Sansei is the place.

My mom brought our kids out to us on Friday and we were so excited to see them and have them with us for the next week. Actually we would have loved to have the whole time to be alone but we didn't want to hear about it forever either. My kids are really spoiled because Hawaii is our little home away from home so when they go three or so months without going over for a week they feel that life is very unfair. Maui is our favorite of the islands and where we go to relax, unwind, and spend time as a family. On Mondays since it was Labor Day the Kihei ward had a picnic at the beach so we spent the whole day there swimming, playing in the sand, and a little beach volleyball. So if you are not familiar with polynesian culture and picnic at the beach does not mean a little get together between 12 and 2. The picnic started at 8am and went until about 6pm. The kids were totally worn out and we spent all day Tuesday recovering at the condo and didn't step foot on the beach. Those of you who know me know that I am always looking for a good deal. I have always wanted to take my 9 year old snorkeling out to Molokini and Turtle Town. I got scuba certified 9 years ago and love it and had such an amazing time diving over there that I thought she was at a good age to enjoy snorkeling. My kids have all snorkeled at the pool and on the beach but have never been out in the big open ocean. I found a good deal on a boat called the Frogman for $49.95 the normal cost is $74.95. The frogman is not a big double decker catamaran with a slide and water trampoline it is simple and the ride is bumpier but I with it just being the two of us it was worth the cost. As I walked down to the shop to book our trip I happened to pick up and booklet and there was a coupon for a 2 for 1 trip on the same boat so it would only be $29 a person and I thought for that price I might as well take the whole family. While in the shop booking it the sales agent told me that for $95 a person we could take a boat called Quicksilver that is big catamaran with the slide and water trampoline and I was like no thanks. The next morning we went to the harbor to check in and the guy said well you guys are getting an upgrade today since you have such a large group (6) and put us on the Quicksilver. I have to say I did good! My kids loved it and the crew was awesome.

So I have been looking at everybody else's amazing blogs and realized how much work mine needs. I am really not very computer savvy so I may need to recruit some help. Well today is day 21 of the diet I have been doing and I am happy to report I have lost 16lbs. I have 3 more days left and I am trying to lose at least another 4 lbs by Saturday. I will then enter a stabilization phase and then start again on August 14 and see if I can lose another 15-20 lbs. My goal is to be the same weight as when I got married. I can say this is by far the best thing I have done for myself in the last two years. Taylor and I are still liking it here in Lehi. Our kids are loving the neighborhood and have so many friends to play with. I can't believe how many kids there are here. In our ward we have 3 nurseries, 3 CTR 6 primary classes, 2 CTR 5 classes. Taylor and I are primary teachers of one of the CTR 6 classes and we have 10 kids on our roll and I believe we have smallest of the 3 classes. They announced on Sunday that our ward was splitting the statistics were pretty amazing. Our ward was created in September with 300 members since then it has grown to over 750. Here in Traverse Mountain alone we now have 6 wards which is pretty amazing for this small area. Meghan will be happy to know that I finally got my turn to speak in sacrament meeting. Well I better get off the computer and accomplish somethings today before I go to work.

Well time really does fly...I can't believe I haven't blogged since March. I knew it had been a while since I had posted but I was thinking more like June maybe because I read everyone else's blogs. Life has been a little busy this summer. Makaila is playing competition soccer for the Lehi Strikers. They have an amazing coaching staff that puts in a lot of hard work and is really dedicated to the team and their development. I have learned having kids in sports takes a lot of time and commitment on the parents side as well. Makaila really loves soccer and excels at it so I really need to give her the opportunity to excel at it. McKay and Tila have stayed busy this summer with the summer reading program they have been attending. When I moved to Lehi I actually heard about the Rippy Literacy Center right here in Lehi Utah on the Oprah Winfrey show. The center was started by Hester Rippy who is 88 years old and still works at the center everyday. The center is open to everybody and is free of charge. The center has ESL classes as well as adult reading programs and math help. They offer reading classes and tutors to assist in all areas. I thought it would be a great program to take advantage of since I live right here. McKay and Tila have really enjoyed it as well. Vaioleti is doing well and is a typical teenager. She spent a week at transplant camp at Camp Kostopolous again always has a good time mingling and getting to know other kids who have been through similar experiences. This past week we had her cousin Suli from Boise here and they went to Lagoon, the movies, and spent some time up at Grandma Meme's hanging out with Tui, Sita, and Trina. What can I say about Isaac...He is all boy and part shark. He has to put his teeth into everything and everyone. We are trying to work on it. He has bite kids in nursery, kids at restaurants, kids at the park, or anyone who appears to be in his way or has something he wants. Isaac is definatly all boy. He is rough, tough and very strong there is no softness here. Every summer the kids have a tradition of spending the night before the 24th of July camping out a t Liberty Park with the Malungahu's for the big Days of 47 parade. This year was especially exciting because Grandpa Misi did the float for the Tongan Stake and it was incredible it won the Utah award. Taylor and I have spent our time at work, chauffering, soccer tournaments and spending time with our kids. We are looking forward to going camping, Hawaii, and mom is looking forward to school staring.

I'm Learning

So today we came home from church and my baby went down for a nap so I decided I would work on my blog and try to make it more interesting. I thought I would start by adding some pictures and then realized I don't have very many on my computer and decided I needed to start taking more pictures. I am not much of a journal keeper but after Sunday School today decided I needed to try and this will me a much easier way than actually sitting and writing with pen and paper. My husband just came home so I am going to go chat with him.

Well this what a productive employee I am! I am so bored and I have ran out of sites to visit so here I am creating a blog on company time. They might as well pay me to do something if they don't want me to go home. To actually be sitting here at work and say I don't have anything to do you may wonder what kind of job I have... well I work for and airline and take reservation and customer service calls so if our phones aren't ringing I am just sitting here messing with my computer.

I have never blogged before so I don't really know what to do but I guess I will start with a little background. My name is Jessica Goodwin Malungahu. I was born and raised in Utah County. My parent are Byron and Shauna Davidson Goodwin. I am the oldest of six children. I graduated from Lehi High School in 1994 and then attended Snow College, Weber State, and UVSC. I married Taylor Tongolei Malungahu in August of 2001 in Lehi Utah. We have 5 children. Our children are Vaioleti, Makaila, McKay, Audrey, and Fisilau. Yes we have been busy! We lived in Salt Lake for the past six years but just recently moved to my hometown of Lehi. We are enjoying living in a new place where there are a lot of kids for our kids to run around with and meeting new people. We will see where our lives take us from here.