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