Christmas Eve

Toa, being an Arizona native, has been dieing to go sledding. So this year we took the kids to a nearby hill in West Jordan for what would be their first experience sledding. The first time down the hill each of the adults took turns accompanying one child at a time. My boys fell in love with the thrill almost instantly and decided that they didn't want to wait for any adults to help. I glanced over as I heard a "Yahoo!" and "Oh Yeah!" to see Mote cruising down the hill by himself- knees up on the sled! And Nici right behind him on another sled- riding on his stomach with his head pointed toward the bottom of the hill. Everyone else thought it was hilarious, but I nearly had a heart attack! The kids had the time of their lives. Halfway through Nici totally biffed it and scraped the whole right side of his face. He cried for about 5 minutes, then went right back to sledding down that slope. My boys are total diehards! On our way back to the car they threw themselves in the snow and finally got to make snow angels. They've seen it on TV and when we had our snowfall in Vegas they begged and begged to go out and make snow angels.



















This winter was filled with a lot of "firsts" for the boys. They're growing up in a completely different environment that their parents grew up in. Me and Ti don't realize a lot that our kids aren't familiar with normal everyday Utah things. We made gingerbread houses on Christmas and Siosi piped icicles on the chimney. Mote asked "What's that?"
"They're icicles"
"What are icicles?" Makai looked puzzled that Mote would even ask such a question, "You know, the ice that hangs off the houses!"
So this winter the boys have:
-Had a snowball fight
-Gone sledding
-Made snow angels
-Successfully learned what icicles are and even seen them up close!

Later that night we all met up at Grandma and Grandpa Moala's for our gift exchange and an unforgettable Christmas Eve dinner. The boys spent the night at the Moala household while me and Ti slipped away to the Fangupo residence in attempts to sleep in the next morning- totally didn't happen, but it was worth a shot. We spent Christmas day with our Fangupo side. I left the picture snapping to Siosi and Monica ;) and will record the events soon enough.

Goodnight,
-Kiki

Christmas Wishes

Snow Day... Round 2

12/17/08


Believe it or not this is actually Vegas, not Salt Lake. I should probably blog about our snow that we had. I think the last time Vegas saw this much snow was like in 1979?... somewhere around that time. It actually stuck to the ground this time and the kids LOVED it! I thought it was hilarious how the whole city was in panic mode. I went in to work only to be sent home early. Why? Because of the snow. Apparently Vegas residents don't know how to function when there are snowflakes falling from the sky. I get home and turn on the news to find out that the McCarran Airport was completely shut down and although it was only 8pm- school for the following day was already canceled.

PTC

12/17/08
Wednesday was our very first Parent Teacher Conference. Ever since I signed up to meet with Mote's teacher and review his progress, I've been a little nervous. A couple of times that I've picked up Mote from school there's been some kids in his class that have gotten in trouble for talking/disrupting the class and not doing their work. All these thoughts started going through my mind. I know that Mote's a good kid at home, but I wondered if his behavior was the same at school. Well today we had the chance to hear it straight from his teacher. We all went in and the kids got to play around in the classroom while me and Ti sat with Miss Ruffridge. She went over his state test scores first. When she pulled out the results all I could see were a bunch of 100's. Mote completely aced the math section! It was a four part test and he got a 100% on all four parts. I was so proud! Then we moved on to the reading and comprehension. His teacher looks at us and says, "For this test, I'm going to show you his actual work so that you can understand why he scored the way he did." Uh, oh... this didn't sound good. My little sense of pride seriously shot down. She went through each page telling us the questions she asked each of the kids and what skills it was helping them develop. We looked at Mote's test- it was so cute to see him circle or underline his answers. On one page I even seen faint pencil traces where he decided to erase an answer- so cute. As we flipped through each of the test pages I kept seeing the same thing over and over. 4/4, 4/4, 4/4. In the end- Mote again aced what was required of him. He not only met the requirements, but he exceeded them. Okay so far so good. How about his behavior? According to Miss Ruffridge Mote is very polite, helpful, and has a great sense of humor. The only thing that she could think of that concerned her was his competitiveness. Aaah yes, this is something that me and Ti are all too familiar with. When he doesn't win he beats himself up. So we are working with him on that and I've already seen a little progress. I've heard him say to Nici, "Nici- it's okay if you don't win. Did you have fun?... Then it's okay! See!" So our very first Parent Teacher conference was great. I'm seriously the proudest mother on earth!

Snow Way!

Yesterday morning I awoke to snow falling from the sky! I could not believe my eyes!! Since I've lived here I've rarely even seen it rain, and all of the sudden we have snow! Boy what a surprise.
I wasn't the biggest fan of snow growing up in Utah. Sure it was fun to make snow angels, to have snowball fights, and to build snow fortresses as a kid... but as I grew up and had to start shoveling it and driving in it- my love for nature's flurry started to weaken.
Since we've moved, I definitely love seeing the snow. Not so thrilled about the temperature that accompanies the weather, but I can appreciate the beauty of it all. The boys haven't had the opportunity that me and Ti have had as kids to play in snow. They were so excited to see it falling. The longer it fell, the bigger the snowflakes became. "Mom, how come there's water on the ground?"
"Because it's not cold enough. The snow is melting as soon as it hits the ground."
"But the sun isn't even out!"
Yes even though there wasn't enough snow to cover any of the palm trees, even though there were no snow angels made, or snowmen built... it still was a lovely sight. Especially during this holiday season.

Bellagio's Botanical Garden

Last night while I was making dinner Ti Tonga was watching the Travel Channel. I glance over to see a beautiful display of Christmas trees and ask, "Wow, is that Disney World?" To which he answers, "Nope, it's the Bellagio." I was so thrilled to discover that the festive display was within driving distance! So today after Mote finished school, we all took a trip up to the Las Vegas strip to visit the Bellagio's Botanical Garden.

I snapped a couple pics with my phone on our way up there. I never get sick of seeing the strip. It's constantly growing and changing.




This will be Ti Tonga's new job site. It's part of the City Center. Should be pretty quick because it's already out of the ground.



After we parked we didn't have to walk too far before we reached our destination. The kids absolutely loved it! And me and Ti were completely blown away. The detail that they put into each of the holiday displays was incredible. I think the kids enjoyed the bridge the most though. It was surrounded by these enormous nutcrackers. And the Bellagio seems to be able to add flair to any form of water! They had water shooting over the bridge, creating arches for you to walk under. I have no idea how they got these fountains to form perfectly without splashing all over the place.



Before we left we stopped by the information area to take a look at their model of the City Center. This is what the finished product will look like. Ti worked a little on the Cosmopolitan building and will soon be working on The Harmon tower.


We went out front after and caught a show of the Fountains of Bellagio. It was a little bit of a wait, but totally worth it! This show never dissappoints!! The fountains danced around in perfect synchronization to Carol of the Bells and Santa Baby.



(View from in front of the hotel)




We finished off our night at Town Square. Our first time there and it was just beautiful! Such a cute scene and very festive. We had dinner at Brio and called it a night. We don't get out very often, so it really was nice to be able to enjoy time together outside of the house. I had so much fun and I think the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Holiday Platter

Last night me and the boys set up our Christmas lights outside. As I pulled everything out of the closet I was excited to find a decorative plate that Sila made me last year. I brought it out and laid it on the table so that I could finish setting up outside. The plate completely slipped my mind until it was time to go to bed. As I was turning off all the lights in the kitchen I noticed something on the table that made me a little angry, but mostly made me laugh.
I think Siope was the guilty one. I'll have to explain to him that this plate is for decoration, not for holding sandwiches!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Normally our little family will hop in a rental and drive out to Salt Lake for any holiday Ti has off. This year however my job held us back and as soon as Neo and my Mom heard that we wouldn't be making it up to Utah they made travel arrangements to come out to Vegas. I was a little nervous because I'm not the best cook, but I barely had to lift a finger with Momma in the kitchen! Everything turned out great. Neo got in a day early and we were able to sneak in a little shopping, and everyone else arrived Wednesday evening. Me and Ti originally planned to go out Wednesday since we would finally have babysitters, but after I got off of work all I wanted to do was to come straight home to chat with everyone. We had a pretty good turnout: My parents, Fatu, Sila and her 2 girls (Lauren & Constance), Neo & Kauasi and their 2 kids (Mafileo & Mei Mei) and my Uncle Siaosi from Anahiem.
The weekend turned out a lot busier than I expected. Luckily we managed to squeeze in some black Friday shopping in between work, a football tournament, and several photoshoots!
I got to see Sila in action and eventually got to be part of it as she took our family pictures on Saturday morning. If I would've known that there's an actual technique to blocking out that sun with the light disk I would've practiced before we left on each of the shoots! I pretty much felt useless, but had fun watching her and chatting with each of the families.
I'm so grateful for such wonderful family, the time I'm able to spend with them, and the special bond we share! I wish Misi and Bubba could've made it out. I hope everyone had a wonderful Day of Thanks.

-Kiki