Nici's Christmas Carols

Nic had a Christmas recital on Thursday afternoon. By the time me and Ti Tonga got to the courtyard the stage had already been filled with 1st graders. Nic smiled as soon as he saw us. He was very shy throughout their performance, but I could tell he was happy to have us there.

Sila's Songs

As the music on my blog plays through, it floods my mind with memories of my sister. This time each year you can find her playing the hippest Christmas songs available. So every December I ask her to send me a playlist of holiday songs. This year I've had to settle for the radio which for the most part is classic holiday songs. When my blog playlist played through I couldn't help but think about Sila and how much I love and miss her. She is the queen of music and I always look forward to her set of songs she prepares for me.

I'm a little hesitant to post this, but I can't help but think that my blog music could use a sweet face to accompany it. This is Sila's oldest daughter Lauren. She is the oldest Moala grandchild and she means the world to us.
Ofa atu Lauren
Love you so much Sila

12 Days of Christmas

Monday night there was a quick knock on our door. I opened the door to find a gift with a sweet note attached. We continue to hear that same knock each night. And each night we are greeted with a special gift and note on our doorstep. The kids are having so much fun finding the presents left by our secret elves.

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Christmas cheer around the house...

Last Saturday Ti and the boys picked out some Christmas lights for the front yard. We have holiday items throughout the house, but this year we've been pretty slow at putting up decorations out front. We don't have a whole lot to work with, but I'm glad that we at least have something out there to show our Christmas spirit.

[having a little too much fun with Santa]

It was actually a lot of fun. It was 65 degrees, so the kids were running around in t-shirts and we even went out for frozen yogurt after.

Thanksgiving Up North

As soon as November arrived I looked at my calendar and decided that we were heading up to Salt Lake for Thanksgiving. I could afford 1 more point from work without getting into too much trouble :) Although I planned on calling off I also backed up my plan by requesting the days off... just in case by some miracle I could get the week off approved. Soon after the decision was made I arrived to work to find a lovely little note in my box. A quick glance around and I noticed everyone else had it in their box too. Our management decided to switch up the attendance policy due to the upcoming holidays. For every day you called off you would recieve 1 point per day (instead of 1 point for 4 days) and a 1 day suspension on top of that. I was planning on calling off 4 days and with the new policy in effect I would get 4 points AND a 4 day suspension. Something I definitely could NOT afford. How cruel! I was so upset!!!... borderline depressed. I didn't even have the heart to tell my mom we weren't coming out anymore and everytime I would talk to her she would bring up Thanksgiving and how they were excited to see us. The day the schedule was posted I walked over and was astonished to see that all my day off requests were approved! I couldn't believe my eyes! I was jumping up and down in my high heels. My coworkers asked why I was so excited and I exclaimed, "I'm going home for Thanksgiving!" Their eyes widened in curiosity and asked, "Oooh, where are you going?" When I replied Utah they laughed in dissappointment. One of my friends said "Utah? I thought you were going somewhere exotic." Yeah yeah Utah may not seem exciting to others, but it is home sweet home to me. I love almost everything about it ;)

We got to stay for practically a week and still I felt like there was not enough time to do everything that I wanted to. Here's what we did get to do though...

Thanksgiving dinner at my Mom & Dad's. It was so delicious. I'm sure Ti Tonga was glad that he got to have some of my mom's home cooking instead of anything I would've been able to whip up. Everyone was there except Misi :(

Black Friday shopping. Nothing really big or extravagant. Wait let me rephrase... nothing really big or extravagant for US. We went specifically for a bridal shower gift and did manage to find a pretty good deal on that. Me and Sila even stopped by Bath & Body Works to by a little something for ourselves. The line was, in true Black Friday fashion, ginormous!

Line's bridal shower. I can't believe she's getting hitched. I also got to see Sini for the first time since she's returned from her mission.Dinner with my girls. Almost every time I go out to Utah I meet up with my best friend Crystal. This time we were joined by Lisa and Camilla as well. We went out to a karaoke cafe and had dinner, chatted, laughed, and sang some songs. It was sooooooo much fun!

Utah vs. BYU game. Not sure if anyone heard, but we won ;) After the game we went out and celebrated at Crazy Buffet -- mine and Ti's favorite!! Mmmm! And for the first time since arriving we finally got to catch up on sleep.
Dinner and FHE with my in-laws. It was like Thanksgiving all over again- yum!
Crafts with my sisters. Pressed for time, so we didn't get to do as much as we would've liked, but it was better than nothing.
We left first thing Tuesday morning. I know there are so many things that I have been blessed with. So much that I have to be grateful for, but there is always 1 thing at the top of my list: Family. I am so fortunate to be connected to the wonderful people I call family.

Holy War

We're back in Vegas. Sad to have left behind our family, but I will say that I'm happy we're back to warmer weather. I will blog about our Thanksgiving weekend in beautiful Salt Lake City, but there is one thing that definitely deserves a post all to itself. Yes you guessed it... the Utah vs. BYU game!

My family actually grew up rooting for the Cougars. I remember Fatu being interviewed in High School and he continually gave props to BYU football. Since Fatu attends the University of Utah our family has slowly discarded all our blue for everything red. The switch was harder for certain people in our family.... *ahem* my Dad! Growing up as a Tongan in Utah I feel that there are 3 things that you grow up loving - the Jazz, 49ers, and BYU. I think it broke my Dad's heart a little to disconnect himself from that blue and white. One of my friends left a comment on facebook that I think describes what made the transition a little easier for our family:

"Nothing beats cheering for a team with a jersey
that has your name on it". <~ Aint that the truth?!

The Utes got off to an amazing start this season, but it seemed as though their spirits dwindled after that TCU game. BYU on the other hand seemed to be having a season that reflected the complete opposite of their rivals. So as it got closer to the big game I started to get a little nervous about the outcome. One thing was for sure though- it was gauranteed to be a great game! Fatu only had 4 tickets so my Dad, me, and Ti Tonga each claimed one. Sila and Bubba duked it out for the 4th one and Sila came out victorious. I wish we had enough to where we could've all went :( Anyway the football game was an all day event. After breakfast we headed up to the trax station where we were joined by fans of both sides up to the stadium.

When we got up to Foothill it was so neat to see how the homes were decorated to show their team spirit.

[Arriving to Rice Eccles]

Ti Tonga knew a guy who gave him a sideline pass, so I got to go right onto the field before the kickoff! It was soooo cool! Fatu was running his drills and it took him a while to notice me. He was so surprised to see me of all people on the sideline. After he caught his pass he ran over and gave me a hug before getting back in line to practice. I snapped a couple more pics then headed back up to my seat and got ready for the game to start.

[crazy fans]

Game time!

As soon as the game began it was nonstop excitement. There were a couple BYU fans sitting near us and they were all so nice. This was my very first college game so it was a complete thrill. I loved everything about it - from the painted faces of fans, to the MUSS, to the school band. The stadium exuded loyalty. And if you've ever been to or seen a game you know that the crowd never misses that 3rd Down Jump!!

[our #8]

Almost halfway through the game I got a text from Neo saying she got tickets and was on her way. She's so crazy! When me and Sila took our seats again after half time I heard someone yelling my name. I looked over to see Neo jumping up and down with her black paint under her eyes. Crazy girl I tell ya!

The game came down to the very last seconds of the 4th quarter. We were up by 1 and BYU had possession of the ball. As they got ready to kick their field goal I prepped myself for a loss, but thought of how grateful I was to be able to come out to a game and how much fun I had. When all of the sudden the kick went up and ricocheted off someones hands. It was blocked!!! We won! I couldn't believe it!!! We jumped up and down screaming and hugging. We high fived all our neighbors and roared on for our team. Within seconds of the end of the play the field was ambushed by red fans from the bleachers.

[final score: UTAH-17 BYU-16][the field covered with red fans]

[couldn't resist :]