Sealed for Time and all Eternity

Two of my brothers made it to the temple this year and I couldn't be more proud of them.
Misi and Tolo got married in November and we were able to travel out to Salt Lake for their special day.

So glad we were able to make it out for the wedding. I am grateful for my new sister-in-law Tolo and am excited for her and Misi's new life together.

This weekend Fatu and Brittainy got sealed in Salt Lake. We're in Vernal, so we weren't able to be there :( But I am so happy for their little family. Fatu has matured so much and I'm proud of the choices he's made as a husband and father.

I still can't believe how much he's grown! What a great way to end 2013 for Fatu and Misi.

Vegas Holiday Activities 2013

We've been able to do a lot of fun holiday activities while Ti's been here. I'm grateful for that! On our annual Family Day we went to Town Square to watch Frozen with the kids. Afterwards, we gathered around the giant Christmas tree in the Square for their evening snowfall. We drove home to Christmas music and made hot cocoa at home to end the night. I'm so glad the kids started this family tradition. Didn't do any Black Friday shopping, but had a special day with my family instead.

This weekend we went to Ethel M Chocolate Factory for the first time. It was awesome!!! They have a cactus garden out back that was completely decorated in Christmas lights. I have been complaining about Vegas not having a worthy display of Christmas lights since we've moved here and I finally found a spot that's amazing!!! And it's free! Before leaving we went to look around inside the factory and were pleasantly surprised to find a walk through of the factory. We got to see how the chocolate was made and received free samples as well. The kids loved it. I loved it!

Yesterday we spent the day at home. We had pizza for lunch and listened to Christmas music while we hung up the stockings and decorated the tree.

Although we have to say goodbye to Ti Tonga today I am grateful for the holiday memories we were able to build with him. This is so much more time than we had with him last year. For that I am grateful.

-kiki

Season Opener: Lions vs. Titans

Mote and Nic played their very first football game on Saturday and it was awesome!!! I didn't think their team would understand the game well enough because they're so young, but I was wrong. The game started off shaky. We got scored on within the first couples minutes, so I was sure we were going to get blown out. It took them a little bit to find their groove, but when they did they were awesome!! Mote scored 3 times to help his team to victory and Nic played both offense and defense.

They both said they had fun. I had such a good time watching them play and I can't wait for next Saturday to watch them again!! Go Lions!!!

Ries Elementary 2nd Grade Award Ceremony

Got to attend another award ceremony today. Siope received A/B Honor Roll for the 3rd trimester as well as A/B Honor Roll for the entire school year.

Ries Elementary Field Day 2013

The boys have been looking forward to Field Day for quite some time. Siope and Nic had their turn earlier on in the day so I wasn't able to make theirs, but I got there just in time for Mote's. It was so fun to watch them compete. They had a blast!

Ries Elementary 4th Grade Award Ceremony

Thursday I took a trip to the Elementary because Mote got an invitation to their award ceremony. I was exhausted from work the night before but was so glad I made it. I knew he was getting honor roll, but was surprised when they called his name for 3 awards that day: Outstanding Citizenship, A/B Honor Roll for the 3rd trimester and A/B Honor Roll for the entire school year. I almost cried seeing him on stage with his awards. I'm so proud of this little guy. He has been a great leader to his brothers and a wonderful help to me while his dad is away. And on top of all of that he has managed to work hard in school and earn honors.

4th Grade Wax Museum

Mote's class put together a wax museum for their end of the year project. He chose to be Babe Ruth. It made me a little nervous at first because we have NO baseball gear whatsoever at home. But I think we did pretty good. He was so cute in his little costume and did a great job at memorizing his speech.

Apex FunRun

The boys had a fun run today to raise money for their school.

Mote completed 32 laps...

Nic finished with 27...

And Siope surprised us all and completed all 36 laps!

I'm proud of all of them, but am seriously shocked with Siope. We always tease him that he's lazy. He is definitely book smart, but doesn't really carry an interest for any physical activity lol. He's not in to sports as much as the other 2... So when he came home and told me how he did I was blown away. I know he is capable of doing whatever he wants... it's just getting him interested and motivated that's the tricky part :)

Sick Little Bug

Ms. Ella isn't feeling well. Poor baby :*( I wish I could just drive out to Cedar and give her a big hug. She is too cute for words.

Llamados a Servir (Called to Serve)

Yesterday Ti sent me a text to notify us that Po received his mission call in the mail! Later that night, thanks to modern technology, we were able to listen in as he opened his letter. Before he read his destination aloud, we went around the room and gave our guesses of where he would be called to serve. Our house guessed Tonga... of course :) While we were on Skype with Jr & Tina, Ti Tonga was FaceTiming on his phone from Arizona to listen in as well. It was hard to contain the excitement and sit quietly as he began to read his call. Then it happened. We heard that he would be serving in Chihuahua Mexico and the jumping and screaming began. The response in the room was priceless. We cheered along with our family in Salt Lake as we celebrated the journey that Po has started.
I can't explain how amazing it has been to see this kid grow up. To be honest, I didn't know a whole lot about Po til just recently. Although me and Ti have been married for 10 years now, me and Po have never really bonded. I mean we talked of course, but I don't think I got to know the real Po until he moved here to Vegas. He is pretty mellow and a "go with the flow" kind of guy. He reminds me a lot of Ti Tonga. Pretty reserved, so I just let him keep to himself. He moved in with us last year and my kids grew so attached to him. This kid has a heart of gold. He is so accepting and forgiving. I will never be able to repay him for all that he has done for my little family. Not sure if he knows how much his help with the kids meant to me. It has been a wonderful thing to see him grow and to make the decision to serve the Lord. We are extremely proud of him and have faith that he will go forward and bless the lives of many in Chihuahua. Congratulations Elder Fangupo. We love you!