Should be packing...

Glad no one else here is as stressed out as I am about packing...

Festival 2018

The boys performed today at UNLV. Every year all the schools in Clark County prep to perform in front of judges at UNLV. We have been lucky to watch Mote perform each year with Tarkanian and this year we got to watch the 2 little boys. I requested the day off from work but wasn't too optimistic about my request getting approved. Miraculously I got it off! Nic asked me yesterday if I was able to get the day off and he was so excited when he found out that my day off was approved. Ti had to leave back to work today, but was able to catch their performance before he left.
There was a little bit of a fiasco this morning trying to get out of the house on time. Siope couldn't find his black slacks and almost had to wear a pair of my skinnies hahaha. He is so lucky that he finally found them in the nick of time.
I thought their performance was awesome. I was so proud to watch them play. Every time that I've seen them perform I get overwhelmed with a sense of pride and joy. I know how much they enjoy playing and how hard they work. I'm so glad Ti Tonga got to see them perform. It means the world to them to have their dad's support.

Red Rock

Ti's family came to visit a couple weeks ago and we took Siosi & Po hiking at Red Rock.

Can't believe we've lived here for so long and have never seen this view. Did a lot of huffing and puffing haha, but the view at the end was worth it. So beautiful!!

MGM magic

Started off 2017 with a little magic. Got to take the boys to watch David Copperfield at MGM Grand.

The boys have exams this week and lucky for them - Ti Tonga's home. He woke up early to make sure they had a hot breakfast before heading to school. This scene makes me so happy.

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This year I lucked out and got to have Ti home for my birthday again. I remember as my birthday got closer everyone kept asking what I had planned. At first I actually thought about going out with friends to celebrate - ha! Then I thought about just going on a date with Ti Tonga which is what we normally do. But in the end we spent the day together as a family. It was the kid's last day of summer vacation, so it only seemed fitting to spend the day together. 

Every time someone asks me what I want for a gift, I say "food." Haha. I've got so many restaurants bookmarked, but Ti doesn't really like to go on food adventures like I do. I knew since it was my birthday though, that I could get him to go on a foodie adventure with me ;) So Sunday morning we took the boys downtown and hit up Donut Bar --- finally!! We grabbed a dozen donuts then walked over to Container Park and had breakfast on their patio.

The cutest Butter Beer donut

I was so excited for the "Big Poppa Tart" which ended up being my favorite!

There's an actual pop tart in the donut!

After the kids ate, they rushed to the playground. Me and Ti watched them play for a little and then Ti got up and joined them. Container Park is one of mine & Ti's favorite spots. I'm so glad we finally got to take the kids there. I sat and watched them play and was just so grateful for everything that I had. It was a simple morning with the ones I love the most. It was perfect.

Later that day we had dinner at Cheesecake Factory, then came home and put the boys to bed in time for school the next day. I felt a little guilty that my birthday was the only one that Ti was home for this year, which is why I was so happy to share this day together with my family.

Mone & Makai

Mone & Makai came out as soon as school got out. We had a blast together and were so happy they came out to Vegas to spend time with us.

We spent a lot of time cooling off at the pool.

Didn't get any pics of Independence Day, but it was one for the books. We drove out to Pahrump and bought some fireworks and on July 4th we had hot dogs and a firework show out front. It was the best we've had so far! Mone & Makai even got their own Clark County library cards, so they are honorary Vegas kids ;)

#summer16

Siope the Speller

Siope made it to the spelling bee final again!!! He won his class spelling bee and went on to compete against the top 5th graders. Once he won his class competition we knew he would be progressing to the final, we just didn't know when that would be. Every day he would come home and I would ask what was going on with the championship. He had no idea- had received no updates. Last Friday I get a phone call waking me up. It was Siope's teacher telling me that Siope would be competing in the championship spelling bee THAT DAY. It was a little frustrating because that meant that Siope would've found out about it that day as well when he got to school. So I went in to his school that day feeling intimidated. Neo happened to be in town and the 2 older boys are out of school so we all headed in to the multi purpose room to cheer on our bud. The competition started and the spellers slowly started to drop off as the words got harder and harder to spell. Siope ended up making it to the final 2! It was so exciting to see him compete. It was clear that the final 2 contestants were the strongest of the bunch. They went head to head for quite some time and in the end... Siope took 2nd place. I am so proud of this little guy!!!! His curiosity is constantly driving his urge to learn more. I often find myself asking him for help on spelling words when I get stuck on a text or email. He is our smarty pants and we are excited to continue to cheer him on on whatever other adventures he decides to take on.

MDW 2016

Ti was home for Memorial Day weekend this year. We thought about traveling, but the boys had basketball games so we ended up staying in Vegas. Since we all had a long weekend we decided to make the most of it and we took a little staycation. 

View from our room.

The kids wasted no time getting into the pool.

Grilling on Memorial Day.

There was also a basketball court and tennis court which we took full advantage of.

Winner Winner Turkey Dinner

Siope's class was challenged to write a Thanksgiving essay using a list of 85 vocabulary words. Siope told us about it yesterday and expressed how much he wanted to win the contest. His teacher had purchased an assortment of food items that are often found at Thanksgiving dinner and would be giving them away as prizes for her students that participated. Today like normal, Mote and Nic got home from school first. Shortly after the front door opens, and in walks Siope with his arms full. He had won the grand prize! He was so excited to bring home his turkey. And what perfect timing. Ti will not be home with us next week so we are having our Thanksgiving meal together as a family tomorrow. 

Siope's turkey will be at the center of our holiday feast tomorrow :)

Carving Fun

Ti and the boys carved pumpkins yesterday while I worked on costumes.