School's in Session

Timote Fangupo age 6. Off to 1st grade.

This year I have all 3 boys in school. The schedule gets a little crazy at times, but what can you do? After a measly 2 week summer vacation it's back to school. Mote started 1st grade and is now in school full day. He loves that his days consist of a trip to the lunch room and longer recesses. His teacher is Mr. Larsen and this year he's actually in a relocatable which is different. His classmates are a lot fewer than last years- thank goodness! He loves it and has been doing great so far. It has been a challenge to get up early and off to school on time... for me though, not so much him. I am such a night owl, so this new schedule has me still trying to adjust (yes, even 3 weeks later).

Nicolaus Fangupo ready for day 1 of Kindergarten

Nici makes the deadline here in Nevada. Before I moved from Salt Lake I thought a lot about what I would do with Nic and Siope. I didn't want them in the same grade, but I didn't want to hold Siope back. Luckily the deadline in Nevada is September 30... so the decision was easy. Nici is in afternoon Kindergarten with Mrs. Grauberger. The first week of school was pretty stressing for me as far as Nic attending Kindergarten. I don't think he understood the concept of going to school to learn. I think he thought more along the lines of: going to school to get the heck out of the house, and yay there's lots of kids, and yay- there's a playground! He got his name on the board on the first AND second day of school - not such a good way to start off the year. But since then he has shown so much improvement and maturity! He's been coming home with rewards for his good behavior and is so excited to tell us how well he's done at the end of the day.

Mote and Nic after school. Wright Elementary Las Vegas, NV

Nici's first homework assignment. His family tree.

Siope started preschool a week after the 2 older boys. He was so eager to finally get his turn. He attends preschool with Miss Marcy who happens to be in our ward. While she teaches Siope and the rest of her class, I babysit her 1yr old. We do this Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:15am - 12:15pm ... so after we drop off Mote at school we go straight to Siope's preschool, drop him off, pick up Cruz and come home. After school Marcy meets us at our house to swap the kids. She normally gets here at around 12:30. Just in time to load up and drop off Nic at Kindergarten. When me and Siope get back he usually takes a nap before it's time to head back to the elementary to pick up Mote and Nic... so yeah Tuesdays and Thursdays are pretty busy around here! Siope is loving school though and is really opening up to his teacher and classmates. Today he came home with a homework folder and artwork that he made. He doesn't feel left out this way and I think he's happy that he can relate to the older two and feel like a big boy.

Siope age 4. Hittin the sac early to ensure an early rise in the morning for preschool.

It's pretty crazy take a step back and see how fast the boys are growing. Soccer season starts this week, so we are busy busy busy.

Summer Birthday Lineup

Summers are pretty busy with birthdays in our family. Mote's the first one to kick off the lineup so he usually get's a decent party, but by the time the birthday train visits the rest of us- I admit that I usually tend to slack off because I'm overwhelmed. Here's how our birthdays are scheduled:

June 25: Timote
August 01: Ti Tonga
August 23: Siope
August 28: Kiki
September 02: Nici

We didn't get to celebrate Ti Tonga's birthday with him. He was in Salt Lake while the rest of us were here in Vegas. He had to settle for birthday wishes over the phone, but luckily Auntie Namu was visiting so she and Tea whipped him up a yummy birthday feast. Siope's birthday was pretty low key. We originally planned on having a little party for him in Salt Lake which is what he requested, but ended up cutting our "summer vacation" shorter than we expected. So we celebrated with cake, ice cream, and noisemakers here at the house... and he got to have his Dad here which was probably the best gift he could ask for. Mote and Nic gave him their presents that they personally picked out from the Dollar Store (Hulk EVERYTHING!) and he got a remote control truck from Samiu & Toakesa.
Five days later it was birthday time again. We went and ate out for my special day and after a cruise on the strip we enjoyed cake from Cold Stone. It was delicious!

Nic is the last of the bunch to celebrate and he gets a little antsy waiting for his turn. Well, it finally came and boy was he thrilled! Neo and Kauasi's family flew in the night before to spend time with the birthday boy. What a treat to be able to spend a day with them. We passed out cupcakes and Capri Sun's to his class at school. And his teacher presented him with a complimentary certificate to the treasure box which he was ecstatic to receive! We waited until Labor Day weekend to whip out the cake and presents, but he didn't mind at all.

So in the end Mote is now 6, Nici is 5, Siope is 4, and me & Ti Tonga are 26.... phew... no more birthdays til next summer!

Spelling Lesson

Each Sunday I have the opportunity to teach and be taught by the CTR 5's in our ward. I have a classroom full of 5 year old boys who are all very excited to have just started Kindergarten. We have some pretty interesting conversations in class- spiritual and sometimes just really random chatter. Last Sunday while the boys were coloring Xavier turns to his neighbor and says, "You know what Jesus starts with? It starts with the letter G... you know how I know that? Because I'm smart! Jeeeee-sus... Gee!"

{I love my class}

Con-GRAD-ulations!

June 6, 2009: Today Mote graduated alongside his fellow Kindergartners. Bubba, Siope, and I sat in the school cafeteria as a trail of 6 year olds made their way on stage. Mote was so excited and seemed almost a little surprised to see us. He waved to me and Bubba, poked his tongue at Siope, and waved some more as he laughed and marched toward the front of the lunch room. Mote was in the back of the line and as they took their places on the steps of the stage I could see why. The taller students stood on the back top, and there was my little Mote with the rest of the shorter kids on the bottom front row. The camcorders rolled and cameras flashed as the students performed songs showcasing their spelling and counting skills as well as their excitement to excel on to 1st grade.

At the end of the program we made our way to Mote's homeroom where we were treated to one last song by Miss Ruffridge's class and watched our kids receive their diplomas. After enjoying refreshments (cake & Capri Suns) we left campus with our new graduate alongside. Bubba offered to treat us to a celebration meal and told Mote that he could pick wherever he wanted to go to eat. His choice?: Chili's. The following day we would leave to Salt Lake to spend Mote's summer break with his Dad. Kindergarten- completed!

Visiting Fatu

We got the chance to visit Fatu on Wednesday before we left back to Vegas. He's been at football camp for a while, so we hadn't had the chance to see him at all while we were in Salt Lake. The day we planned to come home, my dad called me and asked if we wanted to stop by the stadium to watch Fatu's scrimmage. So me, Ti Tonga and the boys headed up to Rice Eccles Stadium and had the opportunity to watch Fatu and his Utah teammates scrimmage against each other. It was so awesome!! It was my first time in the stadium. My initial thoughts were "Wow, this is where the world's eyes were the winter of 2002!" I've never been around college football period... I thought a couple times that Fatu was way too small and young to be around such aggressive guys... then realized that he of all people was meant for this. I'm so glad the boys got to see uncle Fatu before we left. We got to have lunch with him, Misi, and my Dad after his practice- a sweet treat to top of a wonderful experience. We probably won't get to see any of his games this season so it was nice to be able to see a little bit of him on his home turf.

Offense vs. Defense

Nic with some sign he found. Go Fatu! =)

Fox 13 News & ABC 4 News on sight

Give it a couple months and I'm sure the big head will fit ;)

Nici, Mote, and Siope with Fatu (Siope's head can't quite hold up the helmet like Nic's)

Last Week of School

Monday: Game Day. Students may bring in their favorite board game to play with their classmates. (Ms Ruffridge will bring Twister)

[Mote took Bingo. He said his favorite game he played on Game Day was Twister.]

Tuesday: Art Day!! Students will need to bring a white t-shirt from home that can be decorated. We will all sign the back and make our own art on the front.

Wednesday: Wacky Clothes Day! Come to school looking your wackiest!! We will have a disco dance party in class.

[Mote is so picky! Everything that I tried to put together wasn't "wacky" enough

for him. We finally came up with this: aloha shirt, soccer tee, Superman cape, Jack

Sparrow skeleton boots, and head band (which is a "ninja headband according to

Mote). Bubba taught Mote a couple disco dance moves so that he'd be prepared

for his dance party :) And Siope of course wanted some of the picture action.]

Thursday: Graduation Day! Come to school looking your best, caps will be put on in the classroom. Parents please find your way to the lunchroom.

[Mote was so excited to graduate. I think a lot of it had to do with him seeing Fatu

graduate this past June. The graduation was put together so well and the kids did

awesome. It deserves a post on it's own with more pictures which is on the way.]

Friday: PJ party and movie day! All students are to arrive at school at 9:05 am for a movie and popcorn party. Wear your favorite PJ's and bring your pillow and your favorite stuffed animal. All students should be picked up at 11:30 am.

[This is the activity that Mote was looking forward to most this week. I got him
new jammies that he was so excited to wear. We got a little taste of his new
morning start time. So with his pillow and a teddy bear in hand we dropped him off
at 9:00 am. He got to lounge around with his classmates and eat popcorn while
watching "Meet the Robinsons"]

Summer Break

Tomorrow is Mote's last day of Kindergarten and we'll be hitting the road as soon as he gets off. He gets a whopping 2 weeks off before he starts first grade BOOOOO! I'm not too fond of this year round schedule, but there's not much I can do about it. This will be our last road trip for the summer then when we get back we'll be sitting tight for a while. We've traveled quite a bit this summer and I'm actually ready to get back to our chaotic routine of work, school, church, and sports. Hopefully Ti Tonga can join us soon. Home's just not the same without him.