Party Time!

Today marked Siope's 5th year of life. He adds so much vigor to our little family. I would have to say that the thing we admire most about him is his quick wit and his incredible sense of humor. He has the most adorable smile. His trademark of course is his unruly curls. Although he is 5, he still holds his blanky near and dear to his heart and has a collection of stuffed animals who he considers close pals. Besides his blanky and stuffies, a few of his favorite things include: Spongebob Square Pants, WWE Wrestling and The Incredible Hulk. His favorite color is green and he is super excited to start Kindergarten next Monday.

We celebrated Siope's birthday today with some of our friends and family. He wanted to go swimming on his special day so as soon as his cousins arrived we headed to the pool.

We came back home and cracked open the pinata...
filled our bellies with some nummy food...

and topped it all off with chocolate cake.

Can you tell that we're a Spongebob family?

^Samiu, Gabrielle, Siope, Toakesa, Nic, Fotu, Mote & Max

Happy Birthday Siope Saione!!

Family Reunion 2010 - Salt Lake City, UT

Last month we traveled back home to Salt Lake. Although the main purpose of the trip was for Ti's Fangupo reunion, it had been a while since I'd seen my family, so for me it was also an opportunity to reunite with my Moala family. I remember when we first moved out to Vegas-- our trips back home were a lot different. Me and Ti would try to cram in as many lunch/dinner dates with as many friends as we could. Our trips now are so much more mellow. Most of the time we are just lounging around in our parent's living room or eating a home cooked meal in their kitchen. Although I do miss my friends I've found that I really just want to be surrounded by family when I'm in town.

Day 1:
We arrived in Salt Lake later than I'd hoped on Thursday. We got to my parents house and they immediately wanted to take us out to eat. Me and Ti fell in love with a Chinese restaurant there and now every time we visit my Mom goes out of her way to take us there to dine. So we rounded up the entire family and went out for dinner. After, we all went up to the lake with no intentions of getting wet. No one came dressed to swim, but 95% of our group somehow ended up in the water. The best part for me was having my parents there. They are the biggest home-bodies. They seldom go out and when we asked them if they wanted to go to the lake before dinner they said for us just to go without them. I was surprised when my Dad was the one who brought up the lake on our way home from the restaurant. Their grandkids really are so special to them. That day I sat there and just watched my family and was so full of joy and gratitude. I felt like the luckiest person on earth to belong to such an amazing and loving family. The only thing that could have made that day better was for Misi to be there. We stayed and swam until it was too dark to see.
Day 2:
The next day we woke up and headed up to Provo for our annual Fangupo reunion. This was by far the smallest one we've had, but I'm glad we kept the tradition alive by coming together.

(above: Ti & the boys w/ Ti's parents
below: me & baby Tevita)

We played games at the park then hit up the pool with the kids. I don't think I've ever swam for so long before. The highlight of the water park was definitely the water slides! I didn't think the kids would be tall enough to go down them, but as long as an adult accompanied them they were good to go! So I took the boys one-by-one on each of the slides. Oh man I felt like a kid again!! And the boys loooooved it!

The white water slides in the back are the ones we went on with the boys

We left the pool right before they closed and came back to a table overflowing with food. They had more games for the kids then the adults did our white elephant gift exchange. Me and Ti totally bought something last minute, but wanted Jr & Tina to choose it so I had Toa convince her to pick my bag. They are huge BYU fans and so I thought it was only right to get them some proper fan gear ;)...We ended the night with a slide show on an outdoor jumbo movie screen. I've seen pictures of these things, but this was my first time actually watching a film on one- it was way cool!We also watched old footage of the very first Fangupo reunion back in the day. It was hilarious.

Day 3:

Saturday we went back to the lake with my family. My parents stayed behind this time so it was just us kids. The weather unfortunately did not want to let us play. It rained, but we decided that since we were up there we might as well make use of the trip and hop in the water. After an hour or two of swimming I looked up to see a truck pulling in and out come my parents with a cooler full of drinks and food for us.There was a family of ducks who also thought that it was a good day for a swim

Mei bossing around Ti Tonga. She's the cutest.We talked and laughed forever, then went back to my parents house where we all gathered around my dad's home made fire pit ;)... and roasted marshmallows for s'mores.

We got back with a van full of sand, memories that will not soon be forgotten, and a greater love and appreciation for our family.

It's a Utah Thing!

While we were out in Utah we went to the lake a couple times with my family --blogs still to come. But anyway the boys were sitting in back of Neo's car and Siope came across this...

He picked it up and asked, "Neo what's this?" Twirled it around a couple times in his hand and said , "Wow this is a BIG toothbrush!"

After recovering from a good laugh, Neo explained to him that it's used to scrape the ice and snow off your windshields. Something we don't have to deal with here in Vegas.

Sink or Swim We're Diving In!

There are a lot of things I wish I could be better at. I'm not sure if it's natural to want your kids to excel at the things you fall short of, but I am guilty of doing just that. I hate that I'm so shy and wish I could be more outgoing so I encourage my kids to be social. I'm always the one chanting their names and cheering them on when they sing or dance in front of a crowd. Ti says that I am the pickiest eater so I make the boys try new foods at least once (sometimes twice) before allowing them to say that they don't like the taste of something. I also have a fear of drowning because I've never learned to swim. My boys are the complete opposite. They love everything about water. This summer they've started putting a lot of different twists on their dives. Siope has finally ditched his life jacket. He was the slowest to do so. I didn't think he'd make the switch on his own so I told him that this would be the last summer he could wear it in order to prep him for next year. They went to the pool yesterday and I asked him where his life jacket was and he told me he didn't want to wear it anymore. Here's some pics Neo sent me of the kids at her pool.

Class of 2010

Yesterday Nic graduated from Kindergarten! He missed school last Thursday and Friday so I didn't get the reminder his teacher sent home about the graduation date/time. As I was dropping Ti Tonga off at work Monday morning I remembered that Nic would be graduating later that day. I'm so glad I remembered before I dropped him off! I kept thinking what would've happened if I sent him to school not dressed properly or if I wasn't in the crowd as he performed on stage :( But we made it! When it was time to go to school I told him that me and Siope would meet him at his ceremony. Before he went out the door he said, "Mom! Don't forget your camera okay?!" He's been so excited to wear his graduation cap ever since we turned in his cap money (over a month ago).



This year there were more classes graduating. I don't remember Mote's year being so full. I didn't get a good seat and I was so annoyed that parents kept standing up during the performances to get video footage and pictures of the kids. They completely blocked my view. I didn't get any pics of Nic on stage and couldn't get good footage of them singing. Poor Siope was upset that he couldn't see. I tried holding him up so that he could see Nic, but balancing him, my purse, and the camera all at once was more than I could handle. I got one blurry pic of Nic entering the cafeteria...
and a little clip of one of their class songs...

The students performed several songs and ended by marching out to Black Eyed Peas' - I Gotta Feeling. We met up in Nic's class afterward where his teacher Ms. Keidel presented each of her students their diplomas.Refreshments were served...and each of the students presented us with their Kindergarten books- a collection of some of their projects and artwork they created throughout the school year.
Here's Nic's very first homework assignment...
Nic has had a total of 3 teachers this school year (not by choice). There was a lot of moving around due to the number of kids that entered into Kindergarten. His 2nd teacher was Mrs. Higa who we ABSOLUTELY LOVED!!! She really cared about Nic and had a way with getting through to him. He learns a lot differently and she was so patient with him! The progress he showed while she was his teacher was amazing. We were so sad when we found out she was leaving his class to teach special ed. She showed up to watch each of the kids receive their diplomas. I was so happy to see her. She congratulated Nic and spoke words of encouragement to him.

Nic & Ms. Keidel (his current teacher)
Nic & Gabrielle- his pal, neighbor, & carpool buddy
First Grade Bound!
Siope, Nic, & Timote
Mr. Graduate!

Ti wasn't able to make it due to his work schedule. When we got in the car Mote said, "Mom guess what? I got an award." So I'm thinking-- cool... another math award? And Mote says, " I made it on the honor roll." I was soooooo proud of him!!! Bummed that I didn't know about the award assembly, but so proud of his achivement! We picked up Ti Tonga and then went out to celebrate. The kids chose.... Chili's of course. Ti's birthday was on Sunday so it was a celebration of his birthday, Nic's graduation, and Mote making it on the honor roll.

Today Mote came home with his graduation certificate from 1st grade...

Tomorrow will be the last day of school, then the boys will get a 3 week break before starting the new school year. This coming year we are actually switching to a traditional 9 month school schedule - Hallelujah! Not much of a break to allow for the adjustment, but I'm sure I won't be complaining once next summer hits. I'm already making plans to ship them off to Grandma's next June =)

Team Tevita!

Tevita tonga was born with a lymphatic malformation which means he has multiple banai tumors growing by his airway and in the back of his neck. The only way to treat the tumors is by shrinking them with chemo therapy every 5 to 6 months at a time. His recovery process changes all the time. Now, tevita is home with us. He just discovered walking so he is all over the place. He loves to walk everywhere and play with his siblings. Thanx to hopekids we are able to take him to different activities and events where he has so much fun with other kids. My family and i are very grateful for hopekids. We ask to please donate. We are grateful for any amount from $1.00 to $5.00 or $10.00 to $20.00 no amount is too little. Thank you for your love and support.

christina fangupo

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