More Picture!

Since I never finished my last post, I thought I should add some more pictures of our eventful fall.

Saki enjoying the new toy room in our house.Our last minute costumes for the kids. Thanks to Wal-Mart, we were able to get something the very day of Halloween. (Grandpa came to see our house)Saki now does very well getting his own breakfast.(Note his facial expression) We went with our Polynesian Family on a little day trip to this awesome place equipped with a zip line and huge water slides...very fun. My kids were more interested in the swings and sand box.Kaveni is getting so big. I love it.

Wes and Danielle came to visit, along with Vito and Charley... we had a great weekend at the fair and just hanging around chit-chatting. Talei, Phoebe and Saki have become really good friends. (Just realized that more of Ife's/my friends have come to see us than my own siblings. Is that saying something).

Saki became such a good helper to daddy by helping him do the cooking. We went to Hogle Zoo again...not so much fun in the heat, but a great time to see all the animals with their babies.Now we are finally settled into the house and ready to get the Christmas decorations out and up. I love this time of year and hope you all have an awesome holiday season. Don't worry, I'll blog again before Christmas...hopefully.

It's about TIME!!!

I have to update really quick on the things that have happened since I last blogged. I know, I've been a slacker, but I've been incredibly busy. Here is a quick rundown of our summer PAR-TAYS!

We were gone most of the summer. We had something planned every weekend.

Saki went fishing with Ife and Grandpa several times. He even caught a fish once.

We took a weekend and went to visit Joape and Christine in St. George. We went swimming.

and played at jumpin' jacks (I think) where there was tons of blow up toys for everyone. These guys got a little worn out.

On our trip to Denver we went to this huge sports store and had fun trying to hit things with the guns. The guys were in heaven shopping here. It was pretty cool I must say so myself.

Saki had to take a break and play in the water fountains.

We went on a road trip to Denver with Hope and Dustin. Kaveni started doing this all the time. It was hilarious.

We had a family reunion at Bethany's cabin. It was a BLAST!!!

We watched fireworks on the fourth of July with my sister Tawny and her family. Aren't they sweet. (my niece Madison)

Saki actually played in the foam at the park in Soda Springs. (It took a little bit of coaxing).

We've were busy with our church callings. (Was in primary for 3 years).

So I can't add any more pictures in this post but I'll do more later, because...

I'm not in the primary anymore because we bought our first home.
We are HOMEOWNERS...okay more like home-loaners, but it works.
I'm working like crazy...two jobs, long story, no fun, but only for short time.
Ife is job hunting...still working, doing lots of yard work in our perfect yard, and watching the boys.
Saki is potty trained, sleeping in his own bed, so funny, such a helper, and always wanting gum.
Kaveni is walking, not sleeping good, always happy (except at night lately).

We are so happy and ready for the holidays. I will post later and add more pics of the summer as well as of our awesome home.

*Can I also add that it is my crazy time of year with all four birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Anniversary, and New Years all in 2 months.

Fijian Friends

Okay, another post about Fiji....

Anytime we went anywhere we always stopped to visit people that Ife knew and grew up with. We didn't go anywhere that we didn't stop on the way and have a little kava celebration session/reunion. Anyhow -

we met old mission companions,

people Ife baptized,

families of friends here in the U.S.,

old rugby teammates,

ward members,

old friends to Ife,

moms of great friends here,

cousins of cousins,

brothers of uncles,

sisters of nephews,

friends of brothers....

You get the point right.

I can't even explain how much I grew to love these people because #1 - they are so sincere and kind and #2 - they seriously would give you the shirt off of their backs. I LOVE them all.

But seriously lots of you Fijians out there may catch a glimpse of some of your family, so take a peek :)

Breakin' It Up

Yahoo!!!! I finally got a video to load.

I decided to take a break from Fiji and post this video from before we went. One night we were reading scriptures and Saki had to follow along in the BOM. Anyway, we thought it was cute he was mumbling along and then I had to take a video of him saying his prayers too! He said them in Fijian and he made sure to bless the food. So Cute!

Westin Resort & Spa

While in Fiji we were able to stay at a five star resort & spa. We stayed for 5 days. This was one of my favorite things. This resort was spectacular - to put it lightly. It had a couple different resorts, several restaurants, private beaches, bars, several pools, a wedding chapel, private park, shops, bowling field, dance area, a beach jacuzzi, volleyball, kayaking, para sailing...the list goes on and on. This place was amazing and we were so lucky to be able to stay there. (Thanks Kali and Fam).

Anyway, this was our little getaway. We took Ife's sister Ana with us to help watch the kids so we could go out and do some things on our own - just Ife and I. We took advantage of the views, air conditioning, and events that we had planned every day. We would go out in the day and leave the kiddos and come back to a huge comfy bed waiting for us. What more can you ask for?

When you think of Fiji...the beaches, hammocks in the palm trees, and the ocean, this is where you find it. It was honestly a paradise. I can't even begin the explain the service we received there. Everyone was so friendly and nice. I have never been to a place so "up-scale". I'm not sure if that is a word, but we almost felt like millionaire's to be able to do all of the things that we did there. It was such an awesome experience. Plus, we got to enjoy our alone time as well as experience this wonderful place with the family. I don't even know what else to say...except for thanks Ana for watching the kiddos while we were out.

Enjoy the pictures...We LOVED this place.

Beachcomber Island

We went on a day cruise to Beachcomber Island. This was one of the highlights (of many) from out trip. Anyway, the slideshow is below, but I'll write a little more about it and hopefully post some videos.



We boarded a ship and headed out to Beachcomber Island for the day. I had never been on a boat bigger than one you water ski on, so that was fun for me. Everyone knocked out for the ride over there...including Ife.



As we continued small boats would come and take passengers to their islands that they were visiting. We passed tons of pretty islands. It was awesome. Anyway, we got on our little boat and headed to the island. I was amazed at how blue and clear the water was. The small ride to the island was fun. We were able to see the reef through the glass-bottom boat.



The island was amazing. People basically served us all day. They would walk around the island and bring you drinks or anything that you needed. There was a free buffet lunch that we were able to enjoy because both of the kids were sleeping and the workers (30 or so people who live on the island) loved the kids and watched them the entire time for us. The bar had free drinks all day long. Too bad we don't drink much. Anyway, we mostly just relaxed all day on the island.



I don't know the exact size of the island, but you could walk around the entire thing in about 7 minutes. There were tons of activities to do - snorkeling, jet skiing, beach volleyball, para sailing, kayaking, canoeing, & touch rugby. After lunch we took the kids out for a boat ride to feed the fish. This was really cool. Saki absolutely loved this part. He threw bread over the side and the little fish practically jumped out of the water to get it. The fish close to the surface - eating the bread - looked like zebras. Under the boat as the water got deeper and deeper, the fish just got bigger. I got a video that's pretty good, but you can't see the huge fish that were really deep and can't see the color of the fish really great.

****(I am ultra-annoyed I can't get the video to load. I have never had problems before. I will have Ife figure it out and make sure to get them posted soon).

So, it was really fun going around the reef. We dropped off about 8 snorkelers before we went to feed the fish. All the colors of the reef were so bright. There were hundreds of brightly colored fish too. Everything from hot pink and purple to orange and blue. The starfish were HUGE. They were the most interesting thing to me. We were on the boat just checking out the reef for about an hour before we headed back to the island. It was really fun and Saki loved it. He called all of the fish Nemo. We actually did see some clown fish.

We thought it was funny that Saki was eating handfuls of sand, chewing it like food and swallowing it...that is until he pooped it out for the next 4 days and had a pretty bad diaper rash. That can't be too good on the stomach/intestines either. Now we know for next time though. Kaveni didn't eat too much sand.

Anyway, the day was so relaxing and fun, but by the end of the day we were exhausted. We did learn that you could stay on the island for about $400 a night. The cruise ship we took back to Denarau was cool too. Saki thought we were on a plane because the seats inside reminded him of that.

We would definitely recommend this to anyone who goes to Fiji. It was so worth the money and definitely a great time for making memories with the family.

Home Remedies

I don't have a lot of time so this post about Fiji will be quick. Anyway, I'm not very scared of spiders and bugs and all of those little creatures, but there is one thing that I have really learned to hate since going to Fiji and that is the mosquitoes. The only downfall of Fiji was that I was literally eaten alive. As for the rest of my family...nothing. ABSOLUTELY no bites. I would rather me bitten than the kiddos, but honestly...I just cringe thinking about it. Here is a picture of just two bites on my arm. I didn't even itch them. This was my natural reaction to them. On each leg from the knee down I had over 50 bites per leg. I wish I would have taken pictures. I got them on my fingers and toes and FACE. Even with the heat I learned to sleep in long pants and a sweatshirt. That was dreadful. We also slept under mosquito nets. I think most of the bites came from early mornings and late nights of just sitting around hanging out.

Of course we got things under control after the first week, but I was miserable with the bites. I got this prescription cream that worked really well, but that mostly helped with the swelling and itching. Anyway, besides that the bugs weren't bad and every time I saw a Gecko I was happy because I knew they were eating up the bugs. I didn't even see a single cockroach. Ife obviously didn't mind letting the spiders crawl all over him. I later learned it's only because they are not poisonous.

Sorry they are blurry...maybe I was was just a LITTLE scared.

Okay, enough of that. I did get a bite from something on my hand...possibly a wasp, but we weren't sure. Ife's family made me do this home remedy. If any of you know me then you know that I was just laughing inside thinking "yeah right", but it took the pain right away. I was so thankful for it. Here I am soaking my hand in a mixture of...stuff. Ahhhh, it felt sooo good.

I just realized that you can see one of the huge mosquito bites on my cheek in this picture. My fingers swelled up enough to not let me wear my wedding ring. I was able to wear my watch though:).

P.S. I do have scars all over my legs from the mosquito bites. I think they will go away within the next month or so...at least I hope so.

I really did love Fiji...stay tuned for our cruise to the outer islands. I'll do that one next.

Colo-I-Suva

So you Fijians out that have heard about this place before since everyone who has been back to Fiji goes there, but for everyone else, this is the waterfall we went to one day. Since it is a tourist attraction...somewhat...you had to pay to get in. It was $1 for locals. (Sorry Karla and Danielle...we didn't even have to pay the $5 tourist price. Probably because they didn't see the white girl sitting in the van FULL of Fijians).

Anyway, this is the waterfall Ife and his friends would sneak into when they would skip school. Crazy I know...what kind of kids skip school...just kidding.

The water was incredibly refreshing. I could have gone every day. There was a little hike in and picnic tables in the jungly trees and a rope swing into the pool. We got there just as some tourists were leaving and had the whole day to ourselves.

Of course, Saki wouldn't get in the water (that pansy) but he enjoyed the whole day throwing rocks in. Kaveni enjoyed spending time on the mat with Ife's mom. And the big kids enjoyed swimming and playing. Here is a video of Momo Banana (uncle banana to our kids-his name is Saki, that my Saki is named after...for confusion purposes, I'll just call him Momo Banana). He climbed up the tree to jump into the pool. Holy Moly it was high. It doesn't look so high, but it really was. For some reason this reminded me of my brother Cody. You probably know why.

(My pictures and videos are not loading...so I'll have to add more later SORRY)

Meeting the Family

First of all, I am a little overwhelmed about blogging only because there is so much to say. We took a thousand pictures while we were in Fiji so I will probably be doing a lot of slideshows for those that are interested and then posts hitting the main things that we did. There were just so many 'main' things.

Anyway, since it was the first time for Ife to bring me, Saki, and Kaveni home, we were dressed in the traditional Fijian clothing. Can I just say that this was after traveling for over 28 hours. CRAZY, I know! We were all pretty nasty from the humidity and sweating, but hey, who's complaining!

Here is Saki not knowing what to think. He was wearing the lei that Ife got when he finished his mission. They just freshened it up with some real flowers. I thought that was cool. He is also wearing a tabua (whale's tooth) around his neck. These are a sign of wealth and are given on very special occasions. Notice his little rosy cheeks from the heat.

Here is Saki with two of his cousins. They all had the best times together while we were there. In the middle is Bale Celeste Tabakece...named after me of course :), and then Elenoa Lagilagi. She had been in Fiji for a few months and we brought her back with us to Ife's sister-(her mom) who lives in Utah. Notice their freshly made skirts.Here is Saki with Ife's mom. She is the sweetest cutest thing you have ever seen.Here's a better picture of the clothing. LOVE IT!

There will be more to come shortly... I know you are all dying to see pictures :)

And We're Off!

Graduation is over...

The tickets are booked...

The bags are packed (all 8 of them)...

The treats are made...

The passports are ready...

We're off to Fiji!

See you in a month!

My Boys...

Aren't they CUTE!P.S. Ife graduates on Saturday! Can you believe it? I think I'm more excited than he is.

I know it's late!

Saki absolutely loved the Easter egg hunt this year. He finally knew what to do. I was a little sad because all of the big public egg hunts were at the same time this year so we only made it to the one at Ross Park. They have prizes and usually have real eggs, but I was disappointed there were no real ones this year. Anyway, Ife's sister was here so we got to take Meko and Buna with us. They had fun. Ife had to treat them to cupcakes with candles before the egg hunt. I'm not sure why????

Saki didn't understand that he had to stay behind the yellow tape until they said go. I was trying to explain to him. I had to hold him until it was time.Saki didn't especially love the bunny.

After Ife's rugby game (they won!), we colored eggs. The funnest part was showing Saki's little cousins what to do since they had never done it before.

Kaveni enjoying the day.