Sina's Day of Fun

Last week Tuesday our niece Sina (Anthony and Sifo's daughter) turned 2years old!

Happy Belated Birthday baby!

We were able to go this past Saturday and do something fun for and with her! We all went first to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving point and tried to do most of all the fun activities they had to offer ------ but after about an hour of lugging the girls and diaper bags around, we were pooped! Heiress probably got a better experience there because she seemed fearless when we tried out all the inflatable fun houses, not to mention she's the only one that went through the Haunted house and she hardly flinched when she got a kitty cat face paint job done! She even held pretty still for all the pictures we took!

Anyhow, after Coretta and Sina got a chance on the go-carts with Sa we finally headed off towards Provo/Orem area. The girls knocked out so we decided to drive around while they napped. Sifo took us down memory lane - showing us all the places she'd lived and been while she was in Provo during her BYU college days. We even drove out to look at Bridal Veil Falls (sorry no pics) and then we headed up Squaw Peak.

It looked like something out of a movie; particularly the one we were watching just the night before: "Wrong Turn". =) Thank goodness we were sight-seeing during the day because I probably would've opted to wait on the highway... or not! Anyway - so everything was all fine and dandy. We saw alot of people parked to the side of the road with recreational gear; lots of shrubs and bushes and narrow turns ........... when all of a sudden - while taking a sharp turn - OUT OF NOWHERE - all we saw was a figure that appeared infront of our car coming downhill at full speed and then he disappeared as Sifo hit the brakes! Another skateboarder was quick on his heels but he had seen our car before the other kid and was able to veer out of our way in time.

I screamed. It sounded pathetic at the time but I seriously thought we ran over that darned kid! That's when Sa opened his door and we saw that the "kid" we were worried about was actually a teenager who somehow luckily jumped off his board as he tried to skid out of our path. Sa checked if he was okay. He assured us he was and then...... I was ready to kill him myself!...

Luckily for him and the little scare he gave us, we opted to ditch the place and go eat since the girls were finally coming to.

After all that excitement, Tucano's brazilian grill was just what we needed. The food was great! I enjoyed my choice of tomato salad with olives and mozarella balls - - - and if Heiress hadn't spilt her milk cup, I'd think it was a perfect dinner! Sina even got all the brazilian drums played for her while the servers there sang Happy Birthday to her in Portuguese.

Finally we stopped by briefly to visit with Charles and Linda and to see their newby Charles Joseph Palepoi. He is such a cutie!!! (What baby have I never said that about??). It was fun to hang out with them and we'll probably see them soon at CJ's blessing in a few weeks!

Soon as we got home - the boys jetted off to see a movie by themselves which left me with alot of free time since the girls were just winding down from the day's activities. I was able to finally use the frames set that our friends Rachael and Seuao bought for us LAST CHRISTMAS -(thanks guys! love them!)- because I FINALLY decided to print some of our favorite pictures off of our fully loaded memory card and I'm almost satisfied at how everything looks now. I just need to balance it all out now.

So just before I finish off here and let you enjoy the pics I took from our outting (which will be printed soon - I promise!).... I hope all you twilight fans are going to head on over to any HOT TOPIC store to check out the release (i think) of the Twilight soundtrack. They should be unveiling the much anticipated "Bella's Lullaby" and a song that Rob Pattinson wrote also - (who plays Edward in the movie). That's apparently happening this Friday at 7pm. Enjoy!!!

in line at the Scarecrow Festival

only Anthony and the Scarecrows were ready for this shot

before Sina got her Jack-o-lantern and Coretta got Elmo on their cheeks

Heiress and her daddy before her kitty cat do

coretta's tenth time down the slide "ALL BY HERSELF!!"..=)

our ferocious tiger...roar!!!!

Our little clan - everyone acting their true part...*wink*

the Ta'atitis'

Anthony posing with Heiress at the Fish Ponds (She caught a toy called "the annoying THING")

Sa and Sina cooling down in the shade

Sa and the 2yr olds

Sina and Coretta knocked out after having so much fun

Anthony with baby CJ

visiting with Charles and Linda and baby CJ

My Eights

I think I got tagged twice to do this and I doubt I have enough friends on here to tag ...so don't be surprised if I don't tag anyone....:P
Here goes:

8 Favorite TV SHOWS: Prison Break, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, American Idol, America's Best Dance Crew, Chuck, The Office, MINDFREAK, Forensic Files

8 Favorite RESTAURANTS: Joe's Crabshack, McDonalds, Cafe Rio, Bobby Chin's, Cheesecake Factory, IHOP, Denny's

8 Things that HAPPENED YESTERDAY: Slept in, Babysat my niece Sina, Ironed and hung up my daughters' clean laundry, Cooked Salmon and Chicken soup, Met a new potential friend 'Marky'-through Sa's cousin Cordelia, Sa's aunt flew into town from Vegas - spent time with her here for a while, ate Sa's Dibs icecream, fought my girls to sleep - they won because they didn't sleep 'til 1am!!!...

8 Things to LOOK FORWARD to: Christmas, Successful Potty Training and School for the kids, Having more kids, Watching my babies grow up, Future Career, Educational, Spiritual Acheivements/Successes, Seeing our families back home in Samoa, Returning to Samoa, oh and Twilight the movie!

8 Things on my WISH LIST: Having a total mommy makeover!, Become an overnight millionaire, Be less afraid of conforming to fashion trends, That Sa would be more open-minded about fun American holidays and past times, To go back to Samoa soon, Write a book WORTH reading, Have perfect Skin, I wish there was no such thing as RACISM!!!

8 Things I LOVE about FALL: the leaves, the Weather, the clothes, cute kids outfits, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... lol

8 People I tag: Tala, Sifo, Jen, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. ... sorry...

twilight Mania

This is a little overdue considering how long the Twilight Saga has been completely published and available.

I finished reading the series in less than a week thanks to the strong recommendation given by Sifo! :) I liked the books alot and got Sa to start reading them! He finished the first book and attempted the 2nd one (there are FOUR in the series) and decided he'll just wait for the movies to come out! =) He has however managed to annoy a couple of his other relatives and myself by updating his Bebo profile to say that "HE" is the main guy character/love interest in the book! It's pretty hilarious what an uproar that caused what with comments such as "You are a werewolf" to "I'm still vomitting" that he received just hours after the change! =)

Sa (although he's serious about not reading anymore of the series), has been online day in day out searching all trailers and images related to the book and upcoming movie release! Twilight Die Hard Fan? I thought so! - until...

I recommended the book to one of my best friends in New Zealand. All I needed her to do was to read the FIRST book and now (about 2 and a half days later) - I think she's done with the SECOND book!!! I almost regret recommending it to her because I've been getting text messages at all hours of the day about how emotionally stressful the story is for her! =) And I truly hope she can recover from it! =)

Anyhow I can't wait 'til the movie comes out next month! Sifo says she and I will be camping outside of the theaters to be the first ones to see it. Haha! Nevermind how crazy we sound but I think the thought of us camping outside of a theater is something that even "I'd" pay to see!

If there is "ANYONE" out there who hasn't read the books, you should try it. I think that the most inspiring thing I've taken away from this series is not the story itself but more the story of how it's Author came to be so great at her profession.

She got the idea of this story from a "dream"; put it on paper and never looked back. She used to be a simple stay at home mom just FOUR years ago and now she's making millions from literally a dream! If that's not reason enough then you can do like Sa and wait for the movies of her books to come out.

Well - now that that's off my chest..... I think I've given sufficient effort to make like I'm not slacking on this blog! =)

Enjoy the weekend!

BABY ALERT

I don't have any pictures right now... but CONGRATULATIONS to Charles and Linda who welcomed their cute babyboy CJ this week!

I also wanted to mention that Seuao and Rachael also welcomed babygirl number 2 this week also!!! Can't wait to get the updates and see the cute bundles of joy!!!

Rest easy ladies! And get to snapping them cameras so we can ALL see the new additions to the family!

picture this - (tag)

(gee thanks Maila!! - this took me forever to get posted!...lol...so slow!=)
Here's how it works:
1. Go to Google Image
2. Type in your answer to the question in the search box
3. Use only the first page
4. Copy and paste for the answer.


Three people you TAG!

What is your first name?

What highschool did you go to?



Who is your best friend?

What is your favorite dessert?

What is your favorite beverage?

What is your favorite color? (white)

What is your favorite movie?

What is your favorite TV Series?

Where were you born?

What is most important to you?

What is your relationship status?

What is your favorite food?

One word that describes YOU.

true blue american

Like many international families, we are going through the rigorous process of maintaining legal status as immigrants here in the U.S. of A. It's been an ongoing process for us for about a year now... and it's finally producing results.

Being that I am or "was" a U.S. National (basically born in a U.S. territory with every right an average american has except the one to vote) - - - I was always in legal standing in terms of my residency here. But that didn't make things a whole lot easier being married to an immigrant. So after doing much research and getting extra help in the procedure and mountains of paperwork, we decided that the best route for us to take was for me to become a Naturalized Citizen.

Having said that, I wanted to mention that yesterday I took part in the largest Naturalization Ceremony recorded in Utah and I have now attained full American Citizenship! It's a real honor and you really had to be there to appreciate how great this country is. Some people there waited more than 30years to become citizens. Lucky for me I waited only 10months almost to the day since I submitted all my paperwork.

Anyway - there were a total of 1500 people that became citizens yesterday. And we all represented atleast 92 different countries! I sat between a Japanese woman and a Bosnian lady and infront of an Indian and Pakistani who were talking excitedly about who they were going to vote for this upcoming election! (I think they opted for Obama by the way). I don't know that I've thought that far ahead yet - but at that moment, it felt pretty overwhelming and I might've been a little awestruck by the cultural variety that was about me. It was completely amazing!

During the ceremony they gave a chance for those who wanted to share their feelings to do so. I think that took up a good 45 mins to an hour! I shared a brief message of Congratulations to everyone then enjoyed listening to personal stories of hardship that led up to yesterday's great accomplishment.

As if that wasn't already a great sight to behold - you should've seen all the families and friends and supporters that came out to celebrate with their loved ones. Sa and the girls were actually a block away feeding the parking meter when this all went down but I celebrated with them afterwards over a nice Southern Style chicken burger from McDonalds!

Now we're more than one step closer to fulfilling all of our goals in this area of our lives... Hopefully it will be as smooth-sailing as it has been thus far - - - because I don't know that 30years or more of waiting is at all appealing.

For all those who are going through immigration issues and struggles - - - although the road seems long, extremely expensive and sometimes altogether frustrating - it's well worth the wait and there are possibly 1500 others or more who are going through the same thing you are...(or worse).

God bless America.

And God bless the families of those who suffered the dreadful events of 9-11, seven years to the day!

best day out!!

I never thought I'd say this but today's busy day of shopping and running around from store to store with my two little ones has been one of my most favorite days ever!

Today we made stops at different stores: Walmart, Costco, Big Kmart, Smiths and Checkers Auto parts, and McDonalds!
Each stop took a lot of work when it came to unbuckling from the car seats; buckling into carts; changing a dirty diaper in the "tires aisle"-(it was the only one closest to a garbage can); putting back all the candies that were sneaked into the cart while in line at the cashier's; loading groceries; unbuckling out of the carts; buckling back into car seats; and repeating the whole ordeal at the next store!

Checker's was the only one without the luxury of a cart... so I had to lug my chubby-saiga (Heiress) from arm to arm while Coretta had the store all to herself! It was a bit crazy to some extent but I actually had some kind of control of the situation! Either that or my girls were feeling very generous with me today! =)

All in all... even though I mixed up their car seats a few times (doesn't matter because they both have the same kind)... and I missed one or two items that I had hoped to grab while at the store - - - - it was actually very very relaxing for me!

Call me crazy - but I think a day out and about with a long "to-do" list sure beats staying at home waiting for Sa to get home from work.

Anyway - happy Labor Day weekend everybody!... whether you're out on a mini vacation...or "stay-cation"... stay safe!

new addition to the family!!!

so before anyone is misled by that heading... NO - we're not expecting anymore babies (yet) =).

But we DO have an addition to our family!... in the form of a car!

Last weekend, Sa purchased another set of wheels primarily to help with his long commutes to work. It isn't brand new nor did it cost a back-breaking amount of money (any amount breaks my back)... but it is serving it's purpose thus far.

We were busy most of this week, trying to get all the paperwork done for it and now - - - our poor PT Cruiser is getting more rest time than usual, and I - have NO excuse not to miss any appointments or shopping trips etc... :P

Anyway - to all my friends and family on here who ARE expecting a new addition to their families...(this includes recent additions *winks to Jordyn*)... CONGRATULATIONS!!!...

I think I need to list you guys down so I don't forget! :)
***Mai and D***
***Rachael and Seuao***
***Segi & Troy - baby Jordyn***
***Charles & Linda***
***Tavi and Anton***
***Franny and Jo - baby Chase***
............................................................anyone else?
***Sa and his Car*** ...hehe

easy on your feet ladies!!!

(i'll post a pic of our new "old" car soon)...
have a great weekend!!!!!

home entertainment

This past week and a half our household has been glued to the TV and all the olympic hype it's been broadcasting!

It's gotten to the point where if you tried to change the channel, Coretta would literally yell at you (in her partially-understandable babble) to turn it back! She even cheers like she's really comprehending all the different competitions and sports she's watching. AND we've had our share of her little imitation stunts after watching the DIVING and GYMNASTICS games! Now how scary is that??...

Anyhow, today we've actually gone on most of the day without turning on the tv! (Atleast not to watch the games). So whatever I'm missing out on with the olympics, I'm gonna get an update when I hop onto their official website soon =). We only caught Sesame street and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse before and during the usual routine of meal times, and nap times...and bath time, and diaper-change time and laundry time...etc.... etc... etc...

But despite the absence of this recent addiction to couch-potato-hood and olympic-worship, today's been full of crazy fun with these two knuckleheads I have for daughters! They fight and play and fight and play and - well you get the picture - - - and although it's tiresome most days, I don't think I'll ever do without it!

We can definitely survive without our favorite shows (though they do offer a nice alternative to reality's monotonous schedule most days)...

... But moments shared with loved ones and family (to be specific)... are more precious than world records, gold medals and victory laps - ANY DAY.

Okay gonna get back to my day - Heiress is up from her nap and is flinging the remote batteries under the couch!.... So the adventure continues!!!!!!!!!!

rugby dejavu

I think Sa has bad luck playing rugby when the girls and I are watching! (or any family for that matter)...

To prove my point - I have NEVER seen Sa play a game where his team won. Well that's not entirely true. I've seen ONE game where they won, BUT neither team scored a try and all they got points for were dropkicks or penalty kicks infront of the goal posts! So those don't really count! To add to that, I've also never watched any of his games where he wasn't already injured BEFORE the game, or where he didn't get injured DURING it! And the weirdest thing is that, whenever I DID miss a game - - - they would either WIN or LOSE playing a spectacular game where he would be part of winning plays or tries etc.... (no gloating intended or purposely implied here) - but it can get pretty frustrating!

This past weekend was a repeat of what happened at his last game I watched a few weeks ago. His right leg was just healing up nicely after a vein tore, and his nose is a bit crooked from a hard tackle during that earlier game! And after Saturday's performance, someone managed to kick his left leg (of all places!) - AND he was able to put on another bloody show with his nose after ANOTHER hard hit!

Well - - - you be the judge of this... I think I'm going to stay away from these games for a while with hopes that it'll help him! =)... (until I think the girls and I need some outdoors time =)

But then again - did I mention that the name of their team is "Bulldogs"?... Where in the world did they get that?... I would never associate "bulldogs" with a bunch of Samoan rugby players... To be perfectly honest, (and Sa might even wince at this note) - they played more like chihuahuas that day! ... haha... no seriously... They definitely had the feisty attitude and will to play and win... but they just didn't measure up! :P... Hopefully they can prove me wrong one day.

Well here are some shots I captured while we were at the game!

we were conveniently sitting next to the event security! (a.k.a Murray Police officers who got a big break from real crime by getting front row seats to rugby games!) Is it me, or is that other officer posing for my camera too? =)

oh you best believe it! My little Heiress didn't let the loud supporters and impeccable music get in the way of her and her much needed afternoon nap! and YES she's on the bleacher floor! Thankgoodness I was prepared with all those blankets!

Bulldogs team huddle. Sa's actually bent over... trying to soothe that kicked left shin!

Despite all this rugby hype - I don't think anything kept me away from the watching the olympic games too long! Gosh - if Michael Phelps knew that I held my need to go to the bathroom for a whole hour and even lost my voice cheering all the way from a cozy living room in Anthony and Sifo's home in Bountiful, Utah.. while he swam his last race and won his eighth gold medal - I'd probably go nuts!

Way to go USA!... Oh and before I forget - We managed to catch a glimpse of the finals in Womens' weightlifting and I'm proud to mention that an athlete from our very own Samoa placed FOURTH...just ONE point away from the bronze medal! Even though the commentators were a bit rude in saying that straight off the bat "she isn't expected to medal", or the fact that they turned her name into something that sounded like a hobbit town - - - she almost made it and she did one hell of a job against those bigger and better known contenders!... USA placed 6th by the way!... way to go!

I love

萨摩亚

(chinese characters for Samoa)

GIRLS night in!!!

Tonight we had a special visitor!!!

Miss Lily!!

She was only over for about an hour but my girls sure enjoyed seeing her again!!

(gotta love those cheerios!)

(1yr olds' going down for a break )

(can hardly go wrong with a book!!)

But my 2yr old (although she didn't skip a beat with Lily and Heiress), had time to...well see for yourself:

pose 1

pose 2

pose 3...

There are a couple more vain poses but I'm sure you've got the picture...or pictures - "literally"...

Nevertheless, we had a blast cheering for "Finding Nemo" and having 'scream' competitions and knocking on all the doors in sight! (We have five total on our first floor!! (oops) -Thank goodness the curtains were drawn over the glass sliding doors in the dining room! =)

good times girls! ....goooood times!

"54"..."steps"..."to the end of the year"

So I've been told to "update" my blog! How do you even start when nothing much is happening in and around my life!? =)...(atleast that's what I think!)

This past Monday (Aug 11th), my mom turned 54yrs old!!! I just got off the phone with her; wished her a happy belated birthday and then talked about how our lives were going. She's back in Samoa with my three younger siblings and life seems not that much different from ours here! The cost of living is affecting everyone and if you think YOU'RE struggling at the pump - - - Samoa's gas is in the $8-$10/Liter range! That may be in a weaker currency but people don't just fork out money like that for gas when it's convenient!.... So kiss that pump when you next fill up and thank your lucky stars you're not at a pump in Samoa! (though I wonder if they still have guys fill your tank for you...) ....

So anyway back to her birthday; they apparently had a blast... even though it was a lowkey type of party - - - and the best part was all the food they raved on and on about! (their menu consisted mostly of traditional delicacies which I won't go into for fear of not being able to do them any justice here... I'll just compare it to a traditional american Thanksgiving dinner! Yup it was THAT good! =)...


Also this week, Heiress decided that her days of being too lazy to walk are pretty much over! She shocked us all by taking a quick 5-6 steps a few days ago, before stumbling! Now she's just getting a bit TOO daring for my liking and "boy oh boy" my stairs are on a LOCK DOWN now!

I also just realized that it's the middle of August... which to me - means the year is over! -lol- ... Kinda like when Wednesday rolls around - "the week is over"... etc... (I just have a different way of thinking ahead by pushing up my calendar) - you should try it... It really puts you in a good mood when you think of the weekend or christmas waaaaay ahead of time!...haha....
So I guess I should get started with all the christmas decorations now!...:P

and in likewise fashion....seeing that tomorrow is Wednesday....
Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....

moms are not allowed to be sick!

Today the stars have aligned somewhat in my favor.

As this cloud of lingering lack of health slowly but surely escapes my body, I feel somewhat refreshed and invigorated once again!

No longer do I reach with desire to my oasis of strength-commonly known to us simply as "pain meds".

In this new dawn, I have indeed mastered the overwhelming feeling of want and ignorance that comes with much bedrest. The want to be lazy, and ignorance towards the growing pile of "I-O-U's" I've accumulated towards my "house-cleaning" tab.

Thus I say - NO MORE! I refuse to enslave my mind and being to such backward progress!

And to prove my utmost dedication to this newfound state of well-being, I have just lined up THREE full bags of trash outside-from today's tideous yet unfinished labor.

Men definitely can not do without us! (or with us when we're sick!)

(oh lighten up... you're quite useful too!!)

*********************************************

note: the Olympics start today!!! GO TEAM U.S.A!!!

it sucks to be me!!!

I've been sick for three and a half days now! And I am literally living off of ibuprofen!!! I used to be so darn skeptical about pain killers but mannnnnn - "I'm a believer!"... =)

I don't know what I've come down with and I'm kind of stubborn and hard headed enough NOT to go to a doctor unless I feel COMPLETELY helpless ----- but it's taking a crazy toll on me! It's like a mix of Strep throat */slash/* fever and chills */slash/* aching muscles */slash/* headaches and vomiting */slash/* lots of mucus and phlegm build-up (gross!) !!!

*sigh*

On the upside though... As terrible as I feel now, I've got three helpers at home that kind of ease up the situation for me! When the girls aren't fighting with their dad, they actually have time to come over and cheer me up!!! (If poking at me and jumping on my back counts as "cheering me up"). But no - really, Thanks Sa for helping me a whole bunch these past few days!!!

He dealt with alot of the diapers (...that probably deserves a standing ovation...), and he even cleaned our house and did the dishes (those are two TOTALLY different things - trust me)... and he also managed to cook something for me that I had been craving and today's suprise was a clean garage and (YOU HAVE TO SIT DOWN FOR THIS ONE) ----- he WASHED OUR CAR!!!!... hahahaha... bless your heart!!!

Though I think the best uplifting news would have to be the birth of our adorable niece Jordyn Worthen!!! Congrats Segi and Troy!!!

Project: "Change"

Our little family is definitely ready for some change.... think of it like having a sudden attack of New Years Resolutions ... except in AUGUST!... =)

Coretta is ready to start POTTY TRAINING!!! EEEEEEKS!! I've been getting the subtle signs but they're now "more" frequent! She tells me if she's gotten a "tinky bum" ... and now she just rips off the diaper after little usage! (I'm so sorry if this seems a bit like TOO MUCH INFO)... but yeah...

and Heiress is going through the SIPPY CUP WARS!!! EEEEEKS!! The second time around, I thought it'd be easier but alas this strong-willed little one is not going to give up without a fight!!! *sigh*... Did I mention she's also still pretty rocky on her feet?

Sa is going through a transition of sorts as well! He's gearing up to take up Rugby again! We're just waiting for his leg to heal up nicely and then we're going to try get him a job that will meet such a schedule. His job now is too far and although it pays well, it's not going to help him pursue his dream. Will let you know how that turns out!!!

And I - am just flying through a bunch of ideas of things to do at home! The list is pretty long - from dragging in our bbq grill to looking for colleges to apply for that have daycare! hehe...

Anyhow - speaking of change... it's after 10am and my girls are STILL SLEEPING! Yup! - Heiress has officially converted to Coretta's wonderful world of "sleeping in"!.... But that wasn't really the point I was trying to make! =) I actually need to wake them so I can shower them and get them changed out of their diapers and pjz!!...

I can't wait for the "DO IT YOURSELF" stage of "change".... =)