The rules are to list 6 facts, habits or obsessions about yourself. At the end of your post, you must tag 6 people and post their names. Go to their blog and leave them a comment letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog for more details.
1. I LOVE musicals! Both on broadway and film. When I was younger my dad took me to watch 'Phantom of the Opera' and 'Les Miserables' in San Francisco and I was HOOKED! This year I took Jocelyn to watch 'Wicked' and we had the best time! I'm in LOVE with them all! We get the soundtracks and blast them in the house (until Jared gets home and makes us turn it off, lol). I've got my kids on the movie productions of almost every musical, until they're old enough to enjoy them with me on stage.
2. I LOVE to talk on the phone. I can get my entire home clean and organized with one converstaion on the phone. Usually it's the first thing I do after I get back from my run. I'll pick up the phone and call my sister and we'll chat for hours about NOTHING, then about EVERYTHING! If I've still got work to do, I'll call my cousins or a friend or two. Ususally they're doing the same thing too! CLEANING. We talk about the kids, what's for dinner, ideas and thoughts and juicy gossip! lol. Because I clean and organize almost half my day away, most of that time is spent multi-tasking on the phone.
3. I LOVE to figure things out. Electronics, mechanics and about everything inbetween. Most of the time I don't even look at a manual (unless it's a safety issue). I just do what makes sense. It'll usually work out in the end. I wire phone jacks, electrical outlets. Install light fixtures and ceiling fans. Change oil (on occassion), change out old filters, top fluids... anything possible for anyone to figure under the hood. I get down and dirty in the yard installing sprinkler heads and piping. I LOVE to see what Jared is doing when he works, and try to get in to help him with it. Don't ever say, "That's a man's job" because for sure I'll be determined to figure it out and do it.
4. I have a soft spot for stray puppies. We constantly have random puppies cruisin' our streets. Like this morning, when I was taking the kids to school I saw a cute little rott pup roaming the streets and was SO tempted to stop and pick him up, but my better judgement told me "no". We've taken in 2 strays and actually tried keeping them. One ran away and the other, the cutest chihuahua/ cocker mutt, had to "go home" (what I told the kids) because I couldn't take another potty training and flea bath session. I have GREAT intentions though. Des drove me around to find a home for him, whom we named "prince maximus", but in doing so made me promise I wouldn't pick up another one.
5. I don't remember details. Maybe it's just because I've been living and breathing 'baby' for the past nine years, but my short term memory is shot. I'll vaguely remember a detail about a conversation that I had with a friend just a week or month ago. Or unless I write myself directions can't remember how to get somewhere even though I've been there two or three times before (that may just be because I have no sense of direction, lol). But yeah, I'll sharpen those skills one day. What's even more interesting is that I'm almost not bother by this fact because I figure if it is REALLY important I'll be reminded once again.
6. I LOVE a GOOD BARGAIN! You'd never guess it (or maybe you would, lol!), but I've been able to furnish my home from yard sales, penny saver, craigslist, estate sales, thrift stores, give-aways. I love the slogan, "One mans junk is another mans treasure!". What doesn't work in one persons home may work in another and I've been able to work that to our advantage. We've found great TREASURES! Our living room was a give away from my sister-in-law (Thanks Line!). Dining room and chairs, a great scratch and dent bargain. Children's beds and dressers- penny saver and yard sales. I must say I've been bargain shopping often enough to easily weed out the JUNK. I look for great quality only. I'm pretty proud of what I've been able to accomplish with our home!
So now you know a few quirky things about me! I now tag you: Seini , Natalie , Jenna , Rachael , Desiree & Sarah
That means some of you might need to GET ON BLOGSPOT! (lol)
Monday, January 14, 2008
SHOUT out to JARED!!!
I just have to write this because I felt SO LOVED yesterday! We had stake conference that didn't start until 2pm and the previous night I was up until late. Jared woke up and snuck downstairs quietly to feed the kids. (I'm usually up first and he's ALWAYS the one to get undisturbed sleep). He took care of breakfast for the kids, cleaned up the entire downstairs then made YUMMY omelets and juice for me and brought it up to our room and let me have BREAKFAST IN BED!
I felt so special! Thank you Hun! You're the BEST!
I felt so special! Thank you Hun! You're the BEST!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
R E S O L U T I O N S for 2 0 0 8
I always get to thinking about my New Years resolutions... sometimes I even write them down. Since I have this blog and frequent it enough in the day I figured, I might as well post it here and maybe, just maybe I might be more inclined to follow through. It's always disappointing to look back on a previous years resolutions and realize I've only accomplished maybe half of them. So this year, I figured I might be wise to choose more realistic goals and try and accomplish them. So here I go:
1. Go to the Temple at least once a month. I'm only about 20-30 minutes away from Redlands Temple and since grandma guarantees her babysitting services for temple attendance, we don't have an excuse. (lol)
2. Read the scriptures with my kids. Did y'all check out the new scripture chart in the Jan Friend. It covers several, not all, of the chapters in every book of the BOM, but by Dec you'll have completed it. The kids LOVE it so far and have been eager to read. It seems like a much more attainable goal. Thanks Friend.
3. Be a better listener. Having four kids it gets pretty crazy in our house. There's laundry, cleaning, cooking, reading and playing with the babies, running errands, carpooling, yard work, organizing, paying bills, homework, bath time, comforting the frequent "ow-wee", balancing budgets, cleaning (yet, again), church callings, exercise (to relieve the stress of it all). During all that commotion it's not uncommon to find me answering "yes" to a definite "NO" question... then having to recount my answer and kick myself because I now have an upset child crying, "But you said I could!". I will pay more attention and be a better listener. I will listen when my husband has something to tell or share with me, and I won't start thinking of something to say before he finishes his sentence. (lol... also known to happen).
4. Be to church on time. It starts at 11 am... there is no reason for us to be late.
5. I will GET READY at least 3-4 times a week besides Sunday. I wake up and first thing that goes on is my exercise attire... mostly to motivate me to get out there and run, taebo, weight lift-- whatever! But it usually stays on for the rest of the day. Not so cute. So, after watching one of my good friends handle all four of her kids and household and still pull off looking pretty decent at the end of the day, I figured... gotta do it and make a habit of it. I've never been good at putting on make-up ( I don't even own but maybe bronzer, mascara, and lip liner... oh and a tube of gloss), but just putting on an outfit that looks nice and doing my hair is good enough. Gotta get out of the "frumpy" look.
6. Schedule a date out at least two times a month with my hubby. I LOVE spending that QT with him. Some months are more frequent then others, but with the busy lives that we live it's easy to push those dates to the back burner. It's always rejuvenating to our relationship and we often leave with a greater appreciation and love for one another.
7. Make an effort to use 'Tongan' in my vocabulary. I finally pulled out that book by Shumway and put it in the bathroom (good reading, btw). I've decided to use a new word every week and utilize it in sentence to our kids and with Jared. I'm 100% Tongan, lived in Tonga for four years but can't hardly get a sentence together. It's pretty sad. But we've planned a trip to Tonga 2009 and I've got to get up to par, otherwise I know the family there will be laughing at my attempts to make conversation. It'll be fun! I look forward to this challenge!
8. And LAST but not LEAST my last realistic resolution for 2008 is to CHILL! I often find myself wanting to be 'in control' of ALL things in my life. Every aspect. I forget about Jared's role in it all. I need to have more faith in my husbands abilities to make decisions for our family and remember that he is the patriarch of our home. He is so patient and good to me. I need to put my trust and faith in him and sit in the passengers seat for a change.
So there you have it! I hope now that I've written them down that I will be more diligent in accomplishing them this year.
1. Go to the Temple at least once a month. I'm only about 20-30 minutes away from Redlands Temple and since grandma guarantees her babysitting services for temple attendance, we don't have an excuse. (lol)
2. Read the scriptures with my kids. Did y'all check out the new scripture chart in the Jan Friend. It covers several, not all, of the chapters in every book of the BOM, but by Dec you'll have completed it. The kids LOVE it so far and have been eager to read. It seems like a much more attainable goal. Thanks Friend.
3. Be a better listener. Having four kids it gets pretty crazy in our house. There's laundry, cleaning, cooking, reading and playing with the babies, running errands, carpooling, yard work, organizing, paying bills, homework, bath time, comforting the frequent "ow-wee", balancing budgets, cleaning (yet, again), church callings, exercise (to relieve the stress of it all). During all that commotion it's not uncommon to find me answering "yes" to a definite "NO" question... then having to recount my answer and kick myself because I now have an upset child crying, "But you said I could!". I will pay more attention and be a better listener. I will listen when my husband has something to tell or share with me, and I won't start thinking of something to say before he finishes his sentence. (lol... also known to happen).
4. Be to church on time. It starts at 11 am... there is no reason for us to be late.
5. I will GET READY at least 3-4 times a week besides Sunday. I wake up and first thing that goes on is my exercise attire... mostly to motivate me to get out there and run, taebo, weight lift-- whatever! But it usually stays on for the rest of the day. Not so cute. So, after watching one of my good friends handle all four of her kids and household and still pull off looking pretty decent at the end of the day, I figured... gotta do it and make a habit of it. I've never been good at putting on make-up ( I don't even own but maybe bronzer, mascara, and lip liner... oh and a tube of gloss), but just putting on an outfit that looks nice and doing my hair is good enough. Gotta get out of the "frumpy" look.
6. Schedule a date out at least two times a month with my hubby. I LOVE spending that QT with him. Some months are more frequent then others, but with the busy lives that we live it's easy to push those dates to the back burner. It's always rejuvenating to our relationship and we often leave with a greater appreciation and love for one another.
7. Make an effort to use 'Tongan' in my vocabulary. I finally pulled out that book by Shumway and put it in the bathroom (good reading, btw). I've decided to use a new word every week and utilize it in sentence to our kids and with Jared. I'm 100% Tongan, lived in Tonga for four years but can't hardly get a sentence together. It's pretty sad. But we've planned a trip to Tonga 2009 and I've got to get up to par, otherwise I know the family there will be laughing at my attempts to make conversation. It'll be fun! I look forward to this challenge!
8. And LAST but not LEAST my last realistic resolution for 2008 is to CHILL! I often find myself wanting to be 'in control' of ALL things in my life. Every aspect. I forget about Jared's role in it all. I need to have more faith in my husbands abilities to make decisions for our family and remember that he is the patriarch of our home. He is so patient and good to me. I need to put my trust and faith in him and sit in the passengers seat for a change.
So there you have it! I hope now that I've written them down that I will be more diligent in accomplishing them this year.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Our BABIES in 2007!!!
We've randomly picked several pictures throughout the year that we've taken of our family. They are in no particular order (I'm still trying to work the blog thingy). It's been an awesome year! The kids are thriving and happy! We are so blessed! Enjoy our little recap of 2007.
We made a trip to Utah (several times actually) and this time the kids got to snap a pix with most of the 'Unga cousins. What a fun, crazy, and LOUD event!
We took weekend trips up to Las Vegas to visit Grandma Luti and Aunty Rina. Here we're at the Shark Aquarium with Aunty 'Ile and Jared's cousin Pasi. This trip was taken just before the kids started school.
We watched our Princess change. We enjoyed watching our Miss Tricia Emeli, here with her best friend Mele Moala. She spent much of this year changing in and out of one of her 'princess' costumes. We had a great time watching to see what outfits she'd come up with: Alice in Wonderland, Island Princess, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Bride, Barbie, Snow White... it goes on).
We went to the beach. My kids are FISH! They spent most of May-Sept in the water and on the beach building sand castles. They loved every minute of it! They were fearless when it came to surfing the waves with Daddy and braved the occasional 'wipe-out!'
WE THREW A PARTY! just to name a few:
Salo turned 6 this year and invited all his friends and cousins over for a 'Pirate/ Halloween' party. Bobbing for apples, tug-o-war, treasure hunt, caramel dipped apple creations, rootbeer (store bought w/ dry ice-- semi homemade) and cookie decorating were all a HIT!
We baked and cooked! They mostly LOVED BAKING... and watching Mommy create in the kitchen (even when Mom wasn't so sure what she was making... lol). This day they got to create and bake their own chicken pot pie.
We played around! They LOVED taking random pictures around the house and yard. Daddy just finished installing the backyard grass this day and they were so happy to finally have a place to roll around.
We made a trip to Utah (several times actually) and this time the kids got to snap a pix with most of the 'Unga cousins. What a fun, crazy, and LOUD event!
We took weekend trips up to Las Vegas to visit Grandma Luti and Aunty Rina. Here we're at the Shark Aquarium with Aunty 'Ile and Jared's cousin Pasi. This trip was taken just before the kids started school.
We watched our Princess change. We enjoyed watching our Miss Tricia Emeli, here with her best friend Mele Moala. She spent much of this year changing in and out of one of her 'princess' costumes. We had a great time watching to see what outfits she'd come up with: Alice in Wonderland, Island Princess, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Bride, Barbie, Snow White... it goes on).
We went to the beach. My kids are FISH! They spent most of May-Sept in the water and on the beach building sand castles. They loved every minute of it! They were fearless when it came to surfing the waves with Daddy and braved the occasional 'wipe-out!'WE THREW A PARTY! just to name a few:
The kids got everyone together to celebrate GRANDMA'S BIRTHDAY at Beryl Park and also helped her blow out the candles!
BABY MOSES turned ONE and we all headed to Bolsa Chica to CELEBRATE! Aunty Line got the yummiest Mango cake from King's bakery and the kids and adults had a great time getting soaked but I have to say bonfire and s'mores were a hit!
Salo turned 6 this year and invited all his friends and cousins over for a 'Pirate/ Halloween' party. Bobbing for apples, tug-o-war, treasure hunt, caramel dipped apple creations, rootbeer (store bought w/ dry ice-- semi homemade) and cookie decorating were all a HIT!
We baked and cooked! They mostly LOVED BAKING... and watching Mommy create in the kitchen (even when Mom wasn't so sure what she was making... lol). This day they got to create and bake their own chicken pot pie.
We played around! They LOVED taking random pictures around the house and yard. Daddy just finished installing the backyard grass this day and they were so happy to finally have a place to roll around. We went to the Cal Poly pumpkin patch and the kids LOVED searching for the perfect pumpkin to carve. After the search, Grandma took them to the carnival and they had kettle corn and Uncle Gussie (Line's Hubby) bought them rides on the slide.
They had a BLAST going trick-o-treating with their cousins... We had two Jack Sparrows (Salo with the red chucks), Glinda the 'good' witch, Snow White's Stepmother and of course our princess Cinderella and an exercise/ gymnast. What fun memories!
We did GROSS stuff like fish Moe out of the toilet! We'd occassionally find Moe(aka Papa) wading in the downstairs toilet. Nasty! and Emi would just stand there laughing and teasing him ( little did he know he was the BUTT of the joke! hahaha) EWWWW!!! (It's a good thing I'm OCD about sanitizing my bathrooms- but still!).
We performed! We had our own little WARRIOR in the family. Salo performed with the Cucamonga Ward primary during the celebration of the Rancho Cucamonga Stake. He had a great time showing off his Haka skills. He's performed several times during the past few years at the Adelanto Ward luau and has LOVED it!~
We took a trip down to a few beaches in La Jolla, CA. It's was so beautiful. When we retire, we'd LOVE to settle there. It was so relaxing and calm, the environment was just awesome and locals so friendly. What a fun place!
We went to SEA WORLD! We celebrated Jocelyns 7th birthday there. The kids had a BLAST! They memorized the names of all the whales and dolphins. We got the annual passes but by the 6th trip there they just wanted to go on all the rides and forgot all the shows. Thank you Sea World... Disneyland here we come!!! (lol)
This pix was taken earlier in 2007. It was a typical Saturday morning, jumping around trying to get Mom and Dad out of bed.
They had a BLAST going trick-o-treating with their cousins... We had two Jack Sparrows (Salo with the red chucks), Glinda the 'good' witch, Snow White's Stepmother and of course our princess Cinderella and an exercise/ gymnast. What fun memories!
We did GROSS stuff like fish Moe out of the toilet! We'd occassionally find Moe(aka Papa) wading in the downstairs toilet. Nasty! and Emi would just stand there laughing and teasing him ( little did he know he was the BUTT of the joke! hahaha) EWWWW!!! (It's a good thing I'm OCD about sanitizing my bathrooms- but still!).
We performed! We had our own little WARRIOR in the family. Salo performed with the Cucamonga Ward primary during the celebration of the Rancho Cucamonga Stake. He had a great time showing off his Haka skills. He's performed several times during the past few years at the Adelanto Ward luau and has LOVED it!~
We took a trip down to a few beaches in La Jolla, CA. It's was so beautiful. When we retire, we'd LOVE to settle there. It was so relaxing and calm, the environment was just awesome and locals so friendly. What a fun place!
We went to SEA WORLD! We celebrated Jocelyns 7th birthday there. The kids had a BLAST! They memorized the names of all the whales and dolphins. We got the annual passes but by the 6th trip there they just wanted to go on all the rides and forgot all the shows. Thank you Sea World... Disneyland here we come!!! (lol)
This pix was taken earlier in 2007. It was a typical Saturday morning, jumping around trying to get Mom and Dad out of bed. In a few years (4 to be exact) Jocelyn will be in YW, Salo 10, Emi getting ready for baptism, Moses starting Kindergarten. We've realized that this time will fly when the kids really do LOVE us and want to be with us EVERY WAKING MOMENT! Our babies bring us so much joy and it is such a blast to be their parents! We're definitely learning along the way! It's a good thing because these children are SO LOVING and FORGIVING and see no flaws in us, yet!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Winning the tournament!!!
One day Jared came home and told me all his buddies got together and decided to form a rugby team from the IE (Inland Empire). They held practices and trained then decided to enter a tournament down in Long Beach. Jared and his team practiced almost every night... even when all of the wives complained and even teased them saying "you guys better make it to the Sevens"... They made us eat our words. They They beat all the opposing teams in their division and took home the trophy for this competition. CONGRATS to all the WARRIORS!!!
UNGA family Turkey Bowl!
We tried our hand at football Thanksgiving weekend and had a BLAST! Even the girls got in on all the fun, and the boys were actually being NICE about it! You can tell that some of us from SUNNY CALIFORNIA don't know how to dress in the FREEZING UTAH weather. We scrounged together anything warm that we could find and headed to the park. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! Thanks to Uncle Will for setting it up! We're a GREAT team, us 'UNGA's!
We even had CHEERLEADERS! Trish managed to get all the babies out of the warm car and onto the field to cheer for us! What dedicated fans!!!
And of course, you can't have a good game without someone crying on the field. Too bad it was Uncle Nua first, then Jerome (lol)... like father, like son-- J/K Nu! He was making a mad dash for the end zone, and tripped, sprained his ankle... on grass. (lmbo!)
John (Trish) getting ready to make a run for it, Nee with the ball and I'm pretending to know what "play" is next.
And of course, all the kiddos freezing their buns off begging us to get off the field and take them home for hot cocoa and bread.Besides Uncle Will and Nu, we don't know crap about football. This was the funniest game I've ever seen or played but it was the best! I LOVE being with my family!
Once in a LIFETIME pix...
Some of the UNGA family (we're missing Elder Henry 'Unga, Sione Ta'ane, Will & Whitney, Tafu & Kris & 6 of 7 kids).
L-R Backrow: Moses, Jared, Rene, Ma'ele holding Tricia, Lia, Tafu Si'i, Jarome, Peter, Nia, John
Front: Malakai, Jocelyn, Rene Jr., Jared Lasalosi, Emaile, Reniya, Tricia holding Jahbriah and Alilia, Julius, Jerome, Nua and Nua si'i.
We had so much fun hanging out at Temple Square. Nia and Trish married Pentacost and Siasi Tonga, so we were all surprised when they jumped into the pics in front of the Temple! (they were pretending to boycott all night, whatever!?). FAMILIES ARE FOREVER!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)