General Conference (October 2012)

I want my kids to grow up loving General Conference and looking forward to it every year by making it fun.  So, this year  I decided to go all out to keep them busy but more importantly so I could actively listen to the talks being given.   Not everything was successful but my efforts were well rewarded.  I'd say I got to hear at least 75% of conference this year and that's more than the past couple of years combined.  It was awesome and I can't wait until April to try again!  Here's a few pictures of the things I tried.  Some worked, others didn't.  All the ideas I got from blogs that I searched on Google.

Elina and Talanoa loved this picture wall!  Probably the most successful
learning tool that weekend.  They loved asking and telling
me who were in the pictures.  It was great! 

The picture on the top right was our "temple" picture but it's of a Polynesian couple with the temple in the background.  I asked Elina what that picture was of and she said, "Looks like you Mommy and that looks like Daddy".  I guess all brown people do look alike.  Lol!  I also put "Quiet Zone" signs up all over the living room walls like my kids can read.  Lol.

Pushed the coffee table to the wall so they
could have a coloring station.

Looks pleasant right?  Not!  This lasted about 5 minutes
before they started ripping their pages apart and fighting
over crayons.  Only good part of this is they colored randomly
 throughout the day then used it as a toy table.  Works for me!

Oh, and don't mind the bedhead on the right and both of them in yesterday's clothes.  Lol.

I'm just glad they were excited to wake up to all of this.  Made it all worth it! 

Got this butterfly idea from my neighbors blog
(mommyminutesblog.blogspot.com).
Cute cute kids craft ideas on there.

Found this on that website too.  It was for them to walk on
but they didn't care for it too much.

Improvised and let her "walk" the butterfly on the lines.

Got all the flowers up in their garden.  One flower for each
general authority.  They loved this activity!

It's over already?!?!  Lol

Oh, and another thing I tried was the penny jar thing.  They would get a penny for every word they recognized from the talks like Jesus, Heavenly Father, etc. and then use the pennies to buy treats.  That was the hugest fail of the day.  Lol!  They just wanted to play with the pennies and cry/whine for the snacks!  Lol!

My Little (BIG) Sister

Meet my beautiful little sister Isa!  She's such a headache but such a huge helpa at the same time.  She is taller than all of us girls and is still growing.  So jealous!  Lol.  She started dancing ballroom this year for Timpview and we got to go to one of her competitions.  They didn't place but Isa did so good especially for the short time she had to get the routine down.  Looking forward to going to more of these to support her :)

Funniest part of the day:  Dom not getting good pictures of Isa's performance because she was busy getting good shots of the performance before Isa's and ended up not having enough time to change her lens for Isa's number.  You'd have to know Dom to know why that is HILARIOUS!  Lol!

Vea's Mustache Bash

A bunch of ladies in the ward helped to throw a surprise baby shower for Vea Manumaleuna.  She is honestly one of the kindest and sweetest people I know.  So soft spoken and such a good example to all the sisters in our ward.  Gotta go visit her little man!  Congrats Vea and Eathyn!

Josie's cute centerpiece idea.  So creative!

Duck Pond

There's a park close to Dom and Losi's new apartment that we have walked to a couple times now.  It has a duck pond so we used our leftover sandwich bread to feed them.  These ducks were scary!!!  Or really hungry because I've never seen ducks come so close before.  They were literally at our feet waiting for us to throw them bread.  Maybe they were just lazy?  Haha but it was really creepy.  Elina loved it.  Talanoa and Molly could've cared less!  Maybe next year they'll like it.

Care Package

All the way from my Dad and his wife in Tonga.  Thanks Dad for their shirts and chocolate!  They totally look like tom-boy's in this picture but I love it!

Utah State Fair

This was a huge BUST!  I'm just posting so I remember never to go again.  Lol!  We went during the day and that's probably where we went wrong.  It was bloody hot and we thought there was a petting farm.  Come to find out it was a fake farm.  Wow!  But wait, this gets better.  Lol.  Vili decides to play a game to win the girls a stuffed animal.  The worker kept talking and telling Vili to try again and then at the end tells Vili he owes him like $15.  It's so funny to think about it now but it wasn't funny getting ripped off.   Lol!  At least we'll have a good laugh when we remember our little outing.

With the fake cow at the fake farm.  Hahaha!

Cropped my fat neck out of this picture.  Didn't want to post it but Talanoa looked too darn cute!

Had to get a picture with their expensive stuffed animal winnings!  Lol.

Diary Blog

I started another blog last night to use as a journal type thing.  Let's see how I manage two blogs since I haven't been managing this one that well.  Lol.  Gotta get it done before I print my book of this blog at the end of the year.  It's the only thing that motivates me to keep blogging.  Can't wait!

Crashing at the In-Laws

The sidewalk in front of our apartment is getting re-coated meaning we would be stuck in (or out) of our place from 8am-7pm for two days.  Instead of doing the in and out thing we decided just to crash at my in-laws for a couple days since it's close and convenient.  My mother in law is enjoying it so much that she asked us to stay while my father in law is gone to Tonga.  That's like for 3 weeks!  What the?!?!  LOL!  Elisha if you're reading this she told me, (say this in her voice) "I jus haff a feeling, you know, that you kuys should stay hea while Dad is gone!  I feel kood wif you kuys hea.  What you fink?"  Me: "Uhhhh, I'll talk to Vili!"  I am busting up writing this and remembering my convo with her this morning.  Too funny!  Funniest part is I feel like it might actually be a good idea.  Not for 3 whole weeks of course but a night or two longer wouldn't hurt.  The plus side might be that my kids might just be able to sleep at grandma's house now on their own (they don't sleep anywhere but home).  That would be soooo nice!   

Horrible Citizen!

Today is election day and I didn't register to vote :(  The guilt is starting to set in as I stare at the envelope with my voter registration form that was stamped and all ready to go!  I tried to register online but my address didn't match my license so I had to print a form to mail in.  Yup, the form that is next to me right now.  I waited too long for the mail-in registration so then I had to actually go in to register but that never happened.  Then I started to justify everything by convincing myself that Utah will be 98% RomneyRyan votes anyway.  I know, excuses, excuses!  To make matters worse, I can't watch the election coverage because my kids won't let me change the channel from Disney Jr.  It's all bad today except that I get to visit one of my best friends, Dez.  Hopefully that will turn my day around.  Lol!

Parenting Advice

Elisha and I went to Katy Fifita's baby shower today and while we were there Katy asked us all for some parenting advice.  Mine wasn't that great but it got me thinking about what advice I would want to pass on to my children one day for when they become first time parents.  Some of the advice is what other women said at the shower but I totally agree.  I'm sure I'll add to this list but I wanted to write a few things down that I wish I would've known or done.

1.  Give yourself a break and don't feel guilty about it.  People want to help so let them.  Don't feel bad about leaving your kids with a babysitter for an hour or two to go have some alone time.  Even if it's just to go back home to catch up on some sleep or going to get a pedicure.  Parenting is hard work and you deserve a break every once in a while.

2.  Remember your marriage.  I wasn't very good at this when I became a Mom because I thought my whole world was supposed to revolve around Elina.  Kids, remember that you were a wife/husband before you became a mom/dad so you have to do things together like you did before the baby came.  Go on date nights without the baby often.  I promise, the baby will be just fine without you for a couple of hours.

3.  Sleep train your kids.  Elina and Talanoa were not sleep trained at all and I am dreading it now.  Hahaha!  I'm sure they will turn out just fine but I'm just trying to give you guys a heads up.  I like to think that I would be a little more sane and I would be much more rested if I did this.  I'm planning to do this with lucky #3.  Lol.  And I know that some of my kids will choose not to listen to this one but you can't say I didn't warn you ;)

4.  Do what works for you and your spouse.  I'm sure I'll be so annoying sometimes trying to tell you guys what's best for you and your kids but honestly, do whatever is best for you and your spouse.  I promise I mean well.  As long as you are navigating this parenting thing together and are on the same page, you'll be fine.

5.  Relax.  No one expects you to know everything right away.  The great thing about parenting is that it's a work in progress.  You will make mistakes along the way but that's just a part of life.  Learn from them and move on.  Focus on what you can do better next time and be positive.