Date Night @ Sundance. . . .

Last Friday, Hoko & I decided we needed a night out. Since our move out here to Ogden, we've really been spending a lot of time as a family, or in other words, with the kids. :D Which is always great, but we always need to be able to rejuvenate & spend some time out with each other to keep the flames lit!! Hahaha. . . .



Well, we thought it a great opportunity to head up to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City & go star gazing!! :D Hoko decided to invite his parents & we picked them up & headed east. When we got there, it was PACKED!! I loved it!! We parked near Main Street & got out & just started walking the streets. Lol. We were trying to let our noses lead us to a restaurant of our liking. Or smelling, in this case. We found a Japanese steak house so we went in, but the wait was an hour and a half. Not good when you have four starving POLYNESIAN adults!! Hahaha. . . . .we continued to walk around & window shop. Then we got to the BING Bar, which had people lined up outside trying to peep in & catch a glimpse of any of the MANY celebs that were inside. I heard one lady say that she saw Reese Witherspoon. I knew that Ryan Seacrest was in there cause I follow his twitter & he had been tweeting from there all day. Unfortunately, we didn't see any celebs. :( And since it was a spare of the moment, no prior planning, type of a date, we didn't think to purchase any tickets for the showings that night. Well, not until we actually walked by one of the theaters it was showing in. And even then, we didn't know where to start cause we didn't wanna end up watching something that we had no interest in.






So we just kept walking around & just enjoyed our surroundings. We had a blast!! I do have to give it to my mother inlaw!! She hecka worked MAIN STREET with her stiletto boots as if she was sportin' some tennis shoes!! Hahahaha!! It was CLASSIC!! :D





We ended our night out with dinner @ Benihanas & it was DEE-LISH!! :D We had an AWESOME time with them & look forward to many more. :D

SUPER READER. . . .TO THE RESCUE!! :D

Monday afternoon I got a call from Polu Marie's teacher saying that there was gonna be a 'Celebration Assembly' on Wed to recognize some of the students & their different achievements. She said that Polu was one of them being recognized for her 'SUPER READING' skills!! :D She also asked me if Hoko & I would be able to make it. I quickly replied YES!! :D Then she went on to explain that Polu didn't know about it & that it would be a great surprise for her. I thought it a GREAT idea. So we kept it a secret from her & showed up to her school to cheer her on once they called her up & she got her award. It was AWESOME!! We love our little SUPER READER & hope that she continues to excel in her education. :D

An Interesting Morning. . . . .

This morning started out as every other morning has since we set our goals for the New Year & have been successful with this 'ONE' in accomplishing it. And that is. . . .to read five chapters in the BofM everyday. It's been such a blessing in my life. And more than that. . . .being able to do it with my two oldest children. Aaliyah & Lote.

We started the book of Jacob & a couple of verses really popped out to me. I quickly highlighted them & put today's date on it. The 'date' thing was a suggestion from our Bishop in sacrament two Sundays ago. So that in future, when we come across these verses, it will remind us that at that time in our lives, those verses meant something more to us than just reading it. It popped out to us in our lives on that specific day. I loved that suggestion & have since been putting it into practice.

When we came to the end of chapter two, I told the girls to look back at verses 28 & 31. They read: 28)For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts. 31)For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands.

I explained to them that verse 28 is very important. That the chastity of women is the way we, as daughters of God, keep ourselves clean. Not just physically, but mainly spiritually. Clean & pure thoughts. Because if our thoughts are clean on the inside, then our outside appearance & everything we do in our actions are naturally clean. I explained to them how verse 31 talks about the Lord being so unhappy with the Nephite husbands that are not being faithful to their wives. The things they are doing are hurting their wives & the Lord is very much aware of it for there wives cry to him in prayer.

Because of the fact that I have four daughters, I am very concerned for their well-being. I know that it was the prompting of the spirit that led me to point out those two specific verses & make sure that they understood the meaning thereof. After we finished up, they put their scriptures away & started getting ready for school. While I was fixing Lote's hair, she started to tell me how Aaliyah said that Bryant is always staring at her boobs. A kid from school. Mind you, my little Aaliyah (as I'd like to think of her), is only 9 yrs old. But she is developing very early. And yes, does wear a bra. Goodness. . . .she's only in 4th grade. And as exciting as I am to be watching her grow before our eyes, it's a very scary thing for me to know what new challenges are brought forth with her growing up so fast. She's always been really mature for her age & now that it's making itself known thru her outward appearance, it's really starting to set in. My babies are growing up at a rapidly increasing speed & I better be able to keep up or even be a couple of steps ahead if I hope for them to succeed in this lone & dreary world. Well, Lote goes on to say that Aaliyah said she likes having big boobs around boys. :( And she's saying all this while Aaliyah is sitting right across from us denying the whole thing. Lote keeps talking as if Aaliyah isn't in the room. When she's done, I calmly explain to Aaliyah that that isn't good. That it isn't something to take lightly either. I refer back to that very scripture. Jacob 2:28. How that is part of the chastity of every young woman. And that through the actions/thoughts that she portrayed, the Lord wasn't happy at all with what she was thinking about or doing. And neither was I. Lote si'i went on to say that it's because guys might do something to hurt us. I agreed with her & continued to explain to Aaliyah that we are not to use our bodies to gain an advantage or for attentions sake. I reminded her of the covenants she made at baptism & also reminded her that she's at an age where she is accountable for her own choices she makes & that she'd do well to choose the right. Aaliyah looked down, shame plastered all over her face. Quietly said okay & got up to get the rest of her things ready for school. My hope is that with the teachings Aaliyah is taught here at home as well as in church, she will pull through this way of thinking & realize the truth in all things & where true & everlasting happiness lies. My humble prayer as her mother is that she won't fall for the temptations of the devil anymore.

This is just ONE of the many examples I have of just how much the BofM has blessed my life in being able to rear my children in the right direction. I'm not naive to the fact that my kids act differently when Hoko & I aren't around. But my hope is to instill in them integrity that they may be able to learn from their mistakes & not 'fall' into Satan's grasp. That they may be the kind of people that act as if they're parents were present all the time. Because in truth, our father in heaven is ever so present in all that we do.

This is what made for 'AN INTERESTING MORNING' in our home. I love my family & am grateful for the Lord's hand in my life. :D

Sila Turns FIVE. . . .

We celebrated Sila's 5th birthday today. It was great!! :D She received an early birthday present from her grandma last night. Two beautiful new church dresses. :D They're GORGEOUS. :D We're so grateful to loving grandparents who make sure to let their grandkids know just how much they love them. And no. . . . .it has nothing to do with the material things they buy for them. But EVERYTHING to do with the way they make them feel. The time they spend with them. And willingly.



I will be forever thankful for parents who lead by example by raising us up in the gospel & teaching us that FAMILIES will always be PRIORITY over anything else. Being able to celebrate the birth of each our children is always such a special occasion. For they are an ENORMOUS part of the kind of people we choose to be & become.



Sila has always been my MOST strong willed child out of our half a dozen. And literally. . . .since birth. Since the day I brought her home from the hospital, she clearly let me know what kind of personality she had. When she was unhappy with anything, she screamed her lungs out!! And her voice was so piercing!! Like pierce your ear drums type of cry. It used to drive me nuts cause it used to scare me & I would check everything to see if something was wrong or hurting her. We quickly found out that she was just a 'DIVA' & when she was pissed, it wasn't pretty. Lol. But with that came a very caring young child. She has the BIGGEST heart & when she sees others hurt, she's quick to offer comfort. Especially with her baby brother, Savou. She loves him dearly. When he was still an infant, she used to smother him too much, but now that he's growing into a toddler, SHE'S his favorite. He follows her around the house all day long. :D It's the cutest thing.

We love our beautiful Sila. She's growing up too fast. As they all do. But I'm happy to have memories to reflect back on & hope to continue to make more.

From This Day On. . . . .

"Fear not; only believe. This is a time to make resolutions that will be binding upon you. This is a season to set standards that will hold you to the right course and make you happy now and in the years to follow." -Gordon B. Hinkley

2011 has arrived & I'm plenty EXCITED for all it has in store for my family & I. This is the first year we're starting off without my parents & it's definitely different. Our New Years Eve was spent amongst our family & we were so happy to ring in the new year with the ones we love. We didn't get home until after 3 am. I stayed up & wrote my goals down in my journal for the new year. It's something that I've always done because I truly believe that setting goals is the first step to achieving them. It's the following through part that requires quite a bit more work.

This year I took a different approach to my goals. I wanted to be more REALISTIC in being able to achieve them so I thought really hard about these resolutions of mine. Life experiences over this past year really taught me what I should really be focusing on. The Lord, my family, myself & my schooling. And in that very order.

I am so grateful for so many different blessings that have recently occurred in our growing family. Nothing major in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of parents who are striving to set examples to young children. . . . .it's MAJOR to us. Especially because they're OUR children.

So with 2011 being in full swing, those of you that know me, know that health & fitness is a really BIG part of my life. It is really important to me. I try my best to set examples for my kids by living it myself. So I was sitting at my sister inlaw's house & the kids were playing Just Dance 2 on the Wii. I was so impressed with how amazing the game is. The dance routines on there are AWESOME & seriously are what I'd wanna learn to do. Seeing how much fun the kids were having, yet not noticing how much of a workout they were getting at the same time got me thinking that maybe this was the resolution for my kids to start getting active. :D New Years Eve came & we headed to Best Buy to purchase our new WII w/the Just Dance 2 game. We absolutely LOVE IT!! :D It's such a GREAT workout!! Our eyes are no longer fixated on the clock in hopes that our hour is up. Lol. Next game on the list?? Biggest Loser w/Jillian!! I love her!! :D

I've made up some guidelines so the kids know they can't just get up & play it anytime they want. Beds must be made, rooms must be clean, homework must be complete & so forth. :D We've created such wonderful memories with it already. :D

Continuing on this note. . . . .I was able to catch Teresa's zumba class this morning & she never disappoints. It was so invigorating!! :D I needed that. :D After the class, I had a chance to talk with her & she informed me of a 'Lifestyle Change' that she's heading herself. It's called 'Five Stars'. . . .I'll post details on it soon cause I'm still waiting to get it. :D But we got to talking about nutrition & making the change a lifestyle one so that it's not just another diet type thing. Something that will last a lifetime. She said that, "What you eat, makes you thin & what you do, makes you fit." It makes total sense!!

I always figured that I'll just workout & eat whatever I want. I've never really been a BIG junk food eater or soda pop drinker in the first place. But I love getting together with families & friends & eating whatever & however much I want. It's my TOTAL weakness. Ugh. . .But 2011 has brought me to newer heights & bigger goals. And I ain't gonna lie. . . . .I want a flippin SIX-PACK!! Hahahahaha. . . . . .I love seeing celebrity moms on tv that have had kids & look FABULOUS!! I want to do away with the stereotype that it's okay to be fat because you've had kids. I totally think that because of the very reason WE have kids, WE have more reason to be as healthy & as fit as we can be. :D

If I sound a little passionate about this, it's because I am. Being someone that has been in those shoes of feeling so insecure because I can't fit into anything I like. Adjusting my closet for my new SIZE clothing. Huffing & puffing when all I'm doing is playing with my kids. Not caring to see families & friends because I'm ashamed of the person I let myself become. These are the kinds of things that I struggled constantly with when my weight had hit an all time high & I found myself over 200 lbs. I fell into a bit of a depression. I stayed this way for about 10 months. I finally got sick of feeling this way & when January of 2008 hit, I got myself a gym membership at my local rec. I started running 3 or more miles a day, zumba, water aerobics, step class & anything else that sounded interesting. I cut down on carbs & ate more greens. I felt GREAT!! I lost about 50 lbs during that year.

December came & I found out I was pregnant. I was a little scared, but more excited & thrilled. There's two and a half years between my two youngest. For a while, we thought that we weren't able to have any more kids. I'd been miscarrying a lot, but the one right before I got pregnant landed me in the ER up at the University Hospital. It gave us quite a scare. I had miscarried in April & my bleeding continued on thru July. July 24th came & we were celebrating Pioneer Day at Liberty Park with the rest of our family. When we got up to leave, blood came gushing out of me & I felt so light headed. My sister rushed me to the hospital immediately & I got so sick. The doctors told me that I was EXTREMELY low on iron & that my body was having a hard time resetting itself back to normal after the miscarriage. They said I was anemic. I was bedridden & couldn't do anything for myself. On top of that, Hoko was out of state working in Montana & I felt like my WHOLE world was crumbling down. For the first time in my life, I lost total control of my body. I felt like a 90 yr old woman cause I was so weak. I couldn't, for the life of me, hold anything down. The only thing I could do was sleep & use the bathroom. I was MISERABLE, to say the least. I finally recovered & a couple of months later became pregnant with Savou.

I continued my workouts through my pregnancy. I ate healthy & had no complications when giving birth to him. He was our biggest baby, but my labor was the shortest with him. :D I left the hospital 20 lbs lighter & started working out two weeks later. I was able to drop the weight off & I'm back to my weight that I was before I got pregnant with him, but I'm still not satisfied. I'm definitely grateful, but I know I can do better than this.

I talked to my family today & everybody's on board & ready to start Monday off healthier. From this day on, we've made the decision as a family, to live a healthy lifestyle. For good. :D