Another Bday Celebration. . . .

Lote in her morning looks 'n all. Hahaha

This past weekend we had the wonderful opportunity of celebrating our lil Lote's 9th birthday. WOW!! I can't believe my two oldest are 9 & 10. Lol. When Hoko & I talked about me going back to school, I prayed all of last year to know what I should go in to. It had everything to do with our older children growing up so fast. Once I received my answer, I pondered about it because it would take me a total of SIX YEARS total to finish up. Which means that Aaliyah would be hitting her SWEET SIXTEEN with Lote si'i trailing right behind her. But we continued to pray about it & we also attended the temple weekly in our effort to be sure. And we're pretty positive that this is the path that we're supposed to be on. It's definitely an exciting journey & while we're still in the forefront of it, I am still in AWE of the unwavering love my father in heaven has for me & my growing family.

Lote in her bday church 'fit :D

Right before heading out the door to church

We tried to do a family pix with the self-timer on my camera, but it didn't work. Hence the fact that Hoko's not in this pix. Lol

We had a blast this past weekend in ringing in another birthday year for our Lote si'i. Her treat pick for her class on Friday was doughnuts. Lol. When she got home from school, we headed to the Junction to watch 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules. They LOVED it!! :D We picked up some KFC on the way home & ate & chilled & talked the night away. Saturday came & Hoko & I were busy running around all day. We had a bunch of things that we planned to do around the house, but was put off until after Taeao's wedding was done. And so we started to get those things in order. We did a little face lift to our living room which we're pretty happy about. Now we're tackling one room at a time. Organization is KEY. Especially with half a dozen kids in tow. . . . .it's more of a LIFELINE that if not used, will create nothing, but CHAOS in our household. Lol.

Sunday came & we did what we always do for our kids on their birthdays. Dinner with a homemade cake. :D We kept it simple for this dinner & stuck to ribs with fries. :D But we went all out on her cake. I mixed up her fudge marble cake & stuck it in the oven to bake. When it was done, Hoko stuck it in the fridge to cool down. Then we pulled it out & put the chocolate filling in the middle, frosted the outside & decorated it. :D Hoko did the designs & I put the strawberry milkshake whoppers around the edges. :D It turned out great, but tasted even BETTER!! :D I can't wait to make this cake again cause it will definitely turn out a lot better looking. Hahahahaha. . . . .here's some pics from our weekend. :D

Homemade bday cake made by her dad

This cake was DEE-LISH!!

February Was Filled With Birthdays!! :D

Last month was FILLED with birthdays. From some being on the same day, while others were only days apart. And yet they were ALL just days from each other. Lol. It was a HECTIC family filled month, nonetheless.

My father inlaw's bday was up first. And all the boys headed to the monster truck show at the Energy Solutions center for a testosterone FILLED night!! Lol. They had a blast!! And since none of us, women, were there. . . .there are no pictures, of course. But they had a blast. Three generations of the Tu'akoi men!! :D It was definitely a SIGHT to see. :D

Next up was our baby Hoko!! His bday landed on a Sunday so we baked him a cake, made some food & invited our family over to help us celebrate!! He had such a GREAT time with all his cousins. He's now five years old & learning new things everyday, it's crazy. By the end of the night, we were pooped!! Lol.









Three days later was our Polu Marie's bday. She turned 7 yrs old and shares a bday with her auntie Fine. :D Her bday landed on a school day/night so I bought treats for her class & took it up there so they can celebrate with her. :D We also made a special dinner & cake for her as well. :D







And finally, since Fine's bday was on a weeknight, we waited to celebrate hers that Friday. We cooked up a special dinner & baked her a double layered chocolate cake with a peanut butter filling, topped with a chocolate ganache & sprinkled with heath toffee bits. Similar to the ones we made for our kids, but with a different filling. :D Fine's a BIG reese's fan, hence the reason why we went with a peanut butter filling. :D Busy busy week, but filled with what we treasure MOST: FAMILY TIME!! :D

Quick News Flash!! :D

We're coming to a close of another month. It's been nothing short of a very very BUSY month. With ups, downs & in-betweens. . . . .I am definitely ECSTATIC to be approaching a new month, to say the least. :D We've celebrated two of our children's birthdays this past month that were only three days apart. That was a bit stressful. Lol. We also had the opportunity to participate in my father inlaw's bday as well as my sis inlaw, Fine. I don't think I've ever baked so many cakes in a month's time let alone one week. Can you believe it?? Eight cakes total!! Lol. But in all seriousness, we were able to enjoy what really matters. Time spent with loved ones. I have a TON of pictures to post. When that will be is a whole 'nother post. Hahahaha!! But I will definitely try to make it happen ASAP. :D

My 1st day of school here at Weber is approaching. This coming up Tuesday to be exact. The 2nd block of spring semester. I'm stoked!! I've ran into a couple of hiccups along the way, but I've learned from each experience & am happy to be moving forward. I can honestly say that it's humbled me tremendously.

Please don't give up on me while I try to juggle keeping this blog afloat. Lol. This post is short, but I will post again soon. Hopefully. :D

Getting Back In The Game. . . .

What game is that?? The game known by most as the 'WORKFORCE' Or if you've read 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki, he calls it the rat race. Being stuck in a what he calls a 'RUT' Crazy thing is, he makes a lot of sense. Working for someone else can be very much like being in bondage. Like the Jews were for a very long time before Moses parted the Red Sea & the Lord delivered them to safety. Before that, they were in bondage to Pharaoh. Slaves who worked & worked & worked for very menial wages. They were told when they could take a break, when they could eat, when they could use the bathroom & so forth. Sound familiar?? Now don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking JOBS. We need them. It's how the world works. There are an array of occupations out there that I wouldn't be able to do & I'll be the first to admit it. The number one thing a job has been said to provide is SECURITY. That was easily perceived by the majority of society until the recession HIT. And boy did it HIT. We are still in it. And it's been a couple of year as of yet. Some say we'll be here for a while. Others predict an expeditious recovery. With studies & figures aside, it all boils down to us. How we choose to react to circumstances we have no control over.

It's funny how the Lord works. In 'mysterious ways.' I find that to be especially fitting for the 'CURRENT EVENTS' of my life at this time. I continue to be astonished at the workings of the Lord in my life. How I can pray for specific things & how His answers are absolutely unforeseen, unanticipated, unpredictable. But when I'm able to take a step back & examine the course of my life. . . . .I become unquestionably grateful for the experiences I am put through so that I may learn & develop distinct characteristics in order to forge ahead & continue to make progress.

Continuous prayers have I poured out of my heart in my plea for specific things in my life. And I am now seeing the Lord's hand in them & I honestly can't help, but smile. One of them being me getting back into the workforce. It's been about three years since my last place of employment. While it's a little scary, it's not as scary as not being able to work. So I find a lot of comfort in that. :D Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a career fair at Weber. I was quite impressed when I walked in. Male students were dressed in shirt & ties. Female students in business casual attire. Mind you, it's been a couple of years for me & I was at the school for something else. So I was dressed in skinny's, casual shirt & UGGS. Lol. I almost convinced myself to walk back out & go home, but I'm not that kinda person. So I took a deep breath & walked into the ballroom & grabbed a flyer with a listing of all the employers in attendance. And I sure am glad I did. I was able to meet with reps from the Dept of Workforce Services who informed me of funds the state has for mothers who are going back to school. I also learned of a company that has a tuition reimbursement program for my field of study. And finally, I met a couple of reps whose company offers summer internships where you are assigned a mentor & together you work on several different projects where you are trained in management & training skills that you can take with you in any occupation. This is at the top of my list for summer employments & I will be putting my app in this weekend. :D It blows me away, the world of information available to us who with just a little work, manifests itself.

That spark that we all have as innocent children who believe they can conquer the world has been re-ignited in me. I am cognizantly appreciative for the obstacles & trials that are put before me so that I may continue to overcome them & move forward. It's a magnificent thing to be constantly thinking of the future. With the Lord on my side & I on His, I can be confident in being on that straight & narrow path. :D

Before I left, I picked up a FREE magazine called 'Utah Careers Supplement For Women.' It is filled with a wealth of information. A lot of time saving tips as well as ways to balance family life & work life. There's an article in it that I read & was simple enough for my girls to understand so I didn't hesitate to share with them. :D It's exactly why I feel that WAGES aren't everything, but nonetheless they are IMPORTANT.

'The Fable Of Jane & Susan'

Jane grew up knowing she wanted to be a mother. She thought she would marry a rich man and stay home to take care of her children. She didn't think she'd need an education or a career. She got married right out of high school to the man of her dreams and had a charming baby girl.
Time for a reality check. Like most married women with children in Utah, Jane needed to work to make ends meet. She got a job at the local discount store as a cashier and after a while, earned the Utah average wage for that occupation - $8.50/hr. She had few benefits and no retirement plan. To make enough money, Jane had to work 40 hrs a week - mostly when her husband was off work so he could take care of the baby. They couldn't afford childcare. Even though she didn't see much of her husband, she grossed $340/wk - before taxes and other deductions.
Susan went to high school with Jane. Susan grew up knowing that she wanted to have a family. But, she also realized that she would probably be working outside the home - like most mothers in Utah. She chose a high-paying career, finished college and went to work as a computer hardware engineer. She got great pay, had good benefits, and could count on a retirement income - when that day finally came. THEN she got married and had a bouncing baby boy.
Susan's employer valued her work skills and was willing to let Susan cut back her hours. She ended up working only 20 hours a week at the Utah average wage for computer hardware engineers - $30/hr. So, while Jane was making $320 working a grueling 40 hrs/wk on her feet all day, Susan worked only 20 hrs/wk and at the same grossed $1200/wk - two and a half times more than Jane for half the work. Who would you like to be?

Bridging The Gaps

'The mortal experience is filled with gaps:

• between what we know and what we do
• between the way of God and the ways of man
• between preaching and practicing
• between what the media represents and what really occurred
• between what the media popularizes and what the Lord endorses
• between what we know to be true and how willing we are to stand up for what we believe
• between the world's standards of morality and God's law of chastity
• between the world's definition of the family and God's divine plan for the family

And on it goes. For each of us, there are gaps with which to deal. For example, if you believe in the Word of Wisdom but don't really live it, there's a gap. If you believe your family is the most important entity on earth but often seem to get pulled elsewhere, there's a gap. There are gaps if you feel love for your spouse, but withhold love for some reason. If you want a strong marriage but don't make building it a priority; if you believe modesty is important but are tired of coaching teenagers who are tempted to wear clothes that are too tight, too short, too revealing, and with slits up to high heaven, and therefore you say nothing. There are gaps if you say money isn't everything but spend your time and energy as though it were; if you believe in a living prophet but manage to slip away most conference weekends to the beach or the lake; if you believe there is power in the word of God but don't spend much time immersed in the scriptures. . . . . .and so on.'

This is an excerpt out of a book I'm currently reading called, 'No One Can Take Your Place' by Sheri Dew. She is definitely one of my favorite LDS authors. She makes sense of things that usually go over my head. Or things that I've looked at, but from the total opposite side of the spectrum. Lol. I love this book so far.

It's really helped me to realize that there are a lot of things in my life that call for 'BRIDGING THE GAPS' :D One of those things that I've always believed strongly in is missionary work. But I struggled with how I, as a mother, who didn't take advantage of this wonderful privilege because of paths I chose to go down that prohibited me from doing so, could become an instrument in the hands of the Lord in bridging the gap between what I believe to be such a significant & cardinal TRUTH as to bringing those souls to the knowledge of God & being able to teach them of our purpose here on earth, yet fearing that I might somehow offend someone in doing so. President Hinkley has explained how the Gospel makes sense of everything. Let me repeat that: The Gospel Makes Sense Of Everything. And I absolutely testify to the veracity of such a statement. I am completely baffled as to the workings & exactness of the Lord in everything He does for truly everything has a specific purpose in moving His work forward in 'bringing to pass the immortality of man.'

As I've pondered on this & kept a constant prayer in my heart about it, it came so clearly to me one day (which I know without a doubt was the spirit of Lord). I was laying in bed with Hoko having our usual pillow talks that consist of our happenings of the day as well as our future plans & goals. Hoko started asking me how everything went for me. I had attended a Majors Fest at Weber that day. I told him it was GREAT!! I felt so much peace & excitement from everything I had learned that day, namely the nontrad center that they have for nontraditional students such as myself. There is so much support & help available for us with our unique situations. I had stopped into the student services center on my way out to sign up for an upcoming seminar & was able to meet the student body president. She invited me to join her in a new student orientation type thing where members of the student government were explaining all the different positions available to students & the benefits of applying to these positions. Upon acceptance of these different positions, the school issues a tuition waver for a certain amount, depending on which position you are appointed, which then frees up whatever financial aid money you've qualified for to be able to help with the financial obligations we carry in our families. That took the cake for me & I was ecstatic, yet definitely a little apprehensive in even the possibility of running for student government. I mean, I'm already married with six kids, with the three younger ones still at home with me right now. I didn't wanna think of the time involved with taking on these extracurricular activities. But then I thought that this is actually something that wouldn't take up any more EXTRA time than a job would out of my life. Since I was looking to jump back into the workforce anyway. But becoming a part of the student government at Weber would actually benefit my family & I wayyyy more than just going out & finding a job to help supplement our income. The money that it frees up with my financial aid would make up for it & it would look GREAT on my resume. But that's not all. . . . .my constant desire of wanting to get more involved with missionary work is now about to become fulfilled. Maybe not in its entirety, nevertheless I am so happy about it. Being able to run for one of the positions in the student government and if I'm appointed, opens the flood gates for me to get involved with the students at Weber as well as getting involved with the community through volunteer work. :D UOILA!! And though it hasn't happened yet, I am THRILLED to be working on my application at this time in hopes that everything will work out for the best. :D

There are a myriad of things in my life that I KNOW for sure need some STEEL-BUILT bridges to fill in the gaps, but I'm thankful that this is a part of our mortal existence. That these experiences are necessary for our eternal progression & I'm gonna take it one day at a time. :D My only hope is that we can all strive to be more Christlike by bridging the gaps in our lives for by so doing, the Lord has promised us in 3Nephi 11:39 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them."

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