Cousins!!

Emma and Tabitha are here from Richland and Terina is having a blast! She loves running around with them. Terina and Tabitha are only 8 months apart and they are very good friends. They have such different personalities but its great to see them all together. Emma is older and likes to do older girl things but she's a great "baby sitter". I hope when Tabitha and Terina get older they don't hate their moms for always dressing them alike! I think they look cute though so it doesn't matter.

Let it Snow!!

When we got here last Friday we have been hearing about this Winter Storm that was suppose to hit Washington on Tuesday. Well... it didn't happen yesterday like predicted but today... HOLY COW!! It's been snowing all day long! Terina has been watching the snow come down and begging to go outside and play in the snow.

I have been in bed all day being lazy and of course Kasala isn't jumping up to go outside. He's been running around doing shopping in shorts in the freezing cold!! Anyways, when I finally got out of bed at 4pm I went to the shed and dug out Terina's snow suit from last winter. It was a 2T and I was pretty positive that it wasn't going to fit but just her luck we could squeeze her in to it. We only took her outside for about 15 minutes because it's freezing and it's starting to get dark but she had so much fun! She loves the snow and I'm pretty sure we'll be back outside tomorrow.

So much for finishing up my Christmas shopping and getting my hair done tomorrow. The roads are horrible. Other than watching the snow come down and being lazy... we really haven't done anything. Just the usual; cook, clean, eat... ya know. :)Rain or shine it's times like this when I look outside and remember that I'm going home to Hawaii... to sunshine.... or very warm rain.

Rain and Flooding or Freezing and Snow???

Well, we made it out of the floods of Hawaii only to come to freezing Washington where it started to snow this afternoon.

Thursday, the day before we were to leave, the rains just came down... All night and almost all day. Laie flooded completely and many of the apartment buildings at TVA also flooded. It was pretty bad. We were one of the lucky ones on the bottom floor that didn't have any problems. The only problem that I did have was with all the gross bugs that were crawling on the walls outside our door. It was the most disgusting thing EVER! This is the play ground outside our

door. It doesn't really do any justice as to what actually happend at BYUH or around Laie. And here are those gross bugs that were trying to get into my house.

Before we left Terina and I went to the Visitors Center at the Temple to look at the Christmas trees. Each stake on Oahu had a tree at the visitors center and decorated it. It was a lot of fun to go and look at them. There were some really beautiful trees. Terina had a lot of fun looking at them and asked every day that week to go back to see the Christmas trees, the donkey and the sheep.

Well... off to Washington! Terina did really well on the plane. We sat all the way in the back... and I mean all the way in the back. There was no one around us at all. Terina had a little snack before the plane took off, colored a little and then fell asleep! She slept most of the way so Kasala and I watched a movie and just made sure she was comforable. When she woke up she watched a movie, ate some dinner and got some snacks brought to her from 1st class. She ate better than we did! Anyways, we made it to Washington and it was cold. Mom and Dad brought us coats which was nice. Now we're just relaxing and spending time with Mom, Dad, Jared, Ashlee and Jake. Anthony and Phebe and the girls will be getting here next week and Mike right before Christmas. Oh! Mom redecorated our room for us and it is amazing! She even put a tree up there so on Christmas morning we can do a little something for Terina... just the three of us. I love it! Terina has her own little space, which of course she doesn't stay in, and we have a new area too! I just love it!

Terina does miss her friends in Hawaii though. I really didn't think she would say anything about them but so far she's been asking for Taniya, Kien, Aneia, Waipapa and Pacesen. She kept calling this little boy in Primary Pacesen and she got mad when I said he was still in Hawaii. Kind of cute!

Washington or Bust... I think we might bust

I was woken up this morning to the sound of thunder and a bright flash of lightening. Not cool....

It has been raining like crazy here. We have a good 5 inches outside our door. The bugs are just waiting to come inside. I have been killing them all morning. School was canceled... I didn't have to work. Kasala's Math final got canceled... I don't know what's going to happen with that class now. The roads are closed going towards Hauula, I'm not sure about the North Shore but I don't know if we will be able to get Jake to the airport today.

This is bad. This is really bad. I am still looking forward to going back to Washington and I know Mom and Dad want to see Terina and I'm sure we'll be able to get home eventually....

Kasala just came running in the house. He has been out with people from our ward picking up sand bags and helping families out. He had to leave our car at the grocery store! He couldn't get back into the apartment. The roads are closed! Oh man... this is not fun.

Christmas Party

Last night our ward had its Christmas party. It felt a little early but then I realized that everyone has finals next week and some families will be going home too for good. Anyways, it was alright. There was food and music and games. I almost won a round of musical chairs but if you saw what I was up against you would understand why I lost. It was a nice break from being at home on a Saturday evening with just Terina so I should be grateful.

Santa made an appearance there too. I really thought Terina would do alright with him. She liked him while we were waiting in line but as soon as I got up there with her she freaked out... and I mean freaked out! I didn't have time to take a picture but it was pretty funny.

Terina had a blast though. She ran around with her friends and played with the Christmas tree. She "watched" Polar Express and ate a ton of candy until it was time to go home. That's Waipapa with Terina. She's older but will always play with Terina.There is Terina and Iraia. He's super cute but these two fight the no other in nursery. They play fine outside in the water and at the playground but when they get to nursery they are either fighting or causing trouble.

Aneia and Terina are a couple weeks apart. They have so much fun together. When they see eachother outside they run up and give eachother a hug. It's cute.

Anyways.. nothing else is going on. Just getting ready to go home to Washington for Christmas. 5 more days and counting!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving and well.... we aren't eating a turkey! I made an 18 pound turkey on Sunday that our home teachers gave to us and we are still eating it. Some of it was frozen on Sunday but for the most part I think we're done eating turkey. Anyways...our dinner turned out great. I cooked the turkey upside down in the pan again this year... this time on purpose :) and it was very juicy. I wish I had taken a picture of it but, being the smart person that I am, I dropped a huge pot of water on not only my cell phone but also the new camera that Kasala bought me for our anniversery. Yes... I'm a clumsey dork and I felt so bad and I still do. So I guess I'll just have to try and remember what our "first" Thanksgiving dinner was like. Oh... Terina didn't even eat either! She wanted chili...... Some other things that are going on.... It's almost time to go home for the holiday and we can't wait. I'm applying for a new job at the University and have an interview for it on Monday. It's an academic advisor position that I would LOVE to have. Not that I don't like working at the elementary school but it would be much better to work at the University. Yesterday Terina had a friend over. Tanaya is a couple months younger than Terina and they play pretty well together. They fingered painted and played at the playground. Then they found the Princess dress up clothes that were given to Terina by another little girl and before I knew it I was walking around the apartments with Snow White and Cinderella w hile they said Hello and Hi to people we passed. It was really cute... their little shoes clanking as they walked and they sang songs and held hands... really super cute but silly Mom broke the camera. Then we found Anaya and before I knew it Tinker Bell had joined the group. 3 super cute Princess walking around like they owned TVA. This morning was the first time I can remember seeing the sun rise. I went to 7-11 to get a paper so I can look at the ads and plan my route for Black Friday and I saw the sun coming up over the ocean. It was absolutely beautiful. I need to appriciate where I am and what it has to offer. Anyways... back to Thanksgiving.... I'm really thankful for so many things and so many people. My husband who is just amazing. We have learned so much these past 6 months being out here and we have grown closer together. We have had our struggles and I'm sure we'll have more but we are learning and growing as we struggle. I'm thankful for my family who support everything we do even if they don't agree with it. I'm really thankful that Jake is here. He's really kind of stepped up for us when we have been in a bind with daycare and work. If he's not busy he watches Terina for us and even though we may not see eye to eye on some things he's been a blessing to have over here. I'm thankful for my brothers... all of them. I'm not as close to them as I wish I could be but I hope they all know how thankful I am for them, for their examples and for their love and support. Even if they don't show their love for me I know they at least love and adore Terina. After going 20 years without a sister, I am very thankful for my sisters in law. They are great! I have been blessed to have known Phebe and Bree before they married my brothers and I'm so thankful for their friendships and their love. Ashlee is someone who I admire too. She's always bringing over new and neat creations for desert and she makes Jared so happy. Anyways... of course I'm thankful for my parents who, after the last 6 months I'm suprised are still answering the phone when I call. I think they answer so I'll put Terina on but whatever their reason... they are the best. They are supportive, helpful, loving and just amazing people. They have stood by myside even when I'm sure they wanted to disown me. They have shaped me into the person I am today and for that I will always be grateful. I love my family and that's what I'm most thankful for today. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We're off to start our shopping. :)

A Bit of Washington

I'm just blogging like crazy! Anyways... today it totally felt like a Washington fall day... It's been super rainy and super windy. It's still about 73 outside but I actually wore jeans, a light sweater and tennis shoes to work today! It really felt like home! I just hope when we get to WA that we don't have another winter storm with days of no electricity!

Just another Sunday

I realized that I haven't posted anything lately so I thought before we started getting ready for church I'd do a little update of what we have been up to.... and it's NOTHING! We haven't really done anything exciting lately. I've tried several times to upload a video of Terina doing somersaults onto our page but it won't work. But let's see.... I've been trying to structure Terina's time at home a little better to cut down on her being bored and messing up the house so earlier this month we went outside and finger painted! She had so much fun and our neighbors next door stood by just watching... and waiting I guess for me to give them some paper. So we spent one afternoon fingerpainting with Hepi outside. Now we have some art work hanging up on our house. I just need to get some more paper for Terina to paint on and then we'll be back outside finger painting.

After we do some kind of crafty something or other we usually head right for the playground. All the toddlers fight over the baby swing so our new rule is "If you want to swing in the baby swing you get treated like a baby" which of course she doesn't want because "Terina's a big girl". She

has a lot of fun playing outside on the swings and slide. She even escaped this morning while everyone was still sleeping and made her way out to the playground in the Dora nighty.

The most exciting thing we did this month was go to Terina's first dentist appointment! She went in all by her self (I really wanted to go with her to take a picture but... I don't think the dentist wanted me back there.) She was really good and got her teeth brushed, flossed and they even got x-rays of her teeth. I was really suprised she didn't throw a fit because she cries everytime I ask her to brush her teeth! So her reward for doing so good at the dentist was a trip to Farell's at the mall where we shared a brownie sundae. She picked it herself from some pictures. Needless to say we didn't even eat half of it but it was super good.

I think the one thing Terina liked the most this month was our trip to PCC to watch the night show. Ever since that night she's been asking to go watch the hula dancers and asking for "Uncle Junior" who is one of Kasala's good friends who spends quite a bit of time with us. Terina loves when Junior comes around. Anyways... we bought an annual pass so we can go and watch the show when ever we need something to do and Terina is still fansenated with it after seeing it 10 times as she was the first. She loves looking for Kasala and his friends while they are on stage and she yells out their names. I don't think they can hear her but I like to think that they can hear their number 1 fan. This last time, we went with Kim, her aunt, Kate and Jake. They were a little late and when the show started Terina was so mad cause we were outside waiting and not inside. But here she is patiently waiting to go inside... and trying to see what was going on.

So anyways.. our month so far has not been that exciting. No big news, no site seeing or new adventures.... just the same old thing. We can't wait to get back to Washington for the holidays but I have to keep reminding myself that this is where our home is for now and that I have to come back.

Terina Singing I Love To See The Temple before bed

Halloween in Laie

We had a lot of fun lastnight! We didn't do much but it was enough for Terina. She had a Costume party at school so she was super excited when she woke up and put on her ballerina outfit. She had been wearing it for about 3 days with no where to go. Our ward had a small "Trunk or Treat" that we went to and she walked around by herself while Kasala and I handed out candy. She had a lot of fun. We ate dinner there and the kids all played with a bubble machine then we went home. This is Harley (Wonder Women) and Terina. Harley is a year older than Terina but she loves playing with her. They walked around the parking lot while Kasala and I handed out candy.

This is Adyson. She's our neighbor. She's about 18 months old and Terina just loves her. They play outside at the playground together. And everytime we walk by her apartment Terina always looks in to see where Adyson is.

Instead of going trick or treating around Laie Terina and I went to watch Kasala dance at PCC. She had a lot of fun doing that and we didn't get anymore candy... which was good. Overall... It was a pretty good Halloween. Oh! And the tutu that Terina has on above was the one I made for her! I made her wear it to Night Show because she refused to wear it trick or treating... I guess she liked Grandma's costume better... Go figure.

PCC Presents... the Haunted Lagoon

Tonight I took Terina over to PCC. They put on a Haunted Lagoon for the first year and it was actually really good. We arrived at 6pm and we were lucky that we did. We got on the first kids canoe and went out for our 24 minute ride. There were people "walking on water", popping up from the lagoon, hiding under the bridges... It was really good! And that was the kids ride! Needless to say Terina didn't see much of the ride. Her face was in my shoulder the whole time but when the ride was over she was back to normal. Hopefully we won't be waking up with any bad dreams tonight. I wish I could have taken pictures but the opportunity just wasn't there... but I thought it would be fun to share it with you all anyways. Maybe tomorrow night if we go back for another round. :)

Aloun Pumpkin Farm

Today I went with Terina and her school to Aloun Pumpkin Farm. It was different.... Nothing like at home but it was alright. It took about an hour for us to get there and it was a nice drive through the country. It was hot... very hot outside.Here the kids are waiting for their tractor ride. It didn't last very long and it was very bumpy but I think they had fun. After the tractor ride we all went to pick our pumpkins. We each got to take one home with us. It took a while for the kids to all pick one but eventually they all did. I was glad they didn't want to wander off to far because it was about 85 degrees outside... and there was no shade!

Anyways... while it was nothing like going to a pumpkin farm in the great Northwest it was something.... They're trying out here.

Food Fest 2008

I forgot about all the neat things that happen here at BYUH. Today was food fest where all the different clubs make tons and tons of food and you just walk around and buy tons and tons of food. Kim, Jake, Terina and I went together and it was pretty fun. Kasala was helping his friends cook food for the Samoan Club. He didn't come home last night after we went to a movie but instead went and started cooking. He came home smelling like smoke and was forced to sleep on the floor. When he woke up he went right back to help his friends. We did get a chance to see him while he was cooking and of course they were all willing to stop to take a photo. The food was really good too and Terina ate almost her whole plate that was pretty full. After we ate, Terina played in the bouncy house. Over and over and over.... she kept getting out and then wanting to get right back in and every time it cost me a ticket... which cost $1.00... But she had fun and now that we're home I'm thinking she'll go right to bed :) But we had a lot of fun t0night and I was happy. I am happy. I'm starting to like it again. AND... the photos and video has been brought to you by my new camera... which was bought for me by Kasala for our 3rd wedding anniversary. I really like it and I can finally say that I have one of my own so expect lots and lots of pictures!!

The Carnival Comes to Town!

Tonight Kahuku high school hosted a Carnival to raise money for their Senior stuff and thanks to some convincing from a friend we decided to go. Terina, Jake and I went and she had so much fun. Despite the fact that I got ripped off when I bought the tickets it was actually a fun time. Unfortunately we didn't have a camera because I ran the battery down in both mine and Jakes and didn't bother to charge either one, we were able to get a couple pictures off of Jakes phone. She had a great time going on the slide, all the bouncy houses and even the Kid Kopter. She really wanted to go on the "train" (basically spinning tea cups) but I was kind of worried to send her. I was going to put her on there with some of my 4th graders but was happy I didn't when I saw how fast they were spinning. Anyways... tonight was a carnival... tomorrow Food Fest. Hopefully I'll have some pictures of that.

Sweet Memories

Terina's new favorite movie is the Lion King. When I was younger we would watch Disney movies, bake cookies and lounge around in our PJs all night. It was so much fun and it makes me miss being a child.. but it makes me grateful for childhood friends who are still the best. Kyla and Audra... look what I have done to my 2 year old daughter. She loves this movie and it makes me want to bake cookies and just hang out.. .it also reminds me of what great memories and all the fun times we had growing up together. And yes.. I want to come visit you Kyla and bring Terina to Disney World... as soon as I strike it rich.

Honolulu Zoo

I've been off of work this whole week and Terina and I have been trying to keep busy. Terina went to school Monday. She was the only one there but I was able to get the house clean, do ALL the laundry and shopping while she was there so it was well worth it. We went to the mall on Tuesday. Sears was having a sale and we picked up a "few" things for her, Emma and Tabitha. We played at the little playground and had some icecream because she was so good. Wednesday we stayed home but it was so hot we ended up at the beach in the late afternoon and today we went to the Honolulu Zoo! It was so much fun! Terina and I went with Maren, Paceson and Berkely. They live in our building and are also in our ward. It was really nice to go out with other people and to make a new friend. Terina was suprisingly good! She listened really well and when she didn't Pacesen was right there to help her along. It was a great day. I can tell that Terina is getting older. What we'll do tomorrow I don't know but it should involve some sort of cleaning in our house. Possibly... maybe.

I thought this was pretty cool. It told me just how far away from home I was... 2678 miles... give or take.

Pacesen and Terina. She wouldn't take her eyes off of the elephants! She was in heaven today with all her animal friends.

Krazy Karaoke!!

Monday night we went out to Krazy Karaoke in town and it was actually so much fun! Jake, Kim, Terina and I drove 65 minutes to meet up with our cousin Becca. She's absolutly crazy! We got there before everyone else and were able to spend time with her and her husband Al. It was the first time I'd ever been to a Karaoke place. We had a big room with the mics and a big TV in it and we just hung out and sang. Actually... Terina sang I Just Can't Wait to Be King. She was really cute. She pretty much ran around the room screaming and when other people started to show up she would run up to them and hug them. She had a lot of fun and she slept real good that night. We stopped singing when everyone showed up and for good reasons too. I couldn't believe that the people could actually sing! It was crazy. This family was there and these guys could sing! I guess their brother was on American Idol... I don't know what season or whatever but singing must be in their family. Anyways... we had tons of fun and I can't wait to find the camera cord so I can post pictures and a video of Terina dancing with her shadow. The video is a little dark but its still cute. Things are good though. I really wanted to go home. I'm off of school from the 3rd until the 14th of this month. A break is good... but my pay check will not be so good. We're looking for tickets to come home for Christmas and can't wait to spend almost a month at home.

My LIttle Helper

I really wish that I had a camera handy today. Terina is my little helper. She took it upon herself to help me wash the dishes... I was already done and she emptied the silverware drawer put them in the and then came and got me to help her wash them. She asked for some cheese tonight and brought me a slice. While I was in the bathroom she tore it up into small pieces, got the vacuum out and was trying to sweep it all up... it didn't work (because it wasn't plugged in) and it just smashed it into the carpet. Right now as I'm typing... she's rearranging all the food in the fridge, taking everything out of the bottom cabinet and putting it in the fridge.... and for some reason it's not bothering me. EXCEPT WITH THE EGGS!! She's broken so many eggs theses past couple days. She keeps acting out a Backyardigans movie called "The Mighty Knights" that has an egg in it. I think tomorrow I'll boil an egg and we'll color it so it looks like Eggbert. Anyways... Terina is doing FABULOUS!! She's loving school and she comes home singing all these new songs. We're still having a problem with the whole sharing thing but as she gets a little older I'm sure she'll learn. I'll try to take some more pictures soon and post them. There goes Eggbert... and 2 more eggs.

The Sweetest Sound I'll Ever Hear.....

And for once it's not the sound of silence!! It's Terina! I love to listen to her laugh. She's so silly and goofy almost all of the time. When she laughs it just fills my heart. It erases all the anger that she may have caused me that day.... I love hearing Terina talk about Tabitha, Emma and Sydney. I try to talk about them a lot and show her pictures all the time so that when we go home she'll pick up right where they left off. I love it when she plays with her little people and says that its Malichai or Tabitha or Emma...... It makes me cry and just fills me with great love when Terina gets tired and she climbs up on my lap and simply says, "I love you mommy"..... that's the sweets sound I'll ever hear.... my children telling me that they love me, that they love daddy, and Grandma and Papa and whom ever else that she may be thinking of.

I'm just to lazy

I didn't put a diaper on Terina after I bathed her this morning because I was to busy looking at homes for sale in Richland but she just went to the bathroom on the toilet! We're getting close to being potty trained! She knew she had to use the toilet and she started to run to the bathroom so I ran after her and she sat down and peed!! Hopefully we can get out of diapers soon... they cost to much money.

Random...

I have been walking to pick Terina up in the afternoons and earlier this week noticed some beautiful flowers that someone had planted in front of their house. I didn't take time to look closely at them the first day but today I actually stopped to look at them because some of the flowers looked like daffidilsd! I thought to myself, Wow... I didn't know those grew out here but they are so pretty. They're pretty because they're PRETTY FAKE! Who plants fake flowers on the sidewalk flowerbeds? I thought it was kind of funny thou......

Labor Day!

It was so nice to spend yesterday with my family. I had an extra long weekend because we did not have school Friday but Monday morning Terina and I got up and made breakfast, watched one of her new favorite shows My Friends Tigger and Pooh and then played around waiting for Kasala to wake up. We decided that we should go to the beach early before all the students woke up and went so by 10am we were out the door to the beach. Every beach we drove by was completely packed! There were so many people who had camped the night before and then also some of the clubs from BYU were having activities too. We finally decided that it was going to be a crowded beach or no beach so we parked, unloaded and were off. It felt like the hottest day ever... or at least the hottest since we have been here and the water was nice a cool. It felt great! About 10 minutes after being in the water Terina and I were stung by some stinky little jelly fish. They were seriously everywhere! I had never seen so many jelly fish at the beach!! But we kept playing anyways. We also, for the first time, saw turtles in the water! At first I thought it was just drift wood but then they started poking their heads out of the water. The waves were really big and I didn't want to take Terina to close to them but we stood on shore and watched the turtles. They stayed around for quite a while. We stayed at the beach only long enough to get more tan lines and a little burn then headed home. We spent the rest of the afternoon inside playing games, reading books, and cleaning. Overall it was a really relaxing day and as soon as I find the camera cord I'll post some pictures. Oh... can you tell we're working on using "colorful words" in my 3rd grade class to help the reader "paint mind pictures"? :)

Terina's First Day of School!

School has started for Kasala and Jake and luck for me Kim had to cancel her class on Wednesday because we had no sitter for Terina. But after I got home from work Terina and I walked over to her new "school". It's actually a day care but she's the only one that is 2. The other kids are 3 and part of an early head start program. The owner of the center and I just decided that Terina could be part of the early head start program instead of having to design a different program just for her. So when we got home from the center, Terina and I got her Dora backpack out and started to pack it. We put in 2 extra sets of clothing, some diapers and wipes, all her forms and paperwork and the payment. I didn't sleep well last night. Just thinking about having to drop her off with someone else made me really sad but with Kasala in school I have to work to support our family... even if it is only part time. Anyways.. Terina went to bed about 6:30pm and didn't wake up until this morning. We tried waking her up to get her ready for school but that was kind of a struggle. She surprisingly got up in a decent mood and we got her dressed. Kasala kept talking to her about her first day of school and asking if she was excited. She didn't really say much but when I told her to grab her bag and lets go to school she was jumping up and down. It was just a short ride to the center and when we got there she jumped right out, grabbed her bag and walked up the front steps. She went right inside, put her bag down and started to play. I didn't stay long but when I left I heard her crying and it broke my heart. I guess it didn't last very long though. Terina was playing and running around when I arrived to pick her up and she didn't really want to leave. She left her mark though... on the wall with marker. She is the first one to deface the center's walls. I felt really bad. She's learning so much and she's learning so fast. I so proud of her and that she was able to stay at "school" for half the day without any problems. We'll see how she does on Tuesday when she goes back.

SURPRISE!!

So we got the biggest surprise today. While I was washing the dishes after work in walks.... MY DAD! It was the biggest surprise. Especially since I talked to him about 20 minutes earlier and he said he was eating lunch. So I hung up and started "cleaning up" our little house. Terina was a little confused but she ran right to him and hasn't left his side since. She'll be sleeping next to Grandpa for the next couple of days. I'm really excited that he is here and that Terina recoginized him right away. She then started asking for Grandma, Emma, Tabitha, Phebe and Sydney.... maybe if she keeps asking for people they will magically appear. Anyways... tomorrow is Kasala's 26th birthday and we are excited to go out with Dad, Jake and Kim. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures and post them in the slide show when we go out and do things.