Oodles of fun in October

Hopoate hair train

We got to take Nani to General conference in October... their are a few perks to being the bishop.  :)  

She was so excited to go inside and see the prophet.  Strangely, he wasn't there.  He showed up in the middle of general conference... and we later heard that he wasn't feeling well.  It was a very good feeling to see him come in.

This was a very exciting conference to be a part of because they announced the Tabernacle in Provo that burned being rededicated as a temple!  There was a literal gasp in the audience.  It was very neat to witness the announcement in real life.  The Provo Tabernacle Temple is actually in our Stake!

All 3 of the girls attended Siona's dance group, Tusitala Polynesian dance.  She is such a great instructor, and taught them Tahitian and Hula.  Stamis and Eta's daughters also were in the group, so the girls had fun cousin time. 

Carrie and her family came up for General Conference and we decided to go see Becky Brown who Carrie played volleyball with at BYUH.  It is so fun to see all our little island mix kids play together.  Becky has become a good friend to me as well while living here in Utah.

Cute and Crazy kids.

Kaela and Nani... can you believe that these two cuties are only 2 weeks apart?!

A family outing on a GREAT family hike.  Short, sweet, and beautiful.

I believe this is called the Grotto... in Payson Canyon?  It is a sweet hike with cool rock formations and a bit of water at the end.  Cute Nani happy to be with cousins.

Nani, Kea, and Samara all participated in Spring Creek Elementary's Mile fun run.  We we were proud of them because they earned their participation money, and even trained for the event.  Our neighbors, Nicky and Elian also participated.

The girls all numbered and ready to run.  Nobody quit... even when they got REAL tired.

Is she cute or what?!  One of the saddest things I have ever seen was when the race began and everybody took off.  Poor Samara was trying so hard to keep up with her big sisters, who were unaware of her struggle.  I saw this look of panic on her face and her running as fast as her legs could take her.  Lucky, Daddy saw it too and ran to her and kept her company throughout the mile run. :)

A tradition every fall is to find great deals on apples and get together with Sherelda and her children and make applesauce and apple pie filling.  It is hard work, but so much fun.  This year we were so blessed to receive ALL our apples for free as the Uath Food bank was given an abundance of apples and kept putting them out for people to take.  We had BOXES of apples and made over 150 jars of  applesauce.  Lucky we had a lot of willing helpers.

The 4 year olds were are most dedicated workers... and pretty good at it too!

The happy helpers... This shows the process real well too.  Sherelda is loading the boiled apples, Ryan is pressing them down the funnel, Nani turns the crank which pushes the apples through a press.  From the side comes the warm sweet applesauce, and the end drops out the unusable peel, seeds, stem, etc.

Samara and Benji, the Crippen's new little Doggy

Nerd Day at school.

We had our Fall Fest in the ward and the girls were so excited to wear their costumes that Carrie sent up.  We told Kea she could be a 'cute witch'... and she definitely listened. 

Nani and Samara participating in the cake walk.  Samara is suppossed to be tinkerbell... the yellow hair spray looked a bit more green on her hair.  :)

Tino started his EMT class this October and needed to get over a hundred vital signs recorded for class.  His idea?  Go to the ward party as a doctor and grab some while he was there.  It worked!

Pumpkin carving time!  My favorite Halloween tradition.

Halloween Day...

Hotdog Mummy making

Attending the school parade

All my cuties  home from trick-or-treating.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Fall is here!

We enjoyed such beautiful weather this fall... and decided to embrace it and get outside.  Utah really does have a lot to offer.  It was fun to be with the girls out in nature.  On this trip we made tin foil dinners and s'mores (of course!).

S'more'n Samara!

This park is in Provo Canyon and includes a few rocks to climb... A very fun activity for 3 little monkeys.  :) 

Provo River on a warm autumn night.

I was excited about having older kids, and wanting to 'embrace Utah' begged Tino to go hiking.  (He is always saying that it just isn't his thing).  I checked the internet and found a hike that said it was a good family hike, Stewart Falls off the Alpine loop.  We headed out with a couple apples, granola bars, and 3 water bottles. 

It was SOOO beautiful.  All the leaves were changing colors, and the weather was just perfect.  We started at about 12:30 in the afternoon with smiles on our faces and walking sticks in our hands.  We saw A LOT of crazy haired catapillars, collected all sorts of colored leaves, and eventually found the waterfall!!!!

 It was MUCH longer of a hike than I had anticipated.   

By this time, we are beat and out of water. I actually thought about drinking from the river... but remembered the words of Bear Grylls and didn't. :) The girls were so tired, and the thought of turning around and hiking back really did seem impossible.  I considered calling in a helicopter...

Luckily for me, I have Superman.  :)  He swung a kid over his shoulders like a little piggy, and we headed back.

It's great to be the youngest!

We made it!  We got to the car at 5:30... Hungry, tired, and very proud of our 3 little troopers.  We asked if they wanted to go on a hike again...  they didn't seem too thrilled with the idea.  :)

~Happy Fall 2011~

Cottonwood Cabin with the Fakatou Family

 The Fakatous have been family friends of ours since... well, since before we were a family!  :) Briony, Tino, and I were all in the same ward at BYUH, and Malu was a great friend of Tino's since Tonga, and myself since freshman year at BYUH.  They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.  And oddly, they have 3 little girls... just like us.

We had such fun (regardless of Kea's face) Hanging out, eating, hiking, exploring, and playing together.  Malu and Tino are a lot of fun to watch together, and GREAT Dads.

The cabin is Briony's parent's place, and they invited us along for a weekend visit.  Here Teisa and Kea play in the rec room.

The kids loved the freedom of exploring.  They called this area of fallen trees, 'the playground'.  It made me REALLY look forward to a day when we will have a yard that they can roam around in.

Roasting marshmallows with Teisa, Alisi, Kea, and Samara...

One of my FAVORITE parts... all the little gilrs tucked into bed in the bunkroom.  It reminded me of my mother's favorite children's book "The Bunny Book" when the daddy bunny tucked all his little bunnies into their bunk beds.  Briony is reading a bedtime story... a girly princess one of course.  :)

Nani and Teisa... I was afraid Nani would rollout of bed (she is accident prone) so I literally TUCKED her into bed using the sheets as a seat belt.  :)

So what do you do when your kids are content and happy playing with friends and nature?  You smile, and take a well deserved deep breath of fresh air.

We had such a nice time.   I hope to do it again next year... (hint, hint Fakatous!)

Back to School!

 Here she is!  My big 3rd Grader!  Nani is such a good little student... always in the top of her class.  This year she is in Ms. Stilson's class, where you get to sit on stability balls and every child has a computer!  Nani loves Art, math, and has made a few very good friends who make her happy.  :)

 Nani and Nicky (our sweet neighbor boy) and Nani head off to the bus together. 

2 weeks later Kea joined the big kids as she headed off to kindergarten.  Her teacher's name is Mrs. Jepson, and Kea thinks she is great!  She loves Art, PE, and playing with her friends... and she has already made quite a few.  She does miss mom though, and loves her days off.  :)

The 975 S. 250 W. kids (the 4 in the middle) waiting together for the bus.