California trip... Just Mom and the girls

Right after the girls got out of school, I took them down to California for a nice visit.  They are so happy there with the family, big yard, animals,and weather.  We had a great visit.  It was nice to go without Tino because I was able to just be a mom and a sister, and got a lot of girl time without worrying how Tino was feeling.  Thanks for letting us go Tino!

 Nani was introduced to volleyball as my sisters held a small clinic for girls.

Cameron got baptized while we were down there and it was fun to be a part of that important day.  :)

All of us together on his special day.

When the Family gets together....

Amelia and her family drove down in May when my parent's were coming into town. We had a fabulous '3 Youngest kids reunion' starting with a delicious stop to Tucanos. This is when I encouraged Cody to apply... he got an application, dragged his feet, and later got a job. 

You're welcome Cody!

The little girls dancing to music in a beautiful gazeebo while music played... quite magical actually.  :)

Cody, me, Aimee, and Justin.  Full and happy!

We went on a grown up date to eat and play together.  Dad, Mom, Chris, Sherelda, Tino, Katie, Amelia, Justin, Cody, and his new girlfriend (now fiance) Jessica.  There is nothing more fun then haning out with the family you love, being free from responsibilities of being a parent.  Loved it.

We had a number of hoops competitions... Here is mom, cheering on her #1 man.  :)

Samara got a bike for her birthday!!  Funny story... I love a bargain, and as Samara's birthday drew near I began checking the classifieds to find a nice used bike for a great price.  I saw this adorable Pink princess bike and helmet for $30.00 and decided to go and check it out.  The problem, I took Samara with me.  When we got there and the lady showed me a faded , torn seat, missing one training wheel bike that looked NOTHING like the picture I had seen I was ready to walk away.  Not Samara.  It was 'love at first sight'.  She was so pleased with it, that I decided to take it and the helmet anyway... (for $25.00) and fix it up.  Turns out that after buyig new training wheels, a basket, and horn, I spent more on it then I would have buying a new one!  Great Bargain.  :)  We never could get the training wheels to go on, so...... we decided to see if Kea could ride a 2 wheeler and let her use the pink one for awhile.  Imagine my surprise as I put Kea on the bike, offered some encouraging words, and she took off out of my hands and rode the bike with no problem. 

She is a fearless girl, and my back thanks her for learning to ride a bike so easily.

So long story short... Samara rode Kea's purple bike with training wheels, and Kea rode Samara's pink bike without.  Problem solved.  (Update, Samara learned to ride a 2 wheeler in September, and is now back on her pink bike).

...phew!

The Low's joined us at the Lake to see the Va'a.

Samara, Kaiona, and Kea sunbathing.

Playing wii, Just Dance Kids with Papa

Sharing a Mother's Day Smoothie... Justin and Tino made DELICIOUS wheat pancakes and smoothies to spoil us!

Samara feeling pretty in her new birthday outfit from Grammy and Papa, the little doll is a bargain-find of my mom's... only her bargain really was a bargain.  :)

Happy 4th Birthday Samara!

Crazy Cousins!!! (The only way I could get them all to look at me!)

Springtime fun

Much to the girls delight... cousin Ame came home from her mission and stayed with us for a few months.  She is the sweetest, and the girls just LOVE her.  They play, laugh, dance, cuddle, and just be plain silly at times. 

Our family participated in the Ward Talent Show this year.  Tino played the uke, Ame sang and the 3 girls and I danced a little dance.  It was a lot of fun... and they were 'oh so cute'.

I turned 31 this year and celebrated with a 'mini-party' at home.  We had cake, and played games I remembered playing at parties when I grew up (pin the tail on the donkey, freeze dance, and dropping clothes pins into a jar)  The girls LOVED it and I learned that you don't have to spend a lot of money to have a good time.  :)  Ame, Nani, Kea, and Samara also picked out and dressed a build a bear for me named Katie-bear.  It was a fun day.  

Easter was a lot of fun this year.  The girls participated in the coloring contest at build-a-bear, and although there were no big wins, we had a lot of fun doing our best.

We went to the petting zoo held at the park and enjoyed all of the little critters.  If my children inherited anything from me, it is my love of animals. 

Kea's preschool held an Easter fair for the children complete with food, games, bouncy houses and prizes... all for free!

It's not easter until the eggs are colored!!!

Easter Sunday, and the girls were all pretty in their dresses. (Samara was being a little bugga and was actually crying up to the second before this pic... hence the grimace-smile) 

IT'S A....

A flashy camera, wedding, and vegas trip

The New Year came in a Flash... or is that with a flash, as Ricky got engaged and asked me to do the photography.  His wedding sparked a return of "Katie the Photographer" as I bought a DSLR after my poor Nikon N90 became obsolete in this new digital age.  While happy to be shooting again, I feel like a small fish in a BIG ocean.  So much to learn!  Fun to have a connection to the 'old me' though.

Ricky and Langi were sealed in Los Angeles, California... so we got to have a family trip! All of Tino's Utah siblings were able to attend, as well as his parent's who are currently serving as Temple President in Tonga.  It was very fun to be together on that big day.

The Hopoate clan, mostly siblings with a few cousins.

On our way home we decided to take a break in Vegas and stayed at a nice condo (thanks to Louis and his in-laws).We swam, ate, and watched the water show at the Bellagio.  Ity was very relaxing after the responsibilities and protocols of the wedding.

A clogged Blog...

Blogger and I haven't been getting along... but thanks to my sister's help, I am back in the game. I noticed how nice it was to look back through the years and see pictures and small notes about the family, visits, and traditions... I don't want to stop blogging now! I also don't want to leave anything out... so here is a brief photo-journal of the past year multi-post style. :).

Still ridin' the wave...

June 26th, 2002

Laie, Hawaii

For Time and All Eternity

9 years ago today Tino and I were married in the Laie Hawaii Temple for time and all eternity surrounded by our families. I remember smiling 'like a fool' over the altar and looking into Tino's eyes wondering what the future held for us. And now here we are... Living in Utah, raising 3 beautiful, spunky, sweet little girls. When we were dating Tino told me about the tide... and quoting a line from "Cast Away" said "You never know what the tide will bring in..." He was right. Sometimes life is calm like the ocean on a flat day, and other times the waves seem unbearably huge. But like the sea... life is always beautiful. I am glad the tide brought me my 'island boy'. :)