This just feels wrong!

For those of you who have been following my blog, I have to appologize for not updating in what seems like forever!! It isn't for lack of things to put on here, that's for sure! It feels so wrong to not have posted in such a long time! Almost a month, I'm having withdrawls!!! haha!

I actually have had problems with my camera and getting pics that I have on my computer! Ugh! It is so maddening!

I guess I'll just have to fill you in on what has all happened lately.

Lani's Special Week

The week Lani went back to school after the Holiday break, she was "Kid of the Week". That means she was kind of honored for that entire week. She got to sit at the front of the class and be the teacher's special helper, she got to pick what happened at different times during that week and on Friday all the kids told her what they liked about her and she got to show a slide show of herself from birth up until now, telling about each one as they were shown.

The whole class had to guess details about Lani, her favorite color, favorite food, favorite movie, song, etc. At the end, Lani gave treats out to the whole class. What a fun day that was! Kiara and I went to school so that we could be there with her on her special day. What a wonderful way for a teacher to make her students feel loved and important!

A week later, Lani came home with a bound book full of well-wishes from her class-mates and they had all drawn pictures of Lani. It really made her feel loved! Thank you Mrs. Topham for all the extra time you take for my child, you truly are the best teacher ever!

Aryahna is here!!

This week has been quite eventful for my family. My little sister, Audrey was due to have her baby. On Sunday, I got a call informing me that she had gone to the hospital. I rushed down to StGeorge because she had requested I be there. I guess after being with her on the last two, she couldn't picture it without me and to tell the truth, I couldn't picture not being there!

The whole family was there, so it was kind of a party! You know us Polynesians, it's just not the same without food! The nurses could even smell it from their station! haha!

I got there at 5:00pm and the baby didn't get here until 9:46am on Monday! It was a long, sleepless, drawn out night and scarey too! Audrey wound up having some problems with her heart rate and right at the end, the baby was almost lost! It was very draining both physically and emotionally! I'm so glad everything turned out alright!

The baby was 8lbs, 2 oz and 21" long. She is a beautiful little curly haired baby named Aryahna Mary Ellen Sanders. She is so beautiful! I am so happy for Audrey and Charles! They finally have the little girl they've been anxiously waiting for!

I talked to Audrey the other day and she is doing well and really enjoying motherhood! She is going to be the best Mom!

Lani and Kiara can hardly wait for Aryahna to be old enough to come and play with them!

I took so many pictures at the hospital and someday, when I get this mess straightened out, I'll post them.

That's my update for now!

Sledding!!!

The day after Christmas, with our house cleaned and all the new toys put away, we decided to venture out and do some much needed snow sledding with the new sled Gene bought for the girls. We are lucky to live so close to Canyon View High School and they have some great hills for sledding.

This first video is just your normal type of sledding which is usually exciting enough for "normal children". Not my 5 year old, she has to be the "dare-devil"! Check out the next two videos after this one and you'll see what I mean.

Let's just say that her cousin Big Lani needs to take her Snowboarding now!!

Good job, Lani!

We all had a great time and the weather couldn't have been nicer!

Christmas Morning

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with Grandma and Papa. We are so happy that they made it in the snowy, cold weather for yet another Christmas Celebration. The girls and I cooked our big dinner and it turned out delicious despite the fact that we forgot to put salt in our roll dough!

We ate and the girls opened their Christmas eve gifts, the usual PJ's and slippers. I guess Lani's growing up because this year she wanted nothing to do with Princess stuff, it was High School Musical instead! We read in the scriptures and talk about our Saviour, Jesus Christ and his humble birth.

With that done and everyone bundled up, we piled into the car to go looking at Christmas lights. So with Carols blasting on the car stereo, we carefully made our way around the town of Cedar on the icy roads and through the falling snow, checking out all the best light displays.

Tired of looking at lights, we decided to go home to eat some Pumpkin Pie, smothered in whipped cream and boy was it good!

Christmas morning my little sis, Audrey and her husband Charles came up to watch the kids open their presents and have breakfast with us. I enjoyed being with Audrey, I don't get to see her enough!

We all had a great time watching the little ones get so excited about their different gifts.

Lani and Kiara so excited to get their blankets from Aunty Tiare.

Breakfast was served and then everyone started heading home in the snow storm.

Our Christmas was a success and I am most thankful that I was able to spend this special time with some of my precious loved ones!

Making Christmas Memories

What is Christmas without playing Christmas Carols and eating yummy Christmas Cookies?

Yesterday we decided to make some Christmas cookies to take around to friends and neighbors. The girls had a lot of fun rolling, cutting, decorating and especially eating!!! I ate too many- the cream cheese frosting was to die for!! Treadmill and weights, here I come! haha!

We've also gotten some nice snow during the past week for them to play in-well, in between the colds we can't seem to get rid of!

Christmas Cavalcade Children's Parade

This should have been posted about 3 weeks ago, but I've been so busy that I figure, "better late, than never!" Every year Cedar City puts on 2 different Christmas parades and this one is always a favorite! It is usually pretty cold even though the parade starts at 2 pm, so I decided to bundle my girls up, (Gene had to work, so I was alone) go get them a pizza for lunch and find us a spot on Main Street to watch the parade.

This year turned out to be unseasonably warm! It was litterally about 60 degrees and we were roasting! I have to admit that it was way better than freezing our "whats its" off! Our friends joined us and we had a great time!

The parade was filled with all the popular Childrens Characters from The Teletubbies to every Disney Princess you could think of, Dora the Explorer, the Incredible Hulk, Strawberry Shortcake, The Incredibles, Darth Vader, The Sesame Street Characters, etc. This year we even had two huge balloons like they have in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade-a Gingerbread Man and a Rocking Horse! It really was awesome! Even Noah's Ark was there! This parade actually beat the snow storms by a week, so it's timing couldn't have been better.

Forgotten Carols!!

For my birthday Gene gave me the gift of a ticket to the Forgotten Carols and on Thursday I got to go with my good friend Caitlin! I went for the very first time about six years ago, when my wonderful friend Yvette invited me to go and I've been hooked ever since! It has become a tradition for me to go every single year and I love it more each time I go. There's just something about the way Micheal McLean tells these stories that totally draws you nearer to Jesus Christ. It's amazing how he talks about the inkeeper and how he must have felt when he heard the baby cry and saw the star above the stable. His song sung by homeless people that sing about how Jesus was "homeless" himself and how he taught us that it's how we live, not where. There are so many great songs and lessons to be learned from them! My favorite one is the one at the end that talks about Jesus' entire life and how he did not come in glory when he first came to earth and how most the world ignored his humble birth. But the Heavens were singing in Celestial harmony and a star guided some souls to their knees-those with ears to hear and eyes to see. It talks about the miracles that followed but then about how he suffered in darkness, kneeling in Gethsemane so the light of his love can shine on me and through me. This whole program is about Christmas being about our Savior in every way and how we need to remember that throughout the holiday season. If you ever get a chance to go see the Forgotten Carols, there is no way you can be dissappointed. It is a musical play filled with laughter and fun and some of the greatest talent you've ever heard, while filling you spiritually. It is truly an awesome Christmas Blessing!

Christmas Fun!!!

Last night we went downtown with some of our friends to watch the annual Fireworks display to kick-off the Holiday Season. These are usually done on Thanksgiving night, but it was changed this year. The fireworks were great and today's schedule is busy with a breakfast with Santa at Lin's, a Children's Christmas Parade at 2:00pm and a Polynesian Choir Christmas Concert in St.George this evening. I wonder if I'll make it to everything, because even though it all sounds fun, it also seems exhausting! Anyways, we just got home from "Breakfast with Santa" and I'm so excited becuse Kiara actually sat on his lap this time, so we're making progress! Just a week ago, I had to litterally beg her just to stand by him!

Kiara and Lani telling Santa what they would like for Christmas.