MICHIGAN TRIP - gone fishing

Dad, Joseph, David and Shan went out and got their 24 hour fishing license and took full advantage of it with a couple several hour fishing trips.

Unfortunately, the big ones weren't biting. . .so they gave the days catch to Malia. They were more her size anyways.

MICHIGAN TRIP - fun in the sun

Since we are in Indian country, I did my rain dance and we were blessed with beautiful sunny weather practically everyday. The only rain came at night, but it was always clear by morning. The water was beautiful and the sky was even more so.

Joseph, David and Dad coming in on the boat



Girls doing what we do best - tanning and talking! Me and Malia, Susie, Emily, Shan, Anne Marie and Gioey



Even Malia finally warmed up to the water

Nothing like the Glen Lake sun!!

MICHIGAN TRIP - why i don't trust the guys in my family

i happened to find these pics on my dads camera.
yup, that's a can of rootbeer and a can of dr. pepper.

nuff said

MICHIGAN TRIP - good morning sunshine!

Malia and I woke up early this morning so we could go see the beautiful Glen Lake sunrise.

Actually, I should put it more correctly - This morning Malia woke up early, SOO we went to see the beautiful Glen Lake sunrise. Eventhough I was really really tired, I have to admit - it was gorgeous!

MICHIGAN TRIP - rolling with the homies

One of the great things about Glen Lake is kickin it with all our extended family. With everyone so spread out and busy these days, we don't get to see them all very often - so it's definitely a big treat!

THE KIDS - Jasper, Lily, Milo, Abby, Emma and Malia



GRANDMA PEGGY



THE SHERMANS - Linda, Susie, Jake, David, Anne Marie, me and Malia, Mom, Joseph, Gioey, Emily, David and Shan

We love you all. Thanks for making our trip so much fun!

MICHIGAN TRIP - i heart glen lake

Malia and I are in GLEN LAKE!! We will be here for a week (we wish Wayne were here with us, but because of school and football, he had to stay home). I LOVE Glen Lake. Let me explain. . .

Every other year since I was a little little girl, my family has vacationed in Glen Lake, Michigan. On a map it looks like a little dot, but it has been a huge part of mine and my familys life.

My moms family has 3 houses on a little lake near Lake Michigan and every other summer we would spend a couple weeks with our extended family water skiing, kneeboarding, wakeboarding (some of us - it's a little harder), swimming, suntanning, hiking and of course, EATING! It's always been a very special place to me, not only because of the traditions and memories it holds, but because of the family relationships I've built there.




Here are some of the pics we've taken so far. . .

First day on the lake - the water was really cold. As you can see, Malia wasn't a big fan.


Shans BIRTHDAY!! - On Friday we had teriyaki chicken and chicken puupuus (made specially by Shan) it was YUMMY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAN!!



Dinner at the Grill - Malia had the BBQ ribs. They were a big hit.


Relaxing and kickin it with the fam - how we spend most of our time here


Pooped - what Malia is after a day on the lake. Ahhh! I love it!

playdate-it's for the KIDS

yeah, that's the excuse we tell ourselves. . .but deep down we know the truth.
tina, line, jill, me, lene and lani with our brood.

"everybody, MOVE!"

We moved!! Yes, we will miss the ghetto, but we are excited to see new places, meet new people and go a few days without seeing the po-po parked down our street. Our new condo is BEautiful and we LOVE it! Though I was very excited to move into a bigger and better home, I was still DREADING the whole moving process. I detest packing. . . and being pregnant with a small baby did nothing to lighten my view of my task at hand. Luckily, we had the BOMB moving crew.

From bottom left: Kika (expert packer, babysitter and singer), Leo (pro cleaner of bathrooms/kitchens), Dad (obtainer of much needed truck and trailer/heavy lifter), Nia (packer/organizer and creator of interesting art on the otherwise boring boxes,), Kina (first-to-be-there-last-to-leave packer/organizer and pizza provider), Rocky (able to lift the couch with one hand . . . for reals, I'm not even kidding), Danny (was ready at 6 AM. . .the rest of us weren't ready till 9. Can work with little or NO SLEEP), Wayne (heavy lifter cause he's the BUFFEST), Tana (mover/heavy lifter, made the comment "man! wayne has more clothes than mary!) and of course, Malia (loved the move because she got to rip up newspaper).

All in all, the move took less than 48 hours thanks to our hard-working friends and family. Kina and I started packing the office and baby's room Friday afternoon and Saturday night I was snuggly tucked into my hard-to-set-up bed in my new home with all but the kitchen, 1 bathroom and 1 bedroom still unpacked. I was seriously awed. Thank you so much for working so hard!!

OLD HOUSE - packing

NEW HOUSE - unpacking

at last. . .UNWINDING!

Thanks everybody!! We couldn't have done it without you!

honestly. . .it's SICKening!

So, as punishment for having such a fun time in Hawaii, Malia, Wayne and I all got sick at the same time.

It started early Monday morning when Malia woke up vomiting. She threw up two huge pieces of steak, which Wayne had fed her the night before when I wasn't looking. Yeah, I know . . . THAAT'S NICE!! Anyways, because of the gigantic pieces of steak it didn't even cross my mind that she was SICK instead I thought she had just been CHOKING. . .of course, that changed after a few more throw ups and a lot of diarrheaing. After a quick trip to the doctor we found out it was the stomach flu which was going around the kid community. Later, Wayne and I also caught the virus - which was just fabulous. But, you know what they say - the family thats sick together, sticks together!!

Bienvenidos a casa, AJ!

On Sunday, we attended Wayne's cousin, AJ Popes, mission homecoming . . . I mean, the sacrament meeting that he spoke at because he recently returned home from his mission. He just finished serving in the Minnesota Spanish-speaking mission. Tia, Kenny and Wayne performed a beautiful musical number and AJ gave an awesome talk about missionary work. He is one of those guys who you can just tell was a hardworking, obedient and effective missionary.

Kenny and Malia, Kina, Nia, me, Tia

Likio, AJ, Wayne

WELCOME HOME AJ!!

baby steps

Malia officially took her first steps today! She had been toying with the idea for a few weeks, but hadn't quite done it yet - at least not while I was looking.
Wayne and I were at my parents house for Sunday dinner and Malia was going up and down the two flights of stairs with my dad following behind (she's just learned the "down" technique as well). Soon, my dad came up and announced she was "ready to start walking". He brought her up where everyone could see and my mom stood about 4 feet from her with her arms outstretched. Then, giggling and smiling, Malia walked from my dad to my mom. I was so proud!!

DA-DA

And while I'm documenting "firsts" I should also say Malia has been saying "dada" for a while now. Even though she says it in a string like, "da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da" it still counts as "dada" right? :)

We're so proud of our little girl. She's growing up so fast!

Happy 1st Birthday Spencer!

Today we went to Saia and Line Hafoka's son, Spencer's, first birthday party. I can't believe he's one already!! I still remember when Line was pregnant. The party was at North Park in Provo and was a blast. There was teriyaki chicken, steak, teri burgers, breadfruit, taro, mac salad, am I making you hungry yet?, fruit salad, chocolate dipped strawberries and three different cakes. . .gotta be tongan right? lol. It was so fun to catch up with friends and enjoy the beautiful weather together.the men
Danny and Malik, Saia and Spencer, Wayne and Malia
the women
Lene, me, Rachel, Krystal, Vika
the kids
Spencer (Saia and Lines son), Tau (Adney and Tinas son), Malia, Etano (Ben and Vauelis son), Rachel and Elise (Hutch and Lenes daughters)

Michael and Jonathan Lautaha had fun clowning around with the kids and Malia chilled with Michael and and his friend, Rachel

There was a huge football pinata - for reals, the hugest pinata I've ever seen and the birthday boy got to have his cake and eat it too! Thanks Saia and Line for a wonderful party and for a great place for all of us to enjoy each others company.

Happy Birthday Spencer!

Happy Birthday Rocky!

I want my baby back baby back baby back. Chiili's. . Baby Back Ribs. Chili's baby back ribs. Barbeque Sauce.

Friday was Rocky Kalimafoni's birthday so Candace planned a little surprise and we all got together at Chili's for a little bite to eat to celebrate. It was nice to catch up after such a long absence apart.Candace, Rocky and Malik, Vika, Danny, Me, Wayne and Malia, Tana

Happy Birthday Rocky!!

HAWAII TRIP - an angel on the airplane

Remember how I smugly wrote about the fun and stress-free flight to Hawaii a couple weeks ago? I will now try to put into words the experience of my flight back to Utah . . . alone (Wayne had left a week before for school) . . . with Malia . . . and a diaper bag . . . and a stroller. . . and a very pregnant belly. These pictures were taken when Tali, Mata and Sili dropped me off at the airport. It was the last time that night Malia and I were smiling.

The 6 hour non-stop Delta flight from HNL to SLC was at 9:45 pm- past Malia's bedtime. Thus, she was tired and this caused her to be very cranky. She was already crying when we got into the security line and I knew it would be a long night. When we got into the boarding area I tried to let Malia play around as much as possible to tire her out. I had to go to the bathroom during the wait and with no one to carry her I had to juggle her inside the small stall while I did my business. . .that was fun. Getting my stroller checked in at the gate while I held a squirming baby, her overstuffed diaper bag, my purse and my boarding pass was a challenge, but that was nothing compared to preparing a bottle of formula on the plane with negative space for legroom, a crying and hungry baby in my lap and glaring passengers on all sides. Trying to balance my food on my lap in front of Malia while eating with my right hand and holding my drink with my left hand was also quite an experience. Honestly, I was THIS CLOSE to breaking down the entire flight and the mean looks from everyone around me wasn't helping the situation. Not even the stewardess was on my side - turns out there wasn't one free pillow or blanket on the entire flight that they could spare for me to prop up my child. Go figure.

About 3/4 through the flight Malia had fallen asleep and I had to go to the bathroom again. I had been waiting a good hour because I was hoping the urge would just go away since I didn't see any way the feat would be possible. Finally, I couldn't hold it any longer and I made my way to the itsy bitsy bathroom prepared to hold my 20 something pound baby while I relieved my full and squished-to-small-size bladder. The woman before me came out of the bathroom and glanced at me before starting to walk back to her seat. Then, as I was scooching my way past the folding door she turned back to me, smiled and asked "Would you like me to hold your baby for you?" I swear, I heard a choir singing from the heavens. Malia slept in her arms for the time it took me to get in and out and when I took her and thanked her she said, "No, it was my treat". I will NEVER forget that lady (haole, blonde shoulder length hair, black blouse, string of pearls) - it may seem like a small thing she did, but it was HUGE to me. I got back to my seat and broke into tears from the gratitude I felt.

By the end of the flight, Malia had cried a lot and slept a little and I was in tears from relief and exhaustion. . .But I will never forget the angel I met on the airplane.

HAWAII TRIP - friends are friends forever

It was so nice to see my friends after so long. . . myspace and blogging can only catch you up so much. Everyone is doing so well and I realized how much I love and miss them all. I'm so blessed to have the best friends in the world.

Titi and Miki - If this was a piece of artwork and I had to name it, I'd call it "S, XL, XS". Titi is pregnant and due in January and is having a FUN time with the worst case of morning sickness I've ever seen. Miki is due in August with a baby girl they've named Kiena. So nice to see you girls!!
Keaka - Congrats on GRADUATING!! She came over and brought a full on picnic FEAST for a day in the sun - such a mom right? It was deeee-licious. Her kids, Kaylee and Kahler had fun in the pool and made friends with Malia.
Pewa - ho! nice your vertical! Thanks for keeping Sili and Tali busy peppering and watching Oprah with me.
Harmony - at Ted's Bakery. Reminds of back in the day when we would drive all the way there just to get a piece of carrot cake and chocolate haupia pie. yummy! Malia and Ahonui hit it right off too.

I'm glad I got to see, but I wish I'd gotten pics of Leimana (thanks for walking the circle with me. What IS your secret on weight loss?), Ellen Gay and Talagu (I love you two like sisters. Thank you for ALL the memories and for all your help on this trip), Larie (you look SO good girl. Marriage suits you!), Penny, Vili, Norcie and Ega (you guys haven't aged a day. It was sooo nice to see yous), Uila (girl, you ARE a survivor. I'm so glad we ran into each other. How was the $200 groceries?), Sarah (thanks for taking the girls to swap meet!), the Porters (my haole family in laie. Can't wait till Dillon gets home!), Maria (girl, you work the pregnancy!! I'll call you when I'm going crazy with two infants around) and Inoke (VECINO! keep me updated on you-know-what! lol). As for Hazel and Lono - I'm so bummed I missed you guys, but I hope you have choke fun in Hawaii!!

My friends are the greatest! I love you guys!!

HAWAII TRIP - i love to see the temple

The day I left Mata, Tali, Sili and I went to take a few pictures of my favorite temple in the whole wide world - the Laie Hawaii Temple. It has been closed for the last two weeks for annual renovations so we haven't been able to go inside, but it was still nice to walk the grounds and feel the spirit there.

I love to see THIS temple.