welcome baby reagan!

I'm a new aunty!  My oldest brother, Joseph and his wife, Gioey had their second child - a beautiful baby girl - on June 3.  Her name is Reagan Margaret Alisa and she's so gorgeous.  I took the girls to the hospital to meet their new cousin.  She has lots of black hair and fair skin.  We love her already!

summerfest

It's been a yearly tradition to go to Orem's Summerfest as a family.  It's always a lot of fun - there are carnival rides, entertainment and yummy (though very overpriced) food.  This year, we also got to hang out with the Hafokas which made the whole day even more fun.  It was the first year the girls have really been able to enjoy a lot of the rides and they rode every single one and loved it.  Later, we ate dinner and then, went home.  It was another great year at summerfest.

PS. I'm posting pics, but it's a little late and I don't have any creativity or energy to write interesting captions - sorry - feel free to leave suggestions. haha

boats

merry-go-round

friends

confined to stroller

doubting back seat passenger

distracted daddy haha

oh oregon!

In the beginning of June we decided to take a little trip to visit my Uncle John and Aunt Anne in Oregon.  They had asked us to come visit them when we chatted at Tali's wedding . . . a year and a half ago! But better late than never, right? Haha I'm so glad we went.  It was so nice to see Portland and their home and to visit with them.  The highlight of my trip was talking and laughing together and seeing Anne's beautiful garden.  The highlight of Malia and Kina's trip was spending time with their dog, Max.  The highlight of Wayne's trip was driving around in Anne's beamer. haha

Love you Uncle John and Aunt Anne! Thank you for the wonderful trip!

a wedding in california

In May, Wayne's cousin, Alisi, got married in California so we went down for the weekend to be at the wedding.  It was a fun trip - short and sweet.  The highlight for me was meeting so many of Wayne's first cousins that I'd never met before. The wedding was beautiful (of course, because Aunty Isa did it) and I was glad we were able to support.

The happy couple - Alisi and Hansen Sekona

Baby Tali at the reception

Wayne and Kina at the seafood buffet we went to after the wedding. So Yummy (and I don't even like seafood!)

Me and baby Tali

The Unga family - Wayne's uncle, aunty, first cousins and their kids.

PS. Thanks for the pics LIZETTE POPE PHOTOGRAPHY!! hehe

the best thing about 3D movies. . .

 . . . are the glasses of course!

Melba took me and the girls out to watch Kung Fu Panda 2 and we loved it!  Thanks Melba!

happy mother's day!

For Mother's day, Wayne and the girls made me breakfast in bed.  The were actually a little late in making it and I was already up and about, but I dutifully went back to bed and "slept" so they could wake me up and surprise me.  Malia and Kina got a huge kick out of the whole thing.  They loved the surprise part and but once I started eating they began making comments like "I'm so hungry Mommy" and "Those eggs look yummy Mommy" . . . so they ended up eating my breakfast. Haha I loved my Mother's Day!

I also got to call my mom and talk a bit.  She is one of the most amazing moms I'll ever know - I respect and love her so much for everything she does for me and my family and for all she continues to teach me.  She is my hero and I want to be just like her when I grow up. haha Love you Mom!



*Something I want to remember - A few days after Mother's Day, Malia came to me in the morning and told me she wanted her "mother's day".  So we told her to go lay down in my bed while we prepared a quick breakfast.  Even though it only took us a few minutes, she kept yelling down to us to see if we were ready yet.  When we finally came into the room, she was SOUND asleep and was very surprised to see us with a tray of food.  She then ate her food while mumbling sounds of approval and enjoyment throughout her meal.  Ah! My Malia.

the four amigos

I love these little girls!

every girl is a princess

My girls love dressing up!  We started out with a few dresses here and there, but since my mom's new hobby is finding costumes at Saver's in Hawaii our collection has grown immensely.  I love it!  One of my mom's friends in our ward in Utah (who happens to be a photographer) saw some of the princess dresses my mom had found and asked if she could take some pictures of the girls in them.  Of course I said of course!  Here are some of my favorites . . . 

I love my little princesses!

rugby season

As the weather has warmed, we've enjoyed watching some BYU rugby.  We have two players we cheer for - Inoke, my brother-in-law, and Conner, my future brother-in-law. haha  While I do like a little rugby, I mostly enjoy the games because I get to spend time with my Alisa and Latu families.  Let's play ball!

Kina and Conner

Inoke with his number one fans. lol

The kid cheering section.

Goooo Cougars!!

alisa family pics 2011

Since mom and dad were in town for the graduations we decided to update our family picture.  The last professional portrait of our family was taken in 1997 before Joseph left on his mission.  Kinda a lot has changed since then.  We hired Maka Aulava to take our pictures (he did Tali's wedding and our family pics last year) and decided on the Tahitian Noni gardens as the location.  After a beautiful sunny week, the day of our pictures was stormy, wet and cold.  Especially with all the kids involved now, we were all afraid it would be a disaster.  Surprisingly and happily it was a success and I LOVE all the pics that were taken that day.  Here are some of my favorites . . .

Alisa Family

Oldest brother Joseph, his wife Giovanna and son Joseph

Sister Tali, husband Inoke with daughter Amalani

Latu Family

Younger brother David, wife Shan and son Maddox

Baby brother, Michael

Baby Tali

Me and my girls. I love this pic!

Alisa siblings

I love my family! And I love to see it growing.  

Thanks Maka! Great job on the pics!!

5 years later

On April 28, Wayne and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Part of me feels like they've flown past and another part of me can't believe it's only been five years cause it feels like FOR-E-VER. haha They've been years of opposites - we've had highs and lows, wonderful and terrible moments, smooth sailing and rocky roads, and happy times and sad times.  We're slow learners, but we've made a lot of progress this year.  I'm hopeful that we'll continue our upward climb!

This year we celebrated with dinner at Olive Garden (yum!). It was very nice to have a conversation without worrying who's juice is spilled and who needs to go potty.  Thank you Vai for babysitting so we could celebrate!



PS. Wayne got me some BEEEAUTIFUL black pearl earrings for an anniversary present.  I've been eyeing them for a couple years now and am SO grateful to have them. Thank you Wayne!

PPS. This is what I got Wayne for his anniversary present! Yes, it happens to be the camera I've been wanting for a while, but I think Wayne appreciated it. lol

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY WAYNE!

pcc reunion for larie

At the end of April, my dear friend, Larie Langi Manutai came up to Utah to see her little sister graduate with her  law degree from BYU.  I grew up next door to Larie and her family on Iosepa Street - we were involved in 4H together and Aunty Sundays hula halau.  Later, after we moved back to to Hawaii, we danced at PCC together. Larie is one of those people who goes all out (not only on stage) but in every aspect of her life. After serving an LDS mission to Japan, she went to law school at UH.  One of my most vivid memories of Larie is her sitting in the back of the promo van studying for the bar on our way to town. lol She now is married and has a son and works full-time at a law firm in Honolulu and part-time at reservations at PCC.  Anyway, I've looked up to her my whole life and love her like a sister.  Since she was down in Provo for a few days, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and have a mini-PCC reunion.  We said potluck and ended up with a TON of food.  It was so fun to catch up with old friends.

Tali, Line, Larie, Sarah, Mary, Charlotte,
me, Savani, Terina and Crystal (and all our children!)

Love these ladies! And can't wait for the next reunion!  Love you Larie!