Back West Part 4: Kalena off to EFY

We went to church in the Lindon 16th ward and I miss everyone there a ton!!! We were able to spend dinner the Eastman's and boy it was nice to sit and catch up with them. We stayed into the late evening and it was so relaxing. The kids had a blast hurting each while playing red rover, the first time ever that my children were introduced to the game. the little kids were getting killed by the older ones, but they tried to hold on tight and not let anyone pass.

The next morning, we dropped Kalena off at Especially for Youth (EFY). She was so excited and anxious. I was excited for her!!! We met her roommate in the elevator on the way up to the room. The conversation went as follows:

Roommate: Hello, my name is Liz. What's yours?
Kalena: Kalena
awkward silence for about 5 LONG seconds (I almost stepped in and asked the other girl in the elevator what her name was and where they were from, but decided not to because this is her time)
Kalena: So, what is your name?
And, all was well...

Kalena did know how to talk and make conversation with someone else. It may have taken AWKWARD SILENCE, but she CAN do it! After dropping her off in her room, I got a picture of them together, and a hug and kiss good-bye from Kalena and left. She was off on an adventure that she would cherish for the rest of her life.

She would text and call us on her free time while her friends were hanging out, to make sure we knew she was doing well. One day, I remember asking her if she didn't have anyone to hang out with. Her answer was this, "I do, but I wanted to call and talk to you guys first." What a sweet child! I told her she could get off the phone and go hang out and that was all it took.

Back West: Part 3

The kids were excited to hang out with their cousins. We got in on the Friday night and dropped our bags off at the "Snake Pit" loft that Jamie and Ryan Gardner so graciously let us stay in the whole week. It was so nice not staying with anybody else. The reason being that we were able to chillax when we wanted, just our family after being with everyone else during the day.

Early Saturday morning, I was so excited to golf with Cliff at the Cedar Hills golf course. Jethro and Bernard came with us as well. Cliff and I challenged them when we got to the last 5 holes and made it more fun. Cliff and I took it on the last 2 holes because he upped the ante.

Later in the day, we went swimming at the Lindon pools per request of the kids. And we stayed for a good 4 hours there. By the time we left they were exhausted and hungry. All the cousins came to hang out as well. It was a beautiful day to swim and really nice that I didn't have to worry and be in the water the whole time because Tunoa can now reach the bottom and is getting better at swimming
I was excited to golf with Cliff and go to the temple. I miss having the temple within 10 minutes from where we live. So, I take advantage of it and attend at least 2-3 times while in Utah.

Leilani LOVES to hang out with her cousins...Camilla and Evalani are her favorites on Cliff's side of the family. So, favorite cousins + swimming = Very Happy Child

 Little Miss Talia was done and ready to go. Her trying to stay warm after getting out of the water.

 They weren't happy to be done, but Mom was and sure ready to go relax. What was for dinner this night? PIZZA!

 

Back West Part 2: Delicate Arch

On the way back from Colorado, I decided to take the kids on a hike to see the Delicate Arch in Moab. We left early enough to get to the hike around noon, the hottest time of the day. Everyone had their own bottle of water for the hike. Just an FYI, it wasn't enough for how hot it was.

This is beginning of the journey, smiles and excitement on their faces. I didn't think it would take as long as it said it would, but I was COMPLETELY wrong!

 At the bottom of the trail before getting onto the sandstone path up the red rocks. Still smiling!

The blue sky with clouds against the rock, so beautiful! Maika waving hello as the hike is still at the beginning.

As we continued the hike, it just got hotter and hotter. I would take their bottles of water and pour some onto the nape of their neck which allowed them to cool off a little bit with a slightly wet shirt. Leilani didn't have her hair pulled up, which made it even worse. We stopped a few times to let them rest. Leilani was in tears because she didn't want to finish the hike.

Once again me being the wonderful Mother I am, pushed her as she walked very slowly. The rest of the kids were still good.

Tunoa was pretty hot at this time, but he still was going like the energizer bunny. Kalena still had a smile on her face, the other boys were all good, Leilani was miserable at this time. She didn't want to smile for nothing, so her pictures are grumpy cat pictures.

The last picture before we make the journey the rest of the way. At this point, I told them we must be almost there. Once again, I was COMPLETELY wrong! It took another 25 to 30 minutes. Had I known the truth and been able to tell them, I don't think any of them would have wanted to keep going.

Just before getting to the end of the hike, Kalena and Leilani decided that they weren't feeling very well. So, the boys and myself ended the journey and saw the beauty of the arch. Even smiles on their faces!

After seeing the beauty and feeling the wonderful breeze, I walked back down to where the girls were and helped them finish the hike. All reunited with smiles on all of their faces! The journey of "Mom, I don't want to do this," while shedding tears and offering to them that they can stay put while the rest of us finished became one of joy and beauty!

After all of us finished the hike up, a few of them had to go to the arch and take pictures next to it. Of course, the girls were all for that one! The grand creations of our Heavenly Father, beauty is all around us!

After spending about 30 minutes up there, we headed back down with a skip and jump in their step. What a glorious day and a huge accomplishment for the kids!

Kalena and Leilani held hands the whole way down. I thought it was so cute how big sister takes little sister under her wings and makes sure she is ok the trip back.

Back at the beginning, filling up all of the water bottles to get re-hydrated. Just like there were smiles on their faces at the beginning, there were smiles at the end! 

Now it was time to get to Subway to fill those bellies and finish the drive to Utah Valley. My heart was proud of those kids. They accomplished something that was very hard for them! What a day and after their bellies were full, they slept almost the whole way back!

Bee or Wasp?

We are on a trip to Colorado to visit my sisters and Mom. The rule while we are here is that the kids cannot play Xbox or video games at all, unless I say so. Cliff wants the kids to really hang out with their cousins and get to know them a level other than video games. So far, not one of them has complained about being bored.

But, yesterday I allowed them to play my Nintendo Switch for a little bit. Afterward, while Kalena, Jakai, Tahlia, Leilani, Nezhone and myself were playing “Codenames,” Lavea’i came in and told me that Maika and Tula’i were fighting. (They were watching Malakai play Xbox at this point in time) So, I had Lavea’i tell them to come to me so I could determine what the heck they were fighting about. As Maika was walking over, he had his fists clenched and breathing heavily. Tula’i came in crying, holding the back of his shoulder.

I told both of them to sit down and asked them to explain the reasoning behind the fight. But before this, Maika said he wanted to punch Tula’i because he was so angry and Tula’i was also mad. Me being the wonderful, tender Mom that I am, I smacked them both (Maika across the face and Tula’i on the back because he moved his head) and told them that I could beat both of them up if they thought they were so tough.

Mind you, the rest of us are still trying to play the game, so everyone is listening. I allowed Maika to begin explaining first and as soon as he spit out the first sentence of “We were arguing about whether it was a bee or a wasp,” both Nezhone and Kalena started laughing and I began to laugh as well. I stopped him right there and asked them both “Do you know how stupid this is? You are fighting over whether something is a bee or a wasp!” Then Maika said, “ Tula’i called me a turd.” I stopped him right there and pointed out that all of this is happening because you were arguing about if the bug was a bee or a wasp.

I didn’t even let them finish the explanation and told them to sit there and think about this stupid situation. By the time we were done with that round of Codenames, they were still angry with each other, so I took them outside and made them do Mom’s boot camp. They cried through the whole thing and then I told them I was going to make them run 2 miles with me (that made them cry even more). I told them I was going to finish the game first with everyone else and then we would run, but until then they were to sit in the chairs and not say anything.

By the time the game was finished, both had calmed down and were in tears for hurting each other. Didn’t make it on the run because Grandma ended up showing up. So, Grandma saved their bums from running.

Trip Back West Part 1

We skipped out on the last 2 days of school again this year to head back west. Our first destination was Colorado for a week and then we met Cliff in Utah for the following week while Kalena went to EFY (Especially for Youth). Originally, it was supposed to be just myself flying out there with Kalena, but I knew that I couldn't go to Colorado to visit Nezhone and her kids without taking my children. I flew out with the kids on May 31 at 7:30pm putting us in Utah at 1:00am. Doug Eastman came and picked us up from the airport and we crashed at their house for the rest of the night. It was nice to be able to walk around the corner to pick up the van. Before we took off to Colorado, we went to say hi to Cliff's parents, Jethro, Traci and the kids.

Our first meal in Utah, IN-n-OUT burgers! That was our first brunch on the long drive out to Colorado. The 6 hour drive wasn't as bad as I remember. I guess when I haven't driven it for a long time, it isn't so bad. I also had a book, "A Torch Against the Night," that I was listening to on tape as well (which I finally finished on the drive back into Utah).

We ended up staying at the Pfifer's home for the whole duration. It was fun! The kids played lots of games outside; tag, ninja, ghost in the graveyard, etc. I think they got hot and sweaty every day with a bunch of dirt stuck in their socks and shoes. Nezhone and I played blitz a couple of times and I finally beat her fair and square! That is a HUGE WIN! We also played a lot of Code Names with Mom and Shara, as well, after dinner almost every night. Nezhone made these awesome peanut butter cookies with chocolate that you push into the middle as soon as they come out of the oven. They were so soft and the chocolate was perfectly melted.

We took the kids swimming and like always we ended up playing freeze tag. The pool is so small that we always end up running into littler kids or adults and they throw us a scowl.  I only got a few pictures of some of the kids before heading into the pool. They closed down the indoor pool and turned it into a big turf field that kids can run around on with a few blow up, bounce houses and slide.

But, memories were made and the kids had fun playing with their cousins once again. When it was time to drive back to Utah, the kids didn't want to leave. It may have been because they had to do something other than play Xbox or watch TV. That was the rule this time around. I did allow Xbox one day and a fight broke out. It was worthy of its own blog, "Bee or Wasp?" After that fight, there wasn't anymore video game playing allowed.

I was able to play basketball with Nezhone one night at the church. She ended up not feeling well again like she was going to pass out. We were leaving the next morning, so I didn't mind leaving at all. It was fun to play with her again! After a year of not really playing, I didn't do so bad. It warmed me up for Utah and the ladies.

Kalena’s Science Project

The 8th grade had to enter the science fair this year. The beautiful thing about it is they do 95% of it at school (I LOVE these schools for this reason).

Anyway, along with her partner, they decided to determine the effects of pH on the growth of a plant. It was fun to see the end results. I went with her so she could present it to the principal. She did well! She even came home with the one  plant that was growing and the Deer Valley bottled water to keep watering it.

During our fire pit evening, I walked into the house and saw the plant in the only portion of direct sunlight in the kitchen.

Fire Pit Time

I love our fire pit. We just don’t use it enough. But, after some golf and not wanting to cook, chipotle veggie burgers, hotdogs and s’mores come in handy. This is the beginning of our evening!

Kalena and her awesome facial expressions in every picture. I wonder if we will ever get a real smile from her.

 Playing some football as well. The boys have recently discovered they like to play multiple games.

Cliff being a grumpy old man about who knows what...probably his water that the kids keep drinking or Kalena pew-pewing him.

At the beginning of the fire, Cliff had thrown a gobful of paper in the pit and ashes were flying everywhere. It had simmered down and this was Kalena’s second yummy, cheddar and jalapeño hotdog.

Tunoa tried to eat a s’more, but quickly realized he didn’t like it at all. He didn’t like the marshmallows and he didn’t like the mess it made. He just ate the chocolate bar after discovering the nastiness of it all.

Lavea’i and Kalena getting their hotdogs done and ready for consumption!

Year End Art Exhibit

Every year at the elementary center, the art teacher puts up an exhibit of the kids art for the year. These are the pieces of art that she used of my kids. Leilani’s earth out of cut up pieces of magazines.

Lavea’i’s rhino drawn out of shapes. It was one of the best ones. Gotta love his face in this picture.

 His watercolor birds nest. Pretty good for a 4th grader.

The only one that Tunoa had up. I almost thought she didn’t have any of his up & thought I was going to have to get a little upset, especially when there is multiple of other kids.

And last, but not least, she had all of the students make a hand and made an earth out of it. We couldn’t find Tunoa’s, that is why he is just standing there.

What my kids say...

Tunoa
1. bwuddah = brother
    Whenever Tunoa would get mad at one of us, he would pout and say "Fine, I not your bwuddah anymo."
2. Bike-a = Maika
3. Kawena = Kalena

Leilani

1. Good Meening = Good morning 

2. Kikis = cookies or cake

3. Dank-it! = dangit!

4. Baind-it = blanket

5. Eeeee MEEE = Give Me!!! 

6. Tee Te-You = tissue 

8. Vah-Vee = Laveai 

9. Ah-Vevz = Olives 

10. Oh-Chos = Orchards 

11. Sill-ups = push ups

12. Shabes = stage 

13. Callowing = coloring 

Lavea'i

1. Barbie U Caus = BBQ Sauce 

2. Mon Lower = Lawn Mower
    The boys were packing up to go and do some service and mow a ladies yard while her husband is deployed to Afghanistan. Cliff had just bought a new electric mower and Lavea'i comes out of the shed and says "Dad, is this a new mon lower?"

Maika 

1. Seven Weeks = Seven Peaks 

2. 95 Grees = 95 Degrees

Kalena:
1. Leapers = lepers
    She (age 13) was teaching a Young Women's lesson on the 10 lepers and kept calling them leapers. Cliff was sitting in and started chuckling to himself about it. Of course, he let her have it by teasing her for a long time.