The end

Yesterday was our last Sunday in the BYUH 5th ward, which meant, time to be released.
I've served as the Education counselor in Relief Society for the last 6 months. When I was called, it was the last thing I wanted. I was happy conducting the music in sacrament, no preparation required. But I have grown to absolutely love my calling and the sisters that I served and just the organization itself. I have really gained a strong testimony of Relief Society and the impact it can have on the lives of the women in the church. I've seen how it blesses people's lives.

But I think that mostly I enjoyed my calling because of the people I served with. Michelle and Francis are amazing, they made me want to do better. I'm so grateful I got the opportunity to serve with them. There are certain people in my life that, if I hadn't been forced to get to know them, I probably wouldn't have. Sure I knew both these people, but having worked with them so closely, they've become very dear friends and I love them both. Lots of late night chats, extended meetings, a bazillion emails, lots of laughs, it was an absolute pleasure working with them. And i'm sure going to miss them :( .


But life goes on, the world keeps spinning and i'm sure there's a nice calling in nursery waiting for me in our next ward.....or a librarian......or assistant birthday coordinator.... :)

Memorial Day

Memorial Day. What a memorable day. This is how it went.

6am - got up and ready to leave to go and hike Diamond head. We'd been before but once i got to the top there was this guy selling certificates saying you made it and you can only buy them at the top, and they have the state seal and everything.....but i had no money!!! And i've been determined ever since.
So this was the nice drive there.....


.....and then we realised we had our wallets but our wallets didn't have our cards or any cash in them so we couldn't pay to get in.....

.....and so this is the nice drive back.


10am - too hot and frustrated to go all the way back to town again, we went with our dear friends the Houghtons to castle's beach which was BEAUTIFUL!! We loved it! We swam and soaked up sun and played with sand, some of us ate sand, it was great.


2pm - decided I really did wanted to hike Diamond head and so we got ready, again, and went back to town, again. The hike was good, not as long as we remembered it. Poor Tui had to carry Malachi up. The view was beautiful.


Then we walked around Waikiki for a bit, and ended up at the Ala Moana beach park for the Lantern floating. They had great entertainment, the weather was amazing, and the whole thing was just cool, although the pictures from my little camera just don't do it justice.

It was a long day. But a great day. A memorial day......

Us as of late

Just a little update on the Tafuna Fam Bam lately.

- Tui is finishing up his spring term. It's been tough, it's brought about a change in major, and we'll be glad when it's over.
- Next week our not-so-little boy will turn one - more on that later.
- Next Friday we leave for Tonga and New Zealand. We will visit Tui's family for a week, then mine for a week, then Tui will come back to slave away at PCC while me and Malachi will stay in New Zealand and live the good life until the end of summer.
- Once Tui gets back we will be transfering to a 2-bedroom apartment.

Life is busy and crazy and we love it. I'm so glad to be making this journey through life with Tui. He keeps me grounded. Here are some pictures of us for a change.

This is Tui, the Seasider's #1 fan, getting a signed poster of them, which now hangs in my living room.....great.....it wont be moving with us to our next house.



DATE NIGHTS!!!!

We love date night. And we have some really great friends who are willing to watch our monster so we can have an hour to ourselves once a week. It's totally needed and totally appreciated - thanks L-Building peeps!!!

We went to the games room and played pool.




I was stripes......guess who won......but my husbands a good winner and he didn't even rub it in.... I would have....


Tui got us tickets to eat at PCC. I didn't have to cook, the tickets were free, it was a great night.

Birthday Party!!!

We're having a party!!!
If you didn't get an invite yet and think that you should have, it's probably sitting on my table under a pile of other things I haven't done, so just come any way!!

Laugh laugh laugh

Today while Malachi and I were eating lunch, I got the hiccups. Anyone that's been around me when I get the hiccups knows that they're quite an event. My neighbors probably heard me, they're so loud!!! Anyway, so as I'm eating, I would hiccup, making a loud noise. Malachi, who thought I was doing it on purpose as a little game, thought it was hilarious and he started to giggle. I thought he was so cute giggling that I started to laugh at him, which made me hiccup more, which made him laugh more, which made me laugh more, which made me hiccup more, and on and on it went for probably a good 5 minutes!

Laughing definitely is contagious!! I love days like this and moments like this. They make all the stretch marks, extra weight, sleepless nights, and restricted freedom TOTALLY worth it!!

The other morning he did something so precious I guess it's worth sharing too. I was feeling extremely overwhelmed and stressed and upset about all this visa, passport, packing moving, party stuff. So I was sitting on the ground shedding a few tears when my child, who runs away when I ask for kisses, came up to me, put his arms around me, his face on mine and just held me, patting me on the back, for a good minute for so. Tui was watching and was amazed. I was grateful for my little angel and his love for everyone that seems to overflow from his little body.

Here are some pictures of other things my son has been doing lately that make it all worth it.


He is possibly one of the messiest eaters ever. I've tried to be better about letting him do it himself coz he needs to learn, but this is what we end up with.





































































He always looks soooo cute and innocent (especially on Sundays with his little shirt and tie) ......but he's usually up to trouble, like pulling everything out of our wallets and scattering them all over the house.



































He has started doing this thing with his eyes whenever he sees the camera, I think it might be his smile....all I know is that he does it ALL the time!!




























We went on a trip to the zoo with the PACT program. Malachi got to ride on the bus which he absolutely loved!! Finally a car ride where he wasn't strapped down!!! And he got his first face painting too. It wasn't as easy as it sounds, but we got it, and it lasted long enough to take a picture.