Amasio Fam

2011-05-05T00:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter. We had a great Easter weekend. We went to our wards breakfast/easter egg hunt even though it was cold! Then headed to my brothers for the baptism of 3 of his children. They are waiting and praying for one of their oldest girls to decide that she is ready to be baptized and then they can all be sealed in the temple. Can't wait for that day. I love those kids! Then we had one big easter egg hunt with everyone at a park by my brothers house and it was freezing outside. Good ole Utah Weather! On Sunday our church is at 9am and so I made the kids wait till after church to find their baskets. As my kids are getting older, I am wanting them to realize more about things and that Easter is not all about candy and bunnies. I really tried to help and teach them about the true meaning and about Christ. I hope they got something out of it. Later that night we had dinner at my Mom's with everyone. It was a bit of a mad house, but nice to have everyone there.

Savani excited about her basket. She is great at getting her picture taken.

Can't remember what she was mad about. She probably wanted to eat her candy and not pose for pictures.

We went to our ward Easter egg hunt. It was cold, but fun for the girls.

Basketball

2011-04-07T14:51:00.000-07:00

Wow after this my blog has officially been updated to date! Yay! I am never getting behind again. We had a lot of fun with Junior Jazz this year. Joshua usually plays for a different league, but a lot of his football buddies were playing on this team and it was competitive Jr Jazz, so we gave it a shot. Plus one of his football coaches was the coach, so it worked out really well. It was nice to have games close to home too. Josh really improved his game and had a blast playing. There team did really well. We were the only 5th grade team with all other 6th grade teams and so we held our own against them. I love basketball. It's low key and a nice break. Now we are on to baseball with Joshua. We have never done baseball before and so it will be interesting to see how that goes. Looking forward to supporting Josh in any sport or activity he does.

BYU baby!

2011-04-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

Anyone that knows our family knows we are HUGE BYU fans. And we have brainwashed our kids to be huge fans as well. ha ha! So last Friday BYU had an alumni football practice that Siera, Josh and Lloyd went to. They had a good time. Lloyd said the football team looked really good and so now they are super excited for football to start. They also got to meet some of the alumni players including Harvey Unga. Can't wait for football! Wahoo!!

Mid Summer Nights Dream

2011-04-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

Siera's 6th grade class put together the play Mid Summer Nights Dream. She played the role of Hermia. Her class did such an amazing job. I think it is difficult to understand Shakespeare and to read Shakespeare. But her class memorized their lines and really did an amazing job. They had worked on this for months. Siera really enjoyed being a part of this. We had several teachers tell us how great she was and how she really got into the character of the play. In fact one of our teachers at her school told me that she has studied drama all her life and lived in NYC and studied drama there. She said that the "it" factor that they talk about with Stars that my daughter has that. So after talking to Lloyd we have decided to move to California and pursue her acting career. ha ha ha!! No Seriously though, we were extremely proud of Siera and all the compliments that she was given. I can totally see her in junior high and high school being a part of the plays and musicals and really enjoying that. I am so impressed with her that she doesn't get nervous and is not afraid to be on stage. I am completely opposite of that. She amazes me!

Arrow of Light

2011-04-05T14:03:00.001-07:00

Joshua earned his Arrow of Light just in the nick of time. This pack meeting was on Tuesday and his birthday was the day before on Monday. I honestly don't know how you Mom's that have more than one son do it. Scouting is so confusing to me. I don't understand the badges or what exactly they needed to earn everything. He had excellent scout leaders and that is the way he earned this. I am so greatful to those great leaders of his. He plays so many sports and has practices and games and they always worked around his schedule to hold scouts and make sure he earned what he was supposed to. I guess now I can relax a bit and in a few years we will think about working on his Eagle.

Jazz game with Siera

2011-04-05T12:36:00.001-07:00

About once a year we get Jazz tickets from Lloyds law firm. They are great seats in the lower bowl around the 15th row. Siera had never been to a game before so it was our turn to go. Also we had given my parents Jazz tickets for Christmas and it happened to be the same game we were going to. So that was fun to have them there too. They were just a few rows away from us. Siera loved the game. They filmed her dancing on the jumbotron 3 times and she was loving that. The Jazz played the Pistons and it was a close game right up until the end. The Jazz shockingly pulled off a win! Yay! We had a fun night.

Joshua's bday and Vegas trip

2011-04-04T23:40:00.000-07:00

Joshua and his 2 friends Skyler and Kael and Kaels little brother went to Vegas with their Dad's for the Mountain West basketball tournament. They had the time of their lives. I was thinking about it and I'm like what 11 year old kid gets to do stuff like that. I told Josh he is a lucky kid. He idolizes Jimmer from BYU and was so excited to get to see him play a few times. It was such a great trip for all of them. They left on Wed night and came home on Sunday. They had a blast!

At the basketball games.

Lot's and lots of swimming!!

Lot's of eating out at buffets. They were in heaven!

At the Bellagio. Lloyd said the foutains there and show are amazing.

Them in front of the Pawn Stars Shop. Apparently it is a famous TV Show that my kids watch with Lloyd. I've never seen it or heard of it. They were excited to check it out.

They had a super nice hotel with a big jetted tub and so all the boys got in and Lloyd had to take some pics of them. They were embarrased. Hilarious! What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

We didn't do a birthday party for Joshua since he went to Vegas and that was basically his birthday. On his birthday he had baseball practice and so I let him invite his friends from baseball over after practice for cake and ice cream. Some of my family came over as well. It was a fun night.

Skyler, Josh & Kael

Bryce, Noah & Cody

Opening some presents. He got a ton of cash.

Grandma & Grandpa Newman

Ken, Mel, Abi & Jax

Cindy & Noah

I feel so blessed to have Josh as my son. He is such a great kid. I have so many people tell me what a nice kid he is and how respectful he is. I couldn't ask for anything more. Happy Birthday Joshua Solomone! Love you tons!!

Cheer camp and Mini Spinnakers

2011-03-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

Recently Savani and Milika both participated in the Cheer Camp and Mini Spinnakers for Cyprus HS. They performed at the half time show for the cheer camp for the basketball team. Savani did great and Milika was not really into the cheerleading thing. She was funny, while they were performing she walked off the court and was done with it. lol. She did much better with the mini spinnakers. She loves to dance and so it kept her attention much more. They performed at the Spinnaker Review that the dance team does at the end of their season. Both girls did great and it was fun to watch them.

sledding fun!

2011-03-30T00:50:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of the year Lloyd took the kids sledding. They love to go and had been begging him for weeks to take them. I'm glad he is a fun Dad and enjoys doing things like that. I don't love the cold and so I opted to stay home with Milika. They had a good time. Here are some pics of them and of course Skyler who is basically one of the family as well.

Baptisms for the Dead

2011-03-30T00:38:00.001-07:00

We went to Oquirrh Mountain Temple for Lolohea to have her first experience with baptisms for the dead. With our crazy schedules we ended up going at 630 in the morning and it was great because no one was there. Lloyd did our baptisms and I believe my Dad did our confirmations. It was so nice to see Hea and how happy she was. I hadn't done the baptisms for so long that it was a nice experience to do them again, especially with my daughter. I love this temple. It is my favorite now. Such a beautiful temple. So proud of Siera and the choices she has made thus far in her life and her desire to want to go to the temple and to do what's right. I hope it continues!!

Our future missionary!

Happy Birthday to my 3 yr old Milika!!

2011-03-29T23:42:00.000-07:00

Aaaah my baby turned 3 on Jan 4th. I can hardly believe it. She has been so much fun to watch grow and change. It seems like overnight she started talking up a storm. She is so smart and knows her colors and her shapes and counts to 15 and also counts to 10 in spanish, I have to give Dora credit for that. She is just so much fun and we all adore her and spoil the crap out of her. On her birthday Lloyd took the day off and we wanted to take her to lunch and to see Tangled. We went to Red Robin for lunch and she wasn't feeling very well. She layed on me and wouldn't eat anything and had a fever. So instead of going to the movie we took her home and let her sleep. Kind of a crappy day for her birthday. But a few days later we celebrated her bday at my Mom's with some cousins and family.

Happy Birthday Princess Milika! We all love and adore you!!

2010 end of football season

2011-03-28T23:54:00.001-07:00

Well again I am trying to get updated on my blogging. I shouldn't of let it get this far behind. It's sad because football ended in Nov and we had our banquet the end of November and I am just getting to blogging about it now. Anyways, we had a great season this year. We were all sad to see it come to an end. We made it to the playoffs and beat East in triple overtime. It was a crazy game. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Our boys played their guts out and it was such an emotional game. It's so crazy how you can get so involved in the games. I can only imagine how it will be when he gets older. East came out ready to play and to take this win away from us. We played them in the regular season and it was an easy game to win. But this was a different team. They were ready and wanting the win. We were so proud of our kids for how they played as a team. That's what I LOVE about football and about our team is how unified they are. The friendships they have formed with each other are priceless. They are a brotherhood. That was their motto and saying throughout the season. Here are some great pics of our fight against East.

For the championship game we played Hunter, which we had beat in the regular season. It's always hard to beat a team twice though. We started out really rough and had some penalties and mistakes. That really got us off on the wrong foot. Our boys were really out of sync. I think knowing they were in the championship game really got in their heads and they were all super nervous. Not to mention it was a freezing cold day that day! We were all wrapped in blankets, with gloves and hats and winter coats and the wind was just awful and freezing. Hunter came out really strong and scored on us quickly and really dominated the game in the first half. It looked really bad for us. I was so sad for our boys. In the 2nd half, they came out a little stronger and then the 4th quarter they switched up the offense and really started to play. Unfortunately we ran out of time. Hunter ended up winning and it was a heartbreak loss for us! I was so proud of our boys though. They came out in the end and really played strong and played like the team we knew they could be in the end. This experience will definitely help them in the playoffs and hopefully championship game next year!

After our regular season we entered into what they call Border Warz. It was a blast! We played 3 games, 2 being at Cottonwood High School and one at Real Tinto Stadium. All 3 games were at night and the boys played under the lights. It was so much fun for all of us parents. We just kicked back and watched the kids. The tournament didn't mean anything. It was great we won 2 out of the 3 games and ended the season on a high note. But most of all it was just a lot of fun for the boys, it wasn't stressful, they just went out and had a blast. Rio Tinto was awesome. I really hope we do this same tournament next year, we all really enjoyed it. Here are some pics of the 3 games we played.

Our football banquet was great this year. We had the food catered from Francesco's Italian Restaurant and the boys had spaghetti and alfredo and breadsticks and cheese sticks and salad. Then we purchased a cake with their team picture on it for dessert. While we were eating we had video highlights of the season playing. We all really enjoyed watching it. After finishing eating each kid was called up by the coaches and given their trophies and the other items we were able to buy them. During the year we had a touch down bucket that we would pass around through the crowd to donate $ for the end of the year banquet. We had so many generous people and had a huge amount of $ to put together a really nice banquet for the boys. They each got a back pack with their number on it, and a beanie with their name embroidered and number. Also they received a plaque with their picture and their trophy and team pic and a autograph book with each of their pics that each of them signed for each other. It was great. This is Josh getting his stuff. Also each coach would talk about each kid and say all the great things about them. The kids loved it.

We honored these parents because at the beginning of the season they paid for all of us to have the games video taped which was a few thousand dollars to do that. It was so generous of them and we were all so greatful. The DVD's of each game are awesome and will be great for the kids to have as memories.

Our team! I love these kids and cannot wait till next season! 5 more months Yay!!

Merry Christmas

2011-03-18T00:23:00.001-07:00

So for Christmas Eve this year, my brother was in Ethiopia with his family and my other sister was spending it with her in laws. So we decided to do something completely different. We always get together at my Mom's and rarely go to each other's homes. So we decided to do a progresive dinner since there was just a few of us. We started out at my brother Kenny's house and we had appetizers there. We had mozarella cheese sticks and wings. Then we went to my sister Cindy's house and had salad there. Then to my Mom's for the potatoes and rolls and ham, then ended at my house for dessert which was cheesecake. At each house we did a little thought or story about Christmas. At Kenny's Mel had the kids sing songs and they read a nice Christmas story. Cindy had Noah read a poem which was awesome and my Mom told us some stories about past Christmases and then at my house I played the movie Luke 2 to the music from Amy Grant Breath of Heaven. We had so much fun. The kids all really enjoyed the night and it was something different to do. We only got pics at the first house and then got lazy throughout the night at the rest of the homes.

Santa was good to the kids this year. The gifts are getting less and less and more and more expensive. Joshua got a ps3 and some ps3 games. Apparently this game system he can play online. He was very excited about that.

Savani got a Nintendo DS and some other toys.

Milika got a kitchen which was a nightmare to put together. It had a million pieces and we were up till about 2am putting it together.

Siera and Josh modeling some new clothes from Grandma. Siera also got a Kindle that she kept asking and asking for as well as an ipod touch.

Christmas was great, but honestly I am always relieved when it's over and can relax. My real favorite holiday is New Years Eve. We had so much fun on New Years Eve. It was just our family and we stayed home and watched movies and played games. We bought lots of junk food and I let the kids eat anything they wanted. This has never happened before, they were in heaven. We played some fun Wii games and then just watched movies. At Midnight we clanked pans and called it good. It was a blast. Now on to a great year!!

Savani & Milika with Santa

2011-03-16T00:33:00.000-07:00

I am seriously so behind on blogging and I am trying to catch up since this is my family journal and I need to have all of this recorded. Anyways, this is from Christmas, pathetic I know. My older 2 kids do not believe in Santa anymore and so my younger 2 are the only ones that wanted to go visit him. My son Joshua was with us, but he wouldn't even get near the guy. He was like I am to old for this Mom, so he went to Fanzz while I took the girls to visit Santa. I'm happy I still have them to believe, I love this part of Christmas, it makes it more fun!

The girls sitting on Santa's lap. I was surprised that Lika had no problems and went right up to him and sat right on his lap. I think she was really curious about him. She kept calling him Santa Paws.

This tree is in front of Valley Fair Mall and it was awesome. It was huge and it had Christmas music playing and the lights on it were choreographed to the Christmas Music. It was really fun.

Happy Birthday Lolohea!

2011-02-16T14:45:00.000-08:00

Okay so let me warn you this is the longest post ever with tons of pics. But my daughter turned 12 this past December and that is a lot of years to look back and reflect on. Sometimes I worry about what I write in this blog and that anyone that reads it could think I am bragging about certain things that I share. Ultimately though I have to remember that this is my journal of our family and anyone that wants to read it is welcome to but I want to remember my kids accomplishments and the feelings I have for them, and if it comes across bragging at times, so be it. :)
Wow 12 years. I can remember the hell I went through having our first born child. She was stubborn and did not want to come out. After 12 hours of labor and pushing for 2 hours, we had to do an emergency c-section. It was the scariest thing I had ever been through. I remember my husband telling me I was so brave and that he could never do it. Not that I had a choice. She had to come out one way or another. The first time I heard her cry was unbelievable to my ears. I thought I cannot believe that that is my child that I have been talking to and has been kicking me for the past 9 months, what a miracle. I remember thinking anyone that has experienced birth or seen a baby born could never question Heavenly Father's existence. It is so amazing. Wow me and Lloyd adored this newborn child that changed our life forever. At 2 months old we were able to go Hawaii with her and had the time of our lives. 15 months later I had her brother Joshua. Now as I look back on pictures I sometimes feel bad at how quickly she had to grow up after having him. We moved her into a toddler bed so Josh could have the crib and just little things like that. She is a wonderful big sister though. One of the things I am so proud of is that I have so many people tell me how they envy her and her brothers relationship. They are very close and are best friends. They do fight occasionally but it is very rare. I love that about them. The things I adore about my daughter are her wonderful sense of humor. I love it when we are watching TV and she laughs and laughs. She is so much like her Dad. They are so very close as well. I will watch them together on the internet looking at Itunes or silly youtube videos and they are just laughing and having a fun time. Lolohea is a great friend. She has many friends and is such a great example to them. She is now in Young Women's and is their class president. She takes that calling very seriously. I have heard her share her testimony several times and she blows me away. She is currently taking voice and piano lessons as well as dance. For New Beginnings in YW's she sang I walk by Faith by herself and did such an amazing job. She is definitely a performer and gets that from her Dad's side of the family. She is also working on a solo dance that she will perform in a few months for some competitions and her dance recital. She loves to draw and is very artistic. She can scrapbook anything. Creative things like that come very easily to her. She is a fabulous babysitter and I never feel worried about leaving her, I know she will do a great job. She has given me back my freedom and I love her for that! So at times she does drive me crazy. She is messy and goes from one project to the next without finishing the first project. I wish she were more organized but that's okay. It will come with time. On her birthday I was soooo sad. I kept thinking about the last 12 years. I worry that I didn't enjoy them or her as much as I should of. I wish I was the type of person that could be more in the moment and not always in a rush to get to the next thing or do what we have to do next. I think about have I been a good Mom to her? Will she have good memories of her last 12 years? Ugh! Stressful thoughts for a Mom. I hope so. Lolohea. I adore you more than you'll ever know. Thank you for being part of our family and bringing the spirit into our home that only you can bring. This is a tribute to you and the past 12 years. You were such a darling baby and have grown into a beautiful woman. I love you!! Enjoy all the pics.

Her Grandma Sela was in town for the day and surprised her and brought her a very nice gift. She gave her Uggz. I told her that there is something wrong when she owns a pair of those before her Mom does. Luckily we wear the same size basically and so I wear them too. They are so nice and comfy and warm! She loves them and was so excited to see her Grandma. She was here for the day from Cali.

Her other Grandma (my Mom) spoiled her too. She took her to lunch and shopping. She is very blessed to have such wonderful Grandmas. Also her Grandma Sina from Cali sent her a card and gift card which she spent on clothes. So much fun for her! She has an obsession with VW Bugs. She thinks when she turns 16 this will be the car she will be driving. ha ha ha!

So last year I gave Siera the option to have a friends bday party or to have it this year. I don't do one every year. It's too much work and too much money. So she wanted one last year, so no party this year. However, because it was her 12th birthday and I consider it kind of a big deal. I let her invite her friends over for cake and ice cream to celebrate with our family.

My beautiful daughter. May the next few years bring you happiness and joy. May you accomplish your dreams and desires and become everything you want to be. I am as proud of you as any Mother can be. Happy Birthday!!

Fun in the snow

2011-02-16T00:38:00.001-08:00

On Nov 29th we had quite a snowstorm. It just kept snowing and snowing and snowing. Finally that night Lloyd decided he better start getting some of the snow off the driveway or in the morning it was going to be too much to do. So at about 10that night he and the kids started shoveling and snowblowing. Although the kids were playing in the snow way more than shoveling. They were having a blast. Their cousin Noah was over and the 3 of them had a fun time. I have to say I enjoy snow storms like this where the wind is not blowing and it is just a beautiful snow falling. I don't know call me crazy. Even though we got a ton of it, it was pretty and fun for the kids.

Dance Recital

2011-02-16T00:04:00.000-08:00

At the end of November my girls had their dance recital. They both take hip hop and have a blast dancing. They have a fabulous teacher who does great routines. Siera is on a competitive team and for the next recital she is doing a solo performance. She is definitely my performer. She does not get afraid to do things like that, which I love. I wish I would of been more like her growing up. The girls did a great job at their recital. We were very proud of them.

Savani looking as cute as ever!

Milika wanting to dance and perform. In January I did put her in dance so she will be part of the next recital. We are excited to see how she does.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-02-15T23:21:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Everyone in my family was able to be there. We had lots of yummy food. After eating the kids with the men went to our church to play basketball while the girls stayed home and made Christmas crafts and jewelry. I was lame. I didn't take any pics. Only one of Savani eating pie, Siera doing our craft and a pic of our cute tree that we made.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I like to try and reflect on what I am thankful for which is my family and kids of course. My job, my health and my husbands job. The gospel and my Savior. Great to try and take time at least once a year to be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Siera's voice and piano recital

2011-02-15T23:08:00.001-08:00

In November Siera had a voice and piano recital. She takes both from the same teacher and we love her. She sang a duet with her friend K'lynn "A Childs Prayer" & also sang a solo "Where are you Christmas?" She did a great job. She also played the piano beautifully. We were thankful to my family for coming out and supporting her. My parents and Cindy & Noah were able to come.

The girls with their teacher Kathy.

Siera and her good friend K'lynn that also takes voice lessons.

Happy Halloween

2011-02-15T14:19:00.001-08:00

Wow. I am way behind on blogging. We had a fun Halloween. Here's the kids getting ready to go trick or treating. Hopefully Joshua and Siera are done with this and I will not need to worry about costumes next year for them. Milika loved it, she really understood more this year of what was going on. She was a lot of fun and so was Savani.
Savani as a beautiful pirate.

Milika as a kitty cat. She kept saying it over and over. I am a kitty cat Mama.

Siera in some type of fairy costume.

My 3 girls.

Josh as a rockstar.

Josh and his best friend Skyler.

This Halloween we had a lot of fun. Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, the kids went trick or treating on Saturday and then we had a family party at my Mom's on Sunday. It was a lot of fun. The kids all had a blast. Only one missing was my sister Tara that lives in Vegas who we truely missed!
Me and Lloyd

Cindy, my Mom & me.

My cute parents.

Cherish with her 2 princesses Faith & Eva.

Dibabe & Chaltu

My bro Kelly.

Savani, Abi and Tayiba

The beautiful Harmony!

Ken, Mel and Jax.

The boys.

Cindy and Noah

Siera and Harmony

Milika

All the grandkids minus Drew and Luke who we missed so much!!

We divided all the kids and had different stations for them to go to so that it was a bit organized since there are so many grandkids. It was a great idea to do it this way. Kids playing monster mash.

Playing pin the nose on the Jack-O-Lantern.

Making spider cookies.

The kids having fun decorating sugar cookies.

Football!!!

2010-10-11T23:11:00.000-07:00

So right now our family is completely submerged in football and we love every minute of it. This year Joshua is on the Pee Wee's A team and he has done awesome. So far he's had 7 touch downs and 2 interceptions and some great tackles. Everytime I watch his games I have so much pride!! I love wearing his number so everyone knows that that is my kid! Lloyd is coaching again this year and our team rocks! They have 6 wins 1 loss with 3 more games to go and then the playoffs. I love our team and all the parents on it. We have been lucky to have several of the same kids on our team as last year and so we all feel like family. Here are some pics that one of the Mom's has taken of the season so far.

My favorite pic so far! One of his interceptions.

Yay! Go Cyprus Pee Wee's!!

1st day of school

2010-09-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well here we go another school year has begun. There's nothing I can do about it. I have to just watch time fly by quicker than anything and watch my kids grow up faster than I can blink. The summer went by way tooo fast at our house. The kids were super excited to start school so I am excited for them and the positives are that they are not bored anymore and not fighting as much.

Lolohea (this is the name she goes by at school)she is in 6th grade and her teacher is Mrs Graham and so far she loves her.

My handsome boy Joshua starting 5th grade with Ms Perry.

Sassy Savani is now in school full time as a 1st grader and has Mrs Bayles.

Milika thinks she is off to school too. She was intent on having a back pack and a lunch.

There they go. The last year the 3 will be at school together.

Savani reuniting with her two best friends.

Here's hoping for a great school year!!

Girls Camp

2010-08-31T13:23:00.001-07:00

Girls camp this year was so much fun and miserable all at the same time. We had ward camp this year and we went up to Alta in Big Cottonwood Canyon and camped clear up as far as you can in that canyon. The first day when we arrived it rained and rained and rained. We barely were able to set up our tents and then it would rain some more. It only got to about 70 degrees during the day and it would periodically rain all through out the days that we were there. It is so beautiful up there with all the trees and we saw a moose and baby moose that were walking right by our tent. The girls loved that. We did some hikes and crafts and played silly games. We froze at night because it really got cold up there but during the day when it wasn't raining it was really nice and cool. We couldn't get cell phone service and the girls all laughed at me because every time we went on a hike, I would bring my phone and hold it up in the air trying to get service. As much as I hate to admit it, it was nice to get away from the city and really appreciate the things in life that we have and believe me this camping trip did that. We really roughed it.

The girls hurrying to get their tents set up before another rainstorm started.

One of the nights we retired an old flag. It was a neat program that our YW President did for that.

Getting beautiful at camp.

Me with my good friend Tiff Tuttle the YW Pres.

Me and Tiff with some of the girls.

Me and Court. Love her!

We are on our hike up to Cecret Lake in the canyon. It was steep but such a beautiful hike and a beautiful day that day.

Hanging out at camp.

I love all these YW so much. We have such a great group of girls. After getting home and being able to shower and get warm, I realized what a great experience it was and how greatful I am to be part of these girls lives.

Manti Temple

2010-08-31T12:34:00.001-07:00

After my reunion with my cousins which was in Fairview, UT we drove to Manti which is about 25 miles from Fairview. Me and Lloyd both love the Manti temple and really wanted to get married there, but it was too far for our family and friends to drive to. Our kids had never seen it so we took the opportunity to drive out there and take some pics. I love this temple it is so beautiful. Milika fell asleep in the car and so she was not very cooperative and made me hold her or be by her side for most of the pics. I mostly wanted pics of the kids, but I ended up being in most of them because of her. Oh well you cannot reason with a 2 yr old. I think the pictures all turned out great and it was a beautiful afternoon.

Nielsen Family Reunion

2010-08-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we got together with some cousins that I have not seen in several years, probably 10 or more years. We used to be close growing up and now that we have our own families and live in other states obviously it has been hard to get together. It was really great to see everyone and meet their kids. My cousin Marla is married to a samoan and so it was fun to see him again and all their beautiful kids. We got together on a Sunday afternoon and ate and then visited while the kids played some games. It was a fun time.

Okay so this is my aunt Gayles family that traveled for the reunion. Marla from Missouri, Monica from Northern Cali, Matt from Washington, Marvin from Denver and Maria from Missouri.

Marla and her family.

Marvin and his cute family.

My cousin Shelly who is my Mom's brother Russell's daughter and her family. It was great to see them as well. What's up Shel!!

Gayle and her daughters.

My Mom and her sister Gayle and her daughters.

My cousin Marla,her husband David Sua, me,Lloyd and Milika.

My bro Ken, me, my parents and sis Cindy.

My uncle Mark, my Mom's brother and his wife Ida.

Us.

Me and my sis.

Siera and Cindy

Cindy and her cute son Noah.

My brother Ken and his wife Mel and their 2 kids Abi and Jaxon.

Lloyd, my uncle Mark, my Dad and David.

After eating the kids had fun playing football, volleyball and croquet.

Josh and his cousin Samila.

My Mom, her brother Mark and sister Gayle.

Newman Fam Reunion

2010-07-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

Well we had our 1st official Newman Family Reunion a few weeks ago. My parents rented a house in Heber for us all to stay at. It was such a cute house with a great yard that the kids could play volleyball and some of them wanted to sleep outside in tents. We had a great few days up there together.

A few of us on Saturday decided to drive up to Park City and go on the Alpine Slide. I had never been on it before and was excited. It was really fun. They have a lot of really cool things up there to do including a roller coaster through the mountains and a zipline. I would love to go back and do those as well. It was super hot that day so all we could stand to do is the slide and plus there were super long lines for the other rides.

My sister Tara stayed home with these little bums while we went to Park City. They were watching Toy Story together. They both LOVE this movie!

The last day we were there was Sunday and we gathered around in the back yard for a few minutes and my Dad and brother provided some spiritual messages that we enjoyed.

We ended the day before going home going over to a local elementary school to play a game of soccer of course! These kids cannot get enough of soccer!

The kids enjoyed playing at the park while the bigger kids played soccer.

My favorite part of the whole time we were there was when we stayed up till 3am with all the adults including my parents and we laughed so hard until we cried talking about different memories growing up and how funny my parents were with us. It was such a great time. I love that my kids were able to spend time with their cousins and get to bond and have memories with them as well. On Sunday as we gathered in the back yard I looked around and couldn't help thinking how blessed our family is. I love them all so much and can't wait till next summer for the next reunion. Cindy you better plan a good one. :)

Camping at Gma and Gpa's

2010-07-20T15:52:00.000-07:00

On the 4th of July my kids and some of their cousins camped outside with my Grandparents for the night. They made smores and had a great time. This may be a tradition that they do annually. That's my kind of camping on nice green grass and showers with warm water nearby. Then the next morning we all met at my Mom's for breakfast. I love how great my parents are and the great memories that they are making with their grandkids. Got to give my sister in law Mel credit because it was her idea and it was a great idea!

4th of July parade

2010-07-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

My girls were in the 4th of July Parade in our area for their dance group. They had a great time participating in it. They have never been in a parade before and it was really fun for them. Siera and the older girls walked the parade and did a little dance routine and the younger girls, Savani rode in the trailer. It was a nice day and not too hot at all thank goodness. Of course Milika had a blast collecting all the candy that they were throwing out.

Happy Birthday to my 6 yr old!

2010-07-20T09:22:00.001-07:00

My beautiful daughter Sina Savani Ann Amasio turned 6 on June 24th. She is a fiesty, sweet, sassy girl! She is a great balance to our family and I couldn't imagine life without her.

Opening presents from Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Cindy. She got some super cute outfits and Toy Story 3 Barbie.

We had my parents over and my sister for cake and ice cream to celebrate her birthday.
The rest of the family weren't able to come, which was fine. Everyone is so busy!

So because our kids have so much stuff and we are getting to the point where we really don't know what to get them for gifts. We decided to take her on a date with us. We took her out to eat at Johnny Carinos. She wanted to eat pizza and then they brought her cake and ice cream for her birthday.Then we went to see Toy Story 3 which we loved and I cried. It was a really fun time and I loved being able to just spend time with her.

First boating trip of the Summer!

2010-07-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

Summer and warm weather seems like it took forever to get here. We went to Jordanelle finally on June 26th hoping for a great day of weather and boating. It was a pretty good day. It still was pretty cloudy and the water was freezing but the kids had fun jumping in and swimming around. Milika was really scared and for the first few hours would not get off my lap and wouldn't move. Finally she warmed up to boating and had fun holding the flag. So glad warm weather is finally here!

Father and kids overnighter

2010-07-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago our ward hosted a Father and kids overnighter instead of a father and sons. It was great that Lloyd was able to take the kids except for Milika and it was a nice little break for me. The campspot they went to was dusty and dirty with lots of flies and bugs apparently. So when they came home they were filthy and the car was filthy. So that part was not particularly fun for Lloyd but the kids didn't mind. They had a great time. They did some hiking and take a look at the bonfire they had. Not sure it was quite safe. My nephew Noah was able to go with my Dad as well. Glad that I was able to stay home and have a night out with my Mom and sister and sister in laws, that is definitely not my type of camping. :)

Family Reunion in Idaho Falls

2010-07-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to my Dad's side of his family reunion in Rigby, Idaho which is a few miles away from Idaho Falls. I had committed to my Dad that our family would go a few months a head of time but as it was getting closer to the weekend of going, I was not excited. None of my other siblings could go and I was dreading driving out there for one day. So we decided to go the night before and we stayed in a hotel and the kids were able to go swimming and we had a great breakfast provided by the hotel the next morning. We got up early and after breakfast we headed to see some of the places I had not been to in years. These are some beautiful Falls that are right in front of the IF temple. It was a beautiful day and weekend. I missed my bros and sis' being there with us but we ended up having a wonderful time with my parents and my Dad's family.

This is the house that my Dad grew up in, with his 6 other siblings. He was raised in a small town called Ririe. He grew up on a farm and had several acres of land. We grew up visiting my Grandparents in this little house. We loved this house and staying here as kids. It has a little creek behind the house that we played in and I thought was huge as a kid but looking at it now, it was just a little creek. I have so many great memories of staying here and of my Grandparents. Sadly, my younger siblings don't have quite as many memories as do me and my older sister. My Grandma passed away in 1985 and they moved my Gpa out of this house shortly after that. I remember one time as a kid getting snowed in one winter and not being able to go back home to Utah and back to school and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I have memories of riding horses and the chicken coop in the back where my Gpa would get eggs. It was so great to go there after several years of not seeing this little house.

This is the cute little LDS Church where my parents had their wedding reception 40+ years ago. It's such a cute chapel and its actually used as a reception center now.

We were also able to visit my Grandparents graves which I have not been to in several years. It was really neat to go back to the cute, very small cemetary and pay our respects. We also found my Dad's Grandparents graves as well.

Unfortunately we didn't take any pics at the reunion of my cousins and aunts and uncles. But we had a great time and I am soooo glad that we went and that I was able to show my husband and kids that bit of history of my family.

Scout Camp

2010-07-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

In the beginning of June Lloyd and Josh went to scout camp with our Young Men. Lloyd is the YM's president and so he decided he was going to take Josh as well, even though he isn't of age to go yet. They went to Bryce Canyon, Zions and finished off at Lake Powell. After looking at all the pictures I just have to say that Utah is BEAUTIFUL! I was a bit jealous, they had so much fun and I wish that the girls and Young Women were able to do trips like this.

My cute son at the sanddunes.

Their camping area and tent. Not too bad.

Enjoying lunch after one of the many hikes that they went on.

They boys having fun in the car.

My 2 handsome guys at Bryce Canyon.

Josh sitting on the edge. I know they took pics like this just to bug me and worry me.

Messing around at their campspot area.

All the boys and leaders in Bryce Canyon.

This is another hike in Zions called Angels Landing that is very steep. I wasn't happy about Josh climbing it. Lloyd said it was steep and he almost had a heart attack climbing it. He is afraid of heights. Joshua has no fear about it and just climbed up like no big deal.

The chains are supposed to help support you up the rocks and pull you up for how steep this climb is, you go straight up.

This was a pic that they took to show me how high up they were.

The cliff behind Joshua is the tops of Angels Landing. Needless to say I was happy when they called me and said that this hike was over and everyone was safe. Rumor is last year 2 people died on this hike.

Playing in the sanddunes.

They would run and then jump as high as they could off the hill. This is Josh in the air. Believe me this was not fun to do laundry from all this red sand, but I'm glad they had fun.

A hike at Zions to the Emerald pools where they were able to swim and play in the water.

This is Glen Canyon Dam and they took a tour of it. Beautiful!

Enjoying Jack in the Box for lunch one of the days.

They went to Lake Powell on the 2nd to last day and it was cloudy and a little cold, they were hoping for warmer weather, but the boys still had fun.

All the boys in front of the Zions sign. Glad they all made it home safely especially my son!

Our weekend getaway in Park City

2010-06-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

This skinny guy a couple of months ago won us a trip to Park City to stay at the Marriott for being the Biggest Loser at his company. So a couple of weekends ago we left the kids which we haven't done is soooo long and had a fun little getaway.

We had sooo much fun. We went to two movies ate out at some really nice restaurants and even worked out at the hotel room. The Marriott hotel is so beautiful in Park City. We went to their fitness room both nights around midnight and worked out. We were the only ones in there and so it was great. We also went shopping at the outlets and the stores in Park City. It was beautiful weather up there around 70 degrees. We also ordered room service for breakfast one morning which was something neither one of us have ever done. It was perfect timing because we just celebrated our 13 year anniversary. I am so lucky to be married to the person I am. I adore him and I know that he adores me. No it's not all sweet and perfect all the time. Marriage is hard especially when you come from two different backgrounds and cultures like we do. But it is completely worth every ounce of work and time that we give it. I'm so thankful that I chose the person to marry that I did and that I get him forever! Love you so much babe!

Savani finishes kindergarten!!!

2010-06-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well my little girl is growing up. She finished kindergarten and is moving on to first grade and she is so excited! She loves school and did so well in school. She is reading really well. Her teacher sent home weekly reports of her progress in school and only one time did she write a negative comment that said she was a bit noisy this week. That was so funny to us because she is always noisy at home, so I was so happy to hear that she behaved in school and loved it. They did a cute little program for the parents where they sang songs that they learned through out the year.

Grandpa was able to come to her program with us. With him being retired it has been great to have him be able to attend things with us.

With her teacher Mrs. Best. She was such a great teacher. We loved her and will miss her next year not being Savani's teacher.

Her and her friend Ashton.

Her two best friends Sarah and Kaelia.

Bring on first grade! She is ready!!

Youth Luau

2010-05-25T01:19:00.001-07:00

Last week we had a luau as our youth combined activity. We hired Lloyd's cousin to put on the luau for us. This is Kalau and his wife Uinse and their family. They are awesome, the neatest family ever. The food was unbelievable. We had sweet and sour meatballs and kalua pork with spring salad which had grapes and berries mixed in it and then of course rice and rolls. It was so yummy. Then they did a little show for us. They have amazing voices as well and they sang and we danced. They also taught the girls some hula moves and the boys the haka. They are such an amazingly talented family. It was such a great night.

Since it was Lloyd's family putting on the luau for us, we decided to bring our kids to the activity and they were so excited to be a part of it.

We had a great turn out and everyone loved the food. yummy!

My beautiful Lolohea who cannot wait to be a part of the youth program.

Lloyd showing off his moves.

Milika was the life of the party. She didn't care who was performing she got right up front in front of them singing and danced and shook her little bum. She was so adorable!

Lloyd with one of his Young Men.

Savani enjoying herself.

We got everyone out and dancing on the last song that they sang for us. This is my Dad who is our bishop and my Mom is the one with her back to us. Everyone had so much fun.

Girls weekend

2010-05-25T00:56:00.001-07:00

A couple of weekends ago I went with my Mom and sister Cindy to St George for a girls weekend and a celebration for my Mom's birthday. My sister Tara that lives in Vegas was able to drive down and meet us and then my brother Kelly and his wife Cherish were with us for the weekend. My sister in law Cherish, her father has a gorgeous 2nd home in St George and they graciously let us stay there for the weekend. We had so much fun. We shopped and ate out and shopped some more and stayed up very late every night talking and laughing. I felt bad being gone again from my family since I was just gone 2 weeks ago for Womens conference. But everyone at home survived me being gone and I treasure these times that I have with my Mom and sisters.

The kids had a lot of fun while I was gone. They roasted marshmallows and had hot dogs roasted at the fire pit. Lloyd also let them sleep outside for the night. He said he did bring Milika in and made her sleep in her bed which she was not happy about, but I was very happy and relieved he didn't let her sleep out there. I'm glad my kids had a good time, while I had another little getaway.

Also our soccer season just came to an end. All 3 of the older kids played and really did great. Joshua is an awesome player and seems to scores goals every game. Siera loves it too, she did so well this year too. She scored her first goal and really was agressive and Savani had a blast. She figured it out a little more this season. She scored a couple of times too. The season went by so fast and there were a couple of games I missed and by the time I knew it they had had their last game. I was too late to get any pics. We will do soccer again next fall. We are now gearing up for football season to start in August.

Womens Conference

2010-05-12T00:42:00.000-07:00

The end of April I went with some friends to Womens Conference at BYU. It was a great experience. We went to classes for 2 days that were very inspirational and spiritual. We all walked away feeling better about ourselves and empowered. We also had a great time going shopping and staying up late till 3am talking and laughing and eating out. We stayed 2 nights in a hotel instead of driving back and forth from Salt Lake to Provo. It was a great time and I hope to attend next year.
All of us ladies at the mall getting ready to shop our hearts out.

Me and my very good friend Heather Flater that I adore!

Heather, me and Kristi.

Tif and Kristi

Our junk food, we tried to put some healthy options in there too.

Kristi and Tif being silly and having fun shopping.

I love these guys and it was so great to take time for ourselves and enjoy some much needed time away from our jobs, busy schedules and kids.

The Biggest Loser

2010-05-12T00:27:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of my husband. He won his works Biggest Loser competition. They started the competition in February and went to the end of April. He had to do weekly weigh ins and it was based on percentage of weight lost. He was in the lead every week except for two times. Since he started losing weight over a year ago he has lost a total of 107 lbs. I am so proud of him. He looks fabulous and he is so much more healthy now which makes me happy. We have completely changed our eating habits and we work out every day. It's been fun. He won a trip for us to The Homestead in Heber for two nights and also some cash for us to spend and go shopping. I can't wait to go.

Siera's voice performance recital

2010-05-11T23:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Siera had her first real voice recital. She has been working with a new voice teacher that we love. Her name is Kathy and she used to sing with the Tabernacle choir and she is incredible! She has taught Siera so much, she focuses a lot on breathing and teaching her how to hold the notes and Siera has improved a great deal with her. She sang "On My Own" from Les Miserables which is one of my favorite songs. She did fantastic. She didn't look nervous and she sang on pitch the whole song. She brought me to tears. I was so proud of her. She really enjoys singing and we are excited for her next recital. This is her friend Klynn who also takes voice lessons from Kathy. She did a great job singing at the recital too. Siera has also had 2 dance competitions that her group has competed in. The first one they took 2nd place and the 2nd competition they took first place. Their dance is awesome and they did so well. I knew after they performed they would take first place. We have loved dance this year and look forward to the dance recital in a few weeks.

Happy Easter

2010-04-15T23:21:00.001-07:00

I really enjoyed Easter this year, except for the crappy weather we had and the fact that my parents were out of town, but other than that we had a great day. It was so nice to let the kids wake up and find their baskets and for us to have a nice breakfast together and that no one had to rush off to meetings or rush to get ready for church we could just really enjoy the day together. It was great to just relax and watch Conference.

So I'm kind of a horrible Mom, but this is the first year that I have let my kids color easter eggs. I hate messes and so I always talk them out of wanting to do it. But this year I put Siera in charge and she and Savani had a blast and the eggs turned out really cute. I think it will be a tradition from now on.

My parents were in Hawaii this year for Easter and so we were on our own for dinner and such. My sister Cindy came over and we had a nice night. We made dinner together and it actually turned out pretty good. I made a ham for the first time and we had yummy funeral potatoes with jello and corn and rolls and then Cindy made an awesome better then S** cake. We did an Easter Egg hunt which is a tradition that we always do at my Mom's with all the grandkids. It was smaller with just our family and Noah, but the kids still had fun and I'm glad we did it.

Because Easter fell on Conference weekend this year, I still opted to buy my kids Easter clothes and they wore them the week after. They always need some good church clothes and Easter gives me an excuse to buy them.

Lloyd's Mom Sina was able to come visit us the week after Easter and it was so great having her here. The kids loved her hanging out with them. She watched them play Wii and spent every minute with them and they had a blast with her! We love her so much, she lives in California and is busy with her job and her other children and so it's hard for her to get away and I feel so thankful that she took the week off to spend with us. She is an amazing person. We stayed up the last night she was here, me, Lolohea and her and she told us so many great stories of growing up in Tonga and about her parents and about Lloyd. It was a blast and we can't wait for her next visit!

Happy Birthday to my 10 yr old boy!!

2010-03-17T00:10:00.001-07:00

For Joshua's birthday this year instead of having a birthday party with friends, he decided he wanted to go bowling and then to dinner and bring his friend Skyler with him. So on Saturday we took them bowling and we let Siera come too. She is always home stuck babysitting and so I asked my Mom to watch the younger 2 girls while we went out. Siera did really well on her report card as did Josh and Savani so we thought we could reward her too by bringing her along. We had so much fun bowling. I haven't been bowling in years, but it was a blast. Siera kicked the boys butts! She got 3 strikes and they didn't get any. lol She was very proud of herself. By the end of the 2nd game everyone was doing well and the boys ended up getting spares, so they were happy about that.

After bowling we went to Red Robin for dinner. I made sure to tell them it was Joshes birthday so they could sing to him and embarass him. They brought him a mud pie for it being his birthday which he loved.

On Sunday, this was his actual birthday, I woke up early and made him his favorite breakfast called Breakfast muffins. It is a muffin that you make from scratch and cook in the microwave and then dip in butter and a cinnamon and sugar mixture. My kids all love them and beg me to make them all the time. Then for dinner Joshua wanted chicken roll ups. We invited my parents over for dinner and we enjoyed having them over to celebrate his birthday with us. My Mom gave him a gift card to Game Stop and some clothes and my sister Cindy stopped by and gave him some money as well.

Also my Mom likes to take the grandkids out for their birthdays and do something special with them. So on Monday she took Josh and his cousin Noah who's birthday was in January out. They had so much fun bowling over the weekend and my parents hadn't been for years that they decided they wanted to go and Josh and Noah were very excited to go bowling again. They had a blast too. Josh got a strike and he was very happy about that. I think we all have the bowling bug now and are going to have to go again. Then they went to Ihop for dinner. They have such a wonderful Grandma and she is creating such great memories for them. I think his birthday was a success. Josh is such a great kid. I am so happy to be his Mom. He is polite and sweet and I adore him to pieces. I am proud of the young man he is becoming. Happy Birthday baby! We love you and are so happy you are part of our family!!

Basketball season comes to an end

2010-03-16T23:57:00.001-07:00

Basketball ended a couple of weeks ago. I was sad to see it come to an end. I love watching Joshua play. He started the season out a little rusty and it took him a few games to really start to get agressive and get into the groove of the game. The last few games he played he really did well. He played in a super league, which the games were played on Saturday and Wednesdays. He learned so much this year and really improved his game by the end of the season. He loves basketball and will spend hours outside by himself shooting baskets. He and his best friend Skyler were on the team together. It was a fun season. Joshua is #15.

Swimming for FHE

2010-03-16T23:33:00.001-07:00

The kids have been buggin me to go swimming with them and so we decided to do it for FHE a few weeks ago. It was really nice, the pool was not crowded at all and we all had a good time. It was something fun and different to do together.

I put curlers in the girls hair for church. Milika hated them. I tried to put her to bed with them in and she freaked out and ripped them out of her hair. I guess we will have to wait until she is older to try again.

Happy Birthday and Retirement Daddy

2010-02-18T21:41:00.000-08:00

My Dad retired. He has been working for the government as an accountant for as long as I can remember. 30+ some odd years. He turned 65 on Feb 5th and finally retired. But first just want to back track a bit. The weekend before me and my sister Cindy flew to Las Vegas on Friday night and stayed with my sister Tara for the weekend. We had a great time. We went shopping and to lunch and dinner. Tara's husband was great about taking the kids and letting us have sisterly time together. Then on Sunday we all drove up with the 2 kids and Tara so that she could be here for the week to spend with all of us and especially for my Dad's retirement party and bday the end of the following week. I think my favorite part believe it or not was riding in the car, even though I was a tad squished in the back between Tara's boys. ha ha I loved just chatting and laughing and just enjoying each others company with my sisters. I love them both so much. None of us took pics of our weekend. We were too lazy, but now I wish we did. It was a great time that I cherish and look forward to many more of those type of trips. So this is a picture of all of us at my Dad's retirement luncheon with his work friends. We went to Little America and ate. The only person missing was my little brother Kenny who was unable to come. We missed him though and wished he was there. So from left to right it's Me, My Mom, Dad, sister Cindy and Tara, my bro Kelly and his wife Cherish. (BTW not loving this pic of me. I look pregnant. I think I need to throw away that sweater I'm wearing. I do want to lose 10 lbs though. Don't you just love pics of yourself sometimes. yuck!)

Us eating enjoying visiting with my Dad's coworkers a bit.

After we had finished eating his work did a little program for him. They gave him a few awards, including cash awards that will pay for his upcoming Hawaii trip, lucky guy. They also teased him by giving him some U of U stuff and doing a cheer. They know what a huge Y fan he is.

They made up for it by giving him a Y golf towel.

After his boss presented him with the awards and said a few words, they opened it up to anyone that wanted to say anything. He had quite a few people that stood up and said so many nice things about my Dad. There are a couple of young girls there and they said they will really miss his advice and his drawer of candy that he had stocked with licorice. What? How funny. It was fun to see this different side of him and how other people view him. He then made a little closing speech and I was super impressed because he spoke about every single coworker of his, said there name and what position they held and there was approximately 20+ people he introduced. My Dad is such a great guy. I am proud to call him my Dad. He would do anything for any of us, and has done many, many things for all of us. I am excited for him to be able to sit back and relax and enjoy golfing daily. He definitely has earned that and deserves that. So this was Wed, then on Friday we had planned as a family to go to the temple together and then to dinner to celebrate my Dad. It has been about 8 years since all of us siblings have been in the temple together. It was so great and a very special evening. Not all the spouses were able to come, but it was great to be there with my parents and brothers and sisters, what a great gift for my Dad. Then we reserved a room at Lonestar Steak house and then came back to my parents home to have cake and ice cream with the kids. We gave my Dad season tickets to Hale Theater. We wanted to give him a season golf pass, but my Mom had already given him that for Christmas. Anyways, families are so wonderful and I am so greatful for mine!!!

Milika turns 2 :(

2010-01-08T00:27:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is 2. Here is a look back at the last 2 years of her cute little life. Warning, lots of pics a head!!

2 months

3 months

4 months

6 months

10 months

12 months

Lika on her 1st birthday.

14 months

15 months

16 months

18 months

21 months

22 months

23 months old

My little princess had a great birthday! The dress up clothes she got was her favorite and she dresses up non stop.

I can't believe how fast 2 years flew by. She seems so big to me now. She is talking full sentences and she is just so much fun. All of us spoil her rotten and enjoy every minute of her!

Happy Holidays!!!

2010-01-07T23:47:00.000-08:00

Siera with her new cousin Tayiba.

This year for Christmas Eve we reserved our church and had our family party there. Our family is getting so big and then when my brother adopted another 7 kids, we decided that this would be the best way to go. It turned out to be so great! The kids ran around and played and the boys and some of the girls enjoyed playing basketball. We had a nice ham dinner, my Mom and sister Cindy came up with fun activities for all the kids. They played fun games and had crafts for them to do. We had a gift exchange and the kids did a talent show. It was great! We loved having it at the church. We all had such a fun time!!

My sister Cindy with my girls. She is the best aunt! They love her to death!

My sister in law Cherish with a few of her kids playing games.

Me and my girls.

The kids enjoying the gift exchange.

My sister Tara and her adorable son Drew!

My sis Cindy and her son Noah. I love this picture of them!

That's all of us!

Savani enjoying the snow a few days after Christmas.

Hope everyone's holidays were great. We sure enjoyed ours and we are looking forward to a great 2010!

I have an 11 yr old!

2009-12-21T22:51:00.000-08:00

Siera's first baby picture 11 yrs ago. We had such a rough time getting her out and after 10 hrs of labor and pushing for 2 hrs we had to do an emergency c-section. We were so blessed to have her born safe and healthy. She has been such a joy in our life. She is such a sweet girl. She loves to sing, dance, and draw, she is a great artist. She loves to laugh and she has such a great sense of humor. She is such a wonderful help to me. She babysits all the time and helps me so much with the kids. She has grown into a wonderful lady.

1 month old

7 yrs old

8 yrs old

9 yrs old and wearing her birthday outfit from Grandma Sela.

10 yrs old

With some friends at her dance performance a few weeks ago. She takes hip hop and is very good at it.

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!

PS She had a fun birthday party with her girlfriends and we took lots of pics and then I lost my camera at the school last week taking pics of their Christmas program. I am still praying someone will turn it in. :)

Football is over, Thanksgiving and more.....

2009-12-05T11:49:00.001-08:00

Well football is over. I am so sad. I love this team, the coaches and the families. They are all so great! We have enjoyed watching Joshua play so much this year. It's his 2nd year and he did so great. He really enjoyed it and didn't complain once about the practices or games or the schedule. There was more then once that me and Lloyd were just overcome with pride watching him play. His team did so well. They went to the playoffs and lost, but it was their first time to the playoffs and we were so proud of them. We had the football banquet a few weeks ago. I think we were all sad to see it come to an end. They are hoping to keep the same boys together next year, with the same coaches. We can't wait. I love football and the unity that the boys get from the team. Now we move on to basketball and this year Josh is trying out wrestling. He loves it so far!

Josh with his 2 trophies. One is what all the players get for being in the league, the other one is what the coaches gave him. He got the Offensive MVP award for our team.

Josh and his good friend Skyler. Skyler also got an extra trophy for the Heart of the team award. This is so true. Skyler is our quarter back and without him, nothing would be accomplished. He is a great player and is truly the heart of the team.

I adore my Solomone!

One of the Mom's brought a cake with the team picture on it. The boys loved that. They all wanted to have the piece with their picture on it.

Well moving on. For school Joshua had to do a project of the Utah map. It turned out good. We procrastinated of course and didn't do anything on it until the night before, nice huh? So we were up very late doing it, but we were happy it was done and that it turned out well. We painted the rivers and lakes with blue paint. Then the deserts we used cinnamon, chocolate chips for the mountains and basil for the greenery.

Also we had a great Thanksgiving. It was just our family, my parents and my sister Cindy and Noah. My other siblings were with their inlaws. It was fun. The food was delicious as always. Cindy did some fun things with the kids later in the day to keep them entertained. Here is a picture of them making turkeys out of graham crackers, oreos, frosting and candy corns. They loved it. They also had a coloring contest and decorated some snowman ornaments. She is such a great aunt! Me and my Mom and Cindy went to Wood Connection earlier in the week and found wood block letters to decorate. At first they were a nightmare, but once we figured out how to cut the scrapbook paper and put it on, we loved it.

Siera has been taking voice lessons for the past 7 or so months. She had a concert that she performed 2 solos and then some groups numbers. She has a beautiful voice and she did so well. We were very proud of her. She wore this red dress that we bought her for an early birthday present for the concert and then they had a snowman number where they changed and dressed up as snow-women with top hats and all. She was reluctant to want to dress up, but her teacher really wanted them to. I think she looks really cute and it shows me that she is growing up and maturing more than ever. I can't believe she turns 11 in a week. She kept laughing and saying she looked pregnant! Whatever! Anyways, we sure love her and are so proud of her accomplishments as well.

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-11-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

This year Halloween was super easy. Siera and Joshua both wanted to be football players. Creative I know. They both are older now and are not wanting the cutesy costumes anymore. Kind of sad but it made it very easy for me. Of course we already had all the football stuff for them. Then Savani and Milika both wore costumes that we had from the years before. So I did not spend a dime on Halloween for costumes this year. Hope your Halloween was as great as ours!

Joshua and his friends.

The kids and their friends getting ready to go trick or treating.

New family additions

2009-10-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

About 2 years ago my brother Kelly and his wife Cherish decided they were going to adopt some children from Ethiopia. They currently have 4 kids of their own the oldest being 10 and youngest almost 3. My sister in law Cherish, her father has a home in Ethiopia and lives there as well as here in Logan, UT. So that is how they were able to hear about this family. They adopted 7 kids ranging from age 16 to 2, all siblings. Of course we all thought they were crazy and couldn't believe it. I still think they are nuts! But man what an unselfish brother and sister in law I have. They are such wonderful examples and people. We all fell in love with these kids as soon as we met them. They are the sweetest kids. They arrived with them 2 weeks ago and came to my Mom's so we could all meet them. This first picture is the 16 yr old and 15 yr old. Their names are Dibabe and Chaltu. They were corn rolling Siera's hair. They did it so fast, she loved them. I think she would of loved to just go home with my brother and them.

This is a picture of them with the 3rd oldest, Tayiba, I think she is 12 or 13. Siera really connected with her.

I got a picture of them all in their new van in their seats, all 11 of them. This little girl was adorable. Her name is Fatiya and is a sweetheart. I could of taken her right home with me.

Off they go. Good luck we all said and waived goodbye!!

All the kids were so sweet. Along with the 4 girls, they adopted 3 adorable boys, I wish I would of got some pics of them all playing in my Mom's backyard. They all ran up and gave us hugs. We couldn't help but adore them.

Gotta love Football!!!

2009-10-04T11:12:00.001-07:00

On Friday me and Siera were able to go to the BYU game. It was a blast! We had so much fun. We never get to go, Lloyd and Joshua always go, but it was finally our turn. We loved it and of course loved watching our favorite player #11 Manase Tonga who is rockin it this year! That stadium is so fun and loud and it's great to be with all the fans. We can't wait to go again.
We are sure enjoying Joshua's football season. He is on the Gremlins A team. We have such a good team this year. The coaches are Awesome and not just because Lloyd is one of them. ha ha All 5 coaches love all these kids and want them to succeed and push them to do their best at every game. I know all the kids have learned so much and have improved so much because of these guys. In our division we are 3-0 and are doing great. Yesterday we played Highland and beat them 35-0, Joshua had 3 touchdowns, one of the two point conversions and 2 quarterback sacks. His bestfriend is the quarterback and they have such great chemistry on the field. Everyone of Joshua's touchdowns have been a pass from Skyler and he is an awesome quarterback. We can't wait to see how far this team can go. It's been a blast! Joshua's #21.
Here are the girls with their friends entertaining themselves at the game.
Savani always hangs with the boys. She is such a flirt. I know I am in trouble with this girl!
Here are some of Joshua's plays from the game, again he's # 21.

Goodbye PJ for now

2009-09-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday morning my cousin was killed in a car accident. As I write this I am still in so much shock and disbelief. He was one of my very favorite family members. I adored him. He was such a kind and respectful person. Everytime I saw him he gave me a hug and was always so sweet. Our families were very close growing up. We spent all the holidays together and family reunions every summer. We all loved hanging out together. He's had a hard life over the years in struggling with diabetes. I am so greatful that in March I was able to go to the Bountiful temple to see him sealed to his beautiful daughter Zaida. I am so greatful for my beliefs and knowing families are forever. The funeral was very nice. My brother Kelly spoke and his brother Tim. Their talks were wonderful. His sister read an entry from his journal that he had written on Aug 13th. He said how much he was excited about starting school and pursuing his dream in law enforcement. He was able to attend one class before he died. He also said how he knew that this was a new start and beginning for him. Amazing! They gave some open time for family and friends to speak as well. His good friend Isaac performed a couple of beautiful songs. He will be missed dearly by so many!!

The casket and flowers were beautiful!

Me and my sister Cindy with my cousin Tim, PJ's brother. I love him. He is such a wonderful person!! I am so thankful to Tim and his wife for all the family parties they had that I was able to go to and see PJ. Also to my uncle Mark for the annual Memorial Day BBQ's. Those BBQ's will never be the same.

Our family all together at the burial.

His siblings and parents.

Some memorabilia of PJ's. He was a huge BYU fan and so you know him and Lloyd got along great. He always watched the BYU football games with his Dad.

The family gave all of these beautiful marble plaques to close family and friends. His brother Tim told me they want to make sure he is not forgotten. I was so touched by this and I love it, it is sitting on my piano where we can remember him always.

Some of my favorite pics of him in the last year or so.

I love this picture of him and his daughter Zaida.

Isn't he adorable?? It's interesting how death affects us. My uncle and aunt Pj's parents divorced about 10 years ago and it kind of divided our families a bit. It was so great to all come together during this time. After the funeral that night my cousin Tim invited all of us to his house that evening. It was such a great time to hang out together. Time is precious and you never know what may happen with your loved ones. Life is too short. We love you PJ and can't wait to see you again!!

1st day of Kindergarten

2009-09-02T23:04:00.001-07:00

First day of kindergarten for my Savani. She has been so excited and is very ready to go. I am so excited for her. Her teacher is very nice and so far she is loving school. She goes in the afternoons and it has been nice to take her to school and then come home and put Milika down for a nap and then sometimes I even get a nap. Wahoo!

Savani with her good friend Kaelia.

After school, she had a great day.

Back to school they go

2009-08-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

Okay so I know most of you will think I am crazy, but I was so sad to see my kids go back to school. A big part of it was that I was not sure that I was ready for the routine again of getting up early and to bed early. ugh! Also I get sad when I think of how time just flies and flies by! It feels like yesterday that I had Siera and now she is in 5th grade and almost 11. Honestly where does the time go??? I really makes me sad. On a happier note, the kids were so excited and ready to go back. It has been nice not to have fighting and boredom being going on all day around here. Savani will start school on Monday and so it will just be me and Milika. Good times, I guess! I hate that summer is over, but hey what can you do??

Are you ready for some football??

2009-08-17T23:07:00.003-07:00

We are in full swing of football now. Lloyd is coaching Joshua's team, which is great because he gets to drive to all the practices. I love to go watch once in a while and love that I can leave when I need to. Lloyd is such a great coach for these boys and I am so happy that is working with them. So far practices are going great and both Lloyd and Joshua are excited about their team. Go Cyprus Gremlins!!

The girls entertaining themselves at practice.

Youth Conference

2009-08-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we had our wards youth conference. It was a fabulous time. My husband is YM Pres and I serve in YW. It's a lot of fun to serve together. We started our youth conference on a Fri afternoon. We had the kids start with a fun game called Road Rally. They were split into teams and they had to do different types of tasks on this, it was kind of like a scavenenger hunt. It took 2 hrs for them to finish. They had to do different things like a chinese fire drill, sing a primary song to someone putting gas in their car and getting a married couple to kiss. They had a blast doing this. Here are pics of them in their teams.

After that we came back to our house and had a BBQ in the backyard with everyone. Yummy!

After the BBQ & playing games at the school by our house until it was dark, we came back to our house and watched a movie on our garage door. We watched Forever Strong. It was really fun to watch it outside. Props to Jess and Jason for hooking us up with that!

We had the youth come over the next morning for breakfast at our house before heading up the canyon.

After breakfast we headed up the canyon to our day camp spot in Cottonwood Canyon. It was a nice spot with lots of trees and shade and picnic benches with a big fire pit in the middle.

The kids went on a 5 mile hike up Cottonwood Canyon. The kids did great!

Eating lunch at the top of the mountain on our hike.

There was a lake at the top of the hike that we went on. Some of the kids really enjoyed getting wet and playing in it.

The kids cooling off after the hike at a creek just by our camp spot.

Chillin and visiting after the hike.

After they relaxed for a bit after the hike, we had them do some different activites around the camp area. This activity they had to match the names with the prophets as fast as they could.

This game they were blind folded and had to find an item without any help. When they got frustrated they could have their team mates talk them through finding the item.

This game they had to jump over this rope that had bells without ringing the bells on the rope. They had to get their whole team over and see how fast they could do it. They loved this game.

Enjoying a great dinner before our fireside and speaker program started. We asked my old Stake Pres that I grew up with Pres Buttars to be our speaker that night. He is such a powerful speaker and motivator. He has been a mission president and had a lot of great stories for us. I know he really got through to a lot of our kids. They couldn't quit talking about him.

On our way home after an awesome weekend and day. We are so blessed to be able to work and interact with these kids. Me and Lloyd feel like their parents, we don't stop worrying or thinking about them. They are the best youth.