Purcell family

Fai made it to League Championships 2011

2011-02-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

My Fai had a great wrestling season. He has improved so much. I am so proud of him. This year at Districts he took first place. He got a medal. Which he was some what happy about, but he wanted a trophy. I told him he only gets a trophy if he makes to Leagues and places in the top 6. Which is pretty hard to do. So he advanced to Regionals after Disrtics. At Regionals, he didn't wrestle as well as we are used to him doing. But we understood. He got Strep Throat 2 days before Regionals, so he was not feeling very well. Pretty tired through out the whole day. He took 4th that day, which meant he was moving on to League Championships the next weekend in Greeley. We were so excited for him. He has never made it this far. So last weekend we got a hotel and stayed in Greeley for his tournament. We had to be at UNC where the tournament was being held on Sat night for Weigh-ins. Then Sunday morning we were there at 7am to start wrestling. It was such a long day for everyone. Fai had won his first match and lost the second. So he had to wrestle his was back up to even think about placing in the top 6. I must say, I wasn't sure if he could it, there was some serious competion and it is hard to wrestle back. Besides he had already cried, had a nose bleed, (which, when he starts bleeding, he doesn't stop), so he was pretty beat up already. But sure enough he did. He won 2 more, which got him into top 6. He lost the last one, so in the end Fai took 6th. He wrestled so hard. He wanted that trophy more than anything. He could of cared less that he was 6th in the state at 6 and unders @ 46 lbs, he just wanted to take that trophy home. And he did. He never gave up. Even with the crying and bleeding, he gave it his all. I could not ask for anything more. So it has been a few days, and he still carries his trophy around the house making sure we all know that it is his.

OUR ANNUAL NEW YEAR'S BREAKFAST 2011

2011-02-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

Of course we went to grandma and grandpa Mortensen's house for New Years Breakfast. I think we all look forward to this the most out of all of the holiday stuff that is going on. Grandpa and grandma always do such a good job feeding all of us. There is so much food and it is all so good. I am so grateful to still have my grandparents who live so close and are apart of my everyday life.

NEW YEAR'S EVE 2010

2011-02-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

Marcus and I both wanted to do fondue that night. We weren't sure if it would be just us or not. But we told both of his brothers and his cousins that they could come if they wanted. To my suprise, they all called back and said yes we want to come. So we had a house full. We had so much fun. We did fondue, play the kinect dancing game, (which I just couldn't take it anymore, I tried one song but quickly realized that dancing with a walking boot on was too hard. Besides I wasn't strong enough to keep my balance without my crutches for very long.), then we played Rock Band, and of course counted down to the New Year. The kids were up with us adults till 2am. Lafai had more energy than all of us. It was so fun.

Fai wrestling

2010-12-16T05:45:00.001-08:00

Just thought I would post a few pics of Lafai wrestling this season. We are half way through and he is dominating his age/weight group. He has only lost twice which one was by a 8 year old who didn't have anyone to wrestle and also by the kid who took 2nd in Districts last year. Lafai was able to keep up with both of them. He has never been pinned. We are so proud of him and can't wait to see what the 2nd half brings.

STANDLEY LAKE GYMNASATICS 2010

2010-11-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

I am so happy to be writing this blog. I got the opportunity to be an assistant coach this year at Standley Lake for gymnastics. I have never had so much fun. It took alot of time and my family really didn't have a mom around. So it was an adjustment. But worth every minute. I am so thankful that I was able to make it all work and to be able to coach for a high school team.

Hallween 2010

2010-11-29T08:25:00.000-08:00

The weather for Halloween this year was so nice. I wore only a sweatshirt around all night trick or treating. What a treat. The kids like normal had there Halloween parties at school. I was at Regionals with my high school girls so I was not able to attend. I have never missed a school anything so this was a little tough for me, but I couldn't be in 2 places at once. Marcus was able to get off work early and go and fill in for the both of us. He also had to do the ward Halloween party later that night alone too. By the time I got home he had no problem telling me that he does not want my job. All I could do was laugh. It was so good for the kids to have him and to be able to share that time together without mom.

Wyoming Cowboys

2010-10-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

This year we have been able to make it to 2 of Michael's games. ( I have only made it to one). Marcus was able to take the kids to the Air Force game in Laramie and we also went to watch the the Wyo take on the Utes. The kids love going and cheering on Michael. Everyone calls him Mike so the kids think it's so funny and they are always yelling, "it's uncle Micheal". Gotta love them. We love going to his games, if I could make it work we would go to all of them.
Lafai will sleep anywhere. He made himself a bed.

Broncos vs. Steelers

2010-09-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

We were so lucky to have our friend come and ask us if we wanted 2 tickets to the Broncos game. Not only were they given to us but the seats were six rows from the north tunnel. They were so close. It was such a cool experience to be that close. I am always cheering for my home team (Broncos) no matter what. Marcus on the other hand loves to cheer on Troy Polomalu and the rest of the Steelers. Now don't get me wrong he loves his Broncos, he just HATES our coach, Josh McDaniels. So of course he once again wore his Polomalu jersey to the game. I say it everytime. If any of you need some entertanment just go with Marcus. It is so funny. Marcus once again had his picture taken, there was a girl that even came up and touched his hair. People are crazy out there. But they sure make us laugh. We had so much fun. It's always nice to get away and have a date with my husband. And no better place than a football game. I even loved it so much, I'm trying to find tickets to the Colts game in a couple of weeks. I should say I hate the colts, I am not a manning fan at all!!

First Day Of School 2010

2010-08-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get these up right away but the week was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. With out going into too much detail, Lafai has struggled his first week of school as a Kindergartner. So that would lead me to say that I have too had a hard week. I would have never of guessed that things I struggle with in my life would come back at a time like this, but than again why wouldn't they. I guess I am suppose to learn something from this. So here I am taking it on and doing my best to make sure I learn from this experience and grow from it. Lafai is now on the 6th day of school. He still cries in the morning for my not to take him. He was able to walk with his sisters into the school even though with every step he turned around looking at me crying. What I should say that makes me the most sad now is that he tries so hard to be a big boy and not cry and even when he does he still looks at me with the "save me mom" look. I know as each day goes on he will get better and better and soon he will forget wanting me and I will be the one begging for him to hang out with me. I think about my nephew Issac who is in 5th grade and how my sister said he walked ahead of his mom and his sister. I guess that is where we will be one day. :)
Lilliana is in the 5th grade. This is our first year with a male teacher. She wanted Mr. Wilensky so bad. I guess she got her wish. It was a shock to my when we went to open house and her teacher was telling Marcus and I about sex ed. I forgot that happens in 5th grade. Am I ready for this? Well if not, I have no choice. I know Lilli will do great. I can't believe how grown up she is getting.
Leilani is now in the 3rd grade. Although if you see her you would think she is in 5th grade. She is getting to be so tall and weights almost 90 lbs. She is so beautiful. I love her curls. We hope this year will help bring some answers in why she struggles in school. Hopefully the tests will go good and we can start to help her more.
I sit here at hime with no kids with me. It is very wierd. I do miss them. I am too used to having someone home with me. I give Marcus a hard time that I am ready for another baby. (no I'm not announcing anything) I have just wanted another baby these past couple of years. So who know what the future holds but for now I will enjoy volenteering in all three classrooms.

1st time to State

2010-08-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

So I know it has been along time since I have blogged but Hopefully I can do one or two through out the next few days to catch up.
But most important my Lilli made it to state gymnastics this year for the first time. She had the best meet at Regionals a couple of weeks ago taking 1st in the all around. She was so excited. For the last 2 weeks she has been busy at practice getting ready for state. What she didn't realize was how nervous she was really going to be. I tried to help her stay cool but in warm ups she crashed on vault and that seemed to mess with her head, as it usually does. I got her to get back up and keep going. When the competition started she was on vault first and did awesome. She scored an 8.3. Beam was next. Lilli is great on the beam, this day was not it. She fell 3 times. Lilli never falls. By the second fall she kept looking at me through out the routine and the final fall she looked at me with tears in her eyes. As a mom it is really hard to watch this. As for myself who did gymnastics I can really understand her pain and disappointment. I wanted to cry too. She had a hard time getting it together so I had to leave the floor and go sit in the stands for awhile so that the other coaches could get her to pick herself up and move forward. By bars she made her kip but fell on the squat on (has never fallen on bars before). But she was ok. She was ready for floor. She had a great routine but wasn't straight on the backhand spring and the back extension wasn't with straight arms. The judges creamed her for that. She scored an 8.15 and 8.4. (in regionals she got a 9.4). So the tears came back. I did have to get a little stern with her about sucking it up and moving forward. (isn't that what mom's are for, especially if they also are there coaches). Finally in the end Lilli took 4th on the vault. She received the medal she wanted. And I should say she did apologize to me for saying earlier that morning that" u only had took the gold medal for the all around one year, what could I tell her that would help"? I hoped she learned how hard it really is. I love her tons and was so proud of her. I can't wait to see what next year brings.Isaac, Marina and Lilli Lilli had lots of family there to cheer her on. Daddy, Leilani, Lafai, Vycci, Danny, Issac, Marina, Esaias, Ginette, Naia, Tayvin, Mamo, Terry, John, Nancy, Jack, and grandma Rolayne

Volleyball weekend

2010-03-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Marcus's aunti Leila and cousin Ho'onani from Hawaii came into town for a volleyball tournament that at the convention center. So for Saturday and Sunday we lived at the convention center watching volleyball. We had a blast. Between Ginette, Ariane and myself we had lots of food and snacks, we played volleyball on a empty court, we laughed and even yelled cheering for the North Shore girls. I enjoy this time so much that we are able to spend with family. It was so good to see Aunti Leila and Ho'onani. It had been a few years since the last time we saw them.

Temple

2010-02-27T13:43:00.001-08:00

Last night Marcus and I had the chance to attend the temple last night. We were able to go with our friends the Rosas's and get dinner with them. (the Bennett's were running a little behind so they didn't make it to our sealing session). I want to express how grateful I am for the temple and for the chance I had to go with my husband. At one point in the past few months I wasn't sure when I would be able to attend with my husband. But as we were driving to the temple and turned the corner and I saw the temple I was filled with the spirit. I had so much emotions it was hard to hold it back. I told Marcus how grateful I was for us to be able to be there together. I love my husband and am so blessed to have him in my life and for the blessings the Lord has given us especially in the past few months.

WOW

2010-02-21T22:09:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I hadn't done a post since the beginning of November. Well actually if I really thought about it, I should just know that I would have to stay up really late in December to really have the time to do my blog in December. Ahhh.. these past few months have been quite busy and a little rough. I am glad I have made it through all of it. As for December and all the birthdays we survived. It felt extra crazy this year, not sure why but it just means I will have to make sure I am more organized for this year birthday season. I have a friend who also has three kids birthdays all with in a week of each other at the end of November and beginning of December. At first I thought I could never handle 3 bithdays all within one week, but Marcus and I were talking about how that would be great because we could be all done in one week instead of a whole month of birthdays and Christmas. It's almost like a week in between the kids is too much cause I get caught up in thinking they all need parties and special stuff, so that means every weekend there is something going on for each kid. I just don't want the kids to feel like they got shafted. Marcus says I do a lot so he doesn't think they could ever feel that way. That means he thinks I do too much for them. Lol. He just wants me not to get so stressed out. We already started to come up with a plan of no extra stuff outside of family stuff that we can plan for. We are just too busy. If something comes up and we feel like we can do it, then we will decide on it then but for now, we will take December one step at a time. So as we went through birthdays and xmas and getting over the holidays blogging sure wasn't something I was really wanting to do. I am glad that I am now able to say I have got caught up. So as you read this just know there is about 5 or so more post that I did before this one. I decided to wrote a little more than I was going to but we have been doing family home evening with the Purcell side every other Monday. And Ginette just did one on keeping a journal. She talked about those of us who blog use it as a journal too. So I figured with this one, I would write about how crazy life got these past few months and how December was crazy so that way I could look back and hopefully do things a little different. I have yet to pick up a pen and really write in my journal so this is as good as it gets right now. I don't know now why it is so hard to pick up a pen and start writing? I used to keep a journal when I was younger but I always wrote about bad things instead of good things. So you would think that I would want to start writing about the good things in my life now. Who knows. I guess it should make it my goal to start writing in a hand writin journal with in the next few weeks. We shall see how that goes. I hope you all enjoy getting caught up on whats been going on in my life the last few months.

Couples Retreat

2010-02-21T21:26:00.000-08:00

About 8 years ago we became friends with the Bennett's. We have had such a close friendship with them for so many years. We have done so many family activities together. But it wasn't until a few years ago we had come up with an idea of going away together with no kids. Mindi's family has the most beautiful cabin in Grandby. So her parents have been so kind to have let us use this cabin to get away. So we got to plan this with also another couple. the Law's, who had moved into the ward that we have become such good friends with. We get to go up from Friday thru Sunday. The first year we did night sledding. A little scary because you couldn't see where you were going and someone had to be at the bottom of the hill telling you to "bail" off the sled before you hit the road. So trying to get off your sled when you are at top speeds is not easy and sure doesn't feel good when you hit the snow. But definitely funny. During the day the other couples went skiing together (which Marcus and I have no desire to do, we are not into snow or the cold weather for that long. We will stick to the water sports in the summer time). So Marcus and I went into Grand Lake to spend the day together. It was so great. So the time came for another couples retreat. We went up this past weekend. My mom was able to stay with the kids and dogs and held down the fort. We got to leave at 2pm on Friday afternoon, we got up there just after 4. This year the Bennett's brought up another couple along with ourselves and the Laws. Oh and I can't forget that Ruby who is a baby got to come to because she is to little to leave. She had it made, there were 8 adults to give her attention and to hold her all the time. We loved having her there. On Saturday a few of the others went skiing and the rest of us just hung out at the cabin doing nothing. It was wonderful. After they were all done skiing we all meet up for lunch at the famous Mad Munchies in town. We got there for lunch every time we go to Grandby. Then we got to go back to the cabin and play. Adam brought up his 2 4 wheelers. So we went sledding and pulled each other behind them in tubes. We played for a couple of hours. It was a blast. It was like being a kid again. I haven't had that much fun in the snow in a long time. After we were all beaten up and worn out we went back to the cabin and got ready for traditional fondue dinner.( we always do fondue together as couples/family). Our bishop and his wife do ski patrol on the slope right by the cabin every weekend, so they came over for dinner before they headed down back to Denver. I have never eaten so much. I was so full I was sick. And that was before we attempted to eat this cake Mindi made for Liesl and Adams birthdays, which Liesl's was on Sat and Adam's is on Mon. Overall it was a relaxing and some well needed time with Marcus. It is such a good reminder to stop and take time away with your husband. You need it. I know we sure did. We had a blast and can't wait until next year.

Second Season

2010-02-21T21:10:00.000-08:00

This was Lafai's second season of wrestling. He did so good this year. Considering that last year he cried for the first half of the season. This year he was ready to go. He practiced every Tuesday and Thursday night and had tournaments every Saturday. Marcus helps coach the team. So it was good because he can be down on the mat with Fai. Fai only lost a few times and was only pinned once. One of those loses was in the District Tournament which knocked him out of Regionals. So he went on to the JV Tournament the next week where he took first pinning the kid in the Championship round in 17 seconds. He was so happy. He won a trophey for taking first. He carried that thing around to show everyone for 2 weeks. We were such proud parents.

Christmas 2009

2010-02-21T20:44:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas celebrations started on the 20th. We got to go to Granndma and Grandpa Mortensen's house for dinner and gifts. We always enjoy going over there for the holidays. I have said it for the last few years and that is how grateful I am that I still have my grandparents around and for my own children to have their great greatparents around. We are blessed to have the time with them that we get to have. So then Marcus and I hosted xmas eve. We made London Broil, baked potatos, cowboy chili and so much more. It was so good. Then it was time to do presents and just enjoy being with family and celebrating the true meaning of xmas. Grandpa won the adult candy guessing game Leilani won the kids candy guessing game Davis's first Christmas Tristan and Lafai. Hanging out on xmas eve

Leilani's baptism

2010-02-21T20:14:00.000-08:00

Early this year when I realized I had another child who would be getting baptized I almost cried. I couldn't imagine Leilani being baptized. I couldn't believe she was that old. When we were trying to figure out when to have her baptized we realized Marcus's sister Yannick would be in town for Christmas and also Michael would be home from college. So as crazy as it sounds we had her baptism the day after Christmas. It was a little crazy to make it all work. We had provided food for everyone to eat dinner before or after which ever worked best for each family. The baptism itself was beautiful. Marcus of course baptized her. Her aunti Yannick and uncle Michael gave the talks for her. Her aunti Mara played the piano for us which was so nice. I am truely grateful for everyone who was able to come. Leilani is so blessed to have so many people who love her and care for her.

The Big 5

2010-02-21T19:59:00.000-08:00

The "baby" has turned 5. Well I know he isin't a baby anymore but he is my baby. This year Lafai got to have his own friend/family party for the first time. We decorated in Pirate stuff. He kept saying how cool everything was. It ended up being a longer party than we thought because Marcus's little brother Michael who plays for the Wyoming Cowboys were in the New Mexico bowl that evening and so the party went on hold when a guy on the team was hurt and Michael went in. Lafai was opening his gifts and everyone started screaming and yelling because he went in and they focused in on him talking about being a true freshman and playing in such a great game. Poor Lafai couldn't open his gifts until the game was over. (and the game went into overtime and Wyoming won!!!) But in the end Lafai had a great birthday.

Lilliana turns 10!

2010-02-21T19:50:00.000-08:00

Yikes, I can't believe Lilli is 10 years old. How time is just flying by. It's amazing to look back and see where I was 10 years ago. I had just graduated from High School and was getting ready to be a mom. I never knew how I was going to do it but I did and here I am to write about it 10 years later. I have grown and changed so much. Lilli has such a beautiful spirit about her. She loves the gospels so deeply. She loves going to church and is always reminding her dad and I about family prayer. This year for her birthday we let John take her on her actual birthday, so we celebrated it on the Sunday before with family.

Monday Night Football

2009-11-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

We were able to get tickets to the Bronco/Steelers game. We went with Danny and Isaac. Of course the three of us were cheering on our Broncos but not Marcus, he was Troy Polamalu for the evening. He seemed to be quite the guy. People were taking his picture and everything. Every where we went people were talking to him and calling him "Troy". We had so much fun, I hope to do it again soon!

Before the game we got to meet up with the old "Classy Closets Crew". It had been such a long time since we had seen them. It was so good to see old friends.

2009-10-31T20:45:00.001-07:00

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2009-10-31T20:30:00.001-07:00

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Wyoming vs Air Force

2009-10-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

Michael got a full ride scholarship to the University of Wyoming, the Cowboys. As expected they red shirted him for this year, but a couple of weeks ago to our surprise they pulled his red shirt and he was to play. He plays nose guard on the second string. Our friends had tickets to the game which was at Air force so it was close to home. Lilli was with John so we only had Leilani and lafai. We took uncle Neil with us also. This was our first real college football game experience. We drove down with Mamo and BooBoo. Before the game they had all sorts of tents up with venders giving away stuff. The kids got footballs and we could hardly get Leilani away from the Radio Disney Station. She got learn dances and win cool prizes. But I must say the best was when the jets do they fly over right before kick off. It was amazing. Lafai was a little unsure of them because of the noise. But it was way cool. They also had 5 guys that parachute into center field. I've always wanted to jump out of a plane. ( life changes when you have kids).lol
Michael rotated in and out through out the whole game. He had a few tackles and got to hear his name read aloud. We are so proud of him and is doing so well. And growing so much. Marcus and I got him some Jordan's and I guess they aren't going to fit him very long, he is now in a size 14. Guess we'll have to look for new ones.

First Daddy daughter date

2009-09-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

Marcus and Lilliana had their first daddy daughter date on Friday September 11,2009. Lilli was so excited to do something with daddy all alone. It was a luau theme. Dancing, dinner, games and more, what could be better. Lilli wanted her hair curly so I put it up in curlers for a while. ( but that didn't matter because she wanted daddy to take the top off the jeep). So her hair was all over the place. When they got home she kept telling Leilani how much fun she had, of course. What are sisters for. I'm glad they got to go. Marcus said he had so much fun. Next year he will have both girls with him.

Water Fountains

2009-09-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

One of the very last things we did before the kids went to school was go to the fountains one last time. It was nice because we had Tristan with us for the day. So the kids went and played for a while and then we had ice cream at McDonald's.

Glendo camping trip

2009-08-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

Marcus's birthday was on the 27th of July. Work has been really tough on Marcus these last few months, so he took of Mon and Tues of the week of his birthday and we packed up and went to Glendo, Wyoming for 3 days. Luke and Crystal came. Luke plays on Marcus's football team. We have become good friends with them. We have wii night with them all the time. Also Ammon and Jonni came. Because we went up on a Sunday, there was hardly anyone there. It was so nice. We got a little cove on the beach all to ourselves. Made my life alot easier since our dogs came for the first time and they don't get along with other dogs! (except Luke brought his dog. But they ended up doing fine. They just had to keep testing each other.)
After we get set up we started dinner.( it was about 9pm). It was all going well till our little camp site got taken over for about 2 inche beetles. Not sure where they were coming from but they were huge and they hissed at you. The kids were scared. Lafai was freaked out big time. Finally I had to take them to the tent to put them to bed. That night I only got a few hours of sleep cause my kids kept waking up thinking there were bugs on them. It was so fun. lol
Monday morning which was Marcu's birthday, I made eggs, potatos and bacon. Then we played in the water all day. It was so fun. I can't count how many time I got dunked between Marcus and Luke, but it was a lot of fun. But of course the rain blew in early evening and the wind was terrible, it blew our tent over. As it was raining, lightning and thondering we were trying to hold our tent up but we were loosing, so I had to get the kids to the truck because of the lightning so we decided to wait it out then fix it. Well......... when we got back to our ten it was over and it had flooded. We had about 6 inches of water on the inside. Everything got wet except one pillow, the kids own special blankets and our bag of clothes that was protected by all the other sleeping bags. I thought this meant we would be going home, but no. Marcus always finds the good in something. Which is good. I think. He cleaned eveything out, hung stuff up. I went to the Maring for more paper towels and stuff. When I got back round two of the rain storm had just ended and where did I find my husband? Yes, thats right in the water trying to ride the waves. But my tent was standing and dry on the inside. One of our poles had split but it was still working to hold the tent. So then we moved on to Marcus's dinner. For Marcus's dinner we had London Broil, pasta salad, pinneapple and more. Since It was his birthday of course we had to sing. Instead of taking a cake up there, I took those grandma cookies. The ones with the colored icing. Put 2 candles in one and 8 in another and sang. After wards we made a fire put our sleeping bags around the fire to see if we could dry any of them. Which we ended up with 4 sleeping bags and only the one pillow. Marcus and I didn't sleep much, since we were on the hard ground. But the kids slept all night long. It sure was the most perfect trip, but we had a lot of fun and Marcus sure needed the time away for his birthday.

4th of July 09

2009-07-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

Since Ginette had baby Tayvin on the 28th of June. They didn't go to Utah like they usually do for the 4th of July. We were glad to have them here with us this year. Every year we usually do something big for the 4th. We've gone camping a few years in a row and had a day full of fun last year with my in-laws. This year was a little different. We weren't sure what we wanted to do. In the end we decided to invite people over and to let the kids swim in the pool, jump on the tramp, and just to hang out. Ginette and her family came with the new baby, The Bennett's and their 4 kids, Eric and Shanon came, Michael and Sam showed up, Ammon and Jonni, Eddie's parents showed up and my mom came also. So there was only a few of us but we sure did have a lot of food. Marcus wanted to try something new this year, so we did bbq ribs,(which were sooo good), brats, and hotdogs. I was in the mood to make different desserts. So I made a cookie pizza with a cream cheese layer with mandrine oranges and strwberries on top with drizzled chocolate on top. I also made a three layer pound cake with Raseberry jello/jam filling, with cream cheese/whipped topping mix and topped it all of with fresh blueberries and raseberries. ( My friend Mindi posted pics on her page because Marcus had left with the camera and we were getting ready to eat it. So I took pics with her camera.) They both turned out good and both looked so nice.
Ginette's kid and mine are into the movie "The Sandlot" one and two. So Eddie had arranged a baseball game in the dark with fireworks going off in the sky while they played. We bought all the kids light sticks and they went a played a game on a field by my house. They had so much fun. After they were done they came back to watch Uncle Eric's fireworks that he bought in Wyoming. It was a great 4th of July.
Uncle Michael scaring all the kids.
Baby Ruby Bennett hanging out her cute 4th of July dress

Elitches with the Family

2009-07-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

Naia and Bentley
Marcus and Eric with their basketballs they won
All the kids with their prizes
Marcus enjoying his brat

Naia, Jaedyn, Lilli, Lafai, Leilani and Kaiona
Lafai and Jaedyn Kainoa, Lilli and Leilani underwater

Gordan works for Continental Airlines and they had a family day at Elitches. Gordan was able to get enough tickets for all of us to go. We took the kids to the water park first. We only went on one ride and then rode the lazy river. Other than that we played in the wave pool, (which is where I was able to take pictures of the kids underwater.) Marcus and I had to get a new camera, we found a water proof camera at Costso. It has been a lot of fun to play with. After the waterpark we got the kids ready and went to the dinner that they were serving to all the Continental workers and their families. Marcus, Eric, Shanon and Bentley showed up at this time. (Of course, just in time to eat, like always).lol Since my in-laws don't like to ride roller coasters and Ginette was due any day with baby, they stayed and watched the little ones in kiddi land and Marcus, me and Eddie took Lilliana, Leilani and Kainoa on the REAL roller coasters. I must say that I felt bad for Kainoa. He is a little unsure of things at first. He's not a risk taker. So as we were walking up to the Minderaser, he stated crying. I thought he was going to throw up and we hadn't even got the front yet. Marcus took him under his wing and said "you can go with me". Not sure that helped, but he did it. I was so proud of him. But It did scare the crap out of him and Lilli. Now Leilani on the other hand, was ready to run back in line again. We decided to make Lilli and Kainoa go again. Poor kids. Leilani wanted to ride in the front, so Marcus went with her, she loved it!! After that we decided to let Lilli and Kainoa choose the ride. They wanted the Twister. (Yea, the big old white one that sways back and forth when the roller coaster is going). I guess that seems better that going upside down. Well they like this roller coaster so much they rode it 7 times in a row. Eddie was next in line with 6 times, I made 5 and Marcus only went 3 times. I guess we are getting old. The room was spinning the rest of the night. It was kinda funny. But we did have a lot of fun. All the kids including Eric, Marcus and Eddie played games to win stuff. Basketball was the popular one. But everyone got something and everyone went home happy.This day was the start to Ginette's labor, Tayvin Michael Tamatoa came 3 days later.

Girls first track meet

2009-06-16T06:31:00.000-07:00

Well Eddie finally convinced us to put the kids in track this year. I figured why not add one more thing to do on Saturday's. Between gymnastics, football and now track I have about an hour in the day that I am not sitting on bleachers. It's wonderful. No really, I do enjoy it and think it is all worth it. Practice for track is Tuesday through Friday from 7:30-9:00am. We are still trying to get use to that early morning. The girls have loved it so far. They were so excited for their first track meet. It was at Hinkley High School. Leilani did the baseball throw so we did have to be there around 8. And of course Lilli last race was the last race of the meet. Leilani took 4th in the baseball throw, 50 yard relay and the 50 yard dash. Second in the 100m dash. She was so excited about 2nd place. I was so proud of her. Lilli took 3rd in the 100m dash and 200m dash. Her relay team took 1st. They had her run the 3rd leg. When her team mate got to her they were in 3rd/4th place, as Lilli got that baton, she was off. She ran that corner so fast. She passed all the other girls and got her team into first place. It was so fun to watch. Kainoa and Jaedyn also ran. Kainoa is so good at long distance. I think he took 3rd in the 800m. He just loves to run. Jaedyn likes short distances like my girls. He took 1st in the 100m dash. It will be fun to watch their progress as the summer goes on.

The Damage

2009-06-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

My flower bed in the front yard
My garden. Well what's left of it

This is what my tomato plants now look like

After being gone at the Sandoval's for about 4 hours, I was surprised to be driving home and noticing all of the hail that was still laying around. Turning onto my street, there was hail, branches, and leaves everywhere. Our front yard still have about two inches of hail in places and my flowers were completely covered in hail. I knew if it looked this bad in the front, my backyard had to be worse. I was right. When I saw my garden I wanted to cry. My tomato plants were broken and shredded. My garden is a mess. Will it come back? Not sure, only time will tell. My flowers aren't flowers anymore. I started to pick things up and then decided I would deal with all of it later. Just wasn't ready for all of that yet. But at least we are all safe and sound, that is what matters the most.

Hail Storm

2009-06-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

As we started to leave today for the Sandoval's house for lunch, I was noticing a huge cloud over my house that just didn't look right. I told Marcus, those are clouds that can produce Tornado's. As I started to drive away from my house, (literally 3 houses down) it started to hail. We pulled over under a tree to protect the truck. Now hail storms around here usually last around 5 min or less. I started calling Vycci after 15 min, telling her we were right in the middle of the storm and couldn't see enough to drive, so we would have to wait it out. Marcus noticed the clouds moving, so we were trying to see if we could see any funnels. But the weather was so bad we could see anything. It was then the radio was announcing Tornado's, and to take cover. The only cover we had was the truck under a tree. Not so good and not so safe. It was Vycci who kept calling telling us to start driving and head towards them. Both Marcus and I got out of the truck to try to push the hail off of the truck and to switch sides so Marcus could drive. When I stepped out my whole foot was covered in the hail. It looked like it had snowed. We finally was able to start driving. Cars were stuck all over the place. The streets were flooding. It was crazy. By the time we passed Tennyson, it was barely raining. You would have thought we were in a different state. But we did make it safely to the Sandoval's.

8 Years of Marriage

2009-06-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

I know that I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog. But since yesterday was my anniversary, I thought I would post that first.
It's so crazy that it has already been 8 years. Marcus's boss asked him, How long have you been married? And how old are you? People are always amazed how young we got married and that we are still married. I guess that is the worldly way to think. Last night as Marcus and I were looking back and reminiscing about the years. I was realizing how much growing we have done together. I'm so blessed to have Marcus in my life. He is everything to me. I often think about where I would be today if I hadn't found him, or should I say if he didn't find me. When I meet Marcus I was at a crossroads and wasn't sure which way to go. I Know the Lord blessed me and Lilliana by giving me the chance to have a wonderful man in my life who would take Lilli as his own, carry the Priesthood and who would to take me to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. My faith has been able to grow through Marcus. He is so strong and has always known the church to be true. I want him to know how much I love him and are so greatful for all things he does for me. I can't wait for the future and all the many more memories we will share together.

Stevie and Sarah's Wedding

2009-03-29T23:18:00.000-07:00

We were able to attend our friends wedding on Friday night. Leilani was their flower girl. She looked so cute. It was a Hawaiian theme wedding so Leilani fit right in. I must tell that when it came time for her to walk down the isle she did not want to. I gave her that look of death if she didn't start walking at that moment. She did, her face was so red from embarassment. But as she started walking she decided to put her hips into it and throw the flowers with a little diva attitude. People started cracking up. I've never seen a 7 year old butt sway from one side to the other like that. It was one of those moments as a mother you just bow your head and not claim her. haha
JK I would always claim Leilani, she is just so funny and does funny things. But everything went fine. Marcus and I both love weddings because it gives a chance to dance for hours. And we do dance the whole time. Lilliana won the limbo, I must say she did do it the right way, I didn't realize she could bend so well. Gymnastics is paying off. She was so proud of herself. She won a pineapple.

Colorado weather

2009-03-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

It's so amazing how it can be in the 70's one day and by the next we are in the middle of a blizzard. This past Thursday we got a good foot of snow. We woke up to no snow but I guess the school district was smart because they canceled school anyway. I should say I didn't know the schools were canceled until my wonderful sister called just after 6:00am to tell me they were closed I guess we know how happy she was. I was never able to go back to bed. Thanks Vycci. LOL
Well by 9:00am it was horrible outside. Marcus was able to finally make it home just after 3:00pm. It took him just over three hours to get home. His boss gave Friday off. YEAH!!!!! After Marcus got home we did take the kids sledding. I figured we might as well use the sleds they got for Christmas since they haven't got a chance since we haven't had any snow since then. The Laws, Eddie and the kids meet up with us to go sledding also. We had a blast. This was the first time we have taken the dogs with us. All they did was run up and down the hill chasing the sleds. It was good exercise for them.

St. Patty's Day 2009

2009-03-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

I normally don't take pictures on St. Patrick's Day, but since I do have a blog I figured why not. I made the kids green pancakes in the morning. Which is a tradition. I always make different colored pancakes for different holidays. The kids love it. This year the girls not only wanted to wear green but wanted to wear green from head to toe. Luckily I talked them out of it, because it didn't match at all.

Tristan for the weekend

2009-03-17T22:20:00.001-07:00

It just happen to work out that both Clayton and Nicole needed someone to watch Tristan this past weekend, so I was able to have him Friday to Sunday. We had a great time with him. On Friday they all built a fort(blankets were every where). Then after dinner they wanted to watch a movie in my room, so we let them. It was funny that I would check on them and the girls were sleeping and the boys were still try to mess around. Thank goodness they finally fell asleep. (not till after 11)
It wasn't until I was ready for bed that I realized all four kids were asleep in my bed and I would have to move all of them to go to sleep. Yea, wasn't going to do that, so Marcus and I slept in Lafai's room which at least he has a queen size bed. Not as good as my king but it worked. But believe me they slept in his room the next night.lol
On Saturday the kids had a primary activity to go to at 10:00am. I let Marcus get them ready because I had a garage sale to go to at 9:00am. It's a big one that is only twice a year. I had to be in line for it at 8:15am. Crazy I know that's how it sounds. But well worth it I promise. Anyway I picked the kids up and Tristan kept telling me how fun church is. He didn't realize church is for three hours the next day. haha
Saturday early evening we got to take the kids for a bike ride. Since we only have one small bike, Tristan and Lafai had to take turns. After a few turns they were both tired and didn't want to ride anymore. They just wanted to run. I don't know what was easier, running next to them as they rode the bike or pushing that little Tigger bike as they ran ahead of me.haha
After washing all of the dirt off them in the shower, they wanted me to take pictures of them in their underwear. So of course I did. Just so that I could post them on my blog.
They went to sleep by 9:00pm. It was so nice and quite.
Tristan did get to go to church with us. He has gone a couple of times and always has a good time. I gave him a fo-hawk(not sure how you spell that) using lots of gel and hair spray. He kept looking the mirror saying "I look good today" . Oh he makes me laugh. But he did look good. It's always nice to have him and I take him whenever I get the chance.

Grandma Mabel

2009-02-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

We lost our dear grandma Mabel on December 20, 2008. She had made it to 99th years old. I knew that I wanted to write about her so that as my kids get older they can always look back and read about her and how much she has effected our lives. When Marcus and I were married she was able to come to the wedding. I didn't know her at that point in my life, but was so glad that she was there to share that beautiful day with us. We were able to go to her 95th birthday in Utah a few years ago. I was pregnant with Lafai and it was after that trip that we decided to let Gordon and grandma Mabel come up with a name for our baby. One day I had a list of names(which I could not pronounce any of them) that they had come up with. Lafai was one of them and it was a family name on her side. So we did choose that name. The story behind it is so funny, because Lafai's full name is Lafaitautele Ikaika Purcell. But when Lafai was less than a year old she had seen how we spelled it and she called and said it is the wrong name it was suppose to be LafaiSAOtele. From then on she has always called him by that name and told us we need to fix it. So we are finally starting the process of changing his name.
The last few years we have been able to have grandma in our lives so much more. She was able to attend Lilli,Kainoa,Leilani and Jaedyn's kindergarten graduation. Knowing grandma and how important education is I'm sure those days were just as special for her as it was for us. Last summer grandma got to spend the night at our house and even though the language barriar was a little rough which I did have to call Gordan a few times to help me out. It was so special for our family. Lafai wanted to sleep with her so they sleep together in the extra room all night. I thought for sure Lafai would wake up during the night but he didn't, Grandma rubbed his arm and head for most of the night. I went in at 7:00am to check on them and she waved her little arm at me to get out!! I guess she had everything under control.
Her 99th birthday was in Utah this past May and I know that most of the Purcell family was changed. Marcus and I both agree it was one of the best trips we have ever had. Relationships were formed and the family really became stronger. I have never seen Marcus so happy before than he was for that week we were in Utah and he was with his cousins. But most of all the spirit that was with us. When grandma left us she left behind her strength in the gospel. I still am amazed at how much faith she had and how one person could bring so much spirit into one room that it so over whelming. Even writing about it I get teary eyed and I can feel the spirit here with me. I know that is what makes her so special. I hope for all of us that we can keep these kinds of things close to us but most importantly stay close to our Heavenly Father. I know that is what grandma wants for all of us and I hope that I can raise my own children to hold to the iron rod and always keep them close to the Lord. This past Sunday I had to teach in Relief Society on Celestial marriages and as I prepared my lesson grandma kept coming into my mind. Grandma has now been reunited with her eternal companion, they have both waited a long to be with each other. She lived the gospel to the fullest and understood the true meaning of the temple and the blessings it brings through eternal families. I will strive to do the same cause she showed us what true happiness looks like here on this earth and here after.

Grandma kissing her Lafaisaotele

Lafai Wrestling

2009-02-06T12:17:00.000-08:00

Marcus and I wanted Lafai to do a sport this winter. I wish he was old enough to play football but he's not. So instead he wrestled. I was unsure of it at first, but I got the hang of it real quick. He wrestled for Jefferson High School as a "little saint". His very first tournament he went out on the mat wrestled his first period and at the end started screaming as most of you know. But as time went on he got to be more comfortable and finally started wrestling all three periods. He had his first pin the second week in January. Marcus and I were so proud of him. Who would of thought mom and his sisters cheering him on for the side of the mat while coach dad coaches him through it. Wrestling tournaments are like gymnastics meets your kid only goes a few times and it's like once every hour. All it means is that we were there from 7:00am(which is what time the kids have to weight in) and then they don't start to wrestle till about 9:00am. We usually left after 1:00pm to go home, so it is a very long day. But well worth it.

A lot of catching up to do

2009-01-14T17:04:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I've gotten a chance to blog. Lilliana has gymnastics tonight and I don't coach for 30 more min, so I thought I should write. I won't have any pictures to put on this blog for I am not on my computer.
We had a great Halloween. Friends and Family came to our house for dinner and then the we drove other places to go trick-or-treating. Leilani was little bo peep, she won the cutest costume award at her school. Lilli was fairy, and Lafai was a tiger.
We celebrated Thanksgiving at my grandmothers house and of course at Mamo's. A couple of days before Thanksgiving Lilli ran into a pole at school and broke her nose. She was in alot of pain for few days but got through it.
Marcus finally finished his football season in December. We traveled to Las Vegas the first weekend in December for his final game. This was their first lost all season, which was a bummer but they did a good job. It was fun to be there with all the Magalei's. Yannick(marcus's sister) drove from Utah to spend the weekend with us. We had such a good time there. Lilli got to celebrate her 9th birthday in Vegas. She thinks she's so cool for that.
Lafai turned 4 on the 16th. The Laws went out to dinner with us for that special night.
Leilani turned 7 on the 23rd. We always do the wild lights at the zoo, but this year nothing seem to work out and besides it was really cold. So she chose Red Robin for dinner.(I've taught her well.)
The kids did get a swimming party for all three of their birthdays on the 20th of december. I love going swimming in the winter. I know some people might think I'm crazy.
I'm going to try and get caught upon all of my blogging.

Finally moved

2008-10-13T10:26:00.000-07:00

I'm officially moved. This doesn't mean I'm setteled yet, but at least I am done with the truck loads of stuff. It has definetly been alot of work and time to move. We were able to refinish the hard wood floors. I thought tileing was bad that was nothing compared to sanding and cleaning up all of the dust before you can even lay the finishing stuff. But it looks so good. During this process I've realized how handy Marcus is. He can do so much more than I thought. I think he's been holding out on me because his honey-do list would be so much bigger and more intense. But really I am so glad to have such a wonderful husband who can do so much and take such good care of his family.
Well I guess I should write about our wonderful garage sale we had a few weeks ago. Holly, Steph Truijillo, and myself had all planned a garage sale. Zach and Stef were going to bring stuff and Liesl came to just hang out with us. Friday morning we were setting up and moving things around, pricing items doing all the fun stuff. The kids were all running around and playing, getting into things they weren't suppose to do. And of course it was my child (no not Leilani, this time it was Lafai). Tried to pick up one of his daddy's 45lb weight disk and dropped it on his left foot. I really am so used to it that Liesl ran and got to Lafai first and all I thought was I need my keys and the insurance card. I knew by the scream that we wee headed to the hospital. I will post pictures in a little bit after I figure out where my cords are to hook up the camera to the computer. I did leave everyone at my house around 10:30am to do the garage sale and I was off to the hospital. Lafai screamed for an hour and half straight. It was awful. He finaly fell asleep, thank goodness. We were there 5 hours and in the end he did not end up breaking his foot. Even though his foot was double the size, cut and bruised. He had trama to the bone,(bruising to the bone) which can effect the muscle and tendens. They put him in a soft cast but was not allowed to walk on it for three days. All that meant was I had to carry him around. By saturday night I was so tired. Lafai was in so much pain that Marcus and I took of the cast and found that his foot was so much more swollen. So we iced it for the next 24 hours. By the time tuesday came around he was walking on it but with no shoes. Our doctor was not convinced that it was broken so we had to go back in for more x-rays. Still it was not broken. His toes even bruised later. But now we're good. He can wear his shoes. Every once in a while it bothers him but we are so blessed that he healed so quickly. The doctor said he wouldn't feel better till the end of October. But I guess they were wrong. So another ER trip has come and gone. Marcus and I thought we were going to make it through 2008 without a ER trip, but I guess not!

The joys of buyng a house

2008-09-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

Well as most of you know we have decided to buy our old house. Yes, the one on Gray Street that I moved out of a year ago. My in laws wanted to sell it and Marcus has always wanted to but that house so now he can. It's was only a week ago all of this was decided. So any extra time we have goes towards the house. We are remodeling the kitchen and redoing the hardwood floors. I am over the tileing. My hands are so dried out from the cement and grout.The kitchen floor has taken the whole week to finish and today I am sealing in the grout so we are done with that. Last night Marcus and I were there till 11:00pm sanding the hardwood floors. I'm learning to have patients with projects. I've never done these things before, I didn't know that it takes so long. Well I guess it will be worth it in the end. I will keep all of you posted as each day goes on. I will be posting pictures of the before and after. Most of you will see it anyway when you help me move. haha JK I'm trying to get everything done so that the Halloween party Holly and I have been planning will still work out. Dinner at my house and Desert and trick or treating at Holly's. Believe me I will make sure Marcus gets it done. I have to start decorating in 2 weeks. Nothing gets in the way of me decorating for Halloween. Or any holiday for that matter.

Weddings

2008-09-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

The last year I have had three friends from work get married. I was a bridesmaid in one earlier this year. I didn't have a blog yet so I've never posted pictures from that night before. I was in Kristens wedding in April. I have never had so much fun doing wedding stuff before. It's great when your not the bride. Kristen is one of my dearest friends from work and I was so honored when she wanted me to be a part of that day. I wish Kristen and Andy the best in all that they do. So then Whitney was married on Friday night. Marcus thought that this was so cute because she married her middle and high school sweetheart. They have already been together for 7 years. Who would ever have thought you'd meet you life long companion at the movies in middle school? But they did and have been together ever since. Congratulations to them. Both weddings we haven't had to worry about the kids. (grandma or aunti has them). So Marcus and I take advantage of those moments and dance all night together. It's so nice to be with my husband and other adults as I am always with children doing mom stuff. But I am reminded of why we need our time to be alone and enjoy each others company. Being at these weddings have made me think of mine. The love I share for Marcus is indescribable. He loves me so much and has taken such good care of me and this family. This past wedding we were being asked a lot of questions about our beliefs in marriage and about the temple. I'm always unsure of how to say things, but I just spoke from my heart and I was able to explain the importance of the temple and why I love it and why Marcus and I were sealed for time and eternity. I had such a good feeling and my friends were so welcoming, I was surprised with how much they wanted here. I am thankful for those opportunities. I know that my testimony will grow and maybe I can one day teach my friends the gospel. Marcus, Me, Kristen and Andy at Whitney's Wedding the gymnastics crew Bride and Bridesmaids getting ready for the big event

Marcus and I at Kristen's Wedding

Summer memories

2008-09-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

We finally got our computer back, so I have a lot of catching up to do. Especially with pictures. So I will be posting a few post to be caught up. First Marcus and the Grizzlies have continued to be undefeated. The won the state champion game verse the Flames from Colorado Springs a couple of weeks ago. It was a very close game we won with a touchdown in the last minute of the game. It was a very exciting game. Now they go on to play the New Mexico team on September 20 here in Aurora. I'm glad this one is not out of town. Good Luck boys!!

School has started once again. Lilliana is in the third grade. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Huerta. Lilli is doing ok. This year has all ready not been so easy. It has taken a lot of effort on mine and Marcus's to keep things going. Lilli has struggled with everything it feels like. I can sure tell she is my child because she stresses about ten things instead of one or at least taking one at a time. She has 45min of homework ever night, also doing gymmnastics 2 nights a week, having time for John(biological father), and still managing time with family has seem to been challenging for her. But we are working through it. I called my sister at least a couple times a day there for a week. Thank goodness for sisters. Always there when you need them the most.
Leilani is now in first grade and goes all day. She loves it. Mrs. Mitisek is her teacher. She is one of the sweetest teacher I've meet so far. I was worried about Leilani eating lunch at school cause she doesn't eat very well at home. I was right. There has now been a few times she does not get and chips or snacks with her lunch because the sandwich always seems to come home. But she is learning. I have to tell you a story about her. Two weeks ago Leilani had got left out on the playground at recess time cause she wasn't paying attention to her class.(surprise, surprise,) At the end of school all class if they earn it get an extra recess. Which means all ages mixed on the playground at one time. Just what Leilani needs older boys to play with. So of course she was playing with Kainoa and all of his friends who are all boys. Chasing, kicking, wrestling what else she can get away with. And the next thing she new the third graders were going in and that there were no first graders out. Now I'll give the recess duty teachers a litttle slack, Leilani is bigger than half the third grade class, so how would they now she is in first grade. Lilli had come home and told us what had happened. So I'm sure most of you could imagine Marcus(Ariane's child) flipped out. She got the BIG talk about boys and paying attention. Marcus and I laughed about it later on to ourselves. Leilani always keeps us laughing.
Lafai had a hard 2 weeks when the girls went back to school. I kept calling Marcus, telling him that going from 3 to 1 was suppose to be easier. But it was much harder. I didn't realize how much the girls entertained Lafai. Ginette took Lafai for me a couple days in a row. What a life saver. Things are now getting into a routine. I think he's realizing that he gets more stuff when he's alone with me.

Catching up

2008-08-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

Well as most of you know I haven't been able to do a new post since I don't have our computer back yet. So I'm at the Sandovals using the computer trying to get some things done so I thought I'd post something. It's been as crazy few weeks. The girls have now been in school for a week. We are still trying to get into the routine of things. I'm off from work for a couple more weeks which is good. We're still busy with football. Marcus won this last weekend for they are in the championship game this weekend. So I guess we will see what happens. GO GRIZZLIES!!!
Leilani is starting volleyball soon. She is so excited. Marcus wants Lafai to wrestle this fall as a little viking. I'm just going with the flow on this cause I don't think this is a battle I'm going to win. Wrestling was never our family sport.
I was reading Ginette's blog and she had posted all of the babies being born aroung here. If I wasn't baby hungry before now I sure am now. Marcus and I have been planning on getting pregnant by the end of the year. Ginette and I always seem to have babies close to the same time. so I guess it's time for her also. At least thats what I keep telling her and Eddie. But we will have to wait and see what happens.
Last but not least we were able to go camping a couple of weeks ago with the bennetts, Zach and Stef anf Jermey(who's family was out of town so he got to go with no kids.) But that was ok, we made him do all of the cutting for fire wood. We got to go to Leadville. I have never been up there before. It was one of the most beautiful places I have camped at. It was on the colder side but still very pleasent. Mindi and Adam and Zach and Stef are all scuba diving certified. Sot they brought there stuff up and went scuba diving in the lake. They taught Marcus how to do it since he has never done it before. He really enjoyed it and can't wait to do it in Hawaii. Right now I'll stick to snorkaling. It's much easier. It was really nice to get away since Marcus's football season has really changed our summer. We weren't able to do very much since he's had a game ever weekend since the end of May.
I hope everyone is doing well and I will try to post thing as often as I can borrow a computer or at least till mine is returned.

4th Annual Water World Trip

2008-07-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

Once again our trip to water world has now come and gone. We go ever year for Marcus's b-day. We had a group of 25. We went around 10:00 in the morning. First we went on the family rides so that the little ones could go. Then we were able to have Mamo and grandma Chris watch the little ones so that the big kids could go play for a while. It's so nice to have grandmas and grandpas around to watch the kids. It gives us such a good break. Thank you Mamo, Terry and grandama Chris for your help, we really appreciate it.

Micheal relaxing. The kids kept giving him a work out

Dylan, Marcus, Luke, Erica, Chris,and Vycci watching the kids go around the lazy river

Ben, Leilani, and Mamo hanging out in the kiddie area

Lafai enjoying the lazy river that is made for kids. It is new this year.

Neil thinking that he can fit in a kids inter tube. But then again no life guards yelled at him so he stayed on and went around the kids lazy river for a long time.(it was his favorite ride.)

Daddy's Helpers

2008-07-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

Marcus wanted all of us to go to work with him yesterday(Wednesday). I did take the kids so that they could work for dad today. The idea was is that we could help dad get work done so that he could off early on Thursday and we could play, and he already has Friday because we are going to Water world for his birthday which is on Sunday. Also the girls had there build a bears taken away for fighting so they could also work those back and then maybe they could earn some money. They did work. Dad had them moving piles of wood to the dumpster, carrying boxes full of metal handles to his office, and even sweeping up saw dust off the floors.(not so easy since it blows every where.) He even had me running a drill machine for him. Not sure what he was thinking. But we did have a nice day with dad. The kids liked being able to be with dad at work, since thats where he's always at. They girls worked back their build a bears and still earned $5.00 each. So I guess it was all worth it. Before we left dad took them out for a ride on the little go cart. That was the best part of the whole day.

Lilliana's Regional Gymnastics Meet

2008-07-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

Lilli had regionals for gymnastics this Saturday. Broomfield was the host team. It was held at Legacy High School. She did so well. Danny,Vycci and family was there, grandma Rolayne, Mamo(Marcus's mom), Terry(family friend), John and his parents, Ginette and her kids and of course dad, sister and brother were all there to root her on. Well and me MOM and coach. I think I was more nervous than she was. This day took me back to my younger years. She was on bars first. She did the whole routine including the front hip circle that she has never made this year. But she also did an extra back hip circle at the end which she was deducted a whole point for putting in a extra trick. Oh well.
Beam was second. everything went well. She didn't stick her cartwheel which she should have because all she had to do was bend her knees just a little.(she sticks at least 10 in practice every week).
Vault was ok. She said "mom that vault was not good, I bent my knees and hit the mat hard." It wasn't her best. Today she had it on floor. The biggest thief jump I'd ever seen. She did her back bend all together, we have been working on that for two weeks solid. She got it in practice on Tuesday. Lilli scored an 8.3.
As the ribbons came out Lilli learned that she did not place at this meet. Only the top 6 girls go to state. It bothered me that she was upset. I remember that feeing of not placing. I tried hard to talk to her about how it's not about how you place but about how well you did for yourself. Bars and Floor being the best she'd done this year. Thats what important. I'm not sure that's what she wanted to hear, considering that my parents gave me that same speech at some point in my life time. I guess Lilli will look back and laugh when she's giving it to her daughter someday. Lilli went and found Aunti Vycci, who is always next in line to mom and dad, and was able to hold her and talk to her and tell her "it was ok to be mad,your mom and I don't like not to take first either." Growing up in my family we were taught don't cry get up and work harder and beat all of them next year. I remember my mom telling me the story of when I went to regionals or state and all the other girls had metals around their necks and I said I want one of those and my mom did the speech of how not to get your hopes up and it's really hard to place and I told her that NO I was going to have one and that was it. The next year I won State in the all around in my age group. I'm very proud of Lilli. She is a hard work and loves gymnastics. I can't wait to see how she will progress through the next year.

JULY 4th

2008-07-08T21:37:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. Today we had a 4th of July breakfast with some friends and family. Then we went to Shannon's parents house to go swimming for the afternoon. We had a lot of fun swimming and being in the sun. The boys were trying to teach us girls how to do certain dives. We did ok. Then Shannon had made us popcorn from one of those REAL movie popcorn machines. It was so good.
Uncle Eric and Lafai

Lafai got very comfortable jumping onto the turtle without his water wings. Good thing he didn't fall off, he can't swim!!!

Bentley, Leilani and Lilliana

Later that afternoon we went to Marcus's parents house for a bbq and to watch fireworks. They live in the Lone Tree area in Highlands Ranch. The park by them puts on a little carnival thing but the only way to get in is if you have a special bracelet. Ariane was able to get us some so that we could take the kids in. The kids got to go in jumping castles and big huge slides. They also had a petting zoo. So there was tons of stuff for the kids to do. Where we got to watch the fireworks from was only about 100 yards from where they shot them off from. It was the best 4min of a firework show I'd ever been to because we were so close. That was before the field where they shot them off at went up in flames. A firework went off too low and the rest is history. The weird thing was is that there were no fire trucks in sight. So by the time they got there the fires were pretty big and they called the rest of the show. So that was that. So instead we went back to my in-laws were everyone was doing the illegal fireworks and watched those instead. Marcus just rode his long board up and down the street for a while. I guess that kept him busy since he didn't have his own illegal fireworks to do.

July 3rd

2008-07-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Well it's taken me a few days to post our 4th of july holiday weekend. On the third we had decided last minute to watch fireworks from our roof because Edgewater shoots their fireworks off the night before the 4th. So the Laws came over and so did Eric, Shannon and Bentley. We ate on the roof and watched the fireworks through the trees. It was pretty cool. As long as your not afraid of heights.(Liesl and Shannon) who we had to help down the ladder. Later that night the boys went long boarding and us girls just hung out for a while. Liesl was smart and went home close to 1:00am. Shannon and I stayed up till 3:00am, not so smart.

summer fun

2008-07-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been a little crazy. I've been watching my nephew Tristan. Lafai and him are the same age. It was like having twins. Those 2 made me laugh so much. One day they asked me at 9:00 in the morning if they could have a popsicle. Of course I told them no it was too early. But they got me good, that night there were 5 opened popsicles in the drawer, melted. I spent an half of hour cleaning it all up and all I could do is laugh. The second thing they did was that they got Marcus's hair ties and were trying to shoot them up in the air. But one time Lafai did it so high it got up on the roof and they thought that was the funnest thing ever, so of course they went and got more and tried to shoot as many of them as they could. Boys!! They are so different then girls, in so many ways. They just get into so much more trouble then girls do.
Today Vycci and the kids came down to play today. We let the kids jump on the tramp with water. They had a good time. I'm so glad that Nicole has me watch Tristan when she needs a babysitter. I just have to remember the sunblock every hour. Since April, when we played outside I didn't realize that Tristan needed sunblock and he got a little color(pale pink) don't worry nothing bad. Nicole informed me that Tristan was white and needed sunblock whenever the sun is out. Different from my kids, who get darker with 50 spf in 30min than I do all day. But anyway the kids had a great time enjoying the sun.

Birthday, Camping, Football weekend

2008-06-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a busy weekend. Friday night we had 2 birthday parties to attend. One was Bentley's who turned 3.(Eric's girlfriend Shannon's little girl.) Marcus had done the closets in this house a few years ago. Such a small world. This house was amazing. You know what kind of a house when the neighbors house is on the market for 2.5 million. It was a lot of fun, the kids went swimming till about 10:30 pm. They would have swam longer but we had to get ready to go to Florence in the morning for Marcus's game.
On Saturday we got up and left the house at 8:00am to head towards the Royal Gorge where we were camping that night after the football game. we went with Zach and stef, Adam, Issiah and his girlfriend. Neil who plays on the team, who is responsible for Marcus wanting to play so bad. But its ok we love Neil, my kids call him uncle Neil. Marcus's cousin Shane and his family meet us up there and Eric and Shannon also were meeting us up there later. We were only allowed to have 3 tents on our camp site so we were all going to have to share tents. It was interesting. In my tent was my family, Neil, Eric, Shannon and Bentley. 3 grown men who all snore, not a whole lot of sleep for me but the kids slept through it.LOL
We were going to do the Royal Gorge but we were all to cheep.It was going to cost me over a $100.00 for my family so we didn't do it. We went swimming at our campground instead. That night the boys played the Havoc team. They won 37-7. After the game we went to sonic which was the only thing open and those poor people who had to get us a whole bunch of food.(6 kids and 12 adults. (5 that are Samoan). But we did have a great time and did enjoy spending time together camping and swimming.

WE GOT A BLOG!!!

2008-06-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to getting a blog. Marcus has a my space page where family and friends can keep up with his life, but we all know that I'm way more busy than he is and can't keep caught up with everyone so I hope this will help everyone feel like more apart of our family on a more regular basis.
I'm enjoying the kids being out of school for the summer. I was thinking that we are going to have so much time to do things, but thats never the case. Lilliana is competing in gymnastics for the first time this summer. I love it so much. Coaching her is the greatest,(she may not think so). She is doing really well, she has had 3 meets and has now qualified for regionals in the all around. Marcus is busy playing semi-pro football. He begged me to play so I finally said yes. But I do enjoy the games. What could be better than taking the kids with a back pack full of food, sitting in the stands with the sun beaming down on you and cheering on a bunch of old guys who just want to hit someone. Oh yeah I forgot and I even get to wear the jersey to show my support my wonderful husband. Just when you thought you were done with high school. haha

2008-06-22T16:47:00.000-07:00