It's officially Soccer Season!

It's that time of year for us to load the lawn chairs, pop up tents, tons of Gatorade, water bottles &
pull out the soccer balls, cleats, and shin guards!



This year will be our first time juggling two teams. Karizma plays U8 Team Fire fighter dragons
& Kiyana plays U6 Team Mighty Mite Tigers.
Tiare is still the family cheerleader, but next year she will finally be old enough to play soccer!

It worked out perfect that our girls teams ended up with the same coach. So we have the same days for practice and the same coach. Lucky us! We are definitely becoming one with the park with two hours of soccer every Tues & Thurs and game days on Saturday until the end of November!

Here are the girls posing right before we head out to our first game!

Kiyana #2 lining up to do some goal kicks.
Her team did great and won 5 to 0! This is her 2nd year of soccer and she loves playing any position as long as her hair ribbons stay intact! (She is such a girlie girl!)

Here is Karizma #6 warming up. As you can see, she is again the smallest one on her team. This will be her 3rd year playing and she loves to play forward and is having a great time playing with the older kids. It was fun watching her team play.
It was an intense game and unfortunately they lost. The score was 2-1! Close game!

26.2 Miles!

Dee & I had gone on a trip to Utah with friends from our Ward during Pioneer Week. The entire purpose of this trip was for Dee & his guy friends to run the Desert News Marathon. It's been a challenge for him to find time to train and have the motivation to keep up with this goal. He was grateful that he did it with a few of his close friends. There were several late nights that he would be out running after he had gotten home from a long day of work, but he was determined to make it out to the marathon & survive it all.

Of course being Polynesian, you really don't hear much of one running a marathon, let alone run down the block. (Maybe if a poly was going after a pig!!! LOL!) So several family member of ours thought he was crazy. And they definitely were doubting him that he wasn't going to do it. To be honest, we both didn't think he would have done it if it wasn't for Eric, Mark, and Jason who consistently trained along side with him when they could. It truly has been a real test of endurance for both him and I to see this through, and I am so proud of him for doing this.
This is the guys relaxing the day before! Dee & Mark look like their missionaries! We got to do a session in the Salt Lake Temple that day!

Once we had picked up their packets, we decided to drive the 26.2 mile route to see what the guys were up against. We stopped along the route to take pictures of the beautiful view! It definitely made all of us nervous to see the hills the guys had to run up and down the next morning! Word of advice "NEVER drive the route the day before the race! jK!

Here is Dee and I enjoying the Utah air! As you can see, Dee wasn't smiling because he was focusing on the hill that he had to run the next morning!

Here are the guys Friday July 24th at 3:00AM posing right before their race! Samantha Lindsey had ironed on "TEAM ORGAN DONOR" on the back of their shirts! They sure did get alot of comments on their shirts during the race! Some actually took it literally! But it was a good laugh! They definitely survived it and didn't have to donate their organs!

The Race started at 5:30AM and us wives had waited for our men at Mile 17 with their water, honey, & gu! I was so excited to see my husband coming! I was so nervous for him because this was his first time ever doing something like this, so I wasn't sure how he was handling it all! The night before was definitely hard for me to sleep I couldn't imagine what was going on in Dee's mind!

Here is Dee at mile 19

After meeting Dee at Mile 17 & 19, we went to the finish line! I was too anxious and worried about Dee because he had told me he was cramping up! So I met him at mile 23 and ran the rest of the way with him to keep him going!

Finally the finish line in view! When we were towards the end, Dee keep saying "Are we there yet"!

I am so proud of my husband! He had 12 weeks to train and did an awesome job, especially for someone who never runs. He finished with a time of 5hours and 1min! As much pain as he was in after it was all done, he said he would do it again! At least he knows what to expect now!

Here are all the guys at the end of the race posing with their Marathon Medal! They did an awesome job!

Here is Dee and I posing after it was done!

Here is the whole gang! The runners and the Runners support group! We pitched in to rent a 12 passenger van to fit us all! After the race the wives all gave their hubby's a massage and we had dinner at the Rodizio Grill! It was an awesome trip of which we have made it an annual trip to do! We are hoping that more will join us next year! "GO TEAM ORGAN DONOR!"

Here is a video clip of the 4 guys running the 20 Meter dash in the McDonald parking lot. It was one of our stops on the way home and Eric thought it would be funny to see them run since they were in pain! Apparently we've adapted this 20 meter race to be a apart of our annual Utah trip! 20 Meter dash requirements:

1Your only eligible to run this race if you ran the marathon,

2Wear the official "Team Organ Donor" shirt

3 Flip Flops only!

It's hillarious to see them to try to run as fast as they could while they were in pain! It was brutal but way too funny in the end!

Surprise! Happy Birthday Serina!

So I turned 28 on July 30th! And the day of my b-day I get a knock at my door! I opened the door and my students in my Valiant 12 class, Nick & Dallin are standing there. They tell me that I need to come outside with my eyes closed because they have a b-day present for me! So I step outside and I noticed that there was a door hanger, so I grabbed it to cover my eyes, and all I could hear Dallin say was to move the paper, but to keep my eyes shut. After battling him on having the paper removed, I gave in and all of a sudden I felt something on my face. At first I stood there like what just happened. It took me a few seconds to register what was going on and then a few more seconds because I was in shock! I could hear the boys laughing so hard and I took off chasing after them wiping my face to rub all the whip cream off on them. So below is a picture of me after I had wiped off the whip cream so I could see!

After washing what I could get off with the front hose, Nick & Dallin handed me a card and a box of candy! Probably hoping that I wouldn't be mad!

Here I am smiling not because the whip cream, but because the card they gave me was too funny!

Here are the two rascals with their whip cream and empty pie pan!

Beware girls when it's your b-day!

Here's Tiare telling me "EWWW" because I have so much whip cream on my shirt!

One of these days I will get them back when they least expect it!

I gotta love my Valiant 12 class!

Happy 6th Birthday Karizma Loseline Faupula!

Karizma turned 6 on July 23rd!

We had a Hello Kitty Slumber party for her this past Friday since Dee and I were in Utah for her actual b-day!

Here's the b-day girl making a kitty out of ice cream, oreo's, M&M's, black licorice!

Here's the b-day girl making a wish!

Here's the insane part, 20 kids for a slumber party! Dee & I were the only chaperones! My two older nieces helped out, along with our Friend Po, who stayed as long as she could! After spending two hours of dancing, playing games, and doing a treasure hunt outside with flashlights, we ended with a movie on a projector! We had so much fun! And as crazy as it was, I had fun and would totally do it again!

As late as it was when we all fell asleep, the kids woke up at 6:30AM! The last of the 20kids to wake up was the b-day girl! She had a blast! Thank you to everyone that made my big girl's b-day party a fun one she'll never forget!

Happy 3rd Birthday Tiare Mele Sio Tau'u Faupula

Our Baby is growing up too Fast! Tiare turned 3 on July 15th!

She was the easy one to please for her b-day! We spent her b-day at Pump it up!

Ate way too many pizza slices!

Enjoyed Cold Stone ice cream cup-cakes!

And ended her b-day at the Roseville Aquatic Center in the evening! (I totally forgot to take pictures at the aquatic)

Thank you for those that were able to make it! We had a blast!

Happy 5th Birthday Kiyana Selaseine Faupula!

Kiyana turned 5 on June 26th!

Here's Kiyana having a Princess party! She had so much fun with her friends and family!

Our Pretty Princess!

She was very excited to have a Princess cake!

Thanks to everyone that was able to make this a special day for her!

Catching up with what we've been doing these past few months!

In June Our eldest daughter, Karizma, completed Kindergarten at Johnson's Park Elementary! She recieved a Shining Star Award, Perfect Attendance for 1st and 2nd trimester, and the Yearly Citizenship Award! Only 5 students in her class recieved this award, and Dee and I are very proud of her! Of course Mommy has to spoil her and make her a flower lei and flower head band (haku)!












Kiyana, Karizma, & Tiare posing after the awards ceremony!




















Karizma Loseline Faupula
Age 5; Completed kindergarten!
YEAH!!!!!!!!

Join Me or Sponsor Me at March for Babies!

Okay, I had to look for a reason to start exercising, and this is what has inspired me. I figured if I had a huge reason to motivate me to exercise, then I would have no excuse. So I decided to sign up at March for Babies and so in counting I have 65 days to prepare myself for this 6 mile walk. It sounds a lot for me since my body goes into serious hibernation mode during this cold season. And you can't forget the yummy food that I have stuffed myself with from all the holidays. So if any of you would like to join me, sponsor me, or share this with a friend, every bit would help! You could view my page at http://ecards.marchforbabies.org/OQPV7H

It's April 25th 9AM, walk begins at the State Capitol 1301 10th Street in Sacramento.

FEAR!

Okay, this is seriously one of my fears! SNAKES! So, while we were at Pet's Mart a guy walks in with two boa's wrapped around him like no big deal and my Mom was with us and happened to make it known she was terrified. Anyhow, of course my kids go straight to him and starts asking all these questions. Dee knows how terrified I am of snakes, so I was trying really hard not to freak out in front of my kids. As I was walking towards the guy, I heard Kiyana asking to hold one. So I nodded my head in shock that my child didn't have the same fear I did! She totally took the snake and was trying to get him to wrap around her neck and she dropped him and she totally picked him right up and placed the snake right back on her shoulders.

I am still in shock everytime I see this picture. I definately need to keep these fear a secret from my kids, eitherwise I can see them scaring me in the future!

Where is Kiyana?

I was looking for Kiyana the other day and I started to panic when she wasn't responding to my call. Well after searching for her for what seemed like forever. I was pacing up & down the hall and decided to put the blanket away that was under the desk in the hallway. To my surprise as I removed the blanket, I found Kiyana asleep in the laundry basket. Of course when I told Dee about it, his first response was "Did you take a picture?" and like an addicted blogger, of course I did!

Spencer is back!

This is my younger brother, Spencer Salakaia, who just returned from serving a full time honorable mission in Puebla, Mexico. I wasn't able to go to AZ for his return, so instead he came to visit me for a day & 1/2. It was wonderful to have my little brother back and to hear him speak spanish. It was funny to hear him struggle with his english since he has been speaking spanish on his Mish! My dog, Choco, was his before he left. My girls wanted him, and he said he wouldn't take Choco back if my girls still wanted him to stay. And so I still get stuck with cleaning up dog poop!

This is my family with my Mom & Dad, Samantha, & Spencer. We just came out of John's incredible pizza and we were rushing them to the airport to make their flight back to AZ. Thanks Spencer, Mom, Dad, and Samantha for visiting. We had a wonderful time! We truly have been blessed to have Spencer serve a full-time mission, & we are truly grateful the Lord has brought him home safely!

Twilight~ My current ADDICTION!!

Pretty much everyone I know has been talking about Twilight! I love to read, but the only thing is once I get into a series of books everything doesn't seem to exist. Such as my kids, husband, laundry, dishes, etc. So I vowed to myself that I wouldn't read Twilight until Christmas was over, because I was afraid my kids wouldn't have a Christmas. I know it's pathetic, but true! Dee had asked what I wanted for Christmas and one of the things I would like was the Twilight books. So my wonderful husband, who obviously has not talk to other husbands decided to give me the first two books for Christmas. At that point, I didn't start reading until New Years Eve, but from Christmas to New Years Eve, Someone talked to Dee about their wife & how they wanted to throw out the books, so their wife could come back to reality! We'll within that short period of time, Dee was starting to regret buying them. Knowing that he was feeling this way, I decided that I would read the books at night, and keep up with my daily responsibilities so that my husband wouldn't regret or of course feel like he's lost his wife to some Vampire story! LOL! New Year's Eve came & I started reading. I read throughout the entire night, and Dee woke up the next morning & was surprised that I was on book 2. So I guess since he felt like he still had his wife around, he decided to take me to watch the movie! What a good husband! Within minutes of the movie, Dee gave me this funny look and asked "Is that what I think it is?" I couldn't hold back my laugh, and I said yes. He then whispered in my ear " I thought people were joking when they said it was about a VAMPIRE!" Anyhow, he enjoyed the movie just as much as I did, but I did tell him that reading the book helps understand the movie better! After book two, I was desperate to find out what was going to happen. So my husband decided to go with me and look for book 3. He sat in the car with the kids, while I ran in Wal-mart. Well, I had gone down the book isle, and didn't see what I wanted. So like a little child, I paced up and down several times eyeing every book on the shelf. And to my disappointment, Eclipse was no where to be found. I didn't give up, so I started moving books just in case a copy had been misplaced. Mind you, I was getting frustrated, and I kept thinking to myself, "I hope no one is watching how desperate I am for this book" and I was also thinking "I hope I am not being punk ed or being video camera for twilight addicts!" Dee couldn't stop laughing at me, while I tried to explain my reaction in the store. So he decided to take me to two other stores, and to my disappointment there was none. So I sat in anxiety & desperation for two days, wondering & waiting. Finally, I pleaded my case to my sister-in-laws, and sure enough Katrina Takahashi had graciously filled my desperation & starvation for more of Twilight! (Thanks Katrina, I owe you big time!). I honestly don't know which was harder for Dee, to see me lose sleep or to see me go through two days of searching desperately for book 3 & 4. Either way I am sure he had a good laugh! I finished book 3 & 4 in two days. And Dee was happy that it was over in a week since he had to sleep with an eye mask every night. However, he always had to remind me that I looked like a walking zombie! It was worth IT! I am sure he will do his homework prior to buying any books for me in the future!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Okay, first of all sorry it's been awhile since I blogged. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year for one thing! I knew that this would happen once December would hit. Anyhow, we had a wonderful Christmas. We enjoyed developing new traditions and of course trying to live on with ones already established. Sad to say, but I didn't take much pictures. I was wrapped up with all that needed to be done and cooked before the family get together. It has been awhile since we had a Christmas & New year with just our little family. Either we went out of town or Dee was in another part of town or state working, so we have been blessed to be together healthy & happy. New Years Eve, we had lots of yummy food with family and then we enjoyed bringing in the New Year with our girls watching a movie & of course my favorite part, is when we kneel in prayer to give thanks to our Father in Heaven for another year! Maybe when the girls get older, they will definately be the ones to want to go PARTY! We have been tremendously blessed this past year, especially with all the trials and challenges that we have faced with my health & with the down fall of the economy. We are truly humbled & blessed by the examples of our family & friends that never fail to amaze us in all things. We pray that this New Year will bring much joy & happiness to all of you!