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!!!!!!!!