Super Citizen, Valentines Boy and the Great Aloha Run...

Ok, so I've got some catching up to do....where to start?

Brooklyn was Super Citizen for the month of January. She was SO excited. She's been hoping she would be chosen ever since school started. They hold an assembly every month to honor the super citizens. It's kind of a big deal...



Next up: Reedy's Birthday!!! Reedy turned 8 on Feb 14. I can't believe my little boy has gotten so big. He is such a special kid. Having Reed has changed my life in so many ways and has made me strive to become a better person. He is the most amazing big brother and such a big help around the house. He's so tender and caring and such a complete goof ball. Just the thought of him makes me smile. I love him to pieces and I can't believe he's growing up. I am so proud of who he is.For his birthday, he wanted to go out to his favorite restaurant, The Old Spaghetti Factory. He loves it there because he is positively bananas for their tortellini. You know they are getting old when the kid's menu no longer cuts it. We took all our kids and my dad, sis, niece and nephew. It was a perfect way to celebrate.

Last of all, on Feb 19th I participated in the Great Aloha Run! It's a course that runs from Aloha Towers to the Stadium...8.15miles. I thought it would be a great way to celebrate Charlotte turning 4 weeks old! My dad and I went down together and I walked the course with my sister in laws, friends, and nieces.

Before the Race:
The girls...Nanu and Teyana (my 12 and 13 yr old neices), friends:Emily, Tiffany, Sister in Laws: Samantha and Jolena. That's Charlotte in the stroller.

Charlotte and me.



THE BIG FINISH!

We made it!!! WOOHOO!!!


My Dad, Charlotte and Me...he beat us big time!

Good Morning Love

Have you heard this song? You haven't? Where have you been???
This is a song written by our friend Jake Kongaika aka cubworld. Within the first 10 seconds of it playing, I was already tearing up. It's such a sweet song and I've been playing it over and over for days now. Jake wrote this for his darling wife Mandy and if you ever meet her, you'll be able to tell in an instant why he's so smitten. Enjoy the song and if you are dying for more cubworld, check him out at http://www.sellaband.com/cubworldmusic/

Introducing Charlotte Kenra Tasalautele Tanuvasa

SHE'S HERE!!! Charlotte (Charlie, ChaCha) Kenra (after my mother) Tasalautele (named by Sa's mother) is finally here. She was born at 7:37 am, Monday Jan 19. She was 8lbs 2 oz and 20 1/2 inches...our biggest baby yet! Her labor was great, as everyone knows I'm a fan of the epidural, so it was smooth sailing. At about 7pm Sunday night my mom, dad, sister Mindy, and brother in law Steve showed up, we played games and ate snacks. We stayed up until about 11 ish. Steve went home, the rest of us went to sleep. At about 1 am they started me on Pitocin, at 2 I got the epidural and went back to sleep. At 6 am they checked me, I was dialated to a 5. A little more than an hour later I was a 10, and she was born by 7:37. She is healthy and such a good baby! The kids absolutely adore her. Deacon is adjusting pretty well, for the most part. She sleeps like a dream...from 11-6 the first night home. She's waking up a bit more now, but I just change her diaper, feed her and she's back to sleep about 15 minutes later. I don't know how we've managed to get such good babies, but they all have been so good and so easy!

After her first bath



I don't know if you can see, but the boquet on the left (from Sa's work) has snap dragons...my favorite!!!

nap time








If you can stand to see more, here is the link to her newborn pictures taken by the hospital.
The password is babytanuvasa

http://www.our365.com/newbornportraits/babydetail.aspx?birthid=4313054f-f5f7-4a11-865f-bd388d5e7e4d&babyid=1012b4cb-14ec-4c92-b874-e007a222308c

Being induced

Today is my due date and here I am in the hospital! WooHOO!!! Because I have gestational diabetes, they wouldn't let me go to far past my due date, so I had been scheduled to be induced on Tuesday morning. I couldn't sleep last night. I had realized that my brother in law, Steve was flying out Tuesday morning to start his tour in Iraq. Talk about rotten timing! So, I decided to call the hospital this morning at six to see how busy they were and if there was anyway I could be induced today instead. Six hours later and here I am! Don't hold your breath, though. I doubt I will actually have Charlotte today. Instead of using pitocin, they have decided to start with the cervix softening suppository...they won't even really check me for another 12 hours. That won't be until midnight. So Sa and I are going to have a quiet, kidless day in the hospital. We'll hang out, watch movies, play cards...I'm looking forward to it. Today is going to be a great day! I'll post more as thing progress...wish me luck!

What a wonderful man

Lately, I've been the one to sit with the kids in the room, making sure Deacon stays in bed as they all fall asleep. I'll admit, I enjoy it most nights. It gives me a chance to sit a read quietly and it gives Sa a chance to quietly unwind...on Xbox. Tonight Sa offered to lay with them so I could relax on the computer and do nothing. I was more than happy to let him! It was very quiet in there, and I have been on the computer for a while now, doing absolutely nothing of great importance when all of a sudden I hear footsteps in the hallway. I had been listening for the footsteps of a 230 lb man...but these sounded more like the feet of a 23 pounder...and then a second set of footsteps...only a few lbs heavier start dancing in the hallway. As hard as it is for me to say, I was a bit irritated at first. Weren't they supposed to be going to bed? Isn't this supposed to be MY time??? I got out of bed...the footsteps scatter...one set runs to the toy room, the other set goes back to the bedroom. And here is the picture I found waiting for me.Immediatly, my heart softened. Here is the man who has been waking up at 4:30 every morning so he can get to work two hours earlier than usual. This way, he can be home two hours earlier and have even more time with his family. This is the man who today, came home and went straight in our room, changed into gym clothes, went back outside and played with his children for over 2 hours outside. Today he was busy teaching them basketball and then moved on to volleyball. He is the one who hauled them off to Tamuras so they could pick out a special ice cream treat for tonight. As I cooked dinner, he was the one to spread out the sleeping bags and all of our pillows on the living room floor so that he could sit and watch Kung Fu panda with them...for the 20th time this week. As I am trying my best to escape and get quiet time tonight, this is the man who can't get ENOUGH time with them. I am so grateful for the incredible father that my children have. They are so lucky. I am so lucky.

silly goat

It's been a stressful day. I found this and it cheered me up. Silly goat.



yup, that's an electric fence...

Thank you to our troops!

If anyone knows me, you know I'm a big supporter of our military. My father served in the Army for 32 years and I currently have one brother-in-law who serves in the Army, one serving in the Air Force and another in the Army National Guard. I am so grateful for all that they and their fellow soldiers have done to protect my family and our nation. Like they say, "Land of the Free, Because of the Brave..."

I wanted to pass this on, it's something that Xerox is doing...
Let's say thanks to all of our troops, separated from their families during the holiday, and remember their sacrifice as you sit down with your family!

Xerox is printing and sending cards to our troops, absolutely free!!! All you have to do is go to the website & pick a card to be sent. It will only take a second of your time...

http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.html