Big & Tall

So its official--the Big & Tall store will be my only choice when clothes shopping for the Kobester. Norm took the kids to the doctor yesterday for their yearly wellness check up and Kobe is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight!

Now it's not like the doctor was telling me something I didn't already know. Most kids go through a growth spurt every year or so but Kobe kind of had a growth explosion in just the past month or so. He went from a normal kid that fit into regular size 10 pants to...the kid with a mom that has to return all of his size 12 Christmas presents because they were already too short and look like they are too tight (Ok, Kobe tells me they fit fine because he is hoping I won't make him try on more clothes but my rule is if it takes you more than a minute to button, it's too small :)

I guess on the bright side, 90th percentile for both is better than just being an "overachiever" in just one area: He could be the 90th percentile for just height and just be...scrawny. Or he could be the 90th percentile for just weight and just be...Samoan (luckily for Kobe he is only half :)

Happy Ho Ho Ho Day

Our family celebrated a very low key Christmas this year--no trips to Chicago (or Tahiti) and no out of town visitors. This meant I actually had to put up our tree (and do everything myself since I usually succeed in pawning most things onto my mom or sister in years past when they've been here for the holidays :)

In spite of this, our family enjoyed a great Christmas. Tehani didn't ask for one but was happy to open a new Zhu Zhu Pet. And Kobe got enough Legos and DS games to keep him happy for at least a few days. And we capped the day off with a trip to the movies to see Alvin and the Chipmunks (because nothing says Christmas more than talking animals)

The question now is...can I take down the tree tomorrow (like I want to) or do I have to wait? I mean, the presents are opened. I already made the kids take everything up to their rooms. How long do I have to leave this thing up? (Maybe I'll try to be a good mom and leave it up 'til New Years Eve :)

Anyway, here's hoping Santa brought you everything you wanted (and more) for Christmas!

Kobe's Top Ten List

It's hard to believe my little Kobester is ten today. It seems like it was just ten years ago :) that I spent my Christmas Eve birthing this little bundle of joy. (And yes, I'm definitely glad that we birth babies--and not full grown boys!) But I'm also glad to have Kobe as a part of our family. And what birthday would be complete without the obligatory "Ten Most Unique Things About Kobe " blogger list so here goes...

Kobe's Afro--One of the saddest days in Kobe's little life was when I took him to cut off his "afro." And while my mom might argue that it still looks like he has a 'fro in this recent pic, this is nothing compared to the flowing locks he used to sport around in his younger years.

Kobe's Pacifier--If Kobe ever ends up needing braces when he is older, I can blame it on the fact that he used a pacifier until the ripe old age of 3! For some strange reason Kobe actually called his pacifier a "Phizer" (whatever that is?) Anyway, we were finally able to have him give this up when we told him the story about how the Easter Bunny collects pacifiers. And that when you give him your pacifier (when you go to get your picture taken at the Provo Towne Mall) the Bunny gives you a present. (Kobe got legos.) And you thought the Easter Bunny just delivered eggs...

Kobe's Name--Yes, he is named after a famous black sports athlete. Luckily for us, we choose to name him after the famous black athlete that has only been caught cheating once (I never liked the name Tiger anyway)

Kobe's Noises--I don't know if it is just a boy thing, but Kobe is ALWAYS making the strangest noises (and no, I'm not talking about farts.) He is like a big non-stop noise machine. And although the noises tend to drive me crazy most of the time, at least I know if he ever gets lost in the woods, I'll be able to find him (that is if a big grizzle bear doesn't hear him and eat him first :)

Kobe's Smile--You gotta love a boy that isn't afraid to smile!

Kobe's Profession--Kobe has told me that he is going to be a "Video Game Tester" when he is older. He has decided to get an early start on said career and would spend every waking moment playing his DS (or Wii or Playstation) if we would let him. Luckily Norm made the rule awhile back about no video games on school nights or we'd never get any homework done.

Kobe's Friends--Who knew that I was raising such a social butterfly! Kobe is constantly asking about playing with this friend and that friend. I can already tell that the teenage years are going to be oodles of fun!

Kobe's Brain--Kobe apparently has a super big brain because he is super smart. He is a whiz at math and loves science and social studies. In fact, he loves learning and school so much that he gets all freaked out if he thinks he is going to be late to school (and in late I mean not being there the 20 minutes BEFORE school starts)

Kobe's Mom--All of Kobe's future girlfriends should be warned that I am raising a Momma's Boy. It's not like I set out trying to do this. It's just what happened. My husband says I baby him too much but he IS my baby. What else am I supposed to do?

Kobe's Everything Else--What can I say--everything about him is unique and we love it all! Happy Birthday to our lil' Kobester!!

The Birthday Boy

Somebody I know is celebrating a birthday today. I don't want to mention names or anything so maybe I'll just give you a few hints and we'll see if you can guess who it is...

• Great cook


• LOVES to golf


• Fabulous Dad


• Super Husband


• Did I mention that he loves to golf?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
YOU DESERVE IT!!

Makin' a list and checkin' it twice

• Christmas Lights: Up
• Presents: Wrapped
• Tree: Decorated
• Christmas Cards: Mailed

(And really, anyone who knows me knows that I would definitely check my list way more than twice :) I AM OFFICIALLY READY FOR CHRISTMAS!!

Our trip to the North Pole

Tehani and Kobe are eight and (almost) ten. And although they're probably a bit old for a ride on the Polar Express, that didn't stop me from packing up the fam yesterday for a night of fun on a train. The kids were good to play along. When the "elves" came through to ask what they wanted for Christmas they both listed off some presents (though I did catch Tehani rolling her eyes at the elf when he said that "he would talk to Santa about it.")

Kobe and Tehani have been on the Polar Express before (we bought tickets for them to take my Mom and Dad as their Christmas present a few years back) so I was glad that Norm and I finally got to get in on the fun. I mean, who knew that you could take the train all the way to the North Pole--and be back 45 minutes later? All I know is that after singing Christmas carols all night (with Kobe leading some of the songs since we were sitting right by the microphone :) I'm definitely in the mood for Christmas!

You know its time to shop when...

So Kobe was talking on the phone tonight with my sister. Cynthia was asking him what he wanted for Christmas. Kobe was listing off the usual...new games for his DS, some Pokemon cards...and some underwear.

I was surprised by the whole underwear comment so I start listening in. Cynthia, of course, had to ask..."Are you sure you want underwear for Christmas?"

Kobe proceeded to explain to Cynthia that all of his underwear is too small. Funny that he decides to tell her this--and not me! It's even funnier since Cynthia is always giving me a hard time about the fact that I make my kids wear their clothes too long (You don't want to know how short his pajama pants are)

Anyway, it's also kind of ironic that my mom is not here to appreciate Kobe's request for a useful gift. My mother was the queen of "practical" gift giving. I remember year upon year of watching cousins and other various relatives open their Christmas presents only to discover some wrapped socks or, if you had been really good that year, underwear.

The good news is that Kobe can now cross this necessity off of his Christmas wish list. Being the good mom that I am, I just paid a visit to the local WalMart and Kobe now has new (and larger) underwear...and pajama pants. (Am I good mom or what! :)

Aged to Perfection

So my mom is celebrating a birthday today. And since she is still busy "living it up" in the tropical paradise known as Tahiti, my only option is to send her a birthday greeting blog-style. So here are the Top Five Reasons Why I'm Wishing My Mom a Happy Birthday:

1. She put up with me as a teenager. I'm kind of dreading the fact that I will one day have two teenagers of my very own.

My only hope is that they will be nothing like I was during those angst filled teen age years...

2. My mom would put Martha Stewart to shame. And probably Miss Manners too. Growing up, I learned to write thank you notes and I don't believe that I wore pants to school until I was at least in the 4th grade. (My mother didn't start wearing pants until I had moved away to college.) I should point out that in her old age, she has kind of gone lax on her dress codes as she now has even been knows to wear...*gasp* jeans.

3. Adopt a Grandparent: I frequently have friends ask if my mom is interested in adopting THEIR kids as grandkids. I must admit that I am kind of spoiled when it comes to the babysitting department. My mom is always the first I call when I know I am going to need a sitter for the kids (and my hubby) when I'll be out of town for work. I'll just assume that (contrary to the pic) she is usually awake when she is watching the kids.

4. Grandma is just a fancy name for Travel Guide. Did I mention that Kobe and Tehani's favorite time of the year is summer break--aka travel time with Grandma. From Chicago to Tahiti to everywhere in between, the kids count down the days until school is out and their summer travel tour begins.

5. For making me...ME. I mean, she did birth me after all (and I've birthed kids--I know how much it hurts :)

But I do realize that much of who I am today (crazy OCD tendencies and all) comes from the great job she did as a mom.

So Happy Birthday Mommy. You deserve it!!

Only 54 days left until...

Did you know there are only 54 shopping days left until Christmas? I know because most years I usually try to have ALL of my Xmas gifts purchased and wrapped by now (OK, October 1st has always been my deadline in the past, but I'm blaming this year's total lack of Christmas readiness on my EMBA program :)

Anyway, when I realized earlier this week that not only had October 1st come and gone but that November 1st was going to blow right past me as well without a single wrapped Christmas present in sight, I started to panic...

And I decided that I would at least get my Christmas cards done.

Thanks to Simone for coming over to play photographer on Saturday. The pics came out great--with the exception of these pics posted here where someone always managed to have their eyes closed or their mouth open (which is sooo NOT the photographer's fault :)


But now I can officially cross "2009 Christmas Cards" off my list.

Next stop: Christmas Shopping!

Hope your Halloween was purrfect!!

Our was great. And before you think that I am a bad mom who is playing favorites since I only put up a pic of our "evil kitty" in costume, Kobe decided that he was too old to dress up this year. My little baby is all growed up! I think I was around his age when I decided that Halloween was for the "litte kids." So while Tehani and I spent the evening trick-o-treating with Simone & Eva at the University Mall with the rest of the crazies, Norm and Kobe enjoyed some fun at the nickle arcade.

A fun Halloween was had by all. I'm also looking forward to the fact that now that this holiday is oficially over, I can put our jack-o-lanterns out in the trash can. Yeah for me!)

Our favorite time of the year

And no, it's not Halloween. It's the time of year when I get to wish my little "baby" brother Raymond a Happy Birthday. I went through my pics to make sure I found one embarrassing enough to share...

And since I'm in the mood for sharing, here are a few other little known facts to help Raymond celebrate his special day:

• Raymond the Rebel--When Raymond went through his "rebellious stage," my sister and I used to get in trouble every time he came home with a new tattoo or pierced body part. Somehow this is our fault?!


• Show and tell--I believe Raymond was just in kindergarten when he got in trouble for bringing real bullets to school. Had we known that he would end up being a cop, we could have just told the principal that he was practicing for when he would carry bullets with him every day!


• Raymond the Roomie--One of my favorite years was when Cynthia, Raymond and I all lived together in Utah. (I'm pretty sure my parents sent him out here to "keep an eye on me" but it was fun none the less!)


• Get this kid some Ritalin--Raymond used to get a little "crazy" when my friends would come over when I was in high school. I recall him barking like a dog and several occasions of him snapping the bra straps of my friends (I believe he was about 8 at the time :)


• Little Ray--I know most people call him Ray but to me he is and always will be "Raymond." The only other name that I know him by is "Precious" which is the nickname my Dad likes to tease him with :)


• Raymond the Marine--It only makes sense that if it was mine and Cynthia's fault every time a new tattoo was inked, it would also be our fault when Raymond joined the Marines. I tried to explain to the P's that it was not my day to watch him (It was Cynthia's) when he went down the recruiter and enlisted. None the less, we a very proud of lil' veteran.

So here's to you baby brother--Hope you have a very Happy 30th Birthday!!

Love,
Your favorite big sister Laura
(PS--Don't worry, I promise not to tell Cynthia that I am your favorite!)

It's the HATE Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

Can I just tell you that I HATE pumpkins? I'm not sure if it comes from the fact that I absolutely detest pumpkin pie or if I had a bad carving experience as a child, but the thought of cutting into a big orange gourd just makes my skin crawl! I should also mention that at some point during my childhood I was actually called "pumpkin head" by little bully at school so I'm assuming that some of my "pumpkin-hate" feelings may come from that event as well...


At any point, this anti-pumpkin mom was very excited to come home Tuesday night to find two expertly carved pumpkins waiting in the kitchen. So while I was at school enjoying a rousing evening of EMBA 504 (Corporate Financial Reporting), Norm must have broken down to Tehani's constant nagging of "WHEN are we going to carve the pumpkins?" I must admit that the kids have never had such nicely carved pumpkins in their life(and NO, I am not just saying that so Norm feels pressured into doing pumpkin duty each year :)

PS--If this tells you anything about how much I HATE pumpkins: Our nicely carved pumpkins are now sitting in my living room. This is where I study at night. I thought I was going to VOMIT from the pumpkin smell that is now permeating the room--so much so that I actually had to study in a different room last night. (If I get a bad grade on my assignment, it is all the pumpkin's fault!)

Paleontologist in training

If Kobe ends up being a paleontologist when he grows up, I'll know it all started because of the great time he had on the 4th grade overnight camp out. Yes, you read that right--there is a teacher brave enough to take a group of 9 and 10 year olds on a mini-dino expedition.

Kobe came home from his weekend to Vernal talking all about Dinosaur National Monument, Fossils, Josie's Cabin, Petroglyphs, Pictographs and more. (I may have to go back to 4th grade just to find out what all these things mean!)

I do know, however, that Kobe had a fabulous time and is LOVING 4th grade. Sometimes I can't believe that he is in 4th grade already (mainly because I remember when I was in 4th grade and I don't want him to be old enough for all of that yet :)

So here are a few of his pics from his trip. The pics also confirmed:

1. Kobe is gigundo boy compared to the others in his class...
   
2. And even when I pack Kobe a bag of clothes for the trip, he will keep on his favorite yellow "video game" t-shirt the whole time :) Typical boy...

Tehani's Special Day

I'm a little late in posting about this but I wanted to share a few of the pics from Tehani's baptism. Tehani turned eight all the way back in September so she was super excited that it was finally the day she was going to get baptized. It was also the first baptism that I was in charge of helping with (I'm in the Primary Presidency) but aside from the stress of that, it was a great day.

Uncle Afa got to do the actual baptism and other than some audibly loud comments from Tehani when she was getting out of font (something along the line of "Brrrrrrrrr") the baptism--and confirmation by her Dad--were very nice. The only minor concern on Tehani's part came when it was time to get dressed for the baptism. Our fashionista in training was a little unhappy with the available selection of jumpsuit wear. I tried to convince her that the XL jumper was not too big for her but she wasn't buying it :)

Tehani was happy, however, to be getting baptized at the same time as a friend of hers from Primary. It was also very nice that my Dad was able to come from Chicago for the event (even if we had to whisk him to the airport a few hours after :)

Thanks to everyone that made Tehani's day so special!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Leave it to your kids to remind you that you are getting old. Here is a conversation Tehani and I had the other day while I was getting ready for work...

Tehani: "Mom?"

Me: "Yes Tehani..."

Tehani: "WHAT is that black stuff under your eyes?"
Please keep in mind that this was AFTER I had put concealer on. I was actually all the way done with my makeup--meaning this was as good as it was going to get :)

Me: What black stuff? (with a slightly annoyed voice)

Tehani: Right HERE...
This would be when Tehani physically puts both of her hands up to point to the dark circles--as if I couldn't see them already. I think she was careful to not touch the bags under my eyes (just in case they were contagious or something)

Anyway, I cannot wait for the day when my daughter is old enough--and stressed and sleep deprived enough--to have black cirlces of her very own!!

Grandpa's Day

Technically its called Grandparent's Day--Meridian School does it every year and this is the first time that my Dad has been able to come out for it. Grandpa was going to be in town this weekend for Tehani's baptism so it was perfect timing for him to be able to spend the morning with the kids at school. After spending time in art class, science, PE and enjoying the 3rd grade rendition of Green Eggs and Ham, Grandpa took us all out for lunch at Chuck-A-Rama, one of Tehani's faves.

The kids even finagled Grandpa out of a present from Sam's Club--Kobe got a new DS game and Tehani picked out some Halloween basket thingy. At this rate, they'll never want my Dad to go home!

You better watch out Grandma--looks like there's a NEW pushover in town!!

Dear Grandma

Dear Grandma,

Hi. it's me Tehani. since Mommy has been too busy to write on her blog, I figured that I would write to you (so don't tell Mom I'm writing on her blog)

How do you like it there in Tahiti? what do you and auntie jungle lady do all day? me and Charlotte ane kobe miss you alot. don't wory though cause me and kobe still remember what you look like so you don't need to send us a picture. Kobe wants to tell you something...

Hi its me Kobe. I miss you alot and I hope you are doing well. Its 6:00am here but me mom and tehani are awake . who goes to get the fitifiti donoughts since Tehani and I aren't there? Have you gone to the roulette to eat? I sure miss Tahiti. Love, Kobe

Are you ready for some football?

I'm happy to say that I am no longer a soccer mom. Nope, this year I will be a "football mom" instead. Kobe just started his first year of flag football. He'd been wanting to play for the past few years but we've usually always limited them to just one activity at a time (Even though I only have two kids, I still don't have the time or the patience to shuttle them around town to a million activities in true soccer-mom style.)

Anyway, the good news is that Kobe seems to like it so far. He's apparently a good blocker because the coach has him in that position a lot (either that or you just automatically get to be the blocker when you are one of the two biggest kids on the team :)

Today, they played against a bunch of kids from Kobe's b-ball team last year--which is pretty much made up of all Polynesian kids. Kobe had a fun time playing against his friends and even asked if we could sign him up to be on their team next time. Who cares about school boundaries--we'll apparently be going the free agent route next year.

PS--It was hard to post about football after BYU's game tonight. Maybe there's room for one more on the team...

Experiences in the Life of Tahauri Hutihuti

So I just got home from class and I should really be working on my homework but I just found the coolest email in my in box. No, there is not a bank account in Nigeria with my name on it. The subject line was as follows: Experiences in the Life of Tahauri Hutihuti

It's not every day that you get an email about your great-grandfather. This was written by a former mission president in Tahiti and was sent to me by a distant cousin. I'm still not sure how they even had my email address but I do know one thing: I hope I can be even half as good of a person as my great-grandfather was.

Experiences in the Life of Tahauri Hutihuti
By Stephen L. Graham – September 2009

First Member of the Church in his Family: Evidently, Tahauri Hutihuti was the first member of his family to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was previously a member of the RLDS Church (now known as the Community of Christ) or “Sanito” in Tahitian. Following the monumental work of Noah Rogers, Addison Pratt, and Benjamin F. Grouard who introduced the gospel and opened the Society Islands Mission in 1844 (a fourth missionary, Elder Knowlton F. Hanks, died and was buried at sea on their way from Nauvoo to the islands), the mission was officially closed from the mid 1850’s until the early 1890s. During this interval, missionaries from the Reorganized LDS Church stopped in the Society Islands and came in contact with members of the Church. They falsely claimed that the church they represented was the same church as the one represented by Elders Pratt, Grouard and Rogers. They established themselves as such and have continued their presence until the present time. Efforts were made to reclaim these members after the LDS mission was reopened in the early 1890s. The majority of the original members returned, but some did not. Tahauri Hutihuti’s roots had their beginnings in this confusion. His mother was a “Sanito”, but when Tahauri learned the truth of the whole matter, he joined the true Church and remained faithful to the end of his life. (Recounted by Brother Marlowe K. Ashton – Orem, Utah – September 2009)

Tahiti 1963-64: Elder Thomas S. Monson, as a newly-called member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was assigned to the Pacific Islands area following his call in October 1963, and visited Tahiti several times. In a meeting in the old Fariipiti Chapel while the congregation was standing singing “We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet”, Elder Monson looked down from the stand and seeing old Tahauri Hutihuti standing near the isle singing, went down and stood beside Tahauri, put his arm around Tahauri’s shoulders and sang along with the congregation. From those early visits in Tahiti, Elder Monson had a deep interest in this good brother in the gospel. (Recounted by Brother Marlowe K. Ashton – Orem, Utah – September 2009)

Nauvoo Temple Dedication in 2002: During his talk at the dedication of the reconstructed Nauvoo Temple, President Thomas S. Monson, counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, recounted the story of Tahauri Hutihuti as an example of faith in obtaining the blessings of the temple for his family. He told how Tahauri Hutihuti saved his money for many, many years as a pearl-shell diver in the atolls of the Tuamotu islands so that he could take his family to the temple and have them sealed to him. As it turned out, not only did he travel to the New Zealand temple on a couple of occasions, but also traveled to the Laie, Hawaii Temple so that his son Turoa and his wife who had gone there to help establish the Tahitian Village of the Polynesian Culture Center could be sealed to him. (Recounted by Brother Marlowe K. Ashton – Orem, Utah – September 2009)
At the New Zealand Temple – December 1963: Tahauri made his first trip to the New Zealand Temple with the first group of Tahitian to attend a temple as a group, in December 1963. He was accompanied by his second wife, and during the sealing ceremonies for spouses, Tahauri and his second wife stood proxy for each others’ spouses; Tahauri for the first husband of his wife, and she in turn for Tahauri’s first wife. Following the sealing ceremony, President Hawkes, President of the New Zealand Temple at the time, in conversation with Elder Marlowe K. Ashton, a missionary in the French Polynesian Mission who accompanied the group from Tahiti to New Zealand, asked: “Did you see them?” Elder Ashton answered: “See who?” “The ancestors of these people!” said President Hawkes. “They were present and filled the room.” (Recounted by Brother Marlowe K. Ashton – Orem, Utah – September 2009)
Tahauri Quotes Isaiah: I remember speaking with Tahauri Hutihuti one day a few months after my arrival in Tahiti on my first mission in 1963. Tahauri had been out on the grass of the big lawn of the old Fariipiti Mission Headquarters raking leaves. This was a year-round job in Tahiti, rather than seasonal as it is here in the Mountain West, since there are not four seasons, and there are always falling leaves year ‘round. Tahauri loved the gospel and loved missionaries. He got excited when new missionaries arrived and would greet them warmly. One day he came up to me and quoted the following verse in Tahitian:

Isaiah 5:26-28 - 26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: 28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
I certainly didn’t understand everything he said with my limited experience in Tahitian at that point in time, but I understood enough that I was able to go back and look the verses up and understand and appreciate what he was saying. This was the year that Pan American Airways and French UTA began jet service to Tahiti. Tahauri had been to the airport and heard the roar of the engines, and had seen missionaries come and go and appreciated in a very real way what the Lord was accomplishing. He took me by the shoulders in his hands and said to me looking me directly in the eye: “This is you he is talking about in these verses! You come from long distances quickly and don’t even have to change your clothes or take off your shoes—this is His work—you represent him here among us!” I could feel the enthusiasm and excitement at this thought as he spoke to me with great animation and with a twinkle in his eyes. At this point in his life he had only a couple of teeth on the top in the front, but he was so expressive and animated in his love for missionaries and for the gospel.

(Recounted by Brother Stephen L. Graham at the Sunday evening fireside at the Provo Missionary Training Center – 6 September 2009)

HBHB

No, it's not the name of some new swine flu mutation--It's secret code for:
Happy Birthday Hani Bani

Yes, our little Hani Bani (aka Tehani) is eight years old today. While Tehani won't be having her big girl party with friends until Saturday, she did get to start off the morning today by opening a few presents--a fancy new kite from Kobe and girlie golf clubs from her Dad (and Mom too:) Here's a pic of Tehani trying to take her new present to school for the day:Anyway, in true blogger fashion, here's a list of 8 Reasons Why We Love Tehani:

1. Talk, talk, talk--Tehani is definitely her mother's child--she is a talker! Tehani was very late to start talking--so much so that we saw a speech therapist for a whole year. Apparently the therapist did a good job--almost too good--because Tehani hasn't stopped talking since then!
2. Smile--Tehani is always smiling. She's got that funny little grin (not quite as funny as it was when she was missing ALL of her front teeth last year) but it is too cute.
3. Confessions of a Shopaholic--Tehani loves to shop. I've given up even trying to sneak out of the house without her--she's got some type of extra sensory ability to know when I am trying to do this. She shows up at the garage door (with her shoes already on) asking "What store are we going to?" And don't even get me started about all of the stuff she wants to buy when we are out and about.
4. Girlie Girl--I'm assuming her love to shop stems from the fact that she is also a girlie girl. From nail polish to fixing her hair, she has more stuffed animals than I know what to do with. Go Girl Power!!
5. When I grow up--Tehani talks all of the time about what she is going to do when she grows up. Last I heard she was going to be a veterinarian. And she is going to have 10 babies. I know this because she asked me once if I could live by her because "I won't be able to hold all of the babies at once so I will need you to help." Great, I'm raising Octomom II.
6. OCD--She's a girl that has to fix the roll of toilet paper because it's on backwards. Need I say more. (Tehani also told me a few weeks back that she had already written all her thank you notes--for the birthday party we haven't had yet! That's my girl!!)
7. The Animal Whisperer--I'm pretty sure if I let her Tehani would bring home every animal she could find. She LOVES her cat Neko and has already started campaigning for the day that we can add a dog to the family...
8. But we love her most of all...Because she's our Hani Bani!

Time Flies

Well, I'm not sure what has happened but sometime when I wasn't paying attention its gone from January 1st to September 8th in just the blink of an eye! Between work and school it never ends--its seems like it was just New Years Day. Anyway, this warp-speed "time travel" like year has been so crazy that I've had to take some drastic measures to try and cope:

• We've resorted to eating on paper plates at home--Please do not call Tahiti and tell my mother as I am afraid she is going to disown me for this. I know the environmentalists are also going to be appalled but with my new "system" there are never any dirty dishes in my sink so that is one less thing for me to worry about.
  
• I've color coded my kids--Tehani wears only white shirts to school and Kobe wears red. Strange, I know. Remember, they wear uniforms so it is not that weird to limit them to one of the two colors they have to choose from, right? Each Sunday we also put out all of their clothes for the week. Now if I could just figure out a way to color code all of their junk that they leave around the house!
  
• I heart Sam's Club--I've never been a huge fan of buying in bulk but the thought of being able to stock up on enough stuff so I don't have to shop for the next three months sounds particularly appealing to me right now. Who cares if it is all processed and individually packaged--I'm saving myself a trip to the store!

In other less crazy news, it was my birthday last Thursday. To celebrate, I spent the day at work and topped it off with an evening at class :) Luckily, the hubby and kids were thinking ahead and cooked me a b-day dinner the night before.

Over the long weekend we also managed to go camping, take a hike to the Y, and made one last trip to the Scera Pool before it closed for the season. Wheh, I'm still tired (and sore) just thinking about it. Anyway, I've decided that if I could just get an extra week of time I could get all caught up on my list 'o stuff to do. I might even be able to get a little ahead. So I'm starting a collection. If you've got any extra time you'd like to get off your hands, just let me know.PS--A quick pic of me and Tehani at the pool. I believe this was right after she got done asking me "Why are your legs all jiggly like that?" You gotta love a girl that tells it like she sees it :)

Back to School

The long awaited day is finally here--the kids are officially back in school. The first day of school is always a big deal, but it was an even bigger deal for us because most of the other kids in the neighborhood have been back in school for over a week! I guess that is just what happens when you go to a school with a different schedule. Anyway, Tehani was so excited she woke up at 4am and had a hard time getting back to sleep. I'm just glad I was able to get some photos before either of them got food (or toothpaste) on their clothes.

In checking with them after school, they both said that school was good. Other than falling asleep in science class (Tehani said it was because she got up so early) they had fun. There are a few new kids at the school this year and both Kobe and Tehani said they each made a new friend (great, more play dates.)

Now if I can just figure up how we are going to get the kids to and from school each day (If anyone knows where I can get one of those teleporters like the use on Star Trek, let me know :)

Lights, Camera, Action!!

One of the perks of working at a TV station is that my kids occasionally get to help out as "extras" when we are shooting new spots. The kids have fun doing it (we've been to the aviary, aquarium, and even the ice rink for previous spots) and I enjoy getting to see them on-air.

Anyway, their latest adventure in television production work was for a pretend birthday party. The kids had fun eating way too much cake, ice cream, and rootbeer. With all the sugar that was consumed, I'm hopefully we came out with enough good footage to make the spot.

Anyway, so when they are rich and famous television stars (and supporting me in my old age) you can say that you knew them first!!

You know your kid is online a lot when...

..you visit the schools website and this is what you see on the homepage:

Their school doesn't start for a few more days so I was on the website to check on something. Why Kobe has to make weird faces like that in every photo that he is in, I don't know.

I'm just hoping that all of this "computer training" means he will grow up to be a computer gazillionaire like Bill Gates of Steve Jobs. One can hope, right?

Who wears short shorts?

I'd like everyone to know that we've met a major milestone at the Tevaga household this past week--I finally went shopping and got Tehani some new shorts. No more "Daisy Dukes" for her!

Cynthia likes to harass me about the fact that Tehani still wears clothes with the numbers 4T or 5T on the tags. At first we couldn't buy her anything bigger--she is so straight and skinny (she must get it from her mom :) that anything else would fall right off of her...

Then it kind of got to be like a competition--how long could I let Tehani go on wearing clothes that I had bought for her before she started kindergarten... And don't get me started on how much money we've saved by not buying our daughter a stitch of clothing for three years...

July 2006 and July 2009

Same girl, same shorts.

Let's just say I live by the motto "Use it up, wear it out..."

In my defense, Tehani does wear shorts to school everyday under her uniform jumper ("So when I'm hanging upside down on the jungle gym, the boys won't see my underwear" as Tehani would say.) So in the interest of not looking funny with shorts hanging out underneath her jumper, Tehani went on wearing her Nair approved "short shorts" year after year.

But, after a couple of trips to Target this week, our short shorts problem has been solved.

I even broke down and got Tehani some new longer uniforms for school (I'm such a good Mom)

So if you know anyone that can use some gently used--err, I mean--well worn shorts, let me know! PS--Just remember that Tehani has long legs so any shorts pictured above may appear shorter than they really are :)

Down n' Derby

Today was Kobe's first Pinewood Derby. I actually believe it was the first Pinewood Derby for everyone in our family and it was quite the event. All the cubs in the stake participate and other than Kobe's wheel falling off mid race (thank goodness they had a pit-stop set up for the racers where we were able to procure a new wheel holder-on thingy) Kobe's car performed great!

Thanks to Grandpa for taking the time to "help" Kobe build his car back in June--between Chicago and Tahiti I knew we would need to get this done early!



I'm not sure how much of the car Kobe did (and how much my Dad did) but that's what the Pinewood Derby is all about, right?

Poolside

Now that Thing 1 and Thing 2 are back from their world tour, I figured that was a good enough excuse to take a half day off from work and head on over to the pool. It was pretty crowded (what else would you expect on a Friday afternoon?) but the kids had fun--and even the Moms too!

Simone and Wendy joined me "poolside" and we had fun joking and talking...err, I mean watching the kids:)


As I reported back to friends on Facebook, no one drowned and no one got sunburned so it was a good day!

And after a stop at Target and Old Navy (the kids left their flip flops in Tahiti) we headed back to our house for sleepover night at the Tevaga's. Here's hoping the Rylan and Eva don't decide they want to go home in the middle of the night!

They're back