Girls Day Out

I decided to do the unthinkable & take our girls to see a movie.  It's obvious we're love all things Disney so I decided to take the girls to see The Good Dinosaur.  Ane loves Dinosaurs so I knew she'd enjoy it.  She's also at the age where she can sit through entire movie without a problem.  Tai on the other hand is at the age where she gets bored easily & loves to wander.  Therefore, I planned for us to attend the movie around Tai's nap time. 

I decided to take them to Galaxy Theater which is one of Sage & I's favorite theaters to go on date nights.  The main thing that makes this theater incredible is they have big, comfy leather chairs that recline all the way back so you can watch any movie in comfort.  One time Sage & I had caught a late night movie & both knocked out, that's how comfortable it is! 

Anyways, about 20 minutes into the movie Tai began to fuss but luckily our assigned seats were in the back in an area where I could stand.  Ane was sitting next to this little boy who was near her age & when Tai got a little loud he shushed her.  Ane didn't like him shooshing her sister & quickly shoo shed him right back LOL!  Thankfully his parents were understanding & we smiled & nodded & calmed our sour patch kids down.  Tai eventually dozed off which was so nice!  I was able to comfortably recline with her laying on me & enjoyed the rest of the movie.

Ane had another precious tearful moment during the movie.  Without ruining it, there's a very touching moment in the end of the movie.  Ane smiled and watched with her wide eyes & to my surprise there were tears streaming down her face.  I'm a complete crybaby so of course, I joined her & there we were, just crying happy tears & holding hands.  Lol!  

Sage says she not only looks like me, she has my emotions too.  Oh welllp, I rather her be overly emotional then completely unemotional. 

Today was a good day & as my girls grow I hope to have more girls days out! 

"Mommy, take a picture of me & Spot!"

This was after the movie.  Anelia was hyped off of her Icee & Tai was ready to go. 

Queen size full of love

I'm currently laying on a queen sized bed with my entire world surrounding me.  My right arm is slowly falling asleep due to the weight of Anelia's head.  I can feel Tai's little feet digging into my back.  Anelia & Sage are both snoring, there's no break from the noise.  As she breaths out, he breaths in.  To most, this would seem like an uncomfortable setting to sleep in, but for me, as I lay here I can't help but reflect on all the love this bed holds. 

This is my family.  This is what my life is truly all about.  My world revolves around these three beings.

My heart... And my bed, are completely full.

Xo. 

Whole Kernel Corn

With the cold weather who doesn't enjoy some delicious corn chowder?  Sage's mom makes an amazing corn chowder so Sage & I went to the store & attempted to make her recipe.

The recipe called specifically for 2 cans of creamed corn.  Well, in the chaos of us shopping with our two loud, impatient girls; I grabbed 1 can of creamed corn & 1 can of whole kernel corn.  This is so typical of me. *rolls eyes*

As we were throwing all of the ingredients in the pot Sage emptied the whole kernel corn can & he immediately became irritated.  I can't help but laugh as I think of it because I always mess recipes up one way or another.  Well, he then said "it's ruined... We have to start over!"  I then told him he could finish cooking it alone because I wasn't going to start all over & left the room.  Yup, we're human folks & we fight over whole kernel corn. 

He ended up going against the recipe &  kept the whole kernel corn in the pot.  The meal was ready & when I tried it I sarcastically said "Ugh, this whole kernel corn ruined this whole thing!"  We both laughed. 

This whole experience was a little lesson that can be applied to life.

Mistakes are inevitable- regardless of how "ruined" things may seem, give them time or improvise.  The outcome may not be perfect but it will still be close enough or "just as delicious!"

Drama Princess

Anelia has always been quite the drama princess.  She's never struggled with expressing herself whether that be with tears or lots of laugh or smiles.  She also has always had a passion for animals, especially dogs.  Since she was born she's been surrounded by Ziggy, Momi & Popo, Sage's family's dogs.  They were her first friends as sad as that sounds lol! 

Now that you know her love for dogs & how she's quite the dramatic... 

One night after we bathed the girls we turned on the movie Santa Paws for them to enjoy before bed.  Well in one of the scenes a magic puppy turned into a stuffed animal & was thrown into the trash. The trash eventually ended up in fire.  The scene shows the puppy slowly reaching the fire & Anelia immediately began to cry, she was seriously so concerned for the puppy & its safety.  Sage & I had to continue to reassure her that the puppy would be okay.  As the movie continued the puppy was eventually rescued in the knick of time & our sweet little princess then cried tears of joy.  To say she melted my heart in that moment is an understatement.  I nearly lost it as well because she was so sweet & innocent in that moment.... Once we took in the cuteness of it all Sage quickly expressed how he was surrounded by cry babies!  Haha, poor guy, the joys of having 3 girls in our family. 

I love my little drama princess & the funny, sweet, crazy moments we get to experience thanks to her & all of her emotions! 

Fall

Fall has officially graced Las Vegas & the air is finally chilly, the leaves on the very little amount of trees here are starting to slowly change color.  Hallelujah!

Sage plays softball on Mondays so the girls & I tagged along.  I didn't get to watch his games very much because my little gems kept me running around, per usual.  We were there for 3 hours & they ran & played practically the entire time.

When we attend the park I enjoy joining them in the fun & can often be found on the playground as well.  I'm just a big little kid ha!  Anyways, Tai learned to go down the slide by herself last night & she may have gone down 501 times, maybe 502? She tries so hard to keep up with Ane.  It's so sad how fast she's grown & how independent she is. 

Anelia is all about making friends when we go out & approaches all kids with "Hi my friend!"  Anyone that knew my Grandpa Toa, he would greet everyone in the same way.  I love that she's always so open to making friends & isn't afraid to introduce herself.

Fall is always short lived here so we're trying to enjoy the nice cool weather for as long as we can before it becomes too cold. 

So much that's been done, so little time to blog...

Busy, busy, busy...

Before Tai was born October thru March was the busiest time of the year for us.  Well, this year the madness started in September instead & it's been pretty much constant since.

We've had huge milestones be reached which include...

Tai walking

Tai 1st birthday

A trip to Disneyland

Anelia's 4th birthday

I've been doing a lot of documenting in pictures & posting via Instagram. I also love snapchat & how it allows you to save your snaps from the entire day.  I did that for our trip to Disney & it made it so convenient.  I had a bit of a video making kick that I haven't been too into lately.  I need to change that because my girls love, love, love to watch the videos I made from our trip to Hawaii.  

Let's do some updating...

Our little beauty Tai Moana turned ONE!  I feel like with each child time just flies faster & faster.  Tai is soft hearted, gentle & shy but once she's become familiar with you she has a bit of sass to her.  She loves to "sasa" Ane whenever she isn't looking.  She's the typical little sister & loves to pull Ane's hair & steal all of her toys.  She hates loud noise, yelling, anything scar or out of the ordinary.  She approaches everything with caution.  She loves to blow kisses & to dance.  As soon as she hears music, no matter the genre, she's on her feet & swinging back & forth.  Since learning to walk she's been on the go constantly.  She gets into everything & loves getting into trouble.  When out & about she is either right on my hip or running around creating madness depending on the setting.  Some of the words she's saying are: hi, bye, uma (kiss), Ziggy (our dogs name), Dada, Daddy, & the word she says constantly is sasa, which means slap in Samoan.  It's pretty priceless.  She loves to yell it at Ane all day every day.  She 's been the perfect little addition to our family- we're so thankful for her & the happiness she's brought into our lives! 

We decided to take our girls to Disneyland for a late birthday gift for Tai & an early gift for Anelia.  They both love all things Disney so as expected, our trip was a true success!  Some of the highlights of our day was:

Anelia riding the Tower of Terror

Our fast passes on Radiator Springs  Racers

Our lunch at Blue Bayou

Enjoying one parade in DCA & two in Disneyland

The firework show for the 60th anniversary was truly amazing & something I'll never forget... 

A little side story... People wait HOURS in advance for good seats for the Paint the Night parade & fireworks.  Sage & I waited an hour in advance & ended up standing in a crowded area surrounded by people.  Sage & Ane went to get some delicious corn dogs for us all to enjoy while Tai & I waited in our spot.  He came back & by this time Tai was exhausted, it was humid & needless to say, we were ready for the day to be over. Tai continued to fuss even after eating... Then a lovely lady who was standing next to us turned to Tai & began talking to her, being sweet & trying to soothe her.  Her small gesture went a long way & is a moment I'll never forget.  She was so kind & gracious.  After talking to them I found out that they were visiting from Sandy, Utah... Right by my hometown.  I also found out that their daughter attended Granger High with my sister & cousin, such a small world! 

Anyways, we had such a blast at Disneyland!  We hope to take the girls to experience Disney World when they're older & can fully enjoy the magic.

This little gem is now FOUR!  It's seems so surreal that I'm the mom of a 4 year old, craziness!  Anelia is our little unique soul.  She's full of surprises & as I've mentioned before, she's our sour patch kid.  She's also like a box of chocolates, "you never know what you're gonna get..." One moment she's the sweetest thing in all the land.  She's helpful, gives hugs, helps with her sister, randomly tells you she loves you & the next minute... She's the compete & total opposite.  One thing that is for certain, Anelia is hilarious. She's a total comedian & enjoys making people laugh.  She's also at the age where she loves to socialize & enjoys being in new settings with lots of littles her age.  I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father blessed us with her as our oldest. She's really quite helpful & becoming more & more independent each day. 

I think I covered it?  & if I didn't then it must not have been that important anyways... 

Xoxo.

Have Courage & Be Kind

I took on taking my girls to church today. Taking them alone is not an easy task however, I know that as they grow, the importance of His presence in their lives is so important.  I decided to have courage & just go & trust that all would be well. 

I've been having the urge to attend church for quite sometime & told myself that I HAD to go this Sunday, no excuses.  So this morning I knelt in prayer asking our Father in Heaven to grant me patience, that my girls would cooperate & behave, & that we'd get to church on time.

Well, my prayers were answered & we not only made it to church on time we were 15 minutes early!  Truly a miracle in itself because anyone that knows me, knows that I'm late to everything.  We were not only early, my girls behaved for the most part & I was able to enjoy almost the entire meeting except the closing prayer because Tai was extremely tired thanks to daylight savings. 

Not only did we get to enjoy sacrament but Ane went to sunbeams for the first time.  Yes, it was her first time unfortunately, I've been extremely inactive because as I stated before, attending church alone isn't easy, at all.  When I took Anelia to primary I was unsure on which class she belonged so I approached a lady at the door.  When I asked this lady for direction she seemed irritated with me & as if helping me was an inconvenience.  I tried to not let her behavior rub me in the wrong way & continued to figure things out by asking someone else for help.  Unfortunately, that lady's behavior towards me continued to bother me & sort of "consumed" my mind.  Here I was, having an incredibly successful Sabbath & this one person's negativity had put a damper on things.  As time went by, I was reminded that her negativity was nothing in comparison to all the good I had experienced today. 

That lady's behavior was a reminder to myself to always be kind.  You never know a person's story, you never know how your attitude towards them will effect their day.  I could have taken that negativity had it turn my day around & make me want to never come back. But I didn't.  Always have courage & be kind. 

Anyways, Ane enjoyed primary & sang & participated like the little gem that she is. She was so upset when it was time to go home & that was so heart warming for me to witness.

I'm thankful for the Gospel & how when I attend church I hear exactly what I need to.  The Lord truly knows us & our struggles & I was reminded of this today. Just in the short time that we've been home I feel a difference in my mood & see how attending church affects me in a positive way. 

"When it feels right, it's right."