BLOGGING FOR SINA . . .

Up until late last year, I had been avoiding the whole blog world. I 've never been good at writing in journals and things of this sort, so I thought it would be the same way with blogging. I've found though, that I really enjoy it. Especially on days at work when I have lots of time to kill, I can write a thing or two.

I often wonder what people are thinking when they write a blog. For me, I think about Sina. I think - "wow, I should really write about this so that Sina can read it in a few years and know about things like: when we bought our first christmas tree or when grandma came to visit or when we went to Frisco. Hopefully, if the internet is around for the rest of our lives, she'll have much more to read about.

She'll also know that her mommy and daddy were once kids too and she'll be able to laught at the silly things we did - at least she'll know about MY childhood ( I like to reminisce about the good old days). Hopefully Anthony will jump on here and write something for her every now and then. Anyway, just thought I'd take this chance to leave a message for Sina . . .

When you read this, just know that your mom and dad love you so much. You are 2 yrs and 7 months old today. You probably won't read this for another 3 or 4 years, but when you do just know that you are the most loved little girl in the world . You're mom is an innate cheez ball and your dad is the silliest, most lovable guy in the world. He cries when he watches you sleep and smiles when say things like "daddy...go weenee?" (that means swing at the playground). You are talking and saying more words now that when you say something new like ..."ooh, awesome!" or "hello, how are you?" when you imitate me or your aunty sulu, we crack up laughing and are just amazed by how smart you are.

You love to play with other kids and will willingly give up your ice cream cone when another little kid wants it (almost every time). You love to dance and you know almost every Barney song ever made. You love your cousins Koleka and Heiress and Alo too. You rarely see Nora and Veni, but you love them too.

Your grandma loves you (and secretly favors you), probably because she raised you since you came home that first day from the hospital. You were only 2 days old and you drank a whole 4 oz. bottle...you're still amazing! :) You are growing up too fast and although you are not quite potty trained yet, you know the function of a toilet and you like to pretend your using it just to flush the water down.

As you grow up, you might think your mom is a stickler and outwardly I might not show much emotion, but just know that you are the biggest blessing in my life. I knew when I first saw you that you were meant to be ours. You are stuck with me and your daddy for eternity - hows that? So when you're a teenager and you think you want cooler parents, just know that you're stuck with us.....for life, and the next!

I hope you enjoy reading these blogs, posts, messages, whatever you want to call them. They are for you. Hopefully, they'll give you a little bit of insight to your folks and to how much you are loved!

I love San Francisco

Last weekend we took a road trip up to San Francisco. Me, Anthony, Sina, and Mom braved the trek through the Lake Powell forest and survived the 12 hr trip each way. On our way there, we got stuck in a blizzard/snow storm in the mountains. That was probably one of the scariest things I've ever been through. Good thing I was driving because I would have been freaking out as a back seat driver.

My cousin Nu'u got married to her long time boyfriend and we were fortunate to celebrate with them. The last time we were in San Francisco was back in 2006 when we visited Stockton for another *uh hum* wedding. That was when Mani and Becky lived in Stockton and we saw them often. We rarely see them now since they moved to Missouri.

This trip around, Nephi and his family drove up from San Diego and met us in the city. We stayed at the Sheraton four seasons right near the airport. We all crammed in to one room - it was awesome! Just like old times. We arrived there friday morning and then headed over to Caeser Chavez to meet with the old folks so we could take our si'i. We planned on going to fisherman's warf afterward, which is a long time tradition for our family whenever we are in Frisco, but as Samoan traditions go - you can never put a time frame as to when they will end. We didn't get out of there until almost 10. So we headed back to the hotel and crashed for the night with the intent of waking early Saturday. So we got up as early as we possibly could - 11am. haha...some things never change. After the showers and the screams to get the kids ready, we finally made it out the door.

We parked in our usual spot right in front of the clam chowder stands. We started at the chocolate shop where we all shared a huge rocky road candy apple!! Yeah - how many Samoans does it take to eat a candy apple? - that day it was 3 Samoans and a Mexican. We took Sina and Alo in to the infamous Rainforest cafe where Sina freaked out at the mechanical elephants and gorillas. Now, if we want her to listen, all we have to say is "the elephant is coming" and she comes running. Who knows how long that will work. Sina and Alo had a blast playing together. Luckily, Alo will have a playmate soon as Irais is due with their 2nd baby in December. Sina will have to hold out a little longer!

We finally made it over to the chowder stands where we downed fresh fish n' chips and clam chowder bread bowls. SO GOOD! We only stayed about an hour and a half because the wedding started at 3 that day. The fisherman's wharf was definitely a highlight of the trip, as it always is. We missed Mani and Sulu this time around, but hopefully we'll do it again soon.

Nuu's wedding was beautiful. Her dress was gorgeous and I later found out, when I finally got a chance to chat with her, that they had planned it for over a year. They had their reception at this nice hall on Berkely campus. She had white satin draping from each corner of the hall to the center of the room. The band was amazing, though I have no clue what their name was. They came up from L.A. and apparently they are the best Samoan band in SoCal. They sang my favorite Samoan song "Taute". Anthony is the best dancer so we had a blast. My mom's side of the family is full of 'single ladies' so Anthony was the designated dancer, as always! Gotta love that.

Seeing Nu'u get married made me realize how old I'm getting. Nu'u is just a few years younger than me. When I was a kid, we spent a lot of summers in Daly City and I used to spend that time in Serramonte with Nu'u and her sister Susana. They lived in this ghetto house, the kind you only see in movies, that have the liquor store on the corner and where you hear gun shots and police sirens through the night. I didn't think of it at the time, but I can't belive my parents let me stay with them. haha. We did some crazy stuff, like being 9 yrs old and stealing Nuu's dad's cigarettes and climbing up on their roof to smoke them. ***Mental note - Serramonte is off limits for Sina*** We were dumb kids, but they were the best cousins I had and I have such fond memories of them. Now look at us - old married farts!

The band at the reception was so good that we stayed until 12:30 am until we got kicked out of the hall. We made that band play until they couldn't sing or play their instruments anymore. They were that good. They even sang the best rendition of "Sosefina" I've ever heard. If we ever take another trip to SoCal we have vowed to hunt them down.

We headed back Sunday afternoon to try and make it over the mountains before nightfall. We made a stop in Elko and then in Wendover before making it home. We slept 12 hours straight after that so we could recoup for the rest of the week. What's next? St. George in June for Nathan's wedding... not as far, thanks goodness, but we're looking forward to spending time together again!