New Year's Eve!!

We are about to roll in 2018!  Another year down and our family is happy and healthy.  We have been so blessed this year. 

Today church was cancelled due to cold weather.  The temperature was suppose to be pretty cold!  It dipped clear into the negative 20s!!  We enjoyed the day and home and were very happy not to have to leave our warm home. 

I made some Pani Popo with some hot chocolate and we enjoyed the night.  Oh, and I made some cinnamon rolls for Tyler because he doesn't like Pani Popo. 

Here's to a wonderful 2018!!

Happy Birthday Makai

Makai turned 8!  He is excited to be 8.  Makai weighs about 100lbs and loves food.  We are working on having a healthy relationship with food, but the boy just loves food.  For his birthday he wanted a lemon cake like what Kory had, but I just didn't have time after work to make him one, so he got a cake from Costco.  It was so rich we ended up having to throw some of it away, but it was good.  Makai is a typical boy and loves all things BOY.  He loves Lego's and star wars.  The day after his birthday we took everyone out of school early and went to see the new Star Wars Movie.  He got Legos for his birthday and a Nerf gun.  He was happy as can be.

Basketball for Kory and Trey!

Once football ended for Tyler and Kyle basketball started for Kory and Trey!  It was the first time either of them had played on a team and we learned a lot about both of them. 

Trey's season started first.  He plays on a team with three other boys from our ward which was nice. He learned a lot about himself.  His first game he was ready to go out and rock the game, but within a few minutes he had traveled and gotten a foul called on him and he kinda froze.  As  a mom it was so hard to watch.  I saw the fun zapped right out of the game.  He was holding back tears.  They lost their first game and at the end he lost it.  Tears streamed down his face.  My heart broke.  He also didn't score any points which didn't help. 

The second game Trey could hardly even play!  He spent the game biting his nails. His nerves just got to him.  But he did make a free throw which was a plus. 

Came to dad for a pep talk!

Game three the team won!!  The smiles were huge!!

 

Jacob, Trey, Ethan and Scott

Makai was excited for his brother!!  

It was the only game they won all season!  Trey struggled with some anxiety, but learned and grew from the experience.  He is excited to play again this winter.  He did reach his goal of making 20 points during the season.

Kory started play basketball for the first time this year.  He made the C team which was good because all his games were home games and he played with a lot of his friends.  

Low five!  Kory enjoyed his team-mates and even the other team-mates.  Often after the game everyone would just laugh and talk about everyone's good plays.  It was a good experience for him.  

Kory had fun on the court.  They won most of their games and got second place in the final tournament.  It was great to see them learn from game to game.  Kory had a few amazing shots.  

Trey was excited after Kory's first win!!

Thanksgiving!

We had a fun Thanksgiving this year. All the Salanoa side came!  Minus Helene and Tini.  They were going to come, but last minute had to cancel.  However, everyone else made it.  We were worried out house would be too small, but it all worked out.  Tj, Dora, Yaya, and Adonis came in November 18th late in the evening.  James, Cindy, Emjae, Julie and Samuel came in the 19th in the afternoon.  And mom and Lu came in on the 26th at about 3 in the morning.  Monty had finals that week and the kids and I had school so the real vacation didn't begin till after school on the 20th, but we had a good time.  We did a lot of eating and played a lot of scrabble and Monopoly Go.

Cousins were happy to be together again

Adults were happy to be fed

And Samuel was happy to have a cozy aunty to sleep on.  It was so sweet to watch him just crawl into her lap and within a matter of minutes he was out!

I now know where the boys get their good looks and need to pose

For Thanksgiving we decided to go to the zoo.  We had planned to go to the zoo because we were going to wait to have dinner then Helene and Tini came, and didn't want to change plans.  It proved to be a great day to go to the zoo.  It was practically empty!

It was the first time Yaya had been to a zoo!

TJ enjoying the pengins!

Trey enjoying the aquarium. 

Makai resting with the gorilla

Later resting with our gorilla

Kids are go cute when they are sleeping

We also ate a lot.  Twice we ate out.  I've not sure how the restaurants felt when they saw us all walk in.

Nana and Lu with all the grandkids

Saturday we had our Thanksgiving.  It was perfect. 

Thankgiving 2017.  Thanks for coming everyone.

No one left hungry.

We also went to the botanical gardens one day and took everyone to the Trail Center at winter quarters and looked at all the gingerbreads for the holidays as well. 

Sweet moment!

Samuel saying he didn't want to leave

Till next time!

Fun time was had by all.

TJ and his family left a day after everyone else so we took them to the one other fun thing to do in Omaha in the winter.  The ferris wheel in a Scheels.  A first for Yaya again.   

We got everyone get on.  We may or may not have broken it, but they had to call someone over to look at it after we all rode it. ???  

Memorable events from the trip:  James really wanted Sushi, but Cindy doesn't like it so we never got any.  The night they left we went to get Sushi, but it wasn't good so James got the final laugh.  

TJ was on some diet during the trip so he wouldn't eat bread, but he would eat 2 honey buns every night.  That was kinda funny.  Noble effort.  He did go to the gym a few times during the trip which was more than any of the rest of us went.  

Cindy brought a SCRABBLE bible.  That girl is serious about her scrabble and she usually always wins too.  

James and Monty both left the football game on Thanksgiving with limps.  But the Turkey bowl was loads of fun so they would both do it again.  

We never went to bed before 2am at least. 

Lu wore his headphones the entire trip!  Not sure what he listens to, but he listens to it all the time!

A very memorable Thanksgiving!