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Pumpkin Patch

Last Tuesday we went to the pumpkin patch. Our elementary does this every year. The kids all get loaded in the bus, go to the patch, and then go to the park and have lunch. Then that night they have a picnic with hamburgers and hot dogs and they carve their pumpkins. They loved it. This is the first year we have participated in the picnic because this is the first year Tevita has been able to go. It was so much fun. The kids painted their pumpkins instead of carving. Tevita painted his pumpkin blue with a gold Y on it. I forgot to take my camera but my friend took a great picture of Tevita with his BYU pumpkin and shirt and his friend, Dave, with his University of Utah shirt on. Such a little rivalry! This was also Sipola's first time ever riding a school bus. She was so excited! The kids had a great day and their pumpkins turned out so cute!

Crazy Hair Day

Last Monday was Crazy Hair day at school. The kids were so excited and loved wearing their hair all crazy!

Braxton with his mohawk. He wants one for real but I don't think so!
Thanks to my friend Jen, Pola had the craziest hair! She loved it and it actually wasn't that bad to get out!

Parent Teacher Conference and Mehi

Well, I wish I had some pictures of my kids to post with this but I am at work so I can't put their pictures on here. But I wanted to get the information before I forget. Anyways, yesterday I attended parent teacher conference for my three kids. First I talked with Mrs. Bagley about Sipola. She told me that Sipola is doing great. She does really well in class and is learning a lot. She said that Pola just needs to work on the sounds. She said having Pola in her class is great and Sipola sets a good example for the other kids. I asked her how and she said, "I will tell the kids to take their pencils out and they wont so Pola tells them to take out their pencils". Good job Pola! Then I talked with Mrs. Bagley about Sisilia. She showed me test scores on her and Lia is testing above average. She got really high scores on all her tests. She said that Lia is reading very well and is a great student. I asked Mrs. Bagley how Silia and Pola are in the same class since they are sisters. Mrs. Bagley told me that out of all the brothers and sisters she has had, my kids show the most love for each other. She said that you can tell that they are very close and have each others backs! Hurray Vakautakakala sisters!!! I always want my kids to be close and it makes me so happy that they act like they are in public! Then I talked with Mrs. Stapley about Braxton. Braxton also tested above average on his tests. She told me that he is a really good student but he has one problem....TALKING!!! Surprise Surprise! Every parent teacher conference that we have went to with Brax, we always get the same thing...he is a great student but he talks too much. Like Tevita always says, as long as he is a good student we can be ok with it. We are trying to get Brax to not talk so much but I tell Tevita, "my parents were always told the same thing about me." He is such a little social bug and to be honest, I am glad. I would much rather have him being a social bug rather than somebody who won't socialize at all! It was so nice to come home from the conference and have good reports on all our kids. They are great kids and we love them dearly!
Halamehi doesn't have a conference story but I need to post about her. The other night I was trying to get her to bed and we were watching a show. On the show the guy threw a baby(doll). She looked at me and said, "Mommy, why did he just throw that baby? You've got to be kidding me!!" She had her hands up with her palms in the air and was so upset by that. I told Tevita that she obviously listens to her daddy because he always says "you've got to be kidding me"! It was so cute and I wish I could have captured it on tape but oh well. At least I have it down on here.
I am so blessed to have these children and I thank Heavenly Father each day for them.

Beautiful

Saturday Halamehi and I were driving while we were listening to Conference. What a great conference we were so blessed to listen to. I got thinking that I take my view for granted. It is so pretty especially in Fall. So I took some pictures of what I am so lucky to see everyday. It was also raining all day and I love the rain. My mom and I used to go for drives when it was raining. It was so calming and peaceful so I decided to do it with my daughter.
This picture is taken at the top of Brown's Lane. We always come that way to home because there is cell service all the way down the lane and I always call my dad to let him know we made it safe. Isn't it a cool view? The cool thing about this picture is that My dad, Braxton, Lia, and Pola are in the truck driving up Brown's lane to see us!
Here they are. I thought I got the picture that you could see all of them but for some reason it posted both the same. Sorry Lia. Just know that she is in the back seat with Sipola. My dad picked these three up after school on Friday and he ended up keeping them the whole weekend. They were antelope hunting this day.
They were supposed to be going home but instead Justin called them and told them the rain stopped so the kids out-voted dad 3-1 and they headed back up on the mountain. Nancy did get her antelope the next day. Congrats Nancy! Little Miss Lia came home on Saturday night. She said Braxton told her she was home sick. So Tevita got to spend the day Sunday with Lia and Mehi. When I came home from work Lia gave me a hug and wouldn't let me go. She said she didn't like being homesick and she missed me more than anything! What a touching little thing to come home to! Thanks dad for letting them stay with you, Thanks Justin and Nancy for inviting them to go on your hunt, and Thanks Lia for loving me so much!

Football Football Football

Tevita told me 3 weeks ago to prepare myself because the next 3 weeks would be nothing but football. I thought he was over exaggerating(sp?) but he was not! He spent every day at the ranch doing football practice or something with the team. The boys have come so far and I am so proud of Tevita for doing this! The girls that I took to the game thought they would show their school spirit and painted the team's van. It was so cute. They also painted the trailer but I didn't get a picture of it. They said it made them feel normal again!
Tevita during a time out. This game below was in Hurricane. What a nice place! I had never been there before. It is a really nice place and the game the boys played was so great! The other team didn't score anything in the first half but ended up winning 16-12. What a great loss for the team. I mean I don't like to see them loose but to only loose by 4 points is so great considering the first of the season they were loosing by 50 points. We only have 11 boys on our team so they have to play both offense and defense. They were tired but still gave it their all.
The coaches and the ref. I tried to get a picture of them looking at us but they were so focused on the game that it just didn't work!
I took Mehi and some of the ranch girls to this game. She was being so silly so I had to capture her that day. She was getting a little sassy and here she is posing for the girls. The other kids had to stay in school and then they stayed with Grandpa Rod.
Tevita had to take one day off of football to go to Salt Lake to see a doctor. He has been suffering from gout now for about 6 years. We have always been told to cut the meat out of his diet. Well, this last episode was so bad that he could not walk at all. He had to use crutches to even get around the house. So, we went up north and found out that he not only needs to cut out the meats, but also sugar, bread, fish, etc. etc. The only things he can eat is chicken, turkey, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and fruit. The doctor put him on some vitamins and different medications and within 24 hours he was able to walk again. What a blessing to finally get this under control! I feel bad for him because there really isn't much he can eat that he likes. Just yesterday he ate 6 bananas and had a little bit of chicken. He has already lost weight and I told him it's just not fair. I work really hard and don't loose much and here he is loosing so quickly. Men have it so easy!
Anyways, he is feeling better and learned a lot so we are grateful for that! Braxton finished the football season. His team took second in the league and second in the tournament. It was so cute, after they lost the championship game Brax held his hands in the air and said, "Yes, we took second!" All the boys cheered and they took their picture holding up the #2 sign. I will post them as soon as I get them. What a great group of kids with great sportsmanship! I hate to see his season end. He does so good and is such a great player. If he had it his way he would play year round! The girls are being girls. They are busy with dance and doing great!