JAN 2026

 Jan 1 - Brittany is Leaving US!!!😰😩😓

Is she tho??? Am I being dramatic? Yah.She's moving into her own place two minutes away and still here in Vineyard lol. Her roomates (the tiny girls) are especially sad. We all are, but we also know Britt deserves her own space where she can be free to do what she wants and kick out guests whenever she wants hahaha because she already knows the kids are going to try going over all the time lol

Update: The tiny girls have spent multiple nights at Aunty Brittany's place already. 

Jan 3 - Trip to Goutemala

Kalofae, Aljay finally got the gout. He was feeling a dull pain two days earlier but on this day he woke up and couldn't even walk. He was in so much pain. So off to urgent care we went. His scans came back great, but a few hours later we got a call that his labs showed high concentration of uric acid --- gout. 

I picked up his prescription meds and he was able to take them around dinner time. By 11pm his foot was already feeling waaaay better. 

After much googling, he learned that creatine (which he first starting taking two days ago) and whey protein (which he mixed into his peanut butter the night before) and a high protein diet can cause uric acid build up. I know he's bummed, but I'm happy that he still has a positive attitude and is looking forward to feeling better and moving his body again. 

Jan 4 - Viiga was ordained to the office of a Deacon

We officially have three kids in youth. We are excited to see Viiga pass the sacrament and start attending Young Men's activities. 





Jan 4 - Aljay and I had our January Planning Meeting

Set some goals or whateva lol Read more HERE

Jan 10 - Saleima's First Basketball Game

Saleima's junior jazz season started! She did great in her first game. We'll start looking into basketball clubs for her. She had fun and was able to play with Esther from our ward. 

Jan 12 - Club Volleyball Miracle  

Eva Lesa’s 15U volleyball club team had two girls drop out in January and was suddenly in need of another player. Leila was recommended by both Eva and their Timpview volleyball coach, since she wasn’t playing on a club team yet. Shortly after, the club coach reached out and mentioned there might be a scholarship opportunity.

As it turned out, one of the girls who had dropped out had already paid her season fees in full and never requested a refund (which is also against the club’s policy). Because of that, instead of paying the full $2,000, we only had to pay $500—an amount we were actually able to manage.

Leila’s main goal was just to get more touches and reps, but between the cost of club volleyball and the time and travel required for practices and tournaments, it simply wasn’t something we could afford before. This truly felt like such a huge blessing.

On top of that, this team plays local tournaments, has fewer tournaments than the travel team, and Leila can get a ride from Eva. Everything aligned in such a meaningful way. What a blessing!


Jan 22 - Metuli's 8th Birthday


Our birthday girl was just barely getting over being sick, so she got to stay home from school with her little sick bestie, Salani. I was supposed to get a picture that morning of Metuli with her presents by the decorated mantle, but by 7 a.m. she had already brought all her gifts up to her room 😂.

Lani and Metuli kicked off the day with showers, temporary tattoos, and then lunch at Chick-fil-A with Dad.

That evening, we wrapped things up with our traditional family “Cake & Sing Happy Birthday” dinner. Aunty Peyton made the wickedest cake!

With Metuli turning 8, she is excited and ready to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Our favorite things about Metuli are:

  • Metuli is sweet, kind, and has an infectious laugh. 
  • She is very bright and loves to learn. 
  • She is physically strong and emotionally tender. 
  • She is a caring sister and Salani's built-in bestie. 
  • She is surprisingly quite flexible, but can also be super clumsy. 
  • She is great helper. 
We're so proud of her and love watching her grow. 

We love you sweet girl!




This Month's Favorite Nugget(s) of Wisdom/Reminders

  • Confidence comes after you take action
  • Our bodies are far more adaptable than we realise
  • Consistency is key.
  • We have two lives, and the second begins when we realise we only have one.                  - Confucius




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being Prepared For These Times

Image
Auuuu that title sounds like I'm trying to write a General Conference talk or something hahaha. Probably still on the GC vibe from the beginning of the month lol. Anyways... So this pandemic that's going on, it's been something else! It has put the whole world on lock down. So many lives have been affected. I've written quite a bit in my journal, but I wanted to make sure to write about how the Lord has prepared our family specifically for this time. Looking back just in February and March, we can easily see how the Lord had orchestrated parts of our lives.  In February Aljay secured an art collector who commissioned several art pieces. His deposit was the cushion that brought a sense of financial security when we entered this lock-down life.  Towards the end of February, my bosses had heard about school closures in Seattle and decided that we should have a plan in place for our advisers to work remotely in case the schools had to close. We honestly didn...
Read more

2025 February

Image
Leila - Volleyball and more Volleyball  Leila had two tournaments in February. This club season has challenged her in a good way. She wants to play the outside hitter position but is playing on a 16s team (meaning older girls with more experience) and is sitting in the 3rd spot for out side hitting. To get to the 1 or 2 spot she needs more reps, more practice, and more individual coaching. We're seeing improvements each week, but are planning to set aside money for her to do more 1:1 coaching.  These tournaments are no joke. They are allllll day. 6am - 7pm sometimes. 1-day, 2-day, and sometimes 3-day tourneys. The mental stamina it takes as a parent ahahahahh is a real thing! Trying to say the right things to keep your athlete focused, motivated, and locked in is tough. There are so many things that are over stimulating or compounding: - the non stop sound of whistles and girl's cheering/screaming - the smell of swass in the building that increases as the tournament progresses...
Read more

2025 January

Image
Start the year off with two volleyball tournaments for Leila. The picture below is of her and Isa, the only 14-year-olds on their U16 team.  Fires are destroying parts of California, the Palisade area experiencing the worst of it. Texas and some of the southern states are experiencing some of the worst snow/ice conditions. TikTok is on the verge of being banned, President Trump is continuously passing executive orders that are sending people into panic.  Saleima made a list of the disasters and warned us that Jesus was on His way.  Sefa moved up to the Teachers quorum and was ordained by his Dad, Uncle Dennis, and Uncle Ben. He's growing so quickly and I love seeing his growth. They have a great group of young men. I love that they are old enough to plan activities, including attending the temple to do Baptism.  Sefa's also starting U15 7v7 pylons with coach Matt Manuma. He had made the decision to not be held back for football. It's a common practice here in Utah, a...
Read more