A Full Mouth

Ever since Noah was 2 I knew that his mouth would need lots of work. Well the time finally arrived and we went on a whirlwind of orthodontist appointments. After two months of impressions, spacers, brackets, lip bumper and an expander he finally got his braces on. He had to go through 7 weeks of "cranking" on the expander before his top jaw was wide enough to match up with his lower jaw. He has been a good sport about it. He hasn't complained about the braces. He seems so much older now with them on. He is looking forward to October so he can get black and orange bands on his brackets. At least he is having fun with them. I sympasize with him very well. I remember all those appointments to Dr. Running's office and being miserable the first couple of days after each appointment. At least I am not making him eat hard things right afterwards.

The Bitter Sweet End

Since summer is almost over I decided to let the kids have one more fun activity. On the 21st we went to Disneyland and California Adventure. We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. The boys love that place. Lily however has developed a fear of loud noises and the dark and that place has both. She survived and was happy. We went on the Autopia and Buzz Lightyear at Disneyland. We always have to go on those two. I can never get past level 4 either. Drives me nuts. We were able to see The Alladin Show, which was absolutely fabulous and the Electrical Parade. I haven't seen that since before they took it out of Disneyland. During the parade Snow White walked over to Lily and smiled at her and waved. Lily thought that was the greatest. Having the Disney passes this year has been great. We just relax and have a good time while we are at the parks.

After we left Anaheim we drove to Mortensen Manor to spend a few days with our cousins. The kids loved swimming, playing with the chickens and having more kids to play with than just each other. It was a nice break for me. The kids would be in the basement and I wouldn't even here them. What a nice change after 7 weeks of summer. Thanks Jen!

Lily has done a few funny things lately and I thought I would share them just to get a laugh. She is also doing a lot of annoying things lately too, like not sleeping through the night. Which is why this post is so late. The other day we were getting in the car and she said, "Mom, I want to hear anky noodle." I said, "Anky Noodle?" She said, "Yes. Anky Noodle rides the pony." I laughed and told her it was Yankee Doodle. Then tonight at dinner Noah commented that Lily was the only kid who hadn't stuck anything up her nose while being three. Well later on during the meal Lily stuck rice up her nose and a lot of it. I couldn't get it out with a tissue so I asked her to blow her nose while plugged one nostril. I didn't think she could do it, but she did and the rice flew all over my lap. That got all the boys laughing. I can now say all my kids have stuck something up their nose. Yippie.

When asked today if I was going to watch the Democratic National Convention I said, "No, what is the point?" I don't need to waste my time. If you haven't been to JibJab this political season you should. It is hilarious. Also on another political note, I don't usually do this, but Damon has been out walking the neighborhoods doing some canvasing, so it has been on my mind. If Prop 8 in California fails and marriage can be between any two persons than what is to stop people from marrying their dogs. Marriage has to be define as something so why not have it be between a man and a woman.

On another book note I have been cured of my Twilight obsession. I still like the books, but I don't feel the need to pour over them. While at my sister's I came across a series of books that I read while living in Oregon and was reintroduced to out of a touch of insomnia. I was reminded of some male characters who are much better than Edward. If you haven't read the series yet you should. They are the Amelia Peabody Series by Elizabeth Peters. So good. You have to read them in order though, but my favorites are Falcon At the Portal and He Shall Thunder in the Sky. Definitely team Ramses. Happy Reading.

My last note is about my wonderful spouse who I love and adore. We just celebrated our 10 year anniversary. Can't believe it's been that long. I guess that means we have been having so much fun that time is flying by. Thanks Dames!

Family Night at the Beach!

We were able to get together with the Beck's on Monday night for family night at the beach. Their boys were home from college and they wanted to see us. We met in Oceanside in the late afternoon and just played. We also had dinner and a great lesson from Nathan about how are ancestors should inspire us to choose the right. He did a great job. The kids had a blast playing at the beach with their much older cousins. We had such a wonderful time at the beach. It is nice to be reminded of the perks you get when living in Southern California.

Big Girl Now!

Since the potty training of Lily has entitled her to be called a big girl she decided she no longer wanted to sleep in the crib. She wanted to be in a big girl bed. So we took her to the store and she got to pick out sheets and a comforter. All last week she would ask, "Can we put my big girl bed together now?" I kept telling her on Saturday. Well Saturday finally arrived and she was not going to be put off any longer. We washed her new sheets, took down her crib, which she insisted being a part of, and rearranged the furniture. The finished product looks pretty nice except in Lily's words, "It's so beautiful." She truly is a big girl now. I am not to keen on the bedding myself, but it makes her happy. I only wanted it to match the paint in the room. On a different note Damon was a little sad breaking down the crib. It has been up for 8 1/2 years. I however was doing the happy dance.

Bowling and Birthday Cake!!

Adam got to celebrate his birthday this week and as a family we went bowling. Adam thought it was great that Dad got to go along since he never goes bowling with us. At the end of one game Damon bowled a 124. I was excited for the first little bit because I was actually leading but ended with a disappointing 83. Both the boys ended up with 71, which was good because neither of them could rub it in that they had won and Lily, who quite by frame 6 and spent the rest of the game pouting, actually got a 64. After bowling Adam was allowed to pick where we would go out to lunch. He was told he could pick anywhere except Rainforest Cafe because it is in Anahiem. I love my child, but we ended up at McDonald's. The kids of course had a blast. The rest of the day was filled with phone calls from family, swim lessons, pizza for dinner and birthday cake. Adam's most favorite present was his Indiana Jones legos. We are so glad Adam is a part of our family.

Olympics, here I.....

There is a lot to be said about Olympic athletes. They are super human. I really don't think they lead normal lives. Where do they find time to train? They are simply amazing. Well, to kick off the Olympics in the Afualo household I decided to race in another triathlon. Actually my sister decided for me. I thought it would be fun, but didn't realize at the time of sign ups that the race was only 10 days after we got home from our vacation. Well as you can guess I thought I would spend those 10 days training hard for that race. NOPE! I was to busy trying to recover from our trip and get life back together. I am not super woman. I don't pretend to be anything more than normal. So 5 days before the race I decided I better get serious again. I spent those days trying to get my body not only adjusted to running again, but running after biking 18 miles. My legs were apparently still on vacation.

The morning of August 9th rolled around much faster than I had wanted it and after a night of little sleep and terrifying nightmares of sharks, fish and forgetting my registration I got dressed, grabbed my gear and woke Damon up so there would be someone to drag my mangled body back home after it was found in the ocean or on the side of the road.

After setting up my gear in the transition area I found my sister and brother-in-law as we listened to our pre-race pep talk. Then we headed for the beach. I looked up to Damon one more time to send him a final goodbye wave, just in case it would be our last. He couldn't tell it was me, but I hoped that he knew how much I loved him.

As we waited on the beach for our start time which was 8:47am we watched male swimmer after male swimmer being pulled out by the life guards. I kept thinking, "If these guys can't make it, what am I going to do." By this time my nerves were shot and I seriously thought I was going to lose what little food I had in my stomach. As they called my wave to get set I zipped up the rest of my wet suit, suctioned my goggles to my eyeballs and put my blue swim cap on. Then the adrenaline kicked in. The shot gun sounded and I was off, heading towards the water where 3 months earlier another triathlete was eaten by a great white shark. I was OK for the first few waves where I was still taller than them. As soon as the water got to deep I had to start swimming. Then when the first big wave hit me and I got my first mouthful of salt water and was pummeled by yet another wave I thought, "Why am I doing this? This is so not worth it." I was tempted to swim over to the life guard boat and order them to take me to shore. I knew my sister would never let me live it down so I kept swimming and swimming and swimming. When I finally looked up in front of my I realized I was still in the front of the pack. That made me keep going. As a swimmer I was trained to keep my eyes open underwater, but even when you are wearing goggles in the SoCal Pacific Ocean you still can't see anything in front of you.

I finally made it back to shore got changed into my bike gear and was headed off into the canyon for my 18 mile ride. There were no mile markers and I forgot to put my watch on so I had no idea where I was, what time it was or how far I had left. Some where after the halfway point I hit this big hill and I had my bike in low gear and I still felt like I wasn't moving at all. I finally got off my bike and walked it up the rest of the hill. I didn't even care about how silly I looked. I got back on my bike and finished the ride with little enthusiasm. I felt some since of pride because I passed some people so I knew I wouldn't finish last.

The run was easy because it was a short distance, but it was hard because my legs didn't have much left in them. At the last quarter mile of the 3.1 mile run I was met by about 8 marines stationed at Camp Pendleton to help push me through the finish. I actually sprinted through the finish line. It took 2 hours and 21 minutes to finish this race. Some actually did it in 1 hour and 11 minutes. I like to call them overachievers.

When all is said and done I have learned some lessons. 1) you need to train a little bit more seriously if you want to do well 2)quiting is never an option in my family 3)it is wonderful to have a husband who will push your bike back to the car after your race 4) over indulging in milkshakes and french toast from Denny's after any race is well worth the effort 5) I will never be an Olympic athlete and I think I am glad about that.

On the Royal Throne

Most of you know the struggle I went through earlier in the year with trying to potty train Lily. Well, right after we got back from our trip the same battle began to brew. After a day of Lily screaming her brains out and refusing to use the toliet while she sat on it I had a nice little chat with my 3 year old. I said, "It is my way now. This is what we are doing. You are not going to win on this." Well, who knew that would be the turning point. I haven't really had a problem with her since. She loves going to the bathroom now on the potty. The first few days were rough. I think we would go through 6 pairs of princess underwear (we can't call them underpant. Lily doesn't like that) the first 4 days, but now she wears the same pair all day long. On Friday we were out running errands and I told her every store we went to would have a potty. If she needed to go she needed to tell me. I kept asking her, but she never had to go. Thank goodness because public bathrooms gross me out. We are so very proud of her. I am so very excited to be almost done with diapers after 8 1/2 years. YIPPIE!!

Fun at the Pool!

For the past week we have had nothing but warm and dry weather. Adam has been taking swim lessons at the pool by our house. He seems to be doing quite well. Lily is taking swim lessons with mom and she is becoming quite the fish. When I called her my little fish she responded, "I am not a fish, I am Lily". Damon came to the pool with us today. The kids enjoyed swimming with their dad. When Adam was in the deep end of the pool working on dives the swim instructor was trying to get him to just dive in. Adam was so worried about all the particulars. He said, "Is my knee here or here? Do my hands go this way or that way?" The instructor laughed and finally told Adam to just dive. Adam is working on Elementary Backstroke. If your kids have learned that you are familiar with the saying, "Chicken, T, Rocket, or Soldier, Monkey, Airplane". Well Adam hasn't accepted either of those two saying and now says, "Chicken-Monkey, T, Straight line." Then halfway through a lap he gets confused about what his body is supposed to be doing and he sinks. It is funny to watch, but as a former swim instructor also very painful. I am hoping one of my kids will turn out to be a swimmer like me, but at this point it doesn't look very hopeful.

Breaking Disappointment

Well, I did it. I read a 759 page book in less than 35 hours. Not bad considering I didn't stay up all night, I had to take care of 3 kids and one husband (sort of... they were all fed and bathed) and I spent 3 hours at church. The final chapter of my vampire saga was a bit of a let down and I haven't quite figured out why. It was just so different from the other three and I felt that a lot of very silly things happened that I didn't agree with. Damon is quite happy that the book ended so miserably for me. He hopes that it will end the infatuation. Don't let my opinion discourage you from reading the book or the other three. They are great. It is not like the last one is bad, it just wasn't as good as the others and therefore a bit of a let down. Just wanted to get that out there. Happy reading!

The Real Story behind 'A Trip to the Homeland'

Hi all. Yes, I have given in to the blogging fad, mostly motivated by the need to fill in some little details (ie tell the whole truth) that my wonderful wife may have missed due to her post-vacation euphoric state (is there such a thing?? I think it is commonly known as jet lag). Now in doing so, I am in no way inferring that anyone is willingly and knowingly trying to deceive. What I am really sharing is my perspective and maybe even (watch out now).......my feelings, about the events that have recently transpired. The real irony about this whole thing is that I am feeling more enthusiasm about this blog than the more noble undertaking of writing in my journal about things that truly matter. Oh well, such is life. Now, the good stuff....

Before I continue, let it be known that we had a wonderful time during our family vacation and that is truly how I feel about it. Although challenging, it was great to have Noah, Adam and Lily with us to experience it all. Lily may not remember much but I am sure that Noah and Adam have lasting memories. Words cannot express how thankful I am that we were able to go with Mom and Dad. I could have driven around the islands all day listening to their stories about the villages we were passing by.

Below are just some small stand-out snippets that merit publication. Again, remember that this is the 'real story' so I am compelled to tell the good, the bad and the ugly (although it does not mean that I will because the consequences may be severe).

'United we.....wait?'

When United Airlines says that they have a 45-min check-in cut-off - they mean it. We found this out the hard way as unanticipated delays from the long term parking garage at LAX resulted in us getting to the check-in line just a few minutes late. The UA rep indicated that we were too late and we would have to get in another line to try and get on a later flight - not they way to start a trip. Fortunately for us, someone was watching over us and the UA rep came back to us later and was able to get us on our original flight. I'd like to think it was my 1k UA rewards status that got us on, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it was Rachel's vocal disapproval of the situation that got us back on track.

(Dis)-Advantage Rent-A-Car, Honolulu

Advantage Rent-A-Car is probably the cheapest ticket around for a rental vehicle, but convenience and timeliness are not their strong points. Maybe that's what they threw in an extra colony of ants in the back of our minivan for free. I do admit that referring to it as a colony is an exaggeration, but it makes for a better story. Stay tuned for more insect adventures...

'Can I have the non-ocean view, please?'

Most people might think I am nuts but we ended up with a mountain-side view room at the Resort Quest Waikiki Sunset hotel - and I think I prefer this over a Waikiki ocean view any day of the week. Granted that this hotel is a few blocks north of the main Waikiki drag, but for me that is perfectly OK. We had a whole wall of window that faced north towards the mountains overlooking the Ala Wai Golf Course - OK, so there was a golf course so I am naturally biased but trust me, it was a beautiful view. The hotel is older but it is reasonably priced and clean. Being on the far east side of Waikiki, it is in close proximity to the zoo, Diamond Head Crater and Leonard's Bakery (see next snippet).

'Got Malasadas?'

Yum, yum, yum......yum, yum, yum, yum!

North Shore Love

I love the North Shore on Oahu. It is not Waikiki and that's why it is great. Less people, less traffic, less noise - my kind of place. My dream is to stay at Turtle Bay and play golf (which will not happen until I get rich). Noah and Rachel swam with sharks while I boldly stepped up to the plate and stayed behind to watch the kids, even though my Mom offered to watch them while we went out on the boat. Something about boats and sharks did not sit well with me, but Noah and Rachel had a great time. Adam, Lily, Nana (Mom) and I passed the time by going to the beach where we saw a sea turtle.

The North side also has a special place in my heart because of Laie. My grandpa Luteru was a labor missionary involved with the construction of what is now BYUH and he is buried in the small cemetery next to the Laie Temple. I also love to go to the PCC. There is really only 2 things you need to see at the PCC - the Samoan village and the night show. I never get tired of seeing these shows and I even got to meet the Samoan fire knife chief. His fire knife routine is awesome and I realized that I need to do a lot of practicing!

Star Sighting @ 30,000 ft.

OK, he is not a huge star but he was in a movie, and more importantly a movie that I like. The actor that played the grumpy old grandpa in 'The Whale Rider' was on our flight from Honolulu to Pago Pago, Am. Samoa. He, and a host of other people were on their way to Am. Samoa for the Pacific Arts Festival (which we did not know was happening). True to his Polynesian nature, he was cruising around the plane visiting with people barefoot!

The Pinnacle of our Trip
I think the greatest highlight of our trip was a gathering of the children of Patrick and Rozita Brighouse (and of course their children and so on). Tired and weary from travelling, we arrived in Apia, Samoa on July 18th. Being able to re-acquaint myself with the few I've met, and then to meet-anew those I have never before met was a cherished experience. With the availability of email and other such communication means, I pray that we will be able to stay in touch and have many other reunions. Special thanks to all the family members who worked so hard to organize the gatherings and events of the reunion, and to those who took care of us and made us feel welcome.

The Roach Coach

Our ant-ridden minivan was only a precursor on what was to come once we got to Apia. Mom rented a 15-passenger van for us to drive around the island but I can confidently tell you that this van held much more than 15 passengers. It seems that our rental had a family of roaches living in it and while they would scatter once you sat down, it was still un-nerving to know that they were there - just ask Rachel. After a visit to the car rental place, there were able to evict some of the critters but a few stubborn ones were still around, despite any bug chemicals used to persuade them to leave or die. Cockroaches really can survive just about anything.

Talking Story and Special Places
The roach-infested van could not stop us from driving around the island and visiting Nu'u where Mom grew up and all of the places Dad had lived in or served in as a missionary. It was wonderful to hear their stories and to actually associate a place with them. We also visited Sauniatu or the 'gathering place' in the early days of the Mormon church in Samoa. We went to Pesega to see the school and the rebuilt temple. We visited the graves of Grandpa Brighouse and other family members as well. Being able to see all this and hear it all first hand from Mom and Dad is an experience that runs a very close second to being able to meet all of the Brighouse family.

Old dog, old tricks
We often talk about not being able to teach an old dog new tricks, but we forget a more important point - can that old dog still remember the old tricks? Well, Dad proved he could has he showed us how to weave a basket from the leaves of the local plants when we went to the beach one day. Pretty good, Dad!

Parting Words

There are so many other things that could be blogged, but I will leave at that. In parting, I want to thank Mom and Dad for helping with the kids and making this a great trip. We did not make it over to Savaii this time, so my hope is that we will be able to do this again so that we can make more wonderful (and maybe a few not-so-wonderful) memories to cherish. Tofa soifua!