Say HELLO to Hobbes!

Well, we got a kitten for Baylee's birthday and were told it was a SHE. As it's grown, it's become evident that SHE is a HE. So her name had to be changed ... to Hobbes. Here HE is!


He's Hobbes -- counterpart to Calvin, our big grey tabby.

Together, they are Calvin & Hobbes. And together they are a nightmare around the house at times. Hobbes is such a pest and Calvin cries all the time. Kinda like two more kids ...

Tupu's BIG birthday party ... SURPRISE!

Right after Rory's ordination, we all headed out to East Seas to make final preparations for a surprise party for Grandma Tupu. She turns 70 in September; this was an early birthday party in her honor, as part of a weekend of celebrating with family.

(This is a picture of Tupu, Ed & Laura's youngest daughter. She's a character! She came to sit by me because she needed someone to cut her huli huli chicken. And then she went back for three more pieces of the stuff! She's so cute!)

(On a side note: I got a ticket for speeding on the way to the big event. And found out that the tinting on my car is too dark and has to be fixed right away. Fun day!)

Boy, do the Mulitalo's know how to throw a party! There was great food, Polynesian dancing, a live band, and lots of reconnecting with family and old friends. It was quite the event! And I think that Tupu was truly surprised. She thought she was going to a reunion dinner. She scolded me afterwards for saying goodbye to her at the house and not telling her the plans. Sorry!

Here's a picture of the great food: chop suey (Lani's favorite!), taro, corned beef, fried fish, macaroni salad ... and on and on!

Rylee and the older girls were in charge of serving the meal and taking care of the guests. Baylee and Rory both danced in several numbers in the program.

Here's a video of the boys doing the Haka:

And a picture of Rory & Amona, posing before their big dance! Silly boys!

Lani and Craig came along for the ride ... Payton was a bit overwhelmed by all the "brown folks", but immediately took to Rory ... I guess he's just got a way with the ladies?!

Baylee just can't bring herself to smile .... maybe that's why Payton looks so terrified?!

Anyway, the evening was was lots of fun ...

Here's one last picture of Lima, Ed & Laura's oldest daughter. She just turned 8 and will start the 3rd grade this fall. And she's not excited about it and not afraid to tell anyone who asks why. Funny girl!

Last, but not least, I thought you might enjoy a video of the girls dancing. You'll notice Lima in the front row, with Baylee behind her. If I'm not mistaken, I think Baylee actually smiles during her performance. You won't want to miss it!

Rory: ordained as a Deacon in the Aaronic priesthood!

We rushed home from girls camp to be with Rory for his big day ...

We coordinated his ordination with a family reunion and birthday party that the Mulitalo family was having this past weekend. It was important to Rory to have his uncle Ed stand in the circle to ordain him.

So on Friday evening, Rory was ordained a Deacon. His dad ordained him. Bishop Clifford attended and spoke at the meeting. Uncle Ed, Uncle Craig, and Uncle T stood in the circle.

After being ordained, Rory shared his testimony with his family, especially with all of his boy cousins who were there to participate. It was neat to see him be so grown up!

He's looking forward to learning how to pass the sacrament next week ...

Stake Girls Camp - Heber Valley Campground

Me & Rylee on the first day of camp ....

Rylee & I got the pleasure of attending girls camp together this year. This was to be my last "hurrah" as a young women's leader, since being released as the YW president in our ward in May. What a way to go out! The campsite near Heber City is so beautiful. And the best part was cabin camping with hot showers!

We arrived on Monday morning on busses and were "tagged" and divided up into cabins based on the girls' years. Rylee was with the 4th year campers. Me & Sister Henricksen were put in charge of the 6th year girls.

This is a picture of the leaders from OL 3rd ward: Sherri Slaughter, Leisa Vineyard, Emily Henricksen, and me!

I was trained on the challenge course on Monday afternoon; I was responsible for assisting the camp leaders in facilitating the Giant Swing obstacle for all of our girls. At training, I volunteered to demonstrate how to use the harness & equipment. Silly me! I didn't realize that I would get to demonstrate how to use it on the equipment. They hauled me up on the swing, at least 20 feet in the air, and then I had to "let myself go" .... BOY, did I! I screamed like a little girl the whole time. But no tears, thank goodness!

Here's a silly picture of me with one of Rylee's good friends .... Katie Ditty! She's a hoot! And what about that hair?!

It was a week packed with fun and lots of tender moments. Rylee brought her ukelele and sang a couple of numbers for the stake leaders. They cried. We hiked to the lake for an afternoon of canoeing and paddle boat rides. And got soaked! And each day the girls did neat craft projects, certified in first aid techniques and attended a workshop called "Destiny". They had guest speakers for Destiny all week that talked about ways to realize our potential. There were lots of tears at these sessions!

Here's a picture of Ry & Jennii just before testimony meeting. Notice the smiles. Replaced by lots of tears later ...

We got to eat together as a ward on the last night. Our bishop and counselor came up for dinner and testimony meeting. Also, two of the stake leaders were from our ward and spent the evening with us as a ward family. It was so much fun. And the food was delicious, especially the dutch oven desserts!

Then there was a testimony meeting at sunset for all the girls and their leaders. Rylee got up to share her experience on the challenge course and what she learned about trusting her friends. She shared about how the challenge had boosted her confidence and made her more grateful for her big, strong, healthy body. It was a special night.

This is Rylee with a couple of the stake leaders (B. Ditty & Martha Johansen), who have kinda taken her in. She's never short of friends (or moms, thank goodness!)

Every night was a late night, but especially the last night. We stayed up in our cabins talking and laughing and playing games until about 2 am. Then got up at 6 am to start cleaning and packing up. Talk about a long week ....

Here's yet another silly shot of Rylee and her friends, I guess deep in thought about all that they had learned?

Devon, Stephanie and Bailey were "regulars" all week, never far from the action, and never far from Rylee. She's a magnet for silly girls!

The camp experience was a great time with lots of great memories for me. And a great way for me to say goodbye to my girls from Young Women's.

4th of July celebration at the Mulitalo's!

I spent the 4th of July with the kids at Frisco's place. Ed & Laura and their little family were in town visiting for the weekend and decided to go ALL OUT on fireworks! They invited me over for the family BBQ and light show. Ed & Frisco had spent the day in Wyoming buying every kind of firework that you can imagine. They started lighting off fireworks just before sunset and were still going strong at about 10:30 pm. Laura & I kept watching and waiting for the cops to show up ... never happened! Anyway, it was a great time! The kids had fun and ate well and got the show of a lifetime! Here's some fun pictures from the night ...

Here's a picture of Ed getting ready to light some illegal fireworks ... notice how the girls are standing by to help! They loved it!

This is a picture of Laura with Noue and Rylee. She's so cute and pregnant! They are expecting another little girl late this year. YIPPEE for them!

Below, you'll see a picture of their little guy, Milo. He's a real go-getter. But he hates to have his picture taken. He's got beautiful, long, wavy hair. Laura keeps wondering when Dad will get it cut?!
Here's a picture of Rory with his cousin Paki. Stink face?!

And, last but not least, here's a typical picture of Baylee's face. It's the 4th of July ... Happy 4th of July. SIGH! She's so happy to be here!