Happy Holidays!

Here are some pictures. Some are a little old and some are new. The picture at the top is us at the San Diego State game. It was the BYU's last home game. Then there's a picture of Ku'uliko with pigtails and her tower of blocks. The picture of the kids in front of Christmas tree was taken just a few hours ago. We bought a fake Christmas tree from Walmart the other week and finally bought some ornaments today. We got them all at the Dollar store. Pretty good huh. We like our tree. It's perfect for our place. It's a slimmer tree so it fits perfectly by our TV. Ku'uliko helped us decorate the tree. It was really fun and it was just nice to have this moment with our family. It made me a little homesick thinking of when I used to help my mom put up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving.

Our Thanksgiving was really nice. We spent it with Kainoa's sister Ilima and her family, his brother RJ and his wife Emi and his aunty Heather. I was so excited to eat all the ono food. Ilima made the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and salad. I made the candied sweet potatoes (a first for me) and potato mac salad. RJ and Emi made a mean chocolate trifle. Oh yeah and we had pumpkin and apple pie. Everything was so good. I was stuffed. I think I probably gained some weight from yesterday. I did miss my mom's banana cream pie. Of course I thought of home and all the good food that my mom always makes. Man, being away from home makes you appreciate all the little things. And I was jealous of Kainoa's family that had kalua turkey back home. We had that last year in Kahuku. Oh well, in three years we'll be back home.

The night before Ilima treated Emi and me to the movie Twilight. Okay, so it was awesome. I laughed at a lot of parts because of what I read in the book. I loved the part when Bella walks into biology class and he's repulsed by her smell. Or at least he looked that way. I enjoyed it. Kainoa said he'll watch it with me when it gets to the dollar theater. He, Dan and RJ watched the new James Bond movie Quantum of Solace Thanksgiving night. I guess I'll have to watch that one when it gets to the dollar theater too.

Well today was crazy. We were planning to go early to Toys R Us but we ended up getting there at 7am. I guess that's still pretty early. I couldn't believe the line. It started at the entrance of the store and wound around the store. It was insane. It was like waiting in line for a ride at Disneyland. We know better that if we go next year we'll have one of us wait in line right as we enter the store. We really wanted to get something big for the kids because we wanted them to be able to have fun during the winter and keep busy especially when the baby comes. So we bought them one of those hard plastic playhouses that usually goes in the backyard. We rearranged their room and it'll fit just right. We also got a rocking horse that talks and sings. Their cousin Hailey has one and they were playing with it the entire time we were at the Todds. Oh yes and we had to get Kalei a truck. Kainoa's been wanting to get a truck for him. We got really good deals but boy were we tired when we got home. Luckily the kids were pretty good. Kalei stayed in his pajamas all day.

That's the update from our little Willing clan. Well I guess it won't be little for too much longer. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Playing in the snow

About a week and a half ago it snowed while we were asleep. Ku'uliko was so happy and excited to see snow outside. I figured it would melt by the end of the day so I told her we could go out and play with the snow. Kalei had a runny nose so he stayed inside with Kainoa's aunty. She didn't know what to do at first. Then she finally started touching the snow and playing with it. It took her a little while. She had so much fun. I'm glad we were able to enjoy the snow while it lasted. I can't wait until we can make snowmen and snow angels. Well that's all for now. A hui hou!

Halloween pictures

Our Halloween was lots of fun. As you can see Ku'uliko was a princess and Kalei was a tiger. Ku'uliko had lots of fun going to the different houses and saying, "trick or treat." It was funny because once she got her candy she said, "Okay, let's go to another house." We carved our pumpkins. I carved the kids' names into the little one and a honu in our bigger one. It came out pretty good. We wanted to represent Hawai'i. Halloween was fun for all of us. Next year should be even more fun with three.

Happy 3rd Birthday Ku'uliko!

So our big girl is 3. Her birthday was on Sunday the 26th. We just had the family over-the Todds, Granty Heather, Uncle RJ, and Aunty Emi. I made homemade pizzas with the help of my sous chefs Kainoa, Emi, and RJ. The pizzas came out really good. I also made the cake. Ku'uliko wanted strawberry so I made a barn cake and put little horses on it. She loves horses. It was so funny because when we were singing "Happy Birthday" she blew out the candles before we ended the song and everyone said, "Stop!" I guess she got embarrassed because she started to cry. So we lit the candles again and sang fast and then she finally blew them out. She had so much fun opening her presents. She got some pretty cool stuff-Hello Kitty doll house, Backyardigans circus toy, pajamas, books, puzzle, and a play washer/laundry set. She had so much fun playing with all her new toys and reading her new books.

Oh I forgot to mention in our last blog that we know what we're going to have. I had an ultrasound last Friday and they said that it's going to be a.......BOY! We're excited. We were hoping for a boy so Kalei could have someone to play with. Ku'uliko has some friends and her cousin that's the same age but Kalei just plays with the girls because there's no one really his age here. I'm due on March 13th. I'm half way there. Yeah!

I guess that's it until next time. A hui hou!

It's getting a little nippy...

Hey all! So ummmm...it's been a while. More than a month. So sorry. I'll explain. So as I mentioned earlier I got a job that's partially the reason why I haven't posted any blogs lately. Then...Kainoa got appendicitis last month. It was pretty crazy. It happened all of a sudden and luckily his appendix didn't burst. We were in the hospital the day of the BYU/UCLA game. He was bummed to have missed it. His surgery went well and we got of there the next day. We stayed overnight and let me say that I totally appreciate all the husbands that stay in the hospital with their wives. I had a little chair that didn't recline all the way and I was pretty uncomfortable with my growing belly. Good thing Kainoa's parents were here because they really helped us by watching the kids. What a way to spend our first night alone without our kids. Kainoa has recovered and is doing good in school. He missed a whole week because he was in a lot of pain. I'm just grateful is was only his appendix and not something worse.

I got an ultrasound last month to find out my due date. My due date is March 13th and the technician said that he's 85% sure that it's a boy. It was little early to see but there was something there between the legs. I'm going for another ultrasound on Friday since I'm 20 weeks now. I went to the doctor yesterday and she said that the baby is sounding healthy and that I'm doing good. I haven't gained much weight. I've gained a total of 4 pounds and I'm 5 months along. Kainoa is worried about me and tells me that I need to eat more. I'm trying. I still get a little sick but only after I eat something. I can't eat too much at one sitting so I'm trying to eat more smaller meals.

Yesterday we had fun. We all went and picked our own pumpkin from a pumpkin patch by our house. It was so cold and windy that the kids didn't really get to walk around but they had fun. Ku'uliko loves pumpkins so she picked out a baby one. She knows that Halloween is coming soon and I'm excited for her to go trick or treating this year. It should be fun. The holidays are just around the corner and I'm trying not to get homesick. It's hard when I have these pregnancy emotions. We'll be okay though.

Kalei is our little monster. He cracks us up with some of the things that he does. We caught him making car sounds when he was playing with one of his little Tonka trucks today. It was so cute. The other day when we were at my sister-in-law's place, I caught him talking to their bunny. I swear he was talking to the bunny for 15 minutes. So funny.

Oh yes, our big girl will be three on Sunday. It's gone by so fast. She really knows that her birthday is coming up. We're having a little party with Kainoa's family. I'm going to make homemade pizza so hopefully that turns out good. She's so excited. She keeps asking me everyday if it's her party. Oh yeah, she also has been going to the potty. Not totally consistent but she's gone almost once a day for four days. It's a start. She pretty much has done it on her own. She's really independent.

Well I better get going. I need to go eat something. Small kine hungry. Take care everyone.

I got a job!

Finally! I've been applying to different part-time jobs here and there but I haven't heard back from some of them until today. I applied to Motherhood at a mall that's pretty close to our house. That was about three weeks ago and I've been calling them back. It was pretty irritating. The manager finally called me back and offered me a position. I'm excited. It's only 10-15 hours a week but that's pretty much all I need. I'll be working the afternoon-night shift so Kainoa can watch the kids. Plus, a major plus, is that I'll get a discount on maternity clothes. Yeah! I don't even have any maternity clothes now. I sold them all before we moved to Maui. Anyway, I'm happy and excited.
As for Kainoa, he's been busy with school of course. He leaves pretty early in the morning. He's been coming home in the late afternoon and he'll finish his homework at home. It's nice to just have him here even if he's locked in his study.
So I went to the doctor two weeks ago because I was feeling dizzy and I kept throwing up everything I ate and drank. The doctor gave me some medicine for the nauseousness but it doesn't work that well. She said that the reason why I was dizzy was probably because I was dehydrated. She checked my uterus to see how the baby was growing. She said that I was a little further along than 10 weeks. So that would make me about 13 or 14 weeks now. I'll be due maybe mid March but they won't be sure until I get my ultrasound. I was able to hear the heartbeat and the baby is healthy so that was a big relief. I was able to feel the baby move today. It was exciting.
I guess that's it for now. I'll have to post some pictures next time. A hui hou!

To eat or to sleep...that is the question.

Well here's Kalei. He can't decide what to do...eat or sleep. He's been doing this for the past couple of weeks. It's hilarious because he'll keep putting food in his mouth even though his eyes are closed.

Numero 3!

Yes, we are having #3. Can you believe it? We weren't expecting it but it happened. I took a pregnancy test about 2 weeks ago and it was positive. I took it because I threw up the night before and still felt nauseous the next morning. I cried a lot in the bathroom afterwards. I guess I felt kind of overwhelmed but it's better now. Kainoa reassures me that everything will be okay. I trust him. I know I will be alone a lot of the time during this pregnancy since he'll be studying a lot but I know that I'll survive. Ku'uliko changes her mind everyday about her soon-to-be sibling. One day she says it will be a brother and the next day it will be a sister. We'll see. I'm not really sure how far long I am. I could be at the max 6 weeks, I think. I'll give an update when I find out. I guess that won't be until I have an ultrasound. Well that's the news for now. A hui hou!

What a mess!

Spaghetti! Kalei will sit in his chair forever until he has eaten it all up. Then we take off the tray part of his high chair and half of it is on his legs. Then he'll spend another 10 minutes eating the noodles off his legs. I should give him spaghetti more often so I can get more things done around the house. Oh yeah, big tip...we take off their clothes when they eat spaghetti. It eliminates stains getting on their clothes. We learned that the hard way.

Our crazy kids

Here's our little sole. He's such a poser sometimes. Ku'uliko likes to pose like this when it's time to take a picture. She's such a ham.

Kalei's birthday

So I noticed that I've only written about what has happened to us since we've been in Utah. I wanted to mention Kalei's 1st birthday. It was June 7th. We had a Transformers party at Ama and Grandpa Yuen's house. The food was 'ono of course. Mom ordered some stuff and made some sushi, salad, and wonton. Mom and I did the cake. It turned out pretty good. I saw a cake like it online and figured we could copy it. We picked the colors. Mom did all the details and I just filled in between the lines. A lot of people came and it was nice to have Tutu, Man, Aunty Momo and Kaitlyn there. It was a lot of fun. We were so pooped by the end of the day. Plus we had to get everything packed. We left the next day for Oahu. Then we left from Oahu to Utah the day after that. I was so grateful that our kids were so good on the plane. After we took off, Ku'uliko turned to me and said, "Mommy, I want to go sleep." She laid down and was out the entire flight. Kalei was pretty good too.

Well I know this is old news already but I thought it would be nice to share it with everyone. A hui hou!

Our jammers

Our kids love to dance. Ku'uliko and Kalei are too funny. They both are right on the beat. We crack up watching them.

My little destroyer

Horses, horses, horses

I love where we live in Springville. It's a great location because we're close to the things we need to get to like the freeway and Walmart but we're far away enough to be in the country. We have horses in our backyard and down the road and Ku'uliko loves it. She loves seeing all the animals. I've been taking the kids for walks when Kainoa is at work. There's a bike path next to Hobble Creek which is just down the road. It's shady and it's pretty nice to walk on. Across the creek is a farm with horses, cows, sheep, goats, and chickens. Ku'uliko loves to tell Kainoa about her walk when he comes home. He tells him all about the animals she saw. I love it.

My little man Kalei is so cute and lovable. I was telling Kainoa that he's probably going to get away with a lot when he's Ku'uliko age because he's so dang cute. He's been walking around everywhere and hardly crawls anymore. It's growing up. Like his sister, he loves to dance and he dances to the beat. It's so funny. We love watching our two kids dance.

Well I guess that's all the news for now. Not too exciting. Until next time...a hui hou!

P.S. Here's pictures of some of the horses that we get to see everyday. There's also a picture of Kalei with an Apple Jack stuck to the side of his face. It was stuck there for a while.

Aloha from Springville!

Hi everyone. I finally got my lazy butt to start one of these things. The Willings are doing fine here in Springville, Utah. It took a while to get adjusted but we're doing good now. We bought a 3 bedroom/2 bath condo here with the help of my parents (thank goodness for them). We love it here. It's a brand new place that my friend built so he gave us an awesome deal. We're enjoying having our own place again.
It's funny because we think that the Latino people must think we're stuck up Latinos because we don't speak Spanish all the time. I've used my Spanish already but not always. We were at a restaurant at the Mall when we first got here and the guy taking Kainoa's order starting talking to him in Spanish. He asked him all kine stuff about what he wanted to order and Kainoa didn't say anything until the guy asked him what size drink he wanted, "Grande o mediano?" All Kainoa said was "grande." Kainoa understood him but we started laughing when we left.
The kids are doing great. Kalei is walking all over the place now. He took a few steps here and there when we were in Maui but he's a walker now. It was funny because he would always walk a lot when my dad was around. My parents were here for a week last month and he walked more with my dad than he did while we were here before they came. He's been through a lot since we've been here. Poor thing, he got a yeast infection . He had one before in Maui and it took a long time to get rid of it. Good thing it's gone now. Then he had a runny nose and he's teething now. And then, he got diarrhea and threw up. Bruddah is strong though so he's good now.
Ku'uliko is certainly voicing her opinion on everything. She is getting a little sassy saying things like, "I said 'no!'" She probably says that because that's what we say to her sometimes. She cracks us up at the funny things she says. Her hair is crazy wild here. It's getting longer so now she looks like Little Richard. She loves seeing all the farm animals everywhere. We have lots of horses by our place. She even took a pony ride a couple weeks ago at Thanksgiving Point and she still talks about it.
Kainoa found a job at BYU. He's working for the Auxilliary Maintenance. He drives around a big truck with another guy and they pick up and drop off stuff to the MTC and different places on campus. He's enjoying it so far. He's getting to know the campus so that's good. He hasn't even registered yet because BYU is not even ready with all of their classes yet. They said that they'll be sending that stuff out soon.
As for me, I'm back to being a stay-at-home mom. I don't mind at all. I've been taking the kids for walks to the park and a funny farm (a farm with llamas, imus and other funky animals) near our place. I'm trying to find a part time job but we'll see what happens.
That's about it for now. We're enjoying life here so far but we'll see how it goes when Kainoa starts school. We'll survive though, we always do. Until next time...Adios!