I got a job!

We had a dinner at our house to celebrate my cousin Melia graduating from BYU. Her parents, her friend Jhordan, my uncle Gordon and cousins Jared and Jordon came.
It was a nice get together and we enjoyed having people over. Kainoa finished his last final the day before so it was nice to have something with the family. To celebrate him finishing finals, his aunty took us out to dinner at Yamato's. It's a Japanese Korean place. It was so nice just to sit and eat a dinner that I didn't have to make. I was able to relax and the kids actually behaved really well. Kainoa ordered the deluxe bento. It came with so much food. It was so 'ono.

Kainoa wanted to take a picture of me like this. I didn't realize my hair looked this. He said I look like a real Utahan in this picture. I had a clip in my hair and I guess my hair was pushed up because of how I was sitting.

We were watching the NBA playoffs and this is how Kamalu was watching it. Too funny.

Yes, I got a job. I'm so excited. I hopefully start next week. I'll be a bilingual customer service representative for Bank of America. I'm actually employed by this employment service in Provo. They get hired by other companies to hire their employees. It's full time and I get benefits. I'm going to work up until Kainoa goes back to school in August. Hopefully I can keep working while he's in school. They said that they're more flexible with bilingual employees' hours so I'm crossing my fingers. The pay is pretty good for over here. At least I'll be getting paid more than my last job. I hope my Spanish isn't too rusty. They said the calls will be easy. I'm so excited. We definitely need the income and Kainoa might get a job too. We'll see. Thanks to everyone for all the support. I really appreciate it. Especially to Kainoa. He really helped me believe in myself when I went in for the interviews I've had. I get so nervous but he coached me through the questions that they would ask. Thanks Honey!

Mochi and flying kites

So my friend Becca mentioned on facebook that she ate some of my mom's mochi on Girls' Day and since then I've been wanting to eat some. My mom always made mochi for Girls' Day and Boys' Day and other occassions. It was always way better than the store bought kind. So I asked her for her recipe and bought the ingredients yesterday. I couldn't wait to make it so I did it today. This is the tri-colored kind. It took a while to make because you have to bake each layer for 15 minutes but it was so worth it.



Oishi!

So it was nice and sunny today so I took the kids out for a picnic. I had made spam musubi for Kainoa to take to school (yes, he went to study at school on a Saturday). I packed the musubis up and some other stuff and layed out a blanket on the field behind our house. I brought out some bubbles and Liko and Kalei had so much fun. After we came in, Liko kept saying how much fun she had and hoped we could go back outside again. So I told her if there was enough wind we could fly their kites. This is a picture of her and her neighbor friend Cassidy flying her kite.

Here's Kalei flying his kite. He had just woke up from a nap but was ready to go. Kainoa put these slippers on him (Liko's old ones). He was struggling to walk with them on which only made us laugh harder. He kept letting go of the handle. Of course I had to chase after his kite so it wouldn't fly away.

Here are their kites-Yo Gabba Gabba and Ariel. They were only a dollar at Walmart.

I love how Kalei is concentrating so hard and Liko's not.

I was glad to get some sun today but now I'm pooped. I've been better this week at working out. I know I haven't posted anything about the weight loss thing in a while. Probably because I haven't lost that much more weight. I haven't been good with the whole diet thing but I really stepped it up this week with exercising. I did the Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga DVD. It kicked my butt but I lost a pound this week. Yay! I'm trying to get back on track. I have gone down a size(almost two) in my pants since I started working out so I'm happy about that. Hopefully I can report back with good results soon.

Fun at the park

It kind of sort of warmed up. The weather is warm one day then rainy or cold the next. I'm getting tired of it changing so much. Hopefully it'll stay warm soon. On this particular day it was pretty nice so we walked to the park. Well Ku'uliko and I walked and the boys rode in the stroller. Liko was getting tired on the way back so stuck her on the handlebar and carried her.

They had so much fun on the swings.

Kamalu pulling himself up to watch TV. Yes he's still wearing his Christmas pajamas. They still fit so they're still used.

I put Kalei's hair in a ponytail one night just to see what it would look like. Pretty funny. You can't see it too well in this picture.

Here are the kids dancing to a song on this new song on Nickelodeon "Team Umizoomi." They love this show and I'm glad because they learn a lot of mathematical skills.

Not much going on here. Kainoa is almost done with his second year. He just finished taking two finals and has two more next week. I'm so happy that he's almost done.

We're both looking for jobs. I've applied to different places. I had an interview with a daycare place but that didn't work out. I just got a call back from a position where I could work from home calling people about fire safety classes. Sounds good to me. Hopefully they call me back with more details.

That's all for now. Until next time.....

Easter

We spent the night before Easter at the Todds. The kids colored eggs and made rice krispie chocolate dipped eggs. Here's Ku'uliko and her cousin Hailey.

Kalei kept saying, "Egg. Blue." He had fun dying the eggs.

Here's Ku'uliko on Easter morning.

Kalei looking at his Yo Gabba Gabba kite. I love his face in this picture. He was so excited.
Kamalu was so busy playing with his bendable Easter bunny. He ignored all the other goodies.

So this past week was crazy. My Aunty Pearl, Uncle Gordon, and cousins came down for Conference. I went to the mall to meet up with them on Thursday. Ashley told Liko that she had a surprise for her. I was thinking that it was probably a toy or something. Then when was about to pay for the kids' lunch my mom came up behind me and offered to pay for it. I was so surprised. It was so unexpected. Aunty Pearl offered her a buddy pass thanks to my cousin Jared that works for Delta. She stayed until this past Tuesday. Thank you Furtados for the best surprise ever. It was nice to have my mom here for a little while. I know she wants to come back already and I told her that she has to bring my dad next time. While she was here I drove up to Park City with my cousin Melia. It was my first time to Park City. The outlets were great. We were hit by a chunk of snow that was fell from the roof of a store. Jared just laughed at us, along with all the people passing by. It was funny but it hurt. Then when we were at Old Navy a girl approached us about having Liko do commercials and stuff. She gave us her card. They actually called the other day but I told them I better wait on the audition until Kainoa was done with finals or when Melia can come with me (they approached her too). We'll see what happens.

Kamalu is finally standing up and cruising around. It took him a while but it looks like he's getting more comfortable with that and hopefully will be taking his first steps soon. He's 13 months now. I think Kalei started walking around this time and Ku'uliko took her time. He's eating more table foods and loves teddy grahams, beans, rice, vienna sausage, and macaroni and cheese. He's still drinking formula from a bottle and doesn't like whole milk yet. Hopefully he'll start drinking it soon. My other two don't drink milk. Liko will take it in her cereal and chocolate milk and cocoa but Kalei refuses to drink it. No wonder they're so small.

That's it for now. Hope everyone enjoyed their Easter and the General Conference weekend.

March Madness in the Willing home

Here's just some pictures of our family and our crazy house. Kamalu got a bubble blower for his birthday from the Sanchez's. The kids love it.
Ku'uliko driving a bus at the mall. Everytime she sees a bus she says, "Hey that's the bus that takes me to school." I'm not sure why she says that since she's never ridden a bus before.

Kamalu loves giving kisses.

Kamalu posing with his sister and Kalei was too busy eating his bread.

Kamalu blowing bubbles.

Kamalu loves eating rice. There's a piece on his eyelash.

Kanak attack

Wearing their Easter outfits since they won't be able to wear them next Sunday since there's General Conference. Don't you love Kalei's face?

What a handsome buggah.

Well not much to talk about. Kainoa's getting ready for finals so he's constantly studying. His first final is in 2 weeks and he won't finish until the 21st of April. I can't wait for it to be over. Then he only has one more year left. Yay!

This past Saturday we had to replace all of our brakes and rotors. I should've called my cousin and asked him to help but I know he's busy and didn't want to bother him. Let's just say that it was pretty pricey. We've been looking for jobs online and hopefully we can find something soon. I just want us to be able to make some money so we can pay off all of these expenses. I hate stressing about money. Hopefully this will all be over soon. I had a job interview today for a daycare assistant. I hope I get it. The pay isn't the greatest but at least I can have the kids there with me. It's a little far away but we'll see what happens.

Kamalu's Birthday Party

Happy Birthday Kamalu!

We celebrated Kamalu's birthday on the 13th at my sister-in-law's house in American Fork. My mom came earlier during the week and Kainoa's mom was here before that. It was nice to have them here and to have all our family and friends come. Of course there was 'ono food and the cake turned out great. I baked it and my mom decorated it. I wanted to help decorate it too but I was too busy cooking. Oh well, next time. And...it snowed! There was a snowstorm when he was blessed and we were joking about how Kamalu causes it to snow.

Liko helped Kamalu blow out the candles.

He wasn't as interested in the cake this time around. He took a nap up until this point of the party.

Liko and his cousins helped him open his presents. Thank you to everyone that came. It was a fun party and Kamalu enjoyed it.

Not a very flattering picture of Ku'uliko but it sure is funny.

Kainoa's brother RJ and his wife Emi and their daughter Moani moved to Oklahoma a couple days before the party. They have helped us so much since we've moved here and made Utah feel more like home. RJ got a job there so that's why they left. It was really sad but we're happy for them. Emi is the sister I never had and I'm going to miss having them so close. We miss them a lot and hopefully we can make a drive down there sometime soon.

Our family has been sick and I feel bad for my mom and mother-in-law who probably got sick from us. We took Kamalu to the ER because he was wheezing one night. Turns out it was croup and he's doing so much better. Ku'uliko and Kalei have colds and so did I. Kainoa is getting sick now too. The kids are not coughing as much as they were before, thank goodness. I think I got sick because I wasn't getting enough sleep since I was taking care of the kids. I'm feeling a whole lot better, just a little congested. I cannot wait to have us all healthy again.

My mom left this past Wednesday and Kainoa's mom left yesterday. Now we're alone. Not alone but it was sad to see them go. I hope that they can come back soon. Well at least I know that they'll be here in a year when Kainoa graduates. Hopefully someone can come before that. I miss home and wish I could go back but that's not possible right now. I'm hoping Kainoa can get a job in Hawaii after he graduates so we can move back. I'm crossing my fingers.

Happy 1st Birthday Kamalu!

Monday March 8th was Kamalu's birthday. We're going to celebrate it with all the family and friends tomorrow but I figured Kamalu should get some cake on his actual birthday. His sister and brother helped blow out the candles (one for good luck).

He thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is my favorite picture. I have a better one on my phone but he just loved using the spoon. I've never really seen him eat with a spoon. He usually just plays with it but this time he put it to use.

He kept wiping the frosting off on the high chair.

This was the end result. I shouldn't have given him a bath before this. What was I thinking? I gave him another one and found frosting up his nose. He had his fun though.

Before eating cake. I noticed that I don't have too many pictures of myself with Kamalu. Not the best picture but it'll do.

And I don't have too many of Kamalu and Kainoa but this is the pose that Kainoa chose.

He had an appointment earlier that day and received 4 shots. One on each arm and leg. Poor guy. He knocked out on the ride home from the doctor's. He's 20 lbs. 14 oz. and the dumb nurse measured him wrong. According to her measurement he shrunk a half inch. I forgot to ask them to measure him again but wouldn't that just be assumed that you would do such a thing. Lame. At 9 months he was 29 inches. We'll see what he's at next time we go in for a check up in 3 months.

Kalei was looking at the Toys R Us ad because there was a picture of Thomas the train in it. He fell asleep reading it.

The Willing brothers