The greatest show on earth!

The circus was in town so our Katoa family decided it would be a great chance to get all the kids together. 38 of us rode Trax up to the Energy Solutions Center and that was a "circus" in and of itself. We all had a great time! Grandma Katoa was able to come too, but Grandpa was not feeling well so he missed out on all the fun. The circus sure has changed since the last time I went...at least what I can remember of it. They utilize a lot of electronics and technology in the show and it is pretty good. The cost of things is ridiculous though with cotton candy going for $12 and other trinkets plastered with the circus logo for $20 and up. Well...needless to say little Hema is the proud owner of a lite-up sword and dad is out 20 bucks! Crazy I know but...oh well. Vela on the other hand didn't cost daddy a cent and was all angel. She loved the circus but when things got loud Vela figured out how to cover her ears.

We had great seats but this was big Hema's view for most of the show!

Before the show little Hema got a kick out of the elephants getting ready using a leaf blower to clean them off...reminded me of a giant hair dryer.

Quick Update!!

It seems like it has been a while since we have posted, we have just been crazy busy. But I thought I would write a quick update with what we have been up to.

*We have been going to Sione's football games. It is the highlight of Little Hema's week! Here is a picture of Hema with uncle None.

*Hema also likes the Kearns mascot, which is a cougar! Daddy Hema isn't so sure about Hema cheering for cougars!

*We went to the Utah State Fair. We love going every year. We had so much fun! We ate deep fried PB & J (not that tasty), rode lots of fun rides, saw amazing produce and animals (even a creepy 6 legged cow), saw lots of interesting people and helped out at a Tongan art booth. By the end of the day, this picture shows just how tired and worn out we were. Of course, we can't wait for next year!

*It seems like nearly everyone I know has had a baby on the last few weeks. Here are a couple of the cuties! I am getting very baby hungry!!!Here is Zoe Beth - Congrats Jeff and Jaimee!!

Here is Kaeson Antoine - Congrats Lindsay and Harlan!

*Little Hema has been full of mischief! He pulled the berber carpet in our family room and made a long hole in the middle. We have wanted new carpet for a while, but weren't planning on getting it so soon. We are getting it installed tomorrow (we'll post pictures when it's done). He also colored the bathroom floor with pen we can't get off. I've been wanting to get tile in there. We'll see if it fits in our budget. I bet Daddy Hema is starting to wonder if I am really behind these messes so that I can justify making some changes I've been wanting. I wonder if I could somehow arrange an accident to damage the bathtub in the master bath I hate so much!! :) Here is a picture of Hema after playing in my makeup. I guess I better start watching him more closely!!! *We went to the dinosaur museum with Joe, Tina and their kids and Joe found the 5th gnome!! We have been looking for them for a while and he made a very helpful discovery, they are not all painted!!! This was a little figure with a red hat. We are anxious to go look for more now!

*Our kitchen floor started oozing water near the dishwasher, we will pull that up tomorrow and see what our next fun project will be. Hopefully not replacing the dishwasher and flooring in there!

*We had Vela's 12 month Peek a Boo pictures and some family pictures taken today. We can't wait to get them back.

Hope your lives are filled with lots of happy craziness too!!!

More of Beckam!!

I just saw these pictures on Skye Johansen's website. She took them of my new nephew Beckam this week and they are sooooo cute! I couldn't resist copying a couple here. To see all the ones she posted, go to this link!

Isn't he absolutely perfect!!!!!!

Baby Beckam is Here!!!!

Our beautiful new nephew Joseph Beckam Hawkins was born around 7:00 PM today. I know that beautiful is a word usually used on girls, but he is a perfectly beautiful baby boy! Joe and Rindi will be calling him Beckam. Everyone agrees that he was well worth the wait! We are so very happy that he is here safe and healthy! Congrats Joe and Rindi! We love you guys!

Joe couldn't have been happier with his sweet baby boy!

The cute family - about 20 minutes after Beckam was born. They don't even look tired!

Mommy and Beckam. Check out that dark hair!

Proud daddy with wide eyed Beckam only about 30 minutes old! Beckam weighed in at a healthy 8 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long.

The amazing grandmas!

Vela didn't get to see the baby, but she was all smiles in the waiting room!

Hema's 1st Day of School!

Today was Hema's first day of preschool. He goes to preschool at a house in our ward. He has been so excited to start school. It will be fun to a have a few hours a week with just me and Vela too!

Here he is posing for the camera, ready to go!

Hema was so excited to get to wear his backpack!

We were ready to go when I remembered he was supposed to wear his Preschool shirt today.

Hema wanted to take a picture with Vela before he left.

Daddy stayed home this morning to drop Hema off.

Two hours later, Hema ran out as happy as could be. He made the cute farm necklace he has on, did a painted hand print for us, and has such a great time. He can't wait to go again on Friday! I can't believe my baby boy is already in preschool!

Football Season is Here!!

Football season is here! We love this time of year! We get to go to Hema's youngest brother None's high school football games each week. He is a senior at Kearns High School this year. So far they have won both of their games - one against Brighton and one against Cyprus. In Friday's game against Cyprus, None scored a touchdown!! We are so proud of him for doing so well in school and football. Little Hema absolutely loves to go to his games and cheers like crazy for him while we are there.

Here is Hema and his cousin Joe after the Cyprus game looking pretty excited about the win.

Here is Vela and grandma Katoa at the Cyprus game.
Of course Utah football has also started and the kids are excited to sport their Ute red! The Utes played a Michigan on Saturday and despite my husband nearly having a heart attack toward the end of the game, they won! Hopefully they will have a great year too!!

We finally stained our fence!

We finally stained our fence. We have been talking about doing it since we installed it over 8 years ago. We got some free stain from a local painting company and went to town. It is a little dark, but we really like it. We are especially glad that this project is done! So here is a picture of it from the front.
Here is a picture of the back when we were half done with this side. Notice how thick our grass is coming in along the fence where we seeded it earlier this year.