Sione's Seminary Graduation

Tonight was None's (Hema's youngest brother) seminary graduation.

Hema and Vela were excited about the candy leis, until they found out they weren't for them.

Here he is with our family.

Here he is with his parents.

Here is is with Mom and Valu (his birth mother).

Here he is with some of his nieces and nephews.

We love you None and are proud of you!!

Kid Heaven

Little Hema is always wanting to have friends or neighbors or cousins or all of the above over to play. On Saturday he had 10 neighbor kids over to play in the back yard for several hours. He had so much fun. I love seeing a yard full of kids, it makes me smile. Later on Saturday, Jake dropped off his 4 oldest to stay the night. Then Marilee came over with her 5 kids and hung out for a while and left the oldest 3 to sleep over too. Here's Abby helping Marilee change James.

James is so tiny. Here is a picture of him next to my Cabbage Patch doll (Ramsey Clifford) that I've had since 6th grade.Of course baby James is much cuter! Here's Maren, she didn't get to stay over with us.In case you are counting, that is 7 additional kids to stay the night - so we had 9 total kiddies from 1 1/2 years to 10 years in age. So much fun!! They were all so sweet with each other and play so well together. There was some Star Wars Lego being played. Playing in the tent. Snake catching - which is a serious obsession for all Hawkins boys - especially these ones (Isaac, David, Dallan and JJ)! Here I am with the kids all ready for bed.

All the boys slept in the tent outside and Hema told them spooky stories and they laughed and played and probably kept the neighbors up - but they had so much fun. Here is a picture in the morning when only Hema was awake. Can you spot all 6 of them?

Luckily our church is at 11:00 so we had plenty of time to get everyone bathed or showered, fed, dressed and ready to walk to church.

Believe it or not, we got to church 20 minutes early.

We were so sad to see all the kids go home tonight! We love our nieces and nephews so much and are so glad that they are such good friends to our kids! We really need to do this more often and to have the other over too! It sure made me hope that we get more children of our own too!

And last but not least, Sweet Abe the Babe is home from the hospital. As soon as Abby found out that he got home today, she sat near our door counting down the seconds for her dad to pick her up. She hasn't been able to hold the baby while he was in the NICU and if you know Abby, she loves babies and is so good with them. It has been killing her. Here is a photo of Jake and Abe.

We've been having fun!

Yesterday my mom and I went up to help my sister Marilee clean her house. They are all moved out and leave to Arizona in a couple of weeks. This is how you keep 3 kids busy while trying to clean. (This is Sarah and Maren - Marilee's girls - with Hema).

Here is her new babe, James. Why are there no pictures of me holding James? Oh because I was dirty from cleaning and I was killing me to not snuggle him up every second! He is such a cute baby. Afterwards we all went to Cafe Rio and had lunch. I seriously came home and cried! I am going to miss Marilee soooo much! I am so sad that she is moving. Our kids have so much fun together and she is so sweet with my kids and she is such a great friend! What's with these men marrying my sisters and moving them all over the country anyway? Now for a little update on my other new nephew, who I haven't even gotten to see or hold yet. They did finalize a name: Abraham Sunderland Hawkins. It is a total family name. Little Abe is still in the hospital. His lungs were underdeveloped and he's had a hard time keeping his food down. Keep them in your prayers! Last night we went to a graduation party/dance for Hema's cousin Sam's son Sammy. He graduated from American Fork. Here is a picture of Hema's brother Sione (Who will graduate next Friday) and Sammy. Of course they are too cool to ever smile in a picture! It was so fun to see all the family and lots of friends we hadn't seen forever. They had it over at the amphitheater in AF. It is such a cool place and the weather couldn't have been better. There were so many people there. I love that in the Tongan culture there is such a huge feelling of family - that goes way beyond the big families! What an awesome support system. Here is Vela showing off some of her moves. She seriously boogied for hours! She loves music and loves to dance.

Little Hema was in heaven running around with lots of other little guys. But when he did finally decide to move it on the dance floor it was awesome! Too bad by then it was too dark to record his moves. Here he is running around!

I tried to get some cute shots of the kids before the party got started. But Hema was less than enthusiastic and Vela just wanted to run! This was as good as I could get! Oh well!

Vela has become a watermelonaterian. Okay so I made that word up, but seriously that is all she wants to ever eat. (And of course she has to hold it so that it can drip all over her ever time!)

And now for a couple of cute shots of my babies! I love these 2 so very much and am grateful everyday to have them! Hema has the sweetest smile and is really so enthusiastic about life. I love hearing his full on laugh all day long! He is so much fun!

Vela is such a cute girl! I can't get enough of those lips! She loves to give hugs and kisses and she carries her doll around everywhere now hugging it, patting it on the back and kissing it. She is definitely going to be a great big sister..... hopefully someday!

Have You Tried These???

Okay I know that I am a Popsicle junkie, but seriously these are so good. I have always loved Crystal Light but I never knew they made a pop. I think these are relatively new. At least I hadn't seen them before. The cherry pomegranate is my favorite. Usually sugar free Popsicles aren't very yummy and have a hard texture. These are super flavorful, just 15 calories and as they melt they become sort of a crystal slushy texture. I got the box of 10 pops for under $3.00 at Walmart. Perfect for a hot day like today. I seriously am not sharing these with the kids. Go try them, I bet you'll love them too!

Another New Sweet Nephew!!

Two new cute nephews in one week!!! Seriously what could be better? Well, maybe if we got a baby too !! :) So here is Jake and Tyra's new babe. He was born yesterday and was 21 inches long and a weighed in at a serious 10 lbs. 2 ozs. My amazing sister-in-law went natural too! (This wasn't her biggest baby so far.) Anyhow, they haven't deiced for sure on a name for him. He was born with his lungs a little under developed and is in the NICU, so I haven't been able to see him yet. He is doing okay and they think all will be fine. Congrats to you Jake and Tyra! We are praying for you and your sweet baby!

My Little Graduate!!

Today was Hema's preschool graduation. He has absolutely loved every minute of preschool. His teacher is amazing and has really done a great job of building him up. When I was choosing a preschool for Hema, I wasn't super concerned with how much he would learn, but really wanted a place where he would love learning and feel good about himself as he learned. I know that a child's attitude about school and learning is developed in these early years and that was the most important factor for me. I picked his teacher because of how well she interacts with kids. I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised at how much he has learned along the way. It really has been great.

Hema was so excited for graduation and to say his part in the program and he did a great job! Daddy Hema scheduled a fishing field trip a couple months ago for today and so he wasn't able to attend, but we got it all on video for him. But Vela and I were there to cheer him on.Sorry about the junky pictures, I was video taping, taking regular pictures and holding Vela (who was really happy when holding Hema's big sucker)...

...and not so much when he took it back!

He is really going to miss preschool this summer. Luckily, he will be going there again next year! Congrats Little Hema! We are proud of you!

New Sweet Nephew

My sister Marilee and her husband Brandon had baby #5 today. HE IS SO SUPER CUTE!!! He was 6 pounds 11 ounces and 20 inches long and has a full hair of dark hair. He really is a beautiful baby! They aren't 100% set on a name yet, but are leaning towards James Brandon. And now for a few photos:

Check out his cute foot in this picture.

Cute mommy with her babe.

Full head of hair.

He's just so perfect!

Congrats to Marilee and Brandon on this new addition!

She's So Sweet...

... I really have a hard time ever disciplining her! She of course is in that stage where she is in to EVERYTHING!! Little Hema got a chocolate pudding at preschool that he left on the table and Vela found it.

But she smiles that sweet little smile and I just have to laugh and hug and kiss her! She is such a snuggle bug. She has the biggest, kissiest (Yeah, I made that word up!) lips and I can honestly say that I am totally and completely head over heels in love with Little Miss Vela Amelia!

A Few Updates!

Vela is getting to be such a big girl. She loves to feed herself and knows just what she wants to eat. I usually try to feed her breakfast before she takes her bath in the morning because this is pretty much how she looks when she gets done. (She was totally happy until I pulled out the camera. I guess she doesn't want this documented! ) Sometimes it takes her so long to feed herself that she actually falls asleep in the process. (Yes she is eating a cup of noodles for breakfast. She found it in the pantry that morning and really wanted it. Trust me, this girl knows what she wants!)

Here are a couple of pictures of Hema's last preschool field trip. They went to the TGP farm. Their class combined with the 4-5 year old class for the trip and Vela and I got to come along too.

Hema graduates from preschool next week and is going to miss it so much this summer. Mrs Jensen has been amazing and he has learned so much. Luckily he will get to go there again next year.

We spent some time over at the TGP gardens this week. They still have so many tulips in bloom. Mine are never this tall and pretty.

Hema's Dad had a minor heart procedure this week. They just mostly were checking his heart out to make sure he will be able to have his kidney transplant. We aren't sure when that will happen, but his heart looked great. He had massive heart surgery a few years ago and they said everything is still looking good. He is always so sweet with our kids and wants to hold them and be with them even when he is in a hospital bed. Our kids are so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents!

And finally, my boys made it home from the Father and Sons camp out and had a great time.

They built fires, ate hot dogs (which I NEVER buy), hiked, played with the other kids,

slept in a tent

and loved every minute of it. I am so glad that my husband loves spending time with our kids. He is such a good father!!

When the boys are away, the girls will....

Tonight was the Father and Sons camp out for our ward. I don't know which Hema was more excited to go. It was so fun to watch them pack everything up and talk about all the fun things that "just the boys" were going to do. I can remember my dad and brothers going every year and my mom always did really fun stuff with us at home - including the time she bought us Lucky Charms cereal for breakfast (we never got sugary cereals) and we all ate a bunch and I threw it all up! I still can't look at Lucky Charms without getting queasy. I decided to start the tradition with Vela (although she is only 19 months old)! Here's what we've done so far tonight:

• SHOP - I was hoping to find a good pair of shoes for myself. We spend A LOT of time walking around at the TGP gardens or at the park and I really want/need a great pair of shoes. I have looked at a bunch, but since they seem to cost a good chunk of money, I don't want to pick the wrong ones. I tried on so many pairs - but just don't know what to pick. I am looking for something durable, comfortable, lightweight, versatile and hopefully cute. Please help me out here and give me some good shoe advice! I didn't end up getting anything for myself tonight, but I did get some new swim goggles for the kids and some darling shoes for Vela.
• EAT - We needed some yummy grub, so we picked up some crispy beef take out (this picture does not do it justice) from Won Won Wok and also stopped by Smart Cookie (this was my first time there and in one word yum-o-rama). We got a frozen hot chocolate and 2 sugar cookies that were oh so good! They specialize in cookie ice cream sandwiches, but since I don't really love ice cream I picked the sugar cookies. I tried the cinnamon one and the almond one. The almond one was the best! I definitely recommend it.
• RELAX - Vela and I had a great dinner at home and then read books, played on the swings and just relaxed. I usually put her down pretty early, but I just let her stay up and snuggle and fall asleep on my lap before I tucked her into bed. Now I am watching Twighlight again. I am not totally in love with the movie (I just really am not happy with the Jacob Black actor - doesn't he look about 8 years old??)- but it is a fun movie to watch and laugh and enjoy on a night like tonight.
• CLEAN - I cleaned the house after the boys left and will finish up by mopping as soon as the movie ends. I have a hard time sleeping when Hema is gone - so I might as well do something productive tonight. I would seriously go mow the lawn if I didn't like my neighbors so much - I guess I will wait until at least 7:30 in the morning.
• CHILL ONLINE - I have spent at least an hour catching up on Facebook and Blogging. I generally try not to overdo it on the computer, but Vela is fast asleep and I am feeling no guilt whatsoever about sitting here in front of this screen! I may just spend another hour online... maybe I can research those shoes!

Here's what's left on my to do list:

• SLEEP - I am hoping that at some point tonight I will be tired enough to be able to fall asleep. I hate going to bed alone! Am I the only one who can't sleep when their hubby is gone? I can remember when Hema was still playing football at the U and he was gone overnight a lot. I couldn't sleep then either and would stay up and clean and do homework. Maybe after I mop the floor I'll pull out a book or even work on finishing up one of my unfinished quilts that just needs the binding.

I sure hope my boys are having a great time camping, because I sure do miss them!!