I've been tagged and finally did it

A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? attatched...I have to remind him sometimes that it's for eternity whether he likes it or not :)
B. BEST FRIENDS? My parents and sister
C. CAKE OR PIE? cheesecake
D. DAY OF CHOICE? fourth of july and christmas
E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? the internet and scriptures
F. FAVORITE COLORS? it depends on what it's for
G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? worms
H. HOMETOWN? Lorain, Ohio
I. INDULGENCE? getting my eyebrows and hair done, it hasn't happened for awhaile though
J. JANUARY OR JULY? January!!!
K. KIDS?one hyperactive but sweet boy, and a beautiful baby girl
L. LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? family
M. MARRIAGE DATE? August 11, 2004
N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 1 bro. and 1 sis.
O. ORANGES OR APPLES. Apples
P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? hurricanes, tsunamis, sharks, losing a family member, something happening to my children
Q. QUOTE: No success can compensate for failure in the home
R. REASON TO SMILE: My children
S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? Super Man
T. TAG 5 PEOPLE:Naomi and whoever else
U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I'm pretty open about everything...like it or not
V. VEGETABLES? it would be easier to say I don't like brussel sprouts I love all others
W. WORST HABIT? spending too much time on the computer, shopping
X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? Ultrasound!
Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Greek and thai
Z. ZODIAC SIGN? Capricorn

We're moving!

Ok so if you got excited thinking I meant moving to the "mainland" I'm sorry, we're not. We're actually just moving across the street. But it's a TWO BEDROOM! I'm sooooo excited. Our one bedroom is falling apart. The company renting it to us doesn't care either. I sent them an email two years ago telling them about things and they said "Please call and explain your email, we're not sure what if anything you want us to do." I think if you email your landlord, after being told to email when you call, and tell them that you have tiles loose and the kitchen cabinets are falling apart it means you want it fixed. Finding a rental here is alot more work than other places and the prices keep rising. We have a 550 sq. ft. one bedroom for $855 and that's about 200 minimum less than other apartments. Luckily the apartments across the street are only $100 more and the manager is a member of our church so instead of advertising she lets the ward know when there is an opening. Thank goodness we were in a position to be able to move this time. There are so many young families from our ward that live there it's refered to as Zion. I'm happy to get the toys out of the living room, to be able to use the cupboards in the kitchen, and there's storage in the bathroom! It's a big two bedroom too. I've been spending most of my time packing, and sorting. I love to get rid of stuff. It's amazing how much junk accumulates even though I throw stuff out all the time. I took all the extra junk I found to a swap meet with my friend and I sold it to make extra money to decorate with. I was super excited. I usually just give it to goodwill but I figured since most of it was still nice I would see what happened. I made alot so I was really happy. Isabelle was a ton of help. Shoppers loved playing with her. She spent alot of time in her seat under the table in the shade.



We move on the first. Our cable won't get connected until the 16th though. So I won't have the internet for two weeks! I could live with that except I pay all our bills online. All of the pains of moving are worth it to live in a bigger apartment, and around women I can get to know, and friends of Alekisio's from nursery. The little boy he gets put in timeout with all the time lives over there. He's really excited to live by Kobe. Neighbors beware!

My Grandpas

I don't know how to begin this entry, I've rewritten it several times already, so I'll just start. My grandpa's have both passed away in the past few years. They were both very different, but both had so much to teach their families. My Grandpa Levenhagen died of alzheimer's disease in 2005. He was a quiet and gentle man. His eyes sparkled all the time, especially when he laughed and smiled. When I think about the changes I need to make in myself to become more christlike I think of him. I don't remember him ever yelling, being negative, or saying unkind things to anyone. My Grandpa Witsaman was a "man's man". He was an amazing mason, he built a beautiful garage at his house. I remember talking to him while he worked and watching how he made that messy cement look so perfect between each brick. I still can't get over what a talent working with cement is when I watch Aisea. He loved to hunt and took me fishing all the time when I was little, until I wouldn't remove the fish from the hook myself:). He worked hard his whole life to provide for his family because they were the most important part of his life. He passed down a very strong work ethic, and in alot of ways taught me self sufficiency. Both of my grandfathers loved their families exactly like fathers should, and taught me how to be a good person, and now parent.

Of course I have a father that loves me too! No matter how much I screwed up I knew he was (and is) there to support and love me through it. He's now gone from a great dad to an amazing grandpa! Alekisio loves his grandma, but I think because dad is so goofy they connected on a different level and he always loves to talk to him and wants to go to grandpa's house! I love you dad!

Is it supposed to taste good?

Isabelle had her first little taste of rice cereal today. Daddy bought it last week and even though he thinks I'm weird sometimes he must be listening because he bought organic whole grain cereal. Good job daddy! As you can see Isabelle was thinking what the heck are you putting in my mouth!? She was making the funniest faces. I only gave her about a tablespoonful, but by the end she was more accepting of the weird stuff mommy was feeding her. I think in the middle picture she looks like a pirate....ARGGHHH

Three months old

Isabelle turned three months yesterday! Where does time go? She loves to sit up, hates laying on her back, and laughs all the time. Lucky for me she sleeps most nights until 5 or 6 am!

Alekisio put his face in the water!

This was monday, he was scared to lay back. He did it today!
Kicking was his favorite part of both days!

Alekisio started swimming lessons on Monday. The first day was a little crazy. Alekisio has ants in his pants ALL DAY! I was nervous about how well he would listen to the teachers and stay with the group. Since Alekisio is so energetic I tend to get really nervous about what people are thinking. I was really jumpy every time he would splash the teacher, or try to play with the other kids instead of listening, and wanted to run over and tell him to listen or we were leaving. I'm probably going to embarrass him when he gets older! The teacher kept telling him to stop or he was going to have to sit out. I've been going over how to act during class with him and today he was much better! He even put his face in the water! I was trying to get him to practice in the tub and he wouldn't. As soon as he did it I started clapping and yelling good job. Once again I'm embarrassing I know! I was the only one with a camera the first day, and the only one getting so excited today. He's doomed.

Fun in the sun

My Aunt Connie and Uncle John were in hawaii this week. We got to spend time with them, which we all loved and I'm sure wore them out. Alekisio is going to miss playing in the water with them. We spent the day today at Lani Kai beach, it's not a public beach so there aren't as many people there. It's my favorite because the sand is super fine, there aren't rocks in the water that hurt your feet, and the islands in the background are picturesque. We got there at eleven the next time we checked our watches it was already 2:30. I should have reapplied my sunscreen but of course I didn't, we left at 4. My legs are half white, half red, and my face is this weird splotchy burn, and my back and shoulders are burned too. You'd think after almost eight years here I would get it already. I burn, apply sunscreen. It's not hard to remember. You'd think the pain would make it sink in. Alekisio on the other hand just gets darker and darker. He spent the whole time in the water. Uncle John was able to get him to go farther out in the water, and he was even riding waves! He's getting more fearless but can't swim yet, it's a good thing he starts swimming lessons on monday! Isabelle was so comfortable in the water she fell asleep! I guess the waves rocking us was too much for her to handle, she just couldn't keep her eyes open. Aunt Connie and Uncle John leave tomorrow :(. We'll miss them!

Isabelle's blessing

Isabelle was blessed yesterday. It was the first (and probably last) time we were on time for church. I am a stickler for being on time but church is at 8 am and no matter how hard I try we're always at least 5 min. late, even though the chapel is less than five minutes away. I wore heels for the first time in at least a year and my feet are suffering because of it. They need to make plus size heels because when you gain weight so do your feet! Back to Isabelle. Everyone told me how beautiful she was in her dress. It felt good to say it was made from my mom's wedding dress. Everyone in the ward thought that was a great idea and told me how clever I was for thinking of that, I had to let them know my mom got the idea from her ward, I didn't want to take all the credit. I did however take credit for finding the best seamstress in the world to make it! Isabelle definitely enjoyed being a princess for the day. One of the ladies in the ward took her after sacrament and I think she spent her day getting passed around by the young women. She's very spoiled! When Aisea blessed Alekisio he did it in tongan so I put the video camera on in the front row to record his voice. Afterward he said he wished he had done it in english, so this time around I thought he would. Of course I went to church with no way to record the blessing so of course he did it in tongan again! Oh well. I'm used to it at this point!