"Nikki Tikki Tavi"

Have you heard the story of Rikki tikki tavi? Its about a mongoose who lives in the wild. Well, when our family was younger, the name rhymed with one of our daughters whose birthday we celebrate today. So, in honor of her birthday, this blog is for YOU, Nikki!

Happy Birthday, your 31st. Our first three children were born in the deep south, Mississippi, on the Gulf Coast. It was a nice place to live if you could stand the high humidity or the threat of hurricanes. Other than that, it was a fun place to be.

About the time you were born, your Grandparents from Hawaii came for a visit. It was a timely visit since we were beginning to make preparations to move to England. It became a cozy visit with all of us living in a two bedroom duplex.

When we moved to England, you and your siblings were adored by our neighbors and ward member friends. We did a bit of traveling to see the sights as part of our stay in England. You gained another sibling, Erin, and did much to help with her upbringing.

We then moved to Hawaii. The trip back was very eventful with your Mom holding on to four children in that long move. She didn't rest until you got to California to meet the family there. She dressed you girls all in identical outfits so as not to loose any of you. You enjoyed the high dessert country of Apple Valley and got to go to Disneyland and other attractions. When I arrived, we continued our trip to Hawaii where we met up with your Hawaii relatives. We lived on "fruitloop" circle and once again, you gained another sibling, sister Rachel. It was apparent that as your baby sister grew, your parents had a hard time telling your baby pictures apart and would often refer to you both as the twins. You loved the beach, playing T-ball, and soccer. You got really tanned there and had very special time mingling in with your native cousins and family.

We then moved back to England and there you met up with previous friends. You and your older sister started taking up piano lessons and you progressed very well. You had a couple of recitals and loved to play the piano. Of course, we had several pianos during that period of time until we decided on one. You loved the area, culture, and many friends there.

We then moved to California where living in the neighborhood you became industrious. You dilivered newspapers, earned passes to Magic Mountain for upping subscriptions of newspaper, continued piano lessons, made new friends, help keep your baby sister amused with productions of "The Little Mermaid" by inviting the neighbor children to view the production in our driveway, and above all, made a profit by selling refreshments such as otter pops, candy, cookies, etc. I don't think you had a business liscense but were very successful. Just as you were becoming comfortable with the friends and life in California, your parents moved the family to Hawaii,

The transition was probably the hardest because of the adjustments. Remember living in the tiny two bedroom duplex? Remember the exciting time crushing empty aluminum cans, eating peanuts, and drinking sprite soda with your relatives? Remember spending the summer sleeping in a tent in the yard when Sally came to visit from England? I know those were only some of the fun times but you can't forget the scene when in middle school, you were told that you couldn't use a particular "Ladies Restroom" because "only Filipinos" could use that one and if you or your sister Erin did, you would get beat up? Then I told you that you should tell them that you are part Filipino. How can you forget those memories? Of course it was fun to be with family and we had a lot of good times there.

Then our family had a family council and decided that they wanted to move "again" this time back to the mainland. Your Mom and Dad went to scope out the possibilities in Utah and took a trip there. When they returned, they had bought a home and the family was once again on the move. Of course, as time would tell, it was for the last time up to this point in time.

You represented the family well in the Miss PG Pagent a couple of times, and was well supported by your family and friends. You also got to use your talents in local theater productions, you even worked at the Alhambra Theater, got the family cheap tickets and refreshments, and learned you were allergic to lilies. But the best part of all, you prepared and sent in your papers to go on a mission. That evening you went on a date with a certain retrun missionary who lived just a block away. You knew he was the one, told the Stake president you had second thoughts, and retracted your application. The rest, well, he made a fine addition to the family, especially offering in exchange or bargaining 39 cows for your hand.

There's more to the story but I won't go into that all at this time but perhaps another time. Besides Dan, there was Pookie, then G, and then Bun, and of course Ham. Who said your or us weren't blessed. Your whole life as well as your siblings has been a blessing. Happy Birthday!