When You Come To Utah?

Visiting Utah in spring can be a bit of a chance with the weather. For a couple of days, the weather was in the upper 70's and looking really good. Then came a series of small storms that put some snow on the mountains and rained enough to water the lawns and gardens.

However, when Teddy and Erin came for a visit, the weather turned cold, cloudy, and rainey, with a sprinkling of snow flakes. there wasn't a whole lot of outdoor visiting or travelling. But, Erin did get to do some important things. She started to quilt, quilt, and more quilting. That in itself is demanding especially when she'd want a quilting lesson from Jo at 11PM in the evening. However, its all good. As you can see by the pictures in this posting, Erin did a very good job quilting.

In the mean time, Teddy liked was fun to play with. He seemed very good natured and put up with my babbling and cooed and drooled. We had a good time. Theodore became my instant photo subject and didn't mide the flashes of the camera or me prompting him to pose.

We did make it to Papa's Southern Smoked BBQ and had a nice dinner. See the plate of pulled chicken, pulled pork, and ribs. It was delicious and the price was right. So tell your friends about the place.

Erin is Erin, and not without such a busy agenda or schedule. She is always on the go. I guess, that's the way she's always been. The quilting bug really got to her. And besides that, she baked some cookies last evening for cousin Elder Jarom Auna who is in the MTC. She also made dinner for Jo and I Sunday which was really good.

When we had the chance, Teddy seemed very easy to play with. He hasn't figure out the Po doggie yet.

The picture of the quilt shows had work that Erin put in. Jo helped by giving her instructions at all stages of the project. Then there was her friend Ella who also encouraged her and gave her ideas on the project. Besides that, Erin had her support group, old friends from their old ward here in PG. In all, it was never a dull moment.

At least now, the home is quiet again but the silence is deafening except for the neighbor's dog (Brodie's dog, and the other dog from the home adjacent my garden plot.) They all have to go, eventually.

We've been keeping busy keeping up with Erin. I've been pruning our fruit trees and getting the yard and garden back in shape. However, with the rain, things will have to dry out first. There is so much outdoor work to be done.

Well, we've enjoyed Erin & Teddy's visit plus we miss all our children and their families. It's good to checkout your blog postings and catch up with all the happenings. You are all so talented.

Spring Visitors

Like Easter egg hunts, there's always surprises. Since we had no young'uns nearby, we missed all the fun preparing eggs and goodies for a real hunt.

However, we do like visits, especially surprises. This week, Erin and Theodore arrived for a short visit and we were ever so glad for that. Even the Po doggie was curious with a baby in the house.

So, with the visit, we're very happy enjoying one of our grandsons here at home. Of course, Erin and Jo have been visiting those important places with a ritualistic ferver. Such places as yard sales, Deseret Industries, the BYU Bookstore, Savers, etc., are tops on the list.

We look forward to all future visits from our children, their spouses, and grandchildren. Of course, now that the weather is warming up, it makes for a great time to visit. We miss them all.

Sorry this is a short posting. I'll try to make our posting more frequent. Aloha to all.

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Remembering Birthdays

Happy Birthday Nikki!

The year seems to be going by fast! We've had a few grandchildren birthdays since the first of the year. Catching up can be a huge task, especially trying to remember whose birthday was on which day. Anyway, in January, we had Ethan and Christian.

Let's see, Pookie has been doing well and from the sounds of his mom's blog, he is leading an active life. So, the picture here is a before and recent.

Of course, reading the little tidbits of joyful interaction of the rest of the family, I certainly enjoy the little people goings on at Minot.

Then there's our eldest grandson Christian. He was eight years old and was baptized by his dad. Little Buddy is active and very helpful to his parents. The best part I like is his example to his younger sisters. Way to go Christian!

In February, we had older birthdays to celebrate

with Jase, Jesse, and Troy. Now how old are you guys?

But this month of March, we've been blessed with the birthdays of granddaughter Anna, grandsons, George and Henry, and daughter Nicole. So, to remember their impact on our lives, here they are.

Above is Anna in the middle, between cousins Klailea and Henry

This picture of Princess Anna was taken last year outside their home in WA. As you can see, she's a pretty girl.

Here is our second grandson George. He turned six a week ago. He's enjoying school and doing well. He's talented and won an award in school. See his mom's blog for more update on George. Needless to say, we too are proud of George and how well he is doing.

From the look of this picture, one can only come to the conclusion that a boy who enjoys watermellon as seen here is happy and joyful. When we talk on the phone, he's always been cheerful and exciting. He's developed his conversation skills quite well and is very intelligent. I guess Henry can't wait to start school when he's old enough. As his Grandma would always ask, "Are you still my buddy?" He'd reply with a resounding "YES!"

Here is a recent picture of the island travellers, Henry and George. Now that they have a little brother, Theodore, they both help their mom when she calls. Of course, sometimes boys will get doing rough and tumble activities. I can just imagine in a couple of years when Theodore gets in the act also. Anyway, they too are among the bright grandchildren we've been blessed with.

Here was the last family picture we took in Hawaii. Of course, we've been back but never all together. And now, there are much more of us.

So, I hope these pictures down memory lane will bring back a memory or two to everyone.

A Missionary to The MTC

"Good Time to Get Together"

We don't get many family visitors but it's such a special time, especially to see Jarom leave for his mission - Rome Italy Mission. This time though, my sister and brother in-law accompanied their youngest son to Utah. As you know, it's such a special purpose and since this was their last son, they couldn't miss this opportunity.

Here are Danelle and Aley at BYU. See the mountains and the blue skys.

I know they really enjoyed their time here. They have such busy schedules with their own responsibilities, this trip was a real blessing. We really enjoyed their visit and had a great time
together.


Here are the Priesthood Circle at Jarom's being set apart as a missionary. We had Jarom's uncles, (me, Lance, and Fia), Former Hilo Stake President John Sakamaki, and President Malan Jackson, Aley's former Mission President, Taipei Taiwan, Jarom and Aley. It was a distinguished group.

This is a group shot of the guest and family members. Jarom is with two local Polynesians who are preparing to go on their mission. It was fun to get a group shot of everyone who attended that evening.

Aley and Danelle getting ready to go to the airport.

Danelle and I.

Today we had Stake conference at the historic Provo Tabernacl. The stained glass look so great I had to get a picture. Anyway, we certainly enjoyed the conference there.

Jo and I are standing below the choir loft with the pipe organ in the background. It was a lovely day and would have been better if we didn't have to turn our clocks ahead an hour. Now I have to reset the clocks on everything we have. I've been having difficulty with our VCR's and stuff. Well, I'll figure it out before we have to turn it back an hour. Bye.

Hey, you like go eat my house?

We've been having a great time with Aley, my sister Danelle, and nephew Elder Jarom. Since our family visits are few and far inbetween, we're making the most of the time. Jo and Danelle have visited the famous landmarks such as the DI's, Provo, AF, and Sandy, the outlet mall, and both University Mall and Provo Town Mall. While Jarom has been visiting his friends up at BYU, its been busy last few days. On Wednesday he goes into the MTC. We look forward to his success and spiritual growth.

Aley and Danelle and their family live in "Paradise" and we in Zion, its almost a contradiction, dreams vs. reality. Now some of our children live in Paradise, while some live in exotic places such as Minot, ND. and Ephrata, WA, or Elkton, MD. Which one is the "lone and dreary world?"

Living on the mainland has many blessings, much of it available for a price. By the same token, there is a price for "Paradise." It all depends on what you value most.

The cold winters on the mainland, or dry brown looking hills and mountains makes us want to be in that tropical paradise of Hawaii. When you are required to purchase a fishing license to fish in the rivers and lakes, thats not like going to the ocean and casting your line and bait for the fish to take a bite. Some of us miss the fragrance of the flowers, or the foods, a blend of cultures. How exciting? To be within reasonable distance from the beach for a family outing, a bit of sun and fun, that is a benefit of living in Paradise.

By contrast, there is more room to roam on the mainland and realize your not back in the same starting spot in a couple of hours if you head out on the road. When we go shopping for groceries, we can easily buy items in large bulk size for very reasonable prices. That makes shopping less frequent and great for storage. The price of groceries are a bargain on the mainland as compared to the islands. Then there is the rising cost of fuel, here we complain that the price rose a couple of cents since the last time we filled up. At least we don't have to take out a consumer loan to fill our tanks up. Just check out the price at the pump in Paradise. There are much more cost savings available on the mainland. That is the price for Paradise.

Our traffic here has been getting worse. Let's say that there are more vehicles out on the road at any one time. People got to get where the're going. But there is a price for that, it's called rude, selfish, drivers who break out in road rage if you cross their path. They drive big 4 X 4's and ride your bumper in an effort to intimidate you to get over to another lane or off the road. The bigger your vehicle, the more right of way you can get. If you are at an intersection, people here believe in divine right that a green light and yellow light, and even a red light means you can proceed if the other guy doesn't jump out. Let me illustrate here. I'm at an intersection and needing to proceed straight ahead when the light turns green. The drivers in the opposite lane making a left turn moves ahead with the green arrow. The arrow color turns from green to yellow and then to red. People are not stopping at the caution of the yellow arrow but go ahead even beyond at least 2 - 3 cars when the light turns to the red arrow. That my friend is called the "divine red light rule." Interpreted it means that the driver was in a long line of cars needing to make the turn but by the time that person got close, the light turned red. Having pity on one self, and determining that waiting another series of lights would be demeaning, that is the self authorization to make that turn that you knew was illegal, but hey, what the heck, if you don't cause an accident, but irritate the on comming traffic, you are allowed at least one of these moves per day. If you explain this to a law enforcement officer in this manner, you would probably be let off with only a warning. After all, we are only trying to be good neighbors, even if we broke the law. We pity ourselves, we aren't polite, or any of that good stuff.

By contrast, in Paradise, people are considerate on the roads, especially at intersections, stop signs, or merging in traffic. They insist that even though there is a monetary price for living in paradise, the experience doesn't have to be unpleasant. So "go ahead bruddah. Have a nice day, and the smile on my face is genuine.

What a difference? I believe its all in what you value most that makes the difference. For the materialistic mainlander, the more you have or the bigger it is, that is the definition of success. For the islander, yes, there is a price for paradise or a piece of the rock, but be happy, help others to be happy, share, and everyone will get along better. Your broke down hale may be standing only because of the happy termites are holding hands, so be thankful. This is another picture of "aloha."

Anyway, the above ramblings are a reflection of wanting to live in both worlds. The bottom line is "you can't live in both worlds, you can only have one, so what is it going to be?

Have a nice day.

We Only Just Begun!

Today, we celebrated our 34th Wedding Anniversary. I don't know how all that time has gone by but in a reflective mood, I can only say that, "It's been all good." Of course, we were young and in love, and we made a choice to start our lives together. So, I would like to share some of the very important memories we've been blessed with.

Here is our official wedding photo. From the left is Jo, Sterling, and Diane. In the back row is CB, Bill, Henry, and "I don't remember." I guess, that is a casualty of age.

Of course, in a Protestant wedding ceremony performed by a Catholic Chaplin, we were legally married on February 24th, on the island of Crete, Greece.

Some important facts here. Jo made her own wedding gown and my suit was tailored by a Greek. Some of the refreshments at our reception was sent from Hawaii by Grandma.

As you can see, there's really no change in the way we look today. Sure, this was 34 years ago but we still look the same.

As then and today, our hands look the same, one darker than the other. Maybe that's why are children are so pretty. We've never been ashamed of who we are. Who cares? You kids turned out just right.

Of course, I had more hair then, especially above my upper lip. Maybe I should try that again. Jo looks the same too.

We wanted to share this important day with all our children and their families. You too, are as important to us as this day 34 years ago. Thanks for the phone calls, well wishes from all of you and the flowers. This made our anniversary a little more special. We love you all.

Ipo's World

Since Jo and I have been working, Ipo spends much of her time at home alone. I noticed one morning that when we leave the home, she takes advantage of the comforts of home. In her mind, it must be like saying "Now its mine, all mine, I rule from the sidewalk to the backyard wall and everything inbetween. This is all mine." I found her on the couch, curled up and snoozing away.

I 've included a few pictures of Ipo's tyrant rule. Let me explain here. When Jo and I are about to leave, Ipo will instinctively stand infront of the cupboard that has her dog food and treats. It's her way of reminding us that the payment for leaving her alone is a treat. So, she gets a doggie biscuit. In the morning, she gets the first of her meals, at 9:00AM. and in the evening, her other meal at 6:00PM. Like clock work, she's there ready for her meal. If by chance we are late, say because of traffic or we just forgot, she lets us know that she's been forgotten.

At 9:00PM, she get's her nightly medication wrapped in a small piece of sliced cheese. Thats to disguise the pill and make it easier to swallow. When we say our nighttime family prayer, she becomes obsessed with wanting to participate and say her own, often nudging us while our eyes are closed and starting to whine or bark. That is very irreverant and not acceptable. But most of the time, she wants to hug at that time, even while we're in prayer.

Jo gave her a small stuffed dog as a toy. She'll carry it around and when she has our attention, she'll clinch it in her mouth and whip from one side to the the other to show us who is boss. She's not violent but deserves a chance to play. Her favorite sport is chasing the red dot from a laser pointer.

When our children and their family come to visit, the grandchildren can approach her at any time and give her a hug, sit on her as though wanting a ride, cuddle her, shake her paw, and even pull on her ears. But the best part she likes is having her belly rubbed. Thats what dogs like best.

Of course there is many advantages to having little people around the house. They carry food or snacks and are easy pickin's for a smart dog. Dinner time with our grandchildren are the best time for Ipo. For one thing, they can't resist dropping a bit of food for her to gobble up. That's what Ipo does best. Even so, the grandchildren find it amusing and delightful, all to the dismay of the parents. Ipo's motto, if you snooze, you loose.

Ipo has many redeeming qualities. She's a good companion and doesn't snore much. She protects our home with a voracious barking at strangers or anything that looks like strangers. She's obsessed with getting the critter (raccoon) that visits our chimney during the coldest parts of winter. She partols the back yard for any danger and knows where she planted any landmines. She likes to pester visitors to let them know that the real reason they came to visit us is to visit her. But during quiet times, she likes to lay at Jo's feet or under the cutting table in the sewing room or in the room where either Jo and I are in.

If there's any fear in her heart, it is from the vacuum cleaner. She prefers to find a quiet place to lay and not be disturbed.

All of our grandchildren have mostly known one dog in their life, the "Po" doggie. She's become their loyal friend and protector. In our home, the natural order of things or hierarchy is that Ipo rules. Po doggie knows . . . . (Now, if we could only get a social security number for her, then it would make things a whole lot better. )

Sorry for no new updates on the blog but we've been busy. We've enjoyed our childrens blogs very much. It helps very much since they live very far away. bye...

Bad Air Week! Cough! Gag!

It's times like these that I remember those days of wanting clean air to inhale. For the past week and a half, the valley has be socked in with the inversion. The polluted air from exhaust and every known gas emmission is trapped in the air we breathe. When we're in doors, we don't notice it but when you step outside, you get your lungs full, you immediately know the difference.

We've lived on the Wasatch front going on 15 years now, and I've never noticed it this bad. You can see it as you drive, looking at the mountain range, or even When our family was younger, our daughter Nikki could tell if the air was bad, or even if there was an approaching storm. Sort of like a built it barometer in her system. Of course, she'd take a puff of her inhaler to help clear the air passages.

During the week, as I prepare to go to work, I'd step out the front door, and immediately I could tell that the air was bad. Now, I long for the cool clean air in the early morning but I guess I have to wait until a storm strong enough to stir up the air and move this bad stuff out.

Remember when you were younger and riding in a car with all the windows up and someone let one go? Its sort of like that. Our kids would say, "If you smelled it, then you probably dealt it." Now that was a trueism of monumental proportions. We could all be sitting in the family room watching a movie and all of a sudden, the silent but deadly (powerful wiff) of another one that got away would interrupt the room and we'd take an instant air break.

The air is so bad that it doesn't even come close to the old, "Pull my finger?" So, there's bad air, then there's BAD air.

As you ponder these thoughts, which is worst? . . . . . . . . . . Happy Weekend.

Hauoli Makahiki Hou!

We've certainly enjoyed having two of our daughters and their family visit during this Christmas season. Prior to that, we had another daughter and her family for a visit at Thanksgiving. In two weeks, we expect to visit with our youngest daughter and her family.

Our visits have been wonderful, especially fun times getting to know our grandchildren. They have all warmed our hearts. The greatest sadness is that they live far from us and so the visits are few throughout the year. Each time we see them, we marvel at how much the've grown and their personalities along with that. They are all very bright, cheerful (when they aren't sick), energetic, and just fun to be with, so much so that its worn us out.

Later this month, our oldest grandson will turn 8 years of age and will be baptized. We have two grandsons attending school, another to start in the fall, and four more wanting also to go to school. By mid year, we will have another grandchild. With our children and their families living far away, we do miss out on some of the significant events in the lives of our grandchildren. Yeah, their's cell phone calls and even an occassional video call. Even then, we still miss them all. There are only two choices or alternatives we have. Either we retire early and spend the time traveling from one home to another or, they move back to within reasonable travel distance. Go figure?

On Sunday, our grandson "Teddy" was blessed at church. We were happy to be there. While our son-inlaw and his family we all in attendance (they have a large family), there was only a few of us. Anyway, the blessing was wonderful, and it would have been great to have more family in numbers there.

When its all said and done, both my wife and I are so happy and proud of all our children and their families. Taking an assessment of their lives and how happy they are, we couldn't be more pleased. For this reason and more, we are so thankful and blessed. In the wisdom, tradition and example set by our daughters on their blog pages, we are blessed because:

1. They and their spouse are living their dream, that is having children, pursuing a livelyhood to support their dream, and striving to reach their education and employment goals. In other words, they are fulfilling the measure of their creation.

2. Our grandchildren are well cared for, nurtured by loving parents, taught to love God, Grandparents, and their parents. They love rice with "fish eyes" and seaweed.

3. Our daughters are so talented in their own way, like giving hugs to a seemingly unhuggable screaming children, enjoy changing a wet or worse smelling diaper, wiping up throwup that projects a distance more than six feet and still soothe their sick child, creative in matching fabric patterns to fulfill the components of a baby quilt that they are sewing, prepare meal in advance, even a months worth, brave enough to step on the scale and admit that its either broken or their loving husband sabotaged the programming on it, determined to getup early to go exercise and workout before the little ones start screaming, and have the courage to face the demands of motherhood day after day after day, just as their mom did all these years.

4. They learned the art of motherhood from their mom, which also includes hemming their husbands trousers, going yard sailing on Saturday to get the best deals, be frugal in their shopping at DI and Savers, have the patience to know, if it ain't there this week, it just might be there next week, and still creative enough to know that "they can make that item for less."

5. They are all intelligent, just as their mother, and aren't push overs or wimps, know how to negotiate the price of an item at a yard sale or swap meet, recognize a bargain when they see one, all for the benefit of their husband and children.

6. Developed social circles that go beyond the confines of their home ward relief society or primary. Actually this is finding more friends, just not it their assigned wards. Its a comparative research on how well the church is run in the other ward than their own.

7. Being greatful for the blessing of a righteous husband who honors his priesthood and is the priesthood role model in their home. For their spouse, they will call home to mom or one of their siblings to get a recipe for a favorite dish or dessert, often calling to confirm weather it should be one cup or two of an item, what temperature it should bake at and how long.

8. Though they may be competitive with their siblings, just as in a good game of scrabble or settlers or that crazy rabbit game, they give greatful loving support to each other in their time of need, emotionally and spiritually.

9. Have solved the mystery of motherhood wisdom, or know where you can get it at a bargain, and still hug their husband and kids at they end of the day.

10. Lastly, when they need confirmation or know that they are speaking with knowledge and authority, they ask their mom, who ultimately knows where its at.

How can anyone match that? They have shown such refined maturity in the recent year. Gosh where has all they time gone or gone by so fast. It seems just a little while ago, they were under one roof picking at each other or attending school and YW. Time has really flown by. As they say, you snooze, you loose.

We have much to look forward to this year. We hope for good health, time to enjoy each other and family, work on the things that need improving, prosperity in our employment, faithfully doing our callings, etc. This year will be a better year for everyone. Aloha.

A Family Christmas Tradition

Our familly has mostly celebrated Christmas with a gala Christmas Eve event. Of course, that means having a special evening with Christmas Eve dinner and program with family and friends. With all the preparations that go into making it successful, there is a lot of benefit for doing this.

For us, we celebrated an early Christmas with Nikki, Dan, and their children. Since this is a special time of the year, we are blessed to have our children come and celebrate Christmas with us, otherwise, it would be a very quiet one here below "G" Mountain.









For one thing, you can have an enjoyable and meaningful dinner for the family as you celebrate the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Ours has to do with a nice dinner and a special home evening. We read the Bible story of the birth of Jesus, sing Christmas hymns and act out certain pertinent scenes from Matthew and Luke of the Bible. The special part is that our grandchildren are now the actors and they do a great job with special help and coaching from their parents.







We enjoy the Nativity Story and then have some special gift openings and a nice dessert. By then, its off to bed for the children, more wrapping for the parents, and then to bed.















Our grandchildren get so excited that its hard for them to go to bed. I guess they inherited that from their parents.

On Christmas Morning, we awake and can have our Christmas Stockings to discover. Everyone has to wait until the whole family is assembled and then one of the children will be designated to hand out the presents. We wait each turn in opening so as not to be a free for all. Though it can be time consuming, we enjoy the excitement and the company.









Thats the way its been, and thats the way it will be. After all the presents are opened and we clean up, we can enjoy our gifts and gift giving. Meals or food is easy, left overs from the dinner on Christmas Eve. The day is spent together and just a family together time. Later, we may visit others.






Anna, Leslie, Troy, Emily, Christian


Spending time with family is the highlight of the season. To all, we extend our Christmas greetings and our most joyous Aloha.












Henry, Erin, Theodore, Mark, George
















Sterling, Priscilla, Boyd, Jo




Family Tradition - Christmas Eve