Summer Adventures Part 4

This is the village of Sauniatu. Here's a description of it I found in the Liahona:

"The village of Sauniati is tucked in the crater of an extinct volcano. Most of the island’s roads parallel the sea coast; very few lead into the interior. And though it is only four miles from the coast highway, Sauniatu is isolated. You can almost walk as fast as a car can drive up the bouncy, twisting volcanic path that appears to be a giant green tunnel through the lush growth on either side of the trail.

The Samoan word Sauniatu means “a place to prepare.” The early Saints who established Sauniatu had a vision about the importance of this place in the Samoan history of the Church. They knew they needed a place where they could prepare and build strength. In 1904, when they established Sauniatu, they had been expelled from their villages, persecuted, and unfairly taxed for being Mormons. Later they started a school at Sauniatu, and it became one of the Church schools in Samoa."

David O. McKay later visited Sauniatu and pronounced an apostolic blessing upon the village and its inhabitants and prophesied that there would one day be a temple in Samoa. There is a monument dedicated to him there and while we visited we could hear the school students reciting their lessons.

Sauniatu also has a beautiful waterfall. When my family visited nearly 15 years ago we were able to swim in the pool and play in the waterfall. Now you have to climb down about six feet of slippery rock to get to the water so we passed this time. It really is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

This is Piula Caves where you can swim in fresh water caves. The water was quite chilly but the girls braved the cold anyway. About halfway through the cave there is a place where you can swim under the wall into an adjoining cave. The hole is at your feet so you have to swim to the bottom then swim/pull yourself through a relatively small hole. I was slightly freaked out by it but figured I would never get the chance again so I ought to suck it up and do it. It really wasn't that scary once I actually did it. You don't have to hold your breath very long and it's pretty fun. I swam through to the other cave where my dad was waiting and then sent my dad back to the other side to stay with the girls while Devon swam through. As my dad went down, Grace appeared through the hole! I couldn't believe she was brave enough to do it! I was quite proud of her. She's lucky her dad was on the other side with her because I'm not sure I even would have allowed her to do it.

Summer Adventures Part 3

We spent two fabulous weeks in Samoa with my parents. What an amazing opportunity to visit them on their mission. We were so excited to see them and when someone asks the girls what the best part about going to Samoa is the answer is always, "Seeing Gammy and Papa." I have so many fabulous pictures and stories that I will have to cover Samoa in several posts.

Getting to Samoa was not the easiest thing we've done. We left L.A. at 11:15 and the flight is 1o hours. That's a long time with a one-year-old. Luckily we sat on the bulkhead row and on the wall in front of us was a pull-down bassinet, similar to a changing table in a public restroom but with a mattress and sides. Right before we took off, the flight attendant told me I couldn't have my diaper bag for take-off because it didn't fit below the seat so she stowed it somewhere for me. Claire finished her bottle just as we were taking off. I sat her up to burp and she vomited everywhere. This was not just a little spit-up either; it was her entire bottle. So I stripped her down to her diaper, tried to wipe us up with the one burp rag we had and figured that would have to do until I could get my bag back. Five minutes later Claire pushed her head back and was out cold. So she slept in a diaper, which worked out just fine. She slept for 6-7 hours, which was about all we could ask for from her. She was amazing.

Claire's first airplane ride to L.A.

Looking a little haggard but happy to be seconds away from seeing Gammy and Papa.

Here's what we did on our first day in Samoa:

Learned how to open a coconut.

Went to the market with Papa. They have the most delicious miniature bananas called misi luki. They stay sweet and delicious for days.

Enjoyed the view from the backyard.

Napped.

Went to the beach.

Snorkeled.

Ate dinner in the ocean (just Claire).

Made some new friends.
Had a grand time all day and crashed into our beds about 7:30.

Summer Adventures Part 2

We spent the first part of our giant vacation in Provo with Devon's family and with our long-lost friends, the Stephens. Provo is sure beautiful in June and we took full advantage.

The girls learned about these fun bubble-makers on Family Fun and Nonni was nice enough to lend them the materials. It's a water bottle with the bottom cut off and a dish towel attached to the water bottle with a rubber band. You then put a little dish soap on the end of towel and dip it in water. Blow in the bottle and you get foamy bubbles.

Whoops. Jenna sucked instead. Yuck!

Playing with Aunt Ali

Claire decided to make her own brand of fun with this gift bag. Leave it to the baby to make a toy out of the garbage.

Our buddies, the Stephens, moved to Utah at the end of the last year. Our kids hadn't seen each other in six months and were super excited to be together again. We're missing one little man from this picture because he was on a field trip but the rest had a great time together!

Summer Adventures Part 1

We did several fun things to keep busy in June. The girls took swim lessons and a musical theater workshop where they learned and performed music from Mary Poppins.

The girls with Miss Erica

We also tried out the Children's Museum of Phoenix. Fun place, but better for kids who are a little younger. All three of the girls loved the swim noodle jungle, however.

My Laundry Helper

This kid loves to find the underwear in the laundry basket (clean) and put it on her head. Every time. She even found dirty underwear at a friend's house and put that on her head too! Lovely. And the other day she got away from her dad for a minute and we found her in the bathroom sucking on a burp rag that she had dunked in the toilet! And there was toilet paper on the rag so this was not even a clean toilet! There were no words, still aren't.

Claire's First Birthday

Claire turned 1 on July 22nd. The lucky girl got two birthday parties because Devon was absent for the first. On her actual birthday we were in Bear Lake with the Stephens family. Claire had a candle in a rice krispie treat, which she thought was fantastic, until she reached for the candle, at which point we all freaked and she started bawling. Although once she actually got her hands on the treat she was thrilled.

A few weeks later we celebrated at home so her dad could participate. She thought it was super fun that we were all singing for her and dug right in to her cupcake.

This little girl is just about the sweetest thing I have ever encountered. I have never seen a baby get so excited just because you walk in the room. When I appear and call her name her face lights up and she runs for me with her arms outstretched and giggles as I pick her up. I'm thinking there's not much better in this world than that. She also loves peek-a-boo and has now figured out how to do it herself. She will hide her eyes or crouch behind the furniture and pop up. Her ear-splitting screech has also made a reappearance. We thought we'd said goodbye to this fantastic skill but it came back. Alas, much of church is spent in the hall. Let me tell you, her dad is heartbroken about that. She has four awesome jack-o-lantern teeth and is growing tons of hair, albeit not necessarily in all the right spots--she looks like a 40-year-0ld man with a receding hairline. She now says mom, dad, Grace, and uh-oh and her sisters fight over who will get her from her bed after nap because she gives such fabulous snuggles and grins. Life is pretty fantastic with a one-year-old around. My father-in-law said Claire is "delightful" and I quite agree!

(For full effect, imagine glass shattering all around you.)

Where to Begin?

We just returned from a six-week vacation. It was a wonderful, crazy whirlwind and we had a blast, but are definitely happy to be home! We drove to Provo and went from there to Samoa, back to Provo, to Bear Lake, back to Provo and finally to home. My kids are officially international travelers and spent some great time with both sets of grandparents. After five days at home I'm still in recovery mode. I hate returning from vacation and trying to get reorganized and back into the swing of things, but recovering from six weeks away just might kill me (not to mention the heat)! I'll be back with pictures and stories soon!