Spring

 Where have we been?... March has come and gone and spring is here! I love, love, love springs. I love cherry blossoms and colorful tulips spring forth out of the ground. I love the cool sunny weather and I especially love pastel colors.

We had a busy month in March. Acalias and I flew out to Utah for two weeks. Traveling has become more adventurous now that my little toddler must be entertained. Thankfully we had one layover, Acalias walked and walked and walked so he was too tired to put up a fight to get his wiggles out.

We spent lots of time with family, it's always so much fun to watch how Acalias interacts with his cousins.

My siblings and I had been preparing and planning for mom's surprise 50th birthday. Mom was surprised and we had a wonderful time sharing our favorite memories of her, playing games and feasting on traditional Polynesian food.

Acalias got his first hair cut too!

We enjoyed spending time with family.

I also took a ton of pictures of my family, check out my Website!

Now that It's mid-April I'm finally easing up on my marathon training. Since January I've been running 45-50 miles a week and strength/weight training 3-5 days a week. The time commitment has been like a part-time job but I've really enjoyed it. Several weeks ago I ran 21 miles maintaining an 8:40 pace (flat terrain no hills at all), I was so thrilled! I've learned a few tricks that have kept me from burning out and crashing. I'm excited to see how well I do in my marathon 12 days away!!

Mandy and I after her first 20 miles, we were thrilled, she is preparing for her first marathon!

I took this pic below last week during our 16 miler run, West Virginia has some beautiful scenic sites.

Acalias is growing and learning so much. He loves animals, 

in these pictures he spotted a dog and it made him so happy.

The simplest things me this little boy so happy. This year he had a blast finding Easter eggs. 

Derek has just completed his 2nd round of rotations in Internal Medicine with Cardiology and Nephrology and is currently rotating in Geriatrics. We enjoy seeing him when he is not so busy. Soon we will be making major decisions as to where we will do his residency after graduation May 2013. Our current top pics are: 

1. San Antonio, TX, and Dallas, TX             2. SLC, UT           3. Kansas City, KA

I just pray that we will get into the residency that will be the best fit for our family. 

For Easter we didn't do anything too extravagant. We didn't even have to buy anything, Acalias and I took advantage of the City Egg hunt and friends invited us over for their egg hunts. We're trying to think of creative ways to celebrate the true reason for the season. 

And of course, I had to make myself another dress. 

check out the actual pattern I used.

I look forward to posting the results of how awesome I do in my marathon in several weeks:)

Utah

Mom gave us a buddy pass for a weekend trip to Utah. We were so excited to see our family and meet our newest nephew/cousin Zachary. 

Derek asked me to snap a picture of the mountains for him, we love hiking & camping in them. 

Acalias meeting his cousin Zachary. 

Grandpa Garn has been working on this playhouse for several years. It has sentimental value because the walls are built with the dance floors he had built for our wedding. The play house is equipped with part wood part carpet floors, cabinets, electricity (indoor and outdoor lights), windows and furniture. Each time I've visited, grandpa has added something new to the house, this time it was a sandbox underneath the house. He informed me that next time, he will have running water. I would have loved to have something like that as a child, the kids seem to have so much fun with it. 

Visiting with uncle Damion

Such a cutie.

We watched Braxten show off his soccer skills, he is such a little athlete. 

One of the risks of flying on buddy pass is getting bumped off your flight. I was bumped three times but I was happy to spend more time with my family. My nephews were excited whenever they would return home from school and see that we missed our flight. Thanks Simi, for being my personal taxi back and forth to the airport, I owe you!

Visiting Grandma Mele's grave.

The super model. 

Loni Baloni, the youngest member in our family. I can't believe she's going to be 16 this year, I still haven't let my other sisters drive while I'm in the car. I still see them all as my baby sisters. 

Janelle and her girls. We served in Oakland together, we have so many great memories out in the mission field together. It was so nice to visit with her and meet her newest addition Eloise. Love you Janelle!

Acalias had so much fun with his cousins, by the end of the trip he could say "Zai zai", short for my youngest nephew Isaiah.

Audric's graduation, they sang Acalias' favorite nursery songs can you tell by his grin?

We miss you guys, can't wait for our next visit.