Is it just me thinking this??

Is it just me or is SWINE FLU is EVERYWHERE???? My nephew's baby contracted the flu and he is only 3 weeks old. Scary! I hope my nephew Josh doesn't get it and pass it on to me. ME -NO-LIKE-E. :)

I've been watching the news and there are outbreaks of the flu everywhere. Being a teacher I am having my kids clean their desks once a week and constantly wash their hands. Am I being paranoid?

I think we should start wearing face masks....lol...you know the masks you see all the Asians wearing in Asia.


What do you think?

Changing a battery

Running low on charge= New Battery.
I shopped around to see what would be the cheapest battery.
I found that Costco has a great price...$55.00 plus tax. Costco even gives you a cash rebate for turning in your old battery! $9.61. I was a little hesitant in changing the battery because I have never done it before. (Costco does not change batteries)
The guy from Costco told me how to change the battery so I felt pretty confident changing the battery on my own.

First step in changing a battery is unscrewing the bolts holding the battery to the car. I was able to unscrew 2 bolts before I hear, "You having car trouble?" I look up and it is someone who lives in my apartment complex. I proceed to say, " I'm just changing my battery, I hope I am doing it right." He says, "Hold on, I will be right back with some tools."

So the guy came back with his tools just in time to take the last bolt off the battery. Good timing MR!....I didn't have a tool to take off the last bolt.

Thank goodness for nice people. I love it when guys come to the rescue! :)

I even got more tips on how to change the battery!! The tips included... rub the inside of the +/- attatchment with sandpaper if it is rusty/curoded. Sanding helps the battery work better. He also used some kind of glue to keep the bolts from moving.

I am very appreciative for his knowledge. THANK YOU NEIGHBOR! I didn't get his name...my bad. :)

I now have a new battery that helps my car run great! Yay!

Proud Great Aunt!

My big Baby Nephew! I got Josh his own Binki! :)


Joshua Ikaika Pa'a'a'ao Harvey has a baby boy! The babies name is Kawika which mean David in Hawaiian. The mother didn't give the baby the Harvey last name. I believe the last name is Tauiliili-Unufe. I am not sure of the rest of the name because it is SOOOO long! LOL. Hawaii peeps know what I am talking about! ; )

Kawika's mom is the granddaughter of Dawn Wassons Brother. For those of you who don't remember who Dawn is, she is the Hawaiian lady who lives by the Crackle fresh egg farm. She was the one who protested the NEW sewer system in Laie because it would impose on Hawaiian land. Small world right? :)

I am excited to see Kawika grow.


Here are a few pictures.

Update from TACO NIGHT

I got home from school and was pleasantly surprised with what I found! I had told my nephew Josh to clean up for me because I didn't have time, he did it!!! :) Good thing he cleaned because when I got home from school I had no extra time.
I had a list of things to get done. I tried to keep myself calm. :)

List of things to do:
Chop up all the fruit and tomatoes.
Chop up and cook the hamburger/ chicken in taco seasoning.
Set up the taco bar
Make ranch dip
Clean my bathroom
Clean my room
Dust the couch
Fill the dishwasher and turn it on
Clean the kitchen floor
Take out the trash
ETC.

I tried to do all this on my own...but I ended up needing help from my sisters. My sister Tami came over and helped me cut up fruit, and her son Lonzo took out the garbage. My sister Mel ran to the store and got 2 things I needed.
Thank you for your help sisters and nephew!

The party....
My guests showed up 15 min early!! Man, I am not use to "EARLY" coming from Hawaii! :) Hawaiian time=20-30 min late.
I tried not to let myself freak out that they were early. I wasn't done cooking the chicken so I put an apple tray with carmel dip and a fruit tray with Kiwi, oranges, and grapes out for the hungry people. :) Yum!

Here comes the multi-tasking....
My friend brought her 2 children. One of her children is a 2 YR OLD! He is so cute, but a handful! While I was cooking and preparing food he came in the kitchen and said that he wanted to walk on my tredmill. I told him not yet, so he waited...oh...5 seconds and asked again. I finally gave in after 5 times. I had to move all the stuff off the tredmill before he could use it. :) Does that tell you anything??? LOL. (No usage???) I set the speed at 0.5. :) He was entertained for about....5 min. LOL. Not long enough! :) I guess he got bored because he touched the buttons to go faster. I look over and he is going WAY TOO FAST! I hurried over to try to slow it down and I was a little too late. HE ATE THE TREDMILL! Nuts! Dangerous!
He didn't get hurt, it just scared me.


He moved on from the tredmill and started to bug me again. Where are the parents you ask???
They are chatting away with my other guests. :)



I went back to cooking and then I hear..."I want MILK!" HE opened and looked in the fridge. I was impressed that he was so independent! I don't mind kids doing what they want unless it irritates me. :)
I'm glad we had milk!







The fun didn't end there...! It was cute to have a 2 yr old around. It helps me remember that I should count my blessings of not having kids. :) LOL. J/K. I love kids! ;)


We all had a great time chatting, and we even had time to play games!
We played my favorite game Scattergories!





I was really happy with the night! Yay, my party was a success! :)



After the party my sisters and I discussed how things went.
We came to the conclusion that my teacher friends are AWESOME and we want to hang out with these couples again!
Mrs. K, you were missed! :)


I often wonder why I stress myself out and plan parties.....I guess the parties pay off because I keep wanting to have them.:)
Alohas

TACO night & Upcoming Events

I am having people over for taco night tonight. I'm NOT having a DEL TACO taco night. LOL. :) Two people asked me if I was doing a Del taco taco night. I thought that was funny. I didn't know there was a Tuesday taco night at Del taco.
I am excited for the gathering! I invited 2 teachers from my school who are cool. :) I will let you know how it turned out.



My arm is healing nicely. I am SO OVER having an arm that doesn't work to its full capacity! :)

Here is a picture

YUMMY!







Next week I am off track for a whole month!!! YAY! I am going to Kentucky to help my sister Pam out. She is going to get a C- section so that her baby girl will be alive when it is born. Pam's baby won't live long. The baby has all sorts of complications & on top of complications she has a Chromosome issue. Mom is not here to help out with these things, so I thought I would help out as much I could.

Crash=stitches

Last week I thought I would be adventurous so I went dirt biking with a teacher friend of mine. I was having a blast until....DUN, DUN, DUN......I fell off the bike!! There was a tight corner coming up, I didn't see it until it was too late!!! I down shifted as soon as I saw the corner, but I got caught in the sand. Sand = slippery and dusty which makes you eat the ground hard and fast!
My bike ended up sliding, I didn't even know I was falling until I was hitting the ground. It all happened so fast.
I did a superman fall. My leg was under the bike and the rest of my body was on the ground. It felt like when you fall off a skateboard or a regular bike fall. Fun, Fun.
As I was looking through the holes in my shirt I saw a mountain of skin. I thought I had a bunch of rocks under my skin. Little did I know that I was highly mistaken. I rode the bike back after holding my arm for a bit. It hurt! It felt like my arm got the wind knocked out of it. I had to ride all the way back to our starting area to clean my arm. My arm was stinging the entire way back. We all got back to the car and assessed the damage. I had this feeling like I needed to see a doctor and not stay and clean my arm up myself. I ended up going to the instacare in Orem. I was lucky I didn't break anything nor get burned. I was wearing Josh's moto gear. I have to buy Josh a new shirt. The shirt had 3 holes and blood all over it! :)
The end result of my arm is that there was little dirt in my arm. My fat from my arm was the rocks, and I have 10-12 stitches. I am happy that my injury wasn't worse. The doctor who sewed me up lived in Laie for 2 years in the 70's. Laie sure brings many people together.
Life is, oh so interesting.

Here are some pictures BEFORE:





AFTER: about 3 months later...

Family Reunions...what can I say!

Reunions can be boring/lame OR the BEST part of your life!
I think reunions are the highlight of my life! I love my family and I am so blessed to have the sisters I have!
Growing up in Hawaii my family was sort of left out of the reunions and getting to know my moms side of the family.
I am very blessed because I have the best Hawaii family! You guys rock!!! I'm so glad that I grew up with you!
Hawaii Ohana fo life! :)

I now know many of my cousins so it is fun to go the the reunions. I now try every year to go to my mom's family reunion (Pond). I really enjoy going to this reunion. It is the only extended family I have. This year I was in charge of the crafts and I really enjoyed it! We made cool t-shirts, airplanes, colored sippie cups, etc. Fun, Fun! I camped at Hyrum state park for 6 days with NO makeup!!! That is a miracle for me! :)
Here are some pictures.











Alonzo and Helen






Tami and Helen


Dad, Mel, and Anastasia











Josh, Koali Hanohano and Koali's baby- That is not Josh's baby...but Koali is pregnant with Josh's kid. Koali is the granddaughter of Mr. K (4th grade Laie Elem). Her grandma is the lunch ticket lady! Small world!







I also can wake board now!!! I hopefully can post the video. :)

Summer is always a blast!!!

My road trip up to Oregon with Cyndi was a Blast! I got a ticket in Northern California which I think the cop was being unfair. I had just passed a big rig in the passing lane provided and the cop clocked me from the other side of the road. I think I should have been give a warning!! Don't you??? Lame! Oh well....I never get tickets otherwise. :)
Cyndi and I visited or our Hawaii friend Renee Lemone who lives in Oregon. She is awesome and so sweet! I played golf with her husband and 2 boys. It was fun!. I love golf for those of you who didn't know that about me. :)



Summer came and went so fast!! Bummer! I did a ton of things!!! My sister Lori came to Utah from Michigan with her 4 kids. It was fun to see them after 3 years. They are really good kids! I love love my niece Anastasia who is 4. She has an outgoing personality and she wanted to be around aunty Helen the entire time they were here. We were able to go to the Provo Veterans pool and hang out.
Here are a few pictures...

Last day of school for the year

I am soooo excited that my year of school is over. We had to deep clean and move all furniture today. It feels good to give my classroom a good scrubbing. I neglect my classroom sometimes. :) A classroom needs some love and attention too. I had a GREAT class this year! I will miss my kids. I heard I will get a good class next year! I am happy about that!

My good friend is no longer a 5th grade teacher with me. It is time for her to move on in life. I am really bumbed!!! It just won't be as much fun with her gone. I just want to thank you for being AWESOME! You saved me from going crazy! I hope you enjoy being a mom! I can't wait to see your cuttie and be AUNTY HELEN. :)

What is next?????
I am off to Oregon on a road trip to take Cyndi to school.
I hope everyone enjoys their JULY holiday!
Thank you for being great people!

What's the Haps?

Well, I've had an interesting month. I went out to Ohio to visit/babysit my sister Debbie's two kids. All I have to say is that I am glad I don't live by them! I was a little shocked in how Bratty my niece and nephew were. I tried to make the best of it. I was schedule to stay 2 1/2 weeks but couldn't take any more. I came home 3 days early! I was glad to get home.

I went to the Kelly Clarkson concert in Orem. It was fun even though it rained almost the entire time. :) Coming from the rainy state of Hawaii...Small kine. When I got home I read an email from my dad stating he is getting a divorce from Lynn Carey. I knew that would happen. I think it is for the best. Right now I am trying to be a 2nd brain for my dad and going with him to his lawyer appointments. He is getting old and can't remember many things.

What is next you ask????? I only have 2 more weeks of school and I then have a 2 week break until my next school year.
Fun, Fun. I am looking forward to my sister Cyndi coming from Hawaii to visit for a week. Then I am going on a small road trip up to Oregon to drop my sister off. Cyndi is starting a Masters program in Theatre. I love road trips! Can't wait for Summer!!!!

Old pictures

I thought I would post some older pictures to remember how cute I was and how funny my hair looked! lol.
Enjoy!

Vegas was great!

Mel and I had a great time in Vegas! We were able to go to dinner at Wolf gang pucks restaurant. The food is expensive but pretty tasty. We walked around hotels, then went to our room until it was time for Jason's concert.
Jason's concert was awesome! We had middle seats that were really good. The price of the tickets paid off! Jason's opening act was James Morrison. OMGosh...James has a GREAT voice! You really should look him up. I wish I could go to see James in concert but his tour is only going to be in Europe. Bummer. The concert ended at 3 in the morning. Fun!
Mel and I walked back to our room and we heard a ruckis above us. We figured out that it was a bowling alley. Nuts! The Suites were right above our room. I called down to the front desk and told them that we couldn't sleep with all the noise. Security went to there room an hour and a half later. Needless to say we didn't stay another night like we had planned. Oh well, we went to Vegas for Jason. We were satisfied with what we did. My next concert is Kelly Clarkson in June. Fun!

Vegas, Here I come!!!

I am so excited for Saturday! I am going on a small road trip with my sister Mel to VEGAS! Woohoo! We are planning to make the 2 day vacation a BLAST! The main reason for going to Vegas was the Jason Mraz concert. It is a midnight show on Saturday. I am sooo excited! I love Jason! :) We plan to eat at nice restaurants, see the water spectacle at the Bellagio, and maybe see a comedy show. Can't wait. Oh yeah, I am taking a day off from school! SHHH....don't tell! LOL.

HE IS SO SEXY!!!

O le O le O le O le...

I went to my 1st professional Soccer game this past weekend. I went to see Real Salt Lake soccer team Play New England Revolution. I went with my sister Mel. When we got there we got hot chocolate and then went to find our seats. When we sat down, I noticed that I had bought GREAT seats! Yay! The game lasted about 2 hrs. Good thing it was only 2 hrs because I had a cramp in my OKOLE from leaning to my right. I was trying not to touch the guy sitting next to me! LOL. It was a cold night, but it was fun to be in that kind of atmosphere. Everyone at the game had great energy...and there was a big cheering section of Latinos chanting "O le O le O le." Fun! lol. I hope to get to go to another game soon. There were a lot of HOT GUYS! lol

Flowers

I love flowers! Here are the lovely plumerias.



Plumerias... I don't know what it is about these flowers, but I love the smell, and how beautiful they are. Plumerias come in different colors. Yellow/white, pink/yellow, purple/pink.
Plumerias are commonly used to make flower leis.

BBQ at my families favorite park...We call it "Horsey park"

I was driving home from work last week and thought ...."It is such a beautiful day, I want to take advantage of the GREAT weather that we haven't had here in Utah for a while and have a BBQ!" I called up my sisters and told them to meet me at the "Horsey park."(Which is located in Orem on the road to Wal-mart. I got everything together....made hamburgers (even though I don't eat hamburgers), bought hot dogs (Jennie-o) :), and compiled all other needed materials in the cooler. I love roller coolers! They are the best!
We set everything up and I started up the grill to make some great food. I love to cook stuff on the grill. It reminds me of BBQ's in Hawaii at Waimea Bay. We would put the grill in the sand and have a blast! Anyone who came by our BBQ at Waimea would get food if they were hungry. LOL. We are all Ohana. I miss "All in the ohana" living here in Utah.
Anywho....my nephews Josh and Lonz and I played pass the football and Aerobe(Frisbee). I had so much fun! I can't wait until the weather gets even better.
Here is a picture of us at the park.

3 Weeks off! I needed it!

Yes, I have been a blogging slacker. I have been really busy PLAYING! lol. I have been off-track for 3 weeks and loving every minute of it! I have been able to organize my apartment, clean my car & carpets, play with friends and family, and watch some great tv.
I drove up to Boise, ID and visited my friends Julie and Lisa. It was nice to catch up with them. I am thankful for all the great people who are in my life!
Some friends from Hawaii are here for two months and we are happy to see them anytime. We had b-day parties, went to Boondocks, and we had fabulous BBQ's. SO FUN! I go back on track Friday. :( Can't wait until my next break!

You have to do this!

My nephews and I went to Soldiers Hollow in Heber to go tubing. It was so fun! The cost was 20 dollars for 2 hrs of complete bliss. It is worth the money! There is a tow to take you back up to the top! (Not having to truck it up a hill to ride again was the main reason I wanted to go there! LOL) They do have smaller tubes for the keiki. There is a lodge to hang out in if you need a break. We ate snacks and rested in the lodge after 2 hours of fun.
Here is a video of my fun!

Can't get enough of the place!

My favorite place to go to have fun these days is JUMP ON IT! It is an indoor trampoline warehouse located off the 1600 Exit. It is so much fun. There is a section for little ones and another section for 5 and older to jump. You can play tag and basketball with foam balls. I love to practice my front flips and back/fronts. So much fun! Try it!

SKIING

I decided I would try skiing for my first time this year. I was lucky enough to have a friend from school volunteer to show me the ropes. We went to Alta ski area in SLC, Utah. I was able to ski but only in the kiddie area. I was not confident enough to go on the lifts. Maybe one day. So my overall evaluation of the skiing is that I am not sure I like it. I would like to get lessons to see if my opinion will change. I think it is good to try things at least twice. Right?

Christmas is Fun when you are with your family

Christmas was a fun time for me and my family. My sisters, nephews, and I went to my dads house for a Christmas dinner. We had a great time. Mel and I gave my dad a gift card to Olive garden & gave back church videos he gave us the previous year. My dad gave us....(the same gift).... Another A CHURCH VIDEO! We are sick of getting the videos every year so we had to make joke out of the situation. You think my dad could get the hint and get us something different. LOL.



After our dinner we all went to Mel and my apartment to pass out stockings. I was in charge of doing the stockings for everyone. I really enjoyed that. I love to surprise people.
Tami was in charge of my stocking. I was impressed with what I got. I took a picture to help me remember what I got. LOL.
I really enjoy spending time with my family!