Jazz It Up in 2011!

 

You are invited to attend an amazing night of dancing and great company with your 2a1 family. We're doing it 1920's style so dress the part or come in black and white formal.

*please NO JEANS!*

It's time to party and ring in the new year 2011! There will be an awesome DJ, light snacks, entertainment, and a prize for the Best dressed/Best dancers! So put on your dancing shoes and get ready to do the Charleston dance!

The location will be the chapel in Rose Park off of Redwood Rd and Independence Northpointe Chapel. It's right off of Independence. 1460 N Morton SLC, UT @ 7pm-1am



IT'S BEEN TOO LONG!!

2010 is almost GONE!!   

So much has happened these past months and I regret not taking any record of it in my journal or my blog.  =(  Figured to jot Christmas down before 2010 is over and I forget!

Here's the Kaufana kiddos Christmas highlights...

Koloi (15 months old)- more into the wrapping paper than the toys...he kept rolling in it all morning as the other kids unwrapped their gifts and wasn’t so happy when we had to clean it up…he actually threw a fit…soooo, we left him to be happy in the mess of wrapping paper. Tons of toys sat around as this kid played with the wrapping paper! Clean up was done once Koloi took a nap.

Drew (2 ½ yrs old)- couldn’t sleep out of excitement on Christmas Eve…he helped Beanie put out the cookies and milk. Kids were knocked out and Drew kept comin’ down the stairs to peek at the tree. I put him back in his bed and later found him asleep on the stairs…lol! He was ecstatic at the fish tank that lights up and had a lil’ Beta fish and a lil’ froggy inside. He kissed Santa’s face off the wrapping paper a hundred times! It was too cute! Bean asked him to name his frog and fish and their official names are, “Froggy” and “Fishy!” =)

Beanie (9 yrs old) - my easily amused child asked Santa for some fuzzy socks, a Christmas mug w/ a lid and a mini Children’s songbook so she could have her own in primary like her friend Teisa. Simple as that! Good thing she pointed out the exact Christmas mug she wanted when we were at Kohls a few days before. She loved that a bike, skinny jeans and Vans (shoes) also came that Christmas day…the bike being from her Uncle Bobo! He rocks!

Ala (11yrs old)- this kid has been on the fence about whether Santa is real or not. The kids had gotten up before mom & dad of course. They had already divided out their gifts and Ala found he only had two to open and then one bigger gift that said, “To: Kaufana Kids   From: Santa.” His 1st gift was a couple of slacks for school. He said, “cool” sarcastically and threw them over his shoulder. His 2nd gift he opened was a video game...a sports one.  Ala was confused because we had no sort of video game system.  Then he caught where the game said it was for the Xbox 360 Kinect. His eyes almost popped out of his face and he yelled, “Open that big box for the Kaufana family! HURRY!!”…lol….the gift was unwrapped in seconds and sure enough it was the Kinect! First thing he yelled was, “Santa lives YO! My mom & dad can’t afford that!” Bahahahah! He then took the Xbox Kinect in his arms and sang Mariah Carey’s, “All I want for Christmas is YOU!” No kidding, he sang the WHOLE first verse and the chorus with emotions and all….OH MY GOODNESS!! It had us cracking up!

Later that morning we all gathered at Gma & Gpa’s house. Sister Tuaone happened to call just as we were starting. Pops put her on speaker and she gave us a spiritual Christmas message on the birth of Christ. We were all in tears. It was so good to hear her voice…she brought such a special spirit. The grandkids had their gift exchange and us adults had white elephants…my favorite was my brother Marty’s gift. A hot chocolate mug that had 3D glasses inside with a note that said somethin’ like, “Some shades to keep you lookin’ COOL while this mug keeps you feelin’ HOTT!” Dad got that gift. I think Justin overdid his “white elephant” by giving an iPod…(seriously honey?) I gave a Snuggie.  Justin & the older ones headed to the Kaufana family feast, while the babies and I cleaned up and rested.  Then the rest of the day was spent w/most of the fam on the Kinect, eating and sleeping...good times!

Eat This, Not That!

At work we've got a Biggest Loser contest going.  I think it's pretty cool, it's company-wide and to get us all motivated we started out with a BANG!  $300 is the top prize to the male and female who loses the most.  $200 to 2nd place male and female and $100 to 3rd place.  Free pedometers were given to each associate and then we were told we were each getting a free Stairmaster too!  The catch?  We have two stairwells on both sides of our bulding and EVERYONE gets to use them!  LOL!  I've joined and have totally enjoyed the past three weeks of a healthier me! =)  We are to wear our pedometers each day and we win prizes from time to time if you've walked a certain amount of steps.  Daily emails go out of tips for exercise and also recipes for healthier meals. I thought to share this one below.  These Biggest Loser contests are happening everywhere! Good Luck to ALL of you!

_______________________________________

These days, you can’t buy much for a buck. So it’s not surprising that Americans are drawn to fast-food value menus—and why chains like McDonald's are on the short list of companies expected to thrive in the tanking economy.


But while a $3 dinner sounds like a great deal, it comes with an added health cost. The wrong combination of cheap foods can easily add up to more than 1,000 calories and a whole day's worth of fat. The end result? Let’s just say you’ll have a lot more than a fat wallet to squeeze in to your pants.

The good news is that a number of restaurants have recognized diners desire to cut costs and added healthier options to their dollar menu. Here are five fast-food lunches that will keep you well under budget—in fat and calories, and dollars and cents. Just click on the links below.

The Cheapest Healthy Lunch at Wendy’s

The Cheapest Healthy Lunch at Taco Bell

The Cheapest Healthy Lunch at Subway

The Cheapest Healthy Lunch at McDonald’s

The Cheapest Healthy Lunch at Burger King

MY WHOLE WORLD!

MARCH MADNESS!

No, not the NCAA...this month my family has had our own "March Madness!"  Here's it all in a nutshell...i don't want to forget any of this so hopefully I remember everything!

March 6, 2010
My lil' brother Marty aka "Dino" got married!  This is Marty and his beautiful bride, Alisi Mahanusu Tuaone...his dear love of over 4 years.  It was such a fun wedding!  Love them and I LOVE my new SIL!  She's great!  They are expecting in June!  This will be grandbaby #16!  YAY!

Ala, Bobo and Renzo were Dino's lil' groomsmen.  Cute huh?

March 7, 2010
Sienna & Sani Mapa's baby blessing.  Baby #2 for these guys.  We went to the blessing where he was blessed by his grandpa.  Grandma Numa bore her testimony and so did Mace.  Yes, Mace was here from Louisiana!  I love our Kaufana family. 

March 10, 2010
My sister Toree's special Temple Day!  Toree aka Sister Tuaone went through the Timpanogas Temple.  It was such an AMAZING experience to experience thsi with my little sister!  All who attended the session: Mom & Dad, Me & J, Joe & Lomes, Ana Lahi, Lupe, Seni, Oti,  Vai (Kika's mom), Lilo Kinikini and Vika Moli.  Ake Hamilton and Nia Netane did baptisms and afterwards we all went to eat at Chuck-A-Rama with these peeps and all the rest of our immediate family. (It was freezing this day, so notice how much Toree is struggling to pose for this picture...hahaha!)

March 11, 2010
I won 4 VIP tickets to Disney on Ice.  Work schedules didn't cooperate, so Uni took Bean, Princess and Kalo (Evz sister).  They had a blast...I gotta get a hold of those pics and post them here.


March 17, 2010
St. Patty's day!  Siblings night out!  Me, Hyrum, Joe, Jr., Marty, Toree, Uni, Brenda, Diana and Pou all went out for the last time before Toree leaves to FL. Thanks to our spouses for takin' one for the team and watching all the kiddos!  JAZZ vs. Timberwolves.  Jazz sported their green throwbacks. We killed those Twolves!  Tons of FUN.  Junz, Dino and Pou got buckwild at the game gettin' us siblings along with the peeps around us all riled up!  Made up our own cheers with every shot!  Afterwards we went to Dees to eat. The sister missionary has all the pics on her camera...I'm sad I didn't download them before she left.  Here are some of my phone pics though... 

March 18, 2010
Temple day with Toree to the Salt Lake temple.  I took a week off work to spend time with Toree. We went with mom and dad.  Another AMAZING experience. Went to eat at Tucanos for lunch...YUM!
Later, Lomes, Maka and I went to Costco to shop up for the whole weekend's menu.  We ended up buying so much they talked us into the Executive membership.Gotta love Costco

March 19-21, 2010:  Sister Tuaone Mission Festivities
My brother Marty took the initiative and prepped this whole weekend for Toree.  He organized it and ran the whole thing.  He'd tell us what was needed and we did it!  The older brothers kept calling him a "rookie", but BOY did he do an awesome job!  Preparation = A Smooth Sailing Weekend 

Friday. Toree's Farewell Dance.Decorations at this dance were OFF the CHAIN!  Marty and his boys with the creative ideas of Paul and Banana were sure appreciated.  They decorated the night before this event.  Pictures will be posted as soon as I get them.  MC Pete was our DJ...LOVE HIM! SILs did the refreshments which were DELISH!  Place got packed...our family, our ward, our friends, Toree's provo peeps too!  Fun times. Somebody got mafana (hyped up) and wore the Florida flag around herself!  LOL!

Saturday.  Temple session at SLC.  Sports day.  Volleyball and Basketball.  BBQ held afterwards in the pavilion.  Home to cook up the feast for the following day. 
Sunday. Farewell program in Provo.  Toree singles ward.  Provo 7th. 11am it started.  My good friend from ADP, Wayne Tarawhiti conducted the meeting.  Pretty neat that he's in Toree's bishopric.  The whole stake presidency attended.  Kakala Netane (one of Toree's BFFs) sang, "Teach Me to Walk in the Light."  Toree spoke.  Choices she made in her life that got her to where she is now. The spirit was so strong.  She is so ready!  We were also blessed with a member of the high councilmen and his family.  Darrin and Manu Harris! Taina's best friend!  Small world huh?  Manu sang. I bawled through the whole song.  Closing remarks by Pres. Makai...a WONDERFUL man!  Love him. The whole program was PERFECT!
A luncheon followed in the cultural hall.  We took our places in the kitchen to set up.  We fed the whole ward along with all our family and friend who drove out to Provo to be with us on this special day.
March 22, 2010
Last FHE with Sister Tuaone.  Just the immediate family at mom & dads.  Another emotional and very spiritual meeting.  Toree asks that the one thing she asks is that we watch over her "kids"...all her nieces and nephews who she SPOILS!

March 23, 2010

The sisters go for ONE LAST TIME to lunch...wherever Toree chooses. What do ya know?  SIMPLY SUSHI!  But of course!  LOL!  She's gonna kill me for posting this pic! HAHAHA!  Here she is with her KING KONG sushi...MMMMM!
Later that evening, we all went up to the Provo stake center where Toree was set apart.  Our whole family met there at 6:30.  Aunty Sela came with Ana. Kika and lil' Malia. Joe & Mia attended too.  We had a testimony meeting with President Makai.  He let each of us bear our testimonies.  Toree was then set apart and blessed by Pres. Makai and she was officially Sister Tuaone.  She then bore her testimony and it ended with Pres. Makai.  We went to eat at Chuck-A-Rama again.  (Boy, have we eaten ALOT!)  I was her companion from the time until she reported to the MTC the next day. Kika came back to the house and we were all up packing to ensure Sister Tuaone had all she needed.  I should say Kika did most of the packing.  Love that girl too. 

March 24, 2010
MTC.  We all headed up to Provo.  I swear I've driven up to Provo more this past week than I ever had in my LIFE!  haha!!  We aren't able to go into the MTC anymore, so we met up at the chapel next to the MTC to have some breakfast and spend our last few minutes with Sister Tuaone.  Ok, I'm getting emotional now and my eyes are watery.  Here's where our goodbyes were said.

  After the goodbyes were said.  Dad and I took Sister Tuaone to the MTC. Mom had a mandatory training and couldn't make it. Dad was having quite a hard time at this point and trying his best not to show it, but it was obvious.  OKAY...ME TOO!  Took her luggage inside and checked her in.  Last hugs were given.  *tears* How I love this girl!
COUGAR TOWN!
After the MTC.  Kika (Toree's BFF) took all through Provo.  Mostly BYU campus.  Love that place. Ran into one of our MOST FAVORITE COUGS!  If you are a Cougar fan like me and you don't know who this is, then you should be ashamed!

There was some "Open Mic" time in the Cafeteria/Food court at BYU.  Kika put Uni and Marty on the spot...they sang one of Peter Kinkini's songs...then Marty ended with Bob Marley's, "Redemption Song."  I'm trying to find how to link the video of him singing, but can't figure it out!  I was quite impressed since he doesn't ever sing in front of a crowd with his guitar...no kinda practicing or prepping, but he did it!  I thought he was GREAT!  After leaving BYU campus, we grabbed some lunch and headed up to the canyons to eat.  It was a good good day!!