Spring Break

I wrote this post a month ago and forgot about it. Haha so now I don't remember how to end it, but I will try....

This last week was my spring break from teaching school and I wanted to have fun with my boys. We might have had a little too much fun because they didn't sleep well the whole week :) We were able to get through the rough patches together and managed to have a good time. When David was able to join us it was even better. Some of the time was spent just relaxing at home which was really nice (I read 3 book this week YES). Other times we were able to get out of the house and enjoy some great activities. So here is a run-down of our week with some pictures included:

MONDAY
One of this e really hard mom days. The boys were really trying my patience and I'm sure I was frustrating them. It was a tough time and I had the thought to go to the temple for comfort. So FHE that night was me taking the boys to the temple for pictures and a picnic. There really is a different spirit on the temple grounds and we all had a good time.

TUESDAY
We drove up to Draper to visit my cousin Shannell and her boy Titus. Kai and TJ had a great time playing with Titus and his toys. I had a fantastic time catching up with Shannell and hope to make it happen more often.
After our visit we drove up to Temple Square to retrieve our lost diaper bag (I know... I keep forgetting things :P) Well we had to go to a couple different buildings and it was a miracle we found it because it wasn't found where we left it. Everything was in the bag too. Nothing was lost so I was very grateful for that. The boys and I decided to check out the new City Creek Center. It was really nice. I was very impressed. The boys had a gun time walking around and we had lunch before going back home. That night David took us out for dinner and smoothies. TJ ate bites of my hamburger. He loved it!

WEDNESDAY
We had a crazy night of not sleeping well so the boys and I woke up 30 minutes before we needed to leave for our play date with our friends the Kellers. We made it to the park and we all had a great time. TJ went down the slide by himself. It was pretty funny. He started going on his belly. Then he tried his tummy. Then he tried walking. A little scary but hilarious.
After we ate lunch and took our naps our friends the Hoopers came over for another little play date. Kai loves Libby and he will tell you so. We ended up watching Little Mermaid which Kai actually likes despite David's objections that it's a girl movie :)
The rest of the night was nice relaxing family time.

THURSDAY
I tried to get some cleaning done in the morning, but the boys were demanding my attention. We had another bad night of sleep and I think we all needed some space. So the boys were happy to visit grandma while mom cleaned the house, washed the dishes, folded the laundry, etc. I was getting the house ready for our guests that night.
After I picked the boys up from Grandma's we went to Costco to get some groceries. They love Costco, Kai likes the samples and TJ likes looking at everything in the store.
Later that night Jaci and Mitch came for a visit and for tacos and games. We had a great time together. The boys didn't want to go to bed after thy left.

FRIDAY
The first part of Friday we recuperated from another late night. I actually woke up with terrible back pain and stayed on the couch most of the morning. I did a lot of reading to get my book done that was due at the library that day. David got me to move around and stretch and I felt a little better. Then I took Kai to the library with me. We returned books and Kai had to pay for a book he chewed on (I was shocked that he did. I actually asked him, How old are you?! He was shame-faced.)
That night we had planned going climbing with Mike and Elise. Since my back was out of order Daniel came in my place. Even Kai and TJ climbed and I was the camera lady for all the climbers.

...so this is where I left off. I don't remember exactly what we did the rest of that weekend. But I do know it was fun and I had a great time with my boys!

Easter

This year for Easter we had a fun 2-day celebration with the whole Fiso family! We all live close except Jenny and Tom and they drove down for the weekend which was awesome! We had a great time together both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning we started early with an Easter egg hunt for the grandchildren. (Enoch wanted to join them, but his brothers shamed him into admitting he was too old.)

 TJ was somewhat confused at first at the purpose behind the eggs. Then he picked one up and shook it and he loved the noise it made! When he found that noise was made by candy, the kid went crazy. David was tugging him along keeping him focused on hunting.

 

 Kai was ready for the hunt and had a little help as he hunted for the eggs. He found some good hiding spots and he took back quite a haul. 

 Cousin James did pretty good too. There was one egg that both cousins wanted at the same time, James wasn't too upset and found another egg soon after. After the hunting was done the sugar consumption started and oh what fun!

 After a lunch of jelly beans, mini cadbury eggs, and reese's we went to Rock Canyon for a rappelling trip. It was Tom's first time and he handled himself well (according to David-I wasn't a witness). The rest of the group came a little after David, but we all took turns scaling down the rock.

 I thought about trying to jump the crevice that the others were doing, but then thought better of it. I still had fun going down the rock and having fun trusting the rope. I did have a small freak-out when David let Kai hold the rope (he wasn't strong enough to hold me by himself...of course).

TJ and Kai came with us, but stayed below. TJ was safe in his stroller for the most part, but Kai was adventurous. A little too, because he ended up falling and "jacked his dome" on some rocks. David was at the top of the rock and all he saw was Kai's feet sticking out from behind a boulder. Luckily, he wasn't scraped up too bad, but he learned to always have someone with him when he climbs.

After a nice day of rappelling we went back to the Fiso residence for a family BBQ. The food was delicious and we all had a good time talking, eating, and playing. Kai and TJ both love being outside and it was fun to see them run around with their aunts and uncles. I can't wait for more warm weather to get to Utah.

 On Sunday the boys woke up to a happy Easter greeting form the Easter bunny. Kai's treats were in his helmet because his Easter bucket was damaged during the year and I  didn't think about getting him a new one until it was too late. I think before next year I will get matching baskets for everyone.

David and I spoke in church. It was a good experience and nice to share our testimonies with our family in the audience. We enjoyed the rest of church remembering the true meaning of Easter and the amazing miracle of Jesus Christ and the First Resurrection. 

After church we gathered at the Fiso house again for dinner and family time. After dinner we took a nice family walk around the neighborhood. It was a lovely afternoon and it was a good reminder of the beauty of the world around us. Especially with the early signs of Spring and new life and all that we focus on during Easter.

Later, Kai wanted to join in the "big boy" games of dynamite and revenge and ghosts in the graveyard. He liked ghosts in the graveyard the best and he loved being partners with Isaiah. They had a lot of fun finding the best hiding spots, Finally, the mom side of me reminded my fun side it was time to stop playing and go home (it was dark). The good thing about having so much fun is the boys were exhausted when we got home. What a great and fun Easter weekend!

One Year Old!

Taimalie Jimmer turned 1 on April 6th and we wanted to celebrate! Also that day David's cousin was married so we had a great time at the wedding and managed to squeeze in a little birthday celebration as well. It was full, fun, hectic day!

The morning started early with us driving up to the Salt Lake Temple for the wedding. The ceremony was  very nice and the boys loved hanging our with cousins until we came out to take pictures. I took some just of the birthday boy

 The couple was very happy with their union. They looked fantastic too! We were lucky to take pictures without rain, though it was a little chilly...

 Unfortunately, we were so anxious to get to the car and out of the cold that I left the diaper bag outside the temple where were taking pictures (don't worry it was later recovered). We went to Tucano's for a birthday lunch for TJ and stuffed our faces with Brazilian meat. Then zoomed back home for some present opening and cake eating. I was still wrapping presents when guests arrived, but we managed to have the house clean. Tai Jimmer was really excited to have his cousin, uncles, aunts, and grandparents at his home to help celebrate.

 Kai loved helping TJ open his presents and TJ loved all his new toys. Aunt Jenny took pictures while mom helped TJ with opening (making sure Kai didn't have all the fun).

 Kai picked this toy out for TJ so he was really happy to see him open it. Kai loves superheroes and TJ loves little people so this was the perfect gift :)

 Grandma Smith was able to join the party too over FaceTime (or Skype). We love technology. Grandma Smith got TJ a little people airplane so that he could fly to California and visit her :)

 TJ got his own phone and he was very happy with it. I love his facial expression. Its a great substitute to him playing with mom's iPhone. I already have to keep it away from the other child.

 He was very happy to see a cake. He wanted to touch the candle but I kept his hands away and helped him blow it out. I'm not sure if he made a wish, but my wish was to have many more years with this amazing kid! He is awesome!

 Finger lickin' good! He ate all the strawberries and cool whip and a goo chunk of the angel food cake. Earlier in the week he had a big piece of chocolate cake at Grandma's so he was definitely fulfilling his cake and icing quota.

 Grandma and Grandpa Fiso got TJ a push and ride ATV that looked very much like the one David used to ride. He loved sitting on it and pushing the buttons, but he hasn't quite got to the riding part.

 This is from later that night after we got home from the reception. He got to stay up late since it was his birthday. He is wearing pajamas he got from Uncle Tom and Aunt Jenny (Kai got some too and he calls them "Uncle Tom's PJs" haha). He loved pushing his new puppy around. His favorite thing is to hold him up by the tail, which I try to discourage because I don't' want the tail to fall off... oh well.

Later that night we enjoyed each other's company at the reception. We had a lovely time eating delicious food. We had a lot of fun spending time with each other and making new friends.

 Kai met a friend and he liked dancing with her... a lot. We had to take him away from the dance floor to keep him from pushing over a competing dance partner. It was hilarious! Then the lu'au got to dancing!

 Lots of David's family members participated as well as some of their friends. It was a delight to watch especially the interactions between the family members as they followed the music.

 I think the boys had a little too much fun with the Samoan slap dance. They had red spots on their chests from their exuberant slaps, but we loved the end pose. Kai said he wants to do that and I think it would be fun for him to learn.

 I think that Polynesian dances are so beautiful. I want to learn how to do them, but I fear I will not have the proper amount of grace. I love being a part of the culture though. It's so much fun!

 The haka is one of my favorites and the guys had a lot of fun with it. TJ kept staring at Justin dancing. I couldn't tell if he was fascinated or scared (probably both).

The night ended with the bride dancing her own dance to be the "lady of the night" and Justin honored her with his dancing and the rest of us honored them with cash! This is also known as the money dance :) Overall I think Tai Jimmer had a great first birthday!

It Takes Two

David and I are a team. I could not do this (life, family, everything) without him. Our marriage is really a partnership. We are both into sports and our family really is a team working together towards a common goal. I'm so glad that David and I have each other as co-coaches. It's not easy. We don't always agree, but because we do agree on the major issues we can work out the little things.

Mr. and Mrs. David Fiso

 It's fun to look back at our wedding (almost 5 years ago) and remember how naive we were. We thought we were in love and that we could conquer the world. The truth is we had only a glimpse of what real love was and we soon realized that we couldn't do anything without the Lord. So yes we are in love, deeper than ever before, and yes, we are capable of conquering the world (or the equivalent, raising a family) with the divine guidance of our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

So excited to start our life together!

 We still manage to have fun together. It helps that we share a lot of the same interests, most of those begin sports. We love basketball! We love spending time with family. We love being outside and taking advantage of the beautiful earth the Lord has created for us.

David and I after hiking Emerald Pools in Zions

I think it helps that we are both young at heart. We want to have fun with each other and with our family. We plan together. We tease each other and the our kids. Sometimes we can be too much like kids, but I try not to take life too seriously. I fail at this I know, but I can see that my life is much happier when I don't stress out or freak out over everything.

Disneyland - New Orleans Square

 We try to plan for the future with our schooling and work. Doing what we thought was best for our family. Looking back I sometimes think I was selfish with what I wanted to do, but the Lord has a way of humbling us. We couldn't predict how our plans would work out due to a sinking economy and a poor job market for me. Thankfully, David has kept a good, stable job. Graveyard can really suck sometimes and I can see the toll it's taking on us, David especially. However, there are some benefits to having David around during the day (even if he is sleeping). We are so grateful that he has kept the job. I am so grateful that he is willing to work so hard. He is amazing!

Enjoying the snow

 I think we do a really good job of making sure that we know we love each other. David is considerate and thoughtful. I do my best to be supportive and helpful. Even when I'm upset with him, I know he loves me and that helps me be upset for a shorter period of time. I would like to say that we never get upset with each other, but that's not realistic. Our differences can be good. When we overcome them we are stronger and closer together. We do kiss at least once a day and say I love you at least once a day. It's a nice little reminder. 

I'm usually trying to convince him to smile with me, this time I joined him in making a silly face.

 It can be hard to find time for just the two of you when you have kids to take care of, but it's important! We don't always get a traditional date night, but anything helps. A short pillow talk session, a late night or early morning movie-at-home, texts or emails if you have to, couple showers if you can. We like to keep some spice in our lives :)

Brotherly Love

 An important factor for us is that David and I are partners in parenting. David is the most amazing dad and my kids are still alive and psychologically balanced so I pass as a mom :) We are both doing our best to teach our kids what is right and to give them the love and nurturing they need. I am learning new lessons every day on how to be a better mother and I can see how hard David works at improving himself. We aren't perfect, but we're doing the best we can. I hope that's good enough.

David and Jesi

I love David! He is a wonderful person. He is my best friend, my true love, and my eternal companion. I am so blessed to have him. I know that it takes the two of us to make this thing work. So far we're doing pretty good. We are one incredible team!