*sighs* what a great weekend!

"bye! i love you guys! drive safe! see you in two weeks!" This repeated as I stand and watch The Semeli's and my sister Jay drive away. Just an hour before that I stood on the same spot, yelling the same phrase to Maxi pants and his family. Yesterday, I hugged, kissed and said the same to the Obriens on their way out. As I stood on our driveway waving and yelling my goodbyes, it took me half a second to realize they were ALL gone. My heart sank when this realization hit. Tears immediately started flowing. I go to my room and lay on my bed. Soon after, my loving husbands comes in to comfort me. Even as I sit and type this, my eyes are still watering up.

We had so, so much fun! Nothing short of an amazing time here in the Toelupe house. We spent our days AND nights laughing so hard, we couldn't breathe. Of course in between and alot of times during, we managed to stuff our faces. :)

FRIDAY: The flyest Semelis, my sister Ajay, my Uncle Dino, Mandy Sue and Jeff FINALLY get here. A three hour drive turned into a 10 hour drive! Who stops at EVERY rest stop?!? :) They were here and we were thrilled! After everyone gets a tour of the house and we bump our gums for a while, it's off to TIN TIN'S we go! Our local chinese buffet, of course! :) We say good-bye to my Uncle and Mandy Sue then head back to our place. The O'briens show up that night. FUN, FUN, FUNTIMES! We hang out. Played the WII. Laugh, laugh, laugh, and eat. Our chairs for our dinner table are a bit wigglely wobblely, but I forgot to tell Vi'i...needless to say, we've retired that chair and he suffered a minor back injury and I'm sure his ego was also injured. lol. Maybe if Rita would not have laughed so dang LOUD and HARD for a REALLY long time, it wouldn't have been so bad. Oh yeah, AND she kept POINTING at him! Rita is so rude, sometimes! lol. The boys light up the bonfire thing we've got out back and talk stories like only boys can. :) Of course, we try and join them, but they told us we're too loud. Us? too loud? I don't get it. We all finally fall asleep at about 3am.

SAT: Woodburn shopping center! whooo hooo! We're exhausted from the funtimes the night before, but that does not stop us from waking up NOT at 7am like we planned to leave by 8am, but still earlier than our bodies wanted. Everyone comes home and goes straight to bed. That night everyone except me, mua and the kiddos goes to the J-boog, Laga Savea concert. They had a super great time! We watched the video Vi'i had on his camera and I couldn't hear any singing from J-boog, cause Vii's big mouth was singing too loud!!! lol. While those guys were at the concert, Mua and I decided we would have our own concert at home with the kids. It was sooooo hilarious! I video taped it, but I love my sister and I have decided not to post it. :) But mostly, because I haven't figured out how to do that yet. hehe. But as soon as I do...lol!

Everyone gets home and we spend the next 5 hours talking, eating, laughing. Not necessarily in that order.

SUN: Mua wakes up early, because she heard Max crying. Our deal was whoever heard him first will wake up and also cook breakfast. I heard him crying, but I knew Mua would get up, so I didn't. lol. She cooks breakfast for us. We were contimplating on whether or not we should wake Ebony up because she has a habit of eating ALL the bacon! But sure enough, she comes walking into the kitchen...dangit! She said she could smell the bacon in her room. fat kirl. ;)

The Obrien's and Alma go to church while the rest of us...don't. They go to Phyllis's ward for sacrament meeting then head to her house to get some firewood for the bonfire. We go to Silver Falls state park. Everyone except the Toelupes, Ajay, the kids, Dino and Mandy Sue actually goes down to the falls. My hubby decides to keep it real and NOT go, because he's, "Out of shape" Aj and I don't go because we need to watch the kids. What's so hilarious about this, is the last time Alma and I went to Silver Falls, we didn't go because we weren't wearing the right shoes and we didn't have an oxygen tank. This time around, I wore tennis shoes, we had water, AND yes, we had oxygen tank! LMBO! Why do we have an oxygen tank? I cannot release that reason due to privacy reasons. HIPPA laws are no joke. lol!

We finally make it back home and have a good old fashion BBQ! The Obrien's leave, because Rita has to work the next day. :( She couldn't call in, because she had already called in two days in a row to take care of Aunty when she was sick. Sucks. Thanks alot Aunty. j/k. Phyllis, Nala and the kids came over, along with a bunch of other family/friends. It was so much fun! The food was so good! That crocodile meat was SOOOOOOO GOOOOD, huh Vi'i? LMBO!

We end the night watching the video Alma recorded from our Silver Falls trip earlier that day. First, I just want to say that I had no idea I married a TOTAL CREEPSTER! lol! The guy was filming those guys when they went down to the falls. That's not the creepy part. The creepy part was when he starts filming them THROUGH A BUNCH OF TREES while they were taking the infamous "jumping pictures". I bet if they'd known they were being filmed, Ezra would have tried harder to jump like a human being instead of a frog. lmbo! and Ebony would not have been adjusting her "girls" before her jump and picking her murph TWICE after her jump. LMBO! But I'm pretty sure Rita would have STILL laughed just as hard at Ezra's frogger jump regardless. She really is so rude. lol. We couldn't HEAR them because of the distance, but I will bet money she was laughing the loudest, just like when Vi'i put our chair into permanent retirement. No manners, I tell you. :)

Of course we rewind the tape a few more times and laugh even louder each time. But what put icing on the cake was the end of the tape. Why do you ask? Is it even possible for people to laugh any harder and louder than we already were? YES, YES it is! Alma runs out of film RIGHT at the EXACT time he asks me a question and I answered, "what?" BUT my FACE is FROZEN on tape for the REST OF ETERNITY in the most UGLIEST form because he's RUN OUT OF TAPE AT THAT EXACT MOMENT! aahhhhhh!!!! Of course we laugh so hard, that I think my husband is about to pass out and I'm pretty sure somebody, if not all of these guys have peed their pants a little. lol. I should've been glad that atleast Rita wasn't there, because we all know how RUDE she is. lol. BUUUUT...instead, I had VI'I. ugh. HE'S SOOOOO RUDE!

MONDAY: We kick back today. We eat. Play the Wii. Bake cookies. Eat some more. Finish all our leftovers :) Laugh, of course. They pack up. The Tews are the first to go. :( The Semelis and my baby sister Ajay, leave a couple hours later. :( I cry...alot. My husband comforts me. :) He takes me out to eat. I finally read the card that came with Maxi's easter picture. I cry again. :( We eat. Come home. I blog.

This weekend could not have gone any better. The only people missing were the Kennach's :( We missed you guys. Hopefully next time.

We need you guys to know that we love you so very much. We are fortunate to have family as wonderful and supportive as you. We miss you everyday and ALWAYS look forward to being together again. We thank our Father in Heaven always for blessing us with you. We are proud to call you family. Thank you so much for coming. Please, please, please come back soon! We'll see you guys in two weeks! yay!

All our love,

The Toelupes.

silver falls.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day, that Alma and Danny decided to take our families to Silver Falls state park. The park is tucked back in the mountains a bit, so it took us about 40-45 mins to get there. The drive was so gorgeous! We drove through all this farm land. So much beautiful greens and browns. Alma and I were discussing how much hard work these people put into keeping their land so beautiful and how much hard work it is to be a farmer. We're assuming it is, because we've never worked on a farm.

We finally get up to the park and set up. There's a river that runs through the park, that the kids were able to get wet in. It was hilarious watching the kids go running in and immediately run back out; it's a river. not a pool. So the water was FREEEEEZING! :) We were there for a couple hours enjoying the sun and each others company. But my favorite was when we actually went to the falls. Wow! It's so amazing! I always forget how really beautiful God's creations are. T0 be in the woods and see the natural beauty of it all is eye opening. There was a path leading down to the Falls where we could walk behind it and along side it, but we decided not to. We're fat and seeing how out of breath all the other people were when they were walking back UP the trail, just convinced us not to. lol. Alma and I decided that we will return and we will walk down that trail. Only next time we'll wear proper shoes, bring water, and an oxygen tank for each of us. :)

one couple. two beds. and a couch.

Everyone who knows me, knows that when it comes to moe moe time I do so on the couch. It's been this way for so long. My back is so accustomed to sleeping on the couch, that when I do sleep on a bed, very rarely is it a comfortable experience for me. So sad, right? But I don't care, because I didn't mind sleeping on the couch. Alma knew this about me and was so sweet about our sleeping arrangements when we got married. He just said, "Well, we'll just have to buy a super comfy couch and put it in our room." What a sweetheart. The first few weeks we were living together, the bed was actually comfortable. Why? IDK. But it was and it was not an issue. Well, it's an issue now. I have no idea why, but all of a sudden the bed was uncomfortable. I could not get settled at night. I was always tossing and turning, complaining of back pains and as a result, keeping my poor husband awake. This kept going on, until I FINALLY found a comfortable way to sleep on our UNcomfortable bed! I had to sleep on it as if it was a day bed. You know, the short way. Of course, when my husband gets off of work that morning he tries to wake me up so I can sleep the right way and so he can fit, but I was OUT! He, being so exhausted from his night shift, decided to just let me be and go sleep in the other room. He woke up so refreshed, because I wasn't sleeping next to him tossing and turning. I woke up refreshed because I finally found a way to sleep on the bed without tossing and turning...as much. Eventually the bed became uncomfortable...again and so now I'm tossing and turning BY MYSELF. ugh. Alma, the sweet, sweet man that he is, tells me to sleep on the bed he's been sleeping on because it's alot more comfy. 8) I try it out. It's comfy enough, but then my nose gets stuffy and now I can't breathe! I am a mess people! 8-( So I decide to go back to what I know, and sleep on the couch. And only last night, have I actually been REALLY comfortable to where I couldn't even wake up this morning when Alma brought me breakfast. I know, right? I SKIPPED breakfast!!! We have been sleeping in seperate beds for the past 4 days. Is it too early in our marriage for that? I thought we had to be married at least 20 years before we slept in seperate beds! We do want to sleep in the same bed, but man, sleeping alone does have it's benefits. We, or HE's so much more refreshed when he wakes up. Today is the first time, I've actually gotten up before him AND feel refreshed! Usually he'll wake me up and I take an extra 10 mins to roll out of bed. When I'm finally ready, we go out and do whatever it is we need to do, and when we're done, I'm EXHAUSTED! I just want to go to bed! It's so bad. I know it's because I spend half the night tossing and turning.
We really do need a new bed. Or a big comfy couch to put in our room. 8) OR I can continue to sleep in the living room and he can still sleep in the room? Then we'll eventually just do our own thing. Go to church seperately, take seperate vacations, eat alone. But we'll totally REFRESHED while we're doing it!

LEILA CAKES TAKING CARE OF PISINISI

Alma took this picture of Leila on our last trip up to Tacoma. She's so adorable! We love you Leila!

portland zoo.

I realize it's Thursday, but oh well. On TUESDAY, we went to the Portland Zoo. Apparently every Tuesday it's only $2 to get in. Pretty cool. Nothing like paying money to see animals you don't really give a rats about. hehe. Anyhow, it was a great day. The sun was shining, the grass was green, and the "gangmembers" were posted out front of the zoo yelling out their "hoods" to other "gangmembers" and almost getting into a fight. Of course my husband, being the concerned citizen that he is, flags down security and tells them what happens and they say, "oh yeah? ok. yeah. thanks" I look at the security and LOL, and say, "what the heck is he gonna do, babe?" Why, do you ask did I say that? Well, for starters, the guy looked scared when ALMA flagged him down. What is he gonna do to a bunch of thugs? And second, he weighed ALOT and I was wondering what is he gonna do when these thugs take off running or jump him? Get in his security cart that tops out at 30mph? These are the people that are supposed to make ME feel safe. yikes. We need better security.

Anyhoo, the zoo the great. We took quite a few pictures of these animals that I'm not gonna post, because I'm pretty sure you know what a bear looks like. 8-) We had a good time with the kids. Seeing their reactions to the animals was pretty cool. Alma and I cannot wait until we are blessed with children. Yeah. I know, right? I'M excited about being a mom! That way, I'll have better things to post about and better pictures. I'm pretty sure you guys are tired of seeing pictures of Alma. My only baby right now. 8-) So for now, here's a picture of us and our "pretends" kids; Tesi and Stella.

Easter Sunday.

I know I'm a day late, but I'm gonna talk about our Easter Sunday anyways. 8-) Alma and I decided to go to Phyllis' ward, because we were too tired to drive all the way out to Portland. It's an hour drive! It doesn't help that we stay up so late and because we're not teenagers anymore, we do not wake up with enough energy like we used to. ugh.
Sacrament meeting was nice. There were 4 speakers total, but one really caught my attention. I love Easter because of the special attention the atonement is given. I love the encouragement to utilize the atonement more in our lives. I love the reminders of the sacrifice our Savior made for us. I love how I am reminded of His love. I love how when I think of His love, I can feel His love. During sacrament my poor husband was struggling to pay attention, because he was trying to remember what he did with his wallet. He thought it was in the car, but it wasn't. So he was racking his mind trying to figure out what he did with it. 8-(
After sacrament meeting we decided to leave and try to find his wallet. We re-traced his steps from the day before...nothing. I felt so bad for him.
We went to Phyllis's house for tona'i and for their annual Easter Egg Hunt. It was a bittersweet experience for me. Getting to know my new family has been a great experience for me, but it makes me miss my family so much more. Easter wasn't any different. I couldn't help but miss my family and miss watching the kids FINALLY be able to WALK around and look for the eggs. Last year Zei and Jojo were the only ones who could walk. 8) This year, Leila and Max could actually participate on their own. Watching the kids here do the same is/was...well...BORING! lmbo!
Other than the boring-ness that was the egg hunt, everything else was great. The food was freakin' AH-MAY-SING!!! That Phyllis can throw down on the shepard's pie. lol.

REMEMBER WHEN?

jammin' with the hubby.

Alma and I are just hanging out in our living room jammin' to his guitar. We have two guitars, but I've decided to exercise some humility and just let him have the lime light. hehe. I L-O-V-E hearing him sing. Everytime he sings he never looks at me. I asked him, why. He says cause he'll laugh. I realize I'm a funny kirl, but I didn't think I was funny looking! WHAT THE H, dude?!? lol. I really need to focus on my music skills so I can join in on our jam sessions. Bobbing my head and singing off key really isn't that cool, especially if you're husband has a great voice. i love you alma!

missing my family.

Everyday I try a little bit harder to push myself to get up and "greet the day" (thanks RD). You know, shower, fix my hair, fix my face (yay, for me finding my make-up bag!), clean the house. blah,blah,blah. I even get online and get my myspace,hotmail, bebo, facebook, blog fix. I know, I really need to cut it down. hehe. So today I read Marie's blog titled "Families are Forever". That blog only made me miss my family even more. Thanks alot Marie! :)
I am nowhere near the same situation that Kasala or even Marie is in. But I miss my family nonetheless. Granted I am only 3 hours away from them, but truthfully I feel like it's 3 million miles. I miss the noise. I miss my family. What gives me solace is that they're coming down at the end of the month. I'm really very excited about that.
I feel silly whining about this really when they're only 3 hours away. But that makes no difference to me. To go from being with my family everyday for the past 29 years to just me and my husband is really hard. Don't get me wrong. I love my new life. I do not regret marrying Alma and moving out here. I love being with him all the time. I still miss him when he goes to work! But days like today, I especially miss my family.

Tacoma trip

This past weekend Alma and I went up to Tacoma. We had to get a copy of our wedding certificate and some other things. Apparently me saying "i do" wasn't good enough. They need it in writing. lol. It was a beautiful weekend! We spent Sunday with Maxi and his parents. It was so good to see little Max. It's so amazing how much he has grown from the last time we saw him. Only 2 weeks ago! He's walking so much better. He's still trying to "find his base" but has gotten alot better at "looking" :) He's talking so much more now. It's so cute. After watching conference on TV, Alma wanted to go out for sushi. He found a place out on 6th ave. So we loaded up and off we went! Too bad when we got there it was closed. :( Apparently, Sushi Tama keeps the Sabbath day Holy. Unlike us. I know, we're bad. So off we go to another joint. We ended up at Sushi Revolution. Totally cute! There were all types of sushi on a conveyor belt. All we had to do was pull it off and eat. yum!!! The plates are all color coded and depending on the color, that's how we know the cost.

Afterwards we decided to go for a Sunday drive. We drove through the waterfront and ended up at Point defiance park. We pulled over at the pagoda garden and took a few pictures. We had a blast! Monday was spent at the park with the rest of our family. It was such a great day. Enjoying the sun and each others company. It was a great visit. I love you guys!

I'm bored.

I've spent a good amount of my life working and wishing I didn't have to work anymore. 8-) The week before my wedding, I was officially unemployed. And so I was REALLY excited about that. 8-) Now that the wedding is over, I'm still unemployed and my awesome husband is okay with it. I'm "taking a break" from the workforce. The first week we moved here to Salem, I was doing fine. AJ was with me and we were having a good time. So now AJ is gone and my husband is working nights and I'm by myself at night. I watch T.V., clean the house, do the laundry, and pick my nose. I can only wipe the counters down so many times and I can only pick my nose so much. I try to stay up as late as possible, that way it'll only feel like I'm asleep for a few hours, before Alma comes back home. 8-)
When we FINALLY get our butts out of bed, we make our lunch (cause we've slept through breakfast hours. lol) hang out and enjoy each others company. We have been staying home lately, because we're really trying to get accustomed to saving our money. And when we go out we spend money. So staying home is the next best thing for us. Especially since we're not really the "go for a walk" kind of couple. hehe. We should be, cause we're fat. But we're not. lol. So we stay home.
It's really great having this time to spend with Alma and getting to know each other. But truth is, I'M BORED!!! lol. Why? Well if I have to stare at Alma asleep on the couch ONE MORE DAY...I am going to have a heart attack!!! LMBO.
Paaga told me to get a hobby. I told her I have a hobby; blogging. hehe. I wanted to join a gym and work on my "hot summer bod" again, but now that we're trying to cut back on unecessary spending it's a no go. Sure, I could go out and run...NOT. lol. In my defense, it's been raining. So for the sake of my health, I stay inside. hehe.
I love my husband. I really do. I love my life. But is it wrong that I'm bored and counting the days to when we go up to Tacoma this weekend?