Mountain Home, ID

August 7-9, 2008: We spent the weekend up in Mountain Home. It was the Finau/White family reunion (because their last name was White...not because they are White like me!). No, really. It was such an awesome experience to spend time with Pai Pai and Sepeta and their family. He moved to the islands years ago and met my husband's Grandmother and Mother and sisters, and he started the Tonga Trading Company in Hawaii years ago. You can read about it here: http://www.hawaiiandiscovery.com/about_thecompany.php
It was truly an awesome experience to have the chance to be around some other palangi people who love the Tongans like I do.

PS: We have been blessed with little sickness during the trip so far, but poor baby Mele came down with an all-over rash while we were there. Nothing a blessing and a bath in baking soda couldn't fix. She's cute in the pic, huh?

Bountiful, UT

August 4-6, 2008:

"This is the place"....we finally made it to Utah! Yay! It felt like the Pioneers finally arriving! I drove in about an hour before having the chance to sing at a Fundraiser in Bountiful for my friend Ashley's sister McKinley. The concert was at a home up on the mountain in Bountiful with such a breathtaking view! Wow! I could take that scenery everyday! I spent the next couple of days catching up with my best friend from back in the day in NYC....my Ash. My girls loved getting to play with her little boy, Eliot. We got to hit temple #8 on my trip in Bountiful. What a special experience to go through the temple with one of my best friends in the whole world!

(More pics to come)

Denver, CO

August 3, 2008:

I was very excited to visit a place that I had heard so many stories about and finally get to put faces with names and visuals with places. My husband, Tommy, had served his mission here about 10 years ago. We had the chance to go to church here and even meet Tommy's mission "Mom and Dad" the Standrings. They own beautiful horses that we enjoyed getting to meet, also. Fond memories coming to life here. Speaking of memories, here is a crazy story. In about third or fourth grade, my elementary school teacher in NC set up our class being "pen pals" with a class in Rawlins, WY. I have written and kept in touch with the one they paired me with since that time. I finally got to spend some time in person getting to know my pen pal of so many years, Lisa Christian. She even helped us out with a place to stay in Denver! What a fun story to be able to tell!

Omaha, NE

August 1-2, 2008:

I had no idea how big Omaha was. Wow! I was surprised. We had a nice stay here. I did a Youth Fireside, and signing at The Shoppe at Winters Quarters. I did get to go through temple #7 at Winters Quarters. The girls are getting such a huge dose of church history on this trip. We visited the Pioneer Cemetery here. We had also stopped through Liberty Jail on the way in. So many special places to be.

Kansas City, MO

July 31, 2008: I got to stop in and do a signing and performance at Eden Bookshop in Kansas City. The people here were so nice! I had my own little fan club going. Fun people!!!!

St. Louis, MO

July 28-30, 2008:

So, I was excited to have the chance to be back in St. Louis. I spent some time in college here at Webster Conservatory. This was visit to temple #6 on the trip. The sad face though is because they were closed this week for cleaning, so I didn't get to actually go through. Boo hoo. I did a YSA fireside downtown. It was great to get to see my old roomie, Trisha Brown Cheek, who is now prego and very cute as such! I also got to visit with a close friend, Stephanie Welsh, who is now married with a very cute son! We also got the chance to visit the St. Louis zoo with the girls. They LOVED seeing all of the animals. I would never have made it through the experience without seeing the penguins. The girls asked probably a gazillion times until we finally found them! I loved the butterflies, myself. They call this one "The Great Mormon!" Believe it or not, its true!

Break Time

Here are a few fun pics from just chillin on the trip. The girls have had a lot of adventures in and out of many hotel rooms. They prefer the hotels with pools for some swimming and, of course, ones that have some good cartoon channels!