California Vacation Day 5 - Tyrell's 18th Birthday

Tuesday, June 30th: 

It's Tyrell's 18th birthday today! Wow, where does the time go? Candi and I wondered what we should do with the van. Get it towed or have a hotel person jump start it? We figured we'd ask for a jump start. After breakfast I went to the front reception about 8:30am. She said the maintenance people won't jump start the car, don't know why but must be a policy they follow. I was frustrated. I figured I'd go try the van anyway and it started up. I was so relieved. Candi said later that she prayed that it would start in the morning. I can always count on my wife's faith more than mine. We found an auto repair shop on google last night about 5 miles out that opens at 8:30am so I went straight there. A nice man diagnosed a weak battery and showed me his instrument that measures the power. He said he'll replace it and had one on hand. I was so fortunate. It cost $65 to diagnose plus cost of battery with total of $205. He said "God bless you" when I left and that's exactly what happened, He heard our prayers even though I may have displayed some impatience during that trial. I went back to the hotel and we packed the van and left around 9:45am to go to Universal Studios.

By the time we got into the park at around 11am it was already very crowded and hot. We had no fast passes this time so had to wait in line for everything. We went straight to the lower level and waited in line for the Jurassic Park ride. It was a long wait. The ride was fun. Erana closed her eyes during the inside dark part where the t-rex bites at you before you drop. When we splashed at the end we all got soaked but it cooled us off and felt nice. Then we went to the Mummy ride. Candi got a child switch pass and I went into the single rider line to go faster. The other kids waited together. The wait was still a bit long but got out and switched with Candi so she could ride. It's a coaster ride in the dark with the Mummy movie theme going on. It was fun. We next waited in the Transformers ride line for about an hour. That was a 3d ride and made me sick during it. I looked neat and all but I couldn't really enjoy it. The kids did though. We went back up to the top level and waited in the studio tour line which as about another 70 minutes. I enjoyed the tour. Still had some same stuff from when I took it over 30 years ago like the shark, flash flood and Back to Future set. The newer stuff like the King Kong 3d and Fast and Furious 3d parts were awesome. The Fast and Furious part just opened about a week ago. We went and watched the Water World stunt show which was fun. We skipped the Minion ride because the wait was long and Tyrell said it wasn't worth the wait. They did the Simpson ride. My feet were tired and I didn't want to wait again so I sat down and waited for them to get out. We went straight to the Animal actor show after. By that time it was getting late so we looked in some stores, got a pin and we left about 8:45pm. We walked through the Universal City center mall on the way to our car which had lots of lights and stuff. Stopped at a couple stores. Then we drove about 45 min to our next hotel in Buena Park, right close to Knotts Berry Farm. We checked around 10pm. We went through the Burger King drive through right close to the hotel for some food for the kids. We stayed up a little late. This hotel had a separate room with a queen bed so Candi and I took that one and had quality time together.

California Vacation Day 4

Monday, June 29th: 

We got up and went to free breakfast. They cooked omelets to order and we had french toast and fruit, juice, bacon, sausages, etc. We ate a lot then went to Magic Mountain around 9:45am. It opened at 10:30am. Candi spent the day with Erana and I went with the other kids. We went straight to the X2 which was a fun ride. Leila had to wait, she couldn't go on the 54" rides but could on all the 48" ones. We went back to get our flash passes after which allows us to go to the front of the line. It cost way more but was quite worth it at the end of the day. The lines were long on many rides but it allowed us to get on all 18 or so rides that it covered at least once. Without it we could have been on less than half cause of the waiting in line. It didn't cover the X2 that's why we went there first. After the first few roller coasters I got a headache and felt sick. It was also so hot, in the mid 90's or more. I skipped a few rides to feel better. I would go on another and get sick again. Some of the roller coasters are way extreme. My favs were X2, Tatsu, Twisted Colossus, Full throttle and Superman. Tyrell got a bit sick too. We got a $15 dollar cup that gave us free refills all day and we got heaps of refills. We ran into Martin Palmer. We chatted a few times. He gave me a pain pill. He was getting the same thing, sick and stuff. He just moved to Bakersfield to do a dental residency the day before. Was nice to catch up with him. We watched a show with a variety of acts and dancing that was fun at about 5:30pm. We called up Candi and told her to go to the 7pm show and we'll meet her there. The kids wanted to see it again. After the show we went on the Lex Luther drop ride then went to the store before leaving. The van acted funny when starting then after we went to Wendy's for dinner it wouldn't start. It just made a clicking sound. We prayed in the car and got an impression to ask in Wendys for a jump even I thought it wasn't a jump that would fix it. A nice worker came out to help and it started up. I drove it around for a bit but didn't turn it off when I picked them up and went back to the hotel. After turning it off there it wouldn't start up again. Did the same clicking. We just left it to worry about in the morning. I had a feeling before the vacation the something was going to happen to the van, it didn't feel like danger so I kinda blew it off and hoped I was imagining it. I think the still small voice was whispering to be ready.

California Vacation Day 3

Sunday, June 28th: 

We woke up and went to a 9am church not far from our hotel. The Mar Vista ward. The ward didn't have many people in it. I enjoyed the talks, one was about family history. After sacrament we left and got changed at the hotel and checked out then drove to the Page Museum at the La Brea tar pits. We spent the whole afternoon walking around. We watched a 3D movie, a presentation with a life size sabre tooth cat puppet with someone walking in the suit. It's head was stuck to one side and the presenter had to tuck some chords back in it through it's bum hole. The kids thought that was funny. We also took the tour around the place. It's interesting to see what kind of animals have been found in the asphalt. All the ice age type animals, mammoths, mastodons, sabre tooths, horses, bison, giant sloths, camels, dire wolves, giant jaguars and many kinds of birds. We ate lunch from food we brought with us in our cooler and from home. We sat on grass outside the museum. Then we drove the 45 minute or so trip to our next hotel in Valencia close to Magic Mountain. It is an Embassy suites hotel and is very nice. Has a living room and bedroom. The 3 younger ones slept on a sofa bed. We relaxed a while then the kids went swimming while Candi and I went and got dinner from Panda Express and Walmart.

California Vacation Day 2

Saturday, June 27th: 

We went to the gas station next to the hotel which had a big store and we filled up gas and bought ourselves breakfast we could eat in the car. I had doughnuts mmm. We stopped in Barstow at the train store. Candi bought a ty beanie boo for Leila's collection. We didn't stay long. We got to our hotel named the Paradise Inn and Suites in Culver City around 4pm. It's a nice place and the room had a sectional couch the younger kids slept on. Candi and Jaxon were freaked out by the mold growing on the ceiling of the bathroom. We drove to Santa Monica town and parked then walked to the pier and beach. The town was crowded az with people. It's a hot spot for Saturdays. The temps were only in the 70's with a breeze blowing but it felt cold after being in the hot desert. We walked to the end of the pier and looked around. Got myself a couple pins in gift stores. We walked down to the beach for a bit. Leila and Erana had their togs on and got a bit wet. They like the beach. Mina took photos and videos and stuff with her ipod. We left around 8pm. We went to a Panda Express and ate dinner then got stuff from a grocery store named Ralph's. They forgot toothbrushes and had to buy more. Went back to hotel and went to sleep. It's my Dad's birthday today. He would have turned 75.

California Vacation Day 1

Friday, June 26th: 

We left the home about 10:25am. We let Mina drive to Nephi. Big mistake, she almost drove into another car while switching lanes on I-15. So scary, we were all screaming. She stayed on the line in between the lanes for a little bit before I gently guided the steering wheel back. Candi did not enjoy that first hour. We stopped and got an ice cream at the Beaver cheese factory. Then we texted back and forth with Heather and met up with them in Cedar City at the East canyon park for a bit of a snack. They were on the way back from Las Vegas. There was a stream that was shallow and had a swimming hole that kids were in. Erana fell in and got wet so Candi changed her. We drove on and reached our hotel in Primm around 5 or 6pm pst. It was hot az like an oven in Primm. We stayed at Whiskey Pete's which renamed Whiskey Poots because of the tutae smells in the hall way on the 8th floor. The hall was also so hot. We went out to the outlet mall and walked around and got some cajun food that looked like chinese food but was good. Tyrell and Mina stayed in the room. We brought them back a gyro from Mad greek and a coconut shake. We went to sleep at a reasonable time so we can leave early enough. We brought 2 blow up twin mattresses for the younger kids.

June - Erana's 5th Birthday

6/1 to 6/6: 

It's the last week of school for the kids and they are happy. Jaxon played 3 games on Thursday and won all 3. They beat West which is one of the better teams. They were on fire and tackled their hearts out. Jaxon did well and the Moleni kids really have picked up the game fast. Natane, Nathan's boy especially has some good rugby instincts. Friday late morning we went to the Ogden Dino park for Erana's birthday. She wanted a dinosaur birthday. She had fun. Afterward we ate at Freddy's 50's diner type place which was really good. Had burgers and shakes. Tyrell didn't come. We went to his graduation a the Marriot center at the U of U which started at 7pm. Candi worked all week to get his korowai and lollie leis made. Can't believe he is graduating already. The ceremony was a little long but ok. We took photos after. He went to an overnight activity at his school after. Saturday Erana turned 5. She is a fun little girl. We had cake and presents in the evening. Jaxon had 3 more games in the morning.

6/7 to 6/13: 
Wednesday morning Tyrell and Mina went on a pioneer trek with the Stake youth. They got dressed in pioneer clothes. They didn't come back until Saturday around 3pm. We went an met them at the Stake center and cheered them on as the buses arrived. Mina wasn't enthused about it before going but said she had a lot of fun. She liked her group of kids and parents and played games at night a lot, tripping over tent ropes and stuff. Tyrell had fun as well and liked his group. I'm glad they had a good experience. Mina got to report on the trek in sacrament. She prayed to have a good attitude and she ended up loving it. Friday Candi, Leila, Erana and I went to the park out by Woody's and walked around and relaxed on a blanket while the girls played. It was nice. We stopped and Culvers after and got some frozen custard. Saturday Jaxon had 3 mores games and lost all 3. It was a tough day. They always start slow the first game. Natane wasn't there and we needed him. Saturday night we went to a dance for Travis Clark's farewell and ate and danced. It was fun.

6/14 to 6/20:
I worked Tues to Fri this week to cover Friday when my co-worker Forrest takes a Friday off. He works Mon to Fri. So I had a 4 day weekend with Monday off but kinda sucks having a 2 day weekend the following weekend. So Monday I took the family to go see the Jurassic World movie in the morning. It was pretty good and fun. The kids liked it. We went to the Taylorsville pool in the afternoon. Jaxon had play offs for his final week of rugby. They started slow again and got beat by Olympus A the first game, but the play offs were double elimination so we went into a lower bracket and won the next 3 games against Tooele, West Jordan B and Westlake. Ended up playing for 3rd place and tied with East for 3rd. By that game they were tired. It was a hot day. But the kids did really well battling back to take 3rd. West beat Olympus A in the final. We had beaten both those teams during the season. We were excited to beat Westlake as well because they beat us twice in the season. They are good. Was a good season and I'm glad it's over. Was getting tired of practices and getting up early on Saturdays. Jaxon improved a lot and scored several times, probably around 7 or 8. The total record for his team was 13-7-2.

6/21 to 6/25:

Sunday was Fathers day and I got breakfast in bed and some nice cards the kids made. In church we had cream puffs and brownies for Fathers day treats. There were problems at work with the data center network so I had to work a little bit as well from home. Thursday evening we had a West Jordan rugby club BBQ at Constitution park where we practiced. We ate then played touch with the kids. Parents against the kids. It was funny because the parents would cheat and score and then say next, for the next kids team to come on and play. I played but got really tired. It was fun though. It was the night before our vacation so we packed and got things ready.

Jaxon's Sacrament Talk

Importance of Tithing

D&C 119:3-4 says.....

"3 And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.

 4 And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord."

My talk is about the importance of tithing. In the 'Strength of Youth' it says.....

"The law of tithing is an important commandment that you should obey throughout your life. A tithe is one-tenth of your income.

Paying tithing shows your gratitude for all that God has given you. It is a way to help build God’s kingdom on earth. Tithing is used to build temples and meetinghouses, translate and publish the scriptures, provide Church materials to members, do missionary work, perform temple and family history work, and support seminaries and institutes.

Your attitude is important in paying tithing. Pay it because you love the Lord and have faith in Him. Pay it willingly with a thankful heart. Pay it first, even when you think you don’t have enough money to meet your other needs. Doing so will help you overcome selfishness and be more receptive to the Spirit."

Every time my Mum gave me allowance she would say to me 'Pay your tithing first', but I would forget most of the time. Then when my family went into the bishops office for a tithing settlement, my amount wasn't very much, and I was a little embarrassed. I should have listened to my Mum. But the bishop said 'I could start from that point on to pay my tithing faithfully.

In Malachi 3:10 it says.....

"10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall notbe room enough to receive it."

Today is also fathers day and I wanted to tell my Dad that he is a great example to me not only in paying an honest tithing but as a good Dad. I know my family is blessed because of his faithfulness. I played my last game of rugby for the season just yesterday and my coach is my Dad, he's been my rugby coach for 3yrs, he is an awesome coach, and knows a lot about the game. He provides for our family, says funny things a lot that makes me laugh. And mostly does what my Mum tells him. I Love you Dad.

In closing I would like to bear my Testimony: I know that the Lord will bless you for paying your tithing, I know that the scriptures help us, we just need to read them, and that we have a living prophet to guide us today. I know my savior lives and loves us and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen