December

12/1 to 12/5: 

Candi and I went shopping Friday. We went to Trader Joes in Fort Union then to New World Market then to Fashion place mall. We also fed the missionaries Friday. There are 3. Elders Dawson, Zaugg and Whitehead. We had Papa Murphy's pizza. Saturday morning was the Ward Christmas party. Good scones and egg casseroles again.

12/6 to 12/12: 

Monday it snowed heaps as and I could hardly get to work. State street going up to the capitol had a car stuck. I had to go around it. I barely could but my car has all-wheel drive and I made it. It was a dangerous drive. I left a couple hours early to work the rest of the day from home. The next day our boss let us work from home. I took Thursday off this week. I have a couple days of use or lose annual. Friday the kids had their kids Christmas sing-along at school, then when they got home we went to see the Temple lights. Wasn't too cold. We ate japanese and chinese food at the food court in the city creek mall first. Walked around Temple square and took photos and stuff. Tyrell didn't come. Had a good time.

12/13 to 12/19: 

I took this Thursday off again. It's nice having 3 day work weeks. Went shopping for stocking stuffers for Candi. Friday at 3:20pm we all saw the new Star Wars movie The Force Awakens. I really enjoyed it. It's very similar to the first movie even the plot. Blackie Schaap got married Fri night in Provo. We didn't make it.

12/20 to 12/26: 

Sunday did some more Toys of Fury filming. After I went home teaching and after we ate. Have been doing little bits here and there. It takes a long time. My script was probably a bit ambitious but it's turning out pretty good so far. Have the final battle to go. I had Monday off as well. It was a 5 day weekend. But I work Tues to Thurs. Tuesday our work got a theater to watch Star Wars for the Christmas party. It started at 11:30am at the movies on 33rd S and State st. It was snowy so I went straight home after and worked the rest of the day from there. Shaun was visiting with his kids from Hawaii when I got home. Christmas eve I worked but went home early around 3pm and worked the rest from home. We had our Christmas eve dinner. Candi made shrimp coconut milk soup and we had thin crust chicken artichoke pizza and panda express. We read Luke chapter 2 and discussed gifts we can give the Saviour. They made gingerbread cookies for Santa. The kids went to bed around 10 to 11pm. I finished wrapping stocking stuffers for Candi. We  put out presents around 12:30am. Seems like this comes around so fast each year. Gets harder to know what to buy them each year. Christmas morning we opened presents around 8:30am. Candi gave them one big box each that had all their gifts in it. Some didn't fit so were separate. They had a good time. We went to Scott's to eat and open gifts we got each other 2:30pm. Julia and Malia stayed the night with us. We got up Saturday and cleaned the chapel at 8am. Me, Candi, Tyrell and Jaxon.

12/27 to 12/31: 

Sunday we were invited by Ollie Wolferstan for lunch at 12pm. He is hosting Dion Hettig and Baden Shortland and family. We had a good catch up and lunch. Baden wanted to go see the "This is the place" monument so we all went with them at around 4:30pm. It was freezing cold. Temps below 20 f. We walked around a bit. Badens boys sled down the hill next to the monument. Went into the visitors center then said good byes. Good to see them all. We did a bit more Toy of Fury 2 filming. Finished most of it. Monday I left work an hour early to do more post-production editing. Tuesday I wasn't feeling the best so I used it as an excuse to stay home from work and worked on more editing. Still didn't get it all done. I had Thursday New Years eve off and finished it up then so it could premiere it at the party at night. The party started at 7pm. We had Scott's trivia game after eating. Then we watched Toys of Fury 2. Everyone liked it. It turned out not so bad. They played Just Dance 2016 after we did a balloon popping game with the younger kids. We did the count down and watched TOF2 again for Shaun, he came late. Then they all left and we cleaned up and went to bed. What a year. It went by so fast.

November

11/1 to 11/7: 

Not much going on this week. Leila had her last basketball practice and game. She did well and is getting better. Her team beat another good team that had a little girl that looks like Laura Ingalls from Little house on the prairie. She could not miss a shot. Candi got angry at me for telling her to stop yelling. Her yelling is embarrassing and her getting angry at me in front of people is more embarrassing so I made the situation worse. Mina is still in Hawaii having a good time with Maddie going to beaches and eating yummy food.

11/8 to 11/14: 

Mina came home Tuesday morning and went to school. Was good to see her again. She loved it and wants to go live there for her senior year in high school. I'm not sure what to think about that. Will have to think about it. I had Wednesday off for Veterans Day. Didn't do a whole lot. Caught up on family videos. Set up some more of my Qnap NAS I bought. I got it to put 2 mirrored 4TB disks in for more space for videos. Installed more memory into it and was copying files over. It's now my new Plex media server and shut off the old pc I had for it in my closet. Friday I had a doc appt for a growth I've had on my tongue for a couple years. It sticks out enough that I bite it sometimes so it's a nuisance. Also wanted to make sure it's not cancerous. The doc cut it off. Wasn't so bad. It bleed for a while then stopped. It healed up within a day. Candi and I went and ate at McGraths. I had halibut. We stopped at Ross after. I got me some new addidas shoes.

11/15 to 11/21: 

I worked from home mon-wed because our desks were being torn down and re-arranged. It was nice waking up at 7am and logging in from home to start work still in my pajamas.

11/22 to 11/30: 

We've been watching all the Star Wars movies in preparation for the new one coming out in Dec. We watched the Empire Strikes Back today, Sunday. Sunday nights have been a movie night for the family since it's one of the only times we are together during the week. I enjoy being with everyone. We were invited to Thanksgiving by Debbie Finlayson last time we saw them in October. We decided we would go if it wasn't snowing so we kept our eye on the weather this week. A snow storm came in Wednesday night. In the morning we looked at the roads on the cameras all the way to Idaho. They looked good enough so we risked it and left at 9:30am. Jaxon said we didn't have to worry because God will protect us. That made me feel better. We got there a little after 12pm at a chapel right across the road from Matt & Debs'. Got to visit with Kingi (Clint) and Laura and Riki and Alexa and others. We ate, little kids had a pinata, balloon game, then volleyball for older kids and basketball the rest of the evening. Then on the stage they had a mic, amp and speakers for those that wanted to sing and play guitar or uke. Tyrell played his guitar and some of the Finlayson daughter's sang to his songs. Yasmeen is Kingi's daughter, 17, played the violin. She is cute and talkative. Too fast for Tyrell to keep up. Candi heard him say "yes" to her and she says, "Is that yes to my first question or my second question?" Funny, she is just like her Dad. Taeya is Matt & Debs' daughter about 16 and very pretty. She sings good and sang with Tyrell's guitar. Riki has a cute daughter too and I forgot her name but she sings really good too. Jaxon and Mina played volleyball and basketball. All the kids had fun. We went to about 10:30pm. We ended up staying the night with Matt & Deb. We woke up and Deb made breaky. We went to the Lava Hot pools at about 12pm. Deb and girls came too and Matt met us there. Snow was all around but water was hot and nice and relaxing. We said our goodbyes and headed off around 2:30pm. We stopped at Kingi's in Tremonton. Laura's family from Idaho were there for Thanksgiving. They fed us some authentic mexican food. Kingi showed us around their nice home. He has a big open spaced basement with a big projector screen for his theater. We left about 5:30pm. It was a nice time. The kids had a good time. Saturday I filmed some more Toys of Fury 2.

Erana Sayings:10/5/2015Erana: last night I taught Tyrell a lesson, I said "don't cut your hair in the bathroom, cut it outside"! 11/12/2015i says to Erana for her homework draw something that starts with 'M', she goe's mmm mug! a mug is another name for slug! lol I said no a mug is another name for cup!11/19/2015We waited outside & Erana says why r we standing out here & I said coz the doc is checking tyrells privates! & she pulls a funny face. And then we went back in the room & she has a huge smile on her face & then she starts laughing lol and she says to tyrell did the doc look at your bumbum & nono?My friend Tyson has the best eyelashes, he's famous!

Taking our 2015 Christmas photos!

Jaxon's Sacrament Talk

Faith in Jesus Christ

The first principle of the gospel is faith in Jesus Christ. We have faith when we accept him as our Savior and that only through him can we have eternal life. In James 2:17 it says, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” What kind of works makes our faith in Christ alive? Here are a few I’d like to share.

1. Prayer: We pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Christ having faith that they love us and have an interest in our lives. They can then answer our prayers which helps our faith grow stronger.
2. Repentance: Having faith in Christ means we accept his atonement. That he suffered for our sins, died and was resurrected for us, that we can repent of our sins and be worthy to return to his presence some day.
3. Keeping the commandments: Keeping the commandments shows our faith in Christ by following his teachings and believing it will bring blessings in our lives. It also shows that we love him. Christ said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
4. Service and Love: Serving and loving others is part of the commandments we are given but it shows faith in Christ when we follow his example and try to be like him.
5. Following the Prophet: We show faith in Christ that he is at the head of the church when we listen to the counsel of his chosen servants. D&C 1:38 the Lord says,”...whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”

In our journey of life it’s as if we are each pulling a sled that is carrying our burdens and responsibilities. Sometimes there’s not much on it, most times there is. To pull the sled we have a rope, or a handle. As we pull this sled sometimes family or friends can grab hold and pull but usually have to let go so they can pull theirs. The one constant help we can have is Christ if we have faith in him. When we do we invite him to take his place next to us. But he only starts pulling when we show the faith and works that I have mentioned. He lets us do what we can at first instead of immediately taking all the weight so our spiritual muscles can still get exercise and become strong. But every time we pray, repent, live the gospel, serve and love we are taking a step forward with the Savior pulling next to us giving us his strength when ours is not enough to carry on. Nephi said,

“...for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”

When we mess up and sin it may feel heavier but not because Christ has abandoned us but because he has gone to the sled to unload the burden of sin as we repent. So we shouldn’t keep him waiting, repent as soon as you can so that the weight of sin doesn’t become unbearable. Then he will take his spot right back next to us pulling the sled full of the other things that weigh us down. I’m not speaking from my experience yet but for some it sounds like the burdens they carry are as heavy as a mountain. But as you exercise your faith in Christ even if it’s the size of a mustard seed, you will look back at your sled and realize you have moved that mountain.

In Matthew 11:28-30, it says:

28 ¶Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I know if we have faith in Christ we will be blessed. In the name of Jesus Christ . Amen.

October - Leila's 10th Birthday

10/1 to 10/10: 

Had our annual Halloween FHE at the Ashworth's. Watched the All Blacks beat Georgia Friday afternoon. Went to the Hiona dine & dance Friday night. We ate good food and danced some. Chatted with Uncle Jono and other Uncles and Aunties. Talked with Sandy Keehan, Terence's mum and also his brother Zack and wife. Got a photo and sent it to Terence. Found out he moved to Los Angeles this year. Leila had her first basketball game. She did really well but needs more practice. General Conference was this weekend. 3 new apostles were called to replace L Tom Perry, Boyd K Packer and Richard G Scott who all passed away this year. Stayed home and watched priesthood with Tyrell and Jaxon. Ate some yummy boil-up Candi made with kamo kamo in it. Thursday the 8th Candi and I went to help clean the conference center from 9pm to 11:30pm. She vacuumed while I moved the chords. I took my headphones to listen to music. Mina is playing volleyball for Taylorsville HS sophomores. She's pretty good. I try to see each home game. Her coach is a bit of an egg. He makes them run sprints and stuff if they do mistakes or don't stick around to watch the Juniors and Varsity teams.

10/11 to 10/17: 

Had Columbus day off work. Can't remember what I did that week. I took Thursday off so only had a 2 day work week. Very nice! We went to Lava Hot Springs and stayed the night in the Tumbling Waters motel. Got us 2 rooms connected to each other. We went to the store for some food for breakfast for the morning then went to the pools and relaxed. After we hung out in the rooms and Candi got us Thai food for dinner. We went back to the pools at 9pm. Was very nice. The next day we checked out at 11am. We walked around the town again. Walked by the river and saw a big crawdad. Stopped for some ice cream and looked in a few stores. Jaxon saw a ninja like sword he wants for Christmas in the hippie like gift store. We went to the park to relax a little longer. We are going to visit Debbie & Matt Finlayson but waiting word for when to come over. Mina, Jaxon, Leila, Erana and I went on a little hike up the hill over-looking the town, took some photos and came back down. The we went to Soda Springs about 4pm. Went to Matts. Deb wasn't home yet. She got off work at 5:30pm. Was good to see them. Hadn't been here since 2001. Matt showed us his work shop he bought. It used to be a body repair shop. He build stuff in there. Has a big trailer he's been working on. The front part he has made a man cave. It has a tv room, office, a kitchen and bathroom area he is making nice. He took over to his parents and chatted with them for a bit. Talked about our genealogies. Mary showed me a book that Wallace Wihongi had given her that shows how many families are connected to the Wihongis including her Reihana family. Then we went back to eat dinner at Matt's. Deb was calling telling him to hurry up. Talked with them for a while catching up with everything. They have beautiful daughters. Their oldest daughter Alana was there with her baby. Ariana went on a date, Taeya and Leilani were there. Our kids had a good time getting to know them. We could have stayed the night but we left around 10pm. They want us to come back for Thanksgiving. Was very nice to visit them. Saturday we watched the All Blacks kill France 62-13 in the quarter-finals which was very satisfying.

10/15: 

Erana had to recite 'There was an old Woman who lived in a shoe, she had so many children, she didn't know what to do, She gave them some broth without any bread, she scolded them soundly and sent them to bed'. Which she did awesomely!

10/18 to 10/24: 

We went to Devin and Brennan's mission farewell. Vic and Kim's twins. Devin is going to Washington and Brennan to Kentucky. We ate at Kim's after and visited for a bit. Friday we watched Mina play volleyball then went to Golden China after with her and Erana. Mina does quite well and is getting better at volleyball. Saturday we watched the All Blacks beat South Africa in the semi-final 20-18. It was close but SA didn't deserve it. They kicked all their points. They try to force penalties instead of scoring tries. Candi went and watched Leila during the game play bball.

 10/25 to 10/31: 

Wednesday the 28th Tyrell and Leila had their Piano recital, I couldn't go because I had to work, so I was sad I missed it. Mum, Jason and the kids went, they said they did an awesome job, they always do though. Leila turned 10 on Thursday. She invited about 10 friends to a party they had in the basement. They wore costumes, danced and ate. I was at worked so missed the fun. But when I got home we had cake and  watched her open our gifts. She is growing up fast. She is very smart and reads lots of books and is fun and loving. I love her so much. Mina went to Hawaii today. She used a buddy pass we bought off Shaun. She is staying a week or so with Christine. She was very excited to go. On Saturday morning it was the World cup final All Blacks vs Aussies. We went to Scott's and watched it. It was a good game. ABs got ahead then Aussie caught up to within 4 then Carter got a drop goal, then penalty to relieve the pressure then a try near the end to put it away. 34-17, first team to win back-to-back and to win 3 times. The last game for heaps of AB big names. Carter, McCaw, Conrad Smith, Nonu, Woodcock, Mealamu. The day is also Halloween so we went to Jody's about 5pm. It was a nice sunny day, not too cold. The kids got lots of lollies. Erana was Stitch, Leila was Raven from teen titans, Jaxon was the Red Hood.