We have to make the most of  opportunities to socialise here.  And of course birthday parties top the list.  So at the end of May we partied.  And boy was it a goodie.  The men were big Nannas and sat on the couches.  Yawn, yawn.  And  at the beginning of the night was a comment about how quiet we were.  Well, we made up for it later in the night.  We had a ball.  And who needs karaoke.  Boy a we good singers.  Okay, only with alcohol impaired ears.  But we did have fun.

Another swim meet has rolled around.  It is always exciting to see the progress of all the kids, and this meet was no exception.  Gives me a buzz every time.  31 of our 32 kids swam (unfortunately one was in hospital).  The weather cooperated and we all had a great day.

Dayna’s group of races were exciting and you never knew who was going to win  until the race was over.  Awesome to watch.  Katie swam much better than the last meet and won her favourite, the fly.

We couldn’t do it without our great coaches, the ASSA, Tradewinds or MYD.  Thank guys, you’re the best!

We also had an awesome fundraiser a few  weeks earlier, to get enough money to bring over a coach. It went really well.  We baked and sold what seemed like a million cookies.  And had a frisbee toss.  We had made a big shard, called Sheldon, and they had to try to get the frisbee in Sheldon’ mouth.  Everyone worked really hard, but it payed off.  We have a coach coming from Australia in a few weeks.

There is a wee boy, ok not so wee,  I should probably say young boy on the rock who is very special to me.  Jacob arrived on island not long before we did as a new baby.  So we have seen him grow up.  I love to spend time with him and he is Katie's special mate.  He just turned 3 and had a great birthday. 

Diego couldn’t make it but sent the kids on some special missions to save the animals.  The kids got slimed, wet, and even a bit freaked out.  That Swiper (AKA Debbs in an orange poncho, blue gardening gloves and blue mask) has a lot to  answer for.

So for all the ex-island folk who keep an eye on this blog, can you believe that the bouncing baby boy is now a big curly headed 3 year old?

The end of year and School Arts Festival had rolled around again.  This year they had an international theme.  So we rocked up with an African and an Egyptian in the truck.  Every year they seem to do something different and this one was no exception.  And it was definitely shorter than last year.

Dayna’ 5th and 6th grade class did a play about genocide.  It was very deep and heavy.  But then I guess that was the point.  The fabric of Dayna’s costume was really cool too.

I had been looking forward to Katie’s 3rd and 4th grade performance for weeks.  They performed “Walk like an Egyptian”.  The kids had all made their own costume and they looked awesome, as did Katie’s eye make up.  Their performance was a lot of fun, and had been choreographed by the children. 

We also had Chinese, Tex an, and Korean and Samoan Dances from the Elementary School.  And a Spanish Dance from the High Schoolers.  A group of kids from the band also played, and they were good.  Another interesting Show completed and school year nearing an end.

We decided that this year we wanted to see the end of the Fautasi race.  So we were organised, and found out the best place to go.  We were up early (with Stu, in fact) and found the best pozzy.  On asking the guy parked next to us whether this was a good place, he answered “yes, but we would probably see more the next morning, as we were a day early for the race”.  Oh well, never mind.  We went to McD’s for brekky and then had a quiet day, and Nana naps as we were all so tired.

The next day we had dance in the morning and I didn’t want to get up before the birds 2 days in a row.  But then an incredible thing happened!  After dance when we were about to walk home, there was the Marines Band from off-island doing some practice in the carpark.  This is the sort of thing we get excited about.  Especially Dayna who got to see real people playing the trumpet.  When she said she played the trumpet, all the trumpet players crowded round her telling her how cool it was.  It was neat.  We found out they were playing at the stadium around lunchtime, so went home and packed some food and drinks and wandered on down to the stadium.  

We saw a lot of the officials being presented gifts from Miss American Samoa (who happened to be our dance teacher at the time).  Then the band played for almost an hour.  They were so awesome.  Maybe we don’t get that much of that type of culture here, but it was cool.  They played a real variety too. 

After walking back home we decided on a swim, and who happened to be hanging at the pool but the band members.  And they recognised us.  The talked to Dayna and invited the kids to join in their games.

All in all another great and varied Flag Day. 

This is like waaay overdue, but better late than never, eh!!!!

Easter was a bit different this year.  Firstly the kids got a bit of an education.  What do you mean the Easter Bunny, Santa and the Tooth Fairy are the same person?  But all is good, and they are still happy, and even crack jokes about things that have happened in the past.

Yet again we had an Easter egg hunt  And again it was different to the last two.  This one was back at the State compound but with a different group of people.  We cut down the number of eggs (the amount of crap candy gets beyond a joke sometimes), and as it happened the quality of the candy was great.  Not that I got to sample any.  I guess that's what happens when the Easter Bunny is found to be a fraud. 

Lots of swimming and running around and another successful hunt comes to an end.

The girls were well overdue for haircuts.  If my memory serves me correctly they haven’t had a proper one since June of last year. 

Katie went for the standard long hair trim.  You know, tidy up the ends.  That was cool.

But Dayna decided she was ready for a change.  And what a change it is.  For all who know Dayna, this was a huge step.  Remember the tears when there was even the mention of scissors within earshot?  So we had talked about it for a while and finally the day came.  I was expecting her to chicken out at the last minute … but no, she did it.  And we still have the hair, albeit in a plastic bag.  So check out he before and afters.

BEFORE                                                                              AFTER

One Saturday Katie Latie called to Dayna Layna “The sky is falling”.  Then Katie Latie and Dayna Layna came running to find Mummy Lummy, “the sky is falling, the sky is falling.”  So Mummy Lummy came running out to see.  And on Daddy Laddys return from work Katie Latie, Dayna Layna and Mummy Lummy ran to Daddy Laddy and called “the sky is falling, the sky is falling”.

Sound like a fairy tale doesn’t it.  Actually it wasn’t the sky at all, but the eaves outside the house.  And as the evening progressed it continued to fall.  Luckily we our good neighbour (remembering our two houses are joined), went out and propped what was left up with boards and the such like.  Or else by morning there would have been no eaves left.  And goodness knows what else would have collapsed. 

Now we await the fixing of the place by the local fixit man.  Lets see how long that takes.  I guess we just feel lucky the sky really wasn’t falling after all.

Thursday was planned beach trip day.  As we had spent the two previous days in the sun we decided to go to Fagatali Bay, which had a nice bush walk to get there.  But unfortunately we had a slight technical hitch, which we were almost unaware of.  The volcano in Tonga sent an earthquake and potential tsunami to our wee island.  None of a group of expeditioners had the radio on and we were blissfully unaware of this.   Luckily our neighbour informed us as we were leaving.  So we sat at Hayley's watching the tv and waiting for instructions.  The whole warning was out but we were never told to go to high ground or anything so we just waited patiently.  Right when we thought our day was busted and we may just hang out at the pool the tsunami warning was lifted, about an hour and a half later. 

So eventually we pile the troupes into the truck and made our way through to the entrance to the Fagatali Bay track.  Being dry made the walk an easy one and before we knew it we were at the beach.  The rickety ladder that had been there previously was now an easy set of steps.  There was quite a pull in the water but we all had a lot of fun checking out the sealife that was there and Dayna and I went for a short snorkel.  The tide started to get a little high so we packed up and walked back up to the truck for lunch.  We then decided to check out the lookout track and see what we could see.  Unfortunately it was ... nothing.  There was no lookout, the track just kinda ended in the middle of bush.  By now the kids were getting a bit tired so we piled back in the truck and headed back to civilization. 

And not a tsunami was to be seen all day!

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Wednesday was our day to experience the Island buses.   So, the troupes (Hayley, Debbs, myself and the 6 kids) waited for a bus outside Cost-U-Less.  We didn't want one of the little buses.  Luckily for us an "Island Pearl" bus arrived.  There are 7 of them and they are Dayna's favourites.  We piled on board and found plenty of seats.  The kids faces were awesome.  It was a nice ride into the yacht club.  The music wasn't bad and at a reasonable volume.  The bus was decorated with beads and looked cool. 

The kids had a lot of fun at the yacht club, swimming and playing in the sand.  The 3 big girls even swam out the the buoy.  These 6 kids just seem to be able to make hours of fun out of nothing.  We then took them to Samu's for ice cream as a treat.  Being a hot day shade is often at a premium, but we found a cute round tree for the kids to eat under.  This was where we were seen by friends who thought we were nuts. 

We spent quite a while selecting the right bus to ride home on. Couldn't be too small or ugly or green.  Eventually we climbed on a bus and rode it to Shoe Tree.   This bus had lino for a roof and feathers around the front window.  Some of the passengers thought we were strange palagis, singing away and having lots of fun. 

Then after a shopping break it was a short walk round the corner onto airport road to catch the last bust home.  Now this was a real local bus. The decoration ornate, the music mind blowing.  And I mean that literally.  The excessiveness of the bass sounded like it was underwater and made your voice gurgle when you talked.  What an experience.  A great day was had by all.

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The day before the Territorial Science Fair Dayna had to go into Kanana Fou High School Gym and set up her board.  Then we had to be there by 7:30 the next morning for the fair itself.  I had breakfast there and it was good.  It's so boring just sitting there waiting for your board to be judged.  We had to get two orange stickers before we could do anything else.  At least me and Jordan were sitting next to each other, we just sat there and chatted. It takes such a long time to get just two orange stickers.  But it was well worth it.  I got first place in my category which was Physics.  They called out the first place winners, and the people who didn't  get called out had to either go back to school or go back home.  The people who did get called out had to stay for another round of judges, and it took just as long.  Why? Because there were two judges and all of us first place winners were competing against each other for overall.  At the presentation I got a lot of prizes. A bag, a certificate, a trophy, and a lot of different little things.  It was very busy but very fun.  By Dayna

PS In the first round of judging each child had 2 judges come separately to judge them.  They each discussed the ins and outs of the project with the student.  When they finished they would put an orange sticker on their board.  Then each child who won their category went on to the finals and had to be judged by the same 2 judges.  It made for a long day, but Dayna did extremely well.  Especially as she was in the upper elementary level (grades 5 - 8) and she was only grade 5.  As it happened, of the four representatives from Pacific Horizons School, 3 won their categories and one came second.  Of the three finalists, two came first and third in the upper elementary level.  So well done Dayna we are all very proud of you.

Since staring back to school after the Christmas break, both the girls have been working hard on their science fair projects.  This is a time of great learning in our house. 

This year Katie looked at the difference between cornflour & water and flour & water.  This was very messy but a lot of fun.  So who knew that the interesting way that conrnflour and water acts has actually got a name.  It is a sheer thickening fluid.  Katie had to do a lot of observations and discuss what she saw this year and did a mighty fine job.

Dayna had wondered out loud on Christmas morning why it was that the same car kept winning on Katie's new 4 lane hotwheel track.  What better science project is there than that.  She thought it had more to do with the spin of the wheels than the mass, but this was proved incorrect it was the mass that made the most difference.  She also noticed that the cars with the best wheel spin would start off faster but those that were heavier would win.  This she found out was because of momentum. 

On the day 4 elementary school pupils are selected to go to the territorial (island wide) science fair.  This year Dayna was one of the lucky ones selected.  This is a great achievement as she is only grade 5 and it was all the children up to grade 8.  So on the 10th of March we will be off the Territorial's.  Watch this space we will let you know how it goes.

Dayna decided she would like to have a "Pirates of the Caribbean" party for her 11th birthday.   So the preparations began.   The invitations were to each be a part of the treasure map and had the old, worn and partially burnt look.  On the day the 6 kids each had their part of the map and some had pirate costumes.  They each chose a pirate name, this was funny.  We had Cap'n Jack Sparrow (Dayna), shrimp Squirt (Katie), Coconut, Pineapple, Sarah (Jordan) & Rat. 

After some pirate food in preparation of the challenges ahead, the treasure hunt began.  First they had to find some pirate essentials.  Silver earring, gold & silver loot bags, cannonballs, swords and a pistol.  Then off to make a flag to take on their journey (it is now hanging on Dayna's wall).  They had to move gold pieces from a dangerous plate to a safe one without using their hands.  Then there was a coin challenge.  And onto walking the plank, but of course it is never that simple.  First through the porthole (tyre swing), then over the plank (cut down coconut frond) while using some binoculars backward.  It was then off to a written challenge.   The whole hunt took over an hour and the kids had so much fun.  We then took them to the pool to swim and play for a couple of hours.

It was then back to the ship (house) for the littlies and the parents to arrive for a BBQ, kiwi style.  The little kids had a mini treasure hunt and all of the kids bashed the treasure chest piñata.  This was a mission (note to self, don't make it so strong next time), and I lost my broomstick in the process.  But eventually it was busted.  We then played pin the beard braid on Cap'n Dayna ( a picture, not the real one).  Birthday cake time had finally come and of course it went along with the whole theme of the day. It was a pirate ship.  Dayna was stoked.

Finally it was time to relax and enjoy  the BBQ and nice social time.  Dayna had a great party and all the kids enjoyed themselves.  It was a cool birthday and now Dayna is 11 and we know that whatever next years birthday brings it will be completely different.

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The Year of 2008, by Katie

It started off like this, I was having Christmas break, having so much fun then we went back to school. School was so much fun because my teacher was funny. Then the school year was over, so fast as fast as a bee flying past your face. Then it was the holidays for 12 weeks. For that holiday we went to America for 5 and a 1/2 weeks. And then the holidays were over it was the start of a new school year. During the school year we, went to the dance show, and to the dance comp AND I WON! In Veronica’s farewell show I was dancing all by my self and finally big Christmas day.

My Extraordinary Year, by Dayna

This year has been exciting and full. Birthdays, shows, awards and swimming. I had a sleepover for my birthday. I did the science fair and spelling bee. I came third in the young writers’ competition. Trumpet lessons were easy and hard. Our holiday in America was so fantastic. I got dinghy (dengue) fever and wasn’t allowed to do one of our dance shows. The National Swim meet in Apia was fun cause I won lots of ribbons. I came second in the dance competition at Maliu Mai. I was in the school band concert. I did a solo called “Frosty The Snowman”. Veronica’s farewell show was very sad. I cried at the end. Christmas didn’t feel at all like Christmas but I still got awesome pressies. That’s all I have to say about this year.

Work, work and a trip to America

2008 saw Stu working long hours with very few days off. This soon takes its toll but luckily it was broken up by our trip to America and two sudden trips to NZ. Our trip had been a long time in the planning for Stu. Spending some valuable time with the family, and making the most of the speedway meetings we were able to fit into our busy schedule. It takes a bit to make up for two years without racing. Stu also refereed a bit of football of varying levels throughout the year and even attended a referee course on island.

The year that was

I saw in 2008 at the state compound partying hard with friends while Stu and the girls were home sick with a nasty virus which started a year of highs and lows. They started with pneumonia, then in November Dayna had dengue fever and Katie some wicked virus with similar symptoms. So we saw more of the hospital this year than we would like. I took on the role of starting up a swim club after the swim association was unable to continue. I now teach swimming and we even took our swim team to the Samoa Nationals in Apia where they did really well. Dayna returned with 3 firsts and 3 seconds, and Katie with a third place. It started off quiet early in the year for dance but this wound up to fever pitch by the end. Within the last two weeks of November we had our Annual Show, which was very successful and the Tahitian Dance Competition. Katie came first and Dayna second in their age category of the competition. And then in December with the sudden knowledge that Veronica, our dance teacher was leaving we put on a special show full of old and newer number for her. It was at this that Katie did the taualuga. Summer break brought our much awaited trip to the States with the kids. We had s great time with family and spent the whole time seeing and doing new stuff. It was fantastic, something we will never forget. Thanks to our Stateside family for making us feel so welcome, it was the trip of a lifetime. Unfortunately we had two close family members pass away this year for which we returned to NZ for their funerals. But life continues and so will we. The kids had a busy and successful year with school, including science fair, Arts festival, music class and a class umu which they prepared and served. Dayna also came 4^th in the school spelling bee, learned to play the trumpet and came third on island for the young writers’ competition. So here is goodbye to 2008 and welcome 2009. Thank you for being there for us as friends and family. Here’s hoping you had a good 2008 and that 2009 is good to you all.

Lots of Love from

Stu, Sue, Dayna & Katie

I had nicely avoided going on the sub (relief teaching) list at the school for the last 2 and a half years.  But on Sunday before school went back for the 3rd quarter I got a call from the director (principal) of the school.  She was desperate, hence the phone call to me.  The 5th & 6th grade teacher was stuck on Ofu (a small island of American Samoa) and the weather meant they could not get back.  Her regulars subs were unavailable for whatever reason.  Unfortunately this is Dayna's class.  But by theory was, better me than nobody to teach them, so I succumbed and said yes. 

I was terrified, and almost threw up on the way to school on the Monday.  As it happens it wasn't as bad as I had feared.  I knew it was a tough class and was tough on them from the start and all went well.  We got a lot done and had a bit of fun along the way.  I actually ended up teaching for 3 days.  But I survived and I don't think Dayna was too terribly traumatised. 

I guess I just hope they don't call on me too often now.  I had forgotten how much hard work it is to actually be in paid employment.  I was tire for the rest of the week.  A tough life eh!

During the Christmas break a group of us met at Jaime's house and walked down to Larsens Bay.  Parts of the the walk were steep and slippery but all in all a nice walk.  The tide was pretty low on our arrival but the kids love anything they can get.  Apparently it was the calmest it had ever been outside the bay.  It was our first trip but the others had been on numerous trips and apparently looking out from the beach can be quite spectacular.  Not today, calm as. 

We took to kids to the best swimming side.  The big kids found a nice rock to jump off into a deep patch of water.  This went on for quite a while.  In the meantime I took both Dayna and Katie round the point one at a time.  It was lovely. 

During our picnic lunch on the beach, some of the girls spotted a pot of dolphins.  There must have been at least 6 of them.  It was really cool and you can even just see them in a couple of my photos.  

After lunch the big kids found a cave that went right through and out the other side.  There they had hours of fun just playing.  Using vines as ropes and their imaginations.  It was so cool to watch them.  Who needs expensive toys anyway.  The trip back was nice with the kids planning their next adventure.  

Christmas actually starts for us here on Christmas Eve, when we do skype calls with the family.  This is always an exciting time.  We also had a few drinks with friends in the evening with all of the kids exchanging presents.  It's like having time with the cousins.

We were awoken at 6:30am by screams of "Santa's been, Santa's been!!".  It took a few moments to realise that the night before we had spread reindeer dust and carrots outside and put out a steiny pure and cookies for Santa.  He certainly had been and the girls were as spoilt as ever.  They checked out their Santa sacks and we went straight to the tree.  Dayna got a collection of "Pirates of the Caribbean" stuff, including a 2 1/2 foot boat which does lots of cool stuff.  Katie got some hot wheels stuff, including a 6 foot, 4 lane track.  Then there were the Mum & Dad pressies.  Dayna got the collectors edition of "The Tales of Beedle The Bard" and she was totally blown away.  As for Katie, she got a box of old books.  I guess that is only half the truth.  In the box was a note and a picture of her new purple I-pod.  But unfortunately she had another couple of weeks to wait before its arrival.  Her face was priceless. 

  We spent the afternoon at Belinda's with a big group.  The table took up most of the length of the house on the hill.  Heaps of lovely food and great company.  And Santa even turned up, (with a Corona in hand).  The littlies were gobsmacked.  And everyone got to sit on Santa's knee and get there (secret Santa) pressie.  Even the big kids.  It was hilarious. 

Another great Christmas  to remember rolls to an end.

One thing this Christmas which was awesome, was the light show up behind Tian Tian.  This was amazing, even for real world Christmas light displays.  They did about 3 songs with music and all.  Very impressive.  You then got to walk around to see the lights and stuff close up.  Including a real Samoan Santa, if you were lucky, and dancing snowman.  Very cool.

Both the girls did an after school music class for part of last school year.  Dayna does band instead now, but Katie still troupes off to her music class every Thursday.  For the past few months they have been working on the hand bells.  Unfortunately they aren't exactly exciting to watch, but as Katie has informed me they take a lot of practice and concentration to get right.  She has really enjoyed the challenge they were given for the class recently.  Unfortunately this program will no longer be offered which Katie is upset about.  But Dayna gave her a self learning piano cd for Christmas, so who knows where from here.