Mike, Pua and Katea Palefau

Web 2.0- What does it really mean?

2009-04-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

I love technology! Just a little taste of what Web 2.0 is and what it's done for us today.

In taking CSIS 1000 for school, there were lots of things I already knew and were a breeze...like Word Perfect, Excel, and then there were many programs I didn't know much about, but loved learning how much technology has changed from when I was in 4th grade playing Oregon Trail. So even though this is just an assignment for my class, technology is so amazing to me, and this video in only five minutes shows us all the positive things Web 2.0 can do in anyones lives in communicating with loved ones, or meeting new people.

It's kind of sad that a school assignment is what's made me get on blogger again, but hello everyone out there! And yes, I am still alive!! School's just been keeping me so freakin busy

Memory Lane

2008-08-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I know, I've been so bad keeping up on this thing, the past couple months have been so crazy with moving and everything! We moved to Cedar last week and are doing some unpacking and make a trip to Wal-Mart daily to get things for the apartment, but we're getting there! We love our place and are excited for the schoolyear to start. Mike is currently working in Aspen during the week then comes home for the weekends until school starts. So that's a quick update on us and what we;ve been doing, so here is the rest of the post!

Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Baby Katea's Shower!

2008-06-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

Since we've been home, my sister, and my daughter's name sake, Katea, drove down from Vegas with her kids to spend some time with us...it was so nice seeing my nieces and nephew and my sister. We had so much fun while she was here- even though a lot of the time was spent running errands and getting things ready for the shower, it's always fun being with my sisters.

Katea and her cousin, Ella.
We took all my dad's grandkids to the park to take pictures- for those of you who have tried to take pictures on your own of kids this age, you know how hard it is! But this is a picture of some of her cousins on my side- Sefa is holding Katea, then Linette is the top right and Ella is the bottom right. These are all my sister, Katea's kids.
So my sister thought it would be a good idea to throw a shower for Katea, it was very much needed! This is Katea ready for her shower! She also had to get her 2 month shots this day, so she was a little grumpy. Big Katea got her this outfit for her shower- it matched the colors of the decorations- pink and black!
Me opening her gifts- thanks everyone who came and supported us! She got lots of good stuff!
Some of Kateas cousins, Linette, Halatau, and Skye
My big brother, Ben also came out with his family, it was so nice to see them too! This is Ben swinging with our nephew, Sefa.
Some of Mike's family that came to support Katea at the shower, L-R: Setita and her son, Vaha'i, Nita, Serena, Ofa, Lini and me.)
Some of my good friends that came also (L-R: Jennie, Marcie with Katea, Maria and Crystal)

Thanks Katea for throwing the great shower- it was such a good turnout and a nice welcome for baby Katea- we really felt the love from all those who attended!
*** PS READERS- I ALSO POSTED ANOTHER BLOG TODAY- SO READ BELOW!!

FINALLY!

2008-06-28T15:13:00.001-07:00

Alright, so I know it's been forever since we've moved back to the states, and I still haven't had a chance to update our blog about it...until now! We've been home for about a month now and it's been so great being back with our families and seeing everyone again. We were sad to leave Italy and the great friends we made while we were out there, so I thought I'd post some pictures of our last days there.

This is a picture of some of the Young Women in the ward, they were just painting their nails while waiting for the luncheon to start...they usually do a ward lunch after church once a month, and they decided to have one as a little farewell to our family before we left. (L-R: Maddalena, Illaria, Giulia, Giada)
Katea with one of her many Italian grandmas, Cinzia. All of the Relief Soceity sisters there took good care of Katea, so she has many Italian Grandmas :) She wasn't very happy here, she was so ready to take a long nap!
The De Cesare family...we love them! Giacomo is trying to feed Katea strawberries, lol. I don't think she's a fan of strawberries yet. ;) (L-R: Mike, Giacomo, Me & Katea, Marta, Davide, & Fausta)

And a picture with all but one of the young womens class. Seeing this picture makes me miss them! (L-R: Priscilla-in the pink, Brenda, Giada, Illaria, Elena, Violetta, me, Claritsa, Giada, Simona)

So after this day, things were pretty crazy, I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of our packing up and going to the airport like I hoped, but but let me just say it's crazy with a newborn! We had tons of luggage, and the lady that checked our bags was kind enough not to charge us extra for the extra bags we had with us. Katea did really well on our flight home- she cried a little, but slept most of the way home. Thank goodness for that!

When we arrived, everyone was so excited to meet Katea- she finally got to meet the rest of her aunts and uncles and cousins. We had a nice welcome home from everyone.

So we're back in America- it's nice to be able to go to a Dr.'s appointment without the need of a translator, and to go to the store to find our favorite snacks and cereals we've missed, and running errands never seemed easier! But we will never forget the friends we've made, the warm, friendly people in Italy, we'll definately miss the free health care! It was a big chapter in our lives living there, welcoming Katea to this world, and for that we are forever grateful to Italia!

Happy Father's Day Honey!

2008-06-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks honey for all that you do for our little family...you are always doing everything to make us happy and wanting nothing but the best for us. From something as simple as putting a foot rest under my feet while watching TV or taking off Kateas little socks when you notice they make a mark on her legs and think they might be uncomfortable for her, to something more complex like spending hours on the internet to make sure we are set to have health insurance, a car, and cell phones when moving back to the U.S. or sacrificing a year of playing rugby to come home and finish school so that we are always taken care of. I could go on and on about how lucky we are to have you as our husband and daddy, there's so much you sacrifice for us. I am so thankful to our Heavenly Father for having our lives cross paths and how happy you make me!
We are sad we don't get to spend your first Father's Day with you, but we wanted you to know you are thought of on this special day and we love and miss you!!

We took a bunch of pictures of baby Katea (and a couple with her cousins) just for you for Father's Day...hope you enjoy!

Katea's favorite song!

2008-06-08T08:51:00.000-07:00

Zapp and Rogers...baby Katea loves this song! Everytime my sister plays her ringtone from her phone of it to her, she smiles real big and gets all excited. So this is a clip of her dancing to her favorite song. THis is mostly for her daddy since he's out of town for a few weeks and I know he misses her like crazy! So enjoy!

Gardaland...Italy's no. 1 themepark!

2008-05-28T00:41:00.000-07:00

So another Thursday rolled around and we are starting to run out of ideas on where to go sightseeing...we've seen billboards since we've been here about a place called Gardaland, so Mike did some research and found that it was the best themepark in Italy, and one of the best in Europe. It was a couple hours drive, but we figured why not!? I wasn't sure what to expect, and honestly wasn't expecting much, but so my surprise, it was really nice! Sadly, we didn't get to ride all the big rides, but went on some kiddy rides with Katea. We still had sooo much fun though!
The express train ride...one of the very few rides we could go on with Katea. I think we were more excited than her! lol...
This picture is classic. As part of the train ride, it would go through dark tunnels with big toy animals lit up. Everytime we went through a tunnel, Kateas eyes would get so big, I think it scared her more than anything.
Daddy and Katea on her first train ride ever!
There is a huge section for little kids with tons of rides. This is the coolest looking treehouse ever. We were curious to know what was inside. There was a huge long line for it, so we skipped on that.

Another thing we did was we went to a jousting show! I wasn't sure what to expect since i've never been to one, but Kateas nap time was nearing, so I thought I could just put her to sleep before the show started... But before the show there was a cute little italian jester trying to get the crowd excited, he would go to one side and get them to cheer louder than their opposing side, and everytime the crowd cheered, Katea would get scared, and start frowing
This is the face she makes when she's scared...I melts our hearts everytime! I covered her ears with my cheek and hand and she eventuall fell asleep despite all the cheering and stomping.
The park closed at 6 pm...kinda stupid if you ask me...the summer hours hadn't started yet, so it was a short stay, but we had lots of fun, and Katea loved it too! She was such a good girl.
We changed her diaper in the car before we headed back on the road for a couple more hours, as Mike was changing her, he was asking her how she liked Gardaland...and this big smile was her response! We will definately come back to Italy and stop in Gardaland when she's old enough to keep it in her memory!

Chioggia

2008-05-21T01:23:00.000-07:00

Every Thursday Mike has the day off, and whenever possible, we try to do some sightseeing. We've seen lots of the towns and cities that are close by where we live, and this is another one to add to our list! This town is called Chioggia...now we don't know much about the place, so sorry, can't give you any history, but as you can see, the scenery is beautiful! There is a big shipping dock there, so it's a big wharf, very different from what we see everyday! It's also very close to the beach.
We've been taking her in her stroller everywhere we go lately because she hates it with a passion, and we just want her to get used to it...it wasn't a cheap stroller, and it's gotta be the most comfortable thing in the world! At least it looks like it is. We look at her in the stroller all cuddled up with her blanket and wish we could jump in there with her...if only she knew.

It was a couple hours drive to get there, and Katea did so good! She slept most of the way, and woke up when we got there, so she enjoyed the scenery with us. We didn't stay too long because it was a little windy, as you can see from this picture...you can just call me stormy :) Daddy showing off his little girl.

Family picture! Katea just can't get enough of the sightseeing! Our little girl soaking in the sun!

It was a lot of fun... We're really going to miss the life of a rugby player and his family! As for now, I'll just enjoy the quality family time we have here. He's only gone a total of about 4 hours total in the day with 2 trainings, twice a day, then has the day off on Thursdays. I keep in mind the fact that things are going to be very different for us in a couple of weeks...it's back to America we go and I'm sure Mike will be gone alot more than he is here. With school full-time and also work. That's a whole other blog for me to write about... so I'll save all that for later!

My First Mother's Day

2008-05-16T03:07:00.001-07:00

This is a picture from a couple years ago on Mother's Day when Mike and I went to visit my mom's grave. It's a tradition of my family's that when we go to visit we fill her vase with flowers, and bring a snickers bar and a bottle of Dr. Pepper...those were her favorites. I didn't get to know my mother as well as I would've liked to because she passed away early in her life from a rare disease, but am forever grateful for the things she did teach me probably without knowing...putting family first, being unashamed of who you are, serving others, smiling even when things aren't going as planned, humility, and unconditional love. Even though I couldn't sit down and have a heart-to-heart conversation with my mom, she taught me all those things by her actions. Some people can look at the story of my family and feel sorry for us, but my dad taught us since we were little to never feel sorry for ourselves, but to learn from whatever comes in our paths, especially those that we can't control...that's what this whole life is about. We had hard times, believe me, it wasn't ever easy, but I know if things were any different, I wouldn't be the same person I am today. I thank Heavenly Father for the strength I have gained from my mother, and I know they will help me as I am now a mother to a child of my own.

So with that said, I wanted to share my first Mother's Day with everyone! It all started out great! Katea, for the first time, slept the whole night through! She fell asleep about 8 pm that evening, and woke up at 5:30 am and was ready to start her day...what a nice gift from her! It was so nice not to wake up the usual 2 or 3 times to feed her. She did get up pretty early though, but I was okay with that since went to sleep earlier than usual the night before and I was asked to teach the lesson in young womens (ps, i'm the 2nd counselor in the Young Womens here...and if you're wondering, no, I don't speak italian well enough to teach!) and needed to review my lesson a little more. Since I couldn't teach in italian, one of the other counselors translated for me. It was a good experience, I knew it was going to come sooner or later, just not this soon! The lesson went well and I was relieved it was over in the end. After we got home, Mike has to go to recovery every Sunday with his team. So while he was gone, me and Katea took a nice long nap that was much needed from the early morning...
After a nice long nap, I opened the door, and to my surprise, saw this sitting right in front of me! Mike made me peanut-butter chocolate chip rice krispy treats, and not just your regular rice krispy treats...he shaped it to say "I love you"! It was a sweet surprise.
I walked into the kitchen to thank him, only to find him busy making dinner...Navajo tacos, one of my favorites, and he makes some pretty mean scones too!
Can you tell by this pic he's a pro?? We went for an evening walk later on too. It was a very simple and sweet Mother's Day, just my kind of holiday. I was a little sad I couldn't spend some quality time at my Mother's grave, but will be sure to stop there soon after we get home. This day was a special one, one that I will never forget. Thanks to my little family for the wonderful gifts!

Sun out...everyone out!

2008-05-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

Since the weather has been really nice, it's been an almost-daily ritual for us to go to the rugby club that Mike trains at, and enjoy the sun. We meet up with some of the other wives of the team with their kids and have time to talk about nothing while we wait for our husbands to finish training. It's a nice time to enjoy the company of other mother's, to hear advice, and interact with other grown-ups and also to get a little time to practice my italian with those women who don't speak english! The club is only a 15 minute walk from where we live, so sometimes we walk there, other times we take the car while Mike rides his bike. Even though the weather is plenty warm for short sleeves and slippers (or thongs, or flip-flops, whatever else they're called) the Italians are still walking around with long sleeves and toe-covered shoes. Sometimes we get stared down, but who cares?! IT'S WARM! As long as we're comfortable, that's all I care about!

Here's Katea sittin in the shade while mommy gets a tan.
It's been a while since I last wrote a blog- but I had to share this picture with everyone! She is smiling more and more everyday! This is one of the smiles I caught- last night Mike was talking to her and she gave Mike a huge smile- even a couple of giggles! I'm sad to say I didn't catch that on camera. But we have fun trying to get her to smile. She almost always will smile in the morning...she's such a morning person. I'm sure she got that from her dad, cuz it's sure not from me!

I've also started packing some things away...both because we're moving home this summer, and she's grown out of all her newborn clothes! I was so sad to pack some of her cute outfits she'll never wear again, but I'm also excited to try some new ones on her. This moment has made me so thankful not only for the gifts of newborn clothes, but also to all those who sent us gifts of clothes that were for 3 months and on! So thank you everyone!!!!

Our Trip to Milan

2008-04-25T07:44:00.001-07:00

We had to make a trip to Milan to get Katea her passport so we can come home and she can meet the rest of her family. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive from Padova, and we thought it would be best to stay the night there, and be ready for our appointment the next morning, so Mike booked us a hotel and we left after he got home from training. We were a little afraid she would cry the whole way there. She's not a fan of her carseat, so we crossed our fingers and got in the car and left...as you can see, she was just fine- as soon as the car started moving, she had her eyes fixated on the moving objects outside, and she eventually fell asleep. Her neck looked like it was getting kinked so I put the blanket there to straighten her neck out a little. We got to the Hotel in enough time to get settled and go to bed- we had a morning appointment with the US embassay to get to!
Katea enjoyed her stay at the hotel. She was so cooperative as we were trying to get things ready, she layed back and relaxed!
I had to post her passport picture too! Everytime we see this picture it just makes us laugh, so we thought we'd share. We took her to a photo place to get her picture taken and the lady took lots and lots of pictures, some angled wrong, some with her head down, and this just happened to be the one that worked best. It kind of reminds me of shrek's babies! hahaha. We took it to the embassay and they had us take another one just in case this one didn't work (the size wasn't right- you know how picky they are for passport pictures).

It was a short trip, we had to get back for Mike's training he had that afternoon- unfortunately, our GPS told us to go the wrong way and we took a huge detour around Milan- then got stuck in traffic because of an accident- so the way home took us 4 hours instead of the 2 1/2. Good think Katea was such a good girl! But the most important part is in a couple weeks we will get Kateas passport in the mail and we'll be ready to come home in June! We can't wait to be back with friends and family again!!!

Happy One Month!

2008-04-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

Last week Katea turned one month! So I had to bake a cake for the celebration (any reason to bake a cake right!?) A chocolate cake...healthy version of course, with beets and whole wheat flour, egg whites, very little oil and reduced fat cream cheese. I know, I know, doesn't sound very good, but it actually wasn't bad! We finished the whole cake in 24 hours- what can I say, Mike is a chocolate addict, that he got from his mom, Julie, and she openly admits it! And telling yourself it's good for you only makes an excuse to eat more :) The actual birthday girl didn't get to eat the cake with us, but she did get some chocolate milk in her next feeding :) We didnt do much else as far as festivities, but had to celebrate our little girl growing up so fast-
we can already see how much she has changed from when she was first born...loves looking at all her surroundings and very VERY active- if she's not asleep shes wiggling around somehow, and loves going for walks outside.
Anytime she is tired and can't seem to settle down, we know taking her on a walk in her little marsupial thing, that she'll fall asleep that way for sure. Nevermind the stroller, she'd rather be strapped to daddy! She's also getting so close to smiling and grabbing things. You can see it in her face she is really trying!
This is one of her little dresses that aunty Marcie sent! We got her all dressed up for Sunday- and she even stayed up for most of it too! She doesn't want to miss out on anything so has a hard time sleeping during the day- but is a very good sleeper at night. We love our little angel!

Kateas Baby Blessing

2008-04-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Katea was blessed at church on April 13th by her daddy. Her grandpa Ngana and grandma Lini came out for the special occasion, and also to meet her for the first time. It was a hectic day since she is used to sleeping whenever she wants and not being bothered. Unfortunately, the time came when Lini and I had to wake her up and give her a bath and put on her dress...let's just say she was NOT happy, and made sure we knew that! Besides the fact that she was grumpy from a short nap, the blessing that was given by her father was beautiful! The spirit was strong and she was blessed with many things for her life. After her blessing, instead of doing the usual traditional tongan eating afterwards with family at the house, (we would have, but all our family lives on the other side of the world!) we came home to hurry and capture the moment with some pictures of the not-so-happy baby before taking off her dress and putting her in some more comfortable clothes, and took a nice long nap. Thanks Ngana and Lini for coming out! We were so glad to share this special day with us.

Our new arrival!

2008-04-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

Since I just started this whole blog thing, I thought the birth of Katea would be the best place to start! Katea was born on March 18th at the Padova Hospital. She was 3.4 Kilos (7.4 lbs) and 50 centimeters long (19.7 inches). She has brought so much joy into our lives and have so much fun watching her grow everyday! She has since gained a pound a week and is now about 11 pounds! She loves to eat and sleep...oh and poop! :)

While planning for her birth, we made plans for Grandma Julie to come out and be with us! I started having contractions the day after they arrived and gave birth to Katea only a few days after they were here. Is that good timing or what?! We were so blessed to have Julie stay with us for 3 weeks. She helped us so much, I don't know what we would've done without her! Especially because I had to get a c-section, there wasn't much I could do, and Mike had to return back to his daily practices. Thanks to her I was able to recover well and get lots and lots of sleep and not have to worry about the laundry piling up, the dishes not being done, or not having dinner cooked! Julie also was the "night nurse", she took Katea for the nights and only brought her in to me to feed her. She was seriously heaven sent! We had lots of fun with her, she showed us how to play the card game "hand and foot" and it got pretty addicting! Mike and I are pretty competitive when it comes to card games too- but it's all fun 'n games, nothing too harsh!

Julie enjoyed spending time with her first grandchild, Katea as she was here and so sad to leave her. Don't worry Julie, we'll come out to visit you! Thanks so much for all your help!

Just getting started

2008-04-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! We thought it would be a good idea to start a blog for our family, so here goes nothing! Please be patient as I learn how to work this all- we will keep you all posted on our family and the latest news with us, enjoy!