Disney on Ice (Feb 5th 2012)

Kaila, Makai & Kaiu deserve the best, they are such awesome kids and sacrifice so much for others, but hardly ever complain. So when an opportunity arises like "Disney on Ice" I'm not going to pass it up. Plus it was Toy Story theme, only Makai's favorite. My foster kids were spending the day with their family, so I begged my mom to go with me & the kids... Mike had to help me beg her even though we knew deep down she wanted to go. I think my mom & I enjoyed the show even more then the kids, of course they loved it though!!! Kaila jumped out of her seat when dozens of Barbies came skating onto the ice and was giggling with excitement when they started singing the Barbie Girl Song and then Hannah Montana's Honky Tonk song. The look on Makai's face was priceless when Buzz Lightyear came flying onto the ice from up high, I could barely get him to turn his head for a picture. And you can only imagine who Kaiu was screaming for, Mickey Mouse came out and he wouldn't stop yelling "Mi Mi Mow~Mi Mi Mow". It was the cutest thing ever!

The show was pretty long, about 3hours thank god there was an intermission half way through it. We got their about a half hour early, perfect timing to get the older ones a snow cone in a cool souvenir cup and the baby got his cotton candy which came with a little green monster hat. We didn't have time to hang around after the show, but the show was so exciting and got all of us full of energy. Totally worth the last minute decision and seeing the smiles huge on My Three Kai's faces was priceless!

"I Love My Kai's"

Makai (Jan 2nd 2012)

Makai went back to school today after being on Winter Break for 2weeks. Makai was extremely excited for today even though the other kids in our house don't go back to school for another week! Right when the alarm went off this morning, he got a huge smile on his face, he got right up and started getting ready, he got dressed, brushed his teeth, brushed his own hair and had 20mins to sit & watch cartoons (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). I drove him to school; we got their 1minute after school began and he was the only student there. Mrs Doreen asked me to stay for a little while just in case no other kids showed up LOL, after about 10minutes his classmates slowly started trickling in and Makai grabbed my hand and just kept giggling... it was the cutest thing ever!!! I am sooo very thankful that my kids love school and they are so excited to go to school to see their teachers, friends and especially enjoy learning new things every day that they are there. I can't wait to pick Makai up from school today and hear all about how his first day back from Winter Break went.

Kaila's spending Christmas 2011 in Delaware

It's been a pretty tough 5days for me, I drove down to LA on Sunday to take Kaila to the airport. It's never an easy day when she has to fly away... the flight attendants have the responsibility of watching over Kaila because she flies alone, but I know she's safe and she's going to a safe place, she gets to spend time with her paternal family that loves her very much. At the airport we had spurts of tears and when the staff announced it was time to board Kaila had spurts of hyperventilating because she was crying so hard; looking around after hearing the "aw poor baby whispers" from the lobby I see tears coming from other ladies eyes watching us say our goodbyes. It's not easy and will never get easier (I know this because I had to go through the same thing growing up)... IT DOES NOT GET EASIER, but we have to remind ourselves of the positive and that is "She gets to travel the country "what kid gets to fly alone 4times a year across the country "KAILA" also her dad wants to be in her life and I would never take that from him, it's a happy thing to have the opportunity to bond with her dad, little sister and paternal side of the family" some kids aren't as lucky as her, some kids aren't even given the opportunity to bond with the other parent/family. When Kaila's plane landed she called me from the airplane as it was taxi'ing in to the terminal and she was happy as can be, she was excited to tell me who her new friends were on her plane (the couple sitting next to her) LOL. It gets tough for her when she leaves with her dad from the airport, because her mind starts to wonder "why is my mommy not here" she called a couple more times the night she got there, but those calls were tearful conversations, because she was confused. I knew after she got a good night sleep, she'd wake up to all her paternal family and the tears would be forgotten. It's been 5days and I haven't heard from her, but I got a sweet text from her dad this morning (a much needed text, because I'm feeling broken right now)... it said "I think Kaila will be excited on Christmas, Santa told me he got her an American doll :-) I am going to have her call you soon she misses you. Hope all is well" I really appreciate the message I got from him and it couldn't have come at a better time "Thank You!" Kaila's dad & I have had an extremely rough 7years "court after court" but this last year he has finally realized that I am not out to hurt him and that I am only looking out for the well-being of all three of our hearts and I also know now that his thoughts are the same. I'll never forget the phone call I got from him last year apologizing for everything, that was a turning point in our life and we have the utmost respect for each other now. The roller coaster is over with him and has been over for a year now and I know it will stay over, because we have both stuck with our word "do what's best for our children and all will fall into place" I'm very thankful he is in Kaila's life and although I miss her more then anything I know she's in a good place "with her daddy", having a blast and I know she will be home with me and her brothers soon.

Kaila's 7th & 8th years

Kaila was enjoying being a sports cheerleader her 7th year of life, she is taking a long break from competition cheerleading and loving cheering locally. She does so many events in our county, such as recreation gatherings and cheering for football and basketball, it's not stressful and still is just as much of a blast as competitions were. She also enjoyed being the center of attention during a photo shoot at Storyland in Fresno with our friend Saki who is our professional photographer.

Kaila began 2nd grade during this time in her life and is one of the top 5 students in her class, she absolutely loves her teacher and has so many friends that love school as much as she does! Kaila's 7th birthday was a really quick really small party at home, it only lasted about a half hour because we had to head over to the Lemoore Christmas Parade so she could walk in it with her Lemoore Cheer Squad. She didn't mind a small party, she still got the gifts she'd been wanting and she also got to be in the parade with everyone staring at her which she loves :-)

Kaila had her very 1st official slumber party in celebration of her 8th birthday, we had tons of fun doing makeup and nail art. She spent her actual birthday at breakfast with Santa in Lemoore, because her cheer squad cheered for the crowd that was watching the show and enjoying their pancakes. Later that night we had a very small birthday gathering at home with just family. Kaila and her Aunt Tricia shared a vampire/wolf birthday cake, Kaila loves sharing her birthday and loved being able to open gifts together. Kaila is such a good girl and is always thinking of others and always makes sure everyone is happy!

Kaiu 15-18months

Kaiu has turned out to be an awesome dancer and a pretty good singer too considering he can't completely talk yet. He has the best rhythm ever and I think he'd even beat Kaila & Makai in a dance off, definitely his mommy and maybe even beat his daddy too. When a fast song is playing he's bouncing so perfect to the beat and if we try to trick him and change the song to a slow song it doesn't work, because he instantly starts bouncing slowly along with the music. Kaiu is the cutest thing ever and the older he gets the cuter he seems to get, opposite of most kids LOL! He is such a good listener and even during his 1st photo shoot he knew what to do, he posed when asked and smiled big when asked... it's amazing/he's amazing!

Kaiu got to enjoy Universal Studios for the 2nd time during this time in his life, he had more fun then his 1st visit :-) He was able to actually play, ride rides and watch the shows. He even got his face painted for the 1st time this vacation, he was the cutest little puppy ever! I think his favorite place at the amusement park was the playground with the shooting ball room, I have no clue how many times he got pegged with flying balls, but he didn't care cuz he was right there throwing them back at people he didn't know LOL. I love my life with my Kai's... they are such a blast to have around!

Kaila's 6th year

Kaila is such a school girl and even more so since she began 1st grade. During her 6th year, she's accomplished so much. She was on the principles list, she had perfect attendance and received the citizenship award every awards ceremony. I love that she loves school so much and never wants to miss a day no matter how bad or tired she feels. During this year Kaila found out she was going to have another sibling, she was super excited and was hoping for a sister because she has a brother that lives with her and her sister lives with her dad, so she really wanted a girl to live with and play dolls with. Kaila had a long time to wait to find out, because mommy didn't know if it was a boy or a girl so it was going to be a surprise for all.

Right before Kaila's 6th birthday we started packing little by little, because we bought our first house and we're preparing to move right after the holidays. Even though Kaila didn't have a birthday party at home, we celebrated her special day at Disneyland which I think was even better. Kaila got to enjoy celebrating her birthday with Mickey Mouse and all the Disney Characters with her Mommy, Mike and her little brother Makai. Her 6th birthday was a hit and they ask to go their every birthday now.

Kaiu 12-15months

Kaiu is a ball of energy, it's kind of like he lives to make everyone laugh. He makes the silliest faces at people and he won't stop til the person laughs at him. He has a bigger personality then his older brother and older sister. He loves to dance, anytime any kind of music plays from anywhere Kaiu stops what he's doing, sticks his left fist in the air and starts bouncing LOL... gotta love the little guy!

During these few months of Kaiu's life we of course traveled. He had a few firsts such as his very 1st camping trip to Lake Edison. It was tons of fun, at our site in the middle of the campground was Kaiu, his mom, dad, brother, sister, his Aunt Tricia and cousins. On another site down by the lake was his Uncle Brian, aunt other cousins and a whole bunch of friends. We enjoyed roasted marshmallows, we even made cake in orange peel on the campfire(yummy). Kaiu enjoyed his wagon, while the other kids went crazy on their bikes/scooters. The most fun was when we spent the afternoon down at the lake, it was the perfect temperature and the kids loved being able to roam free, even Kaiu (he's growing up so fast!)