New Haven Was So Much Fun!

What a fun time we had visiting with Aunty Lou and Uncle Steve :). We took the Amtrak train to New Haven, which was over 5 hours long. To my amazement, we had no trouble finding our way to Union Station in Washington DC. I made sure Maddy had a lot of things to do to keep him occupied throughout the trip. He had books to read, puzzles to do and color in, cards to play with and children's music and rhymes to listen to on our shuffle ipod.

We did everything we could that a 4 1/2 year old would enjoy doing. We visited The Peabody Museum which had an awesome Dinosaur Collection on display and where Maddy spent most of his pocket money on the souvenirs in the shop (his favorite thing of all).

We visited the Children's Museum which allows kids to interact and learn about music, mathematics, linguistics, space, city connections i.e firehouse, post office, a small town, a green grocer etc, reflections in mirrors, a video and puppet stage place where kids can dress up and put on a show (maddy was a pirate), natural surroundings through magnifying glass, and a few more other activities. We were there for three whole hours and of course had to stop off at the souvenir shop to buy a few books and stickers. Each room had a special theme, with colorful and bright murals on the walls created by local artists - it was absolutely amazing and fun at the same time!!



We were fortunate enough to visit the Mystic Aquarium where we saw for the first time, several Baluga Whales - they were beautiful :) Other animals we saw were seals, turtles, frogs, toads, fish, stingrays, sharks, and pretty much everything else you can find in the sea.

We played at the local park, went to the Lookout where we could see all of New Haven, played at the beach and ate at a fish diner called Libby's. The fried fish was absolutely wonderful and reminded me of the fish n'chips we use to eat in NZ. We ate the local pizza which was also great, went for walks in the evenings to buy ice cream and also spent a day in New York with Uncle Steve's family. As soon as we arrived, it didn't take long for Maddy to make two new friends. He was off playing the whole time and I only saw him when he was hungry (takes after mommy I think!).


Overall, we had a fabulous time there and want to thank Aunty and Uncle for having us, and we look forward to returning one day soon.

In Tanzania

I arrived safely in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania yesterday evening. Only 2 more weeks to go before I fly home to Rachel and Maddy. Woohoo! This was posted via email.

Maddy Dances to American Idol

Maddy's Dino Dance Move

Go Diego Go

Last night we went to the Warner Theater to catch the Go Diego Go Live show for Madison. He absolutely loved it, dancing in the aisles with all of the other kids, singing along to all the song he knew so well. It was a nice night out on the town for the whole family, the show was quite enjoyable!

I'll be traveling to Zambia and Tanzania in 2 weeks time for work. It'll be interesting to see that part of the world and I'm looking forward to the trip. I'll be gone for 5 and a half weeks so while I'm in Africa, Rach and Maddy are planning to visit her aunty Lu in Connecticut for awhile. There's a train that goes from central D.C. straight to New Haven so it should be easy enough for them to get there and back.

Lucky Maddy

Maddy is such a lucky boy. Yesterday he received an All Blacks jacket, matching socks and a dinosaur jigsaw puzzle from BatGran in the mail. He also got some stamps so he can write Nanna letters. He was so happy with his new stuff that he put on the jacket and socks immediately and wore them all day. Now that he has one of the puzzles in the dinosaur collection, he wants the rest of them too. That's my boy :)

Dose of Reality

You know how the saying goes, "No news is good news" and in our case it definitely rings true. The past few weeks have been largely uneventful, with the crazy weather being the most noteworthy thing. We've had a week of snow followed by an ice storm which covered everything with ice for over a week, followed by a week of warm weather that everyone talking about an early spring and now it's snowing again.

I think Madison has had enough of the cold weather and all it brings because he used to run excitedly to the window to look at the snow when I told him it was snowing; now it barely warrants a raised eyebrow.

Yesterday afternoon at work we all had to evacuate the building when the fire alarm sounded. Most of us thought it was another fire drill until the fire department, police and homeland security arrived and started cordoning off the entire block. Apparently our operator received a bomb threat by phone. Let me tell you one thing; the emergency response time in Washington, D.C. to a bomb threat is super quick. By the time I made my way outside from the 3rd floor there were already 2 fire trucks and 2 homeland security cars in front of the building. It was a stark reminder of the nature of the world we live in right now. But hey, at least I got to go home early!

Happy Anniversary Sachi & Mark

If memory serves correctly, Sachi and Mark have been married for a year now. Congratulations you two! I hope your first year of marriage has been enjoyable and fun. This time next year Lagi and Tolly will have joined the club. Many happy returns Sachi and Mark!

Go Wizards!

We went to our first NBA game last night where the local team, the Washington Wizards lost to the San Antonio Spurs in a rout. We didn't care! We were too busy enjoying the spectacle of the whole thing. Americans sure do know how to hype an event and make it entertaining.

Happy Birthday Mommy

Madison and I took Rachel out for lunch at the Silver Diner for her birthday last weekend. It was a nice outing, even if the weather wasn't cooperating (it was -10C outside). Madison and Rach loved the Silver Diner; which is an old style diner complete with juke boxes and 1920s decor.

Winter Wonderland

Madison has an affinity to the cold which makes him and snow best of friends.

It's the simple things in life that make our boy happy.

Playing in the snow is fun.

Madison's First Snow

We were all over the moon to see it snow all day for the first time yesterday. It didn't take Madison long to convince his mommy to let him out so he could see what snow felt like.

2007 Already?

I can't believe it's January the 4th already, time just zooms by when you're on annual leave. While it's nice to be back at work (well not really), spending almost 2 weeks at home with the family was great. Madison and I have re-bonded and he and I had a blast doing everything together, including baking chocolate chip cookies. He's real good at licking the bowl, stirring the flour all over the floor and eating all the chocolate chips before they go into the mix.

Christmas turned out nice even though we couldn't afford to buy Madison any presents. Lucky for us God provided in the form of grandparents, aunties and a couple of my work colleagues who surprised us with 6 or 7 presents (and a miniature xmas tree to boot) for Maddy to go under the tree. Maddy even left a plate of cookies and a glass of milk for Santa on Christmas eve.

Now that 2007 is officially here it's only right that we kick off 2007 with some new year resolutions so here goes.

1. Quit smoking.

2. Pay off debts.

3. Lose weight.

4. Establish some savings.

5. Gain Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) accreditation.

It'll be a very good year if I could get all of that done in 2007. What are your NY resolutions for 2007?

More From Fatilua's Visit

We went downtown for a quick visit to the memorials

Vai and Fatilua by the Korean War Memorial

Having fun overlooking the Reflecting Pool

Taking a rest from sightseeing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Maddy feeding the ducks with his lunch

Look Who's in Town

One of my oldest friends Fatilua and his partner Vai came to town on Tuesday night from Albany, NY to visit with us for 3 days. I've known Fatilua for almost 25 years (I must be getting old) since our days in Samoa College. It's been real good catching up with them. I'll see what I can do to convince them to stay for the weekend!

Madison took to his uncle Fati and aunty Vai immediately.

The old guy and the other old guy

Fati in DC doing some kind of ballerina move for the camera

Winter is Here

I think winter is finally upon us here in the northern hemisphere. I had to walk through ice on the street on my way to work this morning. Yeah you heard me right. There was ICE on the street today! The cold weather has been on and off lately but I when there's ice on the roads you can pretty much say that winter is here; bring on the snow!

I wonder if we'll have a white Christmas this year? Wouldn't that be nice? I don't remember having a white Christmas since we lived in Alaska over 20+ years ago.

Almost Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner and while most families have the lights up and trees in the living room, we're a little behind on getting all of those things. Americans really start thinking about xmas right after Thanksgiving so we've been inundated with the holiday season hype for awhile now. Madison is very much looking forward to Christmas.

Madison would like to thank his Nanna in NZ for all of the mail he has been getting in the mailbox. He's even got mail from his Aunty Carlta, Aunty Susie, Aunty Patsy and Uncle Kenbo. You should see his eyes light up when his Mommy tells him he's got mail!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday season.

Hi Nanna!

Doing a Superman

Last night Maddy brought the step ladder into the room and did

Superman jumps onto his bed.

He is always finding new ways to have fun around the house.

It's good to see him growing and gaining weight.

Look at my wings Daddy!

Whatever

Madison's new favorite comeback line is "blah blah blah". Whenever he's asked to do something he doesn't want to do it's either, "Whatever" or "blah blah blah". I don't know where he gets it from (most probably from the TV) but I think it's funny.

Thanksgiving was nice, it's always nice to have a day off, but it seems utterly ridiculous to have to come in again for work on Friday only to have another 2 days off for the weekend. The metro was empty today and the city is like a ghost town today; it seems like everyone took annual leave today except for me.

Mental note to self: Take annual leave on the day after Thanksgiving next year.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving here in the US and we're all enjoying a nice relaxing day at home. The weather outside is dreadful; wet and very cold, so being indoors is a good idea.

This is a pic of Madison counting the money in his moneybox in anticipation of Christmas and his XBox. He told us this morning that, "I can't wait to get my XBox!". He had a grand total of $19.95 which is just a little short of the $400 target but there is still time to save up between now and Xmas.

I better get a second job.

Losing My Samoan

Madison is slowly losing his ability to speak Samoan. I didn't notice at first but a few nights ago I asked him to get me a glass from the kitchen in Samoan and he gave me a puzzled look. I asked him if he understood what I said and he said, "No daddy". So I asked him in English and off he went.

It's interesting because when Papa called last night, he was talking to Madison in Samoan the whole time and Maddy seemed to understand (or he faked it pretty good) but only replied in English.

Last night we went to the supermarket and the checkout lady had a cute conversation with Madison, it went a little something like this:

Madison: (handing the money to the checkout lady) Here you go.

Checkout lady: Oh thank you, you're such a cutie! If I was a little girl I'd fall in love with you. How old are you?

Madison: I'm four.

Checkout lady: Are you in preschool?

Madison: No, I'm not 5 yet.

Checkout lady: I bet you have lots of girlfriends, do you have many girlfriends?

Madison: (straight faced) Yes.

Checkout lady: (Laughing) I bet you do. Thank you darling.

Madison: You're welcome.

Messing Around

You're a Good Boy Son

In case Madison reads this in the future, I just wanted him to know what a good boy he has been lately. Rachel and I both agree that he has been behaving exceptionally well, which makes us very happy and proud. He tried so hard to be a big boy, never wanting help if he can do it himself, responding to our instructions without whining or complaining. He is a little hard headed at times but it's all because he tries so hard to prove that he too is smart and that he should participate in the decision making process.

He wanted us to buy him an online game last weekend but I told him it costed money and he needed to find 18 dollars. So off he went to grab his piggy bank and asked Mommy to help him count out "eideen talas". He came up $11.00 short but after giving Mommy his sad puppy dog eyes, Mommy lent him the balance and Maddy got his game and Mommy and Daddy got big thank yous and hugs in return. A pretty good exchange, if you ask me.

Maddy Bakes a Cake

Last night Maddy asked me if he could make a chocolate cake.

Of course I said yes, so off we went to the kitchen.

Maddy wanted to put all the ingredients in himself including the eggs,

which he is quite good at cracking open.

We didn't think we made much of a mess, but Mommy thought otherwise!

The cake turned out great and after Madison put the icing on it
we all had a nice piece of Madison's first cake. He's quite the little chef.
Licking the spoon and bowl was his favorite part!

Snail Mail

"Let's go and check the email" says Maddy. What Maddy is referring to is our mailbox downstairs. He calls it "checking the email" haha. He gets all excited because lately he has received a couple of parcels, cards and postcards in the mail from his Nana Michi.

"Thanks Nana, I Love receiving email."

Visitors from New Haven, Connecticut

Uncle Steve and Aunty Lu arrived Friday evening to spend the weekend with us. Unfortunately their visit was cut short, as a family member on Uncle Steve's side passed away. It was fun catching up with them and Madison took to Uncle Steve very quickly. They bought him a playdough set, gumboots and raincoat (so he can splash in puddles), pick up sticks game and oversized playing cards. Maddy loved them all! They also bought some housewarming gifts i.e. placemat set, matching tea towels and a serving dish. Thanks Aunty and Uncle!!!

We spent Saturday downtown DC at the National Museum of the American Indian and took a few photos and bought a few postcards to send to Nana, Papa, Grandma and Grandpa. The building itself was amazing in design and shape and the Kasota stone used to build it was beautiful. Surrounding the building was a cascade flowing over boulders known as Grandfather Rocks which symbolises the Native Americans relationship to the natural world ~ it was just beautiful! The many artefacts on display and exhibitions were breathtaking and I was able to capture a few pictures on our cell.

We ate lunch at the Airspace Museum cafe, stopped off at IMAX theatre to watch a 30 minute film about famous astronauts who walked on the moon, in 3D, and then headed off home to rest, before we ventured out for dinner to celebrate Uncle and Aunty's 33rd wedding anniversary. WOW ... 33 years is a longggggg time! :)

Looking for News from Samoa?

If you're looking online for news from Samoa, I'm afraid you won't find much, especially if you're looking for a news source that is updated daily. The Samoa Observer used to have a good site but it hasn't been updated in over a year, which is a pity because it was one of the only ways Samoans living overseas could keep abreast of what was going on back home.

Luckily for those of us living abroad, a few new Samoan news sites have popped up. Edwin Puni's EventPolynesia.com site has a nice little section on news from Samoa. I also found another site called www.wsamoa.ws which also has some regularly updated news from back home.

According to these sites it seems it is never dull in Samoa. The leader of the opposition party SDUP has stepped down after a failed leadership takeover, leaving Samoa without an opposition in Parliament. That can't be good. Also in the news, the Police Commisioner just crashed his car and the first officers on the scene just told him to leave the scene and that noone would know about it. I won't even go into how many parlimentarians have been suing each other and losing their seats to bribery allegations. On a lighter note, the newly crowned Miss Samoa was forced to step down because it was found that she was under age (17).

What's going on back home?

Madison's Prayer

Every night before Madison goes to bed, we all sit around the bed and say our evening prayers. Madison doesn't have a memorised prayer, he actually varies what he says each night while talking to God, depending on what he did during that particular day. Maddy's prayer from last night went a little something like this:

Tai Iesu, (Faafetai Iesu)

Thank you for my TV and my games. (He loves watching TV and playing games on the laptop.)

Thank you for my walks. (Mommy takes him for walks around the neighborhood each day to get out of the house and get some fresh air and exercise.)

Thank you for my flashlight and my toys. (We bought him a little Superman flashlight while grocery shopping yesterday.)

In your name we pray,

Aaaaaaaaaaaammmmennnneeeeeeeeee!

Till The Morning Angels Watch Over You...

Were the last words you said to me via Gmail chat. I still remember our 30 minute conversation, the giggles and laughter, the words of encouragement, the strength and courage that shone through from you was overwhelming and yet still I felt a sadness knowing there was nothing I could do but hope and pray and root for you all the way.

As I sit and type this, which has been very hard to do, I remember how we first met which was at our wedding in 2001, your radiant smile, your strong bubbly personality welcoming me to the family; the fun times we had in Samoa, cooking schnitzel at our humble home in Vaivase-Uta for the first time and you laughing at me because I didn't have a clue at what I was doing; watching tv using a projector, screened on our living room wall; socialising with your friends on that French boat, I'm sure you girls were eyeing up all the sailors or was it they were eyeing up you, all dressed up in your beautiful tatau grey and white halter neck puletasi; reading your article in the new Pacific magazine (forgot title) describing your experiences and the nitelife in Samoa (which I remember you telling me you hoped your Dad wouldn't read) ~ I should of bought a copy for keeps; our brunch at Kaufe Hauz on your last trip to Samoa was time well spent with you; seeing you again at Sachi and Mark's wedding and boogieing hard out on the dance floor at the afterparty; some of the memories I will treasure always.

I dedicate a song to you called "Time To Say Goodbye" by Andre Bocelli and Sarah Brightman as you are laid to rest. We will always remember you the "Divine Miss M", and how much you have touched our hearts. You will never be forgotten. Until we meet again, All Our Love Rachel, Matt and Maddy :)

September Already?

I can't believe it's September already. Before Rachel and Maddy got here time was moving so slowly and now that they're here it seems like time is just flying by.

We've been keeping busy, which is good but unfortunately when we've got lots of stuff to write about, we never have the time to sit down and write about it. Rachel and Madison are adjusting well to the new timezone and place and according to Madison, he never wants to go back to Samoa, he likes it better here. I don't know if it's because of the new digs or what but I think it's just because he likes it when both of his parents are with him at the same time.

That's a photo of me and Maddy standing at the bus stop across the street from our house. We were on our way to see the doctor for his monthly checkup and rheumatic fever injection. I didn't realise that we both had our left hands in our pockets til I saw this photo. Like father like son :)

Our friendly neighbor Cathy from downstairs gave us a nice stroller for Madison. Maddy likes going for walks but lacks the stamina to walk very far, or so he says. I think he just gets lazy (I wonder who he gets that from?) and prefers to be carried or pushed around in his stroller. Thanks Cathy!

Madison has become very adept with the computer. He is very observant and picks up quite a lot from just watching us use the laptop. He can turn it on and off, use the Favorites menu, the Back button and knows how to start games and tab through the different open windows. He is a master with the mouse, I didn't even need to teach him how to use it. I think he's teaching himself intuitively, a process I find to be amazing at his age.

That's the view from our verandah. There isn't any grassy open spaces or playgrounds in our complex but Madison loves riding his bike in the underground parking garage. We're fortunate to live in a safe neighborhood with nice, quiet neighbors.

Labor Day Weekend

Last weekend was Labor Day and we decided to go into DC and see some of the sights.

That's Rachel and Maddy at the Air and Space Museum standing in front of some big rockets.

Daddy and Maddy in the Mall with the Washington Monument in the background.

Maddy loved the Air and Space Museum.

On the Metro on our way into DC. Maddy must have the window seat!

The highlight of Madison's day was riding the dragon on one of DC's oldest merry-go-rounds.