A Walk Through the Garden Center

On our way home from buying groceries at the local store today, we decided to take a walk through the Merrifield Garden Center, a beautiful nursery full of gorgeous flowers, trees and shrubs. It had a nice waterfall and pond at the back entrance, with lots of colorful fish swimming at the bottom of it. We stayed there for about 20 minutes, admiring the well made pond, and talking about the different fishies we saw. Maddy even asked whether we could fish for one and take it home lol. I'm sure the owners wouldn't be impressed with us if we did, besides I'm not sure if I would want to eat fish that lived in dirty murky water, would you? lol.

Parcel on it's way!

Finally we have sent Nana and Papa's belated birthday pressies in the mail. Should take up to 7-10 days to get there (hopefully in one peice). Sorry these are late and I hope they fit.

Alofas Us xxox

---> Maddy, the Red Power Ranger

Dear Daddy ...

Maddy has written two letters to his Daddy since he left for Guatemala last week. I have been encouraging him to practice his writing as he still has a habit of using capital letters. I wonder if that will change quickly over time as I know it does with practice, and trying to encourage Maddy to practice is very hard, especially when he thinks his way is the right way. I'll have to get out those writing exercise books that Nana sent us some time ago and have him practice on those again. Maybe that will help!!

Little Fishy Completes His Class

Our little fishy did really well for his last day of level 2 swimming lessons. He passed his class and is able to move onto level 3. I was hoping to continue his lessons throughout the fall (once a week) but our little fishy wants a break because he's bored. He wants to to try something new like Tae Kwon Do so we shall see! Great job Son!

Last One for the Summer

We got together with Matt's friends, Sakib and Domenico and their families on Saturday at Riverbend Park in Great Falls, VA. Tucked away in a remote river setting, with 400 acres of forest, meadows and ponds, we enjoyed a bbq picnic with yummy marinated steak and chicken, salads and lots of munchies and fizzy's to drink. We enjoyed watching others kayak, canoe and even fish from several small jon boats.

Maddy and Nino went along with Matt, Sakib and Rosie on their own jon boat and had a blast. Daddy had trouble with the oars so Maddy had to help him. They kept drifting down the river and I was starting to panic until Daddy finally got the hang of the oars and managed to turn the boat around.

Maddy and I spent a bit of time looking at nature and taking pictures of butterflys, tadpoles, and nasty bugs so we could identify them online. I was hoping to walk the hiking trails but somehow we never got around to it. Keeping up with Nino (3 1/2 yrs) and Khalil (20 mths) was a handful for their mothers but fun watching them enjoy themselves.

Kelly and Khalil

Kelly, Khalil, Domenico, Sakib, Rosie, Matt, Maddy and Nino inside the tent

Drifting Away

We spent the rest of the evening at Rosie and Domenico's apartment, relaxing and enjoying each other's company. On Tuesday, Daddy is off to Guatemala and Sakib is off to Liberia at the end of the month. When they return, it's camping time and being one with nature LOL

Happy Birthday Nanna!

Hope you have a lovely day Nanna!

Lots of hugs and alofas xox

Thanks Alexander!

Aunty Vai, Uncle Fati and Baby Alexander came by to visit us this evening and to surprise Maddy with his birthday present. It was nice to see them since we had not seen baby for quite some time. He has definitely grown bigger and is a lot more chubbier too. He definitely has a samoan appetite and bowel movements too LOL. I should of taken a picture of him but forgot to. Oh well, next time.

Thanks for the awesome clothes Aunty, Uncle and Bubba!

Happy Birthday Rhiva_Li

Grace (jo's daughter), Rhiva_Li (ivan's daughter), Jared (jo's son)

Happy Birthday Neice,

Love Cousin Maddy, Aunty Rach and Uncle Matt

First Day - Level 2 Swimming Class

Maddy was up early, eager to get to his swimming lessons which started at 9.20am. I was a little slow going because I sat up reading most of the night. Matt dropped us off a bit early so we waited by the pool, watching the Peewee swimmers having fun in the water.

He was a little nervous because he didn't know any of the kids that were going to be in his class but when he heard that he was going to have the same teacher he had last time, that put him at ease.

There were 8 children, including two girls, and he was out to impress them all. From what I could see from where I was sitting, he remembered everything he learnt from his last class and didn't hesitate showing off his skills. Instead of practicing, he would race with the boys and try to get to the halfway mark before them and back again. He didn't like coming second or third, so he would try his best to win the next race - very competitive like his parents !!!

He also made another new friend named Jackson, who he played with after their swimming lesson was over.

Doing Handstands

Another Lovely Surprise!

Thank you Aunty Lagi and Uncle Tolly for Maddy's birthday present which arrived in the mail today. He received a 'Scratch Magic set' and playing cards called 'Stampede'. That's going to be a lot of fun to play because we love playing card games.

We miss you guys too and hope you both are settling down ok in Christchurch.

Huge Alofas, Us xox

Happy Birthday PAPA!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA

Expect a pressie in the mail real soon, for you and Nana.

Lots of Hugs and Alofas xxox

Splashdown Waterpark

The weather today hit 95 degrees so we decided to go to Splashdown Waterpark in Manasses for the afternoon. It was packed when we arrived, but that wasn't a problem as we found parking and a spot to put our stuff while we had fun in the water.

We started out at the kiddies area and the small slides, then headed over to the bigger ones. Daddy was too chicken to go with Maddy on the bigger slides, so Mum had to tag along to make sure he was ok.

Maddy did well with the first one (picture above) but Mum got stuck half way down because (duh) she hadn't realised that you had to lie down to go fast and not sit up like a normal slide lol.



The next water activity was on the the two four story waterslides. They were scary (well for me). We rode down the slides on tire tubes and boy what a rush that was. I think we did it 3 or 4 times before I had enough and needed a rest.

That didn't stop Maddy though, as he joined his Daddy in the swimming pools and practiced his swimming and played with the turtle and nemo figurines. We never got around to the 770 foot Lazy River because it was full but hopefully next time we will.

What A Lovely Surprise!

Thank you very much Aunty Susie for Maddy's birthday present that arrived in the mail today.

He received a 'baby animals' reading and photograph book, a coloring book with pencils and $5 to put in his wallet.

You should of seen his eyes when he received the parcel from Gene the mailman!!!

What a lucky boy :)

Annie's Birthday

Annies beautiful birthday cake - flowers and butterflys

Maddy and Danny

On the water slide

Maddy and Michael filling up their super soaker water guns

Happy Birthday Son!

Today is the day Madison has been looking forward to for such a long time now. When he woke up this morning he flopped on the couch to watch some tv oblivious, it seemed, to the fact that today was his birthday. When Rach and I said, "HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY SON!!!" a big grin spread across his face as he remembered that today was the day he turned 6.

Thank you to everyone who sent him a pressie, he got so many! He really does have everything a boy could ever want and he is indeed fortunate to have an extended family that loves and adores him so much.

Five More Books To Go

Maddy signed up for the Summer Reading Program with the public library and Barnes and Noble starting mid June and has almost completed his list of 15 books. He has 5 more to go.

Once he completes his list, he gets a coupon booklet full of free and discounted coupons from Macdonalds, Silver Diner, Coldstone Creamery (ice cream), Six Flags, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Pizza-hut and Dominoes and other yummy food places like that.

He is doing really well with his reading and now reads books to me at bedtime.

I'm On My Way Home!

Just got a call from Matt this afternoon telling us he is coming home tommorrow night. Apparently the computer equipment has not arrived in Guatemala yet and when it does, it usually takes at least a week to clear through customs. They suspect the equipment won't arrive till 4th August which means two weeks of nothing to do.

It's not his fault the equipment is not there as it's handled by another division. I'm sure it's going to mean another change in his schedule though so who knows how long he is back for until he is scheduled to go out again.

Maddy and I are happy to hear Daddy's coming home. He is going to try and take another week off because he has so much comp time racked up that he needs to use the hours or else he loses them. I hope he can because we still have a month and a bit of summer holidays, and it would be awesome to take Maddy to Splashdown Waterpark before school starts up again.

Yay Another Swimming Class

I managed to get Madison into the Level II - Fund Aquatic Skills Swimming Class which starts 4th August and ends 14th August. I thought that they were closing the pool which they are but not until 15th August. Yippee! He is so excited that he is able to continue his lessons.

BBQ and Birthday

We spent the last day with our visitors at the Mason Neck National Park for a bbq and to celebrate Madison's 6th birthday. We played baseball and tossed his parachute toy around, while Chef Mano'o (Matt) cooked the steak and hamburgers for lunch to go with the potato and green salads.

We want to thank Aunty Sachi, Uncle Mark, Cuzzie Micah, Nana and Papa for the awesome Pokemon game and Kung Fu Panda Playstation game maddy received in the mail.

We also want to thank Grandma and Grandpa Ponini for the All Blacks rugby ball and $$, Aunty Mary for $$ and dinosaur stickers, Aunty Lu and Uncle Steve for the Power Ranger toys, and Aunty Ramona and Uncle Iulio for the Pokemon cards, aloha shirts, snacks and chocolate goodies that he also received in the mail too.




Thanks to Mom and Dad who bought a Pokemon T-shirt, a Dark Knight T-shirt, a Dinosaur Curator set, Blendy Pens, and Naruto PS games.

The "Aunties from the Islands" Visit DC

My Mum and Aunty Mary as well as Aunty Lu and Uncle Steve, visited us for eight days. It was a full on sightseeing, shopping and eating venture. We took them all around DC and visited monuments and museums and also got a chance to tour the US Capitol and meet the American Samoa Representative to the US Congress, Congressman Eni Faleomavaega.

Matt was wonderful and cooked us dinner every night (I helped of course LOL) and Aunty Lu also cooked us meatloaf to celebrate her birthday.

On the last day we took them all to Mason Neck National Park for a bbq and to celebrate Madison's birthday. We did it early because the Aunties were here and Matt is due to leave for Guatemala and Belize on Tuesday (22nd July).

On our way to see the Kennedy Family Gravesite at Arlington Cemetery

Inside the Planetarium (Air and Space Museum)

Inside the Rotunda (US Capitol Building)

Outside the US Capitol

Passed with flying colors

Maddy passed his first swimming lesson and has been recommended to join the regular levels for age 6 and up. Instead of starting at the Advanced level one, his instructor said he is ready for level two. Because the pool is closed for a month for cleaning, I will have to wait till the fall to enrol him in his next set of classes.

He has done well so far and as you can see from the video posted below, he almost swam one length of the pool. He is still learning to coordinate his arms with his breathing, but in his next class he will be taught more in-depth lessons on how to do it properly.

Learning basic safety techniques in the deep end (12 ft)

Practicing his backstroke

Maddy and Dillon

Final Pee Wee II Lesson

Alex T's Birthday

Alex and Maddy

Watching the instructional video of the "do's and dont's of Pump it Up"

On the Obstacle Course

Playing Basketball

Having Fun

Pizza time and Presents

Pee Wee Easy

Maddy started his Pee Wee II swimming lessons this week and is finding the class way too easy. I couldn't believe it - he remembered everything his Papa and Daddy taught him when we were in Rarotonga and started showing off to everyone as soon as he entered the pool. There were suppose to be four pee wee swimmers but one never turned up and the other was not quite ready for their class and joined the first one instead.

From what we observed over the past few days, Maddy is a natural and learns very quickly. Apparently he and Dylan are being taught more advanced swimming techniques and not the usual lessons that are taught in that class. According to his instructor, it looks like Maddy might have to skip the Pee Wee III class and move onto the more advanced swimming classes instead. Way to go son!!