apia waterfront project

a few months back i received an email from a lady who works for a government development department in apia, samoa, where my husband was born. she was writing to ask my permission to use a photograph she had found on my blog (here) for a sign on the waterfront in downtown apia. oh my goodness was i thrilled to pieces! we had such an amazing time there and i took so so many photos and blogged about every single thing we did, so i was beyond happy to share it. i responded with a gleeful yes and a request that perhaps she might be able to show me the completed sign sometime in the future... 

so imagine my delight when last week i had a reply, complete with a detailed picture of the sign (my picture is of the catholic cathedral top left) and a picture of the sign in real life on the waterfront. i'm so proud... one of my pictures on display in downtown apia. yay!

moanaline is six!

on saturday we celebrated madeline's sixth birthday in island style... with a moana birthday party!

(dress from big w) 

for those of you who don't already know, my husband is actually samoan (yes i know, he has red hair! i can see that, thank you for pointing it out though lol. his father's grandmother was maori and his mother samoan, so people mostly assume the red hair came through the maori side. not so. his cousin who is darker skinned with dark hair and eyes, has had two children that are like little dougs! so, we can confirm, it's definitely the samoan line that's passed on the red gene)

anyway, back to the party. when madeline loved moana, we certainly didn't discourage it in any way, as really, it's written as a story of the polynesians, especially those of the samoan islands (fun fact: the rock who voiced maui, is samoan!) and when she decided she wanted a moana party, i was thrilled!

decorations were easy, lots of blue, watery looking goodness: 

blue confetti balloons (big w party store) - $3 for a pack of 3

moana napkins (big w party store) - $5 for a pack of 16

moana bunting, 10 cups and 10 plates (aliexpress) $9.85

maddie was thrilled to get this pineapple lamp in the mail from a family friend the day before the party which was perfect as a decoration (available here from kmart online)

tablecloth is also from kmart (actually a doona cover! haha)

when we went to samoa as a family in 2014, doug desperately wanted to get himself a carved drum, but was concerned about getting it home... flash forward a few months when my parents finished their voluntary mission (working at church college) we made it happen! mum and dad had it shipped with their other items and it's taken pride of place in our house. it was a perfect decoration for the party!

the cake was incredible, made as always by my best friend jennifer, it was a masterpiece! 3 layers of coconut/vanilla cake with ombre wave icing and biscuit crumb "sand." we bought the moana figures at the disney store in the usa when we were over in february, but similar can be found on aliexpress also.

drinks were fresh water and ocean water (lemonade with blue food colouring... noted for next time is that i used wayyyyy too much colouring, there were blue mouths right left and centre on the kids)

and my lovely husband spent hours making this gorgeous "secret underwater cave" in our theatre room with green streamers ($1 for a pack of six from our local red dot (cheap store)) the girls loved it and squealed with excitement when they got to go and and play pass the parcel and have some pics at the end of the party

pin the nose on pua brought much excitement... i had googled some games knowing that it was going to be raining (worst news ever when you have a party!) and couldn't find a free one, so i made my own! please feel free to leave a comment if you want me to email it to you, it's not super fancy, but it's free! the girls loved it! there was a lot of laughter ♥

the aftermath!

leftover noses! i love pua! i was so sad he wasn't in the movie more! :(

prize was a moana colouring book ($2 from big w)

as usual i spent the day before baking, to make sure everything was perfect, yes i am a complete control freak! i made heart of te fiti cookies...

hei hei's chicken feed (corn fritters)

ocean jelly slice (blue jelly slice)

beach sand slice (lemon pie bars)

island coconuts (meatballs made by nanna babs)

pigs in a blanket (mini sausage rolls)

te ka's ash cake (brownies)

sailboat swirls (mini quiches also from the kitchen of nanna babs)

under the sea crackers (limited edition arnotts shapes available at woolworths!)

kakamora (chocolate truffles)

tamatoa's treasure (caramel popcorn with added jewels to make them shiiiiiiiny)

hei hei's egg sandwiches 

to make the food labels, i found all these pictures on google and then added the type, again, not fancy... but free! leave me a comment and i can email them out.

joseph was pretty shy at the party and stayed behind nanna in the background (and flat our refused to wear the adorable maui shirt we had bought him! :( i was so sad!) but i managed to get this cute snap of him enjoying one of the te fiti cookies, to be honest i am sure he ate about 8 of them... eep. 

food was a hit and demolished... made it all worth it!

we played pass the parcel (of course... what is a kids party without a game of pass the parcel! layers contained lollies and sheets of under the sea stickers ($2 for a book from the local cheap shop) and the middle had a moana necklace (i'm wearing one in the 2nd picture - $2.59 from ebay, came super quick and looks great!) and another ocean themed sticker book

maddie was so pleased with her party and just looked thrilled and important the whole day to be having her first one with school friends. our girl is growing up so fast!

finally it was cake time... and this cake did not disappoint! aunty jenny had even managed to find some blue "ocean" flamed candles and they were the talk of the party. so so cool!

last but not least, the girlies took home a coconut with some treats inside.

i love planning parties, once it all comes together and works out, all the effort doesn't matter... just how happy your kid is! 

we love you moana-line! hope you loved your island party! ♥

(more photos on instagram - #moanalineissix)

sia's kitchen

its' hard to find good samoan food in perth, which i think sometimes makes my husband a little sad. so, we were stoked to find out that a lady from church had opened a samoan food store at the wanneroo markets and decided to check it on mondays public holiday.

my very happy husband had a plate packed with a little bit of almost everything they had on offer, while the kids and i had chop suey and rice, with coconut buns for dessert. so so yum. looks like we will be heading back here more often. go and try sia's kitchen in the courtyard at the wanneroo markets. even if you're not samoan (or married to one!) it's worth a try.

also... these kids are the cutest. that is all ♥

temples are a beacon

it's been almost 2 years since our little family ventured to samoa to visit my parents while they served their mission there. it was an incredible experience that we won't forget in a hurry... the sounds, the smells, the food, the heat... but their solid belief in god, every where we went was what really blew me away. loving the lord is like breathing to them. everyone believes in god there. 

it feels like i took a million photos of this beautiful building, which is a beacon in apia. people constantly give directions using the temple as a reference point because everyone, latter-day saint or not, knows where it is and where it stands for 

that's what i am trying hard to do, make the temple the centre of my life and something i can use to get and give directions ♥

"temples are more than stone and mortar. they are filled with faith and fasting. they are built of trials and testimonies. they are sanctified by sacrifice and service" - thomas s monson (from a talk the holy temple: a beacon to the world)

ward christmas party 2014

tonight we had our ward christmas party... an international "destination" christmas. there were a group of stalls around the rec hall with selected countries (featured were australia, england, new zealand, the united states of america, argentina, chile and samoa) and of course i was given samoa (due to my husbands heritage) along with my friend florence who is samoan... and our friend brenda kindly chipped in to help. as people arrived for the evening, they were directed through "customs" where their canned food was confiscated (going to the annual foodbank for people in need over the christmas period), they were given a passport and watched a safety video, before being escorted into the main hall by the air hostesses (our wards young women).

each stall then provided a sample of their national food options (yes... we had chop suey, made lovingly by the girls today while i was out high tea-ing with my girlfriends. legends!) and had some items from their country on display and some music playing in the background. it was such a cool idea and there was lots of questions, comments and satisfied munching. people were also encouraged to wear their national dress and i scored when brenda turned up to our house last night with a puletasi (the samoan dress i am rocking in the above picture). it's the first time i have ever worn one but i loved it... was super cute. maddie is obsessed with hers (was a gift for her before she was even born) and couldn't wait to put it on.  doug's shirt is a 'toa samoa' rugby shirt that we purchased in samoa... and baby joseph was rocking his tribal print shirt from the flea market in apia.

then came the incredible part of the evening... the organisers had arranged for everyone to make their way out into the back lot for 'carols by templelight'. we are so blessed to have it right there in our backyard, and to sing sacred carols in its light was just beautiful and something none of us will forget in a hurry. 'twas a great night!

our little set up, complete with my carved nativity and fale from our recent trip to samoa

blog is fully updated

for any regular readers of my blog (do i have any? hi mum!!!) you've probably noticed the massive amount of backblogging i had to get through from our samoa trip - well, i am pleased to announce that i am finally finished! hooray! please enjoy...

and now i am going to reward myself... by editing photos from the wedding i did a few days before we left. sigh. 

southern cross travel insurance

got the best news today! my travel insurance claim i submitted last week has been accepted... and approved! i am so stoked - as i certainly was not looking forward to footing the bill for a new screen on my iphone. thank you southern cross travel insurance.

while on our holiday in samoa i was at doug's uncles house, about to walk out the door, holding joseph in one arm and my phone in the other... he did a bit of a lunge and i used my other arm to steady him - and the iphone took a dive to the floor. goodbye screen. :( there was nothing i could do to prevent it and i was not happy. however, being that there is a) no apple store in samoa and b) not even an authorised repairer/reseller over there, i had absolutely no way to prove it had happened there.

but... hoping for the best, i submitted all the papers they asked for (original invoice for the iphone [thank heavens i always keep everything] travel itinerary, quote from apple for repairs and boarding passes) and waited for a reply. the best news came back. apple stated in their quote that internal damage was possible and would not be apparent until the screen replacement was carried out. but southern cross travel insurance paid for not only repairs, but for the handset to be replaced. legends.

the insurance was a completely reasonable price i thought, $101 for our family of 4 for 14 days, with only a $100 excess for any claims made. the claim was simple to make with easy to read paperwork, the claim was processed quickly and my payment was made to me within just a few days. i highly recommend them and would certainly use them again.

mailelani products

when shopping at the supermarket in samoa, i kept an eye for any lotions or the likes that might be nice to take home as gifts for friends... imagine my delight when i found the mailelani range, really reasonably priced and all kinds of amazing. i grabbed a few to give as gifts, but also bought myself the body scrub... which smells like heaven. i seriously cannot tell you enough how good it smells. i got the coconut one and everytime i'm in the shower i'm scrubbing away like a crazy person cause it's so good. 

downside? i bought them in samoa... not much hope for a restock there - until i discovered that they have a website and one of the stockists is in australia!!! i am so excited and am definitely buying more, soon. go have a look here - you will not be disappointed. natural, samoan made beauty products. so, so good.

loving the gospel is easy in samoa

it is so incredibly easy to love the lord and be faithful in samoa. every where you go there is church after church, in fact most villages have 3 or 4 to cover all the different religions. and everyone is respectful of religion. if you are driving through the villages during the nominated prayer time during the evening, there are people standing by the road waving their arms to remind you to be respectful and slow your vehicle during the lord's time. nothing is open on a sunday and in many public places a bikini or the likes is not appropriate, due to it's obvious immodesty.

as we drove through each village i was shocked to see a latter-day saint church in most of them. until mum reminded me what a huge population of members there are here. in fact there are one hundred and nineteen chapels across the two islands. the church has their own college, a temple, 137 congregations between those chapels, a mission and 17 family history centres. in fact 1 in 4 people in samoa are members of the church, compared to the measly 1 in 172 in australia.

the samoans are a humble, god-fearing people, who have great respect and love for the missionaries of the church. what joy it brought me to see my parents loved so very much during our trip. their positions in the school have been such a wonderful experience for them and i am so glad we got to see the world they have loved these past 18 months (well, almost, there's certainly not long until they return home) 

what a blessing it would be to attend a church run school. i was the only mormon in my high school and i wouldn't say suffered, but i was often made fun of - asked stupid questions, perhaps suffered does work here... i suffered from the ignorance of others about our church. what a wonderful experience i then imagine it to be, to be able to loudly and joyfully speak of your beliefs amongst all your friends, peers and even teachers... who all are members of the same faith. what a wonderful place the church run schools are!

our trip showed me more than ever, how strong the gospel of jesus christ is in the world and i am so glad to have had the chance to experience that. 

why you shouldn't travel with children

there a million reasons why you shouldn't travel with children. we got home today after 18 days away and i am very ready to tell you a few of them.

1. so much luggage. 3 suitcases, 2 car seats, a pram, a cot, and a carry on each. i am sure you can imagine that there was even more on the way home... 

2. they can't sit still. 6 hour flights? somebody shoot me

3. they can't be quiet. i told madeline i had changed my name and wasn't going to be mummy anymore, so then i had to hear why? why? why? instead

4. everywhere you go, you have to take a bag. a big one. nappies, wipes, toys, water, change of clothes... to start with

5. they don't want to sleep. ever. if they fall asleep for a minute, they might miss something important.

6. they never want to eat anything you put in front of them. "i don't like that."

7. they won't go to anyone but you. "i don't want you. i don't like you. i want my mummmm!" luckily nanna has 4 children and 7 other grandchildren and wasn't offended

8. you can't do all the fun stuff. no mountain climbing, no volcanic crater exploring, so sliding rocks... but let's play in the playground... yay.

9. they can't keep their clothes clean. insert washing every day of our holiday here.

10. they get sick. joseph cut a tooth the first day we were gone, vomited all except for maybe one day, both kids got heat rash and madeline had a fever.

but...

1. they are the cutest

2. the sweetest

3. the cuddliest

4. the best

5. i can't deal with being away from them for more than an hour

6. their smiles make me smile

7. their laughs make me overjoyed

8. when they are asleep in my arms i forget every single thing about them that ever annoyed me

9. i love their little clothes and shoes and feet and toes and hands and faces and everything

10. it would not have been even the littlest bit of fun without them. i wouldn't have even considered leaving them behind. i love my babies and i can't live without them.

but anyone that's ever traveled with children will read this, laugh and say - yep. that's exactly why. why you shouldn't travel with children.

not goodbye - see you later!

we left samoa today, and had to say goodbye to my parents... again. i'm not okay with this. but... i am taking comfort in the fact that they'll be home in 12 short weeks and that after that, they certainly won't be leaving for 18 months again. thank goodness.

it has been an amazing 2 weeks with them. exploring samoa, relaxing and not having to live by a clock, having extra hands and hearts to care for my babies... and just basking in being their little girl. i love my parents so much and i have missed them so much while they have been away.

we left for the airport just after 4am, we'd had just a few hours sleep between packing and saying goodbye to people. but somehow we made it. we also made it through the horrendous process of check-in with so many items (blerggggg) kissed my parents goodbye and raced on through to the boarding area.

this is where we discovered that the egg at the check-in counter had seated all 4 of us (not counting joseph, his boarding pass was attached to mine obviously) in different parts of the plane! madeline was sitting by herself!!!! a three year old. i couldn't even deal with it. oh my goodness. i spoke to someone as we boarded who sent madeline up to stand with doug while they sorted it and we all starting praying that they could sort it out. (this is where i feel like i need to specify that virgin runs differently in samoa to other countries. the check-in staff are employed by the airport, not virgin and simply check in passengers and bags. it was in no way any fault of the airline or it's staff. it was simply a mistake made during check-in. also, in the check-in staff members defense, i am fairly certain after checking in 3 cases, 2 car seats, a pram and a cot he was a little flustered and may not have been concentrating that well on what he was doing.)

virgin samoa to the rescue. it turned out the seat next to doug was actually empty. madeline sat in it, the other gentleman was asked very politely by the cabin crew if he would mine relocating so that our family could all sit together. he was very obliging, and we were sorted. phew. another 30 mins on the tarmac while our flight plan was relodged 3 times (only in samoa eh...)  and we were finally on our way. we were so spoiled by the staff. we were given extra food, madeline was slipped some lollies and a free tablet with kids movies and nothing was too much trouble. after such a shaky start and feeling so anxious i could finally relax. i cannot tell you enough times just how wonderful virgin have been during this trip. i would fly with them a million times over.

touch down! we are in brisbane for a few days with steve and niques. our holiday is almost over, but i think i'm okay with it. there's something about being on the home stretch. not long now and we will be in our own beds!

apia, samoa temple

this is the view of the apia, samoa temple from the main road. it is right there, right in your face as you drive past. in fact, it is used frequently as a landmark for directions - and is mentioned as a "must-see" in every guide book on the island.

the original temple, on this same lot, was dedicated in 1983, but was destroyed by fire in 2003. the church rebuilt and the temple shown was dedicated in 2005, it is believed the fire was caused by an electrical fault, as it was during the routine maintenance that occurs on every temple around the world each year.

the building is stunning and is known by everyone in the islands. the beautiful placement allows it to stand proudly at the front of the church owned land, which contains the mission buildings, the distribution centre, temple accomodation, staff housing and of course pesega college - the church owned college here in samoa.

mum and dad's house is less than a five minute walk from the temple, all through the church grounds... you can see moroni standing proudly on the spire reaching heavenward from their house... and this became incredibly apparent to me when i got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night our first night here and happened to glance out the window and see him right there. what a wonderful blessing, to have a temple within walking distance.

it was a lovely time, being able to wander through the gardens at our own pace, the evening before we were leaving to return to australia, as a family. to be able to take photographs... and to simply stop and look at the effort and beautiful workmanship that goes into each and every temple that the church constructs.

it makes me so happy to know that there are temples built in all four corners of the globe. my favourite "mormon message" which brings me to tears every time i watch it, tells of the struggle of a family living in polynesia, to make it to the temple when they earned such a meagre living. you can watch it here. as more temples are built throughout the world, more people are able to obtain the blessings held within and i know there is nothing better on offer in this world, than to know i am able to spend not only time, but eternity - with my family.

a friends mother wrote in our wedding card, "any of you would go around the world for the sealing ordinance if you knew its importance., if you realized how great it is. no distance, no shortage of funds, no situation, would ever keep you from being married in the holy temple of the lord." (pres. spencer w. kimball - october 1979 ensign first presidency message.)

how true it is. the lord's house is where we need to be. there is no greater possible joy to be with one's family for time and all eternity and the sealing ordinance has made it possible for all worthy members of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints to enter in and partake of that blessing.

my camera certainly got a workout today... i hope you enjoy the pictures! ♥

e paia i le alii

o le maota o le alii

the house of the lord

holiness to the lord

i love this photograph of madeline, she can't wait until it's her turn to go in.

all the windows of the apia temple are set with polynesian inspired artwork. what a beautiful place for the islanders who enter therein. built to suit this gorgeous place.

please if you have time, read a talk entitled, "god's gifts to polynesia's people" by elder thomas s monson 1966. it tells of the faith and love of these amazing people, who love their lord.