Artwork, BEAUTY, CULTURES, Grandchildren, HAWAII, HEALTH, holidays, home, PARENTING, photography, TRAVEL

Autumn Beauty in Utah andĀ Beyond

We moved to Utah five six years ago when we retired from BYU Hawaii. I grew up here and was familiar with the four seasons. We had moved to the South Pacific where there are two seasons (rainy season and dry season). When we lived in Hawaii, Tonga, and American Samoa, I missed the crisp air of the fall and seeing the autumn leaves, the white snow of winter, and the new buds of Spring. Most of the time it was warm or hot, humid or raining.

We have tried to make it a point to go up the canyon to see the autumn leaves before they loose their vibrant colors. Yesterday we got to drive up American Fork Canyon and along the Alpine Loop down to Provo Canyon. It was a warm Sunday afternoon. We noticed that the peak of the autumn leave vibrance has passed but we still enjoyed the views. Here are a few pictures I took along the way.

My grandchildren are the reason we moved to Utah as well as to be close to our extended family. Thru the years we have taken a few pictures of our grandkids helping with the leaves or playing in the autumn leaves.

October is even better because it is both ā€˜Isi and my birthdays as well as our Anniversary!

My favorite food of all time is pumpkin pie and I usually wait until fall to eat pumpkin cookies, rolls, muffins, and anything else you can make with pumpkin.

We live very close to the Petersen Family Farm which sells pumpkins in October. They have a corn maze and other fun stuff for the kids. I have taken some of our grandchildren to pick out their pumpkin for Halloween.

So glad that our grandkids and their families enjoy the out-of-doors.

We are fortunate to have visited far away places during the autumn and caught a few pictures of fallā€™s splendor including Germany, Slovenia, Austria, and Italy. Here are some of them:

The above pumpkins were in a pumpkin contest in Germany. Maybe you can get some ideas for your own decorating.

Artwork, BEAUTY, CULTURES, food, Grandchildren, HAWAII, HEALTH, holidays, home, PARENTING, photography, TRAVEL

Scary Halloween Grandkids

This time of the year is beautiful with the weather cooling down and the leaves changing colors. It is probably my favorite season. Both my husband and I have birthdays in October as well as our anniversary, so it is a special time for us. We have fond memories of pumpkin pie and outings to celebrate our birth and marriage. Also, we get to see our grandchildren turn into amazing creatures for Halloween!

When the kids are small their parents usually pick out their costumes, but when they get older, they create their own look. They are usually ready well ahead of trick or treating time. I have gone through our pictures and share a few of my favorites here:

Then there is our youngest son, Jacob, who makes professional photos out of his kids and their costumes:

Baby Jakey (not a baby any more!
Buff Zion
Princess Bella

Of course, some of our own children (the parents) sometimes get involved and want to relive their childhood by wearing their own costumes too:

Then Grandma (myself) has to take some of the Halloween children and make it into a fun Halloween collage:

Here is a picture with several of our grandchildren altogether:

Arenā€™t they so cute!!

Halloween is particularly fun for children since they get to dress up and beg for tons of candy. The parents ā€œgetā€ to take them out while they are young in inclement weather. Grandparents can stay warm and dry inside and wait for a treat from one of the grandchildren.

Halloween is not my favorite holiday but it is definitely fun to see the children enjoying themselves. I have written about ghost stories over the years and also some scary experiences we have had at Halloween time. BEWARE!

https://hubpages.com/holidays/Hawaiian-Ghost-Stories-III

https://hubpages.com/holidays/Hawaiian-Ghost-Stories-II

https://hubpages.com/travel/The-Haunted-Lagoon-Experience

https://hubpages.com/holidays/Hawaiian-Ghost-Stories-II

Halloween has evolved over the years and ā€œtrunk or treatingā€ has become a big thing!

https://hubpages.com/holidays/Trick-or-Treat-Trunking-for-Halloween-Safety

Hereā€™s wishing you a fun and safe Halloween 2019!

CULTURES, food, Grandchildren, HAWAII, HEALTH, holidays, home, Music, PARENTING, photography, RELIGION, TRAVEL

Our Grandchildrenā€™s ā€˜Ulumotuā€™a

According to Tongan culture, the oldest male son in the family is the ā€˜Ulumotuā€™a. Here is a link to read more about this.

https://www.eua-island-tonga.com/Tongan-Culture.html

This role is inherited by the eldest male line. In our case, our oldest son is Robert (Lopeti). It just so happens to be his birthday this month. He has shown his ability to be a leader in his family, while serving in the Air Force, and in his ecclesiastical responsibilities.

His role (as far as his siblings are concerned) is to officiate at family activities, funerals, weddings, and special events. The ā€˜Ulumotuā€™a has the final say on these events when it comes to the family.

According to this custom, the Ulumotuā€™a in my husbandā€™s family is his older brother, Sioeli. He helped to bring most of his siblings to the United States and has supported several of them while they made the transition. We appreciate all he has done for his brother while at school and for our family.

Robert James Kongaika was born October 2, 1974 in Tonga and he eventually became fluent in the Tongan language. When the family left Tonga to move to Hawaii in 1992, Robert stayed behind and lived with his grandmother, Luā€™isa so he could graduate from Liahona High School.

Similar to John Grobergā€™s son in the movie,Ā The Other Side of Heaven 2, Fire of FaithĀ (2019), Robert nearly died at one point in Tonga. He had a very high fever and lost consciousness when he was less than a year old. We tried to wake him up, but nothing worked. We were frantic and the doctor (Salesi Havili) met us at the hospital. Baby Robert received a shot and he finally started crying. I was so relieved to hear his cry. Since then, he has been strong in body and strong in will.

Robert was named after his grandfather, Robert H. Anderson. My Dad taught him all about airplanes, having been a pilot in World War II. Robert soaked it all in and it stoked his desire to serve in the Air Force.

Robert met his eternal companion, Abi, at BYU-Hawaii. They had four children, Israel, Princess, James, and Robbie. They have all supported and followed him throughout his career in the military. We are all thankful for the time and effort he and the family have put into helping to keep America free and safe.

We are grateful Robert came to our family and appreciate his great example of service! We wish our family ā€˜Ulumotuā€™a a very Happy Birthday, !