Big brother giving Joshua his first b-day present.

Wow!  What's this lovely blue thing?

Look at that HAPPY face - priceless!

I am partied out people!

Breakers Water Park '09

It's my understanding that Breaker's is the only water park in Tucson.  It was the boys and I first time there.  Jonathan was in play heaven!

Joshua was in splash heaven!
Check out our little WATER WIZARD!
Now say that really fast 10 times!


Love the spiky hairdo and that cute baby face!
How was your Summer?

Summer of fun!

So we got smarter this year!  Our kids participated in our local library's summer reading program:  read and get rewarded for it hey, that sounds good to me.  So the kids read like crazy to get small rewards along the way but the ultimate reward they were aiming for was FREE tickets to Breakers Water Park!  And they did it!  Last year we totally missed the program but Ty & I came up with our own reading program for Tia and then Ty took her.  I didn't go with them then because I was LARGE with child and really didn't want to "expose" my heftiness, my hugeness or my chunkiness (name that movie?).  But this time around we all went as a family and we had lots of fun!

It's Soccer time.

Jersey #8 is Miss Tia.

Get this their team is called the "Maneating chickens"??? so ferocious and manly...Tia wasn't to fond about that but hey that's what the majority voted for.  Last week a friend and Tia came up with names like the Grasshoppers, Green Gators, Grasshopper Divas, Recycling chicks?, Green Beans, Grassy girls...Ty and I liked the Grasshopper idea.  What about you?

Tia started soccer this month when the weather is cooling off.

She has soccer practice on Mondays and Thursdays and a game on Saturdays.

Saturday Sept.12 was their first game. 

Go "Maneating chickens!"

                               ...break time.

Strategy time...I don't think Tia is paying attention :)

The score was 2 - 0! 

So you would think by this picture that they WON alas the "Maneating chickens" got spanked!  And yes we reward LOSERS in our home.  After all it was their first game and she did HER BEST.

Friends.

This is a picture of a picture.  The original picture was taken by Jacob Larsen who I believe was 10 or 12 at the time.  This picture is one of our favorites.  Jacob and his family blew it up and gave it to us as a gift many years ago.  It remains on our wall not only as a reminder of love and family but also as a reminder of friendship.  We all have friends and they're very important and then there are those who are extra special because they touch ones life for the better, the Larsen family happen to be "extra special" to me.  They touched my life many years ago when I first met their parents who served (as temple president ) with my father in the Papeete, Tahiti temple.  A friendship developed between our families and that's what brought me to study in America.  Without coming here I don't think I would have met another "extra special friend" - Ty.

12 years ago...

We were married for Time and All Eternity in the beautiful and historical Salt Lake Temple in Utah. 
Our meeting was like the words to one of Ty's favorite U2 songs:
The Sweetest Thing "...Blue-eyed boy and this brown-eyed girl."  Lol.
I came to the US to pursue an education in Graphic Design/ Art (using computers) after being schooled in fine art by very traditional French art professors in Tahiti.  This was my first time coming to America. 
Ty and I met at a church dance.....oh the sweetest thing!  For the record, my sister and I love to dance and NO I was not "shopping" I was just merely having fun - dancing.  Back in the island days as soon as we were of age to attend church dances and friends "booms" we would faithfully go with a group of friends and dance the night away.  Fun times!
So I guess it was meant to be that I would meet my Prince at a "ball"....oh the sweetest thing!  According to Ty we met Friday Dec.13, 1996 (I still haven't verified that precious detail).  So Mr. Romantic thought it would be cool to remember that date and get married in Dec on the 13th....oh the sweetest thing!  However that date changed due to the fact that I had 2 other sisters getting married that same year '97.  One wedding in Tahiti and two in the US.  Financially we decided it would be best to have our wedding the week after my sister's so that my parents would be there and not have to go home and turn around and come back.  Plus the idea of a winter wedding was pretty but brrr cold for a surfer dude and an island girl!  Coincidentally the week after my sister's wedding was the 13th, may be not Dec.13th but Sept.13th so I guess 13 is our lucky number ;) 
...oh the sweetest thing!
Ty, thank you for being a wonderful friend, husband and father.  I appreciate our journey together.
Happy Anniversary to us "Blue-eyed boy and Brown-eyed girl!" 
I LOVE YOU!

PS:  this is a picture of a picture since I have issues with my scanner right now.  Enjoy.

Popsicles & Lemonade...

...well it's been more like a summer of Otter pops and homemade Limeade. I'm sure Miss Tia will not forget the summer of '09, the summer where she had a limeade stand, worked hard and made some serious dough. She sold Otter Pops, Air Head candy, rice crispy treats, Kool Aid and her signature drink: refreshing homemade LIMEADE. At the end of the day it was cute to see her happy face count her money (tips too) set 10% aside for tithing and then repay her loan (for ingredients and supplies). 
Many thanks to those thirsty customers, Dad for helping her set up shop and brother Jonathan for flying the flag and keeping her company during a very HOT Arizona summer day.

Elder McGrevy

Living vicariously...this is from my sister's blog/ email.
I wish I was there... Like I mentioned before my sister now lives in New Zealand and it was perfect that she was able to visit briefly with our brother before he took his next flight home to Tahiti. She took pictures that for some reason I can't copy and paste them to my blog - booo...sorry you'll just have to picture a handsome young man with a black/white badge and a huge smile...

"This evening we picked up Uncle and headed to the Auckland International Airport to see my brother Elder Andrew McGrevy!
For the past two years he has been serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Wellington, New Zealand. A couple of weeks ago we received an email from Elder McGrevy with flight information and were thrilled to find out he would be making a change of planes at the Auckland airport. Even though his layover was short, we did not want to miss an opportunity to see him before he goes home to Tahiti! Uncle Noel suggested we meet Andrew at the domestic terminal and drive him to the International terminal. That's what we decided to do and it allowed us a little more time to visit with him - we ended up visiting for almost 45 minutes! It was great to see how much my brother has matured physically and spiritually over the past couple years! He has a glowing countenance as you can see from the photos.

He told us about wanting to rest on the flight over then hearing the still small voice prompt him to talk to the guy next to him. So he did and they had a great discussion! The passenger worked for a brewery and when he found out Andrew was a missionary he said "I'm the opposite of you!" There were eleven other missionaries that finished today also but they had flown out earlier. A former sister missionary and her husband came to see Andrew at the airport as well. They enjoyed talking a little about the mission and catching up. As we were getting into the car to drive to the international terminal, Carson decided to make a run for it and Andrew went after him. While running back and a little worried about missing his connecting flight he said "I don't want to miss my flight home!" We wish we were joining you too, Andrew!

Well done Elder Mcgrevy for two amazing years serving the Lord and the people of New Zealand! Enjoy being home in Tahiti and know that we will be there in spirit as the McGrevy Islanders, family and friends celebrate your return!
We love you and wish you continued success for the rest of your journey in life!" End of sister's blog post.

Coincidentally my brother returns just one day shy of our father's passing, tomorrow (Aug. 22nd) will make one year. I can't imagine what is going thru my brother's head right now especially when he steps off the plane and sees family minus our Dad there to welcome him. Also I can't imagine what's going thru my Mom's head...I have a strong feeling that our father will be there and that his presence will be felt today, tomorrow and always...

"Bon retour au 'fenua' mon frere!
Nous sommes fieres de toi!
Ua here matou ia oe!"