Saipeti and Sulika went to Lake Powell this weekend. It was so nice to feel the warm weather, and see the different sites! We didn't go boating, just went down to see the sites and have a nice lunch! Sai enjoyed every minute of it. I am afraid that he is going to be our little outdoor man! Sai loves being outdoors, and is so happy when we are outside of the house! Sai was also able to have his first taste of a handful of dirt while his mom worked on her first initial sun burn of the season. He thought it was great, while I on the other hand was trying to get the mud mess out of his mouth! It was fun, and we can't wait to go back! Maybe next time I will put on sunblock when I put it on Sai.

From what we understood, the lake was at one of the lowest points. We forgot to take the camera, but friends sent me one of the pictures they took of the "lack of the lake"!

So Scott being the manly man that he is decided this year to run in the Salt Lake 1/2 Marathon. Over the past few years, Scott has picked up running as a hobby, and has thoroughly enjoyed it! This year was his first year running a 1/2 marathon (a little over 13 miles). He did really good for his first one. He almost killed himself, but did really well. He took 1470th place out of 3819 people. His time was 2 hours 3 min & 48 seconds. He ended up being pretty sore, but was glad that he did it. I asked him if he was going to run it next year, and he said he would think twice. I told him that i can just run him over in the drive way, and I was pretty sure he would feel the same. But knowing Scott he will probably want to do the full marathon next year!

About the middle of June 07 I received a phone call from our LDS Family Services Rep. I will never forget the moment that I received that phone call. When I first answered the phone, he asked if I had a minute to talk. I knew immediately that this wasn’t a phone call to fix something on our profile or to make sure that some kind of number was correct in our application. I knew this was a special phone call. I am pretty sure that I began to cry before he told me the reason he was calling. He said that he was letting us know that we had been chosen to adopt a baby. A baby boy. He told me that he was due in September, and he was half Polynesian. We also were informed that we would have the opportunity to meet the birth parents in 2 weeks.
We were able to meet the birth parents for the first time. We were so nervous, and so were they, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience. Scott and I truly had an indescribable love for this couple from the very moment we met them. We visited with them for about an hour and a half and was able to find out more information, and had the opportunity to get to know the couple.
During our visit with the birth parent we found out the due date was the end of September. . . He is half Caucasian, and half Hawaiian . . . and birth parents were absolutely beautiful people on the inside and out! Scott and I came to love these two people unconditionally.
August 28th, our new baby boy was born. He was 4 weeks early but was still a healthy baby! He was 5 lbs 11 oz, and 18 inches long. I was able to be in the delivery room with them. It was one of my most cherished moments in my life! I even got to cut the cord! It was kind of gross but really cool!
Scott and I have talked about names forever. We have decided that we definitely wanted to do something Polynesian. We decided that we wanted to honor his genealogy. His first name we wanted to be Samoan, because that is my heritage, and his second name we wanted to give him a traditional Hawaiian middle name while at the same time honoring both of his birth parents. The meaning of a traditional Hawaiian middle name usually tells a story of that individual. Fortunately I have an Uncle who is Hawaiian and speaks Hawaiian. Scott and I called Uncle Bobby and asked him to translate what we wanted his middle name to mean. We ended up naming him Sai’peti Epomaikaimaikeakuaokalaniikeiaohanalii Merrell. Sai's middle name translates as "A blessing from God and heaven, given to our family, of Royal Blood."

Here we go . . . . .

We are new to this but what the hell, I will give it a try for sure!