Stuff - Important, Not really - Just Stuff

Hello, everyone! Just wanted to share some pictures of the children playing in their garage. We are having a great summer so far. The children have really neat days at school like "Bring a ball to school" day, "Ride your bike to school" day, "Pajama" day, and Jarod's personal favorite - "Splinker" day (translation: Sprinkler day). Barbie has enjoyed being back at the Distribution Center; it is like reverting to a simpler time in our careers. Today, Dianna was able to take her bike to school - what a big, growing up girl. Jarod is doing just fine. Sunday, he was pretending to be a dinosaur - a "cutiesaurus". Just adorable. Let us talk pictures. In the first spot, Jarod is out mowing the lawn with Dianna helping him do a good job. What a boy! Next up, Dianna is teaching a lesson at her school. She is so cute pretending to be a teacher like her Mommy. She does a great job - she has procedures on how things are done in her classroom and how her students should behave. Adorable! Last in our lineup is Jarod James Talani Tupua. Jarod is the cleanup hitter for the Florida Tupuas. He has had a great season this far. We have been working with him to try and hit the ball. And he finally connected. Well, that is all for now. We will talk at you all later. Love you.

The Saturday Happennings

Talofa lava. Welcome back to our exclusive Travel Channel look at the "Top 9,000 Places to Visit in the World (Not Including Natural Wonders or Already World-Famous Landmarks): Places Kind of Out of the Way." Tonight we will see a place of wonder and pure genius in imagination. Where Umpa Loompas roam freely and help make the most delectable chocolate ever tasted by man, woman, or child. That is correct folks, we will be visiting the Naval Air Museum at Pensacola's Naval Air Station. Okay, there is no chocolate; however, instead of chocolate we will see no less than 150 planes from every era of our Navy's aviation history. As we arrived at the NAS, we were greeted by a statue of an F-14 Tomcat in the front of the museum. Just a taste of what is to come inside. Spinning and suspended above the entry way is a replica of the Wright brother's plane that took that short but historic first successful flight at Kittyhawk, North Carolina. There were so many things to see and experience. There were helicopters and planes that were used by the brave men and women of our Navy in every major conflict that the United States has been involved in. Did you know that for a brief span of time, the Navy had a Balloon or Blimp corps? That is something we learned at the museum. It is a very fun and educational (not to mention free) activity that we can do with the children. They also have some cockpits that are separated from the rest of the planes/choppers that you can sit in and have your picture taken in. It was very fun. We all had a good time. Okay, let us talk captions about the pics. From the top: Jarod and Dianna seated in front of the American Flag (that I think is the size of flag they fly on the Navy ships). Just to the right Flight Commander Jarod prepares to take flight in his Sea Cobra helicopter to defend our country. Below, the children and I pose to take a picture on the second level. Behind and below you can see the displays of the airplanes (many of which, are actual planes that have been decommissioned and donated to the museum). Next, who knew you could find something Disney at the NAS, but there was a display about how popular Disney characters have been used by squadrons throughout the years. Do you see Dianna wearing her Mickey Ears? That is my girl!! Next. The family taking a picture with the Blue Angels. Lastly, this is the temperature it was saturday. The right side is the outside temp. We love you all so much and miss you. Have a great week.

The Way of the Islands

Happy Birthday to you! We love you so so so so so much!!! And now for my birthday speech. Ahem. There was this farm and a man. There was also a horse - a white horse. And the horse was like: giddy-yup. Then later, the horse was tired and the man was kind of tired so they both lay down and had a slept. So, Grandpa, Happy Birfday! The moral of the story is we love you, Grandpa. Love Jarod and Dianna.

There and Back Again: A Tupua's Tale

Barbie and I at the Japan pavilion at EPCOT. Family photo at Disney's Contemporary Resort.

Here Dianna is leading the way through our Old Key West Resort.

Above: Jarod and Dianna relaxing with a snack and their vacation plush animals.
Left: Jarod at the playground. Peek-a-boo!!

Left: Storytime with Grandma Bailey.
Below: My Hottie Baby Barbie at EPCOT. (Those animals are actual plants grown on a wire frame. Neat huh?!)

Well, vacation is over and we must now return to the real world through the Gate of No Gate (Forbidden Kingdom). We had such a fantastic time away, but as with many things, it must come to an end. Last week, Barbie and I had a chance to spend a couple days by ourselves. We stayed at a resort that we have never stayed at before: Disney's Boardwalk Villas. We had such a great time together. We relaxed quite a bit. The fruit basket that Barbie is holding was a complimentary basket from the hotel management (we had some issues getting our room, but it all was resolved rather quickly). The fruit was so good. It is hard for me to find bananas that are ripe and non-starchy-tasting. The basket had bananas, grapes, oranges, apples, strawberries, and kiw fruit. It was such a nice gesture, because they did not have to do it, but we enjoyed it. In the last picture, we are waiting for a boat to take us somewhere. We had such a great vacation overall. Thank you so much for all of your prayers for us as we travelled ther and back. When we came home, we added to our household for now. Mandi (Barbie's youngest sister) got a transfer to one of our Walmarts here in Pensacola, and she will staying with us until she can find a place of her own or Mom and Dad bailey move to town. She is staying in Dianna's room, and Dianna is sharing rooms with Jarod. Both children are being such good sports about this transition; Dianna will ask me why she cannot sleep in her own room, and I will tell her that Jesus has given us a chance to help Aunt Mandi and that her sharing her room was her way of helping. Ayden will also be staying with us in a month or so. Please pray for us, especially for the children, as it will be a big transition having another child in the house (specifically - sharing). Well, I think that is all for now. We will post some more later. We love you all so much and pray that you all have a great week.

A Tupua Fairytale

Here are more pictures from our magical vacation. We are going to start from the top and make our way down the gallery. So, if you please, try to stay as a group as we tour this section of the museum. And as a friendly reminder, do not touch the exhibits. We begin (as with all fairytales) once upon a time, in a land far away there was a beautiful Princess. Princess Dianna. And although she was only 4 years of age, her beauty and wisdom surpassed her years (she must take after her mother). Even magical princesses came from far and wide came to be seen with her and to learn from her. They would learn facts maybe of this sort: that moose and caribou have different looking antlers. It is true. Meanwhile, not far from where that last picture was taken (literally on the other side of the store...I mean on the other side of the magical land) was a brave young soul yearning for adventure. So, Squire Jarod set forth to seek his fortune across "the big blue wet thing" (without Mr. Bimble). His ship fell to pirates on the high seas, but enamored by his strength, kindness, and keen sense of leadership (probably also from his mother) he soon became their leader. The Pirate King received and accepted an invitation to a "No-bake-cookie-make" with his sister the Princess and his Mother the Queen. It was to be held at the mythical Disney's Old Key West Resort (which can only be found by those who know where it is). Reunited with his family and it felt so good, they paused to take this striking photo with Mickey Mouse. With there powers combined, they are the Tupuas of Pensacola. As a brief reminder, please don't touch the displays in this gallery, because at night - the exhibits come alive. What will happen next....Will the....Maybe the.....What if.....Oh no! Tune in next time at the same Bat time and the same Bat channel. Love you all so very much and wish we could be with you all. Have a great rest of the week. Love you.