We've enjoyed our trip to Samoa!

Hope inspecting her ocean treasures

Leila, Hope & Hina

Leila & Hope at the government building with Wyland mural.

Hina taking a lil nap.

Dave & his Samoan Sweeties

Fine Mats

We spent some time watching ladies weave fine mats. The fine mats are an important part of the Samoan culture.

Waterfalls & Sunsets

Samoa is the best!!! I love it in Samoa! Me and my family went for a ride and we saw a waterfall!! It was falling so fast you could hardly see it. And we saw the most beautiful sunset reflecting from the sea it looked like a school of colorful fish red, orange, purple, and blue. It was spectacular! And on a rock was a lonely palm tree in the middle of the sea.

Singing in the Rain

We had planned to go camping at my Nana's family's village called Malota, but it started to rain. And it rained all day, and the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that!! We played in the rain and got wet!

On another day, we were locked out of our house! But I had to climb in the bathroom window! It hurt alot! I cut my thumb and I scraped my arm and belly. And the window was tttttiiiiiinnnnnyyyyy!!!! I did not like it. But my mom said I was the hero of the day and I got a treat. My treat was a popsicle, the flavor was pineapple lime. It was yummy!

Lots of Green & Mosquitos

Leila Writes:

I'm in Samoa! I love it here! There is a lot of green here. The trees are green, the bushes are green. Pretty much everything is green here. I had to take medicine because some mosquitos, when they bite you, you could get sick. But the medicine that I took is so that people don't spread the sickness.

Coconut on the Road

Leila writes:

I like it in Samoa. When me and my Dad went to the store, there was a coconut in the middle of the road!!! They don't have stores like we do in Utah. But they have a store that is like Costco, it's called Cost U Less. My cousins live in Samoa and my Grandparents live in Samoa. I love it in Samoa. David taught the girls how to husk a coconut. He also has to keep reminding them.. NOT to play under the coconut trees... beware, falling coconuts!

Flowers

November 29

In Samoa you will find flowers eeeveeryywwwwwhere! They are really, really, really, really pretty!!! But I was over exagerating with the flowers everywhere. But you find them and see them alot in Samoa and Hawaii. The End!!!!

Leila has been keeping a journal.... and it was her mom's job to post it onto her blog along with some pictures... but as is par for the course... her mom is just behind a few weeks (even when she's on vacation she can't quite get with the schedule :) So here are Leila's entries thus far (with a few commentaries by her mom):

November 26, 2008

When I was in Utah at the airport, I needed a passport, but I only had my birth certificate. (Lose here- I know, I know I should have been more thorough in my research, but I only checked with US immigration and according to their website, passports are NOT needed to travel to a US Territory (American Samoa included in that exception) BUT according to US Customs (which I did not check) a passport IS needed whenever leaving/entering the US or territories. When we were trying to check in at SLC, Delta was concerned that we wouldn't be able to continue to Am. Samoa with out the passports- long story short, we were able to check in with Hwn Air without any problems, even in Samoa, the Customs agents said we were fine traveling with only the birth certificates, but you can be sure, i'll have passports for everyone next time we travel! But at first is was difficult and almost missed our flight. And I was disappointed, but things worked out. But... when I got to Hawaii... it was FANTASTIC! Because we got to stay at a hotel and breakfast, lunch and dinner for FREE!!! Our flight from Honolulu to Samoa was delayed a day so we were put up at a hotel. And our room was fabulous. And I got my own bed. And there was a balcony outside, and we had a perfect view of the ocean. When we drove to our hotel, we were in a white limo with party glasses and ribbons on the side and big huge seats on the left side. Our room was really pretty. It had flowers on the bed and sheets were really soft. When we were taking a walk we saw some parrots and we got to hold them!!! And Hope got wet in the sea, and we didn't have our luggage so we had to buy her some clothes.

Our Intro

Hi my name is Leila. My sisters, Hope & Hina and I have started this blog to share some of our adventures with all our family and friends. Our first adventure we would like to share is our trip to Samoa. Stay tuned as we will update as often as we can.