Thanksgiving Vacation--Idaho and SLC Temple Square

We just took at trip to Rexburg for Thanksgiving and buzzed on down to Salt Lake City to see the lights on Temple Square! They were spectacular! Being with family was fun too! We were there with Brett, Sheilee and their family! We snuck Braidyn (Summer's daughter) along as well!

For Thanksgiving my mom had Summer, Jim, their five kids; my uncle Dennis and Aunt Barbara; Brett, Sheilee, their four; and us (7) over! It was SO much fun! We went to the movies ("Twilight"--AGAIN, which Sheilee, Brittany and Hailey spent hours trying to "convert" Summer and Ryleigh over to! Ha ha...), we ate, the cousins played, then ate again, we went shopping, ate some more, slept, read, and ate, and ate, again!! Oh yeah, the kids played the piano some too! Shocking!! They're getting pretty good! (Hailey and Thomas especially)

One highlight was going to the Rexburg temple together with my mom and brother Brett (all for the first time through that temple!) It was BEAUTIFUL! and such a GREAT experience! There is such a refocus, a recommitment, and a renewal that happens at the temple!!! My mom was in tears!!!

After that we hopped in the car and drove to Salt Lake. The next morning we drove up to Malad to see Doug & Janel's little boy Wesley Dean get blessed. It was such a sweet experience!! ...especially since they thought he had a vision impairment and we had all been praying and fasting for him! He's the cutest little kid to SEE! He has a little round face and the cutest expression! He was blessed to SEE and hear, etc. etc. It was so nice! The church building there was beautiful! -Like in the old time Palmyra days--with arched ceilings, stained glass windows, a big beautiful golden pipe organ and pillars and a balcony inside, etc. It was fun to see and meet all of Janel's family afterwards!

We stayed with friends along the way--in Bountiful (the Adamsons--Pati, Scott & their kids) They were SO much fun to see! They're our friends from Florida! We watched Keya's wedding video; talked to CJ about his mission & the book he wrote while there; laughed about old times; Brittany and Kassia hung out (as they were best buds in preschool); and we had the best "restaurant waffles" with strawberries and whipped cream the next morning! Thanks!

We stayed with Cyrina Jones and her three kids in Boise also...and got to harrass them! It was SO much fun to see her and her boys! I LOVE talking with her and getting Sonic drinks!! We had to laugh because we met up at a REST STOP on the way home towards BOISE...WITHOUT COORDINATING!!! I was going into the ladies room and hear my name..."Tammy Molina!" It was Cyrina! ...whose HOUSE we were going to!!! We were coming from Malad and she from Rexburg! So it was pretty AMAZING! My cell was in the back trunk in my clothes probably dead, so I couldn't call her though I had been planning on it! I got to hop in her car and drive the rest of the way with her! FUN! ...We did a bit of cleaning when we got there--which sounds funny, but it made my DAY!!! She's SO much fun! I LOVE her!

Anyway, even though the trip was long, hard, crazy and enduring at times, we had a GREAT time seeing everyone along the way!! It was memorable! Thanks for a GREAT Thanksgiving vacation!!!

Thomas is a Deacon

Thomas got the Priesthood shortly after his birthday in September! Doesn't he look SO cute in his new suit!?? (Sorry I haven't posted something before, but I have to wrestle my two daughters, husband and now, my 12 year old boy for computer time!) I wanted to comment on how it MADE my day that Sunday! --Seeing him pass the sacrament for the first time! He looked so solemn and mature--(as mature as a 12 year old can) taking his job so seriously--looking very natural and reverent! It was so nice! I felt PROUD as well as the Spirit and Joy! You mothers with 12 year olds know what I'm talking about! It felt nice.

Brittany chosen as Homecoming Queen

Last week Brittany was chosen as one of the four Senior Homecoming Princesses at Southridge High School. She was presented at an assembly in front of the whole student body escorted by Ryan (one of the Princes) as her escort. It was fun for her.

Later on that night at the football game (a very RAINY football game I might add), parents and family escorted the candidates out onto the field in front of the crowd. They were handed boxes with balloons hidden inside. On the count of three they were told to open their boxes, and whoever had the yellow balloon fly out, was the King or Queen. Nick Derrah was voted the King and Brittany the Homecoming Queen! Yeah Brittany!

This is Brittany on the night of the HOMECOMING dance (Sat.) she went with her friend Jeff White.

They all wear short dresses for Homecoming, and Long formal dresses for Prom. This dress had a 4 inch row of sequins on the bottom to match the shoulders. Whe looked very pretty.

HAILEY'S BDAY

It's the month of birthdays for the Molina family. Hailey turned 14 this month and is enjoying her last year of middle school. She is doing great in soccer and can"t wait to start High school.

THOMAS TURNS 12

Thomas turned 12 on September 26th and celebrated with what else but... a football party. He had a lot of fun with his friends, and on Sunday he received the Aaronic Priesthood in church.

It can't be true!!

Brittany received some of her senior pictures... which means it's true, she only has less than a year left before she starts college... are we that old?? It feels like we were in college just a couple of years ago...

Fall sports

It is back to school and of course, back to sports. Brittany is enjoying varsity soccer at Southridge during her senior year, Hailey is playing for a classic soccer team, Thomas is playing 5-6 grade football for Southridge and Ben is also playing rec soccer. Brandy is busy with her music and other stuff, but she decided to take a break from sports. It is safe to say that our job as "chauffers" is safe for at least 6 more months. Thomas had his first game yesterday and they beat St Helens at St Helens 33 to 19, and he scored 2 touchdowns. He is so fast is amazing to watch. Thomas is number #40. Here are some pictures of video of that awesome game:

Senior Year

Hey! Its been awhile since i've written on this family blog, so its time for an update!
Well summer was great! It went by SO fast though... my last month after travelling non-stop consisted of soccer, work and school meetings. I was gone everyday from 7am-7pm. Haha so for that reason, I was starting to actually look forward to school... plus its SENIOR year! It has already been the BEST so far. Very Very busy... I started school last Tuesday. I have three IB classes and two easy classes, a great balance for my last year at highschool. Annnd, if you already didn't know- I'm part of the Womens Varisty Soccer team at Southridge so I've had practice everyday after school. I love soccer! Plus, I have many friends on my team so its always a good time. We lost our first game, and won our second... I'm excited to see how our team does this year. I even scored a goal :) Well... here are a couple of pictures to illustrate what I've been up too. I hope all is well with everyone else and I'm sureeeeee I'll talk to you later!

Images of Beijing

Here are some of the things I learned while visiting Beijing in the last few months...


1 - If it looks like chicken... it may be something else, just in case, leave it alone.


2 - If they tell you is chicken, ask what part of the chicken or you may end up eating chicken feet or neck or something


3 - If you think the elevator or the train is crowded, don't worry they'll try to fit 10 more Chinese people in it


4 - If you want to get away from the crowds... go to your hotel room, everywhere else will have tons of people, all the time


5 - Personal space varies according to culture, a couple of inches between your face and someone else's is plenty of space for the chinese :)


6 - If you like bargaining for your purchases, China is the place for you... you can get great deals that way


7 - If you think think pedestrians have the right of way crossing on a green light on a marked pedestrian crossing, think again... cars turning into your street always have the right of way in China, so be ready to jump forwards or backwards...


8 - You can safely take a taxi in Beijing, but the driving will not be safe, they drive like crazy and they'll hardly ever know where you want to go if you give them the address... they will drive around, call someone, and kind of guess where it may be. And yes there are millions of cars on the road.


9 - They use green tea for a lot of stuff, not just beverages...


10 - If your name contains an "r" in it, get ready for a change of name, they'll find a way to make it sound Chinese... like Hen-lee

11 - If you believe in privacy and your right to disagree, China is not for you. Big brother is watching and it is obvious

10 - If you want to visit a mysterious, safe, beautiful place with lots of friendly people, proud of their culture, China is it.

Half-a-day at the Great Wall

Hey, I took almost a half day off here in Beijing... so we left at 7 in the morning and drove to the Great Wall. It takes about one and half hours to get there from downtown Beijing, but what an amazing place. It was hot and humid and it took a lot of endurance and all my energy to make it all the way to the wall (even though I cheated and took the tram almost to the top :) I went there with my friends Nate (who works for Nike Europe) and Ilana in US PR. I wish I could have brought the family because the views are breath-taking and the place is a bit magical. I hope you enjoy the pictures... by the way, the picture of the Chinese military guys hiding from the sun by the window is one of my favorites :)

USA Going for Basketball Gold

It was a lot of fun to see USA beating Argentina by 20 points. Right now The Dream team II looks really unbeatable. I got to go with Morgan Shaw from US Public Relations and we got there a bit late and starving, but let's not go there... you already heard me complain about the availability and variety of the food at the venues. LeBron, Kobe and some of the other players came to Nike Hospitality a couple of times while they were in Beijing. They are pretty cool guys. They are going to play the Gold Medal match against Spain tomorrow. Here are some images from the game. Go USA!!

Locos por el Futbol :)

I know, many of you are reading this and saying.... it's soccer, but since the majority of the world calls it football, indulge me on this one :) Yesterday I got to see one of the most exciting games of the Olympics... Football semifinal between Brazil and Argentina. It was amazing to see Ronaldinho (who wasn't playing very well), Alexandre Pato, Messi, Gago and Aguero play at the Workers Stadium in Beijing. We also saw Maradona in the stands. Every time he waved to the cameras, the whole stadium went crazy. Here's a clip of the penalty kick that happened during the second half. Final score: Argentina 3, Brazil 0. Argentina is playing for the gold medal next. Reporting for MTV News (Molina Television) and especially for the Giles "Crazy for football" family, Henry Molina from Beijing.

A look at the Bird's Nest

Many of you have seen images of the amazing Olympic stadium which many locals have nicknamed the Bird's Nest. it is an amazing structure. The thing that really surprised me was that it is right next to the "water cube" and across from the International Broacast Center. The bad thing is that the logistics around the building really don't match the efficiency and beauty of the stadiums. Security is tight, but inefficient since there is only one open entrance, where everybody has to go through. Because of that you can spend between an hour and one hour and a half just to get into the space... while you sadly can only listen to what the athletes are doing inside the stadium. The food really sucks in selection and availablity. They don't have vendors walking around and selling inside the stadium, so you're stuck standing in another line that can take up to 45 minutes even if you just want a bottle of water (it's been 85 degrees and very humid around here at night.) If you are hungry you can select from wonderful items such as: crackers, bread, popcorn, candy or spicy chips (those are just the "known" items... I did not want to get too close to the hot-dogs here because you never know what you're really getting.

Here's a quick video showing the grounds around the nest. Reporting from Beijing, Henry Molina, MTV News (Molina Television)

Visiting Friends from Florida

This week we had friends visit from Weston, Florida (the Llewellyns--David, Marty, Jonathan, Christopher, and Emily).

We had a lot of fun with them, starting with the ward campout at Ft. Stevens. Friday and Saturday ('twas rainy but fun!) The rain really hit when we showed them the coast...nothing like Florida coast they said! We drove up to Astoria, to Seaside where they were having a beach volleyball competition that day, found the taffy store, then went down to Tillamook--seeing some beautiful views! They fell in love with the ice cream at the cheese factory!

Sunday we went to church and showed them the Rose Gardens & Multnomah Falls. (Hiked to the top with new puppy and all! Whew!)

Monday we went to workout, then took the tour of Nike Campus (from Henry) went to the Nike Store and then went out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory for Henry and my 19th wedding anniversary. We showed them the temple at night afterward--Beautiful! We'll always remember how old it is since it was dedicated the same weekend we came here on our honeymoon in August of 1989!

Tuesday we went to Ape Caves--fun indoor cave rock climbing! Ben LOVED it and would look forward to the "next set of lava rocks to climb"! You should have seen the 9 foot straight up rock we encountered, and the rare cave bug!

Wednesday, Marty hit the kitchen while her husband hit the trails on Mt. Hood! They were both in HEAVEN! Marty cooking three main courses and an apple tart...Yum! While David, found new muscles in his calves and quads as he went up and down the extreme inclines--loving the sights of the falls, woods, trees and flowers. Marty and I took our daughters to paint at Ceramic Cafe after that. Fun!

Thursday we went to the temple in the morning (Great!) and they went shopping later at the Lloyd Center. We were going to take the kids ice skating, but I stayed home--
I already had running around to do with the kids for piano and sports, etc. (well actually everything started before this week!) Does it feel like summer's over???!

Friday, we went to Silver Falls and the outlet stores in Woodburn...fun and beautiful, but it was a very hot day so we went home early and made it a movie night!

Saturday, they picked all the blackberries they could, packed them to go, and shopped some more while I ran kids around from Big Truck Day at Conestoga where Brittany works, to a football car wash, to soccer--Ben and Hailey. Hailey got heat stroke at her game and had to come home--missing her team pool party! :( She's feeling better now though. The Llewellyns left us that night--(sniff, sniff) after eating some more Tillamook Ice Cream! They're now heading back to their lovely hurricane awaiting them! But we had some fun times together while they were here, and the kids got along great! ...until next time! Come and see us again!

Reporting from Beijing

Knee How (actually I don't know how the Chinese really spell their "hello", but the sound is just like their daily greeting) from Beijing. Here I am on my second day of my third Olympic experience (after Sydney and Athens) and on my first day I got to go to the "Bird's nest", or the main Olympic stadium here in Beijing. It is an amazing structure and when you are inside, the energy of the fans, the cheering, the competition and the Olympic spirit are amazing. Now, the food they serve is just crazy... yesterday I asked for a sandwich, and they were all out, so instead I ended up with three hot dog buns and a snickers bar (that's all they had left besides hot dog, which I am not willing to try, and some weird chunks of meat on a stick... i did not ask what kind of meat it was...) Security lines to get into the Olympic village take between 50 minutes and an hour and a half, so if you are planning on seeing an event you have to come two hours in advance. The lines to get drinks or food are not much better, between 25 and 45 minutes. So much stuff has changed around the city from the last time I was here in May... they really cleaned up the city very well and try to show the best to al visitors. I am including a couple of pictures, and the best men's 100 meter race ever... those guys are fast. I still cannot believe I was there to see it!!

Great Wolf in Washington

I've been a bit behind sharing some of the things that we did in July, so here are some images of one of our short getaways of the Summer. In the middle of July, we decided to take a trip to the new Great Wolf Lodge water park that opened near Olympia, Washington just a few months ago. We went for three days and stayed in one of their "special room" for families, where the kids have bunk-beds and an additonal bed in one of their "cabins" within the room. Besides the traditional slides and water activities, they offer "treasure hunts" using an electronic wand, an arcade full of games, and a center where kids can do crafts, read stories and other fun things. Our kids had a blast, and by the end of the third day we were exhausted... there's a lot of climbing, and swimming and playing involved!

The entrance of the Great Wolf Lodge

The kids room looked like a cabin in the woods

Tons of slides and games...

The kids loved swimming 24 hours a day
Mom had fun with the little ones
Brandy and Ben were in heaven...

Yes... we are crazy

After many years of resisting, we finally broke down and got a dog. Thomas and Ben have been begging for a dog for at least three years, but we have been giving them reasons why we couldn't, but the other day we went to the pet store and we saw her and thought we had ran out of excuses. We are still not sure of what to name her, but for now we are calling her "Nella". If you have any suggestions let us know. She is a lhasa-apso and cavalier (king Charles spaniel) mix, and so far has been lots of fun.

Ben turns 7!!

On Pioneer Day (July 24th) Ben turned 7 during our trip to Southern Utah. For the first time in his life he saw fireworks and a parade on his birthday since it is a state holiday in Utah :) We gathered at my sister in law's house in Hurricane, and the kids had a blast in the pool and a bounce house. Lots of cousins, good food and tons of fun... thanks Brett and Sheilee!

Dennett Reunion

My family organized a family reunion to welcome my mom, who just returned from her mission to Sydney Australia. For the first time in a while all my brothers and my only sister were there. It was a lot of fun to see everybody and to let the kids run wild with their cousins for a week. We gathered at a cabin that my brothers built in East Zion National Park. What a beautiful place... the views are breath-taking!