One Last Aloha! Until the Next Guting Reunion...

"Shaka brada!"  Uncle Greg and me.

 The time came that my family had to go back home.  We got together for one last luncheon at the tahiti village with the people we love. 

We took pictures...

 Aunty Marissa (Jayme's wife) kept loading the kids up on ice cream and cookies...

 And then we just hung out for a couple hours.

 Hanging out with this group, there is never a dull moment.

 The best was watching my mom with her girl-cousins play musical chairs.

 And after all those shenanigans, Uncle Tex challenged Steve to some capoeira.  They were fun to watch.  And somehow I got roped into "playing" too.  I may have some of the worst technique ever, but I'm willing to look goofy around these folks.  It was all in good fun. 

And that's how we say Aloha- with lots and lots of smiles.

If you missed the reunion, or want to relive some of those fun moments- check out the 7-minute smilebox video below.  Warning- the sound may be a bit loud.

Make your own free slideshow

Pricey Food And Priceless People- Guting Reunion Part 3

One warm evening, we all gathered for the expensive dinner at the Main Street Station- all-you-can-eat seafood buffet.  And no, they don't charge less for children.  So, we let our kids know that this was going to be a BIG deal- not just for the really expensive food- but really for the chance to spend some time with relatives that they have never met (and I've only met once), and may never see again except at that dinner, specifically my grandma Linda (aka Patricia Naparan Guting), and my Uncle Kaiama Ng, and his son, Joshua.

So, we parked at the hotel that mom, Tom, and April's family were staying at, and walked down the street together to the buffet.

I liked this shirt.  Can you tell who's wearing it?

Did you guess this dashing young man?

If you said Joe Lauret, you win.

So, we went to the buffet and had to stand around waiting until they could find a space large enough to fit our entire group of 19- April's family, my family, Joe, my mom and Tom, Aunty Raz and Uncle Ray, Kainoa, Uncle Joe, Lani (my cousin), Uncle Kaiama, Josh, Grandma Linda, and Aunty Leo.

So, we waited and took some silly face pictures.

Then, we got to eat!

Amara even tried her first clam!

And Steve ate crab legs and only crab legs. 

He was going to get his money worth, and I'd say he did it!

Before Josh and Uncle Kaiama had to leave us to go back to work, I made sure that we got in some pictures. 

Left to R: Joe, Josh, Lani, Lani, April, Spencer.  Backrow: Kainoa.  Background Photobomber: Steve

COUSINS!

Aunty Raz, Uncle Ray (making the "shaka" sign), and Uncle Kaiama.

How many people can you fit in a "selfie" with Uncle Kaiama?

Then it was time for a pic of my mom with her siblings.  The only one missing is Aunty Nani Ng. 

My mom (Roberta Mapother), Uncle Kaiama Ng, Uncle Joe (Vince Guting), and Aunty Raz (Razalin Wright)

Then, as you can usually expect when getting together with my mom's family...
Things got a little...

CRAZY!

Those 2 fingers smearing chocolate on my mom's face belong to Uncle Kaiama.  He got her good.

Who knows the last time I saw Uncle Raymond?  Gotta love him!  Selfie time with Uncle Ray-

And, finally a selfie with my dear hubby.  My heart is happy.  I have so many people that I LOVE and I'm so blessed that I got to spend some time with them.

When dinner was done, everyone went their separate ways.  I was so disappointed that I never got a picture with my grandma Linda.  She was off to "try her luck" as they say- gamballing.  I was bummed that I never got to really talk to her- I didn't get to hear any of her stories.  At least I was able to say "hi" and "bye" and even squeezed in a hug and introduced her to my children.  Hopefully we will have a chance to get together under less busy times and I can really talk to her.  I'd like to get to know her better.

We were beat.  Vegas never sleeps, and that makes for some really tired people.  Poor pregnant April's feet were swelling up.  So, we went to bed- it would be a long drive home the next day.

Tahiti Village Poolside Picnic- Guting Reunion Part 2

Many of my mom's cousins were staying at the Tahiti Village (a time share in Las Vegas), and that is where we went to go meet up with the Guting clan for a full day of swimming and a delicious poolside BBQ.  Isaac and Bekah (Steve's nephew and neice) came with us. 

I also took the opportunity to talk with Aunty Leo and Uncle Greg in hopes of gathering family stories to share with our posterity. 

I could honestly do that all day long, but it isn't as easy as it looks.  For one thing, I had a sore throat and had lost my voice, so my attempts to speak were hard to interpret.  Also, Aunty Leo has poor hearing and vision, so she couldn't see when I was trying to talk to her and she couldn't hear my voice.  Eventually I started taking her by the shoulder and yelling in her ear so she would know I was trying to speak to her and she would try to make sense of my questions.  It was the only way we could communicate.  We tried using her hearing device, but the batteries or the wiring kept blipping out, so that didn't work. 

Uncle Greg was fun to talk to, and he could hear me well, but sometimes I had to work harder to understand him because his speech is different from what I'm used to hearing.  For one thing, he has a strong Hawaiian pidgin accent which can take some getting used to if you haven't been around it for very long, and another thing is his face and mouth droops on one side, thus impeding the communication flow.  Nonetheless, he sat with me on a couple occasions and answered my questions.  He reminds me of my grandpa so much.  I sure love him and Aunty Leo.  It will be a beautiful day in heaven to meet the rest of their family!

I am planning to transcribe the stories and post them on familysearch.org so they will be available to everyone.  The world would be a better place if everyone took some time to delve into the stories from their ancestry, both to learn from and to be inspired by.

So, my interest in matters at the pool was mostly directed to family history with my Aunty Leo and Uncle Greg.  I was happy Bekah and Issac were there to swim around with my girls.  Lily and Amara were in the pool so long that when they got out, they were not only wrinkled, but their armpits were sore and red from being in a life jacket for so long.  Steve was there to watch them too, so I could do my thing.

We swam before and after the BBQ.  Speaking of BBQ... that is one of my favoritest things in the world- outdoor eating with family!  This BBQ was awesome!  We had so many loved ones there, many that I've only seen perhaps once or twice in my life thus far.

This BBQ was another step on the journey of  celebrating the life of Uncle Aaron.  I know he was there in spirit and his poster came with us, too.

Uncle Joe photobombing!

My cousin, Lani, was there!  She is growing up.  I loved talking with her.  She is so down to earth and has a fun personality!  Wish we could see her more often!

Look at all the yummy food they provided!  Lasagne, Salad, hotdogs, grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, grilled corn, rice, potato salad, desserts, chips, etc. etc...

Uncle Tex brought bubbles for the kids, and they loved blowing them.

My sunhat on Uncle Joe almost makes him look Mexican, eh?  I'm sure people think that about me too.

The shade was the place to be, since Las Vegas is so HOT!  We had a nice place next to the pool that was shaded by umbrellas and foliage.  We spent hours lounging, talking, and relaxing in the chairs there, while watching our family float by in the lazy river.

That's the life. 

The good, good life.

Gutings On Ice! Guting Reunion Part 1 - June 2014

Back then: Guting Cousins with the Guting Grandparents behind.

Now: Guting Cousins with "Uncle Greg" and "Aunty Leo" in the back

This Guting reunion was a celebration of the life of my mom's cousin Aaron "Kian" Guting, but it wasn't originally planned that way.  Uncle Aaron had planned a reunion for his family in Las Vegas.  Sadly, he passed away suddenly from lung cancer just before this reunion.  Uncle Malcolm still had the agenda that Uncle Aaron created, and he invited all Gutings to join in the already scheduled events as a celebration of life for his brother.  I knew Uncle Aaron.  He and Uncle Malcolm and Uncle Jayme (all brothers) traveled from California and came to my wedding back in 2002.  He was fun-loving and spunky and easy to feel welcome around.  He was so funny, too!  I was so happy to celebrate his life and be a part of the Guting reunion.  I saw so many loved ones that I haven't seen in YEARS because we all live so far apart.  I also got to meet family that I've never met before.  It was a reunion I'll always cherish. 

Ice Skating With Uncle Malcolm

He is actually not my "Uncle."  He is my mom's cousin, but in Hawaii, it is common to refer to an older loved one as Uncle or Aunty, even if they are not related to you that way, and actually being related is not necessary at all.  

Uncle Malcolm skated in the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah.  He stayed with my family for rehearsals and such back then.  He is now 60 years old and he still gets out on the ice.  He is energetic and a great ice skater!  Take a look at him in the video below.

I didn't even know there was an ice rink in Las Vegas, but it was actually just a few minutes from Steve's sister's house, where we were staying.  We brought Kimmy, Bekah, and Isaac skating with us.  Amara used a walker thing for awhile while she got used to going around the rink.

Steve was Lily's "walker" until she gained a little confidence herself.  What a good daddy he is!

Remarkably, not one of us fell on the ice.  I've never been ice skating where someone didn't fall!  It must've been Uncle Malcolm's good karma. 

Left to Right: Me, Uncle Tex (aka the photobomber), and Uncle Malcolm

Uncle Malcolm gave us skating lessons.  And he got Amara to let go of that walker and skate!  She did awesome!

We had such a great time together!