Sells 'Ohana

Aloha

2010-04-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Well it's been 6 months since we posted anything and it's probably a crime in the blogging world. There has been so much that has happened during this time that it would be impossible to mention everything so I will opt to just tell what has been happening lately. Namea and I are still enjoying learning about medicine. In July we look forward to working in the hospitals and putting our knowledge to the test. We start with surgery which we hear is difficult but very interesting. Ku'u is growing fast and starts kindergarten this September. Her response to starting school was, "yes, maybe I'll have homework like you guys." She is such a nerd. Everyone will be surprised to hear that we moved again. We found an awesome deal in the local advertiser and couldn't pass it up. Our new place is in Sugarhouse and is a 4 bedroom, 4 bath beauty. It was renovated in August and we are only the 2nd tenants to live in it. It has the kitchen of Namea's dreams and lately I have enjoyed the spoils of her new kitchen (amazing food). I myself enjoy the space as it has a little more than 2400 sf. Ku'u loves that her room has a door to the back yard that is huge. All in all we have loved the place as it has something for each of us. Well we hope all are happy and in good health.

Me ke aloha pumehana,

Sells 'Ohana

Crazy Life

2009-09-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

I apologize as this blog will not look pretty and have pictures but I wanted to update this blog.

Namea and I celebrated our 6th anniversary a couple of weeks ago and had a nice day out. My mom watched Kuu and we were able to spend a quite day together. We went shopping which I didn't really enjoy but we went to a brazilian resturant named Tuscanos which I really enjoyed.

Namea and I also returned to school in Aug. and have been studying our lives away. OK, thats not totally true, but almost. Second year seems a lot harder but more clinically relevant which makes it more enjoyable.

Kuu was sick last night and was running a fever. It wasn't fun because as a parent you feel so helpless when your kid is sick. It makes it worse when you study medicine because you think about the most horrible diseases and worry when it's just something simple. The thing that was special out of this situation is that Kuu asked me for a blessing. I had given her blessings before when she was sick but it had always been my choice previously. It is hard watching Kuu grow up but there are moments like these where I know we are teaching her to make good decisions and trust in the Lord that make me feel a little better about it. She will turn 5 next month and though I am not taking it well I know that it's just a part of life.

I hope all are in good health and spirit and promise to get pictures up soon.

A hui hou

We Have Been Blessed

2009-07-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

We believe that there are times when the Lord confirms to us that we are on the right path in our lives. Most times these confirmations come through answering our prayers. This week Jude got word that he was selected for the same scholarship that Namea is currently receiving. We are overwhelmed, surprised, and excited by the news. For those who don't know much about the scholarship, let me explain. The scholarship will pay for the rest of Jude's schooling (tuition, fees, books, boards, ect.) and also give him a stipend every month and in return Jude has to just return to Hawaii and work there. Sound too good to be true? Yes, to us too. With both of us on this scholarship we will get through med school without loans!! What a blessing!!

Aloha All

2009-06-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

We apologize for the long periods of no postings. Medical school has been busy but we are glad to say that the first year is over--hooray!!! One thing that we have learned the past year is that doing medical school together is a blessing. Throughout the year I have heard comments about how my classmates never see their family and how their spouses just don't understand what they are going through. Well I'm happy to say that we don't have these problems. In January we moved our family to an apartment right across the street from school--literally a 1 min. walk. Because of this we are able to have meals at home and do almost all our studying on our couch--it's great and means that we have a lot more time to spend with Ku'u. The biggest blessing this year has been sharing my days with my beautiful, loving wife. This year in med school has been rough at times but it has only stregnthened the relationship between Namea and I. We both understand what each other is going through and without family near we have had to depend solely on each other. We have both mentioned that this has probably been the best year of our marriage and we understand that we are so blessed in our lives. The University of Utah has been our home away from home and with great friends we manage to push on through. We hope all are in good spirits and promise to post more often this summer as we are just playing our summer away. We love you all--Sells 'Ohana.

Some pictures...

2009-05-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

We haven't posted in a long time but we just wanted to let everybody know that we are still alive and hope everyone is doing good. We also want to wish all the mothers out there a HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! We finish school in a month and have our one and only summer off and hopefully will get a real post up.

New Pictures For Your Enjoyment

2008-12-28T18:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry! We are alive I promise.

2008-12-28T17:38:00.000-08:00

So we have not been updating our blog and apologize if we have disappointed any of you (yes mom, I know). Anyways things are great now that we are in Christmas break and don't have school. Namea and I have survived and done well with our first semester of medical school. Unfortunately, we are only a third done with the first year of our schooling. But I am proud to say that I have been successful in beating Namea in 3 tests so far. For those who are aware of the competition that goes on, 3 is really, really good. She usually beats me all the time so when I beat her she treats me out to dinner and let me tell you its usually the most savory of dinners!! As of now the score is 3 for Jude and 37 for Namea.

Happy Birthday Ku'upaulelemakamae

2008-10-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is growing up. We can still remember the sleepless nights when we first brought her home, the first steps she took, the terrible-2 day when she bit and scratched daddy, and the repeatative "why?" stage. We are now ready to see what a 4-year old will do. We are so blest to have her in our lives as she truely reminds us what is important in life: FAMILY. We love you Ku'u.

These are just some pictures from Kuu's birthday. As you can see she got a sleeping beauty barbie and a dress that had a matching dress for her baby (she loved it). And of course her birthday would not be complete without a little mermaid cake (Ariel immedietely gone from the cake). Man I need a little boy soon.

Fun Times

2008-09-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

Utah Apparel--$34
Dinner in the Stadium--$10
Cotton Candy--$3.50
Watching Ku'u chant "GO UTES GO"-- "Priceless"

Contrary to popular belief, the Sells Family does have time to do some really cool and fun stuff. It's not that school has gotten any easier but that we value life and spending quality time together.

Luckily, we have good friends that got us free tickets on the "3rd row" so honestly I could have touched Coach Whittingham if I extended my arms (it was that close). It was so much fun for me and Namea commented that I had that perma-smile that little kids get in a candy store.

5 tests, 3 days...and a very tired mommy and daddy

2008-09-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

This week has been, by far, the hardest for our family. We took 2 tests on Monday, 1 on Tuesday, and 2 more on Wednesday. This was not fun as there were many sleepless nights and a lot of STRESS!!! Through it all, we have felt the love and support of Heavenly Father and our Savior. We have both felt Their help in our tests and recieved scores that we didn't feel were possible. It has been a testimony to us that when we put the Lord first He will meet us half way. Contrary to what one of our deans have said, we have still been able to to read bedtime stories, play Barbies, and pass our tests. Thanks for all the prayers it has surely helped us this week.

5 Wonderful Years

2008-09-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

On Friday, September 5, Namea and I marked 5 wonderful years together. Since life is extra busy we had to celebrate it on Saturday enjoying our favorite past-time: EATING. We went all out (for us) and ate at RedLobster. We both had endless shrimp and enjoyed it but ate so much that neither of us want shrimp for a while. It was great as life is with Namea. I made the right choice to marry her and can't wait to celebrate our billionth anniversary in the eternities.

The Best and the Worst of Times...a.k.a Life in Medical School

2008-08-31T19:46:00.000-07:00

So...After looking at posts from family about our white coat ceremony, we decided it was probably time to post our experience.

It's for real. All summer we were sure that anyday we were going to get a call from University of Utah letting us know that they made a mistake and sent us the wrong letter. However, last Friday, as we received our white coats and inducted into the medical school, we new it was for real. As luck would have it, as we were walking in and they were directing us to our seats, Namea was on the last seat of one row and Jude the first on the next row!!! This meant that we spent 90% of the ceremony apart!!! Our whole class noticed and laughed at the irony of the situation and it wasn't until after the ceremony that the ushers realized what they had done and apologized.

Despite the seating mishap, the ceremony was wonderful especially because we were able to share it with family. We wouldn't have been able to make it this far without the faith, prayers, and support of family and we want all of you to know how much we love and appreciate all you have done for us.

The ceremony marked a high point in our lives as we both were able to take the next step in life together. We felt a little closer to our dream of being physicians. We are both excited because we get to share this journey side by side.

The high of the weekend came to a drastic halt as we started classes on Monday. The week would only get worse and we both felt as if we were stranded in the middle of the ocean with no land in site. We are not going to sugar coat anything...medical school is hard. We sit back and wonder how we are going to survive. One word comes to mind...dispair!!!

During this week we have both pondered about answers that we have received in the temple. We both know without a doubt that this is where we are suppose to be and that we are headed in the right direction. So, with hands joined, we embark on this journey and we are putting our faith in our Heavenly Father and Savior that they will help us through. This past week has helped us realize what a strength each of us is in our marriage and how much we need to turn to and rely on each other to make it through.

We want to express gratitude for all the prayers and ask them to keep coming!!!

Don't feel sorry for us, although there are long hours, little sleep, and a whole lot of stress, we our enjoying our cinderblock wonder and enjoying what we are learning. We are learning to become doctors, our dream, and wouldn't trade the hard times for anything!!

Medical School has begun

2008-08-19T14:32:00.001-07:00

Today was Day 1 of medical school and I must admit that before today I had feelings of excitment and fear. But today on the other-hand, I just was happy to begin. We haven't yet started classes as we have a week long orientation though it was nice to get to know some of our 102 classmates. I am grateful that I am in medical school here at the University of Utah and know this is the right place for Namea and I to continue our education. I will try to keep everyone up to date through our low times and high time at medical school but for now know that we are happy to be here.

We got a Mac

2008-08-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

After reading and listening to many opinions we decided to go with a Macbook. Once Namea found out that a friend had Microsoft Office for Macs (and was willing to share it) she was sold. She got a student discount and Apple also sent her a new snazzy touch ipod. Namea's happy with the buy and excited to use her new laptop. Thanks for all the opinions posted, we really appreciate it.

MAC vs. PC

2008-08-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

We are starting medical school in a couple of weeks and have both agreed that it is time to get a laptop. With all the options out there we are confused what to buy. Therefore if you have any opinion please let us know. We are torn between 3 different computers: Apple MacBook, Sony Vaio, and IBM Thinkpad Tablet.

Apple Macbook-Everyone praises this computer but says its not compatible (or work well) with microsoft office which we use a lot.

Sony Vaio- Rated the better computer according to consumer reports but not much people know about it.

IBM Thinkpad-The ability to write on the screen sounds amazing but dont know how well it works.

Please input your opinion as we want to buy one before school starts but are really undecisive.

First Tag

2008-08-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

I usually ignore when I am tagged but this one looked easy enough so here it goes:

20 years ago:
-probably bodyboarding at castle beach where the were just right and the beach was not crowded.
-forced to play soccer because I was getting to fat but I ended up liking it.
-probably fighting with one of my three brothers (probably JP) and winning.

10 years ago (the dark ages)
-I just deleted what I wrote because I don't want my children to ever know how bad I was when I was a teenager.

5 years ago:
-Preparing myself to go through the Laie Temple with my Ku'uipo Namealoha.
-Baptized for 11months
-Sailing a 57-foot double-hulled Canoe called "Iosepa"

A year ago:
-Taking the dreaded entrance exam into medical school called the MCAT
-Applying to medical school and interviewing
-playing golf whenever I could
-potty training my dear little Ku'u and battling through the "terrible 2s"

Yesterday
-Drove to Cedar City so Namea could do an orientation for her scholarship.
-Told Namea I loved her for the millionth time and Ku'u for the hundred-thousandth time.
-Kissed Namea goodnight for the millionth and twenty fourth time (this never gets old and "no" you don't have go to sleep with someone to kiss them goodnight neither do you have to tell them you love them before you kiss them goodnight.

Now I just tag anyone who wants to do this. Thanks for tagging me Luke.

Summer Fun

2008-07-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Although we haven't gone on any grand vacation, we have still managed to do a few fun things this summer.

A couple weeks ago we headed down to Cedar City to visit while Namea's nieces were there and decided to take Ku'u camping with her Aunty, Uncle, and cousins. Little did we realize what an adventure this would be. Within the first half-hour that we were there she managed to find an ant pile and step in it. She is TERRIFIED of ants and was in hysterics. Poor Keola was standing the closest to her at the time and served as Ku'u's retreat to higher ground. While the rest of us enjoyed our time in the mountains, Ku'u spent the majority of her time watching from the safety of our car. She did at least work up enough courage to come out when Grandma and Papa came for dinner and a little dip in the freezing cold stream.

Our handsome Mountain Man!!!

Despite the ant mishap, we enjoyed spending time together in the beautiful outdoors.

Ku'u got the courage to cut her hair

2008-07-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

Today we had a family fieldtrip to the local Great Clips for some haircuts. While Namea and I went with the tried and true haircuts (for us), Ku'u ventured into the short hair cut. I must admit that I don't necessarily like it because it makes her look older and I feel like I'm losing my little girl. But both her and Namea just love it. She does look cute in it but daddys not ready for her to grow up!!!

Happy Birthday Jude

2008-07-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

Look who's 28. Happy Birthday to a wonderful husband and daddy.

We love you--Namea & Ku'u

Hello Salt Lake City

2008-07-05T21:25:00.001-07:00

To be honest, we had our fears about moving to the big city and we asked each other more than once, "what are we doing?." But in the past 2 weeks here in Salt Lake all our fears have evaporated and we truely feel that this is the place we are suppose be. In the past 2 weeks we have not only dissolved our fears but I have come up with my 10 top reasons why I love Salt Lake City. Note these are in no particular order.

1. Cheap Rent: O.K., nothing can beat our subsidized rent in Cedar City but the rent here goes a long way. By that I mean electric, heat, water, internet, cable, and phone are all included in rent. That has meant that I can blast the AC in the summer and not be reminded by Namea that it's gonna cost me. Whats even better is that if you pay on time you are entered into a drawing where the winner has up to $60 off the next months rent. That would be sweet. Some pictures of the new place.

2. Great places to eat: Anyone who knows me would have expected this. Yes, food is my kryptonite and there is a lot of it close by. We have just about anything you could want even local Hawaii foods like L&L's. Tonight we tried a Mexican place called "Chipotle" on a recommendation and it was awesome. We craved TGIFriday for a long time and last weekend we satisfied that craving. Pictures to come.

3. Golf for a buck: My second weakness=GOLF. And yes, the university has it's own golf course which I have been frequenting for only a dollar. I am such a Utah fan now that I asked Namea for red golf bag for my birthday. She got that for me and a putter headcover that has the Utah emblem on it. I have the best little wifey.

4. Tons of things to do: One of the biggest dilemmas that we have had living in Southern Utah is that we would wake up, look at each other, and ask what do we do today? We don't have that problem anymore. We have gone on a ward activity where we went to a lake and had boats, jetskis, and kayaks for our use. It was so much fun. Everyone of us (including Ku'u) rode on a tube pulled by a boat. Ku'u loved it and kept telling the driver to go faster-shes crazy. I liked the Jetsski the best while Namea gave watersking a try and to this day talks about how much fun she had. We even camped out in a tent and roasted marshmellows and the whole 9 yards that night. It was the funnest ward activity I have ever been on (pictures to come, we had to by a disposable because we forgot our camera). At our apartments we are always doing things. A couple weeks ago we had a sprinkler day where they turned the sprinklers on and had slides for the kids. Ku'u was scared at first but later got the hang of it. She didn't dare go on the bigger ones though. On Fourth of July we had tons of options--maybe too much. Namea ran a 5k, we hung out, and watched a firework show. It was fun. Things we are planning to do next week include Hoogle Zoo and the Gateway.

5. This reason may be the best. Here in Salt Lake we are surrounded be amazing people. People around us are in the same boat as us and share the same dreams and fears that we do. There are families that are like us and have kids and both go to school. There are families that have multiple kids and teach us how to have patience with just our one. There are people who are just genuinely friendly and nice and great to be around. One of our fears was that we would have to start out fresh with no friends and that really worried us. Lukily we have found a family that we have enjoyed hanging out with a lot. They are the Passeys and they have befriended us even with our apparent flaws. They are a great family and they have a girl, star, and a boy, Jack, that Ku'u has enjoyed playing with. Tony has become my golfing buddy and Sheila has run with Namea. They are just an awesome family and we are glad we have met them.

Well I have only list 5 reasons so far but this is getting long and I'm getting tired so we will save the rest for later. We hope that all are doing well and I promise to get more pictures.

Good-bye Cedar City, Utah

2008-06-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

Jude and Ku'u in front of our old Kensington Apartment.Ku'u sitting on our mass of boxes to be moved
Ku'u and her best friends Elsie and Emily

The girls again

Cedar City Friends

Pre-med friends in Cedar

The Perfect Day

2008-06-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

I've seen a lot of blogs that have paid tribute to great fathers but before Namea gets a chance to do that I wanted to send a shot out to my family for providing me with what I thought was the perfect day. It started with an amazing french toast breakfast that I enjoyed while watching a DVD that Kuu and Namea made (I would post it but it was like 30min long and I didn't want to bore anyone). They also made be a card with 101 reasons why they are happy I am the father of this family--I didn't think anyone could say more than 2 reasons why I make them happy, they are very generous with their reasons. Next we went to church which is always great but especially good because Ku'u joined the primary children in singing "Daddy's Homecoming" (almost made me cry but I was surrounded by tons of people and it took everything I had to keep it in). As if that wasn't enough, the US Open was today and Namea and Ku'u even watched some of it with me (yea, we are sinners but it was worth it). The best thing was that Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate tied for the lead and that means that they will have an 18 hole playoff tommorrow--yes more golf. Namea then made us Japanese Wings and Steak for dinner. She is such a good cook and even though she knew we were going to her parent's house for dinner, she still made me the dinner I asked for. She is such a good wife. Her and Kuu also bought me 2 Hawaiian CD's (Kaau Crater Boys and Fiji's 1st CD). These are my favorite Hawaiian CDs and when we moved from Hawaii I lost my last copies. To top the day off I sat in our recliner and shared the "Dads Rootbeer" with Kuu, this was the highlight. I am so grateful for being a father and for my family. I bet this is how a typical day would be in the Celestrial Kingdom. Happy Father's Day to all the Father's out there and I hope you all had as good of a day as I had if not better.

Oh Happy Day

2008-06-10T07:34:00.000-07:00

We just found out that Namea was selected for the Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship. This means that her 4 years of medical school (tuition, books, other expenses) will be paid for along with a $1,000 stipend each month for living expenses. All she has to do is go into primary care (she already wants to go into pediatrics) and serve a year for a year in an undeserved area in Hawaii (another blessing because this guarantees that I will return home after medical school/residency). This was definetely a no-brainer for us and we feel really blessed. Can you imagine a better situation? Namea will get out of medical school with no debt!! Now some of you may be asking "what about Jude?" Well I did apply for the scholarship and they are still making selections, but I am not sure that I want to go into primary care. I am about 60% sure but thats not good enough right now. I can also apply in the following years when I know for sure that primary care is the way I want to go. Anyways, hooray for Namea.

Ku'u's newest cute story

2008-05-31T00:54:00.000-07:00

Two nights ago Ku'u was once again inquisitive about spiritual matters

Ku'u: Mommy where does heavenly Father live?
Namea: In Heaven.
Ku'u: Where is Heaven?
Namea: We don't know for sure, but it must be close because he watches over us.
Ku'u: Do you think he hears my prayers.
Namea: Yes, I know for sure he hears your prayers.

Later that night, Ku'u starts to say her prayer and then stops and whispers to Namea,
"Mommy I am going to pray loud to make sure Heavenly Father hears me".

Namea said that Ku'u then started to say her prayer very loudly and after asked again if Namea thought Heavenly father heard her prayer. Namea just smiled and said, "yes, I think he heard that one"

Ku'u is MIA and hospital dramas

2008-05-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well we haven't updated our blog in a while but there have been good reasons.

First we are sad because Ku'u (our life0 has taken a vacation to Hawaii and left her parents in Utah. She went with her grandparents and often calls us up to tell us about the beautiful weather and the beaches (whatever! just make us lonely and jealous).

Next Namea and I have been in and out of the hospital. Namea had really bad stomach pain and went to the ER. They did tests (including a pregnancy test) and found out it was gastroenteritis (luckily no baby, life is just too crazy right now for that). She was still out of it for a couple days after but is better now.

My drama deals with my heart. Thanks to lovely genetics I am at high risk for heart problems. I'm on meds for high cholesterol and have been having chest pains for the last month. We did an EKG and something was irregular, then a stress test (run on treadmill with electrodes all over and radioactive dye inserted through an IV to show blokage) that turned out positive for blokage, then an agiogram (catheter inserted through femoral artery to confirm if there is an actual blokage) that turn out negative. So bottom line: I did all these test and I am perfectly fine. There is one last test, an echocardiogram to see if the EKG really is irregular but that scheduled in 2 weeks.

So thats our sad story: No Ku'u and pain and anguish health wise.

On the brught side, we finnaly got a place to stay in Salt Lake and will be moving on June 20th,Yaaaay!!

Sorry no pictures this time.

Hula Princess

2008-04-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

The past few week, Namea and her mom were frantically sewing costumes for the SUU Luau. Ku'u watched all the girls get new dresses to dance in and felt that she needed a pretty new dress as well. Her grandma promised her that she would sew her a dress since Ku'u was performing one number at the luau. The day of the luau, Grandma finished Ku'u's dress and Ku'u was as proud as could be to wear her new dress. That night after the luau, she wanted to sleep in it and the only way we could get it off her was promise that she could wear it to church the next day. Of course, on Sunday, she had to take pictures in her pretty Hula dress. She found her best dress-up shoes, stole Namea's house decorations and off we went to take Hula princess pictures.

Ku'u does listen

2008-04-17T00:19:00.000-07:00

Namea relayed this story to me today. She said that out of the blue, Ku'u came up to her and asked,

Ku'u: "mommy what does crucify mean?"
Namea: "this is the way the bad people killed Jesus, by hanging him on the cross"
Ku'u: "oh, (pause) but thats O.K. mommy because after 3 weeks Jesus came out of the tomb and was ressurected right?"
Namea: "yes, after 3 days Jesus was ressurected"
Ku'u: "Mommy what does ressurected mean"

Namea then explained the ressurection and Ku'u replied "oh ya, I remember." It just amazes me that she really did understand and remember some of the things we talked about on Easter. As a parent it makes me happy that she is so inquisitive of things pertaining to the gospel, even at the age of three. And it comforts me that she is always one to remember that Jesus and Heavenly Father loves her. I have been truely blessed by the beautiful spirit that Ku'u is and know that she is one of the choices daughters of Heavenly Father to be born in this dispensation.

My 15 min. of fame

2008-04-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

A friend posted this picture on a blog that I opened yesterday and it brought back memories of our former beloved Prophet Gordon B Hinkley. This picture was taken when President Hinkley visited the canoe (Iosepa) that Namea and I helped build and sail. At this time I wasn't a member and was quite irratated by all the people making such a big deal over seeing this old man. I was appointed to follow President Hinkley and help him around the canoe as there were a lot of obstacles around the site and a big staircase to get up on the deck. At the time I never knew how big of a priveledge I was given and to whom I was helping. I am grateful to have had this memory of the Prophet as he was the first living prophet I have had as a member.

We decided to attend...

2008-03-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well after a day at the temple and fasting on Sunday we both felt strongly that we should attend the University of Utah. Not to be self-glotting but this University had 5,000 applications submitted, 600 interviewed, and only 100 students got accepted--so it is quite an honor to have recieved acceptances. This school also ranks among the best of medical schools in the nation. The tuition difference was ATSU=$36,000 a year each and Utah=$20,000 a year each, so we calculated that we would save over $120,000 over the 4 year period. Utah has also been established for a long time and has many opportunities especially because they have a great hospital connected to the school. The only thing we regret is that we will have to call ATSU and give them the news. ATSU has been very good to us and we have met some really great individuals there. It truely was a hard decision but we feel this will be the best for our family.

Wooohooo, We got accepted to Utah

2008-03-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

Well we finally got our letter from the University of Utah School of Medicine and both Namea and I are accepted there. We are excited because we actually got into our 2 top schools. We aren't positive where we will go yet but we plan on going to the temple tommorrow and fasting on Sunday then make a decision on Monday. Where should we go?

Well this is how it happened. So I get home from taking Ku'u to the park to fly her kite and decide to check the mail. Low and behold I see a large enveloped sent from the U with both of our names on it. Namea was not home so I called her but she didn't answer. Being impatient, I open the envelope and see 2 separate envelopes for each of us. Of course I proceed to open mine. After reading the first sentence which said "we are pleased to..." I yelled out of happiness. Ku'u who was sitting next to me didn't know what was happening and started to cry, thinking I was yelling at her or something. Well I spent the next 5 minutes explaining to her that I was just yelling because I was happy. Well still no Namea to open her envelope so I decided to hide mine and tell her only hers came in. When she finally came home she opened her letter and said "i'm in but I can't be happy because we don't know about you". Being the teaser that I am, I played along and told her I was happy for her but that I'll probably get rejected. Seeing that she was agonizing being in limbo I showed her my letter. Of course a swift punch followed immedietly but I just laughed. Well thats the story. We will post on Monday with our descision. A hui hou--Jude

Daddy's Little Princess

2008-03-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well, Jude has been trying to get me to do a post and I finally have some time with spring break. Our life is crazy and I wouldn't be able to keep up with things if it wasn't for a great husband and daddy. Jude is doing things that he probably said he would never do like playing Barbies, painting fingernails, and brushing hair. He is Ku'u's favorite Barbie playdate partner and she absolutely adores Daddy. She is definately Daddy's Little Princess and has him wrapped around her finger...but who could say no to that smile!!!! We love you Daddy, thanks for all you do. Love your two girls!!! (The song almost fit, just change All-American to All-Hawaiian and then it's perfect!!)

2008-03-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

Jude had a rough day today as he hurt his foot at work last night. He slept in to recuperate from his graveyard shift and then stayed home to be a cripple. Namea took Ku'u on the same trail as yesterday as she promised. When they got back home the family went to get dinner at Costa Vida (the families favorite resturant) and then invited grandma Curtis over to decorate eggs. Ku'u had a blast but Namea and Jude continuously worried she was going to spill the dye all over the kitchen. Luckily we finished with only mild spills here and there, so now we plan on hiding the eggs tommorrow for Ku'u to find. Happy Easter. Jude and Ku'u hard at work
Ku'u and Grandma Curtis coloring eggs

"What should I draw?, like I have skills"

Ku'u thinking the eggs in the dye need stirring

Miss Cute

Miss Grumpy

Spring Break winding down Day 4

2008-03-20T22:48:00.000-07:00

Well, Spring Break is almost over for us but we are still trying to make the best of it. Today we decided to go for a run on a trail in Cedar canyons. It was a beautiful day and we got to enjoy some sun. Ku'u sat in the stroller the whole time and was with me for the first part but got bored as she said "daddy why are we so slow" and "I want mommy to push me." From then on Namea took stroller duties. Ku'u's best part was riding acrros the bridge and she already asked mommy to take her back tommorrow. My best part, as with all the other spring break activities we have done so far, is the priceless family time we are spending.

Day 3 of Spring Break

2008-03-19T22:39:00.001-07:00

Today the fam bam went bowling and man it was not pretty. We had fun but the scores were horrible. Namea was the victor as she scored 120. I don't know a lot about bowling but I know thats not a good score. My score was less (105) but I have to blame a bum finger thats been irratating me (yes thats my excuse). The worst thing about it is that we all used bumpers. Ku'u had fun for about 3 (scored 62) frames and then she was off bothering the other bowlers.

Later today Namea decided to let Ku'u help her with the cooking. They made Lasagna and french bread. Ku'u had fun making the bread and flour was all over the place because of it. As you can see though, she was all smiles.

Second day of spring break

2008-03-18T19:56:00.001-07:00

So today we decided to stay in Cedar and do something here. Namea saw that "Horton hears a who" was playing and we were sold because Ku'u loves movies and I had won some movie tickets at a dinner we were invited to. Well we planned it out and went in for a matinee. Unfortunetly the theaters machines were broken and we couldn't use our tickets. So our cheap date actually costed us some money but it was all worth it because Ku'u was glued to the screen. We bought popcorn and an Icee and we had to feed her the popcorn as she held the Icee close to her mouth. I can't fully describe it but lets just say her head and eyes did not leave the screen as if hypnotized. When asked, she said that the movies was more fun than the waterslide. Who would have known? Oh ya, we do recommend this movie it was wholesome and funny.

First Day of Spring Break

2008-03-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of spring break for us and boy was it exhausting. Namea and I decided not to take a trip but to do all the things around Cedar City and St. George that we always say we don't have time for. So, yesterday we took Ku'u to the waterpark in St. George called Sand Hallow. It's a small waterpark but it was perfect for Ku'u. She splished and splashed to her hearts content. What was funny was that she had no interest in the waterslide that she could do by herself but rather wanted Namea and I to take her on the big slide. Everytime she got off she would chant "again, again". To make a long story short namea and I went up the slide about 30 times (no exaggeration). It was fun, we got our $8 (total) worth.

Next we got changed and caught a Easter egg hunt. It was OK but there was so many kids that they limited it to 2 eggs per kid. It was fine for Ku'u because she knew there was candy in the egg and stopped after her first egg to eat her candy. She is such a candy-holic that I can't understand why she is so skinny. All I know is that I'm so jealous, if I just think about candy I gain 5 pounds. Hopefully, she will keep up this trend and be the only skinny Hawaiian in our family.

Of course no day is complete without a good dinner. We ate at a resturant called the Golden Corale that is an all you can eat place. They have steak, salmon, chicken, deserts, ect. Everything was going well until I hit my full point, and then decided to eat some more. After that I was hurting. It was worth it though because I think this place has the best steaks in town.

After we ate Namea wanted to go shopping at Target. She assured me that she just wanted to get a "couple" of outfits for ku'u but like always a couple (which means 2 for most people) meant 10 to Namea. Broke da bank, for poor students like us. Anyways we hope everyone else is having a good spring break also. A hui hou--Jude

Who would have thought that a box would be so much fun?

2008-03-07T22:03:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago, it was finally warm enough to pull out my shopvac that I got for Christmas to vacuum our car. Well as I was assembling it, Ku'u found the box and fun time began. Instantly it became a clubhouse and she proceeded to make it homey but using markers to decorate it. She played in it the whole time I was vacuuming the car. At night she pleaded with her mommy to sleep in it (with her night light on the side of course). It was a surprise that she had so much fun with the box, which to me is worhtless but to her is a day full of fun . It just goes to show that a toys price tag doesn't always relate to how much fun a child will have with it.

More Friends

2008-03-07T21:52:00.000-08:00

Just giving a shot out to Malia and the Wingets who I have also found on blogspot. Malia and Mike both went to Kahuku High School with me and I was able to meet Mike's wife Kahi at BYUH. Thanks to all who have wrote back to me. It's good to hear from old friends.

Hooray for Friends

2008-03-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

I must admit that when I started our blogspot I was just looking for a more exciting way to keep a journal on our family but it has become a lot more than that. I have found that it is a great tool to reconnect with old friends. On monday I stumbled across some blog adresses of old high school friends. I left comments on them and my friends viewed ours and commented on ours. It's been cool reading up on Molly, Nicole, the Dimonds, and the Yuens. Sounds like life goes on away from our little bubble here in Cedar City. Anyways, thank goodness for blogging. Hopefully I can get in touch with other friends in the future. I try to keep this blog current during my graveyard shift when I have nothing better to do and when I have pictures, so till then a hui hou--Jude

Spring is here...maybe

2008-02-29T23:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today were beautiful days in Cedar City. The temperature was in the high 50's and low 60's. Kuu, Namea, and I could not let this opportunity to get out of the house go by so we went out for a walk, let Ku'u ride her bike and play on the playground. We all enjoyed ourselves until it was time to go in, in which case Kuu screamed to the top of her lungs. She wanted to stay outside all day and all night and I didn't blame her. Today I even saw that the golf course was open so hopefully I can sneak away for 9 holes. Namea said she heard on the news that there was a 50% chance of snow tommorrow night but we are praying that it doesn't come. Hopefully spring is here and spring will stay.

Medical School Applications are done

2008-02-26T16:41:00.000-08:00

Finally! It's all over. Namea and I had our last interview yesterday with the University of Utah. We are both relieved at this point and are just relaxing waiting for the decision. Like we wrote before we are already in a school in Arizona but thought we should also try for the University of Utah. Namea thought she had a good interview but I don't know about mine. It seemed like I was being drilled for 45 min. All is good though, we are happy to go to either school. We will post the decision as soon as we get it. They said they will send out letters at the end of March. Oh ya, we were lucky enough to stay with Kawehi and Sosiua while we were there and felt the hospitality that you find so prevelent in Hawaii. We were so grateful and blessed. Till next time--Jude

We bought a house

2008-02-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true, Namea, Ku'u, and I ventured out in search of a house and made a crazy descision and bought this one. It's an awesome home, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2,400 sqft, with a lot of extras (pool, big kitchen, ect.) It broke our bank but it is so worth it. We will not tell the price but we got a good deal and good financing. It's in St. George, Ut in a really nice area. Now I know what everyone is thinking, "why are did they buy a house in utah when they are off to medical school in July?" Well thats the beauty of it. We really didn't but a house, I just thought it would be fun to do a really early April fools joke. This is actually a home that we went to go see in the parade of homes (a home show in Utah). It wasn't even the nicest home we saw but I figure it would be a little more believable. Well thanks for letting me pull your leg for a little bit. We hope everyone is doing well. Till next me.--Jude

Running around town with the Princess

2008-02-21T23:14:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, Feb. 20th, Jude had a lot of errands to run in town. Unfortunately, Namea was in classes and so Jude needed to take Ku'u along. Like always Ku'u had her own agenda and started playing princess dress-up. When Jude insisted that they go, ku'u came up with this lie that mommy said she could wear her dress-ups when she went with daddy. Knowing that this was made up, Jude went to look for regular clothes. When he came back with a pair of jeans and a shirt, Ku'u had a meltdown. Not up to the fight, Jude gave in and the pictures shows how ku'u left the house (with the smile of victory). Fortunetely she agreed to use a sweater. Everyone in town thought it was cute and Jude has to admit it brought a smile to his face, shopping with his little princess.

Happy Birthday Namea

2008-01-30T20:10:00.000-08:00

Namea clelbrated yet another birthday this past Saturday. Kuu and I bought her some flowers and balloons and a watch. Namea's mom treated her to a shopping spree in St. George and we all went out to dinner at Applebees. Namea said it was one of her best birthdays yet and we were happy she enjoyed it. Sorry we don't have any pictures.

Christmas

2008-01-13T01:45:00.000-08:00

OK, I know it's been a while since christmas but it's better late than never right? We spent this Christmas in Utah with Namea's parents. We had a great christmas and Santa was really generous this year.

Of course, Ku'u got the most presents and among these was a barbie cash register (2 registers actually), moon sand, clothes, money, and a lot of other stuff. She still wraps presents up and gives them away-shes cute. She got into the whole santa thing this christmas. On the eve she left santa panipopo, chocolate milk, and a letter. In the morning Santa (aka daddy) woke her up and she was so excited. After santa left, kuu ran downstairs to wake up her daddy and told him everything that happened. She was happy that santa listened and got her everything she wanted.

Namea and I was also spoiled by santa. We got a king sized plush bed that was well overdue. We had been squeezing on a full size bed and now we feel like we have our own zip code when we go to bed. Thanks mom and dad Curtis. Namea got me a TV (not an expensive flat panel but a nice one that she got a good deal on) and a sound system to go with it. It was fun watching the Sugarbowl on my new system. Oh she also made me a DVD on "our journey" that was filled with pictures that summed up our life together thus far. It did make me cry but everyone knows I'm a big baby when it comes to that stuff. I got Namea what she wanted a lot of clothes and shoes (that she pick out of course). I also got her a frame that has our picture, her family's picture, and my family's picture. I guess she liked it because she found a spot for it and hung it up right away.

All in all we had a good christmas. Namea prepared a lesson on christmas eve concerning the true meaning of christmas. We sang songs about Christ and ku'u help tell the story of Jesus' birth. We have so much to be grateful for and one of the biggest things is Family and Friends that bless our lives. Thank you all for your love and support. We hope all had a great christmas.

P.S. Am I just bias or did me and Namea make the cutest little girl ever!!

Winter Wonderland

2008-01-13T00:57:00.000-08:00

The snow has fallen here in Utah and we are trying our best to ignore the cold and enjoy the snow. We have been out a couple of times to go sledding and here are some pictures that we took.

Ku'u is truely a Hawaiian girl. She does not like the snow or the cold. If she had her way, she would be swimming in the Pacific Ocean instead of curling up in a hole in the snow with Jude. The one thing that she does seem to enjoy in the snow is making snow angels and we seem to find her lying in the snow swinging her arms every time she goes outside.

Namea always seems to be the lucky one behind the camera instead of in the pictures. I must say, she is the craziest on a sled. She crashed so much that Ku'u was scared to be in the same sled as her. Namea has so much fun though and she gets back up the hill and crashes again.

As for me, I have so much fun spending time with my family. I have found that the only way to survive the snow is to find a lot of warm clothes. It will be interesting to see if this will be the last snowy winter we will have. Now that the

snow is here our Arizona/Hawaii school seems like the best choice.

Worlds Greatest Wife

2008-01-02T22:54:00.001-08:00

Have you ever wondered why your life has been blessed soo much? Have you ever felt that the Lord may have given you much more than you deserve? Well, I do. My wife is the greatest thing that has happened in my life and she continues to make me feel like the Lord is spoiling me and my life. Last night despite the Hawaii Warriors taking a beating from Georgia, was one of those good nights I will always remember. I told Namea a couple of days ago that I would like to watch the football game and not only did she let me, she made me delicious game food, took Ku'u so I could watch uninterrupted, and made sure that I enjoyed some free time. Man, I love my life and my wife (hey that rhymes). I hope all of you have a spouse as good as mine. C-ya, JUDE

Almost Christmas

2007-12-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

Aloha Everyone,

Well Christmas is upon us and we hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. Besides working a lot our family has been able to spend a lot of time together. We have had movie nights almost every night that I didn't have to work and these have been enjoyable. Of course Kuu insists we watch Stuart Little or Meet the Robinsons everytime but fortunately she is out voted by the other members of the family. We also found some time to go sledding together. This was tons of fun and I will post pictures next time. Kuu is quite excited for Christmas. She is so spoiled and has a bunch of presents under our tree. She tries to peek at them once in a while but I can't blame her, I'm sure I did it when I was her age. She knows the nativity story well because Namea goes over it everyday with her. She tells of baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph--I am soo proud of her. She also is in the mood of giving. Everyday she wraps up one of her old toys and gives it to us. This is good except we have no more wrapping paper or tape in our house. We are so enjoying the holidays and I am very grateful for my family and the love that we share. Truely families are what life is all about. Merry Christmas to all. Love the Sells 'Ohana

Lastest News

2007-12-15T23:11:00.001-08:00

Aloha Everyone,

Well I figured out how to get pictures on here. This blog my be a little long because I want update everyone on what is going on in life nowadays. I also have some great pictures that we took in Arizona (so now no one can complain that we don't share pictures, Mom you especially).

Currently: Namea and I just finished another semester at Southern Utah University. Namea took 12 credits and I just took 6. It was a good thing too because I made a sudden trip to Hawaii. My cousin Ann Marie got into an accident so I flew back to offer whatever kind of help I could. I stayed and slept in the hospital a lot which really isn't the best way to see Hawaii. But I am very happy I went. I remember really debating whether I should go or not because of school, finances, and being away from Namea and Kuu but when I got there and held Ann Marie's hand and tried to imagine all the pain and sorrow she was going through I realized I was in the right place and that there was a purpose for me being there. I love my cousin very much and would have done it again in a heartbeat. Ann Marie is actually doing very well now she got released out of the hospital and is doing rehab now. She has come a long way from being heavily sedated with tubes everywhere to being awake and walking around. She is one strong young lady. Her mom Rene has also impressed me. I can't imagine what she was and is going through seeing her daughter in the ICU. She is definetely one of my heroes.

Medical School: As some of you know both Namea and I got accepted to a medical school in Mesa, Arizona (ATSU-SOMA). We were so happy to get the news which came about 3 days after interveiwing. This school is great because we spend our first year in Arizona and then go to Waianae, HI for years 2, 3, and 4. Yes everyone, that means we would be back home in August 2009. This is awesome but before anyone gets too excited we should let everyone know that we are still applying to the University of Utah. This is and has always been both of our first choice for medical school for many reasons. It's a great school and we hope to get in but we don't know yet so as of now we are planning on ATSU-SOMA. REMEMBER, I said we really want to go to the University of Utah so all of you in Hawaii please don't call the University of Utah and ruin our chances just because you want us back home (Mom again you especially). We will be back in Hawaii eventually.

Namea: I really should have her update everyone but I want to do it so here it goes hopefully I wont get into too much trouble for what I say. Namea as you can see from the pictures cut her hair. She was quite ready for a change but I was really nervous. Turns out we both really like it. she says its esier to manage and we are saving a ton on shampoo and other hair products. She is currently working with Rita Osborn placing medical students in clinics. She also sits on the hospital board here in Cedar City as the student board member and is quite enjoying that. She says she is learning a lot about healthcare and running a hospital. I like it because they paid for a hotel up at Brian Head for a retreat. Namea went to meetings and I enjoyed the food, the jacuzzi, the fire place, and the king size bed. It was wonderful. Namea also got to fulfill one of her dreams this last year. She was asked to help coach the cross country team at her old high school. Believe me she had a perma-smile evertime she went. Yes she is still crazy for running and she loved the girls she coached. I was ditched a few times for the cross coutry girls but I was happy to see her happy. As if all that isn't enough Namea also schedules an hour and a half teaching Kuu everyday. They go over things like alphabets, shapes, colors, hawaiian words, ect. So yes Namea is still Namea and tries to fill every second of her life with something. There is a country song, "And I though I was tough"--the first part totally describes Namea.

Ku'u: My little princess. Besides school with mommy Ku'u finds time to help Namea and I realize how wonderful life truely is. She is currently enjoying every minute of Christmas. She has gone to shopping, searching for a Christmas tree, decorating the tree, putting up lights, visiting Santa (a few times now, she really wants to make sure Santa knows what she wants for Christmas), parades, ect. She just turned 3 in October and will be a sunbeam (certain class in church) soon. She is growing up too fast. She loves playing with her Barbie playhouse and constantly asks her daddy to play with her. So yes, I never thought I would ever play with Barbies but this little girl has her daddy so wrapped aroud her finger that she can ask him just about anything and he will do it. Some people call it being "whooped" but I call it love. You try saying "no" to that precious smile.

Me: This is one of my favorite pictures with Ku'u. Life has been great since I got my acceptance. It's good to know I will a least start medical school somewhere next year. Like I mentioned I am going to take a break from school next semester and I am very excited to have more time to spend with the family. I am currently working at a sleep lab where I test people for sleep apnea. i have really enjoyed this job because I meet people from all walks of life. I work a graveyard obviously so that gets hard sometimes but it is all worth it. This job is helping me pay for the car we just bought in November. It's a 2003 Honda CR-V and its suppose to be my car but Namea seems to always have the keys! It's all good, anything to keep my love happy. Thats about all for me. I already mentioned my Hawaii trip. I was happy I got to spend some time with family and friends. I stayed with my best friend Paliku and had a good time catching up with him and his family. I spent some time with Joseph and his family and was priveledged enough to babysit Kayla while Joe and Jamie went on a date (I totally got the better end of that deal). And of course Rene and Harley saw so much of me that they were probably happy to send me back home. The only thing I regret is not getting in the ocean this trip. That was the hardest part.

Well that is pretty much it for now. I have more pictures but I will save them for future blogs. You guys can reply by hitting the comments icon if you want. Well till next time Aloha and a hui hou. Jude

First Blog

2007-12-14T23:47:00.000-08:00

Aloha family and friends. We are trying to be more efficient since we are the worst at sharing pictures and updates on our family. Hopefully I can get this up and running now that I am finished with school for now. Like most of you know we will both be attending medical school in July so I am taking a break from school to spend time with my family before life gets crazy. I hope all are doing well and getting everything they want for Christmas. Alright good bye for now.--Jude