My fondest memories of my Daddy..Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my Father who is smiling from above. I realize that you were taken from this earthly existence when I was still barely a teenager, and you were so much older and most of my memories of you were either taking care of you or looking for you in the wee hours of the morning. I remember when I stayed with you @ Queens Medical Center and you decided to go on an excursion of the floor. You yanked out your IV that you had on you, leaving a trail of blood for me to find you, oh not to forget the screeching screams of the other female patients on the floor as you enter their rooms looking like a zambi from a very poor unorchestrated "ghost movie". I ran to your rescue, and all you had was that strange look on your face, "what did I do"?, what happen?. I brought you back to your room feeling very frustrated but @ the same time I was relieved to find you. I slept by your bed for several nights, but regreted not being their when you decided to leave this earthly life to meet with your heavenly father. I've regreted not seeing you take your last breath, and saying goodbye to you, my dear daddy. I hope you know how much I loved you and cared for you while you were with me. We didn't communicate as much as I would wanted to, and didn't get a chance to play baseball, or throw the football because you were so much older and very sick, but I always felt safe and secured when you were around. You didn't talk much but your actions displayed the Pure of Christ which was felt by your children especially me. I also wanted to compliment you for the way you treated your wife, my dear mom. I can't remember when you yelled @ her or mistreated her in any way, an example that I am trying to do with my dear wife, something that I need to work on daily. So thank you for being the best father that any young man could have. My only hope is that I can take all the positive influences that you've been to me and implement it in my own life so that my children could become well rounded, god fearing, loving & respectful individuals. Ia Manuia le Aso Tama'; Alofa tele mo oe, lou tama' peleina i lou' fatu. Always, your youngest son, Liae Lee Tapa Matavao

Wow, it has been a while since I've commented on this blog. I have been very busy with work, family and extra-curricular activities. My nephew Eddie Kilifi Brown, graduated from Taylorsville High School on June 5th and had his graduation Luau on Saturday the 6th. Unfortunately I could not make it to his Luau since my choir(260 men )performed that same day @ the LDS Tabernacle. It was a chance of a life time to be singing in such a beautiful edifice, after all it was the former home of the Tabernacle Choir. My wife came to my performance and she could not stop talking about it, what a magical night it was.

I am anticipating our family's Reunion in CA July 13-19, wow, three years in the planning and it is now just around the corner.

Aceman out! for now!

A quick note!

April 2009 is almost history and May is just a few days away, wow, where did the time go? A few things worth mentioning:

We had a wonderful Easter, not only because I am reminded of the unselfish sacrifice that my elder brother Jesus Christ gave; he died & was resurrected for us all. He paid the ultimate price, all we have to do is keep his commandments and he has promised us Eternal life. We went to Burley & Preston Idaho to visit family. We saw some wonderful landmarks in Southern Idaho; Twin & Shoshone Falls. I have never been to Niagra Falls, now that I've been to the Twin & Shoshone Falls, I don't need to go the New York. My boys were taken by the beautiful scenary and magnificient display of these natural landmarks right in our own back yard.

My very special son Krae will be turning 11 on Sunday May 3rd, wow I can't believe it. Heavenly Father has blessed us with Krae to make us realize what's important in life; our relationships, spending time with our loved ones and being different is OK. We should all celebrate our diversities in life.

I am forever indebted to my loving Father in Heaven for his undying devotion to me and my family. My wife was laid off on March 3rd and we have been struggling financially, but I am confident that we will make it through with god's blessings. Every time I start feeling sorry for myself, I am reminded that there are so many others whose situations are much dire than mine. I am counting my blessings every day.

Until next time...Keep your heads in the snow & keep reaching for the stars!

Talofa lava,

Haven't posted anything for awhile, so here I am again. I joined the "Because We Sing" All men Choir, we are hoping to have 364 men. Last night was our first practice & there were about 189 men that showed up. We will be performing on Saturday June 6th @ the LDS Tabernacle on Temple Square. There are a lot of fun songs this year, I first joined the choir about a year ago and we had some great songs to sing back then but this year's music is shaping up to be quite a selection, maybe even better than last year's.

I love to sing when I get a chance, this is a good outlet for me from my sometime stressful but fun filled life.

Any of you men that would like to join the choir, please log into becausewealsosing.blogspot.com and read more about it. We love to have you, we are about a half way there.

More next time...Aloha..Aceman

March came in like a Lamb, it crept up and no one really expected it to be here so soon, not me @ least. Now that is here, what will I do with it. I am looking forward to working in the yard, planting, weeding, and just getting down & dirty.

Our fence is fixed and our garage post is up and secured, from when a Mexican driver decided to plow down our fence & take out our garage post about 3 months ago. I was exhausted dealing with the insurance companies and the Utah Dept of Transportation(UDOT). I've learned that if I don't become a pleasant pest, nothing will get done. I've had to call the insurance companies & UDOT almost everyday to get anything done, you can't just depend on their good will & grace to pay what is rightfully yours, YOU HAVE TO BE A PLEASANT PEST, something that I don't enjoy being. I had to settle for far less than what I asked for from the Insurance Company, I couldn't fight anymore, the fight was too much for my stress level, so I had to settle.

There is so much restlessness in America today, with the Bad Economy, Foreclosures, Unemployment sky rocketing and many other serious misfortunes. It seems that you can't buy any honest person in Washington. Despite all of these negative nuances, I still believe that we live in the greatest country in the World. America, the land of the Opportunity and Freedoms, people are still immigrating here by the boat load. I am so honored to be an American, I am also very fortunate to be married to a wonderful lady raising our three awe-inspiring children. I am DEFINITELY LIVING THE DREAM!!

My 25 Wishes & Pet Peaves.

1)Don't like people using the cell phone in the bathrooms.
2)Favorite Food: Porkchop, Rice & corn..oh yeah Raw Fish & Poi(yummy)
3)Laying on the Beach..having no cares in the world..dreaming about making it big in the music world.
4)Give back our land..all the foreigners have taken over the Hawaiian Islands, chased out the "real hawaiians".
5)Want all the Bullies in this world to go away.
6)A cure for Autism and all the cancer in this world.
7)Staying young and fit..never growing old and never getting fat but eat the same amount.
8)Make enough money so my wife don't have to work.
9)Wish I had blue eyes and 6'4".
10)My little girl will grow up & become Miss America so she can show everyone that if Barrack can make it she can too...horay for the half & half's in this world.
11)Ticket all drivers that drive and talk on their phone or text..hefty $1000 for every violation.
12)That we can all live together in harmony, blacks, whites, browns, religious, atheist, etc...
13)The state of Hawaii would be connected to the mainland so we can drive instead of flying.
14)Live forever and never dying.
15)Seeing my mother & dad again & show them what I've done with my life and to see their beautiful grand kids.
16)Getting rid of guns in the hands of the criminals and putting them in responsible gun owners only.
17)Having a guarantee that America will never be attacked ever again by terrorist.
18)Having 3 wishes come true. 1)Peace in the middle east 2)My children will always be taken care of, both financialy, physically & spiritually 3)Dying the same time, as my spouse
19)Winner of the 1 billion lottery so I don't have to work ever!
20)Having inner peace @ all times.
21)Would like to see these places before I die; 1)Paris 2)Rio Dejanaro 3)The Orient 4)Bahamas
22)Be happy & have joy in my life
23)Purchasing a Toyota Tundra Truck(Yellow)
24)Not have to think so hard about "my 25 unusual things".
25)Living in America.

Hi there! It's me again, can't believe we're in February 2009 already. Tapa' my oldest will be 13 years old on the 19th, wow! Where has time gone..It seems like just yesterday when I held him in my arms, after a long lengthy delivery. He is now a teenager and with an attitude to boot, but we keep him grounded by reminding him who's boss. Krae will be turning 11 in May and Calea will be 3 years old come July. Time has flown by and I am trying to live each day to the fullest.

This will be a good year, it will be a better year than 2008. I am looking forward to our Matavao Reunion to be held in California this July. There will be a whole week of fun activities, games, talent show and of course...lot's and lots of eating. The Matavao's love to have fun, fun is our middle name.

I am excited about President Obama and his vision for this country to restore hope and prosperity back to the people. We are in need of some drastic changes to help jump start our struggling economy. I just hope we as Americans come together to help this new administration reach their goals.

It's the new year, 2009 and I welcome it with open arms. 2008 was not a good year for the Matavao's. My nephew Eddie Brown was struck by a druggie who ran the red light on Redwood Rd, Taylorsville UT in Nov 2008. Eddie is recovering just fine but my Nephew Wes was not so lucky. He was struck by another driver on a very busy Freeway in CA on Dec 27th(my birthday)and died on impact. I have stopped trying to make sense out of these unfortunate events because I don't get anywhere. I've experienced so many emotions through these events and I can't express them all, through it all I am still sane; some days I wonder.

My goal for 2009 is to be a little more forgiving, express my love both verbally and physically to my family, giving people the benefit of the doubt and "just stop and smell the roses" more often. I am truly grateful to my Father in Heaven for giving me the strength to go on, regardless of the pain and agony I felt through these past two months. I am also grateful to a loving wife and 3 wonderful children, they give me hope for a brighter future and the will power to get up every day and face life head on.

Aceman

Thanksgiving is now behind us. Our family got together @ Daren & Silvana's residence to have very delicious Thanksgiving Dinner. We had a Turkey, 2 Ham, Sapasui, Mash Potato, Taro & Green Banana's. Not to mention all the delicious pies and treats for Dessert. The Morris, Kevin & Maria, Thomas, Lynnette, Mike & Brittany, the Browns along with Eddie and Amanda, the Matavao's were all in attendance. We had fun getting re-acquainted again with all of our family members and enjoyed our white elephant gift exchanging game. We ended up with some interesting gifts, we had lots of fun.

We only have 23 shopping days until Christmas, wow! how time fly. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays, not only because we get to celebrate the birth of our Savior, but because it brings out the best in all of us.

Tapa's Best Friends and his brother Krae hiding in the back ground.

Thanksgiving is upon us and I wanted to express my thanks to a loving Heavenly Father for his love and kind intervention in my life and the life of my Nephew Eddie.

On November 3, 2008 my wonderful Nephew Edwin Kilifi Brown was struck by a impatient driver trying to run the red light. Eddie was on his long board, who had the right away and was in the middle of the crosswalk when this impatient driver changed lane, did not see Eddie and struck head on. He was rushed to the Emergency room @ Intermountain Medical where he sustained a fractured skull and two broken legs. Good news, Eddie is now out of ICU and is in a Care Center where he is starting his road to recovery.

I am so blessed for good family members and friends who have been so good to dedicate their time and efforts to making sure that Eddie and his family were cared for. I thank all of you for your prayers and faith, not to mention your positive thoughts for Eddie. My sister is truly overwhelmed at the outpouring of love that her Ward Members, family, friends, school associates have give her family but especially.

I am truly honored and humbled for all the love that has been showed to Eddie at a time when he needs it most. Thank you all for your unending support and love, you have restored my faith in humanity; that there are still wonderful, loving & kind people out there. God Bless you all.

With all my love & aloha's ...Ace