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When it comes to kid's, whether it's toys, candy or birthdays, two is almost always better than one!  My darling niece and Goddaughter Alohilani celebrated her 2nd birthday a couple of weeks ago and we all celebrated by going to Sea Life Park!  While I'm on the topic of two being better than one, my lucky niece got 2 cakes that day...one at the party and one at my parents' house.  Yeah....she's loved!!

We all had a fun, albeit very hot time at Sea Life Park. Even though the previous days were a little rainy, the weather managed to stay clear and sunny for Alohi's birthday celebration.


A group of Alohi's cousins got together with a few adults to enjoy a fun day at Sea Life Park!!! Most of the children are from my sister-in-law's family. [My son is the one wearing the Angry Bird shirt (much to my dismay..kind of sick of Angry Birds..haha)].  My brother and I were never that close to any of our cousins growing up because we didn't see them very often. As a result, our kids aren't very close with their cousins who are around the same age. That's why we make it a point to get my son and nieces together as much as possible so they can have a close relationship and someday their kids will be close like my sister-in-law Kellie's family is.


Needless to say, my niece Alohi was super excited about her birthday celebration!!! It was full of fun times and laughs. Happy Birthday Alohilani!!! We all love you!!!

There are more photos after the jump!

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I am not one to normally post videos about animal cruelty. I'm not a vegan or vegetarian, I eat meat regularly. I personally believe that eating meat is healthy for humans but at the same time, seeing videos like this makes me sick. I will NEVER purchase pork from Walmart Superstores and I am glad I have never done so. The terribly cruel and inhumane treatment of these animals is inexcusable and something needs to be done.

I'm not one of those "crunch granola people" (an expression I heard used to describe activists who were vegans). I am just your average run of the mill mom who's heart broke watching them castrate baby piglets without any anesthesia as the piglets screamed in agony. The sad fact of the matter is that food suppliers all over the world are guilty of terribly inhumane treatment of the livestock that later become our food. These conditions are not only inhumane but very unsanitary. If these animals are getting infections and sores, it's something that originates from filth and passes to the blood stream which means we are later eating animals that had severe infections in their body. That can't be healthy.

It's very important that we know where our food is coming from and that the suppliers are not like Christensen Farms with their inhuman treatment of animals. I understand how difficult it must be to raise these animals but at the same time, there is a line that should not be crossed. These animals have short lives already, why make them so miserable and tortured in the short time they do have? Just taking into account the infections and sores they suffer from makes me never want to eat from this supplier or any like them (and there are many).

There's a film called Food Inc. as well that shows the unhealthy and inhumane treatment of animals and how a lot of stores get meats from these suppliers filled with antibiotics, steroids, etc. that lead to us getting more and more obese and sick after we consume it.

Ryan Gosling, Zooey Deschanel, and Kristen Bell are just some of the few celebs that are angry with Walmart after shocking footage of abused pigs was filmed at one of the megachain's suppliers.

On the website WalmartCruelty.com, a video was posted of the cruel events that take place at pork supplier Christensen Farms of Minnesota.

Narrated by Bob Barker, the Mercy for Animals organization highlights the cruel practices of gestation crates.

In the letter submitted to walmart, superstars condemn Walmart with the following:

After visiting WalmartCruelty.com and learning from my friends at Mercy For Animals that Walmart pork suppliers condemn pregnant pigs to lives of misery and deprivation inside tiny gestation crates, it is now clear that the hidden cost of Walmart’s ‘always low prices’ is blatant animal abuse.

We implore you to help end the needless suffering of these animals by ending the sale of pork from producers who confine pigs in cages so small they can’t even turn around for nearly their entire lives.

While Walmart tells its customers they can “Save Money, Live Better,” the pork sold in your stores comes from pigs whose lives couldn’t possibly be any worse.

As world-renowned animal behaviorist Dr. Jonathan Balcome puts it: ‘Gestation crates are unremitting hell on earth.’ Inside tiny gestation crates barely larger than their own bodies, these intelligent and social animals never get to walk, run, root in the soil, see the sun, breathe fresh air, or do nearly anything that comes naturally to them.

Driven mad from boredom and stress, these poor animals have nothing to do, day after day, hour after hour, but to bite the bars of their cages.

Watch the incredibly disturbing video (above) and continue to support the END of gestation crates!

Let me caution those of you with weak stomachs or who get depressed easily, you may not want to watch this video.