Hawaii--part two: Maui

I've actually sat down to do this many times but something always came up. However, I want to finish this up so I can also post some of December as well. (I know, I'm waaaay behind).

Maui was amazing. Perfect!

This was the view from our balcony. I wish I had taken a picture of the view from our balcony in Waikiki, because it was the complete opposite. It was a view of another huge hotel that was probably 10 feet away. I didn't know places like this were real.

We mostly spent our days alternating between the pools

and the beach S and I both snorkled, but not usually together. We'd take turns watching the kids and would go out with S's brother and/or sister-in-law. We saw some great fish--I wanted to see a turtle, but no luck--B saw one, though.Some fun things we got to do were going to a luau (T and A learning to dance the hula)

and whale watching. We were able to see tons and learn tons about Humpback Whales. The captain of the boat knew soo much and talked almost the whole time we were out. It was very interesting.I didn't get any pictures of them jumping out of the water (grumble), but we saw it. Again, it seemed a little unreal to me.

Sunday we went to Church with S's cousin K and her family. Soo soo nice. Also, it was funny--there were probably over 50 visitors and that is quite common.They don't usually were lais to church--It was ward conference and her husband is the bishop. I could tell you all a funny story about S wearing a Hawaiian Shirt to church on our honeymoon and getting seriously chastized, but he might not want that on here:)

After church we took family pictures and drove around the island.

S also got to celebrate his birthday in Maui--Lucky! (Only he got no presents--The trip was his present). His cousin K and family joined us for swimming and also brought a yummy, homemade birthday cake (Daughter H was the chef). It was so sweet. They also brought a bag of gifts for each family. We were spoiled. For dinner S picked Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., had a tasty dinner, quoted many lines from the movie (Forrest Gump--in case you haven't seen the movie 23 times), and answered trivia from the menu.Also, this was not the only time Ms. A didn't make it through dinner--poor thing. We didn't stop to take naps and she would be exhausted by dinner and fall asleep. I wasn't being a super good mom, but I hated the thought of spending the afternoon inside (and actaully, she would have hated it as well.) Also, this resturant is right on the water and there was a big puffer fish my nephew was throwing french fries to--that's their normal diet, I think.

Our last day, after checking out, we went to the aquarium. Again--excellent. The kids (and adults) loved seeing all the marine life and the workers were full of interesting bits of information.

After the Aquarium we waved good-bye to the sun and warmth and flew home, happy and very tired. Taylor is the only one that didn't sleep on the plane ride. She was busy finishing her homework. (Again, I know I'm a slacker mom).
Good-bye Hawaii! We love you!

Hawaii--part one: Oahu

It has been so long since I blogged I'm not even sure where to start. I still have all of December to blog. So many lovely, fun things happened. However, I think I'll start with the now and work backwards.

On Jan 5th, when T should have been going back to school, we were boarding a plane for Honolulu. We were suppose to board at 9 am but our flight was delayed until 2 pm. Really! On the bright side, we got food vouchers. On the sad side, 5 hours we could have been enjoying the warm weather in Hawaii was GONE. (And you know every second counts.) This is T and A with their cousin A. S's brother and family came with us. They have three children also, so it gave my girls someone to play with. Plus, there was another fun family to do things with. It was lovely to have them.

We stayed in Oahu three nights, two and a half days (since we were robbed of Monday). Here's some quick highlights of our time there.

These first pictures are of a place called Turtle Beach. It's a safe area, free from sharks, so turtles hang out there. You can't get very close, as there are volunteers that make sure no one bothers the turtles, but you can snorkle there as well and swim with turtles. We did not, but you can:) The turtles are fun to see, plus there were crabs (which the kids loved) and starfish.We stopped at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint's Temple and visitor center in Laie. However, we passed on the Polonesian Cultural Center. I'm bitter and don't want to talk about it:) (We've been there before, but it's fabulous.)

We spent most of our time at the beach and pool,Ate lots of good food, and snorkled at Hanauma Bay and Waikiki.

Just a bit of trivia for you. Ms. A threw up in the car on our way to Hanauma Bay. T is an experienced thrower-uper and is very good at keeping all the contents in the throw-up bag. (We always grab extras from flights and stock the cars.) Clearly, A needs more practice. The throw-up bag was practically empty but the back seat was a mess. Hooray for rental cars.

We left Oahu on Thursday afternoon and flew over to Maui for 6 days, 5 nights. The girls were sad to leave and didn't quite get the concept that we were just going to another island. T, I hope, has finally figured out that Maui is part of Hawaii. She liked to tell people we went to Hawaii and Maui.

A wasn't sad to be leaving--She was just grumpy!

The first of December

Somehow I thought I would be much farther along on my list of things I need/want to get done than I am. Teaching pre-school this month was not a good idea, but since I made the schedule, I can't complain too much:)

This first week of December has been busy and full of craziness. First, on Tuesday I went to a Christmas party with some of the ladies from the neighborhood. They are great! (and soo funny). There was wonderful food (the yummiest ham), good conversation, and fun games. We had a white elephant exchange and, though there were some great gifts, no one could top K's.Lucky S took home a stuffed bobcat (i think..maybe a cougar?..). It was the greatest white elephant gift ever. I tried to get it for the Hs annual Christmas party, but there's no trading in this game--you get what you get. (Doesn't she look thrilled?--I would have died to take that cat home--Can you imagine S's face when I brought that baby in!)

Next, on Friday we got our Christmas tree, Happy day! It was soo much better than last year. (S was out of town, so I took the three girls and got it by myself--It was halfway through the month. I had some great friends that helped me get it in the house and in the tree stand.) But not this year. S was home and it is up and decorated. I love it! Now I just need to keep the kids from knocking it over, looking for "the pickle". And, not to ask too much, but it would be reeeeaaaaally nice to have some lights on our house this year. (hint...hint:))

Saturday was a big day. First, I took the girls to the Festival of the Nativities while S stayed with the napping Ms. M (who would NOT have done well with all the "please do not touch" signs.I don't actually have pictures of any of the nativities, but it was BEAUTIFUL! The girls got a little bored after a while but the spirit touches you. It's a great way to start the month, remembering why we celebrate Christmas. The paper said there were 825 nativities, 103 from other countries. The girls liked seeing a nativity from the Phillippines, where G and G K are. They also liked the childrens' room, where they got to dress up as nativity characters (a sheep and a shephard) and "Joseph's Workshop" where they had crafts. It was such a nice event (and soo much work--wow!).

That afternoon we went with some friends to see the Vancouver Dance Theater's production of The Nutcracker. Lucky E got to experience my crazy driving (I missed a few turns). But, sigh of relief, we made it and the girls loved it. I was a little worried about A, because we went to the 2pm performance and that is naptime. She did fine. I did not; I slept though almost the whole first act.

The girls being ballerinas (except for Ms. A)

And...a picture with the Sugar Plum Fairy. (You can tell how into this A is). It humors me:)

Last, (I'm almost done, I promise) Saturday night was our church Christmas Party. Again, lots of planning and time when into this event. S and his friend, J, were asked to be Roman Gaurds They greeted everyone as they came in the doors. (and I heard they were giving people a rather hard time--no good). We were asked to come dressed in clothes from the time of the Savior's birth and bring a blanket to sit on. The culture hall was decorated like Bethlehem.

They had games and crafts for the kids, yummy food, and a wonderful program. It was really a great event and, again, helped us better focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Overall, a crazy, lovely week. And it looks to continue being crazy up until I finish teaching pre-school. Why am I doing this again? How was your week? I hope lovely and bright!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving was fabulous, of course. We were soo fortunate to be able to spend time with family, which is one of our favorite things.

We usually stay with my parents or my husband's parents, but things worked out that this time we stayed with two of S's brothers (on different nights). My girls loved being able to play with their cousins. Very fun times!Here's the girls with two of their cousins. This night B and M taught us two new games, Buzz Word and No Peekie. The girls were robbed. We should have won!

Thanksgiving was at my parents house. Dinner was, of course, scrumptious. This is the kid's tableand the adult table. My two sisters and their families and my sister's in-laws were there, as well as my family. Crazy, but good times.That night the kids got to open a present from grandma and grandpa (pajamas to save for Christmas). Then we had to say good-bye to grandma and grandpa for a little while. They left early the next morning for Utah and the Missionary Training Center. They will be there a week and then it's off to the Philippines. They will love it and be wonderful missionaries. And they'll be home before we know it. (But I'm still a little sad).

Friday I got up at 4:46 to run to Walmart for a few specific items. Granted, I wasn't there right at 5 am when it opened, but when I did get there (at 5:10) the parking lot was JAMMED full. I kid you not--It was the craziest thing. And people in the store were a little crazy themselves. Funny! Not that I'm bitter, but I was only able to get ONE of the items on my list and it was a $5 set of cars for my sister. After checking out the line I decided she was going to sacrifice for the greater good and I left the store empty handed. I already had the two items I went there for, but it was $20 cheaper (and I had bought two). That was worth getting up early for. But not to get them made me grumpy (or the lack of sleep). However, fear not--I fared much better at Target and Fred Meyer. (The Target line was a little crazy, as well, but moved at a good pace).

Friday afternoon we went bowling with another set of cousins. T and A had never been bowling before and loved it. I haven't been bowling for a while--the new lanes have the bumpers automatically come up when it was T or A's turn. Fancy! Fancy! S, T and her cousins.I don't know why, but both T and A would have their legs spread apart and usually had both hands in the air. It was pretty funny to watch.I had a hard time adjusting the camera for the lighting at the bowling alley--The pictures mostly turned out dark.

There was also a birthday party

And an early visit from Santa (Grandpa R)It was really nice, since we (and another set of cousins) won't be back for Christmas this year.
Here's all the cousins that were home
and our girls. Ms. M wasn't the least bit afraid of Santa. Both T and A were terrified at that age. (of course, T was afraid of carpet samples at Home Depot, pumpkins, and the list goes on and on). It was a very enjoyable, busy trip. I'm glad we have Christmas coming up. This is one of my favorite times of the year and it's nice to have so much to distract me. It's hard to be sad with so much going on. Good luck Mom and Dad! We love you!