We spend the last weekend in November with a day in Hanalei. We were anxious about getting our time in the sun with all the rain our island has soaked up these past few weeks. It rained for most of the way up to the beach and was sunny throughout the entire day.
Surfing with Zachary is one of my favorite things ever. I have to do this as much as I can now because in the near future, I am guessing he will charge waves I don't dare to.
Surfing once a week with my girlfriends has been a highlight of 2016.
Heidi and Nic are Owen's second set of parents.
Although it was sunny, the weather was chilly and the kids mostly stayed out of the water. Brady, Nic and Heidi helped them build a fancy fort.
Next up, Christmas decorations and the first gift of Christmas. Every time we pulled out an ornament, the kids exclaimed, "This is Owen's first time EVER seeing these jingle bells (or Nutcracker or Santa hat, etc.)."
This year, we let the kids decorate 100% and didn't attempt to rearrange the bottom-heavy tree.
Our elf Ralphy doesn't get his magic until we read the story on December 1st. Owen had fun manhandling him.
Random funny sleeping shot and Zachary's bed every morning.
The following weekend, we went to the school's pancake breakfast fundraiser.
The main event of the day was Kate's dance recital. She performed in a Nutcracker ballet song, where she danced gracefully and breezed around on the the stage with tall, extended arms. Her favorite song and the one we'd seen dozens of times at her home rehearsals was the jazz number to Hercules. She loves to dance and watching her shine on stage with her gigantic smile was a highlight of the month.
Her teacher, Ms. Semana, came to support her and gave her a lei.
When we signed up Zachary for baseball this year, he expressed anxiety about his ability to catch and throw. I asked him if he wanted to play every day for 10 minutes, and if he thought that would help. It's been my favorite 10 minutes of every day, and we haven't missed a day. Kate also gets 10 minutes of mommy/daddy time doing an activity of her choice. It's funny how you have to schedule stuff like this to make sure it happens.
Zac loves to make diving catches and get covered in mud.
Sunday nights are my favorite. I love that there are rarely any commitments and we can head out on walks or ride skateboards and relax before another week.
Owen is so close to walking but has no trouble emptying cupboards and drawers. I don't remember Zachary or Kate being quite as fast to make messes, but he's also so happy and content that he requires less vigilance, which leads to more messes...
Ralphy toilet papered our tree. The kids loved this one, although his rearrangement of the "Believe" blocks was the most clever spot this season.
Zachary is super enthusiastic about Cub Scouts, and couldn't wait to put this uniform on for the first time.
Owen at the beach nakey nakey while the kids are at school.
Rainy days at the pool are easier than rainy days at the beach because at least the pool has warm water.
We did several "Light the World" service projects. Owen did not want to part with this blanket we delivered to family in need.
My friend Jennie moved back to the island. Before coming, she asked if she could bring anything for me on her 40' container. We took her up on it and now Brady and I finally have mountain bikes again! I went out later that week on a ride up the canyon with my surf buddy, Hilary. It dumped rain on us but was also completely invigorating.
Another Saturday, another day at the beach. Somewhere between this picture at Kalipaki and the pictures above, we made it to Hanalei again.
This was at a musical fireside last Sunday for our stake. It was a packed house. I loved watching the kids gaze at other children singing. The didn't care much about the adult numbers but the kids' songs had their full attention. I participated in a very last minute rendition of "Joy to the World" (I was asked the night before). It was not an easy song, and it was almost aggressive because it was meant to match and even lead the organ and congregation. I bring it all up because it was one of those moments in my music life that was on fire. I didn't make a single error and I felt the power of the congregation. The feelings were euphoric and I hope I can remember glimpses of those feelings.
I love helping in Kate's class. We made gingerbread houses last week. I couldn't believe the amount of sugar on those tables.
Later that week, both kids were honored as Student of the Month for being self-directed learners. They were actually chosen in November, but both woke up with high fevers that day. This is a huge deal to both of them and a day they hoped for since the first day of school. Kate's asked at least a dozen times if I thought she would be chosen sometime this year.
Picture the morning they were supposed to be honored.
Owen's at the age where we don't stay put for long anywhere. Here we are at the kids' chorus concert.
I think decor like this is hilarious but of course the kids love it. This is at their piano teacher's home.
We spent the last two days before Christmas soaking up the bright sunshine. I was so happy to get beach time in before we head to Utah for break.
Zachary loves to surf, but still thinks boogie boarding is just as fun.
Kate and Beck were eating up the body surfing.
Brady was able to join in on the fun of the day when we got a sitter and broke in his new bike. He took me back to Maha'ulepu and we rode dirt trails and off-roading. We love finding new ways to enjoy this tiny rock! In the same ride, we saw whales and caught a sunset before heading home.
We finished off the night taking the kids to see the live nativity in Kalaheo. This year, they dressed us all up to participate. It rained hard, but didn't damper Kate's enthusiasm to be an angel, and Zachary was a willing shepherd. They couldn't believe the baby was real in the manger, and asked if Owen could try that part, too.
December is a whirlwind. We've stayed up late prepping for Christmas or doing some sort of prep work for the next day almost every day since the start of the month, and yet here I am typing a blog post a few hours before we leave for the mainland. We're not done packing! What am I doing? Time to pack. See you in a few, freezing Utah.
