It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like December

Brrr....the first week of December was chilly.  We woke up at 57 degrees in our house regularly and slept to howling wind.  That meant a lot more indoor time than normal, and basketball/futsal replaced pool and ocean time.

We spend so much time looking for new ideas, games, and toys for the kids, but all they really need is to forget about the ones they have.  Magnatiles have made appearances several times a week this month.  Zachary set up a Santa/Jesus village and tried hard not to get frustrated when Owen knocked segments down.

Kate earned Student of the Month for being a "self-directed learner."  Sometimes I think I expect her to act like a 9-year-old with her responsibilities instead of a 6-year-old, so it was awesome to hear that she leads the way in her classroom.

We love the elves.  Our elves are not manipulative and are not spying to report bad behavior to Santa.  They are simply bits of magic that relay messages and hide in fun places.  Rosita joined us this year.  The good characters of Christmas are men, and it was time to add a woman to the mix.  

Zachary saved up for nearly 6 months and we put in the rest for an epoxy surfboard.  He was excited to try it out and a good sport about the cold water and wind.  He said it's a little wobbly (it's definitely less buoyant than a foam board), but he will get used to it in a hurry.

His first waves on his board's maiden voyage:

More Magna fun:

Owen climbs on counters so much that I moved all our barstools downstairs and it took him 2 whole days to figure out a way around that.  His favorite toy when I'm cooking is the Melissa and Doug veggie cutting set--but he likes to use a real cutting board.

Kate's luncheon for Student-of-the-Month.  They get to pick one friend for a special lunch date.

Owen is obsessed with Nic, Heidi and Shay.  He sees them, lights up, and demands to be put in their arms.  Shay came over one afternoon and played with him for two hours straight.  She laughed and laughed when he sat at the doll table and had "tea" on the tiny chairs, with the tiny cups.

The kids made an elf house, hoping to lure Ralphie and Rosita.

Gingerbread House!  Ours was hand delivered by the VandenAkkers this year, and the minute it arrived, the kids wanted to decorate it.  It killed them to wait three whole days.  

Every time we looked up, Owen had a treat in his mouth.  "Tweet?  Tweet?  Pees, Mommy?"

Zachary was meticulous.  He called his side the "artistic side."  Kate was concerned about the number of candies she loaded on her half.  She named hers the "tasty side."

It's been months since we made the trip to Hanalei, so we finally went and enjoyed a day away from soccer, the house, ward activities, etc.  It was sunny and beautiful when we arrived with Heidi and Nic's family, and we were also joined by a new family--the Stebbins.  The weather went south within an hour, dropping giant raindrops with gusty, cold winds and convincing the Stebbins and Clarks to abandon ship for sunnier shores.  My friend Nikki's family met up at the tail end of the wind and we enjoyed two surf sessions together in the water, with calm seas, very few people, and breathtaking, sunny skies.  We love Hanalei, especially on beautiful days.  Brady surfed in the messy conditions, I surfed in the messy and clean, and Zac was convinced to leave his giant group of boys on the beach to catch 5 waves before running back to his fort and sand mazes.

Heidi with Mahjinka, who happens to be a concert violinist.  We played together several times in December and it was a pleasure to accompany someone so artistic and refined.

Kate wasn't interested in surfing this time, or taking off her jacket even once.

I told Brady he could get his new lens once we have canvas worthy prints of our children hanging on the walls.  He got right to work with Owen.

Owen was hilarious--he put Brady's mesh hat in front of his face and walked forever down the beach with me, cracking up tourists.

Zac and I on a little ride together.

A few shots of me and Nikki:

Nothing big later in the day, but they were fun and clean, long rides.

Owen loved following these tire tracks:

I looked at so many pictures of snow and ice over the weekend, and laughed when I considered how cold we think it's been lately.  Granted, we do not have heat.  We also deal with cold showers once in a while.  I'm a real pioneer woman lately, boiling water so my kids have a warm bath.  But however I explain it away, it's warm and beautiful for December.

The following day was big for Kate.  She performed "Silent Night" on the piano at church (no mistakes!), and then had her dance recital.  I looked at her pictures from last year and cannot believe the growth and change!  She is a creative, energetic, and expressive dancer.  She controls her body but also dances without inhibition.  She is a beautiful light on stage.

Her jazz song, to "I Wanna Be Like You":

Her hair started falling out during the dance and she ignored it like a pro.

The house is moving along!

This week is Spirit Week, starting with Wacky Hair Day.  As the kids were pulling up to school, they started having all these doubts about what day it was and if maybe it wasn't wacky hair day after all.  To their credit, they did not hesitate at all and jumped out of Brady's truck, taking it on even if was the wrong day.  It was in fact Wacky Hair Day but I told them that I would have taken them home and washed their hair before they had to go to school if they were worried!

Kate was so excited to look like someone from "Descendants."

We have colds flying around the house right now, with Owen's long snot guns and him crying for a couple hours a day; and Kate waking up with fevers at night.  That's also part of December, no matter where you live!  Next up, family photos blog!  The best part of December....hahahahahahaha!!!  Insert scowling funny emoji.