Christmas pics!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas!
I never knew I had so many creative neighbors!

Bradshaw family dropped by this pineapple-Santa- I thought he was too cool.
(I then cut him up- to serve at our Christmas Eve party.)

The Tuller family had their free car wash for neighbors. You can see pictures on their website here.

Then the Scotts family- dropped in on our Christmas Eve party for the BYUH students and brought a pkg of popcorn and a list of DVD/VHS tapes they have that we can borrow the up coming year.

( I thought that was a great idea- between all us families- we probably have a great pool of videos to share. We could all save $ on movie rentals. )


I've only been a Bishops wife for 6 months but I'm getting the hang of this entertaining bit.

luckily I made a TON of food thinking we would eat left overs Christmas day- it turned out to be just right.




We munched on Sweet n sour meatballs, rice
Blow-torch (7 layer dip) with chips
some other little finger foods- using puffed pastry and cheese/spinach
Decorated Christmas cookies- played Rock Band
Then sang Christmas carols- and read Luke 2



It was really fun having students spend Christmas Eve with us. They were all so funny and entertaining!


Rock band seems to be a good activity- that crosses multitudes of cultures.

(I don't know if you remember when we had some Chinese girls staying with us for a week- they LOVED rockin out!)

Hubby and I didn't craw into bed until 2 am- then to have the kids wake us at 6:30 it was rough.
We tried to stall them until 7:00- but my oldest reminded us that WE wake THEM up at 6:30 every morning for scriptures.....

it did seem a bit hypocritical... so we dragged our bones out of bed....


































I got the most awful sweater from my mother & Sister.

This photo doesn't even come close to "capturing" it.

The pineapples are all sequenced.
the palm trees are free dangling across my chest-- and the details don't stop there!
There is a bigger pineapple on my back-- sequenced naturally.
And if you look closely you can see the palm tree on the sleeves too! Of course the palm trees have big beads for Coconuts on them...
IT is just plain AWFUL and obnoxious! I so wish I had opened it up to wear at our Christmas Eve party. I would have been the Bell at the Ball.

Hockey Pictures

 We are so lucky to have found a competitive roller hockey league here on the island.

One that challenges to the kids by playing other teams and holding tournaments.

(When we first moved here, we put them into ICE hockey and there aren't enough players to even have two teams- on the whole island! So they just practice and play each other. While they like the aspect of ICE hockey... it's not much fun just playing yourself week after week, month after month, year after year.....)

So we switched to Roller Hockey.

(Another factor was as the kids advanced up in the program the game days were switching to Sunday and we try to keep that day set apart for worship.)

 

So it was a good change.

We could get all our hockey fix in on Saturdays and the kids get to play multiple teams on multiple islands.

BUT NOW.

My two oldest sons (because their teams are so good-- not to brag or anything....)have the opportunity to travel to the MAINLAND and compete in

San Jose (SHARK territory) and compete
with other teams in our "region"!

HOW exciting and COOL is

THAT?!?!

We are very excited!

Boy- OH- Boy-- Soccer!

So as you probably know-- we are a hockey family.

I drive insaine distances on a daily basis to get my kids to HOCKEY .. here in Hawaii.

{yes.. hockey can be found .. even in hawaii if you are willing to drive.}

So naturally- we have one son who would like to play soccer and basket ball. He thinks he stinks at Hockey.

It's your classic 3rd child syndrome- I am sure.

He is always comparing himself to his two older brothers and so he doesn't feel like he measures up... never mind that he is 3-6 years YOUNGER than them!

He is actually really good at hockey-- skating circles around his peers.. so naturally the league won't let him play with his peers.. he plays with older boys.

Anyway-- juggling soccer and hockey is a trick. But just look at the joy on his face!
(I think he likes playing with kids his own age.)

Our youngest.. gets a bit tired of being toted around to brothers games. He can't wait until it is HIS turn to play---> enough already of watching!

And then this last picture is just for CRASH and her fan club. She use to take pictures of all the famous people you bump into while at soccer games.

I don't usually bug or bother the rich & famous but Natasha (Soccer gold Olympian) parked herself right next to my blanket! Her nephew was playing on the other team. I guess I was sitting on the wrong side of the field..

I am all about comfort people... I found a semi shady spot to spread my blanket and that is where I planted myself.

She was very nice and not at all "in -my- face" for cheering for the opposing team...

I love, in general, the family feel of living in a small town-- although I don't know everyone.. the people born and raised here do. Everyone is laughing and joking and heckling the ref and each other. It's nice.

I understand now why my mom hated to watch our athletic events growing up.

I hate it when the feeling in the air is SO COMPETITIVE and we are watching 6 year olds play a game!!!

All I can say is-- even for a Polynesian-- she's got alot of TAT's ...
I mean- historically/culturally tattoos were important. In some Polynesian cultures that was how they preserved their genealogy and the stories of significant events. In one culture-- the oldest boy would have his ENTIRE body tattooed with this important information to keep it preserved from one generation to the next. (Those of you who are genealogy buffs should admire the length they go to to preserve this information... )

Some of Natasha's tat's are names... a motto/mantra type saying...

I personally wouldn't like people taking the time to " read my body" .. I kinda sorta hate t-shirts that have alot of words on them.. because I don't like people "reading" my chest. (No matter how much I try to promote reading.. )

I've been reading all weekend and have a few books to post about.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Crashing CRASH's Party and sHARKS!

If you want to read CRASH's going away party story and her get rick quick scheme- you can visit her blog here.

I am going to miss her TONS- as she leaves the island tonight!!!! We are all bawling our eyes out-- as the minutes count down. ( I am avoiding. I hate saying goodbye.)

Here's a picture of my family (mom, grandma, great-aunt and sis) crashed her going away lunch-- on our way to the SHARK encounter.

Here I am entering the shark cage.

THere really was sharks in the water!


Here's a picture of me and Ros... ( my grandma- but we don't call her that. She way too young to be a GREAT grandma.)

But I just had to laugh- she wanted to do the SHARK Encounter and my sister and I were a bit unsure-- I mean--- don't most people bond with their grandma's by looking at scrapbooks? learning how to bake bread? bake pies?

Or does everyone have an extreme grandma- who likes to swim with sharks? Maybe I'm too old fashioned.

My random thoughts

So our first set of visitors have left. The house feels very empty...

The kids are sad- back to workbook routines and chores....

We were livin- High on the Hog
eating at restaurants and going to all the touristy sights .

The boys had a great time with their cousins.

7 boys and one little girl.

It was so sweet to see all the fellas find a gentle side. They were so sweet and gentle with their little cousin. They played ring-around- the -rosies and peek-a-boo. They would catch crabs to bring to her-- just to hear her squeal with delight.

She's a tough cookie- so I think that helped. She is a rough and tumble little gal.

Photography is so interesting.

We took these pictures one- after the other...

All the pictures came out this way- their family photo's bright and blue...

and ours darker. It was a cloudy afternoon.... but I think it is the clothes that we were wearing too. That the blues and white in their shirts brings out the blues of the sky and ocean..

So... I'll just have to go back to the swap meet. :0)

My boys have had those aloha shirts for three years so I am justifying a splurge for new ones. ( I just bought my oldest a new shirt and passed the others down one son.) Plus- I love this pattern my sister-in-law found and they had a nice woman's top in the same print (and girls dresses- but I don't need that.)

If you ever come to Oahu and you are going to buy matching aloha wear and souvenirs to take home you should plan to go to the Swap Meet down by the Aloha Stadium. (open Wed & Saturdays)

It's all the same trinkets and doo-dads...

same tiki statues and quality of aloha shirts but you'll pay a few bucks less per item. ( And it's one stop shopping so you don't have to spend your precious beach time combing the shops looking for shark teeth pendant necklaces for the boys and shell pendant necklaces for you.)

Also- they also have great prices on Hawaii T-shirts (about $3/shirt) so you can buy one for all your friends back home and really rub it in their faces that you were in Hawaii for vacation.

Actually- let me just plant the seed now.

Anyone wanting to come to Hawaii next summer?

Faculty and staff here like to rent out their townhouses when we go on vacation... going rate is about $150/day for a 4 bedroom townhouse. A short 3 min drive to a great boogie boarding beach and just a few doors down from my bestest friends CRASH and Martha.

If you've always wanted to visit Hawaii but the thought of hotel prices and cost of eating out every meal on top of air-fare make it feel out of your vacation range, you should think about renting someones townhouse.

Especially- if you have kids. There's a great park in our complex with basketball court and play ground. (Okay- if you've read my blog for any amount of time... you've seen the pictures.)

Anyway- I am not sure how I got off on that tangent.

I think I am just stalling--- I have some serious house work to do.

Some Summer Fun

Our Trip to Kauai- was alot of fun.

First the promised photo of the boys and their "Steps" Hair cuts.

The night before our trip- ALL the boys took clippers to each others heads and made "steps". We had talked about Mohawks.. but thought about all the family photo's we were going to be taking... and compromised with this.

Pretty wacky.

But Great Cousin Bonding!

This was taken at the hotel pool side bar & grill... great food! I think we ate there every day! (At least once.)

The pool was lots of fun too. The kids just wanted to spend all day- every day there. Two slides and it was shaped like a lazy river with even a rock cave to explore.

My in laws thought it would be fun to go four wheeling to see the sites of the island. It was a very clever way to pull the kids from the pool to learn a little about the island.

We split our group into two days. The first day 3 adults took 3 kids while 3 other adults stayed home with 3 big kids and two babies. The next day 3 different adults took the last 3 big kids while the first group relaxed at the pool with the 2 babies.

BRILLIANT!

I had never been four-wheeling and felt too nervous behind the wheel... so I wimped out and asked the Guide to drive me and my son #2 on the guided tour. It turned out great.

Yes... I lost some "Cool Aunt" points by wimping out.

{Darn Nephews}

But we had WAY MORE FUN! We were in back of the pack and had to stop and close gates behind the tour and pick up litter... but then he would HAUL it through the trail to catch up with the main group.

Graduation

I love that everyone is an Auntie or an Uncle to my children... and when I volunteer at school children I don't even know.. call me Auntie.

And while I scoffed at all the jubilee and fan fair planned around kindergarten and 6th grade graduation,

looking back--- yes it is a bit over the top..... okay very over the top.... but why not celebrate the small accomplishments in life?

 

Big accomplishments are a reward in themselves.. but aren't they really a compilation of smaller steps and accomplishments?

Shouldn't we pat ourselves on the back for the small mile stones we reach and reflect on where we were... where we are... and gather strength and encouragement to continue to our ultimate goals?

We prepared our children not to expect a neck full of leis and lavish gifts from us.

 

But I am being converted... I feel it. Making a big deal- about a small thing - is nice. It's encouraging. And living in the slow lane is really nice.
I'm still headed in the same direction but instead of arriving at my destination haggard and out of breath... I'll have a flower in my hair and friends, family and memories I've collected along the way.

Adorable!

Do you ever take yourself too seriously? I tend to do that.. .make mountains out of mole hills.... But after flipping through photos I came upon these...

How can I take myself too seriously?





How can I worry about not measuring up to expectations when really who am I trying to impress??


















I love how kids help keep things in perspective...












I'll get to the comment post in a day or two... PROMISE!

Another Fun Saturday

When life hands you a hockey split-

of practice at 9:00 am and another at 5pm...

What do we do??

Waste down time at the beach!

Since practice is over an hour away- it's been a good excuse to visit beaches we don't normally visit.

Very fun.

I am starting to think about this summer -

we have lots of fun planned with family/company.

I am now thinking of how I can sneak- summer learning into the mix too.

Last year- we ( my neighbors & friends) organized some workshops that the kids could sign up for. It was really cool- as families organized classes that interested them. Some of the classes were:

The re-enactment of The Battle of Gettysburg: water fight

a watercolor class, an acting/play, a goal setting class, and tennis lessons.

This summer- I've been talking to parents and thinking about a townhouse newspaper project. I think it would be cool for the kids to be "reporters" ... They can interview new families moving in, have a sports section highlighting the latest kickball game, have a "Help Wanted" column where people can put odd jobs they are willing to pay for, a cartoon, cross word puzzle, polls, ..

community events- keeping track of concerts and such at the University- most importantly: when is the POOL open and game room.

Really whatever the kids are interested in. We'll see. We are tossing it around. What are you guys planning this summer?

Saturday Fun

What a lazy Saturday- at least it felt that way. (We actually had hockey practice at 9:30 am and 5pm so ... we split the trips.) My husband took the boys to the beach in the morning... while I went to hockey... then in the evening I stayed behind and we had some water fun.... while my husband drove the hockey boy to his night practice.

Aren't sprinklers are the best!? I just love watching kids run through sprinklers. Those are some of my favorite personal childhood memories and memories of my children.

Earlier my son 3 was being SUCH a SWEET big brother! He was having such fun pushing son 4 on the swing- I ran back inside to get the camera.

When I came out to take pictures... I realized why he was laughing so hard...

He would *fart* every time he sent his brother off....

boys-boys-boys! Who are this childs parents?? Do they live in a barn or something?
Where does he learn his manners?

Then this last picture of my son 4 I thought so cute.. he put these flowers behind his ears. It reminds me of shrek... for some reason... anyway- it was a fun day.