Our Christmas Week

So our Christmas week was filled with ups and downs. Downs because we were sick off and on all week, but we still managed to have some fun. We went ice skating at the Ice Palace here and for a few hours it felt like winter. Then we went up to the North Shore and built a sandman. I was determined this year I was going to make one. It turned out ok. A little bit harder to make than I anticipated. We went to the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve and Dylan experienced his first soft pretzel. He loved it. (see above pic) We had a really fun Christmas Eve party with a few friends and were fortunate to have a special guest come, SANTA. Christmas Day we were all sick but it turned out to be such a great day. We stayed in our PJ's all day and every toy got played with. We watched a couple of movies, ate lots of junk food (even though we didn't feel good) and had lots of new electronics to figure out. We were all feeling better the next day and decided we needed to get a beach day in. So we took the kids down to Hickham for the afternoon. It was so relaxing and just what we needed. I hope everyone had a great day as well. We missed our families, thanks for calling it was fun to share our day with you on the phone.
At Hickham Beach Deven wanted Dylan to learn a few surfing skills early. He loved how the water bounced him around and around.
Gracie got an art easel for Christmas. She loves to make pictures and draw so Santa thought she would enjoy this gift. So far she has loved it.
Dylan and his train. This has been a big hit for both Gracie and Dylan. He didn't quite know what to think about Christmas. He loved the wrapping paper, the boxes and even all the toys. So much to put in his mouth and play with.
The two kiddos after opening Santa presents. We started a tradition where we open Santa presents then make breakfast while they play those toys for a while then after we eat we finish opening the rest. It made for a really fun morning and all the toys got played with.
Our special guest at the Christmas Party. It was so nice of him to drop in.
He had a special gift for each of the kids. Gracie was so excited. I think this picture says it all.
I have always wanted to build a sandman. So for a "FHE" one night we headed up to the North Shore to try our luck. It was harder than I anticipated, but still fun. So here is Mr. Sandman.
Deven and Gracie at the Ice Palace getting ready to get on the ring. They had so much fun. Dylan and I just watched and enjoyed bundling up in jackets and letting our noses get cold. It felt so much like Christmas and then we left and walked outside and the sun was blazing and we were roasting.
Deven and I both have December Birthdays. So we got and Ice Cream cake for Deven's. We let Dylan try it and he loved it. I am sure you can tell by the face.
Happy Birthday Deven we just had a small celebration with family. But we did get to go on a birthday date the day before thanks to Amanda who took our kids for the day. We went up to the North Shore and enjoyed the shrimp trucks, sharks cove, and a giant smoothie. It was so relaxing.
Gracie was begging us to sleep under the tree. So on her last day of school we let her. She was so excited and actually slept quite well. We hope everyone had a merry Christmas and love to see and hear how every ones day went. We hope everyone has a Happy New Year as well.

Merry Christmas

Well another year has gone by. Once again I had Shirece put together our family Christmas Card. She is always so creative and I love that she can do this. I am slacking a little bit more and more each year as I realize how many friends we have made and how many Christmas cards I should send out. But then I also realize how much I love the blog for this reason. So many of our goods friends read this so I am going to take this time to say Merry Christmas to everyone. I didn't do a Christmas Letter this year but I must say it has been a good year. This is our second Christmas in Hawaii and it is still a little hard to accept that we won't be having a white Christmas, none the less Deven does not have to work it and that makes it great. In fact Deven has the whole next week off. What will we do.... ha ha. I am so excited to have him around. We have been very blessed this year. Deven is doing well in his residency. He has developed a passion for surfing and this has become one of his favorite past times. I am glad he has this as an outlet. We love going to the beach as a family even if it is just to watch Deven surf.
Gracie started school this year and loves every minute of it. She is already reading and writing sentences. She loves to ride the bus and spend time with her friends at the park, beach, or school. She has become such a great big sister and can get Dylan to laugh so loud. She can also get him to spit out his food and then both of them laugh. It is so funny how much he loves her as well.
The birth of Dylan has been one of our greatest blessings this year. He has brought so much joy into our home. He is such a happy guy and just loves attention from anyone. He gets so excited when we go to pick Gracie up from the bus I have to hold on to him tight or else he would jump right out of my arms. He is a mama's boy and I will admit I love it!!! He love to be outside and is so content whenever we go for walks, to the park, or even the beach.
We really do miss our families this time of year but are excited to have this week with Deven we plan on wearing ourselves out and doing as much as we can. We are also so grateful to our friends here who fill in as family for us. So to everyone Merry Christmas!!!!!

Tis The Season

Well winter has arrived here on the island. I know that most of you are covered in Snow by now, but it is cold for us here. I have to close the windows at night and I get to wear a sweat shirt when I take Gracie to the bus in the morning. We are loving it!!! Also the waves are here on the North Shore. The past few days they got up to 50 ft. We had to take a drive up there and watch them. Traffic was crazy because everyone was trying to view them, but I decided it would be worth the wait, I started to panic when my gas light came on and we were stuck in the middle of traffic with no where to turn around I had no choice but to keep inching along but we finally made it. I wish Deven could have come with us, but he had to work. He are some of the photos. I thought the waves were amazing. These are taken by Sharks Cove on the North Shore.


Every year Tripler has a tree lighting ceremony and program. This year it was pouring rain, but Gracie just wanted to see Santa and that part was great.
We of course got to decorate the tree and once again Gracie found herself dressing up Dylan. She found reindeer antlers and thought it was funny to put them on him. He thought it was pretty funny too, especially when we showed him what he looked like in the mirror.
Well it is the season of good food and lets just say Dylan found his love for "real mashed potatoes" He ate so many, but he slept really good that night.
We got to spend some good times watching Deven surf.
And last but not least we decided we have quite the beach girl. She dug herself a hole to "relax in" and then we thought it was funny when we turned around and she was sitting like this drinking her juice. As Gracie would say "I am going to have a nice relaxing day at the beach"
But really this time of year is nice here but we get homesick for family. Some have been asking if we will be coming home for the holidays, but we can't. Sometimes we miss being with family. Gracie really misses the snow and pretends that the rain is snow. We are learning to enjoy "Sunny Christmas Days" but I still have a hard time this time of year being so far away. So we are sharing a little bit of our Christmas season with you. One of these days we are going to go build a sandman since we won't be having a white Christmas.

The kids Pictures

So my goal was to take pictures every couple of months of Dylan. I love to capture their first year. Well I obviously fell behind. There is not a kiddie Kandids here so Deven and I decided to take our own pictures. I also wanted some new pictures for the wall. I still don't have one of Dylan hanging up yet. I want a new family one as well, but we need to find someone to take those so we can make sure Dylan is looking at the camera. But I think these ones turned out pretty good. Gracie had a ton of fun. It was her idea to get a flower and she picked most of her poses. We just love her. Dylan was actually quite happy that day as well. So here are pictures of Dylan at 7mths and Gracie at 5 1/2 yrs.