Aloha!

It has been almost a week since we got home from Hawaii - one very long, very cold week.  We came home to a spotless house, to all the laundry clean, folded and put away, to kids who were on Cloud 9 after spending eight days with their cousins, and to a kitchen - decorated for my birthday.  Basically, we came home to a perfect home.   Nevertheless, as always, re-entry has been brutal.  

I find myself checking the cost of flights back to Kauai and spending way too much time looking through all the pictures we took.  I find my mind wandering back to our week in Kauai and I find myself giggling as I remember hilarious YouTube videos, late-night games, or conversations.  

There were so many highlights never to be forgotten:  riding in Jeeps as the wind blew our hair, 4-wheeling through mud bogs to Polihale, highly competitive football game on the beach, two trips to Costco, mid-morning tennis matches, swimming in the ocean, the men jumping off the cliff at Shipwreck Beach, JoJo's Shave Ice, sunsets, the zipline tour, Trolololo on repeat, sea turtles, warm air and sunshine, deciding who slept where, yelp, chickens everywhere and time spent with great friends.

It was an amazing week.  The weather was perfect, the company was perfect and the feeling of walking through sand barefoot in the middle of January is as close to heaven as a person can get.  So dreamy!  Who's in for next year?

Best Birthday Ever...

Every year for the past few decades, I have lamented and bemoaned the fact that I was born in January.  Celebrating my birthday (a day I love, love, love) during the most dismal month of the year, has always seemed a like a cruel joke the universe has played on me.

So, after years of feeling a little sorry for myself, this year, I got to spend my birthday here:

And Andrew spent my birthday doing this:

And it looked a lot like heaven there.

And I was with people I LOVE, and it felt a lot like heaven.

And at the end of this most spectacular day, we watched this and it was magical.

Yep, pretty much my best birthday ever

(except for maybe the day my mom actually birthed me.)

And there is almost no chance I will ever spend my birthday in Utah again.

Christmas Break

After Christmas came and went,  the rest of our break was spent playing and having fun.  We spent three days in Midway with Andrew's family and we also had a great time playing with friends.  

Abby's dear friend who moved away to Colorado 18 months ago, came to visit one day.  It snowed all that day, and by night there were several inches on the ground.  We got the sleds out and went sledding down our street several times.  It was a quiet, peaceful night and as we slid down the hill over and over again, not a single car drove by.  It was such a fun way to spend an evening.

Lucy isn't too sure about this sledding/snow stuff.

Andrew was out of town for New Year's Eve, but the kids and I had a great time bringing in the New Year at my parent's house.  We had amazing cheese fondue for dinner followed by our traditional games of BINGO.   Once we finished that, the kids were banished to the basement while the adults battled it out playing Banangrams.  We were so into the game, we barely noticed when the clock struck midnight.

Finally, I figured it was time to gather up my babies and head home.  It was pretty crazy to see the clock in our car read 1:11 on 1/1/11.  It was a late night, but so much fun.  

What a great break.  My kids are such perfect ages - game for anything, still happy to spend time with the family, and appreciative of all the fun things we do.  Like I said, the break went by way too quickly.

Midway - Christmas 2010

A couple of days after Christmas, we went with Andrew's entire family up to the Homestead at Midway for a couple of days.  We were all still a little worn out from Christmas, and the trip was a perfect way to relax and spend time together as a family.

Our kids were especially in heaven just being able to hang out and play with their cousins.  We had a great time while we were there.  The kids went swimming and fell in love with ice skating.  We went sledding and the kids spent several hours playing in 16-inches of snow that fell.

Three brothers playing in the snow.

Isaac coming through the snow tunnel.

Peter

Cousins on a snow bank.  (Some are happier than others about being there.)

It was truly a Winter Wonderland and was such a fun way to relax after the craziness of Christmas.  

Christmas Recap 2010

Christmas break was way too short for my liking this year.  When it came time to send the kids back to school, I was the one kicking and screaming that it wasn't fair they had to go back to school so soon.

We just didn't have as much time as we needed to play all the "Just Dance" we wanted, or to play "Qwirkle" or  "Clue."  We didn't get enough playing in the snow or watching movies or staying up late or sleeping in.  I needed a few more days to enjoy this season with my kids and I was not happy when it time to send them all back.

That said, we had an amazing Christmas.  On Christmas morning, we were awakened at 7:11 by Abby and Isaac who couldn't wait to see what Santa had brought.  We went in to wake up the other kids and they were all so excited - well everyone except Peter.  He was NOT ready to get up.  "C'mon Peter," we all said.  "Let's go see what Santa brought."

"I'm too tired, " Peter said through a muffled yawn.  (Are you serious kid?  We're talking Christmas morning, we're talking Santa.  Get it together and get out of bed!)

Abby and Isaac were ready to lose it at this point.  "Let's go!" they yelled.  Finally we got Peter out of bed and made our way to the family room where we found a serious stash straight from Santa.

Abby got the Playmobile school she'd been thinking about for several months. Isaac got and erector set that has kept him busy for hours.  Henry got the Woody doll he'd asked for and Peter got the Buzz and Woody pillow he'd been wanting since July.  Lucy got a new baby doll and stroller which she has loved pushing around ever since.

(Does anyone else think Peter & Woody look like each other in this picture?)

Santa was good to the kids and they were good to each other.  Abby made pillows for Henry and Peter and gave a "Bionicle" to Isaac.  Henry gave Peter a light saber he's been wanting for several months and Isaac gave Abby some twinkly lights to hang in her room.

After we got through opening all the presents from Santa and from under the tree, we had my family over for Christmas brunch.  We had a great time celebrating the day and opening presents with them.  Peter especially loved the bomber jacket he and his cousin both got from Oma and Grandpa.

On Christmas night we hosted Andrew's family for dinner and MORE presents.  It was so fun to have so many of them here.  It was a great way to finish off the day.  That night, we all fell into bed completely exhausted, but perfectly happy.  What a fantastic Christmas it was!