Family Time Together

We have had such a great December! After Hawaii, Emmy came home too and we have been enjoying each others's company. Joseph, Celia, and I went to see Star Wars. It was great to see in 3D, I usually don't care for that, but it was good. We walked the neighborhood together to see the luminaries, they weren't there this year, but our neighborhood had great lights and friendly people walking around and I'm glad we went. Spencer was a trooper. He is doing so well.

It is nice to have another driver in the house. Joseph had his seminary party and we have a great jaunt to Old Sacramento. The kids love candy heaven and I'm sure the money we paid for the actual candy we bought made up for the many free samples we had. We've been drawn to the midtown area this December too. Emmy and her siblings got to go and visit the dimple there and see what  she could get with her gift card. Gift cards seem to be what Emmy has been blessed with this year. She has everything she needs and wants and now she can pick even more. The kids got haircuts at a place nearby. I was pleased how fast it was accomplished. We will definitely be going there again.

Christmas was nice and low key. We had so many sweets on the day from breakfast and stockings and neighbor gifts, I had no desire or energy to cook. Good thing Rah Rah and Papa were coming back to town and we got to have a nice Christmas meal together. Te tents for the kif\ds from them were a hit and Brian and I loved our clothes. On Christmas we were able to have a conversation about the true meaning of Christmas and how we can make a difference in the world and be an influence for good. That was hard to get in amidst the traditions and distractions of the season, but I was pretty happy to feel the spirit and the love with my family.

The Actual Day 2015

It was a nice Christmas. Pretty low key. The kids all enjoyed their presents and we relaxed the day away. Joseph loved his gifts, he might have been spoiled a bit. He was into Star Wars the movie so I'm glad we saw it before Christmas and that he got a few things with Star Wars on it. Spencer got therapeutic sand which everyone is using everyday and cleaning up pretty well afterwards for the moment. He also got a massage chair topper so everyone is using that as well. It was really neat to see Spencer so engaged in Christmas. He usually won't open his gifts, especially clothes. He was smiley and interested this time! I had a few pictures that I took in Hawaii to put in the kids rooms. Celia's loved her pink fluffy unicorn and she is so easy to please as long as everything is pink. The days run together when we are on vacation together, but we have enjoyed movies, meals, and happy times together this Christmas, so blessed!

The Beach, Bay, and Beauty

I enjoyed sleeping over at Tanya's She was such a great Hostess and tour guide. I love that she wanted to make sure that I got it all in! Kieran and I kayaked to Island brew where Tanya had Treated me to acai bow the first morning I was there. That was a super fancy and healthy parfait. They need to have those around here! The Kayak got a little stuck, but I was glad the Harbor Patrol towed us back to Tanya's house on the marina and that we didn't fall in. The boat took a little bit of balance and coordination and I quite enjoyed being in control. Another thing I wanted to do before we left was Snorkel. We went to Hanuama bay. It was crowded and we had to watch a video just to enter the beach, but it was well worth it. I snorkeled for the first time and went for quite a long time and quite far out with my Dad as my snorkeling buddy. I saw huge fish and colorful ones and. I saw a tiny eel, but quite angry with me showing it's mouth open. I saw a sea cucumber and many tangs. How surreal it was to be swimming with the fishes that I see in tanks as the dentist, but these look like they had ingested miracle grow! I did get to lay out a little bit and work on my tan. Everything is up hill or downhill around the island it seemed so we took a tram up the hill after our long day snorkeling.

That night we went to Waikiki to eat at the Barefoot beach cafe. The food and live music was superb and the parade of sailboats and sunset was amazing. We topped off the great day by walking to the city to Moana Surf rider hotel and checking it out. It had the most gorgeous Ban-non tree  and lights over the eating area on the coast. It took my breath away. I had to get a KOA ornament of that tree at the Hotel to remind me. Emmy showed me the other fancy Hotel in town called the Kahala, but I was too enamored by the first one to notice much.:) We had mo-chi ice cream an headed home. Was a lovely and great experience it was to visit family in Hawaii at Christmas time. I feel very blessed and hope to remember this great opportunity made possible by my extremely wonderful husband, family, and helpers.

Waterfall, Garden, and a Canoe Ride

Thursday, the day had arrived to see The Polynesian Cultural Center. I'm glad we saw the temple and the pipeline as it  seemed there was too much to see and too little time. We stopped by the Dole Plantation, but it was raining so we got some cute purses and moved on. I really wanted to see the Waimea Botanical garden and I'm so glad I did.  I t was like walking through the jungle, I saw so many lush and beautiful plants. I could have spent all day there. Tanya got in for a discounted price since she a local. I was amazed by the trees and the colors. I'm sure video game designers come to these gorgeous area and try to recreate them to help the player feel adventurous. I definitely felt like I wanted to see the world after seeing this beauty like I had never seen before. I was the only one to bring a bathing suit. It gets so warm there that I learned for comfort, I couldn't be with out my Hapari suits. At the end of the gardens you can swim to the waterfall. This was my highlight of the day so far and thoroughly enjoyed the splashing water, the current from the water hitting the pool, and greenery all around me. I walked back in my suit and we had lunch and it rained as we were eating and it was so beautiful.  I'm glad I missed a little table drama while I changed clothes and thoroughly enjoyed my turkey burger. I ate healthy while in Hawaii, I had so much energy and excitement. It was a true vacation.

The PCC was beautiful and well done. I didn't realize it would be like the Tiki Room at Disneyland. Shows and more shows moving together in groups. I had to pause to get Emmy's travel plans situated and I was a bit distracted, but what I saw was very nice. The Breath of life show was beautiful and inspiring and the day was topped off by a Christmas Nativity lights canoe ride. It was beautiful and I loved the live music under the expanse of heaven.  It made me realize how I love nature and live music! We saw Kieran play in his band performance that night. I loved the true songs of Christmas and Kieran's trombone descant of "Oh Come all ya Faithful." It was touching.