Highlights of Our Christmas Season

Our Christmas this year had some very special moments and a lot less shopping and rushing about. Thank you God! The week following our return from Hawaii, Claire and Chloe were in a sweet little Christmas pageant at their preschool. Maybe you can tell from the expressions that one of them took the whole thing quite seriously and was very focused on the performance, the other one was just a bit more light hearted. I LOVE that they are such unique little souls. Although you can't see Chloe's face in the shot below, you can, if you look closely, still see the little hand on the left waving.

It may be that the cookies after the music were the best part for Chloe.

All three kids had a nasty bug for a number days. This was the first day Chloe had come down with something, and Nonnie and I teamed up to spend the day with them. Claire and Chris

were sick soon after, as were their Mommy and Daddy. Thankfully they all felt much better by Christmas Eve. Chris was enjoying his free time on the trampoline before someone bigger decided it was their turn.
On the eve of Christmas Eve, Claire and Chloe were well enough to come to Papa and Grandma's house to spend the night. Since the extended family from both Paula and Mike's side of the families were invited for Christmas Eve, Mommy and Daddy had lots to do to get ready. Two less bodies around helped just a bit. One of the first projects when they arrived at our house was to make cards for Mommy and Daddy. Below they proudly show their creations.

Next it was time to decorate some cookies. The girls really enjoyed it and did quite a good job with the traditional Santa face cookies that our family has made for years.

After dinner and pj's, Claire and Chloe were allowed to open one gift. Our old house is so drafty and cold, it had to be those warm bathrobes that were sitting under the tree.

The girls were so excited about the upcoming party and when we arrived on Christmas Eve quite a few people were already there. It was a great affair, and Paula and Mike did a great job of hosting and cooking a wonderful prime rib dinner. Below are Aunt Dorothy and Chris....

and Aunt Patty and our newest cousin Emma.

Cousin Alexa, as usual, proved to be a great source of entertainment and help with the younger kids. Everyone loves her! Aunt Suzie and Uncle Eric gave Chris an early present....Yoda he is....

Christmas morning all three of the grand kids got a big surprise....toy ATV's. Santa was really good to them it appears to me. Although we weren't there to see the shock and awe we did get to see some pictures.

Later in the morning, more presents arrived.

Time to try out those new ATV's. They were certainly a hit.

Uncle Superman Jon and Chris supervise the activities.....

Claire gets a little boost from cousin Richard.

Cousin Richard and Chris getting ready to roll....

Lots of wonderful memories were created this season but most importantly is the recognition of why we celebrate in the first place. Thank you God for sending your Son to be my Savior and for allowing me to celebrate with the most important people on earth to me.

Hometown Christmas !

Our small town had their annual Hometown Christmas celebration this weekend and since Chloe and Claire had enjoyed it so much last year, when they came with their parents, we decided to invite them to our house for the weekend to take it all in. Paula's work schedule didn't allow for Mike, Paula and Chris' attendance this year. We started out the weekend decorating our downsized tree, which is plenty big for Papa and Grandma. A few decorations made it up the tree, but by far, the majority were placed on the bottom 2-3 branches. They were so proud of their work and it did look just fine!Saturday, Chloe, Claire, our good friend Miss Connie, her granddaughters Danica and Aubrey, and myself started out the day by getting a face painting done. Below Aubrey gets her design, a small Christmas tree in place. Claire and Chloe were next.....

All of the girls waited very patiently in a very cold wind to have their turns on the ponies. Danica and Aubrey are below.

Claire was wearing Miss Connie's hat as she made her rounds with the pony, and Chloe was borrowing Miss Connie's scarf. Thank goodness Miss Connie came better prepared than Grandma.
Time for a little snack on the curbside. I believe you can see the beginning of Claire's balloon escape. We eventually lost the other one too.

A real highlight of the day was the carriage ride. Connie, Aubrey and Danica are below, followed by a shot of the carriage and the beautiful horse that was pulling it.

Claire and Chloe following their exciting carriage ride.

After a short afternoon rest period, the group got together again with both of the Grandpas and made some mini pizzas before going to the evening parade. Below the girls wait very patiently again for the parade to start.

The decorated emergency vehicles in the parade were sure to toot their horns and sirens as they passed.

About an hour away from our home, Chris continued his exploring and growth. Mike sent this video of him trying out Claire and Chloe's trampoline. Yikes, what is next for this 10 month old?

All in all we had a wonderful weekend and look forward to spending time with our friends again before too long. This weekend was a great start to a wonderful month of celebrating the birth of Jesus!

Family Time in Hawaii !!

Our family has been looking forward to this trip to Hawaii for some time. We have talked it up to Claire and Chloe for weeks and they were excited and anxious to fly for the very first time and to see Hawaii. Chloe works on her LeapPad while waiting to board the plane.

Claire is intent on her LeapPad as well.

Our first night we stayed in a small hotel that we found on the Internet prior to checking into our condo the following day. Some family members thought it was pretty good, others thought it was like camping. Paula put Claire and Chloe in cute little dresses with tropical prints for their first day on the island.

We had one of the usual short downpours shortly after breakfast that left some puddles out on the lanai. The girls decided they would "surf" there and before we knew it they were soaked. So fun to see them pretend they were in the ocean. Mike and Paula laughed it off and put dry clothes on them.

We did a little exploring the first day. Here are Papa and the girls looking at some treasure.

Chris enjoyed some time near the beach as well.

Here are my sweet daughter-in-law, Chris, and me.

Mike, Paula and the kids check out the beach.

Our view from the condo. So beautiful.....

Claire and Chloe's first taste of shave ice. Their eyes were definitely bigger than their tummies.

Chris experiences the damp grass....and tweaks his crawling stance.

The girls were in the water constantly. They loved boogie boarding and although I didn't ever get pictures I did see a bit of what they were able to do. They had a great time and became so at home in the surf. Chloe decided to be a "surfer girl" when she grows up.

Chris got to try lots of new food tastes. Anything he saw the family eating he wanted.

Claire and Chloe went directly to their first hula lesson from the swimming pool. It was hilarious to watch them. The little girl next to them was about their size but was seven years old. She was

a great little dancer. Some of the first moves as well as the first attempt at the dance can be seen here and here. I'm sure with practice they will perfect this dance. :):)

After the dance Mommy decided they had better be dressed appropriately for the activity.

Swimming was just about as fun as boogie boarding and they did plenty of it. They faithfully used each of the three pools every day. They made so many friends at the pools and would always go up to other children and introduce themselves and ask if they wanted to be friends. They would also "size up adults" as Paula says, and then strike up conversations with them as well. They are certainly not shy the majority of the time.

Chris got lots of attention and here he is playing peek-a-boo with me.

Papa and Chloe clowning around.

Each day the children were able to fee the koi at the fish pond near the entrance to the resort.
The resort, Waiohai Beach Club, is so family friendly. There were quite a few children there and

they really seemed welcome.

Pineapple break after swimming......

Claire is not the most adventuresome eater, but she had promised us that she would try a taste of fresh pineapple and she kept her word.....

One of the evenings Mike, Paula, Jon, Suzie, and Eric went on a dinner cruise to the Na Pali coast which they reported was really great. Below is Suzie enjoying the trip.

While they were gone, Papa and I ventured across the street to a 30 minute or so Polynesian dance show that is put on in the shopping center. Claire was mesmerized. She loved it and sat awe-struck. After the performance the dancers invited the small kids up to learn some dance moves. Our girls went up immediately. Chloe sure had the moves, but kept her back to the audience. Chris really got into it as well. Norm pronounced him a "typical male".

Our evening "thanksgiving meal" on Wednesday night.

Chris assisting in the kitchen.

Chris and Papa.

Chloe gets all cleaned up for a dinner out before we get serious about packing.

The girls talk Papa into taking a break from packing and to tell one of his stories about Wyatt Earp. They never get tired of the legends and I can't believe that Papa is still coming up with stories they haven't heard before.

Our trip was a wonderful time together and we are so thankful for safe travels and good health while we were gone. The memories will last a long, long, time and is certainly one of the highlights in Papa and my life.

Still smiling as we head home.....