HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Grandma T.

 
Grandma T looks so cool with the surfboard and mountain bike behind her.

 
Grandma T and Hunter waiting for their food and entertainment at the Luau.

Where are all the turtles?

Our great discovery the other day was Wawaloli Beach near the Seahorse Farm north of Kona. A non-touristy beach with lots of tide pools formed by lava. Deep enough to explore, swim and snorkel.


Sean's a little under the weather but continues to be a trooper and took Hunter way out into the ocean yesterday for a father and son snorkeling extravaganza. When they finally swam back to shore Hunter was exhausted and as he collapsed onto the rocks said, "He pushed me to my limit!"

Unfortunately, no turtles to be found yet. The search continues.

Aloha

Aloha! We're here and enjoying simple island life. Lime green geckos have been peaking around every corner checking us out and the kids come running every time we say gecko. It turns out that these quick little critters are an invasive species. The good geckos are the brown ones who chirp at night. I thought the chirping in the middle of the night was just a confused bird.

Yesterday swimming in the ocean:
Gray: "Is this pepper water?"
Mom: "No, It's salt water."
Gray: "Ahhhh! Alligators live in salt water!!!"

Tis The Season

December flew by in a second but it was one of my most memorable holiday seasons ever. There were piano recitals, craft fairs, dinners and movies with family and friends, streets of decorative lighting to explore, a night out with Liz and Eric till 2 a.m. (yippee!), gifts made, tree to decorate, an evening with Eugene family (snowflake interpretative dance and "Superstar"), a little snow, and a big trip to plan (more coming soon). It was low-stress, simple and I enjoyed every minute of it.


We spent Christmas Eve with my family and after enjoying a savory soup dinner my mother presented the family with 2 old and smelly cardboard boxes full of family photographs. Our job was to each find 1-2 photos and create an ornament with it. Above is Bryn's work in progress of me as a baby with our cat Ty.


I don't think my mother anticipated that we would spend so much time looking through the photos. Eventually, I walked away with two stuffed manila envelopes and promised all that they would be scanned. I don't think I will ever be able to have another Christmas tree that isn't covered in family memories. I love the heart ornament of my parents circa 1970s.


The second surprise of the evening was when at 8:30p.m. we were divided into two groups given a list of names and an armful of gifts and told to deliver them. My mother has always been keen to those in need and her current calling at church makes her very aware of so many in sad times. All my brothers and I have been gone from Salem for so long that we knew none of these people and they don't know us. Noah, Paul and I delivered all the gifts personally with a very "Merry Christmas" to very bewildered recipients mostly in their pajamas with looks of "who are these crazy people?" The other car did ding and dash with most of their gifts and made their escape via Speedy McSean.


Our last delivery of the evening was to an elderly woman in a nursing home with asthma. She is so thirsty all the time and craves Pepsi so that is was we brought. She was thankful for her late evening visit on Christmas Eve and still has no idea who we were or who told us what she wanted. Another confirmation to how simple Christmas really should be

Kiss Kiss

(picture by Hunter with Portland in the background)

"I don't like kisses!"

"Buy why don't you like kisses."

"They're too juicy. I only like hugs!"

Totally understandable. Only problem is I accidentally kiss him about 10 times a day. Even when he's crying after bumping his head and I automatically kiss the spot he exclaims through tears, "you kissed me." The best part is that after each and every accidental kiss he shows me how to bear hug. I get my kisses and bear hugs too. I'm a lucky mom.

Santy Claus

There has been lots of talk about Santa Claus around here lately. Hunter is 9 and asks very direct questions about the logistics of delivering billions of toys around the world in one night. Then 10 minutes later he tells me that only those who believe can here the bells of Christmas and that he believes. Do you remember wavering and being on the cusp? Being a parent and keeping Santa's spirit alive is just as much fun as being a kid.

Then there's Bryn who believes that this man is Santa Claus. He told her about 3 years ago that he was Santa Claus and she's wavering but hanging onto the idea. He keeps his reindeer in a reindeer home and his sleigh in storage during the year. She now believes that the Tooth Fairy is a guy name Bob Lancaster who lives on 54th Street. Some name Sean threw out when confronted by Bryn.


Gray said that there are 10 clones of Santa. At our annual family party on Sunday Santa arrived to visit and deliver presents. All the kids came running full of hugs, some with a little apprehension, and one with tears. Gray walked in and then walked out. I thought he was nervous or scared but then in another room someone told him that Santa Claus was here and he said, "I know. I already saw him." He then proceeded to play with toys. No big deal. Only SANTA CLAUS!

We eagerly await the man in the big red suit.

Thankful

I'm thankful for a loving, strong willed, creative daughter.

I'm thankful for good friends like these who still like to play dress up as much as I do.

I'm thankful for parents who love me.

I'm thankful for easy access to water .

I'm thankful that everyone I've known in Iraq came back alive.

I'm thankful for opportunities like these that broaden the minds of my children about the world they live in.

I'm thankful for a husband that laughs with me.

I'm thankful that this year my brother-in-law is cooking our Thanksgiving meal.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Latest PlayStation Addiction

I've lost my family to these hard to resist sleepy little roly poly LocoRocos. It makes me smile that Sean and the kids are addicted to leading little butterfly on a quest to wake up all the LocoRocos. For me there's a little bit of sensory overload with the music that plays over and over but the imagery still makes me smile. Here's a clip.



Just in case you didn't catch it here are the words.
Bajumbo moi noi noi jecker Dabatto bunkergait jun jun Nora juerue-rotto pura-pura petto Puraret dum dum Papuranoi noi noi jecker Dabatto bumperget tum tum Ora poerketino bookeran tan-tan-so Bokeretyo kyenturanai mimani unlalhood-cha-la Terra hooki-ra pishi-to diki-ra poody-to Seni-kidi koseibo Kokorenkyo kyenturanai mimani unlalhood-cha-la Terra hooki-ra shishi-sho tusura hajiki yo Bajumbo moi noi noi jecker Dabatto bumperget tum tum Nora juerue-rotto rokorolo-petto Pura-purarun dum dum Papuramoi noi noi jecker Dapatto bumperget tum tum Ora poerketino bookeran tan-tan-so

I even found LocoRoco Keychains by My Funny Valentine on etsy.

7 random things

Arachnophobia (the movie) scared me up for life. I always check for spiders whether I'm getting in the shower or my bed and I never stick my hand under a lampshade without looking first.

I love hanging out with my parents and I would love to live next door to them. Someday I'll have to blog about why they are sitting in the park with the Wheel of Fortune while my dad reads ShopNotes.

I'm not a nice person in the morning. I'm what you'd call a Not A Morning Person. My parents had a no talking to Sarah rule before school rule growing up and my father found it necessary to warn Sean about my morning issues before we were married. After almost 10 years of marriage Sean still wakes up smiling and ready to give lots of hugs and kisses. I may not show it at 7:00a.m. but I do appreciate it.

I was with my girlfriend Danielle the night I met Sean at Kells. Sean was with his guy friend Colby. Danielle and Colby who also met for the first time that night ended up getting married to each other 1 year after us. About 2 years ago my brother Tom met his current girlfriend there.

Right now I am completely surrounded by friends who are compassionate, kind, fun, friendly, happy, inspiring and insightful. It's a great feeling.

My dream job (besides a job that would save the world) would be the most talked about science fiction writer in the world. ahhhh.. to create worlds, space traveling vehicles and intergalactic bureaucratic tension...

I grew up on my father's hobby farm. We raised cows, chickens, rabbits and sheep. So who would guess that I have a fear of taking care of household pets? We once had the preschools guinea pig for a weekend and I called the teacher twice with guinea pig life fearing questions. Sean really wants a dog. I'm holding strong. A dirty fish tank with two sad fish are all the animals I need right now.

Thanks Shaka that was fun and random. Hopefully not to boring. Three PDX girls that I'd love to know 7 random things about...

Amy
Meegan
Amy

I'd also love to know 7 random things about Charles, Yvonne, and Lulu. Mom and Colleen do you thing you could surprise me with 7 random facts about yourselves?

Book Talk

I don't belong to a book club mainly because I like to read what I want and I don't want to feel guilty if I don't have time to finish the book. However, sometimes I need to talk about a book whether to rant or rave. That's when I become a nag and push family and friends to read the book I just finished. I have to talk about it with someone!

I'm very good at remembering plot lines and how I felt about a book but I am terrible at remembering book titles and authors. I've tried several times to keep a book diary but I usually end up misplacing it or forget to add books and then too much time goes by.

Here's a quick review of two books I've recently read for permanent record.


I'm only 7 years behind with this one but sometimes I like to be cool by not being cool. What was the hype about 7 years ago? It's a time skipping book with a mystery that I guess is suppose to leave you intrigued throughout the whole book. There are many more time piece books that are much more creative and with stronger characters.

Author Ingenuity:


Plot:


Ending:


What I'll remember 5 years from now:
That a woman with few options make some quirky decisions that didn't make sense to me.


My first question is what kind of mind thinks up this story? I think it's the first book I've ever read where the main character is creepy even from the beginning (birth) and there is never any redeeming moment. I would be 50/50 on recommending because it's a twisted story but definitely intriguing. They made a Perfume movie based on the book which is currently in my netflix queue. I have to know how they turned this into a movie.

Author Ingenuity:


Plot:


Ending:

This time 5-stars does not mean that is was a good ending just a jaw dropping shocking ending.

What I'll remember 5 years from now:
A creepy guy with a great sense of smell that is patient and persistent that ends up getting everything he wants. All in a Silence of the Lambs kind of way.

Books currently on my nightstand:

The Big Night

Dinner with Holly Hobbles' family and friends.

Great work out for kids while running from house to house.

Received $5 Golden Tickets from the owners of Pix Patisserie while trick-or-treating. Truly golden for the adults.

First year where all 3 kids understood what was going on and enjoyed every minute of it.

Any PDX parent would tell you that we had the best trick-or-treating weather ever!!

25 minutes of late night shampooing to get little ms. vampire's black hair paint out.

2 digital cameras being repaired (yes, because I broke both of them) and one video camera with a missing charger. ugh!

Waiting for brother to email Halloween pics.

Funny Halloween story that I remember...... My mother was driving home with my little brother Tommy (approximately age 4) and he was SO excited for Halloween that night. The kind of excited where you can't sit still. My mom asked him if he was ready for all the candy. His eyes grew huge with amazement and exclaimed, "You get candy too?" ~ Because shouldn't getting dressed up and going door-to-door be enough?

Halloween Bash "Final Comments"

I've never been anything mean or naughty for Halloween. My favorite non-childhood costumes up to this point were a Pirate and a Pea Pod (to match the Jolly Green Giant). Being part the Reservoir Dolls was a lot of fun and helped fill my secret desire of wanting to be a Roller Derby Girl. I'll never forgot the day while browsing in Goodwill talking to Penny Traitor by cellphone and squealing with delight over finding the perfect clothing items to wear with my Sarah Smashmouth outfit. Now that I've actually worn the entire outfit for several hours I am much more in awe of the real Roller Derby girls who not only have to wear their outfits but actually play a bout in them. Do you think they'll kick me out if I wear my outfit to preschool skate with Grayson? I've got to find an excuse to wear it again.

We're getting ready for Random Man, Little Miss Vampire, and Batman's Wednesday appearance.

Halloween Bash "Reservoir Dolls"

Reservoir Dolls Roller Derby Team

Team Roster (left to right):
Sarah Smashmouth
Holly Hobbles
Penny Traitor
Pushy Galore
Bubble Vicious


Holly Hobbles showing off the Reservoir Dolls team shirt


Sarah Smashmouth and Pushy Galore


Our refs Seymour Cleavage & Naughty and Nice


Pushy Galore with husband Seymour Cleavage


Mascot Mr. Black with wife Sarah Smashmouth


Unfortunately, our party host Bubble Vicious was sent to the hospital that evening with a fractured ankle. She is recovering and continues to root her team on.

Halloween Bash "The Others"

le couple d'expressions français (ooh la la... the cutest couple)


the sweetest ballerina


ooh la la with the most beautiful mermaid


el duche


as his box reads "decapitator"


a little disturbing but very entertaining