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.