Christmas Part II

We made it back from Hawaii on the morning of December 29th just in time to meet Holli, John, and Rhys, who had arrived at our house the day before, after they had a hideously long drive across the dam. We hadn't seen them since last June, so it was great to see them again. Hillari, Keith, Sareny, Isaac, and Finley got here a little later in the day. We were so glad to see everyone, but we were all quite tired as well. Jeff, Lexi and I had just finished a very long red-eye flight from Hawaii; Holli and John had come from Georgia about the time we left for Hawaii and had been in Phoenix with John's family for over a week, and Hillari and Keith and the kids had just come from their more than a week long stay in Spokane with Keith's family, so everyone was a little wiped out. We had our second Christmas that night and opened our presents to and from each other, and for some strange reason I didn't take one picture of it! I'll blame it on being a zombie, I guess. Jake, Liz, Josh, and Charlie, came the next day, and the kids had all drawn names again this year, so they all opened those presents together. Some of the fun things we did while everyone was here were ride the Ranger, of course; feed the fish again, which is always fun for the kids; go to the park to play; play the game Mafia; and have a "lame" (according to Lexi) New Year's Eve party. In Lexi's defense, I guess it was kind of lame. Jake and Liz didn't even stay up until midnight! Here are some of our cute pictues:

Sareny and Lexi made these awesome puppets and did a puppet show for us.

It was pretty cute and funny.

We all want Rhys and Finney to be good friends, but for some reason they haven't hit it off. Rhys does like to hit Finney and pull her hair though. Maybe that's a sign that he really likes her, you know how boys are..................

Here's Isaac going down the slide at the park.

Joshie in the swing.

Cute little Charlie.

These two little cuties do get along sometimes!

The big kids playing pepper.

Love this picture of Sareny and Isaac.

I look a little scary here, but Charlie sure is cute.

I gave Rhys a bath in the sink, and couldn't get him to smile for anything. He's such a cutie even without a smile.

Holli and John were the last ones to leave, and we had a little s'more making night in the back yard.

We also met some of the relatives on Jeff's side of the family at Sizzler for dinner. Jeff's Mom and Frank, Mike and Laurie, Tiffany and Baden with their little boy Taden, and Tracy and Lynnette with Kelsie, Kollin, and Karston were all there. Here's John, Holli, Lexi, Tiff, and Baden.

Rhys and Taden had fun running around and annoying all the old people who seem to love Sizzler...............

A cute little picture I snapped of Rhys on their last day here. He is such a busy little boy, it was unusual to get a picture of him sitting still! We love our family so much and enjoy having them visit us. We all had a very Merry Christmas!!!

Mele Kalikimaka OR Christmas Part 1

Well as most of you know, Jeff, Lexi and I spent Christmas in Hawaii with Cassidy, James and little Truman this year. They were so nice to let us come and stay with them in their small apartment! We really had a great time. It was a little wierd. I mean, we went to the beach on Christmas Day! At home we never have snow or anything, but at least it's cold. It seemed strange to have it be so nice and warm. Here are some of our favorite pictures, in no particular order:


Cass, Lexi and James getting ready to hit the pinata.


The girls making the traditional Christmas Eve fare of Crook Cracks.

I just had to include this one of Lexi with the star of Ha, the show at the PCC, (also known as the Polynesian Cultural Center.) He was kind of sweaty and gross because it was after the show.

This was at the PCC also. Even though Truman looks a little bored, it was really lots of fun.

Lexi and I learning a game at the PCC.

Chinaman's Hat in the background.

We decided to try one of the many shrimp shacks around the island. Cass and James got brave and ordered the ones you have to peel. They weren't aware that they also came complete with heads, legs, and poop. They were nearly impossible to eat.

We were going to bury James, but decided to just bury his legs. It looks kind of freaky though!

Cass and James took us to a beach where there are lots of sea turtles and we were lucky to see this one on the beach. We also saw a few whales jumping out in the ocean.

Truman was so cute and happy. We drug him to the beach nearly every day, and he just took it all in stride. We had so much fun seeing him and getting to know him.

One of the first things we did was hike to the top of Diamond Head. It's a pretty steep hike too!

We were so thankful we got to be there for Truman's blessing day. Their Church building is very beautiful. It has a reflecting pool kind of like the one at the Temple, and a unique tile mosaic of Christ that you can see in the background. It was a lovely day, and James gave Truman a beautiful blessing.

More Blessing pictures.

This was the day we sent Lexi to the "singles" Sunday School class, thinking she might meet a cute guy. But after the class she told us no one in there was under age 50, and most were at least 80! Poor Lex.

Here we are at the Poly lookout. The scenery was all so gorgeous.

This was looking out from the Punchbowl.

A happy little beach bum baby.

I did say the pics were in random order...........this one should have been up by the other Diamond Head one.

The happy little family the night we left. It was so hard to say goodbye. The week flew by so quickly, and before we knew it it was time to come home. Can I just tell you how hard it is to have your daughter and her family so darn far away! Cass and James, thanks so much for showing us such a good time and letting us sleep in your bed! It was a very memorable time and we love you both. I hope we get to come again sometime. (Cass, I want to know if James cringed when he read that last line!)