Happiness at Home: 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Double Christmas?!?

Flying stand-by, we have the benefit of flying whenever we want, as long as others AREN'T flying, which means around holidays there are never enough seats for us. We could tell early on that the flights to Utah weren't looking good unless we left LATE Christmas Eve or at 8 am Christmas morning. So with a little convincing and twisting the truth, we decided to celebrate Christmas morning on the 24th.
We had a traditional Christmas Eve dinner (on the 23rd) of ham & potatoes (This was my first time doing it, so its not actually traditional for us). Then we played out the nativity, sang some songs, made cookies for Santa and watched the end of Polar Express. Both kids slept in our room. I had to run to the store to get more formula, so that kind of made the Christmas Eve feeling go away a bit. Dave and I enjoyed wrapping a few more presents and getting excited for our kids happiness the next day.

Both Dave and I woke before the kids at 6:30, Hallie was up by 7 and Jackson was completely zonked out until 7:20. We had the lights on and were talking in normal voices waiting for him to wake up and he took so long! When he woke up it took him several minutes before he asked in a sneaky voice, "Hey, is it CHRISTMAS day?!?" When we replied YES, he was so excited.

As we walked out to go see the Santa loot, I stepped on the bed holding Hallie and threw my back out. It was terrible timing (is it ever good?) and I was in pain the rest of the morning (luckily it wasn't REALLY Christmas and my Chiro came over and straightened me out and I felt back to 100% 4 days later. This is the first time since pre-pregnancy that it went out. I guess I am cursed to have a weak back, but at least I know it can heal and I can run sometimes, too!

So anyway, Santa totally hit the spot with our kids this year. Jackson got a Buzz Lightyear and Hallie got a oversized stuffed dog. They were in heaven! I got a new scent from Dave :). We gave Jackson a train table (complete with trucks, planes, boats and helicopters too) and he has been loving that. We enjoyed spending time as a family and even though it wasn't big and busy like I am used to, I loved the focus on our kids and the fun we had together. The hard part is that we couldn't enjoy being lazy and messy the rest of the day because we were leaving for Utah, so we did dishes, packed, cleaned, vacuumed, etc. Unfortunately because of my back, Dave had to do most of it.

We headed to the airport and passed out goodie bags to those who helped us. Most people were SO happy to get a little bag of treats from a little boy. It made me want to do it more often (we got 6 seats for the 4 of us because the lady at the check in counter liked us :).

We enjoyed a 2nd Christmas Eve with the Ahlstrom's and stayed up late enjoying company. Hallie was up early and then we had another Christmas morning of fun, presents and love. My favorite present to give was a Kindle Fire to Dave. He's been playing alot with it, which means it was a hit :). I really loved having church on Christmas. It brought the focus to where it should be.
Hallie's church dress

We were lazy for the next 3 days (we'll I should say I was lazy and Dave was busy working from home!) We ate A LOT, played MANY games and the Wii my parents received. It was fun to be with my siblings and parents. We really enjoy spending time together. The only sad part is I couldn't go skiing or snowshoeing because of my back. I did do a lot of hot tubbing. There was only one flight remotely open for returning home, so at 8:15 one evening we headed home. Hallie fell asleep after lots of crying and Jackson stayed up until 11:15 that night. I read a book on the kindle . . . does that mean it was a present for myself too?
Kids and hubby are happy, lots of time with family and lots of good food . . . Perfect holiday season!
(and once again, NO photos from Utah!)

Here's is my Christmas miracle story:
I started off December with a post about doing 25 days of service. One of my friends in Orem decided she wanted to do it with her kids, too. One of the items on the list was visiting a Senior Living center. We didn't actually get to do that one (we only did 10 days or so :( ) But my friend blogged about how they had met a sweet older lady and she had made their day. Her exact quote was, " We have visited a nursing home where we absolutely made a beautiful woman's day. She had tears in her eyes as she brushed my children's cheeks and told them that she loved them and asked them to be her friend."
Over the Christmas break we visited Dave's Grandma who is living in a center. As we were looking for our Christmas card which had disappeared in her room somewhere, I found a homemade Santa and on it were the name of my friends 2 kids. I immediately remembered her blog and felt that Heavenly Father had a hand in sending my friend to visit our grandma for the holiday when we weren't able to. I feel like Heavenly Father loves this woman and is watching out for her in ways she doesn't understand right now. It filled my heart with love for her, for my friend who was willing to serve someone she didn't know and for God in His watchful care for each of His children. We love you, Grandma!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Christmas is awesome no matter what . . .

In a stressed out moment, I let Jackson know he'd be getting a lump of coal on Christmas morning. He said "A real one?!?" I affirmed and he said, "Well, can I take it camping? Then we can light a fire on my coals and roast marshmallows . . .. " I am getting really excited for Christmas this year! Bring on the fun!

Jackson's thoughts on Jesus

"Mom, Does Jesus break the roof of the church with his head when he goes up to Heaven?"
hmmmm. . ..

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Random Thoughts for Thursday

Hallie learned to point with one finger. She makes a big "o" face and an amazed "ahhhh" sound to go with it. I'm not sure if it is real or not, but it makes it seems like she is completely fascinated with all things Christmas and lights and presents. It is a joy to watch her this season.

Hallie cried on Santa's lap. It was our first experience since Jackson has always loved Santa. I felt bad for making her cry and then watching her terror. Why do we do this to our little ones?

The other day (Dec 20) I thought, "What a beautiful and warm day to pick weeds from my rocks" For many reasons I never thought I would say that.

Hallie takes 10-20 steps consistently now. To see her toddle and reach out for her next support is so fun.

We love Hallie so much because she shows so much love to us. She cuddles, squeezes, kisses, nuggles, anything. She always wants to be held (although is very good natured if she isn't being held.) She brings so much love into our home! I love watching Dave love her too! However, lately she's been trying to hug other kids and they are pushing her away. It breaks my heart that she is such a sweetie, but isn't wanted here. I hope my kids are never teased at school, I would be so sad for them!

Jackson has been talking alot about Jesus lately (yea for the season!) He couldn't understand how he could always see us, so I said he had special eyes. Now that is all he talks about, Jesus and his Special Eyes. Somethings about Jesus are very hard to explain . . . I failed on that one. Any advice?

Jackson is so stubborn and hard-headed in so many ways, but in several cases he is so open minded and I love it! For example, he doesn't see boundaries between girls and boys things. All toys are equal in his eyes. In his eyes, pink is a fantastic color and barbies are awesome. Also, he loves baby toys and baby things. He doesn't discriminate. He also has nothing that he can think of that he wants for Christmas. The only things he has mentioned are things he already possesses. It makes it easy for us to plant in his mind what he "wants". It is inspiring that he isn't overly greedy or wanting of possession. Although, he also doesn't want to give away anything that he already has.

Did you know that it takes ALOT of popcorn to fill 16 bags of carmel corn? . . . Like 10 batches. That is ALOT of time turning my whirly pop crank! (Thanks, Lori for the most awesome gift ever :) )

Arizona has 'snow days' where the ship in a dumpload full of snow to a parking lot and have a bunch of vendors come try to sell you things while you let your kids play. No one had gloves or boots and the parents got to stand around and not get wet at all . . .best of both worlds I guess. We also went to see snow falling and were a little disappointed to see it was a bubble machine. Still, the kids seemed to enjoy it.

Arizona snow ^ verses Utah snow

We are going to be celebrating Christmas just with our little family and it is going to be kind-of different on Christmas Eve to not be with family, but I think it will be fun to focus completely on our kids and being together. I am getting really excited. We are also doing things a little differently so we can catch an open flight to Utah. Lets hope everything goes smoothly.

I just realized that I didn't mention Jesus Christ in our Christmas card and I am completely disappointed in myself. He is the whole reason for sending out cards to keep in touch with others who have touched out lives for good. He is the reason that we have Joy and Love and Peace to celebrate. And He inspires us to create more Love, Joy and Peace. I am so sorry that I failed to express my LOVE and faith in my Savior, especially this time of the year when he should never be forgotten! I hope the Savior is a major focus of our celebrating this season!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Maui

To Celebrate our 5 year anniversary we headed to Maui. I took the kids to Utah the day before and then flew home to get ready for our 'vacation'. I really appreciate my parents being willing to watch 2 kids for 4 days! We had a wonderful time.

Maui -Day 1

Sleep in ! go running with Dave. Finish packing in a rush. Get Exit row seats with lots of leg room.

Fly 11 am-3 (watch 2 Castle episodes, do Sudoku and Crosswords, Sleep, etc)

Rent a car

Drive to Costco for dinner

Drive to West Maui : Ka’anapali beach resort (get upgraded to a cottage with a King bed!)

Walk along the beach looking at the stars. Feel the sand between the toes and wind in our hair.

Watch Wedding video

Go to sleep early (9:00 pm)

Day 2

Wake up at 5:00 (it’s 8:00 our time!)

This is the morning full moon.

Eat breakfast at the hotel (we packed in our own food!)

Drive up the coast to hike.

Hike down the Kapalua Coastal Trail. It starts with “Dragon Teeth” Large lava formations jutting up from the ocean. Love the sea raging and crashing against the shore.

Enjoy Oneloa beach. Explore tide pools at Hawea point. See a sea turtle. See Namalu bay. Wade in Kapalua beach. Hike back to car.

Head up the coast more. Stop just past Honolua Bay to walk in the Tropical Jungle. See chickens. Discover foliage we never knew existed.

Hike out to the Nakalele Blowhole. The ocean was raw and ravaging. The wind was intense. We felt the power of the earth here.

Ate lunch (homemade) at Napili beach. Gorgeous, secluded but busy.

Head back to hotel and to Ka’anpali Beach. Relax, swim, boogie board (get run over by a wave- sand everywhere) ruin a camera (#3 for us!)

Head to Lahaina, buy a cord, rent snorkel gear. Snorkel near Black Rock. Spend the entire time figuring out how to fix my snorkel gear. See some cool fish and coral. Shower off.

Play shuffleboard and bocci. See the sunset on the beach talking to a nice couple from Washington.

Head to Lahaina for dinner. On Front Street see all the shops and eating areas. Get the best seat in the restaurant at Cheeseburgers in Paradise. STARVING! Enjoy the atmosphere and live music (as well as the ocean waves coming in just under our table and the wind rushing through the window). EAT!! (Love it!) Talk to the couple next to us. (LDS!)

Walk the streets (it is a mini Park city here). Pick out souvenirs for our kids and parents. ( the lady working the cash register is my distant cousin – link found in St. Johns AZ – also LDS!)

Crash at 9 pm at home!! What an amazing, beautiful, gorgeous, awesome day! Love this place.

Dave and I love it. We love spending time together. The kids are with Gma and Gpa in Utah (I flew to Utah to drop them off and flew back to phx to catch the Maui flight). Thank you for watching them so we can get the most awesome vacation ever. We decided that if we flew to Maui for only this day it would be worth it (That is of course assuming the flight was free . . . thank you US Airways!)

Day 3:

Wake up at 5:30. Check out of hotel and begin long drive to Hana. First hour is mostly dark and uneventful. Then we start the real ‘road’ . It is a 10 mph road that winds along the coast for 30 miles! We had a guide book and stopped to see many beautiful and amazing sights, waterfalls, bays, jungles, etc. The rain never stopped falling so the waterfalls were just gushing (and pretty muddy too). I wish the photos did it justice, but our memories will have to do!

We attended a small branch in Hana for church. There were probably 40 members present. It was so small and intimate, but the sliding doors surrounding the chapel were all open and we could hear the birds chirping, rain falling and ocean coming in. It was beautiful! Since it was a small branch, they only had 2 meetings and then, they were gracious enough to share leftovers from their ward party with us. We were running out of food from out suitcase, so we were thankful it was provided and we didn’t have to go out to eat. It was humbling to associate with these beautiful members. Since they were so removed from the hustle and bustle of busy life on Maui (Is that irony or what?) they were humble and relaxed. I felt like the commercialization of Christmas was completely lost out there. Also, despite the fact that the members knew were would only be their one week, they were so friendly, warm and welcoming. It was incredible!

We traveled another 10 miles down the really slow road and saw some great waterfalls, one that even the locals had never seen in 2 years. It was REALLY raining hard. The 7 sacred pools were more like the raging rushing river meets the torrential sea. I would have like to see the serene scene created in the pictures, but maybe next trip we’ll do that.

We were exhausted by the drive home, but still enjoyed the amazing scenes created as we drove through the rain forest. We saw an amazing sunset in South Maui and checked into our hotel there. We crashed early (9 pm)

Day 4

We were up early and tried to make an ‘un’plan for the day. We just wanted to relax and enjoy our time on the beach. We did an early morning jog along the beach trail and then enjoyed Wailea beach while reading and sitting. We checked out of our hotel and then tried out Big beach (where Dave was smashed trying to boogie board). We drove to Black Sand beach and REALLY enjoyed the crystal clear water and black sand. We made a sand castle, went snorkeling and relaxed. We didn’t have a place to clean up, so we tried to get as much sand off as possible at the public beach showers.

Did I mention that Dave can walk on Water? Yeah . . . he's that amazing!

We went back to West Maui and ate in Lahaina at Bubba Gumps, right over the ocean.

Then we went to the most amazing magic and comedy show I’ve ever seen! It was called Warren and Anabelle’s. First, there were appetizers served in a ‘parlor’ as Annabelle (the ghost) played requests on the piano. There was no one sitting at the piano, but the keys played and any song you yelled out was immediately played! It was incredible. Then we went into the magic show. Dave and I were invited to sit up front and be teased by the magician. It was awesome to be so close to the magic and still not be able to see what was going on and how he was doing it! The first thing the magician said, after spotting our 2 waters was, “Mormons?” To which we affirmed and he was shocked! Luckily there were not too many more Mormon jokes the rest of the night. He did card tricks, ripped up a card and fixed it (while in someone else's hand). He changed the time on a watch (while in someone else's hand who was picking the number to change it to). He burned a $100 bill and then re found it inside an unopened lemon! He linked 3 wedding bands together (from audience members) He dropped not one, but TWO bowling balls out of a hat. Not to mention vanishing things all the time. He was incredible. on top of that, I was laughing hysterically the entire time! What a comedian! All off the cuff based on the audience. It was a crack up. Best show I've ever seen!

It turns out that the Sunday night flight was cancelled at 2 am . . . and they rescheduled the flight for ½ hour before our flight on Monday night. I was so glad we weren’t planning on taking the Sunday night flight home. That would have been disappointing (not to mention exhausting).
But we got on our scheduled flight and slept surprisingly well for 5 hours. Dave headed to work and I hopped on a plane to Utah to visit family for the next few days.

UTAH :
I struck up a conversation with the guy next to me, before I realized that I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. He kept talking and talking. Eventually, I was hardly responding at all. He finally stopped talking and I feel asleep immediately. It was SO good to see my kids. I sure did miss them!
Utah was perfect, too! I got to see many of my old friends (thus, Jackson got to see his old friends) as well as my brother who is currently living in Grenada and both my grandmas. It was so nice to catch up. The flights back to PHX were PACKED (I'm talking NO seats the whole weekend) except the late night flight Thursday. So at 7:30 pm we were at the airport. I like to look around and see other mothers with kids and get ideas of how to best move through the airport with kids. I saw this mom with 3 kids and was thinking 'WOW! That is awesome!" Then I look up at her and it is my bestie SANDRA! I was so excited to cross paths with her, even if only for a moment. How wonderful to run into people you know and love in places you didn't suspect! Jackson was SO good on the flight and he fell asleep right after the drinks just as he had planned. However, Hallie refused to fall asleep and was overly hyper. I only had 1/2 my lap free to entertain her. I had to keep her from kicking, hitting or grabbing Jackson. It was quite the juggling act for the past 45 mins of the flight. Then came the REALLY hard part. With Jackson asleep I have no hands to carry anything else (and he doesn't wake up enough to walk, he just slumps down and fall asleep on the floor) Luckily, a kind woman pushed my stroller AND pulled my carry-on as I held Jackson all the way down to the passenger pick up. Thank goodness for the goodness of strangers!

Perfect vacation, I'd say!