good times

thank goodness for self-timers
Yesterday we wrapped up my families visit with a little more sight-seeing...seeing the blow-hole, stopping by Costco to get some dried mango's, driving through Waikiki, stopping to get some malasadas, and then getting some last minute souvenirs. Mimi had some time to play a little piano too which Jude enjoyed and the guys did some guys stuff by fixing a part on the car. But unfortunately the weather was cool and rainy all day so there was no last minute surfing like we had hoped...and Jenny was hoping for a little last minute sun tanning.


Well my family left to go back home last night. Ethan woke up this morning and told me "Mimi and Papa went home on an airplane"...I'm glad he is at an age now where he understands so that he doesn't keep asking where they went. I still can't believe how quickly the time went. We got so used to them all being here that it was hard to get back into our regular routine...we miss them. So I think it will take me a couple of days to get over my "missing my family" funk. But it has motivated us to start planning our trip back to the mainland this summer.

review

Picture time with Mimi and Papa. We're sad that their time here is ending soon. It has flown by way too fast.

Jude was fascinated by uncle Jeffry brushing his teeth...he loves his uncle.

Aunt Jenny makes the best gingerbread houses or as Ethan says "gingerman's house". Thankfully the ants have stayed away from it so far...and it hasn't melted in the heat.

Slow dancing at the luau as a family...Ethan joined in after feeling left out.

pearl harbor

My mom, Jeffry, Jenny, Ethan and I went to the Pearl Harbor memorial yesterday. After long lines and waiting for a few hours, we saw a short movie and took a boat ride out to the memorial. Jason and my dad went today and did the extended tour by visiting the USS Missouri also. It was amazing to see and hear what these men and women went through...a horrible day in history but still seeing glimpses of God in it. I am so thankful that He is all-knowing and in control of all that happens.

mele kalikimaka

Merry Christmas everyone! We had a great day of fun family traditions...pluck-its in the morning, meatballs and shrimp for lunch, a happy birthday Jesus cake, cherry mash, playing games and singing Christmas carols. We had a few new traditions too, like acting out a story that Ethan got for Christmas, going to the beach in the afternoon and surfing, edemame, and eating Dream Dinners. Jeffry and Jason surfed for a few hours and then I attempted it for the first time. It was actually kind of fun and I actually caught a couple of waves.

It was fun that Ethan was more into Christmas this year. I wish I could have recorded his excitement. It was pretty cute. Jude loves to rip the paper whether it was on the present or not. But I have to say the best present we got this year was having my family here with us.

more hawaiian adventures

Well I'm not sure my family knew what they were agreeing to when they decided to come visit us in Hawaii...our adventures have included climbing a mountain, kayaking out to an island with rough waves and surfing. Talk about a Christmas to remember. I think the best memory I will have is my parents catching a wave in their kayak and surfing into shore. I don't think they were planning on doing that but the ocean has a mind of its own.

Yesterday Jeffry and Jason climbed one of the mountains here and had some great pictures of their view (blogger wouldn't let me download any more pictures). Then today all the adults (kids were home with a babysitter) kayaked out to an island, had lunch and explored around. We saw two sea turtles and Jason and I only tipped 3 times. We attempted to surf the wave side-ways...doesn't work.

Then Jeffry and Jason finished the day with some surfing. The waves weren't that great but Jeffry was learning how to paddle out and catch a wave. I think we'll take the next two days to take it easy and celebrate our Saviors birth.

I'm thinking next week might entail snorkeling and going to the memorial in Pearl Harbor....stay tuned.

fort jude

I'm glad that Jude is game for having forts built around him. Ethan thought it was the greatest idea and wanted to pile more pillows on top of his head...but I had to tell him that Jude probably wouldn't find that to be such a good idea.

hawaiian flavor

Our drive out to the North Shore. We stopped at Chinaman's hat to get a photo. This is the kalua pig that was cooked under ground for 12 hours.
Well as you can tell by my countdown clock, my family is here! Their first full day here we took it easy and did a little bit of shopping, walked down to the beach before the sunset and hung out at home. Today we went exploring for a little bit and drove up to the North Shore to see the 10-15 foot waves. It was beautiful. We then closed the day with a luau at the Hale Koa. We enjoyed the Polynesian hula dancing and music. The hawaiian food wasn't as big of a hit and the younger Harris' had to make a McDonalds run on the way home. We had a fun time...so much so that Ethan fell asleep on the way home.

the countdown begins

I can't wait until they get here. Woo, hoo!

let it snow, let it snow...

Well I was trying to get into the winter holiday mode and I thought I would go get some spray on snow for the windows. I always thought that looked so tacky before (sorry for those that use it) but being in a warm location year round it sounded very festive. So we made little wise men, angles and snow flakes with stencils. And then we sprayed some in the corners to make it look like frost. Ethan of course doesn't know what snow is (except for pictures in books) so he has called this spray foam snow. Maybe one day he'll be able to experience the real thing.

As you can see in the picture he couldn't resist sticking his little fingers in it...not once but many times...as if I wouldn't notice.

9 months old

Jude is 9 months old today. I can't believe in 3 months he will be 1. He's such a content little guy and loves to move. He's most happy when his big brother Ethan is close by. And he loves to put absolutely everything in his mouth. We went to the beach park today for a picnic and I was constantly taking things out of his mouth (grass, leaves, sticks). The plus side to this is that my floors are perfectly clean all the time. He says words like "da-da" and "ba-ba" and every once in a while a "ma" will come out of his mouth. He loves to go on walks, especially in the double jogger stroller so he can sit next to Ethan (who is quite the entertainer). He's been excessently drooly lately..which I think is due to the two teeth that seem to be coming in on the top. If you happen to be sitting on the floor, he will try to climb you like a human jungle-gym. He's growing quite a bush of hair on top of his head and may need a little trim soon. We enjoy him so much and can't wait to see what he will be up to next month!

This is our picnic celebrating Jude's 9th month of life. He enjoyed munching on the Korean Pear that we had for lunch.

Ethan had a blast kicking the soccer ball around by himself. He was quite entertained and it helped to burn off some of that crazy energy that he has. He even told me while we were leaving that "the park was fun mommy." So maybe we'll venture out to the park more often to have our lunch.

John 3:16

Ethan hasn't quite memorized the verse yet but we're trying to familiarize him with the words. He's got the "16" down though.

blue screen

It's been cold enough here for Jude to wear the footed pj's. We called him our little blue Smurf in these jammies. It made me think of the blue screens that the weathermen use to do the weather. You know when they wear a blue shirt and it seems to disappear in front of the screen?When Jude sat in his highchair, that is blue also, all you could see was a baby head and hands.

trolley ride

The boys and I had a fun time last night riding the trolley through Kailua. Jason was sick in bed with strep throat, so we left him at home and drove out to the hospital where the lighting of the tree was taking place...I know that sounds strange. But it was lots of fun. They had some local school choirs singing, free popcorn and drinks and a free trolley ride (which Ethan was so excited about). This picture is not of us riding the trolley but is an advertisement for the Waikiki Trolleys...I forgot to grab the camera before we left. So don't strain your eyes trying to find us in the picture. The nice thing about it being so warm here is the fun holiday events like this that you can enjoy in the evenings and not worry about whether or not you will be warm enough.

the difference between boys and girls

Don't worry this picture is not from a horror film. I don't think it's a sign of a violent future for my boys, but it does show the difference between how God created boys and how God created girls. Girls play with dolls, nurture them, cradle them, push them around in strollers...boys toss dolls around, realize that the arms are removable and try to see how many limbs they can take off. We are still missing an arm. But last I saw, Jude was crawling around with it in his mouth.

scrunchy face

Okay first of all, this is way cuter in person then in a picture. It's actually kind of scary looking at the pictures. Jude has learned the scrunching up his face and breathing in and out of his nose really fast trick. It's so funny to watch him. He's actually happy when he does this...not mad and growling like it looks.