Merry Dish-mas

Our Christmas present arrived in the mail today. Behold the glory of Fiestaware! Thanks Mom!

Just in Case You Were Wondering . . .

This may be where the crazy comes from.

Christmas Jammies

As tradition dictates, the kids opened one present on Christmas Eve . . . Christmas pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa DuBravac. The trick is getting the ever-elusive good picture of the two of them together. This was the best one of the bunch, but some of the others were too funny to keep to ourselves.

I don't know *what* Lu's doing. Phoenix is not happy enough.

Lu is a little too happy. Freaks me out.

This one is a good runner up. Not too happy, not too sad.

Cookies for Santa

For someone who told me she "doesn't believe in Santa," this little girl made strenuous efforts to accommodate him. She wrote letters to him and she even iced cookies to leave out for him . . . just in case, you know.

Day 7: Pearl Harbor

Our last day in Hawaii we met up with my Mom, John and my uncle Tom to visit Pearl Harbor. It was a memorable experience and a great note on which to end our trip to Oahu.

Now, if I haven't convinced you to take a trip with your spouse . . . without your children . . . I don't know what will. We missed our kids terribly (Skyped them every day), but it was wonderful to spend time with Stayc and family.

Day 6: Kaena Point

This was not the only self-portrait Stayc and I snapped on our trip, and it's certainly not the best, but it's the only picture I have of us from this day. We woke up earlier than the crack of dawn, tried to get back to sleep, succeeded for another hour or so, then finally just got up and started in on a 5-6 mile hike to Kaena point. No hairbrushing, no makeup, no shaving, just us, looking as old as we really are.

It was a beautiful morning, and for the entire walk out to this, the most northwest point of Oahu, we saw no other living person . . . just lots of lava rock, waves, birds, and, Oh . . . this . . .

the elusive monk seal, the most endangered mammal on the earth (at least that's what the signage said). (Edited: I looked it up online and it's not even in the top ten . . . the top honor goes to the Yangtze River Dolphin. Ah well.)

At first I mistook it for a very shiny lava rock, but then it lifted its head. Totally worth the miles to see it.

Day 5: History and Culture of Hawaii

On our fifth day in Hawaii we stayed up on the North Shore soaking in the history and culture of Hawaii. In the morning, we took a short hike through the Waimea Valley, a historical and cultural area, up to the Waimea Falls.

In my extensive travel reading BEFORE the trip, I came across advice to wear long pants and long sleeves and slather yourself with bug spray before taking any hikes in the rain forest (please note the picture of me above). I guess I forgot to tell everyone else. What am I? Their tour guide? Needless to say, I only came away with a couple of bug bites. Sadly, my family was not so lucky.

A picture of me taking a picture.

It was a small waterfall, but from what we hear, healing and energizing.

Later that day, we headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center, which was only a ten minute drive from our condo. We went to some of the "islands" before heading to the Luau for dinner and the show afterward. For those of you who were privy to my internal debate about paying the pricey ticket to the PCC, you will be happy to hear that I was definitely satisfied. It was worth it. In fact, the half-naked Samoan gentleman above was worth half the price of the ticket. HE WAS SO FUNNY!!!! Seriously, soooooo funny. So I took a picture. Here it is.

Then we went to the Luau and ate like pigs. Scott and Irena.

Aaron and Courtney.

Mom and John.

Day 4: The Wedding

After all, that WAS the reason we went to Hawaii in the first place. All the guys spent the morning loading stuff in and out of cars for the wedding. What did the girls do? Honestly, I can't really remember. Just hung out? I know that Irena (Scott's girlfriend) and I went down to the beach at Turtle Bay for a dip in the ocean. Then we all went over to the wedding venue and . . . helped out? Nah! We scoped things out, took pictures of each other, and generally got in the way.

Me, Mom, Courtney, Irena.

The wedding site was beautiful--lush green grass and tropical landscaping leading out onto a private beach on the North Shore. We were supposed to get there early for pictures, but you know how weddings are . . . there was a lot of last minute things to get done. Look how busy we are here.

I know, I know, there are more pictures of me in this post than you've ever seen before, but bear with me, this one really gives you an idea of what the venue looked like: beach on one side, lush green mountains on the other.

The "aisle."

My sister and me.

Courtney, Scott, Me.

And since this WAS, after all, Tim's wedding, I thought I'd post a picture or two of him and Liz, his lovely bride, and the newest addition to our family!

So beautiful!

Photo credits go out to Scott and Courtney, who actually brought their cameras (er, iPhone) to the wedding.

Day 3: The North Shore

Actually, since the condo we stayed in for the bulk of our trip was located on the Turtle Bay resort, we spent quite a bit of time on the North Shore, but this was the first day the whole family was together and we took it easy and really just hung out.

These pictures are all taken on Sunset Beach. Did I mention that the Triple Crown was going on while we were on the North Shore? That would just be the largest and most famous surfing competition in the world.

Stayc was fascinated by the competition . . . and by the waves. One morning he got up early and drove down to where they were holding one of the events. He TELLS me it was very exciting.

For my birthday, my sister got me a pedicure at a little salon in Kahuku. We had just had our toenails painted the morning before these pictures. Don't they look cute?

Day 2: Windward Oahu

Stayc and I enjoyed some touristy sightseeing on our second day, since this was our last day just by ourselves. My family . . . uhmmm . . . not really into sight-seeing (oh, go ahead and try to contradict me!) We had spent the night on the North Shore and so we drove down the Windward coast, leaving again by about 6:00 a.m. We stopped at a couple of beautiful beaches along the way. This picture was taken at Kualoa Beach, with the small island, Chinaman's Hat, seen off the coast.

And then you turn around and get this view. I have to admit that for the first day and a half in Hawaii, I didn't really feel like I was on a tropical island. Much of the scenery was reminiscent of either California or Florida. But then we drove down the Windward side of the island and I KNEW I was in Hawaii. Gorgeous!

And yes, there really are at least a couple of rainbows every day.

At the southwest point of Oahu sits the Makapuu Lighthouse. Stayc and I hiked to the overlook and enjoyed the view.

It's just a wee bit windy up there, if you can't tell.

After our short hike we headed around the bend to the Halona blowhole. Not a ton going on there, but worth a short stop.

By late morning we had reached Hanauma Bay, where we stopped for some snorkeling. No swimsuit pictures, thankyouverymuch. Actually, I think this was the only time Stayc ever donned a swimsuit during an entire week in Hawaii. Crazy! However, in defense of Hawaii, I have to say that both Stayc and I agreed that Hawaiian sand was the nicest sand we'd ever encountered. It's the only sand we've found that doesn't make Stayc inwardly cringe. The grain is just coarse enough and the sand just clean enough that it never sticks to you. As soon as you walk off the beach, the sand has detached itself from your skin and you feel as clean as ever. It's miracle sand, I tell you.

Oh, and it was my birthday. Happy Birthday to me!!

Day 1: Honolulu & Waikiki

I know you've all been clamoring to see pictures of our recent vacation (sans kids) to Hawaii. I should just put all the pictures up in one post, but really, I don't have the energy. And since this is more for me and the kids than for you (whoever you are), you'll have to bear with some "scenery" pictures, the likes of which I RARELY take. However, we wanted our children to be able to see some of the things we talked about.

Here we are atop Diamond Head, the extinct volcano that overlooks Waikiki. Lucky for us, there was no lack of Japanese tourists on the peak of the crater at 7:15 a.m. in the morning. We took their picture; they took ours.

That's Waikiki down below, and then farther afield, Honolulu.

We started hiking at about 6:30 a.m., having been awake since 4:30 a.m. Jet lag is a killer.

The last bit of the hike is just a series of about three staircases like this one.

Later that day, we saw the historic sites of Honolulu, like the famous statue of King Kamehameha across from Iolani Palace.

And of course we walked on the beach at Waikiki, with Diamond Head in the distance. (Although, any of you who know Stayc, know that it was not a long walk, since Stayc severely dislikes the beach. You'll notice many more hiking pictures than beach pictures.)

Go Ahead . . . Tell Him What You Want

Last week we went to Phoenix's preschool for our fourth (and last) Christmas concert and brunch with Santa. As you can see, it was just as difficult as it always is to get a decent picture of the two of them together. Actually, it makes me laugh now. These are seriously their best "smile" faces.

We saw Santa the very next night at our Ward Christmas Party. I tried . . . and failed . . . again to get a good picture. Lutece, who no longer believes in Santa, said to me, "Mom, don't you think it's *interesting* that we saw Santa yesterday, and yet he's here again tonight." Like she somehow has to convince me about the Santa thing. Actually, I think she just likes the confirmation of her clever deduction.

Phoenix, my baby, still believes. Look at the faith in that sweet face.

I have about six photos of Phoenix on Santa's lap because he just stayed there, chatting up Santa, until he'd finished his list. You remember, the list I thought he'd forget? This morning as Phoenix and I were snuggling in my bed (our morning ritual), I mentioned that Santa probably wouldn't be able to get everything on his list.

Phx: He'll be able to get the Jack-in-the-box.
Me: Yeeaah, I don't think so.
Phx: He told me he would.
Me: Uhmm, excuse me? When did he tell you that?
Phx: The Santa at MySchool told me that he makes lots of Jack-in-the-boxes. It won't be a problem.

Curse that Santa!! How dare he?? Who does he think he is? . . . Santa??