Count down to Christmas

December 19th, 2015

     I love the month of December, I just hate that it always goes by so quickly.  I've been trying to slow it down and make the most of it by planning these 25 days of Christmas activities...but now we are only 6 days away from Christmas... I will blink and December will be gone  :(
DAY 7 - borrow Christmas books from the library.  This activity turned out to be very unsuccessful.  They had one book in stock "Santa Claus around the World".  We signed it out, thinking it would be fun to read together about how other countries celebrate Christmas and the tradition of Santa Claus-  wrong!  Very wrong!  Do not read this book with your children.  On the very first page it announces that Santa Claus is no longer a real person but a tradition carried on by parents...not something your 8 year old or 5 year old want to hear!  I quickly skipped to the next page, and the next, only to discovered that many countries also believe in a evil elf that tortures children who are naughty.  We closed the book and returned it.  Scary- not appropriate children literature.  There should be a warning sticker for parents on books like that.
DAY 8 - Snowman Sock Craft.  This was so easy and fun to make.  You can find the instructions on pinterest :)  The kids gave them away to their friends/teachers as gifts.

DAY 9 - We donated towels and homemade doggy biscuits (shaped like candy canes) to the Humane Society.  This was so much fun for the kids.  They love animals, and were happy to serve/play with them.  The doggy biscuit recipe was also off pinterest... just a jar of baby food and ground up oats;  rolled out and baked in the oven.  Our local humane society is so generous.  They will spay and neuter animals for free.
DAY 10 - Alanna's school Christmas Concert.  Our favorite song was "The Hawaiian 12 days of Christmas".
DAY 11 - We watched the movie "ELF" - a family favorite.
DAY 12 -  Church Family Christmas Party.  We helped to decorate the gym.  It was a potluck dinner.  The entertainment was a lip-singing competion...and oh, did the young men have us laughing when they sang "Let it Go" from FROZEN.
DAY 13 - We watched the "First Presidency Christmas Devotional".  I loved "The Carol of the Bells" musical number.  Lovely.
DAY 14 - We decorated our Gingerbread House.  Everybody was in charge of one side/roof.  This is the result:

  We made a rule that we couldn't start demolishing/eating it until Christmas Day- but by the next evening it was completely gone!  The kids commented on how delightful it was to eat soft gingerbread.  

DAY 15 - Helped the Activity Day Girls at church (ages 8-11) make cookies.  Then we went caroling and delivered the bake goods to those who may be lonely over the holiday season.

DAY 16 - Spent the evening making "Fresh Tea Leave Ornaments" to adorn Summer's body with for her Tahitian Dance at her school Christmas Concert.  This took hours.  But it was so fun to learn!  

I first gathered the leaves from around the yard;  I ripped them into small strips.  Next, I braided 4 ribbons together; then I took turns weaving in bunches of leaf strips.  

Head and Hip Band.  Alanna made her a lei sash out of the leaves.

  Above is the final picture with her other costume pieces, and crimped hair.  Summer felt extremely embarrassed about how little she was wearing.  I heard one of the dance teachers say, "Now remember, if something falls off- keep dancing!"  Uh-oh.  That could be scary.  Lucky for her, everything stayed where it should.  I'm so glad she could spend the last 2 months learning so much about the Tahitian Culture, and have this oppurtunity to share it with us.

DAY 17 - Hilo Cemetary clean up.  Nathan and Rebekah volunteered to help with landscaping of the grave sites.  I stayed home with sick kids...aches, pains, fevers but no vomiting :)

Later in the evening, I went to a cookie exchange.  I baked one of our favorite holiday cookies: Orange Creamsicle.  So yummy.  You can find it on this website:

http://auttyskitchen.blogspot.com/2012/12/orange-creamsicle-cookies.html

DAY 18 - We were still recovering from sickness so we decided to take it easy and watch another movie:  Home Alone.

DAY 19 - Made Christmas Tree ornaments out of dowel and ribbon.  This idea was also off pinterest.  Although it looked simple, knotting a ribbon to sit straight is nearly impossible.  I don't recommend you try this one at home.  (It's suppose to be a ribbon christmas tree).

 

That brings us up to date.

But, with Christmas in 6 days, and then non-stop company until mid-February, it may be a while before I post again.  So this is what we are planning for the remainder of our 25 days:

DAY 20 - Deliver cards and gifts to our neighbours (Sparkling Apple Juice and Tree ornaments)

DAY 21 - We have a Family Photo Session booked with a photographer-beach side.  

DAY 22 - Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt:  print off a list of christmas light displays the kids need to find as we drive around town looking at lights.

DAY 23 - "Eve before Christmas Eve Party" - share our favorite christmas memories, play a christmas game/puzzle, watch "It's a Wonderful Life", camp out under the Christmas Tree for the night.

DAY 24 - Christmas Dinner.  We normally do this Christmas Day, but this year we are going to try making it on the 24th, and then having leftover's on the 25th.  I refuse to spend all of Christmas Day cooking again :)

Pajama Scavenger Hunt:  hide a new pair of wrapped PJ's around the house, follow clues to find it, and sing a carol before opening.  Read "The Night Before Christmas" and put out cookies and milk for Santa.

DAY 25 - Open gifts, waffle brunch, pray as a family and read the Nativity Story, Disney Parade on TV, relax and enjoy one another's company, assemble gifts etc...we will see if there are any surprises :)

ADVENTURES

  We explored a new (to us) beach: Makalawena

We had to walk into it on a volcanic path (10-15 mins).  You wouldn't want to be carrying anything too heavy with you.  Very idyllic!  Superfine, clean white sand, and no crowds.  The type of beach you just want to nap on, and listen to the waves for days.  Hard to leave. 

GOOD EATS:

Went here for lunch after our beach exploration.  Delicious, fresh ingredients.  I wrote a review on trip advisor.

TACO SALAD: lettuce, corn, black beans, peppers, avocado, cilantro, cheese, whole grain nachos, with salsa for dressing 

Vege BBQ: yams, asparagus, peppers and steak :)

This week's top surprise:

Alanna gave me a ticket for a spa night.  Really enjoyed the facial and cold cucumbers on my eyes.

Traditions, a Farting Dog, and Champagne

December 7th - 2015      Do you want to build a snowman?  

     We did :)  There are definately aspects of winter that we have missed living in "paradise".  We weren't sure if it would really feel like Christmas without the cold and snow.  We will miss the Live Nativity in Lethbridge, and Home Town Christmas in Magrath.  We will miss putting up our awesome outdoor Christmas lights, and our "3 day decorating the house" party.  We will miss snuggling up by the fire, in fleece PJ's, with a mug of hot chocolate.
     This Christmas has been scaled back drastically in the gift department.  I've been wanting to do less every year, and now that we are forced to...it's happening.  Every kids gets 5 gifts (parents, grandparents, sibling, extended family, and Santa).  I kept the post office mail-outs to a bare minimum.  No christmas photos/cards except on-line.  We shopped black friday to get all gifts at 50% off.  Wow!  Surprise and shock over how extreme our Christmas expense bill dropped.
     And not only that, the kids are in no afterschool activities, so we can plan family traditions to do together every night.  So we decided to celebrate the 25 days of Christmas.  Every day, we share a scripture, sing a carol, pray, and do a christmasy activity together.
DEC 1st - constructed a paper chain to count down to Christmas (everyone gets to rip one link off daily)

DEC 2nd - Visit Santa at the mall, and finish Christmas shopping.  (Couldn't get a picture because Mrs Claus said no cell phones...and we weren't paying for their overpriced one)

DEC 3rd - We each picked out our favorite non-perishable food item at the grocery store and donated in to the food bank.

DEC 4th - Wrapped our Christmas gifts to each other and put them under the tree

DEC 5th - Attended the Pahoa Holiday Parade.  Here are our favorite floats:

I love the marching bands.  Rebekah reminisced about her days in Magrath's.

Here is our parade star - Summer walking with Pahoa Elementary and singing "Up on the Roof Top"

Alanna's Favorite

Nathan's favorite- reminds him of disneyland

Rebekah's favorite horse :)

Reindeer dog (in the wagon)...crowd pleaser

Dallin was getting confused about why there was a skeleton on top of that car

Dallin's favorite - monster truck

Rebekah's favorite circus crew-loved the stilt walkers and unicyclists

I really enjoyed seeing all the cars dressed up with palm branches- it's all about being good to the land here.

My 3rd favorite - classic hula dancers, the boys and the girls

DEC 6th - We invited some families over to play Christmas Song pictionary/sherades with us, and ice (and eat) sugar cookies.

Tonight, DEC 7th, we will be going to the library to sign out some Christmas books.  Then we will read our favorites together.

     Speaking of books, the funniest thing happened this week.  Picture this:

I was sitting on the bed watching a reality tv clip on the lap top with Summer and Alanna.  Nathan was going through the bedtime routine with Dallin.  All of the sudden, we hear Nathan shout from Dallin's room "who brought this book home from the library?!"  

   We couldn't imagine what was so horrifying about a kids library book...then he began reading it out loud!  

     "Walter the Farting Dog"

What!  We couldn't believe what we were hearing...

     Betty and Billy brought Walter home from the dog pound.  "Nobody wanted him", said Billy.  "But we love him", said Betty.  "Well, he smells awful", said their mother...

     And that's when they got the first clue,  the tell -tale bubbles in the water.  "He's probably just a little nervous", said mother, hopefully.  "His stomach must be upset."  

    But Walter's stomach wasn't upset.  Walter's stomach was fine.  He felt perfectly normal.  He just farted a lot.

    Of course we began laughing our heads off.  As Nathan continued to read and disclose Walter's tradgic story:  Walter farted in the bath, when he played with the kids, when he walked around the house, in the kitchen, the dining room and while he slept.  The kids tried to defend Walter's actions to their father, who demanded he be taken to the vet.  The veterinarian confirmed that he had rectal flatulence, and prescribed a change in diet.  The new food was unable to cure Walter.  Soon their house guests would fart, and stand near Walter, so that they could blame the episode on him.  Dad said Walter needed to find a new home.  But that night, Walter save the home from burglars by scary them away with his smell.  He was finally recognized for the true hero he was!

     Oh my...I don't remember the last time we've laughed that hard!  We were gasping for air between laughs, collasping to the ground with ab pains, tears were rolling from our eyes!  

     It was certainly an entertaining book :)  We still don't know how it got into the book bag.

     Anyways, in other household news...Rebekah tied for 1st place in the district spelling B.  Good job!  She also has been reading the Hunger Game Series (I wanted her to wait until she was older, but it is school cirriculum)...and now our back yard is filled with bulls-eyes, and hand crafted bows, arrows, and spears.  

 

Nathan is beginning to get molding up around the house (that means it's almost finished :)

Alanna and Summer constructed some homemade mosquito traps.  They used yeast to create carbon dioxide...attracts the pests, and traps them in the bottle.

Special Eats:

Banana bread with crushed, toasted Macadamia Nuts on top

LOCO MOCO:  traditional Hawaiian Cuisine
Rice with meat (usually spam or pork, we opted for steak),
a sunny side up egg, and gravy lathered all over it.
Surprisingly, it was good.

This weeks adventure:  Champagne Ponds

    These were the only directions we had to find it's where abouts..."you'll see a 4WD lava road on the right.  If you take it and a right, then left onto the lightest gray oil pan-eating road at the first confusing intersection, it heads for 1 2/10 miles to Kapoho Bay".  We can do this!  

    This looked like the road.  There were tire marks in it (though over grown), and went along telephone poles...so we headed down.   NOT THE ROAD!  After 20 agonizing minutes of driving on an uneven, rocky, narrow pathway, we determined we were not getting closer to the water.  We tried to turn around in a grove of trees, and POPPED THE TIRE on our non-4WD vehicle!  There was no cell phone service.  Nathan ripped out the driver's manual to figure out where the spare tire was located.  He changed the tire, while being eaten alive by mosquitos.  The kids cried about how we shouldn't go exploring new things for the first time with them in the car.  Another 30 mins later, we were headed back to the main road.  We went home.

     Two days later, we tried it again...this time drove a little further, and found the really lava road.  We decided to walk down it, instead of attempting to drive....good thing, because the car wouldn't have made it.

The walk was beautiful, and took us 25 minutes.  But we did reach our final destination.

Champagne Ponds

Scenery on the way to the ponds

     The water at Champagne Ponds is heated by a volcanic spring :)  It is also crystal clear!  We spent a lovely afternoon swimming and looking for sea turtles...apparantly they love this spot too.

So glad we attempted to find it again- it's my new favorite swimming spot.     

If you attempt to find this stunning place:

1- only take a 4WD vehicle down!  There is a reason for that recommendation

2- don't drive down the pathway beside the telephone poles!  wrong lava road.

GOOD LUCK :)

Thanks Giving Thieves

Happy American Thanks Giving!  

     It was our first.  Nothing quite like doing it Hawaiian style.  We participated in a church potluck/ luau.   93 Turkeys were cooked in an Imu (under ground oven).  We ate outside at long tables; socializing while a couple played traditional hawaiian songs on electrifyed ukeleles, and audience members hula-ed.

     The kids kept occupied for 4 hours on a home-made slip 'n slide = tarp, garden hose, and an extra large bottle of dish soap.  There were a few tears shed, but as one mother put it "Hey! if you're going to cry, move off to the side to do it!"  Oh that had me laughing.

     Later that evening, Nathan and I tried to brave our first "Black Friday" Sale.  We lined up early at Wal-mart to get a Trampoline that was 50% off!  There were actual barricades and police there to ensure safety and order.  It was scary and crazy- definately no spirit of Christmas flying about!  All claws!  But we were victorious, and did not loose any body parts to the crowd.  To celebrate the success of our mission, we went to the movie theatre and viewed the final installment of The Hunger Games....and yes, I cried.

one of the many buggy barricades

     Last weekend, we did a "Stay-cation" on the Kohala Coast.  We booked a night at the Hilton-amazing hotel, especially for families.  The lobby had a dozen parrots ready to greet us.  This one was saying "hello".

     The Hilton has 4 giant pools- one with a lazy river and water slides, another that is fed with water and wild life from the ocean, one with dolphins, and the final one with sandy bottoms, volley ball nets, rope bridges, and treasure caverns.

     The management made the mistake of putting a stuffed animal dolphin in our room that had a little card attached to it that said something along the lines of ... if you'd like to keep me, just let the front desk know you are going to take me home, and they will charge $18.95 to your room bill.   Well, that was not going to happen, so we put the dolphin up on the TV.  Every time we turned around, a kid would have it down!  They played with it, threw it in the air, tug-a-war-ed, removed it's sweater, ripped the tag off...ahh!  "We better not have to pay for that now!"  I exclaimed.  Nope.  Apparantly you can play with it as much as you want, as long as it is still in the room when you leave....sigh of relief!

     The next day, we explored a new beach.  It had rope swings for the kids to play on and lots of shade.  Which is a good thing, because even though we live in Hawaii, we do not have all-year tans!

That's a happy face Dallin drew in the sand.

Rebekah is doing the "Shaka"- Hang Loose

     Today was full of surprises.  The girls started crafting...turned out to be hours of time occupying fun! 

I watched Little Women and got my first Christmas gift...a wedding ring that fits, hand crafted out of wire by Alanna.  

     Rebekah worked on Family History and personal progress.  Nathan completed most of the tile in the 2nd bathroom.  

     Then as we were making some delicious ginger snaps and jamming out to Christmas music, there was a knock at the door?!  It was a neighbour.  He introduced himself as "Wolf", greeted us with a Happy Thanks Giving, and  then began to tell us that his house was in the process of being burglarized, so he needed to borrow a phone.  911 was dialed.  He asked us if we had a gun.  No!  Nathan and Wolf jumped in our vehicle and headed over to his house.  Wolf had barricaded the thiefs in his drive way with his car.  They caught the thiefs leaving Wolf''s house with a bag full of drugs.  Nathan informed them that the police would be arriving momentarily so they should wait. The thieves complained that Nathan shouldn't have called the police.   5 cop cars showed up.  The thiefs ran off into the jungle.  And Wolf got it all on video camera...so they will most likely be apprehended soon!  CRAZY!  I am still in astonishment.

Gingersnaps with peppermint chocolate melted on them

     So happy American Thanks Giving ;)

Here are our limited (for time) Thankful Lists:

I am grateful for my family, my faith, music, nature, and humor.  

Nathan is thankful for the many experiences we've had in our lives.

Rebekah is thankful for everything.

Alanna is thankful for her talents.

Summer is thankful for her happy, loving, generous, family; her warm, soft, and comfortble house; her teacher; and God, for this beautiful Earth and everything on it.

Dallin is thankful for electronics.

It's good to count our blessings- it's helps us stay positive, and reminds us of how truly blessed we are!