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!