Slippers

I've learned a lot about myself since I got married, Dave notices things about me that I've never thought about.  I don't consider myself a very materialistic person, but Dave has pointed out that I do have a minor obsession...I love slippers (Reef slippers)

I would wear them all day, every day if winter didn't exist.  Every time I go to Hawaii I feel like I have to buy a new pair.  They're even at the Costco's there and I just can't resist.  I still wish I had more of them.  My dad got me a beautiful slipper necklace for Christmas and I absolutely love it.  Thanks Dad!

Dave's 27

Dave turned 27 and his big question was whether or not he's considered to be in his late 20's or mid-to-late 20's.  He feels much wiser now and is happy to be 27. 

I let him choose all of his birthday meals and you'll never guess what he chose...Mexican...for all 3 meals.  He wanted breakfast tacos for breakfast from a little Mexican place, leftover fajitas for lunch and then Panchitos for dinner.  I don't know any white person who loves Mexican food more.  We had a little combined b-day party with the Budge's (his old mission companion who shares the same birthday) to end the night.  Dave was definitely packed full of Mexican food and sweets, so I'd say he had a great birthday. 

Mele Kalikimaka

There are many blessings from having Hawaiian blood, one of them being having lots of family on the islands to go visit.  My family all went out to Hawaii with Grandpa for Christmas.  We first went to our usual stomping grounds, Maui, to visit family.  But my parents surprised us with a special trip out to Kaua'i since none of us kids had been there yet.  Maui is by far my favorite place on earth, so we were all so excited to take Dave and let him experience it for himself.

Maui no ka o'i



So excited to be at the beautiful beach!

I love getting caught in sunny rainstorms







Burying Dave

Playing in the sand til are knees were raw



Out testing the waves for cliff jumping

We made the most of the rain playing in the mud



Our favorite hang out/jam spot

 

A delicious fancy breakfast, thanks to the band's vouchers



One of my new favorite videos of Grandpa, entertaining with his friends

In front of the gigantic banyan tree





watching the sunset before Dave's first Hawaiian luau

A beautiful sunset on our first night there

Playing with one of our new friends, the honu

In front of the ward building, we love that ward!

Loke and Ted coming out to start the party!











My beautiful mom and dad

 



Out snorkeling with Tom Tom and dad

 
 

Guess who rolled up to church in an Escalade? Glenn Beck


 

Playing at Darryl's eating and rope swinging



The big event Dave was looking forward to.  He played his ukulele with everybody and the family loved him!



Out crab hunting/star gazing



One of my favorite views in the whole world!





Beautiful Kaua'i

Kauai is just as beautiful as all the songs say.  About a third of the island is made up of these rugged mountains that are so green and beautiful.  There are no roads to go through it, so it's untouched from the world and filled with waterfalls.  It was seriously probably one of the most beautiful things I've seen, and I've seen a lot of pretty places.

Stand up paddle



Delivering some aloha to some secret families

Exploring a beautiful plantation on Christmas

Some of the most beautiful sunsrises!

Da best shaved ice...love this stuff!!!

Surfing

Kayaking up Wailua River

Hiking to find...



a beautiful waterfall!



A beautiful snorkel spot at the base of the cliff coast

Lots of delicious local food

My new goal, hike the 11 miles to that little piece of heaven

Our first helicopter ride, over a beautiful island



 



One car got stuck, the other a flat tire



Definitely worth the bumpy ride on the dirt road



Always a beautiful sunset.  There's something about the ocean and an island in the distance that just gets me.

Oh, I almost forgot...guess who came to church and spoke on Christmas Day...
Elder Holland

Christmas Card

Before I got married, my mom gave me a binder with all of the Christmas cards she had done for our family.  It was so fun to read through and hear the highlights of each year since my parents were married.  I loved reading about their first couple years of marriage because, believe it or not, they had a lot of the same experiences and struggles we are going through now.  I got to read about their honeymoon adventures, financial worries, their decision to start their own family, and all about us crazy kids as we grew up.  As I was enjoying the cards I kept telling myself that I had to do the same thing for my kids...

So our first Christmas together, 2010, I justified not doing Christmas cards by the fact that just a couple months prior I had sent out thousands of thank-you cards (so it seemed, but more like a couple hundred) from our wedding, so I couldn't afford the postage and everybody was pretty up-to-date on our lives. 

This year, I had no excuse...I found a great groupon to get them real cheap and I did our first Christmas card.  This is the picture I put on there.  It was not a well-planned out picture on my part, a friend from church took it for us right outside by the church parking lot.  I'm not wearing the most flattering dress, but I assume people know I'm not fat so it didn't bother me.  Well, my sweet great-aunt sent us back a Christmas card telling us we look so happy and in love and how "it looks as though there will be a new edition to the family coming soon" and that they're so excited for us and the future ahead.  She's the sweetest thing, so I'll just assume she'll figure it out someday when our first child does comes around and it's been a lot more than 9 months since we sent her the card. 

This Christmas!

 We always love decorating for Christmas while listening to a fun Pandora Holiday station.  We absolutely love our tree and we even had some gifts to put under it.  We find places here and there to stick the other stuff, including my cute little nativity scene.  Dave always makes sure all the Christmas lights are turned on around the house right as soon as the sun goes down. 

 We had our own Christmas a little early (December 10th) since we'll be out in Hawaii for Christmas day.

  I told Dave his presents went together, so of course he had to open them both up at the same time.  We had a great morning with gifts and donuts :)

One of our favorite ways to spread Christmas cheer is to make Christmas cookies (and eat them).  We actually spent four nights of the week we left baking, decorating and delivering cookies to some special people we know.    I'd like to do it for every holiday, because I love soft sugar cookies with almond frosting!

Guess who got dressed first?

We decided we'd go out shopping for Friday date night to get Dave a swimsuit.  On our way into the store we both looked at eachother and realized we were wearing the exact same thing...light jeans, a gray/charcoal color top and flip flops.  Who copied who?

Answer: I had been wearing that outfit all day!  Dave, on the other hand, was wearing his work clothes until we decided to go out. Usually I'm the one wanting to color coordinate our outfits, but this time it was actually Dave who decided to match perfectly with me as we went out and went to 6 different stores and found no swimsuit.  Why does nobody sell swimsuits in December?!?