Finally, the ever-so-anticipated visit to Santa arrived. In order to keep Charley distracted from the inevitable Santa lap, I sat down with her beforehand and we created a written Christmas list for her to give Santa. I guess I hoped that focusing on the task of handing Santa the list would detract from the fact that we were shoving her on this old guy's lap for a picture. We were the first people in line, so we were excited that we weren't going to have to wait too long. However, to our dismay, the camera folks were not ready to go before Santa arrived (they wouldn't even let him sit in his chair), so he had to stand around for a few minutes and came right over to the line of kids to visit. Charley IMMEDIATELY handed him the list while peeking around the back of my legs. We knew we were definitely in trouble now because our distraction was gone. As soon as the camera-takers were ready, I approached them and asked them to take the picture no matter what, that they were likely NOT going to get any kind of smiles from my kids and were likely going to be witnessing some tears, so just take the picture regardless of the state of my children. They laughed and said those kind were the best. So, each with a child in hand, Brian and I headed for Santa and peeled the kids from their death-like grips on us. Charley immediately started crying, although I have to admit, it wasn't the complete hysteria we were used to in the past. Zander just looked confused at first, but when he realized that Charley was crying, he started crying too. So, this is where things ended up:
Not so bad, huh? Well, not as bad as last year anyway.
So that was last weekend. Much of the past week we were stuck inside because we have been getting nailed with storms and rain. In fact, Tuesday night the storms were so bad that the power to much of the island was out (thank God not us), many areas were flooded, and several roads were closed. As a result, most schools were closed and many businesses were closed, including my friend Heather's work, so we got the kids together and hung out. I told the kids that this was as close to a "snow day" as they were going to get for awhile, but I don't think they quite got it.
The rain continued to reap havoc. For the past couple months the kids have been part of a play group, organized by our local community center, which is held every Friday morning. This past Friday was supposed to be our final get-together, and the plan was to meet at the Honolulu Zoo for a potluck. But, we were rained out. So instead, we headed over to the Ala Moana Center, which is probably the biggest mall I've ever been to. It's four stories and has over 260 stores/restaurants . . . pretty big for a hick from Montana! We met Heather and the kids there, and we all went through Santa's village, where Charley safely waived at Santa from a distance. Once was enough I guess.
Yesterday was the Air Station's children's Christmas Party, and it was definitely the best kids' party I've been to. It was held at the Air Station in a nice area designated for parties. They had a bounce house, several craft tables, shaved ice, and TONS of food for everyone. But the best part was Santa and his arrival. Here are the kids posing by the tree before Santa came. As you can see, Charley is already enjoying the shaved ice.
Shortly after I took this picture, we heard a loud noise above our heads. We looked up, and there was a Coast Guard helicopter hovering right over the party, and the coolest part was that Santa was in the helicopter waving at the kids. After circling around the Air Station a few times, the helicopter landed over by the hanger, so all the kids and parents sprinted from the party area to the landing area to greet Santa.
After hugging all the kids, Santa joined everyone back at the party where he passed out presents and pictures were taken. Inspired by several other parents, and to avoid the usual crying fit from the kids, I decided to sit on Santa's lap too, which seemed to make everyone a bit calmer.
The Christmas party was a blast and everyone had a good time. Unfortunately, Brian got called out on a rescue flight, so he was not able to attend with us. But hopefully he will be able to join in the excitement next year.
So I guess that is about it. Brian is back at work again tonight, but starting on Tuesday (which is his birthday) he is supposed to be on leave for four days. I'm afraid it won't be much of a break for him, though, because he plans on spending his time off finishing our lawn. When we got here, we HATED the grass that was planted in our backyard. It was very thick, scratchy on our feet, and seemed to harbor a lot of insects. We decided to replace the grass with something more kid friendly, and we were hoping to have this project completed over Thanksgiving weekend while my Dad was here. But the rain has really been holding things up, so hopefully soon we will have our yard back soon. Keep your fingers crossed!
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