Run-down

Where were we?

I have no clue, so I'll just start with where my new pictures start . . . because that's the best part anyway, right? :)

A week before Thanksgiving, Charley's preschool class threw a Thanksgiving party, where all the kids dressed up like Indians (not ONE of them wanted to be a pilgrim, so they pretended we were the pilgrims coming to their feast), sang us a song, and then served us all lunch, including pies that they baked in class. Here's my darling little Indian . . .


That weekend, we attended the birthday party of one of Charley's classmates. Someone volunteered to do face painting, so both my kids took advantage. After Zander saw Charley's butterfly, he insisted on having his own blue butterfly.


We spent the rest of the weekend preparing for the arrival of my dad, Ed, who flew in from Sacramento on Tuesday. First thing was first . . . we hit the beach early Wednesday morning for a little fun in the sun.

Thanksgiving arrived before we knew it, and our house quickly filled with our family, plus two other families, the Roethlers and McGinity's . . . 7 adults, 7 kids, and one 27 lb. turkey. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun and the food was awesome (especially thanks to my friends' contributions!). Here are the kids burning off some energy before dinner . . .

To avoid another lazy day at home, as well as any areas that may have crazed Christmas shoppers, we decided to check out the North Shore today where there were supposed to be some big waves, up to 20 feet they predicted.

Ironically, we ran into Heather, her dad, and her kids at the beach park, and we all went down to the water to check out some beach turtles that were lounging in the sand. There were at least ten turtles just in the area where we were looking. I've seen a turtle or two since we've lived here in Hawaii, but nothing quite like this. This was WAY COOLER than anything Walmart or the mall could have offered today!

So that's the nitty gritty of the past week or so. I'm sure a bunch of other stuff has happened too, but unless I have a picture to capture the moment, I often forget about it. Good thing I take a lot of pictures.

Tomorrow we are going to hit the pool, and on Sunday Brian is leaving for a work conference in Mobile, Alabama. My dad is sticking around until Tuesday, and then we have a short two and a half week break before our next guests arrive. Things are busy around here, but I can't help but love the holiday season.

Oh, I almost forgot . . . I had a really fun birthday this year, thanks to Brian, the kids, and my friends. The kids bought me presents and a card and took me out to lunch. That evening Brian had to work, so Heather came up for some cake to keep me company, and then my friends Marian and Andre surprised me by showing up at my house with flowers and to share in the festivities. Just one more reminder of all the things I have to be thankful for this holiday season . . .