"Remember that night in Montana . . . "

Tomorrow our Montana adventure begins. The kids and I leave from Honolulu around 2:00 p.m., and we arrive just a little after 10:00 p.m. (PST) in Seattle. I've booked a room right near the airport that has a free shuttle (and continental breakfast!), so that we get a good night of rest before leaving on a flight to Montana early the next afternoon. By 2:00 p.m. (MST) on Thursday, we will hopefully be stepping off the plane into chilly Glacier International Airport (where the current temperature is 23 degrees).

As most of you know, I spent my entire childhood in Whitefish, Montana. When I was four years old, we moved from town out into the "country" where I spent another 14 years until I left for college. Whitefish is a small (approximate population of 5000) ski resort town, based right at the bottom of Big Mountain Ski Resort (a/k/a "Whitefish Mountain Resort"), and it also lies next to the shores of Whitefish Lake. Here is a picture of downtown.

And here is a picture taken from the edge of Whitefish Lake looking up at Big Mountain.

Here is a picture taken from the top of Big Mountain, looking out over the Flathead Valley and the Rocky Mountains of Glacier National Park.

Last but not lease, here is a shot of the Flathead Valley and pristine Flathead Lake.

As you can see, I grew up in a very idyllic place, so it always gives me great pleasure and a sense of "home" every time I return. And it's even better now that I get to bring my kids with me and share my childhood with them. The kids and I are going to spend an entire month there, until February 18th. Brian will join us halfway through the trip, on February 5th, with skis in hand.

So far, we plan on taking both kids downhill skiing for the first time, sledding, ice skating, building snowmen, throwing snowballs, making snow angels (instead of sand angels), maybe some ice fishing, and getting that overall chill in our bones . . . since it's been awhile.

I plan on seeing lots of friends and family, getting my hair done (thanks Andrea!), and squeezing in a girls' weekend at a bed and breakfast. They DO in fact have Internet and computers in Montana, but I probably won't be spending as much time on either since I will be pretty busy. So, blogging might be light until I get back, but I will try my bestest to post pictures and give updates as we go. And if I'm not back in Hawaii on February 18th, call in the snow patrol to come dig me out.

Don't we all wish . . .

Charley: "Daddy, I accidentally peed all over the stool and the floor."

Brian: "Oh no, how did that happen?"

Charley: "Well, I was standing on the stool to go pee, but it didn't go in the toilet."

Brian: "Why were you standing on the stool to go pee?"

Charley: "Well, because I wanted to pee standing up, like boys do."

A scoop of sweet moment with a cherry on top . . .

Oftentimes when Brian has duty and has to stay at work overnight, I will let Charley sleep in bed with me. Of course, Zander seems to have a six sense about this, because he always wakes up extra early the next morning and ends up snuggling in bed with Charley and I until we all fully wake up. I always secretly pray that he'll fall back asleep, but unfortunately he almost never does.

This morning when I brought Zander in bed with Charley and I, Charley almost immediately started stirring. She snuggled up into the crook of my right arm and started stroking my arm. Meanwhile, Zander was snuggled up into the crook of my left arm and kept kissing my cheek with soft baby kisses. I just sat there enjoying the smell of their clean and silky heads of hair pressed against my face. It was one of those sweet moments in life where I literally told myself that I needed to savor every second of this because it was precious but unfortunately would not last forever. So I just soaked in the love from my two beautiful angels, thinking that this was the best way I could possibly wake up.

Even though it was still dark in the room, it didn't take Zander long to figure out that it was Charley on the other side of me and not daddy (apparently she doesn't make the same morning sounds as daddy). As soon as he realized it was her, he sat up and started crawling on top of me to go to her side of the bed. I was a little bummed because my special little moment with the kids was clearly over. But then I heard the whisper of two soft little voices . . .

"Zander, I sure love you."

"I love you too, Charley."

2009, here we come . . .

Just when I thought things might slow down a little, 2009 arrived. For the first few days after our Christmas guests left, we laid low and didn't wander out too much. But when boredom and restlessness started to creep in, we once again hit the ground running and haven't stopped since.

On New Years Eve we attended a birthday party, and just a few days later we attended another birthday party, so the kids definitely had their share of cake and ice cream over the past few weeks.
That same weekend, I was able to sneak away for a few hours for a massage and pedicure (thanks Jim and Delora!), and here is what happened while I was gone . . . naked hide-and-seek. Good entertainment, Brian.

The Airstation's holiday schedule ended on Monday the 5th, but all the kids were still off from school, so the ladies and I got together and planned out a whole week's worth of activities to keep everyone busy. So here is what we came up with . . . .

Monday: beach day at the lagoons

Tuesday: afternoon at the park

Wednesday: the Zoo

Thursday: afternoon at the park

Friday: Shark's cove (tide pool/beach spot)


We had a very full and fun week, and I think there is no way that anyone can claim they were bored. On Saturday, Charley and I hit the mall for some girl shopping to pick up a few things for our upcoming trip to Montana, while Zander and Brian did some random boy stuff. On Sunday we decided to hit the road early, and we drove over to the other side of the island to hike the Makapuu Lighthouse trail. Here we are at the beginning of our hike . . .

And here is a shot from about halfway up . . .

When we got to the top, not surprisingly the views were breathtaking, and the best part was that it is whale season here, so we saw about ten humpback whales. The kids had a fun time and were awesome little hikers, so it is definitely something we will be doing a lot more of in the future. After the hike, we popped in on some friends that live on that side of the island, and the kids were excited that they got to feed our friends' chickens . . . although with Zander being a bull in a China shop, the chickens never ventured too close.

So here we are, nearly halfway through January already (how did that happen??), and in just over a week, the kids and I will be heading to Montana. Not only are we looking forward to seeing family and friends, but the kids are just dying to experience snow for the first time. We will be there a whole month, and Brian will join us halfway through the trip. I know you are all probably pretty sick of winter by now, but we are excited because our winter will just be getting started!

Wrapping up 2008 . . .

So I wanted to rewind a little bit here and catch everyone up on our last couple weeks of the holiday season before I move on any further into the New Year. I figured some pictures were in order, so I'm posting a few of my favorites out of the hundreds that were taken . . . plus I'll tell you what we've been up to along the way.

A week or so before Christmas, Charley had her school Christmas program, and as you can see, she was pretty nervous . . . hence the finger in the mouth and the "deer in headlights" look. In fact, every single picture taken of Charley during the performance looks just like this one. I'm not sure she even sang one word. But by the time Santa came and delivered presents, she was a pretty happy camper . . .

The very next day, Brian's dad, Jim, and his wife, Delora, arrived for a ten day visit. This was Delora's first time here, and Jim had not been here in many decades, so everyone was pretty excited.

The day after their arrival, we threw Charley a Hello Kitty birthday party for her 4th birthday. She had about ten little friends at her party, and I think the party was a success because she told me that it was the "best party ever." Although, as we all know, her basis for comparison is pretty limited. :) I was particularly proud of my cake-making that day, because as most of you know, I am ANYTHING BUT the Martha Stewart/creative/crafty type, but I managed to decorate her cake all by myself and actually made it look the way it was supposed to. Aren't you proud, Mom?

The day after Charley's party, we headed down the Hilton Hawaiian Village for a two-night stay, and we all had a FABULOUS time. We were lucky enough to get two adjoining rooms, and here is our gorgeous view.

Over the next few days we went to the Waikiki Aquarium, walked the entire length of Waikiki Beach, celebrated Charley's birthday on the 23rd (more presents and birthday ice cream), relaxed at the pool, and ate lots and lots of food. It was a blast.

On Christmas Eve we checked out of the hotel and headed towards home. On our way we stopped at our friends, the McGinity's, who were hosting a party for close friends. Our usual Coastie friends were there, and we all had a very relaxing and fun afternoon. After the party, it was time to head home, finish wrapping gifts, and prepare for Santa' arrival. Here's what the tree looked like after all was said and done . . .

And here's the kids first glimpse on Christmas morning of what was in store . . . .

We had a very nice quiet Christmas, topped off with an awesome dinner of prime rib, twice-baked potatoes, and lots of other goodies prepared that Delora and I prepared. The kids had a blast opening presents, and I think they got just about everything they asked for. They must have been on Santa's "good list" this year.

The remaining days of Jim and Delora's visit were spent golfing and touring around the island. One of our stops was at the infamously windy Pali Lookout, and it was perhaps the windiest I'd ever seen it. I couldn't help but post the proof . . .

Overall, I would say that we had a pretty stinkin' good Christmas this year. We were surrounded by family, friends, lots of good food, beautiful weather, love for Santa, and the Christmas spirit. However, Charley and Zander are already dreaming of what they are going to ask Santa for next year . . . .

I guess that about covers the remainder of 2008. The only other noteworthy thing that happened over the Christmas break was a blackout across the entire island. And the ONLY reason that you may have heard about it on national news is because our poor President-elect and his family had to SUFFER without power for an entire twelve hours, most of which took place during the night. While we were sleeping. Can you imagine such a travesty, a whole 12 hours without power? It's amazing any of us made it that long . . . . :)

New Years Hawaiian Style

On this beautiful New Years Day morning, I was reading the blog of an acquaintance here on the island, and her description of the Hawaiian New Years phenomenon could not have been described any better . . .


"The first New Years Eve we spent here in Hawaii, we were warned about one of the biggest traditions on the island- firework mayhem. 4th of July in any major city does not hold a candle to the poppin bangin flashing screachin craziness that ensues on December 31st. On any holiday you usually hear some sets of fireworks, but after Christmas the celebration gradually builds until the New Year. As Hawaii is a cultural melting pot, the Chinese tradition of lighting fireworks to scare away bad spirits and bring luck for the new year is one that stuck. We were hardly prepared for it. I'm not talkin spinners and roman candles and a few bottle rockets...I'm talking hundreds to thousands of dollars of fireworks, per family. From dusk on, the island is blanketed in smoke and the sounds are what you might imagine a night in Baghdad might be like."


Boy, was she right. New Years here is absolutely insane. Individual families will spend thousands of dollars just on fireworks for this one night a year. Every night for the week or so before this holiday, we could here random fireworks popping here and there, sometimes on and off for hours. But on New Years Eve, the popping starts early in the morning and does not end until early on New Years Day morning (I'm talking five or six a.m.).

I wasn't even really watching the time that night, as I was busy getting caught up on my T.V. shows and surfing the internet. However, at one point it sounded like a full-blown war zone outside, so I looked at the clock, and sure enough it was midnight. I stepped outside to watch the fireworks for a few minutes, and the show was incredible. We live near the top of a small mountainous area, so I had a perfect view of the city of Kapolei down below, as well as a perfect view of the surrounding neighborhoods. Between the city display and the neighborhood displays, the celebration was quite spectacular. After ten minutes or so, the air was so thick with smoke that one could hardly see down into the valley anymore. The show continued for a couple more hours, which I fitfully slept through thanks to shutting the house up and turning on my bedroom T.V. I awoke at around 3:00 a.m. fully expecting to hear a continuation of the fireworks, but was pleasantly surprised to wake to no snapping sounds. I was confused for a moment, until I heard the soft patter of rain on the roof above my head.

It was one of those moments where I was thinking, thank God for rain.