Oh Christmas Tree!

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​One of the traditions I wanted to start this year with the boys is one I have stolen from friends of ours, The Martinez Family. I first met them through their children at school, and then we were lucky enough to serve with them in North Carolina. They truly are one of my top 10 favorite families. We went to their house one year for Christmas Eve, and one of the things they did was make handmade ornaments for the tree. It was such a fun way to spend the evening, that I knew I wanted to use this tradition with my own family, even though we did not have the boys at the time. Instead of waiting until Christmas Eve, the boys and I made their ornaments as a craft one day. The had so much fun squirting the paint into the clear plastic balls and watching it drip out. We made about a dozen ornaments, and I chose the best two to keep from this year. I think it will be fun to make and collect them over the years. Then, when the boys one day have a home of their own, they can have their ornaments for their trees. While I know that as boys they may not appreciate the sentimentality of this, I hope that they one day will have wives who will. Their ornaments made the perfect finish to an already beautiful tree.


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Are You Ready for Some Football?

I was all excited about being able to sign the boys up for sports via the start smart program they have for 3-5 year olds on base. The first opportunity presented itself with football. Things started off great. The boys were excited about playing football. We showed up the first day on time, only to have the "coach" be late by about 20 minutes. He quickly introduced himself and then handed out the bags with the football materials (ball, flag, cones, book). The boys loved getting their very own football. Unfortunately, this is where the fun ended for us. They didn't want to do any of the "drills" we were supposed to do at our station. Instead, they wanted to try to throw their ball into the basketball hoop overhead. The whined the entire time and refused to participate. I think we made it to two sessions before we realized that this was something that they weren't quite ready for. Oh well, at least we tried, and I got one good picture of the two of them out of it!

I love this picture. It looks like they are so serious and getting ready to do some serious football playing. They are so cute with their little flags on!
This is Luke looking at the other kids and basically refusing to do what they were supposed to be doing. He eventually went and sat down against the bleachers.

Need I say more?

Thanksgiving Staycation

For Thanksgiving we decided to take a "staycation" to the Hale Koa hotel. This is a military hotel right on the beach in the heart of Waikiki. While in theory it was a good idea, the boys didn't take too kindly to sleeping the in the same room as us. The first night was absolutely miserable! They couldn't get settled and were basically up on again and off again all night long. This made for a long Thanksgiving day. At one point I laughed and told Tom, "Well, we just need to think of it as we are making a memory." You know, one of those, "When you were three we took you to the Hale Koa for Thanksgiving, and you were little stinkers who wouldn't go to sleep" kind of memories. After Thanksgiving brunch, we headed to the pool, where we hung out with friends all day long. That night, after a sleepless night before and an entire day by the pool, the boys zonked out at 6:30 and slept hard all night long! All in all, despite the restless first night, we had a great time together and hanging out with friends for the holiday.

The view from the balcony. While this is an "ocean view" room, you had to stand on the balcony and turn to the left to actually see the ocean. If we go again, I won't waste the money on an upgraded room, as our view of the ocean from our lanai can't be beat.

Waikiki Beach from the balcony.

Silly little Luke playing in the room.

Brody decided he wanted to sleep in the wagon. They played with this thing all evening!

Luke saying something very important--I'm sure!

Brody and our friend's daughter having an intense conversation. We are lucky to have such good friends here!

Brody having "fun" in the pool!

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When I Grow Up....

Luke has taken a definite interest in all things Daddy and pilot related lately. Tom let him play with this helmet one evening, and he pretty much refused to take it off. He looks so stinking cute with this thing on I can hardly stand it! At school there is a flight suit that a parent donated, and every time I go in to pick them up, Luke has on that crazy thing!

Pumpkin Pie Pizza

The boys first school performance was a little show they put on for us when we were invited to come to the school to have pumpkin pie in honor of Thanksgiving. As the parents entered, they had circle time and sang a little song. I wasn't familiar with the song, but it had something to do with identifying parts of the body and the words "wiggle wiggle wiggle." Brody was all about the singing, while Luke decided to sit in his teacher's lap. I can already tell he's going to be the kind of kid who has the teacher wrapped around his little finger.

This is the look on Brody's face when he realized I was in the classroom. He walked over and gave me a big hug!

This is the look on Luke's face when he saw me. He promptly turned around and hopped up into Ms. Vera's lap.

I tried to get shots of them singing the song, and this was the best I could do. Brody was far more in to the whole singing thing than Luke was. Luke was content to sit in the teacher's lap and suck his thumb.

After the song, we joined the kids for pumpkin pie, which neither of them cared for. Because of it's shape, Brody assumed it was pizza and was very upset when he realized it wasn't. He got very upset over the pizza/pumpkin pie confusion, and I almost took both of them home early. However, when I asked him if he wanted to stay or come home with mommy, he very quickly decided he wanted to stay in school. Let's hope their love of school is something that stays with them for a long while.

Going to the chapel....

Tom and I had our marriage blessed today in preparation for our confirmation on the 22nd. We had a very small ceremony with a few friends and the boys at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Kailua. The ceremony was actually held in the day chapel, which is a smaller chapel to the side of the main church area. While it was an overcast day, it was still a beautiful one to renew our vows and have our marriage blessed. It was emotional for me to see the blessing of the rings. Father Steve sprinkled them with holy water before giving them to us. Tom used his original ring, and I used an anniversary band we got in honor of our 10th anniversary and the boys' birth. We now have two anniversaries, which means I have a fifty/fifty chance of Tom being home for our anniversary! Enjoy the photos...

The bride and groom

Brody and his KACHOW face!

CHEESE!

The ceremony was held in the day chapel at the church.

The look of love...

Blessing of the rings.

The boys getting in on the action.

Handsome!

Exchanging rings.

Brotherly love...

We found a Hawaiian marriage certificate. It's beautiful. I can't wait to get it framed.

Me, Tom, and Father Steve

Pete and Susan stood in for us as our witnesses.

I love this picture of me and Brody. So sweet!

Great family photo!

The Gadds, the Revors and our confirmation teacher, Steve.

The Gadds, the Revors, and Megan

First Day of School

The boys started preschool on Monday, the same day they turned three! They will be going to preschool three days a week for four hours each day. It was an exciting day for all three of us! I had been building school up over the past few weeks as a way to get them to use the potty. They have done a fabulous job in that department and by all accounts are ready for preschool. We are going to have to figure out nap time on school days because I had to wake them up in order to get them there on time. As the picture below shows, they weren't too happy about being awoken and then having their picture taken. However, it's like all things--it will work itself out. Once they got to the school, they were both very excited and actually ran to the classroom. As I was leaving the room, Luke looked at the teacher and said, "It's ok, my mommy will be right back." I picked them up about a half hour early, and other than Brody being grumpy from a fall on the playground, they were fantastic. I look forward to what they will be able to learn from the social interaction with other children. Oh--and I am really looking forward to a little bit of alone time each week too:-)

Sweet, sweet boys holding hands on the way in to school.

Running to the classroom.

Waving bye to mommy!

Brody oblivious to the fact I'm still in the room.

Luke making himself at home.

Luke and Brody Turn Three!

We celebrated the boys' birthday on Sunday by throwing a big boy Thomas the Train party. We set up our little pool, borrowed a slide from the neighbor, and put up a bounce house, which was one of their presents. The boys were so excited about their party that they refused to take a nap that day. The day started with their opening presents from us and the rest of the family. We set up their presents on the breakfast table for them to see when they first came upstairs in the morning. The actual party happened in the afternoon after what should have been their nap. At the end of the day when all was said and done, the boys went to bed saying that they wanted to go to their party. They had a grand time celebrating with their friends!

Pictures from the fun follow:

The boys' morning birthday loot.

Luke seeing the pile of presents on the table.

Brody's sweet smile upon seeing the presents.

Luke wasted no time opening the first present. He had a stand up, tear open the paper method going on. I can only imagine what Christmas will be like this year!

Brody was in awe of the big Buzz Lightyear.

He kept looking at it and turning it around to see everything it had to offer.

The boys and their big Buzz Lightyears!

Still checking them out...

Sweet Brody focused on his new stash.

Love those eyes! His eyes have always stood out in photos.

Luke holding up his first two favorites of the day. Buzz and a jet fighter. Believe it or not, jet fighters are hard to find.

Party picture and a shot of the Little Tikes bounce house.

One of my friend's daughters found a lady bug and held it for quite some time before she gently placed it on a nearby tree.

The boys, the pool, and the slide. When we set the pool up we realized there were holes in it and had to put duck tape over the holes to stop the leaks.

Sweet baby Luke! I love this little guy, and he loves me:-)

The boys chowing down on their birthday lunch with friends.

Gizmo celebrated his 7th birthday with the boys! Believe it or not, he and the boys have the same birthday.

Their cake turned out so nicely! It was a cupcake cake with two Thomas the Trains!

I was surprised that Brody didn't cry when we sang happy birthday. He, up to this point, has not liked that song at all. However, when we started singing, he got this sweet look on his face as if to say, "Wow, this is all for me!"
They were so funny trying to blow out the candles. I wound up having to help them to keep the cake from being covered in slobber.

Clapping for the blown out candles!

Luke's lack of a nap is starting to show...

Yum!

Both boys loved their cupcakes and ice cream.

Opening gifts with lots of help from friends.

Daddy wearing his Thomas hat!

And last but not least, it's the favorite gift of the day! The boys received Star Wars light sabers and then wanted nothing to do with any of the other toys!