come fly with me...: Christmas

("We're Going on a Bear Hunt" is perpetually stuck in my head.)

I'll admit, I'd been a little resistant to the idea of getting a "non-traditional" Christmas tree. I think mostly because growing up, we always picked out a real tree that smelled so delicious, and so many happy memories are tied to the smell of the Christmas tree filling the house. So naturally, I've always wanted a real tree that smells good.

Moving to Hawaii that presents a little bit of a problem. Most of those trees have to be shipped in from the mainland, and that can bring bugs and other pests. One year a huge shipment of Christmas trees from the mainland brought in slugs. Our former landlord told us the HORRIFIC story of buying one that unbeknownst to them had spider eggs... that hatched while they were away. So when they came home... CAN YOU IMAGINE? Burn the house down. It seems the trees tend to die out quicker after that long journey which = one hundred million trillion needles everywhere, everyday. Daily vacuuming is not my thang.

My lovely friend Jayme has been encouraging us to go to Helemano Farms, Oahu's one Christmas tree farm, for a while now. This year I embraced it, hoping to create our own Christmas tradition by getting a freshly cut Norfolk Island Pine. Norfolk Island Pines do well in warm coastal areas, so I guess it's only natural that they are commonly used as Christmas trees here. What could be wrong with buying local, and supporting a family farm?

While I'm convinced that our tree will not have ornaments hung by Christmas, or ornaments hung at all, we had SO MUCH FUN tromping around finding the perfect tree. One of the workers at the farm followed us around, to chop down the one we loved. He then carried it to put it in a giant net, and then loaded it on top the truck. He was so friendly and helpful, and even offered to snap a family photo!

Between all five of us, I'm not sure who had the best time. I sure know of one little boy who had a BLAST. I'm mostly talking about Christian, but Rob did too. ;) When Christian woke up from his nap that day, the first words out of his mouth were, "I HAD SO MUCH FUN FINDING A CHRISTMAS TREE!" I think we've started a new tradition.

We decided to go with an 8ft tree! Go big or go home, and we weren't going home without a tree. Admittedly, the farm was a tad slim pickings by now. Which I know right, it doesn't look like there was a shortage of trees. BUT, did you know that they cut the trees about halfway up, and then a new tree sprouts up from the new cut?

Clearly wearing a red shirt is required at the farm.

I also picked up some of this deliciousness! And let me tell you... I love some homemade Lilikoi Jelly.

Now is where I show you a picture of our lovely, decorated tree. But, HAH. It is lovely, but not so much decorated. Putting lights on this thing is a bear. We've still got two more "rows" of lights before it's finished. We (Christian) hung up a bunch of candy canes, mostly on one branch, but so much love. And besides the lights, it's probably the only other things going on our tree.

I took this photo this morning, so it doesn't show it in all it's twinkle glory, but it sure comes with a lot of love, memories, and candy canes.

I thought it would be fun (mostly for me, probably) to bid 2013 a fond farewell by doing a year in review. All in all, it was a great year. Yes, there were some sad times, and moments when I wasn't sure the tears would even stop. But here we are at the end of 2013 and I have my family, my health (and my family's good health), and a beautiful place to call home in Hawaii. Rob has a job that he loves, and I love more than anything being able to stay at home with Christian. We traveled a lot, stayed busy with Tiny Tots, Stroller Strides, BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), trips to the zoo, the aquarium, lazy beach days, play dates, Christian's first time to Disneyland, and I got to add a new stamp on my passport with a trip to New Zealand. So yeah, despite the sad times, it was still a good year and I consider us blessed.

So, here we go.

January
My mom came to visit us! We showed her all the highlights of Oahu, and she even hiked Diamond Head. Mom and I booked a B&B in Volcano Village on the Big Island where we visited Volcano National Park. Honestly, it was probably one of the highlights of my life. Yes, life. We drove into the park late at night, and I saw more stars that I have ever, ever seen. I could barely wrap my head around it. To the backdrop of the crackling of the volcano, with a beautiful orange glow. As I do many times here, I took it all in, and thanked our Creator. We also dedicated Christian to the Lord. We committed before the Lord, as his parents we would teach him about Jesus, our Savior, and beyond that, to raise him according to God's ways and will. We will teach him about the love that Jesus has for us, and how he can show that love to others.

February
We celebrated the Chinese New Year by going to a parade. Christian wasn't impressed by the lion dancing. Not one bit. Rob started brewing beer. And the highlight, Christian's favorite cousins Lilley and Violet came to visit from California!! He has such a blast with these two!! (We are REALLY looking forward to their February 2014 visit.) I ran the Great Aloha Run with my girl Suzi, which was a giant cluster, but was awesome all the same. Rachelle and I got out for a few good surfs in Waikiki before they *sniff sniff* left the island for good. We had a going away party for the Fishes at Kaimana Beach. It was a lot of fun, even if it was for such a sad occasion.

March
Sigh. This one makes me sad. Our dear friends, Rachelle, Quentin, and Logan, left the island to return to their home in Colorado. A lot of broken hearts in Hawaii were left in their wake. But as a highlight to March, some of our favorite people, the Bishops, came for a visit with their sweet girl, Kira.

April
With the Bishops we traveled to Kauai and stayed in a seriously awesome house that Liisa found on the interwebs. We hiked the Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali coast, or at least the first 2 miles of it until we reached one of the world's most dangerous beaches.

May
I hiked the Koko Crater trail for the first time, and I also completed the Honolulu Triathlon, sprint distance, my first, and again with Suzi. We flew out to Virginia to visit family! Always an adventure. We took Christian to the Richmond Zoo where he fed the giraffes. We had a really fun day at Lanikai Beach with the Grzebiks, despite Christian being stung by a man-of-war, which sucked worse than you can imagine.

June
A big month. We excitedly found out we were pregnant again. I went on a catamaran cruise in Waikiki with some of the One Love mamas. The pilot union paid for all the pilots and their families to spend the day at the Wet-n-Wild water park. Christian LOVED the big slides, and we had a blast hanging out at the park with our friends, Joel, Jayme, Isabel, and Joey. With Mimi and Papa we hiked to Lulumahu Falls, which took some work to find. But the payoff was worth it. One of my childhood friends, Ben, moved here, and we were so honored to attend his Change of Command Ceremony. A few months later he brought his lovely wife and son here, whom I just love love love and wish they'd move closer to town… because you know, the North Shore is so far away!

July
We had a fun 4th of July with our good friends Marc, April, and Kanoa. They were housesitting a beautiful house in Portlock, on the water and invited us over to celebrate with them. We were treated to delicious food and an awesome fireworks display with the best of company. I had my first doctor's appointment where I got to see our baby's perfect heartbeat. We also left for a month long trip to the east coast to visit lots and lots of family.

August
My sweet boy turned 2 years old and we had so much fun celebrating Varina style with a cookout, lots of guys with guitars, LOTS of good friends, family, and beer. We drove to West Virginia to visit Aunt Amy's farm. Oh man, what a treat. We had a blast! Christian also got to ride a horse for the first time. And sit on a skid steer, bulldozer, and a tractor. We then drove to Pittsburgh to G.G.'s house, where Christian got to meet his other great-grandmother for the first time, and his Uncle Ross, and cousin Mathi, whom he just couldn't sit any closer to if he tried! We also connected with more cousins, and Aunt Tracy for a delicious homemade lasagna dinner. After leaving Pittsburgh, we drove to Detroit to meet up with the Moyers. It was seriously too much fun. They have 2 little boys, and whew. We saw a Detroit Tigers game, and met up with Uncle J!!! After we left Detroit area, we stopped in Cleveland to see Aunt Robin and Uncle Dave, and cousin Erin, and DUKE! Duke is their ridiculously awesome dog. Pretty sure Christian could have gone to live in the wilderness with Duke and never looked back. Also in August, we celebrated Isabel's 4th birthday at the Waimanalo Polo Field where we saw our first polo match!

September
My best friend from forever and her dog, Lucy, moved from Virginia to Hawaii. It's been so much fun with her living here! It's just such a trip to be able to grab coffee, or run to the mall, or just hang out with her. Here. In Hawaii. Christian saw his first movie in the theater, Planes, with Dada and Papa. He loved it and sat through the whole thing! Christian started ISR - infant swim rescue where he learned how to swim-float-swim. Marc, April, and Kanoa AKA Professional Housesitters, were staying at a house super close to us, which was awesome! We had a fun evening hanging with them and the boys (the little ones) made pizza! The first time (and only time since) Christian has eaten pizza. And sadly, we also discovered at a routine 18-week doctor's appointment that our baby girl no longer had a heartbeat. And again, for the third time, we mourned the loss of a life growing inside of me. We named her Leilani Hope.

October

I did lots of Stroller Strides. God bless those mamas, because I love each and every one of them. Stroller Strides = my sanity. We visited the Hawaii Kai fire station, and the Koko Crater Botanical Garden. We picked pumpkins at Aloun Farms with lots of our good friends and hung out at the lagoons afterward. It was a BLAST. I accompanied Rob on his 5-day trip to Auckland, New Zealand while Christian had a very fun sleepover at Mimi and Papa's house. New Zealand, we haven't seen the last of you!

November
Lots of beach time, and playdates. We did a hike we'd never done before along the paved ridge behind Hanauma Bay. There were great views of Hawaii Kai and a beautiful sunset. We had a really fun day on the North Shore with our friends, April, Marc, and Kanoa!! Christian and Kanoa, those boys. If only Christian would stop throwing sand. Have mercy. Rob and Marc went out to surf some big waves. April and I took a lovely long walk along the beach while the boys stayed back to play. We got totally soaked in a downpour and took cover alongside some bushes. It was hilarious and some of the best conversation I've had in a while. We love that family!!

December
Here we are! Earlier this month we flew out to California to celebrate Kira's 2nd birthday, and spent the day at Disneyland. I just have to explain that picture below of Christian and Kira sitting on the bench. They are legit like an old married couple who just happened to be arguing about WHO was going to look at the ocean. We then continued onto Virginia to spend time with my family. It was a great (and cold) time! Mom had her annual Christmas party which is always fun. My little brother turned 24 while we were there as well! Christian also got his first haircut. On Christmas Eve we went to the Christmas service at First Prez, which was so lovely. We had a really fun Christmas morning, Mimi and Papa came over and we opened presents. Christian really only wanted to rip the wrapping paper. But he does love his new bike! And with only a few days left of 2013, I am feeling incredibly blessed. We're all here, and we're all healthy.