i wasn't going to make one, but...

After all the Christmas cards that began trickling in...how could I not return the sentiment?

(without feeling like a putz, that is)

SO, here it is~

I know...kinda plain.

And a so-so family picture, to boot...

BUT, it's not without love!

Next year, I'll do better, I promise!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

Ok. To be honest, that's sort of a lie.

When one lives in Hawaii-with the weather hovering around the upper 70's and even into the 80's? Can you really blame me for saying,

"WHAT? Christmas is here already?!? I'm not even done with all my Christmas shopping!!"

-Yea, that's sort of what was going through my mind TODAY!

Anyway, regardless of my mental preparedness...or, lack thereof...it seems Christmas is finally (already?) upon us, and so have the Christmas festivities.

Jolee and Anna have a preschool class they go to once a week with Mrs. Neill. This sweet lady goes all-out, and I mean, ALL-OUT with her little goodies for the kids.

This year, she made sugar cookies (in gingerbread man shape) for all the kids, as well as Christmas themed napkins, and gave each student a hand-sewn stocking with fruit (she's a teacher, what can I say?) and play-doh (my least favorite kid toy, but whatever).

Anna and Kumen enjoying their cookies.

Not pictured is Jolee...she was eating those cookies the ENTIRE time.

*see first picture in this post


Then this evening...

We had our church ward's annual Christmas party.

I took pictures of the beautiful play the kids put on...but it was so dark that I just didn't even bother to post them.

I'll just point out that Kela sang in the choir and Mitch was a shepherd in the play. They did great, and it was a spectacular Christmas program.

What's a Christmas Party without a Santa Claus, right?
And what's a Santa Claus picture without a crying child?
At least Kela was enjoying the festivities...one out of three really isn't too bad for our family when it comes to Santa pictures.
Usually, they flat out refuse to even stand in line!
Oh yes, progress is progress!


The girls with their friend, Makani.
See how happy they are when there isn't a Santa lurking in the corner?

Oddly...Jolee decided she liked the view upside-down.
She did this for a little too long, I think...

See? Too dizzy to even stand up straight.

Mele Kalikimaka & Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

maika'i

In Hawaiian, "Maika'i" means "Excellence."

And at Pearlridge Elementary school, they have something called the Maika'i Award-which teachers and students pick TWO students from each class per quarter to receive. Students are usually chosen for not only progress in schoolwork, but also in their attitude and behavior representing the school's values...which embarrassingly, I can't quite remember this minute.

Anyway, this quarter, Kela was honored with the Maika'i Award for her class!

Hooray for Kela!

During the assembly, we got to go up on stage with Kela (and Anna and Jolee in tow) in front of the whole school as they honored all the students in the Kindergarten classes!

You can't see it in this picture, but there's RED DIRT everywhere around the school campus. Jolee was so busy making mud pies in the red dirt that by the time we got on stage...her white shirt was no longer very white.

*sigh*

monkey see, monkey do

Ah...to be a kid again...

(Which, BTW, was the last time I was able to do this...*sigh)

tourist for a day...

My Good, good friend from high school days came to Hawaii for a short visit in the Islands.

Actually, she was just passing through Oahu on her way to Kona...so we got to spend all of a day together. And with such a short amount of time, I had to wrack my brain for a brief, but thorough, circle island tour!

As soon as Sara stepped off the plane, I dragged her to, of course, Diamond Head. Poor girl didn't even get to rest after her flight!

Sorry, Sara...but we were on a tight schedule!! :)

Wow...look at the VOG! With Kona winds, the view wasn't as spectacular as it could have been...but the weather was surprisingly cool and with some light sprinkling of showers on our way down, it was still a great hike!

Our final day together, we set out for a whirlwind tour of the island of Oahu.
First stop, Pali Lookout.
Again, a bit VOGGY...but still a nice view. And surprisingly, very chilly.
Can you see the girls whining and complaining about the cold and wind?
Well, they were!


Then it was off to the North Shore.
We drove by the PCC (which, next time, we'll actually go INSIDE!), my old school-BYUH, and then Laie Hawaii Temple.
Afterwards, no stop to the North Shore is complete without a trip to the shrimp truck in Kahuku!!
Mmmm...shrimp scampi!


Then, to round off our Circle Island tour, we drove by Sunset beach and Waimea Bay where the surf was pounding out some serious 15ft.+ waves...and headed through old Haleiwa Town.
Where, of course, we had to stop by for some shave ice at Matsumoto's(which, BTW, who knew they actually have a website?!).

Then, barely making it to the airport in time, we said Aloha Oe to Sara...

come back soon!!!

priority no. 1

Ever since Thanksgiving...all my husband has been talking about is one thing.

Despite the fact that our tub needs re-caulking...

Or the fact that Jolee's crib needs to be disassembled...

Or, that Anna's Christmas present is in our shed un-assembled...

Or, that our car is so messy that we are most likely hosting a colony of ants and who-knows-what...

No. More important than all of that, is ...

Glad someone has their priorities straight!

**And at the risk of this winding its way into Mitch's ears or eyes (and since I know some of my readers, this is quite likely...) I'll just say that I love my hubby and think the lights look great, hon!

i'm thankful for...

...Not having to cook this year!

As per our usual arrangement, our families dispersed the responsibilities for our Thanksgiving dinner. And what did I get? Yep, the Turkey.

AND, since I've yet to successfully make a flawless turkey, I was a bit nervous...until I realized I could get away without having to cook at all!

How, you ask? Here's how:

What's that you say?

What's a big pit in the ground with burning rocks have to do with cooking a turkey?

Every year, the Boy Scouts in our ward put together an IMU cookout as part of a fundraising effort. The last couple of years, we've just put a pork or beef roast in there, but THIS YEAR, I decided to make a "Kalua turkey."

Genius, right?

Here are the cheerleaders...waiting for the rocks to heat up for the IMU pit.

Once the rocks are sufficiently hot...down goes the shredded banana stalks.
And then the pans of various meats....ours is one of many pans there.
Obviously, there were MANY people who were eager to NOT have to cook on Thanksgiving Day as well.

Then, it's time for the banana leaves, then burlap...
...and then a tarp...and then dirt.

Sorry...I forgot to take a picture of the big reveal.
Ok, to be honest, they opened up the pit at 7:30 am the next day and I was NOT waking up early to take pictures when I could (and did) sleep in.


The crowd on Thanksgiving Day.
Family and friends...what a better way to spend the day!
And no better way to show thanks for each other than to enjoy good food and great company!

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving as well!!

...now, Bring on Christmas!

last weekend...

I'm turning into "one of those" bloggers. You know, the ones that always start their posts with "Last weekend..." or "Last month..." instead of "This morning..." or even "Yesterday..."

Not that I'm not a dedicated blogger or anything. Just that once I get home from "___" function, it ends up taking me several days to actually upload them onto the computer. Then another few days to actually blogger-ize it.

Bah, at least I blog it, right?

SO, anyway, last weekend, a good friend of mine got married. And even though Mitch was like, "You don't have to go, right?" I was suppressing my fury while saying, "but I WANT to go!" (no feet-stomping or anything, though. I am an adult!) To which, Mitch replied, "Oh. Ok."

End of discussion.

We flew to Kona to attend the wedding.

And the best part of the trip?

We took only Jolee with us!

No offence to Kela and Anna...but we left them behind!

Thanks to my sister Airi for watching them!

My good friend Yoshie and her new hubby Kim.

I never asked permission if I could post this news...I hope it's okay.

(Although I don't think it wouldn't be okay...I mean, weddings are happy news, right?)

Congratulations, Yoshie & Kim!

Me and Yoshie, the beautiful new bride!

Look how happy I am for her!


"I know there's bread in that basket! I can smell it!"

It was a short little trip. We were only gone for a day. Not even a full day. We left in the morning and came back in the evening.

But aside from when I was in the hospital delivering baby...it was the longest we spent away from the girls.

And yes, we missed them terribly...but we LOVED every minute of it regardless! Ha!

two-wheelin'

Last week, Mitch decided it was time to bump up Kela from four wheels to two. (or...would you say, "bump down?")

Anyway, he took off her training wheels and after a couple days of stop & go practicing...she's practically a pro!

What was that? You ask if I got any video of her first day on two wheels?

Sadly, that would be a NO. Why, you ask?

Because on said day, I was busy cooking dinner at home with a sleeping Jolee and Anna upstairs...and despite the fact that Mitch has a video camera on his phone, he didn't get one single shot of her peddling on her first solo ride!

Men, I tell 'ya!

I heart hawaii

I found this picture in my phone... I had completely forgotten that I
took it! Nearly 2 months ago at Bellows beach on Labor Day!

Seeing pictures like this reminds me why I'm so happy to live in Hawaii!!

I'm Japanese, thank you very much!

This is how I tried to keep Jolee entertained and occupied while I
shopped today.

The checkout lady said that she looked like a cute little "Korean Pear!" And as much as I'd like to agree with that sentiment...and seriously, NO disrespect to Koreans out there-but I'm JAPANESE, thank you very much!

(and p.s. In case you have no clue as to what that is on JoJo's head...it's one of those Styrofoam netting thingys that stores put on fancy fruit like Fuji Apples, Peaches and yes...even Korean Pears! ha ha)

halloween, part III

So, on to the finale of our Halloween festivities. (Thank goodness!!)

Let me just say-for the record-that if you put two individuals together who are NOT Halloween-y types....the end result is a less-than-enthusiastic house of "Halloween spirit!"

I mean...no fake cobwebs on the bushes, or dangling ghosts over the threshold, or those fake witches wrapped around the trees (have you seen those? They're quite funny).

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, don't go expecting an all-out Halloween atmosphere around this Seavey household!

Feel sorry for our kids? I sort of do, too...

Anyhoo-this was my round about way of explaining why we are finally carving our pumpkin at around 4 p.m on Halloween Day.

Doesn't Jolee look excited!
Kela helping Daddy with the design of our Jack-O-Lantern.
Of course - she, too, refused to touch any of the seeds, mind you!

JoJo...still excited!


Kela making sure Daddy does it right...without touching anything slimy.
She is definitely my daughter! Ha!


The finished product! Along with our little helpers.
Where's Anna, you ask?
Still napping, of course! She's our sleeper.
(Which is definitely a trait from her mother!)


For Halloween Day...Jolee was Diana Ross!
Just kidding. But if you thought I was gonna try and mummy-wrap her a second time, you're crazy!

Ahhh...what Halloween is all about!

Our Trick-or-Treating gang. No small crowd, huh?

Where's Anna, you ask?

At home-refusing to dress up or walk around Trick-or-Treating.

Such a party-pooper!

I'm seriously wondering where she gets this antagonism for dressing up in costumes from?!

(note: 1st paragraph of this post)

A funny story...

We were Trick-or-Treating around Airi's house in Waikiki and apparently, NO kids go Trick-or-Treating in her neighborhood! Because we either got NO answer (even though we KNOW for a fact that there were people home!!) or the people came out and apologized that they didn't have any candy! (but they did give us a big package of Fig Newtons to share! LOL!) So, anyway, we knocked on this one door and the guys was genuinely so nice-he said he didn't have any candy but would head out to the store to get some & asked us to come back in 15 minutes. We said no need...but he insisted, so we agreed. Fast forward to probably much later than 15 minutes and we are heading home from making our rounds in the neighborhood (a candy giving neighborhood, mind you) & this car drives up next to us and a man rushes out with a basket of candy! It's the "come back in 15 minutes" guy! He apparently drove around in circles looking for us to deliver the candy he bought at the store!

How funny is that?! We were stunned! The kids were happy and we were truly shocked! What an awesome guy!

Happy Halloween!

Hope you all had a safe and fun one!

halloween, part I & II

What a weekend!

Now, don't start calling me a party-pooper...but to be honest, Halloween isn't my favorite holiday. In fact, it's pretty far down the list of my fave holidays. Even as a kid, I wasn't much of a dresser-upper, if you know what I mean. I know, so boring, right?

This year, we had THREE separate Halloween celebrations.

It was like "Halloween Weekend"!

As "thrilled" as I was about this, the kids LOVE it...so, how could I refuse?

Ergo, the festivities!

Thursday the 29th was a special Halloween party at Anna's preschool. Amongst the candies, pumpkin carvings and such...Jolee seems to have developed a love of spiders. Hopefully, only "stuffed" spiders...
The pumpkin carving. That NONE of the kids wanted to help with.
Mrs. Neill tried to get the kids to help pick out the seeds and everyone said "NO." Ha! These kids are too darn smart for their own good!

Anna refusing to lift a finger to help with the pumpkin carving...but more than willing to strike a pose!


Jolee ready to head home.
It's not like she gets to enjoy any of the candy anyway, right?

.


THEN, onto our ward Halloween party at church on Friday 30th.


The kiddies all decked out in Halloween splendor! Except for Anna. She initially wanted to be "Barbie"-which frankly, I was none too thrilled about! I mean, there are SO many different Barbies! Which one looks the least "skanky" and inappropriately dressed for a 3 year-old to emulate?!? Right?!?
But all that aside...I'm thinking even an immodestly dressed Barbie would have been better than what she ended up donning!
A half-hour before the party, she REFUSED to dress up at all!!!
Wherever did she get her dislike for dressing up?!
I have NO idea!

(note: refer to first paragraph of this blog for the clue)



Jolee the mummy.
Ok, so maybe this is sort of a "cop-out." I came up with this idea the morning of the activity because I didn't want to deal with a hot and stuffy costume that I KNEW she'd hate to wear.
So, silly me-I thought it would be easier just buying some white fabric, tearing it into strips and wrapping her up! WRONG! Ever try to wrap up a 15 month-old in strips of fabric?
Let me save you the misery of ever finding out.
DON'T! It's so not worth the headache!



In case you can't tell...Kela is Dora for the second year in a row.
Like I was gonna complain about recycling a costume!
Pshaw, right!


Jolee...caught red-handed in Anna's basket!

Dora's backpack that I made last year...and the "new" Map that I made this year. I almost felt guilty for how little effort I put into her costume this year. Almost.

Luke. The caged lion.

Marques bobbing for apples and actually grabbing it with his teeth!

Do you know how hard it is to bob for an apple? It is no small feat!
Bravo, Marques!

Jolee "unraveling" at towards the end of the evening...literally!

Remember what I said about Jolee and stuffed spiders?

Seriously, this couldn't be my child!!

End of day 1 and 2 of our Halloween weekend...