I absolutely love this time of year. Everything about it (except the weight gain from all the delicious treats). Holidays are so much more fun with kids who get excited about everything. Every party, event, dinner, etc the kids have so much fun.
First was a party for the kids put on by Curtis' work. Face painting, crafts, letters to Santa, lunch, etc. They made a chain to count down the days till Christmas and I had no idea it would be what Brooke looked forward to doing every morning: count the chains, take one off!
And a special visit from..... Sketchy Santa Wannabe. The kiddos didn't even say anything about it.
I had to document their first letters to Santa. Spencer's letter cracked me up. He was eating his lunch at the time and just kept answering each question with "to eat my hot dog" so I had to add that.
Branch Christmas party was A Night in Bethlehem. Of course Brooke and Spence couldn't wait to dress up as Mary and Joseph. We sat on the floor and ate a simple meal and then watched a portrayal of Luke 2. It was a great activity.
Another day was Tinsel Town. A little fair type thing on base with performers, games, vendors, and....SNOW! Yep, kids didn't even know what to do with it. Brooke didn't want anything to do with it until we got home and she said "I wish I would have played in the snow". The first pic shows the snow machine blowing snow everyone. When living on a tropical island, you gotta do what you gotta do. The kids rode their bikes there and on the way Brooke was telling me about her favorite places; California, Utah and Tinseltown. I asked her if she even knew what Tinseltown- of course not!
PHOTO OP!
I love the Sunday before Christmas. Curtis gave a great talk and I got to participate in the branch choir musical numbers. Brooklyn is wearing a special dress from Cassie and Spencer actually fit in that sweater that he wore last year as well!
Yep, I did it. Officially Scuba Certified. I may or may not have been terrified to do this. We will call it putting a large deposit into the marriage account. Curtis is so happy that I can now go with him. I am just happy I didn't die getting out of the water. It was a bit rough the first couple times and I promised myself I won't get in if there are waves because getting out is too scary.
Curtis has a week off for Christmas so we are exploring more of the island. Today we went to the Ryukyu Mura- a little Okinawa village.
This little stinker wouldn't look for even one picture.
The kids enjoyed watching the water buffalo work the sugar cane press
Poor guy being pulled around by his nose.
The dancing Shisa dog. Would you believe OUR kids were terrified of the guys in costume? Yep, he came close to us and kids freaked out. Maybe one day they won't be afraid of everything!
Random: I just love the signs here.
Last adventure for the week Curtis had off- Pineapple Park.
We rode around in an automatic car and took a tour of the grounds. We watched a little show of the dancing pineapples. pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pineapple! The song can really get stuck in your head.
Then a stop at the "best hamburgers on island" at Captain Kangaroos. They were pretty good. It was kind of fun to sit in big recliner chairs while having lunch.
And finally..... Christmas morning!!!!
The kids were super excited. For the past few months Brooke had been asking for Princess and either ponies or mermaids. Spencer wanted bad guys. I think they were happy with their gifts. They played and entertained themselves literally all day long. Unfortunately Daddy had the camera all morning so we didn't get any pics of him. Holidays really are so much better when you can share they with your children.
PS- my kids seriously crack me up- I just love them so much!
