Christmas 2013

Getting ready for Christmas 2013

Getting ready for Christmas is really such a big part of the season, and so much more fun and magical with kids.  The first thing we do is decorate our tree.  The kids love this and I love to make a night out of it just like we did growing up.  Complete with mini lessons on the symbolism of the different Christmas icons, which Cora remembers surprisingly well.

Cora's birthday and Halloween 2013

Here is our beautiful 5 year old girl on her birthday, October 6th, wearing her special birthday dress that I made for her.  The fabric is a little obnoxious for my taste but she loves it - it has castles and unicorns and rainbows, everything our girly-girl loves.  She has worn it almost every Sunday since then, although I was luckily able to remove the bow without her noticing after it didn't fare well in the wash.

Mom and Dad's visit in September 2013

In September we were happy to receive a visit from my parents for two weeks.

Elijah showing off his "future missionary" tag from Grandma.

End of Summer at home 2013

Here are some everyday things we got up to around the end of summertime - mostly in August. 

Shirtless bike riding.

Beach time with Eric's family 2013

We went to Shark's Cove with Eric's family while there were here.  It was super fun, even though there is not a ton of sand to camp on, there are so many fun shallow little pools where you can stand and see fish and other wildlife.  The adults got to take turns snorkeling while we all watched kids and played in the shallows.

4th of July and Ryan birthday 2013

We started off the morning of the 4th with a cute little kids bike parade at the little circle at BYUH.  Our kids may not have had the best decorated bikes, but they sure looked cute in their little matching 4th of July outfits that I made for them.  (Cora's skirt and Elijah's shirt)

Ryan's June trip to the mainland 2013

This past June Ryan was able to go to the mainland for a quick trip to attend the APTA convention in Salt Lake, meet with some people from his parent company at work, and of course, catch up with family and friends that we haven't seen since moving to Hawaii.  He got to fly into Vegas and see lots of family in St. George, including Grandma and Grandpa Nielson (no pic).  Here he is spending a little time at the lake hanging out with Aunt Janice's family.  

Our big kids 2013

Playing around at Costco Optical - such a cute little nerd! 

May 2013

Heading up the mountain for a camping trip! Cora and Elijah were little troopers, they carried their own packs all the way to the campsite!  Cora's had most of her supplies in it, and was fairly heavy, for a 4 year old.  Elijah's backpack is actually a little bigger than Cora's but was filled with pillows, so it was light.  Still, it was hard for him to carry.

April 2013

Cora helping Daddy's scouts do a beach clean-up.  I made this dress for Cora a few months ago.

March 2013

Ryan and his mini-me after church.

February 2013

The kids hanging out together in the Rehab hospital lobby while visiting Grandma.  Jordan was trying to squat like Elijah.  

January 2013

We didn't manage to take many photos in January.  Ryan's mom was in the hospital - that month she woke up and started talking, and moved from the Queens ICU to the Rehab Hospital in town.  We spent a lot of time going back and forth to town to visit.  We were so happy when we were able to talk with her again!  That's what we had all been praying for - including Cora, who would pray that "Grandma could wake up and talk to us again." 

This photo was when she was still asleep at Queens but gave Cora's little hand a squeeze.

My mom came out for a couple of week to help us out and to visit.  She was able to be here for Elijah's 2nd birthday, which was nice.  She helped me do a few projects and get my house back in order after a kind of crazy holiday season.  I hadn't been feeling well so it was a real blessing to have her here.

Here are some pics of the kids at the beach while she was here (although we didn't get either of us in any of these photos)

December 2012

We decorated the Christmas tree for family home evening early in December.  The kids loved it - you can see their clumps in the pictures below.  I got scolded for re-arranging their decorating, so I mostly left it alone, but after a few days the kids, of their own accord, had moved all the ornaments around and spread them out more.   

Thanksgiving in Virginia 2012

 We were so blessed to be able to go home for Thanksgiving and see all of our family!  Christopher, Nicole and Kate and their families and Grandma Wei and Manny and his family were all able to come and we had a lot of fun re-uniting.  

Elijah in the Captain's chair on one of our flights.

October and November 2012

 The kids love to swing together at the playground like this.

Nicole, Aspen and Mom's visit

In September we were lucky enough to have Mom come for a visit for two weeks and Nicole and Aspen for one week at the same time.  We had a ton of fun showing them around, going to all the different beaches and sites on the North Shore.  And we got to enjoy some of Nicole's great cooking skills while she was here too! 

 A Sunday morning walk on the beach the day after Nicole and Aspen arrived.

The end of summer, 2012

 Well it's finally time for me to catch up on the blog.  After Elise and her family left we had a pretty uneventful summer.  Here are just some pictures of the kids hanging out.

Mom and Elijah looking at the elephants at the Honolulu zoo.