December, as usual, was a wild mixture of parties, events, school, and endless running to and fro to get everything ready. The only time I've had a restful December was in 2010 when Po was born... I had meticulously got everything ready in advance since I didn't know when the baby would come. I should remember how good it felt to be on top of things!
Anyway, here are some of the random photos I found that tell a little bit about our month. Above is a pen-drawn portrait by the worker at our favorite yogurt shop, Orange Leaf (Orange Leaf has since closed down, by no fault of ours). I think she looks a little Disney.
It is always hard to be away from extended family during the holidays, but photos like this of my gorgeous niece Riley just make my day. She's my brother Tyler's daughter and I'm pretty sure that is the real Santa.
Photos like this also make my YEAR! These are Sonna's boys, and the photo needs no commentary.
Speaking of little brothers, here is my crazy brother Tyler at the Hobbit premier in Vegas. I take full credit for the sword on his back, though I'm still wondering how he made it into a movie with a full sized sword on his back.
We al went and saw the Hobbit here on Maui too. I finished reading it to the kids in November and we were all holding our breath for the movie to come out. I remember reading it as a kid, and then that dumb cartoon movie was all I had to watch to fill in the gaps of my imagination. Peter Jackson did a much better job... plus, we love the New Zealand scenery/eye candy of his films.
The best part of the movie was when Elsie would note how things were the same or different from her imagination. When the eagles swooped in, she said in her large Elsie voice, "You were right mom! The eagles ARE as big as a room!"
Thankfully the world didn't end on December 21st. I've noticed that usually "end of the world" predictions fall on the 21st of the month. I was born on a 21st. I can't figure out the significance.
I spent some time working to get some more house projects done. This photo makes me sad though, because I lost those glasses in a surfing "accident" a week after I took this self portrait. They were some awesome 25cent garage sale glasses.
The kids always find interesting ways to amuse themselves, like making a very warm blanket mountain.
Makes me wonder why they get any Christmas presents at all... it's not like they need them!
Here was a festive thing that has never happened to me before: tomatoes in December! My vines finally started to ripen their tomatoes, and they came on strong for about three months non-stop! I love gardening in Hawaii!
And another self-portrait of my house project uniforms. Don't mock my shower cap... it comes in handy more often than you can imagine.