Merry Christmas

Christmas has really come to life for me as I get to experience it through my kids eyes. They were so sooo excited this year. Anjuli couldn't wait to make cookies for Santa--to which Zion would always say, "No cookies Santa, cookies ZION!"
It's fun to play Santa, although I must say we were pretty exhausted by the end.
Zui knocked out pretty quick...
We always do strings first. This year we were smart and made the strings extra short for us and the kids. We also used large ribbon instead of string, which helped the kids to see it easier and not trip.


Zion's string led to...the oven!

Zion loves anything with wheels...typical boy.

Anjuli's present was behind the couch.Princesses galore. She plays with these the most out of anything (thanks Hughes family!)
The play kitchen behind Zion was a gift from the Brady's, who's all 5 kids used it :) They LOVE playing with this. We got them some more food toys to play with it, too.
The kids were so hyper. They just went from opening one present to the next.
Whenever I asked Anjuli what she wanted for Christmas she always said the same thing: princess toys.
She got A LOT of princess things (they are soo easy to find at garage sales!)
Thanks Aunty Lory!!
Anjuli loves this princess cape.

Zui's ribbon led to the closet.
I gave him a grip pad for his surfboard, plus a coupon for a homemade surfsock (good thing my Mom is coming soon to help me with this!)
Zui got me a necklace! I love it, it's perfect.
Zui was a *little* excited about opening his present from Santa.
Yay, a cordless drill! We have been borrowing Zui's dad's for the past year. Definitely time for our family to have our own.
Izaiah loved playing with all the tissue paper. The kids played with all of his new toys, too.
Anjuli modeling her new princess outfits.

I love having a princess. She is such a girly girl :)
I think this is Zeya's favorite toy: the slide. He is constantly seen going down the slide and up the stairs again. This was a great garage sale find--only $1.
Our gingerbread house was not the prettiest thing but the kids sure had fun making it. Zion had a hard time putting the candies on the house--he only wanted to eat them. He has such a sweet tooth (just like me).

Merry Christmas everyone!

Family Pictures

We got family pictures taken finally, hooray! Here are the best ones of each of us :)

Snow Day

Anjuli's preschool had a snow day! They brought in a truck load of "snow" (Freshly made on the island) and the kids had a great time.
Zeya sat on the side and liked holding the snow.
But he didn't like sitting in it...
Zion was in 7th heaven. He loved climbing up to the top and sliding down.

Anjuli preferred to stay on the ground and make snowmen.



And both of them loved throwing snowballs at me and Zeya!
A fun day, I'm glad they could experience snow a little bit. Hopefully within the next few years we'll be able to make it out to Oregon or Utah and experience the real thing :)

Anjuli's 4th Birthday!

Happy Birthday my sweet Anjuli! Today was such a fun day. Birthdays are so much more fun when you're reliving them through the eyes of a child :)
Anjuli wanted her favorite breakfast: Waffles. We had to rush since we have church early morning. We took cupcakes to her Sunbeam class.
In the afternoon we had a family party for her. Lucky for us, Zui's sister and kids happened to be in town from Maui, so it was a real treat. Anjuli thought they flew in just for her :)
Zion always wants to blow out the candles, no matter whose birthday it is. We had to relight them for him...
Anjuli loved all the attention she got. And especially opening the presents!
I went to several garage sales a few weeks prior and came back with a lot of things for Anjuli, some still new in the box. It was a great way to have lots of presents for her to open without spending a ton of money.
I found this princess dress for only $3! She LOVES it :)
Anjuli got a new outfit, Barbie, princess puzzle, princess makeup kit, coloring books, tea set, and the princess dress. She was one happy camper :)
She loved playing tea with her Uncle Alma--too cute!
Then we played "Pin the tail on the donkey." Everyone had a great time.
Here's Daisy discovering where she pinned the tail :)
Even Zeya got to play (minus the blindfold :)
Kim Ohana Cousins
Happy Birthday, Anjuli!!
At age 4, Anjuli has learned how to write her name, goes to preschool 3 days a week (half days), loves playing with her food toys and dressing up in princess outfits. She is a great help around the house, especially when I need someone to entertain Zeya for me. She is also learning how to be a big girl and stop sucking her fingers. She's made a big improvement, and we have high hopes of her completely stopping in the near future. Anjuli loves to read books with Mommy, and loves to go on dates. She especially loves her two brothers and is really hoping for a baby sister :) We love you Anjuli!!!

Christmas Parade

On December 11th we joined Anjuli's Preschool in riding bikes in the Mililani Christmas parade. It was really *fun*! Kinda stressful, kinda hard keeping the kids on track. They kept riding their bikes into people and things. They'd ride while looking behind them or at all the people along the side, or trying to get a glimpse of Santa behind them. Overall they were troopers, riding a whole mile in the heat of the day!

Afterwards they had free pictures with Santa and kiddie rides at the Mililani shopping center. It was a nice treat for them. Anjuli loves her best friends: Eliza and Hannah Hess.
Zeya on the merry go round.
A few days later I took Anjuli and Zion to ride the train at the mall. It was just me and the 3 kids, kinda crazy but fun. While I was standing in line this lady comes up to me and says, "We've been wondering who to give this Starbucks gift card to, and we decided on you since you are so brave to take your 3 kids to the mall!" I was so stunned I seriously almost started crying at her generosity. Then I told her I was pregnant with my 4th and she just about melted :) It was so nice to be the receiver of someone's thoughtfulness.