I know it's a surprise but this year started out at the beach.
It is hard to tell in this picture but the waves behind the boys are 30 foot waves! It was crazy. This beach is usually calm and it was like a washing machine, there was foam flying up into the air, it was so cool!
I was lucky enough to need some dental work in February and my dentist is in New Mexico. So I got to take my little self to Silver City for a week.
This is Lane, I am his "other mom" and boy how I miss him and his WHOLE family!
I couldn't go to the mainland without a quick trip to see my parents. Jeff went to a Concrete conference in Vegas so we went from NM to NV together.
My dad and I drove to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It is amazing! You can only get to this place on dirt roads with 4-wheel drive.
Jeff's sister, Kirsten, and her family came to visit in February. Oh, we had so much fun. The kids are posing on the roots of trees that have been exposed by erosion. The beaches here are so sweet!
I took this picture of my nieces and nephews while they were here and I just love it! Partly because I picked out their outfits while their mom was in Oahu and partly because they are just so DARN cute!
Jeff's parents came over for part of Dave and Kirsten's trip and after Kirsten's family left, we had them all to ourselves for awhile. Jeffrey and I got to take a whale-watching trip with Grandma and Grandpa. It was pretty amazing. We saw lots of whales, I think I took about 500 pictures (and when I got home I realized that I need a telephoto lens.) But the trip was wonderful and I am so grateful for this fun memory with Jeffrey and his grandparents, he loved it.
Late in 2007 we discovered a sink hole in our front yard. We had some problems with our septic system. It took us several months but we finally got it fixed. What a crazy mess.
This is Jeffrey as Mr. Bucket in Willy Wonka, Jr. What a cutie!
Grandma Lucy made it for the play and I think this is the only picture of Jeffrey in his oompa-loompa costume because he whipped that wig off so fast as soon as the play was over, he hated it! He was Mr. Bucket in the first act and an oompa-loompa in the second act. I think he had fun being an oompa until he saw the costume.
I never have to search for Kevin after school, I just look at the top of the tether-ball pole. This is Kevin demonstrating his skills on the fire pole in our backyard. (This playhouse is an ongoing project.)
Jackson won the Maui Poetry Peace Prize in April. He wrote a fabulous poem about Martin Luther King, Jr.
Each spring, Kalaheo school puts on a May Day Performance and each grade performs a cultural dance they have spent months learning and perfecting. Jackson with his mini ipu.
Jeffrey's class did a really cool stick dance.
And last but not least, Kevin.
It's rare but occasionally the castles don't make it through the carving process. Jeff swears that he had too much help on this one.
This is me with some of my hula sisters in the King Kamehameha Day Parade. Sadly, I am taking a break from hula right now. It turned out to be too hard with seminary. I will get back to it someday. I really miss it and my hula sisters.
When we asked our kids what they wanted to do on vacation this summer, they said, "City of Rocks!" So we headed off to New Mexico. We stayed with our dear friends for a week and it was a blast!
After New Mexico, we were able to meet Jeff's family in Yellowstone for a reunion. It was so fun. We haven't seen Eric for several years and we had a great time at the cabin. The kids didn't even want to go into the park, they just wanted to play with their cousins in the loft.
This vacation turned out to be epic. I logged 4,500 miles on the rental car (not exaggerating.) We were in 10 states in a month. It was insane - and fun.
This is another one of Jeff's castles. I love the dragon on the side.
Our good friends from the U of U came to see us in September. This is Jeff and Danny on the surfboards. Unfortunately, no one was taking pictures when Kiersten and I stood up!
The Lai'e temple is closed for remodeling right now so Jeff and I headed to Kona for a temple trip. Lucky for us, Kona has PHENOMENAL diving. The clarity of the water is unbelievable over there.
My mom met us in Kona and we had a little mother-daughter weekend. It was pretty cool. We even got to see some lava flowing. When we got back to Kauai, we sat at the kitchen table for a week and made chunky watches. It's hard to tell which was more fun.
It is so fun to have the opportunity to visit all of these amazing temples. But it definitely makes us realize how much we took it for granted being close in the past.
Jeffrey was growing his hair out for a while. Just about the time when mom and dad couldn't handle it anymore, he decided that he wanted to have a mohawk for Halloween. So we put up with it for a few more months. It was so funny because I was on the big Island with my mom when Jeff did this. I got home and I was so relieved to be able to see his eyes again. I couldn't believe that I like his hair better in a mohawk then long and in his eyes.
The Porters came to see us for Thanksgiving. We both surprised our kids, their kids found out when they arrived at the airport and our kids found out when we picked them up at the airport. It was such a fun visit. We had a great time at the beach and boy did we eat. (We had 6 pineapples in a week!) I probably gained 20 pounds that week. This is Kristi and I (looking beautiful on the way to the beach) at the lighthouse where we surprised them with our Porterson brick.
This is the newest member of the Peterson family. Ralphie is a very sweet dog. We have really enjoyed having him here. Now I just have to convince him to stop licking my toes!!!
Thanks for strolling down memory lane with me! I hope you have a Happy New Year!
