Guinea Pigs Needed!!

So Charlie and I (my camera), are in desperate need of some practice. The only way to get better at something is to just practice, right? Right??
So if anyone is brave enough, I'd love to take your individual/family/maternity/engagement/children's/couple pictures!!!
Let me know if you're interested.

Our last Hawaii Christmas

It was the probably the most untraditional Christmas I've ever had, but it was nice. We woke up, due to our little alarm clock who never fails to wake us up. Malachi helped me make breakfast (this kid loves helping in the kitchen).


We ate, read the Christmas story again (we'd done it the night before, but it can't hurt to read it again right?), and then let Malachi open his presents. This year he understood how to open the presents, and that there was actually something inside. We had only got him one thing (due to us leaving shopping til the night before Christmas, and there was NOTHING left), but the blessings of coming from a large family, there are always plenty of gifts. He got some cool stuff, his own cutlery set from my Grandparents, some bathsalts that make the bath water different colors from his cousin, a gun from Tui's friend. Just enough to keep the little guy happy.



I had also made him a Santa for his Christmas Candy to be put in. I had one as a kid that my mum had made and I loved it to death. So I made one for Malachi, and he loved it just as much as I used to.

The plan was then to go to the beach with some friends for a BBQ - it was raining. So we had an indoor BBQ. No real Christmasy food - BBQ chicken, hot dogs, Japanese curry, potato salad. But it was good. We then spent the day playing board games, and then headed to the movies to watch 'The Princess and the Frog' which Malachi loved to death. He danced his way through the whole movie. It was a really nice, low key, stress free day. Sad we never actually made it to the beach, but a good day none the less.

The beach!

I'm sure I have a million posts with the same title, but after April, there will be no more so here's another one for the history books.
Finals are done, the weather is great, my husband is working, so what do I do? Go to beach with my neighbors! We have really great neighbors and it was fun to see them outside these concrete walls. After quite an adventure trying to find them....lol, we had so much fun. Enough words, here's the pictures. Not many, and im in like none. But oh well!

The Christmas Story...sort of....

On Christmas Eve Eve we, with some fellow TVAians, put on a grand production of the Nativity story. For not practicing it went.....terribly. No one knew the songs, or their parts, or where to go, or why Joseph went underneath the stable.....But it was so much fun.!! We were the wise people, due to us being the only family of 3 present, and mobile members. So we made crowns, which Malachi and Tui refused to take off for the rest of the night. There was a really cool donkey (that closely resembled my bike), and the best baaaaing sheep you've ever seen.

The wisest of the wisemen.

Mary, Joseph and the baby she-Jesus.


Some wondering sheep.


The Angel and the Star.

Malachi bonded with the loudest of the sheep.

The wisepeople


The whole cast, minus the photographer and narrator, Marcus


We ate afterwards which is always good. It was nice to spend some time with our family away from home - our friends!

Chop Chop

Well, we finally did it. We cut Malachi's hair. It was getting too long, in his eyes all the time, constantly had food in it, and he wouldn't let me tie it up, so it had to go. I was all for it, Tui kicked and screamed, but I think the whole process was a little harder for me then him. It was the last baby part of him left. Oh well, time for baby # 2!!

The day before we cut it


The finished product.


He looks so different now, I keep doing double takes to make sure it's my kid running around in my house. He looks older, and more mature. Last night as I was putting him to sleep, I went to run my hands through his hair - and it wasn't there! Malachi says "Gone, all gone".

Grandad's Visit

This past weekend we've had my Dad here which was awesome! I prepped Malachi, showing him pictures, praciticing saying Grandad (which sounded more like jhgadfgh so we went with Grandpa "dampa"). And these two clicked straight away, budz for life. It was so cute to see them playing, Malachi showing off and being silly, Dad thinking it was great.

Malachi showing Grandad how to play on the Wii.

Watching Barney together.

Riding on Grandad's shoulders. (Notice that they both have hats on, any time Dad put on his, Malachi scrambled to find his to put on too.)


Malachi went through Dad's bag and went straight for the good stuff - the electronics.



We packed our days full of swimming, shopping, eating, napping, a bit of PCC, some board games, it was alot for 3 days. We had such a great time with him here, especially due to his rental car! Malachi followed him around like a puppy, wanted to do everything he did, if grandad had shoes and socks, malachi wanted shoes and socks, if grandad had a hat, malachi wanted a hat. He started calling him "untle" (uncle) towards the end of the visit, not sure why, maybe he thinks my dad looks young. :)

Sand doesn't taste good son.

Buddies.


Oh yeah, Tui was there too.


Digging a hole.

Malachi in the hole.


Pali look out.


Buried in the sand and loving it.


The sandman emerges.

The boys swimming at Waikiki.

At PCC.

Watching the Samoan show.

Last time at the beach.

Drawing faces.

Dad and the car - for some reason that's important.


We can't wait to move home in a few months to have more

The real story

Last night I watched this movie for the first time. And I was really impressed with it. Not that it was fantatic acting or anything like that. But more I was really impressed with the insight it gave to the Nativity Story, the real Nativity story. I had always thought about Mary and Joseph and their experiences in becoming the parents of Christ as kind of light hearted. An angel came, told them he'd be Jesus, they went to Bethlahem, gave birth, the end. But this movie really illustrated the real life situation. She was young, not married, and she was pregnant. She could very well have been stoned to death for it. TO DEATH. For being the mother of the Savior. She dishonored herself, her family, no one would talk to her, everyone looked at her like trash, it was tough. And Joseph, he could have chosen not to marry her. But he did, and because of it, lost his good name, was frowned upon, lost his friends. Life wasn't as easy as maybe I'd thought. Even today, someone in the church getting pregnant is a big deal. But imagine it 2000 years ago when it was against the law. And their journey to Bethlehem, it was a really long way! No smooth paved roads, through sand storms in deserts, over mountains, it was winter time. And she had to sit on a donkey, for days, 9 months pregnant!! That's insane. And then to give birth in a barn.

I'm really grateful for this movie and for putting the story into real life, social context. What amazing people Mary and Joseph were. For all they went through to bring the Savior into this world. It makes Christmas take on a whole new light, and makes the birth of Christ that much more special.

Watch the movie.