{Happy Holidays and Happy New Year Letter}

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We didn't get a Christmas letter or photocard out this year so i thought i would post something real quick on the blog. My goal for this next year is to get out Christmas Cards to everyone for the next Christmas. :) First, here are some pictures i just took of the boys. It's New Year's Eve and we are going to eat finger foods tonight, and play games. :) So far it's a party. :)  The boys ate some junk food right before these pics...so you are seeing what they really look like most days, not what they look like all spiffed up. :) Beware, messy faces and booger noses....

 

 We are watching football which is why i didn't get many of them looking at me. :)

 Don't you love what Tanner can do with his lips in this picture?!

 And of course , the other pictures are of them wrestling. Wrestling is just a common thing around here. We will never have a day without the boys wrestling.

 "Harmony"...that's what they say when they get in meditation poses. The ninja in them comes out once in awhile. haha!

 Jaydon sitting on Tanner.  He is a beast.

                                                               Our 2012 Year Review

Family Vacations, events, and activities: We enjoyed a few visits from family at the beginning of the year! We visited Hawaii, Guam, and the Kerama Islands! Together we also went rock climbing, cave exploring, beach combing, snorkeling, and let a HUGE snake sit around our shoulders. eek!

Our top family games of the year: SCUM, Chicken Foot, throwing the football, and rummikub.

Our top family movies of the year: LIFE, Planet Earth, and Kung Fu Panda 2

Hardest Adjustment of the year: Switching from the Western American diet to all plant based foods.

Scariest Event this year: Jaydon's near drowning experience, and Shane crashing(he wasn't in a car) into a playground at a speed of about 25 mph.

As a couple: We experienced the sights of Tokyo, climbed Mt. Fuji, and went through the Tokyo Temple. We also went through the scuba certification course and are officially certified, ran a hilly ½ marathon together, and enjoyed a few trips to some surrounding islands. We celebrated our 9 year anniversary!

Gavin(8): He has a tender heart. He loves playing with his friends. He also enjoys playing sports, and his recent favorites are soccer and football. He really has a thing for lego ninjago and pokeman. He loves to spend time together as a family. He has tons of energy and he shows it daily. :) He has many dance moves that he showcases at our family dance parties. He does excellent in school, and really enjoys reading.

Tanner(6): Tanner is our happy boy, and is always smiling. He is an excellent helper and knows how to get a job done. He really enjoys playing with Gavin and with friends. He also likes Lego Ninjago and pokeman. He is doing great in Kindergarten, and really enjoys accomplishing any task he is given.  He really enjoys playing card games together as a family. He is our peace and calm in this house. :)

Jaydon(3): He is not our peace and calm, BUT he sure does love and take care of his mommy, always picking flowers for her and checking in on her. He keeps things exciting around here. He enjoys wrestling with his brothers and playing whatever they like to play. He is very opinionated, and extremely outgoing. He LOVES riding his new bike and scooter. He is a tough boy and can keep up with his brothers. He is fearless and walks with purpose.

Shane and I have really enjoyed 2012. We love Okinawa and all the fun outdoor activities and sites it provides. We have really felt the benefits of switching from the American Western diet to a plant based diet. It has changed us forever. We look forward to 2013 and the many exciting things it will hold for us. We are grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and his presence in our lives.

OUR 2013 Goals: Take more vacations!!  Continue to eat Healthy. Visit family this year! Find ways to grow closer together as a family. Baptize Gavin. Try to really live in the moment and enjoy every minute of it.

We love all of you and hope this New Year brings you much success, love, laughter, and happiness. :)

{It's been too long}

It's been too long since i have posted anything so i thought i better do SOMETHING. :)

Here is what we have been up to lately...

1. T-ball. The boys are playing T-ball and they are really enjoying it so far. I must say, i think its boring. I enjoy basketball and soccer sooooo much more. We have practice from 5-7 on Tuesday and Thursday nights. That's a long time to sit and watch baseball. It definitely helps that we have 3 friends from church who are on Tanner's team and 2 friends are on Gavin's. So, i get to chat the whole time which helps, but it's still a long time.  The night get really cold! We get down in the 60's at night and we are definitely adjusted to this kind of weather by now which means that 60's with the wind blowing is FREEZING to me. I can't get warm.

2. I am considering becoming a derby girl. I am looking into it with a couple of friends. We will see if it works out or not. I think it will be a blast! :) I LOVED roller skating growing up and always went outside and practiced on our driveway over and over. It was a hobby of mine. :)

3. Last night we had a fun little Christmas Party for FHE with a few friends at our house. I made some yummy soup and salad, with some bread. We had everyone wear their pajamas. We played Disney Scene-It, and then we enjoyed a hot cocoa bar. It was the BEST hot chocolate i have ever had! It was yummy! Then we chatted for awhile. It was so much fun. I really felt at home while they were here. It eased my Holiday Season homesickness i can get. I wish we could enjoy good food and company like that a few times a week. And really, as much time as it can take to host at our home, i LOVE hosting. :) We are going to do this again next year and i already am looking forward to it.

4. We are heading up to Okuma this weekend with a few families. We love Okuma, and so it should be fun. :) AND then it's going to be Christmas!

5. I have a long list of Christmas gifts to make for friends to pass out. Last year i passed out gifts, but not this many. I am glad to give out gifts, but thinking about all the things i have to make STILL...woah.... We already passed out 1/2 of our gifts. This weekend the boys will be helping me make some sugar cookies, snowball cookies, and cinnamon raisin bread. Last year they enjoyed helping me make sugar cookies. I am sure i will be doing the other stuff myself, which is fine with me. :)

6. I have only ONE reason to be excited for this Christmas Season to be over...NO MORE SWEETS. My life has been filled with endless sweets the past couple of weeks. Its making me sick. I can't wait for it to stop.

7. I spoke in church 2 sunday's ago.  Our branch received a lot of new families because the district decided to split up one of our branches because it was so small.  That branch didn't really have an elder's quorum because the men were needed in other callings during that time. So, their branch was split up and the boundaries were changed. AND , OF COURSE, they had me speak on the FIRST day that our new friends joined us. It wasn't too bad though. :) Our branch rents out an old convenience mart(now turned into our church) that costs the church LOTS and LOTS of money every year. LOTS. It's a two story convenience store. haha!  We also have problems with parking at our branch and at the Gushikawa branch. They FINALLY were able to get it approved by the church to build a church building here in Okinawa!! woohoo! It is going to be outside gate 3! Apparently its going to be the biggest building in Okinawa....I am confused by that, but apparently it's going to be a large one. It will be done before we move from here and we are all SOOOOO excited to get one AND to experience that process! It's a very exciting time for us! AND they let us know that we will have PLENTY of parking for it. I know that there is such limited parking for Gushikawa that sometimes when members arrive they just end up going home because there isn't anywhere to park. If you have been here you understand what i am talking about. Parking here is very difficult. Housing and buildings are all packed together leaving hardly any room for parking or even making it difficult to get TWO lanes of traffic on the roads. Anyway, it's going to be awesome and should be done spring of 2014! WOOHOO!

8. Gavin is getting baptized real soon! We are shooting for the beginning of January. We were going to do it between Christmas and New Year's but they reminded us to try and do it not during a family weekend and also not during the holidays because it will interrupt with family time and such. So, i think we will be doing it the second Sunday of January. I am really excited! The weather the past week has been really nice...even kind of hot. So, hopefully it keeps up so that they boys dont freeze in the East China Sea!

9. I still can't run without my hip hurting me. Not sure what's going on with it! ggrrrrrrr! Is it because i am in my 30's now? I never had this problem before 30.

10. I am going home in 3 months!!! USA!! HOME!! CONVENIENCES!! SHOPPING!!! AND MORE SHOPPING!!! YAY!!