Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright, Hawaiian Christmas day...

S0 we went to Hawaii with Kevin's brother's family for Christmas this year. Can I say that this is the best way to spend your Christmas vacation? Away from the cold and snow, and the hectic craziness that families can sometimes bring! We ate Christmas dinner in an open air restaurant, where a chubby, Hawaiian man sang us Christmas songs, adding that we should eat until we feel lazy. Soaking up the warm Christmas sun, as we nap on the beach in 80 degree weather, while listening to the sounds of the ocean. Yep, it can't get any better than that!
We had a wonderful time going to North Shore to eat the famous "shave ice" from Matsumoto's, snorkeling, whale and dolphin watching from a catamaran, and getting to just relax.

On the evening of "Boxing Day" (the day after Christmas) there was a huge storm on Oahu. There was a rare show of lightening, which hit a transformer, which, in turn, created an automatic shut down of power. The power had to be cold started, which takes quite sometime. We were playing phase ten in our hotel, when the lights went out. We managed to finish our game with flash lights, but ended up just going to bed because it got too difficult to do anything else.
Kevin and I love the beach and the ocean, but Marley had different ideas. The sand was NOT her thing. Every time we tried to put her feet in the sand, she'd pull her feet up to her body to avoid touching it! She did fine on the chairs, and beach towels but wouldn't even think about playing in the sand. Who knows? Maybe she thought it felt weird!

Family Christmas Parties Galore

I am sure that everyone knows that the Christmas season is the time for families to get together and celeberate. For us, it turned into an endless stream of work and family gatherings. For at least 7 days in a row, we had some sort of family or work function to attend every night. It seems as if the parties are crammed into a two week period, which is added on top of all the things you do to get ready for Christmas. It's nice to get together with family, but it can be so overwhelming at times!

COOKE FAMILY PARTY

After scarfing some burgers down at J&W's, we headed to Thanksgiving Point for a sleigh ride to see the lights. Luckily for us, it turned out to be a trolley ride to see the lights. It saved our little booties from freezing! I attempted to take some pictures of the lights, which turned out poorly, due to lack of tripod and camera shake! It was one of the rare moments that all of Kevin's siblings actually came together for a family activity! Marley really liked to trolley ride because she got to stand up and look out the window, instead of staring at the ceiling of the car, like she does in her car seat!

ACKROYD FAMILY CHRISTMAS PARTY

Marley got to open her presents at Grandma Ackroyd's house a little early this year. She still doesn't quite get what all this opening presents business is, but it was cute to watch her try! We played catch phrase with the fam. There were tears shed, cheating accusations made, and laughs to be had by all involved. Tina has got to be one of the greatest people to play catch phrase with.

THE YATES FAMILY PARTY

We all pitched in for Ms. Grandma Violet's new TV
We love her so much! She's so cute!

Marley (who's not cooperating well) with her (I guess it would be her second cousin?) Owen. Marley also loved playing with the Chevron cars with Aric.

Marley with her Auntie Noelle. And cousin Ryan Cooke is so sweet with Marley (who looks really happy!)