The Beach

Hands-down favorite activity for J and the kids--the beach. Endless fun. Claire learned to snorkel this time and is a natural (so happy the pressure is off me to be J's snorkeling partner). We saw turtles almost every time we went, and for those willing to get their faces in the water, a lot of other sea life, as well. Hawaii is beautiful.

Christmas Morning

Santa found us in Hawaii and left lots of surprises!

Nativity Play

Christmas Eve included a classic nativity play directed by Sylvie. Bella quickly abdicated maternal responsibilities, but Paul took his seriously.

Polynesian Cultural Center

We all loved visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center. I tried to learn something unique about each of the cultures represented there. Let's see if I can remember:
Tonga: the oldest of the cultures--most of Polynesia trace their roots back to here--never was colonized
Samoa: the men do the cooking
Fiji: Melanesian in skin color, Polynesian in culture
Tahiti: former French colony
New Zealand: fiercer dancing and face tattoos
Hawaii: hula dancing that tells a story with the hands

The evening show was amazing, too. Jet lag wasn't a problem when watching fire dancing!

Together Forever

The highlight of our trip was being able to attend the sealing of Shawn and Lucki and their girls in the Laie Temple. What a precious family that can now be together forever.

Sylvie's Birthday

Sylvie celebrated her 7th birthday this year in Hawaii with cousins. What a treat! Aunt Lucki whipped up a fantastic party, and Costco did the rest. (How many times can you go to Costco during a two-week vacation to America? Ask Jonathan.)

Welcome to Hawaii!

We flew to Hawaii for Christmas break this year. We were greeted by J's parents (who had been there all month) and his brother's family (who live in Honolulu) and later joined by his sister and her husband. Aunt Lucki made these awesome welcome leis for the kids full of yummy snacks. She is so thoughtful and knows just what kids like!