December traditions

The boys painted Christmas ornaments for our little tree this year. It is an Adam's Family tradition for each child to make an ornament for the tree each year. I really like this tradition and wanted to continue it with my kids.

We put up our little, fake tree this year because we will be spending the holidays in California. The boys decorated it with their homemade decorations. Trevor has a box his mother saved for him of all the decorations he made as a boy. He pulled them out and talked about them with the kids. I don't know who enjoyed it more, Trevor or the kids.

I had a hard time getting a normal smile from my boys

Amelia thought they were being funny

Trevor and his Christmas bear (each year all the Adams kids would try to get their bear highest to the top of the Christmas tree).

After Thanksgiving Tree Tradition

When we are in Olympia for Thanksgiving, it is a family tradition to go cut down the Christmas tree a day or two after the feast. We drove to a close tree farm to pick out the perfect Christmas tree as a family.

TJ got to know the tree farm dog

Everyone in front of the tree we picked

A family picture on Grandma and Grandpa's twenty year old trampoline

Getting rid of the leaves on the trampoline

Thanksgiving in Olympia

We spent Thanksgiving with family in Olympia. We enjoyed a beautiful feast put on by Grandma Kathy and all her helpers. It's nice to spend time in the kitchen with mom (I always learn something new about cooking). She has mastered the art of homemaking.

Mom in her element:)

Yes, that is dad helping in the kitchen.

Amelia doing her part of the Pomegranate Salad

The boys posing with the spread

A nice family picture

Everyone gathered around the table (Jena is taking the picture)

The clean up crew

Checking out the Black Friday Adds

Snow in November

We got a little snow near the end of November. The boys got all dressed up for the occasion and played outside for maybe a half an hour. Amelia watched from the window.

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Girl

Amelia turned one November 17th. Trevor came home from work with a rose for his little girl. He wrote her a sweet letter saying he wanted to be the first boy to ever buy her flowers. She loved the rose as seen in this picture (upon Trevor's request the rose is drying upside down so we can preserve it and put it in Amelia's room somewhere special).

Grandma Andrea sent Amelia a fleece blanket she made, a baby doll and toy elephant

We celebrated Amelia's birthday with family the Sunday before, because Grandma, Grandpa, Heather, Carson, Savvy and Drake all came to see TJ in our Primary Sacrament program.

Amelia got a doll from Grandma and Grandpa

Papa had a little too much fun with the puppets

After much prodding Amelia finally tasted her cupcakes

We all shared a Sunday meal together before Olympia family headed home.

Carol brought over a doll and stuffed elephant for the birthday girl

What a lucky one year old!

Hawaii Long Overdue

It's hard to believe we've only been back for a little more than two weeks. Hawaii seems like a dream now. As I go through the pictures all these wonderful memories flood back of my vacation. Two of the most enjoyable things about the trip without children was one, waking up when I wanted (which was still around 7:30, but I got up on my own without someone demanding breakfast or crying about a toy), and two, concentrating on feeding only myself and no one else (two luxuries motherhood does not provide at home).

We spent the last week of October in Kauai. My wonderful parents took our dear little ones, while Trevor and I reconnected in paradise. We met up with our good friends Wil & Mako and Phil & Holly for golf, swimming, dining and sight seeing. We took so many pictures it was really hard to narrow them down for this post.

Out on a Catamaran touring the cliffs

We saw a pod of maybe 40 dolphins swimming around our boat.

Our favorite place to eat breakfast, walking distance from our hotel

Shave Ice there

Dinner at my favorite restaurant The Beach House

Just before the sunset outside The Beach House

At the check-in desk in the Marriott

Will and Mako's last night with us

The outside Lobby of our hotel

My favorite drink outside the lobby (fruited water).

In the ocean outside our hotel

The hotel pool

The garden area at the hotel

Feeding the Marriott fish

Golfing at Lagoons

I played 3 rounds of 18 on this trip (that's a lot of golf for me).

The hole is on the other side of this gully

The Princeville Course on the North Shore

Napali Cliffs

Falls

Outside the church buliding