Ryan's End to the Year.................

Most people would think that our year has already been filled with fun and excitement. Apparently, Ryan was feeling a little shortchanged on the excitement part and decided to contribute to it. He was invited by a friend to go to the 'Family Fun Center'. What a great way for the kids to burn off some built up energy! Well, that lasted all of five minutes! Literally! Ryan and his friend were playing on some balls. Ryan rolled on a ball, rolled right off of the ball and fell down a hole and broke his arm. This was confirmed after Monique spent three hours at the doctor's office waiting for the x-rays. Another joyous six hour was spent at the emergency room. It wouldn't have taken nearly so long, except they had to set his arm twice. The poor little guy. Fortunately, he was given some medication that pretty much put him out so he wouldn't remember the pain he was experiencing while they were setting the bone. It hurt just to watch! Tomorrow he goes to the specialist to see what needs to take place next.

Merry Christmas...........

We love Christmas! Of course, at our house, it practically lasts an entire month - what with starting with Sinterklaas (Dutch Santa Claus Day) and all. Then you add in the fact that the kids also spend time during the holidays with their dad. You would think that people would be on gift overload here, but that doesn't seem to be the case - at least not as far as the kids are concerned.

Here are a few of the highlights.....

Wendy and her flat iron! Now maybe she can actually straighten her hair here at home instead of needing to go to Camille's to do her hair! Oh, seriously, what am I thinking - she'll still go to Camille's!

Tyler loves anything spicy! When Mrs. Claus came across this set of hot sauces, she knew it would be a hit!

Tommy loves the outdoors - hunting, fishing, playing, etc. UglyStik is the brand of fishing rod - it's not what we actually hit him with (tempting? yes, but we don't)!

Ryan is the sweets lover in the family. Any chance possible, he is wanting to bake a dessert (which is usually brownies - and heaven forbid if there isn't a brownie mix in the pantry). His facial expression shows his excitement! And guess what? We did NOT have a brownie mix in the pantry! Oh, the horrors!

Not that Monique needs help when it comes to beauty, but she did want a new curling iron. She was a little frustrated the first couple of days using this new contraption - she claims she needs help with coordination. She must have mastered it, as she was able to get ready for work today and looked beautiful when I came home from work this evening!

I was spoiled this year and got a Kindle! I believe that the serious expression on my face is me contemplating which book to download first!

I love spending the day with the family. It was great to be able to speak with Steve that day, too.

Most of all, I love reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas and the gift that has been given to all of us by our Savior. One of my favorite CHRISTMAS THINGS is the story about the boy practicing to be the gruff innkeeper and turning Joseph and Mary away from the inn. As they are walking away, he cries out, "Wait! Joseph, come back! You can have my room." If only we could all be as giving and selfless as Christ wants us to be. I think we need to have more of Christmas throughout the year to help us remember. I really don't see anything wrong with singing Silent Night in April!

Sinterklaas................

As one of the very important members of our family was raised in the Netherlands, one of our Christmas Traditions is to celebrate Sinterklaas. This is usually celebrated on Dec. 5th, but with everything going on at our house this weekend, we postponed it until tonight (Dec. 7th). (I'm sure Sinterklaas, himself, didn't mind - he probably need the rest, what with the jet lag and everything, coming over from Europe). We draw names to exchange gifts. The favorite and challenging part, is to disguise the gifts. The kids do a great job with this, and we look forward every year to see what they come up with. I was taught that the gifts should be disguised along the same idea as what the gift is, but that doesn't necessarily happen. This is what we came up with this year............

This was Ryan's gift for me. This is a man in a bathtub! (Notice the hairy chest - something the kids still have a hard time getting used to). Inside was deodorant and body wash - I hope he's not trying to subtly tell me something. It was a HUGE surprise, as I was with him when he bought it the other evening.

Tommy drew Tyler's name, and instead of disguising the gift, he had Tyler do a treasure hunt! He played Hot/Cold for a couple of minutes, and then informed Tyler, "Oh, wait! It's not in this room!" He then brought the gift out from his room (new white t-shirts).

Wendy's gift for Ryan was hidden inside the pillow! Ryan was very excited to be able to rip into the pillow to see what was hidden inside.............

A very happy Snuggie recipient!

Tyler drew Monique this year. The box was wrapped (excessively) in toilet paper, with an innumerable amount rubber bands securing the paper to the package. Once the unveiling was done, there was a very nice crystal candy dish inside. (Quite the change from the usual body lotion that she usually receives)!

Monique had Tommy's name this year (and she does have a slight advantage over the rest of us). She created a bunny out of new t-shirts (this was part of the gift) and inside was a mini SD memory card for him to use with his cell phone. (I had to point out that the shirts were new when he commented that he got laundry! Silly, silly boy!). The bunny is the white one, not the gray creature with the disgusted look on his face.

That leaves me with having Wendy's name! Yes - this is a purse made out of a brown paper bag. The gift was a new wallet (an item that was needed to hold the newly acquired drivers license (an event that is still too traumatic to talk about)). But to help hide the gift inside of the purse, I borrowed some things from Wendy's room that would typically be found in a real purse, i.e. a brush, gum, makeup, a half eaten pop tart, lip gloss, etc.. Inside the wallet was a mini SD memory card for her cell phone.

I must inform you that this year things were pretty mild. We didn't have gift cards stuffed inside squid. There were no earrings hiding in the litter box. We didn't have any balloons filled with shaving cream that needed to popped in order to find a gift card inside one of the balloons. Nor did we have cold mushy oatmeal to dig around in, or gift cards frozen in blue kool-aid with red swedish fish! I guess there is always next year....

Blessings That Come From Service..........

This past year, I have spent an insanely amount of time helping out in Primary. For a ward as large as ours (800 + members), we have a shortage of people that can play the piano! I have helped out by playing the piano in either of our two primaries (yes we have two primaries in our ward) off and on for about five months. I was getting accustomed to actually attending Sunday School and Priesthood Quorum again, when Sunday, somebody hunted me down to see if I could help in Primary A. When I walked in, the chorister was quite relieved. She mentioned that she really appreciated my help and decided I needed to be the recipient of more blessings. See below...........

We all thought that these little reindeer cookies were quite cute. Maybe we have been out of Idaho and Utah too long, but we had never seen something like this before.

Oh the blessings we receive from service!

Hawaii - Saturday (Day 7) or Happy Birthday Tommy...........

Saturday morning - the last morning of vacation. And what could possibly be better than to celebrate Tommy's birthday?! Tommy had been asking us all week what we were doing for his birthday. We kept telling him, that with getting ready for vacation, we completely forgot about his birthday (like that would ever happen)! He had mixed emotions - he was excited to be able to have his birthday in Hawaii, but on the other hand, he would be spending the majority of his birthday on an airplane on the way back home. Oh the sacrifices that kids have to make these days!

And, even on vacation, the Sticht Family Robinson Choir still performs! This was a pretty dang good performance, too! (Maybe the choir should go on the road more often)!

Tommy not quite awake yet!

Tommy, definitely pleased with his birthday gift!

We got home last Saturday night, so there wasn't any cake and ice cream that day. Monday evening, we took Tommy out for his birthday dinner. We were all too full, so no cake and ice cream then, either. It wasn't until Tuesday night that we finally had cake! How would it be to celebrate a birthday for four day?!

Happy Birthday, Tommy! We love you!

Aloha and mahalo!

Hawaii - Friday (Day 6).................

Friday we went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Not knowing for sure what to expect, we headed to the other side of the island for this adventure. The drive provided an opportunity to see a different aspect to the island other than sandy beaches, palm trees, and ocean. We were inland towards the northern part of the island. It was rather interesting here at the pineapple plantation. After the usual potty break, the first thing we did was the pineapple maze. We were all given little maps of the maze and off we went.

This is the maze.

Monique and I went through the maze together. The kids all took off individually (apparently, it was a race to see who could get done first). We got turned around a couple of times, and we also backtracked a couple of times, but we eventually made our way through. Come to find out, the kids all took shortcuts (cheaters).

We were all able to see how pineapples actually grow. Some thought that they grew on trees, others weren't exactly sure, or hadn't given it much thought.

Pineapples

After completing the maze, we cooled off for a minute inside the gift shop, then we went on a self-guided garden tour. It was interesting to see the different flowers, banana trees, coffee plants, papaya trees, and everything else.

The kids by a pond in the garden.

Lily pad - notice the frog!

After the self-guided tour, we cooled off with pineapple dole whips (pineapple flavored ice cream) - YUMMY! Then since we were on vacation, we decided to get some lunch - notice dessert first, then lunch!

Our next stop was on the western side of the island - Ko Olina! We heard that the snorkeling here was incredible. The place we went to had some lagoons, or coves that were open to the public. The kids snorkeled for a few hours and saw turtles, puff fish, squid, and jellyfish. They were having the time of their lives. It was a great way to spend the last afternoon on the island, and they even all walked away with free beach towels!

Friday evening was spent at a friend's from school. I went through elementary school all the way through high school with Anne. They invited us over for dinner, and what a feast it was. Joe had barbecued ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats. Anne (and Joe) had made a couple of salads. When we were almost done eating, Joe grilled some fresh pineapple (this was very good, and I would recommend that people try this at home). Anne made a caramel apple cake for dessert. It was a very enjoyable evening just relaxing, eating and visiting. If anyone is looking for a great host and hostess on the island of Oahu, I can hook you up.

Hawaii - Thursday (Day 5)................

Thursday was another very nice day. Apparently some of the other islands were experiencing more rain, and some even had snow, but on Oahu, we had warm, sunny weather! The kids wanted to do some snorkeling, so we headed off to Hanauma Bay.

We waited in a long line of cars to get into the parking lot. We waited in another line to pay for admission to this National Park after making our way from the parking lot. While waiting in line, Monique noticed signs warning of jellyfish. She was no longer interested in snorkeling (maybe it had something to do with the idea of somebody peeing on her if she happened to get stung by a jellyfish - I don't know)! The kids were still determined. And it does have a very nice beach!

Ryan, Tommy & Wendy all set for snorkeling.

Even though it was warm and sunny, the water was extremely rough. This made for the water to be murky and the kids were not enjoying the snorkeling as much as they had hoped (I guess murky water prevents you from seeing things under water, maybe even things like jellyfish). We decided to head back to Waikiki and along the way, experienced real Hawaiian cuisine by stopping at the local Costco and getting a pepperoni pizza!

We went to the Waikiki Aquarium that afternoon. It wasn't a real big aquarium, but it was still interesting. Here are a couple of things we saw............

Some kind of shrimp (can't remember the name)

These are giant clams. We saw some that were bigger, but these were rather colorful.

We actually spent a couple of hours at the aquarium. That evening we just relaxed and walked along the main street across from the beach at Waikiki.

Another pleasant day!