2017!

It's me again! Not to overload you with double posts in just 2 days, but sadly I have to return to work soon which seems to equal very few blog posts.  

So it's 2017 and I thought I might post some of my favorite moments from 2016...but then I realized I would have to sort through months of photos and that seems like work (I'm on vacation).  Instead you will get my highlights from December.  

Emily performing in the Honolulu City Lights Parade

And my favorite...the lovely shot with her band director and the photo bomb by mom in the background :)

A selfie at the Manoa Christmas Parade where her dad stole her headband

And fluting again at the Winter Concert

Finally we were on winter break and got to go ice-skating with friends (no Olivia in these photos because she was in Japan)

Nori and her new stocking.  Fun fact: she loves socks.  She steals them from laundry baskets, from sock drawers and anywhere else she can find them (certainly not from bedroom floors because my girls would never be so messy).  She was pretty happy with this giant sock and drug it around regardless of the fact that it is bigger than she is.

The cookies somehow got made and delivered

The tree decorated

Notice no ornaments on the bottom of the tree.  I have to say Nori did pretty well with her first tree, but just to be sure I used my favorite ornament as a decoration this year.  

 No need to look at a calendar here, when the house is decorated, cookies delivered, and the presents wrapped, it must be Christmas Eve!  

Time for a few parties

Some good food

And the Christmas Eve hula!

The girls performed at all 3 services so David and I joined them at 11 pm and by the time we were leaving it was already Christmas!  

I always remember the time my family left church in Newtown and we walked out to a big snowstorm and a white Christmas.  Obviously it wasn't snowing here, but it's still a happy feeling to be heading home all together anticipating.

Santa didn't disappoint, and even brought me these beautiful flowers.  Nori appreciates the shade.    

We had a fantastic Christmas full of things we wanted, needed, and totally didn't need.  Olivia got to unwrap her acceptance letter to UH which for any of you who are (or have) awaited those letters know, was a pretty good gift!  We lounged, we ate, we played. 

Shortly after that...we celebrated a birthday, but not really.  As you know the 27th is a hard time to wrap up Christmas and shift to birthday.  On Tuesday we are heading to lunch and a movie with friends.  Having a 12 year old = much more reasonable about shifting the birthday a week to the right!

2016 is wrapping up.  We enjoyed a beautiful sunset on New Year's Eve.  A night FULL of fireworks and awoke (after little sleep due to said fireworks) to a beautiful 2017

It ended just as beautifully

I've gotten over hoping for an entire year to be great. I'm sure this year, like all the others, will be filled with joys and heartaches, ups and downs.  Instead I continue to pray that I can handle them all.  Appreciate the good and walk gracefully through the bad.  Either way it's exciting to look ahead and anticipate.  

Happy New year to all my friends and family - you are the ones that will undoubtedly allow me to meet my above stated goal.