November and December have flown by for me. Highlights were:
- Erin's visit for two weeks at Thanksgiving time.
- Our visit to Iowa the first part of December.
- All the Christmas activities and traditions, including dinner at the Spaghetti Factory and the concert at the Honolulu Tabernacle.
To read more about these highlights, Dianna's done a great job of sharing our experiences. I would add that it was fun to get better acquainted with Avery since we last saw him in Australia at a few days old in August (and Erin was here to help us decorate for Christmas);
Thanksgiving dinner with Erin, John, Lindsey, and all four grandsons;
visiting with the Hauschildt's in Cedar Rapids (dinner and singing carols); seeing my mom's new apartment at Mallard Point in Cedar Falls, Iowa (seems like a four-star hotel); and spending time with Betty (Matt, Tina) is always a highlight. Unfortunately, we experienced some winter weather while we were in Iowa (school closings, bad roads) so we didn't get to see Carol and other family members but we're planning for our return for next summer.
We had our traditional Christmas eve dinner with the Wagner family, but it was the first time we've had a Christmas eve dinner with none of the girls here--we also enjoyed having Lisa's mom and friend, Beau, William Mensah, and Elder and Sister Hogge--the dinner was delicious and we prepared the table and the home for the event--we had a wonderful chef (with an excellent helper). Here are some pictures:
December also brought a major flood to Laie and across Hawaii and we also had a 19-hour blackout on our island today so we've had some interesting challenges as well. We're looking forward to 2009 and Aaron and Jenny's new little girl and some time to visit family and friends next summer.Best wishes for a great 2009!
