Christmas in the Sand

Boy did we have a wonderful Christmas! Jer's parents surprised us around Thanksgiving-time and told us they would be taking the whole family to Hawaii for Christmas!!

We visited Oahu and my personal favorite, Kauai (The Garden Island.)

I've been to Hawaii a few times before but this was particularly special because I got to share in the fun and beauty with my sweetie.

 We took off bright and early on the 19th for Oahu. It was Tay, Becca, and Cam's very first airplane flight!

 On Oahu we spent a few fun-filled days visiting some very important sites. Most importantly we went through the temple with Katie for her first time (she leaves for Chile on her mission in a couple weeks) in the Laie temple. Such a special experience. (Sadly, our photos of that day were on Jer's phone.) Later that day, we visited the Polynesian Cultural Center.

The Fam.

 Jer was picked for a contest to make fire the way the Tongans do. He did an awesome job and got this headband that shows he is married (flower is placed on the left side.)

We also enjoyed an awesome Luau and show that evening. Great food, entertainment and company!

 Here are a couple shots of the amazing resort we stayed at on Oahu. Turtle Bay Resort.

 The kiddos.

Our last day on Oahu was spent visiting the USS Arizona (Pearl Harbor). It was cool and sobering at the same time.

First day on Kauai. This is the moment Jer went in the ocean with his iphone in his pocket. :o/ but a beautiful place to do it, right?

We stayed in these awesome condos so we were able to get some food and eat in a few times which was nice. Here Jer is getting creative playing with his food.

We drove around that first day and saw some of the beauty that Kauai has to offer.

 

 Sooooo pretty.

 That evening we visited some shops, ate at a local favorite and enjoyed some live music.

On Christmas Eve we went on Captain Andy's Catamaran cruise! We boated out to a spot in the ocean where we were able to snorkel.

Here's Jer donning his gear. We saw a sea turtle and some cool colorful fish!

And the highlight of the cruise for me. The dolphins! How cute is this mom-baby duo?! We also saw a couple whales.

That evening we had a family gingerbread house decorating contest. Becca and I were paired together and I think we did a bomb job on our house if I do say so myself! Later, we watched Home Alone.

Here she is! Aint she a beaut? And the house isn't too shabby either. ;o)

Christmas day we all sported our Hawaiian PJ's (Christmas Eve tradition) and opened our stockings! They were complete with some fun Hawaiian treats along with gifts, candy and fruit.

The adult kids got Di and Bry a Hawaii-Themed Christmas gift complete with apparel, recipes, spices and other fun treats. :o)

Stolen from facebook and totally crappy but here we are in our Hawaiian garb on Christmas morning!

That afternoon we took a walk along the beach and collected some fun shells and went tide-pooling. (I took a little spill which ended up being hilarious, wish I had a video.)

That evening we went to a delicious dinner and saw The Hobbit in 3D. Such a fun Christmas Day!

The next day we visited Waimea Canyon. Look at that background!

Our last full day was beautiful so we headed out for a beach day complete with more snorkeling.

We saw tons more cool fish and even some that starred on films such as Finding Nemo :o).

Paradise.

 Aaaaand this was my footwear on the way home. Apparently I had an awkward time transitioning from 80 degree weather to 20. It was quite the rude awakening to get off the plane in SLC!


We had such a blast this Christmas and have Di and Bry to thank for some unforgettable memories!

From the Mouths of Babes

So one of my young students this week came up to me and said,

"Christina, I have a mind-grain, can I sit out for a while?"

Took me a second to realize, as I watched her touch her head that she meant migraine! Too cute. I love the things these kids come up with.

Holiday Happiness

Wow, I am a terrible blogger, eh? We've done a lot of fun things during this lovely holiday season.

 We decorated for Christmas right when we got back from Austin. For an update on our Austin trip, visit my sister's blog: www.mshouston.blogspot.com

This is the beginning of my Nutcracker Ballet Christmas tree. My mom has given us an ornament every year growing up and this is the result!

 We had fun babysitting the munchies with Katie and Dave. Love those twinners.

 Fun class parties with my students at BYU. Look how much food my students brought!

 12 days of Christmas for Jer. I decided to do a 12 days of Christmas (before we leave for Hawaii) as his gift. Here he is wearing his day 11 gift. (I am going it backwards.)

 Day 9: Sock bouquet.

 Finally picked up our vase we painted FOREVER ago at Color Me Mine. My side above, Jer's side below.

 

And here is the picture we would have used if I had actually gotten around to doing a Christmas card! 

Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Love,

The Pendletons

Nutcracker Nostalgia

This weekend we got to go to the Nutcracker to see my SIL perform as a clown! I have been going to her Nutcracker performances ever since Jer and I started dating 6 years ago! It has been fun to see Becca develop as a dancer and see her grow.

The Nutcracker is something I hold dear to my heart, I performed in Santa Barbara Festival Ballet's Nutcracker for 10 years growing up so it just wouldn't be the holidays if I didn't get to see it. Jer and I are even working on collecting ornaments for a Nutcracker-themed tree. You'd be surprised at how many I already have. (Thanks mom!)

All this Nutcracker business got me nostalgic as I remembered the fun memories I made as a ballerina growing up. I decided to ask my mom to send me the pictures she had of my Nutcracker roles through the years and thought I'd share!

Gingersnap! Can you tell which one is me? (Hint: I'm in the second row. :o)) Andi, I hope you're reading this. :o)

 Party Girl.

Soldier.

 Baker.

Little Candy Cane.

Angel.

Waltz of the Flowers Corps. How's that for a totally awkward teenage photo? :o)

Clara.

 Candy Cane Soloist. And passed the torch on to the little sis.

Dewdrop Fairy.

Spanish.

And there you have it! Just missing a couple, but it has been so fun to look back at all these photos and reminisce. Thanks for your help, mom!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Fall Updates

Things have been fun and eventful over here at the Pendleton household. It seems I've inadvertently gone on a blogging hiatus.

Knee News:
As most of you know, Jer injured his knee again a couple weeks ago. He went in for an MRI and we got some good news. His MCL and ACL are still looking great and intact! Thanks to the special brace we got him after his second surgery, we think that prevented him from re-tearing those ligaments. The one down-side is that he did re-tear his meniscus. It is a bucket-handle tear again like the first time, but he is able to walk on it and he doesn't need surgery immediately so he can continue to work through the holiday season and we will make decisions about surgery after that.

Jer has decided to coach the city league he was organizing instead of playing. We think that's a wise move on his part. :o)

Food Facts:
We found a new restaurant that was recommended to us by some friends. It's a little hole in the wall on Orem state street called Joe's.

We went for breakfast and the food was excellent. Joe doesn't let you pay until after you eat to make sure you like it. We got a HUGE omlette and biscuits and gravy. WAY too much food for two of us. We could have shared one plate and been completely full. We would definitely recommend this restaurant. Such a great change from the normal Utah County chains. 

Current Events:

 Dancesport is over for this semester. Caleb and I danced really well and felt like we have made a lot of improvements since the summer. One of my besties Amy Bukarau, did my hair. If any of you ballroomers out there need someone to do your hair for nationals I can give you her number, she's the best!

 I finally finished my twin sized bed spread I have been working on since the spring. I finally decided to make something for my own home and just recently got around to finishing it. As of right now it is serving as a throw in our living room but I hope in the future I can actually use it as a bed spread.

Here is the link to the free pattern I used.

 We finally got together with our besties the Breadys last night for dinner and a game of Settlers. Jer and I haven't seen Harper much since every time we see them Harper is already in bed. It was so fun to see how much she has grown and how smart she is! She found the rent money! Her mom really is in trouble. :o)

Holiday Plans:

We are super excited because we leave in less than a week to head out to Austin for Thanksgiving. My parents rented a house for us to stay in and we will spend most of the week with family and hopefully do a little exploring of a new state! Jer and I haven't been to Texas before. In preparation for our trip, I made Ella, my niece a little skirt for her birthday. Her birthday was in October, whoops! Better late than never.

This skirt didn't take me very long and only took a small amount of fabric (Ella is tiny!) I'm so excited to give it to her and see her in it. I kind of just made up my own tutorial for myself with what I have learned, so I will post that later.

For Christmas, we will be spending it with Jer's family in a place much warmer than here. :o) More updates on that as the time approaches.

Before I close this post, I have to publicly confess that I started listening to Christmas music today. I held out longer this year than I did last, but I needed a dose of it this morning. :o)