We have been coming to Maui for Christmas for about 15 years now. The only Christmas my kids know is one spent on the beach in Maui. All of our Christmas traditions are built around things we started doing here on vacation. One of the things we always do is go to mass on Christmas eve. This year was no exception. Then we come home and have a nice dinner and let the kids open one present.

Another thing I always do is get the kids matching Christmas pajamas. This year I decided to wrap them and give them to the kids. They were all so excited to open a present, but Ian was pissed when he opened his. He took one look at them and said “Pajamas?!? I didn’t want these!!” and then proceeded to throw them across the room. I wish I had a photo to capture the absolute look of disgust on his face. It was really priceless.

Scott and I both burst out laughing. I know we should have scolded him for not being gracious when he got a gift, but we just couldn’t help it. He was just so incredulous that his gift was pajamas! Once we stopped laughing we did explain to him that he needs to be kind to the gift giver and appreciate that they gave him a gift, even if it wasn’t one he wanted. But it was still funny!

He is the funniest kid and he always has us laughing!

I have been the worst at taking photos on this trip! The good news is, I am really enjoying the trip. So much so that I want to enjoy the moments while they are happening rather than hiding behind my camera. I have so many stories I want to write about but I just haven’t wanted to sit in front of the computer.

Here are a few photos from the week.

Please visit Lotus at Sarcastic Mom to view all the Weekly Winners participants.

Emma and Ian have been really into snorkeling on this years trip to Maui. They have had snorkel and mask sets for a few years. Last year Emma started playing around with them in the pool, but breathing through the snorkel was still really a challenge for her.

This year, though, she really started to get it. She practiced a whole day in the pool and then we decided to let her try out her new skills in the ocean.

My mom and I took her to Napili beach to do a little snorkeling for real. I went in with her and was surprised at how well she did. We swam out to a shallow reef and she really enjoyed seeing all the fish. She got a little nervous when the water got deeper, but she still really enjoyed it.

A few days later Bryan and Mary planned a snorkeling trip on a boat to Molokini. I didn’t think it would be a good trip for Ian and Nora, but I thought that Emma would really like it. Scott decided to take her and have a special daddy and daughter date.

I wish I could have been there, but I was happy to hear they had a great time. They rented an underwater camera and they took a bunch of fun photos.

Here is Emma going down the slide on the boat to start snorkeling.

They had quite and eventful day. They saw all kinds of fish, a sea turtle and lots of whales!

I am so glad that they had a fun time and so thankful that I have a wonderful husband who is so involved in our kids lives!

I don’t know what is going on with my blog. GRR! I had a post all ready for “Weekly Winners” today, but I can’t get it to publish. I don’t know what is going on with my wordpress. I can’t get any posts with photos to publish. I guess I better go do some research.

How sad is it that I am in Maui with 2 cameras and the only photo I have taken is with my phone!

Here is my “weekly winner”

Please visit Lotus at Sarcastic Mom to view all the Weekly Winners participants.

Sorry I haven’t updated lately! We are having a great time in Maui and I am having a much needed break from the computer. I have hardly taken any photos on this trip, but I have done a lot of swimming and hanging out with the kids.

I did see one spectacular sunset this week. I didn’t have my camera but I snapped a photo of it with my phone. Unfortunately wordpress seems to be having some issues and I can’t post a photo. GRRR! Maybe tomorrow

Please visit Lotus at Sarcastic Mom to view all the Weekly Winners participants.

This week it was fun to work on a photo that is different from what I usually do.

I really didn’t think this photo needed a lot of work. I increased the curves and then increased the contrast a bit. I lightened up the cowboy’s face, too. Then I ran an action from MCP Actions called “Grammie’s Old Fashioned Vintage”. That’s about it!

Go check out I ♥ Faces to see all the other Fix-it Friday participants!

Emma has been taking dance since she was three years old. I was so not into dance when I was a little girl, so I was hesitant to even sign her up. But she really wanted to do it, so I signed her up.

She REALLY loves it. It suits her perfectly. She loves everything about it. She loves the costumes, practicing and she loves performing.

This year they asked her to be in the Nutcracker performance that that dance school puts on every December. She was absolutely thrilled! She worked so hard. She went to dance 3 hours a week every week from September to December. The last week she spent about 10 hours at the studio practicing. I expected to hear her complain and say she didn’t want to go, but she was happy to go to every practice. She was counting down the days until the actual performance.

The day of the show she woke up jumping out of her skin. She was SO EXCITED. She kept asking all day when it was going to be time to leave. Finally it was time.

We took her and dropped her off. I went back and helped her get her costume on. She was one of the first girls there!

It was a thrill to see her dance. She was a snow angel. She only danced in one dance and she had a relatively small part, but she was thrilled just the same. She concentrated so hard and she did every part perfectly.

When she came out after the show, she was just glowing. She was thrilled with herself. I was so proud of how hard she worked and I was glad that she felt good about herself. She is already talking about next year!

Only three more days until I can enjoy this:

And this:

With all this cold weather we have been having, I really can’t wait!!