Broken Foot

One night, I was stressing about Sarah's upcoming surgery, which was the next day, when Kelson called on his way home from the church, where he had been playing basketball. I thought he was calling to let me know he was on his way home. Instead, he was calling to tell me that he was going to the ER because he was pretty sure he had broken his foot. Great. We just can't stay away from Tripler Army Medical Center. It is a fun place to hang out.

 This is what I saw when Kelson finally got home after midnight. Sad.

Within a couple of days, his foot was huge and discolored all over. He had a fracture and a bunch of soft tissue damage in his foot. Church basketball is a dangerous sport. Since he can't really navigate around the ship on crutches, he was sent to the Air Operations Center on the Air Force base for two months of light duty. We were pretty disappointed about his injury, not just because he was injured, but because it made it pretty tough for us to do active things for the last couple months of our stay in Hawaii. The doctors say he should heal up just like new, though, so that is the most important thing.

Moving + The Joy of Puddles

The big day finally came. It was time for the movers to take all of our belongings away. Since it will take several weeks for everything to make it to Virginia, we decided to send our things ahead of us by about 6 weeks. That means we will be camping out in a mostly empty house with loaner furniture for 6 weeks. Fun!  It took the movers 2 days to pack and load all of our things, and the second day it rained all day. Sarah was getting pretty bored from not being allowed her normal free reign of the house, so we decided to let her play in the puddles. Needless to say, she was very happy.

Sufficient distraction to keep her patch on was a definite bonus. 

 Is there anything happier than a nice, clean puddle to splash in?

By the end of the day, we were all pretty much worn out. Kelson crashed for a nap on our wonderfully comfy loaner chair. 

Our First Valentine's Day Together

This may have been 5 Valentines Days since we started dating, but the Navy has claimed Kelson every year up until now. I couldn't believe it when he was actually going to be off duty on Valentines Day this year, and it was even a Saturday! Nice! We headed up to Haleiwa on the North shore to have some fun family adventures.

 We stopped at the old Sugar Mill in Haleiwa to look for a piece of art. Of course, we had to take some fun pictures with a giant rubber ducky while we were there.

For lunch, we went to Opal Thai, which had been recommended to us by several people and was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives. It was a very unique dining experience. They hand you a menu to look over, and then the chef comes out to talk to you. He takes away your menu, asks you a few questions about what you like and dislike, and then he decides what you need to have for lunch. He brings out an appetizer and then a main course. We had lettuce wraps followed by drunken noodles and a curry. It was pretty tasty and definitely out of the ordinary.
After lunch, we strolled through Haleiwa, went in to a couple of art galleries and some fun shops and explored an old cemetery. It was a fun Valentine's Day.

Grandpa & Beverly's Visit

One of the great things about living in fun places is that everyone wants to come visit you! We had a fun visit from my Grandpa and his new wife, Beverly. They flew out from Salt Lake City and spent a few days with us. They were unlucky enough to get here during one of the coolest, rainiest weeks we have had since we moved here, but we didn't let that stop us from showing them a good time. I wasn't very good at taking pictures while they were here, but we had fun together. We toured Waikiki and did some shopping, visited the Polynesian Cultural Center and the Dole Plantation, and of course spent some time at the beach.

 We went to a farmers market and picked out a new fruit to try together. This one was a chico fruit. It was super sweet and pretty tasty.

After church on Sunday, we took them for a walk on the Air Force base and went to the Missing Man monument. There is a really pretty path along the water there.

Slightly distressed?

Missing Man Monument

Freedom from the stroller!

We are so grateful that Grandpa and Beverly came to visit and that we had a chance to get to know Beverly a little better. We love you!

Diamond Head Beach

As we were pondering what to do one Saturday morning, we realized we have never climbed Diamond Head crater, which is one of the most popular hikes on the island. However, we were a little bit late getting up that morning, and by the time we got to Diamond Head the parking lot was full. We decided to tour Diamond Head the lazy way by driving around the bottom. The view was beautiful, and we decided to stop and explore when we saw people carrying surf boards and apparently headed down the hill to a beach.

 This beach was such a fun discovery! It was beautiful, not at all crowded, and there was a great view. 

 There was even a lighthouse.

 Sarah was super excited to see the water and couldn't wait to get in.  

She was dancing and splashing in the puddles.

Spontaneous, unexpected adventures are our favorite!

Fun at Grandma's, Lots of Snuggling, & Sarah's 1st ER Visit

The day after Christmas, we said goodbye to Kelson's family and drove back to Baker. It was the most peaceful drive ever. Sarah snuggled up with her new blankie and slept for almost 4 straight hours while we enjoyed an audio book. It was a beautiful thing.

We sent Kelson back home so that he could return to work, and Sarah and I stayed behind to enjoy an extra 10 days with my family. Unfortunately, influenza attacked my parents' house, and we all fell victim. I didn't get too sick, but Sarah was absolutely miserable.

 After 2 days of getting progressively worse, we finally took her to the ER, where she received an official influenza diagnosis. She was very tired of being poked and prodded by the time we got done. This illness seemed to create a new fear of anyone touching her, especially to take her temperature. Thermometers are terrifying. 

 I literally did nothing but hold Sarah 24 hours a day for 4 days straight. I love snuggles, but it was a little bit exhausting. It was also just sad to see her so sick. It was nice when she would let Grandma take a turn. Grandmas are the best. 

 We were all thrilled when Sarah was finally up to running around and causing trouble again. We all got tired of pulling her off the stairs, so Grandpa built her a baby gate. Sarah was grateful for the fun toy. The design needed a little work.

 Sarah did a little hanging out with Aunt Katy too. 

 While we hadn't planned on spending most of our time in Baker being sick, we were still glad to have the time with family. It was a great moment when Sarah and I got on the airplane and she started smiling and eating handfuls of cheerios. My happy girl was back. 

Yay for happy babies! 

Christmas in Spokane!

Disclaimer: blog post by Kelson.

On the 23rd of December we drove from Baker City to the Spokane area to visit with Judy, Barbara, Dixie, Chris, and my sister and her little daughters. Jehana and the girls drove in from Seattle on Christmas Day.

We slept out in the camping trailer during our visit, and we used up all of the propane keeping it warm during the sub-20 degree nights. It was actually a very comfortable stay. We even had our own little Christmas tree next to Sarah's crib to keep festive. We awoke on Christmas Eve to find a nice fluffy blanket of snow. It didn't stick around all day. It was just cold.

This was Sarah's second Christmas, but the first one in which she was really aware of her circumstances. She was very interested in undecorating Judy's beautiful Christmas tree. We had to restrain her.

Or put her in time out on the couch - with her new Christmas puppy. She was all bundled up in jammies and her fluffy winter coat that Judy made for her.

The family was very thoughtful towards Sarah this Christmas, and she loved her gifts. She has a new favorite fluffy blanket that my mom knitted that she does not like to be without, day or night.

And she got her second stocking in a week! She was a fan of the situation, and of other people's stockings.

Emily made some Disney costumes for all of the girls.

Top: Sarah (Rapunzel), Emily (Super Emily).

Bottom: Julia (Tiana), Dixie (Elsa), Leila (Ariel), Jocelyn (Belle). 

Here are all of the costumes Emily made for nieces this Christmas.

She made a superhero costume for Emmett (pictured below).

Elaina (Elsa), Emmett (Super Emmett), Holly (Ariel).

And we'll end with a Sarah photo, for good measure.

Now that Christmas is over this year, time to start on Christmas 2015!