With 4 days left of our trip, we hopped a plane to Honolulu, or was it Hong Kong? What a cool/weird/crazy place. I'll tell you one thing, you don't want to be there after you've run out of shopping money. But if you do end up in that situation, here are a few ideas:

With all discretion, study the beauty of Asian people. I didn't dare flash the camera in this couple's face, for fear of offending them. But I still asked Steve to take this secret shot. If only I could see her face again. Before this, I'd never seen anything so beautiful as to make me cry, (other than a newborn). Something about the humility and passion in her eyes, and the loveliness of her frame in that outrageous up-side-down-rose-shaped dress completely overwhelmed me. Total cost: Free!

Torture your kid by browsing through the neatest toy kiosks on the planet, and then tell her that she can't have anything. Emily's pretty used to that routine, though she did get pretty spoiled pre-Honolulu. Total cost: Free!

Take pictures of the superior souveniors that your friends and family would be enjoying if you were nice. Then head right over to the budget souvenior store where you can get twice the loot for a quarter of the price. Total cost: $20

Put on a show for some hungry pigeons with your flaming red new ukelele that you bought with your own Christmas money. Then graciously reward your feathered friends with leftover muffin. Total cost: $8.99

Find a funny little tree, then set your kid free in it. Watch how the combination of bare feet on bark and climbing like a monkey fills her little heart right up. Total cost: Free!

Okay, this concludes my trip blogging. Yikes. Thanks for reading, thanks for the comments. Not a lot of typical tropical pictures in my posts because none of it compares to my British Colombia anyhow. The rustic old beach a stone's throw from my house. The old logs that sit there. The dead crabs and smelly seaweed that last night's tide washed ashore. I'd take BC's old growth trees over cheesy palm trees any day. And 18 consecutive days of soul-soothing, pouring rain over 18 days of annoying heat and sun. The grass is actually browner on the other side. Can you tell I'm happy to be home?

Ryan and Heather couldn't spend all their time entertaining their niece and nephew. It was nice to see them get a break from it all (when Ryan wasn't tied to his laptop/work). But I think they got to know what Tommy's all about pretty quick. He's easy to please, happy and sweet. He especially loved Auntie Heather's big smiles and he giggled when he was caught off guard by his nutty Uncle Ryan's dancing. Surely they won't forget the boy with the loudest, most aggressive cry/yell on earth. No one really believes me on this until they hear it for themselves...am I right Heath?

The Happy One-year-old

i found a note to Santa on Em's bed prior to Christmas: "Dear Santa, I would like a lizard for Christmas, From Emily" He brought her many geckos in Maui, and even threw in a moody old crab for good measure.

Yummy yummy Siamin Soup....
I usually tag along when Steve and Em bloat up on this fish broth with raimen noodle soup, famed mostly among the locals. We used to have to go to a real dive to get it. The House of Siamin, where you knew that you had to check your soup for cockroaches before partaking. But the elderly couple running it were so eccentric and grumpy, the decor so tasteless, that going for Siamin easily became a favorite Maui tradition. These past few years we've been staying at another end of the island and we get to go to a brand new Siamin restaurant-that's actually open when it says it's going to be open. Unfortunately, I've never really been into the taste of the broth (or lack thereof). Steve's always quietly shuddered at my lack of respect for the soup of ancient Hawaii. But this year I did right by him. It took me this long to discover that they actually offer little sides to throw into the soup to give it some zip. Now I can't get enough of it, as long as there's a bottle of tabasco or some Kim Chee (Bok Choy sitting in a bowl of hot sauce) to zap it with. We kept returning to the funny little cafe for more of the delicious bloatation device.
Steve was one of the first customers to beautify the walls with his dollar when they opened a few years ago.

You never know how Blogger is going to arrange your photos for you. I kind of like how this worked out, beginning with my 2 fave beach shots of the entire lot.

Happy Birthday Hotstuff!

Have a great day Mom

We'll see you and Ruben on our doorstep in 10 weeks!

Love Ang, Steve, Emily, and Thomas

Ugh, I've been sick almost all week. I rarely get sick. I've never had this kind of sick before. Shortness of breath, paaain in my chest when I cough, persistent sweats/shakes, everything tastes like metal. Apparantly not uncommon, but it's all new to me. Doc says it's going around, and the cough will last for quite a while. Emily got it right before our trip and now there's barely a quiet moment in our coughy, sneezy, snotty house. Except for now. Tommy's asleep. Em's at school. Steve's out. It's just me, my 738 trip pictures, my laundry, and my dirty kitchen floor. If only we would have brought the thingy to Maui that gets the photos out of the camera and into the computer, then I would'nt have to back-track like this. But on the other hand, it was a much needed break from all things that characterize my homelife, and now I get to have a little something, other than home hygenics, and, oh yeah, caring for 2 kids, to preoccupy me as I get a little healthier. We'll see if I can sum up our version of Maui 05-06 in about a week (or maybe two, because I'm starting to feel queasy again and have yet to get to that floor). More later!

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Lots of love and hugs to all
our family and friends.

Thanks to each of you who showed
your love and support through
some difficult times this year.

Thanks to each of you who appreciate my efforts to connect through my blog.

And thanks to each of you who love the little faces that light up our world.

This Christmas, I feel really really blessed that we have some wonderful people who truly care about us. The feeling's mutual.

By the way:
The laptop is travelling with us so if my relaxation mode doesn't turn into utter lethargy, then you'll hear from me before too long. Aloha! XOXO

my creamy little nougat

Matthew, Krystle, and Kim. We'll be off to Victoria to spend an early Christmas with the first two. Kim, however, is stuck in Ontario. I know we'd have triple the fun if she were there because:

A) She's a crazy, troublemak'n comic, but sweeter than pie. I have yet to laugh harder than I did at her ape-man impersonation she pulled off at the age of 12.

B) She has two angels that are more loved by their aunties and uncle than they can possibly know!

mY sWeEt BeAuTiFuL aRtIsTiC eMiLy eLiZaBeTh

Little boy blue has Croup. Steve brought him into the hospital at 10pm last night because his cough and breathing sounded like he caught something more serious than a cold. It's a little unnerving to hear your baby bark like a seal and struggle for oxygen. He's on a bit of medicine (no antibiotics, yay) and it should only be a day or two before he's back to his old self again. In the meantime, we think it's totally cute how he needs to be held and walked constantly, just like a newborn. Makes me want to have another one. ;)

All they want for Christmas is a NEW COUSIN...

When Emily was sharing her exhaustive Christmas list with Ryan and Heather on the phone a few weeks ago, she suddenly turned to me and said "Uncle asked if I would like a cousin for Christmas!". CONGRATULATIONS GUYS! All I can say is THANKS to my brother and sister-in-law for taking it upon themselves to make me Auntie Ang. I'm not sure if that sounds hoaky so I keep toying with my title: "Auntie Angie" "Auntie Angela" "Auntie A" "Taunte Angelica", or just simply: "Angel" :) Heather's new Motherhood Blog contains all the nitty-grittys of a girl's first pregnancy. Things are pretty textbook so far and we pray that they continue that way. I can't wait to hug that beautiful Mama-to-be in a few weeks from now!

More wrinkley nose goodness. Thanks for all the latest comments guys!

We just can't believe what an awesome walker the little man is becoming already. I love his recklessness and determination. He just won't give up! Why did I think that all babies were inherently reluctant to walk?! The last two days we've been watching Tommy teach himself to get to his feet from a sitting position, without any help. He kind of rocks himself onto his feet-Up Kerplunk Up Kerplunk Up, woo hoo! He's off and running (well, not running) to the next adventure. Almost certainly you'll find me hollaring after him "It's the amaaazing baaaby!!", which is probably getting old and will no doubt make running away from me his next pursuit.

6:30 AM...Waking up to the pine scented dreaminess of Christmas-time. We managed to block Tommy's path so that he could scream at the tree from a safe distance.

Whenever I visit Emily's school, the kids excitedly tell me how funny she is. More than anything, Emily wants to become a Tiger-Trainer when she grows up. And probably a Scientist because they seem to know everything. And live in China because of the architecture. She's doing well, but, it's not like being a grade oner hasn't offered it's share of drama, yeah already. Hate it. What do I do? My many questions led me to google for some insight and I found this article written by someone who wanted to uncover the reasons he was unable to find the social status he craved in high school. It's kind of unrelated, and I don't see many similarities between his school and the ones I've attended (I went to 4 different highschools!). But the reasons behind his message that school is BS, in numerous ways, make it a worthwhile read if you're interested.