The first two weeks of January were BUSY. We started out at the beach near our house for the first sunrise of the new year. A lovely tradition we stole from my friends Ash and Ranger. The kids were the only ones in the water.
Then to church. Lullaby and Talia were on the same soccer team when they were six, and now they're in middle school.
Then, back to an old favorite beach, but we don't love it as much as we used to. The kids kept begging to go back to Kealia, until they found a whirlpool.
While we were at the beach, Stella called and invited us over for dinner. The missionaries were there too, and a couple other families. They are so good to include us. It feels so good to be back.
More work on the front door... Always a work in progress.
We got a couch in that we ordered and the kids helped put it together. Lullaby loved finally having a couch!
Silly, made me think of Paul and his constant jokes.
Out on a date with my favorite 14 year old. He loves sushi, and so do I.
On January 4th, our shipping container arrived! Our house had just started coming together and then we unloaded a million boxes just to clutter it up again. Thank goodness we had the carport. It held most of the boxes, but several were unloaded INTO the house. When the truck first arrived, we were all a little worried. I thought that WHOLE truck was filled, but it was just 1/6th of it. Phew!
Each box had a number on it, and had to be checked off of the master list, to ensure each item was accounted for. It took a long time, everyone helped.
We got to work right away and got the things built and put in the right rooms, as much as we could, all while still doing some of the renovations. The boxes of dishes and kitchen things had to wait the longest, because we didn't have our new cabinets yet. Matix built my bed.
Playing with old toys and enjoying having a new spot to sit down.
We had very few items damaged in the move, which we were SO happy about. The few things that did get damaged were paid for from the moving company. It was hard to get them to actually pay, but they eventually did.
Amid the mess, our second couch was delivered, and Pumpkin loved all the new sleeping spots. She tried them each out.
On January 6th, the kids joined Curiosity Kids, which is the same homeschool group that Amy and I started on the island in 2017! It's changed names several times, but it's the same thing. My friend Rebecca runs it now and it's been so fun to get back into it! The kids took science, art, and kids club classes which were a variety of different subjects and topics.
Out for Uncle's honey toast before going home.
More house projects. Switching interior doors, and Paul had to use router to make the spaces for the hinges, and drill a hole for the handles. He can do anything.
Paul and I started dreaming up a 4 way bunk for the kids. They all wanted to be together, but we wanted them to each have their own spaces too. This was a monster project and everyone helped, although once the main structure was built, I finished it on my own.
The view of the bunk from my room looked wild! So huge.
Kitty snuggles with Whiskey who had been very busy hunting down all the mice and rats that used to live in our neighborhood.
Early morning breakfast from Paul. We have three jabbing trees, that are constantly producing. They taste like grapefruits and lime.
Lullaby wanted her hair braided with a scarf, cute!
Beach break!
Solace wanted to send this picture to Great Grandma Berg, we miss her so much!
Finishing the supports for the bunk. It's super solid!
The dump won't take things longer than 3 feet, so all the old doors had to be cut before being loaded into the van to be brought there.
The bright green is the color we were getting rid of. The tan/pink and turquoise are the colors we kept.
Lost a tooth! Cute Hawkers!
On January 11th, 6 WEEKS after I shipped the car, our Prius showed up. It was scheduled to be delivered on December 17th, which was postponed and postponed, and after a week and a half of renting a car, we bought a van. It was cheaper than renting would be and it's a good thing we did, because it would have cost us SO much more to continue renting.
More Kauai juice to help us power through more full days of working.
Lullaby and I went to a combined activity for the Young Women and the Relief Society.
Pumpkin decided she'd help with the hunting in the yard. We currently have zero rats or mice, and very few cockroaches.
Field trip with Curiosity Kids to Kauai Community College. It was SO informative and interesting. The kids learned a lot and were excited to see all the things it had to offer.
Group picture at the end. The way Curiosity Kids was set up that year, was one week for classes, the second week for a field trip.
Pokemon trading in the parking lot, always fun.
Fun at the park and beach after the field trip for a lunch break.
Our friends, the Harmers, came for a quick visit. It was so fun to see them, go out for dinner and to their hotel for time in the hot tub.
