Consider This Our Christmas Card

Mele Kalikimaka!

It is NOT beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  Although we did have a 68 degree (or "2 below") day last week, all the Christmas lights and decorations look kinda strange.  We have our Christmas tree up, and have had it up since the middle of November.  (Hey - if Wal-Mart is selling eggnog, then it isn't too early.)  However, we'll be taking it down next week, since we'll be traveling back to Missouri soon.  Then maybe it will start to feel like Christmas.

This month will mark 1 year since we moved to Oahu.  It has flown by.  But when I think of all the changes we've made it seems like we've lived here for much, much longer.  Instead of a narrative of what has happened in each of our lives, I'll give you the raw stats under the categories of "Added," "Grew," "Learned," "Favorite New Thing," "Frequently Says," "Loves the most about HI Home," and "Misses the most about MO Home."

Joslyn:

• Added: 8 teeth.  A taste for ice cream (thanks to Grandma's visit).  A strong right cross (the mark of a little sister).  A lot of pink to our house.

• Grew: Beautiful blonde hair.  A 6'5" Daddy around her left pinky finger.  Out of her crib.  
• Learned: How to walk.  How to kick, throw, hike, shoot and dodge any ball.  How to avoid Axel when he asks to play ball.  That the people she loves the most in the world live inside the iPad.  How to climb onto a queen-size bed by doing a full flip over the safety rail.  That Axel's food tastes better than hers, even if it's the exact same thing.  How to fall asleep without a "binkers."
• Favorite New Thing: Stealing Axel's toy and running away, then crying when he takes it back. Anything "pretty."  Waking up and calling for "Nana" (banana) at 6:30am.  The sound of the front door opening (because it means Dada is home).    

• Frequently Says: "Oooold jewwwww" (translation: "hold you").  "No."  "Nana."  "A-bick-a-byyyyanoo" (translation: "I want you to sing Itsy-Bitsy Spider")
• Loves the Most about HI Home: Mango, papaya and cantaloupe (in mass quantities).  The taste of sand.  The slide at the park down the street.
• Misses the most about MO Home: What's MO Home?

Axel:

• Added: A love for playing the drums (whether it be a toy, the couch, the wall, or Joslyn's head).  More words to his vocabulary than he can appropriately use.   
• Grew: 3 shoe sizes.  Another 6" in height.  A serious attitude.

• Learned: How to ride a bike.  How to ride a scooter. (Not at the same time.)  How to properly Shaka.  The skill of negotiating when told to do something he doesn't want to do.  How to put his shoes on all by himself.  That the word "accident" is magical and allows you to get away with anything.

• Favorite New Thing: Baseball.  He can hit off a pitch better than most of the grade school kids in the neighborhood.  Charlie Brown (because he says, "stupid" and Axel isn't allowed to).  
• Frequently Says: "Mama, don't tell me what to do."  "You want to tackle me?"  "I don't need to go potty."  "You want to get some ice cream?"  "You want to go to Papa's house?"  "You want to do that now?" 

• Loves the Most about HI Home: Playing outside.  Every.  Single.  Day.  
• Misses the most about MO Home: Grandmas, Grandpas & "Cousins."

Kaysi:

• Added: A number of Army acronyms to her vocabulary, including, but not limited to: BAH, DOD, AAF, AD, MP, AAFES, COLA, OCONUS, TDY, MAC, PCS, MWR, NCO, HUI, NEX.  (Bonus points to whoever can tell me what all those stand for.)  
• Grew: A couple pounds here or there, but you are not allowed to notice.  Flowers, without killing them (for the first time ever).  An appreciation for good sun glasses. An intolerance for any temperature outside of 70-75 degrees. 

•  Learned: Exactly which online companies will ship to Hawaii, which will not, and which say they will but actually won't.  What Vog is and why we dislike it.  That nobody does Halloween like the Army. How to travel 1/3 of the way around the world with 2 toddlers . . . . for free.  How to kill a 9" centipede.  How cheap property in Missouri actually is.  
• Favorite New Thing: Open-air fresh fruit markets.  Kona coffee.  Pineapple.  Sea turtles.  Fresh Mango.  Surfing.  Trade winds.  North Shore.

• Frequently Says:  "You need to go potty."  "Stop jumping on the couch."  "Did you make the coffee, yet?"  "Get your shoes and go get in the van."  "Set the alarm for 6:30 - the Steelers play at 7."  "It's nap time!"  "I'll call Amanda." (our babysitter)
• Loves the Most about HI Home:  Sunset picnics on the beach.  Finally living close to a GAP.  Posting our weather forecast on Facebook when I know it's either boiling or freezing in Missouri.  That I'm the only person here who knows how to make gooey butter cake.

• Misses the most about MO Home:  Sonic.  Family.  The cost of milk.  Our church (all 3 of them). Good quality beef.  Birthday parties with family.  The smell when you turn on your heater for the first time.  

Dan (He wrote this one himself):

• Added: Quite a few Hawaiian words to the vocab.  A few pounds worth of Ted's bakery and Bubbies ice cream to the frame.  A perfectly fine wedding band to the bottom of Shark's Cove.

• Grew: A tolerance for driving 55mph or less at all times.  A deeper appreciation of everything our Army soldiers sacrifice in order to keep our country safe.

• Learned: How to snorkel with ocean creatures without freaking out (...too much).  Asians love Hawaii.  If you (and your wife) don't have a tattoo then you apparently don't belong in the Army.  How to surf (little waves).  You can drive 15 miles across town and be merging the entire time.  It can rain everyday and the grass still won't grow in our backyard.  There's a reason surfers are usually short.  When the lifeguard says "Hey, pretty hard shore break today, be careful," they really mean, "You're too white, get back in your beat up Camry and go home."

• Favorite New Thing: Bubbies ice cream.  Hiking to waterfalls and rope-swinging into bacteria-filled pools.  Meeting wounded warriors on a daily basis.  Only mowing once a month or so.  Haupia anything.
• Frequently Says:  "Dude, let's go to Bubbies!"  "I'm from Missouri."  "It's complicated, but yes, I'm active duty."  "I have no clue, ask your platoon sergeant."  "No thanks, I don't eat poi."  "Are we going to the PX tonight?"
• Loves the Most about HI Home: 25 very nice golf courses within 20 miles of my house (well actually EVERYTHING is within 20 miles of my house).  Boogie boarding.  Hiking.  Snorkeling.
• Misses the most about MO Home: Family.  Easier work schedule (and load).  Andy's thin mint concrete.  Krispy Kreme.  A big house.  Busch Stadium.  Cheap stuff.

We have had an amazing, incredible, unforgettable year, and we are looking forward to at least a few more.  

We still truly wish you were here.  Have a very very Merry Christmas!

Aloha,

The Stanleys