Yeah, Santa Was Definitely Here!

This pile does not even include all the legos and some other bigger items he got! Scary... Next year Santa is going to be on sabbatical from Hawaii:o) I think Connor will still make out just fine.

Waimea Falls

Yesterday we went up to the North Shore and had a great day. We went to the Giovanni's for a shrimp plate (awesome!), saw some big waves (big to us but they were only 15-20'), visited Waimea Falls, and headed to Haleiwa for some Matsumoto's shaved ice. AWESOME DAY!

What to do on Christmas Eve in Hawaii??

ICE SKATE! Of course!

We had such a great time (even if you can't tell by Connor's fake smile:o)!

Connor wasn't so sure at first, but he caught on quickly, and was soon racing around the kids course. Awesome!

Holiday Get Together

We hosted a little holiday party with some friends on Saturday, accompanied by some delicious fondue. It was a fun, relaxing evening, which ended with a little rock band:o) Good times!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town!!!

Connor's school did a holiday show today and every grade did a song and dance. This was Connor's was Christmas show debut:o)

Quote of the Day...

"It may not be pretty, but we're heading to the city!"

No Training Wheels, Take 2

Busy day here at the Koszarek's!!! Will and I are in shock, seriously. Connor asked to take his training wheels off today, and I totally thought he'd get frustrated and be back in the house inside 5 minutes. Not so! I just took this video and he's out front doing circles already. Unbelievable! Go Connor!!!

"I Don't Need Stinkin' Training Wheels!" Says Child

An Early Christmas Present...

Last night we had to open 2 Christmas gifts for Connor, but let me tell you why. We went out to dinner at our local/favorite dive since I was lazy and didn't want to cook. We all thought it was a great idea. And the place has a huge sand box at the restaurant, so it's almost a date night - since Connor is playing in it most of the time. All well and good. We came home and I walked into the kitchen/living area and there are pine needles EVERYWHERE! All under the tree the floor is covered, then there's a trail around it. So I knew something was up. I'm looking around and notice the the floor is wet. Seems I forgot to let Rocco out before we left for dinner so he scouted out our tree and relieved himself... all over the tree skirt and the only two presents wrapped and under the tree. SO NOT HAPPY!!!! But Connor loves his gifts! He got two books from friends, one with rockets to blast in the air, the other included a superhero kit... which you see above. Connor was totally stoked he got to open early presents, but I was the least bit happy when we returned home last night. The End

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Free Labor:o)

We certainly made holiday cookies this year, and it was a family event. I think Rocco even helped clean the floor with anything that dropped. He's good like that:o) Connor had the mixer going, Will helped mix the ingredients and load cookie sheets, and I had the oven humming with a constant rotation. I think we baked about 20 dozen cookies, and then some. We gave out 5 platters, 4 tins, and STILL have 5 bags of cookies left! Sure are tasty though. I love this time of year!

Univ Hawaii 24, Navy 17 - BOOO!

We went to the UH/Navy Football game the other night at Aloha Stadium, same place the Pro Bowl is played (except this coming year!). It was also military recognition night and there were lots of cheers for the active duty present and those serving abroad. Connor had a great time and loved going to a 'real' football game. We splurged on good seats, had some stadium treats complete with shaved ice, and bought some UH noise makers & blanket.
Unfortunately Navy lost, and we weren't happy about it - in case you can't tell:o) That's ok, it was still a really fun night out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Connor had a Thanksgiving celebration at school yesterday. They did a little 'song and dance,' took a class picture, and had a feast - complete with turkey, green beans, frozen grapes, and a roll:o)

I don't think many of the kids touched the food, but it was pretty cute. All the grades were outside with decorated tables, and everyone had a turkey day 'crown' on. Awesome!!!

Sunday, a Day of Rest, Right?!

Will was working today so me and the dude busted out and headed to the beach. Got a bit of a late start, but it was so nice out today, and we had nothing better to do:o) Don't laugh, but I think our skin was in shock. We haven't been to the beach since school started the beginning of August. That's pretty sad when it's 10 minutes from the house and it's still in the 80s out here during the day. Next weekend, if it's not raining, we're busting out again!

Divine Revelation... or not so much!

We were talking the other day and Connor was counting... nothing earth shattering. He asked me how old I was and I told him. And he said he was 4, then going to be 5 and I said 'yes.' Then he asked if our age goes in the same order that you count and I said yes to that as well. He slapped his knee and started laughing insanely. He said "Are you kidding me?! I didn't know that!" You might have thought he just heard the best joke ever! Silly kid!

BOYS!

Chalk! Chalk! Everywhere! I do have to say that there were some really nice race tracks that were made on our sidewalk today:o)

Prior to the chalk extravaganza, the kids spent the afternoon taking rides.... on Connor's Tonka Dump Truck!!! We asked them to wear the baseball helmet for safety reasons but I couldn't come up with a mouth guard. Good thing no one hit Heather's house or her fence (too hard:o).

Shenanigans!

Talk about being busted.... Rocco isn't suppose to be on the couch, although it seems he 'sneaks' his way up there when Will is present. Amazing how that happens, and Will claims to know nothing. It's miraculous almost!

The Rainbow State...

It seems at some point every day the clouds pass over and we get a sprinkle or two, or three. And at least once a week we get to see a rainbow. They really are truly amazing, and we take them for granted since we see them all the time. So I thought we would share the rainbow in front of our house the other day.

Happy Halloween!

I'm a little behind on the Halloween pic, and there were only a couple taken since I was in bed all of Halloween and most of the day after. Totally missed seeing all my little trick or treaters:o( Halloween is one of my favorites, right behind Christmas. Oh well... what's the big deal about candy, right? Connor decided that he wanted to be a storm trooper from Star Wars and he got to use the blaster that he already had. Sweet! I knew that gun would come in handy sooner or later. Wish I was crafty enough to make him a costume but that would entail having and using a sewing machine... and I don't think I am quite ready for that one.

Our Trip East, Part III - More Friends and Family

Connor and Lexie

Cousin Marge, Mom-Mom and Connor

Girls Night Out

Our Trip East, Part II - Halloween Party

Frightening deco & yummy eats!

Connor and Matt = BIG BUDS

Connor and the magician doing a trick

Our Trip East, Part I - Staying at Uncle Al & Aunt Barb's

Uncle Al rockin it in the living room!

Connor and bud Brandy, resting

Shaka's in the kitchen with Aunt Barb, Connor helping make mac n cheese, of course!

Congratulations Ric and Samantha!!!

The happy couple!

The Bogard's and us, old friends from the neighborhood:o)

Goodbye Friends!

Before we left for our trip East we got together with the Trent's, as they were getting ready to move to Washington. Connor's bud Caroline celebrated her 5th birthday at Hickam Pool, and another day we took the kids to the Children's Museum and had lunch at CPK. They had a great time, although it was hard to say goodbye to friends. Such is life in the Navy...

Sun Bather

In case any of you are wondering about Rocco's stressful life here in Hawaii, don't lose any sleep. This is his usual pose, at least some point of each day. Lovely!

1st Sleep Over... Success!

Connor had his first sleepover last night and it went great. His bud Caroline came over and they had a fantastic time, no drama. They watched Bee Movie and had some popcorn, colored some Disney pictures at Connor's favorite picnic table, even an ice pop for dessert. All in all, a great night! He is really going to miss her though. They leave in a couple weeks for Washington and Connor keeps saying that we are moving to Washington soon too. Um, no, no we're not. We'll be right here for a while, thank you very much:o) Going to miss the Trent's.

Quote of the Day

We took Connor to get his hair cut last night and on the way there he says "Yeah, if you don't sit still in the chair, you'll get a girl's haircut." LOL

Crazy Good!

The USAF Thunderbirds were in town this weekend. Loud was an understatement, but man was it cool!

Funny Story, or Maybe Not...

Connor and I were driving around the other day. Not sure where we were going/coming from, but I hear him humming in the back seat. I was spacing out, probably humming too. Then I heard him singing "Sush girl! Shut your lips. Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips." twice, right on que. I was speechless, which doesn't happen too often. I turned down the radio and asked him how he knew those words. He said "Mom, that song is on the radio all the time. It's my favorite." WOW. Guess it is on the radio a lot. We had a little chat about the song, the meaning of the words, and that fact that some people do not sing about nice things. So I've been changing the station a lot, and there aren't many descent ones. It seems the country station is pretty safe to listen to. Guess that'll have to do for now.

Hello Friend!

So I was talking on the phone the other day and looked up at the light in the kitchen, surprised to notice a cute little friend in the fixture. Dead, surely. Turns out he wasn't! The baby gecko was about an inch and a half long, and he was running around in there like an indian! No idea how he got in there, but I had to unscrew 5 bolts to take the light apart and set the dude free. He's currently hanging with his relatives by our trash can out front:o)

I Smell Fish... Big Fish!

Ok, all the time, MONEY and effort is finally paying off... Will went out last weekend with Craig and his brother in search of fish, the good ones you eat:o) They were out super early, about 16 miles off the coast, and had 2 Mahi Mahi's in the boat by 8:30am. That's a good fishing day! And the best part is that the top shelf of my freezer is filled with fresh fish. Sushi anyone?!?

Congrats LCDR!

Getting ready...

Will taking his oath

pinning on the oak leaves

the happy family :o)

WAY TO GO DAD!! We love you!

More August Updates...

Connor's 1st Day of Pre-K

Connor's Star Keiki Day at School

(honoring July birthdays)

Me and Joy at the North Shore

Connor's 1st Soccer Game!

We had a lot going on in August, plus our pc died on us. The shop had it for two weeks trying to get our data (and all my pictures/videos!) off of it. I think we have everything (including a new, fancy Mac), so let the blogging begin!

Let's see... August... Wenonah and Justin came to visit, Jason McGhee pulled into port for a few days and crashed with us, and Joy came the end of the month. Connor started school and soccer. He LOVES school and his teacher, Mrs. Hohnstein, has been great. There have been 3 soccer practices and 2 games, which has been a real hoot! Let me find some good pics...