Mele Kalikimaka

For our traditional Christmas Eve hike this year, we went to the old Pali highway.

It was cold and windy. So windy that it almost knocked you over.
Truman got to wear his monkey backpack/leash. He would take off running down the trail laughing and saying "faster reindeer, faster!"
Cassidy stayed home from the hike because she was sick. The views on this hike were amazing. And I am glad there is a new highway now, because this one wasn't very wide.
That night we killed santa.
We hung it from a tree branch behind the apartment building. Tru brought his cardboard adn tin foil cutlass down to do the killing.
We found a stick on our hike to use in place of a bat.
Santa didn't last long, and then we got to eat the candy.

Santa had a hard time bringing presents since Cass, James, and I were camped out in the living room. But he somehow managed. He brought me an ukulele to learn to play. James had to go out on a last minute shopping trip for "John" the night before Christmas Eve, but I knew all along it was for me. I just didn't know what it would be.

Truman got a train set. He was really excited. Tru was smart and made his presents last all day. He would open a present and play with it for awhile. So he had a pile under the tree that he would randomly open during the day.

After we opened presents, we went to church.

Again, I love their church building. It is super cool.
For Christmas dinner we had a barbecue at the beach. My favorite was the grilled pineapple. Truman liked walking up the tree.
James took me out surfing for my first time. And it was really tiring. We had to paddle really far out to get to the waves, and it was hard. My arms got so tired and I felt like I wasn't moving. And at one point I was caught in a bunch of waves getting hammered, and I thought to myself... what did I get myself into.

But it was all worth it when I caught my first wave. It was such a rush!

I stole this picture of Diamond Head from dad.
The next day we stopped at the blow hole on our way to Hanauma Bay. It was really windy again.
Dad made mom wear a life jacket again when we went snorkeling! Mom and dad went out first while James and I watched Tru, then we switched.
James took me out to a spot where sharks are supposed to be. We didn't see any sharks, but saw lots of cool fish.
Walking out of the Bay after snorkeling.
Our last day in Hawaii we went to Kailua beach.
This was my first time at this beach, and I really liked it. The water was so blue and the sand was really soft. I had a great time in Hawaii! Thanks to Cassidy, James, and Tru for letting me sleep on your couch for so long!