Christmas break

We had a wonderful time in California for Christmas break. It was fun and busy and so good to have all the family together. I just wish I had taken more pictures :( Also, I'm posting from my phone so here are the captions for the pics, which are totally out of order, sorry!
- Aaron came home from his mission to Maceio (sp?) Brazil, so fun to have all the Oborn brothers home!
- Bannock making a gingerbread house with Nana Char and auntie Kaitlynn (whose expecting a little girl cousin in April, yay!)
- we got to see my friend Kindra's adorable girls; our kids are roughly the same age but it's weird that we have two now (we're getting old)!
- started a new tradition of going to the sacramento zoo on Christmas eve day (it's free!) - with my oldest brother josh and his beautiful wifey Sarah, who got married in October :)
- Brecken at the zoo in his awesome owl hat
- Bannock opened presents like a mad man, we combined his gifts from both families and it was quite overwhelming! Regardless of the chaos he and Brecken made out like bandits! *side-note: I didn't get a family pic of this (such a terrible mother) but Brecken was blessed on Christmas day in my parent's ward and it was a wonderful experience :) I'm so thankful for my boys and my sweet husband
- went to the Folsom zoo and rode the train (the highlight of Bannocks stay ;)
- we got to spend the night in San Francisco at Josh and Sarah's new place, what fun! Went to the pirate supply store, saw the buffalo in Golden Gate park and rode paddle boats at Stow Lake (in the park). They also babysat so we could have a date night ;)
It was fun to be home, wish we could have stayed longer, seen more friends and spent time with more family but I must say that coming home to Hawaii was much nicer this year than last - and this year I'm going to make a serious effort at taking advantage of this beautiful place we get to call home :)

Done!

I'm finished with my senior classes!!! I can't describe this relief but it's great. I wrote more in the past 3 months than in my entire life - ok not true but how does 63 pages sound? Yeah that's off the top of my head. Not to mention all the immense amount of work Sean had to do as well. This semester has been actually insane. Our home has been chaos for about a month and I am so happy this weight has been lifted. Sean still has another year, I have one more semester but it just consists of filler classes that will (hopefully!) be enjoyable. As I thought about my school days coming to an end I realized just how bittersweet it is. I've always loved school but this last semester really put my abilities to the test - as far as being a mother, a wife and a student. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to go to school here at BYUH. There is no other place in the world like this. The community is awesome, my teachers are incredibly helpful and personal, and the diversity is something so unique. Not to mention it's Hawaii ;) I know that as crazy-hectic as it has been for both Sean and I to be in school and raise a family I will forever be grateful for doing this. One, because retiring to full-time motherhood will be that much sweeter after the stress of school. And two, because I've been able to share this experience with my husband we can have the same intellectual level as well as memories, something I hadn't thought of before but it is important in our relationship.

So now on to the next adventure: California for Christmas! I can't believe it's been a whole year. This will be a MUCH needed vacation. So if you're in town I hope to see you, and if not we'll be in Hawaii another year so come visit us here! Mele Kalikimaka!

Four Months

Brecken was four months on Sunday!
19.11 lbs 25.5 inches long - little hurk.

momdom

I'm usually the one taking pictures so I never get to be in them. I made Sean take this the other night with his phone (hence the not-so-great quality). Nothing else to say but I love being a mom.

Halloween

This year I had two sick boys but went out anyway. Halloween in Laie is SO fun, the entire town comes out to trick or treat on the same street, very crowded but very fun!
Here is Draco Malfoy and his owl :)

Kapolei Pumpkin Patch

Bannock and his pumpkin

Making a snowman... the pumpkins are as white as he is :)

Likin it...

... not so much

We had a lot of fun at the pumpkin patch in Kapolei! We found a couple pumpkins but since it was cash only (and we never carry cash) we thought we might have to forgo all the other fun activities; hay ride, bouncy house, bouncy slide, a couple rides and some good eats. A wonderful gentleman kindly gave us the rest of his tickets as we walked away from the bouncy house with a very upset boy (no not Brecken). So Bannock was able to joyously bounce and slide his little heart out. I definitely recommend this place to anyone on the island. I miss fall in Northern California but this trip was a little pick me up. Although since we live in Hawaii we most likely won't be carving the pumpkins because they rot super quick, but at least we had the memorable experience!

Sick Day

It's been a cloudy Sunday and we all had to stay home sick from church, so.... Bannock and I built a road in the kitchen with electrician's tape! We have a very small kitchen as you can see but there was still room for a parking lot. And no, he's not naked, just in his undies (still potty training)! We also cut out some bats, black cats, ghosts and spiders for Halloween decorations. Every time I ask Bannock what he wants to be he says "A Submarine!" so I need to get working on that ;) I get sad living in Hawaii this time of year when the seasons don't change. Fall is my favorite and I wish I could decorate for it and light a pumpkin spice candle (I don't light too many candles in this apartment because it's pretty much a wind tunnel in here and I don't want anything catching fire!) but I'll just wait until we're back on the mainland for all that. It's only temporary here so to me buying and making decorations for anything is merely just one more thing we'll have to ship, sell or toss in the free bin when we leave. I'm learning to be a minimalist, twine and clothespins are my go-to decor staples. I'll post a couple projects later. Also, before I end I must add that I can't believe we've been here a whole year already! It feels like we just got here but now we have another child and we're almost done with school! After this semester I'll be about 6 credits away from my bachelor's, and Sean will be done in Dec 2012. I feel like time flies so much faster when you have children. I try to enjoy everyday here because even though it's been tough financially I know I'll look back on this time with so much fondness, I'm going to live up the rest of our time here because it will fly by and we'll be back to California before we know it!