Countdown to the New Year…

Written by gmk.julie

Highlights from our break…

10…

A special visit from "Grey Oma and Opa" and Aunt Jennie. So much fun!
A special visit from “Grey Oma and Opa” and Aunt Jennie. So much fun!

9…
Celebrating Ti's 9th Birthday!!!
Celebrating Ti’s 9th Birthday!!!

8…
Titus also got to go on his first night swim with the manta rays (and Dad, of course)
Titus also got to go on his first night swim with the manta rays (and Dad, of course)

7…
Sleeping out on the lanai during the Geminid Meteor showers. We saw tons of shooting stars!
Sleeping out on the lanai during the Geminid Meteor showers. We saw tons of shooting stars!

6…
Building a "snowman" on the beach!
Building a “snowman” on the beach!

5…
Having 25 of our neighbors over for pancakes and fun.
Having 25 of our neighbors over for pancakes and fun.

4…
Caroling for the tourists in Kona Village before the candlelight service at the oldest church in Hawaii
Caroling for the tourists in Kona Village before the candlelight service at the oldest church in Hawaii

3…
Cinnamon rolls on the beach Christmas morning
Cinnamon rolls on the beach Christmas morning

2…
Another special visit, this time from "Black Oma and Opa"
Another special visit, this time from “Black Oma and Opa”

1…
Getting ready for fireworks on our beach New Years Eve. The stock pile grows daily...
Getting ready for fireworks on our beach New Years Eve. The stock pile grows daily…

It’s almost Happy New Year and then it’s back to homeschooling business on the 7th.

21 thoughts on “Countdown to the New Year…”

      1. No I didn’t make a snowman but I made snowballs and had a snowball fight with my mom and sister. We went ice skating at Tenaya Lodge. There was lots of snow.

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  3. Actually, we were at a motel in Oakhurst when Chad made that comment on Saturday night. Not sure why it didn’t post…so I re-posted it for him. Great pics! On the way home last night the sun was setting as we drove up the hill out of Oakhurst so I drove up the ridge towards Camp Oakhurst. Just past the turn to go to the camp on the left was a cul-de-sac that ended on the ridge between two big houses. We walked out between the bushes on these two big boulders and had a beautiful panoramic view of the valley. Stacy and I took some photos of a rainbow over the valley. Absolutely breathtaking!

    Oh well, enough about us. 🙂

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      2. Just emailed you one of mine and forwarded one of Stacy’s to your gmail account. Stacy posted some on facebook also.

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  4. Cosmic Radiation Could Cause Alzheimer’s in Mars Astronauts

    Space travel has always been portrayed as risky — no air or water, extreme temperatures — a place where even a small miscalculation can be fatal. It can also be hazardous to your brain health, particularly on a three-year-long mission to Mars, according to a study published this week in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.

    Joel, I’ve changed my mind about touring space, even to Mars. You’ll have to find someone else to go with. Maybe Opa Dave would be interested.

    Opa Jim

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  5. Oh, how special to get these wonderful updates of your precious family. Let us know a bit about Camp Oakhurst, please. Don’t remember if we told you that we have set down the landing gear on our rig (semi-permanently) in Coarsegold, just down the hill from Camp Oakhurst. May our God continue to bless you and the work you do for Him.

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    1. Before we had our visit with you up on Palomar Mountain we spent a wonderful year working at Camp Oakhurst. Have not been back there since our move to Hawaii but my brother just visited there and says it’s as beautiful as ever.

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  6. Happy New Year! No polar bear plunge for Tom over there, huh? 😉 Spent New Year’s Eve day in the snow at Justin and Susie’s. Well, the guys and the kids did…..Morgan, Susie, and I stayed warm and dry in cute little shops and Starbucks.
    Did the goodies survive the trip over?

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  7. How wonderful the joy the photos reflect. Liebe Julie I wish you and your whole wunderbare Familie und so bezaubernde Jungens ein friedliches, glückliches,
    abenteurreiches 2013.
    In schöner Erinnerung,

    Marion aus Rotterdam

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  8. Eure Fotos sind wunderbar. Liebe Julie, ich wünsche Dir und Deiner lieben Familie und den bezaubernden Jungens ein friedliches, glückliches Neues Jahr.
    Grüsse auch Deine Mutter.
    Ich hoffe, Euch bald wieder zu sehen.
    Alles Liebe, Marion aus Rotterdam

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    1. They’d sleep out there every night if we let them but it does take a long time for them to settle down and then there’s the ever-present issue of whose turn it is to sleep in the hammock. From the picture, it looks like Nate had it snagged the night of the Geminids. Thanks for stopping by!

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  10. I was curious and wanted to know a little more about your church waaaaay over there in Hawaii. I remembered your candlelight pic from this post, so I stopped back by here. (And I just love this blog, by the way! What great memories.) So, I have a silly question. I see this picture of cinnamon rolls on the beach, and I’m thinking about you cooking a big turkey with banana leaves today. Are you a bread-baker? I bet those rolls were homemade weren’t they? Pancakes for 25 neighbors? You are amazing. But we knew that. 🙂 Love ya!

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