Christmas Morning

We told the kids, (really, Jaxon) that they had to sleep until 6 am. Jaxon has a history of waking up multiple times during the night in hopes of getting a few early presents. At 6, the bedroom doors flew open and the happy pitter patter of big and little feet could be heard coming down the stairs to see if presents or lumps of coal were left for them. Jaxon was easy to please with a new Lego set and an Ipod shuffle that kept him busy for 6 straight hours. Colton was happy to see that Santa got the note about the Star Wars toys that he really wanted. Ella was enthralled with a life size Barbie friend to play with, and Mason couldn't have been happier with a new plush chair to sit in while reading some new puppy books. Everyone was happy and there was joy in the Burke household for just about the whole day. Now that's what I call a Christmas miracle!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we had the Wonderful Walker family over for food and fun. The kids wanted to battle with their new Nerf guns most of the night, but we tried to throw in a little spiritual moment by trying to act out the Nativity while reading the account of the Savior's birth from the scriptures. Ella, who is already looking through bridal magazines to find a dress for her 'big day' with AJ, wasn't hard to convince to play the role of Mary while AJ was Joseph. We had a few wise men, shephards, and the part of Baby Jesus went to a fun loving 11 year old. Mason wanted to spend the time running around wrapped up in the scarfs.

Jaxon in Jeans

Jaxon has been telling us for the past five years that he has been 'allergic' to jeans. He has refused to wear them since he was three. I forced a pair on him for a few hours back in 2003. Seriously, he hasn't worn them since. He didn't like pants with buttons or zippers. He is 'king of the elastic waist' shorts and pants. We have been keeping Old Navy in business by buying all of their athletic style shorts for the past six years. Well, low and behold, a few weeks ago, a good neighbor brought over some jeans for Jaxon to wear so we could take a family picture. We had a huge rain storm so the picture never got taken, but Jaxon tried on the jeans and not only did they fit, but he liked them! I almost broke down in tears as I saw my son wearing real pants for the first time in almost seven years. I am a HUGE fan of jeans, so I just couldn't relate to the idea that jeans aren't comfortable. So, Jaxon ended up keeping the jeans, and actually wore a pair to school this week. I had to snap this picture as soon as he put them on because I was afraid it might be another decade before I saw him in jeans again.

Claiming our Christmas Tree

The day after Thanksgiving we went to pick out a Christmas tree. I LOVE real Christmas trees. It all goes way back to when I was a little girl and we had a four foot artificial tree every year that we had to put on table to make it look bigger. We nick named it Charlie Brown. Ever since then, I swore when I grew up that we would have real trees. Sean has been wonderful and indulged me every year in getting a big real one, even though it can be a hassle. The kids love to go and pick one out, and they smell wonderful. Well, this year we thought we found one right away, and asked Jaxon and Colton to stay with it while we looked quickly down the last aisle. Colton took his job of "claiming" the tree as ours very seriously. He offered to pee on it, thus insuring that no one else would want it after that. We quickly told him no. Then he suggested licking it, and we said, sure. So, this is a picture of Colton licking our tree, to make sure that no one else would take it after his saliva was all over it. The kids were happy with the tree we chose and we had fun decorating it. Since the initial decorating event, we have had to move all the decorations about three feet from the bottom of the tree. It seems a certain 15 month old derives great pleasure from pulling ornaments off of the tree and watching his mom calmly try to grab them from him before they break.


Ella and Colton were so excited to start decorating the tree once we got it home!

My Four Favorite Reasons to be Thankful

These guys are the reason I am most thankful this Thanksgiving. Even though Sean had to work, we had a great Thanksgiving. Our neighborhood had a huge pot luck with tons of fun friends and delicious food. There was eating, talking, chasing kids, more eating, football watching, a little more eating, and then serious strategizing for the next day's early morning shopping spree. The kids had a great time playing with their friends, and my great neighbors adopted me as one of their own while Sean was busy giving epidurals at the hospital.

We celebrated as a family on Saturday, and although my waistline wasn't too happy about two big feasts in less than 72 hours, it was wonderful to sit together and be grateful for each other. Mason, unfortunately, slept through the big meal, but he isn't a huge turkey fan, so he wasn't mad about missing out on the food the first time around. He was awake in time for dessert though, the most important part of the meal!

Twilight Premiere

If you haven't read the Twilight series yet, get off the computer and start reading! I love these books. I admit, I was skeptical when my mother in law introduced me to the first book back when I was getting ready to have Mason. I went into the hospital to be induced with Twilight in my bag. I spent the day waiting to have a baby, and reading frantically. Good thing he wasn't born til 4:00 am the next morning. It was a bit embarrassing to explain to each doctor's question "Whatcha readin'?" with the response, "Teenage vampire love story". I got quite a few weird looks. Anyways, I loved reading them and am proud to say that I have even gotten Sean and Jaxon to read Twilight. My neighborhood was caught up in the Twilight frenzy, with one friend even going to Borders at midnight to get the fourth and final book a few months ago. So, when we heard the movie was coming out, we set a date and told the husbands they needed to make sure they weren't working that night, cuz we were going to see Edward and Bella on the big screen! We had about 14 ladies get together for dinner and the movie, and we had a blast. Was it the best movie ever? Ummm, no, but it was still great and we enjoyed it thoroughly. We even took the whole vampire theme a bit far with a funny picture of us biting each other.

Temple Trip

Last Saturday, we went up to the Temple in Laie to support a family in our church who were sealed together that day. I forced the kids to put on some nice clothes for a few minutes so we could snap some family pictures before I went inside for the sealing, leaving Sean alone with the kids and a McDonalds just a few minutes away. It was a beautiful morning and the crazy part was how gorgeous the weather was when I went inside the temple, and how things changed within the short time I was inside. When we left the temple, it was pouring! I felt like we were in Forks, Washington (a little throw out to all you Twilight fans). Welcome to Hawaii, where it is guaranteed to rain at least once every day.

Who's Under the Hair?

It's been a LONG time since Jaxon has seen the inside of a barber shop, beauty salon, or any type of hair cutting establishment. For the past two weeks he has been open to the idea of getting a 'trim', so I made him an appointment with the stylist who cuts my hair. Jaxon was brave and mature and went in there with no reservations. At first he said, "Cut it short", which almost required a defibulator to get my heart started again because I was in such shock at hearing those words from his mouth. But, on second thought, he decided to just get a little bit taken off, so I could see his eyes again. They really are a gorgeous blue color. About 20 minutes later, a new Jaxon emerged. Its great to see those baby blues again.

Fun Sunday Surprise

Yes, we live in paradise, but there are a few things that this island doesn't have. The top two that come to mind are Target and Krispy Kremes. So, whenever our sweet parents come to visit, they usually come with a few dozen donuts and something from my favorite store. Well, tonight we were in for an awesome surprise. We were into the 'cleaning up dinner dishes and giving baths' portion of the evening when there was a knock on the door. Our sweet neighbor, Lauren, came bearing Krispy Kreme donuts. She had just arrived from a week on Maui (yup, they are more civilized on that island and have a store there) and offered us a choice of a dozen variety donuts or a dozen glazed. Oh, what a hard choice. I didn't even use a life line, I just decided to go with the variety pack and we were not disappointed. You should have seen Mason's face when he saw the box. Yes, I am proud to say that my 14 month old son can identify a Krispy Kreme box and the pure joy that can be found inside. He was screaming for the box and was so happy as he was placed in his high chair with a sprinkled chocolate glaze ready for him to devour. What a great way to end a weekend and what an awesome neighbor: she had brought back dozens for the whole neighborhood. I love our neighbors!

This picture is of Mason doing the sign for "more", telling us he wants another donut. A true Burke.

Raiders of the Quarter

At Jaxon and Colton's school, the students are rewarded for good behavior and citizenship by being named "Raider of the Quarter". Their school is Red Hill Elementary and the students are the Red Hill Raiders. Well, for two years in a row, I will take the liberty of being a bragging mom and state that both boys were Raiders of the Quarter for the first quarter of each school year. Last year Sean was deployed and missed the little ceremony, but this year he was around for it. So, way to go Jaxon and Colton! Jaxon actually missed his ceremony because he was on a Student Council Leadership field trip. He's at that age where he was more excited for the cake afterwards than the certificate he got.

Typical Car Ride

I'm sure everyone else's children are perfect angels on car rides. Luckily, we live on a small island and no long car rides are ever necessary. Except for the occasional traffic jam, we are rarely in the car for longer than 20 minutes. Last Saturday we were driving a whopping five minutes from Colton's soccer game to BK for lunch and I thought I'd snap this picture of the kids which totally typifies a normal car ride for us. Ella was on the verge of picking her nose, Mason was grabbing for something, Jaxon was looking like he was on the verge of a meltdown, and Colton was being his happy, goofy self. Oh the joys of children!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween started as soon as our costumes arrived in the mail. The boys wanted to be Star Wars characters, yes, even Mason put his two cents in and voted to be Darth Vader. Since the local WalMart didn't have the required costumes, I did what I do best: looked online and ordered off the internet. I LOVE internet shopping. With four 'spirited and outgoing' children, mall shopping doesn't work for me. Anyways, I digress...back to Halloween. The kids were so excited to get their costumes and start wearing them as soon as they could. Since I wanted to get my money's worth from each of them, I let the kids wear them as much as possible: outside playing, grocery shopping, to sleep...whenever a little pizazz was needed to the day. The boys were a little bummed that our church's Halloween party didn't allow masks, but they still had a blast going around our chapel which was decorated as a Halloween town and getting candy from the different decorated stations and playing games. I was going to just wear my annual glow in the dark Halloween jammie pants, but Sean pulled out a pirate bandana and eye patch an hour before trick or treating which inspired me to cut up some clothes and make a homemade pirate outfit. Sean, for the fifth Halloween in a row, missed out on the fun because of work. Last year he was deployed, and the year before that, a training exercise. Next year I am making him take leave so I can enjoy more or the candy-getting experience and not run around in a crazied state the whole night. I love the genius who invented the Mr. Potato head pumpkin pieces that you can stick right into the pumpkins to decorate them and make funny faces. In Hawaii, pumpkins get rotten really quickly, so we waited until Halloween day to carve ours. The kids loved decorating some other ones with the funny faces. And no mess - yea!!

Hair Cut Needed

When Colton can put as many 'pretties' aka rubberbands in his hair as Ella, I think we need to pay a visit to the barber.

No Words...

Let's be honest: There are really no words necessary for this picture. Mason is all boy, 110%. Car, sword, nakedness.

Our Favorite Super Hero

Super Mason is always on the lookout for an opportunity to help someone. Maybe even in his own backyard...

Computer Kid

I can still remember the day we bought our first computer. I don't think Jaxon remembers life without one. He is probably more computer literate than me, and definitely enjoys looking things up and playing games on it. He keeps asking when we are going to get a new one, so he can inherit this one. So, I had to take this picture, because this is how Jaxon spends a lot of his free time.

"Doll" House

Mason likes Ella's Barbie house. A little too much. He decided to play with her and be a real Ken doll.

Crazy Hair Day!!!

Today was crazy hair day at the boys' school. We were on the way to buy some hair gel last night when we ran into our neighbors, offering their red hair gel to use. We didn't know what to expect, but we had some fun this morning turning Colton into a mini Billy Idol and Jaxon into a mad scientist-ish looking guy. He wanted a mohawk, but his hair was just too long to keep standing up (hmmm, maybe its time for a hair cut Jaxon). The kids had a blast and even Ella got into the fun, spiking up her bangs, which were just professionally cut yesterday after she tried cutting her own hair the night before. Ella + scissors = expensive salon visit.

Preschool

Ella started preschool last week. We are doing a co-op preschool with five other children, three girls, three boys. The kids rotate between the six houses every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for three hours in the morning. So far, Ella has had a great time. She feels so grown up. The only downer for her is that she doesn't get to ride a pink bus to the other houses, a dream she has had since seeing Colton ride off in a big yellow one last year.

Soccer Season Starts

Colton has started playing soccer again this year. Last year, he played through the military athletic program, but this year we decided to try AYSO, and we are so glad that we did! The coach is great and everything is a lot more organized and fair this time. Colton had his first game last Saturday and had a ton of fun, and just like the Hokey Pokey, that's what it's all about.

Big Birthday Boy!!

Mason turned one last Sunday, September 7th. We had a neighborhood party for him the night before. He enjoyed everyone singing to him, but like a true Burke, his favorite part was the CAKE! He started off enjoying the frosting, and before long, he was painting himself with it. Multiple baths were required before all frosting was removed from every orifice. His favorite present is a new car! We decided that we would foot the bill for this first one, and then he is on his own for the next one. Its a sporty blue convertible, that reaches top speeds of 3-5 mph, depending on which sibling is pushing him.

Clone Colton

Sean and I had a gift certificate to the Navy Exchange. (The military's equivalent of a Target, but not even close.) Rather than buy something practical like diapers or detergent, we bought a Clone Trooper Mask. I put it on and tried to sneak attack the boys as they came off the bus, armed with a squirt gun. Colton didn't want to take if off the whole night. He wore it everywhere, and when he couldn't find his own shoes to go outside and play after his bath, he felt confident enough in his masculinity that wearing his sister's pink crocs was a no brainer.

Rockin' Mason

Mason has decided to pick up an instrument in his spare time. He has chosen the pots and pans. He did quite a nice improv set the other morning. He is working on being able to make music and scrambled eggs at the same time.

Earning His Keep

If only it was a real one...

Great Neighbors

We are definitely lucky to live on base with some awesome neighbors. Our next door neighbors have craft day every Friday. Two weeks ago she invited all the neighborhood kids over to paint in her backyard. With no concern for her own backyard's original colors, she let the kids go wild and paint. They had a blast and she was so cool about all the mess.

Choir Boy

Jaxon was chosen to sing in a children's choir for our Church for a Stake Conference. He wasn't excited at first, but having one of his best friends sing with him helped. They practiced for a few weeks, and then did an awesome job when the big moment arrived. He had to wear a white collared shirt with a tie, which is very RARE for him. He is more a 't-shirt and athletic shorts' kind of guy. So, I had to snap a few pictures of this rare moment.

16th Anniversary

What do you get your hubby for your 16th anniversary? That was the question I was faced with a few weeks ago. I decided to get Sean a new bike, since it had been over 25 years since he had a brand spankin' new one. He has been running into work on most days, and decided a little cross training would be a good thing. So, Ella and I went bike shopping. She was very upset that we didn't find a pink one for him. He was excited about the bike and the great part was watching every one ride bikes together the next day.

Birthdays

I have been known in the past to go slightly overboard when it comes to my children's birthdays. I actually like to start celebrating about a week in advance, and in our house, there IS such a thing as a 'birthday eve present'. So, as it is only three weeks until Mason turns the BIG ONE, I have already given some serious thought to his birthday festivities. I went overboard for Colton's b-day this year, Jaxon's was a little too easy, and Ella's was simple yet perfect. So, I am going to try to find a happy medium with Mason's festivities and have a good time. I have to post some pictures from the other kids' big days because they bring back some good memories. For Colton, we had a pirate themed party at a cool park nearby with activities like "Walk the Plank", "Dig for Buried Treasure", and "The Black Pearl vs. The Flying Dutchman". Do you have any idea how much Pirates of the Caribbean birthday stuff there is out there? I do, because I bought it all. Sorry, Sean. It was a great day though and Colton had a blast with all his friends. Even Mason got into the mood with some facial hair, compliments of a Sharpie.

Colton did great 'swabbing the poop deck' at his party, but still feigns difficulty sweeping the kitchen floor...

Trying hard to bust open the pinata in hopes of releasing the motherload of all candy.

Hungry pirates and deck hands ready for some pizza and cake.

Ella's birthday was fun. To sum it up in one word: PINK. She helped decorate her pink cake, got some pink clothes and dolls, played with pink balloons, had a pink pinata, and painted her nails, pink. We took her to a cool place called the Children's Discovery Center, then off to the Disney Store for some princess accessories, then a small party with her best friends.

Ella was so happy to be surrounded by princess stuff in the Disney store, she didn't even care that this princess had obviously been beheaded by an evil witch or at least a wicked spell.

Ella and Lily bouncing on our trampoline.

Jaxon turned double digits in April and we celebrated by having a birthday party for him at a water park nearby, Hawaiian Waters. Sean took him and five of his friends to the park for the day. They had a ton of fun riding all the rides and built up an appetite for some serious cake afterwards.