November According to Naomi...

A lot has happened this November that I haven't had the chance to blog about. So... I thought I would try to get it all into one blog to save some time! Here is November according to me: Brooklyn saw snow for the first time that she can remember. It didn't stick, but she enjoyed it while it lasted!

I voted in the 2008 elections and it was the first time that I ever actually studied everything out and knew what I was voting for. Hooray for ME!

I turned 26 and got to go on an awesome shopping spree with my cousin Jennie! Also, Kevin framed my diploma and spoiled me all day. He even cooked me dinner!

Brooklyn and I went to the mall with my sisters Rachel and Sarah and their kids!

It was the first time Brooklyn ever got to play in an arcade! She really liked it especially when Mason and Maile were around to play too.

Brooklyn snuggled me for an hour when she got sick...this has never happened before...in fact, it is unheard of for Brooklyn to even allow her body to be in contact with another person from the front! I liked it. :)

Jennie turned 26 and we partied and stayed up till all hours of the night! Woohoo! We love you Jennie!

Lots of visitors came into town for Thanksgiving. Brooklyn's favorites were her cousins Noa and Brinley who are 6 and 7 months younger than her. She also loved playing with Mason even though he wasn't technically visiting.

My sisters and I went out on several "sister dates" since we were all in town. It was nice to see each other and have our husbands babysit for a while!

We had an Uda Family Reunion where we were finally able to set the grave markers for my grandparents! (Thanks to Uncle Kelton and his mad skills!)

We had the biggest Thanksgiving spread in the history of Thanksgiving. It included the regular stuff as well as lau lau, lomi salmon, opihi...etc. and some apple pies that I made from scratch!

We started out Thanksgiving with a BANG by doing a 2 mile Turkey trot! It was my first official race and I did pretty good. I was 9th overall out of 80 runners and finished 7th for the women!

Becca and Taber brought the house down though coming in 5th for Becca and 2nd for Taber! ( He was beat by a 6o year old guy.) Kevin came in 3rd for men but that was because he was running with me and then going back and forth to take pictures of everyone else. Sarah and Noa also ran it and she came in 12th for the women which is totally awesome for her especially since she had a baby 3 months ago!!!

Anyway, its been a super awesome month with more to come! Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Backpacking with a Baby!

For Kevin's Birthday (October 27, 2008) we decided to go backpacking up the street from my parent's house. So, when Kevin got home from school on Friday the 24th, we packed up our bags and headed up the street to the mouth of the canyon! It was one of the craziest and most fun things we have ever done together! The hike was only about a mile and a half up the canyon but with Brooklyn, my bedding, and all of Brooklyn's things on my back, and the tent and food on Kevin's, we were hauling quite a bit of weight up a very steep hill! After a while, Brooklyn even started mimicking my breathing pattern, which was both embarrassing and funny!

When we left the house in the first place, it was already dark, so...by the time we got to our campsite, Brooklyn was a little angry with us for keeping her up late in the cold! We parked as quickly as possible and thus, ended up smack-dab in the middle of a game trail! We found that out in the middle of the night when all the elk came strolling through our campsite to get some grub!

Brooklyn didn't sleep the best because she had to squeeze into Kevin's sleeping bag to stay warm. She has never slept with us before and is appalled at the idea of cuddling, so it was a bit torturous for her. Nevertheless, when we woke up in the morning she was the happiest baby in the world! She ate several leaves, licked some rocks and laughed at the waterfalls. We are lucky to have a baby born to be in the outdoors. She LOVED it!

On the hike down we took extra time to take pictures since the hike up was pitch black. Here is a picture of one of the bridges we crossed on our hike. As you can see, it was a VERY cold night!

Last but not least, the birthday boy was the one in charge of the camera, so naturally, we have about 100 pictures of him making faces while he was hiking behind me. I couldn't figure out what he was giggling about until we got home and looked at the pictures together. What a nut! Oh well...we're glad he was born and super glad that he has lived this long!

Halloween Humbug!

I have to admit...I don't really like Halloween...in fact...I might even hate it! But there is a reason for it. When I was a month short of turning 10, I went trick-or-treating with my siblings. We had almost made it all the way around the block when we came to an old widow's home on the corner. She had us in a line and was dropping candy into our bags one at a time. My older sister Becca was right in front of me. I was so excited when I saw the candy drop into her bag and realized it was my turn. But, lo-and-behold, as soon as I stepped to the door the old woman said, "No way honey, you are way to old to be trick-or-treating! Run on home now." OH MAN! I was so crushed. I thought she was the most evil person on earth and vowed never to trick-or-treat again...and I haven't.

Now in her defense, I was a rather large and juicy 10 year old. I was probably 2 or 3 inches taller than Becca and nearly double her weight! Looking back, I can see many reasons why that lady thought it best not to aid my growth with any more candy, but at the time it was quite a blow to the old self esteem.

So, there is a point to the story. Although I was devastated by that lady and have faithfully hated Halloween for the last 16 years, I have found a new reason to like the day of the dead. BROOKLYN! As I dressed her up this year and got ready to take her to the trunk-or-treat (alternative to showing up at creepy stranger's houses) I couldn't help but get caught up in all the buzz. She couldn't eat any candy (even though she did) and she didn't understand what was going on, but she sure had fun! And that of course, made me have fun as well. Here are some pictures of Brooklyn's first Halloween!
As you can see, her nose is crooked and her whiskers are a bit skiwompus because she strongly opposed being drawn on, but to me she still makes a darn cute kitty!

Here is Brooklyn with cousins Joseph, Mason, David, and Maile.

Brooklyn really loved her candy bag even though there was nothing in it.

A closer look at the costumes. Top left: China doll. Bottom left: Kitty. Middle: Missionary Companions. Top Right: Escaped Prisoner. Bottom Right: Gay Missionary Companions.