Top 20 pics of 2011... Campbell family style

I'm going to do it. I'm going to try to pick just 20 pictures from 2011 that best sum up our year. I tried 11 to be hokey (y'know... 2011 so 11 pics) but that was hopelessly impossible. Twenty was ever so slightly more doable. So here we go!

1. 2011 started with a bang. A whole lot of bangs actually. New Years Eve in Hawaii
is unlike anything I've experienced anywhere else. The fireworks start early in the afternoon
and keep booming... and booming... and booming until the MASSIVE explosion the island
experiences at midnight. It's kind of surreal. I LOVED it! Unfortunately the law went into effect
that fireworks are no longer allowed on the island. The occasional popping and booming
I'm hearing this evening indicate that we'll still be treated to a loud NYE, but I suspect due
to the new illegal nature of fireworks, it won't be quite as spectacular as in years past.
I'm glad we got to experience it in it's prime :) (That's the clean-up effort after the fireworks party,
pictured above, by the way. And the hazy nature of the photo? That's because of all
the smoke in the air... not because I'm a lousy photographer LOL.) 

2. This year we went on a lot of outings as a family. It feels so good to get out of the house
and explore together! This picture represents a few favorites of ours. It shows Willy in an
extremely typical pose... camera held to his eye snapping shots of the beauty around us.
It shows the family on a hiking adventure. It shows us exploring a new-to-us location on the
island (Kaena Point), which I love to see in the picture. We do NOT take this place for granted
and we're doing everything we can to explore it to it's fullest! 

3. Speaking of exploring and not taking island life for granted... Willy is the master
at getting out there! He's in the water as often as possible and loves getting his
"hydro-solar recharge". We go to the beach frequently as a family, but Willy
can be found in the water almost weekly.

4. 2011 was a Year of the Bumps and Bruises (and cuts, and breaks, and stitches...)
One major event this year was poor Brady losing a permanent tooth and taking a hefty
sized chunk out of his lower lip in a skateboarding accident. He's got a gap in his smile
and a scar on his lip to show for the experience.

5. Not to be outdone, Toby spent some time in the ER this year as well. A couple weeks
after Brady's accident, Toby had one of his own. He was playing on the pogo stick, slipped
and fell forward and couldn't get his hands off the handles in front of him fast enough to
stop his fall, so he caught himself with his face... on the garage floor. One broken nose,
one fat lip and several bruises later, his pic makes the top 20 of the Campbell family year.

6. Sometime around July the planking craze hit the Campbell family  with gusto. Toby
was the most die hard, and could be planking randomly and without warning everywhere
we went. My favorite planking photo was Dinner Time with Guests Planking.

7. Ours is a reading family. We read, and read, and read. Ben read the Hunger Games
trilogy this year... twice. Brady read the Harry Potter series. I have no idea how many
books Willy and I have read cumulatively this year but it's got to be somewhere near
100 between the two of us. I love this picture of Willy and I on perhaps the most
romantic date ever, sitting in one of my favorite spots on the island (Kukaniloko) and
reading individually, but together.

8. We spent a lot of time at one of our favorite places this year, the Polynesian Cultural Center.
This happens to be one of my favorite pics of Toby... ever.

9. I like this picture because it represents EVERY SINGLE TIME I ask the kids to pose
for pictures. There always has to be the final "funny faces shot".

10. To go along with the funny faces... we spent a lot of time this year laughing together.
Willy makes me laugh every single day. I love him for it!

11. We moved this year. We stayed in the same neighborhood but found a place with
an additional bedroom, had central air and was a significant chunk of change cheaper
than the rent in our old house. It was a no brainer! Moving sucks in general, but this
has definitely been a good move for our family! And we got so much help from
friends and church ohana that the move itself was *nearly* painless.

12. 2011 was the year of the skateboard in our family. We've explored half a dozen
skate parks on the island and the kids are mastering their skills constantly. Willy gets right
out there with them and has a blast. He even built me a skateboard and painted it with
"Chicks rule" on the bottom of the deck. I love it... but I'm kind of a klutz on it. I don't want
to lose a permanent tooth like another little sk8er boi I know...

13. One thing I managed to do right in 2011 was take better care of myself and
claim control of my body and weight. I've got a long way to go, but I started the
journey to drop the plus from my size and nothing is stopping me now.

14. This year was filled with lots and lots of hula! I continued taking dance lessons
with Akala Studios and Molly began taking hula lessons this year as well! She and I
have performed at several performances together and it's a great mommy/daughter
experience! And the boys are relatively willing to come cheer us on hehehe. (Ben moreso
than any others, probably. Coconut bras, y'know...)

15. Speaking of Molly. She's a diva princess. In a big way. She's found her
demanding, diva ways this year and really polished them to princess perfection.

16. We managed to pull off one more year of coordinated Halloween costumes in 2011.
I'm not sure I can even hope for another year of cooperation from the older kids, but
at least we had one more fun family costume photo for the books!

17. Something happened in 2011 that quite frankly disturbs me more than anything else.
Ben became a giant of a man-child now. It freaks me out thoroughly each time I give him
a hug or find myself standing next to him. Freaks. Me. Out.

18. This year we didn't have a lot of extended family visitors like we have in years past.
We haven't had any visitors, actually, since January! We miss spending time with our "real" family,
but we've managed to spend a whole lot of time with our Hawaiian ohana as they've had a pretty
magnificent year (finalizing the adoption of their now 2 1/2 year old son and being sealed
together as a family in the Laie Temple!) It's good to have "family" to spend time with!

19. Willy and I celebrated our 15th anniversary this year and took the most amazing little
island hop vacation to Kauai to celebrate! It was a magical weekend experiencing one of the
most beautiful places I've ever seen!

20. Hey look! We got our family photo taken professionally!  There's a first for everything LOL.
This is our family near the end of 2011. This is us! This is what life is all about!

 2011 was a wonderful year. 

I'm excited for what 2012 has in store!

Happy New Year from our ohana to yours!!