A Destination Christmas...

2011 marked my first Barker family Christmas.

And as you can see - 

the Barkers sure do know how to convince a girl that they know how to celebrate.

{as if I needed any convincing}

It was an incredible Christmas.

How did I get so lucky to wind up with James AND his fab fam?

We touched down in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 23rd.

We stayed in a newer area of Oahu called Ko Olina.

The area has three major resorts, which surround several large ocean lagoons.

No crashing waves - just a nice tide to listen to.

It was nothing short of spectacular.

It was a slightly rainy day - but we didn't mind.

We headed straight for the pools to enjoy the last few hours of daylight.

The next day was Christmas eve.

We went to the grocery store to get a few things and started prepping ourselves for the holiday ahead.

And of course, we all indulged in our darling new nephew.

James and his dad hit the links while the girls lounged by the pool.

A few short hours later we walked down the gorgeous path between the resorts for a Christmas Eve buffet.

We talked about family traditions, told stories, spoke of our blessings and reminisced.

The sun setting on our walk home was incredible.

I must admit - 

I love that I married a man with all sisters.

They have become some of my very best friends.

I could have walked and talked with them on that path for hours.

We returned to the hotel and lined up our stockings for Santa

 before participating in a little Christmas program.

My mother-in-law Ann made this chime set for a Relief Society activity several years ago.

I was so excited to get to participate in the new tradition of chime playing.

Jim was our director.

We followed the numbered music to some of our very favorite hymns.

I will admit, we could use a little bit of practice

but after awhile we got it down.

It is a new tradition that I hope to carry on in our very own little Barker home.

Ann even went so far as to bring us Christmas pajamas all the way to Hawaii.

I was beyond thrilled -

I couldn't imagine a Christmas without them. 

{That is James' shirt. 

Yes, it reads "everything is better with Coke." 

The ironic part is that I don't really drink Coke. Only on occasion. 

Guess I was trying to win points with the Barker fam?}

The next day was Christmas.

Naturally I woke up around 5 a.m.

Santa just has that effect on me - 

no matter where I am.

I waited for an hour or so before waking up James.

I loved getting to see pictures on Intagram that morning.

It is so fun to get a glimpse of your traditions - almost instantly.

Once I jumped on the bed several hundred times -

James was up.

We rushed down to the sand in our Christmas pajamas and submerged our toes.

It was calm and beautiful.

We were the only ones in sight.

It was a morning I don't think I will ever forget.

Not only was I able to spend the first few moments with my husband -

but our baby girl decided to really make a big entrance.

For the first time - 

you could really tell I was pregnant.

Perhaps it was slipping into a bathing suit or all the Christmas food.

But Christmas eve and Christmas day she was ready to pop right out.

And so we sat - just taking it all in.

Feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for our Savior and our family.

We are blessed.

The perfect start to the Christmas day.

We rushed back up stairs to find that everyone was awake and ready to get going.

The sun was shining and Santa had stuffed our stockings to the brim.

Lucky us.

Chocolate covered macadamia nuts and a hand sewn punting banner adorned those long socks.

We all gave the parents some gifts and exchanged a few things.

We kept it simple and sweet.

Ate our tasty Christmas breakfast.

{Complete with Hawaiian pineapple - INCREDIBLE}

And dashed down to the beach for the day.

{Note the bump - 5 months prego}

We snorkeled around one of the lagoons with the girls.

Ann rented a water hammock and all our cares seemed 5 million years away.

For Christmas dinner - we cooked in our hotel!

I wish I would have taken pictures.

We promised Jim we would cook so that Ann wouldn't have to stress.

It was a crack up.

We grilled steak, made a tasty salad and baked potatoes.

We could not get the potatoes to cook.

Isn't that supposed to be the easiest thing to cook?

After nearly 2 hours.

They were ready and we dove in to our fun Christmas feast.

On our way to the beach Allison and Lizzie decided to climb a palm tree.

James and I were cracking up.

They were so scared.

We were going to show them.

It looked like a joke.

Up we went - and I could not even get myself to stand up straight.

It was terrifying.

Pathetic I tell you.

We took a string of photos, which Allison turned into an incredible moving pic.

Check it out here.

More of our Hawaii vacation to come tomorrow.