One Heck Of A Long Post. . . Hawaii

My back and side are finally starting to get back to normal.  After enduring 5 weeks of pain my doctor ordered a CT scan and it turns out no kidney stone (though I now know that I have a “duplicate kidney” – kind of a cool fact that I can brag about at parties and in the checkout line at the grocery store).  I’ve been going to physical therapy for a few weeks now and the pain is greatly reduced.  I am able to sit once again and catch up on some much needed blogging.

HAWAII!!!!!

In April we went with AH’s entire family to Maui, HI for 8 glorious days.  Despite our 3:45am departure, to catch our 6:40am flight, we were more than happy to comply if it got us away from this dreadfully rainy winter we’ve endured far far too long (tomorrow is June 1 and it is still raining).

We stayed in Kehei (my favorite “town” on Maui) at the beautiful Mana Kai Maui resort that is situated practically in the ocean.  Our room overlooked the pool and a long stretch of beach – it was a hard view to wake up to each morning. 

Most days were spent snorkeling at “the dump” (the best reef on the island), boogie boarding in the surf at our beach or another nearby beach or playing in the pool.  The kids loved playing with their cousins all day, celebrating all the spring birthdays together at one big party, surfing, and building sandcastles. 

Here’s the daily breakdown:

Sunday, April 3^rd – Arrived.  AH and all the other men took the kids to play on the beach while the wives got us settled in to our condos. 
Monday, April 4^th – Went to Polo Beach in Wailea.  Tried snorkeling but the water was too rough and cloudy (though Queen did see a small red octopus).  We spent the afternoon at our own hotel beach and pool.  That night we celebrated Grandma, Grandpa, Spencer and Mr. B’s birthdays with hamburgers and brownies for dinner.

Sarah in full gear.

Mr. B and Garrett contemplating the task before them. 

The Ladies of Polo Beach 

The Triplets

Beeb was a little nervous about boogie boarding so Tip took her with him.  I think she liked it.

Tuesday, April 5^th – In the morning we snorkeled at “the dump”.  This was Mr. B and Beeb’s first successful snorkeling.  I took Mr. B out and as we backed into the ocean he was freaking out.  I kept telling him to just put his face (his mask was on) in the water until he finally did it and was AMAZED at the fish he saw.  Beeb was freezing (silly girl has no body fat to keep her warm even in tropical water) but I made her stay out until we saw a turtle a short time later.  It was amazing to see these sights all over again through the eyes of our children. 

“The Dump”

There always has to be one that gets sick and for this trip it was Riley - poor kid.   Thankfully he can literally sleep anywhere! (remember him from THIS post) 

In the late morning we drove part way up the Road to Hana. 

This road is not for the queasy:

 

We stopped at mile marker 11 and took a short trail to a beautiful waterfall and lagoon.  AH and Tip did some cliff diving (they live to torment their mother). 

On one trip back up to the top of the waterfall a teenage boy followed them but ended up slipping on the trail and breaking his leg severely (bone sticking out).  All the men in our group spent some time helping to carry the boy (think full grown heavier set teenager) back down the trail while we waited for the fire department and ambulance to arrive. 

While taking a break on this cool fence (AH and Tip were looking for the trail head) the ambulance carrying the boy passed us.

After leaving the boy and his family in the care of the trained professionals we backtracked our way to mile marker 6 to see another waterfall (4 in all on this trail).  We hiked through a bamboo forest and stopped at the second falls.  The men climbed this fall and went on to the next one (which was fantastic – I’ll have to see it on our next trip) while the women waited with the younger kids.

On the way back to Kehei we stopped for incredibly expensive shaved ices at a really dirty dog sanctuary/mini-mart (thankfully they ran out of ice so I only had to buy one) and then stopped again at Ho’okipa Beach to watch the amazing surfers.  Uncle T bought a coconut and let everyone try the milk and meat and then we bought the kids some kettlecorn to snack on. 

Wednesday, April 6^th – I joined Grandpa, Uncle T, Spencer and Garrett on a day trip to Honolulu to visit Pearl Harbor.  We took a little 9 passenger plane from Maui to Moloka’i which had the most scenic cliffs and ocean views.  I was very interested in Moloka’i because I had just read a book about the leprosy colony located on that island.  We actually flew right over the colony – I’d definitely like to go back some day and take the mule ride down to the colony.   We then flew on to Honolulu and spent the day exploring Pearl Harbor.  We toured the USS Bowfin submarine wherein I only had half a dozen or so attacks of claustrophobia – definitely not a career for me.  We viewed the movie presentation about the actual attack on Pearl Harbor (it was truly amazing – pure reverence at the end by everyone on the theatre) and then took a boat over to the USS Arizona Memorial.  We ended our visit by touring the USS Missouri and were completely exhausted and ready to head back to Maui.

These seats were way comfy – the big airlines could benefit from them.

Yes that is the wheel of our plane!

USS Bowfin

Target practice on the USS Missouri.

The “baggage claim” at the Moloka’i airport!

Those who didn’t go to Pearl Harbor spent the day playing on the beach or in the pool.  In the evening Queen arranged for some local girls in our church to come by the hotel and teach our girls the Hula (I am sorry to have missed seeing this).  The first hula taught was to the song Pearly Shells.  Grandma got a little choked up as this was her mother's favorite Hawaiian song.

Thursday, April 7^th – Wend to “the dump” in the morning.  Beeb wasn’t interested in snorkeling so I went with Queen and we saw 6 turtles!  We spent the rest of the day at our hotel beach and pool and then in the evening Beeb and I joined other family members on an outing to Lahaina to see some Polynesian dancers perform and ate ice cream – yum!

Friday, April 8^th – We did our usual morning “dump” run and then after lunch we went to Black Rock Beach (hardly any parking stalls – plan ahead and take a taxi in from a nearby mall parking lot).  The Triplets spent their time building sand castle, playing in the surf and then burying each other in the sand.   Mr. B and Garrett spent hours playing in the surf – occasional having to be told to make their way back down to us as they seems to keep heading farther and farther down the beach.  AH, Tip, Uncle T and Spencer did some fun cliff diving and had a quick snorkeling trip. 

The men - standing in warm tropical water (probably gossiping).

That night AH and I took the kids to our favorite Mexican restaurant.   The food turned out to be completely flavorless and gross as compared to our last visit just 18 months prior.  I was so disappointed.

Saturday, April 9^th – We sent to Kalama Park in Kehei and rented surf boards for the day.  Beeb and Brynn were the first to try.  Beeb didn’t have any luck her first ride out and was pretty ticked off.  Queen captured me offering Beeb some sage words of wisdom (I
occasionally have them) – just have fun, laugh and try again. 

Beeb did try again later and got up - success! Mr. B went out twice and had no trouble getting up several times and AH and I managed to surf a few times too. It was a lot of fun (be sure to get the big boards - they are way more stable).

Future pro-surfer Brynn taught us all how it was to be done.

That evening we all spruced ourselves up and had some family pictures on the beach.  It was a bit stormy but we made the best of it.

We clean up pretty well!

Sunday, April 10^th – We attended the local ward of our church for services in the morning and even ran into people we knew.  We spent the afternoon at Maluake Beach (and ran into our friend again!) playing in the surf, snorkeling and building sand castles.   Tip’s family left in the morning so it was our last day there with the entire group.

Some locals has pulled these creatures from the ocean for a few hours – the kids loved investigating them.

All the grandchildren (minus Riley who wasn’t feeling photogenic)

 

Monday, April 11^th – Last day!  We packed up our rooms and played in the pool until we left for our whale watching tour.  No super great whale sightings (some whales but nothing spectacular), but it was fun to be on the boat.  Afterward we explored a bit of the marina and then headed to the airport for our red-eye home (never doing a red-eye again!).

 

It was a super fantastic vacation and the kids are already hounding us to go back – I wouldn’t say no to that.

What's Missing?

I'm missing, I know.  Our Hawaiian vacation post will have to wait due to a kidney stone that is trying to make its way out of my body.  The pain has been annoying up to this point but now (as of today) it is getting a pit more painful and causing muscle spasms in my back (literally like a contraction) that are no fun and only increase my discomfort.

So until it passes (currently it is midway down my side) I am spending as much time as possible in bed with a heating pad, drinking copious amounts of water and dreading the day when the stone reaches my bladder and urethra and the "real" pain begins.  Oh joy.

Celebrating. . . and celebrating Mr. B

March brought the conclusion of basketball season (yeah!) and ski lessons (sad):

Their "unicorn" instructor was awesome! 

On the last run of the season they took the quad to the top of the mountain!  I can hardly believe how far they've come since their very first lesson in January.

It seemed like the rest of the month was spent celebrating Mr. B who turned 8!  Uncle D, Aunt M and cousin J came down to celebrate on a beautiful Saturday (J's birthday is just before Mr. B's) and we enjoyed riding on the motorcycle and visiting the trains:

Aunt M was very brave to try out the rope swing.

This one looks like a Thomas the Train set to me - not quite real even though I know it was.

A little craziness is always encouraged.

 

The following Saturday Mr. B had a birthday party with some of his friends.  Amazingly, of the 15 kids invited all but one showed.  Mom and Dad realized that 14 is a lot of boys and girls, but we survived.  Social Mr. B has a lot of friends (such a blessing).

 I love this shot!

On Mr. B's actual birthday he decided that we must eat at his favorite restaurant.  He dined on lots of root beer, a large hot dog with french fries and was pulled from our booth and dressed in a silly hat, over sized glasses, and tinsel while holding a special ice cream sundae.  He was then made to stand in the center of the restaurant while all the patrons sang Happy Birthday to him. 

 Daddy kept trying to steal his special birthday dessert much to Mr. B's frustration.

A couple of days after Mr. B's birthday he performed in the school musical concert.  Grandma and Grandpa came to cheer him on and we were all surprised to learn that he was one of the students selected to play an instrument during the concert (xylophone).  He did a fantastic job!

And finally, once Mr. B officially turned 8 he became a member of the Cub Scout Wolf den and was able to participate in the annual Pinewood Derby (he cleared it by 2 days).  He and AH worked hard all month on his car and it paid off by winning 2nd place overall!  Way to go!

Mr. B's car is the one on the far right.

After such an incredibly busy month we are all looking forward to a nice break!

"Sun"day

Today, after church, I started teaching Beeb how to do cross stitch.  There are some cross stitch patterns on the Martha Stewart website that I thought would be fairly simple for a first time project. Beeb, who loves all things "cats", has chosen the cat pattern to start with.  I gave her some minor instructions on the two stitches she'll be using and then kept a close watch over her first few lines.  She is doing a fantastic job!  She is being very patient and taking great care to get each stitch just right.  I am loving that she essentially snuggles with me while she is working (and I am working on one too) and we enjoyed some quiet time together.  She has such a sweet tender personality that can be overlooked when she is fluttering about all the time, as she does.  It is nice to build these peaceful memories with her as well. 

Staying inside on a sunny day was driving AH crazy so he dragged us all outdoors for a quick walk around the block followed by a fun little one base game of baseball in the backyard.  Both the kids loved the game, though Beeb pouted a bit until the "girl" team finally started getting some hits. 

I was so impressed with Mr. B and his attitude during it all.  In the past he would have been insisting upon being the first (and the only) batter but today he did a great job of taking turns, playing in the outfield and never giving up even when Beeb and I had an especially long inning due to our amazing baseball talents (mild sarcasm re the talents).  It was really fun to play together and to give each other lots of compliments.

I loved the new level of activity that a little sun encouraged and I hope it has many returns this spring!  

Mr. B Logic: Library

On they way to church this morning Mr. B had an epiphany.

"I know what library means," he announces.  "If you lie then you have to eat a berry."

We'll done Mr. B, we'll be working on enunciation as part of your home work this week.  Silly boy!

Yoda

Our elementary schools have become much more sophisticated since I attended a few decades ago.  Classrooms have iPads, electronic white boards (no more chalkboards), Internet service and kids give reports using PowerPoint.  Even P.E. has stepped it up by offering "Yoda".

This afternoon Beeb was flittering around and suddenly told me to watch her do the fish position that she learned in Yoda.

 Here are some of her other Yoda moves:

Pretty impressive isn't it?  May the force be with you Beeb.

Open & Shut

While driving home from church today we passed through a high-end neighborhood that had at least 4 open houses going on – I drooled. I love to go to open houses to see how other people decorate and glean off their great ideas. I am frustrated that most open houses are on Sundays when I cannot go.

“I hate that Sundays are the day for open houses. Why can’t they do them on Saturdays?” I whined to AH.

“Don’t they have them on other days of the week?” AH replied.

“Yes.” I said. “But not nearly as many as they have on Sundays.”

“Why would you want to go to an open house?” AH inquired. (such a man)

Looking incredulously at him, “So I can see how they decorate their homes. . . and so I can inevitably nag you to move.”

“And for that reason I am glad most open houses are on Sunday,” quipped AH.

A Break. . . Mid-Winter

I am not delighted with the week long "mid-winter break" our school district has in February. I am especially disgruntled when it is followed 5 weeks later by a week long “spring break” and then possibly by a school year extended into late June when the kids have to do snow or flooding make up days. How about we just drop mid-winter break and get out of school earlier in June? Alright, I'll get of my soapbox now.

Since we do have mid-winter break and it did snow (so so happy) we decided to make the best of it. After skiing last Monday with the cousins we had big snowstorm hit our area and AH decided skiing in a blizzard was the perfect time to ski as a family so we headed back up to the local resort.

The state patrol was monitoring all vehicles for the mandatory chains, snow tires or all wheel traction devices and so there was quite a long row of vehicles "chaining up" along the highway.





At the ski resort there was an astounding 12 to 18 inches of fresh snowy powder on the bunny hill (amazing). It continued to snow while we were there, so heavily at times that I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me.



The kids did really well in the deep snow while I felt the burn in my upper thighs and lower abdomen as I tried to maneuver my skis through it. By the end of the evening I was truly missing my groomed trails that require no strength to change direction or to stop. I informed AH that there would be no need to do P90X that night and that I was super thankful that we had only done the yoga workout the night before and saved my legs for that nights ski workout.

After a few hours we took the kiddos over to the ski school to meet up with the instructor for their regular weekly lesson. At the end of the lesson the instructor told me that the kids did really amazing through their first powder. Good thing we got their early so they could practice before we paid someone to teach them how to ski in it (isn't this like cleaning the house before the housekeeper comes?).



This was AH’s first time seeing the kids ski since their very first ski lesson in January. He was really amazed at the skills they have developed and what wonderful little skiers they have become.

This ski date was also a huge milestone in our nearly 12 years of marriage. . . AH and I skied together for the very first time. Hallelujah, it's about time!

I Feel My Age +10 Years Tonight

This morning the kids and I tagged along with AH's brother and his family for a day of skiing. I was excited to see my kiddos in action after 7 weeks of ski lessons but as it turned out I hardly saw them at all! They took off with their cousins and I would only catch a glimpse them in the lift line or soaring 20 feet above me from the lift chair. It was exciting to see them excel and enjoy a sport that AH and I love so much. The investment (minor investment - I found a fantastic and inexpensive ski school) was worth every cent!

The pack is ready to hit the slopes:


A rare picture of me with my kiddos:


Beeb and Miss B coming off the chair lift at the top of the hill:


Patiently waiting in the never ending lift line:


Miss C at the end of the day getting more practice in with the help of the magic carpet:


Beeb doing some easy magic carpet runs while we wait for the last of our group to meet us before heading home for the day:


I had a fantastic time and am so proud of my kiddos and all the progress they've made since January. I can't wait until AH can join us so he too can appreciate their remarkable ski skills. Unfortunately tonight my feet are terribly sore, my calves ache a bit and my overall body is tired and ready to lay down for the night. This evening I definitely feel my age plus 10 years - I need to hit the slope more often and take a decade or so off.

Cleaning in the Dark

I am on a bit of a spring cleaning kick right now. The new entertainment room cabinetry has given us lots of extra storage space so I have started transferring stuff (or "junk" if you ask AH) into the new cabinets which in turn has freed up closet space that then requires a rearranging (a sort of demented cycle but in the end rewarding).

A newly reorganized closet:


Having a clean closet only enhances the rest of the cluttered areas of the house so today I decided it was time to clean out a few of those areas too. For example the kitchen junk drawer that I dealt with this afternoon:



I was able to get partially started on my office drawers (which really means creating a bigger mess than before once I took everything out of the drawers) but had to postpone the work when it was time for the kiddo's to come home from school. Typically this would have meant the mess staying out for several days (possibly weeks) until I got my "cleaning groove" back but then this evening a fantastic miracle happened. . . the power went out.

AH had taken Beeb to basketball practice so it was only Mr. B and I home and he had just confiscated my Zune leaving me with nothing to do but finish my project by flashlight. I cleaned out and filed away old bills and statements; threw away many files of paper work that had long since been outdated and useless; sorted through all our music CD's, computer game CD's and miscellaneous other stuff really should have seen the bottom of the trash can a long time ago.



I must say a house of order truly does bring peace of mind, even if it only gets done in the dark.

Happy {Early} Valentines

Once a month we have a free "baby sitter" through a local church program that takes our kids for several hours giving AH and I a chance to spend a little time together. We drop our kids off at the church where they are ready with lots of games, crafts, running room and a movie room as well as 1:1 friend/supervision for kids with special needs. It's amazing!

This month AH took the free evening as an opportunity to surprise me with a wonderful Valentine's Day gift. After dropping the kids off we headed to a Thai restaurant that we been to in the past and had the most awful food ever (what a waist) but during dinner AH handed me with a little gift. I was truly stumped over the mystery gift because it was much too small to be anything from "the list". As I unwrapped the box I got so excited to see that AH took the initiative to purchase me my very own Zune.



AH bought himself a Zune about a month ago and I have been borrowing it regularly to play games or watch movies while the kids are at ski lesson, basketball practice, etc. I guess he got tired of his new toy going missing all the time.

Here's just one of the reasons I love AH so much. He knows who I am and that I am exactly the type of person who gets excited over all things computer related: RAM, external HD's, monitors or, as in this case, a Zune. This gift is the perfect gift because there is no monthly subscription to pay and yet I can still listen to my music, pod casts, videos, access the Internet or play games. Absolutely perfect!

I guess the lesson learned for this year is that AH has permission to veer from "the list" but only for things computer related but definitely not for adult sized footed pajamas.

(Beeb was so amazed at my transformation from "plain ol' mom" into "what I looked like before I became a stay-a-home-mom" that I thought I had better document it lest it never happens again and she has only this foggy memory of me looking halfway decent.)

Me just before we left on our date:

It's a NeuroticThing

This week we are getting new carpeting in the family room, stairs, Mr. B’s room and my office. AH informed me that before I scheduled the installation date he had a check list of items that needed to be done prior to the carpet being installed. I told him he had until the day before the unknown install date to get it all done – and that the date would be sooner rather than later.

AH and I are not the fastest remodelers in the world. We’ve had our house 10 years and we are just now finishing the last “big” project. Of course the pace was mostly driven by funds but there have been a few projects that have just sat unfinished out of sheer lack of motivation. At this point I worry that if I don’t get the carpet installed now the stairs may sit bare for another two years.

AH’s list actually wasn’t so bad, he just needed the time to do it. This meant I needed to keep the kiddos out of his hair for a solid day (or the equivalent there of over several days time). He has made tremendous progress on his list in a very short time, especially after I told him last Monday that the carpet was coming in 10 days. Last night he tackled the last item on the list – a squeaky floor in Mr. B’s room.

Here’s where I need to explain how neurotic AH can be about certain things. I get lots of comments from people about the tidiness of my home (including garage). This is not me, this is AH. I am an average clean person. I am not especially tidy thought I do like to know that the surface underneath is clean. In our home I do the laundry, most of the cooking (including menu planning and grocery shopping), and other general household chores as I think is standard in most homes where the wife works in the home and the husband works away. AH takes my tidiness to a different level. Each night following dinner he cleans the kitchen – all of the kitchen. He 409’s the counters, washes and puts away the dishes, clears off clutter from the counters and vacuums the floor. This thoroughness is how AH treats everything in his life – he does not do projects half way. It is annoying for us less than perfect souls though I am thankful that AH never makes me feel guilty, I am capable of doing that on my own. When I get this way I yell at him for cleaning (can you imagine?). I know. . . I’m crazy (really I do know this but emotions aren’t always logical). On the flip side his need for clean does inspire me to work harder to be tidier and that is probably a good thing.

Now that you know a fraction of how neurotic AH is about his tasks you will understand how he approached the squeaky floor. After taking up the carpet he found a spot along the wall where the unevenness of the floor was causing the noise that drives him nuts. He put in a few shims to brace the floor more and the noise stopped – AH was very happy. He then realized that since everything is out of Mr. B’s room he would touch up the paint on the walls that had been patched a while ago but never painted over. He realized with the first stroke of paint in the closet that the color he was using didn’t match. I brought him a wet rag to wipe the paint off the wall. He then tried another color and called me back into the room to say that it too didn’t match and now he would have to remove the closet system to finish painting because he had already painted a quarter of the wall, too much to just wipe off.

“Why did you keep painting if you knew it was the wrong color?” I asked. “Nobody would have noticed that tiny patch at the back of the closet.”

“That’s not how I do things,” he answered.

“You’re crazy,” I responded supportively.

After finishing the painting he told me, “You’re not going to be happy with me in a minute.”

I stopped and looked at him. He had found another squeak in the floor and wanted to deal with it.

"I’m going to cut the floor open to find what's making that noise," he said.

“That’s fine,” I said back. “You’re not going to be happy with me either since I don’t like the color of Mr. B’s room and am going to want to repaint it soon.”

“You’re kidding, right?” he asked.

“No,” I said.

Guess what I’m neurotic about? If you guessed changing the wall colors you would be correct.