2013

Wow! I can't believe that it has been almost a year since my last post! We have done so many things and even though I have thought about my blog often, I have not really given up time browsing on the web to write. Well, that is going to change this year!

In the last year I went from completing NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) to completing NoBo (No Boundaries) and running in my first 5K races last spring. Yes, I said running, which I never thought that I would do or enjoy doing. I got a bike for my last birthday to help with cross training and am hoping to teach my youngest to ride a two-wheeler this year so that we can go on family bike rides.

I gave up running for this summer because we went on a family trip to Thailand, and I found that I don't really like to run in the heat. I was going to plug on and just join MIT (Marathoners in Training) this winter and do my first half marathon this spring, but my best friend convinced me to do NoBo again this fall. Doing NoBo again this fall was definitely easier than the first time around, but it also convinced me that I am not ready to do a half marathon. So, the goal right now is to complete the quarter marathon in May training with NoBo and do a half marathon before I turn 41. We found that training takes a great deal of time, and it is time that we do not have to devote to running especially in the winter time when daylight hours are minimal.

I have started using a sewing machine and hope to complete more projects using it. I have also just started making no sew fleece blankets. I know that I am behind the times, but once I made some for my kids; they were so soft and warm, I kept stealing theirs and had to make one for myself. Of course, I made mine big enough to share! Once I am done with the no sew blankets, I hope to get to the fringe fleece scarf that I originally wanted to make with the sewing machine. Before we left for Florida after Christmas, I made the kids seatbelt pillows. They didn't really care for them, but I thought they were quite comfy.

I have also started Project Life this year along with Collect. These are both projects that are based on 365 Project which is taking a picture a day for a year. I have been doing pretty well so far, but we are only nine days into the year. I am using Project Life to document our family life and events and Collect just for fun. I bought the Project Life Album and Kit from Amazon and really hope that it turns out nice.

As you can see, my new year is off and running. Hope that the blog post are off to a great start also!

Whirlwind April

(Although much delayed, I wanted to document this event in my blog because it happened to me directly and I also want a log of my husband's status updates from facebook.)

April started out innocently enough.  Just 15 days to go until Spring Break.  Report cards were done; packing started for trip to Florida; camping items bought.  Then..., on Wednesday, April 6th, I woke up with a stomach ache.  I was trying to shake it off to go to a meeting, but couldn't.  I had the chills and couldn't lay down.  Tums and Maalox did not help.  Chicken soup did not help.  The kids went to school, and Ron went to work.  I laid around dozing and in pain, still thinking it was a stomach virus.  About 11am Ron called to tell me what the symptoms of an appendicitis were; I asked him to check what the symptoms were for a gall bladder attack. (I really didn't think that I had either.)  He asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital again, and I finally agreed mostly to get him off my back.  I got dressed and sat down to wait for Ron to come home.  Off we went to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital, Ron dropped me off at the door, and I walked in by myself to stand in line behind two people who walked in right before me.  I was not able to stand up and when Ron came in, I made him stand in line for me, and I sat back down.  When the registration man called me, I was able to tell him my information, and we sat down and waited to be called back.  Once we were called back, I explained to the nurse what my pains were and how they were spreading and what started out as pain under my rib cage became pain down near my pelvis and down my sides and my back.  They took blood and put in an IV which I insisted the tech put in my left arm.  (I honestly hate IVs and have only had one a few times in my life, but with the birth of my first child learned that I am very right hand dominant and do not like them in my right arm.)  Then, they came back with some pain medication and when it did not work, came back with stronger stuff.  The doctor decided that they wanted to do a CT Scan with contrast and had me drink some liquid with raspberry Crystal Light.  They wheeled me to the CT Scan and they results came back: appendicitis.
At 3:30 as they were wheeling me to pre-op, I was calling my colleague to help me out with sub plans, and Ron was calling the principal to have a sub called for me for the next two days.  By 5pm I was in surgery.  These are Ron's status updates from this day.

My poor wife was in pain this morning. At first she thought she had the stomach flu.4 hours later we found ourselves at the hospital. She had a CT scan performed and it revealed that she has appendicitis. She will be going in for surgery soon. I'll follow up post surgery.

Penny is out of surgery and all went well. She is still snoring and should be in her room soon. She will have to stay overnite and hopefully released tomorrow AM. Thanks to everyone for all of your kind thoughts and prayers. Penny will be back on FB soon enough.

True enough I was released the next day!  Went back to work on Monday, took Tuesday and Wednesday off mainly to rest and for a post-op appointment, worked Thursday, and left Friday morning for our Disney camping trip.

Catching Up

I know that it has been a long time since I have written. I left off in the middle of summer vacation in New England so to recap...

We went to Chinatown in Boston for dim sum on Monday.
On Tuesday it was raining, but we still stopped for some outlet mall shopping in Kittery, ME on our way to Kennebunk. We ate lobster dinner that night!
On Wednesday we went to Freeport to the LL Bean Outlet where I found all sorts of bags and backpacks. We also made it to Gooch's Beach that day.
Thursday brought the highlight of our trip: my brother in law came home from Afghanistan and we sped back to Boston to meet him at the airport. What a great day!
I went to the New Balance Outlet on Friday to return some things and my daughter ended up with Bert and Ernie tennis shoes. She loves them! I also took my kids to visit a friend in Salem, MA. We went out to Marblehead Point.
Saturday was our last day and our Maine relatives came down to meet us for a day on the beach near Gloucester, MA. The perfect ending to a wonderful trip.

Real life after vacation brought the set-up of a new classroom for me and 27 wonderful kindergartners for me to teach! No wonder I have had no time to blog, plus my two beautiful children at home and their activities (Cub Scouts and religion class). The change has been tough! Having a classroom there is always so much to learn and so much to do. Even in the two years that I was gone, some things have changed drastically. I am always playing catch up in some arena of my life!

The ironic things that have happened are: I have already attended the funeral of one of my student's mother's and today, a first in my life: I had a student bite another student on the ear a la Mike Tyson! So much for my rule of only food, drink, and candy go in your mouth! What can I say: life is never dull with children around!

Boston Day Two

We ended up staying home on our second day in Boston. My sister in law, my niece, and her boyfriend came down to visit from Maine. They learned how to play Mahjongg while the guys went to play golf, and my children relaxed at home.

The evening was once again a huge meal of chicken and ribs!

In the middle of the night our room was so dark that Reese woke up and yelled out to me, "I can't see!" I had to go and get her from her mattress on the floor!

Boston Day One

We got to Boston at 1:30 am. It was a long trip, and it rained most of the way from home. The kids were very good and well entertained by movies. Thank goodness for the DVD player!

After a leisurely breakfast with family and laundry because our clothes got soaked on the top of the car, we took off to see the sights of Boston. We saw Fenway Park and stopped by the Prudential Building. We then set off on a walk through the city that included a walk down Boyston Street passed the Boston Public Library and Trinity Church. I liked the saying that was inscribed on the Boston Public Library Building. "The Commonwealth requires the education of the people as the safeguard of order and liberty."

We walked through the Public Garden and the Swan Boats to Charles Street and along Charles Street through Beacon Hill to a foot bridge near the Longfellow Bridge. We passed the Community Boat House and walked back toward the Prudential Center along the Charles Street Esplanade. It was fun to see a different side of Boston than I saw on my last trip to Boston, but I wore the wrong shoes that day and was not prepared for a long walk. The top of my sandal dug into my foot and gave me a blister that is still tender today. (I thought that we were just going to look at the shops along Newbury Street.)

We left for home after this trek and a stop at the candy store in the Prudential Center. Then, it was off to the Sam's Club, Lowe's for a grill, and Stop and Shop for groceries for dinner. What a tiring day that ended with a yummy taco meal!

Update

To bring everything up to date, we have had some changes the last few months. I haven't been blogging much due to other obligations. In the spring I took two classes to maintain my Intervention Specialist license in case I needed it for my tutoring position next year. In May I got a kindergarten teaching position and am very excited about the prospect of working full time again with children.

With the end of the school year comes the start of festival season. We did two festivals this year and I think that we might be done. I have not done well in the past in the fall and do not anticipate that this season would be any better.

We had some family friends visit in June, and I had a great time taking them to Amish country. It was the best trip that I have ever taken to Amish country. We had lunch at an Amish restaurant, visited the Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center, and ended the day sampling cheese at Heini's.

Father's Day weekend brought Ron's two best friends and their families to our home. I had a great time catching up and getting to know the wives while the kids played. The kids had an awesome time playing together and playing on the water slide that our neighbors brought out.

July brought the 4th and time spent with family. We had a great weekend with parties and fireworks. Now, comes more time with family as we visit Boston and Maine!

Hawaii Day Fifteen: Our Last Day

We did some last minute snorkeling in Makena where we saw some really pretty coral and some fish, but had trouble with foggy goggles. We stopped by Riley's favorite beach for him to say goodbye and went home for lunch. We had lunch, finished packing, and left to do some last minute shopping. I decided that I wanted something to commemorate our trip to Hana and I found a t-shirt at Crazy Shirts. I went back to get the t-shirt and ended up with the hat instead. The logo is Road to Hana Survivor: 617 curves, 56 bridges, 52 miles, 3 hours, winding road. Ron bought some souvenirs at Hilo Hattie's and we went to the mall. At the mall we went to see if I could get Ron's another cell phone before we went home because he dropped his, and it did not show a screen anymore. We decided to wait until we got home. Ron found what he was looking for and we were off the the airport. Reese and I had an evening flight. She stayed awake for the first three hours and then fell asleep. Because of the time change we landed in Dallas at 1am Hawaii time, and Reese was a real bear. When it got light outside, I took her to ride the Skylink, a train that links all the terminals. We rode it three times: Reese stood the first time, climbed in the my lap the second round, and fell asleep. I put her in her stroller, and she stayed asleep pretty much until we got home. She woke up briefly to get on the plane and then we got two seats on the plane to stretch out since the flight was not full.

Riley got to go and see the movie Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler with his dad and aunt before his flight back home. He slept on all three legs of his flights home.

The minute we were all together again we went to get Ron a new cell phone. He picked out a Blackberry; Happy 40th Birthday!

Hawaii Day Fourteen: Makena State Park

We went back to the beach by the Maui Prince Hotel to do some snorkeling. I actually got back into the water, but did not see much of anything and had to head back because I did something to my right ankle. We hung out on the beach for awhile and ate lunch from the Maui Prince Hotel. Ron wanted to go out to the end of Makena State Park, a place that we had gone earlier in our trip, to snorkel this time. We packed up our stuff and headed out there. The snorkeling near the parking area was not that great, so we decided to hike along the trail that is suppose to lead to a great snorkeling area. We did not intend on going snorkeling, but wanted to see where the path led. Mind you, we did not have appropriate shoes, but we went anyway. We went about an hour out and did not even get to the beach where we could snorkel. We ended up going uphill and got to the end of the point, but was still 20-25 minutes from the beach for snorkeling. Then, we had another hour walk back to the parking lot. It was beautiful and I am glad that I went, but for us to go snorkeling out there, I would have to have more time on Maui. Maybe next time...

Where we started...

What we walked over and through...

Where we ended up...

Where we wanted to go, by the water...

After our tiring day on the beach and our hike we were treated to dinner at Roy's Kihei. I guess that Roy's is an institution in Hawaii and has made it way onto the mainland. I ran into my friend from home who I saw on our picnic day again. She is a server's assistant at Roy's and we sat at her table. We had a great last night in Maui with a great meal, fish, shrimp, and duck with an awesome banana dessert! The kids were treated very well and got ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

Hawaii Day Thirteen: Haleakala National Park

We started out our day with breakfast at McDonald's. In Hawaii they have a Local Deluxe Breakfast in addition to the regular Deluxe Breakfast. The Local Deluxe Breakfast includes two pieces of Spam, two pieces of Portuguese sausage, scrambled eggs, and rice. Their rice was very good, and Ron got the Local Deluxe Breakfast, and I got Spam and eggs with rice. Riley was very happy that McDonald's still had Hot Cakes with Sausage with syrup. He had a great breakfast at McDonald's, only in Hawaii!

Haleakala mountain is known as the world's largest dormant volcano. We actually went up to the peak above the clouds at over 10,000 feet. The road up was not as treacherous as the road to Hana and does not take as long. We left about 11am and we got up to the peak about 12:30pm. We spent some time up at the top and then drove back down so that we could be back in Kihei by 3pm for OSU football. It was a great feeling to feel that you are on top of the world, and the scenery was beautiful. On the way up you could see all parts of Maui's beautful landscape and over to the Big Island from the top.

We went back to Sansei for dinner since it was Monday night. This time Riley and I stood in line and just as we get in line, Riley tells me he has to go to the restroom. My sister in law had left to go and give Ron a key to the house, and I told Riley he had to wait until she got back. He did a great job, and we made it to the restroom at the local grocery store just in time.


After dinner we went to Borders so that I could use my gift card from Christmas to buy some Hawaii books for Riley and Reese. We ended up with an alphabet book, S Went Surfing and Santa's Hawaiian Holiday for souvenirs.

Hawaii Day Twelve: Last Family Day

We started out the day with church. We attended services at Calvary Chapel South Maui which is right on Kihei Rd., a very beautiful setting. After church we tried to go to our favorite pizza place, Matteo's, but there were not open for lunch on Sundays. We ended up at a food court. We all got something different to eat: Subway, Vietnamese pho or noodles, and Filipino food. This was the day that my brother in law, niece, and nephew were leaving so we went home so they could pack. They left mid-afernoon, and we went to Riley's favorite beach, Kamaole Beach #1. We had a good time walking to the beach and playing in the sand and water. Reese actually went into the water on this day. On some days she only plays in the sand right by the water, but does not actually go into the ocean. On the way home from the airport my sister in law picked us up from the beach in a new rental truck. Our other one had a headlight out, and rather than replace the headlight, they just gave us a new vehicle. Unfortunately, we seemed to have misplaced Reese's tennis shoes in the transition! (We actually did not know until we left and emptied out the car for sure that they were lost!)

We ended our day by going back to The Shops of Wailea to return a nice shirt that Ron got from Tori Richards and for me to go and buy some souvenir t-shirts for some friends. We ate dinner that night at Matteo's and tried some of their other entrees which were just as good as the pizza, which Riley and Reese ate. Reese ate two pieces of pizza and was falling asleep as she was trying to finish the second piece. She ended up asleep in my lap and stayed asleep until the next morning!

Hawaii Day Eleven: The Beach

I woke up this morning, and Ron had shaved. He had not shaved since the day before Christmas Eve and did not plan to on this trip. When I asked him why, he said that Riley said that he looked old with a beard, and he did not want his dad to be old because old people go away and he did not want his dad to go away. How sweet!

We went to the beach by the Maui Prince Hotel today. We thought that it would be a good place to go because I wanted to try to go snorkeling again, there was sand for the little kids to play in, and there was shade so we did not have to put up umbrellas. Well, the waves were just right for boogie boarding, but not snorkeling. The sand was perfect, and Reese played in the sand the whole time we were at the beach. Her feet did not touch the water.

Riley complains everytime we go to a beach that is not the first one he went to, with the sun, sand, and lifeguard. He wants a beach with a lot of sand, and he says that he just wants to play in the sand and maybe throw the ball around, but not go in the water. The minute we got to the beach today, he wanted his sunscreen on and he wanted to go into the water. It is funny how the minute he sees water, he changes his mind about going in. Riley had fun in the big waves and on the boogie board. We played in the sand and dug a hole for Reese to sit in which is her favorite thing to do when she sees a hole. Eventually, it got cloudy so we packed up and went home to shower and go and get manicures and pedicures.

Riley would not stay home for girl's night out. He is starting to have some anxiety again because we are getting close to going home, and he knows he has to fly with his dad. They actually did really well. Reese cried when she first sat on my lap by the pedicure well because she thought that the water was for her. Riley entertained himself by watching football and walking around, but was careful not to be in the way. Reese finally got comfortable enough to get off of my lap about the time for my fingernail painting which was very convenient.

Well, I picked out a dark purple for my toes, and I did not pick out a fingernail color because I could not decide. When we got over to the manicure station, I was going to ask the manicurist's recommendation, but found that she did not speak English. Riley was with me and he said that you should pick blue Mommy because blue is your favorite color. I said that I was not sure that I wanted blue, and he said, "Mommy, blue is your favorite color and it is mine too". I asked him if it was important for me to get blue and he said yes. I tried to steer him toward either a light or dark blue, but he wanted the one in the middle of the shelf of polish which is a cross between ocean blue and turquoise. I got it for him, and he thinks that I am beautiful with the polish. He is proud of himself for choosing the color, and if I would have known he wanted to choose my nail color, I would have let him choose the color for my toes!

Hawaii Day Ten: Pa'ia and Makawao

This adventure did not start out on a good note. We have been pretty good about alternating beach days with car tour days, but for most of us, this was the second car tour day in a row. We started out at Walmart because I needed pictures for Riley's story that he has to write for school. We were there for 45 minutes downloading pictures and picking the best ones for his report. It is also to be noted that my niece's waterproof camera got water in it and is not working anymore so we were trying to get all the pictures off her memory card also.

We left there and headed for Pa'ia, where they were some little shops and things, but not a lot to do besides shop. I did have a bunch of gelato from the Ono Gelato Company. I helped Riley and Reese eat their vanilla. Ron and I shared a tiramisu, and then Ron ordered a coconut for his sister that she didn't really want and was going to waste, so I ate it too. Needless to say, I felt almost sick afterward. We were going to try and see the surfers just east of Pa'ia, but the traffic was too heavy.

We went up the mountain toward Makawao and saw some beautiful churches and was able to look down toward the figure 8 of Maui and toward north Maui. We stopped in Makawao and look at a few of their shops and I bought some strawberries for Reese that were grown on Maui. They were $4.99, but since she has not been eating much on this trip, I thought that they were priced well enough to buy them anyway. Well, my sister in law went to Safeway on the way home and she said that I got a good deal since the ones there were $7.99. I definitely would not have bought those!

On the way down from Makawao we stopped at Costco for fish and at Walmart to pick up the pictures and came home. We all came home grumpy and tired of each other and spending time in the car. We ended the evening with leftover cake and watching The Notebook. The rest of the family wanted to compare The Notebook to Benjamin Button which they had seem the night before. Ron and I were gain and thought that we had not seen The Notebook before, but once we got into the movie, we realized that we had seen it before.

Hawaii Day Nine: Ron's 40th Birthday

We decided a great way to spend the day was to go whale watching. We went on a boat tour that was organized by the Pacific Whale Foundation. It was decided that the older kids would not go on this trip because they had already been before and did not want to go again. It was a nice tour with only about 90 people on the boat when the boat holds over 200 people. We got a great opportunity to see some dolphins as well as the whale. We got to see the whale's flute many times which means that the whale is showing his tail and preparing to take a breath and go for a longer dive (50-70 minutes). We also got the opportunity to see whales that were logging or resting just below the surface of the water. The weather was perfect, very sunny and not a cloud in the sky.

Riley was a little scared of looking over the boat, but he did get really excited when he saw the Coast Guard boat. He got use to the water after awhile. Reese was all gung ho. She loved looking at the water, and the things out in the sea. The motion of the boat eventually lulled her to sleep and she took a nap for about an hour.

We went to lunch at some place not worth remembering, went on an errand to Whaler's Village for my brother in law, and stopped for some fruit on the side of the road between Lahaina and Kihei (by Chez Paul's). Reese ate her bananas like corn on the cob, by letting me peel one side and eating it sideways or longways. The oranges were local and delicious. The lime were huge and made me make myself a margarita in order to enjoy the tasty limes.

Once we got home, Riley got to ride on the scooter for the first time with his Uncle Chip. He was very happy to be such a big boy. Then, off the women went to the Four Seasons once again to pick up another cake. This one was also very beautiful with white chocolate mousse and raspberries inside. It had a fondant top and was decorated like what you would think of when thinking of a Hawaii beach. The sand on the cake was made out of Maui Gold sugar. All the decorations were edible made out of chocolate and fondant. The straps on the flip flops were made of Tootsie Rolls. This cake was to celebrate Ron's 40th birthday which was one of the reasons why we decided on this family trip. After a wonderful dinner at home Ron opened some wonderful presents thanks to his sister and brother in law.

Hawaii Day Eight: Surfing

We went to Kalama Park to cookout and surf and swim. Usually, we leave the beach at about 2pm because the winds pick up at that time. On this day we decided to stay all day. It is a good thing too because we did not get there until later than usual, and once we got there, they decided to cook first rather than swim first. This park was nice because it had a playground for the kids. There was not much beach to speak of. The park set up off the beach on a break wall of sorts. This helped with the winds at 2pm because they did not knock over our umbrellas.

Riley was playing on the playground and needed help with the handle so he could swing on the rail. As I was walking toward it, another mother helped Riley get the handle back. I thanked her and started walking back toward my lunch when I noticed another girl. I thought that she looked like someone from home, but I thought, no way. I turned back around and sure enough it was the girl that I thought it was, someone I have known since the day she was born; I even went to the baby shower that was given to her mom before she was born. We talked for awhile, and I found out the she moved to Maui after graduation. She was visiting her brother and decided to stay. She lived not too far away from the park we were at, and was there with her friend and her friend's kids. I am happy for my friend; she is enjoying life and living for the moment right now.

Riley was having so much fun playing on the playground that he forgot to go to the restroom and had an accident. I did not have another pair of swimming trunks for him so I improvised for him, and he ended up wearing Speedos, Reese's swimmies. He didn't think too much of it and just kept on playing.

The family wanted to go surfing so they rented two surfboards. Ron went out with them first and tried his hand at it. I am not sure exactly how he did because I was watching the kids and they were too far out for me to see in the sun. I went out for round three, and I actually got on the board and was able to kneel and stand on the board, but did not really ride that far before falling off. My sister in law helped out by pushing the board when it was the right time so I did not have to paddle to catch up with the waves. I had a great time and was pretty proud of myself for being able to get up on the board.

To celebrate New Year's Eve the adults went out for appetizers and drinks at the Wailea Golf Club. Although it was cloudy and we were not able to see the sunset, we got some beautiful pictures because our clothes matched the gray-blue sky of the evening. We had an interesting time with ordering the brie appetizer. We asked for extra bread to go with it. When the brie came out, we got the three pieces that were included in the appetizer. We asked for more, like nine pieces and were even willing to pay for it. We got three more. We asked for six more pieces; we got four more. We gave up after that, and we still had brie left.

We spent the evening figuring out the characters on the new Mah Jongg set that arrived in the mail that day. We have been waiting for this set for days because it is a game that we enjoy playing as a family, and they did not have a set at the Maui house. We have been substituting by playing Bonanza which is fun in a different way. The good thing about Bonanza is that it is not limited to four people. But family time for us is Mah Jongg time!

We quit Mah Jongg about 10pm in order to light up the neighborhood with fireworks. There are no laws here regarding fireworks. We were able to buy them at the local Walmart. The younger kids fell asleep before this point so they missed the action, but the adult kids and the older kids had a great time being young again.

We ended up going to bed early on the basis that everyone else on the mainland had already celebrated new year's. Mainly, we were tired from our all day excursion at the beach with surfing. I saw 11pm Maui time, but did not see the stroke of midnight.

Hawaii Day Seven: Riley's Sixth Birthday

My son got to celebrate his sixth birthday on Maui. We started out the day with breakfast at Kihei Caffe where Riley got his favorites, French toast, bacon, and sausage. I was also impressed because Reese actually ate the same thing. She has not been eating much since we have been here, and her favorites are usually rice and pasta related.


After breakfast we travelled along the coast to see Kapalua, where the Mercedes Championship is being held the weekend after we leave, Napali, where we saw some whales off the coast, and Ka'anapali, where I believe that one of the Big Breaks was held. We stopped off at Whaler's Village for some shopping, and where Riley got a special birthday gift from his dad, a Hot Wheels Airport. We left Whaler's Village to go to Lahaina to have lunch. Ron and I have fond memories of Lahaina from our honeymoon when we had dinner at the Lahaina Fish Co. right on the ocean. Lahaina was very crowded because there was a cruise ship in port. We ended up eating lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise, which says it is the original one. We ate on the second floor where it was open and you could see out into the ocean. (Earlier in the week, we discovered that the hotel that we stayed at for one night on our honeymoon is on the main strip in Kihei directly down the hill from my sister in law's house.)




Once lunch was over, the kids had enough car riding and we dropped them off at home. My sister in law ordered a cake for Riley at the Four Seasons Hotel because it was the only bakery she could find that would make a special cake that tasted like mainland cake without having a grocery store cake. She said that most of the bakeries in the area bake a traditional Hawaiian cake that was spongy, and she wanted a homemade cake for her nephew/godson. The cake was absolutely beautiful, tastefully decorated and just right for a six year old at the same time. Riley really enjoyed the cars/trucks that came with the cake and finally being able to open his presents. He now has a complete collection of Thomas the Tank Engine videos as well as a new big wheel and more construction toys. We also had pizza at home for dinner which is what Riley wanted, pepperoni, of course.

Hawaii Day Six: Another Day at the Beach

We were tired from spending 8 hours in the car the day before so we decided to just stick close to home. We went back to the beach near the house where, as Riley pointed out, there is a lifeguard, no flies, and lots of sand (Kama'ole Beach Park I).

My sister in law and I went to Safeway to buy some essentials, and as we were driving back into her neighborhood, we saw that Ron had gotten the kids ready and my niece, nephew, brother in law, husband, and kids wer walking to the beach! WOW, I was impressed that Ron went to the effort. They continued their walk to the beach, and my sister in law and I went to put away the groceries and finish up some household chores before we joined them at the beach.

Riley found another friend to play with on the beach, but my nephew did not like him because he put sand in my nephew's face. So, while Riley, Reese, and his friend continued digging their hole with Reese sitting in it and helping out, my nephew built a small sand castle village.

My brother in law saw a beached whale while he was out on his motorcycle earlier in the day. While at the beach this day, we saw whales and their spouts, but nothing too close to the shore. We followed their spouts all the way to Molokai.

For dinner my niece stood in line for us to go to Sansei, a sushi restaurant that has 50% off their sushi on Mondays from 5-6pm. You have to go and stand in line starting around 4pm in order to be in the front of the line. She was the first person this day. The kids stayed at home with my nephew, and my niece after she rode back from standing in line. The sushi was delicious and very fresh. I ordered the 69 roll, which was a California roll topped with unagi (eel) which Ron did not like. We left very full and satisfied.

My brother in law has been trying to get us to go and see a movie since we got here. We tried to go and see Benjamin Button after dinner, but it did not start until 8pm, and it was only 6:30 when we left the restaurant. We ended up watching Hitch at home instead.

Hawaii Day Five: The Road to Hana

Ron wanted to see some waterfalls so it was decided to go to Hana. We had to leave very early because most of the trip is on narrow, winding roads and although the distance is not very far, the time it takes to get there is. Riley got sick on the way up so we had to move him to the front of the car.

Right outside of Pa'ia it started to rain. I saw a rainbow over the sea and wish that I would have asked to stop so that I could have taken a picture of it. We saw other rainbows on the way back, but they were not over the sea.

We stopped in a few places on the way to Hana to take some pictures and for Riley to rest. We got Auntie Sandy's banana bread at Ke'anae Landing Fruit Stand. It was delicious!

Once we got to Hana, we drove past it onto more winding and even narrower roads to go and see the seven pools at Ohe'o Gulch, which is a part of Haleakala National Park and where Charles Lindbergh is buried in the cemetery outside of Palapala Ho'omau Congregational Church. The burial site would have been more difficult to find without a park ranger telling us to turn left at the vertical Maui Stables sign. Before we got to Ohe'o Gulch, we stopped at Wailua Falls, a waterfall by the side of the road. Unfortunately, we were not able to see the seven pools very well because of all the rain that had fallen. The pools were overflowing, and water was gushing everywhere.

We went back to Hana for lunch at Hana Ranch Restaurant Takeout. Then, we returned to Kihei because we did not want to be driving on the winding roads after dark. We got back in time for my niece and I to take another short bike ride.

The adults enjoyed the scenery and the sights, but the children did not really enjoy this trip.

Hawaii Day Four: Snorkeling

We went to a beach in Makena to go snorkeling on this day. Ron, my brother in law, and nephew went off to snorkel and got the opportunity to see a sea turtle. I was not able to go out with them because the kids were not situated on the beach and the sand. They just wanted to play in the sand, and Riley did not want to have anything to do with snorkeling. I tried to follow the snorkelers out, but found that my swimming abilities were not good enough to challenge the waves without a life preserver of some kind. Once they got back, the idea was floated to climb over the rocks to go snorkeling, but everyone was too tired from their last trip out to go with me. Hopefully, we will be able to go snorkeling again or go to Turtle Town because sea turtles are my absolute favorite.

We had lunch on the beach, and left about 2pm when the wind picked up and started blowing our things around. Once the kids were settled at home, my niece and I took the electric bikes (ebikes) out for a ride. We went down to Kihei Rd. to look at the little gift shops and stores that are there. The bikes are very fun to ride. They go about 20 mph, and you can peddle if you want to, but don't have to.

The adults went out to celebrate Ron's 40th birthday at Sarento's, a restaurant on the shore. We got there in time to have our pictures taken and see the sunset. It was a very nice evening with good food and friends/family.

Hawaii Day Three: First Rainy Day

We started out our day with a car tour of Wailea and Mekena. We ate lunch at a great pizza place across from The Shops of Wailea and then did some after Christmas shopping at The Shops. After ice cream at Lappert's again we went on a tour of the property of The Grand Wailea Resort. We got some great family pictures on this trip thanks to my niece and my brother in law.

The men and kids were wiped out after this expedition so my sister in law and I dropped them off at home and went on to Walmart and the Filipino store. We were looking for a boogie board with an aqua eye in it and a life jacket for Reese. We found the boogie board at Long's Drugs, but ended up not buying it because it was too expensive for something that I was not sure that Riley was going to do. We did not find a life jacket because we needed an infant one. I now wish that I had found a way of fitting in ours from home, but it was a choice of Ron's tennis shoes or the life jackets.

Ron cooked fish tacos that night for dinner and they were very yummy.

Hawaii Day Two: Christmas on the Beach

We are staying with my sister and brother in law at their house on Maui. They have a really nice house just down the street from the beach.

We opened presents on Christmas morning, and they were really generous with their gift to us in addition to sharing their vacation with us. Once we were done with all the present opening, we headed to the beach.

The beach is less than a five minute drive from the house. It was a great day; very relaxing and enjoyable. While, on the beach, we saw dolphins jumping and a sea turtle that was about 10 feet from Ron. Riley learned to stay on a boogie board and surf the waves near the shore. Reese really enjoyed the sand. At one point someone asked what time it was, and no one knew or really cared. We did end up leaving shortly after that due to the winds and the tide coming in and blowing our umbrellas down.

For Christmas dinner we went out for Korean food. The bulgogi was awesome as was the fish. On our way into the restaurant we got our family picture taken as the sun was setting. For dessert we went for ice cream at Lappert's. They have this amazing ice cream called Tutu's Anniversary, raspberry and passion fruit sorbet with coconut bits swirled in vanilla ice cream.