Our VERY last day of vacation...

You thought it would never end didn't you?

Normally when it's time to wrap up a vacation, I'm ready to go. Either the kids are driving me bananas, we've seen all there is to see, and/or I'm exhausted. The last time we were in Maui, Alex was at home with his grandparents and I was dying to see him. I had a reason to go home. This time it was entirely different.

As much as I'm not a beach person, Brandon is not a resort person. Prior to having children, we never--not once-- made our way to a hotel pool or a beach while on vacation. Brandon is an activity guy. He likes to participate in every tour or activity a place has to offer. He gets it honestly. Trust me. I love living the resort lifestyle and the kids especially love a new place to swim, which Brandon doesn't understand. "We have a pool at home. You guys swim there every day. Why do you need to swim here?"

So, with trepidation I asked Brandon if we could request a late check out and just fiddle around the resort until we absolutely had to leave. I braced for the usual, "Uh, we don't really have time. We need to get organized and packed." Instead he said, "Of course. Whatever you guys want to do." I think he was afraid I was about to crack.

That's just what we did. We spent a couple of hours on the beach, playing in the waves. Then, we went to the pool and swam with the kids. We ate lunch at the pool-side restaurant and then made our way upstairs to pack. We thought we had oodles of time, but it turned out, we had an hour and a half to shower everyone, dress, and pack up eight days worth of stuff. Oops. I was literally stuffing my toiletries into the luggage while the bellman loaded the cart.

Before we left, I walked through the rooms and just tried to soak it in. Then, in order to fully torture myself, I stepped onto the balcony to commit the view to memory. I burst into tears. Ugly cry. The whole nine yards. Brandon really started to fear the worst and suggested we go shopping and have dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise. He knows how to fix everything.

Our plane didn't leave until 8:00 p.m., which allowed for several hours of shopping and shave ice eating. We did eat dinner at Cheeseburger and I was so stuffed from my ono sandwich at lunch, I couldn't even finish half. That usually means I have a stomach virus.

We happen to sit on the second floor of the restaurant, because I wanted to sit by the water! The entire place is open-air, so keep that in mind...We were finishing our dinner and I had the camera out taking pictures of the kids drinking out of pineapples, when out of nowhere, we hear squeals and our table is drenched.

I freak out and start wiping down my camera with any available dry napkin I can scrounge. What the hell?! We're on the SECOND floor, at least 20 feet in the air. I asked a waitress, who looked like she'd been around for awhile, how often that happened and she said, "I've worked her 16 years, Cookie and that's the second time it's happened." I think it was the island trying to wash us out to sea, so we couldn't leave. If I could have paid it to do so, I would have!

We finally boarded the plane around 8 p.m., and settled in for a really long flight. I don't sleep on planes, unless I'm in the front, where I can stretch out and I have a personal TV screen, otherwise forget it. I'm an owl! Fortunately, the rest of the family can and did. In fact, they slept pretty much through to Minneapolis. Although, they were a wound up bunch in Seattle at 4 a.m.

I knew we had to come home and get back to reality. I just wasn't ready to. I mentioned something to my friend Jennifer about it and she said, "Well, honey you've had a hard year. So much has happened. No wonder you didn't want to come back to reality."

I guess we kind of have had a stressful year. I didn't think of it as all that stressful, because Brandon is still employed, we have our house, I'm still able to stay home, we have insurance, the kids are healthy, etc. All the things I worry about are in order, and because I'm so busy being so thankful for all of that, I tend to forget about the other stuff. But, when I look back we've had a lot to swallow. Amid the economic insecurities, we lost Brandon's mom, we lost a sweet little friend in Rowyn, I lost my aunt, and reconnected with (and subsequently lost) my dad again, and another good friend is losing his battle with cancer.

Whew! It has been an interesting six months or so. But, that's what life is about. The joys balance the heartaches and this trip was a complete joy. We have so much to be thankful for and feel blessed beyond words to experience all that we do.

Vacation Day 6-7

Sunday morning, Brandon tip-toed out of the room around 6:15 a.m. He had a tee time on the Plantation course at Kapalua. Alex wasn’t invited for this round. The Plantation is home to the Mercedes Championship on the PGA tour. This course is a big deal. Brandon played it the last time we were in Maui with his friend Joel. I was impressed with his resolve to play the course again not knowing with whom he might be paired. There seem to be a lot of older Japanese gentlemen, who may or may not choose to speak English, in search of a fourth. As luck would have it, Brandon ended up with a guy from Cincinnati on his honeymoon and two guys who work for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, my first illustrious 90 day career. He had a great time playing one of the most scenic courses in the world.

I don’t know why Brandon felt the need to sneak out, as the kids and I were up and about seconds after the door closed behind him. After breakfast, we headed for the beach.

I’m not a huge beach person, as we all know. I (sort of) got used to the sand in Gulf Shores, because I can deal with soft, warm, fluffy sand much better than any other kind. However, the kids were so excited to go to the beach and who doesn’t go to the beach in Hawaii?! So, off we went. After taking 75 pictures, I turned the kids loose. Alex wanted to do nothing aside from dig.

Meredith wanted to crash into waves.

The beach is breathtakingly gorgeous. It’s encased by two lava-formed peninsulas and the black contrasting with the blue water is spectacular. The sun was shining, it was breezy, and the temperature was 82 degrees. It doesn’t get much better and I even told someone that as Meredith and I were walking along the water’s edge. Then we got into the waves. As Alex watched us from his archeology site, Meredith and I body surfed and splashed around. We finally coaxed Alex into the water and he was cracking up trying to avoid being pushed into shore by the waves.

As we were having our laugh fest, a big wave hit us, and Meredith squealed and grabbed my face, catching my left ear. I was instantly nauseous. I suddenly remembered I was wearing my diamond studs. I felt the back sticking to my ear but realized the stud had just fallen to the bottom. Meredith started sobbing, and was practically inconsolable no matter how many times I assured her it wasn’t her fault at all. I told her it was “just a thing,” not to worry. All the while wondering if people sold one .5 carat weight earrings on eBay. I tried to push it out of my mind and have just fun, but it stung. Those earrings were my 30th birthday gift from Brandon. I wore them everyday and it didn’t even occur to me to take them out.

Moving on!

We then went to the pool for an hour or so. The kids swam until they reached exhaustion and we guessed Dad’s round was finished. By the time we got showered and ready for lunch, Brandon was home and we went back to The Aloha Mixed Plate, which is a deck where they serve food on paper plates and it is fantastic! Meredith ordered a scoop of rice. Delicious?

Sunday night, we went to The Old Lahaina Luau.

This would be the third time Brandon and I have gone to this particular luau, but I still get excited. They’re grounds are along the shore and just beautiful. It’s lit with tiki torches, is landscaped to make you feel like you’re in an ancient Hawaiian village, and they have an open bar. The show is an overview of Hawaiian culture using the hula as the guide. It’s spectacular!

We sat with a family, who also had a girl and a boy, and happened to be staying at our resort. The mom was a doll, the kids were a little surly, and the dad was a total weirdo. They were from Canada. He asked me 1,000 questions about our family and simply could not believe we would fly “all the way from the East coast” to come to Maui. Aside from needing a map, he was obnoxious. “Why wouldn’t you just go to south Florida?” We’ve been to south Florida, it doesn’t look like Maui. “Isn’t the snorkeling better in The Keys?” Well, we like other things aside from the snorkeling. “Why don’t you just go to Europe instead?” We have. We like vacationing in Maui better. It went on and on and on. The mom was shirking in embarrassment. The kids were scowling at each other.

They went on to tell us they went horseback riding that afternoon. Brandon said, “Huh, they don’t have horses in Canada?” Priceless.

All of this didn’t distract Meredith from the show, which she LOVED. She also tried really hard to draw attention to herself, by dancing near the end of our table. She had every hope of being pulled on stage. It didn’t happen. Alex just watched the coconut bras, completely embarrassed and I thought about how different a return trip with a 12-year-old boy might be.

Monday morning, was our last full day in Maui.

We rented a jeep, mostly for Alex’s sake, and drove to Hana and around the back side of the island. Hana is about a two hour drive from Kapalua, but you don’t just drive to Hana to drive to Hana. It’s a very scenic drive around 600 turns on a two-lane and sometimes one, road. There’s one store. The Hasegawea General Store. They sell everything from popsicles to box fans and electrical wire. It’s truly a general store. If they had a clearance aisle, Brandon would never leave.

The drive to Hana is shady and rainforesty, really pretty easy with several scenic stops along the way. The drive home around the back side of the island is gorgeous, but barren, severe, dusty, and hot. I started to question why we left an Escalade in the parking lot to bump around in a jeep all day. I questioned this as I reapplied sunscreen to the sleeping kids as they were slumped over, using the roll bars as pillows. Nevertheless, it’s an adventure! The kids better remember it.

That night we had a reservation at one of the top ten sushi restaurants in the US, Sansei, which just so happened to be on resort property. O.K., here’s the deal with sushi and me: I only started eating California and vegetable rolls about four years ago. I’ve nibbled a bit of ahi tuna, here and there, but could never quite get my head around the whole raw fish thing. I’m completely over it! Sansei, has earned it’s position. Brandon ordered for the table and I told him to go out on a limb, I was throwing caution to the wind. It was the best meal I’ve eaten in the ten years we’ve been married. PHENOMENAL! Meredith wolfed down several California rolls and couldn’t get enough of the asparagus rolls. Alex ate everything we put in front of him. It’s a good thing I decided I’d go back to Weight Watchers after the trip.

We walked back to the hotel knowing it was our last dinner in paradise and dreading the trip home. We stalled as long as possible, stopping at every store the resort had, and lingering in the lobby to listen to live music. I wanted to clap my hands and stop time!

Vacation: Day 4-5

Friday morning, the 17th was our actual ten year anniversary. The reason we came to Maui in the first place. Prior to our arrival the hotel e-mailed and asked if we were celebrating anything special and what they might do to make our stay perfect. Brandon told them it was our anniversary and nothing sounded more perfect than a sitter service. As the day rolled around, we realized the hotel wasn’t going to do anything about either. Why did they ask?

So, instead we drove through upcountry Maui to Haleakala Crater National Park. Part of the reason we love this particular island so much is the varied climates and landscape. There are parts of the island that remind me of Arizona and there are parts that are canopied by rain forest. Upcountry Maui, looks a little like the forest and hills of southern Illinois, in places at least. Except you constantly smell eucalyptus and there are trees whose smooth barks produce a rainbow reflection. The air is cool and crisp. It feels like Fall, but everything is still bright green.

In order to get to Haleakala Crater, you drive through upcountry and it’s a drive I always enjoy. I’m going to make a great octogenarian.

Haleakala is the crater of the volcano that created Maui. At least I think it is. Anyway, it’s cold--relative to the rest of Maui, looks like Mars and while pretty, isn’t really my cup of tea. Brandon, on the other hand, LOVES it.

He would stay there all day taking pictures and hiking the gawd-awful barren trails. On our first trip to Maui, we biked down it. It was a 30 mile ride and Brandon roped me into doing it by promising I wouldn’t have to peddle more than three times. To my surprise, he was right.

There is a NASA observatory and some sensitive weather equipment on Haleakala as well. You can see more stars clearly from there than any other place on earth. Supposedly. I always thought the view from the trampoline in my backyard on Willow Drive, was pretty spectacular.

It is fun to be above the clouds and not be in a plane. Meredith got a huge kick out of “touching” clouds as we drove down the crater with the windows open. On a clear day, you can see a good chunk of the island. It really is pretty. Just not my kind of pretty. Although, if I could borrow a space suit, I could take some really, really fun pictures for Alex’s scrapbook.

On the was back down we stopped to eat at Kahula Lodge. We stumbled onto the place by accident the year Brandon and I biked down Haleakala. We were hungry. They were open. We wound up eating wood-grilled pizza outside over-looking beautiful gardens and a couple of Maui’s prettiest bays. On our next trip to the island, with our friends Megan and Joel, we ate there again. Only this time, there was no outdoor seating and no pizza. This time, however there was both outdoor seating and wood grilled pizza. Yum!

When we got back to our hotel and realized there was no sitter waiting in our room, we decided to take the kids to dinner with us. I’m glad we did. They were very excited to toast us. Over and over again. It was really sweet. After ten years, I don’t know what Brandon and I would have talked about without them there anyway!

Saturday morning, we got up early and headed to board a boat for an all day snorkeling trip. When we pulled into the parking lot, the guy took our names, stuck his head into our car to do a quick count and said, “Good news guys! You’re four of the eight passengers heading out with us today.” It was great. The boat is built to haul 88 people.

What would a memory be without me mentioning food? We love this particular sailing company, partially because of their service and amenities. Including the food. When you board the boat they give you warm cinnamon rolls, Kona coffee, and fresh pineapple. This year, the cinnamon rolls weren’t quite as warm or gooey and I blame that on the fact that we sailed with an all-male crew. Regardless, it’s still a great way to start a morning.

The kids were lying on the trampoline as soon as we left the dock. I joined them not long after because I don’t find anything more relaxing than lying in a salty breeze listening to the water splash underneath.

When we stopped to snorkel, I noticed it was really, really choppy. Brandon, Alex, and I were the only ones who had ever snorkeled. I felt bad for the beginners learning in those waves. Meredith was a snorkeling fool. I was trying to hold onto her and keep an eye on Alex and it wasn’t easy. The girl would not come up for air! She was giddily informing me of everything she saw through a high-pitched squeal via her snorkel. It was really fun to watch and something I’ll never forget doing with her. A final gush of salt water convinced her we were done.

After lunch, we climbed onto a raft with a NASCAR engine and went for a wild ride near the shoreline. It was crazy fun. We bounced five feet in the air every time we hit a wave. Alex laughed so hard I thought he would get sick. The captain was this Asian man named Yoshi. He spoke in an almost cartoonish Asian accent and grinned from ear to ear all the time. Loved him! Anyway, Yoshi cuts the engine and excitedly yells, “TURTLE, TURTLE, TURTLE!!! Off the front starboard side!” We all start looking for the turtle. Yoshi then yells, “Oh, oh oh! NEVAMIND! DON’T ROOK! DON’T ROOK!” Yoshi’s “turtle” was a fawn who lost his footing on the sea cliff above. Oops.

After that, we took a van tour of the island of Lani`i. Everyone else was nearly lulled to sleep, but I found it kind of interesting. The island used to be Dole’s pineapple plantation and there are only 3,000 people who live there. It’s a private island owned by some guy out of southern California. You have to get on a list to build a house and when it’s your turn, the owner’s construction company builds it to their specifications for you. If you are about to have a baby, you ferry it over to Maui, because there’s no hospital in which to deliver. The people are exceedingly excited over a rumor on the “coconut wireless,” that they might put in a grocery store! It was a little Cuba-esque, but they all have new cars. The cars come in on a ferry every Wednesday. I asked!
After the tour, we boarded the big boat and tried to sail back to Maui. There wasn’t a lot of wind. So, the sail was up for pictures and then they turned the engines over at the request of annoying black guy from LA. I only tell you he was black because as the kids and I were sitting with the captain learning about the ship, he trotted back and said, “Dude! You’re killing me! Are we going to sail all the way back to Maui?! Dude! There’s absolutely NO AIR! The heat is KILLING ME!” For the record, it was 82 degrees. The captain looks at him and laughs, gestures towards me and says, “Buddy, if Freckles can handle it, I think you’ll survive!” I loved that I was the hardy one in the heat. If you could call it heat!

The minute the LA couple was off the boat, they were desperate to make sure their faces weren’t shiny from sunscreen and their hair was smoothed back. I tromped through with three beach bags and my salty hair blowing in the breeze and said something to the effect of “don’t bother trying, it’s part of the glory.” The made a snarky comment under their breath and started dying laughing. I’m not sure what they said, but I KNOW they were blown away by my natural beauty! Ha! Ha!

Vacation: Day 1-3

After hours and hours and hours of converting files into viewable images, I can tell you about our trip with pictures. I could tell you about our trip without pictures, but that would be like Mr. Cartmill telling us about Rome and never actually seeing his slides.

I’ll warn you now, this will probably be several posts. Rather than fill your screen with endless chatter, I’ll break up our week so your eyes don’t bleed.

First and foremost it’s important to me that I publicly announce we left EARLY for the airport the day we flew out. Not just early in the morning, but actually ahead of schedule. That hasn’t happened in ten years. We were all packed, excited, and motivated.

Our flights…there were three of them…all left on time and were without issue. It sounded like a nightmare to have three legs, but it actually worked out well. We had time to walk around and consume all the snacks we could eat in the Delta Sky Club. I got very tired of trail mix and stale bagels, early in the trip.

When we arrived in Maui, it was just like I remembered and it was the middle of the night back in Indiana. I’ve already mentioned we just decided it was dinner time in Maui and got the kids on schedule just like that. Thank God for adrenaline. Worked like a charm.

Wednesday was our first full day. After an unbelievable breakfast, we drove north of our resort to see what we could see and it was all breathtaking.

We also scouted some off-shore snorkel sites. Alex was leaning out of the car window taking pictures as fast as his shutter would click. Which is completely hilarious, because his dad is known to do the exact same thing. We call it annoying when he does it.

Meredith sketched everything on a Magna Doodle. She’s really, really into drawing. That afternoon, the boys had a tee time and Meredith and I had a spa appointment.

The boys had fun, despite a pouring rain shower, which was the only one of the week. Figures. Rumor has it, Alex even played well when he wasn’t OCD about cleaning his golf ball.

Meredith and I had a bizarre spa experience. We walked into the beautiful, dimly lit, plumeria-scented spa. So far, so good. Everyone was wearing a plush robe. Yes! We love robes! The hostess made a sharp right turn and we were shuttled into the area where they cut hair. Well lit, less zen-like, but whatever, it’ll be fine.

We started off with side by side pedicures, in our street clothes. Meredith was being her usually precocious self. Not obnoxious, just excited to be there and trying to act like a big girl. The eye rolling began. Then came the, “I can’t believe mothers bring their three year olds in here for treatments.” Meredith piped up with, “Well, I’m FOUR!” I was annoyed.

Then the nail lady tells me how incredibly dry my feet are. Little did she know, I’d been slathering on lotion as thick as Crisco for a week just so my feet wouldn’t be scaly. She stuck my feet into scalding paraffin and told me to sit for 15 minutes while they took Meredith for a manicure. So much for side by side. As they were finishing my nails, some NBA player came in for a pedicure. I have no idea who he was, but he was at least 7 foot tall and had two carrots per ear…I made an educated guess. BTW, he was wearing a robe! Evidently he was 25 minutes early and they clucked like chickens and sent him out to wait in the lobby. Seriously. They went bananas. Pleasant.

When we finally checked out, she handed me the bill…$289. What?!?! For a manicure and pedicure for me and my tiny-nailed daughter. The checkout girl must have noticed the color drain out of my face and said, “Oh, well she had some nail art, that adds $20. There’s also an 18% gratuity included.” The “nail art” amounted to six stickers, that fell off an hour later, and I was delighted to fork over an 18% tip to the Gripe Sisters.

The upside: My $30 occasional pedicures are now perceived by Brandon as a screaming deal! And honestly, if these are my problems, I should be so lucky!!!

Thursday morning, we dropped the kids of at the Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment program for an underwater photography lesson. We didn’t really care if they colored pictures of fish, all we were truly interested in were three child-free hours. We found a great snorkel spot that was in no-way doable with kids. We had to park in a mud puddle, hike through the rain forest, and climb over mossy rocks. We did and it was INCREDIBLE. I saw two spotted rays and a sea turtle. Not to mention a school of fish to rival the one in Finding Nemo.

When we picked up the kids after lunch, the were so excited about their day! According to them, those were the best three hours of the trip. Here is what Alex was able to capture. Not bad, my friend. Not bad, at all!

Meredith took pictures of herself and other children in the class.

That afternoon, we ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise. It is in no way associated with Jimmy Buffet or his dreadful restaurant chain. Now I LOVE Jimmy and I LOVE cheeseburgers, so I want to love his attempt, but he fails miserably. Cheeseburger in Paradise in Hawaii (and apparently now in Vegas and Miami) is Heaven. Sitting along the shore, listening to live music, drinking a Diet Coke with a lime and eating the best damn cheeseburger on the planet is how I would like to spend my final day. The kids loved it so much, we ended up going back on our last day…more on that later.

Alright, two pages is enough for today. I don’t want to be the neighbor who won’t shut up about their vacation. More to come…much more to come!

Home again, without the jiggity jig...

When I said I didn’t want to leave Maui, I wasn’t kidding. I stepped onto the balcony one last time before we left and started crying. Big heaving sobs. I really wanted to follow Meredith’s advice. She hatched several plans to avoid leaving the island. She wanted to stay worse than John Locke!

Here were her ideas:

1.) The next time we go to the grocery store, I’m going to stay there and you won’t be able to find me.

2.) I’m going to hide behind a palm tree…a BIG palm tree.

3.) When Dad is walking onto the plane, I’m going to walk behind him. When he gets on the plane, I’m just going to stop walking.

All good ideas, but we forced Meredith to pack just like the rest of us.

We were very, very tired when we got home. I tried to adhere pretty much to my regular schedule, so I stayed up to do laundry until 10 p.m. The kids went to bed at 7:45. Alex was so deliriously tired, he screamed near obscenities at me until falling asleep en-rant. Meredith slept until 11:00 a.m. and Brandon went to bed at 6:30 p.m. to “take a rest” and slept a solid 15 hours.
Sadly, I’m now suffering from P.V.L.S. Otherwise known as “post vacation letdown syndrome.” I bet I’ll qualify for assistance under Obama’s new health plan.

I am going through millions of photos. I shot them all in a ridiculously large format that requires me to do a bunch of jargonny stuff to them before I can share them with you. However, I am adding a couple just so you can feel sorry for me having been pulled out of my element! It's very, very sad.

I know how incredibly lucky we are to go on trips like these. I realize our kids are experiencing fantastic things I didn’t even know existed until I was two decades older than them. I appreciate every bit of it. I just wish we could be on permanent vacation. Is that too much to ask?

Kicking and Screaming...

The day I've been dreading since the day we planned this trip is here. It's time to go home. It's time to leave my bubble of near perfection. It's time to pack all our belongings, draw one last breath of fresh Maui air, and say goodbye to our paradise. Meredith was clearly panicked about this day too. She knew it was coming. Starting Friday, she kept saying, "Oh no! We only have a few more days here!" She's my girl, no question.

To say I'm not ready to leave isn't sufficient. Noting that I really, really don't want to leave doesn't cut it either. I don't want to wake up looking at any empty lot next to our house instead of lush green mountains. I don't want to leave the roar of the ocean, or the ruffle of palm frawns, or the squeals of my kids as they run from the shore headlong into the surf. I will sorely miss the way our salty swimming suits smell after I rinse them and hang them out of eye's view on our balcony to dry.

I think most of my panic comes from worry that this is as good as it gets! Nothing golden ever lasts.

I have so many pictures to process it's making my head spin. There is so much to see here and everything is beautiful beyond description. This is our third trip here and I still cannot get over just how breathtaking it all is. There are so many contrasts. The royal blue of the water, the jet black of the ancient lava it smacks into, the lime green plants that grow along the coast. My lens cannot possibly do any of it justice.

Any sort of anxiety issues I have, I can usually soothe with a plan. My plan to deal with my current neurosis, is to tell myself we'll come back every five years. Brandon was very agreeable to my plan, and that doesn't always happen. So many people people our parents' age stopped us this week and told us how great they thought it was we brought our kids with us. "Bring them while they still want to go with you. Our son(s) wouldn't make the trip. They're too busy." "They grow up and move on before you know it. Show 'em what you want them to see, while you can."

When I started thinking about our next (hopeful) visit to Maui, I realized Meredith will be nine and Alex will be 12. Five years doesn't seem like much when you think about it, but there's a world of difference between four and seven and nine and 12. There's an even bigger difference between nine and 12 and 14 and 17...and then, 19 and 22. It's funny that a trip and planning future trips is what it takes to make me realize how short our time with our kids is, but it did. When I'm in the trenches driving to activities, volunteering, returning over due library books, and folding laundry, it seems never-ending. But it isn't.

Of course my plan is completely reliant upon Brandon continuing to be gainfully employed, Obama not taxing us out of life as we know it, and my rear being able to fit in an airline seat. But, I might not be able to get on the plane if I think about any of that...

Aloha!

After I don't know how many hours of travel...I didn't let myself think about it, we arrived in Maui around 5:30 p.m local time last night. I don't know what it is about this place, that draws me to it like it does, but my entire being is so fulfilled and happy year. I'm a restless girl. Always have been, but that all vanishes with my first breath of Maui air. I sound like a nut, but I'm serious.

The funny thing is, Meredith noticed it as soon as we strolled through the open-air airport. "Mom! It smells sooooo good here. Like coconuts! I LOVE it already!" Alex is joyful and outwardly so, which doesn't always happen. He was SINGING in the shower! Absolutely no inhibitions. We've been here a little over 12 hours and the kids are sold!

I told Brandon this morning, I feel very, very sorry for whomever these two wind up marrying. I was a pretty easy traveler. I didn't really cared where I went or stayed, because frankly we didn't go on that many trips and when we did, I was THRILLED with practically any hotel room. These kids are spoiled. Not in a bad, bratty way necessarily, I will always insist on courtesy and consideration, but the are SPOILED!

The kids are doing fairly well with the six hour time difference. I decided we would just get on Maui time as soon as we arrived. It was 5:30 pm, end. of. story. Alex wasn't at all satisfied with that answer, but he's over it. The kids did wake up at 3:30 am. I went to their room to see what the problem was and they were giggling about going to the pool. Which, oddly enough is open 24 hours a day and our bell hop said, "You know, that way if you wake up at 3:00 am, still on Indiana time, you can go for a swim." I think they've inherited my internal Kramer clock.

Meredith and I are having a spa day today and the boys are playing golf. My cup runneth over!

Packing, packing, packing...

I'm not sure how much I'll be keeping up with the blog the next couple of weeks. As many of you know, our 10th anniversary is next Friday.

No, I can't believe it's been ten years. It all went by in a blink. I wonder if our bar tab has yet to be surpassed at the Marriott North?

We decided to celebrate with the kids in tow on a trip to Maui. Maui is our favorite place, well it's a tie with Ireland, but we love it and always use it as a yard stick any time we travel to a new place. We always knew we wanted to share it with the kids, we just thought it would be a few years down the road.

Then we decided, why not? Carpe Diem. We have hotel points, we have airline miles, Brandon has a job, and our kids are good travelers. Five years from now, all that could change. Five years from now, our kids might be too busy (or embarrassed) to cross the street with us. So, away we go!

Oh, I'm realistic enough to know we may live to regret our decision. Alex and Meredith fight like cats and dogs. Alex still throws temper tantrums and Meredith seems to be susceptible to injury. My hope is they'll be too busy and too awe struck to argue. Cross your fingers.

I'm packing suitcases for three and supervising what goes into Brandon's bag. He always seem to pull out the weirdest shirts when we travel. I'm not thrilled with my wardrobe selections at this weight, but at this point it's a little late to start fasting...

We leave early Tuesday morning and the kids are squealing with excitement. After nearly two months of being MIA, we found Alex's Nintendo DS today. I squealed and the kids thought I'd lost my mind. After riping apart our house and calling every establishment we've visited since May, Alex found it in a toy bin...hidden underneath construction tools. Argh! Bygones! We have it in time for the trip. You better believe I covered the thing in sharpie with my cell number.

I think I'll try to hop on once or twice during the trip if for no other reason to keep track of our adventure down the road. Things get fuzzy when I come home and start running the washing machine.

The Beatles with no beatles...

I don’t have any pictures to share because frankly, I’ve been too lazy to pull my camera out of the bag since Monday. Oh wait, here's a picture of the kids baking cookies last week. It has nothing to do with this post:

It’s been a wonderfully slow-paced week. I did manage do complete nine loads of laundry while it rained on Wednesday. Now by complete, I mean it’s folded and neatly placed into baskets. I still have to con someone into putting it away for me.

For all who wonder, Meredith’s mouth is on the mend. Her swollen lip is almost back to normal. The interior scrapes are nearly healed and the tooth socket itself looks much less hostile. The brown tooth is slightly on the wiggly side, so I hope the Tooth Fairy can find us in Maui. I am also happy to report that Meredith kicked her liquid Motrin habit.

Late Thursday, after the sun came out, we went swimming with my friend Karen and her kids. Karen is my friend who moved to Florida five years ago. We get to see them once or twice a year, usually during their visit here and/or our visit to Florida.

Anyway, we swam and then decided to go to the “Meet the Beatles” concert in the park next to our neighborhood. Brandon was home, so we went to Kroger, made an impromptu picnic and had a great time!

The Staperts came too and we saw a handful of our other neighbors. It was the perfect temperature and there were very few, if any bugs. About ¾ of the way through the concert, Alex said, “Mom, just so you know, these aren’t the real Beatles.” Thank you, Alex. The funny thing was most of the kids knew the songs. Alex’s music teacher did a good chunk of the Beatles catalogue with the kids this year. It was cute to see them all mouthing the words and Meredith ran around with her curls blowing in the breeze.

I’m also really glad we went to the concert because Dawn invited us over for breakfast the next morning! The kids slept fairly late, so we just got up, pulled on clothes and went to the Stapert’s for waffles. I took some berries and a bottle of champagne and Dawn and I toasted easy summer mornings with a mimosa.

We hung around Dawn’s wearing out our welcome and then went to the pool for the rest of the afternoon. The kids and I were the only people there until Dawn and her kids arrived. We were the only people for an hour or so, and then a stream of girls right around Meredith and Annie’s age strolled in. There were Barbies floating all over the pool and lots and lots of squealing. We left about the time the squealing turned into whining.

This is our final weekend home before we leave for vacation. I have a few errands to run and I think we may get Meredith’s hair whipped into some sort of shape. Alex has a birthday part to go to next door that lasts for four hours. YESSSS!!!! Although, the party is for the same little boy who informed me this week he was trying to arrange for a V.I.P. room at his party. He’s turning eight. I don’t want to live next door to him when he turns 16.

Do they still sell "NO FEAR" T-shirts?...

Fearless.

Meredith is completely fearless. This can be a great thing or an awful thing, depending on the circumstance.

After knocking her tooth out the day before, Meredith was still raring to go to the pool first thing Tuesday morning. Her “best friend evaaah,” JoEllen was coming to swim. She was livid when she overheard me tell JoEllen’s mom that Meredith was out a tooth. “Mooooom! I wanted to surprise her!”

On the way to the pool, we decided swimming was fine, but going down the slide might not be the best idea. Everyone was in agreement. Meredith even stated she wouldn't be going down the slide until she had permanent teeth.

Fifteen minutes after we got in the pool, Merdi climbed out and put on her wings. She hasn’t willingly worn wings since she learned to “swim.” 30 seconds later, I heard a splash and up came Meredith from the bottom of the pool. She had gone down the slide.

The lifeguard, who witnessed our emergency exit the day prior, shook his head and said, “Mrs. Webber, that girl is fearless! I think it’s AWESOME!” The other, wiser lifeguard said, “What are you going to do once she’s in high school?!” I don’t know. I really don’t.

I said, “Meredith, I thought we weren’t going to go down the slide for awhile.” She looked at me, shrugged her shoulders and said, “Well, I needed to know I wasn’t afraid. Anyway, it was da steps that did me in; not the swide.” I asked her why she didn’t discuss it with me first and she spoke the truth, “I fought you’d probwy fweak out!”

She thought right.

Never a dull moment...

Can you guess what this is?


It belongs to her:

An hour into a great swim on the first beautiful, unscheduled day in three weeks, Meredith missed a step on the slide’s ladder and rode the steps with her face. Ouch.

She handed me her tooth and we were off to the dentist. I drove 60 mph in a 40 mph, and dared any policeman to stop me.

I swooped in my swimming suit, greasy with sunscreen and carrying Meredith biting on a bloody towel. Big entrance.

The dentist put down his bowl of macaroni and cheese—it was his lunch hour—and said, “Well Kiddo, looks like the Tooth Fairy will be visiting tonight.” Then he gave us ice cream vouchers and sent us on our way. He barely even looked at the tooth I tried to preserve in a bottle of Kirkland’s Best Spring Water.

Of course, the infamous brown tooth stayed firmly in place. Meredith managed to knock out the “good tooth.” Fabulous. I told Jill E., people will probably assume we’re from Appalachia. One missing tooth, one brown tooth, and Lord only knows what today’s fall will do for the discoloration of the surrounding teeth.

Have you ever seen those creepy fake teeth they put on high glitz pageant girls? They’re called “flippers.” Why do I know this? I will shamefully admit to watching the reality pageant show on TLC. Maybe I’ll order Merdi a flipper!

Happy 4th of July; wear your sweater...

There’s no in between in Indiana. Either you boil or freeze on the 4th of July. This year, like last year was a cool, rainy mess. Not to be deterred, we celebrated anyway.

Friday night, our friends Jill and Scott hosted their unbelievably fun annual Summer Soiree. It’s the one night of the summer we pretend we’re 23 instead of 33. Miraculously, we were up and ready Saturday morning to go to the Carmel 4th of July parade. Our friends, the Hindmans are here for a visit from Florida and they saved us prime seats. Lots of candy, plenty of politicians, and marching bands. As a side note, I’ve never seen so many “cheerleading” squads in my life. It’s a cottage industry around here.

I bought a new camera lens on Friday. It was a major purchase. I think it’s more money than I’ve ever spent on something aside from furniture. Anyway, I took it to the parade, but with the on and off sprinkles, I was really afraid of moisture.

Good thing I took this very patriotic image, which just screams “U.S.A.!!!”

We went out to lunch after the parade and then came home for much needed naps. The entire house slept for two hours. Once we were up and around the kids couldn’t wait to go back to the Ehnes’ for fireworks. Their garage was turned into a banquet hall and we tried to outlast the rain. The guys wound up setting off the fireworks across the street under the cover of a patio umbrella.

The kids loved the show and were hauled off to bed shortly after. Meredith had such a meltdown on the way home that it was more funny than annoying.

Sunday evening, I had a shoot with a woman who reconnected with me on Facebook. We used to work together almost ten years ago. The girls ranged in ages from 9-13. Two sets of sisters, who apparently don’t enjoy each other’s company. That went well.

We went to bed pretty early last night and I’m glad we did because at 1:30 a.m. Rolly was barking like a junk yard dog. I woke up Brandon and he went to see what had Rolly in such a panic. While Brandon was searching the perimeter of our house in his boxers; I heard the cause for alarm: A pack of coyotes. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them and there were several. Judging by Rolly’s reaction, at least 500. (Rolly is Irish and tends to exaggerate.)

We have a big coyote problem in our neighborhood. They made a decent attempt at eating our neighbor’s dog. We’ve been told not to camp in the backyard, unless we enjoy being harassed by wild, rabid dogs. On the rare occasion I have slept with the windows open, they’ve woken me their snarling, snorting, and howling. Creepy!

Rolly feels it’s his duty to both welcome everyone into our home and frighten away anyone for whom we do not open the door. He hides behind closed doors and barks, because it’s hard to be intimidating when you look like Fozzy Bear.

Rolly was determined to scare away the coyotes even if it meant barking until he was hoarse. Finally, I talked him into sleeping in our room, and assured him he could tear any and all coyotes to shreds should they manage to sneak into the house.

There's no friend like an old friend

Meredith is holding Maria's stunt double!

Nine years ago, our friends Jill and Gaspare would come to visit and we would go to dinner in a quiet restaurant. We would sit through appetizers to dessert and linger as long as we wanted. We did not leave the table 17 times to go to the restroom and we didn’t play tic tac toe or hangman on a paper menu. We never asked for a lid.

Oh, how times have changed.

Many months ago, Jill C. and I looked at our calendars and picked a date for a visit. Between my commitments and Jill’s, finding two consecutive dates that would allow for a sleep over visit wasn’t easy. We threw a date on the calendar and decided to see if it would stick. Low and behold it did. We just had 70 degree weather instead of the 90 degree day we thought we’d spend at the pool.

Brandon, who is almost always traveling during the week, is home. So, Jill talked Gaspare into leaving their very busy restaurant in capable hands and making the trip with her and her kiddos. There’s a first time for everything.

The Cucinellas arrived in time for a chilly evening swim and a BBQ. Brandon put ribs on the grill and we fired up the margarita machine once again. (I don’t mean to boast, but my margaritas as so much better than what Senor Brandon makes. No contest. Seriously, Jill will vouch for me! If you’ve been to our house lately and I didn’t make your drink, come back and I’ll right that wrong.)

After dinner we stuffed ourselves full of Jill’s incredible chocolate laced brownies and the kids made s’mores. Alex decided to eat a marshmallow straight off the hot wire and we’re now on the search for chapstick with aloe.

After running themselves silly, we put the kids to bed and listened to the boys talk until darn near midnight. They could not lull themselves to sleep. I don’t know how those Brady boys ever got any rest. Meredith and Maria were out like lights!

We had a leisurely breakfast this morning and then headed to the Children’s Museum. The new entrance is open. Seems like a waste of space, but I’m sure they have big plans. The great part is, the walk from the garage is completely enclosed, so no more dragging coats! It was pretty crowded and the kids were pretty tired and the dads were pretty hungry, so we left.

After some debate about whether or not we wanted to attempt fine dining with five kids in tow, we went for it and had lunch at Fogo De Chao. We don’t know if it was the constant show of meat on a skewer, complete exhaustion, or the danger of falling on a giant knife, but the kids could not have been better behaved. They were incredibly good!!! For once, my last minute threats outside of a restaurant worked!

I just talked to Jill and the restaurant is still in business and the kids slept quietly on the way home. We might be able to talk Gaspare into visiting more often!