Committed

Our home was built in 1977.  One of the original "charming" features, the blue bathtub has been here since the beginning.  But now it is time to say good-bye.  It's a tub with no shower and we have finally said, "ENOUGH!"  We need a shower for our kids in our main floor bathroom, and a place for guests to shower as well.

Kent bought a bathtub and a shower surround tonight and we have a plumber coming tomorrow to install pipes and put in the new stuff.

 Here's the beautiful tub.

And here's the beautiful tile after I took a hammer and chisel to it.  I guess this means we are committed huh?   More to follow.

The Red Shoes

 This is a story about shoes.  Red shoes.  I have always really liked red shoes but I have never had any.  About a year ago I really started wanting red shoes.  Kent got me some for christmas in 2010.

Unfortunately, I felt like Cinderella's evil stepsisters trying on the glass slipper when I put them on my feet.  And standing up was a total joke.  Yeah, too small.  So we had to return them.  :(

To overcome the returned-red-shoe blues I took my shoe money and bought these beautiful red shoes.  Love them.  Wear them all the time (except when it rains because they are leather).

Even with my lovely red Mary Janes, something was missing. I still longed for some red heels.  And then one day I found some. And I didn't even have to buy them online.  And they fit. (Well, almost, they are 1/2 size too big but hey, that is as close as I can usually get).  So I bought them and I love them too, just like a parent loves their second child as much as their first.

And now I am happy. I am so happy that I am smiling like a complete dork. I am stupfied with happiness.

 

The shoes

Back to the Grind

We have pretty much returned to the daily grind around here.  The jet lag was pretty bad for the first couple of days after I got home from Hawaii. Especially since I went to bed at 5 am the first day I got home.  It was actually not too hard to jump back into my mom role.  The trip recharged my batteries, at least for a few days.  I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to pick things up where I left them.  Maybe it seemed less stressful than all that getting ready for the trip.  Those last few days at home before I left were pretty busy and crazy.  Kent and the kids fared amazingly well.  The only comment I heard from anonymous sources was that they "struggled a bit with the hair".  The kids were happy to have me back so I could fix their hair again.  And now the kids prefer Kent's smoothies over mine because he puts chocolate sauce in them and I don't. 

Adele has been up to her usual antics of getting into everything and hiding a lot of things in places where they should  not be. This week (or was it last?) I found an entire bottle of princess bubble bath squirted into a bowl into her closet.  And an applesauce cup with the foil peeled back .  Both of those could have ended in disaster but somehow neither one made a mess.  Now we are trying to survive the whining.  Can't stand the whining.

Lastly, school is winding to a close. I am looking forward to not having to get up and get kids ready in the morning but I am not excited about the fighting and the "Mom, I'm bored" complaints.  ("What, you're bored?  Here's a rag, go scrub something" will be my reply). This month the kids have tons of field trips so I am just doing my best to make sure they have sunscreen, hats, swimsuits, good hiking shoes, 2 dollars, 1 dollar, water bottles, hats etc.

Hawaii- Last Part

We spent a whole day driving up and down the North shore which is where we saw the seal and turtles that I posted pictures of in the last post. We also stopped at a shrimp shack to have some food for lunch.  (Now when I look back at these pictures I think it is no small miracle that none of us got any food poisoning.  Not that this place was bad or anything... it was just... well, a dirty old shrimp truck. I am sure the inside was REALLY clean.)  You only live once right? It's worth risking a little E. Coli sometimes. I guess.

We probably should have tried a fried twinkie but after all the fried shrimp and fish and chips we ate we definitely had our grease allotment for the day.

After the grease we stopped at the FAMOUS Matsumo's Shave Ice store (link takes you to the site where I got the pic.) The shave ice was very yummy and something that everyone told me I HAD to do in Hawaii (so check that off the list people!)

The last full day we were there was Sunday.  Julie (the one who let us stay at her house) gave us all a kukui nut necklace and we went to church in Laie with her family.  I never knew that in Hawaii at church the speakers each greet the congregation by saying "Aloha!", and the people say "Aloha" back.  It was very fun (and Hawaiian!)

 After church we headed back to Waikiki for the last day.  The weather was calmer there and the sun actually came out for the afternoon.  We stayed in a hotel called Waikiki Gateway. It wasn't super nice but it did have 3 twin beds (which was why I booked it before I left for the trip.)  We felt like the 3 little pigs in our bedroom with the 3 little beds.  Or like Marsha, Jan and Cindy from the Brady bunch.

 Our Hotel

It was sad to have to leave the beautiful Island of Oahu.  I hope someday to be able to go there again, this time with my sweetie Kent.  The view out the window was beautiful as we flew East into the darkness as the sun was going down.

I had planned on taking a shuttle home again but lo and behold, some neighbors of mine who live 1 block away saw me at the Honolulu airport and called out to me. (What are the chances of that happening right?? They were on my same flight home.  CRAZY.)  They ended up being able to give me a ride 2/3 of the way home and then I was able to pick up my car and drive the rest of the way home. I had planned on staying in a hotel and then catching my shuttle the next morning.  I made it home at almost 5 am the next day and I was SOOO tired but glad to be home.  Not glad to be out of the tropical beauty and slow speed of Hawaii but glad to sleep in my own bed and very happy to see my family.

Day 4

 

There's a crab on my head.  It's dead.



Sunset beach



We also saw 2 monk seals at Sunset Beach



This was a place called LaiePoint. It had very sharp and pokey rocks and lots of crabs running around on the rocks near the water.  It was so much cooler than the pictures show.

We saw a sea turtle sunning itself on the sand.  It was HUGE!

And here is the turtle guardian.  I kid you not. There are volunteers who stand by and protect the turtles from the turtle harrassers. 

We only have one more full day in Hawaii until it is time to go home. I miss my family but it is going to be really hard to leave this amazing and beautiful place.  I love the ocean.   I wish I could live here.

More pics

I Wanted a picture with a flower in my hair but I didn't want to pick it.  Kathy did the same but accidentally picked it.  oops.

We had some serious fun body surfing.  Now I feel like my entire body was sand blasted.  I guess they call it "exfoliating" at spas.



Laie temple



Kathy made me get in the picture with her.  This was "Ricky", one of the dancers in the show at the Polynesian Cultural Center.  He is a fire dancer.  Now you know why he doesn't have any hair.  It all got singed off during the fire dancing.

We are twinners in our new Hawaian skirts. Awwww.

RAIN!!!?

Yeah, it has been raining for about the last 24 hours straight. I think we are over the rain now.  We want to see the sun!!!!!

More Hawaii Stuff

Day 2 was a really fun and slightly crazy day.  We woke up really early (5:30) because of the time
difference.  We grabbed some breakfast and got an early start.  We headed up to Diamond Head Crater.  It's a crater which was caused by a huge volcanic eruption 150000 years ago.  The stairs we climbed at the top were crazy but the view was spectacular!

Scary stairs

View of Honolulu from the crater






I called these the Dr. Seuss weeds because they look like something you would see in a Dr. Seuss book.

  

Gorgeous flowering tree

 

We ate dinner at a local Hawaiin place called Papa Ole's & had delicious food.

After the crater we headed toward the North Shore to the home where we are staying.  My sister Kathy has a friend who lives here who has been kind enough to let us crash at her house for a couple of days.  So on the way to the North shore we stopped at a bunch of lookouts and some beaches to see the views and take pictures.  We stopped for lunch at a little Mexican restaurant along the highway and also visited a macadamia nut "outlet store" (which was actually a glorified and overpriced gift shop that sold many flavors of macadamia nuts.  They had lots of samples of all the different nuts and they were quite delicious.  The driving itself proved to be a pretty big adventures. We had some mpas from the rental place but they were not adequate.  Then there is the problem with the street names.  They are all Hawaiian and they all sound the same:  Kalakua, Kahaki, Kalakani, Kalahiki, Kahula, Lanakai, Lanaiki, Lainaki etc.  My favorite street name was Wakahaka.  My brain is hurting just thinking of the street names.



We (finally) reached our host family's house and were amazed by the amazing view from her back door. Her backyard isthe ocean.  We didn't get in the water today because 1.  We were driving most of the day.  2.  It was really windy 3. It was cloudy and cold and rained off and on all day. We are REALLY hoping for some nice warm weather tomorrow.  Julie, our host said that last week it was hot and calm.  This week it has started storming.  Just our luck.  It is so beautiful though, and I especially love all the flowering trees and shrubs.  The bright pink and orange flowering trees are so beautiful.

While we are here on the North Shore we plan to go to turtle beach, snorkeling in Shark Reef (which I hear doesn't really have sharks.  I am not sure why they call it that.  Turtle beach DOES have turtles.  We are going to the Poly Cultural Center for a Luau tomorrow and we will go bodysurfing and snorkeling.  Hopefully the wind will stop blowing!!!

To Kent and my great kiddos:  I love you guys and I miss you. I wish you were here so you could see all the things I am seeing and experience this adventure with me!  Kent, you are awesome!!! Thanks so much for making this trip possible for me.  I love you.



The Laie Temple at night.  So beautiful



Hawaii part 2

Giant goldfish



There were lots of street perfomers and there were guys painted silver or gold and they stood there very still. You could give them money and take your picture with them.





This was one GIANT tree

 



Waikiki at night



Hawaii!

I made it here alive!  We have been having adventures all the way including trying to navigate our way to our hotel with the map sitting in the trunk.  Oops.  We had some fun with one way streets, pulling over for ambulances, almost running over pedestrians etc.  We made it though.  And WOW, we have seen some beautiful scenery and some very interesting people as well.

We ate some yummy Pad Thai at the Food Court



Our hotel



Waikiki beach at sunset

To my fam and kids:  I love you guys!  Someday I want to bring you here so you can see this stuff!

On My Way

It has been an interesting trip so far, and I haven't even gotten on the plane yet.  I got a very early start this morning and caught an airport shuttle to save on gas and parking.  As my co-shuttle riders and I waited and boarded the shuttle (a 15 passenger van), made-for-tv movie plots  were unfolding before my eyes.  Tell me this doesn't sound like the perfect m-f-tv movie:  10 geriatric passengers, 1 geriatric driver, 3 un-geriatric women and 1 hiker-dude with a ponytail board a shuttle, bound for the airport.  The women are going to California, Chicago and Hawaii.  The guy is headed for the exciting destination of Ohio.  One set of geris is a couple of old crotchety people.  The husband practically yells at his wife to get going, "HONEY, come over here."  They all board a shuttle, these unique people from different walks of life.  The bus breaks down in the desert and now they must work together to try to survive the harsh outdoor conditions.  Will they be able to survive?  How will their families cope with not knowing where they are?  Will the young hiker headed to Ohio have the outdoor survival skills needed to take care of 11 senior citizens?  Will they have enough provisions in their luggage to make it through several days (or weeks?) in the desert?

Yeah.  I am tired.  It was a boring ride.  And the shuttle was kind of stinky.   Literally.  It smelled a bit funky.  I don't know if it was the guy I was sitting behind or if it was just the bodily smell of a van that is constantly filled with 15 people.

Leaving this morning was kind of hard. I was excited to go but, something went wrong, as things usually do.  Adele came down with a fever last night.  So we had to re-arrange (i.e. cancel) all the Wednesday babysitting plans and Kent had to arrange to TRY to do some work from home. THEN, in the middle of the night Ian woke up with terrible pain in his ear.  So he will be staying home from school today and Kent gets to take him to the dr.  I feel so bad that he is going to have to do all the stuff I usually do plus the stuff he usually does.  He can't take the day off because it is going to be a busy day at work and there is some stuff he has to do.  It makes me glad that I am a stay home mom and can normally take care of the things on the homefront and he can get his work done.

One more thing. I have now experienced for the first time the thing we affectionately refer to as the "nudey scanner".  I didn't like it so much. It was kind of weird.  I think a pat-down would be worse, however. I wanted to get out my camera and take pictures of the scanner so I could post them here on my blog but I didn't.  I didn't think the security people would appreciate that, and you don't want to do anything that might potentially tick off the TSA people at the airport.

Here's the view from where I am sitting at the airport.

Hawaii

This is the first time in my life that I can say I am going to Hawaii tomorrow.  YIPPEE!!!