On Vacation

Stanton & I just got back from a week in Hawaii with Stanton's folks and our little Cannon. It was a great vacation.

We did a lot of this...
I read Persuasion by Jane Austen. I hadn't read that one and it was so enjoyable. That's one of my favorite parts of Hawaii -- being able to just sit outside and read a book. It helps that we've been a few times before because we don't have to spend the entire time sightseeing. The relaxing is my favorite part.
We did do a little sightseeing, though. I hadn't seen a few things on the east side of the island so we went over there. This is me at Blowhole -- when the waves crash here, the mist shoots up through a tunnel in the rocks -- it looks like Old Faithful. It was a neat place. We tried to hike Diamond Head, but it was closed (when is Diamond Head ever closed?). I still haven't done that, so I'm hoping we'll get to in May when we go for Stanton's AAPD conference. I'm also hoping to snorkel at Hanauma Bay on that trip -- it just didn't work out this time.
Our friends Spring and Allen Bean happened to be there the same time as us. We met up to shop at the Flea Market, eat at the Oceanarium & PCC, and play in the ocean behind the house. It was fun to hang out with them.
This was definitely our eating out trip. Because of the house Stanton's family has there and the huge group we usually go with, we end up cooking meals at the house most nights. This time we were a much smaller group (just Stanton & I and Dave & Judy) and groceries were as expensive as eating out. We ate king crab (Oceanarium buffet) two nights (heaven!!), prime rib & snow crab (PCC & Hale'iwa Joe's) two nights, melt in your mouth ribeye steak (Ruth's Chris), and the best veggie salad ever (Pizza Bob's) two different afternoons. We also had breakfast at the Hukilau cafe in Lai'e one morning -- I had this fried rice omelet that was out of this world. I'll definitely be making that one at home -- who ever thought to eat fried rice for breakfast? I'd like to personally thank them, whoever they are.
I didn't take any pictures at all of the restaurants -- can't believe it. But it was a lot of fun. Eating out like that makes me grateful to come home and make a meal, strange as it seems. In fact, for dinner last night (this is after a red-eye flight from Honolulu and a morning spent picking all the kids up from their various babysitters...), I made chicken soft tacos -- complete with home-made whole wheat tortillas and brown rice and beans. Nothing like a week of no dishes and eating out to make you feel all domestic again. And I needed that -- I was in a total dinner rut.
Let's see, other trip highlights...we went on a glider ride over the island. I should have known it wasn't going to go well when our flight number was...
We got to the glider (which is really quite amazing -- a plane tows you up to about 5000 feet and then lets you go and the pilot just uses rudders and the wings to catch the wind at take you all over the sky. We saw some really beautiful scenery from up high) and were excited to get in.
Once we got in, the pilot took a little snapshot of us.
Yeah, we look happy. Stanton really is. But I'm not and I'll show you why:
Stanton got in first and when I looked at what room was left, I about hyperventilated. And then there was the whole 'I can't move my legs!' situation. If you know me well, you know that I have leg issues to begin with. Not being able to move them and stretch them was about enough to make me call the whole thing off before we left the ground. But I decided to be a big girl and suck it up. I had the claustrophobia thing pretty well under control by the time we got going. We got about 3000 feet up and then the nausea hit. And wow -- it hit. I was taking long, deep breaths through my nose, trying to get my stomach to return to its proper place in my abdomen, but it just insisted on staying right at the edge of my throat. I was getting pretty panicky -- looking around for an empty bag (yeah, right, there wasn't ANY room for an empty bag in that little thing) when Stanton smiled and said, "if you're going to throw up, just make sure you do it down your shirt." Cute, I know. Well, I hung on for as long as I could, but 15 minutes into our 30 minute ride, I had to ask to be taken down. It really was a bummer, as the view was incredible. C'est la vie.

Cannon was an angel, as always. He rode in the back of the van and either slept or gooed most of the time.
It was a lot of fun to get to know him a little better. He is becoming very interactive and will smile with his entire face (I love to see a baby's eyes smile). Spending some one on one time with Cannon was probably the best part of the trip.

The kids had a great time visiting their cousins and aunts and uncles. Chloe stayed with my sister, Lori. I think it was really fun for her to be the little sister for once. She had a great time with Todd, Kate, & Jack, and even got to see Grandma & Grandpa Rose while she was there. Thanks, Lori & Brad. Chloe loved it!
Lily stayed with Stanton's sister, Julie. She called her "Juliewebb" (Lily has a name thing -- she calls her nursery music leader "Oh Here We Are Together" and has little names like that for most people she meets). She loved being with Juliewebb and really adores her. I think her cousins might be glad to get back to normal, though. Wednesday (the day before we got home), Lily came into the kitchen with her wrists and ankles bound in duct tape and a piece over her mouth. Julie was, obviously, shocked and went to investigate. She asked Amanda, her 10 year-old what was going on. Amanda said, "Mom, I just couldn't take it anymore!" Lily is Lily is Lily is Lily and she wore the girls out with her screaming, I think! But she really had a great time and felt pretty special to get to stay at Aunt Julie's. Thanks, Julie & Scott! We love you!
Brigham got passed around a bit -- he started out with Shaynna, my good friend. Chrystal picked him up shortly after and took him to Tremonton to stay with my Aunt Christie. He spent Thursday - Sunday there and had a blast. He got to go out to the farm and see the tractors (Christie mentioned he was especially partial to the green ones -- no surprise there!) and the cows -- he loved that. After a fun weekend there, he came back to Hyde Park and stayed with Ann, Stanton's sister at Dave & Judy's. He had a great time with Katie & Allison and just went along with whatever games they wanted to play. Ann took them all back to her house in Syracuse on Wednesday and he was there till yesterday when we picked him up. All reports are that he was a good little guy and very mellow. I love that part of his personality. He really adapts well, which I hope continues in the years to come. Thanks Christie & Scott and Ann & Don. We appreciate you making sure Brigham was happy!

Going away always makes me happy to come back. The kids are (mostly) playing well this morning -- pretending to be in Hawaii, going camping, cooking dinner, etc. I want to be a nicer mom and (mostly) have the patience to be better with them. Being away reminds me what a blessing it is to be mom to these incredible little people.