Mahalo

A humble thank you to the many, many things that have made this month wonderful: the ocean, sand, sea turtles, 80 degree days, tropical night showers, the sun, the full moon--twice--the 150 feet we walk every day to the most beautiful beach, the pineapples, shave ice, gin and toncis after an afternoon spent playing in the waves, my sister, my parents, the kids, jason, the baristas at Kalapawai Market, the windsurfers who didn't plow us down or run over my dad during his twice daily swim, the lovely cottages on the Big Island, the lava, the Honolulu Advertiser with its hard-hitting stories about the surf, the North shore, aloe vera after-sun lotion, sushi, FM 105.1, ("your Hawaaiian music station") and so on and so on..Mahalo.

Tomorrow, the midwest.

The Perlings

For the past two weeks our family friends, the Perlins (nicknamed "the perlings" by the kids), have been in Hawaii with us. They have added a great deal of laughter and fun to this trip, allowing us to break out of our traditional family roles. The kids LOVE them and we all benefit from Terry's games (after the 12th round of Uno he was overheard asking Ruby if she'd gotten an advanced degree from "Uno University" in the study of "Uno-ism") and Roberta's inspired shopping (Lexy and I have new jeans, dresses and jewelry to show all encouraged by her personal shopping acumen).

Other highlights include: Blue Hawaii, knitting bracelets, date nights for the seniors, Oxford updates, shopping, shopping, shopping, and many never before heard tales of their 40+ year long marriage ("12 good ones" according to Berta). Needless to say, we are all thrilled that they were able to join us, and we look forward to future trips, perhaps their children and soon-to-be grandaughter will join.

Realtime Hula

Here is the hula lesson. Did I really upload to youtube? you bet. Maybe their lesson will become the next Mentos sensation...

Poynesian style

Today was a parade of fun. Highlights:tempura tattoos, tree climber, fishing and hula lessons. When I figure out how to connect a Quicktime movie to this blog, I'll include a short of Lexy and Ruby's hula lesson.
For now, here is a link to a couple of more pics.

And then they were 4

Jason left on Sunday and we miss him a lot. Today's paper (the Honolulu Advertiser) has an article on the benefits of vacation (supported by research!) and I'm hoping he's feeling some of them now that he's back to the real world.

The kids and I continue our vacation...yesterday we returned to Lanakai Beach (near the site of last week's shark attack) for some wave-free swimming. The afternoon was spent with a bit of Webkinz, a trip to the Kalaps with Baba (the primo quickie marekt, Hawaiian-style) for ice cream and then lots of library books, all so I could continue my Harry Potter quest to the end of book 7 (accomplished this morning at 1:15 a.m. and yes, Jason, I very seriously considered calling you to discuss as I knew you'd be up in Ohio).

Updates directly from the kids:

Luca- My board game is very, very, very good because I made it (it being "Luca-opoloy" cut from cardboard and based on the original Mon-op). I won.

Zachary- We played "Simon Says" with the Perlings (editor: actually the Perlins, my parents' friends who are also here from Oxford). Terry is funny at the game. He always wants to be Simon. I'm wearing my monkey shirt. Monkey hates it (jealous) I just remembered that. The Perlings gave me a ball.

Ruby- Today we're going to the Polynesian Cultural Center. I hope we get to see hula dancing. After you left (Jason) I went to Pearl Harbor. Zach and Luca wanted to go but mommy said they weren't old enough. And, it's about World War II. I miss daddy.

OK- So that's the update. More later. I have to pack the swim bag and get ready for Mormon-supported fun.

Aloha

Well, I'm out of here. This trip has been awesome - I've been gone from work long enough I feel positively European (even though any self-respecting Frenchman or Spaniard would be horrified at a 2 & 1/2 week vacation). I am not looking forward to a) flying all day tomorrow and being at work in 28 hours and b) being away from Alison and the kids for the next 10 days, by far the longest I've ever been apart from the kiddos.

We had a great day today, with multiple, shark-free trips to the ocean.

The boys capped it off with soccer in a short, but torrential, tropical downpour.

Jaws

So, there we were, swimming at Lanakai, one beach west of Kailua, when suddenly word traveled down the beach that a swimmer and several sea turtles had been attacked by a tiger shark. Needless to say we gathered our things and packed our bag and headed home... It's the first windward-side shark attack on a human in 49 years. We stayed off the beach that afternoon and the next day. Today we venture back...

The other event of note this week was our appointment with Kristi from Pineapple Prints. She came to Kailua and snapped two disks worth of photos of our family on the beach. We will post highlights later. Perhaps we will just move to LA and let the kids start earning their keep.

Mrs. Nervous

The trip to the BI was a success for many reasons, not the least of which was that the kids got their together-rhythm back. But with elevations in the tens of thousands, trekking up hill on dirt/lava strewn trails and checking out scenic overlooks quickly earned me the new nickname, "Mrs. Nervous." Whoo-hoo, the kids thought they were hilarious and actually, their gentle teasing took some of the sting out of my constant reminders not to run, not to lean over, and not to climb the G.D. bars or railings at the top of the volcanic crater. I mean, really.

It was interesting though to have such a physical reaction to their carefree (and not even careless) adventuring. I hadn't anticipated how crabby and stressed I would feel watching them genuinely enjoy the great outdoors. My stomach lurched every time one of them approached the edge of a trail and a strong sense of vertigo overtook me as I reached out to pull them closer. And of course, their physical limitations and my new-found anxieties limited the kind of trails we chose. But there was no sacrifice in that--having the 5 of us experience the world together is what it's all about. Nerves and all.

Back from the Big Island

I'm sure Alison will post something more interesting, word-wise, later today or tomorrow, but I figured I'd get something up and throw out a link to some pictures. We had a great time - the sights were great, but the kids were even better - three squabble free days.

Monkeys

So far we've seen a baby hammer head shark (washed up on shore--yikes), sea turtles, a puffer fish (again on the shore--who knew they have huge buck teeth?) and loads of birds. But it's the monkeys we brought here who have had the biggest impact on our trip so far.

The kids are still adjusting to living in a different house with a different schedule and daily trips to the beach. It has not been without struggle. Their famous hours-long playing hasn't clicked into gear yet; there are frequent complaints of boredom and Ruby has whined hard about having to go to the beach every day. I think it's particularly hard for me because I grew up coming here and while I don't miss the days of laying out (wrinkles!) it is hard to have three young folks out of their routine and extra needy.

Jason and I are hoping that hitting the open, lava-strewn road will help shake us up and lend some new excitement to the trip. As accommodating and patient as my folks have been, I'm sure that they too will relish the quiet our leaving brings. When we return from the BI, my sister Alexis will be here and everyone's looking forward to her arrival.

More when we get back! Hope everyone is well.

Off to the Big Island

Slight change of plans from the original itinerary - Alison & I decided to take the kids with us to the Big Island. Yes, that means we voluntarily gave up the chance to have two and a half days alone, but we figured they are at the age where they hopefully will get a lot out of the volcano, black sand beaches, rainforests, etc. on the BI. We'll see how that plays out...

This is what we're taking for the five of us from now until Monday. It's still probably more stuff than Alison & I took on our world tour.

More pics from Rick & Sue's camera.

Life's a beach

Today marked our 7th day on O'ahu and wow, was it a good one. After the fairly treacherous climb to the top of Diamond Head (our most touristy thing yet and at 10 a.m. the path was jammed with visitors) all of us longed to return to the familiar and near-perfect landscape of "our" beach. The crowds on Diamond Head were a new experience, and while the climb was an accomplishment for all and the views were impressive, we're spoiled already by our family-friendly uncrowded sand.

We are staying on Kailua beach, located on the windward side of the island, far from the crowds of Waikiki. This is the beach the Momeyer family has always come to visit. For nearly 20 of the 30 years my grandparents lived in Hawaii they frequented Kailua beach. The water is warm, the waves are perfect for body surfing and the mountains, wind surfers and palm trees all provide a scenic backdrop. After being tossed on their heads on the first day of boogie boarding, the boys have taken to "sit smacking" which translates into crouching in the surf and getting plowed over by the waves (see above). Ruby, meanwhile, prefers to wait patiently to catch a wave on her board with the caveat that it must come to her. Today she convinced Zachary to give it a try. He immediately scooted his board closer to the waves and managed to land on his stomach face first before abandoning the board for more sit smacking.
For more beach shots, click here.

Diamond Head

The kids were great about this trip. It's about a mile and a half round trip, mostly straight up (700 feet at the top). Zachary said his favorite part was the spiral staircase in the top; Ruby & Luca said their favorite part was "everything!"

Here are the rest of the day's pics.

End of the MopTops

Sadly, the bangs were getting into their eyes during the World Serious of Soccer (currently tied 1-1) . Double chops at the Japanese"Barbara" in Kailua town.

Hawaii...

So, here we are. The flight was actually fine - a few squirrelly moments towards the end, but basically the kids were great for all 10 hours. Here are the principals after disembarking...

More pics available here.