here we are in another phase. so nice to have more time for myself with Aidan in school all day and Kiara in playschool three mornings a week. i have time to run errands without having to factor in bribes for the short attention spans of my fan crew. cleaning and laundry can sometimes get done more quickly without anyone taking advantage of mom's lack of eyesight....yes, all the big messes seemed to happen on laundry day! phone calls get made without having to be interrupted by screams or "mommy-can-i's". not to mention an hour of uninterrupted time for me to actually put more than a thought or two together!!
March had the kids busy finishing up their racing cars for the AWANA Grand Prix. a huge thrill for them. i had the incredible thrill of attending the local scrapbook retailers event. i'm still in disbelief of how amazing that weekend was. taking classes from very talented people. my idol being one of them! enjoying supper and then having them visit the store where i work. seriously had so much fun that i could barely sleep! one of those events in my life that seemed to good to be true. i find myself having to remind myself it all really happened....not just a happy dream.
we also finalized the details for a trip to heat and sunshine! which meant passports and other traveling preparations. which is a story in itself.
the bad timing of computer issues and breakdowns. which gained me a brand new computer that i really hope does not give me issues.
it was not possible for us to conveniently leave town to coordinate with the school spring break. that last week was spent packing and keeping the kids active and happy. they are good for entertaining themselves. however a week solid of mom also busy doing "boring stuff" was not on their top ten list. to keep a balance we spent a few days on the town. the local science centre was fun for a day, and the kids got to try wall climbing too. {you could say the kids are experts at wall climbing....or so i expected. apparently they were a little nervous climbing past a certain point even when they were harnessed. or perhaps it was their fear of me dropping them?! ha! not all days with them were peaceful and relaxing that week.}
then off we flew to Maui....
other beach holidays Kris and i have taken mean clear blue skies. our holiday started out on the overcast side. high clouds, but still not clear blue. despite the appearance each day was very hot! flip flops every day. sunglasses were a necessity. bathing suits rotated each day because they took a few days to dry in the humidity. we also learned that sunscreen was needed even with the clouds! i think the clouds added to the humidity levels.
there is not a bad beach to be found on Maui. each one was different and had something unique to offer.
the one outside our condo was great for finding seashells and coral.
the one in the above picture would have been fun for exploring if the tide were lower.
we found several sandy beaches. some small and with few crowds. others large and busy. some had lava rocks to explore at some point.
some were calmer for the kids, while others had waves strong enough to take Kris and i off our feet!
we realized that we should have stayed longer. Kiara was asking to go home every few days, but it was hard to know if she was serious. she seemed to have fun and enjoyed the trip. Kristian figured the island could benefit from another engineer and decided that he wanted us to move immediately. one of the flyers advertised a local scrapbook store, and he wasted no time in driving me to it. you know what he was thinking!! it was nothing like Urban Scrapbook. i don't honestly know how this store has stayed in business. if Pat and Lori ever want to start a new store.... well..... i think Maui needs them. desperately. i told Aidan one morning that when we retired, we would move here....and he and Kiara can bring their families here for vacations. he looked stunned and wasted no time to say that he would also be moving with us!!! he cried when we got home because he already missed Maui.
it was a perfect vacation. we did a few touristy and fun trips. we relaxed by the pool and the beach every day. we drove up to the volcanic crater one day. i have a fear of heights that has improved, but still lingers. the drive to the crater was tough for me....the passenger! i know for fact that i could never have safely driven myself....not when i had to close my eyes from time to time! for Aidan and Kristian it was a highlight. it is a shock to myself that i am already thinking ahead to the next trip up the crater...apparently the sunrise is spectacular {as well as the night view.} with the four hour time change, all 4 of us were awake at 4am the first morning. the exact time we would need to leave the condo to catch the sunrise. {there's a travel tip i did not read...but it should be published!}
the kids traveled well. even with the exhausting return trip. having movies and tv shows at their fingertips helped all of us. i told Kiara that she was not allowed to act "silly" on the airplane. and left it at that. there have been enough times both of the kids have been goofy while we're driving. this time i let the "i wonder what they would do if i acted silly" question get answered without my ideas. this time my strategy worked. phew! turns out they were both a delight.
the fact that truly surprised all of us was the size of the island. in a matter of 30 minutes drive, you go from beach to desert to mountain.
every day was hot. as the week progressed the clouds disappeared.
now we are home. tired from the trip home. and jet-lagged. basically we each had 2 hours of sleep last night. sleep in airports and on planes is not in our genes. it was not fun to look around at other lucky people who were happily sound asleep! a long afternoon nap and late bedtime is our present plan. fortunately we all slept the afternoon away...now if we can get a solid 8 hours sleep tonight but be awake by 9am.
