Bumper Stickers

My Child is an Honor Student at Lake Oswego Junior High

My Child was Student of the month at Summerwind Elementary

EVEN

My dog is smarter than your honor student

I saw this one today in a drive through.

It is blurry because I was trying to surreptitiously snap a photo without catching the attention of the big, burly, tattooed driver, presumably the father of the child referred to on his bumper:

My Child Was Bailed Out by XXXXXXX Bail Bonds

Notice that I blacked out the license plate number and the name of the Bail bondsman!  I don't want the Dad or the son (or maybe the daughter) to find me!

  

Maui Memories

For several years I have been dreaming of a trip to Maui to show our children one of our favorite places. Finally we decided it was time and invited them all to come.  Son-in-law Mark doesn't enjoy traveling so he stayed home but was happy to have Mary join us.  I so appreciate him and think he is a great husband.

As we got ready I gave myself many lectures so that I would avoid 'mothering' my adult off-spring and being totally annoying.  This was not a trip with our four 'little kids' where I did most of the planning and organizing.  This was an opportunity to share some experiences all together while allowing the 'kids' to do their own thing too.  I can hardly believe how perfectly it all worked out.

There were 5 things on my 'really, really want to do' list that I hoped to share and I did get to do all 5 with various combinations of kids.

1. Eat at Cheeseburgers in Paradise in Lahaina. Everyone enjoyed this!
2. Drive the road to Hana, hike in the bamboo forest and swim in the 'sacred' pools.  Only Johnny missed this adventure.
3. Go whale watching.  Mary joined George and me for this.  But we all saw whales from the hotel.
4. Hike to and swim in the "Olivine Pools".  Mary, Matt, George and I shared this afternoon fun.
5. Hike to the Nakalele Blow Hole.  Everyone got to see the awesome power of the ocean!

For me it was a perfect trip!!!

There were a few 'solo' excursions with no photos.  Johnny went on a night time dive and loved it except for the hypothermia he experienced.  Scott went on a horseback ride and remembered just how much he loves horses.  I got plenty of relaxing by the pool time.  Mary got a chance to shop.  Matt went ATVing and caught lots of air on the water slide. We watched the Broncos win in the playoffs while sipping smoothies and eating french fries at the pool bar. The men of the family went golfing while Mary and I were pampered with a spa afternoon. Johnny and Scott got massages one day too….Johnny's first massage!  And my husband, who is so easy to travel with, just helped and supported us all…but I think he got some relaxing, reading time too!

Only disappointment was a glitch with the plans to take the 'Bucket List' Skyline mountain biking trail down Haleakala.  I think it is always good to have one thing you want to do when you come back to a place…..next time that bike adventure WILL happen!  And there will be a next time!

Sunset

What can be better than sunset on Ka'anapali Beach!

Extra day!

Thanks to a cancelled flight all of us but Mary got to spend an extra night on Maui.  I think the reason our flight was cancelled is a bit amusing.  On the incoming flight from Portland a child went into the restroom and spent longer than the Dad thought was normal. He got worried and knocked but didn't get an answer so he just ripped the door off to get to his child.  I can understand being nervous but the flight attendants do have keys….anyway FTA regulations require a certain number of working toilets so what can you do but put a plane full of people in a hotel for an extra night and book them on the flight the following evening.  Lots of people were pretty irate but for me it was just an added bonus. The hotel was the Makena Golf Resort which is right on the beach, has beautiful rooms, and we got to keep our rooms until time to go to the airport the next night…Perfect!

Johnny read about the resort and learned that most of the shark attacks on Maui happen off the Makena beach so no one was too stoked to get in the water.  How did we spend the afternoon?  Well, Mary gave her Dad a boomerang for Christmas and we tried it out.  I mostly stood in the background and sang, "My boomerang won't come back….." which was true for awhile.  Eventually they all got the hang of it though!

I don't know why all the shots of Matt are blurry….must be his lighting fast speed!

Just another day in paradise!

My Favorite….

Of course I loved just spending time with the family on our trip.  But my #1 all time favorite thing to do on Maui is go whale watching.  We have gone about five times with "Captain Steve" on his pontoon boat.  This excursion has never disappointed.  Although we didn't see as many whales as on previous trips, we saw more full breaches than we've ever seen!  How do those enormous mammals manage to so gracefully propel their 16 or 17 tons into the air?  Although only Mary went on the boat with us, we all spent time watching the free whale show from our balconies.

It's a lot harder than it looks….

That is the phrase I heard most from Mary, Matt, and John as they took a paddle board lesson.

It's quite a lot of work as you use every muscle group in your body.  Arms to paddle, legs to give added power and core to keep your balance! All three of them laughed when the guide said that they were going to paddle about a mile to Black Rock and back.  As you might guess from these photos, Johnny got the hang of it faster than his siblings. They all three gained new appreciation for the paddle boarders we often saw a mile or so out from the beach paddling around the whales.

I was content to be the photographer!

Red Dirt Dirty

Mary, George, Matt and his friend Johnny had an off road adventure.

They were warned that they would get dirty….red dirt kind of dirty with the kind of dirt they use to dye those Hawaii Red Dirt shirts!

Luckily you could rent clothes for the day. 

 The guides were willing to give Mary this shirt but she decided it probably wouldn't be of much use.  I think when she is tired of being a cub scout leader, she should wear it to den meeting!  I am quite confident she'd be getting a new calling!

I love the expression on Mary's face because it reminds me so much of the excited little girl Mary!

 Posing for the traditional 'family' shot….with traditional family happenings as Matt pinched Mary when he 'lovingly' put his arm around his Dad.  George, somewhat surprised at the behavior of our adult son to his adult sister, was about to give a fatherly talk until Mary confessed that she had been pinching or poking Matt in many of the photos.  Do they ever really grow up?  Do we really want them to?   

 Part of this excursion was several turns on the 'waterside'.  Talk about catching some air!!!