September 2021

Our friends Elaine and Andrew Haupt invited Todd and me to go axe throwing on a double date. Todd was a natural - practically hitting the bullseye every single time, while the rest of us fumbled around trying to figure out what to do. I hit the bullseye only once the whole night, but I also was the only one strong enough (awkward enough?) to break the axe. It was fun to try out a new activity. 

Our garage spring broke - Todd and I heard it snap and the heavy door fall. It sounded like someone had thrown a big rock at our garage door or something. Thankfully, my boys are resourceful and willing to work hard. Todd and Jack researched how to fix it, ordered a new spring, and installed it, all in just over a week. We plan to go out to eat at a teppanyaki place to spend the money they saved not calling a repairman. 

Emily, Doug, Isaac, and Grace came to visit us for several days and had the (unfortunate) timing to arrive over the weekend we were taking our pool down for the season, so they got to help us scrub it out and get it all cleaned up and packed away. Emily claims it was cool to see how our family works together, but I am confident everyone would have loved a trip to the redwoods or the beach more. But ... it was our stake conference weekend and Todd and I both had two meetings to attend Saturday afternoon and evening, so we didn't have a lot of extra time for adventure, sadly. I would have tried harder to get us out and about if I had known that Grace was going to get a fever that would keep us home-bound for most of the rest of their visit, but alas, I cannot see the future. 

The Burnetts sure know how to have fun at home, though. We made plenty of wonderful memories doing the high jump in the house, playing with kinetic sand, watching Survivor and the Harp Twins, playing in the backyard, jamming on the piano, playing lots of games, running errands in small groups ... and we managed one trip out to feed the goats at Holdener Park. 

It was a wonderful visit that, more than anything else, helped our kids strengthen their relationships with each other as cousins and with us adults as their aunts and uncles, and I am so glad the Burnetts took the time to come out and see us. I loved the chance to talk so much with Emily about everything in my life and hers. 

My kids knew my birthday was coming up and wanted to know what they could get me that I would appreciate. That led to a good, honest conversation about how I love spending time with them so much more than I enjoy getting things, and ended up with the brilliant plan of each child planning a one on one date with me as my presents. It was the perfect way for me to feel loved, and I hope it becomes an annual tradition. During the next several days after my birthday, we found time for each of us to have our special date. 

Todd took me out first, and I am sad to say I didn't take a picture. We went out for Italian food, then came back to the house to play games, watch a movie, and eat ice cream, while Hazel played with the kids in the playroom and then put them to bed for us. 

Hazel and I had a game night while we listened to music we both love, talked a ton about everything on our minds, and ended the evening with a yummy yoga session. I love so much how Hazel wants to talk with me and be close to me at this age. It is such a priceless treasure! 

Todd and I had another fun date night with several couples from our ward. Someone had planned a Family Feud style game for us all to compete in. 

Katie, Karrie, and I went on a bike ride through the vineyards to combine friend time and workout time. We were out for the whole morning and it didn't seem like we worked hard enough (we were definitely talking more than we were sweating!) but all of us reported sore muscles and exhaustion over the next 24 hours, so it must have done plenty of good while we were distracted by how much fun we were having together. 

For my birthday date, Jack planned a hike at Holdener Park. He had done his research and found one that wasn't too long, just a mile or a mile and a half, but that took us up a steep elevation gain so we would still be huffing and puffing. We had beautiful views of the Livermore valley and a really great chance to talk about lots of things big and small. We also went out to eat at Panera before coming back home. 

Gemma wanted to write a book with me and play Parcheesi. She colored pictures of our horse characters while we brainstormed what to say. I was the scribe, but we definitely worked together to write our story. Gemma was very pleased with it until I wrapped it up neatly too quickly. She hates writing conclusions. She has been obsessed with Parcheesi lately. She pulls it out to play every single day and will easily play three games in a row. If no one has time to play with her, she will play herself. She seems to be addicted to rolling dice, and she is a very clever strategist. Lucky for her, I am happy to play it every day, too. 

 

Maui

Back when Covid was brand new, in spring of 2020, flights to Hawaii were dirt cheap and people were buying them like crazy. We rolled the dice, guessed that Covid would be all over with by August, and bought tickets for the end of summer. Unfortunately, we were quite wrong, and Hawaii was, instead, under a pretty severe lockdown at that point. Luckily, we had bought our tickets through Southwest Airlines, which offers a generous exchange policy, and we were able to turn in our flights for credit, which we had until September 7, 2021, to use. 

Hence, we hit a point this summer where we knew we had to use it or lose it, and we decided to resurrect our Maui travel plans and hope for the best, booking several days over Labor Day weekend. Getting approved to travel was an enormous hassle, with Covid testing and proof of vaccination and long online applications, QR codes to print out and extra lines to stand in at the airport to give proof that we did not have Covid and were eligible to travel. It was such a pain that I was truly in doubt that it would be worth it in the end. Our flight even got delayed two hours, which meant it was 2am in California by the time we arrived at our destination. Miserable. 

(Jack knitting with a phone flashlight during our late night drive to the condo. He is obsessed!) 

Thankfully, I was wrong. It absolutely was worth it. Within hours, all our stressors had melted far, far into the background, and all of us - Todd included! - were able to spend days and days living in the moment, with no pressures, worries, or concerns. It was heaven. 

We spent Thursday exploring beautiful beaches and snorkeling. We were lucky enough to see a sea turtle our very first time in the water! He let us follow him around for several minutes. 

The kids found an empty coconut, and used it to play a game of catch in the water.

There was a large pool of water up high on the beach, left behind from an earlier high tide. We sat in the middle of it and made a drip sand pile all together, reveling in the sensation of soft sand glopping from our fingertips. It was so relaxing we we probably sat there for half an hour or more, and were all surprised when we looked around and realized we had used up all the water. 

We had a pool back at the condo that the kids swam in every day. Todd introduced the kids to chicken fights. Gemma came away undefeated, no matter whose shoulders she sat on. She is mighty! 

Tuesday we took advantage of the fact that we were still waking up super early and drove the beautiful Road to Hana. It was an all-day affair, with an audio tour to keep us informed of what we were driving past and when we should stop and check something fun out. We stopped to peek at a kite-surfer beach and were rewarded with sleeping green sea turtles on the beach. 

Everywhere we drove was scenic. It was fun to notice the huge variety in the beaches and the coastline. 

We took the time to check out an arboretum, because Jack was on the lookout for bamboo, and I wanted an up-close look at the rainbow eucalyptus trees. 

We got caught in a huge downpour! We ran to find cover under the trees and hoped to wait it out, but the rain seemed to get heavier with time, until we were so wet it wasn't worth hiding anymore, and we ran back to the car instead. It was so crazy and so fun. I was laughing as we ran. Too bad for Jack, we didn't see the bamboo. 

We climbed under an overpass and scrambled across some rocks to get to this awesome triple waterfall. 

We stopped at a state park for lunch and another waterfall with a pool. There was a kitty there mooching snacks and snuggles off of the tourists. Gemma fell right into his trap. 

We took a muddy hike past the crowds and found an upper fall that we were able to enjoy all to ourselves. Everyone got in for a swim even though the water was cold. 

We were disappointed to find that we couldn't access the black sand beach without signing up for a state park pass days in advance, but we soldiered on and enjoyed this lovely, small but secluded red sand beach instead. 

We wished we could have done more, but by this point, the sun was getting low in the sky, so we turned around and made our drive back to home base. We did stop at this gorgeous overlook that had views of the mountains and jungles on one side, and of the ocean on the other. 

Along the road, Todd's dreams came true: the whole trip so far he'd been hunting for delicious tropical fruit trees, and he finally spotted a guava tree! We pulled over and started throwing rocks and sticks at the branches, trying to get something yummy to fall down. Lucky for us all, I looked around and spotted this super tall stick on the side of the road, surely used by someone before us for this very purpose. With the right tool in hand, we were able to gather more guava than we could possibly eat. Other cars were slowing down on their ways home to see what we were doing, and we generously shared our find with everyone. 

Saturday morning we had Hawaiian pancakes with coconut syrup, fresh pineapple, and macadamia nuts, with guava and passion fruit on the side. What a feast! 

We spent Saturday playing at more gorgeous beaches. We rented body boards for the day and stayed out until the sun went down. 

Gemma had a bout of unfortunate luck that day. Something had hurt her eye the night before, probably it got scratched by a grain of sand, and it was really bothering her. It was red and puffy and very sensitive to the light. We bought eye drops for her, she wore a hat low over her face most of the day, and she even took a nap to give her eyes a rest. She didn't play in the water as much as the other kids because it was uncomfortable to take her hat off. And then, not only did she have a bunch of itchy mosquito bites from the day before, but she also got stung by a Portuguese Man of War! It was totally wrapped around her foot! I can't believe I didn't get stung when I pulled it off of her. 

Anyway, she was seriously uncomfortable and needed some good distractions. Hazel made her a sandy mermaid tail, and then when Todd, Hazel, and Jack went off to snorkel and body board, Gemma and I made an epic sandy strip mall, complete with our dentists' office, Jamba Juice, the bank, Safeway, and a few other shops. Gratefully, Gemma later listed this day in the sand as one of her highlights from the trip, so it did a good job of keeping her mind off of her eye and her stings and bites, and she felt lots better the next morning. 

The kids thought it was so funny that there are wild chickens everywhere in Hawaii. 

Most of our meals we made ourselves at the condo, but we ate out a little bit. Our most delicious meal was BBQ from Fat Daddy's Smokehouse. The pulled pork was amazing! 

Sunday morning we went to church. The local ward ran a short Sacrament Meeting just for tourists before they held their own meeting, first thing in the morning. We were grateful to have a place to take the sacrament. 

We visited the Iao Needle, the spot where the final battle that united the Hawaiian islands took place over two hundred years ago. 

We went on a super cool hike called the 13 Streams Crossing hike because you had to cross the stream over and over again to stay on the trail. It involved a lot of bouldering and was such a beautiful spot. There was a small bamboo forest through part of it, which made Jack extra happy. 

It made sense that since we followed a stream the whole way up, we would finish at a waterfall. 

Someone had climbed the waterfall and attached a rope from the top, so you could also climb the waterfall and, presumably, continue your hike further up. Although we turned around here, Todd, Jack, and Hazel all climbed the waterfall before we left. It was epic! 

Our last stop was the Nakalele Blowhole, via the Acid War Zone Trail. We took a CRAZY narrow, windy road to get there. I feared for our lives! Secretly, I think Todd did, too, because he agreed to take a longer, safer road home afterwards. But hey - the views were phenomenal! 

We arrived at high tide so that we could watch the geyser spray powerfully again and again. It was totally rad! 

Jack was quite invested in the hike through the acid war zone - it was like a scene out of Star Wars. The salt water is eroding the lava rock and it's this crazy barren wasteland in the middle of paradise. 

We finished off our last night enjoying the sunset on the beach in front of our condo and swimming in the pool. 

Everyone was sad to say goodbye. It was such a treat to have Todd put his work aside and take a break with us. He was silly, relaxed, and funny, and everyone loved it. It was well worth the hassle and will bring us good memories for years to come.