Listen, I know you think I'm spoiled or maybe lucky because I just spent three weeks in Hawaii.
But this is the real story behind the glamorous photos (read with dramatic voice):
1) The kids snorkeled for the first time.
2) I got in a car accident. In a rental car. The other car was driven by a teenager. She had a foul mouth. And a mother. Hawaii is a no fault state. It may or may not have been my fault. We are still alive.
3) My kids are tough. Really tough. They climbed down the side of a mountain holding onto a rope. I prayed.
4) Robert missed the Fourth of July. He spent it in Washington, DC at the White House. He missed 4 days of our vacation. 5 if you count the day after he got back and was so jet lagged he couldn't remember my name.
5) Lilikoi aka Passion fruit. My favorite fruit ever and it is obeying the commandment to multiply and replenish. I put it in everything...pancakes, smoothies, biscuits, muffins, toothpaste...just kidding.
6) Surfer-dudes that live on your property like to eat. ALOT. All the time. They may also think that you are their cook and they are invited to dinner and lunch every night. They don't do dishes.
7) Fresh fish, garden grown tomatoes, purple sweet potato, coconuts, pineapple,papaya, garlic-chives.
8) 5lbs. Seriously. Every TIME?!
9) Hana Branch. Way better than regular church. The pianist jazzes up the hymns. Sketchy doctrine is occasionally preached. Lessons about which tribe is better: Ephraim or Manasseh. (Manasseh, was in the lead.)
10) I saw my very first shooting star. I've been wanting to see one since I was a little girl. So this pretty much rocked.
11) Bosses that don't care if you are on vacation and don't understand the 3 hour time difference.
12) My kids like to cliff jump?! This amuses and terrifies me at the same time.
13) The beach, the pool and just hanging with the kiddies while reading depressing books and listening to them argue over goggles. Hint: Never go on vacation without enough goggles for every child.
14) Max took a vacation from potty training.
15) So much beauty everywhere--it feels surreal.
16) The most amazing, vivid rainbow I have ever seen. I was to awestruck to even take a picture. I think my clever sister-in-law had her wits about her and took one though. Can I have a copy Sarah?
17) Good company.
18) Max decided that it is more fun to yell at the top of his lungs to get my attention then to just say, "mamma." He decided to try this new thing out on our 6 hour plane ride home. I am deaf in one ear and hated by all the passengers on our flight. Let's just say that no one stopped us to tell us what well behaved children we have. I knew I was in for it when he said two hour into our flight, " All done plane, Mamma. ALL DONE!"
19) Realizing I have the best family. Ever.
20) Realizing that the humidity makes me break out. I love feeling fat and pimply while living in a swimsuit with lots of tanned, toned, gorgeous people.
21)Mosquitos. Evil. If I could do one thing for our world (forget world peace) I'd eradicate all mosquitos and cockroaches. Maybe even spiders, too. It depends on how many wishes I get.
Is it bad to post this without pictures? I am too tired tonight to hunt down the camera and load all the pictures onto the computer, etc. I'll do it when I've finished unpacking so...maybe never.
Their teacher (master, coach???) testing them in front of their classmates. Super scary.
And today, Kate was honored at an Awards ceremony at her elementary school. She received two awards and a medal for straight A's. One of awards was the Role Model Award. Her teacher said that the any place Kate was would be better because she was there. It choked me up. Not because I was proud but rather, I can't think of anything more that I want for any of my children... to make their environment better simply because of who they are and what they are. 
