We're BACK!!

Ryan treated me to 7 nights of Hawaiian sun and surf last week in honor of our 10th wedding anniversary. The kids were well taken care of, so I enjoyed every minute of our time away. A friend asked me what my favorite part of the trip was. How do you boil eight wonderful days down to one moment? You can't. So my answer was, "the three-hour nap I took on day four." "YOU WENT TO HAWAII FOR A NAP??" she replied. Yes, I did. It is great to wake up from a nap in Hawaii.

A few other highlights... When we arrived, Hawaii was experiencing the largest storm it had seen in 22 years. Winds were 10 miles-an-hour short of hurricane force. The vacationers who had been there a week had not seen the sun once. The most ritzy part of the island was flooded out and without electricity. Our first morning (we arrived late, late and in the dark) we awoke to waters that had been churned into a brown mess (and notice the wind-blown palm trees):

But by the next day, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset, with winds that had begun to return to normal:

We snorkeled, swam with turtles, boogie boarded (and rinsed much sand from our bathing suits), watched the sun rise from highest point in Hawaii: you drive up from sea level to literally 10,032 feet in just 20 miles of switch-back, no-guard-rail pavement...oh and you do that before sunrise so it is pitch dark. Yes, you awake sometime before 4AM to make the 90 minute drive - but you don't do it alone. It is also freezing cold up there, so the wait is frigid, but you are treated to a lovely, lovely sunrise.

The days were fun and passed by not-too-fast, but not-too-slow. When it was time to return home, we were both ready. We missed the kids on that last day. Incidentally, I called home two times that week to talk with the big boys. The second time I called was the night before we would be home. We were taking a red-eye, so I thought I could call to say good-night to them and a happy, "see you in the morning!" You know your kids are having a good time without you when "The Ladybug Boardgame" wins out over the sweet sound of their wonderful mother's voice. Yup, neither of them was willing to come to the phone for even 30 seconds. I was glad to know that they barely noticed we were gone.