Vacation 2015

I know I haven't blogged forever, but I do want to document our trip and catch up on the last 6 months. So much has happened--good and bad--but I'll start with our vacation for now.

Jon traveled a lot last year and racked up a lot of sky miles. Between that and working hard with the older two, we are fortunate enough to go to Hawaii again this year. Kendall will be graduated from high school in less than a year and is making some big decisions about what he wants to do with his life. This really might be our last big vacation together with all six of us.

We left in the afternoon this time and flew straight to Maui, arriving after dark. By the time we got settled in at The Red Ginger House in Paia, it felt like it was 3 in the morning to our poor tired bodies.

Jon got upgraded to first class and let Kendall take it. Andre Kirilenko ended up being on our flight to LA, which was exciting. We followed the sunset for what seemed like hours on the flight to Maui and it was just gorgeous!

I had packed some snacks and included trail mix. Someone on the long 5.5 hour flight had a peanut allergy so we couldn't even eat our snacks, but that was okay. The kids are at great ages now for travel and really did well.

Sweethearts Dance 2015

Kendall was asked to Sweethearts Dance about 2 weeks ago. He got really, really sick just after that and felt well enough to go just a few days before.

He was asked with Lucky Charms and pink rubber ducks. She said she'd be a lucky duck to go with him and each duck had a letter of her name. He answered with tacos. He said something about how he couldn't even taco bout how excited he was to go.

She's a cute girl and really helped him out by helping him pick a tie that would match and reminding him about getting a corsage. I totally didn't even think of that!

They had a fun day date playing laser tag and bowling. They had fun at the dance, too. I'm always grateful when the kids have good, positive experiences.

Valentine's Boxes

Both elementary kids had to make boxes this year for valentine's day. Some years, they just use a large manila envelope. Jarren's class had a contest--he was a finalist, but didn't win.  Jenna did a cat and Jarren did a rocket. They had fun with them, even though Jarren waited until the last minute. Oh, well.

Middle School?!

Please excuse me while I freak out for a moment. Last week, Jarren and I got to go to middle school orientation. Let's just say he is NOT excited at all. They gave them their packets and there are hardly any electives to choose from, which makes him mad. He doesn't want to take anything. It took a lot of talking to get him to finally mark two boxes. He sure can be stubborn! I honestly can't believe that next year, we'll only have one left in elementary school.

Best Field Trip Ever

Jarren's class got to go on the best field trip ever! They went to the Christa Mccauliffe Space Education Center. It's at an elementary school, but they have the best set up. The kids gathered at first for a lesson about space. It was done in a hands on way, with video and great special effects that really kept their attention and was entertaining. Then they went to a star lab. space was limited, so I didn't get to go in there. That was followed by lunch and then their missions.

The class was divided into four groups and each group went into a simulator. They each had a specific position (Jarren was the flight officer, in charge of flying the craft) and took some time to learn their responsibilities.

Their mission was to fly into a wormhole to save a person. They encountered an alien ship and were under attack because this ship wanted the man they'd saved. They had to work together and decide how to handle the situation. Those decisions determined if they were successful in their mission or not.

Every single one of them loved it! They learned so much and it really reinforced what they're learning in school. I got to watch it all from mission control.

Happy 40th to Me--Day 4 + Bonus

How frustrating! I posted about our last day and it didn't publish. Here I try again...

Day 4 was great! Jon was trying to find a rare bird that likes to hide, so I camped out by the ocean at Long Key State Park. It was morning with a breeze, but it still felt good. No beach--just weeds. I ended up with a bad rash on my leg. I'm not sure if I sat in something or if the salt water irritated my dry skin or what. I'm just praying that I'm not allergic to the sun, and, or water! There were some guys trying to get a wind sail going and that was fun to watch, as were the pelicans diving for fish.

We drive further down the Keys, to just over halfway, to Sombrero Beach and had lunch, walked in the ocean, and relaxed. That was the prettiest beach that I saw in the Keys. I read a review on it before we went and a guy said he was there and saw a wooden boat full of Cuban immigrants land there once. Nothing that exciting happened to us. There were a lot of Portuguese man-o-war at this beach, but oh, the soft, white sand!

The Keys are amazing! Bridges connect them. Some are only wide enough for a two lane road, a walking path on either side, and a line of trees. Others are maybe a mile or two wide.

We had to leave mid afternoon to make our flight back in Miami. On the way back, I once again noticed the signs along the highway--crocodile crossing. How funny is that?! Is the crocodile going to climb or jump over the fence, walk across the road, crawl over the barrier, and then get over the fence on the other side?

We got to the airport with just enough time to spare and waited, and waited, and waited. Then the flight was deemed to have mechanical issues and they decided to bring in another aircraft, which meant we were going to miss our connection in Atlanta. There were a lot of others in the same boat. We thought it would be easier to get a flight home from Atlanta, so we boarded the new plane, but then the airline called back and told us to get off--we'd get home 4 hours earlier if we stayed in Miami and left the next morning with a layover in LA. It was too late for our luggage--it was on its way. The airline paid for a meal and a hotel night. It was a long day of travel to get home, but we made it!  And our luggage beat us home.

This was the best birthday present ever! Such a fun, relaxing time... I loved it!

Happy 40th to Me--Day 3

Day 3 was very relaxed. We went to a church service and it felt a little bit like home. We then drove to Key Largo and stopped at Harry Harris beach. Apparently, the beaches in the keys are mostly rock and the sand is imported in. It was still pretty. We're staying in a hotel tonight, so we lounged around the pool for awhile and watched some of the super bowl. Last day is tomorrow! We miss the kids, but aren't ready to go home yet.