Mama On The Move

Things to do in Hawaii when it's flooding outside and you can't leave the hotel room: See how far you can twist your arm behind your back. See who can touch their hands together in this position. Try to bend your thumb backwards. Try to look cool while doing so. Do a split. Find out who has the genetic ability to roll their tongue into a "U" shape. Emily does not have the correct DNA sequence for this. Make faces. School work is a last ditch option, but only if you use a really big pencil.

Yesterday, we went snorkeling at Ko Olina Bay. It's at one of the prettiest resorts on the island. There are four lagoons that are perfect for snorkeling. Unfortunately, they weren't perfect yesterday because of all the rain we've had. The water was cloudy so there wasn't much to see. But the area is still very pretty and we'll definitely go back when the weather is clear. I still can't convince the kids to walk down to the water and put their flippers on there . Ko Olina consists of four man-made lagoons on Southwestern Oahu. The high surf can't reach the beach because of the rock barriers at the mouth of each lagoon. It makes for very smooth water and easy snorkeling. A couple next to us said that a sea turtle had crawled up on the beach there the day before! They had these cool umbrellas on the beach. Luckily it wasn't crowded because of the weather so we were able to nab one. We didn't see any fish because of the weather making the water so c...

We had to have tons of bloodwork done on the dogs to get them into Hawaii. They had to have shots. They had to be microchipped. We had to have it all done 120 days ahead of time. We had to have them re-examined within a week before arriving in Hawaii to make sure they were healthy. Turns out we (and our vet) missed something. The dogs had not had their "kennel cough" shot. The kennel they are currently living in will not continue to board them if they do not have a kennel cough shot. So today, we loaded the dogs up and took them to the vet. This is what it looks like to ride to the vet with Rigger in the car. He likes to look out the front windshield. We get an up close view of his tongue the entire way. And our shoulders are damp when we arrive. As it turns out, the kennel cough shot is not a shot. It is a nose spray. You have not lived until you have held down a dog to have something squirted up his nose. They do not appreciate that this will keep them wel...

I woke up when it was still dark and heard the shower running. I didn't have a clock - it's on Kerry's side of the bed and I would have had to turn over to see it. I didn't feel so great, okay? Don't judge me. So I estimated the time based on the fact that clearly, Kerry was getting ready for work. Then I moved my foot and touched Kerry's leg and realized that he was not, in fact, taking a shower. I looked at the clock and realized it was 3:00 a.m. Then, I realized it wasn't the shower I was hearing, it was rain. And wow, what a rain. We've had rain every single day since we've been here but it's always a light shower that lasts about five minutes. This rain was coming down in sheets. It was amazing. Then, I realized that I really didn't feel good. Apparently I finally caught whatever the girls had last week. So, I spent some time worshipping the porcelain god in the bathroom. Thankfully, Kerry slept through it, or I would have had a picture...

Today, Kerry managed to get off of work early and unexpectedly. We decided to go pick up the Honda. Wow! Is it nice to have our own car back! While we were out, we decided to visit the dogs since Kerry hasn't seen them since we loaded them on the plane back in Kansas. Those dogs adore Kerry. They seemed to be in much better spirits today. The minute we let them out of their pen, Ringo took off like a blue streak and ran laps around the kennel. We managed to herd them down to the visitation park and play with them some. They were still sad when we left. It's so hard. Then, the hotel we are staying in did a very nice thing today. They threw a party for all the kids who are spending Christmas in a hotel instead of home. They had giant blow up jumpy things, and giant blow up slides and a spinny thing. It started raining while the girls were on the spinny thing, but as it rains every day in Hawaii, the rides don't stop for a little rain. The girls thought it was fun to ride in t...

Yesterday, we went to visit the dogs. First, we had to go to the quarantine center and pay for their stay there. All the people I dealt with in the quarantine area were natives and they definitely project an attitude of, "Get your own island, lady." They don't smile back when you smile at them; they cut you off when you are saying something; they speak in a monotone as though they are clearly bored with you. Nothing I couldn't handle though. I remained relentlessly cheerful as though oblivious to their attitude. They do have my dogs after all. I don't want to antagonize them. Usually when we come home from a trip, the dogs are hysterical with joy to see us. We always send Ben in first because he is the most able to handle being mauled. We expected them to be doubly frantic after all they've been through this week. Oddly, as we came walking up, they just stood in their cages and looked at us. As we got closer, they began to wag a little. I wonder if they though...

This morning, I woke up early and turned on the local news. The weather report caught my eye. For one thing, the weatherman was wearing a floral shirt. No suit, no tie. So were some of the reporters. The local guests who were being interviewed wore tee shirts and shorts. Quite possibly these were their "best" tee shirts and shorts, but it's hard to tell. Only tourists dress nicely. Also, the weather report is fairly brief. Frankly, there just isn't a lot to report in a state where the weather varies only by about 10 degrees throughout the entire year. "Yes, Ted, the low today will be 72 degrees just like the last three weeks. The high today will be 82 degrees just like the last three weeks. Watch out though! Next week the temperature will drop to 70! Brrrrrrrr !!!" On the mainland, we see the weather for the entire contiguous 48 states. In Hawaii, they don't really care what the weather is like on the mainland. It has very little bearing over here. They ...