From Boise to Honolulu

For at least 8 months, we have talked and planned and counted down the days to our first Graham-Adams reunion. It's been two years since my brothers and I have been in the same room at the same time. I can't remember the last time we were together as siblings with our spouses. The cousins have basically never met. To kick off a tradition of reunions, Mom and Mark announced that we would be traveling across the ocean to the tropical island of Oahu. Since David doesn't get a break from his work as an journeyman carpenter until at least October - when he and many others are seasonally laid off in Alaska - the reunion was scheduled for the end of October. We pulled Morgan and her cousin Kade out of school for a week. Mallorie missed two days of preschool and both girls missed music class. I crammed seven days' worth of clothing for five people into 2 suitcases (and I'm still proud of myself for such an accomplishment) and loaded everyone into the Pilot at 6:30 Friday morning to begin our adventure. A delay in Boise, a quick stop for an expensive pizza lunch in Seattle and 5.5 hours on a big plane...we were in sunny, humid Honolulu. The kids, who are always champs while traveling, had a blast. Each seat had its own television screen complete with numerous movie options; I'm pretty sure the kids' brains were mush by the time we arrived to our destination.

 

 

Honolulu is large and the traffic crazy. The airport and rental car locations are in quite a sketchy part of town. We stayed the first night in west Honolulu, a short distance from Waikiki Beach and the thousand-dollar shopping district - Gucci, Coach, and Tiffany's, among others. We like to play the license plate game on our trips and we figured the sightings would be limited. After all, not many people are going to bring their cars across 2,000 miles of ocean. To my surprise, one of the first out-of-state plates we spotted was New Mexico! I was so excited, I had to take a picture.

We met up with my parents by this time and let the kids burn off some excess energy bouncing on the beds in the hotel before hitting up Hard Rock Café for dinner. Jet lag was kicking in so we went to bed early...and managed to sleep until 5:30 the next morning! (Meridian is 4 hours ahead of Honolulu)

Chadwick went for an early morning run and made it to the top of Diamond Head Crater for the sunrise, one of 6 people venturing out at that time of day.

 

We tried to visit the monument later that morning, but the trails are only open a few days a week now and the parking lot was at full capacity by the time we arrived. Onto Plan B - Punch Bowl Cemetery. Rounded like a bowl, the cemetery was filled with Chinese Banyan trees with the most amazing configuration of their trunks. There was a tribute to the wars fought in the Pacific Rim and surrounding areas....the history was overwhelming! Made me want to start reading more about WWII in particular.

 

 

 

The next stop was Moanalua Gardens, once home to Prince Lot Kapuawia who later became King Kamekameha V. It is the current home to one of the largest Hitachi trees (also known as a monkey pod tree). They were amazing! Flat on the bottom and thick with leaves, it made a wonderful shade. The whole park was beautiful and we enjoyed wandering around, chasing birds and spying fish in the small pond. We met up with Sean, Beth, and their son, Colin and wound our way to a Wendy's for lunch. As a side note, this restaurant had the most awkward parking lot ever.

 

 

 

 

Mom and I peeled off with our grocery list in hand and hit up Walmart (where we had to purchase re-usable plastic bags for $0.10 a piece) and then to Costco. A word about the food planning: it was pretty much a disaster in my book. I tried really hard to create a list so that we didn't have to spend time other days grocery shopping. I can do that at home, don't want to do that on vacation. In Hawaii. Well.....we hesitated to purchase too much since we didn't want leftovers to take on the plane. We also didn't know how much of what food people would actually eat. Turns out, the boy cousins are all super picky eaters, my other siblings went to the store on their own for things like lavender water and beer, and we ended up at the store at least every other day. Huge bummer for me.

 

Our VRBO was located in Makaha, on the west side of the island.  If our first night was spent in the land of Gucci, the rest of our stay was spent in a much more humble, real-world area. Reminded me of the south valley of Albuquerque, to be honest. Homeless abodes dotted the shorelines, bars covered the fronts of doors and windows along the one road that ran north-south on the western shore, and I lost count of the rusted, broken down vehicles along the driving and walking paths. 

 

 

I dubbed the trip, "From Gucci to Ghetto."

Mom and I were anxious to see the house as we wound our way through a run-down neighborhood and were pleasantly surprised when we pulled into the driveway. The large house had an amazing view of the ocean, enough bedrooms for each family and plenty of bathroom locations as well. The kitchen was on the small side but was offset by the large dining area. The wrap-around porch on the main level was utilized multiple times daily by the cousins for playing "monster," a game in which Spencer was the monster chasing the others round and round and round. Said game often started as early as 7:00 am, something I'm sure the neighbors appreciated! The outdoor pool was well used, sometimes multiple times per day.

 

 

 

 

 

The remainder of the families trickled in throughout the late afternoon and evening. By Sunday morning, all 16 of us had made it safely to the Beach House for the remainder of the vacation. And the fun was about to begin.

Catching Up II

Mallorie has been dying to move out of her five-point harness carseat for about six months....and I told her that she could make the switch when she turned five. The time arrived and she was able to help me pick out the new carseat. While running errands the next day, she promptly tried it out for a nap. She's loving the freedom the seat provides to be able to buckle and in-buckle herself. Ah, the little things in life. 

 Last ride and first ride.

Chadwick and Stephen had a birthday earlier last month - my hubs is the younger of the twins by 7 minutes. We had a low-key celebration for him at home that day with a nice breakfast, Morgan decorated his chair, and I managed to get the two of us out for a date night dinner at McGrath's. While he went to the bathroom, I let the waiter know it was his birthday and they happily brought out a ridiculous fish hat and sang. He was slightly mortified. Totally made my night! I post a lot about the kids and random events in life but seldom take the time to mention my sweet husband. He is hard-working to a fault (sometimes); dedicated to his calling, family, and work; has the ability to come home from the clinic and jump into a wrestling match with the dog and/or the kiddos; is artistic and handy around the house; makes me smile; and pushes me to be a better person and wife. I'm lucky to stand by his side in this ride we call life.

 

The last weekend of the month found us in the den watching the bi-annual General Conference for the LDS church. It's a time to listen to and learn from latter-day apostles and leaders of this church, to find answers to questions and time to come together as a family and feel the Spirit. Truth be told, I sometimes wonder how much we really get out of that time, especially with small children in the house. However, I have found that I can always catch a gem or two in between the chaos. This year, we tried something new and busted out the Legos. Our good friends the Taylors spend conference weekends Legoeing and it was a hit! Hands are kept busy, mouths are more quiet, and it helps the adults not fall asleep which is a total bonus. I'm hooked. Other conference traditions include pancakes for breakfast, an outing during priesthood session (we hit up the park and Krispy Kreme this year), and having a family over for dinner Sunday evening. The Ortons joined us this go-round. I'm usually feeling cross-eyed by the time the weekend is done but the time to be spiritually fed is worth the time on the couch.

 

Now to snag a picture of Mallorie before preschool one morning and I'll be officially caught up. On last month's adventures.

Catching Up September

Chadwick has a cousin that lives in town with his wife and family. They enjoy a good party more than anyone I know....games, food, creativeness, get-to-gethers...the Austin's are all about it. They host a Christmas party every year for friends within the ward boundaries and it's gotten so large that couples who have moved out of the ward boundaries are cut off from the 50+ guest list. I can't imagine trying to set up an event for that many people each year. On my own. At any rate, one of Nathan's new loves is the Escape Room experience. Several of these have popped up around Meridian (maybe nationally?) and it entails a group of people sitting in a room together with a list of clues to find more clues to get to an end point. Sometimes it's saving the world, or rescuing a small child. There's always a theme. Nathan and his wife came up with their own version to be completed within the walls of their home. Chadwick, myself, Stephen, and Tara were invited over without the kiddos to "test" the latest version of Nathan's Escape Room, and while I had reservations prior to the event, turns out it was a blast. We had a set of clues handed to us to start the chain of events, and our goal was to obtain the code to a 1970s era briefcase and retrieve the contents therein. The creativity and time put into coordinating the clues was impressive....took us a solid hour to work through the puzzles, toy bins, sign language sentence, black light message, and scripture clues to lead us to the final combo. I mean, they found an old book with an appropriate title and carved a chunk out so that it could contain a set of keys! I felt like I was in a movie....a home-made mystery.

Nathan had most of the kinks worked out from his previous attempt and had to give us very few hints. We were powered by ice cream and cake when things got tough. 

 

 

The final treasure were three bags of candy - cinnamon bears being the only one I remember. He could make this a business on the side and I would gladly participate again.

 

The Red Cross has been hounding me for months to donate blood, and while I appreciate the need for blood products, I do not appreciate the process to be endured to obtain the final product. I can draw blood from multiple veins on multiple species, but when the 18-gauge needle is heading toward my own arm, I start to sweat and go into overdrive with the talking. Powering through the distress, it was a good donation and I'm always glad to walk out with the red band around my arm. 

Then there's the den. I cannot break Spencer of the habit of throwing off the couch pillows when he's in here watching a movie. The start of the movie has him sitting on a well-put together couch. By the end, the pillows are a mess and he's sitting on top of the pile like he's king of the mountain. Drives me crazy. The other afternoon, he dumped the pillows and then proceeded to take the movies down from the shelf and carefully organize them on the floor. 

And for some reason I loved the sight of these little tennis shoes sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor after the kids had gone to bed. There will never be tiny shoes like this again in the near future.

Our apple tree didn't impress this year (neither did the peach tree or the grapes, for that matter) so I loaded the kids into the car and drove past my old veterinary clinic on the boulevard toward a Church owned orchard for some apples. Two u-turns and 35 minutes later, we found ourselves facing a large bin of Jonathon apples. The kids gleefully piled apples into boxes and I was shocked to learn that we hit 90 pounds of apples with one box to go....I gave that last box to another family and loaded our loot into the car. One apple crisp and 33 quarts of applesauce later - leaves me with fewer pounds than what I started. Thanks to Tara for helping me sauce most of our pick!

 

And the temps started to drop....welcome, fall!

The Adams Family Reunion

It feels like a year of reunions for us. The one in Utah with the vet school family. One in Donnelley over Labor Day. An upcoming Graham-Adams reunion at the end of this month. 

It's been longer than any of us could remember since the last Adams family reunion. Colorado, we thought, shortly after the Addams Family movie came out. I vividly remember getting shirts from the movie and wearing them in a group photo, sitting next to a fence with a couple of horses nearby. Groups of us have gathered at weddings and funerals...my Uncle Ben and Aunt Diane coordinated the process and found a beautiful cabin in Donnelley. 

For the purpose of keeping the family tree organized, my dad (John) is the youngest of four siblings. His sister, Tia Virginia, is the oldest, followed by Walter, Ben, and my dad. The four of them plus most of their significant others were present - Walter's wife hasn't been in great health and stayed home in Connecticut. Tia and Doug arrived in Boise two days early with the intent of spending some time with us before heading to the cabin and I'm so glad they did! My kids took to them immediately and Spencer began dragging Doug around by the finger, asking him to "follow me." Chug, as he came to be known, spent most of the trip laughing at the antics of my youngest. I also felt like I was able to re-connect with one of my favorite relatives, Tia, which was a highlight of the reunion. 

Of the cousins, only my brother David and 'sister' Colleen weren't able to come. Though older, most of the cousins reminded me of their younger selves, especially Cayla, who is my senior by 3 years. Her facial expressions, actions, and manner of speaking were just as I remembered from our youth. Her daughter Fiona is a chip off her mother's block. Ted and Charlie were as calm, quiet-spoken, and funny as remembered. I enjoyed the time with Charlie's girlfriend and Cayla's husband and all of the children that came with these couples.

It's such a different feel to gather as adults with my aunts and uncles. For example, later one evening after the kiddos had gone to bed, Uncle Walter informed me with a goofy smile and laugh that he was drunk. Did they do that when I was a kid? Is this what adults do when their children go to bed? Apparently, and we did a lot of laughing that evening. 

The last morning of our visit, the five of us were piled in queen bed in the room we shared, having a moment together, when Morgan looked at me and announced that she didn't think anyone else in the cabin went to church. Knowing full well what she meant, I mentioned that Ben and Diane went to church regularly. "No, Mom, I don't think anyone else goes to the Latter Day Saint church." She was right on that account, and before I could ask what spurred her hypothesis, she got distracted. I found out much later from my dad that she asked my Aunt Diane if she belong to the LDS church. Diane's reply - "Nope, I'm a Methodist." Morgan soaked up the response, glanced at the wine glass in Diane's hand, said, "Oh, okay!" and walked off. No judgement, no lecture about the Word of Wisdom. Just an observation. She doesn't miss much, this Morgan Magoo. 

Puzzle making, laughing, canoeing, hiking, soccer table, sailing, and decorating t-shirts were on the agenda. We spent the time catching up on life and getting to know one another again. Ted left mid-weekend to head to Washington as part of a fire crew. We celebrated Mallorie's birthday. I learned what it meant to go to the bathroom in the "Big potty" (aka outside).

And we laughed and talked some more. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope we don't wait 10+ years for the next gathering. The Adams crew are quirky, good people I'm happy to call family.