What a blur, and tomorrow we all get on a plane and head for colder climates, so before we go, I thought I'd try to catch up a bit. Because even trying to think back three weeks ago is a bit of a stretch, and as soon as I get home, I'm sure it will all be that much more difficult.
We had a breather between batches of relatives, and enjoyed letting the cousins get to know each other better. Kirra was squiggling by week three of our trip - a sort of a military crawl technique. Now, she is pretty excited to see Thea and is almost crawling and for sure capable of covering some distance fast. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Week three was punctuated by illness. I dragged Liam to the beach one morning when it was a little windy and chided him for insisting on having his sweatshirt hood up, and being so grouchy. By afternoon, it was obvious that he was more than grouchy - he was sick. By evening, his fever was 102 and he fell asleep on the couch by 5 p.m. and didn't wake until 10 p.m. That night, he was sick once - I won't go into the details, but I do think it is amazing that one child can wipe out an entire room in a single shot. He was sick the next day, and his fever went up to 104, at which point I knocked it back down with meds. The next day was the same thing, although he started to improve by evening. And I believe that was the day that Grandma Jan and Grandpa Tim arrived, so Matt and Thea and Aunt Jenny went off to the airport to greet them, and Liam and I stayed home and watched Madagascar for the zillionth time.
But later, the grandparents party bravely entered the zone of sick to be properly welcomed to Hawaii by us all. And so began a series of dinners and beach days that lasted two weeks. Liam recovered, except for a cough that lingered for about a week, and amazingly, none of the rest of us got it. Also extraordinary - Grandma Jan didn't get a super-bad sunburn this year. Not surprisingly, Thea took to Grandpa Tim like a twinkly-eyed kid who had just met her match. And Liam spent time with them being properly doted on one-on-one.
There was also quite a bit of pool-going as Jan and Tim's condo had a nice kiddy pool. 
On week 4, Liam met a friend- Skyler. Skyler was playing down by the tidepools where all the good stuff happens, and he and Liam struck up a fast friendship for several days before Sky had to leave. His parents are from California, and we enjoyed their company quite a lot as well. It was such a relief for all of us to have the kids playing together so well and using up all that energy that is inflicted on the first available adult if not drained by kids.
Most of the remainder of the trip was absorbed by beaching - Thea truly loves the water, and did wonderfully in the waves. She was adored by so many passers-by - some even stopped and took her picture. I don't know what it is about that kid, but she's got something special. What Liam does with words, Thea does with a certain demeanor. But then again, I'm biased.
We did a few road trips - up to the volcano - which Liam LOVED and was mighty impressed by, and over to a waterfall. We also went to the aquarium, which both kids enjoyed quite a lot this time around - last time Liam was wee and didn't really get it, but this time it was good stuff.
Matt got some good waves mid-way through the trip before it all pooped out, and the last week has been punctuated by cloudy, cool weather, winds that blow pool chairs into the pool and that sort of thing. It's almost as if the island is helping us prepare for returning to the land of brr.
While Liam is looking forward to getting back to his school, pets, toys, room and routine, Thea has some tough days ahead of her. She is only a few feet from my bed right now, and has taken to waking up and demanding food four times a night. That, my friends, is going to stop the SECOND we are home. Extended breast feeding is bad enough, without extended nighttime crap. NOT OK. But when you are all crammed into one room, the only alternative would be to go crash on the couch while she cried it out, and that always seems like too much work.
We got some sad news today about this condo we've rented for three years now - the owners are moving into it because of tough economic times. So we assume it will not be available next year. We have looked at a couple other units in the building - including a three bedroom, and hopefully something will come together. I'd thought about even doing xmas here next year. But since I can't even figure out next week let alone next year, I'm thinking it's a little crazy to go trying to nail everything down. Still, as we leave this wonderful, warm place each year, it's almost as if we need that assurance that there will be a next time to make returning to the land of brr OK.
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