Sunday, February 1, 2009

Maui weeks 1-2










I know, I know, we've now been in Maui for over two weeks and have I made a single attempt to record these beautiful days into memory (this is as close as I come to having a memory, it would seem.) No. Not a single attempt. But in my defense, I have intentionally let the blog lapse a bit. I'm still working during my time here, and I like to use my non-vacationing kid-free time for that rather than blogging. But, today is Sunday and I'm feeling a little anti-work, so blog it is.

So we got to Maui in one piece, despite a few calamities - Liam was running a 103 temperature for the whole trip up to Anchorage, and the weather was not great - think glare ice much of the 5-hour trip. But we made it. Got to the airport no problem. Got on the plane no problem. Had a pretty mellow flight, despite being crammed into three seats. It was good. We landed in Kahalui, Matt's boards (yes that is plural!!?) arrived undinged and so did our bags. The only glitch was that we still didn't have the combo to the condo key box when we touched down, but a little email searching and I found our landlady's phone number and got the combo. Fade to black on day 1.

The next week was mostly acclimation. Thea enjoyed her first shoe-free walking experiences outdoors, quickly deduced that eating sand was overrated (only took two days of cement diapers to determine that) and Liam was in the water on day 2, instead of the last day like last year.

Dan and Amanda and their littles Gracie and Maddie arrived the day after us, so we had a few co-dinners and enjoyed a beach day or two together before Dan's relatives arrived. It was great having someone from home around - Matt and Dan especially enjoyed a cold beverage on the deck several nights after kids had gone to sleep. And Amanda and I ran a 5K race together one morning. Very nice.

We also had a great time getting to know Kirra, Matt's sister's baby, who is now 6 months old and wanting very much to crawl and keep up with her bigger cousins. Thea really seems to enjoy her company, too. Liam has had a bit of challenge adjusting to his new role sharing the limelight, but he's managing fairly well.

On week two, Matt's dad David arrived. He and Liam immediately disappeared to build elaborate sand castles on the beach across the street from the condo, and it was a relief to have another adult around to share the kid energy. We had several more gatherings of zillions of people, several more beach days where Thea got braver and braver in the water, and then it was time for Grandpa Dave to leave and Dan and Amanda took off, too.

Now, we are starting week three and our friends from Alaska Mistee and her kids Bjorn and Leaf have just arrived, so hopefully Liam will have a chance to do some playing with someone his own age, which he desperately needs. Sometimes it works at the park next door, but not always, and adults just don't play pirates like the kids do.

We've gotten Thea's allergies pretty well under control since we've been here, but she's only eating a very few things - chicken, turkey, rice, corn, wheat, carrots, peas, beans, grapes and pears, essentially. It worries me to feed her such a limited diet, but then again, Liam eats about the same number of items, really, so I guess I shouldn't stress too hard.

Thea has turned over a new leaf or two when it comes to acting up. I have had to do the drop and leave technique on her a couple times in the past week for grabbing my hair and even head-butting me when she isn't pleased with the outcome of things. I am trying to keep my cool about it all, but it does worry me a bit. What do the next few years have in store for me, I wonder?

It usually takes us about two weeks to settle into life in this climate, and it does seem to be getting easier to get to the beach, apply sunscreen, etc. I'm not getting as much work done as I would like, and I need to get a little writing in on my book, but other than that, it's pretty easy living, and the kids sure do love the beach and being able to play outside every day. I'm trying to work up the nerve to enter a half-marathon next weekend, despite the fact that I can't run more than 5 miles at a shot. And we no longer glow when we go out in the sun. So that's a step in the right direction, eh?

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