Rain or Sun?

This post is late due to large amounts of fun! Sorry for the inconvenience!

I just can't get past the humidity on this island. Even when I'm not sweating, I feel sticky because of the moisture. At home, I use so much lotion! I only need lotion here when I get out of the ocean....and that's just because I'm annoyed with dry hands and feet. I haven't even used my facial moisturizer the whole vacation! My fingernails grow fast. My hair is soft. Why do I live in the desert??? I'm probably going to shrivel up when I get home! 

It is crazy how one side of the island can be rainy and we go through the tunnel and the other side is sunny. Or the sun is shining where we are but big raindrops are falling. Crazy weather. We've been very fortunate. One trip we came on several years ago, it rained the WHOLE time! It has only rained off and on and the storm usually passes quickly. 

So I'm told it's all my fault! I wanted to hike to the top of Diamondhead National Monument.  I knew it would be hard...my health hasn't been that great. I've wanted to hike it every time we've visited Oahu and I haven't had the chance. Today, we did it! The view from the top was amazing!

 

The hike is .7 of a mile from the bottom of the crater. That doesn't seem like very far...unless you see the switchbacks and stairs! Here is a link for more information about the crater and some interesting stories. 

http://m.gohawaii.com/oahu/regions-neighborhoods/honolulu/leahi-diamond-head/

The parking lot was completely full when we got there. So we parked across the street from the crater and started the long walk up the outside of the crater. When we got to the intersection, there were several police officers directing traffic. One cop started yelling at a couple of tourists to get back on the sidewalk. And I mean yelling! We couldn't figure out why he was so mad until he said there was a VIP traveling down. He told us it was Vice President Joe Biden. So the parking lot wasn't full...just closed. Then we saw him and his cavalcade. 

 Having never been so close to someone so important? I felt like we should applaud...or salute...or something...so we just waved. It was pretty exciting for this small town girl! 

 

We started back up the trail and Rob went to get the car now that there was parking. He took the littles...and me...up to the start of the trail that goes up the side of the crater. So let's just be honest here for a minute. It wasn't as easy and fun as some make it out to be. There were more than a few times I had to stop and catch my breath because I thought I was dying. Or going to throw up. Or both. I am so out of shape even though I've been training for this hike by setting the climb feature on my treadmill. Ha! Not even close to the same. There were switchbacks, a long lit claustrophobic tunnel. Ninety nine stairs one way and fifty the other, a bunker, and the most amazing view I've ever seen. My legs were shaking and threatened to give out on me more than once. No matter how long it took...I planned to finish. And Rob said he would do whatever it took to make it happen. I had a crew of 15 cheerleaders helping me do this and I really appreciated it. At one point Ashton yelled out, "Come on Emily! Don't give up on your dream!" That earned several chuckles from those climbing in our general area. They all beat me to the top...and they all beat me to the bottom but that was ok. I made it! When I got to the end of the trail they applauded me. It made me so happy and proud. Even though I tried to be funny and started looking around and applauding with them like I didn't know who the applause was for. 😂 It was SO worth it! Even though my leg muscles are still on fire! 

 

After the hike, we headed to the Ala Moana Shopping Center. For those of you who know the Stam family pretty well, you know we are obsessed with Legos. ALL of us! The parents are just as bad as the children and we knew there was a Lego store there. 

But lunch first! We ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Factory. It you've been following our adventures, you know I don't like sea food. Fortunately they had other food. The kids had mini corn dogs and chicken tenders. I had a burger and fries (but my stomach was still not settled after the hike so I couldn't eat) and Rob ordered shrimp scampi. He has been raving about shrimp scampi for years as one of only a few seafood dishes he likes. I ate a bite. It was hard for me to eat it. Harder than I thought. I didn't like it. AT ALL! I don't know if it is a taste thing, or a texture thing. But the memories I have from earlier in my life that involve this aversion to sea food...still stand true today! But I gave it a shot! 

The decor was awesome! I loved the rustic touches to make it feel old and sea-worn. I loved the pictures and memorabilia from the movie Forrest Gump. And a cool thing out waitress did was ask is Forrest Gump trivia questions while we waited for our food. I was surprised at how many questions we were able to answer! 

 

 

 

We shopped for a bit then headed back to our side of the island. 

So I've been wanting a Coca-cola Slurpee from 7-11 since we got here. One of my favorite things from 7-11. I finally got it!

 

When we got back to the house, Soph wanted to surprise Granny for her birthday so we hid and when she came upstairs we jumped out and yelled "surprise"! It was really cute! AND it was Soph's favorite part of the day!

 

After a little rest time, we headed back to Hukilau Beach. The water felt so good after sweating all day. T was happy because there were waves. J was happy because the sticks he hid there in the bushes yesterday were still there. And D was with his best friend/cousin. It was a fun time. Even when Eric thought he was getting stung by a jellyfish. Turns out it was only a little crab. It pinched onto Eric's swimsuit and when he panicked, Andy saved the day by karate chopping it off of Eric's swim suit leg. That little crab guy thought he was going home with us! T and J both love Hukilau Beach the best. It really is beautiful!

 

We decided to head down to what we call Turtle Beach because the sea turtles swim around there and often come up on the beach. We weren't dissappointed! There were 3. The coolest thing happened right at sunset one of the turtles turned around as the waves hit him and he just took off swimming. It was so slow and beautiful! As we walked back to the car, T said, "I came. I saw.  I tried a lot of things I've never done." Wise boy!!! 

We once again went around to ask what everyone's favorite part of the day was. Everyone had good answers. Rob, Eric, and Granny said their favorite part was seeing me make it up Diamondhead. That was pretty awesome!!

Daegon had an interesting day. Many Japanese people kept filming and taking pictures of him. His pale skin, blue eyes, and bright red hair make him very unusual to the Japanese people. He said this evening, "Apparently I'm a supermodel in Japan". We had a good laugh about that!! It was a long, tiring, amazing day!

 

 

    

Food Glorious Food!

We didn't really have a plan this morning. That is a difficult idea for some of the Dodge family members...my own children included. I'm tired. My kids are tired. My husband is tired. Sunburn does NOT equal peaceful sleep! I just couldn't handle the morning routine of packing the cooler and the towels and the snacks and the chairs and the sunscreen and the boogie boards and the water shoes and on and on. I just couldn't! So my immediate family just got in the car and went. We started the day at Hukilau Cafe. The macadamia nut pancakes were delicious!! Ate WAY too much! D had banana pancakes. J had chocolate chip pancakes. T had a breakfast combo and Rob had ham and eggs. The portions were enough for five families!! It was awesome!

 

We drove some more and ended up in Miliani at Walmart. Water and aloe vera. Ha! It was fun to see the paintings/murals on the sides of the buildings as we drove by! I wonder what the story is behind them. 

After awhile, we ended up in Haleiwa for lunch and some shopping. We found some chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Yum!! Definitely my favorite treat! We had lunch at a place called Fatboy's Plate Lunch. 

 

Eric found it on Yelp. It has only been open for two days so he was able to give their first review. It was delicious! I had a teriyaki plate lunch and Rob had a katsu chicken plate lunch. For those of you who have not had the privilege of partaking in the famous (or infamous after eating the whole thing) plate lunch, it comes with sticky rice and macaroni salad. Yummy!! My mouth is watering just writing about it! The boys had a "hamboyger" with cheese. They didn't really like it because it was more like a meatball or meatloaf. A very BIG meatball. But all boys tried it and the teriyaki chicken! I was so proud of them for giving it a shot. We will most likely end up at McDonalds tomorrow to make sure they get something to eat. 😖

After lunch, we headed back for rest time while we waited for the rest of the family. On the way back, we drove by Ted's Bakery. I've heard it is really good! From the outside, it looks a little "sketchy" according to D. After we passed it, I told Rob they supposedly had really good cinnamon rolls. He immediately slammed on the brakes in the middle of the road, made a u-turn, and we ended up at Ted's. Rob's favorite sweet treat is cinnamon rolls. Maybe I should have told him sooner??? 

On their way back to the house, Eric, Andy, Ashton, and Nikell rented paddle boards while my parents tended the other kids. On a beach. In Haleiwa. With no planning or preparation. They are really great sports when it comes to tending the grandkids! I heard the beach was a pretty gross one but they still had fun. T doesn't care as long as there is water! 

When everyone came back, we packed it up again and went back to Hukilau Beach. So far, it is our favorite! T and D got more experience with the boogie board and the uncles taught them how to properly jump or dive into waves...if there is a proper way to do it. Ha! 

 We stayed until the tide came in and the jelly fish came out. We had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. 

 

 

 

We had our "favorite part of the day" sharing again. It is a great tradition that I always need to do with my own children. It is so fun to hear different perspectives and what the kids remember. Even though my mom started it, Ashton reminds us each night. It is great! 

Tomorrow is a very special day! My mother's birthday! She is such a special lady! There was a time when she went through some major struggles and I was afraid I would lose her. She pulled together all the strength she could find within her and turned things around. I am grateful that she is still in my life. She has helped me through so much in my own life and the lives of my children and my brother's lives and I love her so much! She is my support, my nurse, my cheerleader, my best friend! Thank you mom for everything! I'm so happy we can spend your birthday together as a family! It will be a great day!!

 

The Great Peanut Butter Debate

Rob made breakfast for the whole family this morning. It was awesome! Pancakes, eggs, bacon, juice. It was nice to wake up to the smell of bacon. Even at 5:30 am! 

Food here is expensive! Everything is expensive...supply and demand I guess. If you can only buy certain things at one place, they can charge whatever they want and you have to pay it or go without. The pillows in the house we are staying at are not great. Andy went down the road to buy a new one so he could get some decent sleep. No pillows for sale anywhere on this side of the island. Maybe we could open a pillow store and get rich?!? 

So back to the food and money issue...

We bought some bread, peanut butter, and jelly to make sandwiches and take them with us in case we were ready for lunch and there was nowhere to eat. And if you know the Stam family, you know one of our boys is the perfect model of the term "hangry". The worst part is that he doesn't feel hungry. He just growls at everyone and refuses to eat. So the solution is sandwiches at the ready! Well, the debate started with the peanut butter. I like to make the sandwiches with a little bit of peanut butter on each piece of bread and the jelly in the middle so the jelly doesn't soak into the bread and make it soggy. My kids like it that way, Rob likes it that way and my mom likes it that way. Eric and Ashton started making the sandwiches with a big pile of peanut butter on one side and jelly on the other side because the jelly soaks in and makes it soft. And thus ensued the great peanut butter debate. How do you make your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches???

My drink of choice is Diet Dr. Pepper. Last time we were here, there was no fountain choice for Diet Dr. P. The only other drink I like is Diet Coke but I don't love it. I managed to struggle through. Imagine my surprise and delight when we found out our favorite 7-11 now has Diet Dr. P in their fountain!! And Rob's choice...Coke Zero. Yay!! 🎉 It's the little things! Love a 7-11 stop on our way to the adventures! 

Our first adventure of the day was the Dole Plantation. Two words...Dole Whip!! Yum! Last time we went there J was 4. He tried the Dole Whip and did a little happy dance. He said, "This ice cream makes me dance!" So cute! The three littles went on the Pineapple Express. 

 

That was the main thing J wanted to do. And Soph had to sit on one side and Mav on the other. The train crew was amazing! They helped us recreate a family picture we took three years ago.

 

 T got an airbrush tatoo and J got a new addition to his hat collection. 

 

 

On the way to Dole, we stopped at Turtle Beach or...something like that. We saw several sea turtles swimming around but none on the beach. We did recreate another pic from our previous trip. One of just the kids.

 

On the way back to the house, we stopped at a beach near Sunset Beach. Chuns Reef, according to Google Earth. The waves weren't big as all so the kids were able to snorkel. D tried it but didn't really like it. T hated the tightness of the mask. J was too nervous to try. I tried it last time and felt way too claustrophobic! So I haven't tried it this trip and I don't know if I will. But I'm very happy my boys gave it a try.

I did try a new thing again today! The brothers rented a paddle board. They took turns trying out stand up paddling (SUP) and mom even tried it. A couple of the kids sat on it and went for a ride. With ten minutes left for the rental Eric asked me if I wanted to do it. I told him no. Then as he walked away I told myself (and those around me) that I was going to regret that decision. So I did it!! I sat on it and paddled! Eric, loving brother that he is, swam out with me and taught me how to steer with the paddle. I'm not sure how I felt about it. While I drifted farther out into the ocean, I was terrified. But when I was finished, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. I don't feel the urgent need to do it again but I'm glad I did it. 

 

After the beach, we headed back to the house for a sun break. I sat and visited with mom for a bit and I was so hot and tired. She told me to go rest on her bed in front of the fan. I crashed out! I was so tired! 

After we all had a little rest and snack break, we headed out to find another beach. It was called Kokololio Beach Park. This trip was a perfect example of the water calling us. Even though we were burnt, we went anyway. There was one moment when our whole family was in the water at the same time. It was awesome! While in the water Eric came over to me...very  quickly...and told me to move. He yelled "watch out"! I panicked and started running. For a moment, I thought I was being chased by a shark! Eric used the boogie board to pull a jellyfish away from me and Ashton came running over with a coconut shell and scooped it up out onto the sand. I narrowly escaped with my life!! T was really scared to go back in so we asked a local lady what to do in case a jellyfish stings you. She said it was really weird but works...rub sand into it and then pee on it. Hmmm...I don't know about that. 🙄 We left shortly after that! 

As we all walked into the house moaning and groaning from itchy sand and sunburns, Andy asked D after he overheard him pointing out to me, "Do you know what a sunburn is?"  Pause and we looked at him. "A sure sign of a good time!" Love it!!

After dinner, we went around and asked each person's favorite part of the day. There were some really great answers! T brought up a conversation from earlier in the day. "Today I heard the weirdest thing I've ever heard Eric say. Eric asked "You want to touch my belly?" Eric was being so funny! Eric told us that T laughed the hardest he had ever heard him laugh and he loved how funny Trenton's reaction was. It was a tiring but fun day! Might be taking it easy tomorrow depending on our sunburn survival through the night! 

 

 

 

The Adventure Continues!

Roosters! God's brilliant idea for a natural alarm clock...or a practical joke! And for some reason, those roosters think morning starts at 4:30 am. They are extremely misinformed! 

So I am working on this blog post and it is 8:00 pm. It is dark and everyone in our house is asleep or very close to it!! What kind of craziness is this? At home, I can't get my kids in bed before 10. Oh...and showers! My boys can't get enough of their cousins and don't want to miss one minute of playing time. So they fought the WHOLE way home from the beach about was going to shower first. They always fight me to shower last at home!! KIDS!!

This trip is definitely full of "firsts" for me. I put a check mark on an item from my bucket list this morning! We took a tour around the island in a helicopter. Yes...I was terrified! And yes...I wondered what in the world we were doing. Mom arranged the whole thing as a birthday present to herself. That sounds strange as I type it but she is an amazing lady and so generous! She would not be happy unless we were enjoying ourselves and she wanted her kids and grandkids to experience a helicopter tour like they did on their last trip. Words cannot express the magnificent beauty of this island! Some of the sights, we had seen before and some were new. I loved the Pearl Harbor tidbits of information and the military history I learned about. Our pilot told us so many cool things about the island. The ocean here is the most vibrant blue I have ever seen. One funny thing they told us about in the training was that you could find "comfort bags" in front of you if your stomach felt queasy. The guy called them Aloha bags and instructed us to take them with us if we used them. 😂 I've just always called them "barf bags" but now I can't ever call them anything but comfort bags. Eeeewwww!! 😁 

We asked the kids what they liked most about the helicopter ride.  J said he liked all of it. D-liked seeing the cars all lined up in rows. And he loved the reflection of the ocean. And the colors of the water. T-loved Pearl Harbor...especially the battle ships 

Rob said he liked the take off but he had no favorite part specifically...just loved all of it. My favorite part...besides all of it (ha!) was all the new things I learned from the tour. We saw where they filmed Gilligan's Island, Jurrassic Park, Godzilla, Hawaii Five-O, and several other movies and TV shows. We were in a Blue Hawaiian helicopter, which happens to be the same company used in Jurassic World. My dad told us this evening that on their tour last year, they actually rode in the same helicopter used in the movie. Awesome! I love  the movie facts and info! The sky was so clear, we were able to see a couple of the other islands. And the coral reefs looked like lily pads! So fun!! 

  Here are pictures of Pearl Harbor, Gilligan's Island and the coral reefs. 

 

   

The helicopter ride was our highlight today, but we did find a couple of other fun things to do. We ended up at Pier38 Nico's for lunch. I had orange chicken. I tried a small bite of Swordfish, Ono, and Opa. I don't love seafood. I don't even like it...not even a tiny bit. But I realized I was in a place where they probably stepped out into the pier and caught our lunch earlier that day. Ok...so maybe the day before. But it was a whole experience. SO I closed my eyes and tasted it. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but I still don't enjoy seafood. The only fish/seafood I've tried are trout, halibut, and fish sticks and I didn't like any of them. This fish was cooked well and the sauce was delicious. Still...not in a hurry to go back.  

After Nico's, we headed to Hukilau Beach. It was crowded! There were some BIG waves. I learned how to wave jump! The waves were pretty big...well...for this desert rat, they were huge! Ashton helped me get out there without tipping over and Rob and Eric stayed with me to make sure I didn't wash away. They told me when to jump with the roll of the wave  but warned me to dive into the wave if it broke before reaching me. So Eric must have sensed my panic at his comment of, "A really BIG one is coming!" because the next thing I know, he is grabbing my arm and telling me to, "RUN!" We made it back to shore and I didn't get washed away. Whew! So the experience was a great one because my brother loves me enough to drag me onto the beach in my moment of panic! 😜 I am grateful my brothers and husband take such good care of me and I did eventually make it back out there by myself. And I was so proud to learn what my children and nephews had no problem problem doing without help. 😁 Maybe tomorrow I will still be brave and try again. My legs are pretty sore now but it was worth it! It was SO fun and we didn't want to leave! Especially T! Look at how mournful he is while saying goodbye to the ocean for today...😩 He was the very last one to get out. I think he swallowed half the ocean from laughing as he played in the water. 

 

It really was a great day! After we all got cleaned up and had dinner, mom called us all together for a "meeting". She asked each one of us about what our favorite thing was from today. I loved hearing what everyone enjoyed and the different perspectives....especially from the kids. A wonderful end-of-the-day tradition.  It was the perfect ending for day 3. I can't wait to see what adventures await us tomorrow!

 

  

Dogs, Cats, and Chickens...oh my!

The natural beauty of Hawaii always takes my breath away! I forget how green and thick everything is! Peaceful and serene!

  

I am reminded of an interesting conversation with D the other day. As we were driving past the half-built walls of the elementary school near our house, he said in his matter-of-fact, no-nonsense manner, "Well...that school is going to be the same ugly brown and red like everything else around here." His comment startled me! When I graduated from Dixie State, we were given a small bottle of red sand with a poem about never forgetting the "dirt in our shoes." I remembered that gift every time I headed down that last hill on the drive from Las Vegas when I lived there and came "home". The view of those red rocks is breathtaking and some of the most beautiful in the world. I often take our surroundings for granted and I wonder if the Hawaiian people realize they truly do live in "paradise". 

This morning, I woke up at 4:00 am. I couldn't figure out why I was wide awake until I remembered the time difference. It was really 8:00 in my brain. I was able to go back to sleep pretty easily because I was so tired. We were all very tired! Just after we were all settled in bed last night...around 10 pm...we heard popping sounds. Earlier in the evening, J and Soph told us there were going to be fireworks. Of course, we all thought they were making stuff up. They insisted they heard the neighbors talking about it. When the noise started, I jumped out of bed and looked out our window. Yep! You guessed it! Fireworks! I turned the light on and he just grinned at me. Didn't say a word! He didn't need to. The littles hear it ALL! Be careful what you say! 

Then, several times in the night, we heard a dog bark outside our window. Just two or three loud barks then that was it for awhile. There are a lot of pitbulls on the island. They sound and look mean! But I'm figuring they must be pretty good dogs because there are a lot of them in this neighborhood! 

The kids pointed out all the wild chickens everywhere. We went down a side road and saw a lone chicken head-bobbing it's way along the side of the road. Rob thought it would be so funny to harass the chicken. He pulled up to it, rolled down the window, and started yelling at it. When the chicken turned and ran the other way, he backed up the car and started yelling at it again.

 "Hey!!" He yelled. "Where ya goin'?"  The back-and-forth continued until the terrified chicken jumped over the bushes and ran for its life! The backseat errupted with belly laughs!  

The fun continued when we pulled up to the stop sign and several wild cats were lounging in the sun. They all looked at us with their droopy yellow eyes and waited for us to do something. We stared at the cats. They stared back at us. Rob rolled down my window. The cats crouched...alert and ready to run. Rob called out, "Here kitty kitty!"  The yellow one walked up to the window with the others following as I pointed and yelled, "Drive! Drive!" He just laughed and kept calling the cats and the laughter erupted again from the backseat! We couldn't stop laughing the whole way back to the house!

Swap meet! The place where you find all those things you suddenly MUST have but never knew it existed until that moment! Hats, jewelry, kitschy Hawaiian souvenirs...I just have one thing to say...sweet bread!! If you have ever been to the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium,  you know exactly what I'm talking about! Yum! Of course we found our share of awesome souvenirs. Unfortunately, a guy talked my boys into the most annoying mouth whistle in the world! Hopefully those get lost soon! 😉 Uncle Eric would appreciate that! 

This afternoon, we went to a beach. I would say which beach it was, but there are so many, I don't even know what town we were in. 😳

 T loved boogie boarding! D enjoyed bobbing along out in the water without freezing to death (he has NO body fat), and J liked playing in the sand and running from the waves. I loved the waves hitting my legs! After a few minutes, I went and sat in a chair in the shade. It was hot! Mom tried to convince me to go swim. Andy told me to go swim and that he would help me across the rocky bottom to the smoother part.  I told him I would think about it. He told me to "get off my butt and get out there!" So I did! He wouldn't take any excuses! I held onto the boogie board as he pulled it out into the ocean. It was awesome! You see...I have this little secret about me and the family trips to Hawaii. I don't love water. I don't love swimming...swimming pools...the lake...ocean...immersing myself in large bodies of water. Honestly, I love the waves and the beach but I'm very nervous about going in the ocean. I haven't ever been that far into the ocean. Now don't think I was treading water or anything that exciting. I could still touch the bottom. But barely. It was cool and refreshing and as one of my dear friends advised me...healing! A whole new world was opened up to me today! Even Rob joined us in the water! Well...until I noticed the local girls laughing at me as I clung desperately to the boogie board! Oh well! It has to get easier from here! Right?!?

 

 

Back at the house, as we were all settling in for the evening, T reminded us how great it is that we can hear the ocean. Ah! Sweet dreams from paradise and more adventures await us tomorrow! 

Vacation Time!!

Summer time...and the living is easy! Time is going WAY too fast and I wish I could slow it down! 

I haven't blogged for awhile...I read a lot of blogs and I love participating virtually in the experiences of my friends. The problem is...I'm not very tech savvy. I can hold my own..but I haven't ever used an app to blog before. So here goes...

Last night, I sat by the pool at our hotel. I wrote this wonderful blog post. I was feeling relaxed and content. I touched the little "button" called publish and I sent it out into the inter-webs and waited. Nothing. I refreshed. Nothing!! My beautiful, funny post was gone! 

So here we are...starting our vacation. For real now. We drove to Vegas yesterday because I couldn't stand the thought of riding in the car, then dealing with airport stuff, THEN sitting on a plane for 6 hours. The ride was surprisingly quick-we spent the time reminiscing about our past trips and planning for this one. We were trying to figure out our Hawaii trips and which time we did what. We are definitely blessed to have the travel opportunities that we have. I am grateful!!

The first trip (not counting the trip in high school with immediate family), D and I met the rest of the family over in Hawaii in August of 2003. We stayed in the Hukilau house. In 2008, Rob and T were part of the family. We went over spring break and we got to celebrate my birthday over there. We had our own little bungalow with the occasional appearance of the resident gecko   The next trip was spring break 2012. We will always remember that trip by two incidents. 1) Rob drove the van off into the foliage on the side of the driveway and the Dodge boys had to push it back on because it was stuck. 2) we had to push Dom into the house through a window because we were locked out of the house. Of course we have other memories, but these two stand out as our favorites. Again...birthday wishes to ME!!

 Fast forward a little over a year to summer 2013. Our summer trip began right after school. This time we celebrated birthdays for T and Dom...they share a birthday. We stayed in a house right across the street from the beach and next door to a little gift shop. FUN times! 

July 2016

 

So when we got to Vegas, we had some trouble checking in but after dinner and snack shopping, we had a nice relaxing time by the pool. I haven't felt relaxed like that in a LONG time! I just loved the pool lights and the music and the sounds of laughter. I couldn't get T out of the pool until the very last minute before closing. It was nice to head to bed relaxed and calm. 

After a quick breakfast at IHOP, we headed to the airport to tackle all that craziness. The flight, as always, was LONG! The kids were SO excited when they saw "land"! Literally bouncing on the seats!

This particular trip hasn't been in the works for very long. You might say the family is forcing us to go! And by family, I mean the whole Dodge side of the family. Tragic, right? I mean...who REALLY wants to spend a week in a tropical paradise with nothing to worry about, nowhere to be, and no obligations or commitments. Ok, ok...how could we say no?!? 😜 So here we are...2016. We weren't going to take a vacation but the family talked us into it and now that we are here...I'm so glad they did! It's going to be a great week! 

Blog trouble...

I'm having trouble posting...this is a test.