Home Sweet Home

Hawaii is a very beautiful place, but it's quite an ordeal getting there. It took us a little more time to get to Hawaii than it did for Paul and I to travel to China in 2006. We passed through twelve time zones on that trip, so the jet lag wasn't *as* brutal on this trip as it was *only* six time zones away. We are very thankful to be at home again, and as much as Milo loves the Seiberts, he's also very, very glad to be reunited with us. In light of all the traveling we did, I determined not to drive anywhere today except to take Nadia to work. She's planning to get her license next month, so my days of driving her to work will be coming to an end in the very near future.

Tonight, I'm grateful for:

1. The free coffee farm tour we were able to schedule at the last minute when something else fell through last Friday morning. 

2. For all the fish we were able to see when we snorkeled on Friday in Honaunau Bay and Kahalu'u Beach Park. 

3. Although we didn't get to see any monk seals, we saw many, many sea turtles on the trip - some in the water and some on land. 

4. We ate some VERY delicious island cream on Maui. Yum! We also were finally able to try shave ice once. We went all out and got the two possible additions - ice cream and a snow cap on top.

5. One of the kids' most favorite beaches from our trip was Napili Bay Beach on Maui. 

6. One of Paul's top three meals on the trip was the beef brisket sandwich he had at Mama's Ribs on Maui.

My view as I looked up from where I was lying down at the beach on Maui

7. The volcano on Maui was one of my top experiences from the trip. The views were breathtaking from 10,000 feet elevation. 

8. Everything went smoothly with our two flights from Maui to DC, and Joe picked us up from the airport.

9. We enjoyed having some time with the Towfighis. When we arrived before our flight to Hawaii, everyone was there except for Jenna and Joe. When we returned, everyone was there except for Andrew; so over the course of the two trips we saw all eleven members of their family plus my dad. 

10. Westyn mowed our lawn once and took out our recycling once while we were gone, Cooper gave Lily food and water and watered my plants, and the Seiberts took care of Milo. It takes a village to go on vacation, ha ha! I'm thankful for all their help. 

11. Nadia has been signed up to work in the kitchen at Camp Susque when they are hosting some retreats in September and October. She could have worked there over Labor Day weekend, but she had to decline that retreat because she's already scheduled to work at the kennel in the evening on August 31. I'm thankful that she has two jobs that she enjoys. Her favorite job is Camp Susque, but I think working with animals is better for her resume. 

12. I didn't get much sleep for three consecutive nights, but last night I got 9.5 hours of sleep! I almost never sleep in until 7:00 am, but I slept until about 7:45! Nadia and Ian didn't wake up until after 11:00 am, and Paul slept until 10:00 am. This is a result of jet lag. I think my body is making the six hour transition, for which I'm grateful. I felt *much* better today than I did yesterday. 

Silversword plant we admired at the top of Haleakala 

13. I had a request from another mom for her two girls to join our co-op. That will probably put us at 19 kids if I say yes. If we didn't meet in our home, I wouldn't have to think about it. My kids are very excited about co-op resuming in a little less than a month.

14. We all were healthy during our trip. Two of the Towfighis tested positive for strep throat while we were with them. We're hoping we didn't catch it from them.

15. We visited six National Park sites on this trip. As of August 18, we've been to 175 National Park sites, of which 30 of those were "National Parks." Nadia and Ian have each earned 231 Junior Ranger badges, and Oliver has earned 219 so far.