At Dinner

Evan: Chicken is my favorite vegetable!

Hawaii -- Day 5 and 6

Thursday was sport fishing day -- the men -- and newlywed Lauree, who couldn't be separate from her new husband, even if it meant battling sea sickness all day, were gone for most of the day, leaving the rest of us women and children home to swim and play. David was the only one to catch anything, and nr o one threw up, despite everyone being sea sick. These are the memories Jason will treasure for the rest of his life! Truly though, he did enjoy hanging out with the men of my family, which gratified me, cause I sure think all of them are swell.

After the men returned from fishing, some of us did a little shopping -- the favorite past time of the women of my family. And after THAT, we went out to dinner at a fancy smancy resturaunt to celebrate Chris's 23rd birthday. Thanks for having a birthday Chris!

The next, just the Restuccia part of the clan headed for Kona for a long anticipated visit to Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm in Kona, where we saw how they breed and raise seahorses. Some of us were even brave enough to be "held by a seahorse."

Jason, sadly, was manning the camera and missed out on the opportunity. Bummer for him! Guess what they feed seahorses? Sea monkeys! And when they really want a treat -- they get shrimp!

As we left the seahorse farm, we discovered some cool tidepools and stopped to take a peek at the sea animals living in them. It was also the best seashell beach we found the whole time we were in Hawaii!

Man flavor

We've been facing severly cold weather here lately. Yesterday as we were driving home from the grocery store, trying desperately to tolerate the -2 degree day that faced us, I had the following conversation with Evan.

Me: Boy, Evan, its a good thing Ms. Katie decided not to play outside in the snow for your winter warm-up party at school today.
Evan: Why?
Me: Because its FREEZING outside! You'd turn into a popsicle!
Evan: Yeah, and then someone would say, "Ew... this popsicle is made of man!"

I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.....

I saw the following video last year at a seminary inservice meeting and was deeply impressed and wanted so badly to show it to Jason, but at that time, our CES director was specifically asked not to give it out. So I tried to tell Jason about it, but it really wasn't the same effect. Yesterday, I attended our yearly seminary symposium and heard that the video is now on the church's website!!! Maybe some have also seen this, but for any who haven't -- please watch! The video shows a map of the world and a timeline. As the year on the timeline changes, dots flash on the map to signify the organization of a stake. This is about as much explaination as is needed. Let the Spirit tell the rest! You can watch the link here or find it at videos.lds.org -- its called Church Growth By Stake 2007. I can't wait to show this to my seminary class this week!

Hawaii -- Day 4

All my brothers and sisters and my dad are SCUBA certified and my brother and sister-in-law both got certified for the Hawaii trip, as well. But, my sweet Dad, thinking of those of us who were too cheap or scared to get certified, arranged for snorkeling/whale watching trip, and then stayed at home with Mom, watching the babies, so that the rest of us could enjoy the trip!

Emily, Dani and Evan have been WAY excited about snorkeling for months now. We got snorkeling masks in the summer and they practiced using them every time we went to the pool. We were jazzed about snorkeling, we were thrilled to get to go on a boat, we might even get to see some REAL WHALES. We were SO ready for this trip.

So we get to the boat, get our snorkeling gear, and set out. The boat guys -- do you call them a crew if its just 2 of them? -- were so nice and friendly. We're flyin' across the water, and suddenly....




Woo-hoo! Whales! (picture courtsey of Adrienne's blog -- I didn't get any good ones). We watched for quite a while, then continued on to a good snorkeling area the captain knew. We got geared up. The kids thought the flippers were just too cool. Then, came time to get in the water. What? We have to snorkel in the OCEAN? No one said anything about the OCEAN!! WAHHH... tears... wailing.... let's go home!!! So we did what any loving parents would do -- we basically threw them in the water! Emily did great. Of course, she can swim! Dani and Evan both had floats on, but just would not calm down. Especially Evan -l- the kid was nearly hyperventilating! It went something like this:

Evan: I want to go back to the boat, I want to go back to the boat!
Me: Evan, come on, you are wearing a floaty. You have a tube to breath out of, you have a mask on your face. I am right here. Look in the water! There are fish right under us!
Evan: I want to go back to the boat, I want to go back to the boat!
Me: Evan, you can do this! You practiced all summer!
Evan: I want to go back to the boat, I want to go back to the boat!
Me: Well, I'm letting you go back to the boat until you put your face in the water and look at the fish.
Evan: (dunking his head in the water) Ok. I did it. Let's go back to the boat.
Me: (ever so subtly manuevering him away from the boat) Did you see the fish? Look again!
Evan: I saw the fish, and the boat is NOT THIS WAY!

Finally, I gave up and just took him back to the boat. The very nice snorkel-helper man said he would stay near the boat with him so I could go out with Dani and Emily.

I later heard about what happened from Rachel, who heard about it from the very nice snorkel-helper man.

Apparently, Evan was being very pouty, as he is wont to do after such melt downs, huddled in the corner of the boat and wearing a sourpuss. Chris (the very nice snorkel-helper man) thought he'd try to cheer Evan up. Oh, foolish, foolish Chris. He tried chatting with Evan. No response. He asked questions. No response. Finally he said, "I can do a cannon ball. Do you want to see me do a cannon ball?" Evan fixed him with an icy look and said stonily, "I don't care WHAT you do." So Chris, not wanting Evan to think he cared that Evan didn't care what he did, decided to go ahead and do a cannon ball anyway. And summed the story up to Rachel with, "You know what? He really didn't care!"

Oh, how mortified I was that Evan would be such a brat to the very nice snorkel-helper man, becuase truly he was very, very, very nice and Evan was being a very, very, very big brat. But, because Chris, the nice snorkel-helper man was so very nice, he had a good attitude about it and seemed to find the whole thing amusing and the story has morphed into one of those family legends already. Twice before the trip was over, I asked Rach a question and she fixed me with her best icy glare and said, "I don't care WHAT you do." So at least, if Evan's a very, very, very big brat, at least, this time, we can laugh about it and I won't have to BEAT HIM for it. This time.

The Ultimate Authority

At breakfast...

Evan: Mom!! Feel this! I'm getting really strong!
Me: Squishing his splindly little arm Wow, you really are, Evan.
Evan: Yeah, its cause of that bite of yogurt I just ate
Me: Oh yeah? Yogurt is good for you.
Evan: runs back to the table for another bite of yogurt Brendan this yogurt is making me really strong!!
Brendan: No
Evan: Yes it is!
Brendan: No
Evan: Yes it is!
Brendan: No.
Evan: Its TRUE, Brendan. JESUS SAID!




This actually reminds me also of a funny one Evan came up with a few weeks ago that has become a household phrase -- at least between me and Jason. We asked Evan about something and replied and to make sure we REALLY believed him, added, "Its true! I'm not kidding, joking, or lying!" I tried to make him repeat it after he said it another time -- when we were on the Golden Gate Bridge/Alcatraz tour in San Francisco, he told me the ocean was really deep, -- he wasn't lying -- but since it was a repeat, it didn't flow off the tongue as well the second time around, but still, here it is!

MY very cool Christmas present

Jason and I opted to take it pretty light on Christmas presents this year -- just one gift each. I was pretty excited about his gift -- a running watch with a foot pod and heart rate monitor. I was fairly sure, since he waited, as usual, till the last minute to get me something, that he was going to get the better gift, so I was pretty proud of myself for getting him something he would like and use so very much. So much for my big gift giving ego, cause he got me this. Its only the littlest, coolest, easiest video camera in the entire world! I just kept the little sucker in my purse the whole time we were in Hawaii and got so many videos of our trip. He is just the most brilliant husband in the world, isn't he? And so, all you blog readers out there, you shall be treated with videos of our fantastic vacation, as if day by day travel log and picture slide shows weren't enough to thrill your pants off!

Hula

Dani was inspired by her muumuu jammies and showed her Hawaiian spirit by breaking into a hula... or perhaps she is attempting flight....

Hawaii -- Day 3 - Christmas Day

The bedroom we stayed in had glass french doors and round about 6 am or so, Emily and Dani peeked out of them and discovered that Santa had come, and I don't think much sleeping happened after that. Around 6:30, we finally agreed that they could dig in. Emily, Dani and Evan all got Gameboys and Brendan got superhero dress ups.

They were all pleased.

After a few hours of enjoying Christmas toys, we headed out for the beach again, this time with Aunt Rach and Uncle David and lil' Rhees to play with. It was SUPER windy that day, which was annoying, but did nothing to dampen our determination or ability to have fun. Having seen soem pretty impressive holes dug in the sand our first day there, I wanted to try my hand at digging and Rach and I got a pretty good sized hole dug.

David sized, even!

David was such a good sport to let us bury him. All the kids, especially Rhees got a big kick out of it

Hawaii -- Day 2

Monday was Christmas Eve and my mom and I spent the better part of the day grocery shopping and getting last minute Christmas stuff in Kona while Jason and my kids hung out and played in the pool and those that were SCUBA certified went scuba diving, except for Lani, who was still not feeling great and missed out. Actually, come to think of it, I think only my nephew Rhees started getting sick on Sunday, Mom and Lani succumbed Monday, putting a bit of a damper on Christmas Eve, but they were troopers and still celebrated with us.

We played the Right/Left game, as is Rush tradition -- once for the kids and once for the grown ups. My mom really outdid herself with the gifts for Right/Left, and my kids ended up with some darn good prizes -- Emily got a blanket making kit, Dani and Evan both got Color Explosions and Brendan got a whole mess of Spiderman toys. When the adults played, I ended up with a digital photo keychain and Jason got a Jamba Juice gift card. So, even though we weren't supposed to get gifts becuause the Hawaii trip itself was supposed to be everyone's present, Mom made sure we all got more than a little something!

The kids also opened the traditional Christmas Eve present -- jammies. My dad had ordered a Christmas tree, so that the kids could decorate it, but something went wrong in the delivery and it didn't show up until 2 or 3 days AFTER Christmas, but we made a makeshift tree, which was actually pretty cute.

Unfortunately, my camera was having fits that night, so must of my pictures turned out blurry, in this one, my kids are clear, but my nephew Rhees is blurry, but its the best one I have! Brendan is not present because he fell asleep during the festivities. He ended up putting on his jammies right before he discovered his presents from Santa the next morning!

Once we got the kids into bed, the grown ups were supposed to participate in a singing and reading a cantata I'd found, but with people falling ill like flies all around us, and and inadequate preparation in advance, we ended up scrapping that plan and enjoying the hot tub instead!

Hawaii -- Day 1

We woke up on Sunday, a little hung over from our very late arrival the night before -- midnight or so Hawaii time by the time we reached the house, which would be 4 a.m. Chicago time, and in addition to the fact that Grandma and Aunt Lani woke up with whatever bug Brendan had brought with us from Chicago, we didn't make it to church that day. We just hung out at the house to begin with, played a little in the hot tub, but after a few hours, it was just too much. The beach called to us, so we answered!

The kids discovered boogie boarding and sand. What amazingly fun activities could be done with both! I think the pictures speak for themselves!

on another note

As I was changing Brendan's diaper the other day -- he tooted. He started laughing and I looked at him and said, "You are such a boy, Brendan." He grined at me and said, "I popped!"

And the journey continues

We had a day to kill between Chris and Lauree's wedding and our flight to Hawaii, which I mostly spent doing last minute Christmas shopping with my mom and getting pedictures with her and my sisters. Fun day.

The next day, we headed for the airport at 9:30 to make our 10:55 flight to Oakland. Unfortunately, between traffic and returning our rental car, we ended up cutting things a little too close, especially once we saw the 300 people lined up to check into Southwest. We nearly got lynched by the people in line when I asked to cut so we woudln't miss our flight -- understandable I guess. To our great relief, there was no one in line at the skycap, so we snuck in through there, and were the very last ones on the plane, nearly getting lynched again, as seat shuffling had to occur to get enough seats that the kids could sit with us. No one killed us though -- and thankfully none of our kids threw up on the plane.

Once we got to Oakland, we had 6 hours until our flight to Hawaii, so we got a little ambitious and decided to make our way to San Francisco for a little sightseeing. Jason had never seen S.F. and the few times I went I ddin't remember well. We boarded a shuttle to BART, took BART to S.F. and and a trolley to Pier 39. It took an hour and a half, but luckily, riding the train and a trolley were entertainment in themselves -- and we saw the Oakland temple from BART! We wandered around Pier 39 and took a ferry tour of the Bay on which we went under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. Through most of the outing, we were dying with our Chicago winter coats on and it was a pleasant 40 degree day. On the ferry though, it was FRIGID. Dani, Evan and I couldn't take it and eventually went inside and left Jason and Emily on the deck, with Brendan sleeping in the stroller.

It was a good way to spend the time -- much better than listening to the kids whine for 6 hours. We barely made it back to the airport in time to board the flight to Hawaii (it was a day of close calls). The kids mostly slept on flight to Kona. And in spite of all cutting things a little too close too many times, we arrived safely and without incident. Phew!

The journey begins...

I am going to try to blog one day of our trip each night so that I get the whole thing recorded before it goes too stale in my memory. If you find my travel log narrative terribly boring, I apologize -- you are not required to read. However, since my scrapbook journaling will be based on my blog entries, it does have to be written.

I had great plans to get all our packing done the weekend before we left, but alas, my great plans rarely work out the way they are supposed to and we barely managed to be packed before the shuttle van came for us at 2:00. The house was quite a disaster, but what could be done? The van arrived, a plane would soon be waiting to wisk us away and we'd just have to come home to a filthy house!

The flight went smoothly, except for the part where Brendan puked all over me as we were descending into Denver. We pressed the button for a flight attendant, and they actually came over the intercom and said, "Whoever just pushed the flight attendant button, please turn it off." Thank you very much! I'm covered with barf, Brendan wants to be comforted, but I can't move becuase I'm holding a goodly amount of vomit in my cupped hands. So I waited a good 20 minutes until the plane landed and someone could bring me some paper towels. I did everything I could to clean the mess, but in the end, the flight attendants just told me to get off the plane and they'd block off the aisle for the next flight. I was lucky enough to find some new clothes for myself, Brendan and Dani, who was slashed during the episode, while Brendan was not lucky enough to be done throwing up. He threw up at least 4 more times in the airport, until the poor kid was just dry heaving. He did well on the flight to Salt Lake and he only threw up a couple more times over night at my parents house. An memorable trip, to be sure.

The next day, we attended the wedding of my little brother, Chris. We are so happy to gain Lauree as a sister-in-law and so happy to see Chris so happy to be married to her. My girls were flower girls, and they were adorable, if I do say so myself.

I love family events like weddings -- it allows me to see my extended family, which for some reasons always thrills me beyond all reason. I didn't get to talk to anyone at as much length as I would have liked, but I did get to sit with my best cousin, Natalie, at the wedding luncheon and catch up with her. We are only 5 months apart in age, and have always had a special bond -- as kids her brother, Brett (who I must mentioned I also love and adore), convinced us we were twins. It made so much sense coming from him -- we were the same age, we both had brown hair, and brown eyes and our moms were sisters AND our dads were brothers too. Surely he must be right! I think more than anything, we just wished it was so becuase we loved each other so much, becuase looking at us now, its hard to see a lot of resemblance. (Nik, if you're reading this, I, uh, stole this picture from your website -- thanks for sharing!) However much we do not look like twins -- I still love you as much as if we WERE twin cousins!

On an amusing note, Santa showed up at Chris and Lauree's reception. My kids heard a rumor that he might show up and were eagerly watching the door for his arrival. Instead of coming in the expected route, Santa snuck in the back door and sat down in the back of the room. Emily, Dani and Evan came running to me to tell me that another trip to peek down the hall had not resulted in Santa's arrival and they spotted him sitting just behind me. All three of them stopped DEAD in the tracks and all three little mouths literally dropped open. They huddled up to the table next to him, rested their chins on the table top and just stared. I finally got them to go and talk to him and Dani asked, with no small amount of fear if Santa had put her on the good list. To her relief he told her that she would, indeed, be on the list. I assured her though, that she'd probably better STILL play it safe and try to be EXTRA good until Christmas.

I was also paid a very sweet compliment while at the wedding reception. I sat and chatted a bit with an older couple that had served with Lauree on her mission in Guam. I was pulled away after a few minutes to deal with my naughty children. Later, as they were preparing to leave, the woman I had been chatting with found me and said, "Whenever you think a compliment, you should share it, so I wanted to tell you that you are a very beautiful woman." Why is it so much easier to take a compliment from a stranger than from a loved one? I was very flattered that this woman who I had never met would say such a nice thing to me and it made me think about the words that preceeded the compliment. "Whenever you think a compliment, you should share it...." she is so right. I think people are hesitant to compliment each other, though I'm not sure why. After having the lovely experience of someone saying such a nice thing to me, I think I am going to adopt that mantra and tell people when I think nice things about them. Maybe I can make someone else feel as good as she made me!

Back to real life

We have returned from Hawaii -- welcomed by a beautiful, icy, 19 degree Chicago day. I think we could easily have stayed for another 2 weeks, but alas, all good things must end. I intend to record our vacation for posterty's sake, but for now, a filthy house and an empty refrigerator need my attention desperately, so here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the trip for now. More details to follow.... eventually.