We are outie . . .

Yep, it's that time of year again . . . time to go freeze our buns in Montana!!

But before we head that direction, I wanted to give you the low down on our happenings. We've slowly been recovering from Christmas, getting stuff put away, catching up on long neglected house chores, restocking the food shelves, and slowly getting ready to head out of here . . . which especially requires a lot of preparation when you are going to a wintry climate with NO winter wardrobe to speak of.

Yesterday was our last day to hang out as a family, so our original plan was to hit the waterpark. However, the weather did not exactly cooperate with our plans, so instead we decided to take a ride on an old train run by the Hawaiian Railway Society. We arrived a few minutes early, so the were exploring a bit, and much to their delight, they found a fallen coconut (the one Charley is holding above her head in the above picture). So they took turns playing with the coconut, and at one point, while we were standing in line, I heard Zander saying "Charley, Charley, look at my peanut, look at my peanut!!! . . . quite loudly of course, because come on, he is MY son. For those of you that don't know, "peanut" is our code word for a boys' private parts, so I was a bit alarmed when I heard Zander making exclamations about his peanut in public. I was even more horrified when I realized that he was holding the coconut up to his groin area and yelling "Look at my peanut!"

Now, don't start getting worked up and thinking you need to go call DHS on us. :) We have explained to our kids about their private parts, modesty, and appropriate behavior . . . but let's face it, Zander is 3, he is a boy, and he is quite fascinated with his boy parts sometimes, as most boys his age are. So anyway, Brian and I couldn't help but chuckle, particularly when this old man came up and tapped me on the shoulder and said, "See, we are born that way, it's not our fault."

We eventually made it on the train, coconut and all, and the ride was rather pleasant for about the first 45 minutes. But then the rain hit, and even though the train was covered, the rain pelted us from the sides, and by the time we got back, we were drenched and cold (yes, even here in Hawaii!). Thankfully the kids were good sports, and I reminded Brian that the icky rain made the ride that much more memorable.

Last night I hosted our January book club meeting, where we discussed Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol," and we also had a "healthy" pot-luck dinner. This book club is a regular highlight for me . . . I love trying out books I normally wouldn't pick, I love all the ladies that participate in book club, and there is always plenty of laughs to go around. We might all be nerds, but we are fun nerds!

Today the kids returned to school for the first time since mid-December. Of course they are a bit bummed that they only get this one day of school before our LONG trip to Montana . . . but the excitement of the Montana trip is enough to keep their spirits up.

So, tomorrow we leave for our long-awaited trip. The kids and I will be leaving tomorrow morning and arriving tomorrow night in Montana . . . 80 degrees to 8 degrees in 12 hours. We will be there for five whole weeks this year, until February 16th, and Brian will join us for the last two weeks of the trip. We already have tons of stuff lined up . . . getting my hair done at Andrea's new salon in Missoula, seeing my sister's new house, staying at a cabin with Andrea for two nights in a remote area, meeting up with old friends from high school, a girls' week when Kathy and Marian fly out from D.C. and Andre from Hawaii (3 nights in a bed and breakfast and dog sledding included), and all sorts of other fun stuff. Can't wait!

While we are gone, Brian is going to be extremely busy with work, as it is the Airstation's annual safety team visit. He will also be finishing up his Master's and will officially be done one week from today. So proud of him! Hopefully he will also get some much-needed Brian time, which will likely include some golfing, some football, some Wii playing, and who knows what else. He will then join us on February 2nd for two weeks of skiing, sledding, ice skating, and all that fun winter stuff.

Soooo, my blogging might be light while I'm gone, but I'm always reachable by phone and email. I'll try to blog in the next few weeks, but if I don't get a chance, make sure to check back with me after February 16th when we return.

Happy New Year everyone!

Planning

I know that throughout my various posts these past couple years, the subject of TIME has come up quite a bit . . . and once again, I find myself pondering this concept as I reflect on what we've been doing, where we are going, and where we might end up.

When I was younger, even throughout my 20's, I always had a "plan." And most of the time this "plan" involved some point in the future, somewhere much further down the road. It probably started when I began thinking about college, and really didn't slow down until these past couple years . . .when and where I was going to college, what degree I was going to get, when I was going to graduate, what my next degree would be and where I would get it, when I would get married, when I would have kids, when I would be done with school once and for all, where I would work, and where we might move. But then we moved to Hawaii, and something changed.

When we moved here, I PLANNED on working, PLANNED on arranging child care for the kids, PLANNED on saving more money, and somehow PLANNED on enjoying life in Hawaii while doing all that other stuff. And then something happened. Things simply did not go as PLANNED.

As you may recall, I wrote an entry long ago about the process that we went through in deciding that I would stay at home with the kids for the time being. Without rehashing that entire discussion, we simply looked at the pros (more money, putting my education to use, work experience, and my sanity :)) versus the cons (commute, child care expenses, lack of available jobs, inflexibility, Brian's work schedule) of me working, and decided that it was in our family's best interest for me to stay home. And, as most of you know, this has been perhaps the hugest "blessing in disguise" of my entire life. I have enjoyed this opportunity more than I could have ever imagined.

It seems, however, as a direct result of all this, time seems to be slipping through my fingertips faster than I can even comprehend. I continually ask myself, how is it that we have already been here in Hawaii two and a half years? How is it that we only have a year and a half left? How is it that Charley is already five years old and will be in kindergarten next year? How is it that it has been nearly a year since I've seen my siblings? How is it that Bev was just here for an entire month, when it seems like only yesterday that she walked through the door?

I guess the lesson can best be summed up by the good 'ol saying, "Time flies when you are having fun." Boy, this couldn't be any closer to the truth. As hard as I try to press my heels into the ground and slow our time here in Hawaii down, it does not seem to be working. So, since that's a bust, I figure all I can do is savor every moment that we have left, however long that may be.

Don't get me wrong, I still love to imagine the future, think about where we might end up, dream about where life will take us. But sometime in these past couple years, I learned that sometimes not having a plan ends up being way more fun, and that sometimes you can have the most solid plan in the world, and yet life will throw a curve ball totally changing all your plans. And sometimes this new path will end up being more amazing than anything you could have possibly created by planning.

So you heard it here first, my friends . . . my New Year's resolution is to embrace this concept they call "going with the flow" . . . I know, I know, I can already hear the chuckles, but I promise, I will try my best . . . because sometimes "plans" just don't work out, right? ;)