to the beach

So to get to Maui there is a 3 1/2 hour drive to Oakland. Beautiful, scenic Oakland.

Then we stayed overnight for our 7 am flight. Flight time is about 5 1/2 hours. Then, Lahaina is about 45 minutes after a big stop at Costco. It's a process- not like a few hours and BAM you get to the beach. Traveling with little children is tricky, but I think we did pretty good for all the various legs of the trip.

Except Oakland.

(After this trip, my dad said "What happens in Oakland, stays in Oakland.." but I don't think he would mind me sharing this lovely story.)

So we leave Redding at about 5:30 and head south. We stop for some dinner and get the kids out of the car when we realize that I did not put Isabelle's saltwater sandals on her when we loaded up in the car. NO SHOES. My kid, at a restaurant, shoeless. I remembered three kinds of sunscreen and all the phone cords and mountains of toys and blankies and tiny hair ties and swimsuits but FORGOT SHOES. Luckily, she had "backup" shoes in her suitcase that are slightly too big for her but worked for the time being.

We drove and drove and got to Oakland about 10-ish. We needed to find milk for Lincoln but all the gas stations were closed (what.) and even Walmart was on lockdown. We weren't really sure why. Anyway, we found milk at this one weird gas station with a bank teller window where you pay through a sliding drawer...checked in to the hotel and got tucked into bed. Lincoln is not used to sharing a room with anyone, much less four adults and his favorite sister. We got Lincoln to sleep for a little while, but about midnight he popped his head up like 'hey mom, I see your face right there. Lemme see if I can grab it." And he threw a fit. Cried like a banshee, seriously. We calmed him down, got him back to sleep, and it lasted for thirty minutes. More screaming. Lather rinse repeat. He cried the entire night. Everyone took turns trying to get him to sleep like a normal human baby. Even my dad got up and was like ummmm can I help? I felt horrible. HORRIBLE. Like the most ridiculous fail parent ever- couldn't get my baby to sleep and our alarm was set for 4:45. I was in tears telling everyone I was so sorry and our trip was ruined and maybe we should just go home. Maybe Linc has an ear infection or is bleeding internally or maybe he just hates me!

Jazz is a saint, and he sat on the bathroom floor and held Lincoln for at least an hour until he was deep enough asleep to put him in bed. About that time, I got up and showered. WAS SO RIDICULOUS. Luckily, Lincoln was pretty much delusionally tired, did great at the airport and slept almost half of the flight. Isabelle was awesome- had tons of things to keep her busy and was so excited to be flying. Bless you, child.

My dad has this weird jedi-mind trick connection with Lincoln. Linc loves him.

We landed in Maui at 9:30 am local time and the whole day to force ourselves to stay awake enjoy before our 3 pm check-in. When the sun set at 7:30, we were all pretty much spent.

The great part about this story is that by the end of all that, we got to see this:

totally worth it. sorry that lincoln cried so much. and that I cried too.

Anyway, once we got there, it was fantastic.

Hi I am refusing to wear a floaty. And I don't want to hold hands, but thanksss.

This kid could spend all day in the water. 

from the hip.

       

 

 

Sabrina (and her 7 month pregnant belly!)  flew in later that night, and Morgan came the next day. I was so happy to see them. And the kids were excited to play with baby Margo!

Matching mer-jams!

Isabelle age 3 1/2, Lincoln 16 months, Margo 11 1/2 months

Feeding her babies snacks

aloha!

this is a real place.

Well, we are back.

Yesterday I said I had no idea what the date was or even the day of the week...today I am a little bit more confident. I think it's Wednesday! Ta-da! Going to Maui is like pressing pause on regular life- no computers or appointments or chores or errands. Our main daily objectives were to play, read stuff, eat food, and sleep. Check! Oh man it is hard to get back to our normal routine after such an amazing vacation.

I did seven loads of laundry yesterday and I still have more to do. How is it possible that we took that much? Did we really need 150 pounds of luggage? Ehhh probably not but it was nice to have toys and books and things that the kids are used to.

I took 500 pictures. Yikes dash.

We spent valuable time with my sisters and their families. I miss them a lot. And the kids! Holy cow they were so cute. Loved the sand and the pools and ocean waves.

Anyway. You know what comes next. Photobomb posts. You've been warned.

mothers day

I fully intended on posting a lovely Mother's Day blog yesterday about how much I enjoy being a mother and also about how much I appreciate my own mother but somehow the day just slipped away from me.

My day started with Isabelle- "Oh, happy muzah's day, Mama!"

My husband made me eggs and bacon.

I chose comfort over fancy and wore my beloved maxi skirt to church. We were on time.

My primary kids sang their mother's day song loud and clear. Isabelle stood in the front row.

I cried. (just a little.)

Flowers, gifts, cards.

Peaceful rest time after church.

Dinner with my family.

Followed by seriously the most amazing chocolate cake I have eaten. And I have eaten cake.

thank you morgan for the celestial recipe.

I mean, what more could I ask for.

Last week went on a date and left the kids with my parents. We picked them up about 10:30 and brought them home- Isabelle stayed asleep but Lincoln figured it was party time.

We laid in bed and listened to him through the monitor- he practiced his lion roars and laughed at himself. I could hear him rolling around and babbling mamamama. Mamaaaaam. Mamamamama. It is his favorite word.

I turned to Jazz and said something like "someday he will grow up and then he won't be mine anymore." It makes me so emotional to think about my life when my kids are grown, when I won't wipe messy faces and fold tiny clothes. I know in years to come I will close my eyes and pull memories from the days I am living now.

Isabelle, my sweet first born- the babe that made me a mother.

Lincoln, my mamas boy, made entirely of joy.

I am so lucky to be the mother of these two little beings. Not just on this one special day but the entire year long. For all the years, for all their lives, for eternity. Not a day goes by that I am not on my knees thanking Him for sending them to me.

And I couldn't speak of motherhood without mentioning my mother. Five kids, nine grandchildren later and she is still the most loving and inspiring parent I could ask for. She has something special- a way of connecting with children that is a gift and can not be learned or taught. She is selfless and giving and always has cookies in her freezer. Love you mom. xo

officially a california resident.

I had an 8 o-clock appointment at the DMV this morning.

I have been avoiding the DMV since we moved back to California. Three and a half years ago. It is my least favorite place on the planet. Worse than winco/walmart on the first of the month.

My Utah driver's license expires in July and I thought I should probably make this switch back to being a California resident, since I pay taxes here and everything.

Anyway. I made this appointment last month so I could get it over with early in the morning and rip it off like a bandaid. I got up early to wash/dry my hair since hello, I was getting a new picture taken. I even went over all the practice tests last night so I could ace the written exam.  Jazz planned to go into work late this morning  and stay with the kids so I could get this hideous task over.

So I get there at 7:55, there are seriously already thirty people in line. I'm thankful I have an appointment. I get to the front to get my ticket and she asks me some questions... and asks for my marriage license. I tell her I don't have it because I legally changed my name FIVE YEARS AGO and I stopped just carrying it around for fun. She tells me I need it and that I can't do anything without proving that I have changed my last name since the last time I held California residency.

And at 8:15 I was heading home, breathing fire and shooting laser eyes at everyone. I was so angry. ANGRY. I hate wasting time. I am the queen of being prepared. I read over the website last night to make sure I had EVERYTHING I needed because I swear every time I go to the DMV they ask me for my last Costco receipt, house taxes, proof of flood insurance, and the stub from that broadway musical I saw back in '97.

In my mind I decided to quit California and be a renegade and never have a valid driver's license ever again and just NOT HAVE ONE. Because that would work. Jazz took the kids to have my car smogged, so I met him there to swap cars and also so he could make sure I didn't hurt anyone.

Once at home, Jazz convinced me to just "drive by" the DMV with our marriage license to see if the line was long and just PLEASE go in and sort this out. He is much more peaceful than me. I wanted to "drive by" with a carton of eggs if you know what I mean. We packed the kids up and went back to the DMV. I went in to potentially get another ticket- I explained what happened and could she please honor my appointment even though it was over an hour ago and blah blah. She says YES! Progress! I get up to the REAL counter and right away the New Lady asks for my birth certificate or passport.

And this is when I became convinced that Satan runs the DMV. Directly from fiery hell, maybe has some remote operations running but FOR SURE Satan is the CEO.

I tell her I don't have my birth certificate and that the SWEET girl this morning assured me a marriage certificate was all I needed to get this thing done. She apologized and pushed the paperwork back towards me over the counter and told me to come back.

I almost lost it.

I explained the events of my morning and I think she could see in my eyes that I was about to do the wobbly lip cry and so she told me she would ask her manager just in case. She disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a happy face, saying that they could go ahead and approve me since they have my old license on file.

GLORY GLORY HALLELUJAH.

Took my picture. Took my test. Passed. Then got the hell out.