I Can See My House From Here!

There aren't many times in your life you get to wake up to the sound of waves and then head down to the beach after breakfast, so we've decided to take full advantage while we're here. This morning, some of us spent more time on the sand, some in the waves. Ironically, even though none of the boys swim particularly well yet, they seem to know their limits on the beach, so we tend to watch them closer at the pool than we do on the beach. Joshua tends to stay in the sand, content to play with the shovel and pail. Benjamin usually splits his time between building sand castles with Joshua and chasing (and being chased by) waves. Nathan loves to body surf, and has gotten quite good at picking the "big" ones.


Because there are so many of us this trip, we have to do most of the activities in shifts. Today was our turn for parasailing. The minimum age is 6, so Nathan, Bradley, and Bryson got to go this time. Our shift was Mom, Dad, Grandma-ma, Nathan, Jennifer, and me. Nathan and I were the first to go up, and he was a little nervous to begin with. The guide had me put one arm around Nathan as we went up, but by halfway through the flight, Nathan turned to me and said, "Dad, you don't have to hold me anymore." Parasailing is an amazing experience. We were on an 800 foot tether, several hundred feet above the water. The coolest part about it is how quiet it is while you're sailing up there. We could see pretty much the whole western half of Maui, and had a good view of both Lanai and Molokai. The only thing you hear is the wind and the very faint hum of the boat's motor. Nathan liked it so much that when we were back on the boat, he asked if we were going to get another turn. He was disappointed to learn that he would have to wait until the next trip, but I'm glad he enjoyed it, and was really proud that he wanted to try it in the first place.


After a delicious dinner of meat and taters, and another trip sponsored by Grandpa (have I mentioned how good the Island Dazzler is?), we put the kids to bed, and the boys gathered for game night. This has become a favorite activity of ours over the last several years. As more of us have kids, it's gotten harder to gather to play at home. It's especially difficult for us to play as couples without letting the kids destroy the house, or putting up with constant interruptions. Brett is the Game Master, and he brought a game called "Colosseum" that most of us hadn't played before. It was totally fun, even if it took a long time to get through. I'm definitely going to have to put that on my request list the next time Brett and Stephanie come over for game night in Provo. At one point in the game, Chris and I were in the middle of working out a resource exchange when we spontaneously began quoting movie lines (I know, hard to believe, right?). Scott G. didn't realize we had switched to a movie line and was trying to follow the trade agreement, and Dad, watching Scott, started laughing so hard he actually started crying. It was several minutes before he could explain what was so funny, and by that point we were all in stitches. I don't think I ever seen Dad laugh so hard in my life. I guess some things can only happen in paradise.