I'm Ready for My Closeup

I can't believe our Hawaiian excursion is almost at an end. We've done and seen so much, and had a fantastic time together as a family. I'm glad we get to ignore reality for just a little bit longer. A few of us (Brett, Stephanie, Scott, Chris, Dad, and I) headed out early for the final snorkel trip of 2008, down at Airport Beach. The water was calm above and clear below, and there were tons of fish around. No turtles this time, but we did see another Crown of Thorns starfish. Dad brought a digital camera (enclosed in a waterproof case, or course), and we took turns trying to get good shots. It turns out that taking pictures while you snorkel and free dive is a lot harder than while you're scuba diving. You have to dive down to the right depth, equalizing the pressure in your ears as you go, try to stay down and level while you frame the shot, and then take it. Oh yeah, and hold your breath! One of these days I'll get the hang of it.

When we got back we found everyone at the pool again. It's so fun to watch all the kids together. Sometimes they're playing together, and sometimes they're in their own little world, but they all had a great time. I didn't get back in the water, but instead took some time to snap photos of as many plants, flowers, and scenery as I could. Jennifer decided a little while ago she wanted a (mildly) tropical theme in our bedroom, and part of that was getting some good photos we could blow up and hang on the wall. We've kept it in the back of our mind as we've been out and about, but since we're leaving tomorrow, I thought I would make sure we had plenty to choose from.

We couldn't get Joshua to take a nap after lunch, and Jennifer wanted to do a little more shopping, so I took Nathan and Joshua for a ride on the Sugar Cane Train, and Benjamin went with Jennifer. I'm not sure what the staff, or more especially Uncle Terry, the Conductor, thinkwhen they sees us coming, but we have thoroughly enjoyed the train this trip. We know all the stories, factoids, and anecdotes by heart, but it is such a relaxing ride, and you really feel the spirit of the island. It's also a great way to calm the boys down and kill some time.

Dinner tonight was Pizza Hut in the small BBQ area outside the North tower. The only catch was the trade winds, and boy did they blow! The only sheltered spot was between the little cabana and the building, so we stuck all the kids there while the adults ate at the tables and tried to hold onto the plates. Just a soon as we could, we got everyone back upstairs. The good news -- plenty of leftover pizza! We should have guessed that with Amy and Scott in charge of the sand castle contest, they wouldn't stop with just building sand castles. Amy made nice little awards for the kids for all their hard work and creativity, and tonight was the awards ceremony. Needless to say, the "Sandy Awards" were a great success.

Next it was on to the main event. Chris and Cassi's activity was an audio/visual scavenger hunt, where each family had to submit one entry for each letter of the alphabet. They took each entry and scored them from 1 to 3. You got one point just for submitting something; two points if your entry was different from everyone else's; and one entry from each letter earned a bonus point for being the one Chris and Cassi liked the best. Chris then took all the photos/movie clips and compiled them into a video, complete with an intro, soundtrack, special effects, point totals, and credits. I don't know how long he spent on it, but it was fantastic. Big kudos to Chris and Cassi for planning ahead and working so hard on it. Just one more thing to make this vacation extra special.

A day like today just couldn't end without a farewell trip to Haagan Dazs for dessert, so off we went. It's a good thing we've spent to much time swimming, riding, surfing, walking, etc., otherwise we all would have gained more than a bit of weight. But dessert at Haagan Dazs is just so good. :)

I have to admit that I wasn't very much help packing when we got back and put the kids down. Maybe I just can't admit that we're going home tomorrow, or maybe I just didn't want to. I usually do my best packing in the morning anyway. :)