Scott and Maycee's Wedding

 Scott met Maycee on New Year's Eve, proposed 20 (?) days later, and married her on April 28th.  It all sounds rushed and chaotic, and for them, I'm sure the wedding planning felt that way, at least a little bit. 

Maycee charmed me with 2 specific events.  Event 1:  She is staying at our family's house two days before her wedding.  The family stays up late and she couldn't go to sleep.  She "loved it," though, because "Scott played with her hair all night."  Very cute, but not the part that charmed me.  No, that was the next morning, when Kristen and I were up in the early hours with our babies.  Maycee was up and hanging out with us while the rest of the house slumbered--playing with our kids, asking us questions, and absolutely radiant.

Event 2:  The night of the wedding reception. She tears off the outer skirts of her beautiful wedding dress to reveal a more swing-dance friendly skirt and tights, and dances away with my ballroom-team brother.  What a good sport, and so adorable.

Okay, my favorite thing about the picture above and below is the lady on the left.  I have no idea if she was part of the wedding invitees or not, but she is lovely and obviously very happy for the new bride and groom.

 Temple Head Shots:  Natalie, Ada, and Kristen

 Mindy

 Kristen/Kevin's Daughter Allie:

 Kristen

 Anna

 Dad

 Kev

Mom

 Janece

 Karl and Chrysta's Family (from DC)

 Natalie/Steve's son, Josh

 Kate tried hard to steal the show.  She was a diva about the cold (it did hail on me and Janece during our morning run...).  The boys of the family were very attentive, but it was the Chrysta and Ada who really doted on her every need that day.

 Scott was all over this until Josh went for his hair.

  Maycee, pretending to be warm:

 Everything was smooth sailing at the luncheon and reception.  This is the first family member to marry an Ohio gal, so maybe Mom and Dad will have some Ohio permanents! 

 Kristen, Natalie and I thought we could get the girls together for some shots.  Not a very successful endeavor, but they are darn cute anyway.

 My favorite part of it was when they all started feeding each other goldfish (or sharks?).

 Dad, still rockin out that green apron:

 Kate getting some love.

Other highlights of the week-long trip with me and Kate:

• The second Kate fell asleep after screaming the first 3 hours of the red eye.  Screaming.  There is nothing like the sound of silence.
• Playing in my parent's charming backyard with all the babies
• Long chats with my siblings/their families and hanging out with my parents
• Seeing Natalie as a mom (last time, Joshua was a little baby)
• Envying Kristen's tiny, 20 week tummy
• Walking in the Inniswood Gardens
• Chowing down on fresh mex food
• Watching Janece in a track meet
• Running with Janece a couple times
• Watching Eric play volleyball
• Attending a concert for Anna/Janece
• Seeing Jillian and Leo.  Kate was sick (of course) so we couldn't stay with them as planned.  Sad.  I think if I just plan on being sick for my vacations, I will be a little less disappointed when it happens (as it ALWAYS does).
• Meeting up with Christina and Gia
• Talking with Karl and Chrysta on the way to Cincy

Finally, running the Hoover Dam bike path in Westerville (yes, I have the name right, and it is not the one in Vegas).   I did this on my last day here.  In all my return trips to Ohio, it hasn't felt like "home".  My family lives in a different city and a different house, and so while seeing family/friends is the purpose of coming back, it hasn't made me feel attached to Ohio.  Well, for many reasons--the geese, the spring breeze, the wide open, green fields dotted with dandelions, and even the gray sky made me feel all kinds of nostalgia.  It was refreshing to remember what "home" felt like and to feel a reconnection to Ohio.

I can't say I look forward to my next 15 hour flight back, but I definitely miss the family/friends I have there and hope to see you sooner than later.  Thanks for making it a nice trip!  Thanks also to my boys at home for holding down the fort, and all my friends who helped with Z.

An Informal Affair

 Brady and I were invited to a Hawaii Builder's Association award ceremony in Oahu a couple weekends ago.  Of course we were game, and Matt/Megan were kind enough to watch our kids for the overnight trip.  We shopped a bit, went out for a charming, Waikiki beachfront dinner, and topped date night off with a piece of that ridiculous chocolate cake from Cheesecake Factory (skinny dippers on the beach included at no extra charge).

We looked forward to a morning of Waikiki surf, but when we opened the surf report early the next morning, it said something like, "Good luck trying to find a wave to stand on in Waikiki today."  Ha!  I wish our surf reports were that candid.  Instead, we took off early for our first hike of the day: Olomana Trail.

 When we are on our own, the first requirement for a good time is it has to be something we couldn't do with children.  This was a perfect choice.  It was steep, technically challenging (with a little bit of rope work/repelling), and definitely not one we could do with Zac and Kate. 

 Incredible views, lots of sweat, sore muscles.

 We loved the green moss on the rocks.

This hike has two more peaks you can climb, but with my bum back/neck, we figured it wouldn't be so smart to go for it.  Apparently they are also sketchy, with quite a bit more rope work.

Our second destination was the surfing substitute:  Makapu'u Point Lighthouse trail.  Although it was beautiful, it satisfied none of the stipulations above.  There were moms with double joggers on this "trail," to give you a better picture.  Dear Oahu:  If it is paved, it is not a trail. 

Brady and I are "Hawaii 5-0" fans.  We love identifying parts of Oahu we've seen or experienced, and we love the little comments referencing Hawaii culture.  Yeah, the show is overly dramatic and downright eye-rolling at times, but Brady likes it enough that it is his ring tone.

The Koko Head Crater Trail was featured on one episode.  Steve was going to run it for his morning workout.  Of course, we figured if Steve could do it, we could do it.  I put on my stopwatch and started cooking up these stairs.

There are 1,000 plus stairs, and this picture only gives you a glimpse of how steep it gets.  It is hands-on-thighs steep.  I would love to tell you we made it jogging, but a third of the way up, the goal became to just not stop.  The last third, I got to a point that I had to count 60 stairs before I allowed myself a break and started again, then 60 more, break, then 60 more....HUFF and PUFF!

Just like we read, this hike isn't a hike, but a workout with a view.  Super fun.  It took us 26 minutes (32 if you count the time at the top).  We will beat that with fresh legs next time around. 

We timed things perfectly--acting like hippies and showering at the beach showers, and using the park bathrooms to get dressed up. We felt really proud of ourselves for "beating the system" and making this incredible day for ourselves on top of attending Brady's event.

It is really too bad that our pride came crashing down when we got to the Hawaii Builder Awards.  We instantly realized our dramatic error: it was a FORMAL event.  We were dressed to go to a nice dinner (skirt, nice blouse, slacks, button-up shirt).  You have to understand that Hawaii screams casual at even the nicest events.  We have never even heard of a formal event here!  Nice dress is an Aloha shirt and close-toed shoes (GASP!).  Well, we could have crawled under a rock and died rather than entering that room.  We even desperately searched all the venues around for nicer clothes we could buy in a hurry, but no luck.  There were 3 other people dressed down--3 out of hundreds.  Oh, what losers!  The best part is Brady had to accept the award on stage, in front of everyone.  We felt like college freshmen--obviously out-of-place and in over our heads.

At least that's over.

Not-so-Unlucky Friday the 13th

 Yep, it's another post about Polihale.  We love it here.  We go back all the time.  We swim in the huge waves, take pictures of the sunset, watch our boy go crazy in the sand with his friends, eat campfire food, and roast marshmallows.  We stay up until 2am gabbing around a bonfire.  Our daughter wakes up at 3am and doesn't ever go back to sleep.  We get up in the am, have pancakes, lounge and play in the water for hours, and finally fry our feet in the hot sand trying to get back to the car.  It's the same story every time, but also the same result: totally refreshed and ready for more.

 Catching up on the Zzzzs she missed the night before (grr!).

 I love the Kauai babies who still can't get enough sand time.  All these kids have basically grown up here, and yet they still think it is the best entertainment.

This was our last camping trip with Megan and Matt Ellis, who introduced us to the glories of Polihale camping and once explained the Milky Way under the starry sky.  We're glad Matt didn't drown there years ago.  We're glad we knew you before kids and after kids.  We'll always remember the hikes, kid trade-offs, and camping adventures.  We will miss you more than you know.