Arrived

After the longest possible weekend of the summer so far, I'm finally here in Hawaii. Our good friend Cassandra and her son Gabe were visiting us Thursday and Friday, which was such a special treat! Then Saturday we got up early, early (5am to be exact) to drive to DFW. We wanted to make the rounds, and ended up fitting in Cynthia & Mark, Jen & Pat and a wonderful visit to Piccolo! Exhausted as we were, we then had to get up at 6am to get me to the airport on time to start my travels to Hawaii. All my flights when perfect, with very short layovers. It was funny, as much as I identify Hawaii as my second home, I never seem to remember quite how much myself I am here until I'm back to the place of my childhood summers and sunny Christmases. As we began to descend over the island the feeling that came over me was that of an invisible weight being lifted off of my shoulders and thinking in a small voice of relief, "home..." The only other time I experience this feeling is when I'm in a ballet class and take that first plié, and it's as if my body finally falls into itself. Like I've been hovering just beyond myself up until that point. I've missed it here. The smells, the colors, and the familiar roads. I was lucky enough to get to surprise my grandparents with my visit thanks to my wonderful Aunt & Uncle who picked me up, and kept my arrival a secret for a week! I snuck into the office where my Nana was working and said "Surprise!", waiting for her to whirl around, but instead she kept working. I tried again, a little louder, and got the same response. Finally, I walked right up to her, leaned down and said to her back, "Are you to busy for a surprise?" She immediately jumped and said "What are you doing here!?", hugged me, and then told me I should be glad she didn't have a heart attack. Pappy, in turn said "You're not real, you're a ghost!!" It feels good to be with my Ohana.

Hawaii

Most people that know me, know that I spent my childhood summers (and many other holidays) in Hawaii at my grandparents. As Ryan will tell you, I even 'stole' his idea and went to UH, although I ended up transferring to Dallas for a certain someone... ;) Hawaii has always been a special place for me and my family, and after my 24 summers there, it's no surprise. It's where I was baptized, where I learned to swim, summers of VBS and camping at the beach. The most recent trip to Hawaii was when Adam proposed to me. We had gone for two weeks, and spent our day doing my family's Friday traditions; we spent the day at Waimea, and saw the hula show downtown before dinner at my parent's favorite restaurant on the beach. After dinner we took a walk on the beach and Adam proposed in the moonlight in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. (where as a child we went to brunches). This place is my second home, and my grandparents mean a great deal to me after so much time together. This Sunday, I am heading up to visit them for the first time in 2 years, the longest time I've ever been away. Adam will stay behind this time, though we're both going in December. Mom & I will be going on our own, which is also a first since I was about 14.

My grandparents are getting older, and things are getting harder for them to do. Gone are the days of Pappy throwing us back over front in the Ocean, or Nana making doll cakes and asking us about our day. Days are more relaxed now, and slower paced. I seem to forget how much time has gone by until I'm back. Although now I opt for the lounge chair instead of the fun noodle, and Ryan is laying out on the mat instead of skimming the waves for hours on end. It's strange to be there year after year, with so much the same and everything different.

Amarillo By Morning

Amarillo is the place we're calling home for the next 6 months. Our new home is part of fourplex in an older neighborhood that's home to many of our Amarillo friends. It's a small, cute place--about 700sqft, and has a bit of character since it was built in the 20s. The one thing we overlooked when signing the lease? There is no AC. Yes, that's right, we'll be getting through a Texas summer and relying on the strength and power of our overhead fans. We've already had to go out and get a standing fan for our bedroom so that it's more comfortable to sleep. I can hear my mother now when I tell her "Ohhh Kaitlin!". Yes, next time we sign a lease it's something I'll think to ask about.

Cape Hatteras

A week on the beach can cure anything, I'm sure. Adam and I went with my parents and brother to Avon, NC for a beach front stay the week of Memorial Day weekend. It was wonderful!!!

Beach fires at night, waves that could make your back & legs ache, lighthouses, walks along the beach and plenty of time as a family. I feel so grateful that Adam fits so well with all of us. He and Ryan can make me laugh until my sides hurt, and it feels so good to get a large amount of time with my parents.

Skiing Taos

Ah, springtime! The freedom, the weather, the skiing!!! Adam and I have been lucky enough over the last 5 years to get the opportunity to ski every spring. Several times we've gone to Santa Fe, NM with our friends for the weekend, one year we did an Owens family ski trip to Wolf Creek, CO for the week, and this year it was a weekend with the O'Connells in Taos, NM. My parents and Ryan were there for the week, but time and budgets only gave us one weekend this year, and we planned to make it count!! As most of you know, for second Christmas my parents got Adam skis. This was all I heard about the entire week before our trip, as well as the entire drive! Lucky for him (and me) they did not disappoint! We got in late Friday night, and happily spent the time talking and hanging out with Ryan. Saturday we skied with Mom & Dad (Ryan's ankles were bothering him too much to ever hit the slopes with us, as he'd skied all week). One of the best thing about our week of skiing was that it had snowed 3ft right before we got there! POWDER!!! Hurray! We got up early Sunday to hit the slopes and have another great day....and I was completely sick an hour later. In fact, I was sick all day. I broke my own record, throwing up 8 times in the day. It was awful. I had never had altitude sickness before, and I don't recommend it to anyone. Ever. By Sunday night, I wasn't quite so sick, and we made the drive to Santa Fe. Ryan rode with us, which was fun, and we were treated to Pasquale's by my parents. If you are ever in Santa Fe, and looking for a good place to eat, go there!! They have one of the most creative chefs I've ever seen, and (bonus) serve only organic food. It's really awesome, and we try to go every time we're there. Sadly, we had to head back to Texas, and they had to get to their hotel, as they flew out in the morning, so we said our goodbyes. All in all, an awesome trip.

Home Again, Home Again Jiggidy Jig

*sigh* Our momentous roadtrip has brought us back home and left us exhausted! We had a wonderful time visiting my family and friends in DC and NYC, but are so happy to be back with our animal family and sleeping in our own cozy bed. We left on a Thursday night as one of the largest snow storms to sweep the nation was hitting. (We pride ourselves on our timing.) The trip that usually takes us about 22hrs ended up taking us 36. Yes, 36. All the while my Dad kept calling and saying "Where are you now? Well go ahead and stop, you're not going to make it any further!" We, ofcourse, did what we had planned all along. Now, for those of you all in a panic, we did check the National Weather Service regularly, and were in contact with Ryan alot, giving us weather updates. One of the funnier parts of the roadtrip was that in looking for a gas station I had accidently changed the gps path. So, we were about 30min outside Indianapolis and I was supposed to call my Dad when we got there. I closed my eyes for a "bit", woke up and asked Adam, "hey, do you know where we are?", he checked the gps path and just went "huh, look at that, we're in Kentucky." Oops!! Thank goodness he's so laidback, he just thought it was funny and we went along our way! By the time we actually got to my parents, we couldn't even get down their street. We parked at the top of the hill and walked, waist deep in snow, down their street with our suitcases on our heads. We were snowed into their house most of the time, a good excuse for games, movies, and 'second Christmas'. For Valentines weekend, and Ryan's 20th birthday, we made the 4hr drive up to NYC. We were able to visit with my Uncle's, meet his friend who is the makeup artist from Law & Order CI, see a dear friend of mine perform in West Side Story (AHH!!) and in enjoy NYC in general! It was a wonderful trip, and I'm always sad to see time with them end. I cried about 30min after we said goodbye, which is just ridiculous, particularly since I know I'll get to see them in March when we go skiing! Here is the link to our pictures....
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2175370&id=19505108&l=e7d1c1ed34

Road Trip

Well, wish us luck!!! We're heading out this evening and making the 22 hour drive to my parent's in DC. Should be fun except for one teeny tiny problem---there is an enormous blizzard schedule to hit tomorrow afternoon...while we're still driving. Bah! So, keep your fingers crossed and the prayers flowing that we make it and don't end up frozen in a ditch somewhere!