Surprise!

So, for my birthday, Mike conspired with Lynette and Melinda to come visit! YAY! It was supposed to be a complete surprise - which it was, just a little early. His plan was to take the day off and let me have a kid-less shopping trip in town. Then our friend was going to call and tell me she was supposed to pick up a friend at the airport, but she wasn't feeling well and since we were in town would we mind picking them up and then SURPRISE - it was Melinda and Lynette and Jake.

Well, I accidentally found out because he has a skype account that I have chatted with both of them on. He had chatted with them at work on the same account about coming here. Then fearing I would find something I shouldn't, he created an account for me so that he could use his for "work stuff". So,with him sitting next to me, I went into his account to journal some of the discussions I had had with Lynette and Melinda. He had erased everything he had written, but they kept chatting and so there was stuff in there about coming to Hawaii. At first I was confused about what it said and then quickly closed my eyes thinking I found something I shouldn't have. Then I started crying partly from being excited and also feeling bad because I had spoiled the surprise.

But in the end, it was good because the present lasted longer. I got to have them for a week AND be excited for the 2 weeks before they came. It was a great visit! I just love my sisters! And I sure have a fantastic husband to do this for me. He amazes me everyday!

We decided to keep it a secret from Whitney and Kenna and boy were they surprised! I had the video camera and Mike had this camera. The shot from my side was so great - if you look close you can see Whitney's mouth wide open. It was great!

Bryn doesn't look great in this picture, but Melinda looks so lovely in her beautiful lei.


Our day exploring the PCC

We watched the fire knife demonstration and then got to pose with the performers - it shouldn't come as a surprise, but that fire is seriously HOT!

It was so very hot the day we went, even in the shade, and most of the water bottles were empty. Here I am trying to "help" Lynette get a drink without sharing germs. I love being funny with my sisters!

WHEE! Playing in the water was great! I love how we just trade kids around like they are our own. Sisters are the best!

We hadn't been to Waimea Bay so figured it was a good time to go. It was beautiful and the water was crystal clear.


Next we went to Sharks' Cove (I've never seen a shark there...) and Mike kept all the kids on the beach in the shade while the sisters went snorkeling. It was amazing! There were tons of huge colorful fish-and the company was great! I almost drowned a couple of times because one of the girls would make me laugh, and laughing with a snorkel gets tricky-a little too tricky for me. It was so fun-definitely one of my favorite memories from their visit. Unfortunately, we forgot to take a picture of us in our snorkel gear-I'm sure we looked HOT! And so very attractive.

Saturday night, the mainlanders were fried so they hung out in their swimsuits for our night of pampering. We rented a movie and did each other's toenails. I bought cute little stickers to complete them-they were adorable!

I made this black and white to see if our husbands could tell whose feet are whose so you can't really see the flowers. (I just barely took mine off 2+ months later, even though they didn't look great, because every time I looked at them it made me smile and I didn't want that to go away.)

Sunday we had a kid-less trip to church. A few of the kids were sick so Mike just kept them all home. It was a strange feeling not having kids. We probably could have used one or two to help us stay awake!


We got to watch two large palm trees be removed and replaced on the road up to the temple (next to our house). It was a pretty neat process and really kept the kids entertained. Even the adults thought it was pretty cool.

At one point or another, all four kids fevered. Jake had the worst of it. They arrived on Tuesday-by Wednesday afternoon he was fevering and miserable and didn't sleep at all. Thursday was, wouldn't you know it, King Kamehameha Day so there were no doctors' offices open. After another long day and night, we got him in on Friday and determined it was strep. He started antibiotics and by Monday was feeling much better-in time for them to leave on Tuesday. Poor guy-but we made the best of it.

Kid-less again, Mike sent us off to spend some dough! He took the afternoon off and let us go into town for lunch and shopping. They are so much fun to shop with! Boy were we silly! We all shared a dressing room trying things on and laughed and laughed. It was a great time!

Many who know me understand my inability to see things without "cars". One assignment we had while they were here was to find curtains for our front room window (because we've been using a high-class blanket). I couldn't really tell if I liked the combo without seeing it. So they were kind enough to help me see it "with cars".

Monday night took us to the night show at the PCC. (Without kids again-Mike is so great!)

Then it was, unfortunately, time to say goodbye. :( I'm so grateful for all the sacrifices made for this fabulous birthday present. Especially to our husbands! Thanks for a memorable golden birthday! (28 on May 28th) Where should we plan our NEXT sisters' trip?!