Why Family Reunions are Worth the Hassle

Scott’s reunion involved very little hassle for me because his marvelous sister planned the whole thing. I didn’t have to worry about renting the houses, coordinating meals and activities, nothing. Nada.

However, it was a Big Deal to get the whole family to the Oregon coast for the festivities (or as close to the whole family as we came, anyway). We flew cross-country with a baby, one brother took time off work and flew from California, one sister flew internationally with six kids and no husband. All the rest drove for 12+ hours in three cars, each containing one of the following:
A) two dogs
B) six kids
C) a spitfire toddler and no air-conditioning.

(That would be an interesting beginning to a Choose Your Own Adventure novel, I would think…)

At any rate, we ended up taking a red eye back and it took a full day for me to get back to into the real world.

When I did, I dumped half of my photos on SmugMug and this one took my breath away:

Mackenzie and her Grandma Bean.

It was interesting for me to have the only baby at the reunion, with 29 people and two dogs in attendance. Mackenzie was very popular. While she was being passed from cousin to Aunt to Grandma and back, I watched her face light up and realized she was only getting a small taste of the love her family has for her.

Take her Grandma Bean, for example. I’ve told Mackenzie how her Grandma flew out to spend Christmas with us and count down the days to her arrival. How she helped me through days of contractions (and lack of contractions), and waited outside the delivery room to hear Mackenzie’s first cries. How she sat with me for the next few days in the hospital, finishing her special blankets for Mackenzie while I fumbled through my first attempts at breastfeeding, and walking unassisted. How she accepted a bundle of crying baby from crying me without hesitation at 2 am on our second night home.

When I see that secret smile Mackenzie is giving her Grandma, I think maybe she understands a little.

If that one moment was the only reason we made the trek to Oregon, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Photos from Maui

As I mentioned, Scott and I went with my parents to Maui for a week and had a fabulous time.

We sprinkled my grandmother’s ashes in the ocean from an outrigger canoe, had some great sushi, and snorkeled nearly every day. There’s a putting green at Napili Kai, where my Grandma had a condo, and great puzzles in the lobby. We barbecued fish and pineapple on the beach several nights and we also hiked to lots of “secret” waterfalls that Scott and I had discovered while exploring our last time on the island. That’s the Reader’s Digest version.

Now for the photos.

The House of the Sun

Did I mention we went to Maui and had a fabulous time? We did.

My dad brought his camera, so the photos are stellar but they are also slow in surfacing. He usually likes to wait a while, delete all but the best ones, and color-correct the best of the best before he lets anyone see them. This time around, however, he took one look at the photos of me in a maternity tankini and snorkel gear and handed the laptop over. “You choose,” he said. I guess the pressure of choosing the most flattering photos of THAT bunch was too much for him.

I chose, he color-corrected, and I’m still waiting for the photos to make their grand appearance.

However, he put a few up already of his epic bike ride up Haleakala, Maui’s “House of the Sun” volcano.

It Begins

We rented my dad a road bike and dropped him off in Paia, a town near the base of the volcano:

SIDE NOTE:
Scott and I actually have a bit of a soft spot for Paia. I suppose it boils down to a really good croissant we ate there a year and half ago, which is a silly reason to like a town in my opinion. So, here are three other reasons to like Paia:
1) It is the windsurfing capital of the world.
2) You can buy a picnic lunch there and rent a dog to enjoy it with.
3) In addition to delicious croissants, it is also the home of a wicked cranberry oatmeal muffin.

After strolling around Paia and sampling baked goods, my mom, Scott and I drove up the switchbacks and literally into the clouds. It was chilly and “foggy” up at the top of Haleakala and Scott was shocked to find that he got a terrible sunburn while hiking around up there. It *is* called the House of the Sun, I pointed out afterwards. He was known as Peely Dan for the rest of the trip.

Summit!

Something like six hours after we ditched him in Paia, my dad rounded a bend near the visitor’s center:

What a stud! Here he is passing 10,000 feet at the summit:

He arrived chilly and exhausted and unfortunately all we had to offer him in the way of sustenance was sweatshirt and some cold broccoli. Who was in charge of packing snacks?!

Who DOES that kind of thing?

So, if you’ve ever been to Maui, you know there are dozens of companies who specialize in taking tourists on bike rides down the volcano. They pick you up in a van, drive you to the top, and then send you down on an old school 1-speed with back-pedal brakes. Oh, and you pay somewhere around $100 to do it. Scott and I did this our first trip to Maui and quite enjoyed the sunset and the leisurely descent on bikes. It was a fun way to see some sights. This time around, we drove past lots of groups of bikers as they were coming down the mountain.

With this in mind, it shouldn’t surprise me that my dad stopped to get a drink of water at a rest stop part-way up the mountain and was chatted up by a curious tour bus rider. This man saw that my dad was all geared up and on a bike and was apparently quite impressed with his gumption.

Then came the key question, “So, how long does it take to ride down the mountain, anyway?”

“Oh!” My dad replied, “I’m not riding down the mountain. I’m riding up it.”

The man hurried back to the bus and shepherded other tourists over to see the crazy man. The crowd was still gaping when my dad hopped on his bike and continued on his way.

It’s vacation stories like that and photos like this that remind me all over again what a cool dad I have:

Others take the well-beaten, easy path down the mountain and look out at life through a tour bus window. My dad gets out there and finds adventure (and eats his cold broccoli with a smile on his face).

Happy 54th birthday Papa!

My new favorite summertime treat

A nice cold glass of Watermelon Lime Lovin’ .

What’s in it, you may ask? Well, we blended up half a watermelon, squeezed several (6?) limes into it, and stirred.

It was a highly complicated process, as you can tell. But oh, it’s delicious. A little sweet, a little zingy and soooo refreshing.

It almost makes me sad that the hottest part of the summer is drawing to a close. Almost.