Spring Cleaning-It's a Good Thing

This is my children's playroom. Not much playing going on in here. I decided to take this Spring Break and do some heavy spring labor...slave labor. Come here, Girls....I have something for you. 2 cardboard boxes and a filthy room.

But mom! We LOVE all these toys! We can't get rid of ANY of them!

Oh...A garage sale, you say? Money...you say? Money for more toys?

Do I know how to motivate or what?

Wanna come to a garage sale?

Hawaii! Part II

The kids loved the beach...we were there every chance we got. There was a great area where the water was only a couple of feet deep but the waves could still come in and out. The girls could safely boogie board and swim without me constantly telling them to come closer to the shore. I got a chance to work on my tan...hah!

Sarah was brave enough to try poi at the Polynesian Culture Center.

She was not a fan!

Everyone caught fish in the pond...except me. I tried for a really, really long time, too.

Dum Dum! give me some Gum Gum!

If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch A Night at the Museum...a must see!



We went on a tour of the Iolani Palace. It was beautiful. Definitely worth the ride on the city bus to get there but don't ask Sarah that question...she was not a fan of the city bus. I think she still has nightmares.

We took a circle island tour and this was one of the scenic stops near the north shore. Note that it is overcast and we look cold. That is because it was cold. Or we thought it was until we got back home and it was snowing.

This was another beautiful spot. Great for snorkling near the north shore.

YUMMMM! Last stop was the Dole Pineapple Fields. One of our favorite places.


Heading to the airport...in a limo! Everyone was sad to be going home. We had a great time. I was secretly glad to be headed home. Until I heard there was snow. The 3 hour drive at 11 pm wasn't much fun, either. The best part was getting into a tempurpedic mattress that had been chilled to 50 degrees and was solid rock!

Now the only question is "Where to next?"

Hawaii!

This is the first of probably many installments of Hawaii Pics. I took no less than 200 pictures and videos.

This was my first picture...the view from our room. The penthouse, no less! The walls had floor to ceiling windows with views of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head. Heaven!

Our first stop was shopping, of course. The International market where bargains could be had on Plumeria jewelry, pearls in the shell, flip flops and everything in between.

Our first sunset. Unfortunately, persistent cloud cover prevented me from getting any great sunset shots but we liked the view just the same.

We took a boat out to the Atlantis Submarine. The water was so blue!

The views from the boat were unbeatable.

Here is an unobstructed view of Diamond Head.

Sea Turtle!

More pictures to follow. The weather was great. A little cloudy and windy at times but still warm! Much better than Oregon!

We ate a lot! I love the fresh seafood in Hawaii...can't be beat.

Book Club Pick- The Kite Runner

February's pick for book club was The Kite Runner. I didn't know much about the book but I guess I was judging it by it's cover because I had decided I wasn't going to like it. I put off starting the book until my vacation. I read a couple of other books, took my time. I read the first few chapters, got to an emotionally heartwrenching part and put down the book and told my husband that I refused to finish it no matter what my book club thought! So There!

Then I couldn't sleep that night wondering whatever happened to Hassan and Amir.

The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule.

The book was impossible to put down. The characters, though flawed were completely fascinating. I was surprised when I later found out that the story was not a memoir but a work of fiction.

I learned a lot about Afghanistan and it's people and culture which left me wanting more.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. Even someone like me who was sure this book would not be my cup of tea.

I plan to begin Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns soon.

Our next book club pick is The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks.