Thom is feeding Mia a native apple banana on the patio while James and Hannah are drinking pina coladas and, tired from all that pool time, taking a break out of the sun to watch Scrubs, a longtime fav that never gets old despite repeated viewings.  Everyone is enjoying our final day of family vacation just hanging out.  Damn.  Time needs to stand still for just a while.  What will we do when we can’t see our family especially Baby Mia every day????  Yes, family vacations do indeed ROCK but need to be more like two weeks or a whole summer instead of a puny week.  We barely just got into our vacation rhythm–breakfast/beach/nap and repeat.  How will I ever work a whole day again??  Of course, I do realize no work means no vacation so off I will go on Tuesday when we return but only under protest.  Serious protest.

With two grown kids, a granddaughter now and everyone with busy, busy schedules working and going to school, we haven’t gone on a family vacation since Florida four years ago when Mike was newly dating Hannah and Mia wasn’t even a possibility thought about yet.  Since then, Thom and I have lived in Seattle/NYC/Seattle/China/Seattle, James has graduated from college and is set to go to law school in the fall, and Hannah graduated from college, married Mike and had Mia-she’s been a busy girl!  Mia just began walking last week and had us all running so hard we needed those multiple naps a day more than she did.  Yikes!

With the dishwasher and laundry running non-stop to keep up, we ran to the beach, the pool, and cooked all that food we got at Costco after we landed on the Big Island.  Somehow we were able to drink up all the booze we bought but the leftover food will hopefully be of benefit to the cleaning crew tomorrow when we leave.  I hate to waste but goodness we bought a lot!

We found our home away from home on VRBO, which we also use to rent out our cottage in Boise.  We have always had great luck, using VRBO places from Florida to Barcelona with great results.  Our 3 br/3ba condo here was no different with lots of room for everyone, a view to die for from all windows but especially our master balcony and a pool that was perfect for baby Mia.  The beach was just a short walk down the road where the surfers rode the waves and the snorkeling was the best on the island.  Paradise found indeed!

At the last minute, I insisted on my own checked luggage and then ended up not wearing hardly any of what I packed.  Next time, a carry on is all I need with shorts, bathing suit, flip flops.  It never got cold and there was no nightlife on the Big Island so quiet nights at home needed very few wardrobe changes.  Live and learn and always pack light.  Really no need for the six pair of shoes I brought.

Tonight is our last night together and we are hoping for an awesome sunset.  While there are always rain clouds over the middle hills of the island, the sun is usually shining by us on the beach side.  Unfortunately, a few of us got a little too much sun despite repeated sunscreen applications.  The weather woman talked about being burnt in just 10 minutes in this sun which is frightening.  As a skin cancer survivor, I use SPF70 and move to the shade whenever possible.  With Mia being a “ginger”, her momma put her in l/s swim shirts, large hats and sprayed liberally with sunscreen at every opportunity.

Though no one wanted to play euchre with me (Midwest card game I grew up on) or Scrabble with me, we may try to do another round of Cards Against Humanity again, though I usually need to look up in the urban dictionary some of the more crazy terms that everyone but me seems to know.  WTF!  Yes, I know that one.  It’s weird playing this with my kids but they get a kick out of Mom’s responses so it’s a fun time.

Now, it’s on to Italy (Cinque Terri) in late September and planning for another family vacation back here in Hawaii next year.  After all, Mia needs to run in the Keikei Run every year now and try to beat her record.  She was so adorable trying to walk the 100 yard course with her mom and dad assisting as needed.  They are putting her on a path of healthy habits.  With her dad’s love of all things baseball and Mom’s expertise in swimming, tennis & soccer, I see sports in Mia’s future.  I can’t wait!  So, ALOHA for now as the sun sets on our family vacation.  Mahalo to all and to all a good night!