Months ago I decided that I wanted us to go to Hawaii for Spring Break. We never do anything for Spring Break, and this year I didn't want to look at other people's pictures and think, "Why are we in Provo?" So in a somewhat sneaky fashion, I told the kids I thought it would be super fun to go see Aunt Brenda in Hawaii, and then let them break the news to Kent. That's not super fair, but Kent tends to poo poo my travel ideas, and I figured with the kids on board, I'd meet less resistance.
It worked.
"You conniver," Kent said. Well, yes. But I figured if we could get reasonable plane tickets and stay with Brenda, we really could have a fantastic trip for not really that much money. And I was right. We got reasonable tickets, we stayed with Brenda, and we had a fantastic trip.
I've been planning and prepping, though not as much as usual. Blythe wasn't feeling well on Wednesday last week and asked if we could pack her stuff for Hawaii. She is a girl after my own heart. We went through her drawers and selected cute outfits she could wear, set aside her swimsuits, and discussed how many stuffed animals she could take. I suggested one, and in the end, she brought five, including her biggest one, Big-o-pot-a, a hippo.
Both kids have been so excited for our trip. Our flight didn't leave until 5:00, so we sent the kids to school and picked them up just after 2:00pm. Apparently, the day dragged. They both said they kept asking their teachers what time it was and if it was 2:00 yet. I just love that they have been looking forward to going and sharing that excitement with pretty much everyone they talk to.
I had tried to schedule our trip with the least hassle possible, so I booked the late flight with a short 35 minute layover in Los Angeles. I thought it was a bit longer than that, and when I checked our itinerary I panicked a bit that we had such a short window to get from one plane to the next. What if our flight was late? What if we had to get from one terminal to the other? What was I thinking when I booked these tickets? I was thinking I didn't want to be hanging around the airport with two children when we had a long flight ahead of us.
Fortunately, my worries were needless. Our flight got in about ten minutes early and we got off the plane at gate 58 and got onto the plane at gate 54. We had just enough time to go to the bathroom and then got right back on the next plane. Yeah! Our flight from LA to Hawaii was close to six hours, and while it was into the middle of the night time-wise, none of us slept much. Brandt and Blythe did doze off on me, but not for more than maybe an hour and a half. Flying is uncomfortable. Kent and I had talked about going to Vietnam to see a business contact and do some sight-seeing too, and with about an hour left in our flight, Kent turned to me and said, "We are not going to Vietnam." Bummer.
Brent and Brenda met us at the airport when we arrived. Brenda came with me as we picked up our rental car and Brent took Kent and the kids back to their apartment. Although we were tired, the kids were a bit wound up with the thrill of being there, so we were late getting to sleep, like 10:30pm which felt like 2:30 our time. But though it was late, we were so happy to have arrived and were so excited for the next seven days.
Yeah Spring Break in Hawaii!
Happy travelers on our way to LA.
After months of being hidden (I'll never tell where!), the Kindles made a reappearance in honor of our travels.
Being allowed to play with them brought them no end of happiness.
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