The Hale Koa, China Town & an Octopus

It seems that our group of friends will all be leaving by the end of summer. Most will be gone as soon as school ends. How sad for us but especially the kids. What will they do without the Reyes and Harrington kids to play with everyday? Those kids are here so often that they consider this a second home. I will miss them all and I am already feeling the loss. This past weekend we went to Haunama Bay, mostly because I wanted to snorkel. The day was windy and the sun played hide and seek in the clouds. The Reyes family met us there. On the way in they had signs posted for a jellyfish warning so the kids weren't really into water fun and since the day wasn't the best we decided to leave and move the bunch to the Hale Koa. Our thinking was if we had to be outside in the "cold" we might as well enjoy it with frozen tropical drinks on the lanai and a pool free of jellyfish for the kids. We had so much fun we were able to get a room for the night and we stayed. The discovery of our increasing ages also became apparent when after dinner we all went to bed early even though we had a babysitter. How sad is that? Downtown Waikiki with a babysitter and happy kids and we were in bed by 9:30.
This past weekend was also the big celebration for the Chinese New Year. Saturday after Tara's cheer leading clinic we loaded up cars and headed to China Town. The place was crazy. Melissa was in charge of finding us parking since she frequents China Town for shopping trips. We left late but we still found parking, walked over to the parade area and still had great "seats". This is the Year of the Boar so pigs were a big part of the decorating scheme for the costumes and the town. We had never been to a parade for the Chinese New Year and the Lion dancers were fabulous and so vibrant in color. I had actually always thought they were dragons but the kids corrected me since they had learned all this stuff in school. The lions came down the street and performed their dances from side to side and everyone (mostly kids) was holding out dollars. I want to read up on this for the meaning of it all, but the lions would open their mouths and people would stuff their dollars in before the lion closed and moved on to the next group. It was pretty amazing to watch how the people under the lion costume could all synchronize their movements. There were some that were just little kids. Tyler thought they were neat till the first one opened it's mouth. From that point on when he saw one he would run and hide behind Dad's back. When the parade was over we continued to walk around and occasionally one of the lions would be performing on a corner. Tyler asked Dad for a dollar and bravely stood with his arm outstretched. The lion came to him and opened and Tyler stuck his arm in the mouth. The lions hold that position for about 10 sec before they close and move away. Just before I could snap a picture and the lion could close his mouth, Tyler's new found courage faded and he ran for Dad!! So close!!! It was so much fun I can't wait for next year!
Today after getting Tara off to school and finishing up with Big Guy's speech we noticed something different in the canal under the bridge. The canal feeds into the ocean so their are usually fish or crabs and Tyler likes to stop and watch. I thought there was a hat or something in the water but I thought it looked like tentacles but I couldn't imagine an octopus in a canal! I threw in a rock and the tentacles began moving. A teacher was walking up that had been informed of the odd visitor by her students, so we all stood there watching this octopus in the canal under the bridge next to the school. I snorkel here a lot. An octopus is one of those things you always look for along with turtles and rays and just cool stuff you don't see everyday. I went home and grabbed my camera so I hope you can see it in the pictures.
My mother has finally set new dates for her visit. She will be here Mar 6 and Dad will join her Apr 3 and they will both stay until the 11th. We can't wait for them to get here. Another excuse to show off our island!!

Peggy

George, Grandaddy, Daddy, Jo, Gramma and Peggy

If you hadn't noticed by now, when I haven't posted in a while it's simply because their is craziness going on somewhere or somehow in our lives. This particular month Baby Trey has been sick, I have had surgery and my dear Aunt Peggy is dying. Trey has had a fever and not been himself and has required lots of coddeling. I had surgery and that required pre-op appointments. Usually it would have been one pre-op appointment but the procedure had to be put off for several days so I spent extra time at Tripler because we had to do the pre-op stuff twice. I won't bore you with the details but the procedure was done so that I could comfortably jump on the trampoline after having three kids after the age of 30. Not medically necessary, but I wanted it done and it has taken a few months now to make it happen.
My dear Aunt is lying in Lake Taylor Hospital actively dying. It seems for some reason people in our family never die peacefully in their sleep. My great-grandfather and both of my fathers parents were all in the hospital clinging to life before they passed and went, to what I believe, must certainly be heaven. Now my Aunt Peggy is doing the same. This is where I find strength and pride in the family. We may not see each other every Sunday or even once a month but when someone is in the hospital you discover individual strengths that you may not have realized were there before. My family is there everyday holding vigil by her bedside. They may laugh occasionally and they may cry but they are there for each other. My Aunt Jo is now on her way from Georgia and Uncle George is coming in from Texas. I am stuck in Hawaii. I don't think I can make the trip with the 3 kids and Kevin has to fly to Africa so there is no leaving them here with him. I am struggling with this because there is no where I would rather be than there at the hospital. Not that I could do any more than anyone else, it is just the being there that is important. My Aunt has worked hard all of her life and seemed to retire just in time to take care of my grandmother when her health was failing. Peggy lived around the corner from my Gramma and saw her everyday, usually twice a day. She had breakfast with her, took her to the doctor, the bank, the grocery store and in general, made Gramma's life easier. I envied the time she spent with Gramma and we will all be eternally grateful for the care and comfort she provided. Shortly after Gramma died Peggy was told she had breast cancer. She has battled with cancer and had her ups and downs but recently she developed an infection from which she couldn't recover. So this is where we are. I should pick up the phone and get my morning report but she was so fragile yesterday I am scared to make the call. When life ends too soon it always seems so unfair. It was Peggy's turn to sit back and enjoy retirement and finally worry about nothing but herself. I recently went home for a super quick visit and we made time to stop in at Peggy's house to say hello. I thank God every day that we took the time to make that visit. Peggy was always happy to see you and always had a smile on her face. I will miss you Peggy and you will always be in my heart!! I guess it is time to make that call.......