Travel Daze

It is never easy getting eight people across the ocean, but we did it.  The four Kotrbas plus my mom, Susan, Paul, and Savannah flew Delta four hours to Los Angeles and then another five hours to Oahu.  Our last free tickets. We sat in three rows, kids in the middle row, ensuring that any seat kicking would be self contained.  The kids are getting more and more independent.  Bill gets Dad of the year award for remembering the three way headphone splitter for the DVD player. At one point, I did overhear the following conversation:

Mary: Savannah you're gonna be 18 in five years.
Savannah: Yep.
Mary: Wow. You'll be able to drive.
Savannah: Yep, even before then.
Mary: When I'm 18 and Mama can't boss me around anymore, the very first thing I'm gonna do it take $40 and go buy my very own bunny and Mama won't be able to do one thing about it.  

Seeds of rebellion.

For an introvert, traveling with eight relatives is tricky--it is the whole more than one conversation going at a time thing. . . but we are all pretty cheerful and the best news is the adult to child ratio, which is 5:3.  That works.  Buying groceries for the eight of us for the week at 2:30 a.m. Minnesota time may have been the low travel point for me personally. It took four adults 45 minutes.  I don't even like grocery shopping and friends know that Simon Delivers has been the wind beneath my wings for many years now.  They don't delivery to Hawaii, or heaven knows I would have considered the delivery fee.

Mary is over her bladder deal this year so that is saving countless and I do mean countless, trips to the public bathroom.  I for one am thankful for that.  Calvin?  He is getting better about the sleep thing.  The first year with jet lag he was up for all day at 1:00 a.m. thereby ensuring total nuclear meltdown stage by 4:00 p.m.   At bed time it was "Our Father, who art. . . " Snore.  Both down, down, down by the first line of the prayer.  Savannah goes with the flow as the beloved cousin.

Vacation is going well.  Last year three people had thrown up by now.  This year, my threat of bodily harm to anyone with the stomach flu who might even think about shaking hands with my family must have worked.

After two full days of sunshine we are all a little pink and pretty relaxed.  Bill, Paul, and I held the daily 4:00 meeting of the pina colada club. Any knew business? No. Any old business? No. Meeting adjourned. Janel missed the meeting because she was getting a massage. Susan missed it because she was napping in the room.  Excused absences. Commence to the social program, the sipping of the pina colada.

As the shirt says: Life is Good.