bull city jamz: Zoe vs. Water Slide

Many apologies for the lack of recent updates. My computer is on the fritz and then I crossed the date line which aged me immediately and without warning. We stayed awake longer than advisable (unless you are a medical resident) and tonight Blogger seems to think that my blog is in Japanese and asked to translate it. I am blaming all grammatical errors on the "translate" setting. But enough excuses from my vacation life ...

One more point of note: I originally conceived of this blog as a way to keep a journal, and a way to keep in touch with family, including many who are not on Facebook Apologies for mundane detail or for photos that you have already seen via Facebook, but I have to make Grandma Jean gets the whole story!

Tuesday was our last day at Aulani, and Zoe had yet to tackle a water slide, even the smaller ones aimed at the preschool set. Zoe has always been more reticent about physical feats than Maddox, so her lack of interest in a water slide didn 't surprise us. As seasoned parents, however, we knew that there was a distinct possibility that Zoe would get to Japan, and throw a fit that she never had a chance to go on the water slide in Hawaii. So, we asked one last time if she wanted to go on the water slide. She did not hesitate, slipped on the complimentary life jacket, and marched up the stairs to wait in line for the larger water slides. She went down the first time with me and loved it . She and Maddox then had a great time going together, especially when they schemed to do the craziest thing ever and stick their tongues out at the camera. Let's hope this remains the craziest thing they ever do. On the last ride down for the day , the girls went first, followed by John and me in our own double tube. Somehow, we managed to flip our tube or rather, I was unceremoniously dumped from the tube, at the bottom of the slide. I was laughing so hard the lifeguard had to check on my well-being, but I gave him the thumbs up and headed down the lazy river.

John and Maddox did one last snorkeling adventure at Rainbow Reef, Aulani's private snorkeling lagoon. Maddox mostly commented on the chilly temperature of the water, but she got the hang of snorkeling with a life jacket. Hopefully in Okinawa she will have a chance to try it in the ocean.

Shaka Sign Snorkel

For our last evening, we went to a restaurant across from the resort for a great dinner, including chocolate cream pie for dessert. We then wrangled the kids into bed, finished the beer we had bought (can not take it with you!) and set the alarm for 5 a.m. We are so grateful for our stop in Hawaii. It allowed us to catch our breath after a frenetic summer and before the larger adventure ahead. A few more pictures from our pit stop ...