dianegclark

It is very quiet in the house right now and semi surreal as it isn’t Christmas yet on the calendar but Clark Christmas 2021 is already in the books.

Christmas started Saturday for us with the arrival of Leah and her family. What a blessing to have little feet padding around and our home filled with little voices. Hannah and Kent arrived just a few hours later from Denver. We started the festivities with legos all over the floor, making candy with the boys, and picked up dinner at Chipotle. With Hannah 25 weeks pregnant and littles, Christmas this year was spent wiht few activities other than playing iwth the kids and relaxing at home.

This was the first year that we only had two dogs in the house but since it was Oscar and Wilson, giant doodle puppies, it seemed like a lot. They had a blast together.

Sunday Joel and Kayla arrived around noon just in time for the Clark cooking contest to begin with a delicious basic but made from scratch with love breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes. Yummm.

We did our gift exchange, highlights were the lighted orbs from Scott and I, which then flew around the house pretty much constantly the remainder of the time the kids were here, and a Nugget which the kids also loved. A nugget is basic coach pieces in parts that the kids can configure however they’d like. They had a blast with these.

I made a charcuterie wreath for snacking in the afternoon. Shari and Larry and Jo swung by and Mom came over for about an hour.

Dinner Saturday night was made from scratch lasagna with garlic bread and salad, followed by Therapie. We spent the evening after the kids went to bed playing Beatles trivia. We don’t all fit in the house anymore for sleeping so Kent and Hannah used Kent’s points and stayed at the brand new Courtyard Marriott and Joel and Kayla stayed at Parkwood hotel.

Monday morning was breakfast created by Joel and Kayla, chorizo veggie and potato hash with eggs on top, also delicious. Leah and Dave and the kids left for home so the six of us walked to Dusty bookshelf and Brothers then home and ordered AJ’s pizza.

Tuesday we napped and relaxed then played some ping pong and the boys cut down a tree that had fallen in the yard and Joel played his guitar and we sang some. Joel and Kayla left for home, KC, so Hannah and Kent and Scott and I went to Globe fo Indian food and then the the K-State game.

We love having the kids home and it is always sad when they leave. No one lives horribly far anymore and we have so much to look forward to.

It’s almost impossible to put into words what grandkids mean to grandparents, how very precious they are.

We took a day trip down to Newton to see the kids because I didn’t think I could go another week. All the kids will be home next weekend for Christmas.

The things they say…Emmet asked me if I was joking when I asked if he believes in Santa. He said Santa doesn’t come to his neighborhood. He said he isn’t real but people can dream about him.

Emmet and Henry talk up a storm. Henry makes up stories about trees reaching space. He tries retelling things that happen “tomorrow” meaning yesterday. Emmet asks incessant questions. The way Henry can’t say his R’s. It makes everything he says so adorable. “I’m weady!”

I got to snuggle on the couch with both boys for an entire movie. They used to be so free with their affection but they are ALL boys now. Henry is very sweet but his hugs are earned. Eleanor is slow to warm up but we usually spend some time with her on my lap and at some point, she will lay her head down on me.

Eleanor is so interactive now. She says a few words but has no trouble communicating what she wants and needs. Playing pretend. We tucked her stuffed animals in and rocked them to sleep. Then later she helped me tuck her into Emmet’s bed.

I love their little arms and their smiles, their blue eyes. Emmet’s little feet were cold and Henry’s warm. They are growing so quickly but they are all so tiny. The way they look at me, Eleanor with curiosity, Henry with delight and excitement, Emmet with love and connection.

I knew these words wouldn’t capture the preciousness of the babies. I tried.

Our last day was a let down. We did the Road to Hana. We downloaded an app to help us and wrote down the recommended stops our hostess had in the book in the condo. It was an adventure, but not so fun,

The Road to Hana is a winding narrow road up a mountain (volcano?) to a small town. There are tourist stops on the way, you decide which you want to stop at.

We started out by checking out a small town where Willie Nelson opened a restaurant. That restaurant was closed and the town was totally crowded. I couldn’t find a place to go to the bathroom much less a place for us to park our giant rental truck.

So we stopped at Ho’opiki to use the johnny on the spot. This turned out to be the most excited stop of the day—HUGE waves that I’d only previously seen on TV. Watch this video and look for the teeny dots—those are the surfers. So crazy!

The road itself was about as we expected, tight turns, one lane bridges, not enough room without warning, cars coming fast down the mountain. About two turns in and Scott admitted I was right, we should have gotten a small rental car. One crazy u turn uphill our tires spun on the wet cement and we almost didn’t make it.

We had plans to stop at a couple of places but they came up to fast and we missed them, they were not well marked at all. Then we got hungry. We stopped at a sign that said they had food for sale. A couple of hippies acted very nonchalant to tell us they didn’t have any food for sale that day.

We decided to stop at the Garden of Eden on our way to the best stop (complete with hikes, waterfalls to swim in, a blow hole, arches and food). They guy at the gate charged us an exorbitant amount of money and informed us that the cafe was closed. We bought some expensive snacks from him and devoured them in the truck before setting off on foot to try to follow the map into then out of the garden.

We did see some pretty plants. Of course, i was in a giant hurry and Scott wanted to take a picture of every pretty site. We saw some cool bamboo, some tropical flowers, an unimpressive waterfall and the rock that is supposed to be at the start of Jurassic Park. It was hot and sweaty, boring and mostly old people wandering around.

We got back in the car to figure out how much time it would take to get to the best stop only to find out that you had to make reservations ahead of time. Erg. So we left.

And drove back, dodging construction and utility vehicles coming from the opposite direction, tired and with empty stomachs. And drove an hour back to our condo.

It may be that this day was a let down because every single day before this was absolutely amazing.

Another amazing day.

Woke up early to catch a taxi to the harbor to board our adventure with Trilogy 2. It was a catamaran out to Malakini island to snorkel.

We got great seats, right in the front. As soon as we pulled out of the harbor, we were served coffee, cinnamon rolls, juice and fruit. The ride was beautiful, about an hour or so out to Malakini which is not an island but a rock.

They passed out the snorkel gear and gave us instructions. Even with my practice, my anxiety was kicked up pretty high. But I did what I always do, I took deep breaths, calmed my muscles and just did it.

I put on my gear (I did skip the fins) and went down the steps and followed Scott out into the clear, blue ocean. I put on the mask, sealed it, put the mouth gear in and put my face in and kicked. It was amazing. Right away, I was in a swarm of beautiful black tropical fish. I followed them and saw a bright yellow and black angel fish. I saw so many fish. I just kept kicking around and floating and looking and pointing. The photographer went under us and took our picture. We swam around for about an hour then got back onto the boat.

We stopped further out this time and got back into the water. This time it was crazy deep, couldn’t see the bottom at all. Scott directed me out to a reef and someone yelled “sea turtle!”. There he was, a big green one. He had his head out of the water so I went within about 5 feet and put my mask in the water and watched him dive down and disappear into a reef cave.

We swam around and looked at the beautiful reef and more amazing fish, blue ones, clear ones, multi color ones, big and small. Back onto the boat and we were served cocktails (mai tai di did not partake today) and lunch—amazing chicken served on a bed of rice with salad and a Hawaiian roll.

We started back to the harbor and the boat slowed and turned and someone yelled “whale!” We watched and saw the fluke (tail) and fin and spout. He looked like a small one. He kept swimming around coming closer to the boat. Eventually his mama joined him and we could see two fins. Everyone was so excited and trying to videotape. I was again moved to tears.

We kept walking by this moped rental on the way to and from. I kept saying I wanted to rent one. Scott was doubtful. But being the amazing husband that he is, he agreed.

We headed down right after the KState game on Friday, at 10:30. I had reserved a smaller moped and Scott a slightly larger one. We paid and showed our drivers licenses and got fitted for helmets then went out to the parking lot to meet Jake for our lessons.

Jake carefully went over the instruments and instructions for locking them up, and then had us practice walking them backwards and using the kickstands. Then it was time for me to give it a try first. Jake went out about 10 feet and had me hit the throttle and come toward him then brake. Yikes. He kept asking if I had any experience riding a bike or anything with a motor. Well, yes, I can ride a bike. And I rode my brother’s four wheeler and even shifted gears on it. But Jake was doubtful. Apparently while I walked over to the convenience store to use the bathroom, Jake told Scott that if I couldn’t do it, he would refund us.

So second try. Jake went out about 20 feet and had me hit the throttle again and go toward him, and when I got going, he signaled for me to put my feet up. Wobbly. I braked and Jake pointed out that when I looked down rather than out, I wobbled. And, I couldn’t hit the brake and the gas at the same time. Ok, walk it back and do it again. So I did. Then Scott did.

Then it was time. Jake sent us out onto the road to go about three roads down and turn into a large parking lot area to practice. We did. We rode around and back about 6 times. Then I was ready.

We took off, me following Scott, into traffic. Lower Kanapalali Road is two lanes, lots of cars, behind us, in front of us, and pulling out in front of us, pedetrian crossings, yikes. We made it through that part and into a residential area. Scott pulled off a couple times to make sure I was alright and right behind him. We kept going.

The road twisted and turned, past more residential areas, ocean views, resorts, shops, more twists, then about 3 miles down the road, beautiful manicured lawns and big big mansions.

Eventually, four miles down the road, we came to a golf course and zip lining and shopping area, very high end. We drove around looking for the place we planned to hike and stopped at a nice shop for a sandwich. It was amazing! I had a prime rib French dip and Scott had a bbq bacon ranch grilled turkey. The shop was a lot like the ABC stores we’ve been impressed with so we did some more shopping. We ate outside then took off to find the hike.

We hiked on a long sidewalk by the ritzy resorts and found a cool beach called Fleming Beach but it wasn’t our destination.

Finally, we found a parking lot and parked the mopeds and made our way along a boardwalk then trails along the most beautiful coast line I have ever seen. It blew my mind how beautiful it was. We took lots of pics and stopped to just watch the huge waves come up on the rocks.

When we got back to the mopeds, Scott’s bike seat had blown open. Not sure if this is what threw him off, but Scott left the key to the moped on the lock and locked it in the seat. When he discovered it, he said he would ride back the four miles to the moped place and get a spare and return. Nope, I wanted to.

So wobbly moped newbie me, took off and rode four miles all by myself back to the moped shop. I was courageous around curves, in the wind, hitting bumps, having cars behind me with not enough space to let them pass. I did it.

When I got there, Jake laughed and gave me the only key they had. I took off again and rode another 20 minutes, four miles back to where Scott was. I missed my turn and turned to look at him and when I looked up, I was headed for the median. I managed to miss it, but the side of the moped scraped along the curb before I could slow it down. I pulled over to the right, calmed down, then took a u turn in traffic back to where Scott was. Yikes.

We again took off back along the road. This time, a guy pulled out in front of me and I yelled a not very nice word right into his open window. He had some not nice things he said back to me.

About a mile later, a really great looking guy on a sexy big motorcycle almost pulled out then saw me. He watched me go by and gave me a respectful nod that only us motorcyclists understand. (Lol).

We made it back safely and turned in our mopeds an hour early. Mai Tai Di earned her cocktail and hot tub.

This vacation. Just doesn’t quit getting better.

Thanksgiving was peaceful. Spent the morning relaxing, some time in the ocean, checked in at the pool. Leftovers for lunch. Read.

Then Scott and I moved over to our new condo. It is small but upgraded and lovely. We have a great sea view and a hot tub at the pool, a lush courtyard, but not as close to the ocean.

Right after moving in, I went down to read on our lawn which is right by the sea and saw sea turtles. A bunch of them. Several came right up in front of me.

Vicky’s sister arrived and joined us for our cocktails and appetizers at sunset. This time we watched from the water again.

We snorkeled a bit also. When I am snorkeling out by the far reef, my anxiety kicks up knowing that waves are breaking over me. But it is so peaceful and I am enjoying myself so much that I notice my heart rate soaring and just laugh at myself.

This just happened. Scott and I decided to go out in the sea to snorkel. I need the practice for our big adventure.

We waded out and got snorkeling. I mastered my anxiety as I knew there were big waves breaking over my head and my heart rate had to be about 160. But I stayed under and was rewarded by seeing a school of fish, clear ones, about 6 inches long, and blue and black striped ones, and one long up and down one that looked like a ribbon on a needle.

We swam some more and I came up. To my right was a giant rainbow that we had taken photos of before we came down. To my left was the sunset, blue and turquoise above the clouds. We were the only ones in the ocean.

I started crying and pulled him close. What an experience. These are words but the feeling will stay forever.

Now, as I write this, sitting on the lanai sipping a mai tai, the Eagles are playing in the condo. The guys are grilling steaks and burgers and taters on the lawn.

Not sure i want to go home.

I can only comment about the ocean right outside our condo. I have spent a lot of time in it.

Looking out over the ocean from the lanai, the colors are deep green and blue. When you are in it, it appears clear and lightish green. The waves are impressive, in the afternoons higher and stronger and the ocean is deeper, referred to as high tide. As far as this Kansas girl has gathered, anyway.

There are two reefs protecting our shore. It took us a bit to figure out how to get past the first reef. It requires water shoes which we bought at the nearby ABC store. You wait til between waves if possible, then step about a foot onto the reef. It is very uneven and you can’t tell if the next step is going to be up about 6 inches or down due to the depth perception being thrown off by the water. You take about six careful steps, trying not to have the waves push or pull you and knock you down, and then jump off the other side, about two feet to six feet depending on the tide. The area before and after the reefs are all sand. The shadows look like rocks but mostly aren’t. There is about 20 feet between the first and second reef that we play in. In the mornings, we water jog it about 200 feet across and back, for exercise.

I am not a water baby. It took til this afternoon for me to finally stop watching for the waves to come. Because the waves break on the first reef, they never will break over our heads in between the reefs. If I am watching for them, I take a little jump to lift me off my feet. Today I realized the wave will lift me up and I don’t need to jump. I even back floated. We tried floating on the boogie boards (you can’t boogie board these waves because you can’t get on top the waves due to the reef). My favorite positive is tucked, facing the waves with my feet and floating over them.

I put the snorkel mask on for a bit today to practice and was rewarded with seeing one tiny tropical fish, turquoise blue and black. It got me excited for our upcoming snorkel adventure.

I could still feel the waves when I laid in the lawn chair this afternoon. I’m gonna sleep like a baby again tonight. I love the sound of the crashing waves.

Yesterday we stood in the ocean to watch the sunset.

Woke up this morning with the sound of tropical birds outside my window and the ocean waves crashing on two sides. I didn’t want to take off my sleep mask and wake up so I just laid there and soaked in the sounds til I heard the coffee brewing. Now I’m on the lanai, the waves breaking about fifteen feet below me, all the way up to the sea wall which is five feet past the condo. Truly amazing. Oh! A little bird lands on the balcony near me.

Last night we played in the ocean for several hours until the sun set, out beyond the first reef, just standing on the sandy bottom or floating and letting the gentle waves push and pull. We walked way down the coast in the water and back. It was a bit cool so I helped myself to a couple of shots of screwball (whiskey that tastes like peanut butter) to warm me right up. We had cheese and crackers on the lawn watching the waves, then a hot shower and put on a fun sun dress I bought yesterday and we had dinner at the table just inside the patio doors, dirty rice and andouille sausage.

Yesterday the guys wanted to swim and us gals were ready to shop so Vicky and I walked to catch the bus but decided to stop in the ABC shop and look at t shirts on the way. It had a whole gift shop so I ended up getting gifts galore, for those watching Wilson, Christmas gifts, gifts for the Grandbabies…. I spent so much they gave me two free coffee mugs.

We took our stuff back to the condo then headed out to the bus stop. Had to get a pineapple shaved ice while we waited for the bus of course. My leg burned in the ten minutes we sat.

Lahaina is a quaint shopping and restaurant area that sort of has a key west vibe, right on the ocean. Lots of high end clothes and jewelry, but t shirt and sunglasses shops and art galleries mixed in. I bought a leopard print fanny pack, more gifts, some little flower earrings.

We had the most delicious lunch with two fun friends of Vicky’s at the Lahaina Pizza Place, a famous open air restaurant. I had a pepperoni and meatball calzone that had three kinds of cheese. It was yummy! The conversation was fun also.

We saw the biggest banyan tree in the world in a park in Lahaina. It has 7 sections all attached to each other. Impressive.

Today will be another calm one here at the condo so Scott can watch the KState game. I plan to write and meditate, play in the ocean some more, maybe lay at the pool. We are going to walk to the fish market to get something for the grill. I want to facetime mom and the kids and the babies. I miss them.

We have some excursions planned, one to another island to snorkel and another to an island to explore. We have some hikes in the tropical forest to see waterfalls planned. And lots of hanging out and reading and ocean watching. I have high hopes to see a whale. They are apparently out and about.

An eventful few days. Don’t worry, we are squeezing relaxation in.

Yesterday, we got up, me way too early, everyone else at a reasonable time, ate breakfast we’d grabbed at a mini mart (banana bread, pineapple and mangoes) and went for a walk down to the resort area. We walked on a touristy trail near the most beautiful beaches. On the way back, we grocery shopped then ate lunch in the condo.

The afternoon was spent lolling around the pool. It was perfect, a few small families then the whole pool to ourselves. We blew up floaties and relaxed.

After showers, we walked back to the resort area and ate dinner and dessert at Duke’s cafe near the ocean. There was live Hawaiian music.

Today we woke up at the butt crack of dawn again and went to the very top of a 10,000 foot volcano to watch the sunrise. It was a long drive and a chilly time at the top but lovely. I apparently slept all the way up so the switchbacks on the way down were entertaining. We stopped at a lovely restaurant that played 70’s music and walked in the garden.

We spent the afternoon laying around in the ocean close to the beach, protected by the reef, then on the lawn with cocktails near the condo.

This is the life, folks.