When Mama flew the coop~

If you asked Mr. Henry what he did yesterday...

he would grin and tell you his mama jumped out of a plane.

Some would say it was crazy.

Others it was brave.

And

 There are those that would call it outright stupidity.

even selfish.

but

Mama would brush it off her shoulders and smile anyway.

Because she knows the why behind the dive...

To my strong brave and incredibly supportive husband:

Thank you for getting the why

and for saying

Why not?

Thank you for smiling when I soar,

and catching me when I fall.

How I love you.

*perfect memory.

My four kids running up to soften my landing.

I celebrate you.

Always

 

*check out my personal blog @ betweentheblue.blogspot.com for more :)

Moments

"Moments are the Molecules of Eternity"

Neil A. Maxwell

Today I hold gratitude in my heart

for the moments,

the memories, 

and the "luvs" of my life.

~And for a beautiful ten days in the sun to connect with them~

Here is to many more fine days under the sun.

I love you 

Lessons from the tide pool

I love Tide pools...

I could wander them for hours with my children by my side,

Henry loves them too.

On this day,

Henry has to pee.

There is no way I am walking back to the public restrooms,

so I break my own rule, and tell him to pee in the tide pool.

He finds a sea urchin,

drops his pants and aims right for him.

"ha...you don't scare me mister."

And from this point on,

Henry can't keep his pants up

because he likes his new found power.

River is feeling a bit powerful as well...

He has completely disarmed me on this trip,

It is as if returning to the stomping grounds of his childhood

had reconnected him to his truth.

And his truth is beautiful indeed,

especially when he is living it out loud.

This was a day, a moment,

that we were all in the present,

completely focused on finding the next treasure

that had survived a wave here and a rage there.

We marvel at God's creative powers

and talk about what we want to create

with our own creative powers.

okay.

That was just River & I

Henry was to busy peeing.

I take a minute to thank God for helping me create

my four little creatures,

and for the beautiful man who helped with the process:)

Life is beautiful this day.

The guava hunt

Malia's To do list #2 :  Find a wild Guava
This task was slightly nerve racking for me,  due to the fact that Guava's are
not quite in season, not to mention the fact that I had never been on this island
before and wasn't exactly Guava savy.
But I was crazy determined to cross this off my list.
So the story goes...


There was once a very crazy mama determined to show her little flock,
that she could go out into the wild unknown jungle without their very brave
Herculean father. 
So off to the Jungle they drove.


The "Jungle" in Lanai is very different than other islands, it is full of these cook pines that were brought to Lanai because of their unique ability to hold moisture in their needles.  The entrance to Lanai city is paved with them...it is truly a beautiful sight

Now here is where the story gets good.

See that lovely multimillion golf coarse?

See those thick trees surrounding it?

Lets just say mama left her tracks:)

Yup.

One minute I was on a dirt road...

The next minute,

The four seasons resort golf coarse.

And let me add that backing up was not an option.

I had to drive around it about 10 times before I could find an escape!

But eventually we found the trail,

and walked in the most beautiful forest I have ever seen.

I let the kids take pictures:

That is a wasp nest way up there.

And then...

I love Happy endings.

Lanai 2011

Every now and then life scoots aside, the waters part, and the Smith Family gets to return home to our Hawaii.  As it is well documented, our longing for the islands inevitably carries us on an adventure every year or so to check out a new island, a new job, and a new view of what life could be.
Someday for sure.
But for now, here are our favorite memories from the small but very significant island of

Lanai...

Ferry ride from maui to Lanai.

A pod of whales surfaced on our way home.

I think it was an omen:)

After driving to Las Vegas to catch the plane and flying all day,

I took my first breath.

Breathing is so much easier by the sea.

Lahina harbor

Garrett & I worked here 15 years ago.

Crazy.

Malia wrote a to do list.

#1 learn how to surf.

Mission accomplished.

This was her cute little dance to celebrate her new surf skills.

Her passion for life moves me everyday.

Savannah and River popped right up too...

This was our surf teacher Nick.

How can you not smile when you are in the presence

of such undiluted joy?

The second item on Malia's list:

#2 Find a guava

This was no easy task, being guava's were not in season.

But we did.

I will save that story for next post:)

Almost

Today I almost jumped out of a plane,

then the wind decided it wasn't the right moment.

After three hours of mental preparation:)

I was sad.

It was so very anti climatic.

But it seemed perfect in a way, because I was jumping to culminate

a class I was taking.

The class that was going to change me into a superhero.

I thought I would feel more wonder womanish after working so hard

on myself.

But the tights just don't fit.  

God Has other plans for me

It seems that he is quite happy with the

unfinished woman I am,

and happy to keep me stretching.

And so am I.

Here are some pics from our trip to Lanai