Job was assigned a project to do on the Oregon Trail.  He brought home a piece of paper with the requirements for writing a brochure about the Oregon Trail.  It had to have an appropriate title and the author's name, an introduction and validate himself as an experienced traveler.  It needed a list of dos at least two sentences for each do and a list of don't with at least two sentences for each don't.  It needed to be illustrated and include a map with check point.  He explained to me that he wanted to make a movie.  I'm reading the instructions and it says brochure.  He proceeds to explain that she said to be creative and that they didn't have to make a brochure, just be creative.  I'm looking at his assignment sheet thinking she wants sentences so Job wrote a screen play.  He had the requirements in it and then we went out to film it.  Isaac was volunteered to play the role of Balaam the Donkey, Lona was Sara Conner the single gal, Job was George McFly part of Parker Jobison's trail crew.We drove out to the road that leads to the county shop and unloaded our set.  John drove up to help us out which was such a blessing because it was so windy and our covered wagon kept blowing over.  A little into our filming a Sheriff Deputy showed up and we invited him to jump into our film, which he totally did.  We love that it was hilarious.  So a big shout out goes to the Sheriff Department and their wonderful deputies.  Job then came home and worked hard on putting it all together.  Since it was so windy he had to do voice overs at home.  I love that he included some behind the scenes and bloopers.

With the torrential downpour all night, there was a red alert for flash flooding at Lahaina where we were staying.  It was obviously a car trip kind of day and what better car trip than the Road to Hana.  Starbucks soon became our first stop each day as it was only a few blocks from our hotel. We did drink coffee and have breakfast in our room but having a Carmel Macchiato each day is part of vacation. We drove north and purchased the Road to Hana DV.  It took us a while to realize that the mile markers were for two different sections of the road.  It started over after mile marker 16.  That was kind of confusing.  It took us a little while before we got the gist of that.  One thing that we didn't do that we both wish we had was the Garden of Eden.  John is a plant guy and likes to check out botanical gardens to learn about the local plants.  There was a suggested hike on the way that pull over and took.  The bamboo was amazing, it was so thick and tall.  I've never seen bamboo like this.  The book, Maui Revealed, described four beautiful waterfalls with pools that we could swim in.  However remember the rain from the night, well those affected the waterfalls, the pools and the streams that we had to cross.  When we came to the first waterfall the book talked about crossing over but it was actually the second waterfall not the first.  The beautiful pools were a mess of muddy brown water.  It was still an adventure.  After about an hour or more we returned to our car and drove maybe 100 feet down the road before we came to these Rainbow Eucalytpus Trees. I want one so bad.  They are beautiful.  The colors are so vibrant.  I had no idea this ever exisited.  Then we drove to a peninsula where I awed by the color and power of the water as it crashed over the lava rocks.  This side of the island is a tropical jungle.  We stopped, petted ponies, ate Hawaiian Shaved Ice and bought banana bread. Most of the houses were placed on cinder blocks and above the ground anywhere from 1 to 6 feet.  Back on the road, our next stop was to look over the peninsula.  The fields reminded us of what Vietnam is portrayed like.  Another person made the same comment.  The power of the media and movies.  We stopped at an outdoor market but I thought it was scary.  We moved on to the Blue Pool but that had been closed to the public so we stopped at some botanical garden.  It was someone's overgrown back yard that had been mowed but not kept up.  We soon became caught in another downpour and ran for our rig.  Our last stop was Wa'ainapanapa Park.  There was this cave in which a princess hid from her husband..  However he discovered her and killed her.  Once a year the pool turns red from the krill.  We jumped in like everyone else.  Later in the week, I learned of a secret pool under the rocks and water that is the room she hid in.  Of course I youtubed it and was extremely bummed to have missed out. It was such a wonderful day.  We didn't get to any more waterfalls which is something we both want to do.  I would love to swim under a waterfall.  It's our to do list.

Job can be an adventurous kid and has decided to try a new sport.  He is wrestling and loving it.  The day they gave him his gear he was in 7th heaven.  He came home and immediately tried on his singlet, the hoodie, the shorts, the head gear, all of it.  He talks about the moves he learns, he practices them.  He's also 13 pounds lighter than any kid on the wrestling team.  He's looking forward to the day that he can take Isaac down.  It will be a while but with 100 push ups each practice he'll get there.  I loved cheering for wrestling in high school and am looking forward to cheering him on with this new sport.  I think it might be one of the toughest sports, of course to be good they all require toughness and dedication.  However pitting yourself against another person in strength, endurance as well as the mental game is tough.  There isn't anyone else you can rely on.  If you win or lose, you do it on your own.  There maybe seasons of loses before a pin. There are hours of training and watching weight to gain or usually to lose.  It's an extremely tough sport and I can not understand in the least why the Olympics decided not wrestling as a sport.

Originally we had planned to do our snorkeling trip on Tuesday but they called us on Sunday before we left to reschedule due to expected inclement weather on Tuesday.   I had really wanted to drive to the Haleakala Summit and watch the sunrise but it just never did work out. We moved into our room around 6 am, unpacked and got ready for our snorkeling trip.  We had breakfast and some much needed coffee. Then we changed into our swimsuits, grabbed the rest of our gear and packed a day bag.  We were out the door by 9 am and walking towards our meeting point for the snorkeling with Trilogy.  We boarded the boat and within minutes of sailing they were passing out cinnamon rolls.  We had a little safety talk and then the whales showed up.  We would slow down and watch until they passed and then we moved on.  This was the standard procedure until we arrived at the island of Lanai.  We ate the whole way to island.  We ate and watched whales.  It was great.  Once on the island we were shuttled to a beach area, where we were given grass mats, snorkel gear and another safety talk, and more snacks.  John and I immediately went out snorkeling and the water was clear and the fish and corral were beautiful.  We saw Yellow Tang, Moorish Idols, Black Durgon, Convict Tang, Red Pencil Urchin, Orangeband Surgeon Fish, and others that I haven't been able to identify.

What an opportunity that John and I had.  We spent 5 days in Maui, Hawaii.  Its been something that John has wanted to do for a while.  Last Christmas we were given a 7 night stay at a resort in a place of our choosing.  We are so grateful for that.  We started thinking of the places we wanted to visit and decided upon Maui.  We booked our resort in August for February.  I looked at the calendar and tried to plan for everything that could possibly come up during the weeks we were looking at.  We needed to go before outdoor soccer season started.  It just seems like the summers here can be nice and there are so many activities during the spring and fall.  By the time February comes around, we are tired of the rain and the cold (it's not that cold) that we are ready for some sun and fun.  Little did we know that our football team would make it to the Super Bowl.  Little did we know that our flight would be scheduled right during the game.  However what appeared to be a negative was actually a positive.  A couple of weeks before we were scheduled to fly out, we were notified that our flight was moved an hour later.  While at church the day of, we were notified of another two hour delay.  I had already called the condo saying that we would not be in until the 2nd even though our reservations started on the 1st but we were coming.  I also said that we would be late arriving.  No problem I was told there was someone there from 8:30 to 2 am and we wouldn't have a problem.  Since the Super Bowl started at 3:30 and our plane didn't leave until 6:45 we were able to watch the first half of the game at home and then most of the second half in the airport.  We missed the last five minutes and even then the pilots kept us updated. We hadn't even pulled away from the on ramp before they announced the final score.  The passengers cheered.  That was neat.  We didn't arrived in Maui until after 11pm.  We picked up our bags, were some of the last people to catch the bus to rental car agency, and the very last one to get a car.  That meant that even though we reserved a sedan, they were out.  Even here, what could have been a negative turned to a positive.  We were the last people, she wanted to go home, they had given a mini van to the last few couples but to us she gave us a Ford Expedition.  That was wonderful!  I drive a minivan on vacation and well, I was on vacation which meant that I didn't want a minivan.  We excitedly hoped into our vehicle and drove to the other side of the island in the dark.  We arrived at our condo about 1 am.  John pulled up to the front desk.  Here we go inside to the front desk, there the front desk is outside and they use laptop computers.  Smart.  There was a sign on the desk, "the security guard is on his rounds, if you are checking in pick up the phone and let them know you are here."  I followed the instructions and within 10 minutes the security guard showed up and asked me what I needed.  I told him who we were and that we wanted to check in.  He grabbed his clipboard and asked my name and looked through the clipboard.  Then he asked if there was another name to look under.  Nope, I showed him our paperwork and he said that the date was the 2nd and not the 1st as on the paperwork.  I explained that I had called and was told, no problem.  He kindly told me that since I wasn't on the list and he was just the security guard, he didn't have the authority or ability to give us a room and we could come back when the front desk opened at 6am.  It was 1:30 Maui time, we had been up since 4:30 am the previous day Maui time and were exhausted.  I asked if we could park our rig in the parking lot and sleep there.  John was mad.  We had done something like this before on an island when we forgot the tent and slept out under the stars.  We found a place that was semi dark, and since it had two bench seats in the back, John took one and I took the other and we slept.  That was Maui adventure #1.  We should have known that our vacation would be full of adventures and it was.  What could have been a negative turned out to be a positive.  We were able to check in at 6 am, and they have promised to refund two nights since I had called and they messed up.  Again, luckily for us the night was warm, in fact John needed to open the windows because he was too hot.  We didn't need blankets and the car alarm didn't go off.  We had a rig that could accommodate us even though we were supposed to have a smaller car.  Negatives turned to positives over and over and over again.  Live spontaneously when you have to.

I have fallen in love.  Can that really be possible?  Yes.  I have fallen for french macarons.  They are these beautiful little melt in your mouth crunchy yet chewy cookies.  Yes they are all that and more.  They take a day to really grab a hold of your taste buds.  Another cool little fact about them is that they are totally gluten free.  As soon as I perfect these little beauties, I'm going to make them for my gluten-free friends.  Although making them and trying them is fun.  They are the reason I have to up my running.  I really wish that I would have known about them when we were in Paris 6 years ago and purchased some from Laduree themselves.  Hopefully the next I go to visit my grandparents, I can get a hold of one of these.  In the mean time I'm going to practice and practice making these wonderful little treats.  I'm sure my family will get tired of them before I do.  They are just so much fun to photograph and I feel culinary to boot.  I've made a coffee flavored one that turned out better and a white chocolate candy cane one.  The flavors and colors that macarons come in run the gamut of the baker's imagination.  There are so many different approaches to making them as well.  I've only tried one method but am looking forward to trying different ways.  From what I understand, the reasons they have little hats is that I didn't turn them enough when mixing the almond flour with the egg whites.  It takes practice and experience to know when the batter is mixed just enough before it becomes over mixed.  Something I am willing to practice over and over again.  I also need to work on making butter cream frosting and ganache for the filling part.  Of course they can be filled with so much such as nutella and jams.

I think that I need a little adventure every once in a while with a group of girls.  My friends Marie and Nicole and I headed out to La Conner.  I've lived here for about 13 years and have never been to La Conner.  It's a cute little town that isn't so sleepy.  It's full of people doing the same things that we were doing - getting away for the day or weekend.  In fact we had been in La Conner for all of 30 minutes before we ran into someone we knew.   Small world isn't it.  I took some cute shots of tug boats, trees, and birds.  We went to a little restaurant for lunch and I rolled around the rest of the day.  Probably my favorite store was Refeather your Nest next to the restaurant.  I could have bought so much there. It is has an American version of European country style boutiques. Very cute.  We wandered and talked and wandered and ate chocolates.  What could make the day better?