This weekend was awesome! On Friday, I did something for what I hope will be the last time. I picked up Gavin and Leif up from the airport. Holly brought the kids over packed with 2 suitcases full of clothes, one suitcase full of toys, and a cat. Although I have to return Holly yet one more time on Tuesday, the boys get to stay here. They are officially back. To celebrate, I took Gavin and Leif out to get the car inspected. Ok, that wasn’t all that awesome. The car failed and we had to de-haze the headlights, thus taking up our morning and not allowing us to go ice skating with the cousins. We were eventually successful though, and did get the car to a passing state. And it was time we spent together. After eating lunch and returning back home, the cousins and auntie came over to enjoy the boys and Holly being here. The kids played hard all afternoon and wore themselves out. We even got a little show as the famous Blue Angels practiced for a big show, making frequent flyby’s directly over our house. Gavin, unfortunately, got a little bit of an airport virus and slowed down quite a bit in the evening.

Not satisfied with the amount of  viewing time we had of the Blue Angels, we decided to take the kids to the air show on Sunday that was going on at the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base. I’m so glad we did. The boys had so much fun. Gavin was still a little run down from the previous day and being a little on the sick side, but that didn’t stop him from having a good time. The first thing we did was get in line to let the kids get in the cockpit of a plane. While waiting in line we got to watch local and national pilots spin and twirl and do death defying stunts in their various aircrafts. It was totally mesmerizing. Then it was our turn to hop into the cockpit. Leif’s face just lit up when he realized he was going to be allowed to sit in the pilots seat and push buttons and flip switches and pull and turn the yolk. Gavin was equally impressed, but showed it in a more grown up way. By taking pictures with his ipod.

Also at the air show, we ate chicken strips, pizza, chocolate malts, and brownies, wandered through a giant C-5 Galaxy aircraft, browsed the souvenir shop and picked up little models of the Blue Angels’ Boeing F/A-18 Hornet, and oohed and ahhed at all the awesome aircrafts and parachuters doing tricks in the sky. Writing it doesn’t sound like much, but it was a really fun outing. And the kids were so happy. And sitting there watching the planes fly overhead, looping, spiraling tail over nose, and spinning, I too felt like a kid.

Sometimes you just have to get away. And sometimes you just have to fly to another island to see your family. The original plan was to fly Gavin to Oahu for Labor day weekend. Leif didn’t want to be left out though. He missed his dad. Plus, Holly needed to get away for the weekend. So we changed our plans and decided we needed a mini family vacation. The new plan? For me to fly to Maui and spend the weekend with Holly and the kids at the Aston Maui Lu in Kihei doing fun things. The list of activities included a day at the Maui Ocean Center, mini golf and bumper boats at the Maui Golf and Sports Park, swimming and bbq-ing at the hotel pool, perusing the shops of Front St. in Lahaina, eating lots of unhealthy things like ice cream, shave ice, brownies, cinnamon buns and chocolate bars, finding and eating at different cafes, diners, and restaurants, and taking advantage of all the fun hotel amenities such as free movies, video games, and just plain lounging around the hotel room. It was really quite the perfect getaway. The kids were so excited to be spending time with me. We did everything together. The kids had so much fun and were thoroughly wiped out after every outing. They fell asleep almost every time we got in the car. Holly and I were able to spend some time together and talk about life, the universe and everything. We don’t have it all figured out, but we’re pretty sure the answer isn’t 42. But we do know that this mini stay-cation was just what we needed to bring things into focus and get things moving in the right direction. There’s a lot of waiting involved, and that is going to be hard, but if we’re patient and keep focused, things will work out for the better and happiness will ensue. One way or another.

So when you are in need of a weekend getaway, I highly recommend spending it in Kihei with your family. It will make you feel like the world has melted away and time belongs to you and your family and nothing else matters more at that moment than the people you are with. It’s a good feeling and I am lucky to have had it for 3 whole days with Holly, Gavin, and Leif. My family.