JJ's Hawaii Vacation 2012

I can't believe that I have not written about this before.  I guess I just didn't ever find the time to sit down and write about it.  But  here goes.

Last June we waited for JJ to play his game on Thursday night in Oklahoma City and then we drove to Gainsville, Texas to spend the night because we were flying out early Friday morning from Dallas to Maui.  We made it to the DFW airport very early....we just did not find the cheap place to park the car.

We flew to LAX first, not only did we change planes, but we changed airlines.  This meant that we had to go out and come through security again.  We almost missed our plane but, the plane was not only delayed but grounded and we had to get off one plane and on to another plane.  We hijacked the next flight.  I'm not sure what happened to the people on that flight.  I guess they got them another plane.

JJ was so excited when we finally got to Maui, even if it was several hours late.  He loved flying.  We got our car and drove straight to our Condo which is right across from the Ocean.  You can see the pool and the ocean from our balcony on the top floor.  We were in Maui almost 2 full weeks.  JJ got to swim every day in the pool and pretty much every day in the ocean.

The pool from our condo

View of the ocean from our condo

JJ on the lanai

One of the first places we took him to was Big Beach aka Makena Beach.  He loved to boogie board.

We took him on a boat to go snorkeling.  He loved it and again he found a very pretty young woman to flirt with.  We snorkeled a couple of places.  He loved the boat.

He also learned to surf.  He had a very pretty girl for his instructor.  He got up the very first time he tried.  She was a great instructor and he was also a very good student.

We took him to a Luau in Wailea.  He made friends with a beautiful girl who was on her honeymoon.  That boy is going to charm the ladies some day.

 

We took JJ to the Maui Ocean center which has an aquarium.  There is a tunnel to walk through where you have fish all around you.  JJ really enjoyed watching the workers diving in the large aquarium with the fish.

Wailuku is home of the Iao Valley.  This is where some great battles took place.  It is considered a sacred place to the Hawaiians.  The needle was a good place for a look out.  The Ioa Needle is very often surrounded by clouds.  This is one of the wettest places on the island.

  

One part of the island that many people do not go to is the far Northwest end.  There is a place called Nakalele Blowhole.  There are times when the water spits up hundreds of feet in the air.  It is dangerous to get too close to it as it can suck you back into the ocean.  Many people hike down to the bottom, but we just watched its beauty from a safe distance.  We drove the back way to get there and there are some spectacular views.

Kahakuloa Head is 636 feet tall.

This is Nakalele Blowhole

JJ just taking in the view of the ocean

King Kamehameha Day is celebrated every year on each island.  On Maui they have a parade in his honor in Lahaina.  There are ladies on horses that are dressed up and each of the Islands is a different color.  It is right on Front Street which is right next to the ocean.  We enjoying going to this if we are there on the right Saturday in June.  As luck would have it we were there for the right Saturday.

After the parade we were hungry and since Lahaina is always so busy we decided to drive on north to the Plantation Golf Course to eat.  It is at Kapalua.  Golf Digest calls it the best golf course on Maui

  No trip to Maui is complete without at least one trip to Cheeseburgers In Paradise.  We took JJ to the one in Wailea at the Shops of Wailea.

We also went to the top of Haleakala Volcano.  He saw the state flower which is the Silver Sword.  We also saw a NaNa the state bird that day.  It was very cold and very windy up there.  JJ was shivering.  The crater is 21 miles in diameter.  the summit is 10,032 feet above sea level.  It is a really neat place.

We found a new place to eat this time.  It is a really, really good Italian place.  It was right on the beach between Makena and Wailea.  

After a great dinner we were driving back to the condo and this is what we saw....so we had to stop for a picture.

We went to a working pineapple plantation.  There is a tram that takes you around.  Lot's of plants and fruit trees here to look at.  It was a fun day.  JJ drank coconut water.  

On Tuesdays you can go down by the pool and learn how to make a lei to take home.  JJ and I decided to go for it.  Bop stayed in the room to rest.  It was almost time to go home.  JJ made one for Bop too.

And then as all things do....it was time for our vacation in paradise to come to an end.  We flew home the next day.  We made some wonderful memories.  I hope JJ remembers this trip forever.  I know I will and I'm sure Bop will too.

Last meal in paradise...Burger King at the Airport.

My thoughts on this Father's Day!!!!

Today I was reading through Face Book and I was very impressed to see how many people were posting about their dads.  Almost every post was about how their dad was the best dad ever and then there were the posts about husbands being the best dad ever and of course moms posting how proud they are of their sons being the best dad ever.  The thoughts about Father's Day, aka Dad's Day, and I was just in awe over how wonderful it is for those of us who have such great memories of our dad, husband, brother, or son.  We are very blessed and should thank God every day that we received such a blessing.

You see, I lived a charmed life.  I had two parents who loved each other very much.  That couple had three children.  I was the youngest and the only girl, so I guess you could say I was Daddy's Girl.  Our family had everything we needed.  We were not rich but the farm we lived on provided us with all of our needs.  My dad was a farmer/rancher and my mother was a full time homemaker until I was in the 7th grade.  We didn't go on family vacations, but we did go to lots of stockshows together and our family did quite a bit of traveling, just not all of us at the same time.   My parents never, and I mean never, fought in front of us kids.  They took us to church at least 3 times a week and were great examples and teachers of our Christian faith.  My prayer was to have a family like my parents.

My children grew up with two parents that had been in love since we were in our teens.  We went through our share of ups and downs.  I can't say my children never saw us argue, but they did know we loved each other and we loved them.  We tried to do for our children as much as we could.  We were able to travel, let them play summer ball, go to the lake and let them know just how important family is. I tried to teach our kids to respect themselves and each other as well as other people out there.

Where am I going with this.  I got to thinking about all of those children out there that can not post what a wonderful father they have.  So many children do not get to experience what I did growing up or what my children did growing up.  There are even those who had two parents their whole lives but the dad was not much of a dad or mom wasn't much of a mom....or both.  It breaks your heart to hear a young child say, I don't have a dad, of course some have to say they don't have a mom.  Either way it is just heartbreaking.  Sometimes it is because a parent has died, sometimes it is because that parent is incarcerated, sometimes it is because that parent is an absentee parent, and unfortunately sometimes it is because circumstances have made situations where the court has to step in with a protective order against a parent to keep that child safe.  There are so many moms and dads that are single parents today.  I am talking really Single parents where the other parent is not in the picture at all.  This is where grandparents and aunts and uncles step in to help make sure these kids have the correct role models in their lives.  When you see one of these single parents that is doing all they can to be both mom and dad to their kids, give them a word of encouragement.  Offer them some help if you can whether it is emotional, financial or time.  I am afraid if you took a pole on FB, there are many more who would not nominate their dad for Father of the Year than would.

So if you do have the best dad ever out there, which you can't because my dad was the best dad ever, but if you think your dad was....be sure and tell him and for those great husband/dads, and son/dads...let them know also.  And then, try to make it a little easier for some other child who doesn't have a dad to tell Happy Father's Day to.  I am not trying to bring you down, but I  am saying that these holidays are hard for these children.  Say a little prayer for these kids, I know I'm going to.  I also challenge you to be that Best Dad or Mom Ever!!!  If you need an example just think of your Heavenly Father, who was willing to give it all so you can have Eternal Life.  He set the bar pretty high.
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"39 Years" but who's counting?

Who knew back in February 1971 when Mike and I started dating that 42 years later Mike and I would be celebrating 39 years of being married.  The statistics were against us.  Mike was only 15 and I had just turned 17.  His mom would ride with him out to get me for our dates, I was his licensed driver while in town on our date and then his dad would ride with us to take me home.  He would lay down in the back seat and sleep on the ride along.  I suppose not too many people started dating like that..... oh yes, I forgot to tell you that most of the time his three younger brothers and one of their friends would need a ride to the show.....so they accompanied us to the movie theater many times.

We dated my last year and a half of high school.  Then I went to college.  We broke up for a few months after I first went to college, but by Thanksgiving we were back together and never broke up again after that.  We got engaged right before Mike graduated from high school, but we waited a year later to get married.  May 24th, 1974 we tied the knot with all our family there to wish us well.  Ryan was born in September of 1975, Krista in March of 1980 and Amanda sixteen months later in July of 1981.  Yep I was pretty crazy.

In all these years neither Mike nor I have ever forgotten our anniversary, until this year.  We didn't really forget it.  We had  talked about it.  He was working that night and I am on the school board so I was supposed to be at Anadarko High School graduation.  I was in Stillwater until about noon or so and then drove home.  I got home about an hour before Mike had to leave and go to work.  Guess what we both went all day without telling each other Happy Anniversary.  One of my friends called me to say she just wanted to wish me a happy anniversary.  That's when I realized that we neither one had remembered to say anything to the other.  I called Mike up and we had a laugh about it.  We have had a pretty exciting couple of weeks.  We have both had several doctor's appointments and then Kristian decided to come early.  I have been in Stillwater with the baby and then Mike's brother who lives in Moore had tornado damage.  That's not even counting trying to keep laundry done at home, mow the lawn and get the flower beds in shape.  I'm glad I retired so I have time to do all these things.  LOL

Next year will be 40 years and you can bet on it that neither of us will forget it then.  Mike will probably be working, but he might just have to take off for that.  Our lives have had its' ups and downs but through the years we grew up together.  You can't spend that much time together and not grow to be more alike.  We both have our own interests but as I have said before we always made time for each other.  I'm sure we both had a few times when we wanted to throw in the towel, but instead we just learned how to rely on each other.  I can't believe that in 11 more years we will hit that 50th Golden Anniversary.  Old people are married for 50 years and I won't be old.  How can that be.  Here's hoping the next 11 years are at least close to as good as the last 39 have been.

Then

Now

Kristian James Graff

Our youngest blessing decided to make an early appearance on May 6, 2013 at 9:13 pm.  He weighed in at 8 lbs. and 21 inches long. When I first looked at him I thought he looked alot like his brother, Dominic, but at further investigation he looks more like his Uncle Ryan Michael McComas, not to be confused with his Uncle Ryan Michael Graff.  He really does look very much like Ryan's baby pictures.  Dominic on the other hand is pretty much a carbon copy of his dad.  Anyway, Kristian really made havoc of my plans for the week.  He was on the schedule for Friday, May 10th.  We managed to get through the week without too many problems.  Thanks goodness that even though Krista went into labor and that was not supposed to happen, she and Kristian are both doing great.  There have  been a few bumps but we all have managed.

Kristian has darker hair that Dominic did when he was born.  He's also a little shorter but he's a good baby and he does like to cuddle just like Dominic did.  I think this little guy is going to keep us on our toes.  We just thank God that he is here and both mom and son are well.

One Day old

1 Day Old

Kristian Three Days old

The whole Family

One Week

Kristian Two Weeks old

Welcome to our family Mr. Kristian James Graff.  You have already stollen our hearts and can't imagine not having you in our world.  Gi Gi loves YOU!