9:09 PM on 09/09/09

We just HAD to capture the moment! With all the talk on the news and the supposed luckiness of the date combination... Plus, it only happens once a century and I am not sure if I will be available in 100 years to take a picture, LOL!

We only had one minute to quickly rotate the clock and take each other's picture, but I think we did well.

Me:

Larissa:

Gabe:

and Jon:Not sure what is going on with that smile... but by the time we took a better picture, it was 9:10, so we couldn't use it :-)

Last weekend before school

Why is it when you have a long weekend, it feels like it was too short? May be because I assume that with an extra day attached to the weekend I will be able to accomplish more, only to realize that it is impossible to get everything done...

Main thing we finally accomplished over the weekend is getting to taste a real coconut (milk). Strangely, it was cheaper than in Hawaii, and now we know FOR SURE that no one really likes it raw. Jonathan was almost obsessed with getting to taste it while in Hawaii, but we were unable to find any place serving it, so we got it upon our return to Oregon.
After posing for this picture holding coconut milk filled glasses no one wanted to drink it...

The entire weekend we had a typical Oregon Fall weather. Sunny, rainy, sunny, rainy...

We went on a long walk (five miles! I wasn't sure if kids would make it back, but the did, with only a few meltdowns) when it was raining and returned with a rainbow.
There was no pot of gold at the end of a rainbow... only sore feet...

I am sure glad that I got all the school supplies purchased before going on vacation. All I had to do the night before school is separate them into Gabe's and Larissa's bags. Is it just me, or every year school supply list is getting bigger and bigger?..

I tried taking picture of kids getting on the bus, but they were so fast, all I got was a picture of the bus...

Bus driver asked Jon if he was going to get on the bus too and Jon grabbed on to my legs in horror. Ha ha! I don't think he is too eager to go to school yet. No problem, he got a whole year to change his mind.

Things I learned on my vacation:

• Don't rent equipment at the resort (i.e. snorkeling mask & fins, swim board...). We paid way more for the convenience, as we found out a day later.
• If your place has a washer/dryer, you don't need change of clothes for every day of your vacation.
• Read small print, before you sign anything. That's how we got scheduled for a Time-share presentation...
• Take a day to figure out all the things you might want to see and make a plan.
• Bring a larger carryon, if you can, rather than paying for the extra luggage. We loaded each kid with a backpack and only checked in three bags between the five of us. At $20 per bag we probably saved $40 each way.
• Packing all the medical (diabetes) supplies into it's own bag made it so much easier to get through security.
• Bring a lot of things to keep kids busy on a long flight. Not only we had no problem with our kids, we had other passengers tell us that we have "such well behaved kids". (Boy, did we fool them...)
• "International Market" in Hawaii does not mean from around the world... at all.
• Bring snacks!
• Sun block is crucial. Make sure to cover yourself in even layer and do not miss any spots. It takes a day or more to get adjusted to the extra sun, so take it easy at first!
• Relax! You are on vacation!