Soaking up the sun (and sunscreen, of course!)

We returned from the mainland with a heightened awareness of just how quickly we'll be leaving this island. Sure, August sounds like it's a long way off, but we know it'll sneak up on us. Consequently, we've been trying to make the most of our dwindling time on this island paradise.

One of the first things we did was buy an inflatable wading pool. It may seem crazy to purchase a wading pool on an island. After all, no matter which way you go, you'll wind up at a beach eventually! But with two little girls and their occasionally dueling nap schedules, sometimes you just can't get to a beach, no matter how close. So, we invested all of $8 in an inflatable pool, and we've found it to be worth every penny. Kathleen would play in it all day, every day, if we'd let her. Madeline doesn't go in much, but she's just as happy to watch.

And although we don't actually go in the wading pool, we've loved sitting in our backyard, watching the girls play. In fact, that was how we spent our sixth anniversary. We spent the day in the backyard and then, after the girls had gone to bed, cooked up a frozen pizza and uncorked a nice chianti. It wasn't glamorous, but we thought it was great!

As much as we love the wading pool, though, sometimes you just want to be on a beach. On Memorial Day we decided to make the most of our early-rising daughters and stake out a piece of sand. Beaches here get crowded on regular weekends, and on a holiday space is at a premium. We knew that we'd have to head out early. So, when our girls got up, we had a not-too-rushed-but-not-quite-leisurely breakfast, loaded up the jeep (it's our beach car), and drove to our favorite, kid-friendly lagoons. When we pulled up, just before 8:30am, there was already a line of cars at the resort's front gate. And by the time we got to the guard, they were turning everyone away. There was no room at the beach! (Well, no room in the parking lot, anyway.)

Fortunately Daddy had a plan B: we'd spend the day on Waikiki! Plan B turned out to be even better than our plan A. We didn't hit any traffic on the way into Honolulu (a first for us!). The sun was shining (it hadn't been shining over post or on the way to the lagoons). We found plenty of parking at Fort DeRussy. And there was lots of lots of open space on the freshly raked sand.

We played in the sand and we swam in the water. Madeline hung out in the stroller, where she couldn't reach the sand (she's a real sand-eater!) for a while, so Mama even got a few moments to read a magazine. We'd brought lunch with us, and it was a good thing. Being at the beach apparently makes Kathleen hungry; she ate TWO peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. TWO WHOLE SANDWICHES. That's four times what she'll eat at a normal lunch!

Eventually we packed up our beach things and took a walk down to the Hilton, where Kathleen checked in on her friends -- the penquins, the turtles, the koi, the flamingos and the parrots. After spending some time there, we walked back to the military resort, the Hale Koa, and sat at their pool bar for some lunch. (Normally we'd have used that pool, as it's open to military id holders, whether or not they're staying at the resort. However, the pool was pretty crowded because of the holiday.) Jim and I split a salad and a soda, and Kathleen munched on a hot dog. (I know! In addition to those sandwiches!) Madeline finished off the food we'd brought from home, and then happily sipped away on her water. (Had we mentioned that she now drinks from a straw? Jamba Juice. She learned to drink from a straw so she could have Jamba Juice, but she'll settle for water.)

And then we finished off our afternoon with an island favorite -- shave ice. It's sort of like a snow cone, only better. Kathleen loves it, and she's willing to share!

We finally made it to those lagoons today, finishing out the month of May in style. We got there at about 9:15am and had no problem parking! We all had a wonderful time -- Madeline finally learned to love the water and Kathleen paddled around with her inflatable ring (which, to my amusement, she insists on calling her "diamond ring"). Sadly, we didn't manage any pictures of that visit, but we can promise there will be more soon. This circus will be hitting the beach on a regular basis, at least for the next two months!