More Cousins and a Culinary Adventure

Just a day after our adventure to Tanner's Orchard, we packed the circus into the car and pointed it towards Aunt Katherine and Uncle Eric's house. It's actually a lovely summer drive, but Kathleen couldn't be bothered to check out the fields of beans and corn.

Still, her absorption in her coloring book paled in comparison to her delight in her cousins once we arrived. And Mama was pretty delighted, too. Not only was it great to get to see everyone again, but Katherine made ceviche in honor of our arrival! (We'd fallen in love with ceviche when Katherine and Sarah came with us to Kauai.) So we got to enjoy great company and some fantastic ceviche (for which I now have a recipe I can use anytime I want -- hooray!).

Kathleen and Melissa were fast friends. To Kathleen's glee, she slept in the same room as "Mewissa," a true big-girl privilege. The two cousins clowned around together endlessly, as you can surely tell.

Madeline was, of course, the center of much attention, a position she relished.

The next day we attended cousin Ethan's football game. Ethan made some great plays! We still find it a little hard to believe that he's grown up enough to play ball. Where does the time go?

Sarah and Melissa both looked after the girls, which meant that the grown-ups actually watched the game...

That evening Sarah headed up the household so the grown-ups could go out for a special surprise, orchestrated by Uncle Eric. (Thanks, Sarah!) We drove to Ron's Cajun Connection in Utica, Illinois, where we enjoyed an enormous and very tasty dinner. The restaurant's website calls it "an experience you won't forget," and that was certainly true for us!

For one, as we arrived, we were greeted by a overly friendly and truly ancient Elvis impersonator. The restaurant was busy, so we had to wait for a bit outdoors, near where the faux-Elvis was performing. He seemed to want to interact with Katherine (and possibly me) very badly, but we managed to avoid eye contact by hiding behind our husbands, once they returned from fetching us some cocktails. We escaped soon enough, though, and began our culinary adventure -- an adventure, it turned out, that was a belated celebration of Eric and Katherine's wedding anniversary. Aren't they a cute couple?

Although Eric and Katherine had eaten at Ron's before, I'd never tried much Cajun food. (I'm not sure that boxed red beans and rice really count.) That evening I was introduced to boudin balls, ettouffee, jambalaya, alligator, and creole. Here in our circus, we're pretty adventurous eaters, so it all sounded good to us! Only one item on the menu made me balk: frog legs. When Jim proposed ordering frog legs (we had agreed to share our entrees), I flat-out refused. "Look," I explained, "I love Kermit. Didn't you ever see the Muppet Movie? How's poor Kermit going to ride his bicycle if we take his legs? I'm just not going to do it."

Well, somehow I was distracted during the actual ordering process (I'm still not sure how that happened), and when my plate arrived, it included frog legs. Oh, no! I tried them, though, and endured Kermit jokes for the rest of the night. They weren't even tasty. Poor little frog gave up his legs and I didn't like them. Oh, and to make matters worse, the owner Ron stopped by our table later on and asked how I liked the frogs legs. Embarassed, I fibbed and said they were great. Eric sold me out, though. "You didn't even like them!" he exclaimed. Fortunately for me, Ron wasn't offended, since these frog legs were apparently from China. Chinese frog legs just don't have the same flavor as those from the bayou, Ron explained. I'm not really sure that was my problem, but I smiled and nodded. Already stuffed, we somehow managed some pecan pie for dessert. And let me tell you, that was some amazing pecan pie. We might insist that Eric and Katherine fly it out to our circus for Thanksgiving!

Anyway, all that's to say that if you ever find yourself in Utica, Ullinois, it's worth stopping by Ron's Cajun Connection. It is an experience you won't forget!

Tanner's Orchard

On yet another fine, sunny, yet not-too-warm Illinois morning, our circus headed off for a bit of an adventure. We drove out to Tanner's Orchard, a lovely spot not too far from Aunt Marg and Uncle Craig's home. In the fall, Tanner's is a popular destination for families looking for pumpkins and apple picking. A little too early for that, we arrived at the height of peach season. (We were sad to miss the peach pancake breakfast by only a few days. How tasty would that have been?) However, we didn't spend any time in the orchards. Instead, we took advantage of some of the other kid-friendly activities.

For one, there's an enormous play area for the children, complete with a wooden pirate's ship, a wooden train, a firetruck, a school bus, and a number of other more predictable play structures. One of the benefits of arriving during peach season, rather than during apple season, was that the play area was practically deserted. (And it was free! I think there's an admission fee in the fall.) The girls had a blast.

Kathleen loved the ship. She'd climb in it and on it, and she couldn't seem to understand why Mama and Daddy couldn't get through it quite as quickly as she could!

We all tested out the train, although Kathleen insisted on being the engineer.

Madeline liked the horse-swings. She'd rather have ridden by herself, but Mama's not brave enough yet.

Kathleen tackled the "rock wall" with ease.

And Madeline wasn't about to be left out!

Wait, who's that in the back of that firetruck? Why, it's Grandpa!

Grandpa and Aunt Angela joined us a little later in the morning. They also supplied the quarters for the next bit of our adventure -- feeding the goats!

Kathleen had loved visiting the goats when we'd gone to Tanner's when she was smaller. She loved it just as much this time. Madeline, too! Little Madeline very bravely held out her hand for some goat food, and then let the goats lick the oats off her hand. She did, however, give Daddy quite a fright when she tried to test out the oats herself!

Once we'd rescued the baby from that bit of potentially germy (and otherwise untasty) eating, we decided we'd better mosey along and get some lunch.

Fortunately for us, Tanner's also has a great cafe. (And an extensive gift shop, but I'll spare you the details. Except for this: the yummiest smelling apple soap I've ever smelled. It was like autumn in a bar of soap!) We drank cider and ate sandwiches and followed it all up with assorted varieties of pie -- peach, strawberry, and dutch apple. We liked the dutch apple so much that we bought a whole pie! (But don't worry, we didn't eat it. Well, not all of it! We took it with us the next day as we moved our circus along to Uncle Eric and Aunt Katherine's house!) What a fun and tasty morning!

An Afternoon in the Park

One quiet afternoon after naps, we decided the circus needed just a bit of an outing. We loaded the girls into their cousins' wagon and took a little walk to a nearby park. Our stroll took us right past Grandma and Grandpa's house, and they came out onto the porch to wave to us. The girls just loved that! (Madeline loved it so much, in fact, that she could hardly be persuaded to sit down anymore.) A few blocks later, we were there -- a park where Daddy had played as a little boy! The park had recently been redone, and the new equipment delighted our girls.

Madeline seemed to think that she was two and a half years old, rather than not yet one, and climbed all over the play structure. If Kathleen could do it, so could Madeline!

Kathleen particularly loved this little turret which topped a "rock" climbing wall. She climbed to the top and called out, "My's a princess! In a tower!"

Both Kathleen and Madeline enjoyed the swings. The set-up was perfect -- an infant swing for Madeline and "big girl" swings for Kathleen. But while the girls enjoyed the swings, they loved the slides. Kathleen, of course, led the way.

After Kathleen had demonstrated for a bit, Madeline had a go at it. She had plenty of cheering and a big sister to catch her at the end.

In case it wasn't clear from the video, sliding was a huge success!

Eventually we had to head home. We stopped on our way to visit some horses in a field, but they weren't as interested in visiting with us as we were in visiting with them. They were actually a bit spooked, since the weather was changing as we walked. The beautiful afternoon we'd begun with had somehow become a stormy evening! We somehow managed to make it home before it really started to rain, though. And a few minutes after that, Grandma and Grandpa arrived bearing pizza. We finished off our evening with a pizza picnic in the basement. Fun, fun, fun!

Cousins! Grandparents!

We arrived in Illinois an exhausted heap of a circus. Everyone held up admirably, but by the time we pulled into the driveway at Aunt Margaret and Uncle Craig's house, everyone was very, very tired. I kept having to ask Jim, "Wait. What time is it again? And so, what time does that feel like to me? In Hawaii? In California? Wait. What time is it here?" Obviously, Mama is a delightful, if somewhat forgetful, traveling companion.

With a good night's sleep, though, we were ready to go. Kathleen couldn't get enough of being with her cousins Matt, Ali, and Lizzie. Shy at first, she was soon racing around the house and bossing them around. "Let's go play outside!" she'd chirp, and the whole group (God bless them!) would troop outdoors. If someone would call for one of her cousins, she'd chime in immediately. "Matt! Come down here!" she'd yell, or "Ali! Where are you?" We're not exactly sure who made Kathleen boss of people larger than she is, but it's a role she assumed with no external prompting, and of which her cousins were remarkably tolerant. They played with both Kathleen and Madeline at the pool (if Kathleen hadn't already been head-over-heels in love with her cousins, that trip alone could have bought her affection) and at the park and around the house. Both girls really do adore their cousins.

It's not that Madeline didn't want to sit with her cousins, it's that she didn't want to sit. Madeline's not much for sitting still. Why sit when you can run?

Ali, Lizzie, Kathleen, and Madeline. What pretty girls!

Lizzie did great work watching Madeline at the park. Watching Madeline is a challenge because she likes to eat things. Those wood chips? She thought they were lunch! Fortunately, Lizzie is quick and Madeline survived.

We stayed at Aunt Margaret and Uncle Craig's house for almost a week, but we didn't get to spend all that time with them. Marg, Craig and the kids had to leave partway through our visit to so that Ali could compete in the Illinois State Fair (she'd sewn a gorgeous little outfit for Kathleen) and then they could sneak in a bit of a vacation before school and football started. They very generously allowed us the run of their house, though, and that worked out great... because they live just blocks from the girls' grandparents! So, we got extra time to visit with Jim's mom and dad.

They were marvelously understanding about our child-centered schedule, and made every effort to meet with us around naptimes. We enjoyed many lovely meals together -- some at their house, some at Marg and Craig's house, and some at restaurants. Grandpa even made it a point to stop by the house in the morning when we'd be around (usually because Madeline was napping), so that he could play with Kathleen (and Madeline, when she was awake).

Kathleen introduces Grandpa to her cousins' Polly Pockets dolls, while Madeline tries to eat their tiny plastic shoes.

The week flew by in a flurry of cousins and grandparents and fun. We managed to spend time with family, watch some Olympics, and rest up from our crazy travels. It was glorious time to be in the country -- the soybeans and the corn all look amazing. (I discovered a love of running country roads. Honestly, I thought that nothing could beat running in Hawaii. But running in the morning mist through the fields of corn and beans, past tidy farmhouses and barns. Just beautiful. Different, but truly beautiful.) We even took a morning to spend at an orchard. And we spent several afternoons at the park -- more on that later.

Olympic Moments

We missed the Olympic opening ceremonies as we were flying to the mainland. But we made up for lost time once we stopped flying around. Like the rest of America, we watched a lot of Olympic coverage. In fact, Kathleen quickly learned to identify the Olympics. Well, at least she knew that if we turned on the television and people were swimming or doing gymnastics, that was 'Lympics!

One evening our circus was watching the Olympics in Kathleen's cousins' basement. Madeline was already sleeping and Mama, Daddy, and Kathleen were -- strangely enough -- the only ones around. We'd taught Kathleen to cheer "U-S-A, U-S-A" and we got quite a kick out of watching her shake her little fists as she cheered. Shortly after that the coverage switched to women's gymnastics. Kathleen saw the footage of Shawn Johnson flying through the air and cried, "'Nastics! I can do 'nastics!"

She started jumping around the basement. She looked up as Shawn Johnson did a back flip. Without hesitating, she imitated the Olympian, landing squarely on her back on the carpet. Although Mama and Daddy were aghast, Kathleen seemed unfased. Once we determined that she was okay, we laughed until we cried.

Having watched the closing ceremonies this evening, we're relieved to report that our circus sustained no Olympics-related injuries this year!

The Circus Goes Flying

We left Hawaii in the early afternoon (not before Mama squeezed in one last morning run through Waikiki and up along the road to Diamond Head -- just gorgeous!) to fly to California. Since the Army had purchased our tickets, each and every one of us had a seat. The three-across-the-middle seating meant that we couldn't all sit together. Madeline and Mama sat directly in front of Daddy and Kathleen. We'd have preferred to be all together, but two and two seemed okay. Of course, as it turned out, Madeline wasn't interested in sitting in her own seat. We snapped one photo of her ensconced in her carseat.


At that point we honestly thought that between the treat of a bottle (she's recently decided she prefers them to, well, Mama) and the hum of the plane, she'd be sweetly sleeping in no time. However, by midway through the flight attendants' safety brief, Madeline had made clear to every passenger on the plane that she wasn't happy with the seating arrangements. She spent the rest of the flight on Mama's lap. Or toddling down the aisle, with Mama right behind her.

While Mama chased Madeline, Daddy kept Kathleen company. They were prepared for any eventuality.

Kathleen couldn't have been more excited about being on an air-po-plane. As we took off she cried out, "We're flying!"

Aside from Madeline's very loud objections to being in her carseat (it may have had something to do with being able to see Mama -- that doesn't happen in the car!), the girls were pretty well behaved. They napped a bit, and played a bit. They snacked a bit. Kathleen watched the miracle known as a portable DVD player while Madeline cruised the aisles, making friends. And then, just when we thought it couldn't be any longer, we arrived. As we landed, Kathleen yelled, "We did it!" Mama and Daddy were thinking the same thing!

But having survived the flight across the Pacific, our travels were only just beginning. We rented a car and drove to Nan and Grandpa's house. (We pulled up to see a Nissan Versa parked near Nan and Grandpa's. Kathleen looked out her window and said, "Our car! In Calibornia!" We had to explain that it was a car that looked like our car, but wasn't our car. Poor kid.) Kathleen and Madeline were delighted to be at their grandparents' and made themselves right at home, testing out all the toys in the sunroom. We all collapsed into bed around midnight.

The next morning we had an early breakfast and more toy-playing before we headed to the airport again. We left before noon for Illinois. Mama and Daddy weren't the only ones less than enthusiastic about another long flight. Kathleen cried when we told her we'd be leaving Nan and Grandpa's, although her tears dried in record time when we mentioned the magic word: cousins. Visiting cousins made it all okay!

Since we bought our own tickets to Illinois, we only had three seats for the four of us. Surprisingly, that worked out even better than four seats. Madeline was happier to sit on our laps since there was more room for her to play with in our row -- and since she got to watch Kathleen, which is about her favorite activity in the world. Somehow the flight passed and we (and all our luggage -- what a blessing!) arrived in Illinois. We collected our things and the car that had generously been left for us (thanks, Stewarts!) and before we knew it, we were on the road, headed towards cousins!

Hanging Out at the Hale Koa

We spent our last two nights on Oahu at the Hale Koa, the military resort on Waikiki Beach. It was the perfect way to end our time on the island. As with most things, Mama and the girls got to have more fun than Daddy did. While Daddy finished up at Scofield, making his final out-processing appointment and finishing up other loose ends, we girls spent all day in the sun and water, stopping only for meals and, of course, naps.

Kathleen couldn’t get enough of the kiddie pool. We spent all morning in it. Madeline loved it, too. She’d start in the pool, then climb up the steps and toddle around the deck until I chased her down and brought her back into the water. Eventually all that splashing and toddling caught up with her, and Madeline spent an hour and a half napping in the stroller. While Madeline slept, Kathleen got some special one-on-one time. After some more time in the kiddie pool, she was able to go swimming in the “deep deep pool,” which just isn’t manageable with both girls. When we’d had enough water, we took a walk down to the Hilton Hawaiian Village to visit the penguins, turtles, and flamingoes that live there. (Kathleen calls that stretch of Waikiki the “animal beach” because of the animals at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.) We managed to arrive while a penguin (with her handler) was available for photographs. Our camera still broken, I made do and snapped a picture with my cell phone…

We don’t have many photographs from our stay. There were so many things I’d hoped to capture in a frame before we left – stacks of surfboards, the sunset on the ocean, the ribbon of foam the surf leaves along the sand, my girls dancing along the water’s edge, the way the morning sun plays on the mountains’ ridges. The broken camera foiled my plans. Any number of times I thought, “Oh! I wish I could get a picture of that!” But in some ways, not having the camera freed me up to truly enjoy our time. I watched with my own eyes instead of the camera’s viewfinder. And I didn’t have to worry about getting the camera wet, so I spent even more time in the water than I normally do!

Daddy got back from Schofield while the girls were napping. He came bearing a gift: a new camera! When the girls awoke, we headed back to the kiddie pool. We all swam and splashed. And Mama even snapped a few (but only a few) photos.

We played in the water for as long as we possibly could. We then enjoyed a tasty dinner at a casual beachfront cafe before bedtime. While the girls slept, Mama and Daddy sat on the balcony, watching the water and talking about all the blessings we've enjoyed in Hawaii -- our friends and work and homes and the natural beauty that constantly surrounded us. There's much we'll miss. And yet we are confident that God is leading us in this next chapter of our lives, and we're excited for all that awaits us. Well, we were excited about most everything -- just not as excited about the prospect of the plane flights that awaited us the next day!

Packing Out

I do have photos for this post, but they’re stuck on that old memory card. I’ll update when I can figure out how to get those pictures!

The movers arrived bright and early on a Tuesday morning. The early of “bright and early” seemed even more so, since we’d been up late the night before, trying to finish everything. We had managed to pack our suitcases and stash them, along with our other necessities, in the “do not pack” section we’d made on the lanai. Despite our best attempts to pack lightly, we had four full suitcases, two carseats, and one stroller. It’s just amazing how much one “needs” for six weeks or so!

We’d spent a lot of time (over the weekend and on Monday) talking about moving, trying to ease our little girls into the big changes. Kathleen knew that movers were coming to put our things in boxes so that everything could go to “Calibornia,” where Kathleen would live in a “new house” and see her Nan. Kathleen knew that she’d get to go to the air-po-port and fly to Calibornia, which was particularly exciting. Concerned at first that the men would take away our suitcases (you need suitcases to go on an air-po-plane, you see), Kathleen seemed generally peaceful about the plans.

When the movers arrived, Kathleen was fascinated by their big, big truck and all the cardboard boxes. Madeline was equally interested in the movers and all their work. She seemed to make every effort to toddle into their paths!

We shared a picnic breakfast of omlette and banana pancakes (take-out, obviously!) on the lanai before Daddy left to ship the car, and our dear, dear friend Amy whisked both girls away for some non-chaotic outdoor fun with her daughter Grace. Mama stayed at home, doing last minute laundry, cleaning, and organizing. When Amy returned with the girls, we were all out on the lanai talking for a bit before we realized we didn’t know where Kathleen had gone. She turned up in her own bedroom, curled up in her toddler bed, quietly watching a mover pack up all her things. My heart broke to see her there, but she wasn’t upset -- just curious.

We were blessed with movers who seemed hard-working and conscientious. (I have to say “seemed” because you just don’t know whether your movers were actually any good until you get to the other end. Did your things survive? Then you had good movers!) They packed and packed, filling four crates the first day! They left us our beds and cribs intact that night so we’d have somewhere to sleep. Our friends Amy and John generously invited us to dinner. We enjoyed great food and company. Kathleen will so miss Luke and Grace. Anyway, after a lovely evening, all we did in our mostly empty house that night was sleep!

The movers returned the next day to finish the big move. And if the final day of packing out wasn’t crazy enough, that same day was tree-trimming day in our neighborhood. While the movers worked away, the landscaping crews had cherry-pickers in the front and the back of our house. They trimmed up all the trees and ripped out every single elephant ear in front of the house. Wow!

By afternoon the movers had finished up and our house was empty. Fortunately for us, clearing quarters on Schofield is not the ordeal it can be elsewhere. (Oh, and for our non-military friends, clearing quarters is when you “give back” your house.) Unlike Fort Knox, where we paid a ridiculous amount of money to have the house cleaned (the only way to successfully clear quarters, despite the fact that we'd only lived in the house for 8 months), in Hawaii we were able to clear quarters ourselves. All that was required: clean appliances, swept floors, and no trash on the premises. Easy-peasy!

We’d cleared quarters and returned the keys when I realized my cell phone was missing. We remembered that it had been on the kitchen counter but Daddy and the housing representative were certain that it hadn’t been there when they cleared. (The girls and I had stayed outside, playing with the neighbor children.) Knowing that, I assumed that it must be with us. While Daddy finished some paperwork at another office, I searched the car and backpacks to no avail. Eventually we concluded that it must be in the house, after all. Fortunately, at the same time I realized that we’d forgotten to return one key, so we broke into our own vacant house. Daddy rang the phone and we discovered it in a drawer in the kitchen. Phew! We think that one of our little helpers must have “put it away” while we were hurriedly sweeping and toting trash. Having reclaimed the phone, we were finally able to drive away – we were officially not only packed out, but cleared!

Resting Up for the Big Move

July was a rough month for our circus. Kathleen had not one, or two, but three back-to-back viruses. Each time we thought she was about to get better, she didn't. The pediatrician assured us that it's not actually all that uncommon for small children to get more than one virus that way. Apparently small children have this window of extra susceptability to a viral infection just as they recover from a virus. Who knew we'd manage to find a virus in that window each time?! (There's actually a chance we're up to virus number four: Kathleen has a pretty congested nose right now, poor kid.)

So, although we'd had plans to spend lots of time with friends and at the beach during our last weeks on the island, instead we just spent lots of time at home. We'd have loved to be able to go on a pontoon boatride on Kaneohe Bay again, or have taken the whole family to church one last time (we went in shifts -- Mama one weekend, Daddy the next), or invite some dear island friends to our home for food and fellowship, or swim at Waimea Bay or Bellows or Ko Olina. But that was not meant to be. And staying at home had upsides, too. We managed to sort through lots of closets and other paraphernalia before the big move. (The Salvation Army either loves or hates us. We're not sure which!) Although we still had a bit of scrambling to do before the movers arrived, we were in better shape that we'd have been otherwise.

During one closet cleaning, Kathleen discovered my Lambie, a (not-so-inventively named) stuffed lamb from my childhood. Lambie became Kathleen's constant companion. He ate with us. He slept with Kathleen. He even got his own spot for crafts.

Kathleen explains to Lambie that he's not allowed to use the glitter glue. He's not old enough. (I didn't explain that he was nearly as old as Mama. That would be practically impossible to understand!)

Lambie didn't get to come on the big plane trip to California (or to Illinois, for that matter), but the movers packed him very carefully, and we know Kathleen will be thrilled to see him again in a few weeks.

And since you simply can't stay indoors forever, even when you've been sick, we headed to a deserted park one morning. At the time we thought Kathleen was just about over her virus. Little did we know she'd run a fever and start the process all over again the next day! But for about forty-five minutes one morning, the girls seemed both happy and healthy and delighted to be at the park.

Madeline could not be contained. What you can't tell in the above photo is that she's actually headed down the tube slide. The child has no fear!

Madeline would race to try to keep up with her big sister.

Kathleen spent almost all the time at the park in her favorite spot -- the swing! Swings are rare at parks on Oahu, so Kathleen made the most of it whenever we visited this one!

Anyway, that's how our last few weeks went on Oahu. We've survived the packing up and packing out, the stay in the hotel (okay, you don't really survive a stay at the Hale Koa so much as you enjoy it -- and we did enjoy it!), the flight to California, and then twelve hours later, the flight to Illinois. There'll be more on all of those adventures in the near future, although the photographs to document them might take a bit longer. Our camera crashed on the cement lanai the day we moved out of our house, and the photos of everything are trapped on a memory card too old and too large to fit into our laptop's card reader...

Not Exactly Glamorous...

"Mama," says Kathleen, "You wear my hat?"

She holds the pink Mickey Mouse ears out in front of her, her face set in what she already knows to be a look of cute entreaty.

"Of course," I answer, indulging my sick child, "Of course."

No sooner do I don the ears than she informs me, "Mama, my hat for riding my car. Ride my car. Please." The please is an after thought, but it's there.

I dutifully perch upon the Winnie-the-Pooh push car.

"You want some tea, Mama?"

"Oh, Kathleen," I reply, "You make the best tea, darling. I definitely would like some tea. Please." (Even Mama needs to remember to say please.)

A cup is pressed into my hand, filled to the brim with imaginary tea.

"Mama, my wants to brush your hair," Kathleen announces, racing to fetch a comb from the bathroom. She returns with her comb and sets about beautifying, just as her father catches sight of us at play.

He captures the moment for posterity.



I traded in my heels and suits and a potentially high-powered career for this. It's not exactly glamorous, but I wouldn't have it any other way.