Christmas Eve Day

Phone rings at 6:00 a.m. Mom wants to know if we're ready to go to Pearl Harbor. Since both Darrin and I hid in our room last night, we have no idea that the family is planning the Pearl Harbor/snorkeling/whatever else expedition. Adam and DJ want to go. Darrin does not. I go to my parents' room to find out what's happening. I decide to drive and let Darrin have another day of rest.

I get to the hotel room to find DJ in the shower and Adam dancing outside the door. I point out that the bathroom door is unlocked and he can go inside to use the bathroom. I'm nearly trampled as he rushes inside.

Darrin decides he wants to go. Adam decides he can forego a shower since he had four yesterday. Darrin says he can shower quickly. I laugh. Darrin gives me a dirty look and gets in the shower. I call my parents and ask for 30 minutes. I dry shave (ouch), pack my swimsuit and opt for a shower when we get home (ick!). We get in the vans at 7:00 a.m. and head for Pearl Harbor. Somehow in the shuffle I end up with Tabitha, Darrin, and four nieces. I have no idea where Adam and DJ are.

We drive the gorgeous winding coastal highway. It's so beautiful. Darrin's been cooped up in the bedroom and has missed most of our scenic drives. He's entranced. We enter the freeway and hear a niece say, "Samantha, I think I'm going to hurl!" I pull over--not soon enough. She hits the floor and manages to cover DJ's manbag. He's not going to be happy about that. We try to clean up and decide to go back to the hotel. Sister number 3, in the van in front of us talks us into going to Pearl Harbor and seeing if we can find sick niece's mom. We drive to Pearl Harbor, listening to five girls complain about barf smell.

At Pearl Harbor all nieces except sick one disappear. DJ finds out about his bag and looks as if he'd like to cry or hit something. We find sick niece's mom (sister number 4) and Darrin (who thinks he wants to spend time with me--yay! I love that man!!--sister number 4, sick niece and I head back to the hotel. Sister number 4 decides that we need to stop at Walmart. Darrin decides he'll help find it. We drive a long way. I say we should turn around. Since I'm driving, we do. I drive around for about a mile and find Walmart. Sick niece pukes twice more in the interim.

We leave sick niece in the car (she's 10), and shop at Walmart. We buy cleaning supplies. We buy laundry detergent. Darrin feels sick because sister number 4 and I also buy cookies and chocolate and macadamia nuts. I've had nothing to eat all day and it's now noon-ish. Darrin says cookies and chocolate are a bad lunch. Sister and I disagree.

We start on the road again. I get on the wrong highway, but we're driving on the coast and it's gorgeous, so we keep going (poor sick niece). We pass communities. We pass stores. We pass gas stations. We pass Hawaiian Hobo huts on beaches (I have no idea what they're really called). We end up on a beach with no more road. We stop and play on the beach. It's made of lava and filled with little pools. We find lots of nice seashells. I see a crab. I see little fish. I see a tiny octopus. We like our beach (wow--Fun with Darrin and Sister number 4!). Poor sick niece.

We leave the beach and try to find our way back to the hotel. Mom calls in a panic to say that there is not enough van room for the number of passengers. Sister number 4 suggests they figure it out since we're at least an hour distant. They do. Smart sister number 4.

We get on the right road. We look at the trees, flowers, Hawaiian cows and horses, pineapple plantations, and very polite wonderful Hawaiian drivers. People in the continental U.S. could learn a lot from Hawaiian drivers. Sick niece hurls twice more.

We stop at a fruit stand and buy fruit. I make the fruit lady laugh. She tells me she likes me. When it comes time to pay, she doubles my fruit choices. Sister number 4 thinks it's unfair that I get bonus fruit. I think it's lovely. We get in the car and eat fruit. Sick niece hurls again.

We arrive at hotel. Sick niece goes to bed. Sister number four takes care of her. Darrin scrubs out the van. I take all the barf clothes and the manbag and do laundry.

As of now, I am still doing laundry. Sister number 4 and Darrin are shopping in the Polynesian Village, sick niece is sleeping, and the rest of my family are...somewhere. I'm alone in a quiet room in Hawaii, doing laundry. It's lovely. Later I think I'm going to go to the beach.

Happy Christmas Eve.