Maui

Our parents are awesome!!  Last week I actually had to paint my toes because they were going to be exposed for the first time since September.  All the grown-up Rollins went to Maui for a week and it was fabulous!  Thank you Mom and Dad Dutson for staying with our kids and thank you Mom and Dad Rollins for taking us on such a memorable trip!

Took a drive to Hana.  Above is Hamoa beach just passed Hana.

Swam in the 1 of the 7 sacred pools on the road to Hana.

Did some early morning kayaking in the ocean with the whales.  One swam right under us and then came up to breath a few feet away.  Yes, totally awesome!

Luau at the Grand Wailea.

Biking down the volcanco.

Above the clouds on the way down the volcano.

Snorkeling.

The last beautiful morning before taking the last waterfall hike.

Not the typical relaxing, sun-bathing Hawaii trip.  In fact I think I was more tired and exhausted when I got home than before we left, but also one of the most fun and exciting trips we've taken in a long time.  It was really nice to just be outside for so much of the day and without our kids fighting, yelling or needing something!  Not once for a whole week did I say, "stop touching your sister," "finish your dinner," "don't spit on your brother," or "turn off that DS off before I throw it out the window."  It was wonderful and I want to go back soon!

A few more Hawaii pics

Forgot a few things...took a whale watching boat tour and saw 2 full whale breaches (where they come fully out of the water). I missed the closest, coolest breach because a big, fat guy was standing right in front of me with his camera. I heard all the 'ohhs' and 'ahhs' but all I saw was a giant man with big splashes on each side of him. Bummer.

Hanging from the Banyan tree in Lahaina where we did some eating and shopping.

Stand-up paddling or SUPing with Nathan's high school friend who lives on the island and took us on a awesome hike the last day which included necessary swimming in a freezing pond in order to continue on the hike. I screamed the entire swim. Cold is not me thing, but the hike was super fun. Just my level of treachery.

I never did catch a wave, but I got up without falling.

Ben did catch some waves, but he also fell onto a sea urchin.

It seems some are venomous and others are not. Luckily this one was not. Left a few little barbs in his fingers which are still working their way out.

Our wonderful family minus Tammy and Dan. Tammy had a baby days before we left! We missed them!

10 Years!!

Sweet Mexico!  Why can't you be more safe so that all would take advantage of your beauty and culture??  Unlike some, Ben and I throw caution to the wind, pack up and head south to the drug-lord driven country when the opportunity presents.  For our 10th anniversary we took a 'Mom and Dad Only' trip to Cancun.  Turns out we picked a very safe week to go with the United Nations Global Warming Conference going on.  Lots of extra machine gun toting military roaming the streets, which doesn't really make me feel more safe given our experience with Mexican cops in Monterey, but the locals all assured us it's "very safe right now."  Maybe.

A day at the Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza.  Perfect weather for a beautiful place.

An afternoon boating in the Lagoon and snorkeling off the shore near the reef.

An hour of swimming with dolphins and then we played at Wet N Wild for awhile which is like a Raging Waters.  No pictures of us with the dolphins as cameras were not allowed and it was $70 for a picture they took and provided.  70 bucks!!!  Ben talked them down to $30 for a single picture - we haven't scanned it in.

We spent time on the beach but not as much as I would have liked.  First, Ben gets bored after too long and second, it was a little colder than I would have liked.  If the clouds covered the sun and a breeze picked up I was cold.  I swam in the ocean only because we were at the beach and it was pretty not because I needed refreshing from the heat.

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It was a wonderful trip and I'm very glad we were able to arrange it.  Huge thanks to Tammy, Grandma Rollins, and Grandma Dutson for watching, feeding, changing, and entertaining our kids.

No More Monuments

Phew!!! I'm exhausted from touring. I've loved all of it, but I don't want to hold one more bored, tired boy through one more monument tour for a long time. We've made it back to Ithaca, but true to our style, we jammed as much seeing and doing into the days before Ben actually starts school as we could fit.

My parents came to visit us and we did all the things we did with Ben's parents, plus some (they were with us for 7 days). We added a day in NYC, a day in Doylestown, PA, a day at Sesame Street Place and we had an unfortunate day including a vomiting Luke. At least it was in the rental car! Caleb followed up a few nights later in the hotel restaurant, also not in my car or at my house.

This is Luke standing on the pier at Battery Park. Every time a wave would swoop up under the pier a burst of air would shoot up the vent. This kept him busy for at least 20 minutes.

Before packing up to come back to NY we took a mini trip down to DC and the Maryland beach.

 

Washing Monument

This is Luke at Arlington Cemetery.

 

Lincoln Monument

It was all super fun, but I'm so glad to be back in quiet, slow, Ithaca. I'm really looking forward to these next couple of months in the most perfect NY weather with all the great autumn holidays! I'm also glad we'll be heading to sunny Mexico before the weather turns devilish. For those who haven't heard, Ben is doing his last semester in Monterrey, Mexico. It's time to refresh my Spanish...my high school Spanish. I know, I think I'm in trouble.

Gettysburg

This last weekend we drove down to Gettysburg, PA with some friends for some US history appreciation. We rented the Gettysburg movie Friday night - Ben got through it, I fell asleep after Part I. It's a long movie, but was helpful to review before getting there!

We bought the "self auto tour" CD's at the book shop in the visitor's center. You just slip them in, follow the signs, stop when they tell you, and listen. The narrator tells you what you're looking at along with all sorts of extra facts. We really enjoyed them and loved that we could go at our own pace.

I do hope that the soldiers didn't look as happy as Luke does holding their guns!

We drove down with our friends, the Crutchfields. Those are their kids, Ivy & Lane with Luke & Caleb at the pizzeria we stopped at for dinner.

This wild flower field wasn't part of the tour or any specific battle site, but we thought it was absolutely amazing so we stopped to take pictures. Unfortunately we did not do it justice.

This photo is on Little Round Top where one of the most inspiring battles occurred. Ben is purposely not smiling in this photo because he thought it to strange to be smiling where so many men died.

We're really glad we made this trip. We talked briefly about finding a hotel and staying a night, but thought, "how much could there possibly be to see?" We definitely could have stayed another day. The little town is so pleasant and was particularly charming as the sun was setting and families were together outside ice cream shops. I look forward to taking my boys back when they're older.

Fun Filled Family Weekend

2 weekends ago (the weekend of the unfortunate hole in the head accident) G & G Rollins came to visit us and I think we set a record for the maximum amount of attractions seen in 3 and a half days. Here's a run down...

We started Friday morning in the Constitution Center and then grabbed a Philly Cheese Steak before picking up Nathan at the train station. Next we stopped by Costco (yes, I know, very tourist worthy) so that Nathan could birthday shop and we could grab some snacks. Next we picked up Ben and made it back to downtown for the Duck Boat Tour Ride. Luke especially enjoyed the quackers...all weekend long. We ate at The Tavern, which is a tavern turned restaurant that dates back to the 1700s. Ben Franklin actually met John Adams at this historic tavern. Lastly we took the Lights of Liberty tour which is a night-time walking tour around historic Philly. You wear headphones for the narration and music and they light up certain buildings with pictures. It's pretty cool!

These pictures were taken at the Constitution Center. Luke is signing the declaration of independence.

Saturday was Nate's birthday and he requested a day at Hershey Park - the amusement park. It was super hot, super crowded, but still lots of fun. Fortunately they have a lot of water attractions so mid day we all changed into our suits and tried to stay wet.

One of the most fun things for me was seeing Caleb ride the baby rides all by himself. He's getting so big!

Sunday morning we went to church and then visited Valley Forge National Park. We took a bus around the park and learned (or re-learned) lots of revolutionary history. Afterwards we drove over to a big Amish settlement in Lancaster. We took a tour through an Amish house and had an amazing "family style" dinner. It was super, super good. Better than the meal at The Tavern and only a third the price!

Monday morning Ben went back to work and the boys and I met G & G downtown for a few more hours before they headed to the airport. We visited the Liberty Bell, took a carriage ride (another high light for Luke), watched a short video in the visitors center and then took the tour through Independence Hall.

After the tour, which we left early so that G & G would make it to the airport on time, Luke crashed and burned! No wonder the kid couldn't walk straight with all the things we drug him around to do!