Tropical Dreams at $26 a Gallon is Worth Every Penny!

Hubs and I knew one MUST DO on the Big Island was stop at Tropical Dreams ice cream farm. The short version is we stopped, bought our half gallon of Banana Storm, and ate it back at our vacation unit. The much better story is the first time we ever discovered Tropical Dreams.

On our very last trip to the Big Island before we moved from Hawaii, we kept reading about Tropical Dreams ice cream. It was supposed to be THE ice cream on the face of the planet. We set out to find the farm and forgot our guidebook! We remembered the farm was in Kamuela. Somehow, the idea of a FARM did not stick in our brains. We drove all over the small town looking for an ice cream SHOP.

We spotted a hot pink store front and pulled over. We asked if they served Tropical Dreams. NO. Before loading in the car, my kids spied a huge turtle coffee table in the real estate office next door. They wanted to pet him, but he seemed made out of Koa wood, and I thought the better of it. I steered them toward the car when Hubs slipped inside. I did not notice right away. He talked story a bit, and walked to our car with papers in hand. I thought he had property information. Ha! The realtor printed out map and directions to the FARM, less than two miles away. We found the farm in a few minutes. In the middle of this farm is a warehouse.
Now we just weren't sure what to expect. Hubs hopped out alone to check things out. A few minutes later he emerged from this warehouse, swinging a plastic bucket, clutching a brown sack, and making eyebrows at me with a wide smile across his face. This stuff had to be serious. In fact, it was. In his prized bucket was Banana Storm, at $26 a gallon. He had a half gallon, and paid $13. For some reason they were closed, but had the door to the warehouse open. The owner(?) sold him the ice cream anyway, with some plastic spoons and some styrofoam bowls. She said the ice cream was super hard, but should be just right if we made the drive to Hilo, 60 miles away. We were headed that way, anyway. She told him all about the ice cream. Mmmmm. I am getting there.

Hubs thought we needed a serving spoon because plastic spoons are just not the best for serving a half gallon of ice cream. It was a Saturday, and we rounded the corner from the farm and saw this sign:

Hubs flipped the rental around, and pulled over at a home in the neighborhood. I slid out of my seat onto the driveway, and he handed me a few dollars. I poked around a bit and found a handful of stainless steel serving spoons perfect for scooping ice cream. I asked the lady how much for one spoon, and she said I had to take them all for fifty cents. Deal.

I jumped back in the car, and we started the drive toward Hilo. Soon enough the kids were wise to our ice cream bucket, and were STARVING. Oh they just could not wait. Oh they were so HUNGRY. When were we going to stop??? Hubs caved and pulled over at a nice park along the Hamkua Coast. We grabbed a package of wipes, ice cream, spoons, and bowls and sat at a picnic table under a huge tree, looking down at the Pacific Ocean. We pulled the top off of Banana Storm. I took one long look and scrambled to pull the shirts off the boys. I could only imagine they might want to bathe in the ice cream, and I had not even smacked Banana Storm across my lips yet.
Oooh la la...Banana Storm. This is what we learned about this ice cream. The ice cream was named by an employee originally from Guam. When storms grace Guam, bananas fall to the ground everywhere. So it is called a banana storm. This ice cream is made with all kinds of local fruit. And it isn't like other ice creams where you get a little chunk of this or that about the size of a penny. No.NO.NO.

Oh. My. Word. I have NEVER ever had such frozen goodness grace my buds.

The ice cream is classified as "superpremium." Such ice cream is made with 18% butterfat and is "low overrun," meaning the amount of air mixed in while freezing. It makes the creamiest, densest ice cream EVAH. (Grocery store ice cream is 10 to 12% butterfat.) And the bananas are NOT the long yellow ones sitting out at your grocery store. Oh NO. These are locally grown apple bananas. There are half strawberry fruits and half oreo cookies in there. These are not little ground up chunks. NO. I am talking about half pieces of cookie from the top of the plastic tub all the way to the bottom. Mmm mmmm mmmmmmmmmm!
This was officially the beginning of the end of my South Beach diet in December. I am only going to confess to having at least two bowls. I will not confess more than that. My family had just as much as I did, too.
We were so thrilled to visit Tropical Dreams once again on our trip this summer. Hubs and the owner talked story again when he picked up the half gallon. We will be back, Tropical Dreams!

Waterslides and the Price of Fine Japanese Food

I finally quit moping about the camera I dropped down the lava tube. It was making my family too sad, and the kids needed me to get wet with them. Unfortunately, Hubs had a horrific accident a month before we left on the trip to the Big Island. The short of the very long and gross story is that he could not get his leg wet because of a puncture wound nearly to his shin bone. It was an open wound and still had not closed almost a month later. (That story is super gory and I will only tell it if you make me. Plus, it's not like I am behind in my blogging, right?!? The short version, is that his doctor, along with another orthopedic surgeon agreed he risked having his leg amputated since he waited to seek treatment for a few days after the accident. It became infected from the inside of his body out. Ewww!!)

Even though it was just the boys and me in the water, and I was sporting my 32 week bump, I was amazed that both boys were so independent on the water slides. Handling the two boys alone and pregnant in the pool was not nearly as difficult as I imagined. Really, my feelings were not hurt that they preferred one another to me. Okay, maybe I was a little shocked for a minute. I felt a little guilty treading water in the pool while they slid down the slide, dumped into the pool, and swam to the edge over and over. My two little fish loved swimming away from me. I suppose they thought that was funny. This is the water slide at our vacation ownership resort. Hubs took pictures with his camera.
We also are allowed to use the hotel resort next door. Now here is the thing I loved the most. Had I been at a water park, I am sure I would have been banned from the water slides because of my "health condition." But at the resort it did not matter that I was very pregnant! Can you spot the boys behind me? Too bad you can't see me in this suit standing up. In three pregnancies this is my absolute favorite maternity suit!
The OTHER thing we did at the properties was attend a presentation to buy more vacation ownership. I purposely am not mentioning where we own because this is the one and only time we had a not so pleasant experience. Generally the pitch to owners is a no pressure sale, because they believe their hotel brand sells itself. And it does. The presentation usually goes like this: They say, "So you don't want to spend money today. Any questions? GREAT. Here is your check for $100. Bye. Enjoy your time here." Or something to that effect. That did not happen this time.

I made the mistake of telling the egomaniac with a smile I was not going to leave without my $100. Ugh. I think he took that as a challenge. He brought my kids legos. He brought them snacks. He tried to get them to watch a movie. He offered to buy us dinner. He told us we deserved this. He questioned our judgment and logic when we said no. And I felt trapped. So I had to spring us from this guy's office.

A little known fact is that I finished half an economics degree in college before I changed my major (long story, but I wanted to graduate fast, instead). I still read Forbes. I still follow economic trends, and I like to weigh opportunity costs. So I launched into an incredible diatribe on the state of our economy, the evolution of the American mentality of entitlement, and how we must be more judicious in our economic choices in the state of our current economic crisis. But what I said was much more involved, intelligent, articulate and beautiful, all while I snapped legos together, passed out snacks, and tried to keep peace on the floor of his office. I watched as he sat in his comfy ergonomic chair shifting back and forth, but I kept going. A slow smile spread across Hubs' face when I finished and I knew I made him proud. The egomaniac did not have much of a come back and finally fetched our $100. He made some snide remarks at me as he filled out the voucher. And because I am sinful and I need Jesus, I used some of his wording from his sales pitch with an edge to my voice as a retort. He dramatically looked at me and told me it was a good thing he had thick skin. I held my tongue and said nothing to him about how I spent a good chunk of time on the floor of his office pregnant, with my children, while he rocked in his ergonomic chair.

ANYWAY.

We took our voucher.
I dressed my men alike for dinner.
We rode the shuttle to the resort.
We hopped on the tram that wraps through the resort,
and landed ourselves at this restaurant where I vowed never to take my little people on many previous visits.

And honestly, I became that American with a sense of entitlement WITH a $100 voucher for dinner. So to the people that gave us some stink eye because of my little people, I did not see you. I was too busy sharing a sunset with my family.Son1 has had a thing for Japan since he was three. He was beside himself to go to Imari, a Japanese steakhouse, for dinner. They serve two kinds of dinner, Teppanyaki (grill where you sit around the hot table with some strangers) or Washoku (traditional sit down Japanese dinner.) We opted for Washoku on the fancy side of the restaurant, you know, for the amusement of the other guests. HA! The restaurant folding doors were pushed open, and my kids loved visiting the koi pond in between courses.


And Imari did not disappoint. We made a reservation ahead of time. They had a special table set up for us, and to my surprise, chopsticks prepared for my kids. The chopsticks were wrapped with rubber bands so the kids could participate, and their menus and crayons were placed so carefully at their settings. The restaurant has fountains, waterfalls, and porcelain pieces throughout. It has an elegant minimalist feeling. The waitresses donned traditional black kimonos, and the restaurant bred an aura of serenity. I tried to get the kids to blend and be one with their environment, in other words, be quiet. Whenever we frequent a cloth napkin kind of establishment I try and emphasize the whole "fancy restaurant" thing with the kids. Now this place was a double whammy because on top of cloth napkins they also received steaming white wash cloths. They were a bit confused by bath time at the dinner table, but at least followed suit.

For dinner, I had a China Mist passion fruit iced tea...
...and some scrumptious scallops. Why bother with an appetizer when I could not eat anything raw?
So instead, I behaved, did not indulge, and watched Hubs feast on his appetizer including my absolute fave...sashimi.
He had himself a bento box, except Son2 monopolized his hot and sour soup.

Now you don't think we took all of these pictures with a camera phone, do you? No! Hubs and Son1 took a special field trip to Costco and got us a nice little point and shoot Canon for the rest of the trip! Son1 kept checking to make sure I used the wrist strap and wasn't going to let us have another sad day. Because when a man loves a woman...well, you read my last post.

Crocodile Tears at Kilauea Iki Trail and Thurston Lava Tube

This day did not turn out as planned. It was the saddest day of our whole trip to Hawaii. I sobbed and heaved and blubbered. The day started so well.

We stayed on the Kona coast of the Big Island, known for it's crystal blue calm waters and coffee country. With Hubby's leg wound not healed (more to come later) we opted for a land day on the Hilo side of the island, two hours away. We traveled the drier south side to the Kona Mountain Coffee Company. They produce 100% Kona Coffee. This is a big deal, because some companies only serve 10% Kona coffee. I learn more about coffee all of the time. I am SO SAD that I am not a coffee drinker. I missed out on a whole lot of Kona coffee drinking when we lived in Hawaii. Our church served Kona coffee every Sunday and I may have indulged once, just to say I did.

At the store, Hubs purchased green unroasted Kona coffee beans. You roast them just before you brew coffee.This was news to me. I knew nothing about green coffee beans. In the Kona coffee grading system they are extra fancy, the largest and nearly perfect beans. And they are spendier! He also chose a coconut mocha Kona coffee which is 100% Kona coffee mixed with macadamia nut and coconut and a few others including a chocolate raspberry. And even though I am not a coffee drinker, Hubs monitors my caffeine intake lately. (READ: Almost eliminated it entirely regardless of my cravings.) So he sweetly surprised me with a bag of chocolate covered peaberries, high in caffeine! I ate a handful and all of a sudden my head relaxed with a familiar caffeine buzz. A Wal Mart stop and lunch drive through later, we were finally on the two lane highway to Hilo!

We arrived at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park shortly after 4pm. This was one of the only things on Son1's TO DO list. He remembered his time at Thurston Lave Tube with our family and Gradma T., and was intent on walking through the cave. Just before the bend in the road to Thurston Lava Tube is the Kilauea Iki entrance. So we made an unexpected stop and jumped out. Our plan was just to take a picture from the rim of the collapsed crater. But as we peered over the edge we spied a handful of people walking across the crater. I was positive this was the four mile hike our friends Kevin and Sarah once made across the collapsed crater.
We checked the trail guide, and sure enough, this was it! So Hubs and I stood there and we pondered the hike. We knew Son1 could easily make the four mile hike. He had walked that far over the Coronado Bridge. But the trail was not stroller friendly, and this time our two year old was in tow. We had some bottles of water and some cashews and chocolates to hold the kids over until dinner. We hemmed and hawed long enough and finally called Kevin and Sarah on the east coast hoping not to wake them. Did they think our kids could make the trip? They don't have kids yet, but they do know and love our kids. We trusted their judgment, and they said to go for it. By the time we packed our stuff, and hit the trail it was nearly 5pm.The trail was dense and thick and jungly. The ground was moist and the mosquitoes were awake. Parts of the trail were steep downhills and some were steep uphills. The jungle canopy shaded the trail so well, and blocked out much sunlight. It was all beautiful, and I made many stops with Son1 to take pictures of all the beauty around us.The trail is a 450 foot drop from a rich sea of green rain forest into a dry and desolate volcanic crater. Hubs quickly decided to hoist Son2 on his shoulders while Son1 and I brought up the rear. Hubs and Son2 walked ahead and kept up with the momentum of a down hill trail. Son1 and I talked about the vegetation, the insects we heard, and the birds we saw. I took so many beautiful pictures of him, of all that we saw, and Hubs and Son2 along the trail. In so many ways I could not believe that we were back again, just six months after we had moved from Hawaii. All of the thick and tall trees, the smells of the rain forest, the sounds of the birds and insects, I took it all in. I loved it differently than I had loved it before, because this time, I knew I could only enjoy this beauty for a few days. Son1 and I talked about saving, and I reminded him that to come on special trips like this we needed to to save money. We talked about spending less money on McD0na1d*s, and what it means to save money.

My thoughts wandered to my three pregnancies. When I was pregnant with Son1 and living in VA Hubs spoke at a conference in Hawaii. I tagged along, and made the long 13 hour flight, pregnant with Son1. I had no inkling we would move to Hawaii just a year later. Then I thought about how my second child was born in Hawaii, and how our third child was just teeny tiny in my womb when we left. And so I had all of these mushy emotional pregnancy thoughts, how I have spent part of all three of my pregnancies here. I watched as my eldest flew down the trail so easily in front of me, in his laced up tennis shoes, how I never thought a day like this would come four years ago. I thought he would be in velcro shoes forever. I listened as he shouted, "C'mon Mommy; we have to catch up! I can't see Daddy and brother any more!! Stop taking pictures Mommy! We have to get to the crater!" Sometimes we stopped long enough to touch and talk about the plants, trees, and the exposed roots.

And I snuck more pictures.

We talked about the cooling lava, and the rich soil, and the new growth. We talked about God, and all that He created, and all that we delighted in seeing, hearing, and touching.

And I took more pictures.

I took some awesome pictures of my big boy's sweet smile, of his excitement, of his understanding of all that was around. I took pictures of my husband, and captured the moments of him loving the minutes with our little toddler, helping him climb over the carved out trail in a most protective way, sometimes with the little boy perched on his shoulders. They were pictures of the little boy who was turning into a little boy, and would soon not be the baby in the family. More pictures, and Hubs told me we just had to hurry. He was sure I had taken a whole mess of pictures already. He was right. I easily took close to 100 shots . The light was disappearing from the trail. Both of the kids had tripped. We realized that we would need to turn back at the crater floor, for a 2.5 mile round trip. We would not cross the crater.

Soon enough we reached the crater floor. A few people looked at my well formed belly, just 8 weeks from my due date, and cautioned me to be very careful. The lava rock was crumbly and loose and they were struggling to climb up the trail. I promised I would be super careful. Finally our feet hit the floor of the crater, and I asked Hubs to let me take a few pictures. The landscape was so different at the floor! The crater collapsed in 1959 after a red lava lake spewed and formed after 1,000 earthquakes. It took 36 years to cool. And it is still cooling. In the distance we could see steam vents from the ground. I zoomed in and took some beautiful shots. I must tell you that none of these shots in this post are mine. Not even this one, of the ohi' a lehua, one of the first plants to form in the rich lava soil after it cools.
This a view of the new rock that forms after lava cools.
In the distance you can spot some of the steam across the rest of the trail.At this point, we knew it was still over a mile back to the trail head. The sun was setting already, and the trail is not lit at all. We all agreed it was time to go. I handed Hubs my camera, and asked him to take a few shots of me and of the kids. He promised he took a handful of great shots, and we should start back. But I asked him to take one more with the timer, one more of our entire family. I explicitly made a point of telling him "of our family of five." I smoothed my kids' hair, wiped sweat beads from my forehead, and we positioned ourselves. We did not have a tripod. In the vast open space, Hubs found a little rock lava sculpture. He grabbed more lava rocks from the floor of the crater, and lodged the camera into a precarious position, guaranteeing me the camera would be fine. He set the timer, and we took a few pictures this way. But when the very last shot finished, he grabbed the camera, played back the digital image, and we all were absolutely amazed. There we were, dressed in bright blue against the dark black lava rock with the rain forest towering along the crater rim. The picture captured the landscape behind us so clearly, and our family so crisply, our family of FIVE. I praised him for such a great shot, and I told him I could not wait until Son3 could one day see this picture. I wore a smile all the way back up the trail, because that picture could not have been any better. The boys were smiling, and Son1 wore a sense of accomplishment. Hubs and I agreed that this hike was one of the highlights with our boys thus far in the life of our family. We enjoyed the hike all the way back. Finally, we arrived at the trail head, a little tired, 2.5 miles later. We were so proud of both boys, shocked that even our two year old hoofed the majority of the trail back to the parking lot on his own two feet.

Hubs loaded the kids back in the car, and I snapped a few more pictures of the early evening over Kilauea Iki. Hubs asked if we should still make the short jaunt through Thurston Lava Tube. The entrance was just across Crater Rim Drive. The sunlight was definitely escaping us. But the dusk was enough light to make the short hike. Yes, we all agreed we wanted to make the short beautiful hike. We even had a little family cheer. YAAAAYYYY!!!!!

We found parking. We crossed the street. We stood at the overlook at the entrance to the lava tube. I tried to get a good shot of the top of the canopy, but I thought Hubs could get a better shot leaning over the rail.

I asked him to take the picture.

I extended my arm to him with the camera.

I let go before the camera met his hand.

And it slipped over the rail and bounced off the top of the canopy of trees.

It tumbled.

We heard it go deep, deep, deep down.

And Hubs looked at me ready to say something.

And I burst into tears.

And he said nothing.

Very determined, he suggested we look for it. Quietly we descended into the tube. We rounded the bend closest to the probable landing spot, still no less than 30 feet from the trail. Below the canopies of the ferns and trees several stories in the air, the darkness started to settle in for the evening. A folding sign blocked an entrance to where we needed to cross. It warned not to enter, it warned of danger. Hubs picked the sign up and crossed into the slippery green floor. It was muddy from recent rain. I kept hushing an inquisitive Son1. He looked at me and said,

"Mommy, is Daddy doing a bad thing??"

And the words tumbled from my heart. I looked into his sincere eyes and said, "When a man loves a woman, he will do crazy things." He was strangely satisfied, and repeated that phrase all night, and through the week. In fact, he is still saying it in San Diego.

Hubs never found the camera. I cried the rest of the night. He bought me a steak dinner that could not fix my heart. He offered to buy me another camera that could not bring back my SD card. He listened to me cry for two hours back to Kona about that one picture, the picture of our family of five. I was not angry. I was feeling so sad. I heaved. I blubbered. I thanked him for showing me the picture on the screen, the one I would hold in my heart. That man has a heart of gold. He understood me even if he did not understand.

A pleading phone call from my emotional pregnant heart to the park ranger led to a rescue mission two days later. At that moment all I wanted was my SD card. I did not care if the camera was shattered. All I wanted was that one picture, the one I saw on the playback screen. The amazing folks from the park sent four workers deep into the bowels of the tube to look for my camera with no such luck. I was told that they searched for half a day. They found many other lost items, though. The emergency dispatcher said my camera probably slipped through a crevice and plummeted over a hundred feet below the ground.

So there is no picture of that day. That is OK. But if there is one thing I hope that the boys learned that day from their daddy, is that if a man loves a woman, he will do crazy things for her. I hope they learned from their daddy to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Their wives will thank them one day.

Sick!!!

An unexpected illness took a firm grip over my 61 inch frame.

A horrible case of the stomach virus attacked me. LITERALLY for five days.

I saw my practitioner. She told me to hydrate and take an over the counter medication.

I did not hydrate.

The contractions started.

I called the doctor's office when the contractions multiplied the next day.

I called Hubs to come home before I called the doctor.

I knew I was in for it.

My kids knew something was very, very wrong.

They were dolls.

Who knew the 4 year old could make meals?

The triage obstetrical nurse said I wasn't having "enough" contractions in an hour.

She told me to drink MORE water.

I told her I could not.

She wanted to know WHY I could not.

Liquids made me more nauseous.

I started to cry. I told her I was never this irrational about liquid.

She gently shook me through the phone and told me I had no choice.

Six contractions in an hour and it was hospital time.

NO!

She told me the hospital would only give me IV fluid and put me on monitors anyway, and maybe just give me a touch of medication and send me home.

"Angry Booty" (an Usherism) is not pregnancy related, yet going around pregnant women now.

I was still in painful tears when we hung up.

Hubs came home and catered to the kids and to me.

Six contractions in an hour came. He held my hand. I drank more water.

Six contractions in twenty minutes came. I refused to hear about the hospital.

I drank more water.

I drank more water.

I drank more water.

Six hours later the contractions subsided.

I drank more water.

I was sweaty all night.

I drank more water.

I could not pee. There was nothing to waste.

I drank more water.

Hubs went into the office for a few hours the next morning.

I drank G2. It literally saved my life.

It was salty and sweet from beginning to end. I did not like it at first.

The water was not enough, though. I needed more salt to retain liquid.

I drank more G2.

I drank more G2.

I drank more G2.

Hubs was home again. He did not let me move one inch.

I slept several hours.

I drank more G2.

I drank more water, too.

Stomach virus was still in full swing.

I stood up only *to go*.

Hubs disappeared with my kids.

I slept more hours.

I was sweaty for more hours. It all came out my pores.

I drank more water. I drank more G2.

Two days later, I felt my stomach relax from knots.

It had now lasted Sunday to Sunday.

Today is Tuesday.

I am good, thank the Lord.

Read more about the rest of the Hawaiian adventure here soon.

Big Rock Fever

When we lived in Hawaii people NOT from Hawaii always asked if we ever got rock fever. And my answer was always a horrified "NO!" I generally stayed in the state except for one trip back to California a year. On holiday weekends and during some holidays we traveled to the neighbor islands. Each island is so vastly different that I never felt whatever people refer to as "rock fever." However, after living on the Big Rock (what local people in Hawaii call the lower 48) for just under six months, Hubs, myself, and Son1 all had Big Rock Fever. Um, and why yes, that is a Farmerism. We missed the culture of aloha the most as well as local food. It was time. We had to get off the Big Rock. So with time share points expiring this year, and a hunk of frequent flyer miles, the four Farmers arrived at the airport two hours after dropping off Vitafamiliae. The total flight time before us was seven hours, with an additional 3 hour layover in SF. That is 10 hours of travel time! From San Diego to San Fransisco the kids sat with Hubs. And they were the quietest kids ever. Yes, I was jealous. They always give him the royal treatment. Humph!!!

We never mind layovers in San Fransisco, because we always score the same terminal. I have no idea what it is called, but it is the one with the kids play area and the food court. By far, our favorite stop is called Just Desserts. They are a local SF company that bakes premium desserts from scratch with no trans fats. The desserts are all natural. They do not use any artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, bleached flour, or hydrogenated shortenings. The dessert on the left is mine, which was a marble mousse, and Hubs had a mango mousse cake. Those sweet children of ours did not even ask for a bite! We swallowed these after our mondo Mexican food lunch.
Three hours later we boarded the flight to Kona, Hawaii. Kona is on the "Big Island." All of the other seven main Hawaiian islands could fit inside the Big Island. It is Son1's favorite island, and he was crazy excited to fly back to Hawaii. Son1 and I had a row to ourselves and Son2 and Hubs sat in the row across from us in their own row.
The seating arrangement was just fine with me. Son2 is our more active and vocal child. Let's just say he doesn't do his best in confined spaces. About 10 minutes into the flight I peered over Hubs and saw this:
I asked Hubs how he accomplished to do that. He just smiled a cocky smile at me and said, "I am the Son2 Whisperer. I just told him to lay down and go to sleep." Well, Daddy-O have I told you how happy I am you are on this trip?!? He just shook his head at me, pulled out a charged ipod and the rest of the flight went like this...for just over 5 hours folks.
We landed in Hawaii, and after two hours of calling every rental company to find where we reserved our rental car, we finally made it to Costco one minute before they closed for the essentials. And of course, that included a macadamia nut pie for me. ALL ME. Aloha y'all.

The Vitafamiliae Visit

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, ..., it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, ..."

Ever read that quote from Charles Dickens in a Tale Of Two Cities? Did Dickens know The Farmer Files personally? A LOT of life has happened over the last six months. A LOT. And blogging took a back seat. A lot of chaos, emotions (HELLO remember I am pregnant?!?), upheaval, and prioritizing my husband and kids absorbed our days. Moving to San Diego has been wonderful and exhausting all at the same time. The construction around our home is finally complete and we are adjusting to a new "normal." We have hosted company for 27 days in the last four months from understanding friends to understanding family.

Our latest and greatest guests came from the house of Vitafam. I have not seen them in four years, since before the twins' first birthday. And their visit was like water for my blogging soul. But before I tell you all about my revelations here is the quick story...if ever such a thing.

We first met LL and Andrew nine years ago in Northern VA at church. I knew I liked them immediately because they wore jeans to church inside the stuffy suit and tie Beltway. See, despite was LL says, they could live in CA. They have since moved back "home" to the South. Andrew scored a work conference in San Fran last week, and LL and three of their five kids boarded the plane with him. Go visit her and read about their adventures in the city. OH MY. Then they jumped on ANOTHER plane one hour south to our house. She tells you all about Legoland, swimming at our house, and playing with our Vitamix here. And it was tons of fun. They even let us sneak out one night for dinner ALONE. Oh, and those kids she blogs about? I have no idea where she left them. The twins she blogs about are not the ones that showed up at my house. They were polite, obedient, cleaned up their plates and toys, every single time without fuss. In her post, she skipped the part about how they spanked us in Euchre after a lot of trash talking. Hmmm I can't decide if she left that part out because of her Southern politeness OR if it is because Hubs swears the game is a game of LUCK and not SKILL. I mean, it's not like Euchre is HEARTS, PINOCHLE, OR TEXAS HOLD 'EM. Not that we are competitive or anything. But seriously, it was awesome to play cards with sweet competitors that understand the beauty of a poker pack. They speak our love language.

But the best part of the visit for me were the long convos. Well, that, and them doting on my pregnant self. What pregnant lady doesn't love folks that don't let her lift a finger?? I was spoiled. When they come back, I think I will just shove a pillow under my shirt and pretend and see if they are just as good to me. HA! But as LL said, there was no "starting from the beginning." I have known them long enough to know them. There was a lot of sharing of our lives and our walks by faith. You know, mushy stuff. And then there were tech moments. The dry stuff that I thoroughly enjoyed talking about with LL. Hubs and Andrew did their tech triage stuff around our house, too, but I totally didn't understand what they were saying in computer-ese. Um, and pretty much it was Andrew doing his thing. Computers, those are his bag, folks. Meantime, LL broke down the whole twittering thing for me and hooked me up on tweetdeck. So follow me, I'm thefarmerfiles.

Talking to LL was like water for my blogging soul. I am encouraged. I am back. And because you have been reading and you know us, we will just take LL's advice and not start over from the beginning, m'kay? Now these photos are on her blog, and I totally don't care if you see them twice, because they make me smile. Marinate on these, people.

Sea World San Diego

On the Harveys last full day in San Diego, we visited Sea World San Diego, sprawled along Mission Bay. There are three other Sea Worlds in the country, but Sea World San Diego is where it all began, by four graduates of my college alma mater. The first place I ever collected a real paycheck was at Sea World. I was a restaurant cashier. Growing up, my parents brought us on several Sundays. Things have sure changed! Now, season pass holders are finger printed and use machines for admittance. I am holding my finger to a machine just like the one to the right of me.
Our first stop was the dolphin show. Supposedly, a family from Las Vegas was picked to participate in the show from the audience. Unexpectedly, the mother fell into the huge 26 foot deep pool. We all gasped, and all fell for their trick. The mother is a new dolphin trainer at the park and continued the show. That was a bit of a let down. In my heart I wanted her to swim to the edge and for us all to clap because she bravely survived the trip and fall.

We saw Shamu's Believe, which is a choreographed and musically synchronized show with the orcas, or killer whales. "Shamu" is the stage name for the orcas, but Sea World San Diego actually has several orcas that perform under the stage name Shamu.
At Shark Encounter we walked through a 57 foot acrylic marine tube. Four types of lively sharks swam overhead. The kids loved it! Son2 sat on Hubby's shoulders and was awed by a close up view of the sharks. And it was so cool, both of the two year olds knew exactly what those things swimming with rows and rows of teeth were called, and that they could be dangerous. People often ask me if I think kids are too young to visit different attractions. My general answer is no!

The kids kept asking for the Sesame Street Bay of Play. We passed it on the way into the park, so we made our way back to the two acre play area.
The first ride the kids boarded was Oscar's Rocking Eel. I tried to board the ride until a ride attendant asked if I was pregnant. In my sweatshirt I suppose I could have passed for just FAT. But I lifted up my sweatshirt and showed off my bump to her and all of the other riders. Don't ask what got into me. But she apologized and told me I could not ride. I was actually shocked. The kids and the dads got a kick out of being whirled around back and forth, faster and faster.Next we rode Elmo's Flying Fish. And by "we" I do mean me, too. That is me making my shame, shame, shame sign. Now in a little defense of myself, the attendant did not say I could not ride. And the other way I weighed my decision was that at Legoland I am allowed to ride the helicopters and two airplane rides. And technically I am allowed to fly in a real airplane until I am 36 weeks. But obviously I know I am breaking the Sea World rules.I also jumped on Abby's Sea Star Spin in a teacup. Hubs gave it one whirl and I just did not think I could take any more spinning of the wheel since the teacups swirled on their own already. We took Son2 with us, since he does not mind spinning. Son1 hung out in a teacup with the Harveys who promised not to whirl and twirl their teacups.
About this time the Harveys wanted to see more of Sea World, and my boys wanted to see more of the Bay of Play. They headed for the polar bears, beluga whales, and penguins....

...while our kids explored more of the Bay of Play.
We met up again to see the manatees. I was so excited for Son1 who had learned so much about manatees last year. I promised him a trip to Florida one day to see the manatees, but I completely forgot that Sea World San Diego hosts rescued and rehabilitated manatees from Florida! The kids loved to see the manatees swim, and this is another animal the two year olds were familiar with before ever visiting. That was so sweet to see them recognize these graceful mammals!
We wandered to other outdoor exhibits, but one that we had pretty much to ourselves was the California Tide Pool. The kids touched sea stars and sea urchins in a shallow, yet extensive tide pool.But the most memorable exhibit was Forbidden Reef where we leaned deep into the exhibit to pet California bat rays and stare at moray eels. The men bought fish for the women and children. I love this picture of Son2 and me. You can't see our faces, but it makes me remember and feel his little body against mine, trusting that I would keep him dry and safe from the bat rays. Well, I did keep him safe, but I could not keep him dry!!!Those bat rays completely soaked us with their wide body spans. I changed both of my kids because they were soaked from head to toe. They really wanted our fish!!!

Lucky for us, there were nice hand washing stations at Forbidden Reef. But as I was propping Son2 up to wash his hands, two different dads came and ran their hands under the sink I was holding for my own child before I could even get his little hands under the water. Now they both said excuse me when they ran their hands under the water....but mama bear came out in me!! Not that I could not extend them some grace, BUT I finally told one father, "I am sorry but you are the third father that has pushed past me, and I have a two year old that needs his hands washed AND I am pregnant, SO I am sorry but you are just going to have to wait!!" That poor man. He was a little taken aback. But I wondered how chivalry works in their homes. Blah!

The day was SO FULL! Hubs and I loved the day at Sea World with the Harveys! Our last full day was bittersweet. And for the third time ever, Son1 cried the next day when company left. And the other two times that he cried happened to be for the very same guests. Sigh...until next year, Harveys. You were wonderful guests, as always.