In Which the Cub Matriculates

Our first full day on the island was graduation day. We rose before the sun, grabbed coffee, and hit the beach to welcome the day.

Then, it was off to Honolulu for the ceremony. The graduates each got four tickets for family and friends, so Mikey and the Rodeo Princess stayed back at the house to decorate for the after party, which I appreciated very much.

Hugh, Queen B, the Cub's girlfriend (who should probably have a name on this blog...hmmm.. let's go with Shanti, since that was the name of the girl for whom Mowgli left the jungle in The Jungle Book), and I grabbed iced coffees once we got to Aloha Marketplace, which was where the ceremony was taking place. Then, we settled in to watch the show, and, what a show it was! The school did a great job of incorporating Hawaiian culture into the ceremony and it was really cool. Also, the ceremony was brief, which was welcomed since we were sitting in the hot sun.

Afterwards, we headed back to the house for food and drinks and a quick dip in the ocean for the Cub.

It goes without saying that we are extremely proud of the Cub. It's been a long four and a half years to get to this point and he was a trooper through it all.

Am I sad that we won't have such a readily available excuse to visit Hawaii in the future? Yes. Did we make the most of this trip knowing that? Also yes, but, more on that in the next half dozen posts or so (you've been warned).

(No, seriously. You've been warned)

All's Well That Ends Well, Especially When It Ends in a House on the Beach

As I've previously written, our journey to Hawaii was not without its challenges, but, in the end, we all made it and we had a wonderful time.

Despite my trepidation surrounding the cost of the rental house in Kailua, it ended up being the best money that we have spent on a vacation, period. The house was large enough for us, including a bathroom in every bedroom, space to spread out throughout the house, and a kitchen that has forever set the bar for the Kitchen of My Dreams. The cabinets space! The counter space! The commercial-sized fridge! It was a chef's wet dream and I enjoyed cooking in it. In fact, we only ate at one restaurant the entire time we were on the island and I never complained, once.

We were greeted with a welcome basket that held several of the island's gourmet treats, as well as a sweet note, welcoming us to the house.

The house was only steps from the beach and had a ton of outdoor entertaining space for us to use as well, although, since Kailua is on the windward side of the island, we didn't use the space quite the way I had envisioned us doing. That was just fine; the indoor entertaining space was plenty sufficient for the Cub's graduation party (post on graduation coming soon).

I didn't take many pictures of all of the bedrooms and bathrooms, but, trust me when I say; they were gorgeous. We all commented on how comfortable the beds were, too. In fact, we made note of the pillows and bedding manufacturers, so that we can order sets for home. They are pricey, but, I hadn't slept that well, that many nights in a row, in years. If we can come even a tiny bit close to recreating that at home, it's worth the price.

In addition to having every convenience possible, the house also came equipped with a garage fully stocked with beach toys, chairs, coolers, and another full-sized fridge for beer and soft drinks. They truly did think of everything.

The only minor complain that we had with the house was the spotty wifi. I had planned to post a few times during our trip but the internet connection was so slow, it was impossible to do. Other than that, this house was perfection, and, as I said earlier, worth every (considerable) penny.

Well, the Wheels Stayed Mostly on the Bus

 I knew that organizing a large-scale vacation to the Hawaiian islands during a pandemic would be a challenge, but I was not fully prepared for the stress that it would cause right up until the very minute we all landed.

When I left off on my previous post, Queen B and the Rodeo Princess were en route. They departed Dallas with no issues and with plenty of time to make their connecting flight at LAX. When they attempted to get the wristbands that would show their Covid negative status, the airline wouldn't give Queen B hers, because her test was still showing as pending in the system, rather than negative.

The Rodeo Princess was able to get her wristband, but the airlines told Queen B that she would have to show her actual test results once she got to Hawaii and then they would clear her.

Spoiler: that is not what happened. Instead, she was detained at the Honolulu airport because the test she took in Las Vegas (she was working at the National Finals Rodeo the week before she flew to Hawaii) was a rapid antigen test and not a rapid PCR test and Hawaii doesn't recognize the antigen test (I should point out; her registration for the test clearly indicated that she was getting the PCR test. We still have no idea why her results were from an antigen test). Her options were to quarantine for 10 days or to fly back to LAX and re-test, which, she could have done when she was there to begin with, if the airline had its shit together. To say we were frustrated would be a vast understatement of fact.

We were able to get her on a flight that night, arriving at 6:00 Friday morning. We got an appointment for a test at 4:00, and another flight back to Hawaii at 6:00. By the time she arrived on island, we had already arrived and set up housekeeping.

In contrast, the flight that Hugh, Mikey, and I took was a dream. Of course, we flew first class, which made all the difference. Also? I am now spoiled.

I may never fly economy again.

(ok, I probably will. But, a girl can dream)

The Good News is; I Didn't Wax My Cooter For Nothing

Our original party of thirteen for our trip to Hawaii is down to seven.

As I've already told you; the grandparents dropped out due to Covid recovery and Aunt Pat's memorial service. Tuesday, Mama Jill, Craig, and Kenzi dropped out when Craig tested positive for Covid (he's doing well, has minor symptoms and is taking good care of himself).

Hugh and I took our Covid tests yesterday, and, despite feeling perfectly fine, it was a nerve-wracking experience. We took two home tests prior to our official appointment (because I am paranoid and hate surprises) but I was still chewing my nails until we got the official results.

The wheels have come off the bus on this trip juuuuuust enough to leave me gun-shy (way to mix analogies, Chelle!), but, it's all going to be ok.

As I type this, Queen B and the Rodeo Princess are winging their way to the islands. Hugh, Mikey, and I are cleared for take-off early tomorrow morning, and, the Man-Cub and his lady love are eagerly anticipating all of our arrivals.

It's going to be fine. It's going to be better than fine.

Yesterday, I got waxed for the first time in my life. Thank goodness is wasn't in vain.

If you are the praying type, please say a little one for safe travels for us. A graduation and vacation are low on the totem pole for the good lord's intervention, I know, but; air travel still makes me anxious and I would appreciate it.

And They Say Nothing Good Can Come From TikTok

A few weeks back, while scrolling through TikTok looking for videos of crackheads to share with the Newlyweds in our Crackhead of the Day message thread, I happened upon an awesome DIY video for a super-sized Christmas garland. Naturally, I shared the video with Hugh, asking if he felt he could make something similar for my front porch.

I believe his response was something along the lines of "Hold my beer", and, it was off to the races!

The garland consists of "popcorn" made with spray foam...

... and Christmas ornament "cranberries". 

That's it. Well, and some twine, but, we had that laying around already, so, total items purchased for the project were the ornaments and the foam.

The most time consuming part of the process was waiting for the foam to dry; drilling out the holes in the ornaments and stringing the entire thing took less than half an hour.

The end result has BIG impact. 

I love the way the popcorn looks on top of the cedar garland draped on the porch; the green really makes the red and white pop. Ha! Pop! See what I did there?

Anyhoodle, it looks great, even at night!

And, with proper storage; it will be useful for years. 

Cheap, handmade, vintage-inspired, and durable? That's my kind of holiday decoration, right there.

Credit for the original TikTok video goes to a guy named Jeff Mackay, who, it should be noted, is probably not a crackhead.

Another Trip Around the Sun

I just typed this entire post and POOF, it disappeared. I am giving Blogger the middle finger so hard right now.

Anyhoodle, the gist of the post was something like this:

Yesterday was my birthday, and, to say that I was spoiled would be an understatement. Hugh kicked off the spoilage with a gift so cleverly wrapped; I almost missed it...

...yes, yes those are pillows from my couch and one of the cat's blankets, cleverly concealing a new...

...Pioneer Woman Instant Pot. Hugh was quite proud of his wrapping skills and definitely deserves the Most Inventive Use of Home Decor Award.

While I was admiring my new appliance, the Newlyweds stopped by to gift me with a bottle of wine in the cutest wine holder...

...they picked it up in Nashville, where they were spending Thanksgiving with family. 

The Newlyweds stuck around long enough to assist Hugh in freeing my blow molds from their storage under the house, and, you don't really know you have a problem until you see this many blow molds in one space. 

My name is Chelle and I am addicted to nostalgia. Sue me.

Anyhoodle, Hugh's next gift to me was eight hours of climbing on ladders, placing blow molds, engineering the electricity to said blow molds, and generally lighting up my life.

The house is now completely decorated for Christmas and I could not be more happy.

I am also as old as I've ever been and as young as I'll ever be.

But, happy.