Aloha & Mahalo

At what can only be called "the last minute" - our family decided to go to Hawaii for Spring Break. Thanks to Erv's very dedicated and determined secretary, Susan, an opening was found through our timeshare on Oahu, and off we went....at MIDNIGHT, which was the only flight we could find that could accomodate all 7 of us.

It was fine until we had to find a place to sleep during our 5 hour layover in San Francisco. We found a very secluded hallway and lots of bare floor and experienced the life of the homeless for a brief and very pitiful moment in time. Good thing our children are such good sports and that we were only one of several various people and families that were in the same predicament we were.

Fortunately Paige and Hayley brought blankets...Nina actually slept like a rock and didn't want to wake up when it was time to go.

It was a bit of a wait after we woke up and got down to the gates. Our plane was delayed for an hour and it seemed, after the long night, that we were never going to get there.

Thus, the happy smiles when we reached our hotel and actually had BEDS to sleep in.....
Aren't our kids cute? Even when they're being cheesy?
Dad sure thinks so...

Our resort, Ko Olina Beach Club, is on Oahu and is very beautiful, very family oriented. We took a walk our first night here along the beach and had lots of fun taking pictures and enjoyed our first sunset which is always one of the best parts of each day. Climbing trees like monkeys was our first indication that the kids' energy was back. Nothing short of seeing a really "hot" movie star could have made the evening any more wonderful when, what do you know??.....

We did! Gerard Butler. Gerard "The Phantom-"300"-PS I LOVE YOU" Butler.

Walked right past us wearing a light blue golf shirt and jeans and sipping his water bottle. The 3 girls were ahead of Erv, me, and the youngest ones so we got to watch their reaction - and his. He was walking the opposite direction of us and passed them on their left after making brief eye contact and it took me just a second to recognize who he was. Then he passed us and I just waited for the girls to turn around - which they all did - with the most awe-struck, flushed and breathless faces you can imagine. Followed by vigorous fanning of their faces and near-swooning and hushed squeeling and a vow to never leave the hotel room again, "EVER", this entire trip without looking gorgeous.

Nina didn't really understand all the fuss. While the girls couldn't get over how "gorgeous" he was and quit fighting over whose eyes he actually made contact with and Rex wouldn't stop gleefully yelling, "We just saw a MOVIE STAR!!", Nina just shrugged and sighed and very seriously said, "well...I'm not so 'relieved' about movie stars. I just don't care about them more than real people.' Whereupon, she asked me every 30 seceonds for the rest of the night if 'he' really was a 'real movie star.' My, oh my, what a stir one milli-second of "star sighting" can make!

So - we'd made it here. And Day One was finally over. With very real and new appreciation for our fine accomodations, we crawled into our beds and blissfully slept safe and sound.