The Smith Family Adventures

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a pretty low key day here at the Smith household. Well…low key in that we got to stay home and relax with family. But we were full of life with lots of house guests. Grandpa has been staying with us for a week, and Auntie Erin, Uncle Jared, and cousins arrived late last night.

The boys were already in bed when the fam arrived, so Elias was literally bursting with excitement when he saw them this morning. There was no waiting period. The kids got right down to playing.

I started cooking dishes early in the morning, and then a bit before noon we started getting the turkey ready. This is how Nathan felt about it:

We didn’t have a formal lunch, but the kids snacked and did art projects throughout the day.

We got in some rest too. Simon napped, and Elias and Sonya sat on the bed and looked at the leap pad together.

We all sat down together for dinner and enjoyed the company.

The kiddos are all sound asleep now after tiring themselves out. And we’ve got a lot of leftovers for the next couple of days!

We’ve been lucky enough to have Grandpa visiting this week from Indiana. Simon, who is working on more and more words each day, enjoys repeating whatever I say, or whatever he hears. I was trying to get him to say “grandpa.”

Instead of saying “grandpa,” Simon started saying “Papa” when referring to Grandpa. He points to him and says “Papa.” Once when Grandpa was sleeping he said, “Papa nigh-nigh.”

I just find it so cute to hear “Papa” come out of his little voice, especially when he came up with it himself.

On Saturday we had our last day in Hawaii. The time was really winding down. We had had a lot of adventure, a lot of time with family, and a lot of relaxation on the beach. Half of the family had already left, so it was just us and my parents. We decided to go explore the eastern side of Oahu a bit and visit Sea Life Park.

On the way there, we drove by the area where my dad was born. He showed us his old school, and his old church, and pointed toward the area up on a hill where his father had built a house for them. Then, he suddenly pulled off in a neighborhood, and showed us the house where he had lived with his grandmother when he was about three or four. My mom and I got out and took a picture.

Back when he lived there, the big stone wall was not there. He said his grandmother had all sorts of rose bushes lining the driveway. You can’t tell from this picture, but the house backs right up to the ocean. He and his siblings used to fish in the ocean right from their backyard. You can see from this next picture the walkway back to the ocean:

The Eastern side of Oahu really is beautiful. We enjoyed the scenery on the drive very much. When we made it to Sea Life Park, the first thing we looked at was the shark tank. The boys enjoyed pointing them out and watching them swim by. Then, we went to see the sea turtles. There were quite a few of them for such a small enclosure, but it was exciting because the boys got to feed the turtles. They each got a cup of lettuce, broccoli, and celery, and threw them out into the water. Then we got to watch the turtles swim up, and take the food.

After the sea turtles we watched a fun sea lion show. Nathan was grumbling the whole time because as a salmon fisherman, you kind of have to hate on the sea lions. These ones were pretty cute, though, and knew all sorts of fun tricks.

Next on the list was feeding the birds. The last time we took Elias in to see birds was at the lorakeet exhibit at the Oregon zoo. He absolutely freaked out with fear. Granted, that was probably two years ago, but I was anxious about how he would do. It’s good I didn’t let any of my trepidation show because he did absolutely fine. In fact, he loved it! He had a bird land on his hand and his head and he thought it was fun.

Simon enjoyed feeding the birds too.

After feeding the birds, we ate lunch, and then headed over to the dolphin show. It featured both Atlantic and Pacific bottle nose dolphins as well as a whalfin. I did not know that such a thing exists, and in fact, the whalfin mother and calf at Sea Life Park are the only ones in existence in the world. The show was packed with all sorts of flips and twists and amazing jumps. The boys were riveted.

After this we hung around the park for a bit longer to explore a few other exhibits, a playground, and some yummy Dole soft serve. Then it was time to head back to the hotel.

We got in one last swim, and then got ready to meet my Auntie Cathy and Uncle Vince one last time. As a parting gift, they got us some malasadas, which my mom had been talking about the entire trip, but we had never gotten around to trying. They are basically a donut-like pastry, and they are very yummy.

Simon enjoyed trying the malasada, but didn’t finish his.

Elias, in true form, said he didn’t want to try them and would rather have strawberries. I guess there are some pluses to having an uber picky child. He’s healthy.

I’m not going to confess how many Nathan and I ate, but we definitely had some at breakfast the next morning, and might have brought some home on the plane with us as well.

Writing this, it seems crazy that we were there just a few days ago. We’ve been home and back in our normal routine, which started with swimming lessons bright and early Monday morning. Despite all the craziness, I think I will mostly just remember the warmth. The warmth of the sun, yes, but also the warmth in my heart. Spending time with family is so important and it was a wonderful time.

Meet the Portuguese Man of War:

It may look like a jellyfish, but in fact it is not a jellyfish. There are a few major differences. First of all, the Man of War is actually four different organisms that work together. It’s called a siphonophore or some scientific term like that. Each of the parts works together, but cannot survive independently. Unlike a jellyfish which can propel itself, the man of war just drifts on the ocean and has no other way of movement. The tentacles have venom that paralyze fish and other organisms, and although no human has died from a man of war sting, it is said to be excruciatingly painful in certain cases. Most of the time the man of war drifts in groups, and watch out because even if it is dead, it can still sting you.

Enough with the science lesson. We did not know any of this before Friday last week. It was Uncle Greg and Auntie Shaina’s last day with us, and Uncle Scott and Auntie Kristy were heading off to Maui for their 4th anniversary celebration trip for a few days. We decided to spend our last day together relaxing at the beach and pool. We all had a great time swimming together at the pool. Then, Nathan and Uncle Greg took the boys to the beach. My skin had had enough of the sun so I went to an outdoor market in the shade instead with Kristy and my mom.

After twenty minutes or so, Auntie Kristy got a phone call asking for vinegar right away. Elias had been stung by a Portuguese Man of War while playing in the ocean. I hurried back to the beach and found Nathan in the hot tub with Elias and got the full story.

Apparently, Nathan had been playing up on the beach with Simon, while Uncle Greg and Elias were running in the waves and throwing nuts into the water. Uncle Greg noticed a dead fish floating in the water. Elias got out of the ocean, and when at the shore, both he and Greg noticed something wrapped around his leg. Uncle Greg went to remove it, but before he could, Elias did it himself, and immediately started limping up the beach toward Daddy. Nathan said he was very visibly upset and in pain, but he couldn’t tell what was wrong so he took him up to the showers to wash off the leg.

When Nathan was done washing off the leg he saw a large red welt twisting down Elias’ leg from the knee to the foot. Baba who showed up (probably due to hearing Elias’ cry) said it looked like a man of war sting. He had seen one before because his older brother was stung when they were young. Two of the hotel staff happened to walk by and confirmed. They suggested soaking it in warm water and applying vinegar. Hence the hot tub.

Nathan said Elias calmed down pretty quick while soaking in the hot tub so that advice was great. Not too long after, I showed up with Auntie Kristy and the vinegar. Later in the evening, we read that some people think vinegar is not good for it because it speeds the process of the venom, but other articles recommend it. We do know the hot water worked its charms, though.

Poor Nathan was sitting in the hot tub in the full sun in the middle of the day and looked like he was going to wilt. Elias finally said he was ready to get out, and he sat with me in the shade for a long time after that.

All in all, he came out fine. I’m sure it was super painful, but most sources say the man of war stings only are painful for about an hour, and that seemed to hold true with Elias too. After sitting with me for an hour or so he turned to me and said, “I caught my own jellyfish! And it stung me!”

Elias has been proudly sharing his story with anyone he can. He told it to his swimming instructor, and his preschool teacher. I’m not sure what they thought.

During his recovery period, Elias wanted to take a bunch of pictures with my camera. I have all sorts of pics on there, but this one was especially cute. He wanted to take a picture of Auntie Kristy and Uncle Scott, and I helped him hold it steady.

By Saturday morning it was all just a memory. The large welt turned into just a red line running down his leg. This picture does not show the whole sting because of the way that it twisted around his leg. The sting had a bunch of spots behind his knee, then the long twisty line down his leg, then a couple of lines on his foot. But this gives you a general idea:

It was all just another adventure to add to the list for this trip, but we are very thankful that there was no permanent damage.

Out of all the times my parents took our family to Hawaii as I was growing up, I never actually made it to visit Pearl Harbor. Every time we went to Oahu it was to visit family, and they we whisked away to Maui where everything is slower paced. I’ve never really been a tourist on Oahu. This visit we went to visit family, but since Nathan, Kristy, and Shaina had never been to Pearl Harbor either, we decided to be tourists for a day.

My Auntie Cathy came with us, and we set out for the harbor. We looked at the visitor’s center museum while we waited for our time slot to see the Arizona memorial. When it was time to go line up, we used Uncle Scott’s wheelchair to our advantage:

The Arizona memorial tour starts with a video about why the attack even happened, with real footage. Here we are lining up for the movie.

Then we took a boat ride out to the memorial, which sits over the actual ship. Parts of the ship stick up above the water, but most of it is under the surface, and you can just make it out. There has also been oil leaking from the ship for 70 or so years since it sunk. I found it pretty interesting that men who served on the ship and escaped alive can choose to have their ashes placed on the ship. The whole tour was pretty somber. I didn’t feel overly patriotic, but sad for the whole world. Every person who was killed in the war had a family somewhere.

After the Arizona memorial tour, it was super warm and our energy was sapped. We decided to eat our picnic lunch just outside the gates. Simon dropped a pretty large chunk of graham cracker, and a cockroach scuttled out from a crack in the cement and was trying to carry it around. I was alternately amused and horrified at the same time.

After lunch we were ready for more. We chose to tour the Missouri Battleship. It was really interesting to see the officer’s quarters versus the accommodations for everyone else. They had a huge cafeteria, post office, lounges, and more. We got to stand on the spot where World War II ended.

Elias enjoyed touring the ship, and climbing up and down all of the ladders.

About halfway through, Simon fell asleep. He needed a nap so I was glad, but having his body tucked next to mine in the ergo on a hot sunny day was not comfortable! You can tell from his flushed cheeks that he was pretty warm as well.

There wasn’t much personal space on the ship:

After exploring all the Missouri had to offer we went to the gift shop where I purchased (what else) a couple of interesting books. Then we went home to cool off with a swim.

Later in the evening, my Auntie Cathy and Uncle Vince, and my cousin Chuck and his wife Eurlyn came over to our hotel for dinner. Simon makes friends with anyone who will read him a story, and Auntie Eurlyn is super nice. The boys enjoyed themselves while we all visited.

Monday was when our Hawaii vacation really became action packed. We started out normal enough. We went out to a nice breakfast buffet. Unfortunately, though, my brother (who had been experiencing stomach pain all day on Sunday) felt too horrible to even come. He stayed in the hotel room in pain. We all hoped some relaxation and maybe some Maylox would cure him.

Simon enjoyed the buffet. He also enjoyed running around and exploring afterward.

After breakfast we headed out to the lagoon for more beach time. Look at these cute brothers.

They got the idea of relaxation pretty quickly. A nice man offered these rafts to us as he was leaving to go home. The boys enjoyed them a lot.

We swam and played and relaxed into the late afternoon when we decided to head to the Dole Pineapple plantation. We took the train ride.

On the way back to the hotel, we got a call from the other car asking to stop at an urgent care. My brother was still in extreme stomach pain, and as a nurse, he suspected appendicitis. We called around to all of our local family and found the nearest urgent care. It turned out that they suspected appendicitis as well, and he was sent on to the emergency room.

By this time, it was late and the boys needed to eat dinner and go to bed. Scott, Kristy, and my parents went to the emergency room while the rest of us went back to the hotel to eat the steak dinner we had planned to cook. Nathan ate Scott’s portion for him.

After the boys were in bed, we got a call from my mom saying that Uncle Scott was going to have to have emergency surgery to remove his appendix.

Really?

What timing!

We went to bed hoping and praying for the best. It turned out that my brother (who is allergic to morphine) also had a really bad reaction to the paralytic drug in the anesthesia. After the surgery, he was not waking up. When he finally did wake up, he was paralyzed. Completely paralyzed. He could hear, but could not even move his eyelids. After about an hour, he said he was able to open his eyes, but still could not move anything else. It took about three hours for his body to regain movement, and even then he was really weak. Kristy and my parents had come home to sleep because they were not informed any of this was going on. Poor Scott was awake and paralyzed for a long time with his family back at the hotel.

Kristy and my dad rushed to his side in the morning, and stayed with him until he was discharged later that afternoon with orders not to work or go swimming until December! So much for a beach vacation!

We spent Tuesday morning waiting for him by swimming. Both of the boys really loved the pool.

Simon’s favorite part of the pool was the waterfalls. Auntie Shaina and Uncle Greg took him through the waterfalls many times.

In the afternoon, Uncle Scott returned to the hotel and we went to visit him. He was tired and weak, and emotionally traumatized from his experience, but was doing ok. After 20 or so minutes, though, the boys just needed to burn off some energy so we took them on a walk back out the ocean to watch the sunset and throw nuts into the ocean.

Then we headed over to my cousin’s house for dinner and more time spent with family. Here is my Uncle Vince playing the guitar.

And Elias enjoying play time with a couple of his cousins.

On Wednesday, Scott was still not feeling well so we decided to take it easy again. We had no problem with that. Swimming and relaxing were what we were most looking forward to. Elias and Simon had a jumping contest at the pool. Elias did some pretty amazing jumps!

Simon practiced his bubbles.

In the evening, we decided to cook breakfast for dinner. Auntie Kristy and my dad were cooking, but I volunteered to take over the bacon so my dad could take a shower. After cooking the first batch of bacon, I realized that we did not have a container for the grease. Kristy ran back to her hotel room to get one, but in the mean time, the grease was smoking really bad. I tried to get it to stop, but the room was filling with smoke. Before we could get it under control, the smoke alarm went off. The hotel staff response was really fast, but the haze remained for awhile.

My poor dad came running out of the shower shouting, ” I leave for two minutes!” No harm was done in the long run, but it was just another adventure to add to our list.

Uncle Scott was still pretty tired, but finally felt up to eating with us for dinner. It must have been the smoke that cleared his system.

With Uncle Scott on the mend, we had plans to head out to Pearl Harbor on Thursday. But in the mean time, we enjoyed a family dinner together.

During Christmas 2012, my parents excitedly informed my brothers and I that they would be taking the family on a vacation somewhere using money they had saved from my Grandpa’s inheritance. The destination and time were up to us. We had a budget. The offer expired on December 31st 2016.

Between my brother getting married, my sister-in-law being pregnant, and Simon being a baby among other life events, it was actually more difficult to find a time than we had thought to get everyone together. The place, though, wasn’t quite as hard. We chose Oahu because we have so much great family to visit there.

Sunday morning we got to relax at the beach and pool, but in the afternoon, we had a huge barbeque with all the Hawaii people. My Aunt Cathy and Uncle Vince, three of my cousins and all of their families, and the Bartle/Smith’s all gathered together. It was a blast.

The day started out a bit anticlimactic. We went to the pool for the first time, but since it was in the shade, the boys were actually pretty cold. They had some fun, but we had to get out to warm up in a very short time.

We noticed that the beach was all sunny so we went there to warm up. We smartened up the rest of the week, and went to the sunny beach first, and the pool only after it had warmed up a bit! Here is Elias warming himself with a snack.

Here is the whole crew relaxing while the boys ate their snacks and warmed up.

After awhile, some of us went swimming. They boys enjoyed playing on the shore. Elias loved swimming deeper, and throwing pieces of coral and nuts into the surf. The way the lagoons were built made the water calmer than the normal shore which was perfect for having two young children.

I got used to the view really fast.

Nathan and I even got in some reading time.

Then it was time to head inside to get ready for our family barbeque. It was great catching up with all of our Hawaii ohana. Here is my dad with his great grand niece.

And we had to take a picture of the cousins with their spouses or spouses to be. My cousin Chuck and his wife Eurlyn had left earlier so they are not pictured, and we also missed the Bartles from Idaho, and cousin Vince who now lives in Vancouver.

We spent the whole afternoon together, and packed up right as the sun was setting. Another beautiful Oahu sunset!

Simon and Elias enjoyed watching the waves as the sun set with Uncle Greg and Auntie Shaina.

And Uncles are always good for teaching the boys how to entertain themselves. The boys loved throwing nuts and leaves at the ocean.

It was another great day on Oahu!