It's the right move...now, who's going to do it for me??

Just got back from Maui last Monday. It was the first time I really got to see the house and I LOVE IT!!! It's not that it's this amazingly beautiful house with all the bells and whistles - in fact, it's quite simple. But it totally reaffirmed that this is exactly what I want to do. I did all the mental tests...are we making a mistake? Can I really live here? What will I miss by living here? Is this too weird? What did I discover...no, we're not making a mistake, yes, I really can live here, I won't be missing anything and yeah, it's a little weird, but it's also exciting and wonderful and an amazing adventure.

This is how WE roll!

Plumeria - We need some more of these!

Puakenikeni

Too bad the fragrance doesn't upload.

Happy Trails.

Moving to the middle of the Pacific

This is it - the big one- the time I've been waiting for and ...OMGOSH! This is totally freaking me out!

So Robert and I bought the farm - literally. That is, we bought a two acre flower and ti farm in Haiku, Maui. This is really a dream come true, but wow, the reality of it is intimidating.

Back six months or so ago we went by a former ward member's house we knew was on the market. He invited us in and his wife gave us the 15 min tour. Deciding that it was over priced and not wanting to do the negotiating for a lower price with someone we knew - we let it go. Later, Robert discovered it was off the market. It either had sold or they took it off the market. I contacted them and they said that they had decided not to sell. Ok...back to square one and nightly perusing of mauirealestate.com. Fast forward to September....we get an Facebook Message from Keli'i's wife - are we still interested? Their loan mod didn't go through and they need to sell. Well, heck yeah! We're back in the game. So Robert toodles over to Maui for 21/2 weeks and VOILA! We are in escrow.

That was more or less pain free...no agents, do-it-yourself negotiations etc. We are cookin' with gas! We are movin' to Maui, oh yeah, we're movin' to Maui, oh yeah, we're....CRAP! WE'RE MOVING TO MAUI!!!!

I am reminded daily of my friend John Gilmor's statement to us back when we started looking - "You know, you buy a house in Maui and that's all good, but then you wish someone would come in with a magic wand, wave it and make all of the stuff happen that needs to take place". No kidding. Ok, you've got a house in Maui...now what, smarty?

So the first question is - WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL THIS CRAP?? Enter Craigslist. Yes, America's marketplace becomes our new best friend. Sell, sell, SELL I say!

The next part is...oh yes...the GRAND PIANO. Definitely not a carry-on item. So how does one pack a 574 lb piano. Very carefully (rim shot). 

I find myself wandering around the house like I'm a buyer at a garage sale. Do I want this? Nah...Will someone else want it? Nah...Should I throw it away? Yeah. Will I use a crockpot in Maui? Probably not - I don't even use it here. And my favorite thus far...what is this? Wait! I think it goes to that flour mill. What flour mill? The one that...oh yeah, I threw that out in 1984.

It's good that I've got 8 months before we go. I'll have plenty of time to fret.

The times, they are a-changin'

Life is crazy. The one thing you can count on for sure is that everything will change.
So we're down to the last little chick in the nest. This is the one who plans for everything - He saves, he looks for ways to make money, he thinks about his future. He takes a JC class in Fire Technology because he wants to be a fireman. He's 17 and is laying the foundation for his future. Then....WHAM!
It's Conference weekend - also know to us Latter-Day Saints as "jammie church weekend". We watch the leaders of our church speak to us on TV on Saturday and Sunday. We've got the hot chocolate, we're settled on the couch with our snuggle blankets. Our prophet steps up to the pulpit and with a smile announces that the missionary age for boys is now 18 and for girls it's 19. WHAAAAAAAT???????
Let me back up a bit...
Robert and I are gently balancing our last child's senior year with Robert's 3rd year of retirement and my 13th year at Austin Creek. The new dawn is in sight. We'll enjoy this last year of high school ever, attend every basketball game, senior night, men's choir concert and savor every moment. In the meantime...do you hear that sound?....(tick, tick, tick, tick, tick)...that's the sound of the clock ticking until we BOTH retire and move to Hawaii to farm flowers, walk the beach and watch the sunset over Lanai.
But now - the vegetable basket has been tipped over and we're opening a fruit stand, figuratively speaking. Will John go on his mission right out of high school? 

No complaints.

Wow, two entries in two months...verbose.
So I'm sitting in a third floor condo in Kihei looking out at a calm ocean. The birds are in their morning glory - actually the doves are starting to annoy me, but how can you really hate on little creatures with perpetual love in their hearts. I decided that my whirlwind summer will come to an end eventually and so I better journal the joy I'm experiencing so that I may reflect upon it come mid-January when I'm in my annual winter funk.
Nathaniel has successfully procured a profession in Provo (don't you love consonance?) - he's a grill chef at the Cafe Rio. Ok, it's not really a profession, it's just a job but "job" would screw up the poetic device. He has also attained an automobile (is it consonance when it's a vowel?) and is moving ahead in his pursuit of life. 
Kaylen has had the ankle surgery and is in recovery mode. Is it a success? Time will tell. 
John is holding down the fort and a job at the Bohemian Grove while his parents have abandoned him once again to fly to paradise in Maui. He has been reticent to leave basketball and his girlfriend to accompany us in the past, but I think he's beginning to weaken. I suspect he'll be our traveling companion the next time. Next time??? Oh, yeah baby, there will certainly be a next time for Maui. After all, we pay that annual fee for the Hawaiian Miles card and by jingo, I'm USING those miles!
This summer has been a fantasy so far. A week long road trip with our eldest son to visit Washington, Idaho and Utah followed by a week circumnavigating Lake Shasta with John and Rachel on a 52' houseboat (I got a Groupon!). That was particularly memorable as Shasta is a major part of my childhood/adolescence. It was special to share with my husband and youngest. It also gave me opportunity to get to know Rachel better - a delightful opportunity for sure! She is the tether that keeps my flighty son slightly closer to the ground. Rock solid, mellow with an artist's soul and the talent to match, I couldn't ask for a better girlfriend for my son.
And now...here we are in Maui! I can't express the feeling of "coming home" I experience every time we land at Kahului. Like sliding into a comfortable pair of slippers - or rather slippahs - I have returned to where I really belong. From the perpetual warm air to the smell of ocean and plumeria and the Puunene Sugar Mill and even that wet-rusty-green aroma that underlies all of Maui, I am home. We are well beyond the tourist distractions and now glory in the simple endeavors - early morning walks in our bathing suits at the beach, followed by a swim in the ocean. We are children playing in the waves, we are warm and free from care. There are no timelines, no schedules, no rush. Dinner is sometimes as simple as a dash to Maui Tacos for a fish taco to munch while we watch the sunset over the ocean. Dang! This is the life. No coats, no sweaters, NO SOCKS. I fantasize giving my winter wardrobe away and fitting a years' worth of clothing in half of our closet. "Ha! Ha!" I cry as every Dansko clog is tossed into the Goodwill pile and replaced with slippers at the front door. (Ok, I'll keep the Jimmy Choo's but they ARE sandals and a girl needs one pair of heels, even on Maui) But I digress...it's easy when you're living a summer fantasy life.
August is but a few weeks away and I'll return to school. The dreaded winter will return and I will stop blogging because no one wants to read my whiney diatribe about the weather.
Until then, though, I am free and happy and WARM and going for my morning walk/swim. Eat your heart out - today it's good to be me!

Time to get blogging again...I have something to say.

Well, well...it's only been two and a half years since my last entry. I guess I haven't had much to say. Sure. Well, here goes:
As I'm looking down the barrel of my double nickel birthday, I'm taking time to consider where I am in this grand scheme. You know what? Life is pretty darn good. (Notice when I blog in the summer my tone is much more positive). My kids are rolling forward in their lives and I'm still upright and breathing. Kaylen has moved to Irvine, Ca. and is living la vida loca. Well, not exactly but she's getting through life, poor as all get out and struggling with ankle repair right now. She is still currently employed at Disneyland as a Fairy-Godmother-in-Training (no, really, that's her job title). Alas, her ankle injury a year ago has had her out of work - let's hope this surgery puts her back on both feet and back to granting the wishes of little princesses visiting the Magic Kingdom. Would I live her life different? Ya, probably. But my job is to love her and encourage, not do it for her. I'd probably mess it up anyway.
Nathaniel returned from his mission in the Washington Kennewick Mission in April. So great to have him back. Funny thing, after two years on his own, living with mommy and daddy and an obnoxious baby brother didn't appeal to him anymore. How odd. Flash forward to June- Moved to Provo. Currently Big Nate is pounding the pavement of Provo looking for work. He's an amazing young man and I'm sure he'll figure it all out. Still my mommy heart aches for the miles he walks (no car yet) and the sunburn he incurs on said walking.
And then there's John...Getting ready to embark on his Senior year in high school. Gearing up to open my wallet and let the green fly! Senior pictures, college apps, ACT/SAT testing, Senior Trip, Graduation gowns, caps, and because you paid early, a special 2013 keychain! I've got to say, though, the boy has it going on. His grades are good, he works hard and at 6'5 1/2 inches, he's building that hulk body into a fine tuned machine. Basketball will be exciting this year - the team looks pretty good. John will be the only senior so I can't wait for Senior Night - it will be the John Show. The kid scares me- he takes on life at break-neck speed.
And me? Well, I'm blessed. I'm healthy (albeit overweight), on summer vacation and still in love with my husband. That's pretty darn good, don't you think?