It's a funny thing

when you're kids get older. Kurt and I had all kinds of plans and places we wanted to take our kids before they started leaving the house. I would love to take them to Washington DC, Nauvoo and other church history sites, the Grand Canyon and Mt. Rushmore (both would be a first for me as well) I know they would love to see Disney World, and we planned on taking them to Hawaii next year before Matthew graduates. Time just flies by.

We very frequently hold family councils and recently discussed what we wanted to do this summer. Kenzie quickly got out her notepad and assumed the role of secretary as everybody talked about their dream vacations. It soon became shockingly obvious that we only have maybe 1 1/2 years left with Matthew in the house. But wait! We had all these plans! When are we going to see our Nations Capital? Stop growing!

We came to the conclusion that just because 1 or more children leave *sniff* it doesn't mean we stop taking family vacations. When we said "we'll just have to go when Matthew's on his mission" we heard cries of disappointment and anguish - "we can't go without Matt!!!" "we'll just have to wait til he gets back" to which we replied, "Reece will be gone then and Matt will go to college"

NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I guess this means they love each other? : D

We decided on a cruise this summer because you get the most for your money. And it's way fun. However, after looking into it we need at least 6 months to book rooms to accommodate all of us. Kurt is maxed out on vacation this summer, basically a use it or lose it situation, and you better believe he's not losing it. The man works just about every waking hour so he needs his 2 weeks of freedom like the flower needs the rain or like I need my ice cream. Or something like that...

Anyway after our "adult" discussion and a few days of thinking we called the kids in to tell them were going to Hawaii this year instead and perhaps we'll get our cruise next year. They were pretty excited but even more so after I showed them the house we'll be renting for 2 weeks -
Yes, that is a private pool just for this house. I'm am beside myself with excitement. The house sleeps 8 and when we mentioned it to my parents we didn't have to do much persuading. They're joining us on this adventure and we all can NOT wait!

Our 2 weeks will consist of, resting, games, Pearl Harbor, eating, reading, swimming, resting, Polynesian Cultural Center, snorkeling, resting, eating, visiting the temple, shopping and whatever else we decide to do! July 14 can't get here soon enough.