Well, more a play by play than a recap 😉
Wednesday morning started out bright and early, around 530 am for us. Dave and I got ready, then got the kids ready. We were out the door by 615 am, trying to beat traffic. We were headed up to OAK. The kids were happy, since they had breakfast in the car (just Cheerios, but they get so excited!). We got up there early, so we stopped for breakfast, round 2. We tried the egg white muffin, and it wasn’t bad. Still had a lot of salt in it, but the calories weren’t too bad. They were feeding us on the plane, but we have vultures, who are never satisfied, so we wanted them to tank up on food before the flight. When we got on the flight, Brandon asked, “Can we sit in the first row like last time? (referring to the first class seats we had last year)” We told him that was a special flight, and then made our way back 20 rows 😉 We were seated two by two in a three seat row, with Peyton and I sitting behind Dave and Brandon. The two people sitting next to each of us were friends, too. So they were talking back and forth, while Dave and I talked in the aisle, too. The kids were in the middle, and the nice lady next to Peyton introduced herself. She got nothing in return. Peyton did tell her she was four fingers, only because the lady got a rise out of her when she told her, “You must be 2.” Haha…Peyton was having NONE of that! The lady showed Peyton pictures of her son (also named Brandon) and daughter. After breakfast, I had Peyton go to sleep, before she could read her activity books I’d brought. My bag was full of all kinds of tricks, but she couldn’t see any of them until she napped. Dave had the electronics out for Brandon as soon as he was able. Homework was required, and he did that early on, which worked out well. Peyton was able to lie down, almost straight, but I hooked my arms around her legs so she didn’t suddenly kick Jacqueline. Jacqueline didn’t mind though, and even told me to let her feet go to let her rest fully. I didn’t feel right about it, so I thanked her and kept Peyton more or less diagonal. When she woke up, she colored in her books, and did her word searches. She was happy and only used the ipad for about 45 minutes of the last hour on the plane. The ride went by pretty quickly! I didn’t hear a word out of Brandon either. When we landed, Peyton was playing some spelling games with me. She asked me to give her words, and she’d spell them. Apparently, the man next to us was listening, and said, “Wow, you’re pretty smart! I heard you spell ‘BOAT’. Can you spell BIG BOAT?” Peyton was embarrassed, but up for the challenge, and said, “Mommy, B-I-G.” She didn’t finish spelling boat again, but she didn’t want to spell anymore after she knew she was being listened to.
We rented our car, and made a bee line to the mall for our Japanese food court. We fell in love with this place the last time, so we went there for a little shopping. We then drove to the shave ice place that we were told to go last time. After waiting about 10 minutes, the ice we got was the size of our heads. We ate it out on the street, then headed back to our hotel to check in. With the time zone change and shave ice in them, the kids were wired. We tried to get them to sleep before the welcome dinner at 7pm. It was only 3 pm, so we thought we’d have plenty of time. But the kids tossed and turned for two hours before both falling asleep. And when they slept, they were OUT. Dave woke us up around 6 pm by drawing the curtains back and letting the sun in. Neither kid flinched. Both were out, face down, in the mattress. We each took a kid to carry downstairs. By the time Dave had Brandon up, it was like a man, carrying another man! I didn’t realize how big Brandon was until Dave had him up on his shoulder! Dave didn’t make it far, and had Brandon walk on his own, while I carried Peyton down. Both kids were shy at the restaurant, not fully awake. We said a hello to the hosts, Josephine and Charlie. As soon as the kids saw Katie and Kyle, they perked up a bit. Things really started going when they had food in front of them, and Brandon was playing LIFE with Katie on the iPad. They even recruited Simon, who was a good sport to play with the kids. We were able to munch on fish, chicken, edamame, and saimin, while the kids played together. After waiting for Prudence and Keith to arrive, the last of the friends arriving that night, we said our goodbyes and left. I think it was about 930 pm or so, but I can’t be sure, as I was just as tired as the kids. The kids had no problems falling asleep. We were just worried about how it would be the next morning, as we’d heard Katie and Kyle were up super early the first morning they had arrived. Fortunately, on Thursday, Brandon woke up around 6 am, probably because Dave was making a lot of noise, rustling around. They both got ready early, and left Peyton and I to continue to sleep. She woke up about half an hour later, and I slowly got her ready. Dave had texted me a picture of Brandon doing his homework. Right away, I knew what hotel they were – Moana Surfrider! Dave’s FB post confirmed it for me. Turns out the hotel was half a block from our hotel. I grabbed Peyton to take a short walk to join them. It was before 7 am, and it was such a nice feeling to be out early before the crowds! We were STROLLER-LESS the whole trip, and I was worried how that might be, but Peyton did not complain walking out the front door with me. Dave was enjoying his coffee, while Brandon finished up his homework. We walked around a bit, then headed back to our room to check out. Our first stop was the other shave ice place (yes, it was barely 9 am, and we were eating shave ice already for the second day in a row). We were supposed to meet up with Kathleen at their place, along with everyone else as we migrated toward the wedding site. We lagged a bit more, driving to Ohno Poke, and then checking our car into the hotel. Our room wasn’t yet ready, so we unloaded the car, and then headed over to Kat’s. She was waiting for us to get there, as she’d ordered a full spread of musubi, fruit, sandwiches, and snacks for the kids. We got to meet Ellie and Owen, as well as see Suong, Keith, Kevin, Prudence, Spencer, his mom, all four Chamkasem’s, Debbie and Simon. After we ate a little bit, everyone started to disperse a bit. We headed over to the pool, as our hotel was still not ready. We got into the pool with the kids, and their water adventures started. They had their water cannons out, shooting them pretty far, after Brandon learned he could use his chest to help shoot the water out. We broke up again as the wedding party had to go to their rehearsal duties. The rest of us hung out at the pool for a little more, then we left to go check in. Our checking in consisted of heading upstairs to the room to film this, then right back to our pool, water slides, and lazy river. We even had a Minnie sighting! We got Peyton a life vest, and she was good to go. We went a few times down the inner tube slide, then she pointed to the dark slide (single rider) and said she wanted to go down that one. I told her it was only one person at a time, and she was okay with that. I got her situated, after Brandon and Dave went down. All the people on top of the slide, waiting for the inner tube slide saw how small she was. I told her, “It’s okay to scream on the way down; it’ll help you if you get scared.” I didn’t want her to freak out, since it was pretty dark in there. I hadn’t even gone in myself, so I didn’t really know what to tell her. She is a screamer that we normally have to contain. But as soon as she let herself go, she screamed the ENTIRE. WAY. DOWN.  Prior to leaving for the trip, we got a gopro camera! Dave took some shots with it, and then we took this one of Peyton the first time down the slide. All the people at the top were laughing at her, since they’d already seen her enter the chute. It was my turn next, and I slipped a little bit, bruising my leg, and ego. The leg started to swell, like the size of a ping pong ball, but I tried not to look. I wasn’t able to get ice on it right away, but later, Brandon and I went in the lazy river in a two man tube, and he sat on my leg, which applied the pressure. And I thought when I banged my leg on the stairs and scratched it in two places that I was hurting! I was a mess. I was so careful about the kids not slipping and falling on the solid rock, but wasn’t so careful about myself. Here was Peyton and my second ride down the double. I wished I’d gotten her first ride, but you can still hear the squeals that kinda sound like dolphin-speak. After we were done, we headed up to shower, and then Dave went to go pick up Debbie, the kids, and food. I took our kids to go rent some movies, and then Peyton and I strung two leis. She made one for Katie, while I made a longer one for Debbie. It smelled so good, and Peyton did a great job stringing her own flowers, after snapping off the tips of the orchids. She strung them just as the instructor told us to. Brandon was busy watching the Incredibles. Dave told us he was back, and we went back upstairs to find just Debbie and the kids. Pish wasn’t feeling well, and since they were golfing the next day, he was trying to rest up completely. After we ate dinner, we headed down to the show. We were early, and the hostesses were playing trivia with us. Dave headed back to get our camera, and someone said Little Mermaid was their favorite movie, prompting the hostess to ask if anyone knew the names of Ursula’s eels. Brandon shouted out, “Flotsam and Jetsam!” That earned him a sticker. Katie earned a sticker, as well, and then I got one for Peyton by answering what Stitch’s alien number was (Thanks to Laurie and Scott, I somehow pulled that one off).  We got seated in the front row, and on bamboo mat. All 7 of us fit on one mat. The kids were still having fun with Life, and all of them took turns posing for pictures. The kids enjoyed the hula show, and then we walked Debbie and the kids down to the exit where their hotel was. They were having a get together at the bride’s luxury suite, since it was the day before the wedding. I walked to their hotel room, and then left Debbie to put the kids down. I walked over to the bridal suite and found Kathleen looking for ice in the hallway. We walked back together, and then hung out. More girls started showing up, after the rehearsal dinner. All in all, there were about a dozen of us in the room. It was fun just hanging out with the girls. Some I knew, some I just met, but everyone was there for the bride. We had some stories to exchange, especially about golf, as it involved 4 of the significant others in the room, along with the bride. Everyone had their own take and information that the boys decided to share, so it was funny to all be in the same room to swap stories. I left with Kathleen when Spencer picked her up at 1030 pm. I came home to a quiet room, with both kids asleep. Each kid had a bed in the living room, with Brandon on the pull out, and Peyton in the bed under the TV 
(this was taken on another day – she later got scared of being under there, worried that someone would close her in; I told her there were pillows there, and that would prevent someone from closing her in. Brandon retorted that someone could move the pillows first, and then close it. That got me [and probably Peyton, too] a bit worried for her). Dave was still watching TV, though he knew with an early tee time, he better sleep. I went to sleep knowing the kids would wake up bright and early on Friday.
They got up at around 7 am. Not too bad. I fed them breakfast, then did homework. I checked out the kids club and met Debbie and the kids there. The kids had fun for about 2 hours before we were kicked out for “secure” time. That’s when only kids can be in the club. As we were leaving the kids club, we ran into Debbie Y and Josephine, the bride, coming out of the restaurant. What great timing to see them at our hotel! Then, I walked Debbie out, as she was being picked up to go to a different resort. As soon as we got to the lobby, her ride pulled up! I headed back to the room with the kids, and fed them “lunch”. It was only 10 am, but they were hungry again. Dave had gotten sandwich fixings the night before, so I made ham and cheese sandwiches for them. They changed, and then we were ready to go back to our pool. I was trying to figure out how to get them both on the slides safely, then realized we should just lazy river it. I heard clinking, and I thought it was Peyton’s mouth or something, then both kids rounded the corner to the elevators and Dave had just come out! Again, great timing! So, we whisked him off to go to the pool with us. He didn’t eat, he didn’t pass go, he was just informed to change and get out there. We did more slides and lazy rivering before coming back to clean up. We wanted to tire them out, so Peyton actually swam in the lazy river for two laps. She enjoyed ducking under the waterfalls, and swimming under them. All that worked, as she was out in 5 minutes after I put her on the couch.  
I took a nap, too, but I’m not sure that Brandon slept. He’s so like Dave in that way.
We got ready for the wedding, and then drove over. Even though it was a short drive, it would be easier at the end of the night not to have to walk back. We got there in plenty of time, and then we put our finger prints and signature on the map of Oahu. The kids found Katie and Kyle and said hello. The ceremony was very sweet, and the kids did well during that time. Here was our vantage point, sitting on the groom’s side for a better look at the bride 😉  
Afterward, while the adults enjoyed the passed food, the kids ate from the popcorn bar (ling hi mui and furakake varieties) and the shave ice! That was their third shave ice in a row. We shut down the wedding at 10 pm, with the kids hanging in there. They were excited to take the fruit center pieces home! Peyton was playing catch with Ellie, with a grapefruit. I think it was pulverized by the time it was all said and done. There was an after party, but I was already so tired, and then I had to take care of the kids the next morning, too.
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We got them down, without a word, and then we crashed too. I slept with the kids in the big bed, while Dave went outside to sleep so as not to disturb us. Brandon got up at 730 am, and Peyton got up at 8 am. She’s my island girl for sure! We hung out doing homework, eating breakfast, then I got them ready to go next door to the pool. Everyone was hanging out post-wedding, and having lunch poolside. When we got there, the kids were already out of the pool, as it had gotten a bit cooler. That didn’t stop my kids from wanting to go in, so in they went. Seeing them go back in, Katie and Kyle were drawn in, too. That meant more adults got in, and fortunately, the slight sprinkle had stopped and it was warming up. No sooner than we knew it, Dave and Pish were back! We all ate lunch, then we headed back to our pool again so that the kids could enjoy our last full day. We did more water sliding, and then washed up for dinner. We booked dinner at our hotel’s restaurant and the Chamkasem’s came over, as did Debbie and Simon. We had all you can eat poke, oysters, crab, other stuff I didn’t eat because it was too carby and I was saving myself for…dessert 😉 It was yummy, and then it was time to say goodnight. We headed back to the room, stuffed, and started packing for our trip home. In the morning, the kids woke up at 630 am, and we got ready for the beach. The pools didn’t open until 8 am, so by 715 am, we were in the lagoons, looking at fish. A huge group from the next hotel was feeding the fish, so we were in the lagoon to see them directly. I got a little spooked, since there was a huge fish that looked like a mini shark, so I picked Peyton up so she wouldn’t be in the water. She’s too meaty, and would make too tasty a meal. I remember seeing the news article that there was a shark sighting in the lagoon not too long ago. It was the last lagoon on the strip, and it was a small shark, but still, I saw a long tail and it looked at least 2 feet, much bigger than the other teeny fish we were seeing. Dave tried to blindly gopro video whatever was under there. He didn’t have goggles on, so he just stuck the camera underwater to see what he could see. We haven’t seen footage yet, so it’ll be anyone’s guess. When the pool opened, we headed to the slides and lazy river one last time. We quickly showered and got ready to go. We headed back into town, and both kids were passed out, with drool! That means they were tired! We met up with the Chamkasem’s for a last shave ice run, and then we picked up lunch. We made it time to the airport, with all our stuff (3 roll aboards, 3 backpacks, one big car seat, one small one, and golf clubs). Peyton and Brandon each pulled their own weight (in Peyton’s case, literally, as she had one of the bigger bags that she rolled). People commented on how small she was, rolling through the airport. One Chinese lady, from a tour group, pointed to Peyton, then chuckled with her friend, and ended up giving me a thumbs up at Peyton! No stroller AND helpful travelers. Brandon had his own backpack, and he carried his booster seat until it was checked in, so everyone had a role. We saw the Chamkasems’ again one more time at the airport.
We got on the plane, and both kids were tired. They both slept for about an hour before getting up and playing. This time we were in the aisle window seats, and both could sleep against the plane and us. We were surprised how quick the flight back was. We didn’t get in until 1030 pm, back to our car, and then another 30 minutes back home. We brushed the kids’ teeth thinking they’d be sleeping, but they were too wired. By the time we got home, they did settle in, and they were in bed and asleep in no time. I’m finally caught up, but still very sleepy myself. I’ve done the laundry, and Dave’s at a wine-tasting event. I’ll probably be asleep before he gets back!
Congrats to Jos and Charlie! We were so happy to attend the wedding, and appreciated all that went into it! The kids absolutely had fun. Initially Brandon told me he wanted to go to the kids’ club during the wedding, but having Katie and Kyle there really changed his mind. And I loved that Kyle would ask, “Where’s Peyton?”
the compilation
