The Pukes

Man, the pukes suck.

Ruby and Henry got awesome fevers in Hawaii and then came down with colds. To make matters even more incredibly awesome, I came down with a wicked case of the flu yesterday.

I now have much more empathy for poor little ones with fevers. The uncontrollable teeth chattering and burning sensation in my head just about did me in. Add a splash of body aches and puking and I'm a gonner.

Scott even stayed home from work today to take care of the kids. In fact, this is the first time I've left the comfort of my bed all day. I thought I should at least try and pay for the eBay auction I won a few days ago and lo and behold, there has been unauthorized activity on my account. Apparently I bid on and won a Gucci purse and a Fendi bag. Who knew I was so trendy? (And so self-indulgent?!?)

I think I'll go back to bed now.

Aloha!!!

We're back! And it was quite a trip!

You forget how long/arduous these trips are when you tack on a seven hour car ride before and after the actual thing but we still managed to have a great time.

I won't go into all the gruesome details as a trip with this many people is bound to have but here are a few of the highlights (okay, and a few lowlights):

• Playing with the kids on the beach (Henry loved the waves -- phew! That could have been a long trip otherwise.)
• The Halloween Parade in Lahaina (We had so much fun! Our kids looked adorable in their costumes, the Air Force Band was rockin', and the people were skanky -- what more could you ask for?)
• Blair's belated birthday dinner at Outback Steakhouse (I don't know what was best about this night -- Blair and Spencer's jokes, people blatantly gawking at our table of 18 peeps, Max throwing up, or Henry pooping his pants under the table. Sigh. I'm afraid that last one is sad but true. Obviously, we have yet to totally master the pooping part of potty training.)
• Going to bed at 8:30 p.m. and waking up at 6 a.m. (Gotta love the time change)
  
• Eating, eating, and more eating (I figure I almost gained the whopping five pounds I lost for this trip. Don't knock it -- that was a hard five pounds!)
• 5 of the 8 kids coming down with wicked fevers two days before coming home (It started with Kate, then Ava, then Ezra, then Henry, and then wee Ruby bit the dust. Flying the red-eye home -- on a PACKED flight -- with a delirious Henry and a lethargic Ruby was awesome!)
  
• Laying in bed texting Blair at 6 a.m. (It was our first morning there and I woke up before my kids so I started texting Blair, who is the earliest bird I know, who was staying at another hotel that first night. The higlight was one of his texts, he said: Kim's not quite awake yet. I want to go down for a long walk on the beach. I love those. That's why I'm such a great catch. Oh Blair, maybe we ought to talk to Kim and find out how great of catch you really are. I think most women like long walks on the beach at sunset, not sunrise.
  

And just a few video highlights for those of you out there with almost as much time on your hands as me (p.s. my video quality is not great and uploading it made it even worse but heck, it'll have to do):

Ruby Hanging Out on Kaanapali Beach

Bathtub Nose Pickin'
(Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone when an 11 month old is picking your nose? Well, Henry has. And boy it doesn't look easy!)

Halloween Henry and Ava Gettin Their Grooves On