On Christmas Eve the kids get to open one gift. This year, Ryan was disappointed to see that Mom had already pre-selected the Christmas Eve gift for each child. She simply explained that they would need that gift for pictures the following day. "Pajamas," he sighed. What an anti-climactic gift that would be.
Contrary to tradition, however, we had the children open their Christmas Eve gift simultaneously rather than in turn. This didn't seem to stir any suspicion, although it should have.
The girls got sun dresses and Ryan got a floral shirt. They also got plastic leis. They were puzzled. Kara had also included a slip of paper that read, "Trip to Hawaii." One of them read the note aloud but the message still did not register. Kara said, "Guys, we're going to Hawaii!"
"When?" they asked, with a shimmer of hope shining through the disbelief.
"We leave tomorrow," Kara said. 'Surprise!"
Convinced that we were serious, the younger two started dancing joyously and the older two immediately began texting their friends. We spent the next week in O'ahu, enjoying the scenery, weather, and being together. Here is a shot of us at a luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center:
The trip wasn't without some setbacks and challenges, but we had a great time and took over 400 pictures to prove it!
1 comment:
That is so awesome! You look and sound like you had a fun time.
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