One more day... and then it's back to 50 degree colder weather...

We have one more day left, and then our vacation is over, which means we are swapping one paradise for another.  Our own paradise in the Pacific Northwest is 50 degrees colder than this one on Maui, but both paradises are lush, that's for sure.  And Maui has better sunsets and waterfalls.

Still, I am very much ready to go home.  I really miss our dog Raka, and whenever I see a dog at the beach or on the road, I try to entice it over so I can pet it and baby talk to it.  The owners usually give me dirty looks, because I'm quite desperate in my need for a dog fix.

I also miss our amazing drinking water at home.  Here on Maui, we have to buy water in yucky plastic bottles, and it tastes terrible.

I miss eating lots of vegetables and food that we put up in summer and fall.

And I miss hanging out with my goats at our beautiful homestead.

Honestly, I get a little bored doing nothing.  I'm not complaining - I like to relax, reading at the beach, sleeping in, watching buff surfer dudes and hot chicks... but enough is enough.

On this vacation, I've been happiest when we were hiking.  The landscape here is so gorgeous, lush, colorful, delicious-smelling and different, and I'm most blissed out when I get to be in the company of nature.

We went on several hikes to amazing waterfalls, through mind-blowing bamboo forests and palm trees, past hundreds of plants we can't identify.

Nature is surely showing off here.  Luke and I have been taking hundreds of pictures of flowers, and since I can't possibly upload them all and do them justice, I'm sticking to trees here.

Let me show you:

Even with all the hiking, relaxing and swimming, we get some work done.  I am teaching Eva how to read, and by golly, a vacation won't get in the way of that.

I've also been having coaching sessions with clients on the phone, which is really amazing - working on the beach!

The whole family is tanned, sunkissed, or sunburnt.  We will enjoy the heck out of our last day, and then we'll hop on the airplane and wave goodbye to Hawaii.  It has been beautiful.

Without any more words, let me sign off with pictures to send some Aloha  your way.

A rough start

As a life coach, I help women find the unconscious patterns in their life that are painful, and I partner with them to evolve and transform these issues.

So you would think I'm good at this stuff myself, wouldn't you?

There's nothing like a vacation with all its expectations to point out where improvement in one's personal development is needed.  Ahem.

We are in Maui, where we all have cycled through a bad flu topped off with a nasty stomach bug. Steve and I as well as our three kids all had it, feeling grumpy, tired, sick and bad, so they've bickered more than usual.

Combined with a few days of pretty severe winds and cloudy skies, our vacation got off on a rough start.

Last week, one day was the breaking point for me.  The Air B and B apartment we had rented had matresses made of rocks, so I didn't get much sleep.  Steve, who can sleep on top of a moving camel if he has to, snored peacefully while I tossed and turned all night.

The kids found a huge black spider in the bathroom.

We headed for a hike and got soaked in a violent downpour.  I took these pictures seconds before the rain hit.

Back at the apartment, I stepped on a cockroach.

When we headed to the beach 30 minutes away, we got a message from the Air B and B hosts telling us we have to check out because another guest was waiting to check in.  There had been a misunderstanding with the amount of nights we booked.

So we drove the whole way back just before getting to the beach, packed up frantically and tried to find another place to stay at, short notice, on Maui.

It wasn't a pretty moment.

I lost my temper with the kids, hated Steve and his infuriating equanimity in the face of all this adversity, and entertained many self-loathing thoughts about myself, other people, and the injustices of life.

I was seething, ready to throw a fit and lash out at my family.  Then I noticed how bad all this made my body feel.

Right there, I knew I had a choice: be a mean bitch, or turn my attention to the little six year old girl inside of me who needed my adult self to turn towards her, give her love and attention, and hold space for her.

So I did.  I allowed myself to feel all the feelings, explained to myself that no, I'm not a terrible mother and wife, I'm just stressed because of various reasons.

After getting perspective and space around my feelings, my anger dissipated.  I felt the sun on my face, felt grateful for a husband who is Buddha incarnate, and admired a rainbow.

I'm glad I have so much practice applying what I teach other women, because my old self would have created hell for myself and my family on this vacation.  Breaking old, ingrained patterns takes practice, commitment and support.  It's worth it, and not as hard as it may seem.

Things worked out for us after all.  We found another place to stay, discovered more beaches and rainbows, scored some treats for the kids, and were kind to each other.

If Momma ain't happy, nobody's happy.

As always, my kids are my greatest teachers.  They teach me to be patient.  They show me how to be in the present moment - unapologetically, without agenda.  They demonstrate unbridled joy, and if they ain't feelin' it, they remind me to do yoga.

Luke practiced some yoga at sunset the other night.  It was so fun to watch him, and then see Eva join him in a spontaneous dance.

Let me leave you with images of our excursion to Haleakala Crater, elevation 10,000 feet.  It's supposed to be absolutely spectacular, but it was so lost in the clouds, and we were feeling so badly that day, it wasn't that mind-blowing view-wise.

One closeup view was amazing: the silver sword only grows near the summit of this particular crater.

PS: If you want to get on the phone with me for a free discovery session to look at your painful patterns and to explore how I can help you, let me know!

Animal rescues (or not) in paradise

If you are wondering why I haven't published a blog post in 12 days, here's why:

Every single member of our family has been struck down with the flu.  Since this thing lasts two whole days, and since we politely took turns getting sick so Mom and Dad wouldn't be sick at the same time as the kids, the flu has held us captive for two weeks.

This was a huge concern, not only because the flu sucks, but also because we were supposed to go on our long-planned vacation to Maui.

Alas, we did get on the airplane, with one member of our family still somewhat feverish (sorry, dear fellow passengers).

But we made it.  We're here in paradise.

None of us is feeling 100 percent, and poor Steve - the last one to fall - was sick in bed for two days.  We are coughing our way through various beaches and Banyan tree groves, but we are mending, and we are having fun, in between fits.

I've seen whales every single day so far, spouting off in the distance, tails slapping, massive bodies breaching in an explosion of spray.

Sea turtles can often be spotted in the waves, especially when jumping fish are present, because they want to get away from the turtles instead of being their dinner.

For two days, Maui got hit by an extreme windstorm, and what do I do, of course, but walk on the beach with the wind knocking me sideways.  My airy Gemini nature loves windy weather.  As I gusted along the sand, I saw this fellow:

I've never seen a sea turtle up close in the sand before, and although I am known as an animal whisperer at home, I had absolutely no clue what to do about this turtle.  I knew not to touch it and to give it space, but it was missing its back flipper and a part of the shell, and I wondered if a shark had taken a bite out of it.

I made some phone calls right there at the beach, frantically scribbling phone numbers into the sand, and finally got connected with the turtle rescue people.

I think it's unusual for turtles to be on the beach by themselves in the middle of the day, but after I texted them pictures, they recognized this dude and assured me that's just what he does.

I'm glad he seems to be okay, because he did look half dead.

Despite the blustery weather, we find pockets of sun and waves and are loving our beach time.

And the plants!  The plants!!!  I can't name a single one of them - they are all exotic and marvelous to me, lush, show-offy, dramatic, beautiful.

Today we went for a walk where signs warned about falling coconuts.  Since it was windy, I felt nervous about walking along and being kicked in the noggin by a falling coconut.

It's humbling to be in a place where I know nothing.  That prehistoric thing that got swept up on the beach?  The stranded or maybe not-stranded turtle?  Will I get a horrible rash if I use the plant on the side of the path as emergency toilet paper?

Anyway... I hope you are not feeling too jealous about us being in Maui.  Or do I say ON Maui, since it's an island?

We've been working so, so hard, and we got five free airplane tickets, so we planned this trip and dangled it in front of our noses for months while we busted our butts.

So let me show you some pictures to let you live vicariously through us, and I hope you are not too cold and miserable at home.

Aloha!