i’m sitting poolside at our rental house in Kauai while you’re taking an afternoon nap in the bedroom.
We’re wrapping up a week of island time with the extended Chaffee family. Your Mom and I have hitched along for Chaffee vacations between Whistler and Hawaii a couple times now, so we are all on the same program. This is already your second time in Hawaii. Lucky guy! We tend to go this first week of December as a way to celebrate your Mom’s birthday. Pools, beaches, snorkeling, shaved ice: That’s how you celebrate.
No longer a reliant, predictable infant, you’ve made your presence known this trip with a loud voice and strong opinion of what you want to do. Usually that involves chasing lizards or roosters, both plentiful on this small island. You’ve also invented a new call-and-response game with your sister where you say/sing “I love you” in a high-pitched voice that sounds more like “A wuv woo” and she replies howling like a dog. That’s kept the rental van rides entertaining.
You’ve walked out the front door a few times without telling anyone, catching us by surprise and causing the closest adult to jet out after you. At least you’re not heading out the backdoor unannounced. That’s where the pool is. We’ve been diligent about making sure the locks are set at all times.
You’ve spent a ton of time in the pool and have gotten a lot more confident with the hours. You’ve been good about keeping your lifejacket on, which is a relief to us. As you’ve been trying to keep up with the big kids, you tried a cannonball jump yesterday, which involved running up to the pool, dropping down on your butt at the edge and scooting into the pool. That gave us a good laugh.
All that pool time and a couple hours on the beach each day can really zap your energy, which is half the point of being here — to try and wear you kids out. We’re usually only half successful and we’re worn out before you are! Today we spent a couple hours at the beach and that did the trick to get this nap kicking. But you’ve spent enough time down today and it’s time to wake you up. Let’s jump back in the pool.
Love, Dad