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Except for Some Pesky jet lag, our First day in Lisbon Goes Much Better Than our Voyage Here.
Jet leg is not for the faint of heart. When planning this trip, I must say that traveling alone with four kids abroad and jet lag were...
Jana
Jun 18, 20223 min read
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European Vacation. When it's Your Life, it Doesn't Exactly Feel Like a National Lampoon Movie.
I am thinking of changing our last name to Griswold, after our last two vacation experiences. To clarify, our vacations seem to turn out...
Jana
Jun 17, 20226 min read
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Garin’s 8th Grade Culmination, In-person, Unmasked (Mostly), and Sweltering. What's a Little Heat?
You can't take anything for granted these days. In June of 2020, three months into the pandemic, no one was sure we would ever be able...
Jana
Jun 15, 20223 min read
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They say that God Never Gives you More Than you can Handle? But Five Children!
I don't think I buy into that statement, yet when things get tough, I still find myself wondering if it might be true? In mid-May, I...
Jana
Jun 4, 20225 min read
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Memorial Day Weekend. A Top Gun Extravaganza. Would you Expect Anything Less?
I have been waiting an eternity for the Top Gun sequel (36 years to be exact). To assuage my longing, I have watched the original film...
Jana
May 30, 20225 min read
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A Once in a Lifetime Event we are Sure to Never Forget!
On Friday, May 13, we had the once in lifetime opportunity of seeing Paul McCartney in concert. When Miles awoke that morning the first...
Jana
May 29, 20223 min read
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Mother's Day Weekend: Why just Celebrate for one day, When you can Celebrate for Three?
This year, Mother's Day turned out to be three days of fun activities and celebration. Not all of the activities were planned to...
Jana
May 14, 20225 min read
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Re-Entry to the Mainland. Vacay Withdrawal. Call it What you Will, it's Painful.
I think feeling sad as a vacation comes to an end is a universal feeling. So much time and effort go into the planning and execution of a...
Jana
Apr 25, 20223 min read
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Day Trippers. Another fantastic day of exploration around this magical island.
Garin (with a little help from me on timing) planned another fantastic day of exploration. Some of the places, Garin and I had visited...
Jana
Apr 24, 20223 min read
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Does one Ever Tire of Going to the Beach in Hawaii? We'd be Willing to try it out to Find out.
Whenever I come to Hawaii I wonder why I don't live here? I cannot understand why I put up with all that I do on the mainland when I...
Jana
Apr 23, 20221 min read
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Garin Celebrates his 14th Birthday, Hawaiian-Style. Can we Come Back for my Birthday Please?
Fourteen years ago today, on 4-18-08, my beloved, oldest son came into this world. I went from being a single girl (okay perhaps woman)...
Jana
Apr 20, 20223 min read
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1 comment


Our First Easter Away was Certainly not Conventional, but Something I Could get Used to!
Since having children, I have never spent an Easter away from home. The kids were either too little, or it just didn't work out for us...
Jana
Apr 18, 20222 min read
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Garin, our Trusty Tour Guide, Plans an Adventurous Day of Exploring for us on the Big Island.
The Lieblich family gets a bit antsy if we don't go exploring. Let me clarify that. Garin and I get antsy if we don't go exploring. As...
Jana
Apr 18, 20223 min read
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Aloha From Hawaii! An Action-Movie Start to our Long-Awaited Trip.
As I write this I am sitting on the lanai of our beautiful condominium enjoying the balmy evening breeze that is quintessential Hawaii....
Jana
Apr 16, 20225 min read
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Spring was exploding at Descanso Gardens with Color, Fragrance, and the Beauty of Nature Everywhere.
This brand new and fabulous installation called Your (Un)natural Garden was so much fun to experience. The various sculptures were...
Jana
Apr 4, 20221 min read
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Are Heavenly Birthdays Better Than Those on Earth? Quite Possibly so!
My mom would have been 87 yesterday, 4/3/22. It's hard to believe she's been gone a year and a half and that the last birthday we...
Jana
Apr 4, 20223 min read
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St. Patrick's Day or Thanksgiving? Which is your Favorite Holiday?
St. Patrick's Day and Thanksgiving are two of my favorite meals of the year. I love both, but if really pressed, I would have to choose...
Jana
Mar 19, 20222 min read
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Mother (Often) Knows Best.
The two most frequent questions I am asked, in response to my blog posts are: "How do you have the stamina to plan and do all the...
Jana
Feb 28, 20224 min read
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Miles' Birthday, Tuesday, 2-22-22! A Celebration Indeed, but also a day of Quiet Reflection.
With so much hype leading up to the big day (three weekend days packed with activities), we were all very excited once it finally...
Jana
Feb 24, 20224 min read
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Olympic-Inspired Ice Skating and Channing Tatum. Miles' Awesome Birthday Weekend Continues.
Miles' birthday weekend continued yesterday and today. We also celebrated another special birthday this weekend. With so many ...
Jana
Feb 21, 20222 min read
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Let the Celebrating Begin! Miles' (Long) Birthday Weekend is off to a Smashing Start.
Miles will turn seven years old this coming Tuesday (2-22-22), so we decided to take the entire long weekend to celebrate. Why not? You...
Jana
Feb 19, 20221 min read
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Valentine's Day is the new Christmas!
I fondly remember the days when Valentine’s Day meant dressing up in something snazzy (red or pink, your choice), going to work for the...
Jana
Feb 16, 20224 min read
67 views
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The Ultimate Staycation Family, Makes the Best of a Cancelled Getaway for the Long Holiday Weekend.
Traveling is not easy when you have four kids and a dog. The logistics are complex; both the preparation and trip itself can be...
Jana
Jan 19, 20227 min read
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January 2022 is off to Quite a Start! The First Week of the New Year in Review.
The kids started back to school this past week, after two weeks on break, and what a week it was. Garin's primary teacher in his GATE...
Jana
Jan 10, 20226 min read
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