Chapter 10: Fun in the Sun
(Annie's POV)
We spent our first day in Hawaii just hanging out together on the beach. Then we had a barbecue. The next day, everyone planned to split up and do things on their own. I was going to take Ruthie to swim with dolphins in Waikoloa. I knew she was excited and I was sure it would be a unique experience.
"So we actually get to swim with dolphins?" she asked.
"Yes. That's what the brochure said. First they give you a little bit of instruction on how to interact with the dolphins. Then they let us go in the water and we get to swim with and pet the dolphins," I explained.
"This is going to be so cool," Ruthie said," how many people can say that they have swam with dolphins?"
"Well, after today, you and I will be able to. And you're sure none of the other kids were interested?" I asked one last time.
"No, they all had plans to go elsewhere," she shook her head.
"Oh well, then that's their loss," I told her.
"I think Matt, Simon and Kevin were going to surfing. I'm not sure where Lucy and Sarah were going, but they were taking the kids. I think Mary might have been going with them. And I think Dad said something about fishing at Molokai," Ruthie listed off everyone's plans.
"Before we go, I'd like to know where the girls are going. I'll go ask them, you make sure we've got everything they said to bring on that checklist," I instructed.
(Simon's POV)
Our second day in Hawaii was great. I went with the guys to hang out on the beach and learn to surf. We got an instructor to work with the three of us (Matt, Kevin and me). We started out slowly on the beach, practicing the techniques on how to get up on the board and keep your balance on the water. I thought that the first part was very boring. Then we actually got to go out on the water, I was glad we had the instruction because it was a lot harder than it looked.
After several hours of trying to surf, and I say trying because none of us were very successful, we all went to lay out on the beach and rest for a while. I was about to fall asleep when a shadow moved over my body. I sat up to see a very good looking girl smiling at me.
"Hi," she greeted me," My name is Allie, what's yours?"
"I'm Simon," I replied.
"Well Simon, my friends and I were watching you and your friends try to surf," she laughed," and we noticed you were struggling a bit."
"Yeah, you could say that," I smiled.
"Anyway, I thought you were very cute. Even if you can't surf very well," she was still laughing a bit," wanna come hang out with us?"
"Um, I'd like to but-," I started.
"Go, you're on vacation, have fun," Matt waved me off.
"Okay, I'll meet you back at the hotel later," I said as the beautiful girl lead me over to a group of young people hanging out with surfboards.
"Everyone, this is Simon," Allie introduced me to her friends.
"Hi Simon," one boy said," where are you from?"
"I'm from California," I told the group.
"Really? That's so cool," Allie said," we're all on our Christmas break from Vermont."
"We decided we needed a break from the snow and skiing," a guy laughed," but I guess you don't get much snow in California do you? My name's Mark by the way."
I sat down next to the group of friends and said," No we don't really get much snow. I'm on vacation with my family."
"Oh, so who was that hot blonde guy you were with? Your brother?" a girl with black hair asked.
"That's Kevin. He's my sister's husband. And the other guy was Matt, my older brother, also married," I explained.
"Got any other hot brothers?" the girl pressed.
"Leila, knock it off!" Allie hissed.
"What? He's very good looking and so is his brother. So?" she grinned at me.
"I'm afraid my other brother is only 5 years old," I laughed as Leila's face fell.
"How many siblings do you have?" Mark asked me.
"Well, I have six, or um, five," I corrected myself.
The group gave me a funny look.
"My younger brother I just mentioned, had a twin. He was killed in a car accident," I lowered my eyes.
"Oh. Wow, I'm sorry," Mark started.
"No, it's okay. You couldn't have known. I still have a younger brother, a younger sister, two older sisters and my older brother who you saw earlier," I explained.
"So, it must be pretty interesting growing up around so many kids," Allie said.
"Yeah. My house was never slow. There were always people coming and going," I smiled at my childhood memories.
"Most of us are only kids," the other boy said," and I'm Aaron, by the way."
"Just Leila here, who has a younger sister. The rest of us come from small families. Your family must be very fascinating," Mark said.
"It's never dull around my house, that's to say the least. Actually, lately things have slowed down though. My sister and her husband moved out. And then my other sister just moved in, so I bet things are going to be wild again."
I don't know why, but I felt very comfortable talking to complete strangers about my family. I guess it just felt good to be hanging out with people my own age again. We all seemed to really click. We all had to split, I had to go to the vacation house and they had to go to their hotel, but we exchanged addresses and phone numbers so we could hang out again before we all had to leave. They were planning on going to a luau and wanted me to come.
(Lucy's POV)
Mary, Sarah and I decided to take Sammie and David for the day. We knew Mom and Dad needed some time away from the little ones. This was, afterall, a vacation. I decided it would be a good idea to take them to an aquarium. I knew that they would enjoy the fish. We went to the Maui Ocean Center, Inc. They gave a 2 hour tour and served lunch afterwards (not seafood!).
The tour was a little long for Sammie, but she really liked seeing all the big "fishies". Even Sarah, Mary and I were impressed by some of the fish. There were lots of tropical fish we'd never seen before. The kids really enjoyed themselves. And I enjoyed spending time with Mary and Sarah. I hadn't spent much time with them recently. After lunch, we all went to the beach again.
David and Sammie ran around for a while, then they wanted to swim. So we took them down to the water. They just splashed around a lot, but they seemed to enjoy eachother's company.
"Momma!" Sammie jumped at me.
"What sweetie?" I asked, picking her up in my arms.
"Fun!" she giggled happily.
"Yes, this is very fun," I told her, kissing her forehead before setting her back down in the water.
"Let's play tag!" David exclaimed.
"All right," Sarah said," I'm It first!"
"You'll never catch me," David squeeled as he tried to run away.
Of course he didn't realize how hard it was to run underwater, so Sarah caught him quickly. David decided his target was going to be Mary. He chased her around in circles and finally gave up and tagged Sammie.
"Hahaha! You're it Sammie. That means you have to tag someone," David explained to her.
She tried to catch him, but he was too quick for her. So she came after me. I ran really slowly so that she could catch me. She did and was very pleased with herself.
"I got Mommy!" she laughed.
"Oh no, you better run, or I'm gonna get you again!" I teased her.
She ran away from me as fast as her little legs could carry her. She darted away from me and I turned to chase Mary.
"You'll never catch me, little Sister!" she laughed and turned suddenly, causing me to stumble over a rock and fall headfirst into the water.
"Thanks a lot, Mare!" I shouted, sopping wet, but laughing.
A/N: Wow, some characters I actually own, Simon's new friends are all my own creations and of course Sammie is still mine, so don't steal them! I don't like to threaten my readers for reviews, so review or don't but either way, I'll continue the story when I'm ready. All reviews are welcomed, good or bad.
(Annie's POV)
We spent our first day in Hawaii just hanging out together on the beach. Then we had a barbecue. The next day, everyone planned to split up and do things on their own. I was going to take Ruthie to swim with dolphins in Waikoloa. I knew she was excited and I was sure it would be a unique experience.
"So we actually get to swim with dolphins?" she asked.
"Yes. That's what the brochure said. First they give you a little bit of instruction on how to interact with the dolphins. Then they let us go in the water and we get to swim with and pet the dolphins," I explained.
"This is going to be so cool," Ruthie said," how many people can say that they have swam with dolphins?"
"Well, after today, you and I will be able to. And you're sure none of the other kids were interested?" I asked one last time.
"No, they all had plans to go elsewhere," she shook her head.
"Oh well, then that's their loss," I told her.
"I think Matt, Simon and Kevin were going to surfing. I'm not sure where Lucy and Sarah were going, but they were taking the kids. I think Mary might have been going with them. And I think Dad said something about fishing at Molokai," Ruthie listed off everyone's plans.
"Before we go, I'd like to know where the girls are going. I'll go ask them, you make sure we've got everything they said to bring on that checklist," I instructed.
(Simon's POV)
Our second day in Hawaii was great. I went with the guys to hang out on the beach and learn to surf. We got an instructor to work with the three of us (Matt, Kevin and me). We started out slowly on the beach, practicing the techniques on how to get up on the board and keep your balance on the water. I thought that the first part was very boring. Then we actually got to go out on the water, I was glad we had the instruction because it was a lot harder than it looked.
After several hours of trying to surf, and I say trying because none of us were very successful, we all went to lay out on the beach and rest for a while. I was about to fall asleep when a shadow moved over my body. I sat up to see a very good looking girl smiling at me.
"Hi," she greeted me," My name is Allie, what's yours?"
"I'm Simon," I replied.
"Well Simon, my friends and I were watching you and your friends try to surf," she laughed," and we noticed you were struggling a bit."
"Yeah, you could say that," I smiled.
"Anyway, I thought you were very cute. Even if you can't surf very well," she was still laughing a bit," wanna come hang out with us?"
"Um, I'd like to but-," I started.
"Go, you're on vacation, have fun," Matt waved me off.
"Okay, I'll meet you back at the hotel later," I said as the beautiful girl lead me over to a group of young people hanging out with surfboards.
"Everyone, this is Simon," Allie introduced me to her friends.
"Hi Simon," one boy said," where are you from?"
"I'm from California," I told the group.
"Really? That's so cool," Allie said," we're all on our Christmas break from Vermont."
"We decided we needed a break from the snow and skiing," a guy laughed," but I guess you don't get much snow in California do you? My name's Mark by the way."
I sat down next to the group of friends and said," No we don't really get much snow. I'm on vacation with my family."
"Oh, so who was that hot blonde guy you were with? Your brother?" a girl with black hair asked.
"That's Kevin. He's my sister's husband. And the other guy was Matt, my older brother, also married," I explained.
"Got any other hot brothers?" the girl pressed.
"Leila, knock it off!" Allie hissed.
"What? He's very good looking and so is his brother. So?" she grinned at me.
"I'm afraid my other brother is only 5 years old," I laughed as Leila's face fell.
"How many siblings do you have?" Mark asked me.
"Well, I have six, or um, five," I corrected myself.
The group gave me a funny look.
"My younger brother I just mentioned, had a twin. He was killed in a car accident," I lowered my eyes.
"Oh. Wow, I'm sorry," Mark started.
"No, it's okay. You couldn't have known. I still have a younger brother, a younger sister, two older sisters and my older brother who you saw earlier," I explained.
"So, it must be pretty interesting growing up around so many kids," Allie said.
"Yeah. My house was never slow. There were always people coming and going," I smiled at my childhood memories.
"Most of us are only kids," the other boy said," and I'm Aaron, by the way."
"Just Leila here, who has a younger sister. The rest of us come from small families. Your family must be very fascinating," Mark said.
"It's never dull around my house, that's to say the least. Actually, lately things have slowed down though. My sister and her husband moved out. And then my other sister just moved in, so I bet things are going to be wild again."
I don't know why, but I felt very comfortable talking to complete strangers about my family. I guess it just felt good to be hanging out with people my own age again. We all seemed to really click. We all had to split, I had to go to the vacation house and they had to go to their hotel, but we exchanged addresses and phone numbers so we could hang out again before we all had to leave. They were planning on going to a luau and wanted me to come.
(Lucy's POV)
Mary, Sarah and I decided to take Sammie and David for the day. We knew Mom and Dad needed some time away from the little ones. This was, afterall, a vacation. I decided it would be a good idea to take them to an aquarium. I knew that they would enjoy the fish. We went to the Maui Ocean Center, Inc. They gave a 2 hour tour and served lunch afterwards (not seafood!).
The tour was a little long for Sammie, but she really liked seeing all the big "fishies". Even Sarah, Mary and I were impressed by some of the fish. There were lots of tropical fish we'd never seen before. The kids really enjoyed themselves. And I enjoyed spending time with Mary and Sarah. I hadn't spent much time with them recently. After lunch, we all went to the beach again.
David and Sammie ran around for a while, then they wanted to swim. So we took them down to the water. They just splashed around a lot, but they seemed to enjoy eachother's company.
"Momma!" Sammie jumped at me.
"What sweetie?" I asked, picking her up in my arms.
"Fun!" she giggled happily.
"Yes, this is very fun," I told her, kissing her forehead before setting her back down in the water.
"Let's play tag!" David exclaimed.
"All right," Sarah said," I'm It first!"
"You'll never catch me," David squeeled as he tried to run away.
Of course he didn't realize how hard it was to run underwater, so Sarah caught him quickly. David decided his target was going to be Mary. He chased her around in circles and finally gave up and tagged Sammie.
"Hahaha! You're it Sammie. That means you have to tag someone," David explained to her.
She tried to catch him, but he was too quick for her. So she came after me. I ran really slowly so that she could catch me. She did and was very pleased with herself.
"I got Mommy!" she laughed.
"Oh no, you better run, or I'm gonna get you again!" I teased her.
She ran away from me as fast as her little legs could carry her. She darted away from me and I turned to chase Mary.
"You'll never catch me, little Sister!" she laughed and turned suddenly, causing me to stumble over a rock and fall headfirst into the water.
"Thanks a lot, Mare!" I shouted, sopping wet, but laughing.
A/N: Wow, some characters I actually own, Simon's new friends are all my own creations and of course Sammie is still mine, so don't steal them! I don't like to threaten my readers for reviews, so review or don't but either way, I'll continue the story when I'm ready. All reviews are welcomed, good or bad.