Weekend work

This is part of what my day consisted of! My parents came up today to help with yard work and bring me an air conditioner for my room. We put Dan to work power washing my deck, my step-dad to work pulling out these massive, ugly pine tree looking bushes and my mom and I went to search for flowers, shrubs and anything else to fill the gaping holes around my house where the ugle bushes once were. It was a great day and we got a lot accomplished! We planted 10 different plants/bushes as well as put in most of the black fencing you can see in the pic as well as the red mulch. Dan finished power washing the deck and we got my air conditioning put in! It's fun to own a house. It's really nice to be able to do what you want and take pride in that.

If you want to test your relationship with a loved one, work outside for long periods of time in high heat, without a real clue as to what you're doing and have differering opinions on things:) After my parents left, we continued to work on the deck. Tonight I thought I was going to strangle Dan. Sometimes he is such a perfectionist that it drives me crazy! He was washing some of this stuff off the deck we had put on and I felt that it was good and clean. He however felt different and was really grouchy because it wasn't working the way it was supposed to . After arguing back and forth about whether he should keep working on it or not, as well as threatening to spray me with the water, I finally decided to go around the house and admire my new garden. As I was walking towards the side of the house(which happened to be near the water spout turn off), he threatened to spray me if I turned the water off. Now, I had no intention of turning that water off until he said that. I picked up the hose, kinked it so he was unable to spray me and gave him a look along with a smart comment that went something like this;" I will turn off the freaking water if i want to. . . (insert long dramatic pause) BUT that is not what i was going to do" and dramatic stomp away. When I got inside, I realized that we were both being butt heads. I knew he was frustrated with the deck and I was just tired and frustrated from working outside all day. What do I care if he wants to spend the rest of the night outside spraying this deck? So I walked outside to where he was, told him I loved him and that he could keep on spraying until he felt it was done. We were good after that. And he finished spraying shortly after that:) . I've learned that the forceful way doesn't work with him, although sometimes I just can't help myself when I get mad, no matter how much I know it isn't going to work on him. ah well, the things you learn in love,
Overall it was a very productive, most excellent day. It got me excited about other projects for my house, i got a tan, and i got to see the fam. Tomorrow Brandy and I head for Ottumwa for the "Beach" aka giant waterpark to soak up some rays. Hopefully Dan and I can finish staining the deck this week if the weather cooperates. If anyone wants to make a trip to Kville or just come over to my house if you live in kville(seth and kt) please do!!!
Check out my shutterfly account(sams pics over on the links section of my blog) to see more pics of what we did this weekend!!

Consumer Report

Ok, time for a consumer report and a warning to all potential car renters. DO NOT USE HERTZ! We had an absolutely terrible experience with them. Let me explain from the beginning.

When we rented the car, it was held in my name, on my debit card. Upon returning the car, I asked the lady where we needed to pay because Dan was actually going to pay for it. She told me that they had gone ahead and charged it to my debit card. We informed her we wanted to pay by other means and so she sent us to the service desk. Dan paid the people, half in cash, half with his debit and we went on our merry way . . .(actually we ended up being stranded in Hawaii another night but that's another story for another time). Early last week I got online to check my account to see how much money I had left because I still had some checks i needed to deposit. Imagine my shock and dismay when it told me my account was NEGATIVE $500!! I about had a heart attack right there. So as I'm scrolling through the purchases and overdraft fees(there were about 7 by that time, at $34 each!) I come to a purchase from Hertz rent a car. . . the purchase that made my balance go negative.
Basically I called them several times throughout the week and no one could seem to get a clue. They kept getting confused about what I was talking about. One lady acted like she understood and said my money would be back in my account later that day. Well 3 days later and it was still not deposited and my bank had no record of a deposit. So i called again on Friday afternoon and got some doofus who told me they had NO record that the payment was made by anything other than my card! I explained to him taht I had spoken with someone from his company on Wednesday who was able to see th at the payment was actually made half cash, half debit. I finally asked to speak to his supervisor, who also told me the same thing, that they had no record of it and would need me to fax the receipt. I was then told it would be passed along to customer relations, who would take the case as it came in and E-MAIL me within in a few days to begin discussing the problem. I told the woman that was unacceptable because i was unable to access my bank account due to their mistake. She said she could not transfer me because they don't take phone calls and I would just ahve to wait on them. . . at t his point my blood is boiling and I am HOT!
So after work that night I call back and they put me on with some head honcho lady who was incredibly nice and helpful. And what do you know? She had a record of how the vehicle was actually paid and apologized for the other worker's incompetence. She called my bank, paid for the overdraft fees and promised to get the money back in my account within a few days. She was wonderful.
The money was finally put back in on Tuesday, a week and a half after this whole ordeal started. The overdrafts were removed and I'm back in black! I called yesterday to file a formal complaint with the company but wouldn't ya know it? The customer service is only able to be contacted via e-mail or a note which they put on your account. I am waiting to talk to someone in person with whom I can file a complaint with and inform them that their customer service is horrendous, their workers incompetent, and their business practices unacceptable. I did however put in a good word for the lady who was so helpful and got things done. I just believe I shouldn't have to go through a week and two supervisors to get something done. I believe that a customer service department should be accessible to their customers. I believe that I will not use Hertz again unless it is free. I caution any of you who rent a car not to use Hertz.

Foster care Awareness Month

I thought it was appropriate after my last post, which was very disheartening, to write a story that portrayed a flip side of "the system". I think this will also fit in well because it is foster care awareness month.
I have a client who came into custody about 2 1/2 years ago due to his mom dating a meth addict. The guy was busted for manufacturing meth and the mom was taken to jail, although she ended up testing clean. All the usual things were put in place when a child is taken out of the home, individual counseling for kid and parent, family counseling, drug and alcohol screenings and treatment if necessary,and other stipulations depending on the family. This boy, who was 12 at the time, was in a foster home for about 8 months before the court decided to try a trial home visit. While at home, his grades dropped significantly, he missed a lot of school, was unsupervised frequently and left in the care of dangerous individuals. The boy was removed again and placed back in foster care. He was placed with a family where he has superceeded everyone's expectations. He went from D's and F's to being on the B honor roll. He no longer runs all over town and knows what his expectations are. The goal was still reunification with his mother but this was clearly not working and would be detrimental to this child's future. And his mother was a crazy one. I don't remember how many meetings she screamed that" God was going to "f"ing" judge us all". You feel bad because this kid does have a bond with his mom but is old enough to understand that she is just not geting it together. The family support team(team of people made up from providers in his life, counselors, school, Children's Division, parents, etc) made a decision to change the plan from reunification to guardianship. The foster family he had lived with for the last year offered to pursue guardianship. Guardianship means that all the rights of being a parent are given to these people but the biological parents rights are not actually terminated. It is up to the discretion of the guardians if they want to allow the child to see the parent, how much, where, etc. This family was more than willing to allow supervised visits and felt it was important for him to keep a relationship with his mom, since they already had a bond. The court hearing was about 5 hours long. I remember before the hearing sitting next to this boy and his mom. The boy was asking his mom why she was choosing all these negative people over him and that all she needed to do was to quit hanging around these peopel. THe mom responded with saying that "all these state people just need to stay out of our lives". The boy's first choice was to live with his mom but since he knew that couldnt' happen, he wanted to stay with his foster family. The judge granted the guardianship and he remains there today. He has made the B honor roll, stayed out of trouble, and recieved an award from school for "most improved student". I am so proud of him! and proud that the system worked for this kid.
It's so important that there are good foster homes out there. I have seen my share of great ones ansd awful ones. There is such a need for this! A need for Godly homes where kids can be given another chance at life. I know that the Children's Division here advertises at churches in the area. If anyone knows anyone who might consider being a foster parent or maybe your church is not actively involved in this, encourage them to seek more information. It's tough. The kids are challenging. It demands a lot of time between meetings, counseling appointments, visits, etc. But it's worth it.
http://www.dss.mo.gov/cd/fostercare/
Check out this website for more information.

Devastated

About a year ago, I worked with two little boys, 5 and 6 when I began working with them. They had been in foster care about a year when I began working with them. They also have a younger brother who is now 2 but was only a few days old when he came into care. Both the older boys had behavioral problems. They were physically abused, basic needs abandoned, left with random relatives and friends, lived out of a car, and were shuffled around much of their little life. During the two years I worked with the boys, we fought with the courts to terminate this mother's rights. This mother was 16 when she had the oldest boy and had 2 others after him. She tested postive for meth when she gave birth to the youngest, which resulted in him being taken away. She was placed in jail for driving drunk with the boys and testing positive for marijuana, which brought the other two boys into foster care. During the time I worked with them, she lived in Columbia, Missouri, had sporadic contact with the boys, violated her probation and was sent to prison for 4 months. Finally last year, the courts moved forward with an adoption proceeding for all the boys. The separted the two older boys from their younger brother because they didn't really know him and the youngest had been with the same family since he was born. We went through adoption interviews and interviewed each potential family, trying to see what would be the best fit for the boys. We finally decided on a nice lady who was single, in her mid-forties , had no kids but was a professor at a college around Fulton, MO. The boys were moved there and adjusted fantastically. It was very sad to see them go but we all knew that this was the best placement for them. They would finally have a shot at a good life without being tossed back and forth between foster homes, having mom pop in and out of their lives nad for the first time, have some stability. That was in August of 2005.
Today I learned that they were actually back in town, living with another foster family. Their adoptive mother was diagnosed with cancer and only given a few months left to live. This breaks my heart. The boys are having behavioral problems again(who wouldn't?) and I can't imagine what their little hearts must be feeling. It devestates me to think about all they have gone through and all they will still have to go through. I know God has his plan and it's at times like these that it's most important to remember that.

Reflections from Hawaii

We finally made it home after a looooong time in the airport and on airplanes but that is another post for another time. We are still recovering from major jet lag and the time change but really, I'm not sure we can be complaining after spending nearly 2 weeks in Hawaii. . .:)
One of the last nights we were there, we were up late discussing the beauty of Hawaii. We were discussing how Katie and others who have lived there awhile have grown accustomed to the beauty around them and are able to go about their daily lives without noticing God's creation and the amazingness of it. We got to talking about how we all do that. How it's so easy to become complacent with God's beauty and the blessings he has provided us through nature, relationships, experiences, etc. To me it sounds crazy for Katie to be longing to be back in Kansas, away from Hawaii. However I have not lived in Hawaii for a year and a half. It's easy to get caught up in what we DON'T have and forget about or refuse to acknowledge the blessings right in front us. For those of you who have lived or been to Kirksville, you know how easy it is to bash it. I know as we were discussing coming back, we initially were discussing how crappy the midwest is and how we would love to just live in Hawaii. However as we continued to talk and make a conscious effort to recognize the great things that the midwest provides, we realized that at times our hearts and attitudes are not where they need to be. We also discussed how easy it is to become stale in our relationship with Christ because it's not "new " anymore. Sometimes I really have to make an effort to read my bible, exhibit the fruits of the spirit, or worship God with no distractions. I remember when I first became a Christian. Man, I was on fire and could acknoweldge God's presence all around me! Now it's too easy to go about my daily life without giving God the praise he deserves for the blessings he has placed in my life.And not just the blessings but for the hope he has given me, the way he has changed me, disciplined me, cared for me, provided for me.
Our talk prompted this from both us; to be more conscious and aware of God's presence in our lives. To look more towards the postive things and quit seeing the negative in everything. To give God the honor and glory he deserves, regardless of our circumstance in life.
God really tested that the day after we made that conscious decision. As we were waiting in the Phoenix airport for 10 hours, we had to laugh out loud. Be careful what you pray for because you just might get it!!

Unbelievable!!

So i just finished calling the airline to confirm our flight time for tonight when the guy says, "hold on, something is not right here." So as I "held" for 23 minutes and 32 seconds as he tried to "Avoid a trainwreck". The dude comes back on and tells me that my flight for Honolulu to Phoenix is confirmed but that the airport people last night did NOT book our flight for Phoenix to Kansas City and now the plane is full and they cannot get us on that flight. The guy told me his supervisor tried but had no luck. He says that it is their fault and someone at the airline screwed up last night...really? He told me that I needed to call the airport and work it out with them because they were not getting anywhere. So i attempt to call the airport only to find out they do not have a direct line and all calls are redirected to their 1-800 numbers, which when I called back, told me that they cannot disclose that information due to "security reasons".What do they think? I'm going to prank call the freakin airline?! So the nice gentleman on the phone offers to book us on the 6pm flight out of Phoenix. Mind you, we were supposed to leave on the 930am flight. I told him no, that I would just deal with the airline people tonight when I got to the airport. Hear my angry type...

One More day

So this is the beautiful beach of Lanikai. This 1/2 mile stretch of beach is one of the most beautiful on Oahu and supposedly is home to Michelle Pfeiffer and Pierce Brosnan. (Dan tried to do a little James Bond investigation to find the houses but no such luck.((ok he didn't really and would be mortified if he thought others thought he was snooping around looking for a stars house!)). We spent our "last day" there, relaxing, snorkeling and overall relaxing. We were sad to have to leave and contemplated hoq quickly we could find jobs, places to live, and extra money so that we could stay here. Unfortunately, logic and common sense overruled us and we headed home to get packed and head for dinner with Katie and then on to the airport for our 1030 flight.
Upon arriving at the airport at 900, picking up our 6-7 pineapples that are coming home with us and checking through agricultural check, I noticed that the lines were REALLY long for checking in and was cursing myself for not "Web checking in". Then as I was eavesdropping a dude's phone conversation next to me, I heard him say, "yeah, my 1030 flight was cancelled and they are trying to get us all on different flights". errr....what?! So i asked him and he told me the flight was cancelled and I probably needed to talk to an airline attendant. Suddenly the hundreds of people standing outside the check in lines made more sense. Basically what ended up happening is we waited in line for 2 hours and found out that there was no more room on the flights that we going out(they had another flight later and were trying to get some people on different airlines). So they offered us a hotel room, taxi rides, meal comps and a flight for Friday at 1049pm. We declined the hotel room and took the taxi back to Katie's and now have one more additional day on the Beach!!!
Honestly, if you are going to get booted from a flight, Hawaii is the best place to get booted from!! So hopefully we'll make it out tonight but for now we are going to enjoy another beautiful day in Hawaii!!I'll keep you updated if we make it back.

Hawaii

Today was sweet!! We got up early and went to Hanauma Bay, which is a nature preserve, reserved for snorkelers. It's an inlet of an old volcano. You can see pictures on my pictures page. There were giagantic fish! We saw blowfish(Dan tapped one gently with his fin to try and get it to puff up. It didn't work!shhh don't tell anyone!). The fish were so brightly colored and not shy at all. I would turn around and there were huge fish swimming right in front of my face. We saw an eel that was about 3 feet long. I can't wait to show you guys some of the pics we took with our underwater camera! The weather was beautiful and I think I got the worse burn I' ve gotten since being here.
We've decided to have Cold Stone Creamery for dinner tonight(ice cream for those who don't know what it was). That's what we can do when we're on vacation! On wednesday, Dan and Jeff (Katie's boyfriend) are climbing the "Stairway to Heaven). It's an old broken down stair case that goes up the side of a mountain.It has 3,922 stairs, 222 stories of stairs, and is closed to the public now for unknown reasons. Katie has climbed it so it can't be too crazy. However, I hope that on Wednesday I am not posting a picture of Dan flattened like a pancake from falling off the mountain! They have to climb at 4am when it is still dark because it goes beside a highway and it's "technially illegal". So shout up a prayer for them if you think about it! I'll post pics from it on Wednesday. Katie and I will be enjoying some sleep or maybe a sunrise beach scene. I'll keep you updated!! I posted new pics today, check em out.
Tomorrow i might start my search for Dog. . .Dog the bounty hunter.BARK BARK!!

what to say?

I feel like i should post about something other than Hawaii. I feel like I should post something profound about love, beauty, hope, something! But i've got nothing, I'm trying not to think too hard on this trip:) So here is just a picture for the day. check out the pic website for more photos from our adventures today. Nothing too exciting, swap meet and then driving up the coast. Beautiful sights, crazy people (including my crazy boyfriend), and lots o sun!

Day of Adventures

Today was a great day! Woke up to the sound of rain and then fell back asleep to the sound of rain. When I finally got up for good, i felt refreshed and relaxed, the first time since being here. I think my body is finally starting to adjust to the time change and jet lag. Dan and i grabbed breakfast for all of us and then Dan, Katie, and I headed out in our sweet, red, mustang convertible (see sam's pic link for photos) for the North Shore.
We were worried as we drove along because it was definitely raining. We made a pit stop at the Dole pineapple plantation and ate some of the most delicious pineapple ever and I won a beautiful purple pearl. After that we tried putting the top down on the ole convertible while driving around a small, coast town. The rain kept following us and it would gently rain for a few minutes and then quit. We made our first stop at Turtle Beach (pictured above) where we saw two sea turtles (again, see link for pics) basting in the sun! Dan got in and snorkeled, hoping they would choose to go back to sea. They didn't. There were also some natives out in the water with some homemade rafts and nets, catching fish. We saw their spoil and asked them if they were catching it to sell and they said no, that they catch it for their family and have a big potluck on Sunday afternoons. Freakin sweet.
We continued to drive up the coast, stopping at random places and beaches. We stopped at a beach where the waves were huge and only Dan was brave enough to venture in. He defintely came out with a suit filled with sand. Also at that same beach was a cliff you could jump off of into the water. Again Dan was the only brave one due to the water being so crazy. It was really cool and kind of scary to watch!
After that we stopped at another place where we climbed down giant rocks to get to a small cove. It was pretty neat because it was protected from the waves. We also ventured to a place called Shark's cove where Dan lost his leg to a tiger shark.
Just kidding! there are no sharks there or at least weren't when we were there. It's basically a big cove with lots of coral and lots of fish! it was a great place for snorkeling. Dan was stalked by a 3 foot eel looking creature with a swordlike beak. After that we took an amazing drive down the coast, back to Kailua where Katie lives. This highway curves like 10 feet from the water and it's an amazing drive. Luckily for us, the rain which had followed us most of the day (it would be really sunny and then start raining for a few minutes and then get sunny again. This happened every new place we went) was gone for the drive home, meaning we had the top down the whole way! We also stopped at this out of the way place and tasted some macademia nuts!
I loved today because it was such random things. We explored, we snorkeled, we climbed, we swam. Tomorrow holds the swap meet and possibly Pearl Harbor!

Dolphin adventure and such

No, those are not sharks, but would be pretty cool if they were! Yesterday we began our dolphin adventure at 645am. We were on this big sailboat(catamaran, i think) and headed for the open sea. It was absolutely amazing, with the exception of the annoying canadian on board. We traveled out to a spot and along the way saw flying fish. No joke. These fish leap out of the water and fly across the water for about 30 meters and then dive back into the sea. They have wings.
We then stopped and were allowed to snorkel before arriving at the dolphin ground. The reef there was amazing and there were hundreds and hundreds of fish! While we were swimming along we spotted a sea turtle and began swimming with him. He was literally 3 feet from me! we saw him dive down to the reef and swim all around. There were tons of turtles we spotted from the boat!
We finally arrived at the place where dolphins rest. They came charging past our boat and we had to follow them around for a bit before they settled down. We were able to get in the water and literally swim with them! Only for a few minutes though becuase they are freaking fast and it's dififcult to keep up. The views were amazing and it was amazing to be in nature, interacting with the wildlife, as opposed to being in some park. The dolphins travel in groups anywhere from 30-80 in a pack. There were about 30 in the group we saw! All in all, the trip was amazing! We ate at some dive restauarant on our way back to the other side of the island and then spent the afternoon at the beach.
We did pick up our rental car last night...wow it's sweet. I will post pics of that tonight. Today we are packing up and heading for the North Shore to catch some monster waves and visit the pineapple plantation! Check out my picture website www.samscove.shutterfly.com for more pics from yesterday!!

Day 1

Today was our first day in Hawaii! It was an early morning due to our bodies being out of whack with the time zone. We were at the beach by 8, after an early morning rain. As you can see in the pic it was cloudy in the morning and then as the morning went on, got sunnier and sunnier. About 11 we finally got the courage up to venture in to the water. Dan got stung by a man of war tentacle. There were a ton of them on the beach today. Don't worry, he was fine. We stayed at the beach until about 1pm and then walked home. It was a great day. Definitely got a little burn today. Tonight we walked to a restaurant called Pinky's PuPu, no kidding. I had a Mai Thai and a grilled chicken ceasar salad with Mahi Mahi fish. Dan had some crazy crap which included kahlua pork, macademia nut encrusted oho(fish) and we had kahlua pork nachos. There were crazy chicken ducks all around the resaurant.
Ok, I posted pics on a shutterfly account! there are only a few of them today but we are swimming with dolphins tomorrow so there should be more tomorrow!!check them out.
www.samscove.shutterfly.com

Safe Arrival

We made it!! Finally!! After the world's longest day of travel, we finally arrived in Honolulu at 11:15pm, local time. Translate, 4:15am Missouri time. But i'm getting ahead of myself, let me back up. The day started at 7am Tuesday morning when I awoke to say goodbye to my parents. Dan wanted to go to a dive shop to get some snorkeling gear so we had to leave early for the airport. We spent an hour and a half at the dive shop until sufficient gear could be found and then made our way to the airport, arriving just a weee bit early due to my "freak about schedules" nature.(don't ask me how i ended up with Dan, any of you who know him know what I'm talking about). So we were there early and this leads me to my first story about our trip.
After going through security at the airport and while waiting for the officials to make sure Dan didn't have a bomb in his laptop, I noticed this asian man with a few airport people around him. This man was probably in his early 30's and is crying!!! and speaking in broken English. The men around him are trying to calm him down while telling him that he is not in trouble.One of the seemingly head guys tells him that they would have already have him in handcuffs and taken away by now if they were going to do something. I am straining my ears to hear what is going on when I hear the airport man say, "so you're saying the knives mean nothing to you? you don't want them?" and the asian man crying and saying, "no no, i dont' want them, i didnt now". I immediately began praying that this dude was NOT on our flight.
We finally take off at about 230, me clutching Dan's hand so tightly i believe he still has nail imprints and head for Phoenix!! Upon arriving in Phoenix, we excitedly get off the plane and begin to look for the tv monitors to find our next gate, thinking we only had 45 minutes. WRONG! Next to Honolulu, where the flight status is supposed to say "On Time", it reads, " more infor @5:00". This presents a problem since our flight was supposed to leave 4:30. So we make our way to the gate and question the stewardess about the flight and she tells us she doesn't know anything except that it is late. I calmly ask her where the flight is coming from and she tells me, "the hangar". Bad news, bad freakin news. So we wait, and we wait, and 5:00 rolls around and we are waiting some more. Finally about 530 the lady comes on the speaker and says that they are trying to find us a new airplane and that the one they think is coming is getting in about 615, with a scheduled departure time of 730. Grr. So everyone who was so anxious to get to Hawaii treks about 8 miles to the new terminal where our new plane is supposed to be coming. Dan deals with the desk guy and secures us some $10 food vouchers and we hang out and talk with some natives of Hawaii and find out the best, non-touristy places to go. We finally board our flight about 715 (phoenix time mind you, 915 missouri time, 415 hawaii time) and head for the beautiful islands of Hawaii.
Our seats on the plane were prime. Three seats for 2 of us, room to stretch out. Then we discover the row across from us is completely empty! Heck yeah, after we get in the air i was heading over there for some much needed R&R. HOWEVER, before i could do that some girl moved in on my seats, stretched herself out peacefully and slept for 6 hour flight. Poor Dan, i spent most of the flight hogging the two seats and using him as my pillow. The flight was good and we finally arrived at 1115, hawaii time. I was knocked out when i climbed into bed but did manage to wake up 5 hours later, at 5:30am since my body is out of whack. Now we are waiting for the light morning rain to stop so we can walk to the beach, where I will promptly be calling some of you to let you listen to the sound of the ocean!!:) Keep watching the blogs for updates and pics to follow. The sun is just now rising so we can see Hawaii in the daylight!! It smells beautiful!!

Leaving on a jet plane. . .

OK i tried to get a picture of an airplane on here but my computer was not cooperating with me. We leave tomorrow at 2:30 for HAWAII!! I'm so pumped! i was up till midnight last night packing and up at 545 this morning to finish packing and get into work early to finish up some things. We are heading for KC after work tonight, meeting Dan's mom in Columbia for dinner and to get him a bigger suitcase and then on to KC where we will spend the night with my fam and head to the airport in the morning!!
I must admit, I am a little nervous about the flights tomorrow. I have flown several, several, several times in my life but it has only been in the past few years that I have started to develop major anxiety about flying. And really, it's only the taking off part! I love the descent. I called my friend Katie who we are staying with last night to connect with her. She and her boyfriend has just flown back in to Hawaii that day from KC. I made sure she had a good flight and all was well. I know nothing will happen but i can't get that knot out of my stomach. I'm a loser. So if anyone is thinking about me tomorrow around 230 and then again at 430(when we leave phoenix), then shout up a little prayer for my anxiety to be diminished. Maybe i'll have a few amoretto sours before getting on the plane, that should calm me down...:) Anywas, i think i will have some internet access so i will definitely post pics and keep you all updated on the happenings on the island!!!