The last time Kevin and I put our heads together we roped you all into the Golden Egg Challenge...  this time it's a trip to Kona, Hawaii, and it's not without a challenge!  The destination was prompted by a long time conversation among all four siblings to meet somewhere and run together...  and, therein lies the challenge:  The Kona Marathon (or a fraction of it, if you prefer!), June 24, 2012!

The trip dates also include  Mom's 65th birthday, and Kevin and I thought that Hawaii sounded like the perfect place for a party celebrating Mom...  pineapple mimosas and a Hawaiian Wedding cake with candles!

Grace, Lily, and I are definitely in...  we plan to arrive June 21, and depart July 5.  Kevin, Gigi, and Jack are in for the same dates.  Our hope is that the rest of you are in for the full two weeks as well!!  Kyle has cleared his calendar, too, but I am not sure for how many days...

I have been looking at houses that sleep 10 -- and only put them on a list if they have a pool, and furniture that looks nothing like that which we had to sit upon at the Bali Ho!!  Apparently, the beaches in Kona are not as soft as we had in front of the Bali Ho, so I think we'll want and appreciate the pool!  Oh, I am also only considering houses with wi-fi, as some of us may have to work a bit while we are there!

Kevin set up this uber-cool website so we can communicate about the trip in one place, which will help keep  our email inboxes from overloading!  I am going to use this site to post pictures, links, and polls about the houses I find -- that way everyone can weigh in on where we stay.

Houses look to be at least $3000/week, which seems like a lot, but we have a whole year to save!!  I'm thinking the best way to divide the total cost is per person, so I will pay for 3 people, Kevin for 3, Mom & Dad for 2, and Mack & Kyle for 1 each...  I will obviously pay more if Andrew makes it; he has the trip on his calendar already, but I am making plans as though he WON'T be there...  his job is too unpredictable.  I am not including him in the count for the house... he would make 11, and if he makes it, we'll buy one of the girls an air  mattress to sleep on! 

About the marathon weekend...  there are other events, too...  on Saturday, there are shorter distances (5k and 10k ,I believe), and I think Grace and Lily will do one of those.  Grace has expressed interest in training for the half, but that will be entirely dependent on her knee...  at a minimum, she'll be in for the 5k, even if she has to walk it.

There may be another challenge during the holiday...  something involving pineapples, perhaps.