Whoo hoo!!!

Guess what??????????? We booked our trip!!!

I've been waiting for today for a while..... Well, more like the last two weeks. I knew I wanted to book our trip for Hawaii but didn't feel right "researching" fully when I had to study. The thinking behind that was based on the fact that I did HORRIBLE on my last test and knew I had to whip myself to shape if I wanted to pass the class with the grade that I'm comfortable with. So, I studied ... and studied ... and peeked online .. and peeked online ... and studied some more. I contacted our travel agent to get pricing on different options, for myself and for my family. And she gave me the quotes for various "options" I was considering:

1. rent a house with the family in Maui and get a condo in Kauai
2. rent a house by ourselves (shared with either my sister/brother-in-law or my cousin/cousin-in-law) and get a condo in Kauai; rent a house for everyone else in Maui
3. get condos in Maui in Kihei or Wailea area for us and the family and condo for us in Kauai

the above options also need to have non-stop flight from SFO and a mid size car

Brenda, the travel agent, was really nice and gave me a few different options with different pricing. I was happy with the pricing but of course, being a smart shopper that I am, I decided call my buddy Mr. Costco. Well, Mr. Costco shocked me! Their prices were cheaper than what Brenda quoted me. GASP. Say it isn't so? But it was so!

But which option?

We really wanted to get a house to share with either my sister/brother-in-law or my cousin/cousin-in-law because we wanted to have a place for our "welcome dinner" and "thank you breakfast". We wouldn't have to worry about finding a place and will just need to order. But the thing with this option is that my sister/brother-in-law and my cousin/cousin-in-law wouldn't be joining us until the day after we get there. That would mean that Mr. JB and I will have to pay for a day on our own (we're arriving one day before everyone) and they will also have to pay for a day on their own (since we're leaving one day before everyone). That wouldn't be fair, right?

But share a house with the entire family? Well, as much as I like the idea, sometimes my family members are WAY too loud. My goodness. Seriously! They're loud!!!! When we were younger, in Burma, my aunts would be able to say our name and we heard them from all the way down the street where we were playing. Yeap..that loud!

It's not the fact that they're loud that's deterring me from sharing a house with them. We have a few DIY projects we'd have to do when we get there. If they see us doing the projects, they wouldn't be surprised anymore. Know what I mean?

And the last idea: getting our own condo? Well, I didn't mind that. In fact, I thought that was a better idea since each "couple" wouldn't have to rely on anyone. They can arrive and leave on whatever day. And we can all be "next" to each other, without being on top of each other. We can all stay in the same complex, you know what I mean? And we'll have our own privacy. Ya de ya da. The draw back: if everyone's going there at the same time, then it's pricier if everyone get their own condos.

I emailed these options to my brother, my sister, my cousin plus their significant others to get their response. Sister JB liked the renting of the house idea better. I've given them all the price breakdown of everything...

Brother JB thought it was going to cost him $10,000 to go there for a week! I said WHAT! I told him that Mr. JB and I are not planning to spend that much and we're going to Kauai too! Crazy brother of mine! Oi!

And after all the emailing of all the prices, my sister in law wrote me the following: " just want to say thank you for doing all of these for us I appreciate...you have a good heart and that's why I like you,not because your my sister in law it's because you care...really thank you...were so lucky to have you...have a good day my DEAR...muahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." How cute is she? ha ha.

How did I respond back to her? "You are very welcome..

I want to make sure that everyone's happy when going there... =) AND I want to make sure I get you guys all the best prices...so that I can get a BIG gift..from helping you save money. ha ha ha."

Oh, I also forgot to say that I found a place that has two properties -- a house with 4 bedrooms and a cottage. Mr. JB and I'll be staying in the cottage, even if it's a little bit more costly than what the rest of my family members are paying. We'll have the privacy that we need PLUS the space we were looking for with a house. AND we get to eat my mom's cooking! Delish! Best of all worlds. Ha ha.

So, I'm still waiting for my bro to get back to me as far as the house rental thing goes but in the mean time, I booked our flight/car to Maui and flight/car/condo to Kauai! And good thing about Costco is that if my siblings were to change their minds and decided that they wanted to stay in condos instead or wherever else, then I can add a condo to my package as well, with no worries.

Whoo hoo!!! I'm excited!