Kauai - July 9, 2011

After breakfast, we got packed up and drove over to Ke'e Beach, which is as far as you can go on the north end of the island.  The last time we were in Kauai, we spent a lot of time at this beach because it's calm and warm since there's a protective reef just offshore.  It seemed like a good spot to get the kids back into snorkeling since it had been two years since they'd had the chance to do it and our youngest had been too little the last time.  Mike and I knew the snorkeling was just okay there, but figured the kids wouldn't really care as long as they saw something.

The older two headed for the water right away and took off for some rocks to the side of the beach.  They immediately started exclaiming over the fish that were swimming around them and spent a long time looking around the rocks and swimming back and forth between them and the beach.  Our little one had been hesitant to swim at the beach in the past, but decided that this time it was a fine idea, so she was diving down to gather rocks and check out the little fish that were coming closer in to the beach.  Mike took the older kids out to check out the reef when they were ready to swim a bit farther, which they both thought was really cool.

After spending the morning swimming and playing in the sand, we dragged the kids out of the water and they tore into the snacks we brought like they'd never seen food.  While they were occupied, Mike and I got the gear packed up and we wrangled the kids and stuff up to the showers to rinse off the sand and salt, which turned out to be unnecessary since Mother Nature decided to do it for us.  We then went into Hanalei for lunch at Bubba's, followed by the kids' first experience with shave ice.  They now agree, by the way, that there's no going back to snow cones!

After lunch, we thought we'd go see a couple of other beaches and decide if we wanted to spend more time at one of them.  We ended up not staying at either one, since one was very rough (although our son was game to try boogie boarding anyway) and our youngest was asleep at the other.  We did stop by the Kilauea Lighthouse, but it was closed by the time we got there, so we only got to see it from a distance.

On our way back to the condo, we stopped at the grocery for some dinner and then enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the bluff behind the condo.  After a busy day, it was a lovely way to end.

Kauai - July 8, 2011

We took our time getting up (okay, I took my time getting up, while Mike dealt with the kids) and had a lazy breakfast in the condo.  When we finally got ourselves organized, we drove down the road a bit to do a hike to a (large) tidepool called Queen's Bath.  We actually did this the last time we were here, with our son in a backpack for the hike down and back.  This time, all three kids managed it on their own, even though it was a bit slippery from the rain the night before.  Once we got down to Queen's Bath, they jumped right in and started swimming around to check it out, with our little one hopping in after her brother and sister.  They thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever done and they had a blast sitting in the water that flowed over the rocks, swimming around checking out the fish, and jumping off the rocks (our son) into the pool.  On the hike back up, we stopped to rinse off in the waterfall that flows next to the path, just like Mike and our son did the last time.

We headed into Hanalei for lunch and ate at the Hanalei Gourmet, which we remembered being pretty good last time.  It was even better this trip and our youngest discovered her new favorite sandwich - peanut butter and banana with honey.  From there, we went over to Blackpot Beach on Hanalei Bay and checked out the pier.  The signs say no jumping or diving from the pier, but there were lots of people doing exactly that, so our son wanted to give it a try.  Needless to say, he was occupied for a long time jumping in and climbing back out (it's about a 10-foot drop to the water).  His sister had to give it a try, too, of course, and the two of them spent the rest of the afternoon out there.  Our little one was happily walking the beach, singing and playing a game of pretend while I sat and watched from the beach.  Mike supervised the shenanigans on the pier from the water.

We finally dragged them all out of the water and got them cleaned up enough to head back to the condo.  We stopped at the grocery on the way back to pick up a frozen pizza for the kids and a roasted chicken for us and enjoyed a quiet dinner at our place.  Bedtime was quick and easy after that!

Kauai - July 7, 2011

I'll bet you thought I'd abandoned this blog!  Well, I'm back!  With baseball and soccer and baseball and gymnastics and swimming and baseball and school and baseball this spring, my spare time was pretty limited, so I didn't even attempt to keep up with blogging.  I do hope to at least finish posting pictures from our trip to Orlando back in February, but for now, I'll be working on stuff from our current trip to Kauai.

We haven't been to Kauai in about eight years, since I was pregnant with our older daughter and our son was not yet two.  We'd been wanting to go back, so when we were able to purchase a week at a condo in Princeville in a fundraising auction, we jumped at the chance.  The kids have been excited to see a new island, but really weren't sure about what to expect.

Our son's favorite part of any trip is the flight, but he was disappointed that we were flying out of San Jose this time instead of San Fransicso and he wouldn't get the chance to see the planes from the international flights.  The rest of us were thrilled that we didn't have to get up an hour earlier and the dog was happy that he got to spend an additional night at home instead of having to go to day care the day before.  Our son got over it, though, when we flew into Honolulu and he got to see the planes there when we changed flights.

The flights were uneventful (thank goodness!) and the kids did really well. It was quick and easy to get our luggage and rental car and we were off to the condo without any trouble.  We debated stopping on the way for food, but the kids weren't hungry and just wanted to get to our condo, so made our way north to Princeville.  Two of them fell asleep and the third was dozing, so by the time we got to our place, they were ready to go again. 

We got unpacked and threw on bathing suits to spend some time in the pool and let the kids burn off some energy after being cooped up for so long.  The pool here is really cool, with 2 pools for swimming, one kiddie/splash pool with a waterfall, and a spa that's been perfect for loosening up my back, which I tweaked the day before we left.  After some time in the pool and showers, we headed to Hanalei to find some dinner.

Hanalei has a small shopping area, with a number of stores and probably 8 restaurants.  At the Hanalei Surf Shop, we got to talking to the guy behind the desk and found out that he does stand-up paddleboard (SUP) lessons, so we decided to schedule a morning with him for four of us to learn how to paddle (our youngest is too little to manage a paddle yet).  We then wandered across the street to the nearest restaurant, called Kalypso, for some dinner.  The food was surprisingly good (I had chesse ravioli with local mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes that was terrific) and by the time we finished the kids were barely keeping their eyes open.

So far, so good!

Magic Kingdom - February 23, 2011

Our son was feeling much better after a good night's sleep, so we headed off to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World for the day.  The kids were excited, which made the hour-long ride a bit challenging, and they kept asking about what they'd see and what we were going to do once we got to the park.  After parking the car (telling our older daughter to remember we parked in Daisy 31 - she always keeps track of our parking spots), we took the tram to the Transportation and Ticket Center to catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.  Honestly, the monorail is one of my favorite parts of Disney, so I would have been happy to ride around the circuit and head home, but there probably would have been a mutiny if I'd tried, so we followed the crowd to the park entrance when the train stopped.

We headed for Space Mountain first and while we waited, my mom took our youngest on the other rides in Tomorrowland.  Our line was supposed to be 40 minutes, but when we were about halfway through, there was a "meteor shower" and they shut down the ride.  We got Fastpasses to go back later, hoping that they'd get the ride fixed by then, and then went to meet my mom when she and our little one got off of the race cars.  It was time for lunch at that point, so we grabbed a bite before heading out for the rest of the park.

Splash Mountain was next on the agenda.  My dad offered to stay with our little one, hoping she'd go on the train with him while the rest of us waited for the ride.  She was, to be polite, less than accommodating, so they ended up hanging out by the bottom of the main hill watching for us to come down.  The wait was pretty long, but worth it, especially since it was our older daughter's first time to ride it  and she absolutely loved it. 

For the rest of the afternoon, we split up and got back together off and on, with my mom and the girls mainly staying in Fantasyland and our son and I doing the bigger rides, like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and then heading back to Space Mountain after meeting up with my dad.  We did get to ride it this time, and with no wait since we had the Fastpasses.  Our son loved it and it was fun to be on the ride with him when he rode it for the first time.

We all got back together and did Pirates of the Carribbean, the girls and I did the Magic Carpets, and we all did the Jungle Cruise.  By then, it was time to go back to Splash Mountain to use those Fastpasses, and the kids and I challenged each other to go down the big hill with our hands in the air (our son and I did it) and I managed to stay dry this time.  My mom and dad and our youngest were waiting for us along the parade route, so we met up with them and waited to see the Electrical Light Parade.

I love that parade, but it was really magical to watch the girls see it for the first time.  They were entranced - you could see the wonder on their faces - and they kept exclaiming over which character was coming down the street next.  Our son was fading at that point, so he wasn't as excited as his sisters.  When the parade ended, we started to head for the exit, and as we got to Cinderella's castle, a light show on the outside of the castle started.  It was really amazing - the effects made it look like the outside of the castle was changing brick by brick at times - and our little one turned to me at one point and said, "Mom, the castle is magic!".  That moment made the whole day worthwhile.

The fireworks started right after that, so we stayed for those, too, and then made our way - with the rest of the throng - to the exit.  We took the monorail back to the ticket center and then the tram to the car to finally get ourselves out.  We hadn't eaten yet, so we stopped at McDonald's on the way out and then headed for home.  Our youngest was asleep by the time we got out of the parking lot and the other two dozed as we drove.  The little one didn't completely wake up when we got home and had a massive meltdown when I tried to get her changed for bed - it was like trying to put a nightgown on an octopus.  I finally got her, and the other two, to bed and ended a wonderful, but exhausting day.

Orlando - February 22, 2011

The kids have their winter break this week and since it had been five years since our last trip to Florida, we decided it was time to take everyone down there again.  The kids and I had a non-stop flight from San Francisco to Orlando, which went very well.  They got kind of sick of just watching TV, so the girls made about a hundred trips to the bathroom to entertain themselves, but aside from that, it was a fairly easy flight.  My parents picked us up at the airport and we headed toward their house, stopping for dinner on the way.  The two older kids are still recovering from a miserable virus that hit both of them and me last week, so they were fading quickly by the time we got to dinner.  We ate as quickly as we could and got them home to bed right away, with the hope that they would get a good night's sleep and feel better the next day.

It was a long night.  Our son shared a bed with me and every time he woke up coughing, he woke me up.  Our little one was up twice, not sure where she was or what was going on, so she was crying and unhappy.  Our older daughter woke up with a headache and cough at one point, so I gave her meds for those in the middle of the night.  They were all up at about 8:00 this morning and my mom was up with them, so I finally went to sleep for a bit while she gave them breakfast and kept them entertained.

Our son was still feeling under the weather, so we decided to hang out at my parents' house for the day to let him rest and hopefully get his strength back so we can do some fun stuff in the next few days.  The kids all tried going in the pool, but the water is still pretty chilly since this is the first warm weather they've had all winter.  Our son gave up and went back inside to play with his planes and watch TV, while the girls entertained themselves "rescuing" things from the pool with the net and brush and playing with the hose on the screens.  The weather this afternoon was so lovely that I had to get outside, so my mom and I took the girls to the park for a little while to let them burn off a bit of energy before dinner.

Our son was the first one to bed tonight and I'm hoping he'll sleep well and have more energy for tomorrow.  Our little one managed to snooker my dad into letting her out of bed for a trip to their bathroom, but then fell asleep quickly, too.  Our older daughter got to spend some time reading with my mom and then she was off to bed.  We're hoping everyone will wake up feeling well because we're planning on doing the Magic Kingdom for the day tomorrow and it would not be fun to be dragging sick kids around there all day.

Yosemite

Mike got the chance to go to a conference that was being held in Yosemite.  When he found out about it, he asked me if I wanted to go and if I thought I could find a babysitter for the kids for the weekend.  I got in touch with our long-time sitter to see if she was going to be in town for the weekend, and she was able to work out her travel schedule to be in the area - and she was willing to stay with our crazy crew for two days.  It also happened to fall on the weekend before my birthday, so we had the chance to make it a celebration as well.

We left Friday morning to drive to the park, which took about 3 hours.  It had been ten years since my last trip to Yosemite, and we were only able to spend a couple of hours then, so I didn't really remember a lot about the area.  Driving down into the valley was once again overwhelmingly beautiful and the weather was simply gorgeous on top of it.  We grabbed a quick lunch at the Yosemite Lodge, since that was where Mike's conference was being held, and then he went off to his afternoon meetings, leaving me to my own devices for a few hours.

I checked out the shops at the Lodge and then went to the Ahwahnee, where we were staying.  It's one of the historic, old National Park lodges and is a beautiful building with stunning views.  I changed into my running clothes and took off on the trails that led from the hotel to Yosemite Falls for the most incredibly beautiful run I've ever done.  It was probably not the best workout I've ever had because I kept stopping to take pictures with my phone, but it was amazing to be running up the trail to the bottom of the falls and back through the trees with views of Half Dome and waterfalls and cliffs all around me.

I got cleaned up and then picked Mike up when he was done with his meetings and we went back to our hotel for the evening.  There was a cocktail reception which gave Mike the chance to meet a bunch of the speakers and participants in the conference and then we had a late dinner in the Ahwahnee dining room.  Mike gave me my birthday present just before we went down for the reception - a beautiful multi-colored sapphire bracelet that matches my earrings and necklace.  I absolutely love it and will wear it often, I'm sure.

On Saturday, Mike had meetings all morning, so the wife of one of his partners and I had breakfast together and then went out for a hike.  We left from the hotel and followed a trail to Mirror Lake, which is normally a fairly easy walk, but was treacherous this time because of the the snow and ice covering it.  We managed to get out to the lake without falling and were treated to a beautiful view of the back side of Half Dome and the lake and meadows covered in snow and ice.  We followed a different path back, which ended up being even more slippery than the one on the way out, but ran alongside Tenaya Creek, so we got to see small rapids and hear the water rushing most of the way back.  In all, it took us about two hours and was a wonderful way to spend the morning.

Mike came back to the hotel with the other partner from his firm and the two of them, his wife, and I all had lunch in the bar.  We then went back to our rooms for some down time before meeting up for the afternoon hike.  When we got back together, the four of us drove to Curry Village and then walked to the trailhead for a hike to Vernal Falls.  We were expecting to be picking our way through snow and ice again, and we did have to do a bit of that on the way from the parking lot, but the trail itself was completely clear and dry.  The way up to the falls was a fairly steep, but paved path, so it wasn't too bad a hike.  The views were just stunning and the trail ran on a cliff up above a river that was flowing fast from the recent snow melt, so we were constantly looking both up and down trying to take it all in.  We met up with a bunch of other people from the conference on a bridge below the falls where we got our first view of Vernal Falls itself.  We decided to continue up to the bottom of the falls as long as the trail continued to be clear.  There were a few spots where the snow covered portions of the trial, but we were able to make our way around it and up the steps cut out of the rock to the bottom of the falls.

The hike back down was much easier than going up and we eventually made it back to the car and then the hotel.  After taking a break and cleaning up, we went down to the cocktail reception and then to dinner in the dining room again.  We skipped dessert and had truffles in the room instead, a lovely and relaxing way to end an action-packed day.

We woke up the next morning and looked out the window to discover that five inches of snow had fallen overnight!  It was still snowing, so we decided that since we weren't hungry yet after last night's dinner, we'd skip the buffet and head back home early.  We made a quick stop at the Village Store for some doughnuts to get us going and then started the slow drive out of the valley.  The scenery was only enhanced by the snow and it was overwhelmingly beautiful to see the valley and the falls covered in the new snow.  Unfortunately, the National Parks Service plows were not particularly effective, so driving up the hill was treacherous at times.  As soon as we passed through the park exit, the roads were clear and the rest of the drive was easy.  We stopped for lunch at the Oakdale Cheese Company and picked up grilled ham and gouda sandwiches and some fantastic cheese curds that were super squeaky!

We got home without a problem and the kids were happy to see us.  It was a wonderful weekend, a great way to celebrate my birthday, and a much-needed break from ordinary life.  We're hoping we can go back some time soon - even for a day trip - and take the kids so that they can see this amazing place that is right in our backyard.  It's truly a national treasure and one we want to be sure to explore and share with them.

San Diego , USS Midway - December 28, 2010

Every time we go to San Diego, our son insists on visiting the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier that's docked near downtown and has been turned into a museum.  Since our youngest is old enough to actually tour the ship now, we've all gone the last couple times, and the girls have been excited to go and not just indulging their brother.  We decided to get a membership this time since we do tend to make it down at least a couple of times a year and it's a great organization to support.

There are new things to see just about every time we tour the ship, and this time was no different.  They had added a family audio tour, so we let the older kids get the headsets and listen to the recording as we wandered around the ship.  They were fascinated by the information they heard, so it was worth having them wear them.  Our youngest was disappointed that she couldn't listen, too, but she did enjoy climbing around the ship and up and down the ladders.

We had lunch at the cafe onboard, which we hadn't done before, and the food was pretty good.  We finished the day up on the flight deck, where Mike took the big kids up to tour the tower and our little one and I hung out in a helicopter.  She spent her time serving pretend food, flying us to exotic locales, and chatting with other kids who came in.  When I finally convinced her to go outside, she checked out the information on signal flags and wandered around the deck until the others came back out to meet us.

It was a fun day for all of us and we stayed until they closed the ship down for the night.  We then headed back to the house for dinner with Mike's parents and then off to bed.

After Christmas in San Diego

Two days after Christmas, we drove down to San Diego to spend some time with Mike's parents. We did the same thing last year and found out that it's a great time to be there, and we all love our trips to visit Gramma and Grampa, so all five of us were really looking forward to the trip.

The day we left started out foggy, so we didn't have high hopes for the drive. Just before we got on the highway, though, the fog burned off and it turned into a bright, sparkly day. Incredibly, we had no traffic going down - unheard of for driving through Los Angeles! It only took us eight hours and we were happily pulling into Mike's parents' driveway. The kids immediately got the scooters and skateboards and started riding up and down the sidewalk and Mike threw the ball up the street for Zatarain, who was very happy to be out of the car after the long ride. I ran out right away to pick up food for the dog and then we spent the evening watching the Saints beat the Falcons and eating burgers.