Bath Time

Bath time has always been one of the highlights of Miles' day.  Lately he's been into bathing 100% by himself... in my bathroom sink...

Big Pumpkins

I tried to grow pumpkins this year.  I planted both regular jack-o-lantern size pumpkins and Jack-Be-Littles.  The regular pumpkins grew lovely vines, but they died before they produced any pumpkins.  My Jack-Be-Littles were prolific.  Nolan's trumpet teacher has the pumpkins he grew on display outside of his house.  He grew the Giant variety.  He carved the biggest one too!  Miles has been fascinated with them.

Senior Picture Preview

Jonathan had his senior pictures taken on Saturday.  He had 4 outfit changes.  1,400 pictures were taken.  We shot the bulk of the pictures at a dilapidated building in Lindon and the rest at Timpanogos High School.  Jonathan was up for some silly shots and insisted on the picture below...

I think I get the final say in choosing the pictures we have printed.

Halloween, Bah Humbug

Stupidest "holiday" of the year.  Yep, that's what I think.  The "day" part of Halloween is fine, it's the trick-or-treating that I intensely dislike.  I get tired of greedy kids that have run off before the candy has even hit the bottom of their bags, the lack of manners or gratefulness that they got free candy; the parents that jointly accompany their child(ren) instead of one staying home and passing out candy as well (you know, they take all they can get, but don't contribute to the gluttony of the day).  The number of high school kids out trick-or-treating is way up this year.  I hate the constant doorbell interruption.  Once again, I stayed with my tradition of folding a mountain of laundry while passing out the candy- it's the only activity I can think of that can be interrupted 846 times without causing a problem.  Ugh.  Yuck.  Glad it's only once a year.

As much as I dislike trick-or-treating, I let my children participate.  Miles had a hard time choosing a costume.  He's had a hard time grasping the concept of if I wear something that typically I'd never be allowed out of the house in, then knock on my neighbor's doors, then I will get candy.  Tonight, after observing an hour of trick-or-treating, Miles decided that he was willing to put on a costume and go get candy.  He had 4 costume choices- a monster, a UPS man, Buzz Lightyear, or Superman.  He chose Superman and went out and had a good time. 

For school, Nolan dressed up in a Veterans of Foreign Wars uniform.  Tonight he left the house as a faceless ghoul with glowing red eyes and went over to a friend's house to be a scare-er in a haunted backyard.  Then he headed up to another friend's house for a movie night.  Jonathan had the most exotic Halloween of the 3.  He didn't wear a costume.  He went and collected soil samples from the field for his Science Fair project and did homework. 

26 minutes and I'm shutting of the porch light!

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Miles came home from preschool singing today!

Irreplaceable Friends

Today I had lunch with three of my bestest friends.  We are the type of friends that can go for ages without seeing each other, then pick up where we left off, no matter how much time has passed.  Seriously.  It's been more than 3 years since I've really seen/talked with 2 of these ladies, but it seems like just yesterday we were planning a ward trek together.  It's fun to get together- we're in such different phases, but it doesn't matter.  One was having a rough day dealing with personal issues and she seriously considered cancelling, but she came and I think we helped her escape for a bit.  We had about an hour and a half for lunch and it flew by.  No one wanted to leave, but I had to drive the carpool, so I had to go.  So much fun, such good conversation, so good to be able to relax and be unguarded.  It may have taken us 3 years to get this lunch together, but we've already talked about our next lunch- January 2013.  I'm looking forward to it already.

THS Sadies

Last weekend was the Sadie Hawkins dance at THS.  Jonathan was asked to the dance by Katelyn.  They've been in band classes together since forever.  Since the dance is around Halloween, the theme is always costumes.  Jonathan and Katelyn went as pirates and had a good time.

Piggies

Last summer (okay, summer 2011, but my brain still thinks of that summer as last summer), Miles' speech therapist used plastic pink pig toy as an incentive to get Miles to do what she wanted him to do.  He loved the toy so much that I bought one to continue to use as an incentive when doing his speech "homework" together.  In time, the incentive aspect of the pig wore off, but he still loved his piggy.  One day we were in DI and they had an identical piggy.  He wanted it, I thought "why not?"  and he got it.  Now he had 2 piggies.  Months went by, more trips to DI happened, and one day DI had another piggy.  Again, he wanted it, and being the sucker mom I am, I bought it for him.  3 piggy toys.  Well, last week Miles and I did a DI run looking for pirate costume components for Jonathan.  On the way to DI Miles was talking about DI having another pig.  "I go to DI.  I get number 4 piggy."  I told him that we would look, but I didn't think DI would have another one of these pigs.  How many of them could possibly exist?  I asked him why he wanted another piggy.  He said, "Miles have petting zoo."  We went into DI and made it over to the toys and, what do you know, they had another pink pig.  Of course Miles saw it and had to have it.  So now, we have 4 and Miles petting zoo keeps getting bigger.

Bugs

I hate bugs.  I know they are EVERYWHERE, but I hate them.  Especially the little tiny ones that you can't see and you don't know where there until you're covered in their little bites.  If anyone mentions little bugs, especially lice, fleas, or bedbugs, almost immediately I can "feel" them crawling on me and I start itching and scratching at imaginary bites.  My bug issues cause problems for me with travel.  Anytime Dan gets home from a business trip I have to ask him if he has any mysterious bites.  I'm paranoid he's brought "something" back with him.  I am the same way with personal travel.  I hate the headrest on the airplane because of my lice phobia.  I never sleep well for the first few nights in a hotel bed because of my bedbug phobia.  Before booking a hotel, I spend a significant amount of time checking hotel review sites for reports of bedbug issues.  The Kauai trip was no different.  I checked and checked for bug reviews at the place we stayed and didn't find any bedbug complaints.  I believe we had a bug free unit.  However, our plane was not bug free.  I never, ever, ever use the pillows or blankets provided by the airline.  I bring my own blanket.  I brought one for Miles.  Dan had a jacket to use.  I told the boys to bring a hoodie along.  One of us had a problem.  I was fine.  Dan was fine.  Miles was fine.  Jonathan was fine.  Nolan used the blanket from the plane and got dozens of little bites on his arms and legs.  My nightmare come true. I can only assume that the blanket he used had a bug problem.  Since seeing his bites, I've been itching and scratching at invisible bugs and bites.  I spent all day Wednesday washing everything possible- all the bedding and towels in the house, all the clothing and anything laundryable that went on the trip with us were washed on the "super wash" cycle and in the hottest water possible.  I wore gloves and a black garbage bag when handling the potentially contaminated items so I didn't contaminate myself.  I dried everything on the hottest setting possible and for as long as possible.  All the luggage and nonwashables were thrown out on the deck.  Now that I have a plan to deal with those items, I'll start tackling that issue.  I'm going to use my steam cleaner on every item that's on the deck.  I think I've won.  No one has reported any new mysterious bites.  Hopefully my bug induced anxiety levels will return to normal soon.  Oh bugs, I hate you!

Kauai Relections

Random Observations...

• 6 days is not enough time! I felt rushed and needed another beach day or two.
• Kauai in October 2012 compared to August 2006 seemed much more crowded!  It seems to us that the island is gaining popularity.
• Vacationing with kids on Kauai is not nearly as relaxing as I'd hoped.
• Summer is a better season to go to Kauai as I prefer the north coast beaches which are closed for swimming and snorkeling in the "Winter" months
• Costco makes eating much cheaper!  With the exception of bread and dairy, the prices are the same as on the mainland (okay, the produce was a bit more too- $2.29 for bananas in Hawaii)
• Walmart prices are the same as on the mainland (except for bread and dairy). My boys liked their souvenir junk section.
• We sweat a lot on Kauai.
• Shave ice is still not my favorite.
• Geckos are cool.  They can run across a ceiling.  
• Jonathan saw a Humuhumunukunukuapuaa.  I love that word!  Spell check thinks I made it up.
• The number of wild chickens on Kauai seems to be increasing.  I bet soon there will be more chickens than residents.
• Beware of non-national chain hotels on Kauai.  We are 0 for 2 in that department. 
• The Na Pali Coast is one of my favorite places on this Earth.

Kauai 2012, Day 6

Last Day.  Bummer, but our flight didn't depart until 8: 30 p.m. which meant we had a full day to play.  However, that also meant that we needed to stay clean as we had to check out of the condo hours and hours before we needed to be at the airport.  We decided that the best way to stay clean was to go on a catamaran/snorkeling trip.  The boat was equipped with freshwater showers so that is how we would get clean after snorkeling.  The boat left from the West side of the island and went along the Na Pali Coast on the north.  The ocean was took rough on the North Coast for snorkeling so we moored on the West side.  There were sea turtles in the area and Dan and Nolan snorkeled alongside the turtles (Jonathan was off exploring elsewhere).  I wasn't able to snorkel as snorkeling causes me to have panic attacks (something about the combination of mask claustrophobia, being expected to inhale while my face is in the water, and not being able to touch the ground causes me to panic).  I tried, but it wasn't working for me that day.  So I stayed with Miles.  He was a bit unnerved about swimming so far from shore and unable to touch the ground.  He went down the boat slide a few times, kicked around the ocean for about a minute, then decided he was done.  He dried off then was happy to stay in the boat and drink Pepsi.

After snorkeling, the boat headed north.  We encountered a pod of Spinner Dolphins and watched them as they swam and jumped along the sides of the boat.  It was cool. 

Then we saw the Na Pali Coast by sea.  Beautiful.  It's a very different perspective to see the coast from the ocean.  I've never looked up at the sea cliffs before.  I've looked down on the coast from trails and from helicopter, but never seen them from sea level.  They are massive- 4,000 feet high.  We were all impressed.

Techno Geek Miles

The ocean was a bit rough as we headed back.  We were splashed with sea spray; so much for staying clean! 

After docking and disembarking, we decided to go back to Waimea Canyon and let the boys see it with good lighting. 

Then we drove back to the East Coast and showed the boys 'Opaeka'a Falls and Wailua Falls. These are "drive up and stare" waterfalls. 

Then we found this stupid rock and took a picture. 

We ended our trip with dinner at Costco.  Lousy last meal, but a fun vacation.

Kauai 2012, Day 5

Being Sunday, yet on vacation, we wanted to do something a bit mellow today.  Dan had been reading in a book about this "walk" that led to a swamp that had raving reviews.  So that's what we decided to do.  We drove back to the West Shore, back to Koke'e State Park (where we hiked the previous day) and drove to the end of the road to the start point for our Alaka'i Swamp hike.  The guidebook says (about the trail), "It combines awesome views of the Kalalau Valley and takes you through the highest swamp in the world.  The terrain in the swamp is like nothing you've ever seen, and we've been told many times that it was the highlight  of many people's hiking experience on Kauai.  You're insulated from the mud most of the time by a wooden boardwalk."  It goes on and talks about "as you walk on the boardwalk" and about "gawking as you make your way".  Silly us; we thought that those descriptions indicated an easy, casual walk to this amazing swamp.  We were thinking an Everglades-style boardwalk trail  Wrong assumption.   This HIKE went up and down and up and down the side of a mountain.  Yes, most of it was on boards, but in several sections, the boards were staircases of unevenly cut heights with long and steep sections.  Heading (mostly) down to the swamp, I was thinking, "we are in trouble".  The sections that weren't boarded were steep ups-and-downs that were cut into the side of the mountain.  Well, we made it to the swamp.  We weren't overly impressed as it was mostly fogged in.  The end of the trail lead to a lookout of what was supposed to be a beautiful view of Hanalei Bay and Ha'ena.  It was clouded over.  We sat in the mist and ate lunch.  Funny thing though, here we sat in the middle of nowhere in a cloud and my phone chimes.  I got a text.  I had cell phone service; 4 bars actually.  Well, after being less than thrilled with the hike on the boardwalk, we headed back.  I was not looking forward to climbing what we had recently descended.  Neither was Dan as he anticipated hauling Miles up the mountainside in the backpack; lucky for him, Miles decided he wanted to walk.  He hiked 90% of the return.  He hiked 100% of the nasty steep stuff (that even Nolan admitted was tiring).  He was amazing.

Two other hike issues- not anticipating a strenuous hike, we didn't pack a ton of water and by being judicious with what he had, we make it back to the car with 6 sucks of water left in the the last cambelback.  Also, I think we forgot that all hike distances in the book are listed as one way, and we forgot to double the distance.  It was an 8 mile hike.

We got in the car and drove over to see Waimea Canyon. This is an amazing canyon.  It has red rock walls like the Grand Canyon but has green plants and trees everywhere.  Beautiful!  Being later in the day and tired from the hike, we just drove to the viewpoints.  Unfortunately, since it was late afternoon, the lighting was bad for photography as the canyon was shadowing.  It was still beautiful though.

We ended the day with a yummy pizza from (according to the guidebook) the only pizza place on the island worth going to. 

Kauai 2012, Day 4

Six years ago, one of the highlights of our Kauai trip was a hike that went to vista points on the Na Pali coastline.  The hike was long.  The hike was hard.  The views were awesome.  So much that I wanted to take Jonathan and Nolan on that hike.  It's an 11.5 mile long hike.  You have to make up a 2,000 foot elevation change in the last 3 miles of the hike.  It's rugged; the trail is eroded in places.  Signs warning of potential death dot the trail.  There are no facilities other than 1 picnic table.  The is no water.  But it's awesome.  Today was big hike day.

We had to deal with a couple of problems... #1- yesterday I sunburned the back of my knees (feeling sorry for me?) and everything I brought pants-wise rubbed my sunburn painfully.  We stopped at Walmart so I could buy something that was comfortable.  #2- Miles is with us and he hasn't been too thrilled with the backpack lately and the trail is too dangerous in some sections to let him be free.  It also is a long hike and if he became obstinate, there would be much we could do about it other than endure.  I have to say that Miles was awesome!  He liked looking "way, way down" and seeing the ocean and "sandcastles".  He did get to get out and walk at times; he probably covered 1.25 miles.

We had one unanticipated problem.  I was carrying 2 camelback bladders which were leaking.  I was soaked from my bum to the back of my knees and around to the front.  We couldn't dump the water because there wasn't any way to replace it.  I was not enjoying being wet.  It made my pants heavy enough that they were falling off.  Also, it looked like I peed myself.  Finally, after we'd tried a couple of troubleshoots, I hit the "that's it" point and took a final look at the problem before I did something drastic/stupid.  Well, I fixed the problem.  Evidently, the part on the bladder where the tubing threads on wasn't completely tightened on either bladder.  A quick twist and the problem was solved!  However, I was so wet, and Kauai is so humid, that 7 hours later, my clothes were still damp.

So, the hike... it was awesome and spectacular again.  The views are indescribable.  Hiking, we look down on soaring birds and on the helicopters giving the Na Pali tours.  The plant life is incredible and so variable depending on which side of the canyon you are hiking.  Turn by turn the plants changed from tropical vines to pine trees to cactus.  Amazing.  The boys thought the hike was great as well.  I learned that with a 40 pound load strapped to Dan's back, I can almost keep up with him hiking uphill.

 Miles found ways to amuse himself while hiking.  He recited his favorite books to us.  He learned about "big names". He knows his immediate family members' big names.  We also learned that Santa's big name is "Santa Belnap" and that Mickey Mouses' big name is "Mickey Mouse Belnap".  He also amused himself with a game that got really old (and really hard fast).  Miles loved the book, The King, The Mice, and the Cheese.  The book says that "The king has everything he liked.  He liked cheese best of all."  Miles likes to change what the king likes best of all.  During the hike, he kept asking us, "What king likes?"  We'd suggest all sorts of foods and he'd insert it into "The king liked ___________ best of all."  Unfortunately, that was all he would say about the book.  The game turned into a cycle of "What king likes?" and then inserting the item into the next phrase.  After about 1,000 cycles of his game, Dan and I were out of suggestions for what the King likes best of all.  Unfortunately, Miles wanted more suggestions.  Luckily he got distracted and starting point out to us all of the trees that has fallen over.

Long day.  Hot day.  Tiring day.  Good day.

Kauai 2012, Day 3

After yesterday's failed beach attempt, we were determined to have a beach day.  We went to the South side of the island.  We found a beach with a calm protected swimming area that was perfect for Miles. There was snorkeling nearby for the boys.  There was even a Hawaiian Monk Seal sleeping on the beach.  The only problem was that Miles wasn't enamored with the beach.  It didn't take long for him to decide he was done.  We also discovered that we left our lunch back in Kapa'a.  We decided to go back and get our lunch, then find another beach closer to where we are staying.

Before heading back, we stopped at Spouting Horn.  It's always amazing to watch the water shoot out from the hole on the shore as it washes under the sea shelf.  There were sea turtles playing in the rough surf as well.

So we drove back and ate lunch then went to another beach that is just minutes away.  It too had protected swimming areas and this time, Miles thought it was great.  "Miles is happy.  Ocean so fun."  We couldn't get him out of the water.  The swimming area actually has a population of fish- extremely tame fish that are happy to eat right out of your hand.  Some locals came to feed the fish and we were surrounded by swarms of fish jumping and splashing to get some free food.  I'll admit it... fish creep me out, but this was cool.

Dinner was at our favorite cafe from the last trip.  Unfortunately, while the menu was the same, the food wasn't.  We got back, and Miles almost immediately passed our from such a busy and fun day.

Kauai 2012, Day 2

This morning we did the Walmart/Costco run.  Much easier with daylight. Then we headed to Ke'e Beach, at the end of the road on the north shore.  The last time I was here, this was was my favorite beach. That was in the summer.  October is considered the Winter season (ha!) and it's quite a different beach.  When I was here before, the ocean was calm as glass.  Sea turtles were everywhere eating from the shallow reef.  Well, this time, the beach was full of crashing waves and was closed for swimming.  Bummer.  Miles wanted to build a sandcastle, but got mad because the waves kept destroying it.

Since we couldn't swim, we decided to hike on the Kalalau trail.  Dan and I hiked the trail last time until it was too muddy for us to want to go any further.  Today the trail was essentially dry.  The trail goes along the Na Pali coast- up mountains, through valleys, across streams.  We decided to go as far as the first beach.  Miles was squirrely and Dan almost turned back with him.  We got him settled and kept hiking.  Miles even walked a decent section.  The jungle is amazing!  We boulder hopped across a river and stayed off the beach with the dangerous waves.  On one of the "dangerous beach" warning signs, there was a death by drowning tally.  The boys cooled off in the river, then we hiked out.

I remembered the amazing sunset from Ke'e Beach from the last time we were here and wanted to see it again.  We weren't disappointed.

The boys wanted Costco food court stuff for dinner, so we obliged them.  Did you know that the hotdog and drink combo costs the same on Kauai as it does on the mainland?  I guess we're subsidizing the Hawaiians.  Actually, the prices on everything except milk, bread, and produce were the same...

Back at the condo, the boys went swimming before bed.

I discovered I can make due wearing Dan's glasses if I only look out the left lens.

Kauai 2012, Day 1

For the boys' fall break this year, we decided to take a quick trip to Kauai.  Day one was our travel day... SLC to LAX to LIH.  We were scheduled to arrive in Lihiue at 5:40 p.m., or 9:40 p.m. Utah time.  Knowing that we needed to help Miles get on Hawaiian time, we kept him up late on his birthday (midnight), then hauled him up early on departure day.  Our hope was that he would sleep most of the leg from LAX to Lihue and get there, and stay up until Kauai bedtime, sleep normal, wake up normal, and be on Hawaii time. Guess what?  It actually worked!  Miles fell asleep as the plane took off from LAX and slept for 3 hours.  We arrived, he played, went to sleep a bit later than planned, but woke up happy and ready to go and hasn't had any adjustment issues!

We arrived and went to claim our luggage.  Delta broke a piece of Miles' carseat.  It's still usable, but now we are dealing with their claims department.  We stood in line for an hour to get the rental car.  We ended up with a minivan.  We'd planned to hit Costco and Walmart for groceries, but due to delays, a lack of street signs, and no street lighting, we ran out of time and patience, and headed for the hotel in Kapa'a.  It's a yucky place.  Dirty.  I had to go buy a magic eraser and do some cleaning.  But, no bugs (so far) and it's serving it's purpose.  We picked up a few things at the local grocery store, then called it a night.  That's when I realized I'd forgotten a few things- sandals and my glasses.  Not disastrous, just inconvenient.   

Happy Birthday Miles

Miles is 4! 

He made the transition from 3 to 4 with ease.  I think he only needed to be reminded once that he was 4 before he'd just tell you he was 4.  Mile was excited about his birthday this year.  He had 2 requests- yellow cupcakes and presents.  Easy requests to fulfill.  His day was filled with errand running and a marching band competition (which he loves!).  For dinner he wanted to go to "Happy Star" and get a cheeseburger, french fries, and a Coke.  Truthfully he just wanted to play on their indoor playground, which he did.  After dinner he opened his presents- sand toys, a cheap-o guitar, and his first pair of skis!  He was so funny- after opening each present he said, "Oh, it is beautiful.  Thank You!" 

Then it was cupcake time.  All day long, he'd been carrying an unfrosted cupcake around.  At one point he even wanted candles on it.  Next thing I knew, the cupcake was still intact, but he'd eaten his 4 candles.  For candle time, we used a frosted cupcake.  He was very nervous about us lighting the candles.  Then we sang and encouraged him to blow the candles out.  One at a time, he did it (first time ever)! 

 Then candle blowing out became a game and he did it at least 20 times with up to 4 sets of candles at the same time.  Fun day for Miles.