Day 7 . . .
William got to feed the koi again. He had a lot of fun.

William posing.
Later we enjoyed the fun pool.

Day 8 . . . In search of waterfalls.
We found a great one.

Opeaka'a Falls

William in front of the falls.
Girls in front of the falls.

The boys overlooking Wailua River.

We went for a drive on this offroad/backroad/potholes everywhere road. It was a very cool, though ROUGH, drive.
This is at the beginning of the adventure. Brad and William walked across the 'road'. There were 3 of these types of roads on the way up.

At the top of the road, over an hour later, were the posts that held up the gates to Jurassic Park.


We wanted to take William snorkeling. However, the ocean is very rough during the winter months. So we found this public beach, Lydgate Park. It was the perfect place to take W on his first snorkeling adventure. We saw plenty of fish. Quite a bit bigger than I expected.
Once he got tired of the cold saltwater, he drew in the sand with sticks.
Then we built a sort of sand structure. He called it a 'castle'. More like a deep hole. Then I talked him into letting me bury him in sand. He finally conceded.
He said the sand was cold. Though, he did seem to have fun.
He also had sand EVERYWHERE!
Fun times. Good memories made!
Day 9 . . . Queen's Bath
Another hike. Totally different than our first one.
This is a picture on the way down to the ocean. There were fresh water streams that we stopped and enjoyed.

Where we just came down.
And we've got to climb these.
And not get too close to the edge. It's actually a 40 foot drop. The mountain in the back drop is Bali Hai.
On the way back.

The boys sipped from the freshwater stream. We were thirsty.
The stream that they were sipping from.
On the way back up from Queen's Bath. Exhausting.
Which is why we headed straight for shaved ice in Hanalei from "Shave Ice Paradise".
After naps, we went to a luau at the Kilohana Plantation. They had a few games for the kids to play before the dinner and show.
Maddie didn't swing the poi balls, but she did try playing 'keep away' from William.
At the luau.
William posing with the nose flutist and 2 of the actors from the show.
Day 10

If you look close you can see the rainbow.
Kilauea Lighthouse
Pictures in front of the lighthouse.



Maddie liked the view and the wind blowing. She was very happy up on Brad's shoulders.
One more snorkeling adventure at the hotel.
Day 12:
We left Kauai at 10pm. So after a long day, William willingly buckled up and snuggled in for a long night.
We all felt like this. Maddie just got her picture taken while doing it.

Great trip. Wonderful memories.

Dress up

In honor of our family trip in November, the kids dressed up like a hula dancer and a Polynesian warrior for "Guppyween" at the aquarium. The kids got to see the fish tanks at night and fill their candy bags with candy that I will eventually throw away. But the process was fun.

Brad made some 'warrior markings' on W's arms and we spray painted his hair black. We'll be cleaning up the mess for weeks.

Our Hula dancer
No markings here. No spray paint. Just a lei and grass skirt.

Our Polynesian warrior

William's favorite is the blue bill duck so we always make a point to go see him

Brad & William making the 'warrior face'.

Taking a break from all the excitement (and the huge crowd) . . .

Ear Infection, AGAIN

We went to EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival on Saturday (sans children). We just love going and trying all the yummy samples (sans children). At least as many as we have room for.
I will say this . . . I had some major regret on Sunday . . . and it wasn't leaving my kids behind. Simply put - I ate sooo much.
I'm not sure where I lost control.
It might have been in France with the French Onion Soup. Or in North America with the Boston Crab Cake with Corn and Barley Salad. The Pepperberry Prawns with Sweet Potato Hash that I ate in Australia were definitely after I lost control. No questions there.

It was a wonderful ADULTS ONLY day! Can you tell we were happy to be without children at Disney? In fact, we joked with the couple we went with at the parents that had their children in tow. Don't get me wrong, we often look like those couples with strollers stuffed to full capacity with diapers, sippy cups, etc and screaming children because it is 2pm and nap time is sorely needed. However, for 1 day a year, it wasn't us.

So back at home, my dad was caring for our 2 heaven sent blessings. So easy to say after a full day away from them. And our daughter was cooking up ANOTHER ear infection.
Under his care, I might add.
This is ironic because my dad touts his refined, he would call it
'perfected', care of our children. To those who don't know him,
it's endearing - not condescending. What parent doesn't love
when another adult wants the best with regards to their children?

So . . . back to ANOTHER ear infection. A double ear infection to boot! How? I don't get it. The thrashing and arching of the back when we lay her flat and her unending clingy-ness now makes sense. In the context of a double ear infection, that is. So we medicate and love on her. Hopefully some TLC will make it easier on her.

Sick babies are just down right pathetic.

Unrelated pictures to follow. Pictures of a crying baby or a picture of her infected inner ears not so endearing.

Here are her One Year photos.



Compared to William's One Year Photos

Sad Day

This has been a sad couple of days. Something has happened to my baby.
Monday was her last bottle.
No hiccups moving to the sippy cup. Or going off formula.
Tuesday she started WALKING!
Hello! Please, someone, tell her she's growing too fast! This is ridiculous.
She has the rest of her life to walk and be a big girl.

So, ignoring ME and my sadness, what a big milestone.

When I picked her up out of the Y nursery today, they said, "She's walking! She's walking everywhere!". I told them I was not nearly as excited about it as they obviously were. Then my sweet girl did something that warmed my heart.
She saw me, her face lit up with excitement, and then . . . she crawled to the door.

I just don't understand why this is going so fast.

Maddie, "Yesterday"

Maddie, "Today"

I was laying next to William this afternoon as he was sleeping soundly, and I thought back to what seems like yesterday when I was rocking him and looking into that same face. But now he's so big. His feet and his hands look gigantic next to Madelyn's.

William, "Yesterday"

William, "Today"

Ughh, I'm going to cry.

Each stage is so wonderful, but each stage means they are a little closer to being . . . dare I say, a teenager.