Happy Father's Day

Today was Jason and Will's 3rd Father's Day together. We had a pretty low-key day. Will started out with the normal hysterical screaming that he's had the past few weeks (molars, we assume) but was won over when his daddy let him have fruit snacks for breakfast.

After moods improved, Will gave Jason the card he had made for him: a Finding Nemo card personalized on Hallmark.com that included a picture of the two of them. No present this year since Jason recently bought himself a couple of new toys.

We ran errands, played, read books and went swimming. Just a normal Sunday, but a very special one thanks to my two boys!

Balloon!

Yes, four pictures of Will and a green balloon! This is another great example of something so simple that can bring such joy! Jason and I loved watching Will run after this balloon over and over and kick it high in the air. He popped it (intentionally, I think) by laying on it later, but we have tons of balloons left over from his birthday party, so we'll just keep making more!

3-4-9

We had an open house at Will's daycare on Friday evening to celebrate their 13th anniversary. We enjoyed playing in the classrooms, balloon animals, and the ever popular bounce houses. Will was quite the daredevil, but spent most of his bounce house time rolling around and trying to get to the standing/bouncing position. It was really cute. He did get overwhelmed when too many kids would pile in. I understand that feeling!

We have been counting a lot with Will, and although he will sometimes repeat numbers after us, when he is counting himself, his favorite series of numbers is 3-4-9. He was "helping" me fold laundry on Sunday by launching himself into the clean pile stacked up in the middle of my bed. Instead of saying, "1-2-3 jump!" he would say "3-4-9!" and then throw himself into the pile.

Since his birthday, his language skills have really taken off. He now speaks in phrases, repeats almost everything, and has a host of new words. Some of his favorites:

• "Mommy's (or Daddy's) (shoes, socks, chair, bike, etc) right there!"


• "Ra-shel 'mere!" It's adorable to hear him say Rachel's name. He also likes to identify her food and water, tell her what to do or not do, and help put the kibble in her bowl.


• "Bye bye (choo choo, bus, big car, baby duck, baby geese, baby bird ("b")).

Yard Work

On Saturday Jason took advantage of the nice weather (and the fact that we were home) to trim a large branch off of tall tree in our front yard. It was getting close to touching the roof, so he wanted to take preventive action. Will and I stayed inside for most of the long process of cutting it out with the pole saw, but we did come out and watch the grand finale when it separated, and Will helped Jason haul it to the backyard. Then Sunday they trimmed it up to bundle for trash collection. As you can see, we continue to advocate staying in pajamas until after lunch time on the weekends. After tiring of the tree, Will played with his favorite birthday toys: his bucket and shovels. Usually he's collecting sand, rocks, sticks, mulch, leaves, etc, in the bucket, but here he is taking a turn wearing it as a hat.

The lettering says Will's Bucket. He takes that pretty seriously and was reluctant to share when the neighbor girl came over to play that evening. He sort of shared his smaller (unlabeled) blue bucket with her while all the parents stood around chatting.

Back on the Bike

To tide over Will's fans until I have a chance to update about all the funny things he's been up to, here's a picture of his first bike trailer ride ever - one year ago. . .. . . and his first 2011 bike trailer ride today. Wow, what a big boy! He spotted the trailer and bike in the garage last night and just climbed right in. I wasn't sure we'd have time for a ride today, but again, he climbed right in while we were in the garage doing other things, so I guess he decided we would ride. When I found him in there he pointed to the bike and said, "Mommy chair, right there!" A+ for marketing skills Will!

Accident Reports and No More Pacifier

This week's accident reports:

Monday: tripped and face planted into hand washing sink after diaper change; nose bled for a short time

Tuesday: scratched on the face by another kid during an argument; luckily barely visible

Wednesday: tripped outside on the playground and (mildly) split top lip; bled but got popsicle, so he recovered quickly

Oh, this poor kid! He has actually been a good sport and only points to his nose every once in awhile and says, "owee nose." The bridge of his nose is now swollen and bruised. It wasn't the first day, but I did wonder if he would wake up with black eyes. I didn't see him at all yesterday, so I'm not sure if today's nose looks better or worse than yesterday.

Thanks to my mom's handiwork, Will has been pacifier free since Sunday. I don't know what sort of special tricks she utilized, but when we got home from our vacation, she had hidden most of his pacifiers and he hadn't used them. The nights have taken a little longer to unwind, but he's been quiet from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night. His naps were a little shorter Monday and Tuesday but normal today. We have substituted a new comfort item, though: a Curious George monkey. He has one at daycare that he naps with, and his teacher gave him a new one for his birthday!

Kauai: Hiking the Waimea Canyon

Friday was our last full day on Kauai, and we started out with a zipline trip. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm (rather than just rain which would have been ok) blew in and they had to cancel us after only two zips (is that the right word?) each. We got a full refund but didn't have any time left to reschedule.

After lunch in Poipu at Puka Dog (voted by Anthony Bourdain as one of the world's top 5 hot dogs), we went to the dryer west coast to hike the Canyon Trail in the Waimea Canyon - known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Thanks to the Jeep, we could drive right to the start of the trailhead. The day cleared and it was hot and sunny.

Unlike our hike on the Na Pali Coast on Wednesday, this trail was mostly dry, and only moderately difficult. Once again the destination was a waterfall, but the hike to Waipoo Falls was less than 2 hours roundtrip. An adventurous person (that day it was every person we saw but me), would climb down into the water and sit on the bottom ledge behind where Jason is standing to take this photo.

Jason took this after he climbed down. Wow!

On the hike back, we found a side trail that allowed you to look out and see the ledge where everyone was sitting. You can't see the waterfall at this angle though.

After the hike, we drove up the road further to some awesome lookouts. Here's the view of a valley along the Kalalau Trail (the 11 mile hike I mentioned earlier). If you look closely, you can see the cruise ship at sea.

We wrapped up with a self-portrait, which was our last picture before the camera battery died. We packed the charger but neglected to use it.

Our final pictures of the day were on Jason's Blackberry as we watched the sunset over the ocean from Polihale Beach State Park, which is reached after a five mile offroading adventure. Our rental Jeep did great but it was a very rough road; we have no idea how the local guy parked at the beach in his Hyundai made it. . .

THE END

(We flew home on Saturday. The flight was long but we had iPad Scrabble and in flight movies to entertain us.)

Kauai: Our 10th Anniversary

Thursday was our 10th wedding anniversary! We celebrated by letting our bodies recover from our big hike. The day started off with a trip to the hotel's spa: massages for both of us and a pedicure for me. The nail tech worked hard, but even she couldn't get all traces of the Na Pali clay out from under my toenails.

We drove to a Waimea Canyon overlook in the afternoon and then had a wonderful late dinner at Tidepools in Poipu. (Thanks for the recommendation, Lesley!) Our dinner entertainment was a gecko. He was lingering around throughout dinner, but neither of us noticed him sneak onto the dessert plate after we finished the molten chocolate cake and vanilla bean ice cream. The waiter about dropped the plate when he picked it up!

A wonderful day and a wonderful 10 years!

Kauai: Hiking the Kalalau Trail

On Wednesday, after seeing the Na Pali Coast from a helicopter and a catamaran, we wanted to see it on foot and undertook a strenuous 7-hour (8 mile roundtrip) hike. The full Kalalau Trail is 11 miles which requires an overnight camp (and a lot of nerve).

The day started out overcast and rainy, but it was only misting when we started out.Less than a mile into the hike, you're rewarded with beautiful views that inspire you to keep moving forwardAnd then the downpour came and we were soaking wet within seconds. This muddy road was just a preview of the terrain to come!

The trail was clearly marked, but not easily navigated by a novice like myself. Sometimes we were slugging through thick, wet clay, and sometimes we were scaling rocks and boulders. And remember, what goes up, must come down on the return trip!

Our first destination was finally in view: Hanakapiai Beach

Two miles and two hours after we started (and after navigating a stream and boulder field), we were at the beach where we ate lunch and had a frank discussion about continuing the next two miles.

But, Jason's persistence paid off, and we ventured up into the valley another two miles. About 20 minutes in, we ran into a few clusters of bamboo trees.

Another hour in and we got our first glimpse of our destination: Hanakapiai Falls

And, finally, after 4 hours of hiking, including trudging up and down the face of the mountain and across streams in water up to our knees, we reached our final destination. Look at the joy in our faces! We're alive! And it's beautiful!

And then we had to walk all the way back out. . . . But that only took 3 hours.