Rainy Friday and Last Week's Vacation

Another week has gone by. I really do feel like I trot along at a brisk pace each day just to keep my family going going going. 

Lately I've been daydreaming about having one floor of the Coast House completely finished and livable. That'll be a lovely change, in part because it means we can consider having a cleaner come a couple times a month to do deep cleaning. How amazing would it be to have some of our weekend chores done for us so our weekends can be more 'family play time' instead of 'getting ready for the upcoming week time'? With all the dusty construction and us using rooms on both floors it doesn't make sense to clean some of the rooms, let alone pay someone else to do it. 

Last week was a nice change of pace because Eddie was out of school for President's Week--something I never got as a student. All of us had President's Day off on Monday and Eddie went to daycare on Tuesday while I worked. That day we tried carpooling for the first time with a first grader named Tali. Her grandma dropped her off in the morning and I drove the kids to daycare. Eddie loved having a friend to ride with! Tali's grandma did the drive home and Eddie seemed to get a kick out of driving in a different car and in a big-kid booster seat. We still haven't moved him to a seat belted booster yet because the five-point harness seats are safer, but we keep thinking about it since it's hard for him to unbuckle himself. 

Wednesday morning Eddie and I packed up the van with bikes and clothes, dropped some things off at the office, and headed to Auntie and Uncle's in Mountain View for a vacation. We had a grand time of seeing friends and a movie, biking, playing tennis and hockey, eating at Google, watching the Olympics, sleeping late, and eating at a brewery with some of Edward and Jennifer’s friends. Less fun (but not traumatic) was doing all the ‘town’ shopping—Costco, Home Depot, Trader Joe’s, the international market, Michael’s and Jo-Ann Fabric, a Craigslist purchase…I think that’s it.

I let Eddie pick out a Redbox movie in Petaluma for the drive down 101, which we return in Mountain View when we arrive. This time he got a Barbie Christmas movie. On the way back home he picked out a Barbie twin princess movie. Our headrest DVD player broke so I just fold the middle van seat down and bungee cord my laptop to it, using a USB player. The only issue with this cheap set up is that I can’t reach back to turn the volume off when he falls asleep so I often have to listen to the annoying dialog or songs. Or I just crank up the volume on my podcasts.

On Wednesday night Edward and Jennifer put on a "cowboy dinner" for Batiste as a late birthday present. He loves all things horse and cowboy so it was perfect. We listened to authentic country music (according to Edward who actually researched it), wore cowboy garb, and ate pork/beans/cornbread. It was really fun.

Eddie was upset that he doesn't own cowboy boots so I offered to let him be a sheriff instead--and since sheriffs sometimes have to run after the 'bad guys' that his regular shoes would be best because who can run fast in cowboy boots?  (No one.) Then he was upset that he'd broken his sheriff badge...so I gathered up all the brooches from my mom's 1960s jewelry box and let him pick one to wear as an alternative. You can see in the picture that he chose the sparkling rhinestone one. We ended up bringing all of them so everyone could wear one. It was so sweet that all of us humored him by donning a fancy brooch. The options included: a few long stem roses, a turtle, a donkey from Jerusalem, and an engraved name plate.

On Friday we played tennis with Jeremy and Janine and then ate at Google for dinner as Jeremy's guests. It was yummy and fun! Edward always says he'd work at Google just for the free, delicious food...now I know why. We got dessert after filling our dinner plates because it always runs out. All these geeky Google guys were in line to get some mascarpone berry pie, taking a long time to balance their dinner plates while trying to cut/serve a piece of pie. I noticed a single piece left in a pan next to the long line and everyone just ignored it. So I slide out of line, took the whole pie pan, and scooted another whole pie to the front of the counter. That prompted the line to split into two so folks could serve from two pies instead of just one. Aren't these Google people supposed to be good problem solvers?

Auntie, Eddie, and I biked to the movie theater to see the LEGO movie. Uncle had some major scrapes on his leg and hands so he had to drive to the movies and we met him there. That was SUCH a fun movie. I can't wait to see it again when it comes to our local theater.

  

To get to the theater we had to go up and over 101 on a path. Every other time we've done this, Eddie's had to walk his bike part way up the overpass because it was too steep for him.  Not this time!  We were so proud of him for biking up up up all by himself. 

We watched the USA men's hockey game against Canada so Eddie wanted to play some hockey before we left. 

Blurry Ninja Turtle family photo before we left for home.

I made sure to get us back to Gualala on Saturday night so we would have Sunday to get ready for the week. It was nice to spend time with Dave on Sunday, having not seen him since Wednesday morning. He'd taken PTO on Thursday and Friday to work on insulating/sheetrocking the garage for his workshop. It's coming along nicely!

Sunday afternoon we moved horse manure from the neighbor's dumping spot to our composting spot at the airport. I drove the big rig up there, something that is fun but difficult because the seat doesn't move close enough for me to use the pedals so I have to perch on the end of the chair. 

Dave was veeeeeeeery patient with me while I slowly and clumsily maneuvered the backhoe to load the dump truck. He took over the mixing and stacking after it was dumped. The way he operates that thing makes it look like an extension of his own body. Is there anything sexier than watching your husband expertly stack manure for you to make compost? For me it ranks only second to watching him hold a baby.

When we were in Mountain View we went to a thrift store where I scored a(nother) Donvier ice cream maker. So of course we had to make some ice cream that night.

This is rocky road, made using our leftover rainbow marshmallows. It is super yummy.

 The end of this week brought a storm from the south. We enjoy watching the weather change outside the window each morning while we get ready for the day.

I love seeing layers of clouds, each a different color.

We watched a dense rain squall move toward the house yesterday. Sadly, it went north of us...I was looking forward to a brief pounding of rain.

There is currently a gale force wind advisory in effect up here--lasting 1.5 days. So far we've experienced one power outage blip here in the office and my FIL had a water customer at his door early this morning because a branch fell on her water line and caused a major leak.

If the wind isn't too crazy tonight and there's power in Point Arena, we're planning on having a pizza and salad dinner at the pier after work. Eddie should really enjoy that. On my list for today is finding references for two statements in my second chapter/second draft, making all the verb tenses the same, sending it off for review, and doing data crunching for my third chapter.

Christmas Break Trip to the Bay Area

Eddie was off of school and daycare for two weeks so we took advantage!

The first week we went down to Livermore/Mountain View. This was to visit Grandpa and Uncle but also to give Dadda some time alone to work on the Coast House. We're soooooooooo close to having a kitchen downstairs.  The 'honey do' list didn't get completed due to some water company emergencies but that's okay.  I'm thrilled to report that after a week out of town, we came home to two (almost completely) finished bedrooms downstairs.  We got to move in and hang curtains in them upon our return. YAY!!!!!

I'll have to remind myself of what we did on our bay area adventures.  Here goes:

Eddie and his classmates performed the most adorable renditions of Jingle Bells in English and Spanish at the elementary school holiday concert.  Eddie's in the green shirt. The kids sang along with a recorded tape but you could hear Eddie adding his own opera-style touches to the songs.

Right after school was out for the day, Eddie and I drove down to Livermore to my dad's house.

Eddie helped Grandpa grind up beef and potatoes for some yummy hash for dinner. My dad also made Harvard beets. I knew Eddie wouldn't want to eat them if he saw them so I made him close his eyes for a taste first. He loved them--even after he saw them. He and I ate so many that our pee was pink the whole next day!

When Eddie wasn't whining or yelling (driving Grandpa up the wall) he cuddled a bit.

 It was beautiful outside during our visit (thanks, drought) but I did struggle with keeping Eddie busy during out visit.

He did a lot of dishes...and Grandpa had to position two 25 pound sacks of lead shot on the stool to keep it from sliding out from under Eddie.

On Saturday afternoon we packed up Clifford the Big Red Truck and headed up to my dad's cabin.  Auntie and Uncle rode their bikes there and had a fire going for us when we arrived. It was cooooooold up there!  This was Eddie first time to the cabin.  My dad and his friend bought the cabin property--Far Side Ranch--when I was in fifth grade as a place to take their suburban kids to learn how to handle/shoot guns, build fires, and other wilderness essentials. 

Eddie and I slept in the Wreden's room. It was below freezing outside and not much warmer in the bedrooms but still, I found Eddie uncovered when I finally went to bed.

Eddie woke up the next morning ready to play!  But it was soooo cold outside that we kept busy inside enjoying a fire and reading books, being as quiet as possible so Auntie and Uncle could sleep in.

The most exciting thing for Eddie (besides pooping outside since the cabin bathroom is currently out of commission), was throwing rocks on the icy pond.

We cooked up a yummy gluten free breakfast once everyone was awake!

We hiked through the chaparral to see the valley. 

This is the front of the cabin. My dad and Carter (co-owner) came up on Sunday afternoon to repair the leaky roof and hang out. We had a yummy outdoor pasta lunch before we packed up and headed back to Livermore.

Eddie and I shared my mom's old room at my folks' house. It is weird to sleep in there but at least we have an attached bathroom and a heater (in an otherwise unheated house).

There were a few must-do's for our Livermore visit: visit a new park, have ice cream at Loard's, visit Deacon Dave's house for the lights display, get donuts at Donut Wheel, go sledding in the snow, and see friends. We did most of those things.

We visited two new-to-Eddie parks and got to have an ice cream date before a quick visit with my childhood friend, Ariel, at a coffeeshop.

Visiting Deacon Dave's almost didn't happen--but we braved a crazy long line while Eddie did the pee-pee dance the whole time. (If I'd had someone with me I would have been able to find a place for him to pee but since I was alone--as I was most of the trip--he had to hold it. I offered for us to leave and find a potty but he was determined to see the lights.)

Eddie stood still just long enough for a picture before we bolted back to the car.

When we heard that one of my friends, April, was stuck at home with the flu, Eddie and I decided to pick up some Thai food and her favorite hot-and-sour soup to deliver to her house. She mentioned it was her hubby's birthday and they'd have to miss out on celebrating because of her flu. So we picked up a dozen donuts and delivered half of them to her house so they could have a small celebration.  It felt good to do something nice with Eddie--he was a little confused why we couldn't stay to play with her kids but I think he sort of figured out the charity.

Visiting other friends just fell between the cracks--the effort involved in finding suitable times was too much for me toward the end.

We also cancelled the snow trip, which we'd planned to do with Uncle after Christmas. There just wasn't enough snow to justify a whole day's driving to and from the Sierra.  Hopefully there'll be a significant storm at SOME point this winter so we can get some frozen play time logged.

My dad has been on a fermentation kick lately. He told me that the sauerkraut was ready so I suggested that he corn some beef so we could have Reubens one night. While the meat was smoking, Eddie and I made a batch of caraway rye bread.

Homemade Reuben sandwiches!  Blurry, but gooooooooood.

We ended our visit to Livermore a little earlier than planned. It was clear that loud, rambunctious Eddie had worn out his welcome in my dad's usually-quiet house. Karma-wise, I'm not sure what I did in previous lives to deserve to have a child with two sets of grandparents who are um...not as kid-accommodating as I'd like. Everyone loves Eddie, of course, but as an active young boy his energy requires a lot of 'directing.' And I was just plain tired of having to control it in order to keep my dad from grumbling. I'm working on reducing my intense jealousy toward alllllll my friends with parents who eagerly (or at least willingly) babysit and hang out with their grandkids. Mamas and Daddies need a friggin' break sometimes!  That they don't have to pay for. Especially at other peoples' houses. Grumble grumble grumble.

So...we headed to Uncle's apartment in Mountain View on Christmas Eve!

Cartoons were watched...

We went on a 9-mile Christmas Day bike ride through the Googleplex and along the bay trail.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I totally forgot to bring along snacks for this ride. Our first stop on the ride was to the grocery store for dinner fixings so we ended up nibbling on the green beans during a break.

Eddie, Uncle, and Auntie. It was 65F on Christmas--a lovely day for a ride.

Eddie, Uncle, and Auntie on the bay trail. Our goal was to go see NASA (in the distance on the left) but Eddie was getting tired so we headed home instead.

Eddie has totally outgrown his bike but that didn't stop him from zooming around.

 Dyani and Brice invited us over to share their Christmas dinner with her parents and grandmother. We really enjoyed the roast goose and veggies, plantain stuffing, warm veggie quinoa salad, and Aunti's homemade egg nog ice cream. The wine and Auntie's guava cordial were the icing on the cake.  Or maybe sitting at the table and singing Christmas carols in French and English was the best part...it's hard to say!

Eddie and Batiste were two peas in a pod. I couldn't believe that they both sat at the table for nearly the whole meal!  Letting them have some play time was much-needed for Eddie, who was definitely getting tired of hanging out with just me by this point on the trip. The boys played pretty well together, with regularly spaced bouts of whining/crying when one wanted the toy the other was playing with. 'Tis the age.

Batiste, Kateri, and Eddie.  Eddie used those bells to sing Cascabel (Jingle Bells in Spanish) for everyone at the table!

The day after Christmas we went on another bike ride to return some Redbox movies. Auntie was working from home that day and we wanted to keep the place quiet for her. As soon as we got back, we went in the hot tub--one of my favorite things to do at Uncle's house!

Sunny and warm!  I should have packed shorts.

 At the Coast House, we didn't yet have a living room set up. It was SUCH a treat to sit on the couch at Edward's and watch movies with Edward and Jennifer after Eddie was in bed. We watched two holiday movies: The Family Stone and Four Christmases. We'd all seen them before but sometimes familiarity is just what you want.

After the van was packed up on Friday, Eddie and Uncle played cars in the living room for a bit.

Dave and I made an arrangement with Santa that he'd not visit our house until we got home.  Santa said it was fine since Gualala is sooooooooo out of the way anyway. Eddie knew this, so he was an eager helper on our drive back up the coast. He was such a good boy on our Costco run--I think he knew he needed to be extra good so that Santa would actually come.

Eddie insists that we use a giant orange flatbed cart at Costco. He likes it because he can hop on/off unassisted whenever we need to load something onto the cart. I can completely trust him to get those two gallon packs of milk out of the fridge compartment and put them on the cart unassisted. I get some glares from fellow shoppers when I stand at the cart while Eddie gets the milk but he likes it, I swear!  See what an independent kid he is?  A 40 pound kid holding a 25 pound sack of sugar. So sweet, hahahaha.  

Overall it was a good trip, if not completely exhausting for me. But the goal was to let Eddie see Grandpa and Uncle (check!) and to give Dave some time to work on the house without Eddie trying to "help" (check!).

MLK Weekend in Gualala with Friends

This past weekend we invited two families up to Gualala with us.  We all stayed at the Coast House and had a great time.  It was especially nice for us parents since the three kids played well together (for the most part) and left us alone to chat.

As usual, Eddie and I left Davis just after his gymnastics class.  We stopped in Vacaville to buy loads of stuff at Costco so we didn't arrive at the Coast House until 3 pm.  After unloading alllllllllllllll the stuff in the van Dave arrived.  (Seriously so much stuff: luggage with clothes, a laundry basket full of pantry items, a cooler full of stuff from our house and more stuff from Costco, Eddie's bike, Taters' crate, Eddie's train set and a backpack full of books, my school bag...gosh, it really adds up!)


The Trunnelle family arrived on Saturday morning so we got to go out for pizza and to the toy shop.  

It was a relaxing weekend with the doggies to help the dads nap.

Jeff and Kirby snoozing.

Saturday afternoon the Ye/Zeng family arrived so we went to the park to let the kids play.

The swings and the slides were the most popular.  Not to mention the gathering of loooooooooong sticks by the boys. 

When it started getting dark we drove down the road to where Papa John has his most recent burn piles where we made s'mores.  Mmmm.

It was a little nuts with the three marshmallow-stealing dogs, overtired kids, and a big fire.  But we made it work.

Jane, Liyang, and Rongzhong.

 We headed back to the house to prepare a surf-and-turf feast.  It was really yummy and allowed for leftovers the next night.

Renee was so cute with her babies--she asked me for a cup and spoon so she could feed them in the kitchen while we made dinner.

Surf and turf dinner: tri tip, crab, sweet roasted butternut squash, salad, and creamy pesto gnocchi.  We need to get rid of these leather office chairs in favor of benches so we can fit more people around the table!  It gets crowded fast.

The kiddos brushing their teeth.  Eddie and Renee slept in the same room that night.  "My Nee gets to sleep with me!" chirped Eddie.  They are quickly becoming besties.

Sunday morning Rongzhong's family departed--he's a postdoc in my lab and he had to get back to monitor an experiment.  We were sad to see them go, but they'll be coming back again soon I think. 

Kelly and Jeff figured they'd leave soon after...but they kept delaying their departure.  Eventually they asked if they could just stay an extra night.  Of course!  It was nice to have extra time to just hang out and chat.  We walked downtown for gelato but were bummed because Trink's was closed earlier than I expected.  So we settled for popscicles from the market instead.

The next day most of us packed up the house and departed--everyone except Dave and Taters.  After years of being fine in the car, Taters suddenly got nervous or carsick or something whenever we drive up the coast.  I know the roads are super windy so I go really, really slow around the turns so everyone stays comfortable.  About a year ago I had to banish him to the crate, lest he crawl under the pedals while I'm driving.  Eeeeeeeeek!  It's still pretty stressful for us because he slams his head into the crate and now even tries to paw his way out of the crate during a particular 30 minute stretch of the road.  All that's to say that I made Dave deal with bringing Taters back to Davis.  I might try giving him some Benadryl before the drive next time to see if that helps (we used to do that for Emmy before she'd fly).  Don't worry, Taters, you only have to make that drive like 4-5 more times ever!

Eddie and I went down to Palo Alto for Batiste and Dyani's birthday party.  There was a pinata, cupcakes, and lots of her friends and colleagues to chat with.  Brice and Edward had gone shopping for a new bike for Dyani for her 30th birthday.  For his second birthday, Batiste got the same balance bike that Eddie had. 

Dyani threatened to ride Eddie's bike around the park when he wouldn't surrender Batiste's new bike (granted, he was probably confused because it is the exact bike he used to have).  See her bump?  There's a baby girl in there!

Happy birthday, Batiste!  You're the cutest little Frenchman I know.

Even the adults got a turn at the pinata.  Donovan did pretty well!

After the party, Edward and I decided to go to Fleet Feet together to get fitted for running shoes.  The shopping trip was fine until the very end (like, the part where I have to pay) when Eddie suddenly became feverish and SUPER cranky.  I was worried he was barfy and would puke all over the store so I hurried him to the car and left Edward to pay for all our stuff.  Luckily, a dose of fever reducer solved the problem.  So we spent the night at Edward's apartment rather than deal with driving back while he wasn't feeling good.  Ruby wasn't supposed to be there, but she was a good girl and kept her presence mostly unknown.  =)  When they moved in, Edward asked if animals were allowed and was told that the complex is "pet friendly" as long as they don't make a lot of noise--I guess that means animals can visit but not reside there.

Eddie was still feverish the next morning so we stayed yet another night since he couldn't go to daycare anyway until he would be fever-free for 24 hours.  Why go all the way home to an empty house when we could stay with people we love to hang out with?  He never had any other symptoms than a fever so I'm not sure what his ailment actually was. Perhaps being overtired and only eating crap granola bars and candy all day Monday?

Waiting for the fever reducers to kick in...poor kid only stays put when he's sick.

Eddie got upset that I cleaned the kitchen. "But there aren't any dishes for ME TO WASH NOW!"  What a weirdo.

After nearly a full day in the apartment, we were getting cabin fever so my my mom came over for lunch on Tuesday afternoon just for fun. It's nice being so close that she can hang out on a moment's notice like that. 

Jennifer recommended that we eat at Rose International Market in Saratoga.  We did and it was amazing. Next time I go back I'm going to ask if I can have a few sampler plates with a little bit of everything; it all looks and smelled soooooo good.

So what was supposed to be a normal Gualala weekend turned into a solid 5 days away from our house.  It's weird.  And now everyone in my lab is giddy with it's-finally-Friday joy and I'm feeling like it's only Tuesday.

Kauai 2012

Where do I begin this post?

Who: Just me and Dave...and later, Edward.

What: Our first-ever trip to Hawaii (an odd thing since we've always just been here in CA)

Where: Plantation-Hale suites in Kapa'a, Kauai

When: December 9-14, 2012

Why: So many reasons.  To name a few: to relax, to hang out together and not while caring for an active child, to escape the chilly weather, to celebrate surviving my qualifying exam, to do something new/fun/relaxing/delicious before I tackle the last major step of my tenure (such as it is) in Davis.

How: It was a frugal trip, made possible by a combination of hard work and sweat, an AmazonLocal voucher, off-season plane ticket prices, and yelp.

Dave, my dad, and I (plus Jennifer and Edward a bit) all worked on Cassie's daycare back in September 2011.   We did much of the construction on the "school room."  It was hardly a shell of a building and now it's a to-code, full-functioning room for the kids to do their art work, have circle time, eat snacks, etc.  To pay us back, Cassie gave us 2 full weeks of "free" overnight childcare.  She didn't need to pay us back, but we sure did appreciate the gesture.  So of course we took her up on it.  We used a night here and there but made sure to save a week's worth for this trip.  She knew about it the whole time, too, even helping me lurk AmazonLocal and Groupon for possible trips.

Initially, I bought a Groupon voucher for a 5 night stay in Costa Rica complete with a culinary class with a chef and a 5 course beach dinner.  But the only dates available didn't work with our schedules so I got a refund before my 30 day window was up.  I got up one morning and saw an AmazonLocal deal for Kauai in my email--only $800 for a 6 person suite with a kitchen and a rental car for 5 nights.  I made sure there was availability at the hotel, checked that airline prices were decent, and bought it.  Once we worked out what dates to go based on my, Dave's, and Cassie's schedules we bought plane tickets for only $340 round trip for each of us.

Yelp guided us on our eats the whole time we were on the island.  Because I enjoy cooking so much, I don't actually want to eat at expensive places anymore (I get more enjoyment out of cooking something fancy myself and saving the money)...so we ate at cheap places instead.  I really do enjoy cheap eats.  And man, did we ever eat some good stuff.  You probably know that Dave, Edward, and I are Pork People.  We judge entire regions of the country based on the quality of their pulled pork.  While we like it in any form, we all prefer the lightly-to-no-sauce variety in the deep south over the heavily sauced Texan style.  So of course we sought out pork all over Kauai.

The kalua pork at Pono Market was soooooooooo good in fact, that it prompted Edward to fly over for a taste.  I mean, why not when plane tickets were only $300 and he didn't have to pay to stay?

Activities: We hiked the Na Pali coast, went tubing down an old sugar cane irrigation canal, lazed around on the beach, saw Waimea Canyon, and watched Jurassic Park 1 and 2 since they were filmed there. The guys snorkeled.

It was a fantastic trip.  I included just a few pictures here but if you'd like to see more, I can easily send you the link to my Picasa or Facebook albums, which are annotated.  Just email me or leave me a comment.

Pono Market kalua pork, seaweed salad, and sesame ahi poke.  Below is the conversation Edward and I had over gchat while we were eating this food near the beach.  At 4:30 pm his flight itinerary popped into my inbox.  BOOM. We are pork people.

4:01 PM        me: Dave says you should come here to eat the pork

  It's nice

4:02 PM Plantation Hale

  We have a kitchen

  You should hop a fight here tomorrow

4:03 PM We have two beds

4:04 PM We can walk to the airport to fetch you....so close :-)

4:05 PM Edward: Haha

  It's only $336 roundtrip

 me: Do it

  !

  You will love it

4:06 PM Edward: When do you guys get back?

 me: Seriously you can

  Friday

  We leave at like 3

4:07 PM Do it

  Gonna drive. Let me know.

  We leave on Akaka 848 on 12/14

6 minutes

4:14 PM me: Alaska

 Edward: I can get the same flight

  Arriving 12:25pm tomorrow, same flight back

4:15 PM me: Do it

  Just send me the flight confirmation

  Yay!

4:20 PM Is Jennifer going to be okay with you coming?

 Edward: Yep

4:23 PM Where are your seats?

4:25 PM me: 11d and e

  Can Jennifer come?

 Edward: She can't

6 minutes

4:32 PM Edward: Woo!

12 minutes

4:44 PM Edward: Sooming shorts, shorts, boxers, flip flops, socks, casual shoes, shirts

  1 or 2 snorkeling sets?

4:48 PM me: 2

  Looks good

Dave and I on our first day after lounging on the beach.

We started seeing rainbows EVERYWHERE as soon as Edward arrived.  Coincidence?  Yes...but he'll argue they were for him.

We hiked the Na Pali coast trail the day before we left.

Dave and I on our lanai before we went home.

It was soooooooooo freaking windy most of the time so I didn't actually get to wear the cute hat I bought there. Oh well.  Maybe next time?  And yes, I am a whitey.  I seriously think I saw a few people wince and put their sunglasses on when they saw me walk by on the beach.

Both Dave and I agreed that while we enjoyed having the whole week childfree, we would have preferred to have only a couple of nights away from Eddie.  All the activities we did would have been great for Eddie, too.  I think we all would have had a great time with him there.  If only plane tickets didn't cost so much...  Lately Eddie's been really interested in lava and volcanoes.  We told him that the island we went to was created from lava coming out of the ocean a long, long time ago. He was super disappointed that we didn't have any pictures of hot, flowing lava on our trip.  Once he's "bigger" (age TBD), we'll take him to Guatemala, Hawaii, or Iceland to see some in real life.

Mahalo, Kauai.  Until we meet again...

Kauai on Dwellable