Thanks!!

This weekend my parents drove from Washington to stop by! What a great surprise!! Little did they know that we had so many projects on our list. With my parents help we were able to finish painting most of the downstairs, fix the truck, rotatill the back yard, plant a garden, and take care of my sick child. We also found time to play games, watch movies, and eat delicious food. Thanks for coming and being soooo helpful! We wouldn't have gotten any of it done without you. Come again soon!

Kangaroo Zoo

Kayla and I took Addie to the Kangaroo Zoo (finally!!). She LOVED it, and cried when we left. For those who don't know, Kangaroo Zoo is full of inflatable toys for kids. It is only 2 blocks from here, but this was our first time. Addie made a friend (Mia, 2.5 years) and they became hooked at the hip. In one of the pictures you can see Mia pulling Addie up on a toy because she was not tall enough. It was super cute. Addie is quite the dare devil. She will jump off anything and land on any part of her body. She hasn't learned to land on her feet or bum yet. Quite scary for a mom to watch. Even Mia's mother commented on how Addie was a dare devil. Hopefully she grows out of that :). We will have to go back soon!

Hawaii!!

We're back from Hawaii! What a fun, but very busy, trip! Here is what we did...

Day 1. Flew to Oahu. Most of the day was taken up from the flight. Addie did surprisingly well. She even took a nap (about 1.5 hours). She apparently was anxious to get there, because when we got in the shuttle she kept yelling "go!" to the driver. The driver didn't need to be reminded to go... she was a crazy driver and we thought she was going to run over pedestrians. After we checked in to our hotel, we went for a stroll on Waikiki Beach. It was only a couple blocks away. Our hotel room was sooo small (and old). It didn't even have a microwave (I went down to housekeeping to use theirs). We brought lots of food with us, and were very disappointed when the only way to warm up water in our room was to use the coffee maker.

Waikiki is beautiful... but very busy, so we never actually swam there.

Day 2. Up at 4:00 am (seriously Addie?). Rented a car and went to Pearl Harbor. Very interesting. Here are some pictures of the USS Arizona Memorial. The boat sunk in the attack and they left it. You can still see oil coming out (small amount).

After Pearl Harbor we hit the flee market. It was fun to walk around and see what they are trying to sell. Later we went to Hanauma Bay. We really lucked out here because you typically have to pay for parking and to swim ($5 a person) but since we went later in the day, it was free! Hanauma Bay is really neat for snorkeling. Addie didn't like the water too much, so she played in the sand. This was the first time we have ever went snorkeling. We love it!

Day 3. This eventful day started at 4:00am again. We tried to convince Addie to go back to sleep, which she did, on and off until 6:00am. She kept complaining about her tummy. She then proceeded to throw up all over the bed. We concluded that we must have given her something she was allergic to, or didn't sit well with her stomach (maybe the beef jerky... because it smelt like it). Bad news: we are on vacation... why do you have to be sick now? (This is the first time she has really thrown up). Good news: Housekeeping!! (Hey! we left a bigger tip). We struggled the rest of the day trying to get Addie to eat and drink. She was pretty miserable and probably only had a few sips of water the whole day (I let her play in a water fountain, hoping some would get in her mouth). But we decided to make the most of it. That morning we went on a hike to Diamond Head. We put Addie in Scott's backpack. The view from the top:

Then we were off to the North Shore to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center. We had planned to stop by the temple, but since we had such a slow start in the morning, we didn't have time. The PCC was awesome! We had paid extra to have a tour guide, which was totally worth it. It was hot and he made sure we made it to every show and sat in the shade. Poor Addie was a pretty good sport, but was still really sick. We even made a trip to the first aid counter to check her temperature and make sure she wasn't getting heat stroke. We went to the Luau for dinner. Here is a picture of the pig coming out of the ground oven. The food was pretty good. It was fun to try something new. Then we went to the night show. It was awesome. The pictures are hard to see, sorry. We left a little early because Addie was really complaining about being sick and tired. So we missed the best part (the fire dancers). But luckily Emily has it on her blog, haha, thanks Em.

At the PCC they give you real flower leis. And we wove a fish out of leaves. Addie is holding it, but not at a good angle. It was fun.

Day 4. Up at 6am. Whew... its getting better. We got up and packed. Today we flew to Maui. Here is a picture of Addie smelling the flowers and showing everyone her button. She was pulling up her shirt all day.

When we got to Maui, we went to the store for groceries and then to our condo. We stayed right on Napilli beach. The condo was a breath of fresh air compared to the hotel in Oahu. The condo had a full kitchen, big bathroom, and even a full sized crib for Addie. After getting settled we went for a walk in the beach.

Day 5. Went for short hikes to the Blow Hole and Olivine Pools. After lunch we played on Napilli Beach. Addie was not too sure about the water or the sand, but she eventually warmed up and played a little. Her favorite thing was playing in the pool with dad. She was not afraid at all of the pool. She would even jump in without a life vest and hope that Scott would keep her from drowning.

I love this picture because her tongue is sticking out.

Day 6. Addie wanted to go swimming so badly that she would put on her swim suit or swim diaper over her clothes. It was hilarious. Here she is wearing a skirt (with shorts) and she put the diaper on over it.

This morning we headed off to Lahaina to see some historical sights. Here is the famous tree (it looks like many trees, but it is in fact just one). I guess vines just grow off the branches and then when they attach to the ground they grow into more branches that support the tree.

We decided to go on the reef dancer, which is a submarine looking ship that has windows in the basement so you can see the reefs. It travels around so you can see all the coral and fish. They have divers bring up interesting stuff to show you in the windows. This was a big mistake on my part... I was getting motion sickness just from snorkeling, and was about to loose it on the boat ride. But we survived. The pictures are hard to see from the inside.

Later that day we walked along Kaanapali beach. It was fun to watch all the luaus and listen to the music.

Day 7. Up at 7am (finally adjusted... just in time to go home). Decided to hit some other beaches. We drove to South Maui and stopped by Big Beach, Black Sand Beach (which was really more gray than black), and spent the rest of the day at Wailea Beach. Addie played with dad on the beach a lot, while I worked on my tan :). Addie even found a friend at the beach to play with.

Day 8. Got up early, packed, checked out of the condo and headed to Maalaea for a snorkel trip to Molokini island. By this time I decided to take motion sickness pills, so the boat ride was not bad at all. We saw dolphins, turtles, a submarine, a shark, and lots of fish. Addie would not go into the water at all so Scott and I had to take turns snorkeling. It was a great place to go. The captain convinced us to wear wetsuits, but the water really was not that cold.

Here are a few pictures from our underwater camera:

After our snorkel strip we headed up to Haleakala Crater (Addie slept while we drove). We were above the clouds and it was really neat.

Then we headed off to Kahului (where the airport was) to have dinner and kill a little time. We walked through a mall and Addie played with all the kids. Addie jumped off one of the toys and made a painful face. When she stood up she was limping. The other parents probably thought I was crazy because I just swooped her up and quickly took her out of there. She only complained that I took her away from the toys (but you know how paranoid we are now that she already broke a leg). So in order to get to to walk around and check out her leg we took her in to a store and started commenting on the pretty dresses. Well then she was off, shuffling through all the clothes and trying to find other "pretty" stuff. Her leg was fine, and it was hilarious to watch this little shopper of ours.

Off to the airport at 9pm (1am Salt Lake time). The red-eye is not much fun. Addie fell asleep on take off and slept most of the time. She would wake up and cry for 10-15 minutes. People were not very happy with us, but who really plans on sleeping on a plane? Not me! Scott was sitting next to the window, and I had the middle (urg). The guy in the isle took up some of my space, which I in turn took up some of Scott's. It was impossible to sleep, but we made it home in one piece. Addie must have been exhausted because she slept for 13 hours last night! A record!

So sad to leave, we had so much fun. Addie was really was happy to be home. Thanks to everyone for letting us borrow stuff and for offering to take Addie for a week. Next time we might take you up on that.

I'm dreaming of...

Warm, sandy beaches!

Kitchen

Finally! Some pictures!

We painted our kitchen a few weeks ago. The color did not turn out quite like the card (go figure). Scott does not like it much, but it is starting to grow on me. Two walls are green, the other two are tan. We will be two-toning the rest of the house tan (with a few more accent walls). Here it is... the color is hard to see.. I should have waited until it was dark.

Such a girl...

Lately, in the mornings when it is time to get dressed, Addie asks to wear a dress. She will even go and pick one out. She is obsessed with shoes, and even will convince the neighbor kids to trade her shoes and when she cant take the new shoes home she throws the biggest tantrum. She likes to say "pretty" and kiss herself in the mirror. She will wear as many necklaces as she can find, and carry around things (like the camera case) as a purse.

To top it off, this morning when I went to get her out of her crib, the first thing she said was "hair, pretty, hair!". She went straight to the bathroom to find some clips. And then clapped when I put them in.

Such a silly girl.

Learning the ways of a Vegan...

Needless to say, Addie is on a very restrictive diet. No mac'n'cheese, scrambled eggs, or anything else easy and fun to feed a toddler. She is also very picky. She doesn't like her food to touch, wont eat sandwiches, and doesn't like to try new things. She LOVES meat... especially hot dogs and ham, but I am trying to figure out new things to feed her. We now travel down the "health food" row at the grocery stores, and often visit the nutritional store. We search for vegan foods that avoid milk and eggs. We have found that Addie likes soy cheese (although it does have a small trace of milk and gives her hives), and the mayo and sour cream are pretty comparable to the regular ones. I have made granola bars, found chocolate chips (for cookies), tried tofu, yeast flakes, and other weird things. I haven't been able to add many new things to her diet.. but I am trying. Last night I made chicken broccoli casserole, one for us, one for Addie (with a milk/egg free cream of chicken and mayo). I seriously don't know how vegans do it. That stuff is just not that tasty.

We also broke down and bought a soy milk maker (which also makes rice milk). Rice milk is very expensive at the store. I really don't know why... it takes less than a cup of dry rice to make over a liter of milk. And rice is cheep! I am excited that we don't have to spend so much on rice milk anymore (it was costing as much as diapers!).