Thanksgiving in Kauai

I am happy to say that I have finally been able to find some time to get my photos organized after my computer kept crashing, since having photos seems to be what drives my blog posts most of the time.  And although it is almost February, I am going to rewind a few months to share some memories (and videos!) from our beautiful vacation on Kauai over Thanksgiving.

November 2012 will be remembered as a roller coaster - lots of lows and highs.  One of the highs that came at a very needed time was this trip to Hawaii with Sam's parents and sister.  Sam's dear grandma had just passed away somewhat unexpectedly, so going to Hawaii for 10 days was a very healing and happy time for all of us.  Our time there was so nice and we found beauty not only in the island, but in the happy (and tired) faces of our girls.  Experiencing it with them was both trying and terrific, but something all of us (even Sasha) will remember.

The honeymooners in 2000.

Twelve years ago, Sam and I went to Kauai for our honeymoon.  Sam always said we had to go back for our 10th anniversary, but that didn't quite work out.  Fortunately, Sam's work allowed him to go to a conference on Kauai and we turned it into a family vacation.  Back in 2000, we had no idea what life would bring us.  We have all the things we hoped we would - a strong marriage, adventures together, jobs that make us happy,  a wonderful home, and beautiful children - but the reality is a bit different than we imagined.  I look back at this innocent couple in their mid-20s and am pretty happy with all the decisions they made along the way.  It's been a pretty great ride so far.  

But back to our trip.... Here are some of my favorite photos and memories, and even though it's only been a couple months since the trip, looking back on them already makes me feel nostalgic and sappy.

* We had a great rental home that gave us plenty of room, lawn for the girls to run around on, rocks in the driveway to play with, all within walking distance of the Hyatt and Poipu Beach.  The house was perfect for kids as they had lots of baby gear, books, a little baby doll Sasha fell in love with, and Cinderella dishes that Morgan refused to share with her little sister.

* Poipu Beach Park was another perfect place for us.  I loved watching the sun set there as the girls played on the play structure or in the water.  It was so sheltered and perfect for little ones.  And all the roosters and chickens running around made it even more entertaining.  I could have stayed there all day.

* This was the first time I swam in the ocean with my two girls.  I love the ocean and adored sharing it with them.  They loved every minute and are natural water babies.

* Another highlight was playing and swimming at Baby Beach, yet another ideal beach for the girls.  Sasha was fearless and would charge into the water regardless that it was getting deeper and deeper.  We had to hold her back to keep her from walking submerged along the bottom of the ocean!  Later, she took to crawling through the shallower water.  She loved the beach and could spend hours filling and dumping buckets full of sand and water!  Baby beach was special for another reason.  Some of Grandma Daggett's ashes were spread there in honor of her many trips to Kauai with her husband and friends.  And, as Dinda put it, Grandma loved babies so this was a perfect place.

 * A first was painting Morgan's toes to match mine.  She was so excited I finally let her do it.  Later in the week, Aunt Kimmy painted her toes sparkly blue - even cooler!

*  It took a while to find the pool that belonged to our rental home, but it was pretty nice, although really cold!  I am thankful for Sam, Kim, and Ron for braving the chilly water so that Morgan could swim to heart's content (or until she started shivering too much) and Sasha could perfect her "cannonball" with Papa Ron.  Now that we are home, she will yell "cannonball!" at really inappropriate moments, like when she is walking down the stairs or standing on the back of the couch.  That kid....

*  Discovering Kalapaki Joe's sports bar was another highlight, particularly for my father-in-law.  It was right next to the pool and gave us a place to get a post-swimming  lunch and mai tai (or two) on a warm afternoon (or two - we went there a lot!)  And they also had some pretty amazing ahi tacos.  Yum!

* Poipu, where we stayed, is on the sunnier side of the island, but we also wanted to go to the north side where the Na Pali coast begins.  The weather was a bit cool and rainy the first couple days we were there, but then we had some gorgeous sunshine the rest of the week.  The sunniest day we went to Hanalei and then to Ke'e Beach.  The weather was perfect, but being winter, the surf was pretty big - much different than when we were there before.  I was a mama bear watching my cubs since they don't understand the dangers of the waves, but both girls got to go out and float around with Daddy and Papa Ron.  I took a stroll down the beach where there was hardly anyone, except a hen and her chicks running around and a protected monk seal sunning itself on the beach, When I turned around to go back, this view of the Na Pali coast took my breath away.  Amazing!

* For Thanksgiving dinner, we planned on going to a very nice restaurant called the Beach House. We were lucky to even make our dinner reservation, though, as Sam and I had to take Morgan to urgent care that afternoon (which turned out to be the hospital ER when it's a holiday!  Parenthood doesn't stop just because you're on vacation.)  Morgan had had her typical  winter cough the whole time we were in Kauai, but she had been up all night with it and we were getting worried it could be pneumonia (not that it slowed her down in the water at all).  She turned out to be ok and with the help of an inhaler and prednisone, we were back in action.

 * We raced back and the girls got dressed up in their matching strawberry dresses from Grandma Dinda.  We even miraculously managed to take some nice family photos before we left.  We arrived at the Beach House on time and were there for there for sunset.  Our table was amazing, right on the lawn next to the ocean.  And being a family holiday, we were missing the company of Grandma Daggett, so Kim, Ron and Dinda tossed a lei out into the ocean in her memory.  Our meal was delicious and unlike any Thanksgiving I have ever had.  I was certain I'd order the turkey, but having ahi on Thanksgiving in Hawaii seemed more appropriate.  The girls did pretty well throughout and Morgan loved the fancy drink that came with an umbrella!

 * But still, there is more of this amazing vacation.  We ended the trip by enjoying the beautiful Hyatt resort, where Kim was going to stay a few extra days after we left.  So, in a way, we did get to come back for a 'second honeymoon,' which just happened to include my in-laws and kids!  But the Hyatt is still as amazing as it was when we were there, and better in fact, since back then we didn't know how good we had it!

*  Morgan LOVED the water slide and was barely tall enough to be able to ride it.  The first time, we planned to have her ride down with Sam, but that was against the rules.  I was watching from the bottom, sure that she would probably change her mind after Sam went down ahead of her, but she was determined.  She rode it once and pretty much wanted to do that over and over for the next two days. Below is a video of her popping out at the bottom of the slide, and even with her cough, she must have climbed all those stairs and rode the slide down about 50 times in the course of two days.  She learned quickly that if she laid down flat on her back, she would go even faster.  So thanks to Morgan, we all got to take turns on the slide with her - it was fun!

* Dinda preferred a more tranquil way of enjoying the pool and looked so cute floating in her pink chair.  And Sasha, being the beach girl, wanted to spend her time at the man-made saltwater lagoon playing in the sand.  (The beach next to the hotel is too rough for swimming - it's named Shipwreck beach, after all)

Happy old married couple in 2012.

* So here we are 12 years in to a marriage that we have somehow made wonderful despite not knowing what we are doing.  Those big smiles are due to the fact that we got away to the Hyatt, where we spent our honeymoon, for an overnight without the kids!  We ate dinner at a favorite restaurant there, wandered around the grounds with yummy drinks, had a hotel room to ourselves, and watched the sunrise (because we can't sleep in anymore thanks to our kids!) from our balcony and enjoying room service.  We are so lucky!



* There were a few 'lowlights' of the trip: One, of course, was the trip to the ER with Morgan.  Second, was flying with a toddler.  While overall it went pretty well, we did not anticipate (or had forgotten) that Sasha would pummel the airplane seat in front of her with her feet.  And of course the more we told her no, the more she would smile and kick harder.  On the way home, we switched seats so that Morgan sat in front of her with me so she could receive a back massage instead of some stranger.  Third, we tried to prepare for dealing with the girls and the time change, but waking at 4:30 or 5 every morning made us a bit crazy.  But being tired in paradise is nothing to complain about.  And the other bummer, both funny and gross, was coming home to find that a rodent (probably one of our rats of Nihm that live behind our garage) had taken residence in our car while we were gone!  I'm sure all the crumbs and snack wrappers the girls left behind were enticing.  But most frustrating, beyond the creepiness of having a rat in there, was that it went berserk chewing up our Britax car seat that wasn't even a year old (we took the old one on the plane with us, of course).  Obviously he/she doesn't know how much those cost!  Oh well, we will fix it and, thankfully, got the car completely detailed!

Hawaiian Delights

It has been a while since I traveled anywhere, so going to Hawaii on a family vacation for 8 days was something I had been looking forward to for months. I knew this time would be different because we had a toddler along. I have traveled to Mexico, San Antonio, and Denver with Morgan, but as she enters each new phase and age, it is like starting from scratch - I really had no idea what to expect.I have learned, that just like teaching, the secret to parenthood is overplanning mixed with a lot of flexibility. Planning is something I am pretty good at, so I did it and did it and did it. Stuff was laid out a week ahead of time, I packed all kinds of presents and distractions for the plane rides, I had contingency plans for how to get by without a high chair, kitchen, and Morgan's favorite toys. I was set! But despite all of that planning, I didn't really realize how much I would have to continue putting Morgan's needs ahead of my own. (Duh! I am a mom - you think I would know that by now.)In reality, the plane rides, which I was dreading the most, went better than planned. Morgan actually slept for parts of them (taking off always made her crash) and between new toys and a DVD player, she was pretty occupied. Once we were in Hawaii, the 3-hour time change and weird nap/eating schedule, combined with lots of playtime with relatives and in the pool made Morgan very tired....overtired, in fact. Most days we were there we spent at least an hour trying to get Morgan to nap, to no avail. I didn't have high expectations she would sleep regularly, but when she was tired, I figured a nap was a good idea. Morgan had other ideas, however, like getting up at 4:30 in the morning. Then when she finally did sleep, Sam and I had to tag-team our activities while one person stayed in the room with her. One night I stayed home so Morgan could sleep while everyone went to a nice dinner in Kona. We all were a bit exhausted from not sleeping well, and eventually Sam and I began to realize that we had very little actual time together on this trip. I think we thought that with all the relatives along, we could be all carefree - like not even having a kid! Wrong. It had nothing to do with our family's willingness to help. They all loved hanging out with Mo and would always offer to watch and entertain her. But gradually, we had to adjust our own expectations of what kind of fun we were having with our toddler along. I finally realized that parenthood (and life, for that matter) is filled with little moments of bliss, surrounded by often frustrating, tiring, and annoying bits. It is not going to be a series of fun-loving hours to enjoy all day long. So instead, you must be aware of those little moments, like when you feel your heart warm with pride in your child, when you can't stop smiling, when you see something so beautiful you want to burn it into your memory, or when you are filled with a deep sense of gratitude at what life has brought you - regardless of how or when it got there.
So here are some of those special blissful moments I will always remember from our trip:

* Sipping yummy Mai Thais and Fredericos at the Hua Tree beachside bar and talking about life - something I rarely have time for these days.
* Despite already being awake for two hours, getting coffee and watching Morgan play on the shady sand at 6:30am before the sun came up over the hotel.* Swimming with sea turtles and at least a hundred species of fish, I was re-amazed at the huge diversity and beauty of sea life in a coral reef - it took my breath away.
* Breakfast! Everyday it was a delight to peruse the yummy buffet, indulging in Eggs Benedict, freshly made waffles, tropical fruits, bagels with lox, and topping anything off with coconut syrup and macadamia nuts!
* Taking time for a beach side yoga class, where I could gaze out at the sea or look up at the waving palm trees. It reminded me how much I miss and need yoga in my life.* Jumping the waves to get our kayak out to paddle in the peaceful bay - it was one of the few quiet moments Sam and I had together. :)
* Watching our daughter play with her parents, aunt, all four grandparents, and great-grandmother - four generations together. She delighted them all and adored being with them, especially with her emphatic shouts of "Come on, guys!"* Taking "Mimi" (the monkey harness) and Morgan for walks to see the koi fish pond and birds (parrots) that she couldn't get enough of.* Spending a wonderful grown-up night out with my husband, where I was treated to a beautiful lei, a surprise dinner, and an amazing sunset. I can't believe that after 9 years of marriage, it gets better every year.* Swimming laps across the bay in the early morning as the sun rose over my shoulder. The water was amazing and it felt so good to swim in the sea.
* Seeing Morgan and Aunt Kimmy's love and bond with one another grow with every moment they were together, whether it was going for walks, singing, dancing, visiting the Buddah statue, or just giving each other a "big hug" and a "big kiss."* Our pot-luck cocktail parties in Kim's room and beach side for the 4th of July.
* Swimming and floating and chatting in the ocean with my dad - like we used to do in Hawaii and Mexico.* Being thankful for the gift of family. Despite health challenges and life's ups and downs, I have an amazing family and am thankful for being with people who love me so unconditionally. * Although sometimes frustrated at the "inconvenience" of having Morgan along, I relished seeing her discover every little thing, all for the very first time. I continue to see life in new ways through her curious, joyful eyes.