***NOW WITH PITCTURES****Update w/o pictures...for now :)

Aloha!!!!  I can't believe we've been here a week already!  We've done so much and the weather has been PERFECT!!!!  (knock on wood!!)

Saturday, we went ziplining.  Sooooo much fun!!!!!  I loved it!!  I think I could zip all day long!  We went to Princeville Ranch Adventures.  There was 8 ziplines.  We started off on small lines and made it to 600 feet across zip over the valley.  I wish they were longer.  Just when you get a good view of what you want to see you are already at the other end.  I think it's the closest thing to flying you'll ever get to ;)  We took video too as well as self portraits while zipping....pics to come later ;)  Sorry, we haven't downloaded pictures yet.  After 7 lines we stopped at a waterhole to cliff jump into the *refreshing* water....70 degrees!!!!  They also had a suspension bridge to cross over.  The goal was to walk 8 steps with out holding onto the rope.  Mr. E and I made it about 12 steps before it was too wobbly for us ;)  As you can tell I really enjoyed it, however, Mr. E preferred the ATV since he thought there was too much downtime on ziplining since you have to wait for the rest of your group to zip before moving on.  He has no patience :)

Sunday, my parents went tubing at Kauai Backcounty.  Mr. E and decided since they have been such great babysitters of Little Lion that they should have a day to themselves.  I spent the day laying out on the deck over looking the ocean and bali hai and drinking pina coladas ;)  Grandma and Pop enjoyed the tubing of the sugarcane tunnels.  They thought it was the perfect adventure for the nonadventurers.....ie slow!  So basically the young kids and old folks would love it.

Today we headed to the south shore of Poipu and Sprouting Horn.  Sprouting Horn was neat to see the waves causing the sprout out through the rocks.  Little Lion enjoyed it because there was a little area to chase the chickens ;)  For lunch we ate at Puka Dogs.  You get your choice of relishes for your polish sausage.  I had pineapple.  Mr. E had mango.  Two thumbs up ;)  The beach at Poipu was a 4 star beach.  However, it had a great area for kids with lots of minnow to chase.  Little Lion enjoyed it and actually was getting brave enough to walk around in the water at the shore.  The next lagoon area was for snorkeling, but it was very rocky/corally!!!  But the fish were AMAZING!!!!  Just a few feet from shore you could see Angel fish, brightly colored Wresse, and an even an eel which was my cue to go in ;)  

Not sure what's on the agenda tomorrow.  I do know that we are going to go for a helicopter ride and check out Waimea Canyon "the Grand Canyon of the Pacific".

Kauai Trip update ;)

Whew!  What a week so far!!  We've done so much and enjoyed the interesting weather here.  It is crazy.  Over the mountains it looks like it is always raining, so you think it's going to move over to the beach area.....NOPE....it stays over the mountains most of the time while sunny over on the beach side.  However, when it does rain, it rains for a short time and then a beautiful rainbow appears!  We've had great rainbows outside our condo.  What a sight to behold, surfers and rainbows all while sipping a cocktail on the deck!  Heaven!!!!

We've hit a few beaches.  Our condo is on a cliff overlooking Hideaways beach.  It's a small beach with great snorkeling.  The downside is that walk down is STEEP!  

We also went to Hanalei Bay which has a spectacular view of Bali Hai.  The waves were great to jump.  Leo enjoyed jumping them with Pop Pop until a HUGE wave came and went right over both of their heads!!!  That was the end of the ocean for him.  

Today we went to Lyndgate Park.  This is a state park that is suited for keikeis (kids).  It has 2 coves that are filled with fish that are very friendly.  One has very little waves and the other is for beginning snorkelers.  Leo was much happier in the waveless ocean ;)  Sorry we haven't downloaded those pics yet :(

Mr. E and I also did an ATV tour at Kipu Ranch.  After a safety lesson where we learned how to roll or not to roll off the thing, we were on our way.  WOW was the land beautiful!!!!  Mr. E and I both drove our own ATV.  It was a much harder trail than I would have thought.  Plus it had rained earlier in the day.   Our first stop was where Jurassic Park was filmed.  

Our next stop was where Indiana Jones was filmed.  It was the rope swing into the river.  Mr. E was brave enough to jump in.  I, however, wanted to, but a lady went first and fell in!!!!!!  So I was a little stand offish.  Here is Mr. E as Indiana Jones which he now wants me to call him. LOL

You're thinking wow everything is going well....no troubles....no worries. Well, I was following an ATV down the hill and he braked and I was going down and didn't want to run into him.  So instead I *almost* ran into the tree.  Mr. E insisted taking a picture!  I was also stuck and had to have him push me out.  The guides came to see if I was ok and Mr. E told them I HIT the tree!!!  As you can see I did not!  Remember that safety lesson :)  LOL  When we did finish the guide was checking over my ATV looking for damage (that we'd have to pay for) since I hit the tree!  He didn't realize Mr. E was joking!!!!!

We ended our tour with a lookout from the top of the mountain!  Breathtaking!!

Well we're off to eat dinner and watch the sunset......ziplining tomorrow :)  ALOHA!!!

ALOHA!!!! From the Northside of Kauai!

We're here!!!  Thought I'd post a quick hello :)  So far it has been great!!  The first class plane ride was wonderful.  It's amazing to get decent food, your own tv, free mai tais, and comfy seats!  Little Lion was very good on the flight and didn't have any major breakdowns until we were waiting for our luggage.  But it was 1am Florida time...wayyyyyyyyy past his bedtime.  

Our condo is just as we expected.  We don't have air, so it was HOT inside.  We through on the fans and by 1am Hawaii time, I was freezing ;)  Today is better inside since the air has been circulating.  The view is amazing!!!!  Bali Hai to one side and Pacific all around.  We are on a cliff so the walk down to the beach is a trek!  You have to hold onto the railing as well as a rope.  However, once you get there it is worth it!  It isn't called Hideaway Beach for nothing ;)  

Today we went to Costco and Foodlion to get food/drinks.  We also hit up the Hanalei farmers market for fresh bananas, pineapple, and starfruit. And now drinks on the deck.  Here's my first pic :)  Sorry it's via the computer.

Hawaii Bound Tomorrow!!

Wooooo Whoooo!!  It's finally here!  We are leaving tomorrow!!  My posts will probably be sparse since I'll be drinking lots of mai tais on the beach.  But don't worry, I'll of course post pictures and a trip report on Kauai when we get home!  

ALOHA!!!!!!!

Flying High

One of my Stay-at-Home Mom friends is celebrating her birthday tomorrow.  I being the selfish person that I can be at times (ok Hawaii was on my mind), totally didn't realize that her birthday is tomorrow.   We were at our favorite store today.....Target....when she mentioned that tomorrow was the big day.  UGH!  Ok to cut myself some slack, we first met a few weeks prior to her birthday last year, and  I couldn't believe that a whole year had passed already!!!!  Boy time does fly by!!!  

So I had to do something fabulous :)  What can I do that is easy and thoughtful???  Well Mr. E really enjoyed his icake.  Let's see if I can think of something fun to make for her.  I googled and found a balloon cupcake *cake*.  Here is the picture I found.

I thought...hmmmmm... I can do that.  My inner Martha Stewart came out!  I made some cupcakes.  I used white frosting with different food coloring to frost the cupcakes.  The directions on the website said to tape the ribbon to the bottom of the cupcake.  Yeah Right!!  It didn't stick.  Good think I am a former teacher!  I pulled out my trusty hot glue gun and glued them to the bottom of the wrapper.  Here is my final product!  

HAPPY 31ST BIRTHDAY C!!!!!!!!

UGH...Weather!

The internet can be a great thing.  However, it also can make you crazy!  I have been checking the weather for our Hawaii trip everyday for the past couple days since they show the 10 day forecast.  Well what I've learned is that different weather websites give way different forecasts.  I've also learned that the tiny island of Hawaii has different weather in areas as close as 30 miles.  Let me give you an example.

Weather.com for Princeville, HI     VS. Wunderground.com for Princeville

Monday....90 degrees 30% chance of rain VS. 87 degrees 70% chance of rain  

That's a big difference in rain chances!!

Tuesday...89 degrees 30% chance of rain VS. 87 degrees 20% chance of rain

Whew a little better :)  

Weather.com for Lihue, HI               VS. Wunderground.com for Lihue, HI

Monday...83 degrees 30% chance of rain VS. 87 degrees 70% chance of rain

OK wunderground seems accurate for the 30 mile distance btwn cities. But 7 degrees difference with weather.com btwn cities seems a lot to me!

Tuesday...83 degrees 30% chance of rain VS. 87 degrees 20% chance of rain

Same as before...

OK so which do you think is more accurate???  Or should I assume that the weather will be hot and may or may not rain....LOL!  I think I'll look at the one with the best weather.  What can I say, I want beautiful sun shiney weather!!!!!  

My future Daughter-in-Law :)

One of my great college friends and her family came to visit this week from NY!  She has an adorable 1 year old daughter O ;)  O is a doll and has been VERY interested in Little Lion!  Little Lion is an active boy which provides lots of entertainment for O.  Today we went to SeaWorld.  The kids had fun looking at the polar bears, beluga whales, walrus, and most importantly the ducks and squirrels who are rather friendly.  One squirrel tried very hard to get into our pictures or should I say get into LL's stroller since he was eating a sandwich.  I had to keep shooshing him away.  If you look at my friend's family picture, O was looking at the squirrel :)  

We didn't get through the whole park since we have to work around nap schedules, but plan to head back later this week.  

HAWAII UPDATE...............ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hawaii and Alone!

YIPPEEEEEE!!!!!!!  2 WEEKS TODAY UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR HAWAII!!!!!!!!!  I am sooo excited!!!  This is our beach that the condo is located on;o)  Anyone want to come in our suitcase??? 

Since we are leaving soon, and we have friends visiting next week, I had to get some shopping done.  We needed travel items and some new clothes and shoes.  The problem with this is that shopping with a toddler is not so fun!  Mr.E had this brain idea to let me go shopping ALONE while he took care of LL yesterday.  Mr. E tells me that I need a day to myself....You're awwwwwing right now.  What a sweet guy! ....But his ulterior motive was to watch football while LL naps.  Yes I know he's a typical guy, but I'm grateful.  So off I go.

My first stop is Marshalls.  I scored a few terrific deals here!!!  I bought myself a pair of Lucky capris for.............$3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And a pair of Nautica shorts for...........$5!!!!!  My next item I bought cost a little more.....$10......, but was a NECESSITY!!! 

Little lion has become obsessed with a blue pair of Carters shoes with yellow straps.  He only will wear these shoes.  I think he likes them because he can put them on himself.  Doesn't he know that mommy is a fashionista and blue shoes don't go with every outfit???  Don't get me wrong they are cute, but boy they STINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  For someone so small, he sure has big odor!!  I have to throw these shoes in the wash every week! So I had to find something similar that LL will be able to put on himself and have more breathing room.  I ended up buying him a pair of Pirate of the Caribbean Red Crocs.  I also bought a pair of plain blue Crocs too for Hawaii....he won't know the difference....hopefully. I also bought him a pair of black Reef sandals (75% off..$5.50)  So we have Red, Blue, and Black shoes ;) Here is Little Lions showing off his new Crocs. Notice how much better he looks since last post.....His back molar made an appearance! Sleep is better now;o)

We NEED Sleep and Teeth!!!!!!!!!

We are in teething/cold H3LL!!!  Little Lion is getting his left 1 year old molars....yes he is behind since he just turned 20 months yesterday.  And yes he is weird since he's had his right molars for a couple months now.  When LL teeths, sleep ends for everyone until they break through!  He is very crabby and sensitive.  LL's nose is a faucet and his eyes are watery.  Even keeping tylenol in his system, he isn't happy.  Let me share his sleep schedule for the past couple days.

Tuesday Night

9:00 bedtime...an hour to get him to sleep ( I should have seen the writing on the wall)

1:00 woke up screaming

1:00-4:00 screaming and not happy with anything...Mr. E finally gave him a bath at 3:30

4:00-6:00 peaceful sleep ( oh wait the cat puked and woke me up to clean)

6:00 LL was up and ready to go....Mommy was NOT!!!

Wednesday

NO NAP!!!  He usually naps for 3 hours which means no nap for me either ;(

Wednesday Night

8:00 bedtime (wooo whooo I get to watch Bones with Mr. E ALONE)

9:00 woke up screaming ( no Bones for me)

9:00-11:00 up and ready to go....that was his nap earlier.

11:00-4:30  peaceful sleep

4:30-5:15 screaming in crib....neither Mommy or Daddy wanted to get up for the day

5:15-7:30 watch cartoons, eat breakfast (Dora is a life saver!!!)  

7:30 both LL and I crash 

12:30 Thursday afternoon LL finally wakes up for the day.

Thursday

No Nap since he slept all morning!

Here's to wishing us luck tonight with sleep!  And to honor the occasion a 20 month picture of a very sleepy boy with bags under his eyes....good thing you don't get to see mine!!!  Yes he is playing in the bathtub...how do you think I get to take a shower???