a really awesome girls' night

Saturday I think I had probably one of the best girls' night (which actually started in the afternoon) ever. Ever. Our good friend Jayme orchestrated a lovely afternoon of shopping, hiking, and dinner. And seriously, it was on my calendar for 2 weeks, and I would get giddy every time I caught a glance of the words, "Girls' Night." 

Rachelle and I drove together to Jayme's side of da island. (Our last girls' night was in Waikiki, Rachelle's hood.) Once we got to my most favorite town, Kailua, we headed to my most favorite store, Muumuu Heaven. Every single time I go there I want to buy ALL THE THINGS. Of course I tried on dresses that I knew I wouldn't buy, but that's the fun of it! Although Rachelle did end up with a beautiful purple dress that just looked ah-mazing on her. But really, what doesn't? And Jayme scored some beautiful earrings. I put a bracelet on my wrist and took it off about 50 times, before deciding that $89 for a bracelet, no matter how it cool it was, was not in my budget at the moment.  Maybe next month. ;)

^^The beautiful Muumuu Heaven, filled with all things vintage.^^

I got a text from Rob keeping me updated on what him and Christian were up to. He had taken CRM to Kahala Elementary School to play! I got this photo with the caption, "baby jail." 

After Muumuu Heaven we headed to hike Lanikai Pillboxes. Whenever we go to Lanikai Beach, I always see people up at the pillboxes (which were used in WWII). I could only imagine how beautiful the views were from up there. The hike was quick (about 20-30 minutes) and the elevation gain was fairly steep, in my humble opinion. There were ropes available for the steeper parts, but we laughed in the ropes' faces and bypassed them. :) Even five minutes into the hike the views were just breathtaking. By sunset, it looked fake. I mean that. It was like a painting. God really smiles on Hawaii. :) 

^^Me, Jayme, and Rachelle^^

^^Looking away from the beach, views of Kailua.^^

^^A beautiful view of the Mokulua Islands.^^

^^This was inside the 1st pillbox. There is another one you can hike to.^^

Jayme knows everything about flowers, plants, and all things horticulture. So when we passed this lovely flower, she told us a bit about it. So fascinating! It's called a Carrion Flower... or a Starfish Flower. And it looks like it may smell delicious and tropical... but, it actually smells like rotting meat to attract pollinators!! Lovely, right? 

^^Kailua at sunset. It was more breathtaking in person, if you can believe that.^^

After our hike, we changed into our Muumuu Heaven dresses for dinner at Haleiwa Joe's. We clean up well. ;) They don't take reservations and there was an hour wait! Yikes! But no fear, we found a table at the bar where we ordered pupus before our table was ready. Our table had the best view of their beautiful garden, but it was a bit dark by that point. The food (and wine) were delicious, but the company was the best!! We talked about everything, and of course our kiddos! It's reassuring to compare notes, and we all have boys born within months of each other. And Jayme offers the "two kid" perspective, which is also reassuring, because sometimes I can be a little neurotic. It's nice to know that you're much more relaxed with the second! And that I'm not alone in the ups and downs of motherhood!!

And what yummy dinner isn't complete without yummy dessert(s)?! 

Behold, the Paradise Pie. This was actually Kona Coffee ice cream topped with 10lbs of whipped cream and hot chocolate sauce. (Not pictured: the Key Lime Pie we also shared.) Both were delicious. 

After that we called it a night and planned our next girls' night. Kona Brewing Co., perhaps? And I'm trying not to think about it because it makes me extremely sad, but Rachelle and her beautiful family are returning to their home in Colorado in March. I can't even imagine my life without her here!! I need to stop before I cry.

Cheers to a perfect evening! And until next time... :) 

i'm still here!

Hello!

We're still here and doing well! I've been unwinding since Mom left, and since we kept her sooooo busy, we're sorta coming down from all that action. But I think she had a blast, and we certainly had a fantastic time showing her more of the island (and the Big Island) this time around.

So... what's new around here? Nothing much really. We're getting very excited for Rob's sister and our nieces to come into town. Now that Christian is walking, I don't even want to try and think of what trouble him and Violet are going to get into!! They are two peas in a pod, I fear. Lilley will have to referee. :) But it's going to be a blast and we are SO excited to see them!

Also, my good friend Suzi from LA is coming in for a visit around the same time! Suzi lived a block away from us when we lived in Playa Del Rey. We'd go to Bikram yoga together, the gym together, take Pop Physique classes together too. We ran the Rock-n-Roll LA half-marathon together. And on days we weren't working out in some capacity, we'd ride beach cruisers up and down The Strand... I miss Suzi!! So I'm stoked she's coming into town to run the Great Aloha Run with me! Well... I'll probably be crawling in her dust, because I have not been training properly and am way behind on what I should be running right now. Regardless, it'll be fun, and I love that girl!

Other than that... just the normal! Christian is a pistol! We go to a weekly MyGym class where he jumps on the trampoline, plays in the ball pit, has circle time where we sing songs, and all kinds of fun stuff like that. And I never really realized, but he his bigger than kids his age, and the same size as most of the at least 20-month olds. He keeps "bopping" kids on the head though, so we're working on that. Ugh. But he has a BLAST! His favorite thing to do by far, is jumping on the trampoline. He is so social, and is a HUGGER. He loves to hug, especially people his size. There was one girl at the class who was also a hugger... guess what they did the whole time? Hugged. It was really cute. He is so sweet, and even though I am utterly exhausted by the end of the day, we have so much fun! Love that little stinker!

I'd like to post soon in more detail the things we all did while Mom was in town. So many fun things to write about! Hopefully this weekend I will find the motivation to do that... and write thank-you cards.

Here are some photos from our week!

^^^Who needs elephants in the elephant exhibit WHEN YOU CAN HAVE A SKID STEER???? The obvious highlight of his trip to the zoo on Monday.^^^

^^^Can you find Christian?? The orange shirt in the turtle tub. This is the "let them play by themselves" time. Christian is like, "Mom who?"^^^

^^^Christian playing in the dirt while the chimps loung up on the hill. They were pretty low key this morning.^^^

^^^Hiking Mariner's Ridge in Hawaii Kai. Much more challenging than I thought it would be... but the views were worth it!^^^

^^^Views from Mariner's Ridge of Waimanalo.^^^ 

off to Hilo we go!

With my mom in town we have been busy busy busy!! And today we get busier! We leave on an afternoon flight to the Big Island. After a brief mix-up we are now staying at a B&B located in the little town of Volcano practically in the Hawai'iVolcanoes National Park. (Thanks Rachelle for the recommendation!!) Tonight I want to drive down to Chain of Craters Road to view the lava falling into the ocean. (If it is.) I hope we can make it after checking into our place and then driving another hour to get there! I hear they let the last car in at 8pm.

So far we've all battled the stomach bug. Christian first, then me, Rob had it in Osaka, Mom got it Saturday night. Yes, we've all (except Rob) had the flu shot. But I don't think this was the actual flu. Maybe it is a good thing we're separating the group. Air the house out a bit.

Yesterday we had Christian dedicated in the church. I am so grateful to our friends Jayme and Joel (and Iz and Joey) for coming to witness. I really can't tell you how much it means to me and how much they mean to us. Rob's parents were there to be a part as well. But unfortunately, Mom couldn't make it because of the above mentioned stomach ickiness.

So far this week we've done almost everything I wanted to take Mom to do. 

We've gone shopping in Kailua... twice! 

Eaten fancy cupcakes from Cake Couture almost daily. 

Gone to the Waikiki Aquarium, where we got to see them feed the Hawaiian Monk Seals. 

Driven around the island a bit, including to see the Halona Blowhole and Makapu'u Lookout. 

Shopped at the gigantic swap meet at Aloha Stadium. 

Eaten shave ice. 

Gone yard sailing!! (Yes, believe it.)

Checked out one of the local farmer's market where we ate crepes and watched an old lady hula dance.

A few lazy beach days. 

And today through Wednesday we'll be exploring the Big Island. 

Have a wonderful week!! 

aloha friday!

My mom will be here in TWO DAYS!! We are so excited! I've been wracking my brain trying to think of some fun things to take her to see and do during her almost two-week stay. The last time she was here, Christian was just a few weeks old, and well... I wasn't much fun. So, this time, I really want to show her what Oahu has to offer.

We'll definitely head to the North Shore in hopes of see some HUGE waves, which is common for this time of year. Right now the surf report is showing "only" at 8-12ft high. Which really isn't much in terms of "big waves." This time of year they hold The Eddie, a big wave surf contest held at Waimea Bay in memory of Eddie Aikau. However, the competition will only happen if a swell coming in is predicted to produce 20-25ft waves consistently. Can you even imagine surfing that? I highly recommend reading about this guy. All over Hawaii you'll see bumper stickers saying, "Eddie Would Go." If you know his story, you'll get what it means.

I would like to take her to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. I've never been either, but I hear it's pretty cool and that you can find lots of stuff much cheaper than you'd be able to find in Waikiki. Seems kinda obvious. But with over 700 local vendors, there has to be some pretty cool things.

I'm going to convince her to "hike" Makapu'u to see the lighthouse, and the ridiculously gorgeous views. I'm hoping we'll catch a glimpse of some humpback whales since I have already seen a few this year.

Something else I've also never done, is been to the Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe. Those that watched the TV show, Lost, might recognize it. It was Sun's father's home (from season one). It looks beautiful, and is a smaller scale replica of the 950 year old Byodo-in Temple located in Japan. And you know how much Rob and I love everything Japan.

Eventually we'll head to the Big Island for a night. I'm excited to show her the active volcano, and do some star gazing at Mauna Kea. It'll also be my first night ever away from Christian. I think I can I think I can.

Of course we'll go to Waikiki, the Honolulu Zoo, the Waikiki Aquarium, International Marketplace, hopefully hike Diamond Head for more gorgeous views of Waikiki... oh yeah, and the beach. Weather permitting! Because as seen in the photo above, it's been a bit rainy the past few days. And by a bit rainy, I mean, horizontal rain for hours and hours and hours... So I'm praying it clears up and we get a lot of sunny days. And can you believe that the last time she was here, she didn't see ONE rainbow??!! That's crazy. Just this morning I saw one right outside my window. So hopefully if it does rain off and on, we'll see lots of rainbows.

Have a wonderful weekend! Aloha!