This is Halloween

Halloween has been a weekend long event culminating tonight with a lovely festival and trick or treating! Friday night was Trunk or Treat at Eve's school. Initially I thought this might be lame, but it was awesome. The families all come together and make these super cool trunk/van/tent displays and give out candy. The PTO does a haunted house, which did not scare the pants off of her, and we had a super fun evening.

Saturday we went to Turtle Bay and aside from Eve going with a classmate and getting the cute mini pumpkins, I was totally underwhelmed as were the girls. CRH and I enjoyed people watching but it was less than epic.

Today, Eve had a Halloween parade at school and came home with a bag of goodies. I picked her up and took her to a Fall Festival at a local ranch. It was fabulous! They do an entirely free event and it was busy but not so crowded that you couldn't do everything. We ate a lovely dinner, played games, got balloon animals, and had her face painted. They had popcorn, cotton candy, and tons of candy. After the festival, we headed to Waialua and trick or treated along the seashore. AWESOME FUN! At one point, Eve got the song from The Nightmare Before Christmas stuck in her head and was walking around singing " Kidnap the Santy Claws, beat him with a stick". It was a riot.

The people in Waialua went all out and we went through several haunted houses and met up with a friend of hers for a few trick or treating stops. On the way home, we hit one more neighborhood for extra fun and candy. She came home pooped, but we sat on the floor and sorted through all of her loot and ate a good portion!

Happy Halloween!!

Haunted Lagoon

Every year the Polynesian Cultural Center does a Haunted Lagoon ride. We used to live right across the street, but the lines were insanely long and I thought it would terrify Eve. She didn't seem overly interested because the Laie Lady, who is the main feature, scared her in the posters.

This year, she showed incredible interest and pushed and pushed to go. I agreed and bought Fast Passes on PlayHawaii.com. Incidentally, it was worth every penny for those (which was only $5 more than the regular kama'aina rate) because we went right through it with no lines and no wait time. I was happy to have spent the extra $10 as we passed Disney World style lines.

So I need to back it up, Eve worked herself up pretty well on the way over. She started psyching herself out and when we got there it was dark and cloudy. A perfect night for such an event, if you were not 8 and terrified. We went through 2 haunted houses on the way to the canoe and she clung tighter and tighter to me. In the super short wait for the canoe, I asked again for like the millionth time if she really wanted to go and she said she did. When I called for reservations and asked about the keiki ride, the lady said they recommend it for ages 5 and under. Clearly, she didn't know Eve Hart.

We get into the canoe and sit rather awkwardly in the middle because I thought she would feel the safest. A couple got on and we moved over slightly, but they rearranged and I resumed our middle spot. She got right into my lap and insisted my arms were wrapped tightly around her and off we went. Bless her heart, I've never seen her more terrified in her whole life. She was literally shaking, but to her credit she did not hide her face in me or anything. It was kinda spooky and very well done. Lots of action, lots of people jumping out of the lagoon at the boat, a ton of creepy kids (think The Ring), and great atmosphere to make it spooky. She watched it all and even noted some of the things (smoke bubbles) that she liked in the end. Her most favorite part being the end. She raced off that boat with speed I've never seen from her.


It was a fun kick off to the holiday (for me), but she has confirmed that she would NOT like to do it next year. We have some fun events planned the weekend before Halloween that revolve around costumes, candy, and bounce houses...no more haunted houses!

September Awesomeness

This has been a fabulous month so far! After I returned from Kauai, 2 days later Becky and Bronwen arrived! Bronwen is here to stay and promptly moved into the guest room here at the Hart B&B. We're actually less breakfast and more cocktail hour, but whatever. We've had a blast the last week and a half. We spent crazy amounts of time at the beach, like full days! We did Waimea Bay, Papailoa with baby sea turtles, hiked Diamond Head, rented stand up paddleboards, did a dolphin cruise, drove the other side of the island (Waianae), CRH took them snorkeling one day, saw a mama and baby monk seal, and drank enough wine to float a Navy ship. It was a MUCH needed, super fun, jam packed good time.

Today, we took Eve to the new Disney Aulani resort near Ko'olina. It is impressive! I feel badly that she's made it to 8 years old and has never been to Disney, so I appreciate Disney bringing a piece here to the island. They are stupid expensive with their room rates, so we won't be staying there but we can totally afford the character breakfast and walking around the grounds (free...lol). It was a blast and Eve got to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Stitch.

Kauai Weekend

I have been dying to go to Kauai for the longest time. We've talked about, but it's just never happened. A friend of mine was taking his son racing this weekend for the State Motorcross race and invited me along. I am thrilled that I went because it was a fabulous time.

We flew in Friday night and ate dinner and went to bed. They got an early start to the track on Saturday and I laid by the pool literally all day reading my book. O-M-G...it was pure bliss. We started happy hour around lunch time and it was just a day of relaxation.

Sunday was race day and my prissy self spent the day in the dirt at the track. While I was definitely out of my element, it was very fun and Jesse took 3rd place overall. It was a great day followed by a lovely dinner and a party at the track to give out trophies and such.

Today was an epic vacation day! We got up, had breakfast, and lounged by the pool some more. I'm always at the beach here, but for whatever reason the pool was calling me this weekend. After pool time, we took a helicopter tour over Kauai before flying back to Oahu tonight. Robby and Jesse had never been on a helicopter before and it was a gorgeous day to go around the island.

We started in Lihue and flew up the coast into Waimea Canyon.

We were able to see Niihau, which is a private island right off of Kauai that only Native Hawaiians and the guys that own the island can live on. Visitation is limited. There's some trippy stuff going on with that, but we'll save that for another day. From here, we flew over Manawaiopuna Falls (aka Jurassic Falls because they filmed a scene from Jurassic Park here).

Then we hit the Na Pali Coast. This is a stretch of coast that is amazingly beautiful and only accessible by boat, air, or foot. It's an 11 mile hike in from the parking lot if you are so inclined, so 22 miles round trip. I'm thinking this may be above my hiking range abilities, but I bet it's awesome!!

As we flew along the coast, we veered over into Waialeale Crater. This place was chocked full of waterfalls. I mean I've never seen so many at once! It was amazing. I didn't take many pictures because we were flying super close to them and because it was rainy, but wow. After this, we flew over Ha'ena Beach, Hanalei Bay, and by Princeville.

Then we headed back to Lihue with a view of the Sleeping Giant. Awesome trip!

Another Weekend for the Books!

We've gone and had ourselves another fabulous weekend! :) Seriously, this weekend rocked. We woke up yesterday morning and hiked almost all of Kealia Trail. It's a kick ass hike that goes up the side of the mountain behind Mokuleia and overlooks Dillingham airfield, until you get to the top and then it looks over Makua Valley. Apparently if you go to the end, you can see down into the Waianae side but Eve wasn't digging any more hills and the people that went before us seemed a little underwhelmed by it.

After this fabulous hike, we came home to shower and hit a wine shop in Aiea that we had a Group on for...yay Group ons! On the way home we decided to go watch sunset and this was our reward...ahhhhh.

Today I had to write a term paper, so I stayed home to work on that while CRH and our friend, Wendle, took Eve paddle boarding. I was super jealous because I love SUP and it was super pretty outside, but they kindly came home around lunch and grabbed me after I'd whipped that paper out. We paddled out to the end of the river, where they had gone before. For whatever reason today, I had a rough start. I think the wind was high and the current strong and my confidence low because I fell off pretty quickly trying to turn around and get the kid. Anyway, it was awesome once I got over myself and we had a great time! We saw turtles and CRH may or may not have accidentally run into one...perhaps. It was Wendle's first time and he loved it.

As we were coming in, Eve paddled she and I some back into the shore and then she decided she wanted to go back out. CRH hopped on and took her out and lo and behold, she decided she wanted to stand up! I was sooooo proud of her! She did it a few times with him on the board and then she took off on her own and paddled herself in at the end. That kid never ceases to amaze me!

We headed over to Turtle Bay to check on the now 10 day old baby monk seal and to watch sunset. It was a perfect end to a perfect weekend. The baby was pretty active today and we had fun watching it swim and snuggle with its mama! If you can believe it, it was also Wendle's first seal sighting and yes, he's from here. I'm glad he's checking things off his bucket list before he leaves for Seattle this month!

Grandmamas, Mamas, and Babies

Last week was THE reunion! My Mama brought my baby home!!! It was not a moment too soon! Actually, it was a day late thanks to United...but this is a happy post. I'll rail on them later. CRH and I met them at the airport with leis (and wine for my mom). It was a long tedious travel process!

The same day they arrived, a mama monk seal had a baby in the same spot where she had one last summer. It immediately became part of our to-do list. We didn't do a whole lot except sit around on the beach, drink wine, and laugh as she had requested to do this trip. It seems I showed her the entire island last time and she just wanted to relax this trip. I've heard I'm a bit of a travel Nazi.

The first night here, we caught sunset at Monument. The next day we had a lovely beach day there. We sat on my favorite beach the following day and watched the turtles. That was an awesome day! I triple love this picture of them.

We visited the monk seals and walked the grounds of Turtle Bay. There is a place there that CRH and I have determined will be Eve's wedding spot, so I showed that to my Mama as well. I love this picture of them too. I took it with my phone, but it's surely to be a sentimental one. Check back in 25 years for the follow up one of them standing in that doorway.

My Mama was also here for Eve's 1st day of 3rd grade. What a special day that was to take her with us to Eve's school. I left Eve in her classroom and walked outside to my Mama standing there and spontaneously burst into tears. I actually cry every year and it's lessened over the years, but this year with her here it was so just cool. She left on Tuesday to many tears from Eve Hart. Eve said this was the best summer EVER and she didn't want it to end.

I loved every second of her visit and now it's back to the grind. We are doing a new hike tomorrow, so stay tuned for more pictures.

Living Like We're on Vacation

CRH and I had this philosophy working when we first moved here. We acted like every day that we were off was a vacation day and then life happened and well, it became a little less so. We are renewing that though and working hard to enjoy the island and be more active.

That being said, I spent 8 glorious hours on the beach yesterday doing absolutely nothing but sunning, eating, and drinking Coronas with my friend Greg and his gf, Rie. It was pure bliss.

Today was far more productive in the active department! CRH, Wendle, and I started the day with a farmer's market breakfast (yum!) and went to hike Sacred Falls. I love that place, but the chain link fence put up to keep people out vexes me. I've found a lovely path around it though and now I can just stroll on in. It's a pretty good hike (about an hour in) and then we hit this beauty.

After finishing the hike, we grabbed some Killer Taco burritos, beer, and hit the beach in Waialua. It was a fabulous end to an amazing Sunday and a great weekend. I feel very fortunate to have the fun friends in our lives that we have! And I'm pleased to report that Eve Hart will be returning to the island in 17 days because we are MISSING her!!

Mariner's Ridge Hike

Since going vegetarian (or more accurately, Pescetarian), I had expected the 12 lbs I gained last Fall/Winter to just fall off. They have not, so I'm trying to increase my physical activity level. I've become pretty sedentary lately and have not been enjoying all the beautiful hikes and stuff we were doing when we first moved here and were exploring the island. I hate to exercise, but I love walking on the beach, snorkeling, and hiking. You just can't call it exercise.

Yesterday, I went on a gorgeous hike with my friend Greg and his gf, Rie. I had texted him on Friday after pouring myself into a pair of jeans that used to fit quite nicely and told him I thought I needed to amp up the activity. He suggested we hike this hike and it was fabulous. It totally kicked my ass and I almost had a heart attack, but the views from the top were worth every second of pain.

From the top of the mountain, you can see the entire Windward Coast all the way up to Ka'a'awa and Chinaman's Hat.

On the other side, you can see Kokohead Crater and Hawaii Kai.

CRH hiked Kokohead last week with a friend. I can't do that one...it's all steps and no shade...blech. The views looked amazing too. We tried to do it last year on Mother's Day and I only made it about halfway up before bailing.

Eve's Birthday and a Fun Trip Home

We all (minus Eve) just came back from a super fun trip to NC. Eve is remaining there until the end of her summer break. She is hanging out with my parents and family and having a blast! She's camping with Nanna and her cousins one week and making the visiting rounds.

We didn't make the rounds so much this time, but thankfully friends and family made the trek to see us in Greensboro. It was so much fun seeing everyone. It was so not overly fun getting rid of the storage pod, but I'm thankful it's done and we're not spending so much money a month to store things that we don't want any longer. I discovered I was a hoarder in my former life. I kept opening boxes going and asking myself "WTF?". The real kicker was when my friends found the Santa toilet paper. Clearly, I'd gone over the edge at some point.

Our first weekend home we had a super fun birthday party for Eve. Sadly, CRH was in Vegas for his store manager's annual conference, but we managed to celebrate big in his absence. My parents and I took Eve to Myrtle Beach to my grandparents' condo for her actual birthday and she had a blast swimming in the pool and collecting seashells. We lack shells here except for just a few on very select beaches. The final weekend of our stay, in addition to cleaning out the pod, we celebrated Sam and Amy's upcoming baby with a baby shower. I was so thankful to be home for one of those and can't wait til the fall when Haisley arrives and I get to go back home to meet her!

Also, I want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to all of our friends and family that helped clean out the storage pod. You guys are awesome!!!

Fun Times in HI Before NC

Eve and I decided to take today to go to our local water park. She had a summer pass last year and begged us to go, but we never did. She went several times with a friend and with her Summer Fun program though and loved it. I decided that today was her day for us to go. I'm actually really gearing up to miss her this summer, so I'm pretty much doing whatever she wants right now.

We got there and rode a few rides and ate lunch and then it started raining. Eve was initially operating under the 'we're already wet' premise, but then went with the 'I want to sit under a tree and wait for it to pass' premise. I didn't love the later option, but when she decides that's what she's doing, that's it. I have NO idea where she gets that (must be her Dad). :) After the rain passed rather quickly, we rode some more rides and I actually convinced her to get on a really big slide with a huge inner tube and she LOVED it. We had an awesome day hanging out.

She finished the 2nd grade with fabulous progress and since CRH will be in Vegas for work over her birthday, we decided to take her out to dinner tonight to celebrate these things and give her birthday presents to her from us. We ate a fantastic dinner at Leonardo's at Turtle Bay and walked around just after sunset on the grounds. It was a fantastic end to a fantastic day! She and CRH leave tomorrow night and I leave the following night for NC.


Aloha for now...