This weekend turned out much better than we had planned. On Friday we left for Portland to meet up with Michael's dad. We had looked at the weather forecast for Yachats, OR and it said rain, t-storms, etc for the whole weekend. So we planned for a wet time there. On Saturday morning we drove down to Eugene to drop off his dad's car at the airport. Michael's mom was flying in there from CA and she drove the car to meet us at the beach. After we dropped off the car we headed to Newport. When we got there we were shocked. The weather was so nice!!!! It was in the 60's and barely windy. We got some lunch at our favorite fresh fish stand and then it was on to the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. Arianna and Ethan had a blast. Ethan loved just running around. When we first got there he went up to the fence and looked at the ocean and said "Oh, Wow!" It was so cute. Then he ran around just laughing and yelling and having fun. Arianna convinced Michael to walk up the Lighthouse with her. It was her first time doing that. It was 111 steps up and she got buttons saying that she made it to the top. Michael's dad and I kept Ethan busy running around while we waited for Arianna and Michael. He practiced his steps up and down. After they finished with the lighthouse we walked down to the beach. Unfortunately the tide was coming in so we couldn't really look at the tidal pools, but there were the seals and there was also a mom seal nursing her baby. Very cute. Ethan loved it down there. He sat on the rock beach and played in the pebbles. Then it was time to go. From the lighthouse we headed down to Seal Rock and the beach there. We went to that beach last year and it was where the fort was - of course that was gone this year. We had some buckets and shovels for the kids to play with. Ethan had a blast in the sand. Arianna headed directly to the water to go wading. The water was sooo cold. I guess I was spoiled in Hawaii and all the warm water. Anyways Arianna had a blast. Michael's mom met us there at the beach and waded in the water with Arianna. Arianna then tripped as a wave came in the she got all wet but she loved it. While we were there a group of around 15 pelicans came flying by. We normally see a group of 4 or 5, but this group was huge! The weather started turning cooler and some clouds were coming in so we decided to head down and check into the hotel.
The hotel we stayed at is the Overleaf Lodge. We love this place. It sits on the waters edge above all of these rocks that you can climb down on and look around. When the tide is out there are tidal pools, rocks covered in mussels and starfish, crabs, etc. It is fun to climb around and see what is there.
The next day we walked around the rocks in the morning and then headed out to the aquarium. After the aquarium we went to Newports bayfront to walk around and have some lunch. After lunch we decided to take a boat out to see if we could see any whales. Arianna had a blast on the boat. She even got to drive the boat, throw out some crab pots, catch some plankton, etc. The captain even let Ethan drive the boat. Ethan was a little bit of a terror on the boat. He would not sit at all and was constantly walking around. We didn't see any whales, but we saw some sea lions and harbor porpoise. Arianna helped pull up the crab pots. There were some crabs in there as well as a star fish. After the boat ride we went back to the hotel to relax for a while. Michael's parents went out by themselves and we had some dinner and came back to get the kids to bed. Again the weather was wonderful!! We were sooo lucky to have such nice weather.
Monday after lunch we headed back to home :( We were all very sad. We love the beach so much. Arianna kept asking why we couldn't live there. We told her we wish we could.
We will now have another busy couple of weeks. Michael is going to have his friends come up to help finish the sprinkler system, then we have dinner with Jenny, Bryan, Gabe, and her family on Saturday. Then Arianna has Pre-K graduation on the 13th. She has her performance for dance/gymnastics on the 20th, and Michael's parents come up that weekend because his dad has a conference. Then the following Friday we leave to go home to Montana to meet up with my family for the week.
We will post some pictures soon of our weekend!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Busy Hot Weekend
This weekend was very busy for us. Michael had a huge project planned. Installing a sprinkler system in our front and back yards. He had 5 guys come from work and they worked all day in the 90 degree hit digging trenches through rocks and roots, etc. They got everything dug except one smaller run on the side of the house and all the pipes laid, etc. They got the front yard covered back up and I replanted my flowers this morning. This afternoon we have to cover the pipes in the back yard and replace the grass then that will be done. Then all that is left is the small run on the side and then Michael getting the manifold designed and set up and we should be good to go. Ohh and we have rake up the rocks that are in the yard after everything is done.
The other thing that I did on Saturday, was I was able to go visit Mandy for a little while. She was staying at a nearby hotel so I took Arianna and Ethan and they went swimming with Bryn and Maryn. It was great to see her, but it always goes fast. We need to plan some time where we can get together and visit for a while longer. I keep telling Michael that we need to go visit her in Boise. Mandy's mom is in Ellensburg so they come over to this side to visit her cousin and have some fun. So it makes it nice for us to be able to visit.
Well, we will try and post some pictures of the yard in progress in a little while. It will be nice when it is all done and we do not have to worry about watering the yard and using too much water!! It was a lot of hard work, but much cheaper. We have had several bids over the last few years and most of them were anywhere for $4000 for only the back yard and over $6000 for teh whole thing. Michael spent maybe a quarter of that and that includes the plummer for connecting to mainline and renting a ditchwitch, etc. Still a little expensive, but something Michael has wanted to do forever. Hopefully it will help save on water too.
We are hoping the week pasts quickly so we can head out to the coast on Saturday. We are driving to Portland on Friday and then going to Yachats on Saturday morning and then coming back on Monday. We hope the weather will be good! Arianna wants to fly her kite, have a picnic on the beach like last year, and play in the sand. Oh she also wants to look for whales :)
The other thing that I did on Saturday, was I was able to go visit Mandy for a little while. She was staying at a nearby hotel so I took Arianna and Ethan and they went swimming with Bryn and Maryn. It was great to see her, but it always goes fast. We need to plan some time where we can get together and visit for a while longer. I keep telling Michael that we need to go visit her in Boise. Mandy's mom is in Ellensburg so they come over to this side to visit her cousin and have some fun. So it makes it nice for us to be able to visit.
Well, we will try and post some pictures of the yard in progress in a little while. It will be nice when it is all done and we do not have to worry about watering the yard and using too much water!! It was a lot of hard work, but much cheaper. We have had several bids over the last few years and most of them were anywhere for $4000 for only the back yard and over $6000 for teh whole thing. Michael spent maybe a quarter of that and that includes the plummer for connecting to mainline and renting a ditchwitch, etc. Still a little expensive, but something Michael has wanted to do forever. Hopefully it will help save on water too.
We are hoping the week pasts quickly so we can head out to the coast on Saturday. We are driving to Portland on Friday and then going to Yachats on Saturday morning and then coming back on Monday. We hope the weather will be good! Arianna wants to fly her kite, have a picnic on the beach like last year, and play in the sand. Oh she also wants to look for whales :)
Friday, May 16, 2008
Checking out Kindergarten
Well Arianna had an exciting day yesterday. Her elementary school had a dinner for all incoming Kindergarteners and their families. We all went to the dinner, but Ethan got very fussy so Michael took him home and I stayed with Arianna. She met some friends she already knew and played for a while then they got to visit the classrooms, meet the teachers, go to the library, work on some projects. She wrote her name VERY nicely on some lined paper. Even the principal commented on how nice it was. That made her very proud so she all the teachers, school nurse, etc. Then afterwards she went and played on teh playground for a while and watched some girls playing softball. She wants to do T-ball next year. Luckily she actually knows a few kids that will be attending there. It just depends on if they get in the same class. Right now there are 2 full day classes, 1 AM class and 1 PM class. She is in full day. A boy from her soccer class is in full day, 2 other kids on our street are in full day, and another girl that sometimes attends her parents night out at her school (and is the neighbor of the boy from soccer) is also full day. So hopefully she will be in a class with at least one of these people.
This weekend should be interesting. Michael and about 5 guys from his work are going to attempt to put in a sprinkler system for our yard. We will see how that goes :) It is supposed to be very warm and nice today and this weekend. We are loving it as we were missing the warm weather from Hawaii :).
Next weekend we are going to the beach at Yachats, OR for a few days. Michael's parents are going to go as well. Hopefully the weather will be good!!
Have a great day!
This weekend should be interesting. Michael and about 5 guys from his work are going to attempt to put in a sprinkler system for our yard. We will see how that goes :) It is supposed to be very warm and nice today and this weekend. We are loving it as we were missing the warm weather from Hawaii :).
Next weekend we are going to the beach at Yachats, OR for a few days. Michael's parents are going to go as well. Hopefully the weather will be good!!
Have a great day!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Hawaii Pictures
Here is a website that you can start to view some of our pictures. We still need to upload some more, but this is a start.
Enjoy!
www.wildefamily.net/hawaii
Enjoy!
www.wildefamily.net/hawaii
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
No more EpiPen!
Yesterday Arianna went and had some allergy testing. We wanted to get her checked for Bees, Penicillin, and anything else they thought might be helpful. The little girl was so brave, she had 12 injections for the test for bees and then like 10 pokes for a regular panel that tested for allergies to dust mites, grasses, etc. She showed up negative to everything. That means she isn't allergic to bees - which is different that what they had thought when she was younger. Yeah no more EpiPen! They still recommend that we keep benadryl because she might be more likely to swell with a sting like she did before and that will help with the swelling. They were not able to test for Penicillin because the FDA shut down the company/lab that produced the test a few years ago. Thus he said we will have to wait for a few more years until someone else develops a better test. So for right now we still have to say she is allergic to Penicillin and then will test her later on. He did say that many times with a penicillin allergy as a child that many tend to outgrow it as adults. They didn't test her for any food allergies since we could not pin one thing down that seemed to bother her. If he figure out something in the future we can then have her tested.
As for Ethan, he is now considered allergic to penicillin. After several days on Amoxicillin he got a rash all over the trunk of his body. The doctors determined that it was a reaction so no more penicillin for him either. And we will have to wait a while for him to get tested as well.
We are just so happy not to have to carry EpiPens!
As for Ethan, he is now considered allergic to penicillin. After several days on Amoxicillin he got a rash all over the trunk of his body. The doctors determined that it was a reaction so no more penicillin for him either. And we will have to wait a while for him to get tested as well.
We are just so happy not to have to carry EpiPens!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Hawaii update
Well, ,we got so busy that I didn't have a chance to update on everything we did so I will do so now. We got home on the 2nd and we are now adjusting to real life :).
Sunday 27th:
In the morning we drove north from the resort to look at the surrounding area. We drove along the North Kohala coast and then through the Kohala mountains to the town of Waimea - which is in the center of the cattle ranching area. It was a beautiful drive and we saw lots of butterflies in the mountains. That afternoon we came back to the resort and went to the spa. Michael and I both had massages. They were some of the best ones we have had. The spa facilities were very nice as well. Each locker room had a lava rock hot tub, aromatherapy steam shower, showers with shower heads down the wall, etc. That evening we at dinner at a place called Roys. It is a chain, but it was wonderful - one of our favorite meals. I had a macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi with augratin potatoes and a white truffle sauce. Absolutely delicious.
Monday 28th:
In the morning we listened to the sales speech for the timeshare. They were giving us a $200 dinner cruise so we decided to just listen to it. Then after that we went to Hapuna Beach and it was beautiful. We went boogie boarding - this was my first time doing that and it was sooo much fun. Michael had been boogie boarding before in Long Beach, CA. Later in the morning the waves started getting bigger so we were riding the waves in and jumping up so that the wave would carry us up. I love swimming in the ocean. As we were getting ready to leave we noticed a huge splash at the mouth of the bay. We soon realized that it was a humpback whale. It was huge. We were standing in the water near the beach and we could see it clearly. It was very cool. Everyone said that these were probably the last 2 humpbacks left in Hawaii. Usually they have all left for Alaska by now. Humpback season is from Dec to March. The only downside to our time at the beach is that I got a good sunburn. We had been in Hawaii for several days and we had done a great job of not getting burned. We had our sunscreen on, but we lost track of time and didn't reapply soon enough. I was in pain for a few days but I wouldn't have given up the experience of the beach.
That night we went to a Luau. It was a traditional luau and it was nice. The performers did a great job. We met some people from Seattle and another couple from CA. The luau was the Royal Kona Luau. We had a oceanfront view and the weather was good.
Tuesday 29th:
We drove to the Volcanos National Park on this day. We got there by driving through Waimea, then south to Hilo and then over to the park. We stopped at the Jagger Museum and saw the huge steam vent in the crater. They said that at night it hole glows because of the heat from below. We then went to a different area where there were smaller vents and we ran into the couple (Colin and Laura) from CA that we met at the Luau. We had known that we both were going to the volcanos but we didn't figure we would run into each other. It was funny. So we decided to follow each other to the additional spots to visit. Our next stop was the Thurston Lava Tube and Lava Lake. We decided to do the mile hike down to the Lava Lake first. This is a lava bed that used to be a lava lake in a crater but now of course the lava is all hardened. Luckily it was a little cloudy as well as voggy so that made the hike not too hot. When we got down there, another couple (Melissa and Laz) who had Laura take there picture at the steam vents, had followed us down. They thought it was the way to the lava tube and they asked where it was. We told them it was all the way back up the hill at the top. We all laughed because they thought it was down here. Anyways we all hung out and had some pictures together then we hiked back up to the lava tube. It was pretty cool to go into the lava tube and think about how lava used to run through this huge tube. After this Melissa and Laz decided to head back to Kona and Colin, Laura, Michael and myself went on to drive to the viewing of the lava entering the ocean. The volcano has been quite active in the recent months. We got to the viewing parking lot and then you hike about 1 mile over lava rock to the viewing area. They keep you pretty far back so you most just see the hot steam from the lava hitting the ocean, but every now and then you could see some lava. It was a neat site to see
Wednesday 30th:
Today was going to be a busy day. We had to get up early to drive down to Kona to catch our snorkeling cruise. We went to Kealakekua Bay which is where Captain Cooks monument is. He was actually killed there. Anyways - it was a great bay to go snorkeling. The coral reef was alive and we saw tons of fish. It was beautiful. I love to snorkel. I hope it is something we can continue to do and teach Arianna and Ethan someday. The cruise provided us with breakfast as well as lunch. The boat had a slide that ended about 4 feet above the water as well as a high dive. Michael did the slide once, but I did it tons of times. It was so much fun. I also did the high dive once. It was high enough that it is hard to keep the water from going up your nose. On our way back to port we saw flying fish. We were not able to get pictures of them but they were amazing. We both had heard of flying fish but we just thought it was that they could jump a long distance over the water, but no they actually fly. They flap their fins and can fly very far. We were totally amazed. It was very cool.
After we got off the boat we were hurrying to get back to the resort because we were to have a dinner cruise. On our way back we got a call and they had to cancel because the winds were too strong for the sailboat. We were very disappointed but soon made new plans. We found a new dinner cruise to go on on Thursday evening and then for Wed night we decided to drive back down to Kona to the Sheraton Hotel. There they turn a light on in the evening to attrack plankton. Then the Manta Rays come!!! It was soo cook to see them. They are huge and they actually come up to the surface so you can see them pretty well. Michael took pictures but it was hard to get them super clear because the water was very choppy that night. But it was still a once in a lifetime kind of thing. They actually have a scuba dive cruise where you go and scuba dive to see them while they are feeding.
Thursday 1st:
Our last day :( :( We both did not want the vacation to end. But it was going to be an exciting day. Today was the day I got to swim with dolphins. A lifelong dream of mine. The swim with dolphins was actually at our resort. The first part of the program was snorkeling in the lagoon at teh resort. We saw 3 green sea turtles, moray eels, and lots of reef fish. Then they took us over to the dolphins. There was just 3 of us in our group. Michael, myself, and a young boy who only spoke Japanese. It was a wonderful experience. We got to spend a lot of time touch the dolphin and interacting with them. We were able to get a DVD of our experience so we can share it with anyone who wants. I will remember this experience for a long time.
That evening we had our dinner cruise. They picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the catamaran. to get on the boat we had to wade through water which was funny because there were some older couples who must not have read that part and were a little frustrated that they had to take off their shoes. It was a very nice cruise and Michael was able to get some beautiful pictures of the sunset. It was a beautiful way to end our trip.
Friday 2nd: We flew home to Seattle
We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back. We would likely bring Arianna and likely Ethan back with us the next time. Arianna would have a great time learning to snorkel and playing in the ocean. There are also so many things that we didn't get to do on the big island and we hope to explore the other islands in the future as well.
It was great to have the opportunity to eat such fresh fish like the Mahi Mahi and Ono. We had wonderful pineapple and coconut almost every day. We had lots of pina colada smoothies and Chi Chi's which are cocktails that have cream of coconut, pineapple juice and vodka. They are similar to pina coladas. Michael got to drink from a green coconut which he used to do when he was little. We had some good papaya and saw papaya trees, mango trees, coconut palms, banana trees, beautiful wild flowers, etc.
If we could live in Hawaii, I think we would.
We are creating a website for our pictures so I will post that as soon as it is done.
Sunday 27th:
In the morning we drove north from the resort to look at the surrounding area. We drove along the North Kohala coast and then through the Kohala mountains to the town of Waimea - which is in the center of the cattle ranching area. It was a beautiful drive and we saw lots of butterflies in the mountains. That afternoon we came back to the resort and went to the spa. Michael and I both had massages. They were some of the best ones we have had. The spa facilities were very nice as well. Each locker room had a lava rock hot tub, aromatherapy steam shower, showers with shower heads down the wall, etc. That evening we at dinner at a place called Roys. It is a chain, but it was wonderful - one of our favorite meals. I had a macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi with augratin potatoes and a white truffle sauce. Absolutely delicious.
Monday 28th:
In the morning we listened to the sales speech for the timeshare. They were giving us a $200 dinner cruise so we decided to just listen to it. Then after that we went to Hapuna Beach and it was beautiful. We went boogie boarding - this was my first time doing that and it was sooo much fun. Michael had been boogie boarding before in Long Beach, CA. Later in the morning the waves started getting bigger so we were riding the waves in and jumping up so that the wave would carry us up. I love swimming in the ocean. As we were getting ready to leave we noticed a huge splash at the mouth of the bay. We soon realized that it was a humpback whale. It was huge. We were standing in the water near the beach and we could see it clearly. It was very cool. Everyone said that these were probably the last 2 humpbacks left in Hawaii. Usually they have all left for Alaska by now. Humpback season is from Dec to March. The only downside to our time at the beach is that I got a good sunburn. We had been in Hawaii for several days and we had done a great job of not getting burned. We had our sunscreen on, but we lost track of time and didn't reapply soon enough. I was in pain for a few days but I wouldn't have given up the experience of the beach.
That night we went to a Luau. It was a traditional luau and it was nice. The performers did a great job. We met some people from Seattle and another couple from CA. The luau was the Royal Kona Luau. We had a oceanfront view and the weather was good.
Tuesday 29th:
We drove to the Volcanos National Park on this day. We got there by driving through Waimea, then south to Hilo and then over to the park. We stopped at the Jagger Museum and saw the huge steam vent in the crater. They said that at night it hole glows because of the heat from below. We then went to a different area where there were smaller vents and we ran into the couple (Colin and Laura) from CA that we met at the Luau. We had known that we both were going to the volcanos but we didn't figure we would run into each other. It was funny. So we decided to follow each other to the additional spots to visit. Our next stop was the Thurston Lava Tube and Lava Lake. We decided to do the mile hike down to the Lava Lake first. This is a lava bed that used to be a lava lake in a crater but now of course the lava is all hardened. Luckily it was a little cloudy as well as voggy so that made the hike not too hot. When we got down there, another couple (Melissa and Laz) who had Laura take there picture at the steam vents, had followed us down. They thought it was the way to the lava tube and they asked where it was. We told them it was all the way back up the hill at the top. We all laughed because they thought it was down here. Anyways we all hung out and had some pictures together then we hiked back up to the lava tube. It was pretty cool to go into the lava tube and think about how lava used to run through this huge tube. After this Melissa and Laz decided to head back to Kona and Colin, Laura, Michael and myself went on to drive to the viewing of the lava entering the ocean. The volcano has been quite active in the recent months. We got to the viewing parking lot and then you hike about 1 mile over lava rock to the viewing area. They keep you pretty far back so you most just see the hot steam from the lava hitting the ocean, but every now and then you could see some lava. It was a neat site to see
Wednesday 30th:
Today was going to be a busy day. We had to get up early to drive down to Kona to catch our snorkeling cruise. We went to Kealakekua Bay which is where Captain Cooks monument is. He was actually killed there. Anyways - it was a great bay to go snorkeling. The coral reef was alive and we saw tons of fish. It was beautiful. I love to snorkel. I hope it is something we can continue to do and teach Arianna and Ethan someday. The cruise provided us with breakfast as well as lunch. The boat had a slide that ended about 4 feet above the water as well as a high dive. Michael did the slide once, but I did it tons of times. It was so much fun. I also did the high dive once. It was high enough that it is hard to keep the water from going up your nose. On our way back to port we saw flying fish. We were not able to get pictures of them but they were amazing. We both had heard of flying fish but we just thought it was that they could jump a long distance over the water, but no they actually fly. They flap their fins and can fly very far. We were totally amazed. It was very cool.
After we got off the boat we were hurrying to get back to the resort because we were to have a dinner cruise. On our way back we got a call and they had to cancel because the winds were too strong for the sailboat. We were very disappointed but soon made new plans. We found a new dinner cruise to go on on Thursday evening and then for Wed night we decided to drive back down to Kona to the Sheraton Hotel. There they turn a light on in the evening to attrack plankton. Then the Manta Rays come!!! It was soo cook to see them. They are huge and they actually come up to the surface so you can see them pretty well. Michael took pictures but it was hard to get them super clear because the water was very choppy that night. But it was still a once in a lifetime kind of thing. They actually have a scuba dive cruise where you go and scuba dive to see them while they are feeding.
Thursday 1st:
Our last day :( :( We both did not want the vacation to end. But it was going to be an exciting day. Today was the day I got to swim with dolphins. A lifelong dream of mine. The swim with dolphins was actually at our resort. The first part of the program was snorkeling in the lagoon at teh resort. We saw 3 green sea turtles, moray eels, and lots of reef fish. Then they took us over to the dolphins. There was just 3 of us in our group. Michael, myself, and a young boy who only spoke Japanese. It was a wonderful experience. We got to spend a lot of time touch the dolphin and interacting with them. We were able to get a DVD of our experience so we can share it with anyone who wants. I will remember this experience for a long time.
That evening we had our dinner cruise. They picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the catamaran. to get on the boat we had to wade through water which was funny because there were some older couples who must not have read that part and were a little frustrated that they had to take off their shoes. It was a very nice cruise and Michael was able to get some beautiful pictures of the sunset. It was a beautiful way to end our trip.
Friday 2nd: We flew home to Seattle
We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back. We would likely bring Arianna and likely Ethan back with us the next time. Arianna would have a great time learning to snorkel and playing in the ocean. There are also so many things that we didn't get to do on the big island and we hope to explore the other islands in the future as well.
It was great to have the opportunity to eat such fresh fish like the Mahi Mahi and Ono. We had wonderful pineapple and coconut almost every day. We had lots of pina colada smoothies and Chi Chi's which are cocktails that have cream of coconut, pineapple juice and vodka. They are similar to pina coladas. Michael got to drink from a green coconut which he used to do when he was little. We had some good papaya and saw papaya trees, mango trees, coconut palms, banana trees, beautiful wild flowers, etc.
If we could live in Hawaii, I think we would.
We are creating a website for our pictures so I will post that as soon as it is done.
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