A few more images from Hawaii

As reality sinks in (we are back in Barrow and it is -12 degrees!), we find ourselves reviewing pictures, wishing we were back in paradise. Our trip home was long, but thankfully uneventful. After hearing some of other people's holiday travel nightmares, I felt pretty lucky to have had our travels go so smoothly. All cats and dog did well during our absence-- we owe our petsitters big time! Long weekend coming up...time to clean out the suitcases! Happy New Year to all!

The boy likes poi!

Yes, we went to the beach (again) for another beautiful day, then had a luau at the Sheraton last evening. Gage got to see Hawaiian Santa and got to eat all sorts of new foods, including kailua pig, poi and saimin noodles. He seemed to like it all, but was wearing most of it by the time we left :) The dancing was really cool and we met some really nice people. We hope everyone has a great Christmas-- we are heading to the North Shore for beach and snorkeling (can't get enough of it! The fish are SO cool...and I am waiting to see a turtle...still!).

Busy Day

Today we rose ealrly, drove all the way WEST that we could (wanted to see barking sands beach, but could not, unfortunately, because the road out to it was closed). We then headed NORTH up into Waimea Canyon. It was a crapshoot, as it had been rainy that morning, but we hit it ok, as it was relatively nice when we were taking pictures/viewing the area, but then started to rain after we finished. We headed down the canyon, went home, had some lunch, then hit the beach for some swimming, snorkeling and sand eating (Gage). Unbelievable fish life here...and this beach isn't even known for its outstanding snorkeling... REALLY cool. I could stay in all day (but Ken would kill me!). We then headed over to a free hula demonstration followed by sunset at the Sheraton and dinner at Plantation Garden restaurant. Busy day, raining here and there tonight, but it is a warm rain and we have yet to be caught in it too badly. Check out these new pictures. No real plan for tomorrow (hopefully more snorkeling!)

Baby beach

We took a long walk today-- down the coast to Spouting Horn and the National Botanical Garden. The weather is still wonderful and the walk was great. Spouting Horn sounds like a huge whale blowing as it expels water up through its subterranean caverns. The roosters at the park there were pretty friendly...we were afraid they were going to mug Gage for his crackers!

On the way back from the gardens, we stopped at Baby beach and Gage had a great time in the water! Upon our return to the condo, there was an endangered Hawaiian monk seal on the beach in front of the grounds. It was just chilling out and had an area cordoned off so no one bothered it...and note: it was taking up the best part of the beach!
We are headed over to the pool now! More soon :)

Another beautiful day in Hawaii. We drove north again today and took a scenic train ride through an old sugar cane plantation then hit a surf shop Ken wanted to check out, then went out to the lighthouse at Kilauea. It was really nice today and we saw some whales :) (humpbacks). Gage went swimming in the pool (well, maybe not swimming...) with no problem. We are going to try him in the ocean again tomorrow with a little more sleep prior to his dip...maybe that will make a difference! More soon...check out Gage's super cool Hawaiian shorts

!

First Day in Hawaii (the whitest of white)

We are so blindingly white that I think I should put some sort of warning on these photos...actually, i think we will stick to Gage and maybe you will be ok. Yesterday was a little overcast in the am, but then got really nice as we travelled to the north to check out the sights. Gage checked out the beach and decided to taste some sand...didn't like it too much! Actually, the "sand" was mostly small bits of shell...which were IMPOSSIBLE to get off of him (and us!), so we remained shelly for the rest of the day.... We checked out the roads to the north of us. Today, I think we are headed to "baby beach" which is next door to us. Since we are likely to just spontaneously combust when exposed to the sun, it is likely that our trip to the beach will only be a part of the day...we will then do some hikes through the botanical gardens and "spouting horn" and the adjacent park...(if Ken isn't blistering ;)). Good food, awesome banana place...they take frozen bananas and force them through some commercial grade ("Champion") juicer and the result is essentially ice cream that is banana flavored--- AWESOME...BUT you need to eat it quickly or is gets kind of foamy and not so good... but great while it is cold!

OK- So far we have seen some really nice stuff :) We are not melting, though when we arrived, we almost were... Planes etc. went as well as could be expected (slight delay leaving Seattle, but many flights were being cancelled outright, so...we were lucky). We will keep you updated with our plans. PS: We brought the pack and play and the portable baby high chair/seat and they are really good to have :)

New wheels!

Gage has gotten his big Christmas present and really seems to like it...even though his feet can't reach the floor to move it yet :) We leave for Hawaii tomorrow, so watch for updates from paradise. After a weekend of illness, we all seem to be on the mend, Gage especially, (thank goodness). Lot's to do before we leave, so I have to make this short. More soon from warmer, brighter climes!

Down for the count

Well, Gage and I stayed "home from school" yesterday...we are both fighting a stomach virus (the specifics of which, I will spare you). Things are looking up today and Ken went to the post office and we got Christmas cards and presents :) Getting ready for Hawaii, trying to get some stuff pre-packed. Twenty degrees out here, but very windy. Getting a bit of cabin fever! Gage also pulled himslef up onto his feet today for the first time on his own!

Sunday morning

Christmas pictures

We sat for pictures with Annie, our babysitter, at the helm of the camera last weekend - it was a fun photo shoot and she got some great pictures. Here are a couple samples. We are very thankful for the wonderful care she gives Gage, and the pictures (and bread, gingerbread, cookies. veggies) are all additional perks!







We have been busy with work, Christmas parties and birthday parties this week. I spent a lot of time catching up with things at work. Gage says "dog", "mama" and "dada" on command (when he feels like it) and just stood himself up while hanging onto the play gas pump he has at home. Not too much else up! Pretty cold and dark out there. I am focusing on the Hawaii trip- and basically trying to igonore it!

Foodface

This is an old picture I just found on my work camera. Thought I would post it. He loves sweet potatoes (most of the time)!

More leg stretching

Not too much new to report. Still stretching out his legs. We went over to Annie's Saturday night and got some Christmas pictures taken. It was a lot of fun, and Mochi even got in on the photo! We will have some outtakes for you here soon! Cold again, dark again. Brewed some home made root beer this weekend. We will see how THAT comes out! Smelled awesome in the whole house. It was enough to make me like root beer (maybe).

Check out Annie's site for some silly pictures of us from the photo shoot:

http://annie-enderle.blogspot.com/

The thermometer stopped working

Yes. The thermometer stopped working, which means the temperature has dropped below minus 15. We had a quiet thanksgiving yesterday and had a relatively lazy day today. Thought I would post a few pictures from yesterday and today. Gage is standing up more and more-- getting his legs ready for walking :) Hope everyone had a nice holiday.

Bee car

We had a little get together here last night -- Gage got to

play with Elana (a 11-month old Sophia and Gene watch on Saturdays). They had a lot of fun playing with Gage's toys.

PS: If anyone would like to hear a radio clip from the class I taught at Sitka Whalefest "Scientists in the Schools Program", go to: http://www.ravenradio.org/
This radio clip was picked up by APRN, as well. Do a search on "bowhead" and it should come up.

First wave

Not much new news--- last sun on the 17th (see picture to left). Gage waved goodby to me for the first time and is supporting weight on his legs now really well...still not pulling himself all the way up though (very good at getting up on his knees!). Loves avocados. Here are a few pictures from this morning and earlier this week.

PS: I forgot to post that we kept the dog. She is WONDERFUL! Great with the boy and the cats. She is a great addition to our family and fit right in SO quickly. She is a big sweetie!

Ball popper

What a day :) What a week! Gage spoke his first word ("dog") on Sunday (first word connected with something...he has been saying mama and dada for a while, but it has been rather random...though he definitely looks for dada or the kittie in the right place when you ask him where they are, so he knows what the words mean, even if he cannot say them). He cried for the first time when I left this week (at daycare). He also learned the phrase "are you hungry?" and even some signing related to eating this week, according to our babysitter. He is still attacking toes though, and that is a tough problem to resolve. He also started pointing this week-- and now he points at things and we tell him what they are. On the workfront, it is a wonderful day for me and my coworkers at the department. We found out this morning that we won our year and half long legal fight with Shell Oil :) We are sure they will appeal, but for now, it is the best possible outcome! Here are some pictures of Gage and his ballpopper. We are headed for the bath. We are all over our colds and are getting ready for a quiet weekend at home. We are still undecided about taking a trip to Fairbanks for Thanksgiving. Maybe. Anyone out there seen the new James Bond movie???

Dog water magnet

Gage is crawling at lightning speed. When I go in another room he comes and finds me and I am amazed at how fast he has gotten! Last night, he discovered the circulating dog water bowl and it is now like a magnet--- put him down and he heads right for it! Here are a few pictures of him playing in it and one of dad and baby this morning.

Possible new addition...

Well, we MIGHT have a new dog. We are in our "try-it-out" stage... she is a 2 year old chocolate lab that belongs to the Mayor of the North Slope Borough. She is a nice dog but kind of high energy and they didn't have the time to give her...I am not sure if we do either! But we are going to give it a try this weekend and see how she does with Gage and the cats. Otherwise, very busy week. Visit from Layla, Luke and Mark. Returned from Sitka/Fairbanks on Wed eve. We had a pretty noneventful visit down there. Whalefest was a lot of fun. Gage is doing great, despite a bit of laryngitis that developed mid-week. He is rocking out to Nina Simone right now :) enjoy the pictures. We will let you all know how the dog works out.