Instagram Christmas

It was a great holiday weekend. Lots of time with family and not too much running around – nice and relaxing. It was so laid back, in fact, that I didn't even feel like getting out the big camera. I grabbed a few shots here and there with my phone and doctored them up with Instagram. (If you have an iPhone, get this app. It's super fun to play around with and turns ordinary photos into something a little cuter, in an instant!)

Merry Christmas!

Hawaii – part three

Maui
The last few days of our vacation was spent on Maui. Another beautiful island, though completely different from the black lava beauty of the Big Island. The weather was sunny and warm, so we spent a lot of time on the beach and in the pools. Walter loved playing in the sand. I think I'm still finding sand at the bottom of his bathtub! 


This island is also home of the Sugar Cane Train, located just a block from our hotel. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how happy this made Walter. We took a few trips into town on that train, listening to our tour guide sing us Hawaiian Christmas songs. 


We went to a luau, where Walter excitedly told me, "I DO want to learn to hula!" Really? Up there on stage? In front of all these people? "Yes!" So, up he went, and I went with him. Boy oh boy, the things I do for this kid! I still haven't seen the photos from Grampa's camera, but I'm sure they'll turn up eventually. 

We drove the road to Hana – a long, twisty, turny, mountain road, with beautiful views and waterfalls. Walter wasn't impressed, but he was a trooper and, for the most part, happily watched movies the whole ride. 

The most exciting part of Maui, for me, was the bike ride down Haleakala. A bus picked us up at 2am to take us to the top of the volcano. We lucked out with a clear night saw a few shooting stars from a meteor shower, and then the sunrise over the cloud-filled crater. After sunrise we got a little tour around the Haleakala National Park and then we hopped on our bikes and coasted down 28 miles of mountainside, with beautiful views of the rest of the island. Totally worth getting up so early in the morning!


We went to the Maui Ocean Center, shopped in the little tourist towns, ate lots of delicious, fresh fish and even got to see some whales. Whale season started on the last day of our trip, and they arrived right on time. At the end of our stay, we tossed our leis into the ocean. They say if they return to shore, we will return to the islands. I hope they do!

(See a few more photos on Flickr.)

Hawaii – part two

Oahu – The Honolulu Marathon
Nate and I left Walter with Gramma and Grampa on the Big Island, and flew to Honolulu for the marathon. We had dinner with some friends and went to bed early. The race started at 5am, in order to beat the heat of the day. 

We both got up early and set off for the starting line. Let me tell you, if I had brought my running shoes, I'm pretty sure I would have jumped right in to that race. There's some great energy at the starting line of a marathon. The national anthem, fireworks, and a nervous crowd of 20,000 people – I was tempted to run in my flip flops! But instead, I wished Nate luck, kissed him goodbye, and sent him off running. 


He looped around and I gave him another cheer at mile four before heading back to the hotel. I treated myself to coffee and a stroll along the beach before going to meet him at the finish line. I ended up standing next to a woman, also waiting for her husband to finish, and also missing the race because of a stress fracture. We had a nice chat. :)

I'm happy to report that Nate finished the race with a time of 4:52:48! That crazy, huge crowd of runners slowed him down a bit, but he came in injury-free and ready to enjoy the rest of our vacation. He swears he'll never do it again. We shall see. Time has a way of changing your mind.
Next up, Maui...

Hawaii – part one

Sorry for the long break, but we've been on vacation! In Hawaii! The whole reason for our trip was the Honolulu Marathon, but we built in a few days before and after the race to enjoy the scenery. And we enjoyed the heck out of it! I personally enjoyed about 650 photos worth, so I'm breaking them up into three parts. (Don't worry, I won't show you all of them.)
Part one: The Big Island
This was the rainiest portion of our trip, but we had enough nice weather to see most of what we wanted to see. We visited the Hilo farmer's market and stocked up on pineapples, papayas, star fruits, and apple bananas – quite different than the selection here in Wisconsin! Perfect for a picnic on the way to see some waterfalls. 



We spent a day at Volcanoes National Park and saw the steam pouring out of Kilauea Volcano. Truly fascinating to see an active volcano. (Did you know the volcano adds 50-100 acres of land to the island each year? Wow!)


We went to a black sand beach, where green sea turtles were lounging on the rocks and sand. I'm pretty sure Walter's favorite part of this vacation were the beaches and the animals. Wild chickens were running around everywhere. We even saw a wild peacock!



We woke up early most mornings since we were adjusting to the time difference and got to see a couple of gorgeous sunrises over the ocean. 


The house we stayed in was perfect. It was right on the ocean and a short walk from some tide pools where Gramma and Walter went snorkeling. It had a pool, which was freezing cold because of the rain, but also a hot tub, which was nice to lounge in and enjoy this view! 

We also visited the Hilo Coffee Mill, the Mauna Loa macadamia nut factory, and Lava Tree Park. There was plenty to do, even with all the rain. A fantastic island!
(See a few more photos on Flickr.)
Next up, Honolulu and the marathon...

'Tis the season

We had ourselves a little tree-trimming party tonight. Treats and Christmas music set the mood. We missed out on decorating last year because of the move, so it was extra fun to get all the ornaments out this year. And Walter was a big help. I love that he's old enough to really participate now. It's going to be a fun Christmas!

Monkey

A post-swimming snack. That funny hair-do is the result of a winter hat on a wet head. 

Play with your food

Let's sew something

"I have an idea, Mama! Let's SEW something!"
Oh, I like that idea very much. We decided to make a zippered pouch that Walter could use to store his "collection." Collection of what? I don't know. But there's a pteranodon on Dinosaur Train that has a collection, so, Walter needs to have one too.
He dug through my scrap basket and picked out which fabrics to use and chose a zipper. Halfway through sewing he got distracted by my button jar and gave up his position at the sewing machine to choose buttons. Those buttons became eyes and the zipper pouch became a monster zipper pouch. And it was put to immediate use, holding his collection – a pencil and Lightning McQueen.

Put this on your wish list

Did you know you needed an immersion blender? Neither did I! But I got one as a gift a few years ago and I think it might be one of the most used gadgets in my kitchen. There are a million different brands/models, and I honestly can't tell you what's good and what's bad. But THIS is the one I have and I love it. It doesn't take up much storage space and it's so much easier than hauling out the blender or food processor or stand mixer. I use it for so many different things – making applesauce, whipping cream, chopping herbs, blending soups, chopping bread crumbs, pureeing vegetables, and so on, and so on, and so on. And I end up with fewer dishes to clean up afterwards. Bonus! Ask Santa for an immersion blender. You'll be happy you did.

Strike a pose

Funny how Walter will never stand still to pose for a photo, but just about every night he'll pull out the yoga mat to do a few poses with me. We checked out The ABC's of Yoga for Kids from the library and Walter LOVES to flip through the pages and choose which poses to do. He's been doing a little yoga in his preschool class, too. It's certainly not a bad way to wind down at the end of the day. I'm thinking it should be part of our daily routine.

Molly, on the other hand, is happy to pose. As long as there's a treat involved. 

Sunshine and trains

One nice thing I'm noticing about fall and winter in this house, is that when the trees lose their leaves, the house gets a LOT brighter. And when it comes to taking pictures of a certain boy and his trains, well, that natural light comes in handy. Boys and trains move fast, you see. Without all that light, they'd just be a blur of motion. Nature finds ways to make me happy, even in cold weather.



Since we had such nice light, I talked Nate into snapping a few photos too. 

Last outdoor market

Today was the last outdoor farmer's market of the season. We lucked out with some beautiful weather. Crisp, cool air and sunshine. Unfortunately, we got a late start and Walter's favorite sugar cookies were sold out, but he found a tasty, chocolate chip substitute. Lots of vendors were trying to unload squash, so I took advantage of the low prices and bought a bag full. Nate was kind enough to carry it. (And only complained a little.) My very last purchase from the market was a Christmas present, which means I have officially started my shopping, and it's officially time for the seasons to change.

Done

Ever since last week's great run in Denver, I've been feeling some pretty bad shin pain. I took it easy all week and then tried a run on Sunday. Ouch. I only made it about 2 miles before things got bad. A couple of x-rays showed a teeny-tiny bump that the doctor tells me is most likely a stress fracture. The cure – REST! More rest. That's not in the marathon training program. So, I've decided it's time to let this one go. I'm disappointed and angry. I've put over 370 miles of training into this! But I'm also feeling a lot of relief. I'm letting go of my goal, but I'm also letting go of a lot of stress. I'm looking forward to having more time, more sleep, a better attitude and a pain-free body. I'll get back to running soon. And I'll be there to cheer Nate on as he crosses the finish line. But I'm going to sleep in that day.

Happy Halloween!

Oh yes. He's an engineer (or "train driver" if you ask him.) Did we expect anything else from this train-loving boy?


We aren't exactly in a good trick-or-treat sort of neighborhood out here, so we borrowed the Lee family's 'hood for the night. The kids had fun until their buckets got too heavy to carry and we had to call it a night. 

Can you believe in that big pile of candy, there was not one Swedish Fish? Good thing my sister bought the good stuff and I could fill my pockets before heading home. 
Head over to Flickr for a few more photos including cousins in costumes.