Monday, August 29, 2011

Paia-Part 2

Well I'm bound and determined to share the rest of our Maui trip so on to part 2.

So as I was saying...Paia-small, small town. Chris did all of the planning so he thought it would be best to do most of our excursions while we were here. The day we arrived we had a snorkeling trip planned, but upon landing we had a message saying it was cancelled due to the weather. Not exactly an ideal way to start a tropical vacation.
But we rescheduled for the following day. The snorkeling was supposed to be at Molokini, a partially sunken volcanic crater known for its snorkeling. About half way there, we were informed that the water was too choppy so we were going to head to Coral Gardens. Did we see fish? Yes. Did we see lots of them? Yes. But whatever spin your boat company may give you, Coral Gardens is the ugly step-sister to Molokini.





The boat was great as was the crew. The wetsuits were provided by the tour and boy were we glad we had them. The water was definitely on the chilly side. We enjoyed a nice lunch. So all in all it was a beautiful day.

That night we ate dinner at Mama's Fish House. This is probably the most popular restaurant on Maui and for good reason. The food is amazing. Chris and I showed little self control and ate until we were about to burst. If ever given a choice of last meal-Mama's Fish House would be it :-)






So the next day was probably one of our most favorite excursions. As it turns out, this was something that we could have done on our own, but we had the most wonderful tour guide that made this day long adventure so memorable. Our tour was booked through Hike Maui and we went on the full-day Hana waterfalls and rain forest hike. Actually, we didn't go to Hana, which having been several times before so that was totally fine with me. We stopped just as you got on the road to Hana. Our guide was Kahi, a native of Maui, a grandfather (still can't believe it), and just about the nicest guy you'll ever meet. The tour provided everything-river boots, bug spray, lunch, transportation from our hotel, etc...


Kahi is a naturalist and throughout an entire hike we were taught about the native (and mostly) non-native plants and their uses. This included some tasting along the way.

I would say the day could be summed up~over the river and through the woods...
In all we saw 5 separate waterfalls, Chris jumped off one cliff into a pool of water, I braved the freezing water to swim under a waterfall, we dined on boulders, hiked on slippery rocks, followed the trail of wild pigs (as identified by their urine~ewww!), and pretty much were exhausted by the end of the day. But, wow, you can't call the day boring, it was pretty amazing.



On Monday morning we checked out of the Paia Inn and drove up Haleakala to Skyline Eco Adventures for some ziplining on the crater. It always amazes me how different it is on different parts of the island. It's quite forested up there, Ziplining was fun. I certainly wouldn't call myself an expert, but we do seek out ziplining while vacationing so we felt pretty comfortable up there.









So after this excursion we headed down the volcano and over to the other side of the island-Wailea.
To be continued...

Friday, August 26, 2011

The Doldrums

dol·drums
   [dohl-druhmz, dol-, dawl-] Show IPA
noun ( used with a plural verb )
1. a state of inactivity or stagnation


In early spring we enrolled Jack in a weekly swimming class. Because he was just attending weekly, my primary goal was to make him very comfortable in water and begin some water safety. After the first session he earned his five stickers for specific skills and a ribbon for completing his beginning preschool level.
We continued with the class this summer and Jack has continued to improve and he is very comfortable in the water. About halfway through the summer he had earned four out of the five stickers for his immediate preschool level. The last skill he needs is to swim 2 yards.

This video was taken a several weeks ago. I know we shouldn't, but it makes us laugh. Poor guy probably lifts his head and feels like he swam across the pool only to find out he hardly went anywhere.
Today was the last day of the summer session. He still didn't earn a ribbon. Clearly he is stuck in the doldrums.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Some Summer Scrapbooking

Summer is my least productive scrapbooking season. I know we're doing a lot of fun things that fill up our days and nights, but I really miss the solitude (read peace and quiet) of crafting. It may take longer than usual, but I have managed to get a few pages done with the help from some very inspirational designers.

This is one of those pictures that wasn't very good, but the story was too good not to remember. Jack and Morgan's rooms are "Jack and Jill" bedrooms with an adjoining bathroom. Before I head to bed, I go peek in on Jack and have about a 50/50 chance that he's in his bed. He loves to sneak into Morgan's room and fall asleep in her bed. And so I carry him back to his room many nights. On this night, not only did I find Jack in her bed, but look at Morgan! I don't know how she even got into that sleeping position.



A fourth of July layout using some Lily Bee papers. Yes, I know that I'm missing some ric rac on the page and yes, it bugs me, but I am not a perfectionist...I am not a perfectionist...I am not a perfectionist (I'm really trying to convince myself.) I ran out and didn't have anything I liked quite as much.


This one was done with Basic Grey Luscious papers. We recently were at Gilroy Gardens and while it was perfect for Jack, it's not exactly an exciting destination for a 12 year old. But Morgan was a great sport, going on all the kiddie rides and making sure Jack had a great day.




This is a lift of Nancy Damiano. I don't think I used any of the same papers that she used in her original (and I used paper from 4 different lines), but it sure turned out pretty similar. This is a bicycle rodeo at Jack's school and Jack brought his Strider bike. It has not pedals on it and helps to teach balance so he can transition to a big bike and not need training wheels. He's a little speed demon on it.



This last one is a lift of Kelly Goree using Basic Grey Oliver paper. Yet another soccer layout from high school season

I have a few more to share soon.

P.S. Jenifer-How's my little niece's album coming along? :-)
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