Shot of the Day

I just had to post my favorite shot of the day. Zana resolutely attacking her CHILD'S MENU hamburger at Haleiwa Joe's restaurant. Love it! Note how Zana conveniently left the tomato and lettuce off the monstrosity. She's soooo not a vegetable eater yet.
And then there's little Zeth saying, "I'd like a bite of that too please!"


So cute! It just makes me so happy to see my best-friend's daughter and Zana bonding so instantly & instinctively just like their Moms did some 34 years ago.
Before...and after

Maui No Ka Oi!

I can now cross "Go to Maui" off my life's bucket list. My girlfriend and her family were taking a trip to Maui & Oahu last week so I seized the opportunity to see both them and the long awaited island of Maui all at the same time. It was an amazing trip and we all had a blast.


We went on a whale watching excursion aboard the Tradewind II which turned out to be one of the funnest things we've ever done. Dozens and dozens of whales are all birthing and breeding off the west coast of Maui this time of year. You could see pods of them from the highway just driving to our hotel but getting out on the boat and having them swimming towards you is a whole different experience.


They served us breakfast and lunch - fresh BBQ grilled right at the stern of the boat, YUM! We went snorkling at Molokini Crater which I'm told is ranked in the top-10 best spots for scuba in the world. In my opinion it was cool - lots of fish but I've see way cooler stuff at both Waimea and Hanauma Bay. Still, it was fun to just swim around in the schools of chocolate trigger fish.


There was a glass bottom window for kids to watch us swim around beneath them and a slide and jumpping platform up on deck which we took full advantage of. It really helpped that our friends we were with were all completely in love with Zeth and were happy to take turns watching him so Ram and I could make a spectacle of ourselves diving off the boat. Zana shocked me after watching us jump overboard several times and said she wanted to do it too. She's getting close to swimming on her own but lacks the confidence in her ability to float still. So it completely shocked me when with no floatation devices anywhere near either one of us she decided to take the 6-8' leap into my arms in the ocean below.


We spotted several green sea turtles just hanging out by a buoy and the captain of the boad cut the engine and lowered a microphone into the ocean and let us listen to the whales chat and sing. Very cool.

We drove up Haleakala (the big volcano) to about 5,000 ft until the clouds obscured any possible view below and as we were all on the verge of car-sickness we decided that was about enough of that.


We ran into old college friends at church in Lahaina on Sunday morning. It was fun to see Kealoha, Pam, Tita, Sione, Emeterio and Marika all again.

Our hotel in Kahana was nothing to brag about but the condo our friends were staying at was beautifully designed - especially the pool area. We spent most of our relaxing time there at the pool with them.
We'll be going back to the Outrigger Aina Nalu in Lahaina again someday.

Zeth had a great time hanging out by the pool in the huts and never once lacked for attention from our adoring group.




We ate a lot... Kobe Steakhouse & Kimo's were both great dinners. Spent ample time splashing in the pool & soaking in the jacuzzi.
Rekindled old and formed new friendships.
A perfect weekend getaway.

Fun Run

It was a warm February morning as I crept out of the house at 4:30a.m. to pick up my girlfriends and tear up the asphalt with 20,000 other fun-loving healthy souls. The 8.15 mile Great Aloha Run turned out to be kind to me again this year. I was able to run the whole way - with the exception of quick water breaks. I paced myself really well and managed to just go at a nice relaxed 10 min mile pace rather than trying to keep up with people here & there thus wearing myself out like usual.

I barely missed my annual goal of improving upon my previous year's time - by a mere 11 seconds. But I'm still pretty proud of my 1:28:36 finish time and just for finishing the race again.

Copacetic

The word of the day today, according to Doctor Dictionary, is copacetic \koh-puh-SET-ik\. It means very satisfactory or fine and it's a timely reminder that despite everything that could go wrong, Heavenly Father knows what he's doing and everything will work out just fine.

I woke up this morning at 5:00 to Zeth's voice rising up out of his crib. He wasn't hungry, he just needed to jump on my lap for a few minutes then was content to go back to sleep. He woke up an hour later in his normal adorable smiley temperament ready for a bottle. Somehow while getting us both ready for the day, a little dose of fear crept into my mind that we could still lose this baby during our ongoing adoption finalization process and it just about broke my heart thinking about it. It made me appreciate our birth mothers all over again and the feelings they must have had the day they handed the ultimate gift of life & love to us.

I just need to remember not to doubt that my Heavenly Father is mindful of me always; That He will always provide me the opportunities and experiences that are best for me to progress and prove myself worthy to return to him someday. In the end, all will be copacetic.

My heart goes out to my extended family today who are mourning the loss of my great uncle, Kirk Browning, who passed away peacefully yesterday in NY. He lived a full and long life and while I didn't get to know him personally in this life, I look forward to that opportunity eventually when our family is no longer separated by so many miles in heaven. My thoughts are with you all.

On a brighter note, last night Zeth uttered his 'official' first word... "Mama" :) Ram heard it first then he repeated it for me so it's official and now I get to gloat. Zana's first word was "Dada" and Ram hasn't let any of us forget it. So thank you Zeth for levelling the playing field and giving a point to Mama!

Boots

I'm wearing boots today. No big deal for most people but when you live in a tropical island, boots are not a frequent sighting. I absolutely love my boots and look forward to cool days where I can get away with wearing them. I had so many people comment and compliment me on them - it just solidified the fact that boots - aside from the occasional kid's puddle stompers - are a very rare event in my community.

High Five

Zeth is 5 months old today and there are a few milestones to note. He is getting very close to being able to sit up but still falls over after a few seconds on his own. He can roll over from tummy to back and turn himself around pretty quickly now. He has even rolled from his back to his tummy a few times which takes more coordination than the reverse. In addition to his push ups, he's working on his crunches more and more, always trying to sit up in his car seat pushing against the straps holding him back. He loves doing squats, jumpping up & down now too. He's real quick to grab any hair that comes within reach and vice-grips it as he attempts to reel it into his mouth. All very typical baby behaviors but the one thing that really stands out is how he belly-laughs almost daily at us. He loves to laugh and smile and squeal at us. He's such a joy to interact with.

He is starting to form words a little more clearly now. This morning around 5:30a I heard him stirring then in the silent darkness I heard him say "Hellooo" - which probably came out a little more like 'ell-ohh' but it made me laugh cause in my mind it was just like him saying "Hello! Is anybody out there?? I'd like to get up now!" Nobody else heard it so it's the unofficial first word in my book but daddy won't count it unless he hears it too.


I went for a run late this morning. It's just one week til my 13k 'fun run' and I'm not feeling ready at all this year. But I'm not letting that sway me. I'll get through it somehow but I'm not banking on beating my time again like I've done every year for the past 7 years. Anyway, during my run today, there were butterflies everywhere. Monarchs, little yellow and white ones - like there was a convention going on or something. It was like nothing I've ever seen here - just so many of them all over the place. It was really fun running up in the hills overlooking the town I live in and the ocean surrounding us with butterflies floating all over frolicking in the beautiful morning.

Gung Hee Fat Choy!

OK - I can finally bask in the knowledge that it really is Chinese New Year this time and thus marks the year of the RAT. My 'golden' year where my deepest desires will come true. I know it's all mental but there's something to be said about the supernatural or the spiritual, if you will, and if it's nothing more than just having a positive attitude and believing it will be a good year, so be it. But nothing happens without effort - we rats know that results only come from hard work so I'm not delusional about my prospects, rather inspired to work harder to achieve my goals.

My hubby told me several weeks ago that his Chinese horoscope told him this year will be a travelling year for him. I asked where he found his Chinese horoscope and he readily admitted he just made it up. I guess that's really all it takes. We'll be travelling to Maui in a few weeks - thus finally crossing that off our bucket list - and are looking at attending a family reunion in Tahiti later this year. I guess my hubby must be Chinese afterall! :)

Pedal Pleasure

I was never much for sucking my thumbs and according to my mother never took to using pacifiers either. (As a parent now I wonder how they used to calm me down and shut me up!) However, I clearly recall the contentment I felt as a child whenever I indulged myself with a little toe sucking. There was something so gratifying about doing it and I can only attribute that to the fact that 1) it was a disgusting habit that was thoroughly disapproved of and 2) somehow the salty filth on my big toes just tasted good to me.

So when Zeth figured out how to suck his toes last week, it brought back sweet memories of my youth and I just had to go shutterfly on him basking in the experience. Scroll through quickly and it's almost like watching an old movie.










Oh the exqusite joy!