Hawaii- Day 3

We decided to try out our Snorkel gear on Wednesday. It had been a long time since I'd snorkeled but we had a lot of fun! Ben spotted an octopus, and Jenny found a giant lobster. There was so many beautiful fish and coral. We had a great time and wore ourselves out.

So we head off to the beach! I LOVE laying on the beach and reading a good book. Luckily we had plenty of time to do that this trip!

On a sad note...this was the last picture my camera took...it's a beauty, because...
while we were trying to get this picture a nice man dropped our camer and broke it! Oh well, the price of looking good in a convertible I guess. After Tuesday we traded our sedan in for a convertible because the shock were really bad on the first car. We thought we were getting a great deal! Who doesn't want to ride around Hawaii in a convertible? Apparantly me. It was fun when it was hot and sunny... and we were driving slow. But as soon as the clouds came in and we sped up I got so cold and whiplashed thanks to my hair flying around my face. I spoiled the fun a few times by asking them to put the top up. It was definately worse in the back seat.

We decided to go out for a stroll that evening to see the sunset. We took a few fun pictures. Here are Ben and I frolicking on the beach.

Here we are at Sunset.

Hawaii Day 2....The Hana Highway

We decided to drive the Hana Highway on Tuesday. I was super excited about this after reading the guide book Maui Revealed. They listed like 100 pull offs to stop at. So our first one we pull off and find the trail to see 2 Boar Carcasses rotting away with maggots all over them. We opted not to jump them and headed down the road. We stopped at this beautiful lookout, but I think we enjoyed the chickens running around and this huge yellow spider more than the view. (No the spider is not on Woodson, it's on a web with Woodson behind it.)

We came upon this waterfall that was right along side the road. There was a news crew to a story while we were there and offered to take a picture of the four of us. We even got professional lighting for this one!

Then we drove to another lookout down the road. We parked and walked up these stairs to see the view, but I liked the view looking backwards best! Isn't he cute? I also thought the tree creating a tunnel over the stairs was cool.

While we were at the above waterfall we saw this helicopter flying really low. We asked what was going on and I guess they were searching for a lost person. We thought it was cool that we were above the helicopter.

Then as we were driving along I mentioned that some lava tubes were coming up. Ben thought that sounded cool and then he spotted one on the side of the road. We didn't really believe him but we jumped out of the car, leaving the doors open with the keys inside and went to check it out. Well, he was right and it was really cool! Here are Woodson and Jenny down inside,

and this is their view looking back out.

It was so dark inside we were trying to use our cameras to see ahead. Here is one of the many random photos taken while trying to see our way through the dark. At about this point I was ready to get out. I don't know what came over me, something about being underground with nobody knowing where we were and a search and rescue helicopter flying around made me not want to get stuck in there. So I valiantly volunteered to go stay at the car (which still had the keys in and doors open) while they explored some more. They kept going in further and further and then all of a sudden I heard their voices! They had found the end and came back around to the road!

After that fun adventure we headed onto the Volcanic Black Sand Beach. This was so cool! It was only 100ft or so wide but totally beautiful! We put our stuff down ate a few snacks and then Ben and Woodson went out for a swim. It was cold and the waves were pretty good but they mad it to an arch over the ocean and back.

The sand really felt like millions of tiny pebbles round and soft. It was so cool to play with!

After the beach we drove through the town of Hana and found Bruddah Huts BBQ. We had to stop for some chicken even though we had just eaten a little bit. It was so good! The guy that owns this place is the bishop of the ward there and comes from a "small family of 3 sisters and 15 brothers! His name is Hagoth and is one of the oldest, the rest also have Book of Mormon names!

Now, on to the Seven Sacred Pools! Isn't it pretty? Even though we didn't stay here very long I had so much fun!

Brrrr! The water was freezing!

I braved the cold water and swam over to one of the waterfalls. I've always wanted a picture of me under a waterfall!

I wasn't really planning on jumping until Woodson did it. I couldn't be out done so I took the leap (with my nose plugged!). It was exhilarating!

Then we headed over to one of the lower pools. I love this picture with the clear cool pool in front and the waves of the ocean crashing in back.

Ben finally braved the cold water and got in, he's at the bottom of a little slide of water here.

After leaving the Seven Sacred Pools we were ready for the long bumpy ride home, but then I read in the book that Charles Lindbergh was buried near buy so we went to visit his grave since Woodson is a pilot. It was in a beautiful little cemetery,

that had a beautiful view of the coast,

and a really cool tree that Woodson decided to climb.

It was such a fun full day! I loved the scenic drive and exploring the beauty of the Island, the waterfalls, the greenery, the remnants of the volcanic activity. I'm so glad we did the drive!

Hawaii!- Day 1

Here is our trip to Hawaii finally! We left on Jan 12th after dropping our kids off at G & G Harpers (thanks again!!!!). Here is Woodson, Ben, Jenny and I at the airport all ready to go and praying we'd make it on the flight. Luckily we did, but we all sat separately. I sat next to a very large man, I didn't enjoy an arm rest for the entire flight, but we made it!

Our adorable husbands arranged to have us Lei'd at the airport. It was so cool and all the other ladies were jealous! Here we are in the Costco parking lot. Yes we really are in Hawaii even though we are wearing long pants and shirts. It was hot!
We made it to our place and changed! I wish I could wear shorts all year long. I just had to give my new fins a try on. I was excited to go snorkeling!

Here is the Sunset from our Balcony. What a beautiful view!

Happy Chinese New Year!

We decided to celebrate Chinese New Year a little early. So on Friday we invited Ben's parents down for a Chinese dinner and game of Mah Jong. We had a great time and it was fun to use our decorations and stuff from Singapore. We also had a little adventure with our electricity which I will tell if I can get Ben's permission.

While Grandma Harper was down we decided to take pictures of the kids with the quilts she made for them so here they are.

4 Months Old!

My Handsome little boy is 4 Months Old! He is growing so fast. We took him to the Dr and here are his stats.....

25 1/4 in tall 65th %

16.09 lbs 82 %

Head 17 in 76%

I couldn't believe that he wasn't actually in the 90th percentile! That's a first for me.

Garett is such a wonderful happy baby.... I hate to use the word perfect, but he really almost is! He sleeps well, eats well, is always happy, smiling and laughing, and rarely cries.

I love him so much and can't imagine life without him!

We made it!

Thanks to all the sympathies for my Breast Infection. I did sufficiently recover and was able to make it on our Hawaii trip! We just got home this morning and will post pictures soon. We had such an awesome time and it's hard to be back home in the snow when in my mind it should at least be spring! Only a few more months right? I can make it.....

This Stinks

Let me just say that Breast Infections HURT!!!!!!! and that for the past 3 days I have wanted to do nothing else but lay on the couch and cry. Luckily that's exactly what my Dr told me to do, and the medicine is finally working. I may be able to face the world by the end of the day!