New toys

I can't believe I let Kayleigh get away with this, but why not? Who uses floppy disks anymore, and We have more cds than we'll probably ever use! She did try to close the cabinet door when she was done playing. Too bad she didn't put all of the cds away!

Home again

We got back to our house around 10:45 yesterday morning. It was a long trip home, that's for sure! I slept for maybe an hour or two on the flight from Honolulu, and Erik didn't sleep at all. Needless to say, when we got home, the three of us took a nap. I think Erik slept better than I did. We let Kayleigh sleep with us, knowing that she would go to sleep faster that way. She also got a little spoiled on the trip, because we would let her sleep in our bed. It was hard for her to sleep in the crib that the condo gave us. Anyway, while we were taking our nap, Kayleigh moved so that her head was by Erik, and her feet were by me. She woke me up when she kicked me in the face. Not nice!
My parents and abuelo arrived around 3:00 to stay the night on their way home from Mobile. It was good to see them, but I'm not sure Erik and I were much company. They did take us out to dinner. Thanks again, Dad! Kayleigh slept through the first half of dinner, and then we woke her up so she could eat a little bit and be awake for a little while longer. My mom put her to bed around 10:00, while Erik and I put ourselves to bed at 9:30!
I've been working on unpacking today, and as you can see, Ginger wants to make sure she goes on our next trip!

Catamaran ride and lots of hiking!

Today is our last full day here, so we had to squeeze in everything that we haven't gotten to yet. We started our morning with a two hour catamaran ride. They served breakfast, which was assorted pastries, fruit and breads. The water is absolutely beautiful here, and the weather was perfect for being out on a boat.
It's a good thing the day started off well, because it got harder from there! Jameson (Erik's nephew), Erik, Kayleigh and I went from the catamaran to the hills for hiking. The first hike might not have been so bad had it not been so humid! My new favorite line is "cotton kills". I kept thinking that on the way up to Manoa Falls. I get hot anyway, and wearing a cotton t-shirt didn't help my cause. I brought a running t-shirt that's made out of polyester. That would have been MUCH nicer to hike in! It had also been raining around the falls, so the trail was muddy. Luckily Erik is good at hiking, otherwise he and Kayleigh might have been in trouble. One guy gave him a walking stick. He was on his way down and saw us hiking up with Kayleigh on Erik's back. He said that Erik needed it more than him. People are really nice around here!
After that hike we went to McDonald's for lunch. We then headed to Diamond Head to do that hike. It's a good thing we did it second, because I'm not sure if I could he done anything else if we had done it first! Besides hiking up the side of a volcano, we had to hike up two flights of stairs. The first flight had 79 steps, and the second had 99! Whew! I was so glad when people tried to pass us so that I could stop and let them go! After those steps, there was a spiral staircase to go up. That one wasn't so bad. The funny part was when Erik had to crawl through a little opening with Kayleigh still on his back. There was just enough room for the two of them. When we got to the top, I was glad I walked up all of those stairs. the views were awesome!
After a little quiet time here in the room, we went to the beach for one last sunset. It was really the first one that we've seen here. The sun sets around 7:15, and we're usually eating then. It was gorgeous, of course. We saw it set over the mountains because we're on the wrong side of the island to see it set over the water.
We are still planning on getting up and going to Pearl Harbor in the morning. It'll be another long day, but then we'll have lots of time in the air to relax and sleep! One week was not long enough on this island. I guess we'll have to come back!! :)

Kayaking at Lanikai and the Byodo-In Temple

Erik and I got a day to ourselves today. No one was brave enough to try kayaking in the ocean, so we dropped Kayleigh off in his parents' room and off we went! We took the Pali Highway across the island, and stopped at the Look Out. It was one of the sites of a battle for Oahu. It is also very windy! The wind could probably blow a small person over. Hopefully you can tell how windy it is in the picture. When we were close to Lanikai, I called the aunt and uncle of one of Kayleigh's teachers, and they let us borrow a kayak. That saved us at least $50! They were super nice and didn't mind they they didn't know us at all! The island that we wanted go to was about a half mile away from the shore. You would think that it wouldn't be so hard to paddle that far, but I thought my arms would fall off by the time we got there! The water was beautiful, and so was the island, so it was worth the pain. It island is a seabird sanctuary, and there are little caves all over the island where birds are nesting. Erik and I wandered around the island, but we could only go about halfway. The waves can get pretty big, and if you're not careful, they can sweep you out to sea! Oh, and the island is made out of lava, which would not feel good if you were slammed back into it! Erik and I probably spent close to an hour on the island before heading back to the beach. The way in was still hard, but at least we were going with the waves. We probably made it back in half the time it took us to go out.
After returning the kayak, Erik and I went to a park next to the beach to hose off and eat lunch. We didn't stay there too long because we wanted to head to the Byodo-In Temple. It's an exact replica of a temple in Japan. It was neat, and the building was made without nails! Erik and I bought some fish food to feed the koi. Those fish are crazy about their food, let me tell you! Some of them were getting out of the water to get the food! They are fat and happy from all of the tourists feeding them, that's for sure!
When we got home and cleaned up, we headed out to the Hula Grill for dinner. It was right on the beach, upstairs from Duke's, where we ate the first night we were here. The food was excellent!
I know we ditched Kayleigh for the day, but it was really nice to spend time with just Erik.

Horseback riding and the Polynesian Cultural Center

Wednesday started off exciting as I anticipated horseback riding on the beach. Little did I know that in my excitement making the reservations, I didn't pay attention to what place I called, and we ended up on a dumb trail ride instead of the place that I had intended to call. On the up side, we rode for probably twice as long. Erik is convinced that I did it on purpose so that he'll have to take me horseback riding on some other beach. I'm not sure why I wouldn't want to do it here in beautiful Hawaii, though...
After the disappointing horseback ride, we were off to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC). We got there right about 2:30 when the canoe parade was starting. They have wide canoes that groups from each of the different villages are on, and they do a little dance from the island. It was neat. The best part of the PCC was the Samoan village. The guy that did the presentation was HILARIOUS!!! I wanted to take him home with me! In another village, Erik tried a spear toss. Out of all of the people we watched, he was the only one that made it in the target! He got a little handmade crown. Kayleigh also discovered water fountains and how much fun they can be. She's turning into such a water girl that she didn't want to stop playing in it.
That night, we also went to a luau. It was good, but I have nothing to compare it to. I think the highlight of the evening was the "Horizons" show that they put on. It was awesome! We didn't take any pictures of it, so you'll just have to take my word on it. Kayleigh literally enjoyed the first ten minutes before falling asleep. It was cute, because she was clapping her hands and bopping to the music before passing out. What a day!

Tuesday's adventures

Erik and I started our Tuesday with a walk to the park. We've been waking up pretty early, so we figured we might as well get up and do something. We loaded Kayleigh in the backpack carrier and off we went. We took a nice stroll down the beach and crossed through a marina to get to the park. The park was pretty, but towards the front of it is where a lot of homeless people live. It's pretty sad, really.
Back to happier times--we fed Kayleigh breakfast in the park, which ended at the ocean. We walked around a little more of it before heading back to the hotel. As you can see in the picture, Kayleigh conked out before we got back home.
After a short talk with someone about how great owning timeshares is, we regrouped and headed for the North Shore. Oh, I think I forgot to mention that we went off of the itinerary for the day. We had decided that it might be too late to go kayaking after our "talk", so we'll have to do that another day. Back to our morning...we headed off to Hale'iwa for Giovanni's Shrimp Truck lunch, the beach, shaved ice and Dole Plantation. Giovanni's Shrimp Truck is famous for selling shrimp off of a truck. Most of the group ate it, but I still can't eat seafood since I was pregnant with Kayleigh, so I went to another truck for some greek salad and onion straws. Everyone that ate it liked it, though, so it must have been good!
We decided to just drive until we found a pretty beach to stop at for awhile. We must have picked a good one, because we found the one where turtles come up to lay out. It was amazing seeing these huge sea turtles swimming by you and then going up to the beach. There are volunteers there that remind you to back away from the turtles and let them do their thing. What I think the one lady didn't understand was that I was holding a one year old in stomach deep water, and even though she was telling me to back away from the turtle, I wasn't going anywhere! I honestly think she expected me to tread water with Kayleigh in my arms!
After a quick dip in the water, we changed our clothes and headed to get some hawaiian shaved ice. We wanted to stop at Matsumoto's shaved ice, which is the one we heard about before. The line was out the door and around the side of the building, so we went down about a block to another shaved ice place. Some people got ice cream with theirs, and a couple got it with some kind of "sweet" bean. The beans tasted like black beans, so I'm not sure why someone would think it's a good idea to put it together with shaved ice! If you know me, you know that I'm not big on trying new things, so I stuck to plain shaved ice. I do have to say that the ice cream looked good with it, thoughh!
After eating the shaved ice, we headed over to Dole Plantation. All Erik and I wanted to do was try the human maze, so we headed straight there. In this maze, instead of getting from point A to point B, you have to find 8 stations and trace whatever image it gives you. We had to trace a hula girl, a sun, a warrior, a sea urchin, a train, a pineapple (of course!), a fish, and a palm tree. Erik and I completed the maze in just under 50 minutes. The record time is 6 minutes, and I think whoever did that had the maze memorized! We tried some pineapple ice cream, which was good, but very sweet. Some people in the group took a train ride around the plantation.
After a VERY busy day, we came home for some pizza and sleep! Today we are heading back to the North Shore. Erik and I are going horseback riding while his parents take care of Kayleigh. Then we'll head to the Polynesian Cultural Center to check it out, eat at the luau and watch the night show. It's going to be another big day, but also another fun day.

Foot Push

Do I look like I'm having fun or what???


The wireless internet was acting kooky the other day and wouldn't upload this video. It's too good to not share, I think!

Sea Life Park

All I can say is "wow"!! We did the dolphin swim today and it was AMAZING!!! I loved it and wanted to stay and play for the rest of the day. Erik was able to take some pictures, but unfortunately, we were facing the wrong way when we swam with the dolphins. We got to kiss and hug the dolphins, and I was the first one to do the "foot push". I was surprised by how hard their noses were against my feet. I felt like a super star while doing it! After the foot push, I waited for the next round when I was pulled by two dolphins. After everyone did their rides, the trainer brought one of the dolphins close so we could enjoy some time petting it. I was standing next to the second group, and you can see in one of the pictures how I'm enjoying some extra touch time. :)
When we first got to the park, we walked around one of their huge tanks and got to see a bunch of fish and sting rays and turtles. Kayleigh was right up against the window and she loved the view. She also got to touch a sea turtle, but I don't think was as excited about that. She saw the dolphins swimming around and was interested in them. She probably would have liked taking a ride on them, too

For my fam

Kayleigh is making a funny face in these pictures that should remind my family of me when I was younger. Kayleigh is learning how to do the breathing in and out of her nose when she's mad like I used to do. I know this doesn't make sense to those that didn't know me when I was little--sorry!
Don't those pictures just make you want to squeeze her?? I LOVE this face!

Hanauma Bay and the Swap Meet

We made it to Hanauma Bay yesterday morning and had a great time snorkeling. Jim and Shirley watched Kayleigh for us while we were out in the water. After snorkeling for awhile, we decided to come in and relieve Erik's parents. Erik took Kayleigh down to the shore so that I could get some pictures of her playing in the water. You can't tell from all of the pictures, but she was having SO much fun in the water! It is quite the change from the first time she got in a pool.
In the afternoon, we went to the Aloha Stadium for the swap meet. It's basically a big outdoor craft show/flea market. I bought just a few things, and Erik bought a University of Hawaii visor. Erik also got some shaved ice that he had to share with Kayleigh. She is SPOILED!

Aloha!!!

We made it! It is 6:15 AM, and we've been up with Kayleigh since about 3:30. She did NOT sleep well. But, let's look at the good stuff. We made it here on time yesterday, and eventually found our hotel. Kayleigh was EXCELLENT on the flight. We got a bunch of compliments on how well she did. The only time she cried was when we were changing her diaper. I had her on Erik's lap because it wasn't too long before we were going to land, and I couldn't get into the lavatory.
We didn't do much when we got here yesterday, just got used to where we were. We went to Duke's last night for dinner. It was recommended by some people back at home, and was really good. We sat on the patio right by the water. The water is beautiful, and I can't wait to go snorkeling today! We are getting ready to leave now because we hear that you need to get to Hanauma Bay before all of the tourists get there and churn up the water. There is a reef right off of the shore that we'll snorkel to and check out.
We are also going to the "toilet bowl" today. I think it's just a little place off of the side of Hanauma Bay. It works something like this: the waves will come in and fill up the pool, and then when the waves go out, it swirls like a toilet bowl. Fun times.
I'll update more later!

Here is a picture of Kayleigh looking out of the plane on the way to Atlanta.

Hawaii here we come!!!

We leave VERY early tomorrow morning to go to Hawaii! We are so excited and have our bags packed and in the car! We know that we'll have a good time, and I'm going to try to keep up with the blog while we're over there. Cayla is bringing her laptop, and the condo is supposed to have wireless internet, so expect updates and pictures along the way.
Here is a tentative schedule of what we're doing so you can have some idea each day. Just remember that we are 5-6 hours behind you, so you'll have to think about those hours, rather than yours.
Saturday: arrive in Honolulu, hang out at the pool/take naps!

Sunday: snorkeling in the morning at Hanauma Bay. We want to go to the "toilet bowl" which is a little inlet thing where the water swirls around like the toilet when the waves go out. We'll probably do a little tour around that side of the island, too. That afternoon we'll go to the swap meet/flea market for souvenirs. That's where everyone says to go for that stuff. (By everyone, I mean articles that we've read on the internet)

Monday: Sea Life Park! ( www.sealifeparkhawaii.com ) We will be swimming with DOLPHINS that day!! Curry, Taylor and I are going the "Dolphin Royal Swim" and Cayla, Zac, Amanda and Thor are doing the "Dolphin Encounter", in case you want to look it up. We'll probably spend most of the day there, and then relax at the beach or pool in the afternoon. Oh, and I didn't leave Erik out of the list--we went to Discovery Cove in Orlando a few years ago to swim with the dolphins, and he doesn't want to spend the money to do it again.

Tuesday: Kayaking at Lanikai Beach. We can rent kayaks for like 4 hours and go out into the water and to islands that aren't too far off the shore. We are then thinking about going to the Dole Plantation that afternoon. There is a human maze there that I am convinced I will conquer!
Wednesday: North Shore. We're going to go horseback riding on the beach, and then go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We'll stay there that evening for a luau.

Thursday: Open

Friday: Open

Saturday: We'll go to Pearl Harbor and the USS Alabama in the morning, and then our flight is that afternoon. :(

Sunday: Land in Tallahassee (it's a red-eye flight) My parents and abuelo will be in town after visiting Nick, Robyn and Taylor for Taylor's first birthday.

Getting Greeks in the Streets

This was the race Jenna and I ran this morning. It was H-O-T hot peppers!! Jenna was nice and stayed with me for most of the race. The worst part was the hills, and those were at the beginning. I was about ready to quit at mile .1 (no, the decimal is not in the wrong spot!) I had to pretty much walk the last mile because I was so hot and starting to get cramps in my sides. That's when Jenna left me. I didn't mind, though, because we've always said that if one wants to go farther than the other, they were free to do it.
Would I do this race again? Probably not. It was too hot, and too late in the morning. (It started at 9:30.) I did meet the goal of finishing and not dying, but I was two minutes slower in this race than the last one I did. I am still pumped and want to do more races, but I will wait until the fall when it's cooler, and will only do races that start at 8 AM or earlier!

I've been tagged...again

Cayla tagged me, and there are different questions this time, so I figured I'd go ahead and do it again!

What were you doing 10 years ago? I had just graduated from high school! I was working at the Gap (LOVED it!!!) and getting ready to go to the University of Florida for school.


What were you doing 5 years ago? I had just come back from the Philippines and my brother's wedding. I moved to Tallahassee from Gainesville and Erik and I were starting in on wedding plans. Awww!!! :)


5 months ago? I was probably still in a minor panic mode trying to figure out if I was actually going to be able to handle working and having an infant. That was H-A-R-D!!!


5 things on my to-do-list:
1-Finish a 5K this morning in hot, humid weather without dying
2-Clean my house (that's an every day to do list item!)
3-Finish packing for Hawaii
4-Mail Jonathan and Chat their swing (Erik is actually going to the post office this morning if you all read this)
5-Check and double check my packing list for Hawaii. I keep adding stuff!

5 favorite snacks:
1-Ice Cream (duh!)
2-Dole fruit cups with yogurt on the bottom (I eat those at school)
3-I don't really know how to answer the rest. I'm not a "snacky" person, and just grab whatever's around, I guess


5 things I would do with a Billion Dollars:
1-Quit my job and stay home
2-My Sunday school answer--tithe
3-Do volunteer work (if I didn't have to work since I had a billion dollars!)
4-Go on lots of trips
5-Buy a sweet camera and take a class like Chaille!

5 Places I've Lived:
1-St. Petersburg
2-Gainesville
3-Montgomery, Alabama
4-Tallahassee
5-That's it for me!

5 Things you might not know about me:
1-I HATE it if I've taken two showers in a day and the towel or washcloth hasn't completely dried yet. I think I heard somewhere that those things needed to dry completely so bacteria didn't grow on them.
2-I have never used a lawn mower. My dad wouldn't let the girls mow the lawn. Sorry, Nick! Random story: One time when we were younger, Nick and I decided to switch chores for a change. My chore was to vacuum, and his was to mow the lawn. He vacuumed the house, and later we were outside where he was instructing me on how the lawn mower worked. Dad came outside and said, no, I was not going to mow the lawn. Nick ended up having to do both chores. It was a good day for me, but not so good for him!
3-I wouldn't make a good nurse! My heart it too hard, and I would probably make my patients do more than they could handle. Plus, I hate shots, and am not sure that I could inflict that pain on other people.
4-I still love to get the mail, even though I rarely get anything except junk and bills. I run to it faster around my birthday and Christmas when I know there will be cards waiting for me!
5-I love anesthesia. I have this great idea, and I'll use the blog to spread the word. I've actually told a doctor about my idea, but it died there in the operating room! (My idea, not the doctor!) I think that once you're getting the fun medicine, you should be allowed one phone call to let someone else hear how goofy you are! I say crazy stuff, and I think other people should be allowed in on the fun! I also repeat myself when I'm woozy. For instance, when I was getting ready for my last surgery (not my c-section, because they don't give you the fun medicine then) I was all pumped up to tell my idea! I waited until they had given me the juice and then was out with it while I still had the guts. I'm pretty sure that as soon as I was done with my story I asked, "Did I tell you my idea about the one phone call??" When the doctor came out of the operating room to talk to my mom and friend, he told her that I had them cracking up. Pretty much every time someone tells me they're about to go in for surgery, I tell them my idea and ask them to spread the word. Unfortunately, the people I know are wimps because none of them have done it yet!

I tag anyone else willing to add this to their blog :)

School visit

I took Kayleigh up to her school this morning like I do every Friday. It was a little sad, because I had to pay August's tuition. The tuition is always due on the 25th, a few days before the month. Since we'll be in HAWAII when tuition is due, I figured I better go ahead and take it in now. It won't get cashed for awhile. On the plus side, Kayleigh's class was having water day again. They do it every Friday, but it was only wild and crazy that first Friday with the blow up slide and tunnel. It was kind of funny because Kayleigh got into water day today more than she has before, but some of the other kids that normally love it weren't having it today. Go figure my daughter is the odd one out. After playing in the water, some of the kids went out onto the playground. Kayleigh joined them out there, too, and this was the first time that she went down a slide! She really enjoyed it! She had to climb up the steps to get to the slide, and then slide down on her stomach. The little kids aren't allowed to go on their bottoms yet. Her teacher was at the top and said that she had a not-so-good look on her face the first time she went down, but she immediately wanted to do it again! She has learned how to turn around to get down off of the couch and bricks in front of the fire place, so she was easily able to do that on the platform to go down the slide. I guess her expressions were priceless, and she wanted to do it over and over again. She also figured out after her first slide that the fastest way to get back to the top is to just climb back up the slide. I would have let her do it since it wasn't that long, and I was right there with her. Unfortunately for her, it's against school rules since an adult isn't always right there, and they don't want the kids to think it's okay one day and not okay then next. I did help her cheat a couple of times and dropped her off at the top of the stairs! On a random side note, this is an older (from 7/4) video of Kayleigh after she was done feeding herself the spaghetti. I should have posted the video on that post, and don't know why I didn't. I love it though! You can decide what you think she's saying.

Even more ready for Hawaii

Erik and I both knew that we would want to hike while in Hawaii, so we figured we had to get something to carry Kayleigh in. We are only planning on bringing an umbrella stroller for her, so that would not do on a hike! We got this carrier off of Ebay, and love it! We've taken it out on walks a couple of times to see how it feels. Erik is the only one that's used it so far, and he likes it. I like it because it slows him down a little bit!! :) The carrier also came with a little sun shade, which is another reason why we liked this one so much. We haven't had to use the shade yet, but we have hooked it up to see what it's like.
Erik and I are both ready to start packing our suitcases and go on vacation! We said it last night that we can't wait to go! So much anticipation! Less than two weeks until we leave! Erik has to make it through this long week, and I think next week will be a lot faster for him. Let's hope it is!

Happy 4th of July!!

Our 4th started EARLY this morning! Erik ran his first triathlon, and we had to get up at 5:30 to drive an hour+ to the race. I woke Kayleigh up and changed her diaper right before we left. She, as always, was quite the trooper. She was a big help cheering Daddy on, too. And yes, we slathered sunscreen on her.


After the race we went to John and Chaillé's house for lunch and swimming. Kayleigh really enjoys being in the water now. More than the water, Kayleigh enjoys ice cream, including the homemade stuff that Grandpa Jim slipped her! Thanks again, John and Chaillé for the food and entertainment!


When we got home, I had Erik strip Kayleigh down, knowing that she was going to get spaghetti for dinner. She LOVES spaghetti, and this was the first time that I was going to give her noodles, rather than the bow tie pasta that she has gotten in the past. Erik and I have always fed the spaghetti to Kayleigh, but tonight she got brave and wanted to try it on her own. I had gotten up from the table to a minute, and she grabbed a handful of spaghetti and her fork. She was trying to get the spaghetti onto the fork to put it in her mouth. As you can see from the pictures, she wasn't as successful as we all had hoped! She also got pears with dinner, and Erik and I would stab the pear with the fork and let Kayleigh put it in her mouth. She was much more successful with that! Notice Ginger and Tracy (the dogs) waiting for Kayleigh to drop some food down to them!

It is finished!

Aaah! After a year of work, I have finished Kayleigh's scrapbook! Eikelands, get ready to ooh and aah over it tomorrow! :)

More pictures from this week

One picture is of Kayleigh and her friend playing. He was able to make it under the walker, but was more unsuccessful at getting himself back out. They were having fun, and I think Kayleigh's friend was checking out the wheels of the walker.


In the other picture, Kayleigh had just woken up from her nap. I'm not sure if her messy hair means that she had a good nap or a bad nap. You be the judge.

What a difference a year makes!

I couldn't help but think about how much Kayleigh has changed from when she was 1 month old until now. I had to get a picture of her the other day and show off the difference. I probably won't do this every month, but then again, why not??