Happy Halloween!

Here are some pics from k's first halloween. We went to WPC's Harvest Festival. D ended up playing the games for k, but she seemed to enjoy it. I guess we'll be eating her candy!

k the bunny rabbit. (Sasa made the outfit. k also has a big fluffy tail).


Bowling for bunnies.


Family photo op.


Meet the "Harley" Pastor booth.


D with cotton candy, making sure we went to all of the booths. He even won a goldfish, but we declined.

Big Island Recap Day 3

Continuing on...Sunday morning we went to Waikoloa Community Church, which D had checked out on the internet months earlier. It was smaller than I expected, but that may have been because we went to the early service. The pastor played the ukelele while leading worship. The windows on both side of the church were open during the service, and there was a gentle breeze that passed through. You could also hear the birds chirping outside. You could definitely feel God's presence.

Afterward we visited D's parents at the condo where they were staying in Waikoloa. As you can see, k made herself at home, sitting on the coffee table:


We checked out the Queens' MarketPlace, which is still under construction. Some stores were already open, including a store for kids called Giggles. k received a free t-shirt for their Grand Opening. Next we headed across the street to the Kings' Shops to have a quick look-see. D used the Crazy Shirt gift certificate and picked out a shirt and a sticker, which came out exactly to $25.

Afterward we went to the Hilton Waikoloa Village, a huge, Disneyland-like resort. D had stayed here for several days over twenty years ago, and it brought back a lot of memories. They have a boat and a tram that circles the property. We opted for the boat, when D got a phone call from his BSF leader. Yes, that is k sleeping again!

We ate lunch at the Lagoon Grill. Too bad the flies got in the way. They also have dolphins, but they were too quick for me to get a good picture:

It took us a while to walk the grounds, and we only saw half of it!



We returned to Mauna Lani and checked out their Beach Club. The snorkeling was better than Hapuna.
k really enjoyed her bucket that we filled with ocean water.



Our next activity was to explore Mauna Lani a bit more. They have some interesting fish traps. The baby fish swim through the slats, and then they get fat and can't swim back to the ocean. Kind of sad, but it's the circle of life, I guess.


On our way back we happened upon this large sea turtle.


After all that walking, we were ready for dinner. We decided on Dara's Thai Cuisine, which made D's Restaurant List. It was tasty, but the portions didn't really justify the prices.

Big Island Recap Day 2

It wasn't too hard to make the time adjustment in Hawaii. Coming back to the mainland, however, has been a different story. k doesn't seem to want to go to sleep at her usual 7 p.m. anymore.

As for Day 2, we headed out to Hapuna Beach first thing. We had read a lot about this beach so we had high expectations. D liked how the sand was wide and smooth; a good running beach. The snorkeling, was just OK, though. There were some waves, and I caught a good one on a boogie board I was using for snorkeling (there's a hole so you can see through it). Caution: don't scroll down if you don't want to see a picture of D sans shirt! :)

k had fun playing with her sand toys.




We ate lunch at one of my picks, Cafe Pesto. We shared the Pizza Luau (kalua pork, local onions, and pineapple) and the Four Seasons Pizza. Very tasty!



After lunch we stopped in at Lapakahi State Historic Park. There are some interesting examples of shelters used by native Hawaiians. Unfortunately, my camera lens had a big fingerprint on it so most of our pictures here are blurry. Here's one of the pre-smudge pictures:


Our next stop was Pololu Valley Lookout.

As you can see, it was a beautiful day with a magnificent view. We didn't dare venture down the path to the beach since we had k in tow. k wasn't too happy about all of these stops so we tried to return to the condo as soon as possible.

For dinner we went to Ruth's Chris. I love their saying, "If you've ever had a filet this good, welcome back." D had never been to a Ruth's Chris or Morton's before, so he was excited. They had an early bird special which we all ordered: salad, ribeye or petit filet, side dish and dessert. D said the filet was the single best entree we had all week. We were able to share the sides: sauteed mushrooms, french fries, mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. The whiskey bread pudding was a quite enjoyable, if not over-the-top way to end the meal. k was pretty antsy waiting for the food to come out. In the end, she fell asleep in D's arms:

Big Island Recap Day 1

We're still recovering from our vacation on the Big Island last week. Looks like we missed a lot of excitement here with all of the fires and such.

Our vacation began two Fridays ago. My Dad dropped us off early in the morning (thanks Dad!) at John Wayne airport.

k enjoying a yogurt parfait from McD's.


I was a bit worried about how k would do on her first airplane ride. She did pretty well, sleeping the first hour, and another 45 minutes later on during the flight.


Aloha Airlines had a contest where passengers were supposed to fill out a quiz with three questions regarding the contents of their inflight magazine. Those with the correct answers were put in a drawing. For some reason both D and I had a feeling that we would win. And guess what...I did! A $25 gift certificate to Crazy Shirt! That was particularly funny to us becuase we always make fun of Crazy Shirt stores.

D's parents picked us up at the Kona Airport after having some trouble at the rental car place. They have two condos on the Big Island and stay there for extended periods of time. It was nice to have "regulars" show us around so we didn't waste time getting lost like we usually do while on vacation.

Our first stop was the Four Seasons Hualailai.


We were pretty tired after our flight. D and k enjoyed the chaise in the lobby:


We ate lunch at the Beach Tree Bar & Grill. D was impressed with his hamburger.


Even the condiments were fancy:


After driving to the condo in Mauna Lani and settling in, it was time for dinner. We ate at the Gallery in Mauna Lani, which serves Chinese food.

k fell asleep before dinner and slept right through it. Good thing I dressed her in her pjs beforehand.


Afterward we went to the Shops at Mauna Lani. We watched the free hula show they have on Thursdays and Fridays. (k woke up and watched the show too).


It was a long day, but fun. More to come...

D's Lists: Updated

Going to the Big Island for the last week allowed me to eat at many great restaurants of which 5 made my list. In addition, I went to many great beaches and other natural wonders. After much thought, I decided to fully revamp my destinations list. The revised list allows greater flexibility for me and easier readability for the readers since it is broken out by geographical location. L will provide the color commentary, but for now here are my revised lists.

Restaurant List

Destinations List

It's Fun to Be One

k still has a couple months to go before she turns one, but on Saturday we helped celebrate our friends' son's first birthday. The theme was The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The parents did a really good job chronicling little m's life through a scrapbook and DVD. It made me realize I need to get on that stuff for k! At least I can go back to this blog to help remind me of some of the details. Watching the DVD of m's birth (not the actual birth, of course!)brought back a lot of memories (both pleasant and not-so-pleasant) to D and me.


Blowing out the candles.


Enjoying his first taste of pure sugar.


I think k enjoyed the opening of m's presents more than he did!

I've been debating whether to have a one-year party for k. It's right around Christmas, so I know everyone is really busy. I think we will try to have one, though, since she'll only turn one once!

Hangin' @ Home

Here's k with "yogurt mouth". I really hope k doesn't end up being a picky eater. Did anyone watch that Oprah on Monday about getting your kids to eat vegetables? So far, k will try pretty much anything. Let's hope she stays that way.


Here's k playing with her cell phone. It rings and you can record messages! It's pretty funny how she has a toy cell phone and I had a toy rotary phone.


Here's k standing by herself. Hopefully we can get some video of her walking efforts soon.

Another Week

This is the duck I decorated for D to enter in a contest at work as a fundraiser for juvenile diabetes. Sad to say it didn't win. Apparently, people go all out, making entire displays with props, and such.

Friday night I had dinner in Irvine with a couple of my college roommates. We were saying goodbye to R, who is moving across the country pretty soon. We will miss you!

Guess what we did on Saturday? Yes, we were watching college football. Too bad we couldn't watch the USC-Stanford game. D was following it on the internet and we couldn't believe it. I never thought I would live to see the day when Cal was ranked #2 in the nation. I told D to enjoy it while it lasts.

Sunday morning we picked up D's cousin and his wife and went out to breakfast. They came down from Northern California for the Angels-Red Sox game. (They're Red Sox fans!) We ate at the Gourmet Pie Co. We ordered the pancake sampler (buttermilk, apple cinnamon, blueberry, and banana nut) and the country gourmet mess (potatoes, bell peppers, onions, ham, eggs and gravy, which we asked for on the side). The portions are pretty huge. We ended up taking the leftovers and had them for dinner, too!

On the k front: She's starting to walk! We've seen her walk about 5-6 steps (my mom has seen her walk 7 steps). She also likes to take things off our shelves and play with things other than her toys.

Revival of the Reviews Blog

Just to let you know, I'm sort of reviving the "D + L Reviews" blog on our Xanga site (link on the right). Recommendations for books for k or parenting books are greatly appreciated!