Weekend in Kaua'i

One of the wonderful things about living in Hawaii is the insane amount of state holidays. Good for Tanner and I but bad for Yooper since he never gets them off with us. Last Friday was one of those days but this time it also happened that Yooper had to go to Kauai for a project at the Marriott. This meant a free room at a four star resort so Tanner and I were not going to miss that.

We flew in Thursday night. Friday was mostly spent by the pool with absolutely nothing else to do which was wonderful by me. I know that Kauai is the "Garden Isle" and all but I'm not going to leave a pool like that if I don't have to. Sorry. We'll see the island in earnest after the Super Ferry starts service and we can bring our own vehicle, dog, bikes, kid stuff, and camping equipment with us AND Yooper can come with us.

Yooper was hopelessly stuck in the construction trailer for most of Friday but a broken drill meant he got Saturday off after all. Our flight did not leave until after dinner so another full day at the pool for us :)

Home Improvement

Tanner's gonna kill me one day for this :)

Windy's Luau

We were recently invited to our first local party. It was a luau for Ku'ulei's daughter Windy who just wrapped up her PhD in Hawaiian Archeology from University of Hawaii.

As I said in earlier posts, the locals here really take graduation seriously. There was live music, a Chinese dragon dance, a balloon lady and caricature artist, a slide show, and TONS of Hawaiian and other local food. The most impressive part was the cake Ku'ulei made to look like a archaeological dig complete with terraced rock walls. Very Hawaiian :)

I think Ku'ulei invited all of Coconut island so there were plenty of people to talk to and Yooper finally got a chance to meet everybody so that was nice. I think there were twice as many people as our wedding :)

Finally Catching Up!!!

Yes I know, the blog has been neglected for ages. It’s hard to motivate to update when you know how much you have to cover. Just keep scrolling though. This should pretty much cover the entire three month gap in a nut shell. I'll try to keep up better but no promises. Better late than never though right? You’ll catch up eventually...

Ultrasound

We got to have another ultrasound today. Super high res one with the 3D shots too. I love it when you get a peak inside :)

The big surprise was that instead of the standard one or two prints they send you home with, we got a whole roll of prints AND a CD of digital images to go home with. Here she is...

35W Collapse

As the entire country knows by now, the 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi this week. This really hits home for Yooper and I on SO many levels. Knowing that I would have been at work all night with the rest of the GIS team at Minneapolis and quite possibly in the Emergency Operations Center alongside the government officials and other emergency coordinators, Yooper being a Civil Engineer and understanding too well the engineering and funding deficiencies faced by Minnesota's roads, and most of all, the friends we left there and fearing for all their safety. I watched CNN long into the night on Wednesday and was fairly thankful that Tanner was playing outside with the neighbors and Yooper was at a work function as the news unfolded considering the puddle of tears I became. Call it hormones or whatever (yes, I'm sure that factored in :) ) but the feeling of helplessness was so strong. It was such an eerie feeling watching the news conferences and seeing people you worked with and knew on CNN. Knowing that the MECC (Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center) had transformed into a war room of sorts and having been a small (okay, very small) part of the planning for such a disaster, it was just so surreal to take in from 4000 miles away.

Luckily, so far no one we know was on the bridge at the time however we heard from Josh yesterday that he drove under the bridge on West River Parkway less than 10 minutes before the collapse. It also sounds like most people who work or live in or around downtown know someone who had either just crossed the bridge or was about to cross the bridge. A close call felt by all and no doubt more than tragic for others.

While living there, the bridge was not one that I crossed often, maybe once or twice a month. Usually on the way north to go camping or perhaps to go shopping in Roseville for something I couldn't buy on the south end of town. I drove under this bridge on the parkway far more often. It was the scenic route home on the days I drove instead of taking the train. I always thought it was so neat driving down along the rivers edge with the bridges so far overhead. Bridges always are so much more beautiful from below. The arches and trusses and the weird echoes of the traffic above. There's a lot you don't see from above.

The parkway underneath the bridge is gorgeous through every season in Minneapolis. My favorite days (oddly enough now that I live in Hawaii) were one or two days a season that defined that season perfectly. Winter was the mornings that you'd get that thick heavy sloppy snow that sticks to everything and each tree limb, street sign, and blade of grass was perfectly outlined with a layer of pure white. Spring was the first truly warm day when the sidewalks and trails along the parkway would erupt with all the bikers, runners, hikers, rollerbladers, and moms with strollers who where so sick with cabin fever that had to soak up as much sunshine and warmth as possible. Summer was the days that the temperature and humidity were just perfect (hard to come by in the Midwest) on a Friday afternoon with the weekend ahead and again, the joyful mood that would radiate from everyone on the street. Fall was the day, of course, when the fall colors were so brilliant all you can think about was taking in as much as possible because you'd have to wait an entire year to catch another day so beautiful. I do miss all of that. Not to say that I regret the decision to move one bit. The wonderful thing about Hawaii is that days with that much beauty are far more common. The mountains and the ocean and all the wonderful creatures are incredible everyday but it is a different kind of beauty. There will always be a part of my heart that belongs to the seasons in the Midwest and perhaps someday (a long long time from now!!!!) we will return. For now we are taking in as much here as possible but will continue to think of our friends back in the twin cities. I think all of you know our hearts go out to you and we think of you constantly. Thanks to you guys who send out emails to let us know you were okay. Just one of those events that gets you all warm and sentimental inside and reminds you how thankful you are for what you have.

Okay, that's all the cheesiness you have to endure but I had to say it okay? :)

Love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Tanner's first day of kindergarten. After a week of stalling with parent orientation, placement testing and waiting for classroom assignments, today he FINALLY had his first day. He was very excited and seemed fairly confused as to what the major delay was with my leaving once we got there. I finally relented to the “okay got out already” vibe and left him on his own. Have to say it was far different than the first day of preschool. Not sure if it was due to him being a little older or just sensing the fact that all the kids were new to each other and on level ground but he was very brave, not at all clingy and just generally excited to get on with it already :)

Hike to Makapu'u Lighthouse

The weekend after we returned from our big trip, the weather was a bit lousy so we opted against a trip to the beach and decided to finally do the lighthouse hike. I was pretty proud of myself all in all. The vertical ascent is about 500 feet and the trail is 3 miles round trip. Not bad for an out of shape pregnant lady still coughing up a lung from the cold all three of us got prior to the trip. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as we reached the top, the clouds parted and it was a gorgeous day. Thankfully the sun waited until then because the trip back down the hill was HOT!

Take note of the picture of the tree towards the end. The entire tree is actually a "pencil plant" which Lisa Sellers and Lisa Schmaltz used to have as house plants. We tried one too but without a super bright awesome south window, these plants are nearly impossible in the Midwest. When I saw the tree, which was actually a huge hedge of trees, I couldn't believe how huge and dense it was. Kinda funny how so much of the normal foliage here is the same stuff I used to kill as houseplants :)

Big News!!!!

Okay, I think most of the world now knows the big secret by now but for those of you who we didn't get a chance to see in Michigan or are out of the gossip loop, Tanner is finally going to be a big brother. He's very excited for his little sister due Thanksgiving Day. Don't feel too left out if your one of those who hasn’t heard. Even the grandparents were in the dark until we got to Michigan and finally spilled the beans. It's amazing how easy it is to keep a secret when you're thousands of miles and an ocean away :)

Michigan Adventure

What an adventure it was. A full day at a water park with Tanner, his cousin Brett, as well as Grandma & Grandpa, Aunt Timarie and Yooper & I. Kind of disappointing for me in that pregnant people can't go on so many of the cool slides but it also gave me a bit of an excuse to not go on many of the rides I really don't care much for :) Either way, the kids had a ball and were super bummed to leave but we were all working up quite an appetite and there was a 2 1/2 hours drive back ahead of us too.

Sorry for the lack of pictures but electronics and water park don't go together too well :)

Slip N Slide!

Remember this???

Glassblowing at Louie's

While in Davison, we made sure to make a stop by Louie's who was gracious enough to give Tanner an up close and personal glassblowing demonstration with his own T-Rex pendant to keep. Tanner was of course mesmerized to say the least and a dip in the pool was the icing on the cake. Thanks Louie!!!!

Matt & Susan's Wedding

Book ending the backend of the trip to Michigan was Matt and Susan's wedding. This was our chance for visiting with the Wilson clan, catching up on their family gossip and of course seeing how the great-grand-munchkins have sprouted since we last saw them all. The night seemed to fly by, mostly due to Tanner's finally having hitting a bit of a wall with new faces and cordial visiting, but before we knew it, the party had emptied and I felt awful about not having had a chance to visit with more family. Amazing how time flies, better luck next time I guess.

Houghton

There's not a ton one can say about Houghton that those who know it don't already know and those that don't never really will. As always it was an awesome visit with friends that I miss dearly and see far too few of.

The three days consisted of many great conversations, lots of laughter and tons of kids. I've always wondered what it was going to be like once the rest of our friends started having kids of their own and we could all go on a trip together. I got my answer on this trip and then some :)

The trip included Bader's fireworks at Agate beach, Chutes and Ladders, Hancock Beach, Copper Harbor fireworks, Lunch at the DT, a girls night at the Shelden Ave bars, Jeep rides on the logging trails, and tons and tons of laughing, talking, and even a little crying on my part (long story).