i can do that

Emma has been imitating us left and right. She found Jens's headphones on the table and picked up the ear piece and held it up to her ear. Jens plugged it into his computer so she would actually be able to hear some tunes coming out.

awa-'awapuhi grand loop

This had to be the most rewarding hike ever. Nevermind the 11 mile (!!) loop, the views of the Nu'alolo Valley were amazing. Emma took the 7 hour hike like a champ. Not once was she ever put on the ground. Sheer cliffs, slippery slopes and loose gravel made me nervous to take her out of the Ergo. One part of the trail had washed out so we literally had to hug the side of a cliff and shimmy sideways. One wrong step and we would have been goners. Let's put it this way, we met a boy and his dad on the trail and they turned back from that point, not even daring to cross it. By the end of the hike we all had sore everything.

Look how happy we are at the beginning of the hike. Lovely green everything. The weirdest thing was that the forest almost sounded like it was alive. The trees were buzzing with bees (?) or who knows what.

Happy baby = happy mommy.

We hiked all the way across this ridge to the point for a fantastic view of the Na Pali coast line.

On top of the world.

Just to give you perspective of how grand the valley is. That's me and Emma on the top of the cliff to the left.

Blue, blue water. Keep in mind we are still on a cliff 2,234 feet above the water.


Here's the slightly, not as sketchy as the other part part. Jens couldn't take a picture during the first part, this is of Grandpa (aka Dad) shimmy-ing along the not as sketchy as the sketchy part part.

Bush wacking. Man was that annoying. Emma never complained once, but I could feel her little legs hugging my body anytime a branch got her leg.

It's a jungle out there.

Emma acting silly for the camera.

Seriously, are we there yet? We climbed 1500 feet in 3 miles, the last leg of the unpaved trail. After that we had to walk 2 miles down the highway to the car.

waimea canyon

With the arrival of our luggage, we were very antsy to get out and explore. Our first adventure was to Waimea Canyon. We drove up the ridge to check out the vista points. At the first vista point there is this guy who sells dried fruits. Emma was very happy with the choices of fried/dried bananas.

"I'd better run or mom is going to take them away!" (check out my white legs, nice)

Living on the edge with Grandma and Grandpa.

I think the highlight of the vista points for Emma was chasing the chickens.

She likes rocks too.

Unfortunately it was overcast and even rained for a part of our hike. We hiked the Canyon Trail to Waipo'o Falls. Lots of slippery red dirt made it interesting to maneuver while carrying Emma. It was a short hike (we skipped the last treacherous part to the falls), maybe 3 miles and she slept for at least half of it.

Grandpa taking pictures with his new fancy camera.

Checking out the view with Grandma.

We have a great lawn area right outside of both the sliding doors off the living area where Emma can play. On the other side of the bushes in the picture is a street and then the ocean. Its been fun watching the local surfers stop and check out the waves.

Relaxing back at the condo with Grandpa.

aloha

Aloha from Kauai! We arrived on Wednesday, May 21st to some beautiful weather. Unfortunately, after a screw up at SFO we arrived only with Emma's car seat, pack n play and suit case. The rest of us (me, Jens, and my mom and dad) had only what we arrived in. Let me tell you, it's not so fun being in Hawaii wearing pants and tennis shoes for 2 days! Luckily everything worked out in the end and our luggage was not completely lost.

We are staying in Poipu in a condo right on the ocean. Since we didn't have bathing suits, sandals, sunscreen, etc. the first day, we walked down to the Sheraton to see the beach.

Emma was very curious about the palm trees.

heat wave

The last couple of days have been H-O-T. Today the temperature was supposed to be in the 100's. I don't know what it was officially outside, but inside the house it was 93(!!) degrees. That's right, I said INSIDE. Whew. Yes, most older homes in the Bay Area do not have air conditioning. I know it's not Roseville, but we do get a few really hot days here. Good thing I still have the plastic pool from last year. A little scrubbing and it looked like new. I think Emma was in it 4 different times today. These pictures are from the first time of the day with the cute bathing suit on. After that, I just stripped her out of her diaper and let her in naked. In the evening we were playing outside and she just crawled right in with her sandals and diaper.

happy mother's day

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day! We walked to get coffee and bagels this morning. Later this afternoon Jens will take Emma out for a couple of hours while I get to sew. It's a beautiful day here in San Jose, hope it's beautiful wherever you are too.

These pictures are from yesterday when we took a walk to the school down the street. They have a large grass area where Cosmo can fetch until he collapses. Which is literally what he did. Oh, and puked twice at home, which we didn't notice, until later that night. Gross.

bath time

Emma really loves her bath time right before bed. Jens also likes to practice taking pictures with the camera during this time. I really think we get some of our best shots in the tub.

kitchen fun

We went to Roseville for the day on Saturday for my friend Sara's daughter Addison's 1st birthday party. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that event. Emma had so much fun there on Addison's slide in the backyard and in the bouncy house.

At Grandma and Grandpa's house she continued to power through the day (only a short morning nap during the car ride up). As usual, when Grandma is around, she forgets about everyone else!

Mmmmm, what goodies does Grandma have for me? Salad dressing, yum!

How did Grandpa build these things?

Here, she is probably saying, "ooh, ooh, ooh" and nodding her head up and down.