Category: Travel

Last One, I Promise.

3/21/2012

We are very nearly back into the swing of things here so I promise this will be the last post where I shamelessly post vacation pics...

On our very last day (as in, mere hours before we drove to the airport) we decided it would be a good idea to go for a hike. I had really wanted to take 5 for a beautiful (but somewhat short and spider-free) hike but weather and chaos had made it near impossible. So drove to the arboretum somewhere near Wailua, where all the flooding and rain-disaster stuff was going on, and climbed up into the mountains. It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny day, with no rain- hooray!

We climbed uphill for close to an hour on a wide, fantastically spiderweb-free trail and saw birds, geckos, chickens, and scenic views all along the way.

When we arrived at the top, much to my relief, there was a big grassy area with picnic tables and an amazing view of like a 100 mile radius.
(For those of you who noticed that I am wearing rubber boots and fleece socks in this picture and think that I am completely insane, I will tell you that the reason I hated hiking for my whole childhood was that I tended to hike in flipflops or tevas and I hate muddy feet, so I am not crazy, but perfectly comfortable and happy.)

I got to let my back (and the rest of me) dry off and 5 got to run. And learn about cliffs. And how we don't run off of them.

5 found some super fun sticks and dirt and probably would have been okay just living there at the top of the mountain with sticks and dirt and leaves to throw over the cliff.

His favorite thing lately is throwing. I tell you, it's not really my cup of tea, but he is awfully cute when he does it.

Even when he's throwing something in my eye...

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Let's Pretend

3/19/2012

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We are, in fact, no longer in beautiful Hawai'i, we are safe and sound in our own unseasonably warm home. However, we are also wandering blindly in the fog of Jet Lag City, so let's just pretend we're going shelling today!

My husband and his sister have many fond childhood memories of shelling at this "beach"- entire afternoons spent squatting near tide pools looking for the perfect tiny cowrie while listening to the sound of their necks and shoulders slowly scorching...
The trails they used to take down had disappeared, but we were able to find this only partially imagined trail after some searching.

As a borderline fabric/fiber hoarder, I have to be very careful to not let any other collections take root, so I am not a sheller. After a few minutes of walking around and enjoying the view, I wised up and let Fred introduce 5 to shelling while I documented it.

5 mostly enjoyed the wetter aspects of shelling.

He was also way into the delicious salty flavors.

The smoother areas were quite nice for those of us who tend to let gravity get the best of us.

It was a lovely day!

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Postcard

3/14/2012

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Happy Wednesday from my family to yours!
I'll be here again on Monday (after quite a bit of traveling!)

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Kapaia Stitchery

3/12/2012

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Yes, even in tropical paradises, my mind is never far away from fabric. My husband grew up visiting Kauai with his family (his grandparents first came when you still had to take a boat!) and they would all get custom handmade aloha shirts made at the Kapaia Stitchery in Lihue.
When Fred and I honeymooned here, we had such a fun time picking out fabric for Fred's new aloha shirt- they had a file with his measurements going back quite a few years. Of course, we also had to bring home some yardage...

They have an incredible collection of batiks from Bali, imported Japanese and other Asian fabrics, as well as gorgeous Hawaiian prints and bark cloth and upholstery fabrics. They have some other miscellaneous fabric too, but it's all about the Asian imports and Hawaiian beauties for me.

They do all kinds of "stitching" too (imagine that, at a stitchery!) breathtaking Hawaiian applique quilts, aloha shirts, beautiful garments of all types, as well as kits to help you make many of those things for yourselves!

I loooove Hawaiian quilts. Unfortunately, I am all too aware that I would never ever make one myself. Someday I will just have to buy one and admire someone else's hard work.

I forgot to photograph the fabric I bought, but as you can see from this picture, it was kind of overwhelming for us...

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A Day at the Beach

3/9/2012

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We spent a lovely day at a little, out-of-the-way beach, where 5 learned about sand castles!

More specifically, how Mom can build them...

and 5 can destroy them!

Aah, the intoxicating rush of power!

It was a bit too windy to swim, so we had to entertain ourselves purely in the sand.

It didn't taste quite as good as he remembered...

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One Year

3/7/2012

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As we were running away from the rain the other day, driving ever westward to find some slice of sunny dryness, I realized I had passed a milestone. I've been writing here in this space for a whole year.

And when we did finally find a nice, dry beach, and got all settled in and comfy, finally ridding ourselves of the pervasive dampness that we had been consumed by, Fred realized it was perfect kite weather and I immediately grabbed the camera. My two boys flying a kite, filled with unbridled joy (and occasionally abject horror when the kite got too close) and I was snapping away, thinking about white balance, composition, and Five's best angles.

Which is certainly not to say that I am such a great, or even entirely proficient, photographer. I merely find it illustrative of what this journey has been for me. Spending time here and sharing with you, lovely friends, has motivated be to become a better photographer, to think more articulately about my own process, to really and truly appreciate every moment with my little family, and to better organize my life. Writing here has become such an integral part of my week and I always look forward to interacting with all of you wonderful readers and friends.

Thank you for a wonderful year.
Here's to many more!
ps there will be more anniversary celebrating upon my return home...

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The Finer Points of Baseball

3/5/2012

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you hit the ball where?

I have found that every new adventure with 5 brings surprises we never even could've guessed at. Take, for instance, changing time zones. Probably something most of us never give a second thought, right? This is apparently something 5 just doesn't do...

ready

We've been here 4 days already and even though 5 doesn't really do anything on any kind of schedule at home, he is steadfastly clinging to the Eastern Time Zone. Yeah, that's 5 hours difference.

windup

On the bright side, we get to enjoy every single minute of daylight, never wasting the day away by sleeping past sunrise. In fact, we haven't really gotten to sleep past 5. In the morning.

pitch! hey dad, you're standing too far away.

We're also very fortunate that we're not big nightlife peeps, because it takes a lot of doing to keep 5 up until 8 (and if we want to get any sleep, we have to turn in soon after). Honestly, I have no complaints- it's much easier for me to accommodate his needs that to try to get him to adjust, (we're still trying to shift about a half hour a day though).

ok son, the balls going to come at you and you're going to hit it with this stick...

It's so interesting to think about how that type of shift could be so difficult. Even as a kid I remember it was hard the first night- you have to stay up until it's dark at least- but then you're fine. I wonder if we're going to have the same problem when we get home...

dad, go long, I'm about to hit a homer!

A note about the pictures: This morning, Fred decided to teach Five how to play baseball. Five found it quite enjoyable, but tended to get it mixed up with golf and whack-a-mole.

Happy New Week!

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And We're Off!

3/2/2012

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ON VACATION!!

Yes, after a brief few days at home to recharge and snow-up (I know that's not a word...), we packed up and headed for sunnier climes. Hawai'i! Fred's parents and Fred and Five and I will soon be joined by Fred's sister's family on the beautiful paradise of Kaua'i. A big ol' family-style vacay with a bunch of adults and a million kids covered with sunblock and dirt and maybe not so much clothes- awesome!!

Across the street from the house we're staying in (for real, the most beautiful bedroom I have ever slept in, I feel like I'm in a magazine), there are horses. Horses! Nice ones that want you to notice them and pay them compliments and pet them and maybe bring them a snack. Yeah! 5 was pretty psyched- he actually touched one.

I'm warming up my nature photography muscles here doing portraits of the local backyard foliage. I don't know the names of hardly any plants or flowers because I was an obstinate child who refused to listen to my mother when she told me these things. I think of this one as "garlic flower".

All this practice is very important as what I really want to photograph are the wild roosters running around and crowing everywhere, all the time. Those suckers are fast and I want to be friends with them.

Happy March!

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Greetings From Madison!

2/20/2012

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Just a very few highlights (for now) from our long, family-filled, Madison weekend! 5 did surprisingly well accepting love and adoration from 17 family members for 4 days, but boy was he ever ready for some solo Mama time this morning!
Among the sweetest moments was a fishing lesson from Dad in my parents' dining room.

Baby and Daddy practiced casting and reeling in together until 5 decided it was more fun to be a fish and he chased the crumpled up paper bait around and around and around. He was having so much fun he didn't even notice Mama with the camera!

My sweet sister managed a weekend off and flew out from Raleigh for the weekend. I caught her having a Mother/Daughter moment with our Mom while they candled her ears out in the driveway... we had such beautiful weather this weekend it was hard to be anywhere out of the sun.

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I'm Back

11/9/2011

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Have you ever wildly overestimated the amount of things you can get done in a day?
I have been doing that. Every day. For a few weeks. Hmmmm...
We went to Minneapolis last Thursday and stayed through the weekend so Fred could do a letterpress training at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (a very cool org, by the way). I made a list longer than my arm of various things to do and places to go for 5 and I and somehow thought that I would fit a blog post in there. That was kind of ridiculous.
We did have a lovely time though. 5 and I may have gone a bit overboard fabric shopping- Ikea + Crafty Planet + Joann's (with coupons AND a big sale) = really a lot of fabric that simply HAD to come home with us...
I didn't take a single picture all weekend either. Huh. I think perhaps I needed a break.

At this time last year, I was in labor with my sweet sweet nearly 1 year old babe. I'm nearly done revisiting day 1 of the 3 day marathon of birth. This is the day I remember almost fondly- most of it was spent at home, and all of it was filled with the hope and determination of someone who knows that labor doesn't take more than 24 hours...
Perhaps I will write up 5's birth story for an anniversary post. Any objections? I never want to offend anyone, but I usually love to read other women's birth stories now that I have one of my own.

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<<Previous

Last One, I Promise.

Let's Pretend

Postcard

Kapaia Stitchery

A Day at the Beach

One Year

Thank you for a wonderful year.
Here's to many more!
ps there will be more anniversary celebrating upon my return home...

The Finer Points of Baseball

Happy New Week!

And We're Off!

ON VACATION!!

Happy March!

Greetings From Madison!

I'm Back

Author

Archives

Categories

Thank you for a wonderful year.Here's to many more!ps there will be more anniversary celebrating upon my return home...

Happy New Week!

ON VACATION!!

Happy March!

Author

Archives

Categories

Thank you for a wonderful year.
Here's to many more!
ps there will be more anniversary celebrating upon my return home...