Waimea Canyon, Day 2

The Grand Canyon of the Pacific did not disappoint. It is a beautiful canyon with wonderful views and hikes. I think I was a little less prepared than Brett for some of these hikes. I didn't realize that Hawaii was so full of them. We took off after some people at our first stop having no idea what we were getting ourselves into or where we were headed. After about an hour, it broke off into two different trails. Unsure of how long each was and where each headed, we decided to turn around. Apparently we missed a beautiful waterfall, only about 20 more minutes to go. We didn't have any water with us though, so we didn't worry about it. I had bought myself a sparkly white pair of new running shoes that I took on the trip with us. I didn't know that Hawaii had "RED DIRT" and having rained every day, it was tough to keep them clean. It was funny how many people would actually comment on how white my shoes were as we hiked passed them. Our next stop we tried to hike but everyone we talked to had turned around because of how muddy it got. Didn't sound fun to me, so we did likewise. The views were spectacular but a little cloudy once we got to the top. Definitely worth the trip despite the twisty, whindy roads that made me sick.

Since we were out by Poipu I talked Brett into stopping at Spouting Horn. This land mark is a blowhole that is different from others found throughout the state as another hole nearby only blows air, making a loud groaning sound. Legend states that this coast was guarded by a large mo'o (lizard) who ate everyone who tried to fish or swim here. One day, a man named Liko entered the water When the mo'o went to attack him, he swam under the lava shelf and escaped through the hole. The mo'o became stuck and was never able to get out. The groaning is the cry of hunger and pain from the lizard still trapped under the rocks. There really was a load moaning sound, but much to Brett's dismay, he couldn't believe people actually stopped to look at water blow up out of a hole.

We also went snorkeling at Poipu and saw some pretty fish. There were two turtles just hanging out near the shoreline but way too many rocks to get close to. The sunset was awesome on the way home and we had to stop and get out of the car to enjoy it.

Kauai, Hawaii Day 1

Since I have to start somewhere to catch up, I decided to start with the easiest....our trip to Hawaii. I decided I needed a trip to Hawaii and since Brett is graduating, I jumped at the chance to make this his graduation trip. We wanted to go in January, but with his torturous Bar prep class that starts 2 days after Christmas we decided to head out over his fall break. I label this day 1, but it really is day 2. We had a rough start that I forgot about until just typing this. We left SLC around 11:00, got into LAX and were supposed to leave there around 2:00. Five hours later and a measly $6 voucher for each of us, we finally boarded the plane. I guess I should be grateful Delta decided to fix the door latch so all of us passengers weren't sucked out into infinity and beyond, but the wait was brutal and we lost a night in paradise.

Because of the time difference, I found myself up with the crowing of roosters, literally around 5:30 am. Then we happened upon these on our walk. Wandering around. Everywhere. We later learned that during a hurricane back in the 90's, roosters and chickens who were "cock fighters" escaped they rudimentary home to roam Kauai quite freely. They are known as the Kauai chickens and apparently are not very good to eat. I was told it would take a full day to marinate them long enough to even make them remotely soft enough to chew. Sounds appetizing.

I accidentally woke Brett up trying to figure out the Internet and we decided to take the chance to explore the resort grounds. Absolutely breathtaking!

This is a view of the beach from our room. We were right on the beach and had Kauai Lagoons golf course very close by. So, Brett being the avid golfer that he is, just had to find the world famous "HOLE 16".

I realize this picture doesn't do the hole justice, and I admit it was a very pretty hole, but it just a golf hole! We continued exploring the grounds and came upon this crazy spider. I can't believe how hard it is to see it in this picture, but it was one of the craziest spiders I have ever seen. It looked like it only had 4 legs, and they were so long! After googling it I learned that it was just a black and yellow garden spider, writing spider, or corn spider that is COMMON to the US of A.

We found this fun little cove with warning signs everywhere that you could be sucked out into the ocean and DIE if you tried to swim in the water, so we observed it from the rocks. We were so exhausted after our tour of the grounds that we decided to take a long nap. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and enjoying the POOL.

11-11-11

I decided 11-11-11 is one of those dates that makes you stop and really think about things. What was I doing, where was I, did anything important happen? And then the true answer comes: nothing, not a thing, usual routine. Except, I realized how far behind I am on my blog.

I guess the easiest way to sum up the last 6months of things is to say this: I am pregnant with child number 4. I think that is enough said. It explains why I am too tired or sick to post. I am still working, running kids around like crazy (what was I thinking when I signed all 3 up for soccer????), and also got put into Young Womens. I should also mention number 4 is another GIRL. Brett is quite worried about the level of estrogen already floating around the house; he can't imagine what more might do to his already calm and drama-free sanctuary.

But most importantly, Brett only has 1 month of school left. Typing that makes me want to cry. I think of all we have been through and accomplished and I really do get a feeling of triumph. Better yet, he has a job he will start January 1, 2012. Paying him while he studies for the Bar. I am counting down the required shifts I have left to keep benefits and as of today I have 16. More than I like to admit, but do-able. These nights are so much harder being pregnant and OLD. But it doesn't mean I lack the ambition to get caught up~