Hawaii Days 3 & 4

Day 3 Saturday, February 22

Ryan and his dad woke up early and headed out to do their favorite thing: golf! While they were gone, I lazily got ready, ate breakfast, cleaned up our stuff a bit (this was our last night staying on the military base), and then headed out with Ryan's aunts and grandma to the volcano overlook and visitor center. We saw the volcano steaming and some huge craters. 

Huge crater with lava down inside of it steaming. You can't actually see the lava unless you take a helicopter ride and go above it to look down into the crater. Maybe we'll have to do that next time :)

After our lazy morning, we met up with Vivian and everyone else (minus the golfers) who had gone on a 3 mile hike that morning. We headed to the Thurston Lava Tube which was a lot like the lave tube we went to the day before but this one was a lot shorter, safer, and lit. Think of it as this one was for tourists and the other one was for locals. haha. It was still pretty amazing. Just think how much lava there was (and still is) on this island. I can't think about it too much or else I get a little scared something is going to erupt! 

Ryan and Scott finally got back from golfing and so we all headed on another long drive. First we drove the Chain of Craters Road which takes you past several different craters made from eruptions over time. (Some as recent as the 70's!!) It's crazy how there is so much variety to the scenery on this island. One day you can see waterfalls and green, lush rain forest and then the next day see lava covering everything. Black rock as far as you can see. 

Along the drive, we stopped to do a mile hike to see the petroglyphs carved into the lava. However, there are signs everywhere saying that if you are pregnant, the fumes from the lava can be harmful to your baby, so you shouldn't go walking on the lava. So I stayed in the car with a couple of other people who didn't feel like making the hike in the heat. Below are some of the petroglyphs they saw. Ryan said it was cool but it was really hot so it was okay that I missed it. :)

 The road ends now because lava flowed down and covered the road. They haven't ever fixed the road so you just stop and then turn around and go back to where you came from. They had these cool "arches" off the side of the cliff. The water kinda beats against the rock and makes these arches until eventually, it is too weak and the lava just falls into the water. 

 We continued our driving day and headed south down the coast. We saw this really awesome black sand beach where we saw two or three turtles swimming just off shore and this guy was just hanging out on the beach. I really wanted to get in the water and so I (finally) changed into my swimming suit, but no one else wanted to hang out at the beach so I still didn't get to get in the ocean!! (I'm pretty much dying at this point!!). If we ever come back to the Big Island, I would definitely come back to this beach. It was gorgeous! And it would have been fun to snorkel with those turtles. Oh well, next time.

The end of our long drive took us to South Point--the southernmost tip of the US. 

This was a platform at the edge of the cliff. For what, you ask? Cliff jumping of course!! It was far and really scary. Some girl did it while we were there. Let's just say I'm glad it was her and not me. 

Cool blow hole at South Point

At this point, we split up with Ryan's family because they were heading home that night. So they all headed to the airport and we just headed back to Hilo area. Ryan had another mission friend who lived up near the volcano he wanted to stop and see so we were planning on doing that. We drove all the way back and then she still wasn't home (she was working in Hilo) so we contemplated waiting around the volcano area for a while until she got home but decided to just go into Hilo to get dinner (I was starving). Turns out it was better that way because she was still in Hilo when we got down there so she just met up with us while we ate dinner at some plate lunch place (yes, again). Ryan said this happened all the time on his mission. People are definitely on "Hawaiian time" and they may or may not keep appointments you make with them. I don't know if I could handle that very well.

Me and my loco moco. Ryan LOVES these so much and I always said, GROSS!! This trip, I must have had my guard down because I decided they weren't too terrible. Still not my very favorite thing in the world, but the fact that I actually ordered this is kind of a huge deal. 

Ryan and Sister Narvaez. She was one of my favorite people. So hilarious and kind. Again, it is so fun to talk to people who knew Ryan as Elder Gardner. 

After catching up with her for a while, we headed to our Bed and Breakfast. I always wanted to stay in a B&B and since we only had one more night on the Hilo side of the island, we decided to stay in a B&B. However, it's kinda "off the beaten path" to say the least so Sister Narvaez said she would drive us most of the way up there so we didn't get lost in the dark. She was so nice and she was right because we never would have found it on our own. 

Funny experience: as we came up to the B&B, it was kinda late, but not too late (9pm) and raining. We couldn't really find where we were supposed to go so we were driving by the three buildings on the property. As we were looking around, the owner came out and told us where to go. The only way I can explain him is that he probably smoked a little too much weed in his day and he was a total surfer guy. Anyway, apparently if you check in after dark, they don't wait up for you. They just leave the key in the door and your name on the door. Kinda weird, but okay... We crashed early (like every night) because I was so exhausted and were excited to explore the property in the morning! 

Day 4 Sunday, February 23

The B&B we stayed at was called The Inn at Kulaniapia Falls. It was an amazing property. We had a little sitting area off of our room and then you could walk outside from there and see the gorgeous waterfall right there. So all night long we slept to the sound of the waterfall. It was so relaxing and Ryan swears it was the best night's sleep he ever got. haha. It was really soothing.
Anyway, we got up early the next morning so we could explore the property before heading off to church. We took a nice walk around their bamboo gardens and then up a trail to the base of the waterfall. It was the perfect amount of "hiking" for a pregnant lady :) 

The view from off the back of our room. So lush, green, and gorgeous!

Me in the bamboo gardens. This was one of the MANY types of bamboo trees they had growing on the property. 

 The view from the base of the waterfall. I guess you can actually go swimming in the pool at the bottom of the falls. You just have to get permission from the owner (basically so he can tell you if the conditions are okay for you to swim). We really wanted to take an early morning dip but it was Sunday so we decided against it. Looked so refreshing though!! 

 Me and Kulaniapia Falls

 Ryan at the base of the falls. (Can you tell the sun was right in his eyes...) The nice thing about getting up early and doing the nature walk before breakfast was that there was no one else exploring the property. It was like we had our own private waterfall. 

I love those moments--when you feel like you have Hawaii all to yourself! 

After our walk, we came back to our room to have breakfast. So the B&B was basically like a big house and each room had a different guest in it and its own bathroom, but then there was a main kitchen/dining area where they have breakfast. Our "cook" or "hostess" or whatever you want to call her was named Leah. She made her famous Mac Nut Waffles. I didn't have any, of course, but Ryan said they were pretty good (not really worthy of being called famous, but good nonetheless). Anyway, the whole feeling of the B&B is so different than staying in a hotel. Everyone sits around the dining table and talks about what they've been doing in Hawaii, where they are from, their lives, their experiences on the Island. It is filled with small talk and  a getting to know you vibe. Leah would make her waffles and then tell guests what she suggests they do that day, giving insider tips from a local of what is open when and what she would do. We sat at a table with another couple who had done the hike into Waipio valley the previous day (it was like a 15 mile hike because they hiked all the way back to the base of the waterfall). It was just an interesting group of people. I didn't know if I would like staying at a B&B because I thought it might be this way, but turns out it was kinda fun. You get some quirky people, but a neat experience. I wouldn't want to stay there for my whole stay, but it was fun for a night. 

After breakfast, we got cleaned up and ready for church and then headed to the Hilo ward where Ryan served 12 1/2 years ago. We walked in and it was such a great feeling in that ward. People were so accepting and loving. Everyone speaks "pigeon" which is "really hard to understand English" but I caught most of what people were saying. The family Ryan knew from his mission was in this ward (he is in the bishopric) and he was conducting. So at the start of the meeting, they welcomed back "Elder Gardner and his wife." That made me laugh. Also, it was fast and testimony meeting so Ryan bore his testimony and so did the man Ryan helped reactivate. It was a great meeting. Afterward, I was amazed at how many people came up to Ryan and remembered him from when he was there. Ryan was having the time of his life talking to all those people and catching up. 

We stayed for Sunday School and Relief Society. Again, the feeling in those meetings are very different from what we have here in Utah. I just felt like those sisters in RS all loved each other, accepted each other for who they were, and were absolutely not judging in any way. It was a reminder to me of how we need to be better. I wish all wards had this same feeling of love. 

This is Ryan outside of the apartment he used to live in, which sits on the Church property. 

After church, we headed over to the other side of the Island. We decided to go through the middle of the Island rather than going all the way around (since we'd basically done both those drives before). It is crazy the elevation changes we went through. We drove Saddle Road. It ended up being really rainy and since we were so high up, it was very foggy. There were times when you can't see very far in front of you and then all the sudden, you would come down in elevation and basically come out of the clouds. We drove right by the base of Mauna Kea. It was a pretty drive, but a little scary at times...

We checked into our hotel, the Waikoloa Marriott, and then skyped with Emry. This was the first time we actually skyped with Emry. I had talked to my parents the other days but we were so busy and with the time difference, we never did get to actually see her until today! Let's be honest, she couldn't have cared less that we were there. She was having a blast with Grandma and didn't miss us at all. That made me feel good and bad. I'm glad she wasn't having a hard time with us being gone, but I was sad she wasn't missing us. Haha. Motherhood!! 

After talking with Emry, we decided to explore the property and beach at the resort. It is such a beautiful resort with gorgeous views and a nice beach. We sat on the beach for a while watching the sun fall and then walked down the beach to see the sunset. It was gorgeous! We sat by an "on the beach" restaurant that had a hula dancer and Hawaiian music playing so it was a nice ambiance. As we were sitting there, we also saw two whales breach. They were far away but you could see this thing come up and then a HUGE splash. I've said it before and I'll say it again: we could watch whales forever!! They are such amazing animals! 

Ryan doesn't like sunglasses... Also, I'm so happy to finally be sitting on a beach!

Bare feet, sand, and water. That's a Hawaiian vacation to me!

 Oh ya, I was happy!

 Beautiful sunsets!

We walked around the nearby mall and stopped for dinner at Island Fish and Chips, headed back to the hotel to watch some Olympics, and fall asleep by 9! (Ya, we went to bed early a lot on this trip!)

Hawaii Day 1 & 2

Ryan and I had been wanting to do something fun for our 5 year anniversary and so we planned on going to Hawaii to celebrate. I was really looking forward to it and really excited to leave Emry with my parents and take a "just us" trip. But then we got pregnant and I was very skeptical if traveling while 26 weeks pregnant was going to be enjoyable at all. We decided to just go for it and have a fun time (knowing I wouldn't be able to do everything like if I wasn't pregnant). I am so glad we decided to go because we had such a fun vacation. Happy 5 Years to us. I think we need to start making this a yearly trip :)

Day 1 Thursday, February 20

We arrived in Hawaii after a very long day of traveling (Salt Lake to LA late the night before, then LA to Honolulu early in the morning, then 3 hour layover in the Honolulu aiport, then Honolulu to the island of Hawaii). It was tiring and the hot planes plus the sudden humidity made me swollen and not feeling great for most of the traveling. But we made it and I was happy to be in the warm, beautiful Hawaii!!

Us on the plane (it's early + no makeup + pregnancy = don't judge)

After arriving in Hawaii, we got our car and then headed to Walmart for some essentials. We called Ryan's parents (who had been in Hawaii for about a week already and who we were going to hang out with for a couple of days) to see if they needed anything and where were they? In Walmart. Funny coincidence of the day. We chatted with them for awhile and then headed to see some of Ryan's friends he met on his mission 12 years ago (gasp).
It took us a while to find their house again (Ryan didn't have their phone number or anything. He just thought he would remember. Boys...) but we finally did and it was fun talking to this family about Ryan's mission, albeit a little more fun for Ryan than for me :) They could have talked all night but I was exhausted and really hungry so we cut it down to an hour and half or so...

Some background: This is a family Ryan taught on his mission. At the time, the husband was inactive and the wife was not a member. Ryan and his companions worked with this family to get the husband active who then baptized his wife. Now they are very strong in the gospel, sealed in the temple, and he is serving in the bishopric. It was special to see the love this family had for "Elder Gardner" and to see what affect he had on their lives. 

After we left their house, we went to a local plate lunch place and got Ryan's favorite: Hawaiian Plate Lunch. We had this a lot over the next week and while I'm not really a huge fan of plate lunches, I learned to like them a little better on our trip. 

After dinner, we headed up near the volcano to where we were staying. Ryan's family got a place on the military housing for cheap so we decided to stay with them the first two nights. Everyone was going out exploring when we got there (to try to see the volcano at night) but I was so exhausted, I crashed as soon as I got in bed. I don't do well with no sleep when I'm pregnant so I was much happier in the morning. 

Day 2 Friday, February 21

We woke up early and headed to Waipio Valley for a tour where they take you down into the valley.  On the way to the valley, we saw gorgeous scenery. It's amazing to me how every island of Hawaii is so different. We saw some good views of Mauna Kea and some beautiful valleys along the way. 

Gorgeous views early in the morning. These are the steam vents that are all over near where we were staying (close to the volcano).

Not the best photo but this was a cool waterfall that went right into the ocean. 

After about an hour drive, we made it to Waipio Valley and caught our van for the tour. The tour was by a local guy who used to live in the valley (but since moved to the top of the valley due to his wife wanting to feel safer. haha). The valley is only accessible by a road that is VERY steep and VERY narrow and I imagine VERY scary if you aren't with someone who drives it all the time (like our tour guide). He took us down and a ways into the valley. It was so gorgeous there. There is a TON of fruit grown down there, it was like a Garden of Eden, but mostly people who live in the valley make their living by growing taro. The valley is home to the tallest waterfall, Hilawe Falls which falls 1,300 feet! It was an incredible sight! The tour ended up being one of my favorite things we did while we were in Hawaii. It was gorgeous!! 

It's faint but this is us in front of Hilawe Falls while down in the valley

The whole group in front of the falls

(Laura, Fay, Vivian, Scott, Ryan, Andrea, Amber, Leanne, & John)

 A sign along the road that goes through the valley. Hilarious because the flying rocks are from a man who lives in this house. If tourists drive too fast through the neighborhoods, he throws rocks at their cars to remind them to slow down and beware of the kids. Hence the flying rocks to those who don't slow down!

 So gorgeous. This is a shot up the valley. It looks like it goes on forever.

 The taro plant. It needs constant damp soil (almost in a pond) so this valley makes it perfect for growing. But basically the tour guide says almost anything will grow in this valley. Drop a seed, and the next year you'll have a tree. 

Our group in the van crossing the river

 Me doing some much needed cooling off in the river (this is the first time I've touched Hawaiian water and we'd already been there for a whole day!!) It felt wonderful.

 The guide brought us fruit he grew in his yard to get a taste of what grows in the valley. The papaya was my favorite and basically for the rest of the trip that is all I wanted--Papaya, papaya, and more papaya! So delicious! 

Here is a good view of the valley floor from the top.

 The view of the beach at the ocean end of the valley. Beautiful black sand beach. Mostly locals go down there, but the tour guide said they have a few tourists who go there. However, it's a pretty long hike down there so you have to be committed. 

 Ryan and I (and baby boy) looking down at the valley. 

On the way back to town we stopped and saw a few key sites. I'll let the pictures and captions explain each one. 

Laupahoehoe Beach Park is a gorgeous view of the ocean with some awesome black rock formations. The waves would come hit the rocks and make huge splashes. The water was crystal clear blue and it was just a beautiful view. 

Cool picture of Scott and the water

 As we were about to leave, we spotted some whales not too far off the shore. There was at least a baby and mom, but we also saw another whale with them. Perhaps an escort? We could really watch whales for hours, days, all week!! It's just amazing to see them so close! 

We stopped and saw Akaka Falls, a 422 foot waterfall. It was pretty impressive. I love all the waterfalls on the Big Island. It seems like they are everywhere!

Ryan and me in front of the falls

Ryan and Akaka Falls

 Ryan took us all to a place he went to on a P-Day on his mission--kaumana caves. Basically it's a lava tube and it's pretty dangerous. Of course that didn't stop us from hiking in a bit and experiencing complete darkness. (We did the hike in with our cell phone flashlights and then turned them all off when we got far enough in. Totally creepy but cool at the same time.) 

Ya, see that big dark hole behind them? That's the big lava tube. 

Last stop as a group on our way back was at Rainbow Falls. It was very pretty, but I guess to see the rainbows, you have to go pretty early in the morning. Oh well, it was pretty anyway.

So, after a lot of stops, we finally made it back to town. We drove around a park that had tons of banyan trees planted by famous people. We walked around a bit, drove around a bit, and then decided to all split up. Ryan and I and Ryan's parents drove around his mission a little more and saw another area he served in. It seems like Ryan doesn't talk about his mission very much until you really get him talking about his mission. He could talk to you for HOURS about his mission and tell you every detail of every person he ever met on his mission. Then we went to dinner at Ken's House of Pancakes. It's a famous diner in town that has TONS of food. We got breakfast for dinner and it was pretty tasty!! 

WOW! That was a long day of driving and seeing a bunch of sites. In case you are keeping track, we have now been in Hawaii for a whole 24 hours and I have not put a bathing suit on, or visited the ocean. Such a difference Hawaii experience for me. It was a beautiful day, though, and we had a blast!!

20 Months

*Loves to sing. The best part of my day is watching her try to "sing" while she dances all over the living room with her princess figures. Mostly it sounds like loud, long talking but she doesn't sing actual words, so it just makes me laugh. Occasionally you will hear words like "prince" "come" (Someday my Prince with Come) and today she sang "work" after doing the tune to "whistle while you work" It is pretty adorable.
*She also likes to sing real songs. She could sing nursery/primary songs all day long. Her favorites are Book of Mormon Stories (she does the hand movements and everything), The Wiseman Built His House Upon the Rock (Rock hand movements included), Popcorn, I Love to See the Temple, I Belong To The Church of Jesus Christ of LDS, Once There was a Snowman. She always tries to get us to sing "baby Jesus song" which means any song with baby Jesus in it (mostly Away in a Manger). Apparently it is still Christmas at our should because she constantly wants to sing Christmas songs!
*She is getting so smart. She loves to sing the ABC's and will fill in the G, LMNOP, S, V, X, and Z if I pause at the right times during the song.
*She is also learning how to identify the letters. We have these foam letters she plays with in the bathtub and she can identify the O, L, M, A, E, R, X, B, C, D. I need to add more letters to the ones we do all the time so she can learn more of them.
*She is learning how to count. She can do 1 and 2. Then I help her to 4 but then she knows 5,6,7,8 and then I help her with 9 and 10. I think soon, she will be able to count to 10 on her own.
*She is learning her colors too. She gets red 100% of the time and then the other colors about 70% of the time (like blue, green, pink, and yellow).
*She is really good at her puzzles (especially the shapes one and can put all the shapes where they go without help.)
*Loves nursery so much! On Sundays if I tell her we are going to Church/Nursery today she will ask me a million times to take her to Church (we have 1 pm Church so she asks me all morning long). She knows that in nursery you sing songs and color, so what's there not to like. She still doesn't LOVE us leaving her there but I think she is getting used to it, because there is no more crying when we leave. The leaders say she is constantly asking "Where'd mom go?" and "Where'd dad go?" the whole time, which is totally adorable.
*LOVES her baby brother. She always comes up to my belly and says, "I want to see him" which really means she wants to see my actual belly. Then she kisses and snuggles my belly and pats it softly and says, "Hi, baby brother." It's darling and melts my heart every time.

19 Months

It's a new year: 2014!!! and my baby turned 19 months today! 

Here are some fun things she is doing these days

*Talks up a storm. She surprises me all the time by the things she says. Mostly, it's things I say that she has learned over the months. Some examples: What happened?, I want to read it (yes, full sentences), Dang it (that one made me start watching what I say around her... haha), 

*Loves her Grandmas the very most. She always wants to play with her Grandma if she's around. She says "Mama" for Grandma and "Mommy" for Mom

*Loves her cousins. Her favorites are Owen, Lila, and Jackson. She also loves baby Rylee and baby Leah

*She loves babies a whole lot. Her favorite would be baby Jesus. It was so fun having her around for Christmas because she really helped us focus more on the Savior's birth. She always wanted to look at pictures of baby Jesus and in every nativity we saw, she was so excited to see baby Jesus. 

*Doesn't really like the snow. Every time we go outside she says "Cold" and she doesn't really feel the need to play in the snow. We took her sledding a couple of weeks ago and she did not find that fun at all. Maybe one day she will change her mind...

*Loves Elmo. Her favorite books are her Elmo books and we have one movie of Elmo and she would watch that over and over again if I'd love her. She loves to sing "Elmo's song" and dance to it. 

*She loves the temple. Whenever we drive by the temple (which is a lot where we live) she yells, "Temple" and then starts jabbering in song with a couple of words you can understand like "see" and "temple." She wants us to start singing "I Love to See the Temple." It is pretty cute. 

*Her favorite way to drive mom and dad crazy is to say "No, Mine!!" in a really bratty tone. That is not my favorite :) We are working on learning how to share and be nice.

*Her appetite has slowed down quite a bit lately. It seems she has no desire to sit still long enough to actually eat. I'm hoping it will pass and she will start back up again soon. I feel like I waste so much food lately.

*She has started loving taking showers with me. She will just sit on the ground and let the water fall on her, but she doesn't really love it when I pick her up and actually put her in the water. I think the pressure bugs her. 

*Loves to brush her teeth

*Loves to color

*Most of all, she loves her Mom and Dad. It's so fun to see her run to her daddy when he gets off work and to hear her yell "Daddy" or "Mommy" when she wakes up in the morning.

We are so blessed to have you, Miss Emry. You make our life happier and full of fun! 

Here she is watching a baby Jesus movie with Daddy. Emry could watch these all day. Ryan is less than impressed. :D

Emry helping me shovel the sidewalk. We found these cute little shovels and she loves hers!!

Merry Christmas

The very best present I got this Christmas was not having to go into work, which means I got to spend the whole day with my loves!! We started the morning off by coming down to all our presents. Emry actually "got it" better than I thought she would. She loved to pick a present and then sit there and open it. Thankfully, most of the presents were hers so it didn't even matter which ones she picked because it was probably hers! We opened maybe half the gifts and then took a break to make a yummy breakfast.

After a delicious breakfast (homemade pancakes, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and Orange Julius) we finished opening all the presents. Ryan got tired on a full stomach and decided to take a nap so Emry and I played with all her toys until her nap. 

After everyone's nap, we decided to take a trip to visit Olivia's grave. It was a special time to have our whole family together again on Christmas. We miss that little baby every day. 

On our way home, we stopped at Ryan's Aunt Julie's house and played some games with their family. Then we headed home to have a thrown together dinner of whatever we could find. 

All in all, our Christmas was wonderful and filled with the Spirit of Christ. I feel like we had such a simple Christmas and so we had a lot of time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and really spend a lot of time together as a family. We hope you all had a great Christmas this year!! 

Our tree all ready for Emry to come down and open present! It was so fun being Santa Clause. I think I was the most excited person Christmas morning!! Couldn't wait to see Emry love her present!!

 This girl LOVED her new car. She kept getting in and out and telling us "bye bye" and "see ya later" Totally adorable!!

Daddy helping Emry open her gifts

My new scarf from Ryan

Ryan giving Emry a "ride" around the house.

Emry's new piano. Our life just got a whole lot noisier!! haha

Ryan loved his new golf club too. He is pretty much the easiest person to shop for sometimes. New golf clubs=happy hubby!!

Ryan and Emry at Olivia's grave

Not the best picture quality but it's the only picture we got of our family on Christmas. LOVE these two!!!