Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween.

For Halloween, Owen became a lion. He would even roar on command. As much as he hated last year's costume (a monkey) he loved this little ensemble.
Look at that cute little tail.


He loved playing with all the fallen leaves. (do lions eat leaves?)




Our family in brown.


Whew... I think I'm actually caught up on my blogging... it only took all day, but Hawaii and Halloween are officially done!

Hawaii: final 24 hours

Owen loved the beach. The rocks, eating sand, playing in the water. I'm excited to see how he reacts when we take him back to an Oregon beach. Self-portrait at sunset.
Self-portrait in the morning.


Owen was really excited to be back at an airport... ready to go home.

Mom found this palm hat. Owen loved it.
Like they're related: Owen and Lucas ogling at airplanes.
While Owen did great on the way to Hawaii. On the way back, he only slept for 30 minutes. And was quite fidgety and a little whiny. He was so tired, I think he forgot how to sleep. It was a long flight home, but luckily the tail winds helped us get home in just under 5 hours. It was a great vacation, but as always, it's good to be home.

Hawaii: the pool.

After a few trips, Owen understood that swimsuit + sunscreen = pool time.
So happy... enough to play symbols.He liked the "big pool" quite a bit... but made me a little more nervous. This was us trying to teach him to float.
The smaller kid pool (only two feet deep) was great for Owen. He LOVED splashing. It was just like a big bathtub!

Such sweet eyes.

Such a happy smile. He hasn't gotten the Oshel gums yet...

Splashing brings such joy to life.

Hawaii: by sea

On Wednesday, we took a boat ride out to Captain Cook's memorial site. (again, the Hawaiian name is really long, but this is a great place to snorkel).
Before the boat ride, it's always good to get dirty.




A cute family photo.


At first, Owen wanted NOTHING to do with the life vest. But once it was on, he loved it!

Lucas giving Owen a marine lesson.
The water is really that blue.Three generations.
Two generations.

We were out for over 5 hours. Owen passed out in the car. So much so, that Lucas carried him all the way inside, and laid him down... not a peep. Poor kid... so tired.

Hawaii: luau

We drove about 30 minutes north to Mauna Kea for a luau on Tuesday. The resort was amazingly beautiful. One of those places that you dream of staying at, but just will always assume it's a "when I win the lottery" type of places.
Lucas took this video... yep... you should be jealous!
Owen found a cool fish to poke at.

A family photo after we'd been laid. (tee-hee... that never gets old) The resort took a great photo of the five of us... but for $40 we passed.


Beautiful sunset.
We got to watch them un-dig the pig from the "emu".

It started cooking underground at 0900.
Under dirt and under tarps...


Under tea and banana leaves...


Is the pig and turkeys. They were both quite tasty.
It was Lucas and my (and Owen's) first luau. (mom and dad have been to three other ones). I found it really quite amazing. Great dancing. A little cheesy at times, but overall, great food and great entertainment.
Obligatory hula dancers.

A super cool fire dancer.Owen sat through two hours of luau. He loved the food, and when the entertainment started, he just stared and ogled at all of it. I was so proud of him. I half expected to miss most of the luau by having to walk with him elsewhere.
Here's video of fire dancing.

The best part of the night was when Lucas got pulled up on stage to do Tahitian dancing. I did notice a quick middle finger head rub in my direction... but it was worth it! I'll spare Lucas the video I took. Just embarrass him with this photo.

Hawaii: coffee... mmmm... yummy

Just up the hill from our condo was a Kona Coffee Farm. yummy. We got a very informative tour (for free) and learned a bunch. Mostly, it just confirmed the fact that one: coffee is the nectar of gods. and two: I miss it. (can't wait for the baby to be born!) They gave out free samples. Even Owen got a free cup. (just the cup, not the coffee)The red coffee beans are ready to be picked. Each tree will be harvested up to 12 times during a season. All beans are hand picked.

The basket they put beans into while picking.To decrease use of pesticides, and to keep birds away, they will plant different varieties of fruit among the coffee trees. "hey birds, eat the bananas and figs... not the coffee." They also will give the fruit away to visitors. We got a fig, and a huge avocado.
Look at those eyes. That possessive grip. "don't you touch my avocado!"