Maui is Heaven

Pete's parents, who are always very very generous (as are all of our families, we are very fortunate), flew the three of us and Aunt Su Su to Maui to stay at a resort for a week. A WEEK! Holy smokes, that was a fabulous time.

First of all, the resort was gorgeous. Fabulous pool with awesome slides right out our back door. Beach just a few feet away. It even had an adults only pool that served cocktails. IN THE POOL. You looked out over the pool edge to see the coast and ocean and beauty. And typical Maui weather, 80's and dry all. day. long. For a WEEK.

{resort entrance}


{view from our room}


{beach even a 1.75 year old could walk to from our room}

Then, we went on this awesome bike trip down the side of Haleakala after freezing our behinds off to watch the most amazing sunrise I've ever seen. I'm not even sure how to describe it except to say we were above the clouds. And it was really really really cold, and I hate being cold, and it was absolutely worth it.

I did not want to go on this ride by the way. Getting up ridiculously early (I don't care what time it was back home) to freeze for 30 minutes in the dark and then fly down the side of a very tall mountain on a tiny bike did not sound like fun to me. I was wrong. I can admit that.

Then, they have this really amazing aquarium. Really amazing! Ellie was fascinated. The best part was they had basically a tunnel through a tank with a small portion of the floor that was see-through. The reaction from Ellie running down the tunnel then realizing she was about to cross an "open" pit was hilarious. Wish we'd caught that on video.

{the wind is always blowing on this part of the island}

Then, the grandparents took Ellie for the day and Pete and I just explored the island. We hit the little winery, and then we ventured a bit further south and saw the sights.

The story of the black rocks is these are not tiny pebbles and they make the most amazing rumbling sound in the surf. It was impossible to get a recording of it because the wind is always blowing, but it was definitely worth a trip to hear it.

Otherwise, we just had an amazing time hanging out with the grandparents and relaxing and enjoying everything about this entire trip.

Even the plane ride home wasn't too horrific.

I-O-W-A

Back to Iowa in July as part of another cross-country adventure. We took to the air this time.

It was a little chilly but Ellie still had fun playing in the little pool my mom set up.

{Grandpa Mac is so cute with Ellie}

When I was a kid the best place in the world was City Park, they had tons of playgrounds, the Iowa River ran through, an outdoor pool with a super-tall diving board, and a little amusement park. We did it all, rode the train and the marry-go-round, played on the slides, chased the ducks, had a blast.

Ellie wasn't sure about the merry-go-round at first, but in the end she didn't want to get off.

Aviation Museum

While my mom and step-dad were here over Thanksgiving we finally got things together enough to make it out to our little local Aviation Museum.

The College Park airport is the longest continuously operating airport in the country (I think) so there's a lot of history there, including some association with the Wright Brothers. Cool!

Ellie had a good time running around and looking at the different airplanes.

But her favorite thing was the little exhibit they had on air pressure involving two different sized beach balls.

She figured out how to make it work pretty quickly.

{push button}


{pick up ball}


{toss ball gently into air stream}

I don't like to brag but she's obviously brilliant. And beautiful.

More Visits

The next set of people to come for a visit were my dad and step-mom. This marked the first time they'd had a chance to see Ellie since we went up to the lake house last September. So, she'd changed a bit.

We played in the sandbox...

...and went for a few walks around the neighborhood...

...and attended the fun but very odd "Green Man Festival" at our little downtown area.

Generally, Ellie just enjoyed getting to know another set of grandparents, and I think the feeling was mutual.

Some Grandparents Pay a Visit

Still playing catch up. We're getting there.

Pete's folks made it out to visit near the end of April. They were here for about a week and got to spend a lot of time getting to know Ellie, which I think they all really enjoyed.

We finally got her sandbox set up while they were here, and she loves it. She had so much fun playing in the sand and throwing the sand and eating the sand.

Aunt S. was able to come up one afternoon so we had a little bbq and enjoyed the nice weather.

BBQ's typically mean food on people's laps or carried around. This means there's a lot of potential for food to be dropped, of which the dogs are keenly aware. Our dogs are pretty typical dogs in that anything that looks like something you might eat they want, and anything you drop on the floor they will eat. Now I guess we have to add Ellie to the list of beggars who won't be choosers. If the dogs want it, she wants it. And if the dogs will eat it, so will she.

Yum. So, why doesn't she eat what's on her plate? I really don't know. It's one of the many great mysteries of toddlerhood.

Regularly Scheduled Programing

Okay, most of my holiday shopping is done, most of the decorations are set out, the tree is up, and now I'm ready to start blogging again. I think I'll have to divide this into several sections.

1. Grandma and Grandpa Come to Visit

My mom and step-dad made their second annual Thanksgiving trip out from Iowa. It was a wonderful visit. We made the trip down to DC to check out a new ocean exhibit at the Natural History museum and see the newly revamped American History museum.

My step-dad made an amazing Thanksgiving spread.

And otherwise we pretty much just hung out.

2. Grandma Comes to Visit

Pete's mom came out for a quick visit shortly after that. She happened to time her visit to coincide with a concert by the symphony I'm playing with, so we got all dressed up for that.

We also got to visit Great-Grandma again briefly, and Ellie got to meet Pete's mom's cousin and his wife. It was so nice to catch up with them.

3. Ellie Learns to Explore

Ellie is probably the most cautious baby I've ever seen, not that I've been around a lot of babies. Generally, she spends more time watching than trying new things. I'm more than fine with that. Recently, however, she's getting more daring. She's discovered, for example, she can actually climb into the cabinets. So, she spends quite a bit of time going between her two favorites.

{here....there.....back again}

She's also learned to climb the stairs.

And, most exciting of all, she's taken the plunge and starting to walk! It started with a single tentative step while my parents were here. Then she started walking between two people while Pete's mom was here.

And over the last couple of days she's really started taking off and just walking whenever she feels like it. I wouldn't call her a walker yet, but she's getting dangerously close. It occurred to me the other day that, while I'm very excited for this milestone, it means she's turning into a more independent person who will soon be wandering off while our backs are turned. I'm not sure I'm ready for that, but there's no stopping her now.

4. Beauty

Finally, I just can't help showing off my beautiful little girl.

Her personality is really starting to shine, her laugh is horribly contagious, and best of all, she thinks her dad and I are hysterically funny. I've heard that doesn't last, so we're getting in as many bad jokes as possible.

{Three men walk into a bar. The fourth one ducks.}