Sunny Skies

After much preparation, we packed up everyone and headed out to visit my family down in Arizona and California.  We have traditionally driven down in the 2 day (15 hours each) drive, but last year we skipped it as I didn't think I could make the trip with my bad neck, and the year before was especially bad with 3 of the kids getting sick on the way down.  This year we finally bit the bullet and flew us all down, even though it required we drive 3 hours to a cheaper airport.  While the 3 1/2 hour flight beat 2 long days driving for sure, it wasn't a piece of cake either.

Ingrid and David had the toughest time, but the rest of the kids were pretty good troopers.  Solveig kept telling me.  "I'm not afraid of heights.  I like looking outside."  When we landed, I instinctively put my hand across Ingrid, and I think the landing startled her so bad that once we slowed down and I put my hand down, she grabbed it and put it back on her tummy just in case it happened again.

We are here now, though.  My neck is in bad shape.  Handling the kids along with Knut, and just sitting for so long which hurts, was rough.  Actually, at baggage claim once we landed, I was feeling nauseous from the pain, and sat in a pile of coats and backpacks.  Knut took the kids over to get the checked bags.  One by one he brought the ornery, overtired ones back to my pile of stuff, and after a few minutes, I was sitting with my head in my hands, on a pile of stuff, surrounded by 3 kids who skipped naps and were over an hour past their bedtime, screaming, and Knut and 2 other kids (Silje and Elias) were helping him haul the rest of the bags over to us.  We had drawn quite a crowd at that point, of people chuckling about how tough it is to fly with kids, and a very nice service man loaded up all our bags on his cart and brought it out to the drive-up for us where we were to meet my parents.  Really, we encountered only friendly people who were delighted to see kids running around the whole trip.  Even business men, would pull out their phones and show us pictures of their kids they were missing.  That made me happy that our crazy brood was welcome everywhere.  In the past I remember getting glaring looks whenever we brought an infant with us on a plane.  It wasn't so this time.

It is so good to be "home" though.  This morning I woke up feeling better, and the kid have been having fun being at Grammy and Papa's house.  I'm taking it easy.  The kids absolutely love not having to wear coats.  When taking into account wind chills back home, it's nearly 100 degrees warmer here.  Well, not today actually.  It's the coldest day today for the trip, being in the low 60s.  It will soon be much warmer.  My mom is trying to bundle my kids for this cold spell, which they find funny.

My mom got each of the kids a blank notebook and a bunch of scrapbook supplies so they can document their fun vacation.  They're really having fun with that.

David is having the toughest time, not understanding the lack of wide open spaces, and wanting to run and run, and not having quite enough back yard to suit the speed of his legs.  Thank goodness for parks!  I'm looking into getting adjusted while I'm down here, as I'm still hurting from the trip down, and honestly a little nervous about flying back already.  I need to not think about that right now.  Right now we have some lovely days with my parents and grandparents, and then we're driving to San Diego to visit my sister and her family by their new home just a few short miles from the beach.

Then we will visit my brother out in Los Angeles, who has a very special surprise for them that is so secret, that I shouldn't even blog about it.  We'll also see some dear friends of ours, and then head back to my parents for some rest before we head home.

As a mom of 5 kids, I'm loving so much being "mothered" by my mommy.  I have missed not being here.  My kids felt at home instantly (even little Ingrid), even though they hadn't been here in 2 years.    My mom is showing them pictures of my brother and sister and I and they are all getting so much attention.  My Papa (wonderful step-dad) had to work a bit today, and David has been anxiously waiting for him to come home so they could play chess.  Papa was his original chess teacher, and I have a feeling there will be dozens of games before we make the next leg of our journey.

I'm Blessed

This morning has a Fall-ish feeling to it.  We felt the need to put on slippers and wrap ourselves in sweaters.  It will likely warm up soon, but there is definitely a change in the air.  I'm tempted to put up Fall decorations, but Knut still forbids it.  I'm not sure if he's ready for Fall yet.  :)

My parents are on their way home today to Arizona.  We've had a really good time, like always.  As always, we put them to work, as they always insist on "doing life" with us when we are here, instead of pulling everything to a full stop and "vacationing mode."  It works best that way with little kids around.  We did spend some time out at the lake, though, and played lots of games and stayed up late talking a few times.

Last night we reminisced over all the things we have done when they have visited us.  We have taken them to a wedding of our friends, and a funeral of Knut's grandpa.  Over the years we have involved them in painting the summer kitchen, peeling wallpaper, fixing a chimney, and now, siding the barn.  They do probably 30 sink loads of dishes while  they're here, as I barely have a chance to say "Oh, I can do that, sit down" before it's just done.

It's not done yet, but one of the 2 difficult sides got done, and a lot of the second difficult side.  All the curves and windows and doors made for lots of tedious measuring.  So I heard.  I just watched…mostly from the kitchen, trying to keep up with the garden produce…still.

I also invited over some of Knut's cousins for the afternoon who are only in town once a year, and we missed them last year.  Then some of my mom's cousins were in town the next day, so we had another day of visiting and passing around stories.  Lots of pie has been consumed.

The day my parents got here, Silje excitedly took out her bunny, Muffy, and we watched her hop around the porch as Silje told them all about her beloved rabbit.  We stuck her back in her cage, and went on with things.  The next morning, we found her nearly dead in her cage, barely breathing.  We got her out, called the vet, and before anything could be done, she died.  I have no idea what happened.

Talking to a rabbit breeder, this sometimes happens.  Apparently baby rabbits are as touchy as baby chicks.  Sometimes there just isn't a reason.  She had spilled her water in the night, and her feet were a bit wet, but that is the only thing we can think of that happened that was bad.  Could a few hours of wet feet do her in?  Granted, she was not in the hutch we were planning for her with the softer bedding, yet.  Oh, the guilt that goes with all of the should-have's in our mind.

Later that week, I got a message from a local breeder who didn't have any rabbits to sell in the breed that Silje wanted awhile ago.  She said she was about to visit her friend 2 hours away, who bred the Holland Lop bunnies Silje wanted, and had some does available.  If we wanted any, she'd be happy to bring some back for us.

So I told her to bring us two.  Get right back on the horse, right?  So "Princess" and "Pepper," our 2 new bunnies are now cozy in the chicken brooder, which is a much larger, more cushy bedding space for rabbits.  (Pictures to come.)  All of that happened during this week's visit as well.  The bunnies can have that big space until we get new chicks this spring, and hopefully we'll have a bigger hutch for them ready by then, as we'll get a buck down the road from this breeder as well.  Watch out 4H, Silje will be at the fair with rabbits next year, by hook or by crook.  It has been quite a roller coaster week of emotions for Silje.  I was so blessed to be able to just hold her and mourn with her as she cried, and I was so surprised and delighted that we heard news of new available rabbits at just the right time.

The kids are heartbroken to see Grammy and Papa go today, too.  They pour so much time into each of the kids while they are here.  We can't wait for them to retire and turn into snowbirds, spending their summers up here near the farm.

Oh, I love my parents.  I'm so blessed when they are here.  I'm also so excited to be starting a new school year with the kids next week, and the knitter in me is squealing for joy that the weather is turning cold.  What can I say.  I live in a cold place and love it.

I'm blessed.

I'm Blessed

Elias at the sling shot range.

I asked David to take a picture of me doing the slingshot.  He got my elbow, which is pretty close.

We just got back last night from a long family weekend away.  We returned to a place very special to me.  I worked out at this camp 16 years ago.  It can't be that long, but I did the math twice, and that's what the calculator says.  I just had a service job.  I cleaned dishes and toilets, and helped out in a number of jobs.  It still holds my heart as my favorite job ever, besides the one I have now.  My "bosses" back then still work there now.  Really, they were more like mentors with high expectations than bosses.

In the last 16 years, the camp has continued to grow, and has had a chance in recent history to expand their property on the lake, and take on new campers.  Silje and David have had a chance to go multiple times, and next summer will be Elias' first chance to go by himself.  I have been able to attend their quilting retreats in the spring twice, though it doesn't always work out for me to go.  This place is a sanctuary for me, and I hope will be for my kids as well.

3 times a summer, they hold a family camp, where whole families can rent cabins and stay out there.  Since we normally go down to Arizona to visit my family for vacations, we haven't done this, as we can't exactly do 2 vacations a year.  But Elias and Solveig really struggle with carsickness, and we decided to let them get a big older before we take the big road trip again.  I hope next year.  We need to figure that out because my sister and her family are moving from Phoenix to San Diego, and so now our family will be split.  So it's very likely our next family vacation will be in San Diego.  We just haven't even gotten to the point of discussing it, so we'll see.  My brother lives in California too, and has just flown to meet us at my parents in Phoenix when we go.  But now with 2 siblings in California, that may be our new meeting place. Then again, I'm longing to go to South Carolina these days too…but that's another long story.  We also have plans for a trip down to Florida, as we have family dotted the whole way down there, and the same out to Oregon.  Not enough time…not enough time.

At any rate, we decided to spend our vacation differently this year, and we spent a long weekend out at Bible camp, for the first time as a whole family.

--I was blessed that the little ones actually slept well, in beds that were not their own, in a strange place.  Well, Ingrid woke up early most days, but overall, we slept.  That was my main concern.

--I was so blessed to sit and eat full meals prepared for me.  With the food prep and dealing with the garden produce this time of year I was longing to leave the kitchen and just not look at it for a few days.  

--I was so blessed by sunsets on the lake, hearing loon calls, sipping tea, talking with old friends.

--I was so blessed with humility.  Yes, humility.  I had gone to one of the sessions on parenting, and afterward, went to go pick up the little ones from the nursery.  Knut would have gone with me but was dying to go on the adventure course.  I didn't think my back could handle it, so I picked the parenting class.  Anyway, I went to pick up the little ones since my class was done first.  We started back to our cabin so we could get a diaper change for Ingrid, and put the other kids' crafts there while we were eating.  Elias didn't want to put his craft there, and Ingrid wanted food, not a clean diaper, and Solveig was along, but not crying.  She was too delighted with her craft.

I passed Silje on her way to the dining hall where we were all supposed to meet, and told her that if she saw Daddy, to tell him I'm at the cabin, and he needed to come help me.  Ingrid had flung her body in such a way in my arms that my neck just hurt and I needed him to help.

She told him I was at the cabin, but forgot to mention I needed help.  So Knut and Silje and David just got in line for lunch.

I got the diaper changed, through the screams, my head began to pound as I felt a serious headache coming on, and tears started to warm my eyes.  I was more scared of how bad it could get then hurt.  Elias was overtired, and I walked with the 3 little ones, slowly, slowly back to the dining hall.  Knut didn't come.  As we got close, I was hurting so badly I just sat down and let Elias and Solveig run the rest of the way as they could see Daddy in the food line in the distance.  (It was a picnic that day.)  Ingrid was just screaming at me, and I just couldn't will myself to go up to the line with so many tears in my eyes, and feeling so weak.  I didn't want anyone seeing me like this.

Thankfully, one of the amazing staff people saw me, and asked if she could help.  Ingrid went straight to her, and she carried her over to Knut, and told Knut I needed some help.  More staff jumped in to help Knut with the kids who all needed a cup or their food cut, etc.

My old mentor/boss came over to hug me for awhile, as I told her how much I struggled being weak in front of my kids, and other people.  I told her how I just hated being limited physically like this, and I didn't like having to constantly admit to people my weakness.  I hate picking out which activities I think my neck can handle, and saying no to activities I love.  She just spoke so much Scripture into my heart.  She talked about how when we are weak, God is strong.  She talked about God's grace covering all, and how God is using my weakness to teach my kids the things they need to learn.  He is equipping them through my weakness.

--I'm blessed that I have weaknesses, because my kids need to see that.  They will be blessed through it.

--I'm blessed with the special moments I got with each of our kids while we were at camp.  Knut got to take some canoeing, I got to take some to the slingshot range, David won the carpet ball tournament.  The little girls spent hours at the playground and enjoyed some parachute games as well.   I had a special moment with David when he just needed some prayer, and I got to point him to our great God.  The same opportunity happened with Silje during sunset overlooking the lake, when she needed reminding to bring her cares to God, and I just got to sit and pray with her about the things weighing on her heart.  I was so blessed to be there.  I already see in both of them that they get frustrated with their weaknesses and limitations as well.  It's a human condition.

--I'm so blessed to come home to our animals, raspberries, flowers, work, and just this life I love so much.  As always, as much fun as vacations are, coming home and sleeping in my own bed is one of my favorite parts.

How has God blessed you this last week?

Getaway

Silje and I took a little weekend trip this last week.  It was the one last getaway off the farm before spring planting starts.  We drove some hours to the Mall of America in the Twin Cities, and there we went to the American Girl store, and the the crowning activity: the gorgeous aquarium they have in the basement of the mall.

I haven't ever done any trip like this before.  I've never just singled out one of my kids for a treat this massive.  It's something we were planning to do, though, since she was a little baby.  Silje is turning 10 shortly, and is one smart girl.  I guess I think of all of my kids as "kids" but Silje is shortly a pre-teen.  I didn't put much stock in it, or even think of it until I started seeing the bigger mood swings in her, and seeing her searching for sleep more often, and start getting so tall.  She's still such a baby in my eyes, but I want to be careful not to treat her as such.  Also, I don't want to treat her like a grown up when she is still so much a child, even though she has such an old soul.  Talking with friends of mine with teenagers, I asked them if I was seeing things.  Could all of this really be starting this young?  My friends gave me a resounding "yes!"

This awful balancing act of give and take, withholding, pushing forward... I'm told is only going to get harder, and only going to get worse before it gets better.  I'm determined to make the most of it.  I'm determined to give a lot of grace, because I know that personally, I will mess up a lot and will need it as thickly as she will.  We want to do a trip like this for each of our kids when we start to see the pre-teen attitudes emerge, and we can have lots of long talks about emotions, dating/courting, responsibility,  independence, authority, and basically together coming up with a mutual agreeable plan in which we keep communication open, and conversations common.

We spent a lot of time talking, but mostly we just had fun together.  She's been craving that so much.  We did some shopping, ate out a lot, and visited as many animals as we could.  It totally filled her cup.

I was so proud of my girl as she took me around the aquarium, explaining to me the names of all of the species, and interesting facts about each one.  For instance, in sea horses, the mom give all the eggs to the dad, and he carries all the eggs "to term" in his pouch.  As I've stated before, she reads an insane amount of biology books, and marine biology is one of her favorite kinds of biology.  She told me how rays and starfish eat, and why the sharks were behaving as they do.

We got there about way before they even opened, and I think they may have let us in early because we had the place nearly to ourselves for a good 30 minutes.  That was really neat.

We signed up ahead of time for a behind the scenes tour, for which I wasn't allowed to bring my camera along.  It was just amazing.  We saw the "time out tank" where animals that are bullying other animals or humans are put for a month or two.  There was a giant sea turtle in there at the time, thinking about his behavior.  We do the same thing with our chickens when they misbehave.

We got to see the prep kitchen where all of the animals' food is prepared, and the big wall chart with the names of each animal, showing which animal gets which food and how much each day.  When the tour guide asked the people on the tour to guess what they fed the jellyfish, Silje raised her hand and guessed a certain species of plankton.  The tour guide said, "Good guess, but try again."  So Silje raised her hand again and named off some other species of plankton.  (I say other species, because I couldn't even name you one species of plankton to even write here.)  The tour guide said, "No, but those are great guesses, and I can't believe you actually know the names of all of those species!"

It was at that point that I realized I'm raising Hermoine from Harry Potter.

(For those wondering, the aquarium grows "sea monkeys" to feed to the jellyfish.)

The weekend was not without meltdowns as the big mall is full of repeated "No." answers from me to her.  There is so much to do there, so I felt as though I said "no" the whole first day, over and over again.  That was really hard.  We had talked about a loose schedule and basic expectations for the trip before we left, but she hadn't prepared for all the overwhelming options once we got there.

Since I grew up in Denver, then Phoenix, and lived for a time in Chicago and Minneapolis as an adult, big cities and big malls like this don't intimidate me.  I did notice for the first time that while I'm a city girl, my kids are country kids.  Silje couldn't get enough of the escalators.  She wanted to go on every escalator in the mall, and I'm pretty sure she would have been happy if we did that all day.

On realizing that she was so unfamiliar with the city, I took the opportunity to teach her some basic self defense moves, and practical suggestions for if she ever went to college in a big city.  For instance, always have your keys in your hand when going out to a parking lot.  Don't get to your car and start searching your purse.  That way you have your panic button handy, and the keys make a great weapon if needed as well.  She thought that was pretty funny.  That brought her mind to the idea that should we ever get a black kitten on the farm, she wanted to name him "Ninja."

She also wanted to chop off her long, nearly waist length hair for the second time in her life.  I got a haircut too.  My hairstylist made Silje laugh out loud a few times.  He was a pretty flamboyant fellow, and super nice.  He had tattoos all over, colored hair, and ear holes stretched out large.  He was really funny.  Silje's hairstylist was this Barbie-doll look alike, with platinum curls and gave Silje some great tips for dealing with her thick hair, and made some suggestions to alter Silje's cut out picture of what she wanted her hair to look like.  Explaining that Silje's hair is so thick, and has a strong wave, she talked Silje into keeping her hair at least shoulder length (Silje was thinking more of a short bob), and she added some nice layers as well as thinned it a bunch.  It's gorgeous.  I just haven't caught a picture of it yet.  (Sorry, Mom!)  Silje is very pleased with the result.

My hairstylist asked Silje where she went to school, and she explained she was homeschooled.  He gave a typical response, "I think I really would have liked being homeschooled.  I'm all for it in many respects."  Then he turned to me, "But don't you worry about her not having any friends, or being a little weird?"  That's when Silje laughed out loud.  "Um...I have friends! [mom's note: she obviously has ears too!] You can find friends in lots of other places besides school."  None of us mentioned the irony of a so obviously counter-culterual soul doing his own thing, worried about our counter-culteral lifestyle or her turning out "weird."  I hope she didn't make him feel too bad.  She got quite the kick out of that.

Ingrid did a terrible job for Knut at home.  Neither of them got much good sleep over the weekend.  She got a runny-nose cold and just wanted Mommy.  Both of them were very eager for Silje and I to get back.  Ingrid doesn't like me getting out of her sight now, and has started getting really clingy when she's tired.

All of us (besides Knut of course) still see the chiropractor monthly due to our car accident last summer.  Our appointment was yesterday and all the kids were pretty stiff for it.  I've noticed that all of us start falling apart the last few days before an appointment, from migraines, sleeplessness, constipation, or just aches all over.  So I know we still aren't fully well.  Monthly appointments are manageable, though, so I'm thankful for that.  It was probably not good judgment to leave Knut with Ingrid the tough last few days before her adjustment, which are the worst, but they made it.  We're all feeling better now, and will hopefully be able to rest better soon.

It was a trip that I hope both of us will remember forever.

Cousins

Hi from the cousin's corner!  Solveig and the rest of the kiddos had fun at their cousin's house.  Twins Mary and Lizzy and big brother Jack were looking forward to our visit all day.  Before we got there, my nephew Jack was calling both Grammy and me on our phones to see how the status of us leaving was going, and they basically ran out of the house as we were driving up.  We only get to see them once a year, and it's a big deal.

Solveig's hair got really crazy in the trampoline.  Oh, she had fun!

Elias was hunching down a bit, but Jack is a year and a half older.  I can't believe how alike these boys look!  Cousins indeed!  Jack was about the best host ever.  He ran around making sure all of his cousins had something fun to do.  He held back no toys, and didn't mind any interruption to help one of his cousins figure out how to work something.  I was just so proud of him.

Mary was slow to warm up, but she and Solveig hit it off immediately.  They ran around each other on the trampoline like they were best friends.

When "Uncle Knut" joined the trampoline, the real fun began.  He had to put up with lots of tackling and lots of cuddling from little girls.  It must have been tough.

Solveig and Mary.

Solveig and Lizzy being bounced by Uncle Knut.

Lizzy hugging Solveig.  They tipped over after this picture was taken, because they were so giggly.

Uncle Knut and Lizzy.

The big kids played outside for a little bit, and we ate supper outside since it was a beautiful evening.  Then the big kids played some "Dance Dance" video game.  David was dancing as though his life depended on it.  Before we left, I had to show him how it was done.  I beat him bad in a dance off.  I showed him where he got his moves from.  :)

Today is Jack's 6th birthday.  The party...will be epic.  

Hawaii Part 2 of 2

Just to give you fair warning, I took most of my pictures in this second half of our trip.  They're gorgeous, so it's worth scrolling through, but I just thought I'd warn you!

Day 5
As I mentioned in the last post, Knut and I did end up purchasing 1 tour, and that was a sailing/snorkeling tour.  Knut loves sailing.  I enjoy it but he loves it.   As far as snorkeling, I had never done it.  I know how to swim, but I'm not a strong swimmer.  I never passed swimming lessons as a child, and as a preteen, when my family moved to Arizona (aka pool-ville) my mom and sister taught me how to float on my back, do the dog paddle, tread water, and swim "deep" (for a pool, that is).  So I can do it, I'm just not good at it.  I still hate jumping in water, and have done it less times than I can count on my hand.  I've got a big fear issue there, so I was worried the only way to go snorkeling was to jump out of the boat. 

I was still excited, though, because I have never seen coral reefs close up, and I've heard it's amazing.  I was sure I could figure out the whole snorkeling thing, and go at my own pace.  I did not bring my camera out in the water, though.  So you'll just have to sit back for the story on this day.

It was a perfect day for sailing.  The waves weren't huge, and no one got sick.  We chose a destination that doesn't draw as many tourists because it's a nature preserve, and you're not allowed to touch anything, although you can swim by it.  It was less crowded there, and you may know by now, we avoid the crowds...especially when it comes to water.

The crew on the ship was so helpful.  We found out that the captain was actually from Minnesota, and we got to chat a bit.  He made some yummy chicken on the BBQ while we were all in the water.  We were able to use whatever equipment we liked.  I chose to have a floatie around my chest, since I wasn't sure I had the stamina to swim or even float for that long.  Knut and I, and the other tourists on the boat (about 10 others) got to step down into the water Knut showed me how to breath through the mouthpiece.  It took me about 5 minutes before I felt comfortable enough to leave the side of the boat and attempt breathing with my face in the water.

The reef was so amazing.  There were so many fish, and Knut and I swam for nearly an hour together.  At that point, my stomach was getting some pains, which was most similar to the side muscle ache I get when my stomach is stretching.  Still, to be on the safe side, I told Knut I was going to rest a bit on the boat, and I'd head back later.  So he continued on down the wall of the reef, and I headed back to the boat.

The crew made sure I was alright, and I didn't mean to alarm them by coming back early.  I wasn't hurt at all, I just felt my body was telling me to rest a bit.  I thought drinking a bunch at that point wouldn't hurt anything either.  It was rough, I tell you: sitting back, drinking water and eating fresh pineapple on this gorgeous sailboat.  Knut shouted to me that he found some giant sea turtles.  I was bummed, because I really wanted to see them, but I knew that I couldn't possibly swim to catch up to him at that point.  Still, I didn't want to waste time and I got back in the water after my break, and swam the reef closest to the boat once again before lunch.

After lunch on the boat (which consisted of chicken, salad, and corn on the cob.  Knut and I had to laugh at that a bit.  Let's just say, that it wasn't our corn), we sailed to a second reef not far away at all.  I wanted to get back in the water, but at that point I was cold.  One of the crew members, the lady, asked if I wanted a wet suit.  I didn't take one in the first place because I doubted they had one that would fit me.  She talked me into trying a few on anyway.

I tried on an XS, because although she thought it'd be big on me, it'd go over my belly.  It went over my belly, but was so baggy in the shoulders that she said it wouldn't keep me warm at all.  So I tried their XXS small, and she helped me stretch it as far as it would go around my belly.  I joked, "What, you don't have an XXS maternity on this ship?"  Quick as could be, she said "I guess we'll have to put it on our wish list!"  We got the belly shoved in, and I headed back into the water, nice and toasty.

I'm so glad I did, because even though I was behind Knut and swimming alone again, I found a "baby" giant sea turtle, which was the biggest turtle I ever saw.  It was only about 10 feet away from me and swimming all around.  We were swimming together, the turtle and I, for about 5 minutes before other swimmers noticed us, and soon there was a crowd.  So I decided to go back to the boat for more of that yummy pineapple.

Day 6
It was another early morning, as Knut and I drove all the way from the West coast of the island where we were staying to the East coast which is supposed to have more rain forests.  Much of the Eastern part of the island is a nature preserve, and National forests, and there's an extremely limited amount of hotels, places to eat, etc. because of those restrictions.  The road to Hana, our destination, is not far mileage-wise, but it took us 3 hours to drive the whole way.  The famous "road to Hana" boasts of nearly 200 hairpin turns with several 1 lane bridges and roads to the edge of cliffs...with no guard rails.

I realized it was not the plane ride to Hawaii that I should have been fearing all along.

I hesitated going to Hana because it's supposed to be really tough on those who get carsick, and I get carsick really easily.  However, the hikes at the end were by far the ones Knut and I really wanted to do the most.  The most beautiful parts of the island were along this road, and I knew I'd regret not taking the chance and seeing it.

Fortuneately for me, my husband does a decent amount of driving in his line of work.  From tractors to semi-trucks...he's a really good driver.  I rarely get carsick when I'm sitting next to him.  I still do, but not as often.  That day, I made it the whole way without feeling nauseous at all, except for about the last 5 miles on the way back home.  I didn't get sick or anything, but I was just done at that point.

Anyway, the sights were spectacular.  Here are some of my favorite views from our 3 hour drive there:

Once we got past Hana, we headed to the trails.  There was this hike called "The 7 Sacred Pools" although that's like saying Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes...it's just a saying and there's actually lots more.

It was not an easy hike, but it wasn't hard either.  It was 2 miles up to the big waterfall, and 2 miles back down.  I was so thankful that Knut (my hiking know-it-all in our house) insisted that I get some Keen sandals for this trip.  It should not be done in flip flops.  Some people were wearing running shoes, but they didn't dare go through the last part of the trail where you had to cross 2 streams about 6 inches deep to get to the end.  Most people who made it to the end had hiking sandals like ours.  So if you go hiking when you're 22 weeks pregnant, I suggest you gear up as well!

 This was the first spot of the hike.  There were some signs that read "Danger!  Fatal Cliff.  Stay Away."  To which, Knut (like most men I know) would walk over and peer over.  Then I would call after him (like most women I know) "You are the sole support for 6 people!  You're not allowed to look over fatal cliffs!"  It didn't stop him, though, and he peered over each one.

 Here's Knut by that magnificant banyan tree I was telling you about yesterday.  It still catches my breath looking at this picture.

 

Then the hike moved onto the bamboo forest.  If you wonder what a bamboo forest looks like from the outside, simply see the picture above, or look inside any Dr. Seuss book.  You'll get the general idea.

 We walked along streams most of the way, and past several waterfalls.

 The bamboo forest was shady, which was very welcome at that time!  It was quiet in there, except for the dull clicking sound of the bamboo knocking into each other when the wind blew.

 Not too many people made it to the end.  Of all the people we saw on the trail, there were only about 10 people hanging out at the finish line.  (Also known as the most beautiful sight I have seen in my entire life.)

Knut's jaw dropped as he said that the dripping wall made the weeping wall at Glacier National Park look puny.  We climbed over several lava rocks and found a few big ones to stop and eat our packed lunch.  There were no trash cans, no signs, no nothing.  Just the waterfall a few feet in front of us...

 

and this lovely sight to our backs.

 I took so many pictures of it, but I don't think a camera can show from this close distance how HUGE it was, and how the water dripping down the wall on either side of the waterfall just made the whole wall glitter in the sunlight.  Amazing, breathtaking...every cliche description in the book doesn't begin to cover it.

It didn't take long for us to get too hot, though, and we had to seek shelter back in the shade of the trail.  It was by far my favorite day of our whole trip.  Knut and I said that if we ever made it back to Hawaii someday, this was one thing we would do again and again in a heartbeat.

Day 7
(We're almost done!)
This was a REALLY early morning, and we put it near the end to help get us used to our regular time zone again.  We woke up about 3am, and headed once again in the car up the tallest mountain in Maui (10,000 feet) to see the sunrise from above the clouds.  It's quite the thing to do, and the locals around here told us to dress very warmly as it gets very cold up there.  We would smile at them and chuckle to ourselves (yeah right, cold!)  Still, I packed the towels from our hotel to use as a blanket.  I packed a thin wool sweater just for this event, and long jeans.  Knut had a thin jacket and 1 long sleeve shirt along, so he felt all set as well.

We arrived at the top of the mountain 30 minutes before the sun had risen, and we barely got a spot in the parking lot, there were so many people!

It was about 40 degrees up there, but that's not counting wind chill, and the wind came up out of the crater below very fast, and it was very cold! 

Knut got a kick out of all the people who just looked like they brought their bed with and just wrapped up in their hotel blankets.

 This was the view looking to the West.

 

There was a huge telescope station just behind us, as far as we know, 

restricted to the scientists who worked there.

 Just as we were reaching the finale of the big show: the sun appearing, a huge fog covered the peak, and we saw no more but the inside of a cloud.  I was a bit disappointed by that, but I was rewarded with the flip side of that on our trip back down the mountain:

It was the most vibrant, the biggest, and the most complete arch of a rainbow I have ever seen in my whole life.  It was huge!  I felt like I was in some sort of fairy tale.  It was spectacular.

Then we got some Starbucks.  I was very thankful this baby has been allowing me hot drinks again.

After resting a bit, we headed out for some places closer to home this time.  There was a coffee plantation just up the road from our hotel, and we went to go driving around it.  Knut brought some green coffee beans from their little shop home so he could see if he could roast them.  It was fun to see what other farmers see and do in the middle of the ocean.

 

Well, I think it's safe to say that the coffee farmers here have 

some pretty spectacular views from their "office."

 The coffee plants were very tall, with little berries all over them, nearing harvest.

 

The plantation was just in between the mountains and the ocean.

When they get the right shade of green-yellow, they are harvested, and then dried, getting that shriveled line in them, and then roasted brownish black.

Driving through took less than a half hour, so we kept driving up the coast, Northbound, to see what we culd find.  We found a little rainforest-y pocket along the rocky, dry coast.  It had the ruins of an old church there, and a rocky shore where some people went swimming.

 This was an easy hike compared to the last one.  Just a simple dirt path to the shore surrounded by lots and lots of greenery...

and coconuts.

 

In the bushes I thought I saw a chicken, but thought "It couldn't be!"

 When we got to the rocky shore, we saw about 20-30 of them running around wild.  I have no idea why they are here, but they looked everyone over for food.

They made me laugh really hard.  Who knew I'd see a bunch of chickens in Hawaii!?!

We finished off our last night by walking on the beach of our hotel at sunset, once again, until it was very dark.  Neither one of us was ready to leave the beach.

Having another slice of Hula pie did help...a bit.

Other amazing food of note: Knut highly recommends the fish O'no (I think that's how it's spelled) as he says it's the best he's tasted in his whole life.  I was a little less adventurous food-wise than him, but every continental breakfast we went to had a full Japanese spread as well with breakfast for the Japanese tourists: white rice and Miso soup (again, not sure on the spelling).  I think it's a basic tofu soup.  Knut had that a few times, because he likes to be different like that.

I just like the Hula pie.  We had it...twice.

Day 8:
Homeward bound.  After waking up, and taking one last dip in the ocean, we went to the lei ceremony down in the lobby where we got our farewell leis.  Then we headed to the airport, and started the long, long journey home.  The rest of this day was spent flying to LAX airport where we met my brother who lives there, and he took us out for some amazing deep dish pizza, followed by some deep dish warm cookies.

Day 9:
Just before 1am, our plane took off from LAX, and headed to Minneapolis.  From there, we had another layover, and another flight, which brought us home.  Knut's dad, along with Silje and David met us at the airport.  Silje and David fought the whole way home.  They were pretty cute about it, though.  At least, it was cute since we hadn't seen it for awhile.

Knut's mom had my house sparkling, and a warm "dinner" in the oven.  (They call it dinner, but the city girl in me still calls it "lunch.")  Elias is still calling me "Grandma" but it didn't take Solveig long to warm back up to me, and be clingy as ever.  I think I got 100 kisses from her yesterday.  She woke up every hour the first night we were home, just to be sure I was there.  I was expecting that, as she does that often when I leave her someplace for the day.  I expect that to improve.

I must admit, it feels good to be back in my own house again.  Still, it was the trip of a lifetime.