It took me less than two seconds to warm up to Miss Rachel, who visited all the way from Montana! I showed her how to play with all of my toys, read her all of my books, gave lots of hugs, and even took her on a walk around the neighborhood. We sure were glad she came! Mommy finally got to catch up with her dear friend AFTER I went to bed! Come back soon!

Camping

We went camping with Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. What a fun trip! The last time we went camping I couldn't walk yet!

I love throwing. Sticks, rocks, shells... it all goes in the water when I'm around!

Riding a big kid bike.

My "horse". Mom also has a picture of me feeding this rock to the horse.

Pointing the way for Grandpa.

Hanging out with Dad.

Oma's Visit

Oma came to visit this weekend! She took me to Northwest Trek, the zoo, and the playground! We also planted flowers!

I also did a lot of work in the garden! The next morning, instead of going to daycare, I said I wanted to play in the dirt!

Holly's Post

I hate TV, and multiple studies show that watching any television before age 2 is not good for brain development, but I still loved it when Evan picked up our remote this afternoon, pointed it at our tv, and said, "Baseball game." He was insistent enough that I found him a game to watch. He watched for about a minute (all that I would allow), jumping up in down with glee repeating, "Baseball game! Baseball game!" Secretly, I loved it, but don't tell Adam!

Elsa and I had lots of fun on Mother's Day weekend!

We played in the birdbath.

We went to the park with Puppy and Moose, who apparently also like to swing.

We went beach kayaking. (This shot taken shortly before Elsa got in the kayak with me.)

If Grandpa's boat had been out, we would have cranked it up the beach. I can't wait until the next time I get to play with Elsa!

ALOHA... Day 7

Our last day in Hawaii. Bummer! There was a nice morning view of Mauna Loa from our hotel room.

Dad took me to the pool, but it was too chilly to go swimming.

Lazy Day, Sort Of

What? Us stay at our hotel? Never! Off we went for a hike. Remember that scenic drive Mom and Dad took while I was sleeping on Day 2?

We walked down to the secluded beach at the bottom of the trail. We couldn't go further because you had to pay to use the trails in the botanical gardens and we didn't think the view would change from there.

My favorite hiking pasttime--picking up sticks! I'm going to be really good at trail maintenance when I get older.

Not a swimming beach (tough waves, big boulders), but still fun. Plus, there was a little stream flowing into the ocean, and Mom and Dad let me throw rocks into it instead of getting too close to the crashing waves.

I also threw rocks on the beach. What a nice last day in Hawaii. After dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant (had dinner there 3 of our 5 nights in Hilo), we headed to the airport, a little sadness in the air, but refreshed from a terrific trip. Mom and Dad are really proud of how well I travelled. They can't wait to take me on our next trip!

ALOHA... Day 6

We spent all day at Hapuna Beach, which is on Conde Nast Traveller's list of the world's best beaches. We agree!

I had my own hole.

I LOVE THE BEACH!

I wish this day could be longer!

ALOHA... Day 5

On our fifth full day in Hawaii, we drove across the island to the South Kohala Coast. On our way we stopped at Mauna Loa, the world's largest volcano. Here I am taking a break on a hike up a cinder cone. Mauna Kea is in the background.

After driving to the Visitor's Center part way up Mauna Loa (our car seriously worked overtime to get there), we continued across the island to Waimea for lunch, where by chance we came across the world's greatest playground. (Seriously, it was HUGE!)

By late afternoon we arrived at our intended destination--the beach!

I had my own hot tub.

Woo hoo!

ALOHA... Day 4

We went to the Rainforest Zoo. Before we even got inside, we had lunch with one of the locals!

There were lots of animals, to include a great collection of birds like parrots and mackaws, but
the free-roaming peacocks (tons of them) were the biggest hit with us. In fact, this picture takes place while a white tiger was eating his dinner right across the street. The tiger was devouring
raw chickens literally within 5 feet of us, but I was more interested in the peacocks and chickens
having their dinner nearby.


Courting

After the zoo, we enjoyed the views of Rainbow Falls, just north of Hilo.