Becoming a Boy

Recently, Grammie Pam mentioned that Ledger is really "becoming a little boy".  I thought that was a funny statement -- I mean,  hasn't he always been a little boy?  But this week, I totally know what she's talking about.  Ledger wants to be outside all of the time.  He falls and scrapes his knees.  He drives his power wheels car around the living room running over everything in his path.  He is doing "little boy" things! :)

Here are a few pictures of him playing in the sand at the playground this morning and a video of him going down the slide a few weeks ago.

Summer Fun

I know that lots of people take one look at our super pale white son and assume that he's never spent any time out in the sun.  But they are wrong.  Our kid loves the sun and the water.  Oma loves to take him swimming in great-Grammie's pool.  He loves to play in the hose and he wants to drive in his car as often as possible.  And now that he's walking (and running) he would prefer to hold your hand and do everything himself!! :)  So now that summer is winding down, here are some pictures of our summer fun this year!

Going Bananas

Some mornings, Ledger and I share a banana in the morning.  This morning, Ledger decided not to share.  He's just at the whole thing by himself.

August Birthdays

August is filled with birthdays in our family.

Aunt Jaime: August 13

Ronan: August 15

Mommy: August 16

Oma: August 17

Aunt Emily: August 24

But just in case that's not enough... my best friend, Ann, just had her 2nd baby on August 18.  So... WELCOME Clayton Allen! :)

Video Blog: Ledger's Drinking Problem

Ledger's Mood Swings

In the last few months, Ledger has really started to develop his own personality.  His own demands and wants.  And he's developed his own unique tantrum when he doesn't get his way.  Usually this tantrum involves slowly laying down on the ground while screaming and kicking his feet.  Although we mostly try to ignore this behavior, most of the time, we are laughing hysterically.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Ledger gets what he wants... he's HAPPY!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Ledger doesn't get what he wants... he gets MAD!!

Maui Vacation Posts

I've been very busy posting about our recent Maui vacation.  I try to write very detailed posts because later these will serve as our vacation album.  The posts are filled with pictures, so make sure you check them all out:

Traveling: http://michelspot.blogspot.com/2010/07/maui-vacation-getting-here.html
Day 1: http://michelspot.blogspot.com/2010/07/maui-day-2-raftingsnorkel-trip.html
Day 2: http://michelspot.blogspot.com/2010/07/maui-day-2-raftingsnorkel-trip.html
Day 3: http://michelspot.blogspot.com/2010/07/maui-day-3-lounging-in-lahaina.html
Day 4: http://michelspot.blogspot.com/2010/08/maui-day-4-road-to-hana.html
Day 5: http://michelspot.blogspot.com/2010/08/maui-day-5-ziplining-parasailing-and.html
Day 6: http://michelspot.blogspot.com/2010/08/maui-day-6-beach-luau.html
Day 7: http://michelspot.blogspot.com/2010/08/maui-day-7-tattoos-and-windsurfers.html

Maui Day 7 -- Tattoos and Windsurfers

We woke up in the morning sad to leave Maui.  We packed up all of our bags and left the hotel early in the morning.  The Powells and Perkins' went to the Maui Ocean Center.  Chris and I headed across the island to Paia where we had an appointment to get our tattoos.  We drove all over the island looking at tattoo parlors and were most impressed with Paia Tattoo.  It was super clean, the people were really friendly, and their prices weren't sky high.  Justin immediately got started on Chris' tattoo, the Aztec gold medallion from Pirates of the Caribbean.  The design is very intricate and without the detail, we knew it wouldn't look very good.  But Justin did a great job of reassuring us that it would look awesome -- and he was RIGHT.  Tania and I got started about an hour after Chris did.  She decided it would be easiest to hand draw the design on my foot to be sure that it would cover-up my previous tattoo.  She did a good job of putting my words into the exact design I wanted!  My tattoo took about an hour to do and was the most painful tattoo I've ever had -- partially because of the size and location of the tattoo, but also because my feet had gotten so beat up while searching for sea glass earlier in the week!  I am very happy with the outcome -- can't wait for it to heal up completely though.

We all ate pizza at Flatbread Pizza company in Paia for lunch.  It's a cool little restaurant where everything on their menu is organic and local.  Very cool.  Afterwards, we were looking to waste a few hours before heading to the airport.  We didn't want to get dirty, wet, or hot since we no longer had access to a hotel to clean up before making the trip home -- this severely limited our options on the island.  Our waitress recommended that we go to Ho'okipa beach to watch the windsurfers.  It was a perfect idea!  There were about 50 windsurfers in one small little area, and they put on quite a show.  It was really a great way to end our vacation.

So after a quickie dinner, we grudgingly went back to Kahului airport to begin our cross-country trek.  The Powells headed off to Kauai where they will be spending another 5 days.  This was such an awesome vacation.  We hated to leave.... but were a little anxious to get home to see our little boy, who turns 15-MONTHS OLD TODAY!! :)

Maui Day 6 -- Beach, Luau

As our last full day on Maui, the Powell's decided to go travelling the island to do some serious bead shopping to feed Millie's jewelry habit.  We decided to stay close to home and take in a little beach and relaxation time.  We started by looking for sea glass, but it was too close to high tide to have much luck finding anything good.  So instead, the boys decided to try boogie boarding.  While we were gathering our things to move to a more appropriate boogie boarding location, a huge wave came all the way to the top of the beach and washed all of our belongings into the ocean.  I grabbed my purse (containing camera, phone, and wallet) and Chris grabbed whatever was closest to him, but we ended up fishing some bathmats and a stray shoe out of the surf.  Unfortunately, the brand new, unused snorkel and mask we brought with us from home was swept away and so were my sunglasses.  A small sacrifice to the sea gods.  The boys tried, unsuccessfully, to boogie board for about 15 minutes.  When they couldn't figure it out, we decided to just head home.  Beach time was a bit of a bust.

We decided to do a bit of shopping in Lahaina before lunch.  We discovered the Maui Built brand that is only sold IN Maui -- not by phone or internet.  Of course the boys both were wanting some unique Maui Built gear, so we hit that store for more "souvenirs".  As we were leaving Lahaina, rock-n-roll legend CARLOS SANTANA crossed the road in front of our car!!!  We stared at him for a few minutes trying to decide if it was really him.  We decided to flip the car around and go back to find him.  We spotted him outside an art museum and sent Emily to track him down with her camera.  As you can see below... she found him.

We ate lunch at Maui Tacos riding the high of spotting a Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famer.  After lunch, we drove back through Lahaina a couple of times, just hoping to spot him again... but no luck. :)  We went back to the condo to prepare for our evening entertainment, the Old Lahaina Luau.  It is consistently listed as the best luau on Maui, so we were looking forward to it.  Pre-meal, there are arts and crafts demos and the unveiling of the pig that had been buried in the sand.  Drinks were free and very strong.  We were the last table to get through the buffet, but there was plenty of hot food.  Foods franged from traditional favorites like Kalua pork and poi, exotic foods like octopus and crazy clear long rice, and plain foods like glazed chicken and steak.  The food was good, although we mainly stuck to the "plain" stuff.  When the show started, it was more like a history lesson set to music.  It was educational and entertaining -- of course the hot guys in loin cloths and the scantily clad women shaking their hips were a crowd favorite! :)  Overall, I think the luau was outstanding and I'm glad we chose this one to attend as a family.