We found Hermit Crabs in a Cage-less Place...

  

A few weeks ago I blogged about the Waikiki Aquarium and how it was kinda sad. I mentioned that you can see most of the fishes that were in the aquarium in the wild if you go snorkeling. however that the best part about it was the hermit crabs we got to learn about and pick up with our hands...The other day, Phe and I went to Sandy's and ventured off to the tidepools on a lil mission and found TONS of little hermies.  It was pretty exciting seeing them in the wild after seeing them do there thing at an aquarium with a lady telling you not to do certain things...Anytime you get to see any living creature in their natural habitat is intriguing, even something so small as a hermit crab.  If it wasn't for going to see them in an aquarium a few weeks ago, I don't think we could've appreciated it as much..  Phe wanted to take them home as a souvenir but we returned it back to mother nature where they belong..  Loved every minute of it, exploring and stimulating our minds together through giggles unlocking the little beauties this world has to offer...We're all walking the Earth somehow =)

 

I spy with my lil eye...

A mound of an art piece Phe made

Not looking, but still posing, one eye on the fishies

Sandy's

Pele's Chair/ Alan Davis Hike

I was so stoked to hear my friend Tarah and her fiance had moved back home for a while!.  They were suffering from freezing weather and an abundance of rude people in NY that they are loving this transition and not wasting a second of it.  Tarah's been doing this hike to AD's near Makapuu where there is a lil calm beach at the end with her adorable dogs, Rufus the Professor of Anthropology and Roxy the Highschool Cheerleader.  So since dogs are a lot like babies,  Tarah thought it would be a good idea to bring Phe.  Phe and I love doing the Makapuu Lighthouse Hike since it's nicely paved for strollers, but I was always a little iffy about 4 wheel driving down the bottom path to AD's.   It was definitely adventurous of us to bring even my all terrain stroller down a maze like path that was merely made of previous 4 wheel drivers and little ditches and rocks popping up here and there but we made it.  It was definitely worth it though, seeing the look on the dogs and Phe's face when we got there--Absolutely nobody here...no tourists, not even locals.  Beach all to ourselves with nobody to offend..a little playground for babies and dogs.  Its nice to come to a calm beach here on the East side and be able to relax a little since all you hear about is Sandy's neck breaking shore breaks and China walls and its freak sets.  I really forget how many hidden gems there are on this island and sometimes I guess it just takes someone moving back to take account of all the actual beauty that surrounds us.

 Next time we know to bring 1. shoes. 2. baby bjourns or carrier for Phe.  3. Goggles for snorkeling.  

Here we go, one of the many paths to the destination.

15-20 minute moderate hike, bring shoes and a baby bjourn for the babes.

Auntie T, making it look easy.

Pele's Chair..named after Pele, the Hawaiian Goddess of Fire and Volcano.
A natural formation of lava rock that sits at the top overlooking AD's

Love these two..

Finally!  Alan Davis (AD's)  named after some white dude
that bought a lot of land back in the day.

Boner and her mascots.

Lil P chasing the fishies

Koko Head in the background..pretty beautiful.

Snack time

Sharing is caring..

Koko Head on Dwellable

Christmas in Bonnies

We forgot how many pictures we took of Christmas day at Bonnies with the clan and MAN WAS IT A GOOD DAY. Make as many Aussie references you want with "A dingo ate my baby" and "This is a knife" but you really haven't seen anything until you watch the movie The Castle or meet my parents in law in their backyard at Bonny Hills (slash Bonny Doon) a beachy country town 20 minutes away from Port Macquarie...It reminds me of 70's Mainland America when life must have been simple, somewhat pure and original. People seem so jaded these days whether it's global warming or all the media that surrounds our everyday life making life just that much more complicated than it is...In this special backyard at Bonny Hills 5 minutes walk to the beach, it felt as if you could really block out the entire world, and that somehow you would still be standing if the earth collapsed. I loved every minute of being there and watching my son play all day and go to sleep at 7pm, so tired from playing solely with sticks and dirt. Christmas with the family here was heartfelt, cozy, simple yet so so pleasant. Phe had lots of gifts to open but the real presents that brought him the most joy were his new friends Michael and little Emma. He pretty much confessed his love to Emma the first day he met her and would not shut up "Ehhhh----Maaaaaaa Ehhh--maaaah" all day long. Maybe he'll ask her to his Junior Prom who knows, but it was pretty darrrrn cute watching them play together.

The Billabong--Australia.

I haven't blogged in about 2 months I know I suck and I really have no excuse now that I am a full time mother and all. We recently came back from a month long trip from Australia where my husband is from and visited his home town and contemplated not coming back to Hawaii. First of all, I love Australia. It's a beautiful country and the people are just....RAD. Everyone is down for a drink after 3 p.m, you get paid triple the amount on sundays, they have socialized medicine, they also give you 10 grand or something when you have a baby (look it up) and a place where religion doesn't play a big part in the community. Basically, it's like the entire country is left wing so you're not really offending anyone. I also would like to mention that they cook pumpkin there in the most spectacular and delicious ways.

We will definitely be moving back there sometime in a year or 2 and this trip back really proved that my little son is a full blown Aussie. He ate vegemite, avocados and mangoes off the tree meanwhile chasing kangaroos and throwing rocks like bush tucker man in his red budgee smugglers (Australian for speedos). His grandpa is like a cross between Crocodile Dundee and Robert Deniro and seeing them two together made me not ever want to separate them...I think children have a 6th sense and they can distinguish different energies...The last time Phe met his Aussie fam, he was 4 months and merely rested in peoples arms, but even after 7 months later, it was like he could tell these were his family from his beautiful nurturing aunties and their boyfriends to his funny nana that cooked him all of his yummy meals and veggies straight from her garden to his grandpa who is a legendary character to sugarmama who he was convinced was one of the wiggles. He met some new faces this time including his 80 year old great grandma who he dubbed "GiGi!!." It took him a glance and he wouldn't even hesitate to go to them..He was at home with them.

It's always such a pivotal and beautiful part of life when a new baby is born and after a year it's certainly been the most life changing experience...But seeing the impact that Phe has made into every one's life was just something all on its own. Even his other great grandmother who was never a crowd pleaser was just smitten and I was convinced she honestly fell in love all over again with life. I know I am so lucky to have my son surrounded with so much love.

Here are some few winners from our day at The Billabong near Port Macquarie, NSW , Australia where Phe's eyes had opened up to a whole new world. It's a fun little wildlife park and I thought it was the most appropriate way to begin my sequence of Australia trip blog posts... Enjoy, and if you've never been go to Australia..they got things right over there.

Baby Signing

So if you have been hanging/talking/skyping with me lately you will know that I am a little obsessed with two things: 1. The incident at Macaroni Grill and 2. BABY SIGNING! Baby Sign Language has to be the newest best heartmelting break through since Christian the Lion. I can't even explain in words how much fun I've been having teaching and learning to sign with Phe. It has definitely helped him excel in speech and I've been seeing a little difference in his emotions. He feels so much more relaxed and confident that he can be heard through signs for little things like water, food, sleep and more.

I owe it to Pom, a neighbor and friend whose a mother (a hot one I may add) of twins who are 2 years old now. She hooked me up with Baby Signing Time DVD's and I have to say it is ridiculously good. You HAVE to watch the clip below for a little teaser. First of all, I have no idea where they casted this lady Rachel but just watch the little clip, she is kinda addicting. She's like a Bette Midler, Giulianna Rancic, and Dora the Explorer rolled into one all the meanwhile, SIGNING. Amazing!

I suggest everyone and their minis to join me on this super fun bandwagon! The best part is, the rewards reap soo quickly! Seriously, there is no cuter thing in the world than your baby turning to you and telling you the sign for "shoes" when he wants to go outside!


Phe's favorite sign..."MORE" more food..