Weekend Farm Chores

This morning we went to visit some friends who were having a garage sale. And I'm thinking subliminally, I must have been jealous. How come THEY get to walk through a tidier home and not me?! Because 4-5 hours later, without ever intending to- I found myself working my way through all of Ryan's toys, the kitchen cabinets, clothes closet, etc.

Even though our little studio looks and feels like it's PACKED with stuff, I'm thinking there's really not all that much (it just seems that way because there's three people in such a small living area). I desperately want to believe this is true, anyway...because after 2-3 hours of cleaning- all I came up with were two tiny boxes of stuff to get rid of. :-(

I'm still glad it's done though, since we'll have our fourth house guest (KT!!!) of the year coming in just 3 weeks!

Despite having all four of his wisdom teeth yanked out on Friday, Rich has been doing well. He's in a bit of pain, still bleeding a little and at times- starving (since he hasn't been able to eat normally yet). However, he still helped me wash, polish and vacuum our two cars this AM, do 2 loads of laundry, and then installed an outdoor laundry line for me now that I (and I can't believe I'm typing this) go to the beach and pool so much! To date I've been hanging our towels and bathing suits on the back of chairs, fans, Ryan's toy shelves, the shower curtain rod, cupboard shelves, over the top of doors and safety gates, etc. And as classy as this looks- it's not the most effective method of drying stuff out. So ta-da! Daddy strung a removeable clothesline for me right outside our back door that will (queue up the banjo music!) work just fine. :-)

In addition to the other chores, I also learned me somethin' new this weekend! For the first time ever, I used my library card! I got Ryan a ton of books and we've had such fun reading them (and by 'fun' I am referring mostly to Ryan...not so much me. As much as I love seeing the wonder in his eyes and the comprehension starting to click in his head, I have learned that after reading somewhere in the neighborhood of about 23 books about trains, it's perfectly okay for mommy to want to burn all of those books about trains). ;-) But seriously- not only did I enjoy getting 8 new books for Ryan that I didn't have to buy...I also got excited about being able to request others for him! He's in love with this Canadian program about a little 4-year old boy named Caillou, but our local library only had one book available about Caillou. So I was able to request something like 7 other Caillou books from our state library system, and for no additional charge- they will be shipped to us once they're available. Sweet! I also requested some additional books for me from Anchee Min (Becoming Madame Mao, Pearl of China, Red Azalea) for myself since I've recently been wanting to revisit the Cultural Revolution period of China. Communism has always fascinated me, and I love reading about (but before you start calling me a Red Commie and shipping me off to North Korea...I should clarify that while it fascinates me, it's because it's so misguided and tragic). I think one of my favorite about that time period is Wild Swans (Jung Chang), so I also requested that book since I haven't read it in years (though I think I've read it 5-6 times!) and it never occured to me to borrow it! :-)

I was so inspired by my visit to the library that I made a vow to try to take Ryan there once a week. Or at the very least- once every two weeks. It's such an amazing privilege to be able to expose your child to so many different books, and for free. I want to kick myself for having waited this long! And the savings will be much appreciated, since we've hit a bit of a rough patch with our finances. Over the course of two months- tuition, books, airline tickets, two friends who needed help, a much needed new laptop for school, home repairs, closet doors, dental work, a pricey annual home insurance policy, closing costs, etc. have conspired to make us...well, a bit short on cash. It's not a crisis, but we've had to once again cut back on things like eating out, and have opted out of a few things we normally would have loved to do- like the upcoming evening Running on Faith 10k here in town. :-(

So for now, no more fun races coming up! But I do have tomorrow's long run, which really isn't going to be all that long. I'm trying to stagger my 'longer long runs' so I don't do one every weekend and get psychologically burnt out or injured. But what I will continue to do is try to time it so that I always end up at a beach for Ryan to play at! :-)

Introducing...our newest addition to the family!

During a playdate yesterday I saw my son totally digging pushing a stroller around. So I called a good friend of mine yesterday (who is both a childcare professional and a mommy of two) who confirmed that yes, strollers and babies are great toys for 2-3 year old's, and that yes, her own son LOVES pushing one around so much she had to buy him his own. She did, however, caution me in advance that strollers only come in pink, and that dolls only come in the female form. So with that being said- guess who rushed out to Target last night and got a pink stroller and little pink dolly for her little boy!?!

And man! Did he dig it! He was so excited that we had to open both toys right in the store (as soon as we paid for them) so he could proudly push them around for a few minutes before going home.

I asked Ryan 3-4 times what his baby's name was, and each time he proudly told me his own first and last name. So we have two Ryan's now!

Clearly he's taken to parenthood quite well...except for that one time I caught him dragging little baby Ryan (whose head was bouncing around on the ground) behind him.

Ryan's father and grandfather have both duly lodged their protests about the pink stroller and pink doll, but as you can see- they don't get much of a vote on these matters. Come to think of it, I'm sure Ryan won't be all that thrilled about it either when he grows up and sees these photos and all the nudes we have of him at the beach!

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I'm seriously thinking about disabling the baby's sounds though, because I swear- for $23, you'd think they could decently mimic a baby's cries... But the sound this baby makes is like a cross between Chucky and a cat mating. Scary.

Ryan also got a few more presents last night (mommy was on a roll since he had two more gift cards left from his birthday)- new puzzles and a puzzle rack, and a drawing board! It was such a rare occasion for him to get so many fun things at once that I heard him softly and excitedly chanting "Presents...presents...presents" in the backseat all the way home. ;-)

Monday, Monday...na, na, na, na, naaaa...

One of my dad's really good friends invited Ryan and his cousins to go horseback riding this afternoon! They also got to see pigs, geese and goats. Ryan kept asking to see chickens because I think he assumed it was a farm, and all farms have chickens, right?


Because it was warm outside, I told Ryan he had to wear a hat and sunglasses if he wanted to go.

And as you can see, Joe Cool was a'ight with it...

Mr. Smiley was extremely excited about going and kept claiming he could see the horse ("I see it! I see the horsie!" from like five miles away.

He got to ride the horse with Keni (that's my older brother Jon leading the horse and Riki directing them). We'd originally planned on my mother or father walking alongside Ryan to make sure he didn't fall off, but in my mother's words- Keni had a deathgrip on him and he was more than safe without them!

Kenichi & Ry

Kenichi & Riki yukking it up! (Ryan nearly wept when he realized he couldn't fit on the horse with his two cousins!)

Ry's last ride of the day (he had three!) was with Grandma, who...let's just say she doesn't normally do this sort of thing!

Big Island Ziplining...The Umauma Experience!

Happy (early) birthday to me! After a year of talking about it (we almost did in last year in Alaska), Rich surprised me with a zip lining adventure! And it was even more than beautiful than we ever could have imagined! The Big Island never ceases to amaze me.

There are two companies on the Big Island that offer zip lining- one is in Hawi/Kohala Mountains and markets itself as more of an eco-friendly canopy (amongst the trees) tour, and the other is just outside of Hilo, near the Umauma Falls. We chose the latter one (which bills itself as The Umauma Experience) because it's the only one actually over waterfalls, ponds and streams, and also has the longest zipline (over a quarter of a mile in length) on the island.

The large gated entrace to the Umauma Experience (totally reminiscent of Jurassaic Park!)

The drive from Kona was roughly 2 hours long, which was approximately 30 min. longer than Rich thought it was. Which meant that much to our dismay, we ended up being 'that couple'. You know, the one that always shows up late, after orientation, running in breathless and mumbling about traffic...all while everyone else in the group is sitting there, suited up and waiting. Um...whoops.

The Visitor Center (still under construction)
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After quickly signing the required waivers, we quickly suited up at the Visitor Center and then hopped in a van with the rest of the group (there were 10 of us, plus our two guides) for a quick drive up a guava tree-covered mountain to our first line.

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The equipment/gear we wore made me feel like a cross between an S & M loving acrobat, a construction worker (since every step I took made those jingly 'tools banging together' sound) and a prisoner on a chain gang. But I have to admit- everything was quite light, comfortable and never chafed. So even though we were suited up for about 4 hours, it was never uncomfortable or hot.

Rich & and I about to descend on line #2 together (the only dual line on the course, and the longest continuous line on the island)

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The weather was just pristine for that side of the island- no wind, rain, vog...just blue skies and sunshine! Our first (of nine lines) was a pretty basic one since it was sort of an introductory 'test' for everyone. And this was nice- because it felt like we went from hauling a** in our car to standing on a scary airborne plank wearing our S & M gear in a manner of minutes!

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Thankfully, we were told that the guides do EVERYTHING for you- attaching you to the line, breaking you later as you come back in, pulling you in if need be, and then unstrapping you from the line. We were also given a brief tutorial in how to speed up (assume the 'cannonball' position), slow down (assume what they called the 'starfish' position by extending your four limbs outward) and how to manipulate the ropes with your arms if you didn't want to spin around while on the lines (since your body will naturally start to move around once you're zipping, and it's quite normal to end up facing backward or sidewards and not facing forward at the end of line. This isn't a problem per se, but I liked to control which direction I wanted to look at and found hurtling toward the end of the line at top speeds while backward a bit unnerving).

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However, since manipulating the ropes required a bit of upper body strength, brains (you had to do everything in the opposite direction you wanted your body to go in) and finesse (it was easy to overcompensate and end up spinning too much in the opposite direction), you can guess who will NOT be getting any calls from Cirque du Soleil anytime soon! :-(

The views of the forestry up there were stunning...eerily quiet, and had spectacular 180 degree ocean views the whole time. Everyone in our group made a comment about leaving everything in our 'outside' lives behind, pitching a tent and living off the land! (I'm pretty sure I could learn how to cook guava 20 different ways, right?)

So the entire morning that we drove out there, it had never occured to me that I might actually be scared. I'm no more afraid of heights than the average person (though I found skydiving to be quite terrifying), so I just assumed I'd feel pretty safe since I would be securely strapped to thick metal line. And while I was never actually terrified, the first few times I did step off that airborne plank my heart did speed up a bit and my palms got clamy! So while I never felt strong fear, I have to admit I never felt confident or cavalier about the whole thing either!

Case in point- we were told that we could basically do anything we wanted while on the line- we could use one hand, no hands, hang upside down, spin around, etc. Notice me clutching the line with both hands, holding on for dear life? Yep, that's how wild and crazy I got.

Okay...so I did eventually let go of one arm to shoot a few shakas for the camera, but I swear to you, that's as gutsy as I got!

Rich, on the other hand, was a friggen' maniac! But more on that later...

I loved this tree line!

This is me, being a jerk and pretending to look at my watch...since much of the 3.5 - 4.0 hour tour is spent waiting your turn to zip. It takes each guide a minute to hook you up, a minute or so for you to work your way down the line, then another minute to get unstrapped and prepare the line for the next person. So for the twelve of us in our group (the ten of us and our two guides), you could safely figure that it took about 20 min. to get of all across each of the nine lines.

This is Rich, seconds away from hot doggin' it and doing this...

...turning upside down and letting go of the line! He did this quite a few times, as well as filming his ride with one arm extended out in front of him!

I couldn't believe the number of tiered waterfalls and ponds that we saw on the course! I want to say that a little over half of the lines were over water, and the other half were over/between trees, gullies, etc.

I think this line (#5 if I recall correctly) was the scariest, because you descended onto a platform that had no (get this)...safety rails anywhere! It was like standing on a tall, narrow telephone pole with a board attached to the top of it...and then on top of that, you had to STAND there, attached to the pole, and wait for everyone else to come in before leaving from the very same platform to get to the next line. It was freaky standing up there swaying and bouncing around with 12 other people! It was even scarier when I nearly didn't make it all the way to the platform (some of us were losing momentum from the headwind). Thankfully, I made it just far enough to get pulled in (and no one had to rappel out to get me!).

After one of the lines we had to take this long walk on a path through some bushes. All I needed was a torch so I could vote one of my tribe members out! ;-)

The prettiest, triple-tiered falls I've ever seen- Umauma Falls! I swear- I am adding a hike and a swim at the falls (technically they're on privately owned land) onto my bucket list!

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I forgot to mention that each platform was located next a beautiful, well constructed little hut with amazing views and benches both to protect us from the elements (rain, sun, etc.) and allow us to gaze at the scenery. And halfway through the experience, we were given a light snack (nothing special) in one of them since the tour runs through the lunch hour.

The last line carried you over some water back over to the Visitor Center, where were given the option of a final experience (only half of our group opted to do it) of being attached to what they called "The Swing." Since it sounded like a lovely way to end the day- swaying back and forth on a swing over the plunging falls below, guess who naively volunteered to go first?

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I had no idea what the process was to get you into the swing. So we were told to climb up a ladder, get hooked up/suspended from a metal bar, and then were pulled back/up by a large, 15-passenger van until we were dangling/suspended over what felt like 100+ feet above the ground. At this point, it dawned on me (and my palms are already getting sweaty while even typing this) that this was not a gently swaying swing ride over the falls. Because when we were dropped/released from the car, it felt like I was plummeting to my death! I screamed like I've never screamed in my entire life. Hell, if you took every scream I've ever made on the last 50 roller coasters I've ever ridden on and combined them you wouldn't have equaled the terror-filled howling you heard me emit at that moment. Or the profanity. (Sorry kiddie spectators...).

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However, I don't want to insinuate that this miserable, wretched 'ride' is one that would be abhorred by all, because the lady I rode with from South Africa howled with delight and did it not once, but twice! (She volunteered to go again with Rich since I refused, and you need two people to balance the ride).

This is me and the brave, crazy South African woman being pulled backward by the van (we're not even halfway up to our final stop up in the air)

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Folks, I cannot impress upon you how this horrifying near free fall back to Earth has permanently weakened my poor, litte heart. The decision to ride this swing will make the very short list of the STUPIDEST THINGS I'VE EVER DONE IN MY WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE THAT I WILL, NEVER, EVER...EVER EVER EVER DO AGAIN.

Rich ended up opting to do it too, and agreed that the ride was twenty million times more terrifying than anything else we've ever done at an amusement park. And to top it off? The swinging back and forth made us want to vomit, so needless to say- it was a very long, quiet ride back home!

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Riding that swing reminded me, albeit in much lesser way, of just how sick/miserable I felt on my Vomit Tour Across America 2010 Tour! back in April. So please, I urge all of you- the very next time I make noises about wanting to ride 5 consecutive airlines, ride a cruise ship across the open sea, go on a car ride on a winding road or heaven help us- ride a giant swing from hell over the Umauma Falls...PLEASE- step forward, backhand me across the face, spit on me and remind me that I have terrible motion sickness. And now, a permamently weakened heart.

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I am determined to erase that swing ride my short and long term memory so that I can remember the day as just a wonderful birthday surprise from Rich filled with wonderful new experiences. We also have tons of super cool video footage that Rich (since I wasn't about to pry one of my cold, clammy hands off the ropes to hold a camera) took that I'll be trying to post over the next few days!

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So if you ever journey over to the Big Island, I would highly recommend hitting up The Umauma Falls (Zip Lining) Experience. It's a bit pricey at $189 pp (Kama'aina residents can sometimes get an additional discount), but because the tour encompasses nearly 4 hours over some of the most beautiful falls in the island (and world!), and offers the optional (shudder), but priceless, one of a kind swing experience, it's well worth it! Our guides were phenomenal, and everything was a well run, fine tuned machine from the moment of Rich's booking to the minute we left.

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Thank you Rich for the zip lining. Thank you mom and dad for watching Ryan all day. And thank you God for not making me throw up all the way home... Because we know it's possible.

The Video Footage: Rich Swings! (Pun intended)

Sorry for the poor video quality...it's into the sun. And the camera is cheap. ;-)

Rich's Final Zip (partly upside down)!

I pull myself in onto the plank!

I love Kua Bay!!!

Ryan and I have had a great week! He had a super special, rare treat of a series of play dates on Mon (the Mayer girls), Tue (X & Nina), and Wed (Tizzle B)!

And he BEEMED when his cousins came back home to Kona! This was the first time they've left (they leave twice annually for 6-8 weeks at a time) that he really noticed. He kept asking for them while they were gone, and once they returned, he took off running and excitedly yelling "KeniRiki! KeniRiki!"

See how thrilled he was to see them?

He couldn't stop smiling.

On Friday Ryan got to play with the Mayer girls again and go swimming in their beautiful pool.

Thanks to all this beach and pool time we've been logging this month, I'm really starting to think we need a small pool of our own! :-) (So once Ryan gets up from his nap, I think we're heading down to the Home Expo at the Sheraton to talk to a few solar heating companies and pool companies! One can dream, right?)

My my how times have changed...Ryan and KK playing with iTouches! ;-)

Ryan getting into a more comfortable position so he get his game on!

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We left the Mayer's right after dinner last night (made a veggie peanut soba dish!) so mama could get a decent night's sleep before her 5:30am wake up call this morning. And by 6:15, I was off and running and didn't stop (well except for those eighty two walk breaks and a refueling stop at Matsuyama's again) until I got to Kua Bay...SIXTEEN miles away! Whoo-hoo! Longest long run in awhile! But man! Did it seem to take forever!!! Toward the end I was plodding along sooooo slowly that the only thing keeping me going were the occasional bikers that kept passing me by. I didn't want them to see me walking out in the middle of nowhere and wonder if I was lost or crazy, so everytime I saw a group peddling by, I would straighten up my shoulders, force a smile on my face and increase my pace from 12:00 minute miles to 11:58 minute miles. You know, just to show off.

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I ended up downing 64 oz. of water, and four packets of fuel along the way. In effort to get rid of some old gels we've accumulated from other races, I ended up tossing down two new sets of gels that I've never had before with my usual blocks....proving once again that Ms. Piggly Wiggly IronStomach can eat just about anything and not get sick while running.

Sidenote: I saw the cutest, saddest roadkill ever this morning (why I'm sharing this I do not know)- a little wild piglet. :-( Right next to Kailua View Estates. Slow down, evil death monster cars!!!

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All in all- it was painful, steaming hot toward the end...but exhilarating once I was done!

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PS- My running lesson learned for the day? Do not be lazy and decide to skip wrapping your ibuprofen in saran wrap before sticking it in your Fuel Belt! When I finished my run and reached in to grab them- they were wet (from eeew...sweat) and half disentegrated!!! Who knew moisture would cause those things to break down?! ;-)

But my reward once I was there (aside from meeting up with my boys) was well worth it- the amazingly crystal clear, cool blue water and the powdery white sand of heavenly Kua Bay (or Maniniowali Beach). It evokes a feeling of being in the Caribbean! The paved road entrance to the beach is directly across the street from the West Hawaii Veteran's Cemetary, and is part of the County's Kekaha Kai Beach Park. There's a small parking lot that fills up fast, but since we were there a little afer 9, we got one of the last open stalls (no fear if you don't get one, you can just park along the roadside and walk a little farther to the beach).

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We've only been to Kua Bay once before when Ryan was much, much younger, but after today's visit we both vowed to return on a regular basis. Because this beach is just...pure awesomeness.

Ryan wasn't thrilled about the crashing waves, so we created a little cove for him (that kept getting annihilated by the waves) that he felt safe in! (Safe enough to start pounding a strawberry fruit bar and mochi anyway!)

The icing on the cake of this beautiful beach? The WARM WATER showers as you leave!!! What a treat! I will gladly increase my proprty taxes if every beach on the island would add this feature!

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The 15+ visits to the beach this month alone are slowly but surely making a beach lover out of me!!!

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Next up- dinner at Bubba Gump's with our sweet, dear realtor...and then an early birthday surprise for me tomorrow! ???

Run Fun

I miss tube socks!
One side benefit of going to the beach/pool so much is that for the first time in possibly 30 years- my thighs are not bright, milky white! Normally I have legs that are divided into two, very defined colors- white (above the shorts line) and brown (below the shorts line). And now that these lines have blurred, this thrills me.

However, this increased sun exposure has also meant that my stocky, man calves have never been darker. And this concerns me...and is partly why I'd been tossing around the idea of getting a pair of compression socks. I know that this is not their intended function (sun protection), and that increased blood circulation/quicker recovery is, but it seemed like a nice, equally beneficial reason to get them. :-)

However, after Googling compression socks a few days ago I realized that: 1) I don't really do (many) long runs anymore. 2) And when I do run, I don't really have any pain afterwards (a direct result of my never really exerting myself). 3) Because I only run one day a week, there is absolutely no need to speed up my recovery! 4) I would just end up having three sections of color on my legs...so my legs would sorta look like a cross section of Neopolitan ice cream. Not such a good thing. And 5) I'm soooo not a serious runner. Aside from my water belt, bloks, decent shoes and non-chafing run apparel, I really don't need high performance gear (heart rate monitors, Garmins, etc), and certainly not $45 socks! :-)

So no more compression socks. :-(

In Alaska I would run like the wind!
But while we're on the topic of running, I did read something interesting from this month's Runners World magazine- it is believed that for every 5 degrees above 60 degrees, it decreases a person's speed by 20-30 seconds miles per hour. So apparently all I need to do to break an 10 min. mile is move to the Kenai peninsula!

The next frontier
I am if nothing else, a woman who likes to set goals. And then not achieve them. So I've decided to try and stick to my committment to attempt an occasional "longer long run" once in awhile. My next one will be this weekend, when I attempt to run from my house out to Kua Bay, which I believe is about 16 miles. I'm hoping to refuel my belt out at Matsuyama's again (I'm assuming they open at the crack of dawn), which I think is somewhere near the 8 mile marker, so that will be great. I'm also heading out to Big Island Running Company tomorrow to stock up on an assortment of new bloks/gels for additional motivation. I'm also going to pick up a few applications for the 10k evening run coming up this August! Rich and I really want to run with Ryan (it's been awhile since he's been so busy with school), and we also want to support ESPY winner Jason Lester (it's his official book launch party as well).

At this point, I'm kind of excited for this weekend's run, but also know that this excitement will dampen considerably at about 5:30am when my alarm goes off. ;-) Wish me luck.

Super Ryan hearts his friends!

Ryan has been missing his daily pool lessons and his cousins- Keni & Riki (in Japan) and JP (who after 12 days with us, just went back to California). So we've been very lucky to get to play with his newest friends in town- Lali, Maile & Keala!

Yesterday the two older girls tied little 'capes' around Ryan and Keala so that they could run and 'fly' around.

Super Ryan loved it.

He's also going to be a very happy boy today because his new friends Xavier & Nina come over, and after 8 weeks of bowing and eating lots of rice- Keni & Riki come home later today too! The icing on the cake will be his regular visit with Tyler tomorrow! And mommy promises to take him to the pool on Thursday and the beach on Saturday...

Ryan has a rough life. :-)

SWM, 2 y/o, likes yogurt, Thomas the Train & long walks along the beach...

Hello ladies...my name is Ryan, and I'm currently single, ready to mingle.

As you can see, despite being genetically cursed by a white daddy and an Asian mommy who can't dance, I like to dance...

But I also have a serious side...like when I'm watching Sesame Street. Or when other little kids at school hog all the play dough.

I do love the outdoors, especially the beach and pool at sunset.

And I like to run, jump, read books and do puzzles in my spare time.

If you'd like to color together sometime, please feel free to give me, or er...my mommy a call! (I mean, of course I have a cell phone and all, but it's one of those Elmo ones that don't really work.)

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Hugs,

Ryan

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Special thanks to my brother from another mother, Ty "Tizzle B" for sharing his tux with me!

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