Ada turned 2 last Sunday. We had a little last minute party for her with our friends Marla, Breanna, & Dylan who also live right across the street. She enjoyed opening a few gifts, blowing out her candle (all by herself) and playing with her balloons.
I also made her cake, not too bad for my first one. I need to work on my frosting techniques but Ada didn’t seem to mind, she definitely enjoyed eating it 🙂
How’s this for a break from warm, sunny Hawaii 🙂 Over a week ago we rented a lovely lodge with Todd’s family for 2 nights in Leavenworth. Todd’s cousin and her husband even stayed with us who we hadn’t seen in 5 years.
Todd and his brother Keith upgraded a previously made sled run by smoothing it out and making it longer next to the house. Ada even enjoyed going down with Todd and on her own. The best run (and pictures) was when Todd and Ada wiped out while going down together, everyone was fine but Ada looked hilarious holding the rope in her teeth 🙂
We spent a few hours driving around the park stopping to see the lava fields, craters, and of course the volcano. We started out in rainforest and then slowly descended into the dry lava fields near the ocean.
Our first stop was at the end of the highway where we walked 1/2 a mile to see the 2003 lava flow that covered part of the original road. On our way back up, we saw the craters, steam vents, Thurston Lava Tube, and ended with the night viewing of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater (volcano).
I thought we would be able to see actual lava when in the park, but all the current lava flows were about 15 miles away and viewable only by hiking trail or by helicopter. The volcano was pretty cool at night though 🙂
Ada will be 2 this Sunday! I can’t believe she is that old already, where has the time gone?! She is still her normal fireball self, full of energy and curiosity. She loves to learn names of people and objects and asks us to “name!” them quite often. She can count 1-10, though not always in that order…2, 6, 7, 8, 10! (yelling the last number). Ada says “right here” but imagine her having a southern accent when she says it, makes us smile. She knows a few opposites, forwards/backwards, up/down, open/closed, etc. She likes to say “ok” when she understands something or “nope” when she disagrees 🙂
These were taken towards the end of our vacation in Kona, but thought I would throw them in since she is almost 2. The dress was a gift from her Gramma & Grampa.
And no, I can’t get her to smile for me anymore unless I have a bribe (preferably chocolate) or a person behind me to get her attention…I had neither for this shoot but managed to get a partial smile (the wall) 🙂
On our way to Volcanoes National Park we stopped at a couple different places including Lava Tree State Monument to see the old lava trees. The trees basically looked like lava rock, but if you looked closer you could see sections of the tree that had been covered with lava over 200 years ago.
We stopped at three waterfalls near Hilo. The first was Nanue Falls which was viewable right off the highway on a narrow bridge. The second was Akaka Falls located in a state park with a beautiful walking trail. The last waterfall we saw, just before sunset, was Rainbow Falls near downtown.
We stayed a few miles outside of Hilo in a nice house with beautiful ocean views and lush landscaping. I forgot to take pictures of the house and the inside but the outside was great 🙂
Our first full day in Hilo included a drive to scenic Waipio Valley Lookout and then stopping to see several waterfalls. I will have a separate post on the waterfalls.
The last place we stopped (after a couple scenic overlooks) was the Pu’ukohala Heiau National Historic Site. This site preserves an ancient stone temple and other ruins.
After lunch we visited Lapakahi State Historical Park to see a partially restored fishing settlement. We then drove through Kapaau, a quaint town with King Kamehameha’s statue, on our way to the beautiful Pololu Valley Lookout.
After our three nights in Kona, we packed up and headed north along the highway which would eventually take us east to Hilo. It was a long day in the car with so much to see so I have to break up the pictures into a few posts 🙂
I loved the swirly patterns on the dry lava beds we walked around on. Our mini van even made it over a rough road to view the lava. My parents were told to visit the Hilton if we got a chance and it was impressive. There was an indoor tram, sea turtles in the lagoon, a suspension bridge over the swimming pool, ancient artifacts, ornate statutes, live birds, and even dolphins (they cost $ to see). Ada enjoyed sitting on the statues and watching the flamingos.
We also tried shave ice on the island and it was really good, basically a snow cone but with smoother ice. This was our 3rd trip to Hawaii and we never knew shave ice was the “thing” to try over there 🙂
La Casa Blanca 