life is not so bad... we just miss Todd!

Elodie and I have been doing lots of things to brighten our days while Todd is away at "Big Person School." Skiing, swimming, crafts, movies, and games taking up most of that space (besides the usual work and school!)

The other night, we made "crowns" out of pipe cleaners...










Elodie asked me if we could make happy face cookies for her to take to class. I made the cookies, Elodie decorated them-complete with eyes, mouth, and cheeks! :)









I have put Elodie on a very strict training program to prepare her for the upcoming bike season...











I think that, besides skiing with her friend Asher, she likes wrestling the best!
Yes, I have told her to be careful while wrestling with skis on!











I even have a chance to enjoy myself (shock of shocks, hey??) and go for a few runs over my lunch and also when Elodie goes to ski school on Saturdays. We have gotten some pretty good snow (amount and quality) in the last few days. I took a few extra runs today and came back to work late! oops! (They are lucky I came back at all! HA!) Dad (Grampa Phil)-
you need to get out here asap!

Ahhhhh... Hawaii, beaches, surfing, sand!

Sandcastles were one of things that we did most on the beach. We went to Costco and got this super rad sandcastle-building set of tools. So cool! When Elodie wasn't building things, she was rolling in the sand. We found sand in places that sand was never meant to be...



Todd has been working at his paddle-boarding skills. He is getting pretty good... it is very difficult to stand on a board, balance with the rolling of the water, steer the board so you do not get clobbered by a wave cross-wise, and then to finally "catch" and surf a wave... But he gave me some pointers that he thought would help and sent me on my way. Wow! I should have counted the times I fell over back wards. Picture slipping on the ice and going down hard on your butt. That was me. Elodie stuck with sitting on the paddle board and lying on the boogie board. She loved it!

rocks and whales!

We wanted to take Elodie out to see the whales, and were obviously hoping to have a good show, but I never imagined the whales would be swimming right next to the 40' raft we were riding! We saw a whale breech almost immediately, and Elodie saw it! That really set the tone for the rest of the trip. She was so excited and looked along with the rest of the group on the raft for the next sighting of these amazing, graceful creatures.

Our captain was able to spot and follow a "pod" of about 10 whales swimming, competing, etc. What a show! At one point, one swam under the boat, and the rest swam right next to the boat. By the very end of the trip, the boat had rocked Elodie fast asleep...

Rocks NEVER

lose their attraction! On our way to La Perouse bay to see if we could spot any dolphins, we went for a walk thru a giant lava field.

It was a 3 year old's dream come true! All the rocks she could carry, plus ones that we were asked to carry... and then, we had to throw them into the "sea." I love the whole rock thing!

10,000 feet above sea level... in Maui!

Haleakala is the 10,000 ft volcano on the east side of Maui. It is just one big rolling hill when you are looking up at it, but the drive proves otherwise. 50 switchbacks later, the summit is windy and 30 degrees colder than the beach. Ugh. But, all that being said, the mountain is beautiful and was shaped by the last eruption in 1790. One day when Elodie is not sick and crabby, we will go for a hike down into the crater! (Elodie came down with croup, which we found out the next day, and was NOT feeling the Aloha love we were hoping she would feel!)

Finally... the beaches!

Kihei... 1.5 blocks from the cottage we are staying in... compliments of my boss!
Lanio'opoko... that is Todd out paddle boarding... We saw quite a few whales out in the water this day. Plenty of fins and spray... sooo exciting!
Ho'okepo...very famous North Shore Maui beach. The surf was huge! We also saw a sea turtle that had beached itself (maybe for a rest from the huge surf?). While we were watching, he decided to wake up, turn around, and scoot back into the ocean. WOW! Watch the video...

visiting Daddy in Maui

Such a big girl with her own seat, she looks like a seasoned, relaxed traveler already!

We left on Saturday to travel to Maui to see Daddy. We haven't seen him in 3 weeks, so we were VERY excited!!

Elodie was such a big girl, pulling her own suitcase, behaving very patiently when we had a delay issue, and sitting very nicely on the plane for the duration of the San Francisco to Maui leg of the trip! This made things so much easier for me, I wish she understood that...