Sleepy Super Bowl

This year we elected to spend our Super Bowl in sweats on our own couch, just the 3 of us.  It was awesome.

The cutest part?  When Xander fell asleep on his Dada's lap.  Xander rarely falls asleep outside of his crib or the car, so if he climbs in your lap to watch the game with you and then falls asleep, that is a super mega bonus day and you count your blessings.  How can we deal with all of this cuteness?  It is not that hard, actually...

Kauai - Day Six

This was our second to last full day of vacation (would you want to leave that view?), and we wanted to keep it close to home base after all the sightseeing we did the day before.  We headed over to the main pool at the hotel and were promptly kicked out because guests of the condo portion of the hotel weren't allowed to use the main pool - lame.  So we showed them and headed to nature's pool... THE OCEAN!!

Dada got to walk with Xander, "down by da beach, boy-ee!"

Watch out for that wave!!

Everyone was all dressed for swimming, so why not head back to our pool?  Xander sure had a good time - he got tossed all around the pool and had a ton of fun with his Dada - look at that mad air he's catching!

After all that tossing, it was time to relax with Mama in the hot tub before going in for a bath. 

Then we finally got our camera out in time to catch one of our lizard friends along the pathway back to the elevator.  

Did you say elevator?  Because Xander's new favorite thing is pushing buttons on an elevator - especially when they light up ORANGE!!

Phew!  All that button pushing, swimming and ocean time really wore him out! 

But there was still some time for fun photos with Mama that night before bed...

Catching some laughs...

And making squishy faces...

Kauai - Day Five

This was definitely one vacation where more sleep could have been had.  With Dada's phone buzzing here and there on previous nights, we thought this Sunday we could sleep more... but Xander had other plans and woke up earlier than he had on any other day that trip.  But hey, at least he woke up mostly happy!

We had planned to head back to Gaylords that morning for their Sunday brunch.  We'd been having cereal in our room most mornings, so we thought a brunch one morning could be nice treat.  The weather was quite windy and rainy.  Usually rain and wind started later in the day, but this was obviously going to be a stormier day than the rest.  We were right in the middle of the Kauai rainy season, and we did come from Seattle, so we weren't all that put out about the rain.  

Bruch is served in the dining area which is a quasi outdoor area.  After asking to move to a drier table and location, we tried just about everything the brunch buffet and a la carte options had to offer us before deciding to cut ourselves off for the morning.  We were planning to head back to the room and pack up to go to Wailua Falls, then try to hit the botanical garden Mama wanted to see and spend the rest of the afternoon at Lydgate Beach.  Unfortunately the weather took a serious turn, so we decided we would either need to stay in our hotel or go for a drive and just see what we could see.  

So, we drove out to Hanalei Bay and Princeville (we had planned to do that the following day) to check things out.  The bay was beautiful and the drive out there was pretty awesome scenery wise as well.  We drove around Princeville a bit and got stuck in some traffic.  On the way back we stopped at Wailua Falls (we tried to go on the way up but were given bad directions).  It had been raining, so the falls did not disappoint. 

We headed back to home base so Xander could do something besides sit for the rest of the day.  He was a pretty good sport overall though.  We think our sight seeing would have been better spent on a sunny day, but we were glad to take in the sights while we could rather than sit cooped up in a hotel room while we were in Hawaii!

After having a big brunch around 10am, we weren't all the hungry for a meal until dinner time.  This was the day we elected to stay close to home for a meal anyway, so we got take out from a local favorite near our hotel.  Fish tacos, a teriyaki ahi burger and some mozzarella sticks to spice things up.  Nothing to write home about, but enough to satisfy our food needs and cravings.  

After dinner we did what we like to do at home and on vacation, do a little relaxing in front of the TV.  Xander climbed up onto the couch with Dada to get comfy.  

Really comfy...

A little too comfy...

Like Father like Son... these two are GOOD sleepers!

Kauai - Day Four

On Saturday we made a trek to Kaloa.  We started by heading to the Spouting Horn and Flea Market.  Xander fell asleep in the car that morning on the way.  He really needed a longer nap because he was pretty angry the rest of the time we were there.  

The Spouting Horn is a rock formation on the water that basically looks like a geyser when ocean waves come in and go through the rock to create the spouting effect.  

We watched the spouting for a while, had a wildlife sighting (not sure if it was a seal or a dolphin, it was pretty far away) then walked back towards the parking lot to the flea market.

The flea market was a bit of a let down because it was small and there wasn't much of a variety of items for sale, but we did manage to find a cool brass lizard to take home with us.  Just a little guy that was too cute to leave behind.  

After walking around we headed to the Kaloa Shopping Village.  We had passed it on the way to the horn and were glad to make note of it since that was our next destination.  Always feels nice to know where you are going AND how to get there!  We walked around, mostly just retail shops were there.  But the main reason we stopped was to try the Savage Shrimp Taco Truck.  This taco truck came recommended to us by Dada and Uncle Jeremy's friend, Tamer, who had been to Kauai recently.  Now, we don't eat shrimp, but they did offer fish so we had to try it.  In the time between Tamer's and our visit, the truck had relocated to a real brick and mortar location.  We got ours to go and ate in the car so we could have a place to sit with air conditioning... good thing we ate fast!  We tried a fish po boy and some fish tacos, both were bomb diggity - highly recommend that place, fo sho.

Once we finished our lunch we headed back to home base.  On our way back, we got to see one of our favorite stretches of drive this whole trip.  There are videos of people driving this stretch of road because it is so pretty, just look at these trees!  And remember, it's even better than the photo shows...

Xander got to try his floatie swimsuit, from Grandma, for the first time.  This swimsuit is really similar to something Grandma made Mama wear when she was little, but somehow technology has improved things for comfort and ease of application - good thing!  Xander didn't love being put into the suit, but once he got into the water he really had a great time.  

Mama got to take him around the pool, then Dada got in and swam with Xander too.  It had been a full day, so we didn't swim for too long - just enough to make Xander's bath later worth while.

For dinner that night, after Xander's nap, we went to The Beach House.  This place was packed and obviously is quite popular.  We shared a lilikoi mojito then two appetizers.  The wasabi crusted fresh island catch served with lilikoi lemongrass beurre blanc and the furikake dusted ahi with wasabi mashed potatoes, shisho tropical salsa, sudachi ponzu and grilled apsaragus.  Everything was tasty!  

We had plans to try and hit a few other things that day, but we really had a nice time doing what we did and spending time at the pool with Xander.  Another day well spent!

Kauai - Day Three

Despite a couple of buzzes on Anthony's phone through the early morning, we got our best nights rest so far on this trip on day three.

We decided to head to Waimea Canyon - the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.  We had been to the Grand Canyon on our last vacation, so we thought maybe we could skip this tourist attraction.  But we figured it would probably be worth seeing and when was the next time we'd be on Kauai to check it out?  So we made the someone long windy drive there and up to the rim of the canyon.  After the drive up and back, we decided we'd be happy never to go back again.  Unless one of our kids has a huge desire to see massive holes in the ground, we don't need to go back.  It was definitely a shorter trip than the drive to the Grand Canyon, but it wasn't as impressive a canyon by far.  You can tell that Xander wasn't that impressed... he wasn't quite himself all day that day...

Along the way and throughout the whole canyon park we saw plenty of chickens.  All different colors, beautiful plumage as always.  They were pretty daring, even though signs said not to feed them it is pretty obvious the visitors normally ignore the signs because they were all but begging for treats.  The pictures don't due them justice, they were so stunning... who would have thought chickens (okay, red jungle fowl) could be so cool?

A Mama chicken and her baby chicks...

Now THAT made Xander smile!

Another chicken!

Xander did not want to say goodbye to his new friends...

So when we made our next stop, he was happy to see even more chickens... look at them all crossing the road!!  How many chickens can you see here... (we count 7)

Xander had his eye on them the whole time!

Then the wind got hold of Mama's hair... here Mama, I'll fix it for you!  Mama's personal stylist...

Look!  The kings of the canyon!

When we pulled up to the gift shop at the canyon, Mama saw through the door into the back corner of the store and said, "Oh, I see something Xander is coming home with!"  It was a stuffed chicken!  The chickens there were so beautiful and this stuffed one was so adorable that one questions if the stuffed chicken was actually for Xander or more for Mama... either way, all are thrilled to be the proud owner of one stuffed chicken.  We named him Ba-Gawk!  We're so original!  This picture doesn't do him justice, by the way...

Once we left the canyon, we were well overdue for a real lunch.  We thought we saw a Subway on the way up, but decided not to hesitate when we saw the first sign of food.  We ended up sharing a tuna melt, which is funny because Mama hates those, but now decided she likes them well enough.  This particular one was delicious (with havarti cheese, rye bread and tuna with a good mix of onion and celery) but we were so hungry we would have probably enjoyed a saw dust sandwich almost as much.

When we finally made it back to our room, we picked up a second lunch from Dukes to share - gotta have those fish tacos!

For dinner that night we tried a place that Mama found online with rave reviews - Tidepools.  The restaurant was at the Grand Hyatt, not too terribly far from where we were staying.  They call it Tidepools because the restaurant has many walkways and bridges that take you over water and koi ponds, you feel like you are in a hut built over the water, it is pretty cool.  We tried the Ahi Poke to start - surfing goat chevre with wasabi-edamame puree, topped with tobiko, lomi salsa and molokai sweet potato.  The dish was good overall, but the wasabi-edamame puree was a little flat and bland.  It was filling though, which made a good start to the meal.

We then shared the Mahi Mahi.  The fish was macadamia nut crusted with molokai sweet potato (not so good) coconut-kaffir lime beurre blanc and papaya-avocado relish.  Overall a great dish, but we think maybe we just don't love the texture of that purple potato mash.  

When we ordered, we decided to share one entree and leave room for dessert, but when we ordered appetizers we got the Ahi Poke AND the Hamachi & Compressed Watermelon appetizers.  Our food came so fast that we decided to hold off on enjoying the Hamachi until after our entree and it wound up making for a wonderful savory dessert.  The Hamachi was evenly balanced with the watermelon, topped with thinly sliced jalapeno and all brought together with a white soy vinaigrette and shiso.  We almost licked the plate the vinaigrette was so good!  And that Hamachi was delish!  We could always use more jalapeno, but we'd get that dish again if the opportunity arose.  

We walked around the grounds of the hotel, then to our car.  On our drive home we took a little detour to look around and got back just in time for Xander to go to bed.  Another day in paradise on the island of Kauai.  

Kauai - Day Two

After a tiring day of travel, we were looking forward to trying to be on vacation and not stress out too much about Sark at home.  Unfortunately, we were awoken at 5am our time to an update from our vet about Sark that morning.  Still, we were more rested than we had been in 2 days.

We decided we were due for a day at the pool and little else.  We started out by trying the hammock at the pool.  Xander was brave to try it out because Mama always feels like she's gonna fall out of those things.

Dada felt like resting too, so Xander got some Dada love time before everyone went swimming.

One last kiss before swim time!

Our travel day had been so crazy and Xander was so out of it that he slept from the afternoon the day before through the morning, about a 14 hour sleep, so this is why his hair looked so crazy... he needed a bath but we figured he should swim first.

After some fun in the sun, we headed to Dukes for lunch.  This restaurant was close by and a sister restaurant to some others we've liked on other Hawaiian islands before.  This would not be our only visit to Dukes this trip either :)  This time around we tried the cajun mahi mahi sandwich and fish tacos. We also tried the vegetable dip with flatbread because we were pretty dang hungry to start out.  Xander really enjoyed the vegetable dip, so we were thrilled!

Later, we walked to the beach (right across from the restaurant) before heading back to the room for Xander's nap.

As we walked, we started to get closer and closer to the water... the ocean!  This was Xander's first time in Hawaii and first time at the ocean too!  We captured the moment his feet first got touched by the ocean wave, but the look on his face was priceless and not caught in the photo.  You can almost see Mama's face through her hair in the photo and she was mirroring Xander's expression at the time.  He was just so shocked that the water came up to touch his feet and ankles, but not scared, it was so cute!

After we finished our walk, we headed back to the room.  Xander took a nice long nap and we wound up going to a late dinner at Gaylords, a plantation restaurant nearby.  We started by sharing a bloody mary - on paper it sounded great, and the bartender really talked it up like she knew what she was doing, so we expected a lot... and it was the biggest let down of the meal, for sure.  Drinks are not their specialty.  We then tried their Island Caprese - vine ripe tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, avocado, mango, basil, and vanilla bean infused balsamic syrup.  Our server said it was his favorite, and it was pretty good!  We wouldn't let them take the plate when we were finished because the leftover syrup was so good we wanted to soak it all up with bread during the rest of the meal.

We shared two entrees - the sesame seared ono and olive oil poached shutome.  The ono came with steamed rice, lomi lomi tomatoes, tempura avocado and hot chinese mustard butter.  Pretty sure that was our favorite dish of the night.  The tempura avocado was pretty awesome.  The shutome came with a lemon herb risotto and some other stuff that wasn't so good... we decided they should sell the risotto as an entree or side dish because it was SO good!

Day two of our trip - our first official day to relax - was a day well spent!  Best part of the day?  Xander in the ocean, all "two feet" :)

Sark Needs Your Good Vibes

Towards the end of January, we were finishing up all our packing efforts for our trip to Kauai.  On the evening of January 21st, everything appeared to be business as usual.  Then at around 1:30AM, Sark started acting strange while at the foot of our bed.  We were basically asleep and Amy was pretty tired when she realized that something about Sark wasn't right.  But by the time she figured out that the noise she heard was coming from Sark, she wasn't hearing anything anymore, so she check to make sure he was okay, without turning on the light, and fell back asleep.  This is what happens when you are basically a 1:30AM zombie.

What is worse than a 1:30AM zombie?  A 4:30AM zombie.  Amy started to hear a strange noise and went to find Sark.  He was under Anthony's bedside table, claws dug into the carpet, foaming at the mouth a little and panting quite a bit like he was trying to regain his kitty composure.  Due to the time of day and the zombie-ness, we decided to chalk these odd moments up to a fluke thing and planned to watch Sark closely the following day.

All that day, Sark was extra sweet around the house.  Amy felt like he was showing her that he was doing fine and not to worry about him, almost thanking her for waking up with him twice to make sure he was alright and take care of him.

That night, 1:30AM, about 5 hours before we were getting up to go to the airport, Sark had another episode.  This time we heard a commotion, flipped on a bunch of lights, jumped out of bed and found Sark on the floor of our bedroom convulsing in a full on seizure.  We aren't doctors, but we were pretty sure we watched him seizing on the floor.  So, before Amy realized he was dialing, Anthony was already on the phone calling our local emergency vet.  Amy stayed home so we didn't have to wake Xander up before our trip in the middle of the night and Anthony took Sark to our kitty ER.  After waiting at least an hour there, Amy got Anthony hooked up with another ER nearby and they were able to see Sark quicker.  The first ER had a critical dog they were trying to save, so they really didn't have time to see Sark.  The second ER was able to see him pretty quickly and we all decided that the best thing would be to keep Sark for monitoring while we were away, at least for the first day or two.  Everyone we spoke with, Anthony in person and Amy on speakerphone at all times, said that cats rarely have seizures or epilepsy so whatever we saw was most likely not a seizure but something else.  What?  No one knows.

So, Anthony finally got home around 4:30AM, totally wired.  Duh.  So after talking for a while, Amy finally fell asleep and got about and hour and a half rest.  Anthony was too wired and ultimately slept for about an hour before having to wake up to get ready for our flight.  We contemplated just staying awake but decided we were too old for that - we needed a nap!

Sark ended up staying at the ER for the full week we were on vacation.  We originally thought our good friends, the Fisks, would be able to bring him home for us at some point while we were away, but Sark continued to have seizures, violent ones, at least once a day the majority of the time we were away.  We were getting phone calls at 5AM our time to give us updates on his seizures.  It was rough.  When we weren't getting updates we were trying to enjoy our vacation, but obviously felt pretty guilty that we had to up and leave Sark the way we did.

Once we got home we picked Sark up right away.  From there, things have all been a blur.  He was in and out of the vet for weeks, back to the ER a couple of times, tried different medication.  He had IVs and shaved legs, all kinds of torture that kitty must have been through in the name of medical science.  Once we started to establish his medication/treatment, he was really out of it as a side effect of the drug.  Ultimately we feared that something much worse was going on than epilepsy so we decided to proceed with a kitty spinal tap and MRI.  The best news we've gotten in all of this is that Sark does not have a brain tumor or something fatal - he's going to be a pain in our ass for a long time to come and we couldn't be more happy about that.

Right now we are trying to figure out why his white blood cell count is really high, but for all intents and purposes our vets (we have two now) are happy with his prognosis and his epilepsy diagnosis.  We'll keep you posted if we figure anything else out.  Below is a photo of him in between all of the stuff he's been through - so we have hope he'll be back to a version of his old self in the future.