The only mention of Eelfang 2: The Sequel was back in July 2012. Oof! There is a lot of information to fill in between then and now, but for the moment, I’ll simply throw out the teaser that we are within spitting distance of getting our foster care license.

In our search to educate ourselves about this new (to us) world of foster care, I stumbled upon fosterpodcast.com. I have listened to a number of their episodes, and have mentioned them to a number of family members and friends. They even point you to three good starting episodes on their About page. You should check it out!

Day 8: Ethan caught his flight back to Oahu in the wee morning, which left the three of us to bum around the Big Island for one final day. We stopped at Lava Tree State Monument before snorkeling at the Kapoho tide pools. Actually, only Todd snorkeled (and played lost and found with one of his shoes) while Seth and I walked around simply peering into the tide pools, which was just as fun. After a lunch from Uncle Don’s hot dog stand in the middle of nowhere, we had a nice, long swim in Ahalanui thermal pool. We then attempted to hike out to the Kalapana lava flow. We hiked for about an hour before deciding to turn back because it still looked really far away, but it was still an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. Sometimes we could hear the ocean waves, but sometimes all we heard was the sound of our boots crunching on the rocks. No cars, no birds. The next day we flew home and landed back in real life.

Overall, our trip to Hawaii was amazing. I see now why people go back over and over again — it’s so gorgeous! And it was nice to get to see two islands as they were very different. The biggest highlight, of course, was getting to visit with Ethan, but we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful setting.

lava trees
lava trees

Seth the photographer
Seth taking a photo of Mama and Dada

Pahoehoe
don’t all four year olds love pahoehoe like this one does?

Day 7: We caught our hosts on their way out for the day, and asked what they were up to. They were planning on going to the farmer’s market, then swimming at Carlsmith beach and Richardson beach. We basically did exactly the same thing (along with a stop at Rainbow Falls) with wonderful results. Within minutes of arriving at Carlsmith beach, we “swam with” a giant sea turtle – more like, got out of his way so he didn’t bump into us. Richardson beach has black sand, so kept us occupied all afternoon. A home-cooked meal of burritos filled with farmer’s market veg and mochi ice cream rounded out a great day.

giant sea turtle!!
giant sea turtle!!

open adoption: best thing ever
113 year old banyan tree

black sand beach
at Richardson beach

black sand beach

Day 6: When planning our trip, we knew we had to go to Oahu, because that’s where Ethan is living, but there was no way we were going all the way to Hawaii without visiting the Big Island volcanoes with our budding volcanologist. We spent this entire day exploring Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park before a pizza dinner in Pahoa.

kilauea caldera
Kilauea caldera

thurston lava tube
outside the Thurston lava tube

lava rock hike
hiking out to see the petroglyphs

sea arch
Holei sea arch

volcanoes get two thumbs up
volcanoes get two thumbs up

Day 4: a hike up to Manoa Falls – the trees and plants were so beautiful, there needn’t have even been a waterfall at the end. Portugese donuts (malasadas) at Leonard’s bakery. We then planned on getting lunch at Kaka’ako Kitchen but accidentally ended up at Kua’Aina instead. Our burgers were tasty all the same, and filled us up for a whole afternoon of swimming and playing at Waikiki beach. We made our way back to Kaka’ako Kitchen for dinner, and walked back to our hotel at sunset.

manoa falls
I could not get enough of banyan trees

manoa falls
at Manoa Falls

Day 5: we only had the morning left in Honolulu, so spent it driving the Tantalus-Round Top Road for an amazing view of Honolulu, and then a little hike on one of the many Makiki Valley trails. After lunch at Irifune, we hopped on our flight to Hilo. We rendezvoused with Ethan, had dinner at the Hilo Burger Joint, and then headed to our rented flat for a restful night of sle–FROGS FROGS FROGS MAKING NOISE HALF THE NIGHT.

honolulu
the view from Tantalus Drive

We went to Hawaii at the beginning of March to visit Ethan and to have fun family vacation times.

Day 1: flight from SEA to HNL. By the time we got off the plane, picked up our car and checked into our hotel, we were really hungry. We had taken snacks for the plane, but hadn’t had a real meal in about 12 hours. Aloha Sushi totally hit the spot for food, and a quick splash in the ocean at Ala Moana beach park helped slough off the travel-weariness.

palm tree
saying hello to Hawaii, Seth-style

Day 2: a hike up Diamond Head, lunch at the Mauna Kea food court. Todd and I both got Filipino food, and Seth got sushi for the second time in two days. After lunch, we drove to Byodo-In Temple. It was okay as it was on our way, but it’s definitely not a destination. Kailua beach park was our destination and it was worth it. We spent all afternoon playing in the sand, and then headed back to Honolulu to chow down on pasta at Auntie Pasto’s.

diamond head
the view from Diamond Head

byodo-in temple
Byodo-In Temple

beach time
beach tiiiiime!

Day 3: drove up to the North Shore via H-3 – super beautiful drive. Spent the rest of the morning watching surfers and one lone turtle (that stayed 20 feet out from shore) at Turtle Beach. Had our first taste of shave ice at Aoki’s, and lunch at a set of food trucks in Kahuku, including Giovanni’s shrimp truck. I wish I remember the name of the shrimp truck right next to Giovanni’s because it was even better. We then needed a place to hang out for a while before meeting Ethan for dinner, so went to Foster Botanical Garden with low expectations. It ended up being really cool, and even had a “prehistoric” garden, which was a big hit with someone we know. Met up with Ethan for a yummy poke dinner at Ono Seafood and waffle cakes at Whatcha Fillin’ for dessert. (Note to self/others: next time you’re in Honolulu, no need to look up restaurant ideas–just drive along Kapahulu Drive until something sounds good.)

shave ice
shave ice FTW

shrimp truck
Seth wrote his name on the side of the shrimp truck (see the flickr photo note of where it is)

baobab tree
man, baobab trees. totally awesome.

seth & ethan
man, seeing Ethan. totally awesome.

ethan & seth

Seth is growing to be quite the paleontologist/theologian, as the following items will show:

(overheard during his siesta time)
Deinosuchus, be peaceful! Or an angel will fly to you and attack you!…glory, glory, glory to God!…peace everywhere, even in the Deinosuchus world!”

(during our lunchtime conversation)
“God made dinosaurs on one day, and made one man [Adam] on the same day, and then the meat-eating therapods ate him!”

Unrelated, but here’s another of Seth’s volcano stories, as transcribed by Dada:

Mount St Helens was a big mountain that is exploding! It is knocking down lots of trees. Ash is flying. The huge explosion of Mount St Helens is exploding into the forest! Lots of things are dying. The mountain is BOOMED UP! The eruption is flamming and blamming and clamming! The towns are slamming! The towns are getting blammed up by the eruption. It is going into the town and exploding them up. So many ruins happened when Mount St Helens erupted. The eruption is slamming and bamming into the marmot cave. The marmots are going to die. There is a snowman in the marmot cave and the snow is melting. The explosion is exploding onto a Brachiosaurus. The “ickathicka” is exploding out of Mount St Helens.

We wrapped up 2012 with a muddy (which was our intention) hike on a trail next to Lake Washington:

big finn hill hike

tree house

Sylvia, the biggest tree in King Co
Sylvia, the biggest tree in King county

Sylvia, the biggest tree in King Co
hugging Sylvia

@ Lake Washington
Seth’s default photo face

Happy new year to you!

When we asked Seth what he wanted to eat on his birthday, he told us “Eat dinner at the Space Needle!” so we ran with that. Todd made reservations for lunch on Christmas Eve, and we had a blast:

elevator ride
riding the elevator to the top

While we ate lunch (which was very tasty, if also very expensive), Seth had a hard time staying seated for any amount of time. Because the restaurant revolves, the view was constantly changing, and people send notes along the windowsill. We had to of course read every one, and add our answer to questions like “What’s your favorite color?” and “what did you ask Santa for?”

the birthday boy

lunar orbiter
eating the Lunar Orbiter dessert – an ice cream sundae that comes served over a bowl of dry ice

the view from the Space Needle
checking out the view from the observation deck

lunch @ the Space Needle
happy family atop the Space Needle

fountain
the International Fountain

orca ride
an orca ride

snow!
a random pile of snow to play in – no idea why it was there, as Seattle has gotten no more than a dusting all season

Happy birthday, four year old!

Dear Sweetpea Seth,

You are four years old today! I still remember the excitement we had in meeting, holding, kissing you for the first time on your Birth Day, but at the same time, it’s hard to believe you were ever anything other than the walking, talking, arguing, sensitive, imaginative, smart boy you are today.

Your current favorite thing is anything dinosaur-related. We have read through many dinosaur books, and you love watching Dinosaur Train, and also playing it on the computer or with your imagination. Your memory far exceeds ours when it comes to dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, so we often have conversations like this:

S: what is that prehistoric bird called again?
B: hmm, are you thinking of archaeopteryx? (FEELING RAD FOR REMEMBERING THIS NAME)
S: no, it was flightless, and swam, and was sort of purplish with a big beak
B: …
S: I think it’s called hesperornis
B: oh right, hesperornis (NO CLUE WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT)

It’s also cute to me that “micropachycephalosaurus” rolls off your tongue, but you still say “breskass” (breakfast), “aminal” (animal) and “emeny” (enemy). You have even gotten in arguments with friends on how, say, “ankylosaurus” is pronounced. Being a paleontologist (or some other kind of scientist) is definitely in the running for a career choice, along with the ever-favorites of Raffi, a Seattle Seahawk, and working with Dada at his work.

You have been busily testing boundaries the past month or two. “Be kind” are two words you have been hearing a lot of, but I’m reminding myself as much as I’m reminding you. And while sometimes you drive me up a wall with your selective hearing, I know that being persistent and spirited are just some of the great qualities that make you Seth. Along with the challenging times come the amazing, heart-bursting times. Just last night, you somehow got your whole long-legged self onto my lap while we read stories. I said, “Did you know that some day you will be too big to fit on my lap?” to which Seth replied, “Mama, I will always fit on your lap.”

You love preschool! Teacher P told me of this conversation a while back:

S: Teacher P I want to tell you something.
P: Yes Seth, I’m ready.
S: I want to tell you I love coming to preschool every day!
P: You do!?
S: Yes I do! Every day!

Upon further questioning, you said you loved it because the sensory table changes every week. You have also asked me some weekends if preschool was open so you could go play. It’s interesting to watch what and how you play at preschool. You don’t have a best friend at preschool, but rather, enjoy interacting with any and all the kids.

Your favorite phrases lately are:
I have an idea!
Let’s do this thing!
Speaking of which…
Can I have a treat?

Your favorite foods are treats (you will eat any and all sugary things), bacon and other meats, and popcorn. And though you sometimes take a stand with something like, “I don’t like yellow peppers anymore,” you continue to eat them. The other night, our vegetarian friend was really impressed with your “I want salad! I want salad!” chant (btw, this was in regard to raw KALE salad. win!).

You’re always excited to learn, to play, to visit the library or zoo, to go outside and play in the dirt; eager to snuggle, listen to music, eat a snack, read “one more!” story. You are stretching your parents in unexpected and sometimes uncomfortable ways, but we love you wholly and fiercely, Seth.

Next Page »