HaWOWii

Aloha family! We just returned from a wonderful trip with Dale's family to Kauai, Hawaii. When Dale called and shared his "proposition", we were a little hesitant, having just spent a good chunk of our savings to replace our old aluminum windows, and to change our kitchen window to a sliding glass door. After some discussion, though, we decided that if we didn't do it now, we might never do it. Anyway, with some help from Dale on making travel arrangements (we're new at this travel thing), we were all set.

Sharon and I left SLC in a snowstorm on Feb 17 and arrived in Kauai that evening to a lovely open air airport. We picked up our rental car and drove to Waimea where Dale met us and showed us our accommodations (sharing a largish house with Dale and Kari and kids). One of the great perks about this whole arrangement was the chance to eat Kari's cooking, starting that night with seared ahi (tuna). It was delicious!

The next day started with a walk on the beach (which became a daily thing for Sharon and me), and then we all drove up to see Waimea Canyon (from a canyon overlook) and on up to a place called Kalalau Lookout, which is high enough to see the inaccessible-by-road beach on the opposite side of the island.

We also stopped to eat near a place called Kokee Lodge where the Miller children enjoyed feeding and chasing jungle fowl.

The next day we went snorkeling at Poipu Beach Park, where a reef protects the beach from the really big waves, and provides a great place to check out the sea life. It would have been great fun to have an underwater camera. There were all sorts of colors, shapes and sizes of fish. Purple, blue, yellow, black, and white, tall and skinny, long and lean, little round balls, big with a protruding "brow", as well as sea urchins, cucumbers and octopus. Dale and Elsa and I went out again a little later in the day, and weren't seeing very many, so Dale sent Elsa back for some "fish food". She brought a nutrition bar, which Dale broke into small pieces and dropped some in the water. Almost immediately we were swarmed (or maybe I should say "schooled") by fish of all varieties, swimming in front of our faces and around our arms and legs. It was amazing!

Sharon and I branched out on our own the following day. We decided to hike down into Waimea Canyon (the Grand Canyon of the West). It was a relatively steep trail that went from the canyon's rim down to the bottom. Downhill first was actually good for me, since my knees tend to give out on me going downhill at the end of a hike when my muscles are tired. We went a couple of miles down, I would guess. Sharon kept reminding me that it would take twice as long to go back up, so we decided to turn back before reaching the bottom (6 miles). The views were fantastic, but I must say that it reminded me a lot of southern Utah, with all its red rock canyons, cacti, and the heat. There were even wild goats! We started back up the trail, and I started feeling nauseated, I had a headache, and my face was red, hot, and dry. Oops! We found some shade, I drank lots more water, poured water on my skin, and we returned to the top with lots of stops whenever we found shade. That afternoon was the beginning of the Waimea town celebration, so we checked out the rodeo in the afternoon, and the town fair that night.

Saturday was a continuation of the Town Celebration, starting with the sea canoe races in the morning. Sharon was hanging out by the pier and found that the women's team from the Lutheran church was short one person. They were asking around for anyone to just sit in (even an elderly Lutheran lady that I had talked to on the beach several times). Sharon came down the beach to get me, but by the time I changed and got to the pier, they had convinced a man to go, and signed up as a mixed team instead. Oh well... it would have been a great adventure. :0) We watched the teams head out, and then tried the much-acclaimed Jojo's Shaved Ice. Yummm. The rest of the day was spent wandering around the fair and checking out a museum sort of place that showed some of the historic things about the area (it's where Captain Cook landed when he first discovered the Hawaiian islands). We topped the evening off with pizza for everyone, and a discussion of favorite books.

Sunday brought us to the end of our time with Dale and Kari's family, but started us on some other interesting experiences. We attended church at a small ward close by since we couldn't check in at our next hotel until 3pm. We stayed for all the meetings, and were very warmly welcomed. In Relief Society, I received a lei, and we sang the hymns in Hawaiian (they do it every 4th Sunday since many of the native born Hawaiians haven't learned the language). We were invited to stay after for a baptism and luncheon, which we accepted. The food was Tongan, because the hosts were from Tonga. I tried some very interesting things, most of which tasted good... meat wrapped in seaweed, steamed mussels, clear (rice?) noodles with pork, tapioca root, little sausages, and on and on (there was a ton of food!). We then drove to our hotel in Kapa'a, got settled, and had time for a nice exploratory walk on the beach, dinner and watching surfers until sunset.

Monday was our "heavy duty" day. We left the hotel around 6:45 a.m. and drove to the north part of the island to hike the Kalalau Trail, which goes along the cliffs of the Napali coast, which is inaccessible by car.

If you hike the entire trail (11 miles one way), you end up at Kalalau Beach (the place we saw from the lookout at the top of Waimea Canyon the first day). We chose, however, to only go 2 miles to the first beach (Hanakapi'ai), and then 2 miles up the canyon to see a 300 foot high waterfall, which was beautiful.

This truly felt like jungle, with ferns, orchids, amazing flowers, blooming trees, fruit trees (guava and something else that smelled good, but which I couldn't identify), bamboo, and plants that we use as house plants vining through everything.

What a contrast to Waimea Canyon! It was very humid and the trail was very muddy. It rained (or rather misted) on us a few times. The waves at the beach are high and rough this time of year, and warnings were all around about the danger of the cross currents, etc., so we stayed out of the water. Round trip it was 8 miles, which was hard for me at the end, but well worth it.

Our last day was kind of strange, because we had to check out of our hotel at noon, but our plane didn't leave until 9:30 p.m.

I spent the morning on the beach watching the sunrise, and then we spent the rest of the day shopping and doing non-strenuous sightseeing (stuff we could drive to). What a beautiful, relaxing place to be. There were more things that we could have done, but I guess we'll just have to go again sometime in the future. Mahalo, Dale and Kari, for giving us the opportunity to have this experience!

Did you know that it's possible to get an email notification each time someone posts on the blog? it's in the settings portion--I think only an admin can do it, but I can walk somebody through it if they're not sure where to go. :)


There's been a little posting frenzy this week so I thought I'd jump in too.

As for us, Dave is hoping to get a job in the Anchorage area (or at least somewhere with a higher population than here). I'm going nuts here this year, and Will has been struggling too.
Dave goes to Europe for 10 days next month with his students. It's exciting for them and for him, but it'll be another rough couple of weeks for me and the boys. I don't enjoy the single parent thing. He's gone for 11 days right now (in Anchorage for a conference plus some job scouting) and the first few days aren't too bad but after a week or so it really starts to get to me. I'm so glad we're on the home stretch here (he should be home friday).
Sam talks up a storm, and has begun singing as well. His favorite is 'twinkle twinkle' though he likes to twinkle with things OTHER than stars... For a couple of months he was a very self-motivated potty-user, but this week (just as I got him some little underpants to try, rather than leaving him naked all the time) he seems to be on strike. He's asking for diapers and has left a few puddles in the last couple of days. Perhaps the underpants were too stressful, I don't know. In any case they're in the back of the drawer until he's ready for them--I figure if he's going to be so self motivated then I'll follow his lead and if he needs a break I'll let him have a break.
William reads like crazy, and we've been trying to be better about reading to him as well. Dave is currently reading him Prince Caspian and The Hobbit, and I've been reading him Rascal and we just started Alice in Wonderland. Yes, we just sortof pick up whichever one strikes our fancy at the time. :) This last week i've introduced him to The Three Stooges (he's at the perfect age for slapstick) and also to westerns. He's decided that westerns are very cool, or at least "The War Wagon" was because they blew up a bridge with "nitrocitrine" as he keeps calling it (because for some reason he can't remember nitroglycerine). It figures that a boy would like westerns though--shootouts, explosions, chases, and bar fights...aren't those the mainstays of a good old western?
We've listed our house in orem as a FSBO and are hoping to sell it this spring if possible...our renters go in may so we either need to sell or find new renters, and it'd be nice to just have it off our hands now that we know we're never going back. My father in law is our liaison down there which is nice.
Not much is new with me...I've been sewing several custom orders for my shop, trying to use up all the food we have so that we'll have little or nothing to move this summer, and growing my hair out. I got it into my head last summer that I'd like to find out what my terminal length is (the point at which it can't get any longer) so I stopped trimming and am going for it. It's currently longer than it's ever been (about to my hip bone) and for the first time in my life it's actually slightly longer than is convenient. I still want to know what terminal length is for me, but once I find that I think I'll cut it back to about my waist. :) I've been using henna in my hair though which really brings out the red (it's also strengthening for my poor thin hair--does all the family have that?) There are some great pictures if you follow that link.

Hmm, well, I think that more or less sums up the Brightons for now. :)

Cheryl,
Your remodel is beautiful! I love the design in the floor tiles. I know you showed us the samples but the way it all comes together is really nice.
Katy,
I'm glad you are able to get some recreation in your life but I do hope you survive all the fun. It's a good thing your sweetie is a paramedic.
Kyra,
Your baby is beautiful!
It has been a long winter and we are looking forward to getting outside for Spring work. There is still snow under the fruit trees and over a lot of other things that need pruning. Tonight it is raining pretty hard so a lot of the snow should melt. There is always a lot to do inside but I have been reading instead of working. We love all of you.
Mom, Grandma

Well, I haven't remodeled anything, although I'd like to. the unfinished wood paneling that is featured on one wall in each room of my house can get rather stifling. But that's okay. Steve is in the process of remodeling his bathroom, too, so I know what a headache it can be. That shower is great, Cheryl. I love the earth tones.

Woo hoo! I'm a great aunt! Again! She's a beauty, Kyra. :)

The last time I was up on a mountain in the snow was on valentines day, and although I didn't need diapers, they would have come in handy for extra padding, at least last year, when I broke my coccyx. Yeah, that's right, I broke my butt. This year, I only broke a couple of ribs in a couple of places-- 6,7,8 where they meet the sternum, and 5 and 6 at the rib/costal cartilage joint. All from a spectacular turn that had me airborne, and then suddenly I wasn't. It wouldn't have been so bad, I don't think, except that I happened to land exactly on my mp3 player, which separated the ribs from the sternum and then the impact made the cartilage go "pop!" So I sat there for a little bit, and then got the rest of the way down the mountain, and then tried to go up again, but my ribs were having none of that.

We'll be going again next weekend.

p.s. where are you all? If I can work full time, go to school, be a single parent, and still have time to both goof off and post the occasional blog, i don't think any of y'all have any excuse.

Just saying.

Our Basement Remodel Project

It only took 4 1/2 months (mostly because our remodeler didn't believe in working long hours), but our basement is finally finished. We totally remodeled the bathroom/laundry room (new shower and countertops). We tore up all the carpet, and put tile on the floors and cherry wood on the stairs. Our main tile is the same throughout the basement, with different accent tile and grout colors in each room.

(Top is bedroom tile, bottom is den tile.)

Now I would love to get all new bath linens, throw rugs, curtains, etc.--but we're broke for awhile! So what we have definitely clashes, but we'll live with it.

I hope these photos give you at least some idea of what our "new" basement looks like. And my advice: never remodel a small space while you're living in it!

Cheryl