We'll Wait However Long It Takes...

This past weekend Kathleen and I got the official word that Jim's unit has been extended in Iraq. They'll be there for an additional 46 days. The news wasn't really a surprise to us -- we've known that an extension was possible, even likely, for a long time now. And we'd heard that it could be anywhere from 45 to 120 days long, so 46 days is really about the best we could hope for. (Not that that stopped us from hoping they wouldn't be extended at all!) It looks like the unit will return home in late September.

The big downside to the extension is that "late September" part. Because we expect the next little Golby to arrive in late August, this extension makes it unlikely that Jim will be here for that baby's big entrance. We're still hoping that Jim will somehow make it here (and I know Jim will try), but it's a bit of a long shot. We know that lots of other Army wives have given birth without their spouses, and I'm particularly inspired by my friends who've done just that. (Way to go, Sarah! Sophie's such a doll!) My family has been great, too, and have generously offered to fly out to be here for however long Kathleen and the baby and I need them. (I'll let you know if you need to start forwarding my mother's mail here!)

On Monday Kathleen and I were asked if we'd be willing to be interviewed by the press about the extension. Having worked for public affairs, I know it can be difficult to drum up people who are willing, so we said yes. We were interviewed, along with three other families, by a variety of news outlets. Most were local television crews, and friends tell us we did, in fact, appear on a couple local news channels. We were also interviewed by a reporter from the Associated Press. Her story appears here, among other places. She also took the photos of Kathleen that we've posted here, which we found on Yahoo! News.

AP Photo/Carol Cunningham (Photo and original caption here.)

AP Photo/ Carol Cunningham (Photo and original caption here.)

So, there you have it: Kathleen's media debut. Fifteen months old and she's already chipping away at her fifteen minutes of fame!

Sweet Moments and Sweet Dreams

I know it seems a little odd, but bedtime is one of my favorite times with Kathleen. That's not because it's the prelude to the few quiet, calm hours in our household, the time I actually have for myself. It's because there's something so sweet and tender about the bedtime rituals.

After dinner Kathleen (most nights, at least) takes a bath and, once she's moved the requisite amount of water from the bathtub to the bathroom floor, we pick up the bath toys and get ready for bed. We zip Kathleen up into her pajamas, and then she sets off to collect her Aloha and George (stuffed dog and monkey) from wherever they've been deposited, while I measure out a bottle of milk and heat it in the microwave. Once that's done, we settle ourselves into the rocking chair in her bedroom and turn out the lights. While Kathleen drinks her bottle, I sing her a lullaby. It's a hymn I learned in college, which we used to close our choir rehearsals. It was a favorite of mine then, and it's even dearer to me now that I sing it to my daughter each night. The tune is traditional -- most people know it from the lullaby "All Through the Night."

Day is done, but love unfailing dwells ever here.
Shadows fall, but hope prevailing calms every fear.
Loving Father none forsaking, take our hearts of Love's own making
Watch our sleeping, guard our waking, be always near.

Dark descends, but light unending shines through the night.
You are with us ever lending new strength to sight
One in love Your truth confessing, one in hope of heaven's blessing
May we see in love's possessing, Love's endless light.

Eyes will close, but You unsleeping watch by our side.
Death may come in love's safe-keeping, still we abide.
God of Love all evil quelling, sin forgiving, fear dispelling,
Stay with us, our hearts in-dwelling this eventide.

When I finish singing, Kathleen and I pray together, and then with a few more hugs and kisses, "sweet dreams" and "I love you's," I set her down in her crib. She tucks her stuffed animals into her arms and curls up around them and settles in for the night. I'm all too aware that one day soon she'll decide she's too big for a bottle, or too big for a lullaby, or too big to snuggle in the rocking chair, her head in the crook of my arm, her cheek against my chest. Perhaps that's why I love the nighttime rituals so much... because I know they're fleeting.

There's No Stopping Kathleen!

Go!
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

We've been visiting the park a lot lately, and I snapped this photo (among others) on a recent trip. Kathleen's a great climber (up ONLY, down is another story) but her real passion is sliding. She'll walk right up to the edge of the slide, making me nervous that she'll tumble down head first. Then -- at the last possible moment -- she'll sit and slide her way down. Our camera isn't really fast enough to get "good" pictures of her sliding, but you can tell she's enjoying herself, even with the blur!

Coops are for Chickens!

But, Mama, there's nothing to do!
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

We haven't had the best luck lately, health-wise. After recovering from whatever virus caused her sore throat and high temperature last weekend, this weekend Kathleen contracted some sort of stomach bug. Fortunately for us, we still managed to see Daddy on a VTC (video-teleconference) before we realized that Kathleen was really sick. A day's worth of nearly unmitigated crankiness all became clear Saturday evening in a serious bit of post-dinner messiness. Rats!

Anyway, so we missed church for the second week in a row. (Listen, dark forces conspiring again the Golby girls' attendance at church: we are non-negotiable on Easter. We're going!) We spent Sunday at home, carefully sipping white grape juice and nibbling on toast and dry cereal. The subdued, ill version of Kathleen seemed okay with that.

By Monday morning, though, my normal, busy toddler was back! We pulled out every trick in the book (before morning nap, even), and nothing was entertaining enough for Kathleen. She made her desire perfectly clear by running to the front door and slamming her little hands against it; Kathleen had had enough of being cooped up!

After morning nap we promptly headed out the door. Kathleen's been watching (more than I'd like, since she's been sick) a "Leah's Farm" Signing Time lately, and she's been picking up the signs for a number of farm animals. However, when she sees pictures of these animals, she uses the correct sign and "dog" interchangeably. She sees a cow, she signs "dog." Hoping to clear up some of that confusion, we visited the zoo, with an emphasis on the petting zoo.

We had a great time! The petting zoo portion of the local zoo isn't all that big, but there was enough to interest Kathleen for a while. She was extremely excited to see the goats:

She is dancing AND signing "goat" here. Well, actually, she'd just finished signing "goat," which is one of her favorite signs. Kathleen was more excited about the goats from a distance (she's not a stupid kid) than she was up-close in the goat pen. But she was still pretty interested in them. She was also very interested in the chickens, and signed about them continuously.

Kathleen was not as impressed with the cow, the miniature horse, or the llamas. She called them all "dogs" and no amount of explaining would deter her. On our way out, we also stopped to see the giant tortoises, but I'm not sure whether she could tell they were animals and not just big rocks. She liked the elephants, and used that sign correctly, but signed "dog" while being amused by the monkeys' antics. I guess we'll have to go back!

Sugar and Spice

I've got my apron on!
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

This weekend we girls used our sugar and spice to bake up something to mail to Daddy. Kathleen donned an apron of Mama's (folded and rigged so she wouldn't trip on it -- perhaps it's time I made her one of her own!) and set about making her first batch of oatmeal scotchies to send to Iraq.

The dry measuring cups and the measuring spoons are favorite toys of Kathleen's on a regular day. Getting to use them to actually scoop something (besides water in the sink) was pretty exciting for her. She dove right in, dumping out the sugars and other dry ingredients. She very competently whisked the flour mixture. She discovered a taste for the butterscotch morsels and seemed slightly disappointed that I couldn't give more of them to her. And despite her little spill on the stairs earlier in the weekend, Kathleen managed the chair at the kitchen counter just fine.

Measuring
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

The only part of the endeavor that Kathleen didn't really like was the Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Of course, the mixer is rather loud, and it was close to Kathleen, so she eyed it suspiciously as it whipped up our cookie dough. No tears, just some glares. I think that's progress.

As soon as the cookies cooled, Kathleen tested one out. She's not completely sold on the cookies, I'll admit. She prefers the butterscotch morsels. Fortunately for us, Daddy prefers the cookies, and we boxed them up and sent them on their way that very afternoon. We hope you enjoy them, Daddy! They're baked with love!

Mama's more excited than I am...
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

So much for the luck of the Irish!

Relaxing with her entourage
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

We haven't had a particularly lucky weekend, Irish or not. Kathleen and I had grand plans to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with her darling "kiss me, I'm Irish" t-shirt and some green Jello jigglers. But, alas, that was not to be.

First, on Friday afternoon, Kathleen fell coming up the stairs to our apartment. She didn't fall down a terrible ways; it was only a step or two. But the steps are cement, and she caught her little cheek bone on them. She has a nasty little bruise and scrape just below her left eye. Kathleen howled indignantly when she fell, but calmed down in about two minutes when plied with an ice cube and the boo-boo bunny. (Thank heavens for the boo-boo bunny!) I, on the other hand, spent an hour on the phone with my mom before I was convinced that everything would be okay.

We spent Saturday morning making cookies to mail to Daddy (more about that adventure another time), and then ran out to the post office to get the cookies on their way. On Saturday afternoon, just before naptime, I noticed that Kathleen seemed awfully warm. When I took her temperature (an undertaking -- she HATES the ear-thermometer) I discovered it was almost 102 degrees. So, after frantically calling my mom for the second time in less than 24 hours, Kathleen and I headed for the acute care clinic on post. As it turns out (after hours of waiting and a not-so-cooperative examination), Kathleen has a virus that has given her a sore throat and the fever. Poor little girl! It's just not her weekend!

Kathleen's still a little subdued today, but she's enjoying the treat of juice, instead of water, and has been granted unlimited "Signing Time" access. (Mommy will surely go crazy before Kathleen.) As you can see, she's weathering her illness well on the sofa, surrounded by her entourage of stuffed animals. (For the record, she sleeps with that whole crew, plus Indiana the dog.)

We know these are little traumas. We've had friends who've had to endure real medical crises; this doesn't even come close. But it was rougher weekend than we expected, and we really missed Daddy. Still, though, we survived. Perhaps we'll celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Observed later this week!

Every day is laundry day at our house!

Hard at Work
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

While these aren't great photographs, I couldn't resist the opportunity to show you Kathleen in action on a regular day at the Golbys'.

There's almost always laundry to do at our house. I'm not exactly sure how that is -- can one baby and one mom really create that much laundry? But between clothes and washcloths and towels and a generally messy life, somehow we do!

Kathleen has apparently noticed our little laundry routine and has decided that it's time she start helping out around the house. Our washer and dryer are stacked in a tiny closet just outside Kathleen's bedroom.

Here, Mama!
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

The washer, which is on the bottom, is just the right height for Kathleen. Consequently, she insists on emptying the wet laundry. She leans her whole little body into the washer (which, I admit, makes me slightly nervous), pulls out the laundry, and hands it to me to put up in the dryer. She's very thorough -- she has never left any clothes behind. When she has unloaded the last of the laundry, she slams the washer door shut and runs off. It cracks me up every time. I'm so blessed to have such a happy little helper!

Morning at the Park

Pensive at the Park
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Kathleen and I go to a playgroup once a week, where we meet up with two other moms and two other children. Our babies range in age from three and a half months to two and a half years. (Kathleen, of course, falls nicely in the middle.) It's been a great time for Kathleen to play with her friends Joshua (she'd follow Joshua to the end of the earth) and baby James (mostly she likes to sign about how James is a baby), and an even better time for Mommy to talk to other moms. Playgroup is probably less for Kathleen than it is for Mommy; I won't deny it. We moms get to chatter and the kids get to run around, so everyone goes home happy and ready for naptime.

This week we went to the park, where Kathleen's energy seemed positively unflagging. It's hard to believe that a few months ago I was worried because she seemed so timid, and wouldn't even try to climb the play structures. Ha! Kathleen climbed the stairs, tested out the slides, and walked right up to the edges of everything without any fear at all!

Complicating Kathleen's lack of fear was her frequent lack of sight. I hadn't realized until we'd gotten to the park that the sun hat I brought was too big for Kathleen. The hat would slip down over her eyes, and she'd wander back towards me, hands out, saying, "Mama? Mama?" I'd pull the hat out of her face, and then she'd run off again. Eventually, despite the sunny Hawaiian day, I decided that lack of sight was a bigger risk than sunburn and ditched the hat -- but not before we got some amusing pictures of Kathleen and her too-big hat!

Crusing on Kaneohe Bay

Snacking
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

On Sunday afternoon we joined friends for an "only-on-Oahu" adventure -- we took a pontoon boat out on Kaneohe Bay. I'd been more than a little nervous about taking Kathleen out on a boat, but the afternoon was an enormous success. We had so much fun!

We met up with our friends on the Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe, loaded all the people, the two toddlers, and Great Dane onto the boat, and headed out! Per regulations (and good sense, probably), Kathleen had to wear a life vest while the boat was moving. She didn't much like the vest, since it restricted her movement a little, but between the water, the dog (picture her signing furiously, excited about both those things), and the movement of the boat, she was pretty distracted.

Playing in the Water
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

We cruised through the gorgeous bay, got amazing views of the Ko'olau mountains, and eventually anchored the boat in very shallow, very aqua-colored water. There were lots of boats anchored out there, on the sandbar that keeps the water so shallow. People were swimming and walking around in the water, listening to music, and enjoying the day. We ate lunch and hung out on the boat for a bit, and Kathleen got a big kick out of seeing the dog go swimming.

Eventually we decided to test out the water ourselves. That's how we spent the rest of the afternoon -- in the water. Our friends lent us a Kathleen-sized raft that their son had used when he was Kathleen's age. It enabled Kathleen to float around and play in the water. She splashed, she threw a ball around, she watched everyone else playing.

Tuckered Out by the Day
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

She could even walk where the water was that shallow! She absolutely loved it. And I got to hang out in the water, watching Kathleen and talking to friends. Honestly, it was one of the most relaxing afternoons in recent history!

After a full afternoon we decided to pack it up and head back in. Kathleen was so tired she took a bottle as we cruised back, and she was asleep by the time we were driving off the base. What a great day! Thanks, everybody!

You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

Hooray for Ice Cream!
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

While navigating the perils that accompany a pay-day Saturday trip to the commissary, Kathleen and I stalled by the freezer section. She seemed intrigued by the tubs and tubs of ice cream, and when I told her what they were, she dutifully made the sign for ice cream. Bearing in mind that at my OB appointment a few weeks ago the doctor recommended ice cream as a good source of calcium (seriously, the doctor said I should eat ice cream -- so much for the low fat pregnancy diet I'd been keeping!), Kathleen and I splurged on a half-gallon of (low fat) mint-chocolate chip. Kathleen tested it out last night and gave it high marks. It must have liked her just as much, because it was all over her!

Keeping Busy!

Playing on the lanai
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

The departure of our house guests meant a distinct decrease in entertainment for Kathleen. To try to distract from the 75 percent reduction in fun (people, at least), we've been trying a lot of new things lately. I'm not sure that our activities have been a satisfactory substitute for doting grandparents (what could be, though?), but we've certainly been keeping busy.

To begin with, Kathleen now eats with a spoon without assistance. I won't lie -- it's a pretty messy affair. But she wouldn't have it any other way. We do better with things that really stick to the spoon, but even if the food is pretty slippery (think: applesauce), Kathleen still manages to get a fair amount to her mouth.

I can do it myself!
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

In case you're wondering, that mess on Kathleen's tray is breakfast. In addition to the yogurt, that's a chunk of banana, some mangoes, and multi-grain cheerios. We've been offering plenty of variety at the Golby breakfast buffet lately.

Having mastered the spoon, Kathleen quickly advanced to using a fork. I didn't even have to offer her a fork. One afternoon Kathleen managed to open the top drawer in the kitchen, withdraw a salad fork, and spear the cubes of cheese she'd been offered as a snack. We negotiated a trade -- toddler fork for salad fork -- and the successful use of utensils continues.

Making a masterpiece for Daddy
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

We've begun drawing lately, too. Kathleen mailed off her first work of art to her Daddy just this week.

Fortunately Crayola washable markers are, in fact, very washable. That was good news for us, as Kathleen had marker on her hands, face, and belly! Although we were quite proud of Kathleen's marker masterpiece, we're now working on using crayons. We've been told they're better for developing hand strength...

Fast break
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

We also attended a "support the troops day" at a local high school last weekend. Of all the activities, Kathleen's favorite was the basketball toss. She marched right up to a group of teenagers who were using it, and stuck her hands up, confident they'd give her a ball. They did. And she ran with it!

We'll keep you posted as we keep busy! We've almost made it through one month...

All Over Oahu

Whatcha doing down there, Mama?
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

We had a fantastic visit with Kathleen's Gram and Grampa O'Connor and with her Aunt Tia. We drove all over the island, visiting almost every tourist attraction we could think of. (We couldn't visit every attraction, after all, because then how would we convince them to come back again?) We saw the Arizona Memorial, attended a lecture on the history of Schofield Barracks, viewed Kaneohe Bay from the Pali Lookout, attended a luau at the Hale Koa, and visited more than a few beaches.

The beaches were definitely Kathleen's favorite part of the trip (well, aside from having three new adults to constantly entertain her). This past week she finally came to terms with sand. She'll now walk across the beach barefoot, as long as you hold her hands. And if you offer her a shovel and pail, she'll even play around with the sand. She's still not too sure about getting dirty; she likes to brush the sand off her hands every couple minutes.

Lanikai Group
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

But however ambivalent Kathleen may be about sand, she loves the water! Watching her splash around in Ko'Olina's peaceful lagoons this week made me wonder whether she might not be part fish. Kathleen was delighted by the calm and shallow water, and walked around, holding onto our hands for quite a while. Then inspiration must have struck her, because she decided to kick her legs out from underneath her and splash them around, still hanging onto our hands. She looked every bit a mermaid!

We miss our visitors already, and we hope they'll come back again soon.

Sunday in Honolulu

Climbing...
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

We had a full Sunday! After Kathleen's morning nap, we went to mass in Mililani, then headed to Honolulu. We stopped at Punchbowl so that Gram and Grampa could see the monument. Grampa particularly appreciated the detailed mosaics of the battles of the Pacific. (Too bad he didn't have those as teaching aids when he'd tell us about the history of the US Marines in the Pacific when we were growing up!)

From Punchbowl we headed to Waikiki. We walked along the main strip, checked out the beaches (crowded with people, of course), and picked up some souvenirs. We even made the requisite phone call (to Kevin John, this time) in front of the statue of Duke Kahanamoku, with its webcam.

Hanging at the Hale Koa
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Waikiki has changed a little bit since Gram and Grampa were here 32 years ago... They were in for a big surprise! The Royal Hawaiian is tiny compared to all the giant hotels on Waikiki now, and most of its spectacular gardens are gone. Even the International Marketplace is bigger, they say! Although seeing how Waikiki has been built up was surprising (and a little sad) for them, they were impressed by how pretty Fort DeRussy and the Hale Koa are now. Some changes are for the better!

Being Tourists on the North Shore

Shave Ice!
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Kathleen has been thrilled with the arrival of her grandparents and her Aunt Tia! They landed yesterday afternoon, and life has been tons of fun for Kathleen ever since. These people are full of games and toys and entertaining ideas. A little nervous of the "strangers" at first, Kathleen is now completely adjusted to them, and loving every minute of their visit.

Today we played tourists on the North Shore, visiting Aoki's Shave Ice, eating at Giovanni's Shrimp Shack in Kahuku, and watching the turtles swim in the ocean. It was a great day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

New Rocking Chair
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Since it's already Valentine's Day in Iraq, this evening Kathleen tested out her Valentine's Day present from Mommy and Daddy, a Kathleen-sized rocking chair. Kathleen loves the rocking chair in her bedroom, which we use to rock her before she goes to sleep. She often asks for help to sit in the chair by herself and rock. But, a full-sized rocker is difficult (if not dangerous) for a toddler to navigate. So, we thought that perhaps a smaller rocking chair was in order.

Kathleen still has a little bit of difficulty getting into the little rocking chair on her own, but she really likes to try! She particularly likes sliding out of it... She also enjoys moving the chair all over the living room and putting her stuffed animals in and out of it. (She even dragged Olivia over to give her a turn.)

Another reason we thought that a small chair might be a good Valentine's Day present has to do with Kathleen's preferred method of viewing "Signing Time." Unless she's really pretty tired, in which case she'll sit on your lap on the sofa, here's how Kathleen watches the television:

With the new chair, we're hoping to see more of this:

It didn't work tonight, exactly. Kathleen was in and out of the chair and ultimately wound up hanging on the edge of the television as she normally does. But perhaps she'll improve. We live in hope!

Hugs and kisses to Daddy for Valentine's Day. We miss you!

Making Our Own Fun

Stirring Things Up
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

For those of you who don't know, Daddy is definitely the fun one in our house. Mommy's good for making food and for drying tears, but Daddy's best for fun. So, with Daddy gone for a little while, we're working on making our own fun.

When we found ourselves at about 4:45 in the afternoon and unbearably cranky the other day, we knew we needed a plan. It was too late to go anywhere in the car and too early for bathtime. (Bathtime before dinner would never fly here. We'd just need two baths, then.) So, we had bubble time instead! We outfitted Kathleen in an apron, filled the kitchen sink with a lavish amount of dish soap and water, and went to town. We got bubbles all over the kitchen, but it doesn't get much cleaner than soap and water. (Hey, my kitchen probably needs the help.) Kathleen was amused, as you can see from the pictures, and together we managed to stave off the crankiness until we could reasonably have dinner and a bath.

Godspeed, Daddy!

Cheery at 2am
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Last night we said goodbye to Daddy, who left for Iraq. As seems to be customary in the Army, he departed in the middle of the night. Saying goodbye is always hard, and last night was no exception. But for a little girl woken up in the wee hours of the morning to wait around for a few more hours in the rain on post, Kathleen handled it like a trooper. The thing she seemed most upset about is that we wouldn't let her run around on the wet pavement in her pajama-ed feet!

We say goodbye to Daddy a lot -- when he leaves for work in the morning, when he goes back to work after lunch, when he takes out the trash, when he goes for a run -- so I'm not sure that this saying goodbye seemed much different to Kathleen. Of course, it is different. I haven't yet come up with an entirely satisfactory answer to Kathleen's more-than-occasional queries of "Dada?" For now I've just said that he's at work and that he'll be back in a while. We've been looking at his pictures, though, and watching the video he made reading stories for Kathleen. "Dada" is still Kathleen's favorite thing to say.

Daddy will be gone for about six months. We're grateful that this deployment is as short as it is, especially as our dear friends handle full-year deployments. We trust that God will sustain us through the separation and that He will use it for good in our lives and to His glory. He has already been faithful, even in the first day. I'd been afraid that the middle of the night departure would make for an exhausted mommy and a cranky Kathleen, but our day has been remarkably peaceful.

We love you and we miss you, Daddy. Be safe and come home soon!

Joy to the Fishies...

Look at this!
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

We visited the Honolulu Aquarium on Wednesday, giving Kathleen ample opportunity to use the sign for "fish." And sign she did, although you'd never know it from our photos... Our silly little camera is too slow to catch Kathleen actually signing. Instead we get photos like this one, where I have to say, "No, honestly, she was just signing fish and then curled her hand into a fist the moment we took this picture."

Kathleen loved the fish and the monk seal, appeared unimpressed by sharks, and laughed delightedly when a hermit crab ran across Mommy's hand. She loved being able to walk (or run) up to the tanks and watch the fish swim right by her! The aquarium is small, but provided more than enough to interest Kathleen. When the variety of sealife eventually failed to hold her interest, she discovered a new fascination: the stroller. We'd taken the little, folding Combi stroller with us, a stroller we haven't used much lately, since we've either been running with the jogger or encouraging Kathleen to walk. Kathleen took to pushing the light-weight stroller around (into us, into curbs, into everything), and putting her puppy Aloha in and out of the seat. There's entertainment everywhere for Kathleen!

From One Paradise to Another

Since Jim's deployment is drawing nearer (nearer than Kathleen and I like to admit most days), we decided to take a mini-vacation to make the most of the time we have together. We booked a four-day trip to the neighboring island of Kauai, and even though we had lousy weather, we enjoyed every minute of our visit.

Kathleen was very excited about the airport and riding in a plane. Plane is one of her favorite signs, and it got a lot of use at the airport. (She'd just finished making the sign for plane with her left hand in this picture.)



The flight from Honolulu to Lihue is only 35 minutes long -- 18 minutes of that is actually airborne. That's the kind of flying that's manageable with a toddler!

We had initially reserved a hotel room at a resort on the Coconut Coast, but when we arrived and filled it with the three of us, a crib, our luggage, and the jogging stroller, we realized that making Kathleen's schedule work in one room might be a bit of a stretch. There were bungalows on the resort, too, and we asked about upgrading to one of those. The upgrade would cost a bundle more, but when we walked by the bungalows (with their ocean views) and thought about the extra space and peace-of-mind, we decided it would be worth it. However, when we talked to the lady at the front desk, she said, "I just read the notes on your reservation, and I see you're about to deploy to Iraq. I have a son-in-law in Iraq and a son-in-law in the Horn of Africa." And she upgraded us for free! Here's the view from the bungalow's lanai:



The bungalow was such a blessing. It allowed us to put Kathleen to bed at her regular time and take her morning nap, as well. We'd get up in the morning, take a run along the oceanfront trail, have some breakfast in our bungalow, and then Kathleen would nap in the bedroom while Jim and I read on the lanai. When Kathleen woke again, we'd throw her in the rental car and explore the island. (She grabbed her afternoon nap while we were driving around.)

As I mentioned, we didn't have great weather for our trip. It rained a lot, and there were high winds, so some of the sight-seeing didn't go quite as it should have. For example, Kauai is home to Waimea Canyon, which Mark Twain called the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." Here's our picture of that natural wonder:



Oh, well. We'll just have to go back to see that again sometime. Even in the rain, there's no denying the beauty of Kauai's mountains and beaches. They're just incredible. Less developed than Oahu, Kauai looks like what you think tropical paradise should be. We saw mountains and jungle and rain forest and wide, sandy beaches. And every now and then the weather would break, and we'd get a moment like this:



We hope we'll be able to go back to Kauai again -- and actually enjoy some sun!

Punchbowl

On Sunday we drove into town to go to church with our friends the Autrys, who attend St. Andrews, a beautiful, historic Episcopalian church in Honolulu. We enjoyed worshiping with them and are excited that George and Adeline will be baptized there at the Easter Vigil this spring. Kathleen's favorite part of the service was the ribbon banner that's part of the processional and recessional -- she got very excited to see it twirling in the air!

After church we decided to drive to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, which is better known as Punchbowl. The cemetery's momument to the fallen soldiers of the Pacific is impressive and sobering. The view from Punchbowl is breathtaking, as well.