Kanani Goes to Hawaii

 

Arriving with Piper and grandparents.

Descending into Honolulu
airport.
 

Last year for Christmas Piper got an American Girl doll and it happened to also be the girl of the year, Kanani.  This doll was the one that looked closest to her, which is why she got that one and not a just me that you can name.  For Thanksgiving this year we went to Hawaii with my folks, and of course Kanani had to come, it is her 'native' home, as the 7 year old puts it.  So, without further adu here is a look at our trip through Kanani's pictures and actions.

She was very excited to arrive and as we descended Kanani wanted to see all the beautiful beaches, blue water and even Diamond Head, an inactive volcano that we'd planned to climb one morning before breakfast.

  

Once we arrived at our hotel, we decided to hang out and then get a bite to eat while our rooms were being prepared.  Kanani took 'hanging out' to a whole new level!

That Kanani!

She enjoyed sitting at the pool, going out to dinner every night and just going along with whatever plans we had. 


Turns out she loved hanging at the pool, wasn't much of a beach gal (didn't like the sand in her swimsuit) and has this great skin that doesn't need sun screen! She claims to love surfing but turned out to be more of a Barbie Uno card player and she also said she loves shaved ice but the only thing I saw her indulging in that was a 'cool' beverage were the Mai Tai's!

 Kanani was a good sport about shopping
when she got tired either Brad or myself carried her in our backpacks.  Kanani is a light packer but turns out her swim suit, all day pajama's and two dresses were all she needed.  Plus, even though we all bought new croc flipflops and Piper got two new pairs of tennis shoes, Kanani survived on one pair of sandals! She is quite a gal.

When we were at the pool Kanani made up a funny game of her own.  She put the umbrella's from her drinks in her hair.  One day she had a rainbow all the way across her head!

 On my birthday we hiked up Diamond Head. Kanani was quite excited, and I wish I could show you all the pictures, here are just  a few.

After we hiked up and back down Diamond Head we wanted to get a reward, Kanani was all for that, and suggested we go we to Leonard's for their Island famous Malasadas! Those were delicious, after we all got our sugary warm doughy treats we looked over at Kanani and this is what we saw...Kanani had her head in the box and got the left over cinnamon sugar!

That Kanani!!

Sitting with Grandpa in the car

 As you can see she was quite a character! The next day we did some sightseeing.  Kanani rode in front with Brad and Grandpa Bill.  We toured Queen Emma's summer palace (where she was a quiet and polite little lady, thank goodness because the tour was over an hour and the summer palace was only about 500 square feet).
   We went to the Punchbowl, which is the largest military cemetery in the Pacific.  It has these beautiful breath taking views and is very peaceful.  We saw a funeral in the distance and stopped to listen to taps being played.  While we were there, Piper took Kanani to the fountain at the top of the steps and they threw pennies in and made wishes together. 

Another fun event we went to was Penguin class at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the hotel next to ours.  Turns out there are only two kinds of Penguin that are cold water breeds and all the rest are warm water.  There was a Penquin at class named Icky who was 25 years old and we all got to pet him.  Kanani was a little dressed up that day so she decided not to, but had a good time and raised her hand when she wanted to ask questions. 

Kanani had a great time visiting her birthplace of Hawaii.  She went a little wild and crazy but all in all we'd take her on a trip there again someday.  She was especially good at all the dinners we went to, here she is on Thanksgiving night with Piper and the grandparents.




Until next time we have a fun and crazy adventure with Kanani, or Samantha and Spencer, the bitty babies, Kanai will say Aloha! 

This was one of her favorite spots, sitting in the Barefoot Bar on the edge of the beach watching the sunset and enjoying live music.
 

Shoulder Surgery, 14 Months Post-Op

I am constantly reminded that only a year ago there were so many things I couldn't yet do with my newly repaired shoulder.  When I lay in bed on it these days it feels normal and when I reach up to grab something there is no pain, things that I couldn't do prior to surgery and I didn't have the flexibility at this time last year.

 In the swimming pool I feel pretty much normal, my fly is getting stronger and I can do my backstroke just as slowly as I did before, ha ha. My freestyle, as always, is a work in progress and I think as I start to not just swim but train for swimming more over the next few months it will work itself out.  I am going off the starting blocks and it doesn't seem to bother my shoulder so we will just see how it goes with each and every start both in practice and competition.

Speaking of competition, I swam in my first post surgery meet October 28 at the annual Patriot Masters Sprint Classic at George Mason University.  I won the 100 free, took 2nd in the 50 fly and 3rd in the 50 free.  My times were about where I thought they would be and I know I have a lot of work ahead of me in the gym and the pool. 

So here is where we are today, I swam three times this week and this morning my shoulder and arm felt really fatigued and starting hurting while I was doing fly and back.  I backed off on those and did some kicking and freestyle instead.  I wore fins for the "Rumble in the Jungle" women vs. men relays, in part to keep my fly together and then of course to make sure we won.  We took them two out of three relays because my water ballet leg of the last relay had a lot more style and showmanship than my race partner Paul.

This week we are off to spend Thanksgiving in Hawaii, it will give me a chance to work with McB on her swimming strokes and to maybe give my arm a little rest.