sing like wildflowers
My full and kooky life as a homeschooling mommy to 2 great kids, raising a child with HLHS (Hypolastic Left Heart Syndrome), coping with depression, following Jesus, and being much too camera happy.
My full and kooky life as a homeschooling mommy to 2 great kids, raising a child with HLHS (Hypolastic Left Heart Syndrome), coping with depression, following Jesus, and being much too camera happy.
33 responses to “Wordless Wednesday: 10-18-’23. Beach fun on vacation”
Did your family go to Honolulu HI for Vacation the past weekend… week, Esther?
Where were these photos from? I’m not recognizing this particular spot. But about 14-16 years ago, when I was married, we were going there because my husband had a client to connect with every six months. We went about six times! Loved going. We saw the whole island and Maui too.
I hope you saw more of the island than just Honolulu. If not that’s fine too just as long as you soaked it all in. Good for you!
Hi TD, we were in Honolulu this past week! We were at the Hilton village beach and the lagoon next to it. Maybe when we visit again we want to do more adventurous outings. This time we went to the Dole Plantation, botanical garden, a Japanese temple, and Paradise Cove Luau. The other days we were at the beach and at night we’d walk to the beach and throw light slingshots up in the air.
That’s so lovely to go there with your husband that often!! What a treat. It’s beautiful there with the island culture and warm beaches. Ahhhhh, I miss it already!!
For our honeymoon 17 years ago, we went to the Big Island.
Our family got tanned and Ellis got her first sun burn! She’s very proud of it. lol
I have stayed at that same Hilton in the Rainbow Tower and I visited those some of the same venues. So happy you all had so much fun and a wellness week in Hawaii!
The Luau is so much fun to watch. Everything is so gorgeous there. Did you have the passion juice?
I’m surprised that I didn’t recognize where you were. My memory fades as I age. It seems to me that your family chose the perfect adventures for you all! 💕
We passed by the Rainbow Tower everyday on the way to the beach and lagoon. They also have the fireworks show right by the Rainbow Tower. Did you see those? They have the fireworks show every Friday night.
Yes, we had the passion juice! Delicious drink. We could’ve gotten a mai tai, but I don’t drink much alcohol.
How fun that you recognize the places we visited! That Hilton village has almost everything you need, and nearby, we found many Korean restaurants and market. I was born at the Kapiolani hospital but only stayed in Hawaii for a month as a newborn. Parents immigrated there right after they got married, had me, and then decided to move to California. It was nice to see what my mom saw and experienced when she was pregnant with me.
Thank you! This adventure was just the right amount of fun and play time for us.
I was wondering where you’d been Esther – glad you got a fun beach getaway under your belt and the reason that you were MIA was a good thing. I like the photos!
Linda, our family finally went on a vacation to another state!! Yep, that’s why I was MIA. There was a lot of trepidation beforehand and we didn’t want to say anything to jinx our trip, but Ellis has gotten a lot stronger this past year, and I’m happy to say that she didn’t have any throw up episodes on vacation.
We just wanted to get out of here and do something different. It was fun and lovely!!
That’s great – I’m happy for you and Chris and the kids. That’s great news about Ellis as well. Plus you recently had your Covid booster and likely still had some immunity from the bout with Covid earlier this year. A positive experience! Well you guys certainly deserve it … 2023 was not a stellar year.
I have never been to Hawaii but everyone I know who has been there says it is a beautiful place to visit.
P.S. – what did you do with Dart? Did you have to board Dart at the vet’s office? Or have a friend that took care of Dart?
My goodness, we had a rough start to spring!! I’m so glad that time is behind us and we came out out it in one piece. We’ve been thinking about going to Hawaii for months, and we were nervous that things wouldn’t go as planned and we’d have to cancel the trip. It was so wonderful to get away and to think that we had survived all the medical emergencies and surgeries…it made it that much more special for us.
Darling Dart was home and our neighbor came to feed him a few times! You can imagine the nerves of leaving home a pet. And I didn’t write a post about this yet, but a week before we left, all our fish died!! Like dropping dead, left and right. Something must have gone wrong with the filter or water change. So no fish for us except for 1 betta.
A beautiful place to escape to, that’s for sure Esther. That’s great you have a neighbor to take care of Dart and hopefully she didn’t freak out if she had to help him with his shedding at his toes. 🙂 Have you established Dart is a “he” then or it’s just easier to say “him”? Oh no with the fish … wonder why the betta made it? Are you going to replenish them or have the kids’ interest in the fish waned since Dart’s arrival? Of course you still have the betta swimming around by itself in the tank feeling lonely ….
It seems Dart is a male but it’s not easy to check. Not 100% sure. When we pick him up, Ellis checks and says there is some kind of v-shape dotted line and a tail bulge that indicates it’s a male. I think we see something there, but still not sure. Males also get longer than females, but we don’t have a female to compare it with. Let’s just make it easy and call Dart a “he!”
Yes, it was terrific my neighbor was able to feed and care for Dart. We were worried how to leave him at home unattended for a week, and some sources said that geckos can go up to 2 weeks without food and water if they are full grown adults. A juvenile can go up to a week without food, but we are vigilant pet parents and freaked out. Did not want to come home to a dead gecko.
No more fish for us! They were more work than the gecko. The betta was the weakest one that we isolated since she had an inflamed gill, but she outlasted them all!! We got her a separate tank before all the fish died in the 10 gallon tank. Ugh, what the heck to do with a 10 gallon tank now!
Yes, call Dart “he” – I usually refer to critters as he too as it is easier. That’s amazing the length of time without food but I don’t blame you. We used to go to my grandmother’s and leave our parakeet alone for four days – we’d come home Sunday night and leave early Thursday morning. He had extra tubes of seeds and water, but would refuse to eat or drink, pining for us. We felt badly, but did not want to board him and possible come back with a bird disease – then we got home, he would eat and drink nonstop but ignore us … punishment for leaving him alone.
It’s amazing how long animals can survive without food but it still feels bad to not feed our pets everyday. I didn’t realize that boarding with other birds might make the bird susceptible to bird disease.
My neighbor sent me a pic of Dart on the second day we were gone and he did not look happy. Even with his permanent smile, he looked different. But he perked up as the days went by, as evidenced through her pics and videos. When we got back, he was ravenous about mealworms. Today we’re going to Petsmart to resupply his cricket feed. He hasn’t had crickets in over a week. Elliot and I got sick the latter part of last week, so Dart hasn’t been getting too much attention. Ellis can’t get him too easily since the tank is tall and is on a bookshelf. hahaha. He’ll get more attention in the coming days. Not Covid, but feeling wiped out!
I guess every critter, no matter the size or type, pines for its family – amazing isn’t it? So you buy live crickets and have them in a container and feed them like the mealworms? You are a brave woman. Well, at least as you recover you don’t have to deal with the fish … hope you and Elliot are feeling better soon.
It’s made us feel closer to Dart. I didn’t think he really cared for us, but now when we come hear his tank, he pokes his head out of his tree house. He’s more interactive with us.
We buy 20-25 live crickets from Petsmart, which they put in a plastic bag. We bring it home and put them in a plastic container. The guy puts a small piece of egg carton in the bag so the crickets can hang out in there. We give them a large piece of lettuce and carrot. They go through it like mad!
The mealworm lives in a bed of dried oatmeal and we feed them lettuce and carrots too. We saw some bugs in their container, so I threw it out. Ack!!!!
We are all learning lots of new things with Dart. I’m not a big Shredded Wheat cereal fan, but once I bought a box on sale and went to get the kettle which was boiling and pour the water over the biscuits and bugs were crawling along the countertop in the short time I turned around. I moved the box and the biscuits from the bowl outside before they multiplied! Dart probably got used to being picked up, held and fussed over so is okay with it now, maybe not initially. They probably don’t handle the geckos much at PetSmart – was Dart in a separate living quarters or with others at PetSmart?
Wow, that’s gross! I know it’s more trouble, but did you complain to the shop? That’s horrible for a consumer.
When Dart was at PetSmart, the geckos are housed together; maybe like 5-7. If they were older, they’d have to be separated because male and male have territorial issues and male and female with mating. But when they’re young, it’s okay. However, the guy did tell us that some little geckos have be overpowered by other small geckos or bullied. In that case, they have to make sure the think one gets more food or for peace.
Dart was one of the biggest ones in the tank when we got him. We were fearful of getting a small one since it’d be more fragile. lol. Guess the little ones sell more quickly than the bigger ones.
I did write to the manufacturer – I think Nabisco and said “you have to take my word for it because I ran the box and bugs out of the house pronto!” I got a coupon for a Nabisco product, but I didn’t buy Shredded Wheat. I was spooning out creamed corn into a pot to heat it up and taking some spoonfuls for myself along the way and near the bottom of the can was a huge fly. I took pictures of the fly and sent it to Del Monte who said “no human eyes or hands dealt with that corn – all machinery and in a vat first, then goes to the assembly line and into cans. I said “your Quality Control is lacking” – two coupons for Del Monte canned vegetables. I didn’t get sick, but sure felt sick from seeing that fly.
Wow, what a lovely beach. Wonderful spot. I like. Pretty photos. You enjoyed with kiddos. Where these place.
Thsnk you sharing, Esther! Have good day.
Hi Raj, we were in Hawaii this past week!! It was a long anticipated vacation and needed to get away. For the first time since Ellis was born, we felt confident enough to leave state and go on a fun vacation. The hospital was like 3 miles away from us and that was a relief for us to know. lol.
Happy to be back!! Thanks for stopping by to say “hi!”
Hello,
My dear friend, Esther! I am so glad to your kind reply my poor comment. My English is very poor. You read carefully, you tell me anye my some mistakes. Beautiful place in Hawaii. I much like that beach. That was fun & lovely!
Tack care,oxo!
Raj, I’m so glad that you are practicing your English with me and you are commenting! I understand that learning a new language comes with lots of anxiety and timidity, but you have to keep trying so see improvements.
The water was warm and lovely, but I accidentally drank a gulp and that was so salty!!! The waves were calm too.
Thank you so much,you understand my that my language and learning. The water was warm and lovely, but I accidentally drank a gulp and that was so salty!!! The waves were calm too.,Eshter!see you soon !
All good…the more you practice, the better you’ll get.:)
Thanks, you support me Always. I have get better I hope that,My dear friend Esther!
🙂 Yep, I hope to encourage you!
Thanks lot 😁
Where’s mum?
Taking pictures! lol. It was hard to keep water out of my phone with the waves crashing on my legs.
Ahhh well
What’s the proof that you went?
I’m usually the photographer in the family and that’s the fate of a photographer. Rarely makes it into the pictures, but i’ll post some soon. 🙂
Great!!
Looking forward to that
How fabulous!!! I’m so happy for your family!!!
Thanks, friend!! It’s been an experience since she was 1 year old. We are looking forward to it too…a new chapter!!