The Pollard Place: May 2017

May was a very busy month, and it involved some fun last vacations before the baby comes! The first thing we did only kind of counts, but we went on our first (and maybe only) camping trip for the year! It was still a little bit chilly but it was so nice to get out and away for a little bit. It was a huge stress reliever for all of us. We got there and had dinner, made s'mores and banana boats, and then the next morning we hiked around and Henry rode his strider. It was great!

It was our friend's birthday so we went to a little party for him and did something totally new! We did an escape room, so you had 60 minutes to get through all of the clues and solve the puzzle. We got SO close but we didn't make it. It was so much fun!

Then we went to Idaho for a baby shower that my sisters and mom threw for me, and I ended up staying there for a week and coming home with my parents to Seattle when they came back for a conference. One of the things that we did was take maternity pictures! On Saturday we got lucky with good weather and my dad came out with us and took some pictures. I love how they turned out! Nothing fancy or crazy, but just normal like us :)

One of the fun things that we did in Idaho was going to the Boise Zoo! I used to come here as a kid, and it was fun to take Henry there. Also, it was fun because this age is awesome! He has started to really enjoy things more and actively participate. It had been quite a while since we went to the zoo, and this time was so different than him just sitting in his stroller. We started out by riding the carousel, once with Grandma and once with me. It was so fun! Except for the part where I got stuck behind the Rooster because my belly was too huge. And the people laughed. But whateves.

The zebras are his favorite!

The huge giraffe slide!

A huge hit for him was the little petting zoo area they have! He LOVED feeding them. Mom kept asking, "All done, or more?" and of course every time he would just say "More!!"

Best Grandma ever!!

This is something new, the Boise Zoo now lets you feed giraffes! Henry got to do it a handful of times and LOVED it! It was awesome!

One night Mom and Dad had a carnival that they wanted to go to so that they could support a good cause. Their friend's grandson had been diagnosed with cancer, and this carnival was to raise money to help the family. We went and had a great time! Henry really wanted to do the bouncy house slide, but it was full of bigger kids that would trample him like a herd of water buffalo. So, Dad helped him go down it a few times and that was pretty much it. The shock of the night though was that Henry LOVED getting his face painted! He chose a little dog or something, and Dad wanted him to be a pirate so he kept trying to change his mind and then Henry chose a butterfly princess one haha. In the end he settled on this Batman mask and couldn't stop looking at himself in my phone the whole drive home. After the carnival we went to a little park by the house and Henry had a blast swinging with Grandma and going down slides with Papa. Papa had a hard time fitting, which made it so Mom and I had a blast too haha!

Another fun thing that we got to do was go to a ceremony that my dad spoke at. It was Police Appreciation Week, and this particular ceremony was to honor those that had fallen in the line of duty. My dad spoke, and as we knew that he was retiring soon it was really special to see him in his full uniform and hear him talk about this profession that he loves so much. He did such a great job! At some point during the ceremony, Henry ran up to sit with Papa on stage and ask him to open the sucker that I wouldn't let him have. It later got tweeted around from the Police Department and that was fun to see!

One day Mom and Dad were both busy, so I took Henry to Planet Kid. I used to go there when I was growing up, so I was pretty dang excited about taking him! Mom had just bought me a maternity dress and so I wanted to wear it to show her that I liked it, which I figured out was a really bad idea as I had to crawl up the slide to get Henry because he was scared to come down. Yikes. But he did have a lot of fun playing in the ball pits!

I also had some time to contemplate the wonderful house that I grew up in. With the retirement comes a move and my parents will be leaving the house that I so loved. I had every first day of school here, I had my first kiss, got asked on my first date, got asked to every dance, and brought Rusty home to meet my family here. Rusty even asked my dad for permission to marry me here. This shot is from the back in the garden toward the fields. I'm going to miss this land being so open!

After we got back we had some good weather and took advantage of playing in the sprinkler outside and eating popsicles!

At the end of the month we did something we've never done before! We left Henry at home with my parents and took off to Hawaii for a trip just the two of us. WHAT?! Seriously, it was super hard though for me and I cried. A few times. Also, I had some serious anxiety about being so far away from him, but once that all got better it was so much fun! We got some serious bucket list items checked off and it was a blast!

Day 1: Thursday, May 25

The first day we got up really early (we dropped H off at the Hudsons the night before) and drove to the airport. The airplane ride was awful. And I mean awful. Up until a few days before Hawaii I actually felt really comfortable, and then BAM. It was uncomfortable. And they don't have the fans really working these days on those dang Delta flights, and I wanted to die the whole flight over. We had an hour layover in Honolulu, and it was fun to fly over Oahu. I haven't seen that island, and Rusty actually has an interview for a job in Waikiki in a few weeks so that made it seem really real.

We finally landed in Kona and it took us over an hour to get our car, which has never happened before. But once we finally got the car we were off! We drove up and had appetizers for happy hour at Lava Lava Beach Club, which had delicious food and crazy beautiful views.

After a little refueling, we went to Hapuna Beach to spend a few hours. It was gorgeous! And we had so much fun swimming and playing in the water. It felt really good to be floating and let all of my weight kind of disappear.

Then we went over to Mauna Kea Beach to see the sun set before going to check in at our house. It was so beautiful! And, there was this seriously old man running around in a speedo that just made us keep cracking up.

We checked into our house and then showered and went to sleep to get up early for a big day! It was dark, and the best parts of the house were the backyard/lanai area, so we didn't really know what to expect the next morning. But in the morning we were greeted with the most beautiful lanai! The place even had an outdoor shower which was so cool. It was really big and the weather was always just perfect for it. You could hear/see the ocean if the shower door was open. How cool is that?!

Day 2: Friday, May 26

This day was the day I was most excited about for the whole trip! We were going to SWIM WITH DOLPHINS! Seriously, this has been on my bucket list for my whole life and I was so stoked. The entire drive there I couldn't stop grinning and laughing and repeating, "We're going to swim with dolphins!" We stopped at McDonalds and got some Hawaiian fuel (I just got a normal breakfast sandwich, but Rusty was stoked about his spam breakfast plate) and then went to the marina.

We got on the boat and they kind of said that we might not see any today because of the "King Tide". It's like this crazy thing that happens once every ten years, and it happened to be going on while we were there. The moon and the sun align (like Hercules haha) and it makes the pull extra strong. So the waves were abnormally large, which made the animals change patterns. I started to get really worried, but the ride out was actually really relaxing and pretty, not choppy and bumpy like I was scared of because I'm pregnant. Then, the miracle happened! We saw dolphins! They were in this gorgeous bay and I was absolutely stoked when they told us to suit up and get ready to get in the water. We jumped in and there were dolphins everywhere! Something I hadn't thought about was that we would be able to hear them while in the water, and that was amazing! They just swam all around us and some were even jumping and spinning out of the water. Towards the end, there was this one crazy dolphin that was super hyper. All of the other dolphins were calming down and getting ready to go to sleep, but this guy just was going nuts. He jumped right over Rusty's shoulder!! It was seriously one of my favorite things I've ever done. The guide said that we were really lucky to get that much interaction with them, and that there were a lot of pregnant females! They could sense my presence haha. Oh, and we saw a baby! Ahhh.

After our dolphin swim, we went and ate at Broke da Mouth Grindz. This was seriously Rusty's favorite place to eat here in Hawaii, maybe anywhere. After being home for a few weeks he still constantly talks and thinks about this furikake chicken haha! He also says that it was the best spam musubi roll he's ever had, but nothing compares to that furikake chicken for him haha.

After our yummy lunch we went and got shave ice and macadamia nut ice cream downtown Kona and walked around a little bit. The waves were crashing up over the barrier onto the sidewalk, and we got a kick out of watching unknowing people get sprayed haha.

We had some more time to kill until our late night manta snorkel, but we didn't want to drive the thirty minutes back to the house. So we went to Kahaluu Beach to go snorkeling. It was lots of lava rock, so we were really glad that we had our little booties with us to walk out into the water with. It was shallow and the visibility wasn't great because the plankton was all blooming, but we still saw lots of fish and a sea turtle! Seeing and swimming with sea turtles never gets old, that's for sure. We hung out on the beach for a while before heading over to Jackie Rey's for dinner.

Then we went back out to do the manta snorkel! The boat took us out to a spot where they hadn't seen any mantas for like a week, but their go to spot couldn't be reached because of the King Tide. We got all suited up and got in the water, and it was really cool to be snorkeling at night! There were SO many fish, way more than I thought there would be. Rusty said it best I think when he said it kind of felt like we were swimming in a giant aquarium. We didn't see any mantas, which was really disappointing, but we did see a monk seal! She came right up to us and I've never seen something so fat haha. She looked like a plumped up sausage with tiny flippers at the end haha.

Day 3: Saturday, May 27

On Saturday we had breakfast at The Coffee Shack, which had the most gorgeous view! Then we shared some banana bread, an omelet, and some yummy macadamia nut french toast. Yum!

A giant avocado tree!

A little gecko friend

We had originally planned to take a long drive around the island and stop at some waterfalls, but we went out to breakfast instead and kind of lost track of time. So in order to make it to Hilo in time we just cut across the island! We did have enough time to stop at the Farmer's Market in Hilo which was really cool. We bought some leeche fruit and some apple bananas, as well as a yummy smoothie.

After the market it was time to head over for our helicopter ride! This was such a cool experience. The island is so covered in lava that it was cool to get an arial view of where it had lava and where it was bright green. Obviously, the highlight of the trip (and the reason we took it) was to see the lava flowing into the ocean and fly over the active craters. We couldn't see as much of the lava going into the ocean as I had hoped, but I did get to see the bright red dropping into the water! And going over the craters was way cooler than I had thought. Another highlight was this Asian lady that seriously did not stop taking selfies the entire time. Any time we would try to look out the other window we couldn't see because her arm was out holding her phone and she was posing. I've never seen someone take so many selfies! The entire 60 minute ride. And sometimes her leg would be up in the picture! Haha.

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Farms

The Asian with the selfies haha

The lava flow

We stopped and got some malasadas at a little bakery inside the mall. I was pretty bummed that we didn't get to go to the best place on the whole island because we ran out of time, so we stopped and got these ones. Malasadas are popular in Hawaii and are like puffy, filled donuts. These ones were okay, but I could definitely see the potential! We got cream, haupia and chocolate. Then for lunch we went to a little hole in the wall place called Cafe 100 where you can get the Super Loco Moco. This is a big deal on the Big Island. Like a big deal. So Rusty got that (it's rice, Portuguese sausage, spam, and eggs covered in gravy) and I got a BLT. Once again, Rusty was pretty happy with his choice. Who knew he liked spam so much?

After that we went to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and got to drive around and do some really short "hikes", that were mainly just walking. It is a really big park with lots to do and we didn't have a ton of time, but we got through everything that we were hoping to!

Cool steam vents

Thurston Lava Tube

Giant crater!

Beautiful sea arch

The Jaggar Museum

Day 4: Sunday, May 28

Sunday we walked out of our front door and down to the water to rent a kayak! We took the kayak over to the monument and had such a fun time! It was a really gorgeous day and we ate our apple bananas and leeche fruit while we enjoyed the scenery.

We got over to the monument and hopped out to go snorkeling! The coral structures here were so cool and we saw lots of different fish. We were told there was absolutely no beaching kayaks on the shore there, but turned out it was really only our company haha. So we just held on to a little rope that was tied to the kayak and snorkeled around with that. It wasn't so bad, we actually never noticed it. But it was really funny that it happened to us haha. Then, as icing on the cake I couldn't get back in the kayak because I was so pregnant haha. So we had to ask a random boat if I could use their boat ladder to climb into the kayak. And my dignity goes down 75 points.

We ate lunch at Da Poke Shack. We got it and then went to a little beach and ate our lunch. It was really delicious! I was so sad that I couldn't eat the poke, but Rusty was totally over the moon about it. We ate at a little pavilion on the beach and there was a guy playing his ukulele and serenading us. It was so great! Then we went home and showered and took a nap before going out to the Fish Hopper for a super great dinner. The views here were just gorgeous too, right in downtown Kona on the water. The food was SO good. Rusty got a big ol rare tuna steak, and I had a macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi. Then for dessert I had lilikoi cheesecake (seriously SOOOOO good) and Rusty got this chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and chocolate ganache. Too much chocolate for me, but we were both so in love with our desserts.

Then it was time to head over to the bay for our last chance at a manta ray snorkel! I was so nervous because it was our last shot, and I really, really wanted to see them. We talked to that lady and she said that they hadn't gone a night without seeing them in six months! Holy cow! So then I started to get really excited and hopeful, and we took the boat out for a super short drive out to the water. As I was getting ready to jump in the water I saw this HUGE manta ray swim under the boat. AHHH! I was so ready to get in there with them. You know, you hear they are big, huge even, but actually seeing one in person is totally different. So we got in the water and waited for a really long time and then finally a few started to show up! Three did swim bys, and we saw them underneath us. The fourth one was the coolest and it came right up to us and did four barrel rolls to eat the plankton. I thought I was going to get whacked by her, she was so giant! I was beyond stoked, and now Rusty and I both want to go somewhere where you can scuba dive with them and just swim next to them. They are so beautiful. I think I have a new favorite marine animal.

Day 5: Monday, May 29

Our last day on the island was the first day that I was really able to relax about being away from Henry. Bummer haha. But it was a great day! We started out by heading the the Place of Refuge, which is a sanctuary of sorts. A long time ago if anyone broke one of their higher laws, the penalty was death. The only way that they could save their lives was to run or swim to the Place of Refuge. Then there was a priest there who could pardon them from everything. Such a strange concept haha.

An old game, kind of like checkers. Whoever lost died. Yikes.

After learning a lot about their history and culture, we drove down the road for two minutes and then went to one of the best snorkeling spots on the island, called Two Step. We found out that it gets its name because it is all lava straight out to the water, and there is a place where you can get in that is kind of like two steps going down. You have to time it right for the waves though, and I was a little nervous about doing it in my pregnant, off balance state. But it turned out it was way easier than it looked and we got in just fine!

The coral here was so cool! It was tall and full of different kinds, and it also created little canyons that you could swim through. There was a little arch that Rusty swam under and came out the other side! We saw a white tip reef shark sleeping, lots of different fish, and when Rusty went out while I was resting he saw a sea turtle!

After snorkeling we went back and showered, packed up and then started our drive to the airport. We stopped in at Kona for one last dinner and a really nice place called Splasher's Grill. It was so good! I was disappointed in the food when we first got here, but a few of these restaurants really pulled up the island's average for me. Here we got the captain's platter, with crab cakes, prawns, fish, and some waffle fries. It had the same view as the Fish Hopper but we were on the second floor so you could see see further. What a great way to end the trip!

Our final stop was at the ABC store to get some souvenirs for my parents and Henry. We got my mom a bunch of chocolate macadamia nuts, my dad a shirt, and Henry a ukulele and a seashell necklace. I had been so careful to not get sunburned on this whole trip because the flight out was so uncomfortable, that I couldn't even imagine what it would be like on a red eye with a sunburn on my pregnant self. Anytime we went outside I lathered that sunscreen all over me like I never have before. Well, apparently my swim top rode up a little on my back while we snorkeled and it left a SUPER bad sunburn. It burned like crazy! So I put some aloe on it and just hoped for the best. We bought some aloe at this store and also some pads so that I could put it on my back to hold the aloe in without making my dress stick to me for the whole flight, but that was useless haha.

The flight home was uncomfortable and uneventful. I would lean forward because my back hurt and then that would give me heartburn so I would lean back, and the process would start over. The good news is that we didn't have seats together but Rusty asked the guy next to him and he switched me so we got to sit together! That was really great. I didn't sleep the whole flight home, but I did a little on the car ride. We got home and my parents were already up with Henry and he was so excited to see us! He did run right past me and my open arms to Rusty, which was like a punch in the face haha. But, he loves his Daddy and that's ok. I do too.

Henry's Highlights:

Henry says "okay" really funny. One time he said it like "uhhh kai" and I laughed really hard, and now that's the only way he will say it haha. It cracks me up. Also, he says "hi yah" instead of "yee haw" like I tried to teach him when he rides his stick horse. So now anytime he wants to ride something (Bailey, a toy, Daddy, a ride) he says, "Henry hi ya!" haha. I will ask him to repeat "yee haw" and he always does it "hi yah". Whoops.
He is still completely obsessed with Lightning McQueen. Shirts, jammies, toys, the show, you name it. Next month the new movie comes out and we are excited to take him to see it! He says it "Kigh Kee Keen" in a really squeaky voice. Always.
And..... we have stopped potty training. We never got the pooping thing down, and then with the trip to Idaho he was doing really good until the last two days and then when we left him with my parents and went to Hawaii Mom said that it would make him sad to go potty and she didn't want to make him haha. So, we just stopped with that and will pick it up after Adeline comes, probably at the end of the summer. I think he just wasn't ready and it still scared him to poop.
He is getting so good on his strider! Like, so fast that we can't keep up with him. He loves that thing.

He is starting to make sense of things around him, and try to make connections. Like, I gave him some peaches from a can and it left some of the juice in his bowl. He said, "Yay! Peach milk!" haha.

Extra Pictures:

Reading with Daddy

So one morning I hold Henry that he couldn't go outside because he didn't have shoes on. I went to take the trash out to the road and came back to this haha.