Kingston's 2nd Birthday Party

Kingston Hubert is officially a toddler! He talks, walks, runs, laughs, denies bedtime, all like a boy instead of a baby. He's been communicating with great words for so long, but is really forming sentences and communicating his wants much clearer now. He is confident walking away from me and exploring ((while simontaneously more pissed off when I walk away from him.)) He wants to know how everyone's "bites" are. He asks ((demands)) for the uncles to read him books on the couch, or for bites of coconut meat from John's freshly opened coconut. He wears earplugs taped to his ears while driving the big mower with Pop. He gets thrown around and picked on by the uncles, and he can hang pretty well with all! He is learning compst vs. trash. He loves the moon and stars. His favorite movies right now are The Good Dinosaur, Kung Fu Panda and Moana. He likes to help sweep and chop veggies. He loves this little herb in the garden that makes your mouth go numb, called Spilanthes, and the way he says it is to die for. He loves to spray the hose, though he doesn't get to do that too much because we conserve water due to being on a rain catchment system. So instead he plays in tubs of cool water and splashes around. We're practicing going on the potty, some days are better then others, but him running around in his underwear is so cute ((until he poops in them.)) He changes and grows everyday. As time goes on, though I miss my baby, he's more fun to live with now that we can discuss things, make jokes, play silly games, weed in the garden together, and talk about tools vs. toys. The sweet, surprise smooches and squeezes and "love you, Mama" fills my cup up more then I could have imagined. Every phase this kid has gone through has been my favorite. 

Celebrating his birthday was so fun! On his actual birthday, on Saturday, we worked a little on the farm in the morning, then opened a few presents. We went into town to get groceries for the pizza party and prep everything at one of the cafes. Alexa, Riley and Amanda helped us prep and I made potato nachos for dinner. King loves to explore the cafe while it's closed, reminds me of being at La Casa Fiesta on days it was closed. That night he must have known he was two because it was the first time he flat out threw a tantrum about not going to bed and crying to play with his toys... silly boy. 

The next morning we woke up to a downpour, which was so needed, but not on this day! We were supposed to have an epic beach day with all the awesome new beach toys I got. It said it was supposed to rain all day, and it did. So our friends recommended the astrology center and then they picked us up and we took our boys to a fun, hands on museum about the stars, planets, universe, deep ocean, and history of the islands. We played around for a while as the boys went from one thing to another then watched a video about Mauna Kea in the dome theater. After that we cruised around for some errands before ending up at the cafe to start decorating and setting up the pizza buffet. Blake made a huge amount of dough and pizza sauce while Liana and I decorated and Chase kept an eye out on the wild boys fighting/playing with each other... silly boys. 

Once the "aunties" and "uncles" (thank you, Hawaii, for installing a natural tribe by making everyone a relative) showed up, we let them free in the kitchen to roll out amd create their pizzas. It was chaotic and we learned from mistakes as we went, but it was so entertaining and made for lots of smiles and full, happy bellies (one point the whole place seemed silent when everyone was grubbing their pizzas.) One of our friends, who has her own raw vegan business, dropped off a cake she made just for K. It was a white chocolate cheese cake with a peanut butter crust. Yeah. Packed that baby full of candles and it created such a great moment for a song and for King to blow out his candles, and it was delicious. Everyone also got into Jackie's homemade ice cream with banana split toppings! Then King opened his presents and was so sweet about them. Everyone really thought about us and him in their sweet gifts. It was fun to watch them all really dote on King and reminisce about how much he's grown since we first arrived. We ended the night running those boys around while cleaning up, and finally ending with snuggles in bed. 

Reflecting on this weekend, we are so thankful and grateful for those who love K near and far. The FaceTime calls, cards and packages sent in the mail, special birthday hugs and gestures and patience really shown through to help K feel special and maybe even start to grasp the concept of birthdays. Of course what two-year-old doesn't want to have an audience?! Thank you, family, for loving on our Kingston.

To Kingston on his second trip around the Sun, 

Dream Big, Ride Far, my son, and Be Happy! We are blessed by you and love that we get to be a part of your growing up! 

xoxo, 

Mom & Pop 

Here are some of the thoughtful gifts for K: he also made out with a boogie boards, a light saber, a huge pizza slice pool floaty, trucks, a huge dragon kite, a fluffy stuffed puppy, garden gloves, and awesome books! 

Low Fat, High Carb, Plant Based Pizza Buffet ingredients: all organic

Whole Wheat dough 

Homemade roasted red bell pepper, onion, garlic and tomato pizza sauce 

Homemade pesto sauce with no oil and fresh basil from the garden 

Homemade "parmesan" with onion and garlic powder, nutritional yeast and hemp seeds 

Canned artichoke hearts and black olives 

Tomato slices 

Mushroom slices 

Bell pepper slices 

Onion slices 

Zucchini slices 

Barbeque sauce 

Fresh pineapple chunks 

Peppers from the garden 

Rosemary from the garden 

Broccoli from the garden 

Mixed greens 

Jar of chopped sundried tomatoes 

Honey 

Vegan mozzarella cheese 

BYO real cheese 

Cassava patties for the gluten free 

Vacation with Family

Last month we got to take a week off of the farm to explore the Big Island with Blake's parents. We had been looking forward to their visit for a few months as we were craving some family time after almost five months. We also really needed to take a break from the shifting of jobs, schedules, new work loads, new tasks, living with new people, new experiences and adjusting to a new climate to just breathe and soak up the west side sunshine. And who doesn't want to show off Hawaii to parents who have never visited the Islands before? 

The first week we spent in Kailua-Kona at a beautiful and comfortable air b'n'b near the Keauhou Bay. Just down the street one way was the quiet bay, which we swam in the first day. This walk past and around the Sharaton Hotel and to the piers became a regular route to put Kingston to sleep. 

In the other direction was a spot to hike around some seriously jagged and large lava rock. The ocean felt so wild and huge as the waves crashed onto the shore. Kingston, Blake and I got to catch the Kona sunset here one night and it was so magical. I noticed Noni trees growing around the dry and "lava dessert" area. Noni is an amazingly healing fruit that is stinky beyond anything you've smelled before, but loved that I knew what this odd looking fruit was and knew how to harvest and use it in the next few days. And that it just pops up amidst this crazy rocky terrain in such a dry climate is a fun way to realize new life can grow out of rough terrain. We played at the pool a lot and Kingston became confident in water and learning to keep his head above water. 

We set up an epic beach spot one day at Hapuna State Beach and played in the ocean. Then from there we headed north to the little town of Havi. We grabbed snacks at a cool deli that served local foods and window shopped the boutiques. 

On another day we headed south and asked for directions to a good beach and found Two Steps and the Place of Refuge. We brought snorkel gear and first started out in the shallow area where we saw a white baby turtle and a couple different kinds of fish. Then Blake and I were able to head to the rocks where you jump down onto a ledge ("two steps") where we had to avoid the current picking us up and bashing us against the rocks right as we jumped off. The adrenaline before snorkeling in the great blue felt so good. Kingston made a friend on the beach and then we took a family picture. 

 

After naps we got in the red Jeep and headed west over Saddle Road then up Mauana Kea. The Jeep was able to take us to the very top right at sunset. It was amazing to see snow and the huge telescopes. As it became darker out, we saw the glow from the volcano on the south side of the island. We stopped at the visitor center on the way down to listen to the "Star Tour" and looked through telescopes at Venus and other planets and stars. Without the light pollution, and I'm sure being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and on top of the highest mountain on earth (from base below the ocean to peak,) made for black skies and a clear view of what felt like every star in the sky. The Milky Way scattered across our entire view. We could see the different colors of the different ages of some stars. It was by far one of the best things I've seen. 

One morning Blake, King and I got dropped off at a beach right in Kona while Shawn and Mary headed into town for a birthday breakfast. It had beautifully perfect soft sand with some jagged lava rocks leading out to the ocean, but there was a little wading pool that was perfect for Kingston to play in. The waves would sometimes crash into it, which brought fresh, cold, clear water. It was a perfect spot to watch the surfers and play a little frisbee. It's fun when you don't really know where you're going or where you're at, but you find these treasure spots that are the epitome of what you envision Hawaii to be. 

 

We had a great time exploring downtown Kona with all the shops and restaurants and interesting mix of locals and tourists. I think Kona is too busy for us, but taking a break from one side of the island to be in a different climate and environment on the other side is only an hour and a half away. 

The day we packed up to head back to the Hilo side was a full day! We ventured a little north and east to Weimea. Weimea is a beautiful country island town with old school character. The farmer's market was cute and filled with local vendors. We stopped to let Kingston play at this incredible wood playground. It was so fun, but I'll remember it as the place where Kingston chipped his front tooth on a slide... he rebounded quicker then Blake and I did. Then we ventured through Honokaa to Waipeo Valley. Do you want to see and feel the most incredible thing ever? Come visit this valley and play frisbee on the black sand beach and pet wild horses! Good thing Grandpa got the 4WD because we put that baby to work. Climbing down to the beach was a fun trip, one Kingston surprisingly slept all the way through. After playing in the ocean we drove the rest of the way south to be dropped off at the farm, but first we took the little detour to Akaka Falls. We were back on the farm before we knew it and back to our routine. 

Shawn and Mary stayed at the Grand Naniloa in the Hilo Bay for a few more days. We listened to an acoustic jam session at the hotel one night and then Kingston and I went for a swim in the pool. We are thankful Blake's parents got to see the town we currently live in. They've been so good about visiting us wherever we move to see the streets we roam and the places we sleep in. 

If you know us, you know that food is a big part of our lives, for better or worse. Being concious to what we all are really being fed, and trying to vote with our money about the situations we've put our planet in, makes us work harder to know where our food comes from and exactly what we are putting in our bodies. So before we headed to the west side, we harvested taro, ulu, kale and herbs. We cooked up the taro and ulu and kept it in the fridge at our condo all week. We shopped at our favorite grocery store on the island, Island Naturals, and ate out a few times. There was a great pizza place close to our condo (we got a bbq one with mushrooms, artichokes and onions!) We found an amazing vegan deli, Evolution, in downtown Kona that served all vegan, organic and mostly local food. We got lox bagels and pancakes with macadamia nuts and bananas (Kingston napped so it felt like we had a breakfast lunch date. When he woke up we pulled the stroller over next to a beach spot and he grubbed his pancakes, lucky boy.) One morning we had breakfast with Shawn and Mary at Lava Java. We sat out front where we could see the waves crash across the street and the sun was shining on us. We had a bowl of fresh fruit and fresh juices. At the Weimea farmer's market was a food truck that offered a vegan grilled cheese (it's been years!) with taro chips and lilikoi lemonade... so. good. At the deli in Havi we got fresh veggies with salsa and guacamole and then found a kava bar that made vegan lilikoi truffles (the car ride home was nice.) Blake was great about making amazing meals at the condo. We had taro tacos a few times and lots of ulu burgers (my favorite was bbq ulu burgers with pineapple salsa packed up for a late dinner after the star tour on Mauna Kea) and large fresh salads. One night while in Hilo we got sushi take out and ate on the patio of the hotel. We also took Shawn and Mary to our favorite Indian place (their first time at an Indian place.) The balance of quick meals on the go and not having to do dishes and taking the time in our own kitchen preparing our own meals is a hard one to keep at times. I think because we have spent about half of our lives in the restaurant industry, and loving food, we do love to check out local places (knowing it can all be a hit or miss.) But we take comfort in preparing our own meals and knowing the ingredients, besides the fact that Blake just loves to create in the kitchen. 

Thank you for flying to an island in the middle of the Pacific to visit us and squeeze on Kingston, Grandma and Grandpa!! Kingston sure does miss you and love you lots, you gave him some good memories while you were out here. Hoping you fell in the love with the Big Island like we have. 

Dream Big Ride Far