Haleakala National Park

Tuesday, we hiked to Waimoku Falls in Haleakala National Park. It was a gorgeous sunny day. We started out with Sonya in Daddy's backpack but she started screaming "my walk!" three minutes in. She proceeded to walk a significant portion of the 4 mile hike while holding dad's hand. Passers by were VERY impressed by her stamina.

Along the way, there were tons of hidden caves, alien-looking trees, and smaller waterfalls. You can't see it in this picture, but behind Cam and Sonya, there is a huge load waterfall gushing out of a lava tube and into an underground cave.

Half way through, the hike morphed into a wild bamboo forest. It swayed as a single entity in the wind (a storm was beginning to form by that time...the rain forest we're staying in has huge storms for a couple moments, then goes back to sunshine). Just look at Sonya, still happily hiking the trail.

Here's me, Sonya, and Suzi at the falls. They had to have been well over 120 feet high. There was no where else to go after this point...we were surrounded by cliffs.

Here's Cam and Sonya in the bottom left corner to give you an impression of the view. This was one of the Wilde Family's favorite hikes ever! Pretty, pretty.

oops!

So, did you know that large amounts (not minimal spraying) of sunscreen can actually protect you from unbearable pain and suffering? Yep, Sonya (who was doused in said product) has been the only one over the past 3 days who hasn't been groaning under the blistered purple skin of a sun worshiper. Needless to say, we've been taking it easy...snail hunting in our yard, perusing the local art galleries, and complaining.

Our back yard:-)

Last night we were invited over to a "small" family home evening with some Hawaiins. The family consisted of only 45 or so kids, aunts, uncles and grandparents. It was AWESOME...by far our favorite outing on the island so far. We ate venison shot and killed by one of the sons that week. We were also laughed at as we attempted to choke down some Poi (a sour purple root vegetable with the texture of horse glue. MMMMM. Sonya, of course, kissed and hugged every child 14 times, as if her week long pergatory of 'playing with grown-ups' was finally over! We were invited to play with our new friends next Sunday and Monday also.

Saturday was our 'Beach Bumming' day...it was sunny and fabulous. We made many attempts at boogie boarding. I took one hard spill that folded me into a backward pretzel and filled my suit with about 12 lbs. of sand. Sonya made tons of friends, played in the sand, and was fearless in the water.


Next we went caving in a lava tube. Sonya love the stalagtites and didn't seem to be scared of the dark at all.


At the end of the day, we stopped by a road side hut for some fresh ice cream. Mmmmm...Sonya had obviously missed this diet staple.

Today, we played a little in Haleakala National park. When we arrived, the main attraction (Seven Sacred Pools) was completely dried up. While eating lunch in the nearly empty park, the rangers started freaking out excitedly. Appearently, the pools have been dry since November due to drought (something which has never happened in recent history) and, at that very moment, a flash flood was coming down the mountain to fill the pools and empty into the ocean. We watched history in the making as each pool filled with water, overflowed, then filled the one below it and so on. It was AWESOME! Hopefully, the pools will be ready for swimming by early next week!


Susan and I hiked upstream to get a better look at the waterfalls, while Cam and Sonya played at the delta. Rain PELTED down on us most of the time...it was warm and glorious!

Hello from our first full day in Maui, Hawaii! Sonya is having a blast (and so are we!)


This ocean view is just steps from our cute little cabin. We have a stunning garden with bananas, mangos, and avocados actually growing on trees!!! Did you know they did that!?!? Anyway, just gorgeous. We will send pictures out over the next two weeks!

Last year, Cam wrote a VERY sappy note for our anniversary. This year it is my turn, and I too am grateful for our marriage. I remember, weeks before our wedding, we needed to be interviewed. The interviewer pulled us in the room separately and asked us about our partner, and wanted to know our reasons for getting married. Cam teared up and gave some sappy speech about how in-love he was. When I was asked the same question, I responded that he was fun to do yard work with; and I was convinced that my life would NEVER be BORING as a Wilde. I stand by my reasons, and am here to persuade all that my answer was just as sappy and lovey-dubby as Cam's.

Cam and I had a wonderful dating experience filled with 'ear cooing' and 'whispered sweet nothings':

And then, we had our romantic wedding day:

Two years into our marriage, we were blessed with a delicate flower of a baby, Sonya:


Twenty-two months after Sonya, we were given the gift of our second little angel.
Despite living only 5 days, Miah still found time to make silly faces. She understood the spirit of 'Wildeness'!

My life has not had a boring moment in nearly 5 years now and, although Cam is weird, and overly confident in every way, and seems to say things in the most tactless way possible, I am still Wildely in love, happy, and not bored!

What has been going on the last month or so?

Well, we have been busy with a couple major projects. For one, the kitchen has almost been completely remodeled: new paint, new counters, new appliances, .... We are almost done and will post photos soon. Until then, here are some teaser photos. I took these about 5 years ago, just after I moved into the house:



Since then, my roommates and I made some small renovations. Then I married a pastry chef who had a vision and saved up for four years to get her dream kitchen. Working within a budget, she has made vast improvements which we will reveal in the next week or so.

A certain bug occurs when you start remodeling. So some other rooms got some minor upgrades also. Our bathroom got a new counter and will soon get new paint and hardware. Sonya got to move rooms (Brian moved out) and got a new bunk bed. We have also been cleaning out old stuff. We may soon have enough for a small garage sale.

Finally, I have been taking a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training class (8 weeks for 3 hours a week) and will soon be a member of the Hillsboro response team. The final is next week. It has been a lot of fun and we have been feeling the need to be more prepared at home for a natural disaster. I am proud to say that we have enough water for 2 weeks in the case of a disaster. :) I will try to take photos of the final and me in my new orange vest and hard hat.