Going to the Big Island for the last week allowed me to eat at many great restaurants of which 5 made my list. In addition, I went to many great beaches and other natural wonders. After much thought, I decided to fully revamp my destinations list. The revised list allows greater flexibility for me and easier readability for the readers since it is broken out by geographical location. L will provide the color commentary, but for now here are my revised lists.

Restaurant List

Destinations List

k still has a couple months to go before she turns one, but on Saturday we helped celebrate our friends’ son’s first birthday. The theme was The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The parents did a really good job chronicling little m’s life through a scrapbook and DVD. It made me realize I need to get on that stuff for k! At least I can go back to this blog to help remind me of some of the details. Watching the DVD of m’s birth (not the actual birth, of course!)brought back a lot of memories (both pleasant and not-so-pleasant) to D and me.

Blowing out the candles.

Enjoying his first taste of pure sugar.

I think k enjoyed the opening of m’s presents more than he did!

I’ve been debating whether to have a one-year party for k. It’s right around Christmas, so I know everyone is really busy. I think we will try to have one, though, since she’ll only turn one once!

Here’s k with “yogurt mouth”. I really hope k doesn’t end up being a picky eater. Did anyone watch that Oprah on Monday about getting your kids to eat vegetables? So far, k will try pretty much anything. Let’s hope she stays that way.

Here’s k playing with her cell phone. It rings and you can record messages! It’s pretty funny how she has a toy cell phone and I had a toy rotary phone.

Here’s k standing by herself. Hopefully we can get some video of her walking efforts soon.

This is the duck I decorated for D to enter in a contest at work as a fundraiser for juvenile diabetes. Sad to say it didn’t win. Apparently, people go all out, making entire displays with props, and such.

Friday night I had dinner in Irvine with a couple of my college roommates. We were saying goodbye to R, who is moving across the country pretty soon. We will miss you!

Guess what we did on Saturday? Yes, we were watching college football. Too bad we couldn’t watch the USC-Stanford game. D was following it on the internet and we couldn’t believe it. I never thought I would live to see the day when Cal was ranked #2 in the nation. I told D to enjoy it while it lasts.

Sunday morning we picked up D’s cousin and his wife and went out to breakfast. They came down from Northern California for the Angels-Red Sox game. (They’re Red Sox fans!) We ate at the Gourmet Pie Co. We ordered the pancake sampler (buttermilk, apple cinnamon, blueberry, and banana nut) and the country gourmet mess (potatoes, bell peppers, onions, ham, eggs and gravy, which we asked for on the side). The portions are pretty huge. We ended up taking the leftovers and had them for dinner, too!

On the k front: She’s starting to walk! We’ve seen her walk about 5-6 steps (my mom has seen her walk 7 steps). She also likes to take things off our shelves and play with things other than her toys.

Just to let you know, I’m sort of reviving the “D + L Reviews” blog on our Xanga site (link on the right). Recommendations for books for k or parenting books are greatly appreciated!

So today I officially said “Goodbye 20’s, Hello 30’s”. I guess this really means I’m an adult. In some ways, I do feel like one (married, with a kid and a mini-van (D just got a Mazda 5)). However, I do still have juvenile tendencies (I still like Hello Kitty, I watch The Hills/Newport Harbor, and browse at Forever 21). I’m not sure when those things will go away…hopefully before I’m 40!

On Saturday D and I watched the Cal/Oregon game. Seriously, that was not good for our health! We had heart palpitations and trouble breathing. I think k was worried about us. OK, not really, but let’s hear it for touchbacks!

Right after the game we dropped off k at my parents and had “date night” at Johnny Reb’s. Recommended: swamp water (Arnold Palmer in a mason jar), St. Louis ribs, fried catfish, sweet potato fries. OK: biscuit, dirty rice, pinto beans. Stay away from: corn bread, mashed potatoes (unless you like them gooey).

Last night D went golfing with some co-workers after work, so we celebrated his birthday tonight. I made salmon with a pineapple-soy reduction, roasted asparagus and rice. I bought the fresh water (not farmed) salmon from Trader Joe’s. D said he decided that salmon is his favorite food, so I guess that will be his birthday dinner from now on. k had some and seemed to enjoy it too.

After dinner D read k her favorite bedtime story, “Good Morning, Good Night”.