2 years, 5 months old
Our hotel is a timeshare of my parents. They visited here 5 years ago for their 25 anniversary and caught the bug and have been back 4 times since. It is the Westin Princeville. Princeville being the name of the town we stayed in. We were in villas so we had a 2 bedroom unit with a full kitchen and living room attached. My parents took the master and Joe, B and I have the second bedroom. Both of my sisters had their own studios (same room as us), it just wasn't attached to our unit. We all had our own balconies. I didn't get a picture of the main living space but it was a great size for us. We ate most of our breakfast and lunches in the room because we had a full kitchen. We also were able to make dinner a few nights in our room. The living space was perfect for when B napped so that we didn't need to stay in the dark in the room with him. Sometimes I napped with him and sometimes I sat on the balcony or went back to the living room.
Our room as we walked in the door. It was to the right a bit and if we turned to the left we walked down the hallway to the joint area. We also had a washer/dryer here (LOVE!). The bathroom was to the right in the hallway with a kitchenette space to the left.
The kitchenette had a full fridge, microwave, small dishwasher and two stove burners. It would have been perfect even just for the 3 of us to make meals but we mostly used the larger kitchen.
The bathroom had a big vanity, separate tub and standing shower and then a room for the toilet. It was huge! And shutters opened up by the bathtub so you could see into the entire room.
Our room was set up like a normal hotel mostly. A queen bed and then a sofa that pulled out to a queen. Then a dresser, tv and bistro table. We used the sofa bed every night but put it back in every day so we had more room to move around. It was a really nice size for the 3 of us.
We also had a huge walk in closet by the front door that was big enough to put an open pack n play if you need a separate space for a baby. We kept our luggage and all our carry on stuff in there. It kept our room nice and organized.
I didn't get a picture of the balcony but this was our view out.
One afternoon, I walked around the grounds to take some pictures so I'll add those here. The website has some great stock photos if you are really interested. westinprinceville.com.
Kauai is the mountainous island so the resorts are set up on top of cliffs with beaches below. Some have access, some don't. Ours had a beach access but it wasn't very easy to get it so I never walked down there. It makes for a great view though. This was the lawn where you can cookout. They also have weddings and massages out here.
This was the main building that held the lobby, restaurant, marketplace, exercise room, and kids club. The pool wrapped around the whole back of the grounds and it was Awesome. You'll see lots of pictures from the kiddie pool but it wrapped around and connected to make for more secluded areas. Most of it was either 3 ft or 5 ft deep which was nice. It was beautiful. They also had grills and patios spread throughout that you can use (which we did).
Onto Day 2!
Monday, March 31, 2014
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Kauai: Day 1 (Travel)
2 years, 5 months old
I took notes of our trip so you can expect this to be ramble-y.
Our first day was Friday, March 14 and we would have a full day of travel. We actually started our trip the night prior at about 5:30 when we headed to Pontiac. We packed a separate bag of things we would need for the morning and dressed in pajamas so we could do bed shortly after we arrived. It wasn't quite as early as I had hoped but I think we were all in bed by 9.
I only slept about an hour because my mind was racing. I can never sleep on nights like this so it was pretty easy to get up when my alarm went off at 4:15am. Joe was in the shower so I did get to lay there for a bit but was up by 4:30. I only need about 20 minutes and by the time I was about ready, Rachel and Andy were at the house. Joe then woke up B for a diaper change and clothes change while Allyson and Eric arrived. My parents went to Maui for 4 days before us so we were meeting them at the airport in Kauai. At 5am, we shuffled around the cars and were pulling out of the driveway on time.
It was a mostly uneventful drive. We didn't really hit much traffic, a little congestion, of course, but I think we arrived at Ohare just before 7. The stop and go traffic must have bothered Barrett because he puked about 10 minutes from our parking lot which we can only attribute to motion sickness. He was fine otherwise. He's never been bothered in the car but we woke him up so early and he wasn't ready to eat yet so that probably did it. We did one of those drive, park, fly deals which was only like $60 for the week. We pulled in and the attendants take our bags to the shuttle and they valet our car. Super easy and took like 2 minutes before we were on our way to the terminal. Barrett loves the shuttle because he got to ride in a bus without his car seat! There were just enough seats for everyone and B was pretty nervous about all the strangers. He is so weird sometimes. Sometimes he hates peoples even though 90% of the time, he is his father and talks to everyone.
We changed Barrett's puke clothes and then went to check in. Our check in was pretty smooth. We only had 5 bags to check out of the 7 of us and we each had our own personal item plus the car seat. B was ready to run around though so we took turns chasing after him before going to security.
We had a large group so they shuffled us to a separate security line that was pretty short. Since I had B with me, we just had to go through the simple scanner while (I think) everyone else did the big body scan. Score! We were off to our terminal with about 30 minutes to boarding. We sit and charge electronics and get some food. It was a good amount of time. We weren't rushed but we didn't have much time to wait. We took turns running around with B trying to get his energy down. I wanted to be one of the last ones to board so we didn't have to sit for long before takeoff.
::picture of us walking in airport::
For this trip, we decided to use the carseat for a number of reasons. We needed to bring a carseat on the trip regardless so it was either gate check it (Never check it with luggage unless you want it to be destroyed) or use it on the plane. Barrett travels by car all the time and is very comfortable in his seat. I knew if I wanted him to sit and be still, he would need to do it in his seat. He also always sleeps in his seat so it was a no-brainer that we would want to use it. We brought our Cosco Scenera which we got specifically for travel. It weighs like 10 pounds and was super easy to carry. Policy is that all car seats need to be used at the window though so make sure you book the window if you want to use a car seat.
Our first flight to Dallas was just over 2 hours long and very uneventful. Barrett always goes to sleep with movement and white noise so I'm sure it comes as no surprise that he fell asleep during takeoff. He ended up sleeping for an hour and then he watched the first part of Frozen for the remainder of the flight. I will never be nervous for short flights again as long as we have the iPad. He did have some instances of kicking the woman's seat in front of us so we were constantly correcting that. (Sorry lady!) We land at 11:10am which was right on time.
Dallas is an international airport and very large so we had to take a monorail over to another terminal. We came down the escalators to find our terminal is right next to it. (Forshadowing!) We all dropped off our stuff and then took turns going off to get some food before our flight was to leave. There ended up being a mechanical delay because of the door so we ended up boarding about 30 minutes late. Barrett went on about 30 rides up and down the escalator during this time frame.
::picture of escalator::
We get situated on our long flight from Dallas to Honolulu which is scheduled at about 8 hours long. This was the only flight I was a little worried about as I couldn't even fathom B sitting in one spot for 8 straight hours. I still cannot fathom this and it already happened. The takeoff again put him to sleep and I was hoping he would get about 2 hours of nap but it only turned out to be an hour. We shuffled through our stash of toys as well as watched the rest of Frozen, Monsters U, and Nemo. Some of the toys we brought were color wonder markers and paper, window clings for him to take on and off the window, stickers, small motorcycle toy, post-its, pen and paper, slinky, snacks and tons of suckers. He also got a bottle of Gatorade that he milked the entire flight. I figured each activity lasted us maybe 15 minutes. He played iPad games as well. He did so well just getting occasionally restless until about Hour 5. It was this point that he did our worst nightmare and poops. We have to get him out the seat. Our goal was to wait as long as possible because we knew once he was out, he would refuse to get back in. Prior to this, we had a big tour group on our flight that was going to Australia. We had a plane with two aisles and most of them were taking breaks to do laps around the aisles. Each time, B would yell "WE'RE HERE!" because he thought since they were walking around, that it meant we were done. ::whomp whomp::
I have a phobia of airplane bathrooms and refuse to use them so Joe took him back for a diaper change. At this point, I had sat with B the entire time while the rest of the group sat in the aisle across from us. I took that opportunity to change seats and make Joe sit next to B but before we put him back in his seat, Rachel took him for a bunch of laps around the plane. I much prefer to remain strapped in, thankyouverymuch. That keeps him pretty happy until about Hour 6. The last two hours are pretty tough. He is so tired as it's about 9pm to him but he cannot go to sleep. Joe tries to entertain him but has….ehem…little patience so we switch seats again. We shuffle around more toys and I try to put on Tangled for him. He's really restless and doesn't watch much of the movie. He was just so ready to be done. We land in Honolulu at 4:45pm which is 9:45pm our time. We are all so physically exhausted but have to hoof it over to the other side of the airport to our last terminal. We have a 20 minute layover so we were supposed to basically board right away but it ends up being delayed. Barrett is so ready to be there. We promised him grandpa when we got here so now he just wants him. Soon we board and are off on our quick trip from Oahu to Kauai. B passes out cold before we even get off the tarmac and wakes 20 minutes later as we are descending. He is PISSED. So over tired. He has the saddest, most pathetic cry.
He was so happy to get off that plane. We walk up to baggage claim to see all of our luggage already coming. Thank goodness we didn't have to deal with lost baggage. We get outside to find Grandma and Grandpa pulling in. The 2 year old is so happy! We landed at about 6:30pm and are all exhausted. We were going to grab a quick bite to eat but we are all so tired. Us girls, Barrett and my dad head to the hotel while my mom and the boys go to pick up the other rental car. Barrett falls asleep pretty quickly in the car and it takes us about 45 minutes to get up to Princeville from Lihue where the airport is. We get into our room at 7:45pm which feels like 12:45am to us. Barrett continues to sleep while we order pizza for dinner and all pass out ourselves at who knows what time.
A very full day of travel but a successful one, too. Now our vacation can begin!
I took notes of our trip so you can expect this to be ramble-y.
Our first day was Friday, March 14 and we would have a full day of travel. We actually started our trip the night prior at about 5:30 when we headed to Pontiac. We packed a separate bag of things we would need for the morning and dressed in pajamas so we could do bed shortly after we arrived. It wasn't quite as early as I had hoped but I think we were all in bed by 9.
I only slept about an hour because my mind was racing. I can never sleep on nights like this so it was pretty easy to get up when my alarm went off at 4:15am. Joe was in the shower so I did get to lay there for a bit but was up by 4:30. I only need about 20 minutes and by the time I was about ready, Rachel and Andy were at the house. Joe then woke up B for a diaper change and clothes change while Allyson and Eric arrived. My parents went to Maui for 4 days before us so we were meeting them at the airport in Kauai. At 5am, we shuffled around the cars and were pulling out of the driveway on time.
It was a mostly uneventful drive. We didn't really hit much traffic, a little congestion, of course, but I think we arrived at Ohare just before 7. The stop and go traffic must have bothered Barrett because he puked about 10 minutes from our parking lot which we can only attribute to motion sickness. He was fine otherwise. He's never been bothered in the car but we woke him up so early and he wasn't ready to eat yet so that probably did it. We did one of those drive, park, fly deals which was only like $60 for the week. We pulled in and the attendants take our bags to the shuttle and they valet our car. Super easy and took like 2 minutes before we were on our way to the terminal. Barrett loves the shuttle because he got to ride in a bus without his car seat! There were just enough seats for everyone and B was pretty nervous about all the strangers. He is so weird sometimes. Sometimes he hates peoples even though 90% of the time, he is his father and talks to everyone.
We changed Barrett's puke clothes and then went to check in. Our check in was pretty smooth. We only had 5 bags to check out of the 7 of us and we each had our own personal item plus the car seat. B was ready to run around though so we took turns chasing after him before going to security.
We had a large group so they shuffled us to a separate security line that was pretty short. Since I had B with me, we just had to go through the simple scanner while (I think) everyone else did the big body scan. Score! We were off to our terminal with about 30 minutes to boarding. We sit and charge electronics and get some food. It was a good amount of time. We weren't rushed but we didn't have much time to wait. We took turns running around with B trying to get his energy down. I wanted to be one of the last ones to board so we didn't have to sit for long before takeoff.
::picture of us walking in airport::
For this trip, we decided to use the carseat for a number of reasons. We needed to bring a carseat on the trip regardless so it was either gate check it (Never check it with luggage unless you want it to be destroyed) or use it on the plane. Barrett travels by car all the time and is very comfortable in his seat. I knew if I wanted him to sit and be still, he would need to do it in his seat. He also always sleeps in his seat so it was a no-brainer that we would want to use it. We brought our Cosco Scenera which we got specifically for travel. It weighs like 10 pounds and was super easy to carry. Policy is that all car seats need to be used at the window though so make sure you book the window if you want to use a car seat.
Our first flight to Dallas was just over 2 hours long and very uneventful. Barrett always goes to sleep with movement and white noise so I'm sure it comes as no surprise that he fell asleep during takeoff. He ended up sleeping for an hour and then he watched the first part of Frozen for the remainder of the flight. I will never be nervous for short flights again as long as we have the iPad. He did have some instances of kicking the woman's seat in front of us so we were constantly correcting that. (Sorry lady!) We land at 11:10am which was right on time.
Dallas is an international airport and very large so we had to take a monorail over to another terminal. We came down the escalators to find our terminal is right next to it. (Forshadowing!) We all dropped off our stuff and then took turns going off to get some food before our flight was to leave. There ended up being a mechanical delay because of the door so we ended up boarding about 30 minutes late. Barrett went on about 30 rides up and down the escalator during this time frame.
::picture of escalator::
We get situated on our long flight from Dallas to Honolulu which is scheduled at about 8 hours long. This was the only flight I was a little worried about as I couldn't even fathom B sitting in one spot for 8 straight hours. I still cannot fathom this and it already happened. The takeoff again put him to sleep and I was hoping he would get about 2 hours of nap but it only turned out to be an hour. We shuffled through our stash of toys as well as watched the rest of Frozen, Monsters U, and Nemo. Some of the toys we brought were color wonder markers and paper, window clings for him to take on and off the window, stickers, small motorcycle toy, post-its, pen and paper, slinky, snacks and tons of suckers. He also got a bottle of Gatorade that he milked the entire flight. I figured each activity lasted us maybe 15 minutes. He played iPad games as well. He did so well just getting occasionally restless until about Hour 5. It was this point that he did our worst nightmare and poops. We have to get him out the seat. Our goal was to wait as long as possible because we knew once he was out, he would refuse to get back in. Prior to this, we had a big tour group on our flight that was going to Australia. We had a plane with two aisles and most of them were taking breaks to do laps around the aisles. Each time, B would yell "WE'RE HERE!" because he thought since they were walking around, that it meant we were done. ::whomp whomp::
I have a phobia of airplane bathrooms and refuse to use them so Joe took him back for a diaper change. At this point, I had sat with B the entire time while the rest of the group sat in the aisle across from us. I took that opportunity to change seats and make Joe sit next to B but before we put him back in his seat, Rachel took him for a bunch of laps around the plane. I much prefer to remain strapped in, thankyouverymuch. That keeps him pretty happy until about Hour 6. The last two hours are pretty tough. He is so tired as it's about 9pm to him but he cannot go to sleep. Joe tries to entertain him but has….ehem…little patience so we switch seats again. We shuffle around more toys and I try to put on Tangled for him. He's really restless and doesn't watch much of the movie. He was just so ready to be done. We land in Honolulu at 4:45pm which is 9:45pm our time. We are all so physically exhausted but have to hoof it over to the other side of the airport to our last terminal. We have a 20 minute layover so we were supposed to basically board right away but it ends up being delayed. Barrett is so ready to be there. We promised him grandpa when we got here so now he just wants him. Soon we board and are off on our quick trip from Oahu to Kauai. B passes out cold before we even get off the tarmac and wakes 20 minutes later as we are descending. He is PISSED. So over tired. He has the saddest, most pathetic cry.
He was so happy to get off that plane. We walk up to baggage claim to see all of our luggage already coming. Thank goodness we didn't have to deal with lost baggage. We get outside to find Grandma and Grandpa pulling in. The 2 year old is so happy! We landed at about 6:30pm and are all exhausted. We were going to grab a quick bite to eat but we are all so tired. Us girls, Barrett and my dad head to the hotel while my mom and the boys go to pick up the other rental car. Barrett falls asleep pretty quickly in the car and it takes us about 45 minutes to get up to Princeville from Lihue where the airport is. We get into our room at 7:45pm which feels like 12:45am to us. Barrett continues to sleep while we order pizza for dinner and all pass out ourselves at who knows what time.
A very full day of travel but a successful one, too. Now our vacation can begin!
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Hawaii video
2 years, 5 months old
This winter weather is making me really lazy and unproductive. Looking back, I've only posted once a week for the last almost 2 months. Yikes! First up, a wrap up video of our trip to Hawaii. I'll be doing a trip report but here's a glimpse…just in case I have more than 6 readers who have already seen this on Facebook. :)
This winter weather is making me really lazy and unproductive. Looking back, I've only posted once a week for the last almost 2 months. Yikes! First up, a wrap up video of our trip to Hawaii. I'll be doing a trip report but here's a glimpse…just in case I have more than 6 readers who have already seen this on Facebook. :)
Kauai 2014 from Taryn Tissiere on Vimeo.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Project 365: Week 12
2 years, 5 months old
03-17-14
Barrett finds entertainment at the beach in beating a tree with a stick.
03-18-14
Swinging with Dad at the Lighthouse
03-19-14
Lounging by the pool
03-20-14
A dip in the ocean for Mr Crazy Hair.
03-21-14 to 03-23-14
These were travel and jet lag days and I thought of nothing about my camera.
03-17-14
Barrett finds entertainment at the beach in beating a tree with a stick.
03-18-14
Swinging with Dad at the Lighthouse
03-19-14
Lounging by the pool
03-20-14
A dip in the ocean for Mr Crazy Hair.
03-21-14 to 03-23-14
These were travel and jet lag days and I thought of nothing about my camera.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Project 365: Week 11
2 years, 5 months old
Busy week with little time for pictures.
03-10-14
We all love warm weather! We can play a different sport each night with Barrett and he would be in heaven.
03-11-4
Skip
03-12-14
Can he get any closer to the tv?
03-13-14
03-14-14
Barrett is about ready for his first airplane ride!
03-15-14
Another first for B……the Beach!
03-16-14
B was all over the place on Hanalei Bay Beach.
Busy week with little time for pictures.
03-10-14
We all love warm weather! We can play a different sport each night with Barrett and he would be in heaven.
03-11-4
Skip
03-12-14
Can he get any closer to the tv?
03-13-14
03-14-14
Barrett is about ready for his first airplane ride!
03-15-14
Another first for B……the Beach!
03-16-14
B was all over the place on Hanalei Bay Beach.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Project 365: Week 10
2 years, 5 months old
03-03-14
He's trained so well now that when I put the camera to my face, he pauses and says Cheese! BUT it's only for .02 seconds so I'm lucky to get a single shot in focus.
03-04-14
Missed.
03-05-14
Kid got ahold of his dad's water bottle and decided to dump the whole thing on the counter….then played in it.
03-06-14
B does not love timeouts.
03-07-14
Someone likes when we vacuum out the couches. (Dust pan is mandatory.)
03-08-14
B getting a little Nemo this afternoon. (Is it spring yet?)
03-09-14
We got to bust out the wagon Grandma Rita got B for Christmas! (Spring? is that you?)
03-03-14
He's trained so well now that when I put the camera to my face, he pauses and says Cheese! BUT it's only for .02 seconds so I'm lucky to get a single shot in focus.
03-04-14
Missed.
03-05-14
Kid got ahold of his dad's water bottle and decided to dump the whole thing on the counter….then played in it.
03-06-14
B does not love timeouts.
03-07-14
Someone likes when we vacuum out the couches. (Dust pan is mandatory.)
03-08-14
B getting a little Nemo this afternoon. (Is it spring yet?)
03-09-14
We got to bust out the wagon Grandma Rita got B for Christmas! (Spring? is that you?)
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Project 365: Week 9
2 years, 4 months old
Yikes, guys. This week was bad. Don't mind crappy, out of focus pictures.
02-24-14
Barrett pretty much only wants to play with the spicket during his bath.
02-25-14
Curse the person who taught B how to "swing."
02-26-14
Climbing in between the table is his new favorite game.
02-27-14
Skip
02-28-14
This week, Barrett was voted Best Dressed at school by all the teachers. It's not hard to do when he wears UnderArmour, collared sheets and skinny jeans and all the other kids wear sweatpants and Angry Birds tshirts.
03-01-14
One minute we're playing with the play food at Grandma and Grandpa's. The next, he's moved to a different room and scaled the furniture.
03-02-14
Age 2 is brought to you by screaming and crying after finding a little cut on your leg. Drama.queen.
Yikes, guys. This week was bad. Don't mind crappy, out of focus pictures.
02-24-14
Barrett pretty much only wants to play with the spicket during his bath.
02-25-14
Curse the person who taught B how to "swing."
02-26-14
Climbing in between the table is his new favorite game.
02-27-14
Skip
02-28-14
This week, Barrett was voted Best Dressed at school by all the teachers. It's not hard to do when he wears UnderArmour, collared sheets and skinny jeans and all the other kids wear sweatpants and Angry Birds tshirts.
03-01-14
One minute we're playing with the play food at Grandma and Grandpa's. The next, he's moved to a different room and scaled the furniture.
03-02-14
Age 2 is brought to you by screaming and crying after finding a little cut on your leg. Drama.queen.
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