As usual we are a little behind on updating this. Uncle Mikey reminded us. Lena is growing fast and is our little copy-cat and repeats pretty much everything you say. She is back to sleeping in her toddler bed after a few weeks on the floor, why she'd rather sleep on the floor, I'm not sure but whatever....

Lena likes to take her toys out onto our deck, why I don't know...

Lena is watching Barney or Backyardigans on the laptop. She finds her frog headphones and comes "Listen, Listen". That's our cue...

This picture is from today. Lena had come home from the grocery store with carrots and decided she needed to share with her baby doll. Should I be worried since Baby #2 is on it's way? She'll be a good big sister right???

It has been awhile since we posted last. I think we have finally recovered from our trip. Lena turned 2 on the 28th last month...oh I suppose I should have had birthday pictures....well maybe another day. She is happy and healthy according to the pediatrician...and the size of a 2 1/2 year old....but considering Eric and I are the shortest in our families...not surprising. These pics are from the last couple weeks - "sissa" took them. Lena has been spending a few hours with her godmother Melissa most Wednesdays and of course loving it!

Saying cheese!

Saying more!

We made it back to LA tonight...although not quite as planned. There is a huge running list for standby for both Delta and Northwest which would leave us in Hawaii until at least next week. So we bit the bullet and purchase one way tickets through Delta....I haven't spent that much money in one place so quickly since I bought a car??? Okay well not as much as a car but Eric said we could have bought a really....REALLY nice computer...LAPTOP with all the bells and whistles with that...BUT we are back in LA safe and sound.

We will have tomorrow to ourselves as Linda has to work but we will join the standing reservation at El Tortito tomorrow night with Linda, Bill, Mike, Michelle and the kids. And if all goes as planned we will return home Saturday evening..no standby so hopefully no surprises. I think I am done with flying for awhile...good luck to anyone who is venturing out...

Day 6

Yesterday we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. The afternoon was spent going to 25 minute presentations from each island...like Tiki, Tonga, Hawaii. This picture was from the first presentation...look carefully or you might miss him.

In the middle of the afternoon they had a large river presentation...each island had a boat and would dance...I was surprised they didn't end up in the river.

Lena didn't get a nap before we got to the cultural center and fought it all afternoon. She finally fell asleep in the last presentation at 4:30 where the drums were banging very loudly...I guess at that point it didn't matter. She slept until supper and then was very happy. I think Uncle Mike took this picture at supper.


You probably can't tell from the picture below but I am still burnt from our first day. Two different workers at the cultural center made notice of my redness...I almost responded I'm a Norwegian from Minnesota....I don't know what being out in the sun is....but I kept my mouth shut...they did mean well.

The evening ended with a huge show. There was a guy who 'juggled' two fire sticks...Eric said he was crazy. It kept Lena's attention and I don't think she missed a minute of the whole thing (although Uncle Ry took a little snooze). She must have been sleeping just a couple minutes down the road and didn't even wake up when we got home.

Michael is at work today instead of yesterday and Monday. Eric and Ryan went snorkeling this morning while Lena and I packed. I think she just fell asleep on the couch...probably making up for yesterday. I think we are going to Pearl Harbor later and we are planning to try and fly standby back to LA tomorrow. So pray we get on the plane!

Day 5

We went to the Honolulu Zoo today. Lena loved it! They had a little area where you could pet the goats and Lena was all about it. We went out to the AFB to get some groceries, tickets to the Polynesian Cultural Center for tomorrow, and Michael's ticket for San Antonio. Lena fell asleep on the way home and is sleeping on the couch. The boys just left to go to the beach nearby and I think we will go to Pinkie's Pupu something-or-another tonight for supper. Micheal said pupu means appetizer in Hawaiian.

Lena eating her favorite at El Torito...rice!

On the beach in California...hating the sand!

With Auntie Linda in California...still hating the sand!

At the Dole plantation...those are pineapple plants.

Those are little pineapples.

Lena in Hawaii...loving the sand! Our little sand monster.

The Folsland Boys and Lena on the beach.

Day 4

I guess it is Sunday...my days are all messed up...although I'm still okay with the time change. The part that is weird is right now it is 8:12 PM here in Honolulu and our laptop says it is 1:13Am back at home...so don't call me early (your time) and I won't call you late (my time)...hee hee. We headed for the North Shore today (no, not Duluth). We stopped at the Dole Plantation and toured the garden and took a train ride. We had to sample the pineapple juice and have some pineapple ice cream...Lena loves pineapple.
We stopped at the town nearby and ate at one of the many famous carts....it's like the fair food carts are randomly placed all over the place...oh except it is like Thai food and Shrimp..weird...but it was pretty good. I could have gone for a corn dog.
We went over to a Beach nearby and spend a few hours burning to a crisp...oh wait...that was just me and I had sunscreen on...really! Lena decided she loved the sand (including loving to eat it...yuck) and she loved the water...I think it was because Uncle Mikey took her in. The waves were pretty strong I guess so we played just barely in the water where the edge of the water usually came. Michael went out a few times and our daredevil wanted to follow but we got her and wandered back on the beach. She slept a good hour or so on the way home.
We got the sand out of our nooks and crannies and decided to have a good Hawaiian meal...PIZZA...okay just kidding..but we did have pizza. It was yummy! Eric, Michael, and Lena should be arriving back from the BX pretty soon and we will be headed to bed. Michael needs to go to work tomorrow at 5am(10 am Minnesota time) so we will see what the four of us will get in to tomorrow.

Day 3

We left for the beach around 9 Saturday morning. Linda decided to take us to Redondo Beach, she thinks that is were my parents usually took us when we came years ago..sorry, it didn't look familiar. Anyway, we walked around the pier and then headed for the beach. Lena hated the sand from the second her shoes touched it and hated it when we stuck her toes in the water...so we headed out for a car ride to see a few more sights of LA...for whatever reason I was stuck in a nostalgic moments all day...Fry's, the pier, Linda's old apartment, the Del Taco that my cousins and my family would eat a ton of tacos at after Church....so we went to see those. Lena got in a little nap and we finished out our morning with In and Out Burger for Lunch. After we finished packing we headed out to the airport. Linda said on the way to the airport what would be come our quote for the rest of the day....Most of me doesn't want to see you, but a little part says it would be okay. So we headed into what could be a long wait. We quickly were told that whether or not we made the flight our luggage would be going...lucky luggage...after a full pat down and search of our carry-ons (including Lena) we were clear to go to our gate to wait. They had called for all rows to board and I said to Eric, I think Linda will be seeing us. Just a couple minutes later the guy at the desk said Folsland...thank goodness I heard him, Eric was off in La-la land..probably dreaming about the Angels Stadium. Although I was in such a panic at that point that I couldn't function...Eric had to say twice to me yes we are getting on the plane...We are going to HAWAII!!! We quickly made a few calls once we got on the plane...My aunt, Eric's mom, Northwest to see if we could book a flight home(oh yes we have to fly standby back to LA...great), and Melissa(BTW, people carry on their luggage because they don't want to have it go and not them and no you don't take it to the gate). We ended up with a window and an aisle seat and had expected when the delayed Ohio flight arrived we would have to move around...no one ever sat in that seat so Lena had her own seat. It was great. She did much better this flight than the last and she sleep for 1 1/2 - 2 hours and only woke up I think because of the yucky turbulence and the flight attendant coming on "WE ARE EXPERIENCING SOME TURBULENCE" Great thanks, I couldn't tell. Anyway after a few minutes it settled down and Eric's brother Michael and Ryan were at the airport to pick us up. We went down to Wakiki Beach to get something to eat...Cheeseburger in Paradise...and the fries were awesome. I think the three of us in the backseat fell asleep on the way home to Michael's. We went quickly to bed after a long day...but we made it to Hawaii...

Day 2

Lena and Eric were up a little early and of course I had no problem adjusting to sleeping in! We got ready for our day which had no plans other than to get some plans. Eric had spent most of Thursday trying to figure out if or how we could get to Hawaii...with no flights to purchase for a reasonable amount ($1400-2500 per seat was all we could find). By Friday just three airlines had decided to help the displaced ATA people...Northwest and Delta I think were the only ones that few direct from LA to Honolulu....and we would have to fly standby. So we went to my Dad's cousins for lunch to see Donna, Carol, and Joyce (all three are my dad's cousins that I'm not sure Eric had met). Afterward Eric and Bill headed to the airport to find out what they could about standby or any other hopeful option. They returned not real sure what was going on other than we were on a standby list. We made a few phone calls to friends to find out if they knew anything about flying standby and went out to El Tortito with Linda and Bill for Mexican food. Linda's old roommate Susie met us there too...Lena ate her up...Oh side note...Schools in LA look weird. My aunt teaches at a new school that she refers to as "The Prison"...agreed. There was another one that looked like the front of a museum or something...weird. Oh, and Lena loved Linda...although what kid doesn't.

Day 1 of Vacation

After weeks of anticipation Thursday April 3 had arrived. We were traveling to Honolulu to visit Eric's brother Michael. I went to work as planned only to receive a phone call from Eric saying ATA filed for bankruptcy and canceled all their flight. Who cares right? Unfortunately for us, ATA was our ride from Los Angeles to Honolulu. After quite a bit of debating, we decided to still take our flight to LA that night hoping that we would get to Hawaii somehow. After a delay for a computer and for a medical emergency, our very full, very hot flight left for LA and the unknown we guessed. Lena did okay on the flight..mostly thanks to a very understanding off-duty flight attendant who sat next to us and was so patient with us and our wigglebut. My aunt Linda and Bill met us at the airport, despite my flight number miscue and we arrived safely in LA.

Lena had her first haircut on Saturday. She didn't want to sit down at first, but the lady was quick and had a sucker, so it went pretty well.

Here's the finished product:

I've been taking more pictures with my cell phone lately...Lena loves it.
Melissa (her Godmother) got her to say "ribbit' tonight. She loves frogs - Mr. Frog (her lovey) and the frog in the picture below - he lights up and croaks.