The Pajama Projects

The Pajama Projects from Yolanda Chen on Vimeo.

A Sandy Christmas

Having grown up in Hawaii, I used to take the place for granted. Now that I've been away for 10 years, I finally realize why people love this place so much. I'm grateful that Micah doesn't live in Hawaii, but gets to visit regularly. He'll grow up loving Hawaii and he'll always long to come back.

"Come water, come water!" The last time we were here, Micah wasn't even walking yet and it rained everyday.  He would kind of sit around and take it all in, but he didn't really "do" anything.  This time was totally different.  We had great weather and we went to the beach almost every day.  Micah played in the sand, played in the water, the waves, and the sun.  After a few days at the beach, he would charge toward the crashing waves and we had to run after him to hold him back.  No fear.

He never seemed to be bothered by the cold either.  He would play until his lips turned blue, and then he'd stand calmly while we rinsed him off with cold water from a garden hose.  Some locals even remarked that they'd never seen a kid his age get rinsed like that without screaming.

"Baba sit way, way over there!" Micah says pointing to a chosen spot on the beach.

Yoli and Baba loved playing with Micah in the numerous tide pools near Sandy Beach and at Baby Makapu'u. There were all kinds of little creatures to be found.  

"Daddy hike, Mommy hike, Baba hike, Micah hike!" Now that Micah is a busy toddler and much less content to sit in a backpack carrier for extended periods of time, we were limited in the amount of hiking we could do during the trip. We were still able to squeeze in several short hikes including:

Wa'ahila Ridge Trail, overlooking Manoa Valley where my Mom lives. I have memories of riding up to the ridge on mopeds with friends and walking out to the "Edge of the World" for the spectacular view off of a small (but very sturdy!) rock that juts out.  Yoli, who is usually never afraid of heights was freaking out.  Good times.

Ualaka'a Loop Trail - A fun short hike that winds through a forest of giant banyan trees, strawberry guava trees, and hau bushes. It was perfect for our little hiker, who was so proud to have a hiking stick, just like Daddy's! 

Pillbox Hike - Yoli, Yoli's parents, Devin, and Mom all went on a sunset hike while I stayed back and played with Micah on the beach. This is a beautiful ridge hike with breathtaking views of Lanikai Beach along the way, leading to two lookout points on military bunkers at the end of the trail. 

The last hike was the Manoa Falls trail. Yoli's parents, Yoli, Mom, and TK did a short afternoon hike on the same day Obama was there with his family! Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), a meeting with the President was just missed by a few hours. 

"Micah wear Bumpa hat!" Sometimes a simple afternoon play at the park can be a special memory to treasure forever. I'm sure Bumpa would agree with that statement. 

"Sandbox!" This is what Micah happily announced when he saw the beach. Yes buddy, it is a very, very large sandbox. There is something magical about kids and sand. Micah spent countless hours scooping, digging, shoveling, and dumping sand, and brought plenty of it back home in his swim trunks at the end of each day. While we lacked snow in Hawaii, we had plenty of sand. As a kid, I used to make sandballs and have sandball fights with my friends, building sand barricades and stock piling our ammunition. Sandballs took much care and technique to build and are a lot heavier and more fragile than snowballs. Micah loved to carry them down to the water's edge and shot-put them into the waves.

"I love you, Great Baba!" We visited Great Baba a few times, which I always thoroughly enjoy. On our last visit with Great Baba, we had a great time talking and laughing, just the three of us (Great Baba, Micah, and I). We said our goodbyes and started walking down the long hallway away from her apartment. Great Baba came out of her apartment to watch us go and as we neared the end of the hall, Micah spun around and started running back to Great Baba, yelling "Big Hug! Big Hug!" the whole way. After giving Great Baba one last big hug, Micah started to walk down the hall again, but turned around one last time to say "I love you Great Baba". Then Micah and I walked down the long hallway again, Micah smiling and happy, while I held his hand and couldn't hold my tears back any longer.

It is always wonderful to see all of my family when I go back to Hawaii. This year, our family continues to grow with the addition my cousin's son Tatum, the newest addition to the entourage of Jonah, Taj, and Talin. 

We had such a blast hanging out with their family at the beach, paddle boarding, surfing, and playing in the sand with the kids. Micah absolutely loved playing with the girls, laughing and giggling in delight as Taj and Talin entertained him with their silliness. 

The week of Christmas was a complete whirlwind of activities. Once Yoli's family arrived, our daily schedule was so full that even a bathroom break was hard to squeeze in at times. Ever since I was a little kid, Christmas with my family was always a little bit more than just sitting around the tree, opening presents. It was great to share our family's traditions with Yoli's family. From surfing to flying sailplanes to diving for sea cucumbers, we made sure that her family went home from their vacation more exhausted than when they came. I'm not sure they were quite prepared for what we had in store for them! 

Despite their initial trepidation, they bravely flew up in a sailplane with my Dad, the best pilot I know. Upon returning back to the ground, they were unanimously thrilled about the flight and so grateful that they had the opportunity to experience it. 

Could you tell that Jason was just a little excited to go spearfishing? Unfortunately, he was not able to spear a fish on his inaugural dive, but he did return with a bucket full of sea cucumbers. Most locals have no idea how to prepare this Chinese delicacy which can cost upwards of $300 sometimes! After days of soaking and hours of preparation, Jason prepared an incredible braised sea cucumber dish that we all enjoyed on Christmas Eve. 

Upon waking up one morning, Micah announced that he wanted to go shopping. "Buy fruit, buy milk, buy yogurt, buy apple..." he went on and on. Then he paused for a second, he began to smirk and said, "Buy new Daddy, buy new Mommy, buy new Baba...". He giggled with delight, so proud of his witty little joke. 

We are so thankful for all of our loved ones. Thank you all for making our trip so memorable. Happy New Years!