Today we finished half our demolition! Yeah! The pile on the side of our house is definitely growing and our backyard looks completely different.
We took out the concrete that stretches from our back windows out to the marina and from the neighbors house to the back walkway. It was a long day, and we’re exhausted, but it’s nice to see the end in site!
Elton was a great worker bee, and helped by keeping out of way of the jack hammer and snoozing on the couch. 
Elton misses Aunty Crystal while she’s in India.
He loves sleeping in Crystal’s bed. He sneaks into Crystal’s room and snuggles into bed when we’re not paying attention to him.
Crystal, don’t worry, he’s keeping your bed warm for you!
Yesterday, I visited my very good friends, the Thanarajasingam and Wetter families, who were vacationing on Maui. Our day started out with a fabulous meal with a great ocean view overlooking the Wailea Gold golf course.
After lunch, Uma, Sara (Uma’s mom) and I enjoyed a spa day at the Grand Wailea Resort while the boys took off for a round of golf.
The spa is rated as one of the ten best spas in the US. We each enjoyed an hour of hydrotherapy and a 50 minute massage.
It was all very fancy. I especially enjoyed the six terme baths and cascading waterfall massaging baths.
After our spa treatments, we went back to the condo and watched the beautiful Maui sunset. Uma’s dad opened a very nice bottle of vintage champagne that they brought all the way from Paris.
After a long day, we feasted at Roy’s, a Hawaiian fusion restaurant in Kihei. I caught a photo of David using a fork and knife to eat his sushi!
Everyone enjoyed the food, and it was a great ending to an excellent day!
End of Day 2
A lot accomplished today; we’re almost an 1/8th of the way!.
Our pile of concrete is definitely building on the side of our house.
Up next: Buying our flagstone and topsoil!
T and T tinting in Honolulu custom made our tropical window overlays and installed them today. They did a great job!
Before:
Our front windows face the street and sidewalk and despite being slightly tinted, it was very easy for strangers to peek inside. But now:
Opaque windows! Solicitors can’t stare into our house!
Jonathan and I always wanted a nice green yard, so we were disappointed that our current yard was covered in cement, lava rock, and futura stone. Futura stone is a very odd stone collection held together with a very durable resin. It looks great when it’s new, but our stone is twenty years old, and the stones are starting to chip off. Time for a new backyard!
First, we bought dad a jackhammer off of e-bay. It was actually cheaper to buy a jackhammer than to rent one, especially since we knew our project was going to take more than just a few days.
Dad’s doing most of the manual labor, while Jonathan and I pick up the broken up concrete bits, move them to another part of the lot (the bits are going to fill up the pool next year), and research topsoil, flagstone, and hardy grass. After breaking up the concrete, we’re going to lay a flagstone deck and plant grass around the flagstone.
Breaking up concrete is a ton of work! We’re hoping to finish by the end of the month. Wish us luck!
On my last leg of my mid-western trip I visited Uma, Sonja, Dave and AJ, friends from medical school. I haven’t been back to Minnesota since graduating, and it was nice to visit our favorite haunts and see old friends. Here’s a picture of Sonja, Uma and I at Mayo.
Sonja and I hitting on Will and Charlie Mayo in front of the Gonda Building:
I also got to meet new friends: Nisha, Uma and Dave’s 11 month old daughter, and Wesley, their pup!
She’s such a cutie!
Wesley’s a cutie too!
We also visited my favorite mid-western foodie joint: Culvers! Cheese curds and frozen custard!
Uma and I at our favorite study spot, the Great Hall at Mayo, sans large backpacks and multi-colored pens! Uma, Dave and I spent HOURS at this desk during medical school!
A trip to Rochester, Minnesota isn’t complete without a picture in front of the Denny’s and corn water tower!
Thank you everyone for such a great trip! I had a blast, and I can’t wait to visit everyone again!
Happy Mother’s Day! We’re sad that Mom Ping won’t be here for our celebrations and we’re looking forward to her visit in July!
My family will be coming over for dinner, and I made Red Velvet Sprinkles cupcakes (Thanks Pat, Sarah and Vince for the mix!), for our mother’s day party. Yummy!
Of course, Elton and Jonathan “helped” by linking the mixing spatula!
Andrew’s friend, Ben, a recreational pilot, took us up in a Piper Arrow to Madison, Wisconsin.
During the flight, I got to be “co-pilot”, and I even got to pilot the plane for a bit. I learned all about the fancy buttons and knobs, and got to bank the plane left and right.
A little frightening, but a ton of fun.
We not only got a beautiful birds-eye view of the midwest, but we got to visit Trader Joes!
Laden with a couple of cases of two buck check, we headed back in Iowa. We had a fabulous BBQ with our Trader Joe’s loot and enjoyed the beautiful day in the mid-west.
Yeah! Trader Joes!
