Halfway done!

It's hard to believe (and also a relief), but as of today I am halfway done my Invisalign treatment!

It has been a lot more time-consuming and annoying than I thought it would be (much more than it is advertised as), but the results so far are undeniable. The overlap on my top front two teeth is practically gone and now the trays seem to be focused on pushing the left tooth back even with the right tooth.

One of the things that has surprised me about this treatment is the need to file my teeth down. It only makes sense: I have a crowding issue and the only way to relieve the issue and correct my front teeth is to make room and push the other teeth back. But I was taken completely aback when at one of my standard visits, Dr Hurtado began sawing between my teeth with sandpaper floss! And it feels as awesome as it sounds. At one point, he had to break out the "diamond saw" because sandpaper floss and miniature files weren't enough to make room between my molars. Yeah, that sucked.

Halfway done straightening (sans tray)

So, as you can see in the above photo, another drawback for me personally is the fact that the anchors that the Invisalign trays snap on to and that provide tension to move your teeth, stain. I don't drink a ton of coffee but apparently I drink enough that the anchors are a dingy yellow while my teeth are slightly whiter than when I began treatment (likely from the increased brushing). So it can be embarrassing at times when I feel like my anchors make my teeth look yellow, but my plan is to give my teeth a good whitening once everything is done and hopefully have no residue.

I went to the dentist today and this is the second visit in a row that he hasn't had to file my teeth down, so hopefully those days are over. I got enough trays for the next six weeks and hope that the remainder of my treatment will have my visits stretched out to every six weeks instead of four.

In other news, our garden is doing well. The cucumbers died and although they appeared to be returning, Jay had to remove them because our tomato plants are choking them out. We have green beans out the wazoo and the eggplant is starting to sprout. My mom gave us some good advice: perhaps the cucumbers died because we weren't picking them quickly enough when they were mature, thus sending a signal to the plant that growing time was over. We have been picking our green beans more often since she suggested this and have had no issues. In fact, we've had so many we don't know what to do with them!

harvest time

new tomatoes coming in

jungle of green beans

I'm glad I took these photos last night, it has been nothing but torrential downpours and high winds today! We were totally unprepared for it as it hasn't rained like this in months! If you notice, the pictures of the garden have a purple tint to them. The sky last night at sunset was pink and then purple before the sun was gone. It was so incredible but I couldn't get a good picture of it.

Honolulu Bubble Run 2016

And the random photo of the post is the Honolulu Bubble Run, which we did in early January. We "ran" with our friends and their daughter (who was in a stroller, too). The plan was for the guys to run with the girls and for me and my friend to walk, as she had a foot injury and wasn't advised to run by her doctor. Well, we were at the front of our heat and when the horn blew to begin, red bubbles came pouring our of the foam generator. We thought we could protect Evie by pulling the shade over the stroller. We thought wrong. Foam went straight up into the stroller, over her head, and in her mouth. I thought we had gotten her cleaned off and settled down, so Jay took off with her. About 15 mins later I get a call that she is crying for me uncontrollably and we need to meet up. Somehow, my friend and I had walked right past our husband and kids, so we ended up waiting for them to catch up and then walking the rest of the race.

So not a PR but we finished and then treated ourselves to some Teddy's burgers and milkshakes. Lesson learned: no more Bubble Runs.

Ka'ena Point hike

Shame on me for waiting two months to blog about this hike! It's a 6-mile roundtrip hike on the NW shores of Oahu with no shade, so we wanted to do it in the winter when the wind is up and the temps manageable. We actually completed this hike New Year's weekend but I've been busy with visitors and have found no time to write about it.

Ka'ena Point is the westernmost point on Oahu and is a state park and wildlife sanctuary. We approached from the east via Mokule'ia and the North Shore, but you can also approach from the southeast along the Wai'anae coast.

Parking area and trailhead

Ka'ena Point is home to many native Hawaiian plants and animals, including Hawaiian monk seals, Laysan Albatrosses, and wedge-tail Shearwaters. In 2011, the first predator-proof fence in the US was constructed here, which helps these native plants and animals flourish.

Predator-proof fence, no dogs allowed

Beautiful and wild North Shore

View Southwest of the Wai'anae coast

The day was warm and windy, and we got an early start to avoid not only a busy trail but the blistering sun as the day went on. It was a very hazy hike due to the spray blowing in off the ocean, so much so that I thought I was hallucinating/dizzy for a while! The path at the trail head is all dirt and incredibly rough for cars. Some people had their 4WD vehicles out in order to access some of the remote fishing sites, but I never would have driven this road- some of the potholes were as large as the cars themselves!

After walking through the predator fencing gate, we walked along the outside of the fence and observed the Natural Reserve inside. We saw several bird's nests among the brush. At the far end of the fence on the Wai'anae side we entered the Reserve area via a double-gate system and began walking toward the point on a sandy trail. We noticed many signs warning visitors away from the dunes and grassy areas in order to protect the native species.

At the point, we relaxed for a while with some snacks and enjoyed the scenery. The mountains were the perfect backdrop to the ocean before us. We were even treated to a monk seal sighting! It's very important to place some distance between you and the monk seals as they are a protected species in Hawaii;  all the hikers I saw were being respectful.

Snack time

Wai'anae mountain range

Ka'ena Point

After snacks, pictures, and some rest, we headed back. The return hike was much harder as the sun was now high and we were feeling the miles. Evie had had enough of being in the hiking pack and alternated between crying and sleeping. Unfortunately, the path was rugged and not something she could handle walking on her own just yet. Our total trip was 6 miles and took about 3 hours to do. I'm really glad we checked this one off, it was a beautiful hike.

Passed out

Baby's first dippy egg

And for your random cute pic of the post, Evie's first dippy egg and toast. She loved it!

Home for the Holidays

Being that it's one month since Christmas, I figured my time to write about the holidays is quickly fading. So here is a quick post about our fun trip home for Christmas.

We started our journey with the usual red-eye flight from Honolulu to Baltimore. Evie was much more aware of being in an airplane this time and it was fun to watch her watch us flying over Oahu. She kept pointing and saying "Waikiki!" even the next morning when we were flying over Ohio. We landed in Chicago before 5am the next morning, where snow was covering the ground; talk about a change of scenery! We ended up having our flight to BWI be rescheduled, increasing our layover by a couple hours. Evie handled it like a champ by playing in the USO (which, by the way, had a very kind staff at ORD). She slept the entire flight to BWI (even through the turbulence that had me queasy). We landed and were greeted by grandma, a welcome sight indeed!

We got to Hagerstown and quickly settled into our surroundings. It may have been cold and the pool may have been closed, but that didn't keep us from having fun. The first week we were home we went to the South Mountain Creamery for ice cream and to feed the baby cows. At 4pm daily, you can help the staff give the new cows their bottles, and they are certainly hungry for them! I thought the one was going to throw me across the barn he was so strong.

The second weekend we were home, me, my sister, Aunt, and cousin ran the Reindeer Run downtown. Of course, I ran embarrassingly slow but I came in under my last 5K time (which was 3 years ago). The next day we went to Hershey Park for the Candylane lights. It was so beautiful! Evie went on some rides and had a great time looking at the "pretty lights."

Luminaries at Resthaven

She's a Hershey miniature

After the Reindeer Run 5K

Lights at Hershey

On Christmas Eve, Santa came to visit the kids at the Miller's house. Evie wasn't scared but she also wasn't thrilled with Santa. I don't think she makes the connection between Santa and presents yet. But she definitely enjoyed getting presents this year! And since many things had to be mailed to Hawaii and reopened, she's gotten used to the phrases "another present" and "new toy." 

Annual Wolford Christmas Eve shot

We did a lot of things in our short time home, and if I had blogged when I first got back to Hawaii I'm sure I'd remember them better. Our time at home always goes too quickly but now that we're back in Hawaii, I'm looking forward to Grandma's visit in February and then planning our next trip home. I'm sure I'll get a lot of flack for saying this, but I wish we had been home for the blizzard of 2016 (just not the clean-up). We didn't get any snow at Christmas and I think the disappointment from that is making me wish we had been home for the blizzard to have a fire and play games with everyone. There's always next Christmas...