Beauty and the beast

At the end of last week I was a guest speaker for career day at Hanalei Elementary school. I spoke about being a bug doctor (an entomologist). One of the most charming aspects of the visit was that the kids gave me leis in gratitude. Some of these are store bought, but most are actually hand made! I found myself comparing the number of leis I had with the amount other speakers were wearing. I was wearing the most. Sometimes I can be so petty.

Saturday we spent the day at the surf contest (see last post). On Sunday Etel wanted to collect Kahelelani shells so we went to Sea Lodge beach. The trail to the beach is quite narrow and runs along the shoreline with a few spots where there are steep dropoffs.

Taking the children creates one of those difficult parenting moments when you just want to pick up little Max to safely carry him but he wants to be independent and walk himself. Compromise is struck - he holds my hand around the scary parts.

Sea Lodge beach. It is a small reef protected beach that has excellent snorkling and plentiful tide pools. The tide pools collect small fish which Ian loves to try and catch with his dip net. Along the north side of the beach there are tiny fresh water flows down the lava rocks that mimic tiny waterfalls. Max loves to play with those.

After a long weekend of outdoor fun a good cleaning is required. Ian calls me into the bathroom to show me his foam afro. How he knew what an afro was is beyond me.  

Tuesday morning started with a nightmare no mother should endure. Etel went to wake the children for school and when she pulled the blanket back from Shayne, Etel saw a large centipede moving alongside Shayne's right arm. In these situations, your gut instinct is the wrong thing to do - Etel grabbed Shayne's arm and swiftly pulled it away from the centipede. The rapid movement triggered the bite response of the centipede and Shayne got bit. Shayne immediately felt nausious and sat on the toilet with her head over the trash basket. I told Etel to put vinegar on the bite to denature the venom. Shayne never vomited, nor did she cry. Shayne has now joined the ranks of most Kauaians - getting bit by the giant centipede Scolopendra subspinipes. These are fairly common creatures - we actually have removed two others from the condo the same weekend. I think the cooler weather of the last few days may have moved them indoors, or we're cursed.