Missing Kauai

It is hard to believe that we have been back from our vacation a whole week now. Wes' parents and Granny treated our whole family to 7 days on this gorgeous island. We stayed in a large 4 bedroom house in Princeville which sat on a golf course. Yes, the men loved that aspect! While I didn't take advantage of the golf course itself, I did enjoy walking and running around the path that went alongside the golf course.We had a beautiful view of the mountains and a far off view of the blue ocean. We were minutes away from some awesome beaches that we took advantage of.

Granny and Avery were roommates while Abby slept in her pack-n-play in our large walk-in closet. Ha! We tried to call it "her room" so she wouldn't need counseling later in her life. Each room had it's own bathroom and flat screen TV which were very nice touches.

A view from the front of the house.


A view of the back of the house which sits right off the golf course.



Another view from the back of our house.


Ready to go out on the town for the evening?

Getting ready to soak up some sun.

Hawaii is 5 hours behind us, so we woke up around 6:30 almost every morning, which really wasn't so bad. This gave us more daylight hours to enjoy our surroundings. We would then go to bed a little earlier than normal.

We tried out different beaches, and I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them. None of them were very crowded and each had a gorgeous view. We saw fish at each one of them. I learned how to boogie board and grew to love it! What a rush! We even got Avery to do it. She did it several times before she got slammed and went under a big wave. That scared her pretty bad and she wasn't too excited to do it again. Later that night I asked her what her favorite thing about that day was and she told me "boogie boarding", so I am willing to bet she will try it again. Granny, who is in her 70's even did it with the help of Wes' dad. Abby mostly loved playing in the sand. She would pour water and sand from bucket to bucket for ever. On a side note, we went to the park with some friends yesterday, and there she was pouring dirt all over herself which is something she has never really done before she had played so much in the sand at the beach. Too bad there wasn't an ocean nearby to wash her off in.

At one point before our trip, I had told Avery that she could go to the bathroom in the ocean unlike when she was swimming in the pool. When we were at the beach one day she asked Granny, "Can you really go to the bathroom in the ocean?" Granny replied, "Yes, you can. Why? Do you need to go?" Avery said matter-of-factly, "No, I already did."

Blake and Wes chase Avery in the sand. At this particular beach a river met with the ocean. The girls enjoyed playing in the calmer waters of the river before it met up with the rougher waters of the ocean.


Avery modeling for us.


More sweet smiles for the camera.


Best friends for life???


Playing in the waves.


"That one really got us!"


Abby sharing some lovin' with Granny.


Some more kisses for her Paw Paw.


Katy and Blake - don't you have your own room back at the house! :)


Avery and Nana enjoying a walk on the beach together.


"I do like this sand. It just gets everywhere!"


The uncrowded beaches, I guess everyone else is just missing out on this one.

One day we went on a boat tour of the Napali coast. We were given a wonderful tour of the beautiful cliffs, quaint beaches, and small waterfalls only visible by boat. On the way to the cliffs we came across several dolphins and were able to stop and watch them for a while. We were surprised that they came right up to the boat and played around as if they were dolphins at Sea World. They didn't seem scared of us at all. We were also served some delicious food on boat while we gazed at the gorgeous cliffs. The waves were especially high that day and a few of us got a little queasy at times, but thankfully we all made it without getting sick. The large waves actually made it fun as we went up and down and sometimes got splashed. The crew kept things interesting with their facts and sense of humor. They were also extremely helpful as we maneuvered around the boat with two little ones.

Here is our boat with breathtaking cliffs in the background.


Our view from the boat.
If you look closely you should see a rainbow.
With sights like these, who can't believe that there is a truly magnificent God?



Abby slept some on the way to the cliffs, and here Avery is sleeping on the way back.

The sunset we enjoyed from the boat on our way home from the Napali Coast.

On another day we made our way all over the island seeing many water falls, a light house, the Waimea Canyon, and the Spouting Horn.

A taste of heaven...

Love ya Bookie!


The lighthouse in the distance.

The Waimea Canyon is the largest canyon in the Pacific and truly a dramatic sight to behold. The canyon measures 10 miles long, 1 mile wide, and more than 3,500-feet deep. It was carved thousands of years ago by rivers and floods that flowed from Mount Waialeale's summit.

The canyon with yet another beautiful rainbow.


Snuggle time!

At the Spouting Horn water, forced into a lava tube by the surf, gushes into the air making an eerie hissing noise. The ancient Hawaiians believed that Kaikapu, a lizard goddess, was trapped by a clever fisherman in the lava tube and the hissing is the sound of her angry roar.

Some days it sprays quite high.

The girls did amazingly well on the long plane flights. I had been praying about this months in advance. We flew through L.A. on the way there and back. On the way there the girls enjoyed playing with their toys and watching their movies on the DVD player. They even slept later on the second flight. On the way back we had to leave Kauai at 10:00 pm. I told them throughout the day that it would be bedtime when we got on the plane. We boarded the plane, and soon as they got in their seats they got comfy with their blankies and the pillows and were out. They fell asleep before the plane even moved an inch.

We had been to Maui a few years ago, but I think I like Kauai better. It is less commercialized and very green and luscious. Parts of the main highway were totally covered overhead with tree branches making a unique sort of tunnel. Many aspects of the island reminded me of Kenya. I highly recommend going there, and hope to return there again someday.

Thanks Ernie, Debbie, and Granny for a memorable trip! We loved it!

I will probably be adding even more pictures later when I get them from other family members.