Kauai

Warning - this post is going to be really long and have a lot of pictures.  I want it recorded while I still remember it all though, so here it goes.

 We arrived in Kauai on Saturday, and by the time we got to the house and got settled we were too tired to really do anything.  The next morning we went to the local branch at church, which was kind of fun because it was so tiny.  After church we headed home to change, and then most of us went to see the "grand canyon of Hawaii" (Bryce's family went the day before while waiting for the rest of our flight to arrive).  It was a bit of a drive up, with some threats of car sickness, but it was gorgeous.

 If only I wasn't soooo terrified of heights and paranoid one of the kids was going to fall in the entire time.  I looked and saw it all, but I was very happy to get back in the car and head back down.  So amazing though!

 Our first of many shave ice stops.  This was Uncle's shave ice in Poipu and it was pretty good.  We tried their shave snow too which got high marks from my little shave ice connoisseurs.

 This was the view from the front porch one night, all the men in the house out trying to figure out how to get a coconut out of the tree.  They never did get one out of that tree but they had a great time trying.

 The girls all got their nails painted one night.  They thought they were so fancy.  

 Out of order - but cousin pics on the porch before we went home.

 Bored while the adults were packing up and cleaning.

 Kyle seemed to really perfect his boogie boarding this trip.  

 Grace seemed to perfect getting sand all over herself.

 Cute little mermaids.  This was about our set up everyday, lots of beach chairs in the back, and lots of kids and toys in the front.

  These two did this for hours.

 Several days we ended up with a boy fort and a girl fort.  One day the girls even plotted and attack on the boy fort and tried to sneak over to it.  It was hilarious to watch the plotting and overhear their conversations.

 Deacon was a big fan of the water, but not such a big fan of getting out.

 It took some coaxing to get Grace to try boogie boarding

 but then she loved it......until she got sand/salt water in her eyes.

  Thankfully she came up with this plan and that seemed to help.  Hooray for goggles.

 Claire was quite the little boogie boarder too.

 Grace found her true passion on this trip- snorkeling.  She practiced this summer and was so excited to go.  We got to hear about all the fish she saw each time she went out and she kept Grandpa busy with her constant snorkeling requests.

 Snorkel Bob

 One afternoon Brandon had to bury all of the bigger kids in the sand.  They thought they were so funny.

 Kauai had more chickens than I have ever seen just wandering the streets.  We had several roosters nearby that would wake us up every morning, so the kids came up with a plan to catch one with Grandpa and spent their mornings trying to lure it into their trap.  Unfortunately we never caught it.  The one in our yard sounded like it was going hoarse so it was especially entertaining.

 Group boogie boarding.

 Grandpa taking Grace snorkeling again.  Usually he went too, but occasionally he would just walk along beside her holding her hand.

 When Grandpa wouldn't take them out Grace and Graham opted to just snorkel near the shore looking for treasures.

 Deacon is in a sword phase so he and Ben had a great fight on the beach for us one day.

 Kilauea lighthouse

 Sadly it was already closed when we went, but we got a few pictures and also saw a bunch of albatross flying around which I loved.

 No nene in this picture, but we did finally see some of the elusive bird.  

 Gwen was so fun to watch on the beach.  So easy going about it all, but trying to keep up with the big kids.  

 We walked along the road by our house a few times and found this great tree and swing. 

 Also on the walk down our road, some fabulous vines. Not so fabulous when you are pretending to be Tarzan and one snaps though.

 Lizard catching was a highlight for the kids.  Evan has 7 in his water bottle in this picture.  

 Then everybody was holding a lizard.  The kids loved chasing them around the yard and holding them.

 The views on Kauai were absolutely gorgeous.  So green, mountains, blue ocean, blue skies.  It is hard to think of a prettier place.  

 Hanalei Bay

 Attempting to surf.

All in all in was a great week with family.  We loved all being in the same house, getting to play games after the kids went to bed, the kids getting up and playing together every morning, and just all of the time together.  Thanks Mom and Dad for a fantastic vacation!