Hanalei Bay

 We headed to the north shore this morning to take in the breathtaking mountains and scenery of Hanalei. It is gorgeous! I cannot get enough of the mountains. I want to hike in them and enjoy them more. We will have to come back when the kids are bigger. For today I just enjoyed looking at them all day from the beach. The north shore is usually rainy but we enjoyed a rain free day. The sun even peeked out for a while. The kids loved watching the surfers and had we found a way to rent a surfboard I think Kade would have given it a try. Another reason to have to come back! But the kids did boogie board and build a lot of sand sculptures. As we left the beach a couple who had been sitting behind us most of the day said, “You have great kids. They all play so well together.” It was such a nice comment and he was so right. They play so well together. Kade and Tenley will boogie board together while Ryder and Luke build sand sculptures, or Kade will allow Luke to plan a scavenger hunt for him while Ryder is out boogie boarding with Tenley, or they’ll all build something together or play in the waves together. We have really great kids.

We found a restaurant with fish and chips because Kade and Tenley love them. Brad got some delicious yellow fin tuna and I stuck with chicken haha. But it had some delicious pineapple salsa on it. I loved it. 

A big storm is heading in and we’re expecting a lot of wind and rain tonight and tomorrow. Luckily we thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful day!

Hikes in the Jungle

 We started the day off with a hike in the jungle. We were looking for waterfalls and a got a little lost traversing through the jungle but it was a fun detour. We finally found both waterfalls! Kade and Tenley jumped off a cliff into one of the falls. They’re so brave. Kade said the water was colder than the lake in Montana is on the first weekend of boating season. After I heard that I had no desire to make the jump. But I’m glad I got to watch my kids do it!

We then found a beach that surprisingly wasn’t crowded at all. I was cold and just soaked up the sunshine but the kids played in the water most of the time! 

We came home for dinner, dessert, and the BYU basketball game and Luke fell asleep on my lap. He still isn’t used to this time zone.

Sailing and Snorkeling

 We booked a sailing tour of the Napali coast today. The seas started out calm and we stopped for some snorkeling. Luke and I hung out in the boat while everyone else swam around looking at fish and turtles and hearing a lot of whales! We then sailed up the coast and saw spinner dolphins! They were beautiful. But then it got really windy and several people lost their lunch over the side of the boat. Luckily we were all fine, thank you Dramamine! Haha. But the conditions got so bad that we had to turn back. I was so so bummed. I think I was looking forward to seeing the coast the most. We sailed back and saw several whales along the way. We then went to the kids’ favorite beach, Brennecks beach to boogie board. It got cold and windy there too so we headed to our house for the hot tub! 

Eating on the Lanai

 Our first full day here in Kauai was wonderful. We started the morning off with a walk and then breakfast on the lanai. Brad remembered how much I loved eating outside on the lanai when we went to Maui so when he was planning this surprise birthday trip for me he made sure our house had a lanai. And I love it. It overlooks palm trees and a walking path. We actually had breakfast and dinner there which was amazing. Brad grilled some delicious grilled chicken for dinner and we bought a pineapple which was so so yummy.

Luke woke up to the rooster this morning. He came down and said, “That rooster is going to pay for waking me up this morning!” Hahaha. We found several roosters throughout the day and he chased everyone of them down.

We spent the day at Poipu beach playing in the sand and waves. Brad, Kade, and Tenley did some snorkeling as well. After most the day we did head a little way down to Brennecke beach. There were better waves there for bodyboarding which was a lot of fun. It was a really good day!