Aloha! Love at first sight.

Ryan and I say we won't repeat vacations, but we will have to make an exception this time.  Hawaii is BE-U-tiful! 

We took the kids and stayed on the very chill island of Kauai in Princeville, known for its way awesome golf course and huge houses.  Princeville is littered with celebrity houses... its the fancier community on the island.  Jurassic Park and many other movies were filmed on Kauai.  Remember that huge waterfall in the beginning of Jurassic Park?  We saw that and many other waterfalls.  Kauai is called the "Garden Island" because of its lush tropical forests.  It mists probably twice a day every day.  No one seems to mind and every one continues about their usual business, even walking in the rain.  Without this light rain, the island wouldn't be the garden island.

Our week-long vacation was mostly spent at our pick of one of the many beaches - It is an island, afterall.  Everyday we would wake up at 6:00 am, 11:00 our normal time, pack up our lunches and hit the beach... not to return until around 8:00 that night, 1:00 am our normal time. 

 We ate at a different restaraunt every night and tried to eat where the locals recommended.  Thus, we found the very best hamburger stand in the whole world!  Duane's Ono Char-Burger.  Wow!  There must be crack in that burger because we were hooked on bite numero uno.  We also tried a kona-dog, which is a Hawaiian style hot dog (Polish sausage) loaded with exotic fruit sauce and Hawaiian mustard.  After much hesitation, I decided to try it.  Brilliant!  It was like a taste explosion in my mouth!

Macadamia nuts, aka mac nuts, are all the rage on the island.  Everyone says "yeah" a lot, even when it isn't really necessary.  Kids under 4 don't wear swimsuits, just their birthday suits.  Juice and shave ice (present tense, not the past tense "shaved") stands are on every corner.  Boys don't wear shirts.  People don't wear shoes.  Bicycles are a big way of transportation.  Families sit outside to eat.  Windows are always open.  Recycling is huge, understandably.  And it is custom to remove your shoes before entering a house. 

I think really my family and I are actually Hawaiians at heart because we fit right in with their traditions.

I CAN NOT WAIT TO GO BACK.  Now, please?

Taylor's first plane ride... an EIGHT hour flight!

 I held Taylor most of the time.  She didn't nap well in my lap, but they both did VERY well.  They got lots of compliments on their behavior from the other passengers.

 As we were about to land in Honolulu, I spotted this huge crater!

 Then we hopped on another plane to fly to our island.  Check out the sky, horizon, and water!

God's artwork.

 

 Finally in our cottage, this is the view from our lanai (porch).

 Our view looking the other way

 This is one of the lookout spots in our community of Princeville.

 The lookout is in the background.  Check out that scenery!  There is a waterfall visible in the background somewhere.

 Chicken runs havock all over the island.  I thought it was hilarious to find them outside the grocery store.  Hello!  Death wish, much?

 The first beach we visited - Hanalei Bay.

 The view. 

 This is the beach right across from our cottage.

 Dave is a local and makes really cool baskets, hats, and figurines out of palm leaves.

 He lives in the cottage that was next door to ours.

 This beach was all reef.  I loved finding shells!  Ryan was bored.

 The third day, we went sightseeing and drove the around the entire island (well, the parts that are driveable).  After many planned stops along the way, our final stop was set to be Waimea Canyon.

We went to visit the lighthouse. 

 Its hard to see in this picture, but there was a seal sunbathing below.  He is right in the middle of the beach along the edge of the tree line.

We saw many amazing waterfalls.  None of us had ever seen a real waterfall before.

 

 The kids passed out on our drive.

The Grand Canyon of the Pacific!

As soon as we walked up, this rainbow appeared! 

 See the rainbow to right of Taylor's head?

 This is one of my favorite pictures.  See that white spot coming from the clouds down to the ocean?  That is rain.  It is raining only right there above the water.  How cool!!

Another waterfall.

She wouldn't even wake up for me to put her pajamas on.

 Pickles for breakfast.

Yum!!!!

Princeville.

 This fountain marks the entrance to our community.

 History on Princeville.

 The golf course with a view of the mountains in the background.

 Looking across the street.

 Cookie mess!

 The girls.

 This is the hike to Secret Beach.  Going down isn't so bad, but going up with 2 kids and beach gear isn't fun!

 Christian, Taylor, and I went down pretty quickly.  Ryan kept slipping and falling, which made us laugh so hard we almost fell.

 Secret Beach.

 The kids really liked all the lagoons at Secret Beach.

 We climbed on top of all the lava and found more little lagoons.

Taylor found herself a perfect little seat in the lava.

 And Christian found an unopened coconut!

 We all tried it, but no one liked it.

The boys played soccer on the beach.

 The kids and I explored.

 See the lighthouse on top of the rock?  (at the end of the big rock)

 This is how she took a nap every day - as we walked along the beach, listening to the ocean, in my arms.

 A fresh water spring dripped down the sides of the lava.

 My little keike.

 We spent most of our time at this beach.  Dave, our basket friend, told us about it.  It is a local spot, so we were thankful Dave let us in on the secret.

 CK and I swam across the lagoon to explore the other side.

 The lagoon water was crystal clear.

 Little surfer boy.

The trees on this beach form a little hut.

 And make a swing!

 Buried!

 Beach babe.

 I have a picture almost identical to this of CK.

 Mahalo!

 Aloha Hawaii!

 And another rainbow to bid us farewell.