Kauai 2012

 After 6 days in Maui, we took a puddle jumper flight to Kauai. Zach liked the flight, but wasn't fond of the loud engine!

 Corey's parents were generous enough to invite us to stay with them at the Marriott Waiohai through trading their timeshare week. It was awesome!! The grounds are immaculate and border Poipu Beach. There are a series of pools and hot tubs, which Zach loved. 

 Our beautiful condo.

 With an ocean view. :)

 One of our favorite Kauai restaraunts- Keoki's Paradise. We found it in the guidebook, Kauai Revealed, on our first trip to Kauai a few years ago. We ate here a few times. It has great food at a decent price for the mostly overpriced island.

 We have always seen lots of random chickens all over the islands, but never with cute little chicks like we saw on this trip.

 The lava rocks created this natural tiny pool, just Zach's size! He about got rocked by the waves a few times when the tide rose. There was actually amazing snorkeling in the little bay here. It was a little murky, but the variety of fish was stellar. I believe Lanai has been my favorite place to snorkel, though. There is this school of yellow butterfly fish that move in the shape of a sphere--just this large, yellow orb swimming around. Stunning! I totally miss it.

 The babies dug the beach. Of course, Nana spoiled them with a new sand castle kit.

We had to keep these fair-skinned babes slathered in sunscreen, and did a great job of preventing any serious burns, thankfully.

 Did I mention Zoey is a climber?

 I love looking at tide pools also. Again, Lanai has the best tide pools I have seen. They are full of sea cucumbers, crabs, and all sorts of beautiful marine creatures!

 Sleeping was the trickiest part of our trip. It was hard to get the kids in a stable place for a nap. They usually just zonked in the car. And they were both up at the crack of dawn (or earlier) every morning, beginning at 2:40am the first morning in Hawaii, 4am the next day, and around 6 the rest of the trip. When we returned, everyone was so jet lagged that they all slept in until nearly 11am the first day back, 9:30 the next day, then 8, and then back to 7ish. It was  the first time we've gotten to sleep in like that since we had kids. So nice!!

 I love my sweet, stunningly handsome husband. We are about ready for a trip by ourselves--just for the sake of getting some much-needed sleep!!! But it was fun to take the kids on this trip. He is such a huge help with them, and lets me sleep in as often as possible!

My father-in-law stealing a kiss from his beautiful bride.

 And the classic mischievous, dimpled grin afterward!!

 Zach taking lessons from Papa!

I just loved this action photo of the kids running together. Zach ran right to the fence, slipped through the open area, and was luckily caught by us 10 feet before the several thousand foot drop off. It might be a good idea for the open area to be eliminated. Or for Zach to have a leash. 

The sun was in our eyes, okay?! 

 The cloud cover was hiding the beautiful views of the Kalalau Valley when we arrived at the lookout.

 Thankfully, it passed quickly, revealing the stunning scenery below.

 I think it was a National Geographic photographer that offered to take this photo for us. (For reals) Who else gets lucky enough to get all 6 people looking in the only shot?

 Above Waimea Canyon

 A father-son lesson on snorkeling. Unfortunately, Zach didn't quite catch on this time. I so wanted him to see the beautiful fish swimming right below him in the ocean!

 Corey, Roger, and Cheryl golfed at the Kauai Lagoons course--one of the highlights of their trip. I got a brief nap with the kids, which was a highlight for me!

 This slide is at the Marriott Beach Club, where we stayed our past visit. We spent some time in the kids pool there. It was perfect for Zach and Zoey.

We were there on May Day, which they nicknamed Lei Day. Nothing like a beautiful flower necklace to make you feel like a queen. Forget diamonds and pearls!

 At Keoki's again. Divine cashew chicken stirfry.

 Can you tell he doesn't get soda often?!

There is going to be one last entry to wrap up our trip to Hawaii. It has been close to a month since our return, and looking at these pictures makes me homesick! Even Zach said to me the other day, "I want to be in Hawaii. I don't want to come back here to Texas!" Amen, brother! Couldn't have said it better myself. Maybe someday....

Mother's Day 2012

Zach picked this plumeria in Hawaii and gave it to me. Sweetheart!

 Zach is a total daddy's boy, and I sometimes get a little down, wondering what I can do to show Zach I am equally adoring of him, and long for his affections also. But he gave me the greatest gift I could have asked for this Mother's Day, that was a simple gesture that he has a tender place in his heart for his loving mama!

The Primary children were singing a few Mother's Day songs during sacrament meeting on Sunday. We were sitting close to the front, so Zach was one of the first children on the stand. He smiled and waved to us while the other children were assembling, but then suddenly darted through the crowd, off the stand, and back to our pew. I thought he must have gotten scared (not like  him :)) or otherwise decided he did not want to participate in the singing in front of the large congregation. But instead of sitting back down with us, he sweetly said, "I love you, Mommy," and gave me a big kiss and hug. Then he turned around, ran back up on the stand, and nosed his way back to the front spot, where he sang the songs with the other children.

My heart instantly melted. I wondered if Corey put him up to it, but he denies the accusation. It's not that Zach isn't affectionate with me--he gives me lots of loves and snuggles and tells me he loves me often. This was just especially out of the ordinary for him to do that in public like that. 

Perfect gift for me!

Baby Commando Hike

 There is a little hike in Maui, around the 7 mile marker (I think) on the Road to Hana, that is lovingly referred to as the "Baby Commando Hike." This is in reference to the Real Commando Hike that begins just a few hundred yards down the road, which includes climbing through a lava tube, up waterfalls, hopping wet tree roots, and other more hazardous obstacles, summing up with 40-60 foot cliff jumps into the water below. I HATE jumping into water more than a few feet. My stomach just stays at the top and the rest of me freaks out all the way down.:) Because of the potential danger in the two of us going alone, we opted to take the Baby Commando route instead, though we've both been on it before--Natalie, numerous times. Still, it is a fun, scenic little hike, with just enough adventure to make it exciting.

  I did the hike in 2006 when we went to Maui with Tessa and Sam. I can't believe it has been that long! Corey somehow got ahead of us, took a wrong turn, and didn't meet back up with us until the end of the hike, and missed out on a lot of it since he didn't have a guide. Since then, it seems a lot of safety measures have been added. They are kind of nice, but make it seem a bit preschool-ish and unnatural. 

 Here we are at the initial bridge crossing. I think this is one of the new additions. I don't remember there being the wooden plank before. It's just a tiny jump over a crevice, but it's super safe now!

 A lot of the hike follows a rocky river bank. The water level was perfect this day. After heavy rain, the water levels can reach waist-high, making the trek dangerous, if not impossible. 

 Bamboo is always beautiful and exotic to hike through, and lends an air of mystery to the moment.

 There are several lovely waterfalls along the way.

 Natty is such a little daredevil! She hiked up these slick rocks without the help of the rope--in a skirt!

 Another scenic waterfall.

 The first time I hiked this, there was a single knotted rope to climb this 15-20 foot wall. Now, there are 3-4 different ropes, a rope ladder, and a full wooden ladder. For the love! Who carried a ladder in, and practically made it wheelchair accessible?!

 This is where the adventure on the hike begins, and where many people think the hike ends. I think this is where Corey made it to, and assumed we were elsewhere. The secret is, at this point, you have to jump in the freezing cold water and swim another 100 yards or so, climb the next 15 foot rock wall next to the waterfall, and walk down the riverbed to the last waterfall.

 Natty just jumps right in.

 Brrrrr!!!!!!!

 I took my sweet time to jump the 6 feet or so. The rocks along the edge project into the water everywhere, and parts are really shallow, so you have to be careful not to get banged up.

 Here's the climb next to the waterfall. Though you're supposed to jump off the neighboring rocks into the water, I choose to shimmy back down the rocks instead. Last time, my cousin Tessa was having a hard time getting the nerve to make the jump from where the water is flowing in the next photo.

 You can kind of see the rocks at the bottom of the waterfall which you have to jump out and over to miss when you land. I could see her toes curling over the edge in her indecision, and had the urge to push her hard so that she would not slide down and hit the flat, shallow rocks at the bottom that I could see immersed about 6 inches under the water. But I would have absolutely freaked out if someone did that to me, so I refrained, and in that moment, she slipped off the rocks and plunged 15-20 feet downward. Sam and Natalie were already in the water below, and my thought was that she would for sure be paralyzed by the way I saw her slide and hit the water. I quickly slid down the rocks on the side while Sam and Nat swam to the rescue. It was one of the scariest moments of my life, and of hers also, I'm sure! Miraculously, her hip and thigh hit the water in some way that her fall was cushioned before hitting the rocks full force. It was freaky because there was only pretty deep water around, and not a place to rest and examine her. Luckily, after a few adrenaline-filled minutes of assessing and calming ourselves, she was okay and able to swim with Sam's help the 100 yards back to the riverbank where we left our other clothing. She came away with a nasty bruise, if I remember right (feel free to correct any of these details, Tessa--It's been awhile!!), but that was it. It's not the only time I've seen modern physics be overcome by a higher power, thankfully. There is no scientific explanation in some of these instances, one which we experienced last week on a hike we took in Kauai (stay tuned!). Thank Heaven for the arms of angels!

 And here is the lovely climax of the journey-a waterfall surrounded by warm rocks that you can sun yourself on after the freezing swim. Only right when we arrived, the rain started pouring, and ,imagining the difficulty that would cause on our return, we chose to boogie back. The rain was pretty light and quick, thankfully, and did not cause any problems. We just had a wonderful time bonding as sisters, enjoying the awesome beauty of God's creation around us. Man, I love this place!