Couldn't stay away from Kauai!

Remember Last Dec. when Steve & I got to go to Kauai? Well we couldn't stay away long!

We took a family trip to Kauai for 6 days (originally had planned for only 4 days.) We are grateful for flight benefits, however it does sometimes throw a kink into THE PLANS!

We took a total of 6 flights for our whole trip, which should have only been 4.

We finally made it to Kauai and we are hanging LOOSE!

This is what we woke up to on thurs. morning Oct. 20th on Polihale. We were the only ones and it was so quiet and beautiful with only the sound of the waves.

These are Northwest Waves, which can get pretty crazy!

Ash can't get enough of the ocean.

We took a drive to some lookout points in Waimea canyon.

Look at how high we are, and the clouds are creeping in. CRAZY - But beautiful!

We rented a Kayak for a day and a 1/2. This was our first river called Kileauea. We were the only ones on the river and it was so PEACEFUL! The water was laced with these beautiful tropical flowers. Then we hid the kayak and went for a short hike to a 3 tiered waterfall.

Yup, this is the famous one-way bridge on the north shore, with the kayak on top of our car.

I LOVE plumeria! It is beautiful to look at and is very fragrant! And it is so Hawaiian!

This is what our early 6am mornings consisted of... watching the sun rise and eating breakfast on the beach. This was Anini Beach. Did I mention that roosters and chickens are all over this island roaming FREE! So we woke up to them which wasn't so peaceful!

We Kayaked the hanalei river then paddled out to the bay. Yes, Hanalei bay where Bethany got bit by a shark (from the movie Soul Surfer.) So as we are kayaking through some small waves, the water is crystal clear and Ash says "Hey, I think I see Bethany's arm." HAAH! I couldn't stop laughing! She is such a crack up!

Had to get a picture of these lovely animals.

Just a site to behold! So, lush and tropical! We love kauai!

This is what we saw on our hike on the Napali Coast to Hanakapi ai Beach (about 2 miles of goodness.)

Then another 2 miles up from that beach is the waterfall. Yes, all three of us swam in it.

We hiked down from the falls and played for hours at the Hanakapi ai beach.

There are a couple of caves that are fun to explore.

This is where the fresh water meets the ocean.

Our other campsite at Anini Beach and Bubba's burgers. Okay if you go to Kauai and you don't eat here, you really are missing out. I'm not crazy about burgers, they are good, but I usually don't RAVE about them. But this is amazing! SERIOUSLY! Burger, onions, pineapple, melted cheese on a bun with teriyaki sauce on it. MMMM!

Early morning 8am snorkel at Ke'e beach. It was a little rainy so we didn't stay too long.

FUN MEMORIES! There is a song we love called "Island style" by John Cruz! We sang that a lot in the car. Some of the lyrics are...On the island, we do it island style. So we kept making jokes about doing things "island style." And this drink is made in Hawaii and is sold at Walmart in Hawaii and we lOVE it! It is only 20% juice, no carbonation and it is good room temp. or cold! Also, there is a store called Tropical tantrum, and when one of us was getting SNARKY, we would joke that "you're just having a tropical tantrum." Good Family Times!

This is a little treasure we found. A little slippery crazy short hike that starts between two fences. We went down it and found our favorite snorkeling beach EVER. The name of this beach, we found out is, Hideaway in princeville. Look at this water. We saw so many cool looking fish. The sun was blazing warm, and it really was close to perfect! (Not perfect because a couple of people from our family were missing.) Nate, and that baby that we are still in search for through adoption!

Still at hideaway beach. Look at the Napali Coast in the background - so pretty!

So on Sat. evening we returned the rental car, went to the airport for 2 hrs. and didn't get out on our flight. So this is Steve and Ash back on the shuttle to go back to get our rental car.

I love these photos! My whole life, palm trees have been my favorite tree! And I love hibiscus flowers! We had a plant in our yard when we lived in Houston. I tried to convince Steve to let us have a palm tree, but it never happened. There are things I see, taste, smell hear and touch that bring such joy! Seeing this tropical island is incredible! Tasting yummy food makes me smile! Smelling sunscreen is always a blissful thing! Hearing "I love you's" helps me feel secure! I guess I'm a touchy person! I love hugs or a back scratch. I love holding hands with my kiddos or my husband. I miss giving Nate hugs the most! And touching his soft skin!

Staying one more day meant that we got to go to church again in Kaleheo. This ward is amazing! They are all so friendly! We got a HUGE avacado and these yarn lei's.

We also love BAMBOO!

This is in hanapepe! Home of the movie Lilo & stitch.

Remember the thorn birds? MMM HMMM! Some of it took place here. The outback scenes were filmed in Southern Calif. (the movie made you think they were in Australia.) The Queensland scenes were filmed in Kauai. The movie made you believe they were in New Zeland. Interesting! I believe this series came out in 83'. Do names like Meggie, and Justine ring a bell?

A cool swinging bridge.

Listening to the live music at the airport is entertaining! They played our "Island style" song for us. How cool is that?

I still have things that I want to do on this island! So, I guess we will have to come back.