Kauai, day 6!

Our last full day! We went back to the cool little marketplace and talked to the bird some more. Bob played the course right outside our door, giving me some time on my own with the girls. I packed up a picnic lunch and we caught the shuttle over to the 'sister' hotel....the St. Regis. We went down to the beach and had a great little picnic, complete with little winged visitor. While we were there (it had been kinda cloudy) the sun came out and the girls went in the water. We also saw a little girl that we'd made friends with back at our hotel and they got to play together some more!

 Our little feathered friend was VERY interested in what we were eating. (No, we didn't feed him.)

 Quite a bold little guy. These shots are when he was about 2 feet away...

Lunch time!

About to go in the (cold) water!

Sisters being silly!

 After we were all done, the girls wanted to take pictures while we waited for the shuttle bus. Danielle took this one....

 ...and Ashley took this one!

 We went back to the hotel for nap time, and Mommy relaxed on the patio and waited for Daddy to play on by....

That evening we all went out together for dinner again, this time at CJ's Steakhouse. Yum! (I'm a firm believer in especially yummy food while on vacation!!) We had a great time!!

Lots of gifts were exchanged at dinner (it was our last night), and then we were back to the hotel where the great packing adventure began. Well, first the kids went to sleep. Then it was 'how on earth did I fit all of this in?!?" The next morning we managed to pack all of us into our two cars (did I mention that we had a convertible.....very fun to drive around in, not so good for lots of luggage!), deliver ourselves to the airport curb, check in, get on the little plane, then on to the big plane.....back to Beth's, then back to the airport, then fly across the country, and then home. Whew! Whirlwind, but such an AMAZING trip!!!!

Kauai, day 5!

Sunday morning we headed out to church. Turns out there's a Calvary Chapel not too far from our hotel. Great church, had a kids program, so nice to worship while on vacation!

After the service, we once again went to the lighthouse -- this time we had checked and KNEW it was open! The lighthouse has been in operation for 100 years and was almost finished being refurbished for the celebration....the following week. We didn't get to go in the lighthouse because of that, but we were able to walk around it and use the little posted telescopes. Oh, and did I mention the birds? The lighthouse is a sanctuary for many different types of birds, and the kids had fun reading all the little signs telling us about them!

 Austin and Zach taking turns....

 Danielle tries one out....

This was the view they were looking down at here. All along the cliffs were hundreds of nests of all different types. It was really cool!

Taking another look...

This little nest was just off the path (yep, like 3 feet away from us) and had it's own little sign asking us to not touch or feed the birds...

 One move shot of the cove...

One the other side of the peninsula, we spotted a pod of dolphins. Couldn't get a picture of it, but the girls had fun looking for them with the telescopes!

 Love this shot of Ashley!

 Oh yes, and here's the actual lighthouse!

After the lighthouse, we drove back into town for lunch at Bubba's Burgers. Yum! We walked around a bit, and Bob and the girls and I stopped on the way home and walked along a beach and looked for shells. Didn't find anything spectacular, but it was a beautiful walk!

Back at the hotel, the kids wanted MORE time in the pool, so we had them dive for quarters. Simple, but they loved it!! 

Kauai, day 4!

Next morning, up and at 'em! We had pancakes over at Grandma and Grandpa's (yum!), and then we packed up the four of us and headed out to Lydgate park. We had read that it had a really cool playground and a little cove area that was good for keikis (kids). Well, the playground was closed because it was swarming with volunteers refinishing it. Pretty cool, but kinda not what we had planned. The 'little cove' turned out to be AWESOME!!!!!! It was essentially a U-shaped jette. So little fish could get in, big fish are kept out, and the crazy surf (it's on the east side of the island, so the waves can be very large) just crashes on the rocks. And the best part -- you didn't even need your snorkel! You could wade out to the back part of the pool, stand still, and the fish would swim around you. We picked the girls up and just carried them out there. It was so cool.

 Getting sprayed down with sunblock. Yeah, we were the white, white, WHITE family!

 Ashely found a shell!!

 Daddy helped build a sandcastle AROUND Ashely.

It was pretty cool. It even had a little tunnel to let water come in....

The surf on the rocks....(and some random unknown people)

Cheese!!

 Hi, Daddy!

 And not to be outdone, Danielle wanted a castle, too! We had a GREAT day!!

Once we headed back to the hotel, it was naptime. So the girls turned in and we made plans for the evening....Beth was hosting dinner that night and decided to do pizza (another favorite!), so Bob and I ended up letting the cousins have some time together and we went back to the hotel restaurant for a nice quiet dinner together. Yeah!

 On our way to dinner...

 What a handsome man! By the way, Bob's head is pretty much in front of Dad & Carol's patio door. Pretty nice spot, huh?!!!

Kauai, day 3!

And we're on day 3! We tried going to the lighthouse in the morning, but discovered that it wasn't open. Instead we found a cool little marketplace and spent far too much time chatting with a bird. Yes, a bird.

But before that bird, there was a bird on our patio. At first I thought it was hurt....but it turns out that mourning doves in Hawaii get cold easily. But oh my, look how fluffed up he is!! 

 ....and then there was this whole laughter over it's feathers being ruffled.....guess you had to be there.

The lighthouse.....way out there....

Two little girls were NOT happy about the lighthouse being closed, but we did get to see some 'very rare' Nene geese. Actually, we saw TONS of them every day. Apparently they like living on the golf course. And they can be loud in the morning.

 This is the ONLY family picture we managed to get the ENTIRE trip. At least it's a good one!

 So this is the bird we chatted with. It was very silly. And somewhere there is a video of me laughing and the bird imitating me perfectly. Perhaps it's been accidentally destroyed maliciously? No, I just can't find it....

So we went back to the hotel and spent the day in the pool. The girls had a BLAST!! Part of the pool was only 3 feet deep, so Ashley could play with her cousins and swim around without floaties on....TOTALLY COOL!!!!

We did dinner at our place that night, then we sang to Grandpa (we finally got him a cake) with a bit of a twist.

 We didn't have candles, so Grandpa suggested that everyone put a finger in the cake! Yes, we all giggled through the song!

Grandma also made special Hawaii clothes for all the kids, which they wore that night! And then piled on top of Grandma and Grandpa for pictures!!

Then we went to a Luau show. Well, almost all of us went. Danielle got a touch of heat exhaustion, so Bob stayed at the hotel with her. (Next morning she was fine!)

 Ashley waiting for the show to start...

Once I finally figured out my camera, I got some good pictures. I'll spare you the several dozen I took so that Danielle could see it all!

And home again to sleep VERY well.....

Kauai, Day 2!

Did I mention that the 'rooms' were GORGEOUS?!?!?! We had three total. Dad and Carol had a 1-bedroom suite (Julie bunked on the sofa bed in the living room) that had a wonderful kitchen....and that room had a door into Beth's studio, that also had a kitchen. Those two rooms had walk-out patios onto the lawn. So pretty! Bob and I also had a 1-bedroom suite (the girls shared the sofa bed) and our patio was also on the ground level....on the 13th green of the Princeville golf course. I'm totally blanking on the real name of the course. It was amazing. Yes, Bob brought his clubs. We could also see the sunset over the course.

Anyways, Day 2. Grandpa took the girls for a special trip -- Horseback riding!!! We also got to see peacocks, a very funny goat, the coolest dog, and a pretty cool parrot.

 Girl peacock...

Trying on Grandpa's hat over their riding helmets...

 Chickens. Everywhere.

Boy peacock.

 Funny goat.

 Danielle just up on the horse while Grandpa and Ashley watch...

 Yeah!!! Happy girl!

 Ashley smiles!!

The coolest dog....and Ashley telling it to drop it's toy.

Ashley's turn on the horse!!

Needless to say, they had a BLAST!!! We then went back to the hotel and spent the afternoon at the pool, while Bob took Dad out to play golf for his birthday....on the Prince course!!! Not the one on our side of the hotel, the other one that is even more spectacular!

 Documentation. They were actually there!

 ...and looking pretty happy about it!

 Random view off one of the fairways...

I believe this was the tee box and the CANYON beyond was the hazard to hit it over? Yep, crazy!

The birthday man in action!

Why yes, I chipped out of the jungle today....how was your round?

They had a GREAT time, lots of stories, lots of beautiful scenery. After they got back, Julie made us a spaghetti dinner that night -- my girls LOVE spaghetti. And then we all slept like rocks.