Upgraded to first class! On a teeny tiny hop from Salt Lake City to L.A. Why couldn't it have been on the four hour ride to Utah or the 5 and 1/2 hour ride to Kauai? Well, we milked it while we had it. Extra Biscoff cookies for everyone!
Running off energy (to the dismay of airport personnel) pre-Kauai flight.
12 hours after arriving, we awoke at an odd hour of the day to beautiful Hawaii!
The chicken chasing begins.
Avery, Mimi, and Grandpa Tommy
The tide pools between the lava rocks were amazing. Urchins everywhere!
And the sea turtles. Oh the sea turtles. We saw 3 giant Honus on our trip. So beautiful.
There's a crazy hill on the property that Avery loved to run as an 18 month old when we visited Kauai previously. Apparently it's just as enticing now that she's 5.
I will spare you the 482 pictures I took of Hawaiian flora.
I will not spare you, however, from posed pictures of my children in matching outfits.
I subjected my girls to Hula lessons. Well, Avery at least. The music started and Caroline ran away to chase a chicken. Lesson over.
Shipwreck Beach
A turtle right at the main beach, just a few feet from the sand. That's a famous Hollywood actor standing in front of Avery. Just kidding.
After a long day of chasing roosters and children, Mama needs a Mai Tai.
My sweet Grandma passed away while we were in Hawaii. She was a beautiful person and lived a long, lovely life. The day I found out, there was a circular rainbow around the sun. I have never, ever seen that before. Kinda like to think it was G.G. saying Aloha.
Hanalei Bay
Caroline had a weird obsession with the state bird of Hawaii, the Nene Goose. She discusses her fascination here.
This is the famous Hanalei Pier- Hanalei Bay is where South Pacific was filmed, and more recently, The Descendants.
Those are Tarot field behind us- Tarot is used to make Poi, a dish decidedly NOT on my bucket list. :)
Kalapaki Light House
Mommy and Daddy escape for a night out.
This did not end well.
S'mores by the beach. I mean, c'mon, that's pretty perfect, right?
Turtle Bay
Caroline runs from turtles in Turtle Bay. :)
Spouting Horn State Park
I just realized there's a lot of chain link fencing in Hawaii.
Dinner at Bubba Burger- much better than Poi.
Dinner must be followed by shaved ice. It's a state law.
Avery and Caroline dance to country music in Hawaii. Ridiculous.
Spear fishing. That's Chris in the wetsuit. Just kidding.
Bamboo fishing for Tilapia. Avery was a natural. Caught 9 fish. Even taught her to take the hook out and throw 'em back. Delighted to find that wiggly fish do not make my daughters squeal. :)
Caroline eats most of the bait.
Forever chasing chickens. I think she's really missing that here in Mason. :)
One last moment of tranquility before boarding the plane for the 20 hour trip home.
Sometimes you just have to put Beats on your baby. I mean the headphones by Dr. Dre. I did NOT just say to beat your baby.
And sometimes you have to let your children play in antiquated phone booths at the airport. Whatever it takes.
We discovered this amazing tube of light at the airport in Detroit. We rode the people mover back and forth in this thing probably 10 times during our 4 hour layover. It was possibly the highlight of the entire trip for Caroline.
We are grateful to Mimi and Grandpa Tommy for hosting us in Hawaii. We can't wait to return to the turtles, the sunsets, the roosters, the waves, the pineapples, the flowers, and the Mai Tais. Aloha!
