Kauai Adventure - Part 7

After much "touring" around, I deemed this "stay at the condo all day" day so that the kids could take a stationary naps in their beds (and I could go to the pool and relax!!) Apparently Emma was the only one getting in front of the camera on this particular day because all I have are pictures of her! She's such a goof.

The girls discovered the hot tub and didn't want to get out (we only let them dip their feet). Graham told them his version of the Cinderella story and for the remainder of the trip they asked for Cinderella every time they were near the hot tub.

Lilly hits a speed bump...

After some family pool time, Graham took the girls to the condo for lunch and sent me back out to the pool with a book! For dinner that night, we cooked in, making our version of "Surf and Turf" with local mahi mahi and some lime marinated chicken.

Kauai Adventure - Part 6

 We'd been told by a local at the coffee plantation that if we wanted to see the Waimea Canyon in all it's glory, we needed to head there early before all the clouds rolled in. So this day we scooted our way out the door as early as we could and hit the road. The drive was beautiful!

 And sometimes a bit nauseating for us pregnant folk!

 There were numerous lookouts along the way to enjoy the view as we made our way up.

 I love these next two shots. The only thing that comes to mind when I see them is: HAIR!!! So. much. hair. Who are these people!? 

Did I mention yet how nice it was to travel with cousins? Gideon learned this new trick of not smiling for the camera. But we also learned this new trick of yelling "Don't smile Gideon!" which immediately put a grin on his face. Outsmarted.

 At the end of the road we were able to sneak peaks of the Na Pali coast below (where parts of Jurassic Park were filmed). The water was so blue - too blue for our camera to really capture apparently. 

 The kids had a little excess energy to burn after the long drive so were running around the grass and yelling and providing free entertainment for all. 

 The scenery both up and down the mountain was breathtaking. I would never have imagine Hawaii would have dessert-like scenery with this amazing red dirt. Thankfully we were able to bring some home with us in the form of stained sandals!! It will not wash off! 

 Truly amazing colors

 After driving back down the mountain, we stopped at the Shrimp Shack where Graham reaffirmed his love of coconut shrimp.

The kids slept a bit in the car so we did a quick change back at the resort and then headed to Poipu again to fulfill my beach-loving husband's wishes. Once again we were greeted by a couple monk seals. 

 If this isn't the life, I don't know what is!

 The waves were a bit choppier in the afternoon but a few still attempted to snorkle. Emma was not a fan but remained happy as long as I kept a continuous supply of watermelon flowing.

 

Sigh. Can I go back now?

Kauai Adventure - Part 5

 We were told by the locals that it was a really stormy week while we were there. It did rain quite a lot but thankfully mostly when we were first getting up in the morning or when we were driving somewhere in the car. This day, however, we were hit with multiple showers during our pool time too. Interestingly enough, they always coincided with when I would sit in a lounge change and pick up my Kindle...

 We started our second full day in Hawaii with a visit to the Kauai Coffee Plantation. It was fun to see the coffee plants and show the girls where coffee comes from but personally I felt all of their brews tasted (and smelled!) burnt. We did get a delicious iced coffee drink and some amazing little doughnut things (a local specialty) that hit the spot.

 I love this shot for some reason, even though I was playing with the camera settings and it turned out grainy. 

 A bump shot (~24 1/2 weeks along) and a family photo attempt

 We'd planned to head to the Waimea Canyon after our coffee stop but the clouds in that direction scared us off so we opted to settle at the "Black Sand Beach" for a picnic. I had to laugh because their version of "black" sand looks identical in color to the sand we have here in the PNW! I guess when you are spoiled by perfectly white sand beaches, anything darker can be mistaken as "black!" 

 The kids fell asleep on the drive back to the hotel but we made a quick stop at the Spouting Horn where we found this cool tree with initials carved into the leaves: 

 My best attempt at capturing the blow hole (trust me, it really was impressive)

 Though you wouldn't guess it from the looks of this shot, it actually started pouring down rain as the picture was being taken. We made a run for the cover of the little flea market next to the blow hole and I purchased a long-desired turquoise necklace and earring set while the salesperson glared at our children.

 The pool at our resort was amazing! There was a kiddie around that was only about 1 foot deep that was perfect for all the kids!

 Even Lilly was able to reach the floor while in her floaty and had a blast propelling herself around the pool.

 Everyone did their best to lounge between rain showers before we finally retired to our room, my sweet Emma girl included who seamed to like the pool chairs just as much as her mama.

Then Graham took me out on a hot date, first stopping to practice our putting skills at the complimentary mini golf green at our resort. I felt like a kid again. Ahhh, vacation!

Then he took me to the Beach House Restaurant, a delicious restaurant we dined at on our babymoon when I was pregnant with Isla.

We watched the sunset while we waited for our reservation time.

I went back and read my blog post from the last time we ate here and it looks like our tastes haven't really changed! Once again we ordered the watermelon salad....

The crab cakes...

And the macadamia encrusted mahi mahi - ha!

Of course no date with me would be complete without ice cream so Graham took me to Lappert's where he watched me eat a cone (had I known he wasn't going to get anything....who am I kidding, I still would have ordered my waffle cone!!)