Kauai or Bust!
Do you ever feel like you just can't take anymore? Well, that is where Charles and I were at, and so, all it took was a little encouragement from friends and our tix were booked! Now, lets get real, Hawaii is not a cheep trip. So, while many of your may read this thinking, I just don't have the money, I will say one thing. If you need to make it happen, YOU WILL!
Day 1
Arrive in Kauai, the garden island! SO EXCITED!!
We arrived at the beloved Kauai! This island is the oldest of all Hawaiian
Islands and is the most “old feeling” island, meaning, you actually feel like
you are on a remote island. It of course has amazing shops and fun places to
go, however, the island and people have gone to great efforts to keep it a
small feel type of island, and they have done an amazing job! No large shopping malls and movie theaters,
we adore this island!
As soon as we arrived, the kids were in love and ready to P L A Y and E X P L O R E !
We grabbed our rental BLACK jeep and away we drove, to EAT! YUM! Chickens-yes! The kids saw them and loved chasing them, WELCOME to the island! Now let’s eat! The most amazing lil place in Kapaa, with a mermaid on the wall (just a lil place off the road called The Mermaid) we had a seared AHI wrap and they were to die for! We grabbed some pineapple, coconut, mangoes and we were off to ANINI beach to snorkel, the Ocean was delicious!
Oh ya....chasing the wild chickens, something that always adds an extraordinary element of fun and excitement...and also cured our children from ever wanting ROOSTERS! :)
Grabbed some AMAZING food at The Mermaid (oh ya baby 100 Thumbs up), some coconuts, mango's and we were off to Anini Beach to snorkel and get our dry Utahan reptilian ski wet in the luscious, welcoming water of the Kauai Beaches!
Holy Avocado!
Watch out she has a machete and knows how to use it!
Despite Lucy's face, it WAS good!!
Coconut Meat, SOOO good for you!
Going...going...gone.
Ready to Test out our new SNORKEL gear!
Crab Hunting!
Home.
Lovers
We met up with our new friends (Charles Skydive buddy Sam) the Edwards and went to Slippery Slide! Super FUN, be sure to ask a neighbor as it is closed to the public! The water slide and waterfall and cliff jumping is surreal! All the sudden we were 110% IN Kauai. Swishing down waterslides, kissing behind the waterfall, creeping up the side of a cliff…ya baby!
Slippery Slide Waterfall! This place is not easy to get to as neighbors do not wan the public walking through their backyard (understandable) luckily Sam is a schmoozer and simply asked one!
...yes there are mosquitoes in kauai (RIGHT HERE-ALL of them!)
look at this amazing place! Yes, I want this for my backyard. One of the homes had this darling lil yellow house with a garage in front, cute house and an amazing little hut where they had a massage table...the most epic meditation, yoga, massage room ever, and in the most scenic rejuvenating place on earth.
CRAZY FUN!
One of the ways to get up, most of our fav's, climb the wall and do it again!
I love this pic of Lu, her face is epic!
Ava was a lil scared her first time, so Sam took her down and after that she was good to go!
Evan aka Dare Devil, he also jumped from that way tall cliff (I had to hold my breath.)
Uh, ya....
This was pretty high!
Evan, head first, no prob.
The man.
Avers! Go Ava!
I love this pic!
Lucy took this for her friend who has the same name, so thoughtful!
We ate a delicious Thai and Mexican dinner, grabbed an amazing (High Fructose Corn Syrup FREE) Hawaiian Ice, Grocery store, whew! And on our way to our resort, The Hanalei Bay Resort. Ava fell asleep....
After dinner in Princeville (Thai and Mexi) Ava was O U T, Lu was right behind, and Evan is too excited about his new Lava Lava (papa Marv always has his, so Evan really needed one too...no not just for chicks...Evan will prove this point later on the Napali Coast.)
BUT! We woke Ava UP! We arrived at our AMAZING hotel The Hanalei Bay Resort, the pool is SO amazing, huge pool, waterfall, a part with sand on the bottom and a hot tub that is OH so amazing. It has sand on the bottom and a waterfall and a huge step that Charles almost crushed a woman when he fell in, it was Epic and we laughed (well me especially) for about 10 min!
The best part was Charles getting into the hottub, the big step and he almost fell on a girl! We all laughed so hard!
I packed up once we all settled down for the Napali Coast and got a lil shut eye.
DAY 2
We woke up to the most amazing view of Hanalei Bay.
Such an amazing hotel....we did NOT want to leave, especially at 6:30 am!
On our way to the bay we had to pull over!
One of my fav moments captured!
Hanalei bay!
Toes in the air is normal (right?)....we usually look around and wonder why we see so many heads....
Getting ready to depart to the Napali Coast!
Our CUSTOM (and high end) rain deflection devices!
This said fisherman boat was our uhem...helpers to get to the Napali Coast.
On our way!
You can see why so many movies are filmed here, like Jurassic Park and more!
Epic!
Even more epic!
This is the dock, yep, just jump....well that is if you want to stay here! This is illegal so.....ya JUMP!
The place we call home for 4 days....welcome home!
Our cave aka roof over our head, living quarters
This ocean was PERFECT! So fun to play in the waves and just simply heaven on earth!
That's what I'm talkin about!
My 3 sand lovin babies.....foster this in their youth and they will never stray from it.
We all need a good tumble in the sand, once in a while....gives us all a lil perspective, does it not?
Pardon the selfies....I am a pic lover and sometimes remember that I ought to be in them too! Then I usually see them and think WHY DID I TAKE THAT! lol #nomirrors #itsagoodthing!
One of my fav EV shots!
Our Fresh Water Cave BATH! Such a delight to hit this baby, nice, cool, refreshing after the salty ocean! Ava's fav place!
Lu and Dax, so fun to have and meet new friends! They go to the same school this year! No kissing here folks! Keep it clean!
I lied, lots and lots of kissing!
Charles has many highs and lows, having your fam on a coast where you can somewhat feel unprepared, a loss of control is GOOD for the soul, this vacation was necessary, in more ways than one.....
One of the coolest things ever!! F R O G S!
Shoot, or TOADS I guess! They were all over this lil pond, see later to see their eggs and all that toad sexy stuff! SO COOL!!
Up to the waterfall we go....water so clean you can drink out of it....oh the best part, pass the nude man laying on his stomach on the right....kids were dying for the first day! At the waterfall it was beautiful and we tried to keep all our eyes on IT instead of the topless woman....hey freedom baby! That is WHY people live here! Freedom comes in many ways shapes and forms...that's for DANG sure!
LOVE this pic! Evan and Dad reminiscing while holding toads about the M-AH! song Dad use to sing to Ev as a baby....still works!
Men at work....No Room Service HERE!
This is how we got our drinking water. #YUM
Water contraptions
HOTEL RIGGS (thx to Sam's Tent!) Charles slept in the hammock out by the ocean and Lu also one night, the rest were on the hard sand....#goodfortheprincess
EV and MAX
aka Napali Warriors
(Yes they made these bamboo sticks by themselves, pretty cool!) #dontmess
We all know this feeling all too well...
This is a cool place, the one where you leave your trace....
Finding Passion Fruit, yum and SUPER Acidic!
There is a point at the Nepali Coast that you can swim around to get to a secret, secluded beach. It was a lil big freaky to swim out in the open ocean with our kids, but they are all strong swimmers and we are always up for an adventure, so we went and loved it!
This is the beach!
We saw a MONK seal there! Crabs, waterfall and just simply amazing. You feel so small in the world, and realize how special it is to be on this little patch of heaven where so few have gotten to live, enjoy and partake of...it feed the soul, nourishes the mind, and brings peace to your heart.
Monk seals aka Stinky Beasts that look dead and rotting #nopethatsjusthowtheyroll
Lu and Lex!
The fam on the secret beach! Apparently they forgot to take us with the monk seal...no worries, we saw and go to smell 2! We're good!
That arch was so amazing too....Ev lost his new snorkel goggles, but DADDY found em! #GODAD
That is not an alligator, just my hat. :)
Many nooks make great bathroom areas....note the best place to #2 is called aquadookie (no details will, SCRATCH that, it is difficult to mentally get over the #2 in the ocean, but it is a must of any true adventurous soul!) lol #keepitclean
One of my fav scenic pics
Workin out with my RAW workout baby! #hardinthesand
To the Mountains We Go! #luatetoomuchandgotsores
Ava, deciding if Passion Fruit is a yes...or a now....#tbd
Noni.
I can not fully describe the SWASS smell and taste of this apparently nutritious fruit, but my face can. If any juice is made with this utter death fruit it must be a milligram combined with a TON of sugar!
A lil yoga....taught by yours truly #sammademedoit
home for the soul
Bury them good!
Ava and Sammy! Loved climbing this rock, like our front living room...a break off of the kitchen.
Charles bed, usually cold and uncomfy #hesurvived
One of my fav LU pics
And this one....
And this one...
Tri's baby....#raw
Oh this was way fun in the sand!
Thank goodness the ocean was close to wash off #lovedit
My lil Wahini!
One of my fav Ava Shots
chillin
THIS IS IT!
Ok, all those black strings are EGGS! The female toad is on the bottom and just like play dough ejects these out or her #arg, the mini man (male) hitched on top and fertilizes the eggs! There are SO many! I found this JUST simply AMAZING! How have I never known this! #Nature
look at this!!
When I first saw this I was thinking WHO left string all over in the water!? :) #heehee
The waterfall that is so clean you could prob drink from! OH watch out for the topless women! Ya, we prep'd the kids a bit, but seeing IS believing as we all know. So on the way up, the naked man laying out on his stomach got some giggles That's for sure!
baby tomato!
Passion Fruit, Evan's FAV!
This one was #barf, it was mushy like blubber and I just could not for the life of me swallow it, I DID however eat about 7 bites of a much firmer one (THEY are suppose to be so good for you!) NO, I did not die, nor did I feel any effects.. I am convinced that if they use this in juice it is a milligram for a pound of SUGAR!
To the Mountains we GO!
noni aka butt crack fruit
the crew
Ev wanted to hold it....hum
The One and only!
Mango Falling from Heaven!
Never leave home without em #doterraoils
So glad we had them! #bugs #itchybites #MAXchilicancut!
lovers
Nails grow quick here! #katewouldbeproud
Loved this cool refreshing waterfall off the Kalaua Trail
Ev did this 2x it was REALLY steep and freaked me out a lil! #brave
Ev and I went on....it was amazing.
Panoramas #isuck
Pics like this make me smile and make me so grateful to have #aboy #awarrior
my boy. #nootherway
one my AVA fav's
A great pic of our palace! We stayed on the left in the Edwards tent...the sand was hard, but we were good! #goodfortheprincess
Important to Address the freedom of the island, Freedom DOES come in MANY different ways
Selfie #cleanhair #wasnteasy
I just wanted a pic like this :)
Lets Eat!
Not quite enough food, but the Edwards watched out for us! #mountainhouses #savedus #sogoodforfoodstorage
Dinner Time with these RUG rats! The hang out! They sat making bracelets, telling stories and just chillin, so fun.
Families that P L A Y together, S T A Y together #playmore
Heaven surely looks (and feels) like this
granola and sunflower seeds - snack of champions!
This is where you can leave your essence, in a rock pyramid!
ours....
the kids were in the cave watching RIO #2 and eating snacks and pineapple! While we built and kissed.
Highlights : our epic Napali Coast Sunset Pic
Day 5 - Farewell Napali Coast
(We were hoping to get off the day before as our nice hotel and beds were calling our name, however fate would have it that we got one more day! We love it, but did begin to worry when our drunken boat man was late and a storm was headed for us.) :-0
This was a fun rock right where we were staying and the last horrah! #watchoutyoudontgetsmashedontherocks
#timethewavesjustright
3-2-1 JUMP!
Cuties....good memories and made all the better with fun new friends!
#lookforcharlesheadpokingout
We were rescued, by our drunk fisherman and greeted with Krispy Kreme donuts and waters, the kids loved them. The ride was 1.5 hrs shoot or maybe longer, it was SO crazy, the waves were huge and many times he stopped the boat...I kept thinking, OK if we flip I hold onto Ev here, Ava here and Lu here....we didn't have to use that plan, thank goodness.
ALIVE and WELL! Our condo in Princeville was like a palace with a washer and dryer! #nicetobeclean
The epic tunnel on our way to Poipu that same night! We were ready for some night life!
This is night life!
Night life continued....THIS place is Amazing! The kids weren't excited....until they sunk their teeth into the dog and tasted the killer lemon aid!
heehee
Poipu!
These pics are with the go pro and a cool white attachment so you don't loose your camera, AND take selfies! #OHBABY
Love this one.
Ava, NICE view!
Look at Ev...dork.
DAY 6
HUGE rain storm! Lu and I jumped out of bed in the middle of the night to a loud ZEUS Thunder! We looked at eachother...noticed we were ok and the house was not falling into the ocean, saw everyone else still asleep and went back to bed. :)
Evans Great Find (Hat) in Poipu
A lil chilly and rainy, but never for too long on this amazing island!
Exploring at Poipu
Of course we went back the next day.....
Yes! I got it right!
These lil gems! We love to explore with them, they make life worth living and they bring excitement to us daily! We plan to cover most square inches of the world with them! Teaching them that the world is a very very large place, that life is abundant, that no one can tell you NOT to do anything, to always follow their hearts, to live and love and work hard....and most importantly PLAY HARD! :)
Lucy 11
Evan 8
Ava 8
We pulled over bc it was really windy and the waves were COMIN in HOT!
our jeep
Wailua Falls
178 feet
(Get the blue Kauai book, its amazing)
back in the day bous would jump off this to prove their manhood...sadly many left it all on the rocks below
#crazieswhatweretheythinking!
#nomotherwouldlethersondothat!
The Fam At The Falls! So beautiful! Willy Wonka's Factory is here we think! :)
On our 10th Anniversary (3-9-01) we came to Kauai in April 2011 and Charles bought me a Treasure from this little shop. A coin that was recovered from the
atocha treasure ship. We got Lucy one then also, and this time we got Ava one as well...to remind us that the real treasures in lives are not things at all.
They do Luau here, but we did not do it, BUT it was fun to explore and get some aprons for the girlies! Last time we were here Charles and I ate the delicious buffet!
This is the name of the place.
Oh and I got the cute green and purple bracelet there! Cheep too!
Eating at the fun shopping place, The Dolphin!
Delicious Clam Chowder!
Evan loves sushi....
a lot....
Ya, he inhaled most of this roll....he said " What's this squishy stuff on top?" Stuck in his chop stick and jiggled it a bit and popped it all in his mouth. Ev keeps us smilin that is FO SHORE!
Raw Ahi, not a lu fav.
Don't ya hate it when you take of pic of yourself instead!
TOP it off baby!
Rain is done and so are our shoppin shoes! Off to POIPU BEACH to snorkel!
This stinker put a huge sea cucumber on my back...the worst part is that I did not know it was one, I thought he was scratching me for some reason, neededless to say, I am getting him back!
WHAT! GET that seal back in the ocean~! #daddyyoursomean
You know it! This is for sure my fav sign! Hang loose, especially from the nude woman who passed our camp one nice afternoon on the Napali Coast....I look, yes, she is nude and throws me a smile and this sing....what do I do? Shoot, do it right on back! #hangloosebaby
Awkward. Ev....not wanting to be more cold, does the hang out this way. LOL
I laugh every time I see this pic and my mascara bleeding eyes. He was making me laugh so hard.
Charles made me do this retarded pic with the spray...pls void.
gimme gimme
I was going to share...good thing we each got our own!
The days highlights!
DAY 7
Queens Bath
Selfies....are getting much better!
Blowin this baby up
Speechless.....it is times like these I realize how much love I have for these 4, and their lil devils inside! They keep us happy and laughing and in the end.....isn't that what we all need more of!?
T U N N E L S
(Yes where soul surfer happened) #manIlovethatgirlehero
Because we love fam selfies in amazing places!
And T A D A ! Our fav beach! Shoot whats the name? It is amazing! So diverse....this will be our first stop next trip!
Please don't judge me. :)
Going down to Queens Bath
Such a beautiful path down.
Charles go such cool shots having that extender!
First you walk out of the lava, then you see queen's bath. Last time we came in April it was covered with the ocean, so it was fun to be able to enjoy it this time!
girl
Girl + Boy
Cheek Kiss
Hum....
Smiles...
= Kiss
Chillin at Tunnels
On our way to what is soon to be...our fav Beach!
Ya, this was not the right way...be sure to follow the RIGHT path!
This is It! Where the white water is, is the place you can jump off into the ocean, it was so amazing! Evan and Ava did it with Charles, Lu and I were a lil freaked out! The wave would come way up, then DROP out. Locals were doing fun and crazy stuff of course...next time.
Out on that tip, about to JUMP!
3-2-1-
See what I'm talkin about!
Over there on the right you can see the waves got bigger, so after we had our fun here, we just went down the coast to the big waves and had a blast there.
Here goes Ava!
A C T I O N !
They loved diving off here, Lu and Dad also snorkeled all over here, they loved it!
