HAWAII 2010

Mom and dad gave us another opportunity to travel to Kauai with all my siblings and the cousins. We stayed at Princeville again and as always it was such a treat. It was a wonderful week if you look over the fact that my children's faces got so sunburned that they are scabbed! What kind of mother am I? I promise I really did sunscreen them and re-apply regularly. I swear the sun is alien there. There was also a bit of chaffing going on with all the boys which was discovered when they all began to walk like bow-legged robots. But a little neosporin fixed 'em up and they were back in the sand and surf the next day. We did some of the same things as the last trip like surfing and boogie boarding, only this time we rented the boards for the week rather than just doing a lesson. I thought that renting them was way better because we were able to spend more days at the beach for far less dinero. We also had multiple shaved-ice trips with the favorite this time going to Shaved Ice Paradise. I discovered a little too early in the week that you could skip the whole shaved ice top and order straight macadamia nut ice-cream in a cone. Heaven! Like last trip we all attended a Luau together, this time the Smith Family Luau instead of the Princeville one. I think the consensus was that we all liked this years choice better. The grounds were absolutely beautiful and the whole affair was more relaxed and family friendly. Some of the men thought the dancing etc. went on a little long, but for the most part everyone had a great time. I was really proud of the kids for going out on a limb and trying many of the local foods and dishes although I don't think anyone but mom ventured as far as the Poi. Ryan and I got an afternoon to ourselves, which we shared part of with Andrew and Shelly who also had a few hours without kids. (we watched Baldwin kids earlier in the week for A and C while they golfed with A and R )We went to this gorgeous little protected cove in Hanalei and snorkeled and walked on the beach among the "coconuts". Ryan and I also stopped at a juice bar and got the most amazing fresh squeezed juice concoctions. We rounded out the week with a boat dive for Ryan and a girls day at the spa for me and all the ladies. Why have we not done that before???? The kids loved ordering lunch by the pool and practically drowning themselves drinking POG. There was lots of noise (so sorry for the other guests) and games of "crush the carrier" on the lawn for the kids and late nights of "catch-phrase" for us adults. Mostly though it was just so great to catch up with everyone and spend time with our kids away from all the typical stresses of life. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family around us.