Kauai

It all started when my dad was trying to figure out where to go and who to go with for his Spring Break. I knew I would be 31 weeks pregnant at the time, so I wasn't even considering going with him anywhere. But, then we started talking about the possibility and I looked up airline policies on flying while pregnant. We were clear on the airlines. So we looked at airline ticket prices and checked with Heather for watching our kids. We were worried about leaving our kids for a week, but we felt good about it and decided to go for it.

We had a great time!

at Seattle airport

Monday- Scuba at Kaloa Landing

We were dumb tourists and didn't apply sunscreen on our first afternoon at Poipu. We got burned and suffered the rest of the week. whoops.

Monday- snorkeling at Poipu. It was different to snorkel while pregnant. I had to be aware of how close my belly was to the coral in shallow areas. :)

Tuesday- Tunnels Beach (David carried Dad's scuba tank. We decided to find a parking spot at a closer location to where they wanted to dive next time.) We went to Calypso on the way home and got Macho nachos with Kalua pork and Pina coladas. Mmm Mmm. We also went to some of the shops in Hanalei.

overlooking the taro fields

overlooking the taro fields

Wednesday: Wailua Waterfalls (above). Then on to a BUMPY road leading to a beautiful beach. The road was so long and bad that I was contracting and getting worried by the end. On the way back, I had my running shoes on and planned to walk the worst part of the road. But it didn't seem as bad on the way back so I just stayed in the car.

After the bumpy road beach, we watched the surfers at a resort near Kaloa landing while Zack and Dad went for a dive. We saw sea turtles from above while at the resort. I love those animals!

We went to Costco for dinner and then to see the movie Cinderella. The quote of the night was when Zack was first in our group and said "one for Cinderella." :) It was a great movie. I can't wait for Annika to see it!

At the beach after the long, bumpy road. I might be peeing.

before we got our swim gear on (bumpy road beach)

This is one of my favorite memories from the trip. David (and later Zack) sat backwards and waited for the waves to crash on them. It made for some great laughs and fun pictures. It felt good to laugh so hard.

we made sandwiches to take to the beach everyday 

Thursday: We hiked the Napali trail. We made it to the 1/2 mile point. It's a steep and rocky, steady climb. I was proud of my pregnant self! It's such a beautiful hike and I'm so glad we did it again!
After our hike, we ate lunch on the beach and snorkeled at ke'e, the beach right by the trail head. I saw needle fish for the first time! Then we drove to Tunnels for a scuba dive and ended the day with ice cream at McDonald's. We also did a prego photo shoot after Tunnels.

Napali Coast crew

Brooklyn and Annika feeding the geese

playing at the playground near Heather's house

everything he needs

kinetic sand time

We left the kids with Heather and Nathan for the week. They did great! Benson slept in until 9 or 10 most days. He got sick the last few days before we came home. So that wasn't fun for Heather. We missed our kids like crazy. But, we're glad we went. We made a lot of fun memories!

tea party

Friday: We went to Brennekes beach and watched Zack and David boogie board. They had some small successes out on the waves. :) Then we went to Kaloa landing for a dive and snorkeling. David and I saw a big school of fish and a turtle at the end. 

Friday: then it was snow cone time in Poipu 

Friday: Spouting horn. They have a a few rows of vendors near the lookout point. One vendor women took particular interest in us and my pregnant belly. She said she felt that Esther has a tenacious spirit. We'll see how accurate that is soon. :)

poor Benson (and Heather)! He threw up in his carseat. I think this was on Friday.

Saturday: watching General Conference in bed. I made baked oatmeal so we could have breakfast in bed. :)

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After the lighthouse, we went to a yard sale because, I just had to be able to say I went to a yard sale in Kauai!

Saturday: after Conference, we went to the Kilauea Lighthouse. There are some beautiful views there!
 

Saturday: Then we went to St Regis resort at Hanalei bay. They had valet parking and then we walked through the plush lobby and down elevators to get to the beach. The resort guests had lounge chairs with beds and canopies over the top and plates full of fruit and fancy drinks. It was fun to watch the people. I did feel out of place with out beach chairs and picnic lunch.
I went snorkeling with Papi in the bay. We didn't see much until the end. We were out about 150 yards from the coast before we headed back in. Soon after we began swimming back to shore, I saw gills on a 5 foot long creature. I quickly caught up to dad, glad he wasn't too far ahead! I grabbed his fin and we both went up to air so I could tell him "I think I just saw a shark!" He was pretty excited and went back under, with me close behind him. Sure enough, it was a white tip reef shark. With my hand on his shoulder, so he was between me and the shark, I asked if it was dangerous or if I could back to shore right away. And then I high tailed it back to shore. My heart was racing and my breathing was heavy. I was so grateful to be on dry ground and not anxious to get back in the water anytime soon! But, now I can say I've swam next to a dangerous shark. :)

walking along the coast line of Hanalei Bay (St Regis Resort)

my Dad had originally planned to rent a Chevy Spark for the week. There is no way that would've worked. We got a minivan and it was perfect for all the scuba and beach gear we brought everywhere.

caves by the Napali trail head

Oh how we missed our babies!

At Jessica's house for the afternoon

Easter morning

Easter egg hunt!

Easter morning! 

Sunday: Our last day. We missed our babies so much and couldn't wait to get back to them. We decided 8 days was too long. But we still enjoyed our last day in Kauai.

Glass beach

waterfalls on the way up to Waimea Canyon (the grand canyon of the Pacific)

Waimea Canyon

Sunday- our last stop before heading to the airport. We saw a beautiful sunset. This is at a resort near Poipu (the same place where David and I watched the surfers and saw the sea turtles).