The Garden Isle

Micah and I ran away for a few days to Kaua'i last week and LOVED every second. Seriously. I forgot how much fun it is to just be with Micah and do whatever we want to do.

The pictures are all thanks to Micah's phone so they don't quite capture the Kaua'i we experienced.

When we first got there we drove to Hanalei and went surfing. Together. At the same time. This is a luxury for us as parents. Hanalei point was beautiful. The wind didn't seem to touch the bay so we had glassy rights that came clean like from a wave machine. We couldn't get over the crowd, or rather, the lack of crowd. Kaua'i only has 62,000 people that live on the whole island, so crowds in the water probably don't happen much.

After cleaning up at the hotel we went to a movie at the one movie theater on the whole island. This is when we felt really spoiled and revel in how simply and quickly we could do things without the kids.

After sleeping in to 8:45 we went out for breakfast. Oh, Java Kai. I will dream of you and your fresh bagel, fruit chaser and breakfast burrito. That kept us full for our surf sess and hike to Hanakapi'ai Falls. After the hike we threw our shoes away and swam at He'e beach. Such a beautiful protected beach. This is when we started talking about things we'd love to show the kids on Kaua'i. We cleaned up like homeless people living out of a rental car and went to dinner at a Tapas restaurant. We shared some soft as butter scallops, and the best Mahi I've ever had. We were hungry, but I will be going back to Barracuda's for sure.

The hike earned us a night in the hot tub and relaxing in front of the tv until we fell asleep. Again, such a luxury! We felt so spoiled.

I feel like we wasted it when we couldn't sleep past 7:15, but we were ready to play. And eat. We were super excited to try Tutu's Soup Hale, but it closes on weekends! Nooooo! That's on my list for next trip. the Kountry Kitchen was a great replacement. Pancakes bigger than the plate with butter that looked like scoops of ice cream on there. We drove to Poipu to see what the south side had to offer. Just as beautiful. We long boarded a couple spots, watched whales and got caught in a crazy rain storm. We filled up on Puka Dogs and gelato then headed home.

Kaua'i has a place in my heart. I haven't been able to stop daydreaming about it. It was a perfect getaway. We forgot to rest and take the nap we always wish we could take, but no regrets. From the Walmart where they don't have plastic bags (go reusable bags!) and the law that says no building can be taller than the coconut trees, I love Kaua'i and look forward to the next trip.

First Tooth

It's out! It finally came out while he was watching X Men. He was just playing with it and says, "My tooth just came out!" in an excited and even surprised way. Eden keeps announcing that he has a hole in his tooth. He can't stop sticking his tongue through it and he told me he hopes the Tooth Fairy brings him a dollar. Let's hope 4 quarters will suffice.

Valentine's Day

We LOVE love. And there's a lot of love around here. Micah and I aren't really the V day celebrating type, but you know us with the kids - we'll get into holidays with them. We made them pink heart shaped pancakes, gave them valentine's (fun noodles and a little candy), and made sugar cookies. The decorating was super fun. And delicious.

Kahuku Elem does a cute sweethearts lunch where families (or just Dad's like Taj requested) go and eat lunch with their kids. Micah took them taco bell and they got to sit where ever they wanted. These are the valentine's Taj took to hand out to his class. When we picked him up he said it was his favorite day.

Micah and I weren't total bums. We did go for a Valentine's surf. Which was very fun. And our favorite kind of date.

Helmets at the Dinner Table

Be warned: there's a pretty gross, blurry picture at the bottom of this blog,

Our kitchen counter doubles as our kitchen table. We eat on stools around it. It's how we've done it for a long time and it seems to work. Until the other night. The kids get wiggly a lot so last Thursday wasn't too diferent. Eden was turned around talking to Olivia when I notice apple chunks coming out of her laughing mouth. I tell her to turn around and eat over her plate. That's when she slips while turning around. I'm about to get mad at her for being wild. I tell her to go sit on the couch to calm down and notice a little blood on her forehead. Taking a closer look I can see that's not where the blood is coming from. I turn her around and see blood oozing down her neck. She had a pretty bad gash on her head. It took me by such suprise. Micah wasn't home so I had one of those moments where I can feel myself almost freak out from the blood and fear and have to stop myself and be brave and calm for sweet Eden. I have her lay down and I go to get some ice and that's when my knight in shining armor, or wet surf shorts comes home. We decided not to super glue it and an hour later she got three staples in her head.

She was so brave. As she and Micah were leaving Kahuku ER she told him she like's it here. She meant Hawaii because it's warm and people are nice. Funny reaction, I know, but at least it ended positively for her and she came home happy as could be. She's been kind of excited about it and wants to show everyone her staples. Her head is healing nicely. Me on the other hand, I;m still a little shaken up about it. The kids have been getting a healthy dose of "don't do that or you'll end up with staples in your head." It's crazy to think of all the wild and dangerous things the kids do in a day, and she gets hurt at the dinner counter. We need to get helmets.

Legal at the Hotel Pool