Tropical Paradise

We just returned from a much needed trip to Kauai with my family. We had an amazing week of fun and relaxation. We were both really sad to return on Saturday, but such is life. We have been back to work on the house and are starting to see progress. Josh and I still have a couple of months worth of hard labor and organizing before everything is complete but we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Here are some highlights of the first few days of our trip, the rest will follow in just a few days.

Our first day was spent zip lining. It was a wet and windy day but in Hawaii luckily it's warm enough that you aren't completely miserable when this type if weather hits. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't able to get warm the rest of the day and ended up getting strep throat for the rest of the trip. I was only able to get int he water one day but still had the best week! Because it was so wet out, it was also soooo muddy. We rented these sexy kicks to protect our running shoes:

They hauled all ten of us in this totally rad safari truck to the ranch land where we zip lined. I have decided I want one of these magical little cars, it was awesome.

Dad, Patrick, Mom, Chris, Mari, me, Josh, Luke, Curtis, and Lindsay

We had a contest to see who could go the longest crossing this bridge without grabbing the sides. Everyone did surprisingly well and I can't remember who won. Mom or Mares, do you remember?

You have to be sure to check out the videos on the bottom of this page. There is one of Josh running while zipping and it is hilarious, or at least I think it is. Here he is on his take off.

Where's Waldo? Can you find my dad? He is doing a Superman flight in this one.

We were soaking, dripping wet not even half way through our adventure.

We had a picnic by a stream and a little pond, where we swam and played.

Cute Chis and Mari

We tried to take the famous jumping picture but it didn't really work. I guess it's hard to get 10 people in the air at the same time. Check out the specials on each side. Josh and my dad are my favorite in this picture.

After zip lining we went to a humongo cave to explore. I have never seen a cave like this before in my life. It was enormous.

We all tried coconut milk, not the best thing in the world but you'd be happy to have it if you were ever stranded on a deserted island. Supposedly it's really good for you so I think I might start putting it in a morning smoothie for some needed extra vitamins.

On our second day we went to see a famous waterfall and picnic at a blowhole on a beach.

We couldn't go somewhere without breaking the rules so we hiked down to the jungle by the top of the waterfall. My dad has always had/found/collected hiking staffs since I can remember. Here is the gem he found on his way down.

We love this picture of Lindsay and her cute boyfriend Curtis. Poor Curtis comes from a very small family and was probably very overwhelmed by our large, loud group. He was a good sport and seemed happy the whole trip. They are standing at the edge of a cliff by the waterfall in this picture:

The rest of day two was spent with us playing on the beach. It was pretty cool.

Chris, Mari, Patrick and Josh ventured off to a little island right beyond our beach and there was a turtle waiting there to greet them.

I was sicky sick this day so I didn't do much more than lay on the sand.

I bet you didn't know that when Chris gets in the water he turns into Wolverine/chipmunk man, did you?

Day three the boys all rented surf boards. Some of them had surfed before, for others this was their first attempt at the sport. It was really fun to watch them and the girls even played on the boards for a minute. My glasses fell off while I was out there. I didn't notice until we were back on the shore.

I love him.

My husband was my hero and went hunting for my glasses. We didn't think they were findable. They dropped 50-75 yards off shore and I didn't notice for at least ten minutes. I thought they were long gone. Joshua came back with them in hand and I was a happy camper.

Poor Chris and Josh didn't wear rash guards when they surfed in the morning. They both came in with bloody nipples...ouch! So we bandaged them up, they put t-shirts on and were back in business later that afternoon.

Josh rode this one all the way in.

My surfer brother.