Sunday, April 12, 2009

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.

13 comments:

Brooke and Matt: said...

Looks like you guys had a blast!! That made me miss Kauai! We did a lot of the same things when we were there (the cave, blow hole, etc.) Its such a pretty place. The pics of you zip lining brought back some happy Cancun memories!

Laura said...

Ok, the jumping picture, wolverine-chipmunk picture, and the bloody nipple picture are definitely my favorites! It reminds me of Andy on the Office when they do the race for rabies run. Do you watch the Office?? Hahah! Good stuff!
Glad you had fun!

The Kilger Family said...

How fun! It looks like you guys had a great trip!

Chris and Mari Spiker said...

I truly want to go back. Being at work today is soooooo depressing! It was such a fun trip!

Brittany and Johnse said...

Looks like you had a great time! I am jealous! :) Sorry you got sick though...that is the worst to be on vacation and get sick!! At least you looked skinny, fashionable, and darling while being sick!

the organic kitchen said...

That was a fun trip and the winner of the crossing the bridge with no hands contest was our guide Laura. She made it all the way across woth Josh or Dad shaking the bridge hard!

Rachel said...

That was fun to read! I laughed at the jumping picture and the bloody nipples. OUCH! So sorry you were sick. You are a trooper though, and it sounds like you still managed to have a good time. Looking forward to see the rest of the pics...

Megan said...

it sounds like you had an amazing trip! im so jealous of your hawaii trip, even though getting strep is a total bummer!

Tiffany + Jared said...

lucky little lady! I've yet to zipline through jungles which i so badly want to do.

ps i miss you

Adam & Samantha said...

you got strep in hawaii? i totally feel your pain, ive had it 3 times so far this year! its miserable! im glad you had fun, you look so cute anyways!

Julie said...

That was where we went on our honeymoon! I love Kauai! I am glad you guys had such a fun time and I hope you're feeling better!

Missy said...

Wow, what a fun trip! Your pictures are beautiful. Josh, I have to say I'm impressed you got up on a surfboard... That is really tough.

Amanda and Ry said...

Oh Courtney I love these pictures! It makes me a little jealous but you guys look like you had an awesome time! So fun.