Ritchies Make it to Kauai!

 We consider Paul a major reason that we ended up on Kauai, so we were excited the Ritchies came out and even stayed at Koloa Landing, the resort Brady project managed.  They were only here for 5 days (insert sad face), but we packed them full.

Friday night, they arrived and we headed to their condo to eat and swim.  Our kids loved having cousins around and could barely stand to leave the condo at 10pm.

Saturday morning, we took kayaks up the Wailua river, and hiked to Secret falls.  It was such a fun excursion, and actually the first time Kate has been in a kayak (and it seems like also the first time for Tanner, McKay and Logan, but correct me if I'm wrong!).  Here's a picture after the paddle in and before the hike.  I love Angela's face compared with Kate's, and with the boys anxiously looking on.

 Zachary was so excited to be with his cousins.  He asked them about their island, Utah.  He could hardly stand it when we did not paddle right next to them so he could talk to them.  He enjoyed the hike more than anything else that day because he could run and talk with them the whole time.

 I've lived here 6 years, and only just now can flash the shaka without feeling like a tool.  I'm a little envious of Paul.

Garrett filled us in on his team.

 We reached the waterfall and had it mostly to ourselves for a while, which was shocking considering the number of people on the river and the trail.

 Kate fell asleep 5 times that day.  She even slept the entire way back in the kayak, laying on my arm while I paddled and splashed water all over her.  We figured it was due to her late bedtime, but found out later that she actually had a high fever.  Poor little gal.

Swimming under the falls:

 My favorite picture from their trip:

 Love Logan in this one:

 The boys at the river crossing to get back to the kayaks:

 This was the first hike I've done like a legit local--barefoot.  My slippers weren't handling the mud at all, so I carried them the entire way.  Not some major accomplishment, but I always thought locals were sort of crazy for doing that, and I want to note that it is actually not hard at all--at least on a shorter, muddy hike.

 My 2nd favorite picture from their trip:

 My kids on the way home:

 Saturday night, Bryson and Garrett (and the gang) were gracious enough to watch our kids while we ate out at Roys, topping our big day off with molten chocolate cake.  Mmmmmm....

Sunday, the Ritchies came with us to church.  Many people asked if Ang was my sister and I was so flattered by that.  They headed up Waimea Canyon for the afternoon, and we met them up for family pictures and dinner.

I'm incredibly jealous that it is so easy for them to get a picture of 7 people all looking good at once.

 Ang really wanted a jumping picture and I think it's because she can jump the highest:

Monday night, Paul finally convinced Angela that they should do a NaPali boat tour.  They went on a zodiak Monday morning and loved it--tons of baby dolphins doing tricks, snorkeling, sea caves, and best of all, no barfing.  Monday afternoon, we went to Brennecke's to boogie board.  I felt bad because the conditions were not ideal for new boogie boarders--the water was deep and it was hard to push off without fins.  Bryson and Paul are in this shot below, and caught some great waves:

Kate and Zachary zoomed around the beach, built castles, and played in the water with their cousins.  Seeing them all together made my heart ache to live closer, so I'm hoping Paul and Angela will move their family out here soon.  Paul was awesome to watch Kate while I went out and caught some waves with Bryson.  It was really fun.  He and Garrett feel like cousins to me, rather than nephews.

Monday night, Brady (finally) got off work and headed to the condo for a BBQ, with Will and Whitney Summerhays joining us all as well.  We went to Lapperts for some ice cream, and introduced them to the glories of freshly-made pineapple/coconut ice cream.  Before leaving, I caught this picture, but a second too late.  The flash woke up Zachary, who had been sound asleep on McKay's shoulder.

Tuesday, we met at the condo in the morning.  I thought that since Garrett and Bryson were big runners with Cross Country, and Ang is so into distance running, they would like my very favorite run: an 8-mile round trip excursion that starts at Shipwreck rock, runs along the cliffs, runs barefoot in the water/sand for almost a mile, and ends at a fairly private beach called Horseshoe beach (aka Mom Edwards' favorite).  We took off later than we should have (my fault), and it was pretty warm and obviously quite a bit more humid than they are used to.  They were troopers, though, and we made it back.  Just not in once piece.

I was really concerned that one of the boys would fall and hurt an ankle or sustain some other injury that would delay their summer workouts with their team.  I've done this run on my own quite a few times, without any major hiccup (although I do remember twisting my ankle with Kristen once...).  As we were jogging along the very jagged cliffs just before our destination, I turned to remind them--yet again--to use caution and pick up their knees to avoid falling.  I think I had the first word out of my mouth before I tripped, sprawled out, rolled, and then basically got stuck on the rocks.  It made me crazy that Bryson is the one who sees me fall down skiing in Utah, and he was also the one that had to rescue me on my own turf.  Argh.  My bruised ego is healing.

We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming at Koloa Landing.  We loved it.  My kids played "Marco, Polo," for the first time, and it seemed like no one got sick of swimming.  Zac and Logan did tricks off the side of the pool, Paul refereed intense games of "Who can Jump the Farthest?," and Garrett, Tanner, and Bryson played "Horse."

Brady was supposed to have the day off, but he came down with a sore throat and felt lousy.  Angela told him she was sure he had strep, so he obediently marched straight to the doctor.  The doc said he didn't have strep (or mono), but sent his culture in anyway.  A week later, we found out Ang was dead on.  Way to go, Dr. Ritchie!  Brady's had a sore throat/cold symptoms again and again over the past few months and it's a relief to finally find the culprit.

We love having family to ourselves.  Paul is ever the devout reader, who is also willing to watch kids on his vacation and always has wisdom to share.  Angela has a bounce in her step and never seems to run out of gas.  It is overwhelming to me that she has more energy than me but three more children.  Bryson is so social and engaging.  Garrett is calm, makes hilarious faces in photos, and also has a lot to say when you get him one-on-one.   Tanner loves to pose, and also opens up and chats away about his teams and school.  Logan has the best giggle and was Zachary's pal for much of the trip.

McKay...I have a crazy soft spot for him.  McKay followed Kate around every single minute of every day they were here.  He showed her kitties, fed her, showed her games, chased her, held her hand, watched her in the pool, and helped her hike.  He was unbelievable to her.  I will never forget their sweet relationship.

The boys were all really sweet to Zachary, too.  They loved that Zachary asked them constantly, "Are you the one that likes Kate?" and "Are you the one that....," etc., confirming what we all know--the Ritchie boys look alike!  The boys got a kick out of Zac offering them "Pirate Boobies" over and over again (aka Pirate Booty popcorn snack).  Zac is always sad when visitors leave, but he was really sad when the condo full of boys left to go back to "their island."  Good thing we are coming out in October.

I usually end these family visit posts with comments about how much I miss them and love them, and also how grateful I am that we have friends here that act as our family and watch out for us when our "real" family is so far away.  Well, another good set of friends left us this weekend.  We will miss Melissa, Lance, and their kids Will, Porter, and baby Madeline.  We can't believe they are gone.  Now, every friend we did co-op preschool with has moved away.  Here are a few shots from our last visit to Polihale with them two weeks ago.

Melissa is a terrific listener, loving, affectionate, and ready to do anything at a moment's notice.  Her heart is kind and sincere.  She loves Zachary.  I will miss having her to talk with at the beach.  Lance is hilarious, a great ball player, and good story teller.  He's extremely easy to get along with.  Will and Porter have been Zac's pals for years.  We will miss them so much!