With a few days of their trip remaining, we headed up to Waimea Canyon. My mom tells me that she hasn't seen the lookout here without clouds, and I know it is commonly socked in with fog. However, we usually get lucky and see breathtaking views up here. We thought we were out of luck when we first arrived...
...but after hiking further down, we found some blue sky.
Kate insisted on finding a hiking stick. She hunted for it about 10 minutes, and hiked with it about 2.
(This is where I mention that we never downloaded Mom and Dad's pictures, so despite taking many, I have little to show for some of our outings aside from my quality-lacking phone pics.)
The next morning, we headed to Poipu Beach for snorkeling. Kate saw Grandma and Grandpa gearing up, and wanted to join in.
Dad, out in the water in the very middle of the pack (white shirt). Karen, clearly without the zoom lens.
Mom and Dad went out together a ways, but it was windy and cold, and the fish weren't close to shore. We're hoping next time they are here, she gets a good snorkeling experience.
Upside-down-sunglasses selfie:
In the afternoon, we went to lunch with Brady at Beach House. Monchong fish sandwiches were killer but not so much the gut bombs all day from the fries.
My favorite picture of them together from this trip.
I mentioned last post that Mom and Dad purchased a kite for Zachary and Kate. We bought a kite years ago, but it's huge and intense, and the one (yes, one) time we've ever flown kites with our kids, it was not very successful. It makes me feel slightly guilty, but makes G&G's visit all the sweeter that this was a new experience for the kids.
Grandpa showed them the ropes:
The kids most liked chasing the shadow.
I have a love/hate relationship with this picture. I love that Kate looks so strong running around, and I hate that she doesn't look like she's two anymore.
I feel like these pictures are the ones we will treasure forever.
A few spider lily pictures. I was so happy flowers were blooming while Mom was here.
Gorgeous!
I'm going to canvas one of these:
(Probably not this one.)
"Mom, look! I'm doing ballet stretches!"
Yes, that's too many kite pictures, but the view, the kids, the grandparents, the perfect weather...lots to capture in one afternoon.
Mom and Dad taught our family nights both weeks. The first week, they talked to our kids about why they were choosing to serve a mission. The second week, Dad told his famous squirrel story. Never disappoints!
Last year, Dad played "Trouble" a hundred times. He said he really likes Zac's new obsession, "Uno," better.
We took a final outing to Poipu with Brady to check out turtles and crashing waves.
Thank you, Mom and Dad, for staying in our less-than-comfortable house and for making such an effort to come see us. Two years seems like a long, long time, but at least we have Facetime and lots of kite pictures to get us through until next time! We love you!
