Heber City Visits Kauai

After our trip to Utah, the kids counted down to when the Ritchies were coming to town.  It turned out we had a lot of competition--63 Ritchies here for a reunion meant not a lot of Edwards/Ritchie playtime.  We did see each other briefly here and there at the pool, for a bit at the beach, while out to dinner, on a trek to see turtles, and a couple times at the house/condo.  We were happy to get the weekend after most of the other family left, and we spent that time at Waiohai.  Mom and Dad Edwards arrived in Kauai a few days before Ritchies left and we had that overlap time together.

Mom and Dad arrived on Thursday and by Friday, already had Owen comfortable with them.  (Yeah, I know, the Bumbo doesn't go on the counter and I've since stopped!)  I love this picture with Mom and Baby O.

 Friday, we spent the day at Baby Beach, first with a picnic and then on a hunt for tons of shade.  Owen joined Dad for an afternoon siesta while Mom and I played with the kids in the sand.  One thing I loved during their trip was that I could pass off Owen and play in the water or in the sand with Zachary and Kate.  It's been a solid five months since I've been able to do that.

Dad recently had radiation treatments for skin cancer on top of his head, so he was extra vigilant about staying completely covered up for the trip.

 We saw a couple turtles and later a monk seal.  The seal had a fish hook stuck in it's mouth and the lifeguard actually closed down the beach while the rescue team anesthetized it and moved it for treatment.  Dad was fascinated by the whole process.

 The next morning, Brady and Dad mowed the lawn before we hit the beach with the Ritchies.  I loved watching Grandpa encourage Zachary in his chores.

 The Clarks happened to be at Waiohai at the same time we were there--along with what appeared to be every tourist from all the south shore hotels.  It was packed! Angela and the boys asked Zachary to show them some of his tricks, and he happily obliged for several hours.

A whole gang of cousins and friends in front of Zac:

My favorite shot ever of Zachary in the water:

This kid doesn't wear out.

Dad proved time and again that he is the baby whisperer.  I have the fondest memories of Dad walking around the living room at 3am holding Kate and soothing her during a particularly difficult night when she was only a few weeks old.  He had walked with her for at least an hour and when I stumbled into the living room that night, I almost bawled with gratitude.  I love that I now have vivid pictures of him holding baby Owen, too.

Love Owen's little bum jutting out while he sleeps soundly on Grandpa's shoulder in the shade.

Mom is such a good sport to get down on her hands and knees to play with my kids, especially in the sand.  She doesn't swim, so she does this knowing it's not going to come off easily and will probably irritate her for several hours.

Logan loved watching the surfers.  A few days before, he let me go out and push him into a few waves.  He seemed a little bum the conditions weren't right for surfing the two times we went to the beach together.

The other boys played in the water and waves, and my favorite was watching Tanner play with Z in the water, and then Garrett ride some waves with him, too.  The boys were so thoughtful and went out of their way to make Zachary feel good, ask him questions, etc.  Kate had no shortage of attention, either.  McKay was the most attentive and she ate it up.

We tried to go do Brennecke's for boogie boarding, but the waves were massive.  That night, we ordered food and ate at the house.  The kids jumped on the tramp, played Bocce Ball, and caught gheckos.

Owen wasn't hurting on attention, either.  My heart explodes seeing people I love holding my babies.

T and Z building a robot "as tall as me and almost as tall as Tanner," said Zac.

The next morning, we went to church together and then came back to the house.  I never thought of my kitchen as too small until that afternoon!  I loved listening to Garrett talk about humanitarian work in Fiji, Angela's reflections on Bryson's mission, watching Paul in action as bishop, and everyone trying to talk through Sunday afternoon fatigue.  We ate dinner together--including Angela's contribution of one watermelon that cost her $24--and shipped them off to the airport.  Our time with them was way too short and we are hoping they will come again.

Love the sibling pic.

Kate clung to Logan all afternoon.  When they all left, I felt so much gratitude to the boys for showing my kids so much attention and love.  

Of course, with Mom and Dad Edwards around, the love and attention didn't stop.  They went up the canyon the next day and we finished off the afternoon grilling and making a stop at Lapperts.

Tuesday, the kids and I took the kids up to a new beach for them--Kalihiwai--on the north shore.  We first stopped for pineapple frosties made exclusively from frozen sugarloaf pineapple.  Everyone loved them, including baby O.

The beach is fed by Kalihiwai Stream, and with all the rain, the water was pretty dirty.  The day was pretty and overcast, with a few showers.  Up to this point, we hadn't had a sunny north shore day in months and months and that day was no exception.

Owen trying out Grandpa's hat:

 The kids played on their homemade teeter totter (ouch) and boogie boarded wave after wave.  The current was a little strong and I was impressed with Kate who is usually more nervous when the conditions get rough.  She rode dozens of waves, giggling and exclaiming, "MORE, MORE!" after every ride.  It was so fun to be out there with her.  Zac had a great time as always, too, and the only thing stopping him from staying out forever was the sand.  This kid has an insatiable appetite for playing in sand.

 I love Owen curled up and snuggled in this picture.

Wednesday, Mom requested that we go on a nature walk with the kids.  She injured her knee a week before coming and wasn't sure what her leg could handle in terms of hikes.  It was a struggle but she was able to make it down to the beach.  It was crazy beautiful and the kids loved playing in the bay and stream.  We packed up after a few hours and headed to Sheratons.  Unfortunately, I didn't snap a single picture of the experience.

I loved that Mom and Dad are also okay with daily life on their vacations.  They went to Costco and Safeway on Thursday while I took Kate to ballet and jazz, and even cooked up salmon tacos that night for dinner.  We made it out the night to check out the sunset from our backyard.

Our next big adventure was the Kealia bike path.  Brady took the day off and rented a bike he could ride tandem with Mom.  She hasn't been on a bike in over 40 years!   Zachary took off with Dad, Brady and Mom E. while I ran along with Owen and Kate peddled her little bike.  She is getting so much faster!

 Zac was pretty excited about the dirt trail part of the ride.

 Dad got a new camera and Brady showed him a few tricks.

 Owen was fairly content for the 2 hour ride, but I did have to carry him for a mile or two.

 That night, we stopped at Duke's for dinner and gobbled up fish tacos.

Saturday, we spent the gorgeous, cloudless day in Hanalei.  It was so perfect and solidified my belief that there's no better place than Hanalei on a sunny day.  We forgot Zachary's surf board and instead spend the day boogie boarding in the waves.  Kate and I paddle boarded.  She was a boogie boarding champ again that day.

Mom was courageous and let Brady take her out in the water.  Being in water is terrifying for someone who doesn't swim.

 Zachary and a new friend.  They saw each other and exclaimed, "Hey!  We look exactly the same!"  They were two toe-head locals playing in the waves all afternoon.

 Sunday was Father's Day.  We love that this year we spent Mother's Day with my mom, and Father's Day with Brady's dad.  Dad and Brady caught a well-deserved, post-church snoozer at the same time.  Love Dad's glasses hanging below his mouth.

 Owen got more Grandma love.  She had him in fits of giggles.

That night, we went out again to the Point, and learned again how much Mom and Dad care about people more than events.  It started raining and they got soaked, anxious not to miss out on Cory's phone call.  The stood under a tiny tree and chatted in the boisterous wind and rain.  We laughed at the image but realize that selflessness they have benefits all of us.  We took pictures before the rain while we waited and then booked it to the car.

 I love watching these two explore together.  Lately, Kate has been flexing and then kissing her bicep.  Ha!

 Happy Father's Day to the best dad I can imagine for my children.

 I hate the Daddy-balancing-baby trick but I keep taking pictures of it anyway.

Monday, we went up to Kalipaki to build drip castles.  Zachary made friends again at the beach and spent a couple hours teaching boys how to boogie board.  It was a sweet mommy moment watching him work with those boys.

 Tuesday, Mom and Dad spent the day mostly packing up for their return trip, but made it out to watch Zac surf a bit at Sheratons.  I mostly took videos but grabbed a few photos.

 In true Mom/Dad form, they also made an octopus craft with both kids--a time-consuming project that my kids display on their beds every night.

The next day, my kids were so bummed out with an empty house.  Since then, we have filled our days with beaches and friends, but nothing replaces grandparents.

I'll close this post out with a few funny sleeping pictures from the time the kids slept in our room during the trip.  I learned that everyone--including Owen--snores in our family and wore earplugs every night.