Grandma and Grandpa do Spring Break in Hawaii

The kids counted down days until Grandma and Grandpa came to town, a day before Spring Break.  Zachary and Kate ran off to school for the end-of-quarter carnival and Mom and Dad played cars and toys with Owen.  We put the tracks outside so they would fly off the stairs for the first time and I wondered why we had never tried it that way before.  Owen and Grandpa had 30 races, each time Owen saying, "Ready, Set..." and releasing his car before "Go!"  Unsurprisingly, he won most of those rounds.

Mom and Dad love to gaze at the ocean, and there is no better place for that than on the cliffs of Poipu.  We found at least 7 turtles, held hands on rocks, found tiny crabs, and watch water fly into the air.

Later, we went to Mahaulepu to walk in the water barefoot and splash with Owen.

Brady took a stab at their trendy health habits the next morning before we took off for soccer.

Mom and Dad were able to see both Kate and Zachary play and win their games.

The early afternoon was spent running quick errands, playing a dozen rounds of speed scrabble, attempting to wake up Owen, and planting trees.

Dad is going to start hating Hawaii.  Every time he is here, we have him helping us with a project.  This time, it was to put in palms that will provide privacy from our neighbors while they swim.

At one point, Owen independently opened the garage, took his sand shovel and bucket, and pitched in to help.  It was so adorable to turn a corner looking for him and find him out working with his dad.

Brady and I both had piano obligations that afternoon/evening for stake conference, but after we got home, we put Mom and Dad to work on yet another project--this time for Kate's birthday party.  We decided to make memory boards for each child attending Kate's "Liv and Maddie"-themed party.  It was so much work to cut all the quilting pad, staple gun all the fabric and ribbon, and attach the ...., but they turned out perfectly.  If we had to do them alone, they would have taken us twice as long.

Sunday morning was March 17th.  The kids worked all week on Leprachaun traps but I think they knew they were not likely to catch one.  After all, none of us have ever heard of a Leprechaun getting caught.  Slippery little things!  Kate worked on her design with Ava and thanked the Leprochans for whatever treasure they decided to leave.  Her trap included a rock wall to climb and a request for a signature (which was granted!).

Zachary worked on his two weeks in advance, even spray painting it.  The trap was clever with a water hole at the bottom, but somehow it was evaded.

Owen painted rainbows and shamrocks.

Kate and Ava alternated between crafting and playing games with Grandma and Grandpa.

I completely forgot the St. Patrick's Day picture with the kids in their lucky green shirts.  Zac refused to wear his all day and I think that means I still owe him some pinches.

Kate insisted on taking my picture.

Monday was Kate's big birthday party, with 11 invited guests.  Dad ran to the store in the morning to get our last minute forgotten items while Mom and I prepped for the kids to arrive.  It was a success!

After Kate returned home from dance, we went walking along the coast, this time with Zachary and Kate.  Brady joined us after his run.

We finished off the night with Zachary's request: waffles for dinner.

Tuesday, we met up with friends at Sheratons.  Kate even agreed to surf 5 waves for Grandma and Grandpa.  This break is still intimidating for her and I was proud of her courage.  Zac dug sand with them, and Owen ran around until his face was tomato-red.

Wednesday was my favorite day of their trip: hiking with them up Sleeping Giant.  Kate and Ava cooked it to the top, Zac ran back and forth between groups, and Owen hiked 3 miles all by himself.  It was sunny and beautiful and I was happy Mom and Dad were able to catch some perfect weather.

That night, Brady took them out for moonlit walking at the Hyatt and Shipwreck's Beach, followed by ice cream at Lapperts.  I love this little tradition he does with his parents each time they visit.

The next morning, Owen woke up before me (well, he did that every morning) and helped himself to a box of Lucky Charms.  Mom and Dad discovered him pounding the mallows.

Mom and Dad went to Kokee and Kate joined them.  She was a little shy about going initially but decided she really wanted the time alone with them.  They picked a perfect day with stunning views of the coast and canyon.  Kate loved learning about the stages of fern growth, and also enjoyed JoJo's shave ice.  She came back so thrilled about the time she had with them and I hope it is a day she remembers forever.

Friday was Kate's actual birthday, which we spent at Kalipaki Beach with Brady before heading to dinner at Keoki's.

Saturday started off early again with soccer games.  Kate's team solidly beat the Arsenal boys (a tough team for the Onipa'a girls last year), and she even scored a goal!  Zac played hard in his game.  They were short one player and playing a tough girls team that beat them.  He then played another full game, joining the boys older than him as a power forward.  He came home bright red and happy with his efforts.

Earlier in the week, we invited friends to join us that afternoon at Polihale.  Mom and Dad wanted to see the beach since they've never been there before.  Unfortunately, the winds were too strong, so we ended up at Kekaha instead.  We had an awesome turnout with 8 families and a delicious potluck.  It was a lot of cooking that afternoon but worth it for the sunset, friends, and beautiful water.  It was especially nice for us to introduce Mom and Dad to our friends in the environment we know them best.  It's fine to meet at church or social functions, but the beach is our home turf.

The sky!  The people!

I love this picture of Mom!

Mom snagged this shot of Owen looking pensive.

He looks so much like a young Kate here.

Nic with baby Paige and baby Hudson.

That night, we came home and cooked, cooked, cooked some more in preparation for Kate's baptism the next day.  Her day went beautifully and it was perfect to have extra help.  Monday and Tuesday went too quickly but were highlighted with yummy food (Mom made her special cinnamon raisin bread!), games (lots of Hilarium and Scrabble), and family night.  When they pulled out of our driveway on Tuesday night to leave for Utah, Kate burst into hard tears.  "Why do they have to live so far away?" she asked.  We loved the time with them and treasure having them to ourselves.