A Whole Lotta Love

Sensing the end of our wide-open Saturdays with the start of soccer games this coming week, and seeing sunshine on the forecast, we jumped on the opportunity to stay up north in the Princeville house while Abe was gone.  Zachary's soccer practice was unexpectedly canceled, so we took off earlier and got up to the house in time to bike, throw a football around, and play basketball before it was dark.

The next morning, we worked out and headed off to the pier early, but not before getting Holy Grail donuts.  I can still taste the guava donut and it even better than it looks.

 

Gorgeous day!

We ended up centered mostly at the pier.  These girls were in the water easily 4-5 hours.  So lucky they have each other and share a passion for surfing.  It's tricky watching Kate get close to Milly, who will almost for sure move in a couple months, but Milly blends right in with the girls and they play and laugh together like they've been close for years.  The waves that day were bigger and stronger than the previous few weeks, and the girls maneuvered through other surfers and made long, big drops with ease.  So exciting!

Lunch on the pier, rating Nic's rides.

This moment reminded me so much of a moment long ago when toddler Kate was begging for Zachary's sandwich as the two of them sat on a boogie board.  Roxy begged for Owen's meat while he giggled and brushed her off.

Zachary also surfed for hours but Hanalei sand needs to be maneuvered.

Surf selfie.  

Brady surfed and caught dozens of waves while Owen and I walked Roxy and he played with Finn and Theo.

I had a couple turns surfing, taking advantage of the hour Brady left to take kids back to the house and pick up Valentines flowers.  You know what is better than Valentines Flowers?  An extra hour in the water with my friend catching gorgeous waves on the outside.  I came in when I was so tired, the paddle back in seemed overwhelming.  I haven't felt that exhausted from paddling since my girls surf trip to Oahu years ago.

Heidi is good with babies and puppies.

Sunday morning, we took off for some time at the park before church.  While playing Lava Tag, Ty made a jump to "safety" (ironic, considering the next events), but slipped on the curb and fell on his wrists.  It was a body sacrifice for the game and five days later, we found out he broke his wrist in two places.  

We realized that with Shay's sprained ankle, Nic's newly functional but still tender knee, and Ty's wrist injury, our original hiking plans needed to be modified.  We walked down to Secret Beach, intending to explore the waterfall before discovering enormous, impassible waves blocking access.  We found a gorgeous spot to eat lunch, and explored along the coast in the easy manner we can fall into with the Clarks.

Owen had his favorite moments of the weekend here.

Tate was dying to help Roxy get in the ocean for the first time, and we let him.  Roxy went right in, but was not as eager to come back after she fully realizing what she committed to.

I would love to caption this photo with her thoughts:

"What is happening???"

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

"I'm going to die!  Help!"

We said goodbye to the Clarks and then played baseball and basketball across the street from the Layton house for an hour.  I loved the Valentines Day cupid decor.

Zachary claimed he was not feeling the best (and Monday, when he came down with a slight fever and sweats/aches, it was clear this wasn't just a way to dodge a bike ride). He stayed back to read and Kate, Owen, Brady and I cruised around for miles on the overcast afternoon.

At the end of the path we followed, there were stairs leading to a beach access.  Kate was dying to explore them but we wanted to get back to Zachary and pack up the house.  After the tasks were behind us, we took Roxy and Zac and the rest of us walked down the stairs to the beach.  We found gorgeous foliage along the way, and I was able to see up close the project Brady is working on.

The 1 Hotel is a $155 million renovation and it was interesting to finally see it "up close."

We found a beach swing and played on it for 20 minutes as the sun set, watching the surfers on the giant waves at The Point.

My affectionate little man.

Kate's Valentine to us in the sand.

We forgot her leash and made one out of vines.

Our 20th Valentines Day!  I remember the first one, when he walked to the top of the 4th story at the library to table where I was buried in books.  He placed a chocolate rose next to me and kept walking.  I thought it was so smooth.  That night, he gave me conversation hearts that told me he loved me for the first time.  So glad it stuck and we continue to find moments for celebrating our love.

Brady came all the way home with us that night just so he could watch Lord of the Rings with Zachary, even though he turned around at 6am the next morning for the long drive back.  Oh darlin, we love you and appreciate your sacrifices.

President's Day was a day off from school for the older two, but Owen still had the option for preschool.  He said he wanted to stay home, so I canceled for him.  Twenty minutes later, he said, "Ok, Mom!  I don't have preschool so you and I get to do some super duper cool craft together!"  Ha!!!  I decided to run with it and we explored a dozen crafts before he decided on dyeing salt and making salt jars.

He and I also tide pooled after swimming in the ocean together while Kate surfed and Zac slept off his achy body.

What an exciting break from normal for us.  It's funny to me that going to the beach feels exciting simply because we are staying up north.  Staycations are not so bad!