The first night on the north shore, we parked in Brady's exclusive construction lot which gave us easy access to Hideaways. We thought the waves would be too much for snorkeling but everyone who wanted to went out. Kristen and Blake swam with 4 sea turtles on their outing. Lucky! We watched the kids race across the sand, swing off ropes, and swim and laugh for nearly two hours until the sun set. This evening was my favorite of their trip.
Those that can't swim with seat turtles create them in the sand.
Elise showed off her dance and athletic prowess.
Snorkeling is so awkward. I will never forget Kristen's good-natured laugh to her stumbled entry. No one makes it look easy.
I loved seeing all four siblings helping each other out.
This beach was begging for a footrace.
Zachary willingly posed for this photo and then chased Brady around to see if any contraband photos were taken.
"Sibling or Dating?" I've never heard of that site but I bet this would be a good entry.
Owen's favorite thing at the beach is running, though, and Zac was happy to oblige his little bro.
I've worked hard on my flexibility this past year:
(But that's Elise again.)
The kids came back and swam while Cory and Kristen assembled bacon and avocado burgers while Brady and I worked on cancelling our 1,000 degree room condo.
Then came my favorite part of their entire visit.
Owen was going to melt down. So many late nights and so much stimulation bubbled around in his belly. We told him no juice at 8:30pm and tantrums were on the rise. Cory started telling him an engaging story and singing a song about meeting a dragon named Puff who "lived in a land called Hanalei." Cory showed Owen a picture of Owen's superpower--red eyes. If Owen concentrated hard and pursed his lips, his eyes turned red, just like Puff's. Owen believed it 100% after seeing photo evidence below. They talked about how much they both liked the taste of blood, and Owen showed that similarity with the ketchup, too. He had dragon blood in him, he was sure of it. We laughed and laughed and the tantrum was averted. Owen may or may not have some dragon blood, but Cory has some superhero in his veins.
The next morning, we checked out of our sweltering condo after a miserable night's sleep and met up to walk to Queen's Bath. I'm not sure why I have this slated as a less-impressive adventure because it was spectacular. Perhaps my ocean-sport mentality led me to reason that jumping a few feet off a cliff into a little pool of ocean water was no thrill, but doing this together as a group into turquoise water with the sweeping views and bright skies was hard to beat. The walk down surrounded by the vivid greens, a waterfall, and turtles made it that much better.
Cousin-twins!
Thanks to Elise, I finally learned out to use the "live" feature on my phone.
Everyone leapt off a few times and spent the rest of the time wading or sliding off the rocks as the waves came over into the pool.
Owen decided he wanted to jump. By the time he approached the drop, there was a sizable group but no one was impatient. They were encouraging him. I decided not to encourage him at all and let him decide. He can be so daring and also terrified, and this was not a time I cared to push him. He backed off the edge and walked back down. A few minutes later, he asked me to take him again. We went up, people cheering, and he backed off again, saying, "No way am I doing that." I figured he was done for good, but a few minutes later, he was begging for another try. This time, I counted down like I was sure he was going in with me, and he jumped! So proud of his courageous heart.
Owen picking another favorite cousin, talking Walker's ear off:
I think Cory and Kristen love this church as much as I do.
The north shore access to Hanalei is only open at select times each day, so we rushed to get through and surf. Yay for our luck--there were excellent beginner waves there. Still dealing with my injury, I made the claim that I wouldn't push anyone in water but I would coach them. That lasted fifteen seconds because I was so excited for them and wanted to see them succeed. Meanwhile, Kate and Zachary showed them what they can do.
Rachel picked it up immediately and caught wave after wave. Pushing people into waves is very often a fail in our experience but in 3.5 hours, everyone surfed successfully (except for Cory, who was on shore and wanted to get back in time to grill). Walker was even successful on Kate's small board. It was an amazing afternoon!
Success 4: Super-willing hikers, despite the drizzle. Owen said he did not forget his hiking legs and worked hard to catch up to cousins who were blazing ahead.
This was supposed to be a "bros" picture but Owen insisted he was one of the bros.
We squealed as we hopped into this chilly, magical water.
Fail #2: At the waterfall crossing, Cory fell and split open his leg. It was worse than I realized and kept him from enjoying anymore water sports. He asked his ER doctor friend how bad it would be to get in the ocean. His friend replied, "It depends how much you like that leg." It was plenty gory and surely painful but he trudged through it.
Success 6: My favorite part of the hike was watching Zachary assume a leadership and helpfulness role. Every river crossing, he helped us all across, skipping across boulders like it was no biggie as we wobbled.
I think Kristen made some comment about this path being almost as fun to her as the hike and I'm wondering if maybe we all worked too hard if she was satisfied. Over my shoulder, Kate comments, "I'm out for that hike except maybe once every three months. It is always in the rain. It is long." She is right but it is stunning and I still claim the best day hike on Kauai. I do have to give my kids credit for doing this hike twice in a month.
I obviously felt it was long, too.
Pool night #3 while Cory nursed his cut.
The next morning, Brady and I went on a bike ride in Kilauea to Rock Quarry and I was blown away that there are still new places to explore on this island. We then met up with cousins for time at Lumahai, thinking it would be perfect conditions. Sadly, the waves were too big so there was no snorkeling or cliff jumping. Instead, we went for surf round 2, with smaller waves than a few days before but again, success stories for everyone who went out thanks to their athleticism and Brady's pushing/coaching.
The kids were so fast getting to the pier from our spot at Pine Trees.
My kids were so excited to leave the beach early and head to a piano recital. Well, maybe not as much excited as pouty. We arrived to the venue and despite the assurance I had from both of them that not touching a piano for 4 days would have zero impact on their performances, Kate was in tears as we walked in. Lois picked up on it right away and rushed her off to her studio to run through the songs. The both performed beautifully.
I love the COVID recitals--only 1/2 the time of previous recitals.
Panda reward.
The next day, we went to church, hung out on the balance board, shared photos, and explored Mahaulepu before we took them on the Mom Edwards' walk on the coast.
Blake for the photo win, again.
We love you guys. Big, juicy, smooshy-squeeze kind of love.
