Ryan, Karen, and COUSINS over Fall Break

Karen and Ryan arrived Thursday night to house of sleeping children who could hardly WAIT to see their cousins early the next morning.  We all had school and work but when we got home, play started immediately.

Every vacation needs shave ice.

I learned quickly that Breanne is the queen of posing.

We took a quick dip in the ocean after shave ice.  I took Allison out surfing before Ryan arrived with Miriam, and she rode 7 waves in a row all the way to shore.  So proud of her!  We splashed and played hard in the water until the sun set.

Play 9 got as much action as our dress up bin on this trip.

Our trampoline was so happy, too.  It only gets bounced on when people are over, and the girls were in and out 20 times a day.

Gusty, Sunday stroll on the coast.

We have a series of pictures with Karenʻs hair dancing in the wind.

Spotting turtles.

So fun to see these pen pal girls interact in person as well as they do on paper.

One evening, we pulled up photos of Kate, Allison, Miriam, and Zachary dancing as toddlers at Ryan and Karenʻs house.  It seemed so recently but they were tiny and Zac danced without any inhibition.  This time  around, the girls sang more than danced.

Trying to recreate the picture we did with Blake and Kristenʻs kids, and this one is darling but for hilarious reasons--Breanneʻs eyes covered, Zacʻs hair, Owenʻs arms-in-the-air-like-he-just-donʻt-care, Emmett held in place, and the three oldest girls posing perfectly.  Ha!

We went to Hanalei later in the week and met up with friends.  Before they saw Ryan, they heard his voice and assumed Bradyʻs was with us.  After Ryan walked away, one of my friends asked if Iʻm attracted to Ryan since he looks and acts exactly like Brady.  

So windy.  It was windy for their entire trip but Karen claimed that helped with the heat/pregnancy combo.

Falling over in fits of laughter.

Ryan and Karen snuck off to snorkel one evening.  Bree and I played lots of rounds of Play 9 and stopped to take a perfect rainbow picture.

We took the girls snorkeling the next day.  The current was strong but we did spy plenty of crabs, small fish, and turtles.

Snorkel buddies.

This park cracks me up.  Families fly here from all over the world and I think they spend more time at this little playground that can be found anywhere instead of in the water.

Turtles on the beach--some sleeping and some made of sand.

Breanne knew about Allisonʻs surfing, so I worked with her on a boogie board.  She did this 100 times in an hour.  It reminded me of little Kate and little Zac.

Breanne turns 5!  Happy Birthday, you sweet, unicorn-loving, gutsy girl!

The girls all put on aprons to make birthday pancakes.

We made the long trek to Hanalei.  It used to be long and now itʻs eternal with three construction stops on the way.  Argh!  I worried Ryan and Karen would hate us for suggesting it, but they said Hanalei was the best part of the trip.  Whew.  The kids played in the sand ALL DAY while I pushed the girls into tiny waves.

Breanneʻs birthday present in action!

The weather looked awful all day but all we got were tons of waterfalls on the mountains and a few tiny drizzles.

Zachary made the most of the itty bitty waves, doing all kinds of surfboard tricks, and then spent the day in the sand.  He is such a content person.

Meeting up with the surfer girls.

This photo cracks me up--look what we are willing to do to capture pictures.

Leaping over lava pits of doom.

Brady arrived late afternoon.  Before we left, we joined a game of teen and adult football and it was my favorite football game of all time.

Birthday cake for Emmett, I mean, Breaane to finish the day.  This is also when Kate let us know she "forgot sunscreen."  Seriously?!?

Nothing can top a Kauai birthday celebration, but the next day we dove into the pumpkin cookie decorating kit.  They were disgusting and I will never buy the again...but they were also easy.

One of 2 shows put on by this crew.

There are so many things to laugh about in here but the tight Iron Man costume on Owen is my favorite.

After the show, we turned music up loud and had a dance party.  That was my favorite moment of their trip.

The last day of their trip, the kids played legos.  For 7 hours straight.

More round-the-table fun.

We did peel them away from legos for a last, perfect dip in the ocean.

The girls each took a round surfing, too.

My favorite picture of the week:

GQ Ryan:

They left and there were so many tears.  We will miss you, Ryan, Karen, and cousins!