Fall Break with Savannah

 Back in May, Savannah Varney had booked a ticket to come visit Kate.  It took her a couple years saving up for her ticket and the girls were so excited...and then Kate got COVID and had to quarantine so Savannah canceled her ticket.  Kate cried and cried, convinced that she "ruined her friend's dreams" and Savannah was equally heartbroken.  We finally found a reschedule date and she planned to come over fall break.  For a month, Kate fretted over every possibly that could cancel her friend's plans and when the day finally came for Savannah's arrival, she felt relief.

You made it!

When we received the photo of Savannah leaving early in the morning, we noticed the double braids and twinned Kate up.

Proof of life for Mom and Dad.

That Sunday afternoon, we walked along Turtle Cove and explored the rock formations.

Savannah and Kate are both ballerinas.

I said this multiple times throughout her visit but the best part of having her here was the way she and Kate together treated Owen with so much inclusiveness and kindness.

Savannah gave her parents a Hawaii wish list, and hiking appeared near the top.  We went out the very next day for our first legit hike.  It was toasty warm and she was surprised how hard it was with the heat.  

She also had a food request list, so we made a stop for lunchtime sushi.  We also stopped at a Farmer's Market for Kaua'i fruits but she was unimpressed with our gorgeous and flavorful guavas.  She hates fruit.

Next up: games in the sand, waves, and sun.  I worked hard to keep them from sunburns and finally dragged them out of the water after 3 hours (with sunscreen applications every hour, of course).

I could swear they giggled the entire 3 hours.

The next day was our camping trip.  Brady was still extremely sore and not allowed to lift a gallon of milk, much less assist with any camping or preparation.  He gave me directions as I pulled all our bins down from our storage after 2 years of no use.  Polihale has been closed down all throughout COVID and that is the only place my kids want to camp.  As a result, we had a tent I purchased years ago that hadn't even been opened!  I was anxious to say the least.  Then, I surfed with Nic the evening before and he cut up his leg.  The Clarks were our camping buddies for the evening and they decided against staying the night with Nic's leg and other complications.  I knew I did not want to bail on my kids because they had anticipated this trip for 2 months, so I decided to go out and camp on my own.  I was pretty anxious about it, though, and Brady decided to take one for the team and come with us, knowing he'd need to be extra careful with his abdomen.  I learned that packing up for camping solo is a very, very sweaty job.  Before making food and leaving late afternoon, we spent the morning at Sheratons again.

After a busy afternoon cooking, taking Kate to dance, packing and prepping, we took off to pick up Finn and head out to Polihale.  On the way, we discovered our firewood spot was sold out of wood.  We panicked, made a few calls, and then decided to forage with the boys.  We found plenty of big sticks and logs to burn, and the boys were troopers, dragging each piece--about 30!--from the truck all the way to the campsite. They also helped get all the gear unpacked and the three tents set up.  I appreciated their efforts so much and it made the whole experience doable without Brady.

Brady joined and brought the girls, but he was still not allowed to lift a gallon of milk, much less help unpack/pack a tent.  He was so helpful keeping track of kids and organizing, as well as tent prep.  It is wild that it's been 2 years since we've camped with the kids--it felt like old times getting set up.

The Clarks joined us for the fire.  I was apprehensive about the water the next day--the waves were big and I worried about the kids getting in and my ability to keep tabs on everyone.  Brady agreed to stay overnight for safety and I was so, so relieved.

Kate and Savannah settling in after a long night of running around and eating marshmallows.

Our setup:

We brought Roxy camping with us.  We thought the laundry basket might help her stay put but she lasted about 3 minutes in there before snuggling in my sleeping bag with me.

The next morning was every minute as perfect as I remember from our years camping here--the breeze, the ocean sounds from evening continuing into the morning, the sun rising over the cliffs.  Ahhhh.  Unlike years past, I slept all the way to 8am so maybe that's why I sigh.  

The kids introduced Savannah to sand sledding,...

jumps off the sand dunes,...

...and the crystal clear, powerful Polihale waters.

The Clarks came back in the morning and played with us.  Brady was feeling okay about the water conditions and adult to child ratio to send me out surfing with Nic, which was another unexpected pleasure.  I love battling the Polihale currents to get out to the big, smooth rides.

We all played and played and played.  The kids' favorite part was riding the "lazy river"--they got out of the water, ran 50 yards in the sand to hop in and float back.  They did this at least 25 times.

Finn is a party and he is also so calm and helpful.  I will take him camping any day.

Perhaps my favorite photo:

As the currents got stronger and waves picked up, we all decided we'd had enough time in the sand and water and sun, and packed up for home.  So glad we could make it work, even with less than ideal circumstances post-surgery for Brady.

We stopped at Porky's on the way home.

And the Clarks fixed a flat.

Then Shay, Savannah, and Kate spent hours making funny Studio-C-style videos the rest of the day.  They spent hours and hours producing parody and we all watched their work that evening.

David's dad stopped me in Big Save a week prior and offered to give us a 2-for-1 stay with a reduced rate on the north shore.  We jumped on it spent the last half of fall break in Hanalei.  First, though, piano lessons.  If I thought listening to the daily practice groans was bad, the fall break piano lesson outbursts are exponentially worse (except for Owen, who is still blissfully floating through honeymoon piano phase year 1).

We stopped for Wailua Shave Ice on the way up, feeding Savannah another Kauai flavor.

Frozen hot chocolate for O every time.

Fruit-loathing Savannah kept her choice safe with a rainbow concoction.  

We checked into our condo and immediately went for a swim.  I love that the kids are old enough now that swimming at 9:30pm doesn't induce panic for me.

The next morning, we left early for the Hanakap'aia trail.  We sweetened up the hike with another 2 Kauai tastes: taro donuts from Holey Grail and musubi.  I think that Savannah probably prefers grocery store donuts and the musubi was a solid thumbs down.  

  

Zac had a cross country workout to complete so he and I did a trail run together, hunting for guavas along the way and huffing up boulders on the steep sections.  

We reached the beach and walked into the caves.  Brady dared Zachary to dive into this bacteria-ridden slime and he accepted the challenge.  Gross.  It's been a few weeks and I haven't made any trips to urgent care so...ok.

We did traditional our races in the sand.

Eating Zac's stockpiles of guavas.  Savannah wanted nothing to do with them but the rest of us were in guava-heaven.

We watched surfers setting towed in for a while.  It's an adrenaline rush wondering if the jet skis will make it out in time for the huge walls of water to crash.

Next up: Hanalei!  We met the Hanalei crew that goes up every year for fall break: Johnsons and Smiths, and a bunch of other families we know.  It was a party!  I paddled out to the bowl for the first time to join Hilary, who commented that it was the worst possible day to give the bowl a try.  It was double overhead and waves were unpredictable and coming from multiple directions.  I stayed out long enough to catch one and ride in.  

Meanwhile, the girls hopped off the pier.  The current was very strong that day and Brady was still on a no-water and no major activity restriction but he thought for sure he was going to lifeguard the girls.

Owen found Reef down the beach and skimmed and played in sand for hours.

Shortly after paddling in, I spent a long hour pushing Savannah into waves.  It was very difficult because of the current but she was determined to be successful and rode several to shore.

Selah blowing us kisses.

We stayed until sunset, running, swimming, playing tag, playing in sand, and laughing.  Kate was determined to leave after sunset to get dinner out and head to the condo for the evening.  Zachary stayed with a group of friends for a bonfire.

Another must-have taste of Kauai: ahi wraps and ahi burritos.  That night, we rented the new Minions movie and went to bed late with content and adventured-out hearts.

The next morning, Brady found his happy place and watched the game from his perfect north shore vantage spot.  He then helped pack up, took Kate to dance, and spent a few hours shopping for souvenirs with Savannah.  I love how much he embraced this "uncle" role for her.

He picked up Kate after her rehearsal and took them to lunch.

Meanwhile, the boys plugged in while I worked out, and we spent many more hours in the water at Hanalei.  Finn stayed the night with us and made the weekend so much better for Zachary.

At Hanalei round 2, little Paige convinced Owen to jump off the pier.  All it took was one jump for him to be hooked and he jumped for 20 minutes straight.

Zachary never forgets his sandy roots and he helped dig Owen and Reef deep holes.

Reef always makes silly faces but this face is deserved based on O's pose.  

Sand, rinse, repeat.

Sunday, we spent the day at church and the girls made more videos before we went to the Clarks' house for Tate's birthday celebration.  A big group of kids raced around all evening, and when we got home, Brady took the girls for one last hurrah: viewing the nesting Honus.

I worked all day Monday but Kate stayed home from school to play with Savannah.  They cooked waffles and watched Studio C, made more videos, and started packing up Savannah's bags.  They were good at entertaining themselves.

They embraced when it was time to say goodbye, promising to do this again.  It was memorable all around and we have plenty of homemade videos for the memories.  Thanks for your friendship, Savvy-girl!