Wai Koa Loop

We've lived on Kauai over 8 years now, and this is a tiny place.  We love to explore and hike, and new places are few and far between.  We knew there was a "cute little rope swing" on the north shore, so we decided to run up and check it out.  

The trail leading to the rope swing is intended to be for bikes, but when we arrived, Zac's brand new tire had a thorn and we were no where close to a place we could fix it.  We decided to walk instead, and we were relieved with that decision when we saw the trail and realized there was no way Kate's training wheels could make it.

 We learned the Wai Koa Loop is all private property that they generously allow the public to use.  Not sure if that is a big secret or not, because we saw almost no one on our five mile trek.  It was well-marked.  These are the grounds for Kilauea Farms, which includes tons of fruit trees and 86,000 mahogany trees.  We stayed on the trail as directed, but we really wanted to shoot through these trees.

 Brady got a chance to play around with his camera.

 There are also a few properties tucked back here.  Wow.  Swimming pools, many acres of land, and meticulous landscaping.

 Nene Birds!  I love seeing these endangered birds up close.

 Irrigation piping turned artwork.

 The kids loved this lily pond.

This is my favorite picture of Zachary in the last year, even though sitting and reflecting is not what I would describe as "his element".

The kids flipped when they saw the bees, which led to a nice discussion about what bees do and how important they are to life.

 Stone Dam (aka the watering hole).  What an idyllic destination!

We found the rope swing and Brady showed us how it was done.  The kids were dying to try.

Zachary loved it his first and second times, and started getting jumpy about the fish in the murky water before his third and final time.

 Kate couldn't get enough and wanted to do it herself--every time.  We had to drag her away from this place after her 6th jump.

I felt really guilty about not getting a shot of Brady on Father's Day, but I think this shot makes up for it.

 The walk back was a little cooler because it was 6pm, and we told the kids we'd get pizza and a soda for them at Brick Oven on the way home.  Kate tasted hers and said, "This Root Berry is so delicious!"  I love these Saturdays and I'm excited we found a little adventure we can do with a new baby, too.  I can't wait to show visitors.

May Day, Birthday, and School's Out for Summer!

Zachary takes May Day very seriously.  He loves learning the moves and he was excited to perform.  I went in early to help the kids costume up, and he kept reminding me to "stop calling it a skirt, Mom!"

Mrs. Yamada's class plus siblings.

Mrs. Yamada's boys, the Tongan warriors.

Zac and his "brothers."

May Day is organized by grade, and all the parents can snap quick pics between dances.

Zachary is ready to dance.

He told me that a lot of his classmates weren't hitting their head beats correctly.  It was fun to watch his concentration and precision.

My birthday was a couple days later.  This year, instead of going out and getting a sitter for dinner, it sounded better to take the kids with us.  Zachary was so excited about my birthday all day, he said he "wanted to cry."

This is a classic Zachary look right now.  "Really, really???"

Kate had to poop four times the next day and her tummy hurt her all day.  I'm guessing it was the full order of fish and chips.

The dinner was full of laughs and conversation.  Our kids are at an age that it really is fun to dine out with them now!

Time for presents!

Brady got a bunch of pregnancy gag gifts--things I couldn't live without during Kate's pregnancy like lemonade and a Costco-sized barrel of Tums.

Some plumeria bath soap, too.  Nice.

And my favorite surprise, a necklace.

The kids wrote me songs and laughed and laughed.

Kate's picture for me.

Zac's picture for me, including my "favorite hair blower."

Kate "graduated" from preschool at Sonia's house.  The funny part of this graduation is that all the kids are returning for another year except for Max, pictured far left.

Throwing their caps in the air.

Post grad dance party.

Zac and Kate had several birthday parties to attend in a two day period.  This is a popular week to be born.

Zachary was one of three first graders to win an award for achievement in Kid Bizz.  That program hasn't been easy for him but he's getting better at it.

We had one last beach outing with the Clarks before they took off early for summer vacation.

We're going to miss Courtney and her huge sun hat.

The last few days of school were full of parties and included everything but learning.  The teacher in me finds that hard to swallow but the mom in me thinks it's adorable and fun.  Zac's class had the most over-the-top class party I've ever seen, completing their year of Disney-themed fun.

Photo booth Minnie Mouse and Jake.

Prize packages to take home.

Mickey cookies and pencil holders.

Hand made critters and center pieces.

Face painting.

Zac and his brothers getting their princess on.

I loved that Kate participated in Zac's class so much this year.

Disney-themed food, followed up by a Disney-themed candy bar.  Not one candy bar.  A bar full of Disney-themed candies.

Mickey Zachary.

The last day was a color run and dance party.  We are going to miss Mrs. Yamada so much.  She taught Zachary for two years and is transferring to Wilcox Elementary to be closer to her home.  Kate is devastated that she won't have her for a teacher, but we are counting ourselves lucky to have her for the time we did.  She was firm, nurturing, and always pushing kids to achieve more.

At school pick up, Zachary said, "First grade was SO AWESOME, Mom!"

A couple more pics with the brothers.

Playing in the backyard with his stomp rocket.

I was in Oahu the day after school got out, so Brady took a half day and went on a hike adventure with the kids.  I get to do a lot of little adventures with the kids and it made my heart happy to see them having so much fun with dad.

That weekend, we headed off for a bonfire at Polihale.  The waves were so big, it made a little lake in the sand and the kids loved skim boarding it.  We got a flat tire on the dirt road, but got it taken care of with some friends.

We got home that night at 11pm and paid for the late bedtime for several days with the kids, but my opinion of Polihale remains the same: it is worth it every time.