10 year Anniversary trip to Kauai

Muddy Legs
To celebrate ten years together, Scott and I decided to take a trip to Kauai. We've been to Oahu before, but never to any other island. a lot of people suggested that we try Kauai because we love to hike. I am so glad because it was AMAZING!!!!! we easily could have stayed a few more days (sorry kids).  
We spent almost every day hiking through rain forests to the most beautiful water falls. We would come home in the evenings to our really nice resort with MUDDY LEGS and shoes. 
We had a blast!!!



These chickens were hilarious! they are part of the scenery in Kauai. Several years ago a storm set them free and they have been roaming free since. They can be seen EVERYWHERE!



Napali Coast Hike
We went on a 4 mile hike along the Napali coast. It was amazingly beautiful. Never having gone there before we packed our snorkel gear. Before starting on the trail the life guard stopped us and told us to leave that behind because there was no way we could swim at the beach once we got there. Here is a sign at the end of the hike, right before you get to the beach.

A cave at the beach. It was beautiful.

Good thing we didn't pack our snorkeling gear with us.

It was really cool to see all these rock formations on the beach

A sign pointing to the bathroom leads you to this creepy place.  

Scott takes my shoes out to wash all the mud off while I relax. He's so great!!!

Pina colada, YUM!!

No matter where we found a crab, it matched the sand color, or what ever it lived on, perfectly.  The kids will love trying to catch these when we take them.

Scott was on a constant search for coconuts to take home to the kids.

We saw this beautiful water fall where fantasy island was filmed and wondered  how we could get a closer look. So we asked a local guy selling jewelry.  He said, " Just go down the street to the guard rail, jump over and climb down. BUT, make sure you take plenty of bug spray and good shoes!" 

We got to the guard rail, could this really be the place? We ignored the sign and went for it. 

There was a really nice guy (looked like he was living out of his back pack) selling coconuts.  We didn't have cash so he gave us on in exchange for several water bottles we had in the car. He opened it up for us and gave us a straw. Said we'd need refreshing coco water for the long hike ahead.  

View of another waterfall from above the canopy of the rain forest. (we wondered if  we could also hike to that waterfall)

Only wild life we ever saw besides chickens! It's kind of weird to not be nervous that any animals might jump out at us. 

We finally made it down the VERY steep trail to the bottom. We see a very wide river with a cliff wall against it. So how are we supposed to make it to the falls?

Oh, scale the side, of course! 

We really almost didn't make it. We turned back because I didn't want to get stuck out there  and not be able to get back because it was dark. Luckily we saw a couple come back that said to keep going because we'd eventually get there and it as worth it. 

We finally saw this! Just a few more boulders, and spider infested log piles ( Which I did get bit by spiders) to climb over. 

Then we finally reached this!  And since not many people know about this, we were the only ones there.

Scott is trying to walk behind the falls, but I tell him I need someone to help me scale the side of that cliff, so NO!

Snuck this picture of Scott making his way back, and I  LOVE it!

We saved the coconut to eat on the way back. It tasted delicious after the long hike!


Kayaking adventure
We went on a 4 mile kayaking/ 2mile hike to see secret falls. This was our favorite activity.  The river was beautiful and the falls were great too. 

The funny thing about this was that we went with a  tour group. We usually don't pay for and go on excursions because we like to do things on our own, but we could not pass this one up because it was at such a discounted rate and we didn't know how to get there anyway.  When we got there we had to introduce ourselves and receive instruction on how to kayak properly with two people.  When we announced that we were there celebrating 10 years, all sorts of teasing took place about putting our marriage to the test as we tried to getting sink with each other in maneuvering the kayak.  I have to admit, I got a little nervous that we wouldn't be able to get it down. Well, I'm going to brag just a little and say that we blew everyone out of the water. Yes, there was defiantly some tension among the group because people were having trouble working together. We didn't really notice though because we were 100's of feet ahead waiting for everyone to catch up!!!! ( am I totally a snob?).
Really it is because ONE, I have such a buff husband, and TWO, We have always been really good at working together. I'd say we are the perfect match!!
In the above picture I am waiting on the shore while my helpful hubby helps the rest of the group make it to shore.

Secret Falls. And of course a chicken is there to greet us. 

Picture I took as we were laying in the hammock

Picture from our balcony

We also saw some turtle while we were swimming one day but didn't get a picture of them. 

Beautiful Napali coast sunset cruise
Everyone had suggested to us that we see the beautiful Napali coast. The only way to really see the whole thing is by plane, boat,  or an 11 mile hike. We decided to take the boat rout and booked a sunset dinner cruise.

The most exciting thing about that is that we were told that chances of seeing dolphins in the evening were only %50  because they mostly come out in the morning. So this was very exciting. 

Because Scott was so sick he had to sit at the very front of the boat. The conditions were so bad that no matter where you were at on the boat you got wet, but it was especially bad at the front of the boat. scot was soaking wet. I felt so bad for him. He (and several others) got really sick.

The sunset was amazing! (too bad Scott was so sick to really enjoy it)

Sarah's 6th Birthday Posted a little late, but here it is....

Sarah wanted a cowgirl party. It was a lot of fun! She wanted to have line dancing at her party and we really got lucky because I don't know anything about line dancing, but two older, and much cooler girls from the neighborhood do.  Haven and Janie came over and helped out the party and also taught the girls a dance.

We ended by making stick horses and racing them. It was so funny to watch. The girls found that holding their horses WAY above their heads made them run much faster.

Oh, so many talents!
Does this look like the face of someone who's sure of themselves? The primary talent show came up and Hannah was the first of the kid to volunteer to showcase a talent. Sarah was invited to do a song and dance with her friends and I had to suggest to Caden that he play the piano. Hannah called her little friend and planned to do a dance, one of her favorite things to do. we picked out a song together and she practiced and practiced. I even let her pick the dance moves she wanted to do. I kept on preparing  her that this would take place on a stage in front of many people! She didn't seem to mind. She kept on saying how much she wanted to do it.
This is how the night played out.

Caden was so nervous, but he played his piece beautifully!!
I was so proud of him.  He practiced the song all week and even memorized it. He got to where he could play it so fast. The challenge was playing it at normal speed for the performance. He got it just right.

Sarah, as usual, didn't show a whole lot of emotion either way. She's always been a "whatever, it's all good, everything's cool, "  type of gal. She did great!!!  If you look to the left, you will see the girls waiting for their turn next. At this point, Hannah looks like she might finally be realizing what she has chosen to get herself into.

Then my Hannah gets on the stage. She just starts to giggle and giggle.....

Her friend finally starts to dance. What I do not have pictured because I was probably bowing my head in embarrassment, is Hannah grabbing her friends skirt and trying to pull her off the stage.  She kept saying, "come on Anna,"
And Anna kept saying , "No Hannah, I want to dance."
Hannah stood their and watched her friend then they both ran off the stage.
The funny thing is that days after Hannah was still talking about the time she "preformed" in the talent show. She said something like,
"Mommy, what should I do in the talent show next year? I don't want to do the same dance because everyone would think that was so weird if I do the same thing."
I laughed for days about that one.
Oh to view the world through the eyes of an optimistic child!

Caden did a little skit with the scouts.

End of a season!
With spring coming to an end, so do some of the activities. Sarah just finished up her year of clogging with a big performance (unfortunately, I was out of town, thanks Karin for the pics).

sarah was lucky enough to have her really good friend in her class.  

Caden finished up another season of soccer. 

He was so glad to play with his really GREAT friend.

Hannah turned 4

About a month and a half ago  now, our little monkey turned 4!! All part of our crazy spring.  I made Hannah a little monkey skirt and shirt, banana monkey cake,  and monkey banner, which she now has hung in her room.
During the day Scott and I took her out to lunch. She insisted on going to Red Robyn to See the bird. Scot met us there and had arranged for the bird to come out to our table and see Hannah. As soon as the bird got there, she got really shy and would not even touch him!! The whole way home she kept talking about it and said,
"Mommy, when I used to be 3 I gave the bird a high five and wasn't scared, now that I am 4, I am really scared of that bird....weird....."
She has definitely gotten a little more shy.
About Hannah Banana:
-she loves to hula. In fact, she found a picture of a little girl Hula-hooping and cut it out and asked for a hula hoop for her birthday so she could be like the girl.  She said she wanted to practice every day.  Her little "secret hand shake" she has with me involves Hula-ing.

-Hannah loves  to sing and dance!  She is often found standing at the fireplace mantle, book in hand, singing or dancing. 


-She loves, loves her little dog and any dog really. She loves doggy kisses.


-Like her daddy, she is the only one in the family that likes black licorice and chunky peanut butter. 


-She makes up really funny words for things like, "Can I watch just one slice of ......"
  Or, " I just want to watch two little pebbles of Dora."


-She is a funny little girl. She loves to make us laugh.
We love our Hannah!

We are so lucky.....

To have such a great Big Brother!!!!!