Day 2- north side

Day 2 started a little earlier than we might have liked. The kids' internal alarms seemed to be in sync with each other and they were all wide awake around 4:30 or 5. Luckily they all eventually went back to sleep. 

 And then grampanaka was nice enough to take Tatum and Declan outside to burn off some energy.

Then we loaded in the car for a day full of fun. Up first was the Kilauea lighthouse. Melanie assured us we would see whales here. ;) For awhile there we were pretty sure we weren't going to be so lucky but eventually we did spot some. Whale watching was particularly frustrating for Tatum. And when Tatum gets frustrated...well, it ain't pretty. :) Miraculously she finally saw one and then she knew what she was really looking for and it went much better from then on. 

Not the most impressive but these are the only whales I managed to get on camera.

Declan never saw a whale although he would probably tell you he did. He couldn't even figure out which end to look through on the binoculars. But he definitely enjoyed holding them up and pretending.

Somehow Brennan managed to get just enough of the sign in this picture of Tatum.

I kind of love this picture of me and my baby.

Check out that crusty look on Declan's face. He sure knows how to be dramatic.

So beautiful.

After the lighthouse we headed for some grub. We went to Pink's and I'm pretty sure I will be dreaming about this place for the next year. Grilled cheese was up first. Hawaiian bread with muenster cheese, kalua pork, and pineapple. So yummy.

 We washed that down with some ice cream. I got one scoop of coconut and I had to get chocolate because I'm me and it's chocolate! But the coconut was so good. I only wish it was a little closer to Lester and Melanie's so I could have gone every day. Seriously the best ice cream I've ever had.

With our tummies full and satisfied we headed to Hanalei Bay. This was probably my favorite time at the beach. It was warm but overcast which made me a little more at ease about Emry's poor little baby skin. The sand was perfect for sand castles so the kids were in heaven. And the waves were the perfect intensity for our little family. 

We forced Declan to join us in the water and hang out on the boogie board. He was incredibly nervous at first but it didn't take him long to warm up to it and really enjoy it. 

Gramanaka and Tatum spent a lot of time building a pretty sweet sand castle.

It was a little warm so Emry got to hang out in her diaper. My only regret from our time at Hanalei is that I didn't get a chance to boogie board with Brennan. I had to feed Emry on the beach in my bathing suit and she took forever and had a hard time calming down afterward. By the time she did it was time to get going. Bummer.

Oh and let's not forget about how we lost Declan while we were there! Melanie and I walked down the dock with Tatum and Declan. I walked back with Tatum and Melanie with Declan. A few minutes after we got back Brennan asked where Declan was. Melanie knew he had been right behind her but we couldn't find him then. I definitely started to panic a little as we looked around and saw no sign of him. We decided Melanie would go one way and I'd go the other. As I started my direction Lester pointed down the beach and asked if that was Declan in the red shirt. Sure enough it was, thank goodness! I could tell he was upset so I went running. As I got closer I passed one man who said to me "Is that your boy?" and when I said yes he said "He is not happy with you." haha. By the time I got to him a nice lady was trying to help him and he was screaming, high pitched, pure panic. Poor kid somehow didn't see where we stopped and just kept walking down the beach looking for us. Tatum is old enough now that when I get nervous or upset she does too. After I picked Declan up and turned around Tatum was right there. I hadn't even realized she had followed me running down the beach.

On the way we stopped by Melanie's favorite beach, Lumaha'i. The waves can be pretty huge here so we weren't stopping to get in the water, just to enjoy the waves. They were impressive. 

 So was this tree growing out of the rocks. I loved how you could see the roots.

 The waves would crash over these rocks and it was downright mesmerizing. Listening to the ocean is really quite peaceful.

 We tried a million different settings on our camera to try to capture the color of this water but it was just impossible. It was this amazing, beautiful green.

I found myself trying to take pictures of the beauty passing me by from the car. Of course, they mostly didn't turn out. But I had to try! It was all so beautiful! And it was worth it for this one shot that did turn out. I love it.

For the entire week I rode in the backseat with the kids. I was trying to give Brennan more of an opportunity to visit with his parents and I also thought I'd be a little better at controlling the crazy. But I definitely started to go a little crazy. I heard Five Little Ducks more times than any human ever should. And they could never finish it. They would get to two or one ducks and then "forget" ;) what number they were on and start over at five. Nooooooo! Haha.

Declan fell asleep after that stop and before the pigs, the event he had been waiting for all day.

Don't worry, we were kind and woke him up so he wouldn't miss the pigs.

I love this picture of my not-so-little little girl.

Our little happy camper.

Our last stop for the day was Bubba's Burgers for some dinner. Then we headed home to shower and go to bed. I love the feeling at the end of a day that you spent out in the sun. It's just the right kind of exhausted in my opinion. We had a full day of fun and sun and making memories together and that's pretty much the best.

Kauai-getting there and Day 1

We had the amazing opportunity to go to Hawaii to visit Brennan's mom and stepdad in February. We were excited to escape to warmer temperatures, get away from every day life, and most of all to see his parents who we hadn't seen in almost 3 years. Well, actually Brennan has seen them more recently than that. They saw each other at his brother's wedding about a year and a half ago.

The kids were so excited to fly again. In fact a few days before we left when I pressed Tatum about why she was so excited about the trip her reply was that she couldn't wait to fly on an airplane so she could watch movies. Hahahaha. Good thing we are taking you all the way to Hawaii kid! Apparently we could throw on a few movies in a row  at home and call it good. ;)

I won the disagreement between Brennan and I about what time we should get to the airport. He thought we should be there earlier. As  it was, even leaving when I wanted to, we were still too early. Too much time to kill. Oh well.

We split up by gender on that first flight. Emry was asleep before take-off and slept almost the entire flight (all one hour of it haha). When she woke up Tatum wanted to hold her. She really is a good help to me.

We had a pretty long layover in Minneapolis. And quite a trek to our next gate. We stopped halfway and let the kids play at a playground and let Emry stretch out a bit.

On the flight to LA I was with the two kids and Brennan got the baby. When we were about to take off Declan instructed Tatum and I that we all needed to hold hands. It was kind of sweet.

Our layover in LA was scheduled to be short. We were already nervous about it and then after landing early (yay!) we taxied forever. It was bad enough from a layover stand point, but add to that kids ready to be off a long flight and the stuffy air and it was more or less miserable. Emry also decided to poop right before we landed and that usually results in a mess even if you happen to be able to change it promptly. Then suddenly Declan just moans "poop!" for all the hear. Excuse me? By this point Brennan had gotten permission from a flight attendant to get up to change Emry. Now we had a giant three year old moaning "poop!". Brennan finally took him to the bathroom too but there was no success. He was still moaning about it by the time we were able to get off the plane. We raced, and I mean raced, to our next plane which was already about half boarded. We checked in and then Brennan ran Declan to an airport bathroom hoping that that would bring no success. He was still moaning about his tummy and needing to poop after we boarded the plane. And then he was out.

Like a light. He slept for the entire flight and it was so peaceful! Tatum I spent a good deal of time building the lego set grandma sent with her.

Then she joined Declan in dreamland.

And we made it! Gramanaka and the kids were thrilled to be together.

We visited with Melanie and Lester for a bit, ate some pizza and headed to bed.

Our first day on Kauai we mostly explored close to home. They literally live right by the beach and they have this perfect little baby beach for the kids where it's protected from any big waves by big rocks.

 Trying to keep this little one out of the sun was tricky business. She was a bit of an awkward age for this trip. Not young enough to sleep a ton and be content hanging out in her car seat, but not old enough to sit up on her own or play with toys. But considering her age she could not have been an easier traveler. We were so lucky.

 After some morning beach time we got to see the house Melanie and Lester were about to move into. This is the view from their new living room! No, I'm not jealous at all.

 Looking for whales off their deck.

 Three generations whale watching. :)

 We stopped by Costco next to get some groceries for the week and after dropping those off at home we headed to Wailua waterfall.

 When we got back home we had to head back to the beach, of course. It just never gets old.

 The kids slept in the living room and did a surprisingly good job of falling asleep quickly while we all stayed up talking in the same room. Gramanaka told them stories every night which they loved.

We may do a bit of over-documenting on trips like this. :) So the only way this is going to be a feasible undertaking for me is to break it up into several posts. Stay tuned for day 2!