Ahhhh.....Hawaii.

I just spent a week in Hawaii for my 10th anniversary and it was heaven! My amazing mom took over my 4 hooligans for the week and Dave and I got to chill in Kauai without having to worry about our kids. Before we left Dave filled all my tupperware with water and froze it all and him and the kids made an ice castle. Random, right?



But they had a blast. (this is their "biggest popsicle ever")



The night before we left my older two kids were really clingy and Gabe was being hilarious and goofy. At one point he kissed his dad on the rear and said "Haha, Dad! I kissed your butt! But I love Mom better than you so I'm going to kiss her on the mouth!" and he ran over and gave me a smooch. Silly boy. Hugs, kisses, a few tears and we finally got them all to bed.

But THEN I got to spend a week talking to Dave, experiencing new things and taking pictures of everything I saw. Bliss, I tell you!



So....I do this thing with my kids called "happies and crappies." When I pick them up from school I say that and they tell me their best and worst parts of the day. So I now present to you my Kauai, HI happies and crappies list.

Happies:
*A week with my sweetheart. It was so...quiet...but still so fun. When you have 4 kids you can really appreciate silence. It made it so we heard everything the other said. A bit of a novelty really. And we got a lot of "talk time" in.


*Location. I have this theory that some people are mountain people and some people are ocean people. Mountain people are usually quieter, more patient, more firm (aka stubborn), sometimes lazy but strong enough to take what comes their way. Ocean people are more outgoing, flighty, fun, and energetic but sometimes volatile or moody. I am a mountain person and Dave is an ocean person. Mountain people usually like mountains better and ocean people like oceans. So Hawaii, a mountain popping out of the ocean, is our perfect location. It had everything either of us could want.


*Rain. Gentle, warm rain that came and went pretty much daily leaving it always smelling fresh and yummy and that awesome rain sound.


*Clouds. The skies were a photographers dream. Lots of dramatic clouds with contrast and depth. Loved it.


*Birds. I'm not really a bird watcher or anything, but I appreciate them when I see them and I loved seeing (and hearing!) all these new birds. Dave was especially enamored with the chickens and roosters. I have a lot of pictures and videos of them from his point and shoot. (IMO, they were a novelty for about 5 seconds and then I remembered back to raising chickens and roosters as a teen and I got over it).


*Hiking. Probably my favorite part of the week was a hike to a bay and waterfalls that can only be accessed on foot. It was 8 miles of tough, muddy, rocky, muddy terrain but so, SO worth it. Something I wouldn't have been able to take my kids on.


*Church. If you're LDS in the western US you know that basically all the buildings are identical. So it was really fun to go to church in a building that was white with teal columns wrapped with flowers and sit in a chapel that was like a green house. It had 7 sets of glass doors that they closed when it started but then the power went out during the youth speaker so they opened all the doors and there was a gentle breeze flowing through and it was very quiet so we could hear the speakers. Perfect environment for a spirit filled meeting!


*The food. We ate the most delicious deep fried artichokes and fish (sword fish) and chips and a macadamia nut shake and lobster omlettes and light, flaky sweet bread pastries and a full on luau with all the trimmings. mmmmm.....


*Reading. I read 4 books that week.

*Taking pictures. We stopped everywhere so I could take pictures. Dave was a good sport about it. There was only one quip about me loving my camera more than him. ;)


*Flowers. So many beautiful flowers that I'd never seen before.


*Random weirdness. This makes me happy anywhere I go, not just Hawaii. But every now and then we'd come across something that was just deliciously odd.


*Just...being. Not having to worry about the kids or life or anything. It's been a long time since I've felt that sensation.


*A moment when a small prayer was answered. We drove up to a lookout point that was over 4000 feet above sea level on these terrible winding roads. We had spoken to someone at our condo the night before who called it the most beautiful place on earth. We were really bummed to get up there and find out we were above the clouds and our view was this.


So Dave said a quick prayer and guess what happened? Just in the spot where valley below us hit the ocean, the fog parted.


It was gone just long enough to get a few shots off and it came creeping back in. God cares.


Crappies:
*The flights. Normally I don't mind flying, but one was overnight which made for a very uncomfortable attempt to sleep. Next time I'll pay extra for a non-stop ticket.
Pretty view though. :)


*Snorkeling. Turns out snorkeling is not my thing. I learned that I only like fish if they're on a hook, on my plate or in a tank. I do not like them swimming by my face. In fact, I'm grossed out and slightly frightened by them. However...I bought an underwater disposable film camera so my practical side had to use up the film underwater. That night I came down with a painful case of swimmers ear. Dave made a midnight trip to the grocery store for rubbing alcohol and vinegar. Stuck it in my ear a couple times and the pain eased up and went away.


*The food. I know this was already in the happies list but we didn't eat awesome food all week. When we weren't eating delicious, expensive food, we were eating at the taco bell across the street from our condo. The first couple times were fine but then I was over it. I may never eat taco bell again.

*Money. We stayed on budget and didn't go into any debt. Dave Ramsey would be proud. Even I was proud and I had a wonderful time regardless. But....there are several things I would have loved to do that we couldn't afford.

*My motion sickness. We drove up to this fantastic canyon that would have been even better if I wasn't nauseous from the roads. That's one gene I could do without.
But again...view was worth it.


And now we're home. Refreshed, happy, content and ready to attack life again.

If you want to see all my pictures go to this gallery! For cell phone, point and shoot and underwater pics, head over to my facebook profile. :)

ALOHA!