Kauai Part 1

Back in August Robert's parents asked us if we wanted to join them on their trip to Hawaii since the friends they were planning on going with could no longer go. It was a little daunting to think about making the trip with a newborn and three little kids, but we decided that all of use could really use a vacation as a family with all the craziness of having a new baby.

Since it was only a month away we decided not to tell the kids and make it a surprise. They have been asking to go on a plane for a while (none of them remember ever going on a plane, but they love planes) and we thought it would be a great surprise. I kind of hinted to them that something was coming by telling them they would get a surprise if they were good kids with the baby, but they had no clue. We even packed a large family suitcase a week before and sent it with Grandma Wheat and they didn't even notice.

The day of we sent Julia to school as usual. Robert stayed home while I took Lincoln in for his two month checkup (and opted not to get his shots that day so we wouldn't have a grumpy baby on the plane). After the checkup I went and checked Julia out of school early. She was very, very confused. I told her we had a surprise for them. We got home and my brother Richard was there (to drive us to the airport). We gathered the kids around and video called Robert's parents, who were already in Hawaii, and then I told them that Uncle Richard was going to take us to the airport (a little confusion) so we could go on an airplane (excitement builds) to Hawaii (Yay!)! And since I wasn't quite sure Camden and Micah knew what Hawaii meant I added, "to the beach and the swimming pool" because I knew they would get excited about that.

It was hard keeping the secret, but it was so fun too! The ride to the airport was so fun seeing how excited they were. Micah has a book about the airport and he knew exactly what to expect, right down to reminding me to take my phone out of my pockets when going through the metal detector so the alarm wouldn't go off.

Right before we got on the plane. So excited! For Julia and Micah that excitement continued during takeoff, they squealed with delight and thought it was like a fun ride. For Camden that excitement was squelched the moment we left the ground. For him it was SCARY! He screamed and said he wanted to go home! It was up to Robert to calm him down since he sat next to the boys and I sat a row behind them with Julia and with Lincoln on my lap. It didn't help that we had a bit of turbulence going up as well, but once we were actually in the air the flight to Los Angeles went quickly while they watched movies, and even the five and a half hour flight to Hawaii wasn't so bad because they just sat and watched movies the whole time. Lincoln was still small enough that all he did was eat and sleep.

In Hawaii, our flight was an hour late so it felt like 1:00 am to them, but we were in Hawaii! Micah has caught the travel bug and reminds me all the time now that he loves to travel and he keeps pointing out the places he wants to visit to me when he sees pictures (Paris and Tikal being some of the most recent)

The next morning we woke up before sunrise because our bodies all felt like it was late morning, so I got them all dressed and said we were going to the beach (the resort was right on the beach, we just had to walk over from our room) to watch the sunrise. Micah and Camden don't really remember the last time we were at the beach so it was all new to them. It was a gorgeous sunrise. Lincoln pretty much was always up before sunrise, so I ended up spending a lot of mornings watching the sunrise on the beach.

I told them not to get wet, that we would come back later with our swimsuits, but I still let them play along the waters edge. And of course, Julia left the beach absolutely drenched.

Camden walked up onto the sand, then a big wave washed up all the way to past where Julia and Micah are in this picture and washed up onto Camden's feet. That freaked him out and he ran screaming from the sand back onto the grass. This is him cautiously watching the ocean from the grass. It took a lot of prodding to get him back out onto the sand later on to play with the sand, and he never had any desire to go down to the water.

Later, after breakfast, we went to feed the koi

 Then most days we just spent the whole day at the swimming pool or doing resort activities. Robert said on the last day that maybe we should have gone to a luau or done more outside of the resort. I had the same thought earlier in the week, but decided that with four little kids the most relaxing thing was just to stay put. The kids had a blast just staying at the resort anyway and the one day we ventured out, while fun, was exhausting.

Babe Lincoln hanging out at the pool. He did amazing. His newborn personality was very needy, he always needed to be comforted, but around this time he seemed to "wake up" and become more aware of his world. In Hawaii he became content to just sit and watch this exciting world. And he sleep amazing, something I have not been able to replicate back home.

Playing in the sand. They waves were pretty strong on this beach, so Micah and Julia only went in the water with Robert, which is why we spent most of our time at the swimming pool.

 Documenting that Lincoln was at the beach.

We also saw quite a few sunsets at the beach. Sunrise and sunset were my favorite time of the day. Also, I think there was only a couple times when Julia was not in a dress or swimming suit. She is very girly.

S'mores at sunset on the beach. Gah, take me back, it was beautiful and such a fun family vacation.

Like I said, the resort had a lot of kid friendly activities you could just show up for, and we used them to the fullest. All the activity employees knew us by name by the end of the week. This was bamboo pole fishing (catch and release).

A hula lesson, which I attended with Julia and had such a fun time. I used to do cultural dances and it reminded of that.

Tissue paper painting.

Robert and I went for a sunset run together.

Robert also rented a bike for three days and rode all over the island. He really got to know the streets of Kauai by the end of his bike rental. This morning he rode 77 miles, all the way from our hotel to the top of Waimea Canyon and to the Na'pali Coast and back, pretty crazy.

And while Robert was doing that, Camden and Lincoln and I were watching the sunrise on the beach with the sea turtles.

 Another resort activity, finger painting with Grandpa. Because we went in September after school was out there were not a whole lot of other kids, so for a lot of the activities our kids were the only ones and the swimming pool was never crowded.

Swimming with Grandma and Grandpa. We were sure lucky to have their help, it made for a much more relaxing vacation to have the extra hands (and eyes).

Conked out after swimming

A lady with a baby came up to me at the swimming pool one day and said they were leaving to go home and not taking this baby chair, did we want it? Lincoln looking like a big boy.

I went on a couple more sunset runs, this was the view from one.