Summers Family Takes over Kauai

BEST VACATION EVER!!  What a fun filled week we had…no shoes, no shirts, no problems!  I have to admit I was a little worried that we were biting off more than we could chew taking four little kids to paradise, and hoping that it would actually be enjoyable for us too!  But thanks to our amazing family - and cousins that made every second fun, exciting and entertaining - the kids and Shawn and I had an amazing time.  We set out early Thursday morning to Seattle to catch our first leg of a 9hr flight schedule.  The kids were ready to go…headphones, goodie bag, books…no problem!  Max thought the plane was pretty awesome - mostly because of the movie screen on the back of the seat!  He may or may not have watched movies for 4.5 hours straight!  Bad parenting, I know, but we more than made up for it when we finally arrived in Kauai!

 Our first morning started out at the crack of dawn…literally!  The time change was a little difficult for the kids to navigate the first few days, which meant we were up around 6:00 the first two days.  I didn't mind - and they were so excited to SEE and EXPLORE that we headed right to the beach.

 It took Max a few hours to warm up to the idea of the ocean, but he instantly loved the sand!  Gma Julie bought him a sand castle kit and we went to work right away!  The watering can became one of the iconic pieces of the trip for Max.  He eventually braved the waves and soon learned that they were a force to be reckoned with.  He would take his watering can and sit patiently on the beach and wait for a wave to roll in that was big enough cover the can and fill it to the top, rather than try to walk out directly into the surf.  It made me laugh each time!

Our first beach was Breneckee Beach at Poipu.  Monk seals are common there and come to sun themselves.  There is a little island just off the main beach, where a monk seal was.  So we decided to venture over coral infested waters to see it….you can already see where this story is headed!  So Lyvie on back of Shawn rammed her knee into a sharp piece of rock, cutting a nasty gash in it!  She was devastated…and Sam was convinced that sharks would be showing up for lunch any second after getting a wiff of her blood…. thank heavens we had a doctor handy!

 We ended the day with a few hours at the pool and a world famous Puka Dog!!  Best Hotdog on earth!  Jack, our beverage man LOVED the fresh squeezed lemonade!  Lyv used the occasion to sport her first purchases of the trip a flower head lei and and bracelet…and she declared "Kauai is the best.place.ever!"

Day two brought the arrival of all of our cousins…so the fun could officially begin!  These two boys were never apart and never ever out of the water - be it ocean or pool.  They got their money's worth of Kauai!

 We tried in vain to have a Hanalei Beach day - or favorite beach, but unfortunately the surf was too high the entire week we were there and the beach was closed!  So we found Ka'paa Beach and it turned out to be a gold mine for boogie boarding…and sand sculptures!

 Jack had his first of MANY shaved ice night two!  Oh so good!  Day 3 was Sunday, so we attended the local ward's sacrament meeting and then took some family pictures in our snazzy new shirts.  Such a cute amazing family we have!  For some reason I didn't have pictures of on my camera of the entire family so imagine 14 other awesome people surrounding us!

More beach, more seals, and today some snorkeling!  The kiddos saw a ton of fish…and thanks to Finding Nemo and Octonauts recognized many of them.  Max found out the ocean likes to play chase so he would run out….and then run back in….run out and then run back in….giggling the entire time!

 Anyone for scuba?

 We had our big family dinner that night at Dukes…it was delicious! and the kids got their first taste of a Summers' family Hawaiian favorite - Hula Pie!  Jack said he destroyed it!

 Day 4…oh Day 4!  The boogie boarders wanted to venture to Kapa'a again…so we did; and we noticed the waves were a bit bigger today!  Indeed they were… so lets just say, I decided to get adventurous and boogie board a bit.  And lets just say I say a huge wave coming and decided I can either get hit or try to take it for a ride….and let's just say I tried!  and FAILED!  Epic, epic Fail!  I got slammed, I got taken for a ride for sure, but came up with no hair the color of sand because it was filled with sand!  That ended my boogie boarding run for the trip.  In brighter news…the kids had a great day, sun filled day.

 That night we were able to go on a whale watch!  The kids were so excited, and it really truly is one of the most magical things to do.  We were able to see a lot of tail fins, but no breaches this time around…but the kids thought driving the boat was pretty amazing!

 On Day 5 was declared a pool day! The sand and saltwater were wearing the kids out and their skin out so we chilled by the pool and Jack, beverage man, quickly found the pina coladas were AMAZING. You should have seen the look on the ladies face as he sat down at the bar and tried to order a his own drink!  That kid!

 Max was in 7th Heaven this trip surrounded by girl cousins that were at his beckon call (Shawn will be so proud I said it correctly)…Piper especially caught his fancy!  He would call out "Poppah"  and insist they go to the hot tub!  She was such a good sport, and she definitely made my life a lot easier this trip.

 We had our second round of Puka Dogs and Max made his essential Hawaiian purchase….a Ukelele!  He thought he was a rock star!  Good thing Gma was there to show him the ropes!

 On Day 6 we took the Sam and Jack zip lining!  This is one of my all time favorite things to do.  Not only is it so fun, but it is a great way to see other parts of the island.  Kauai is by far my favorite thus far!  It is breathtaking, there is no other way to describe it!  This zip line tour took us to Dinosaur country…that's right the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World films had several scenes filmed where we were