January Randoms

We love indoor community soccer and this year Aubrey and Ada were on the same team. It was so fun watching them work together to score, and just having a blast. I heard a couple time, "Oh no here comes the sisters." Its such a great atmosphere and just plain fun. 

Penny had a great time too. We started her in the 3-4th grade group, but soon figured she needed to be with the 5-6th graders. She did awesome both places. 

And Paige put up with us making her do it.... I think she eventually had fun. But it does feel like a totally different game than outdoor soccer. 

Go Aubrey

Trying to be teachable....haha. 

Paige was on a team with a bunch of really good boys. She got to win every game without having to help out too much. I actually think the coach liked having her out there because it helped us not totally cream the other teams. She is getting better and I think its going to start clicking soon. 

And it so good for all our kids to get out of their comfort zones. She did not want to be goalie at all....

Science Fair! Penny was adamant that she needed to do a project for the Science Fair. It was optional and I wanted nothing to do with it. Ada to the rescue when there were tears. She worked with Penny to finish out the project. 

Whew! They did it!

Proud of her. 

Can't remember what this dress up day was....maybe Disney Day. 

Paige playing with the magnatiles. 

And Penny lost her last tooth! No more baby teeth. 

 

Shipwreck Beach, Makauwahi Cave, Poipu Beach & Home

Our last day....we were all so sad. It has been such a wonderful week. We were blessed with beautiful weather the whole time and it was hard to imagine going back to cold and cloudy Washington. It was actually raining that morning, which ended up being perfect as we had to pack and load everything in our car. Then we had to go pick up the souvenirs the girls had been eyeing earlier in the week before heading to Shipwreck Beach to hike along the coast to a cave. Every hike ended up being longer than we expected, including this one. But it was an easy beautiful 5 miles stroll along the ocean cliffs. 

We found some tortoises

And got a explore a 'cave'. We were expecting a bit more of a cave....and actually realized we didn't end up taking any pictures inside. You crouched through a tunnel to enter, but then your were just in a section with open sky. A tour guide gave us a great history lesson that was super interesting and then we walked around the top of the cave and looked down before heading back. 

Looking down towards the cave. According to my watch I broke my record for how many steps I have gotten in a single week...over 144,000. We hiked and walked a lot!

And we finished our trip on Poipu Beach to snorkel one last time and see the turtles and seals. There were three seals on the beach this time, and probably 15-20 turtles (they said they were expecting 50 by nightfall). 

Paige got so excited whenever the seal would move at all. 

And some final sunset pictures before we don't see the sun again for months.....

Seal Excitement

Goodbye Kauai

We actually rented a hotel an extra night because our flight didn't leave until 11:30pm Hawaii time. So we went and showered and tried to cram everything from the car into our suitcases before heading to the airport. We headed to the airport around 9pm and needed to top off our rental car with gas before returning it...but couldn't find a gas station that was still open! We ended up running out of time to search and had to return it without topping it off. The island really does shut down after 9!

We had a wonderful time. And I wouldn't hesitate to return someday. Unfortunately back to life. 

We got back to our house around 11am our time and were totally wiped out (Well, Cameron and I were....the kids built snowmen, we had to take Penny to the orthodontist, and then Ada had a soccer skills practice...so right back to it all! We did make everyone take a nap and I think we were mostly successful.)

Penny's snow fort

And Paige's cute snowman. 

 

Day 6: Okolehao Trail & Hanalei Beach

Headed on another hike before another beach trip. Passed these cool farms. 

Headed up the trail. This trail was STEEP. But another one with amazing lookouts. We didn't make it to the peak because it was going to require some bushwhacking and patience, and the girls were for sure getting worn out. 

But some more amazing views

And we saw these cool trees with the teepee roots everywhere. 

Headed for another trip to Hanalei Beach before packing up to get ready to go home tomorrow. 

 

Day 5: Beach Day

After all the hiking we knew we needed a good beach day break. We headed to Secret Beach. It was a steep climb down to the beach but well worth it. When we first arrived the waves were a bit scary. Cameron and the older girls got in while Penny, Paige, and I explored the rocky areas nearby. We found a "swimming pool" to play in. 

Not a busy beach at all. We ended up staying and playing in the ocean for over 8 hours. Everyone got sun burned. The waves were huge ones for boogie boarding in and the girls spent probably 6 or more hours doing that. 

Castle making too!

Still not busy....

Exploring some more and spotting crabs. 

And a good beach swing. 

It was such a great day. The waves changed a lot in the time were were there....from scary to perfect boogie boarding. It was definitely our favorite beach day of the trip. And I love the age all our girls are....everyone was happy at the beach all day long and no one wanted to leave at all. We stayed until dark. 

And a pic of the little lizards the girls would find in and around our house.