Loop Road Adventure

We went up Loop Road with our friends, Rick and Holly, and their kids. We had attempted to hike to Kilauea Falls (they were in the movie 'Just Go With It'), but I guess the only paths there are now on private land, so we couldn't get there. Loop Road used to be a real road, to a point, but I guess it was too hard to repair all the time, so it's been left to deteriorate. We all climbed into our friend's SUV and attempted the drive.

  It. was. crazy. 

We were scraping bottom on rocks all over the place. Lucy was crying, but couldn't eat in her car seat from me. I documented her actually taking the bottle for about 3.5 minutes before she refused it. That was a record long time for her to take it. 

We made it to the end, which was incredibly beautiful, with waterfalls all over. They filmed parts of Jurassic Park up there. I got my first bee-sting, ever. We decided maybe their vehicle was scraping bottom because there were just too many of us, so Rick took it and the rest of us walked the trail for somewhere around a mile. Sienna's slipper broke and the trail was super muddy. It was definitely an adventure! I think the kids had fun, anyway. It's always funny how the crazy, stressful things end up being looked back on and laughed at. Memories are such funny things!

Our attempt at hiking Sleeping Giant

There is a hiking trail up the mountain called Sleeping Giant. While our friend, Connie, had her sister and nieces in town, they invited us to hike it with them. We decided not to bring our very nice hiking pack for Madelyn, or Maddie, Connie's niece, which ended up not being very smart. It would have helped a lot. The little kids got very tired and we maybe made it about half-way before turning around. This makes our hiking attempts 0 for 2. Yep, we have not completed a hike here yet. Hopefully that will change soon. I don't have the greatest pictures, but I still have to document the attempt.

Aidan learned how to play golf!

Our municipal golf course in Wailua was offering a 2 week, 4-hour a day, golf camp during the summer for only $35. We couldn't pass up the opportunity for Aidan to learn, since he is always begging Spencer to take him out on the golf course. He decided he loved it so much, we signed him up for a second session. I think that he was tired of it by the end, but we are grateful he was able to learn something new, especially golf, for such an affordable price. Hopefully Aidan learned new things and skills he will be able to use later. It was so fun to see him in his little polos and at the driving range!

Don't let her fool you!

Obviously, I adore my little Lucy, but she is one tough baby. Much harder than the others in the crying, "I need you to hold me every single second" department. But oh, she makes it worthwhile when she smiles! And she can change so fast! But life is life, and it's real, and this is a real part of my little baby girl. She pretends to be so happy all the time, as long as anyone else is around, the stinker! Don't let her fool you. 

I love her so much!

Look What Lucy can do!

Lucy is growing up way too fast! She is developmentally advanced compared to our other kids at the same age, but they tended to be little lazy babies sometimes. At least she is putting her extra weight to good use ;). She loves to get up in the plank position, and also up on her knees and rocks. She's such a funny little thing. We love her so much!

Another trip to Polihale

We were able to head down to Polihale, one of our favorite beaches, and camp for 2 nights this time. It was wonderful, because almost everyone that Spencer works with were able to find people to cover their shifts. It was awesome to have almost the whole base there. Too bad not everyone could make it. We love the co-workers Spencer has, and they have become family to us.

 This is Madelyn, trying to snuggle with Tristan's daughter, Emily. The kids loved her, (too much, poor girl!)

Spencer had a birthday!

One fun thing we did this summer was celebrate Spencer's 31st birthday.  We made him the most delicious banana birthday cake, which I then ended up dumping all over the floor later that evening. We were pretty bummed, but some of it was salvageable, luckily. Happy Birthday Spencer! We love you so very, very much!

Luau at The Hyatt

We have lived here on Kauai for almost 2 years now, but had never been to a luau. We decided to go with our friends, Ben and Connie, and her sister and 2 children while they were visiting. The grounds of The Hyatt are phenomenal! Seriously, I would stay there just for the grounds. The show was great, and it was fun to see the fire show part of Hula. We don't see that in Sienna's dance. It was an expensive activity, but definitely something we had to do at least once!

 Spencer, Si, & Ainy are up there, along with Connie, Etta, and Charlie

A few quick pictures...

Mad was building prisons for her princesses

I just love that face. What more can I say?

Where Have I Been?

I know most of you are wondering where I've been. I'm still here, just busy. Busy constantly nursing, holding, & playing with my littlest love, who rarely naps, and now, even rarely sleeps at night. She's not super helpful with blogging, I'm afraid! I'm making sandwiches, and brushing doll hair and listening to Aidan tell me the same story for the 100th time. (That boy never stops talking; he's very much like his Mama!) I haven't taken the time to post pictures, but I will soon catch up now that I have 2 less children during the day. I cannot believe school is here again. I love it, and yet I hate how quiet and empty the house seems. We are all well, and missing all of you. Pictures and new posts hopefully this week!