Lucy's 1st Birthday

I said that I wasn't going to make a big deal about Lucy's 1st birthday, unlike most people here in Hawaii. But as the day got closer and closer, I changed my mind. It was going to be my last 1st birthday to celebrate for one of my own babies. I decided to do a cupcake theme, with a cake like a huge cupcake, 3 kinds of cupcakes and even a little cupcake that I sewed onto a shirt for her. We had most of our friends here to celebrate with us. It was a great day and because I had been planning for a month, I wasn't even stressed out. Things couldn't have gone more smoothly.

Her cake was pink velvet with cream cheese frosting, the three cupcakes were: carrot with cream cheese, chocolate with chocolate, and lemonade with real strawberry frosting. We also made bite sized brownies, coconut macaroons, and my favorite soft chocolate chip cookies. For the drink we put a bunch of mixed frozen berries and sliced limes in Gingerale. I also made a darling pink petticoat for her to wear, before she dug in to the cupcakes, of course. She went for chocolate first (definitely my daughter!), but loved the lemonade too.

We just had so much fun celebrating Lucy's first year and the many more to come. Our children have all brought such joy to our lives and are such a blessing. We love our little family!

Honolulu Day Trip

Spencer and I decided to make a short notice trip to Honolulu for an early birthday present for me. It was a little bit of a crazy day, but still fun overall. Honolulu is crazy! There is so much traffic everywhere and we definitely aren't used to that level any more. My phone's gps works, but it drains my battery quickly so we needed to buy a car charger. It didn't work in the plug, so my phone died. We were randomly driving around and trying to get where we wanted to be. We finally made it to Pearl Harbor, but unfortunately made it too late to see the USS Arizona. It was still fun to have a little get-away, even with little Lucy. Next time we try something like that, we will definitely better prepared.

Kalalau Lookout

The Kalalau Lookout is at the very end of the canyon road up to Waimea Canyon. We tried to go up there once when we first moved to Kauai, but if there is any fog or low clouds you can't see anything, so we didn't see much when we attempted it then. The skies were clear when we went up this time with my parents and we were able to see everything.

 It truly is breathtaking. It is also freezing cold. Seriously, cold. We didn't bring any sweaters, not thinking about how much cooler it is up in the mountains. That's living in Hawaii for you; you forget that it even gets cold in places other than overly air-conditioned stores. The sights were definitely worth the chill.

We learned that Mad is deathly afraid of heights on this trip. Poor girl!

Smith Family Luau-Part 1

I have a ton of pictures to post, so I am breaking this up into 2 parts. We attended a luau at the Hyatt in Poipu several months ago. We were told it was much better than the Smith Family Luau, so we went. It was ok, but not great. The Wysowskis had wanted us to come with them to the Smith luau many times, but things never worked out. This time the timing worked out perfectly since we both had family in town and wanted to go with them. It was so. much. better!!!! We also paid less, including my parents, than we did at the Hyatt. It has these amazing grounds with all different trees and vegetation. There were tons of birds, even peacocks, that the kids fed by hand. They loved it!

Smith Family Luau-Part 2

We had a superb, delicious dinner. Definitely better than the Hyatt. The rice pudding was to die for! Seriously. I think I had 3 or 4 servings and still wanted more. (Yes, I know I'm a pig!) Several of our girls went up and danced the hula, including little Madelyn. It was precious! After the dinner we went to a covered amphitheater that sat right next to a stage with water surrounding it. I got one terrible picture before I had to leave and walk around with my crazy, walking, baby girl. It was a great show, from what I saw.

Our friend Ben works at the Hyatt and talked toTaylor Swift and her family while they were staying there. They mentioned that they went to the luau, which ended up being the day after we went and the day we had originally planned to go. We ended up switching days at the last minute. The day we went was much better, since it was dry and sunny, unlike the following day that rained so hard Kauai had flash flood warnings. Sienna was very bummed to not get to see her idol.

Haena Beach and Caves

We went and looked around at Haena Beach with my parents. I think we had stopped by to look at the dry cave once before, but never went over to the beach. It is so beautiful there. The waves and current were very strong while we were there and the lifeguard was not letting anyone in the ocean. We didn't mind! We also stopped in the Dry Cave, which my Dad had never been to, and had a quick look at the Wet Cave. The North Shore of Kauai is so amazing and there are so many gorgeous places to see.

These are some of the amazing colors in the Dry Cave

Spouting Horn, again

My Mom has been with us to see Spouting Horn, and my Dad did visit while my parents were here on a cruise a few years ago, but we still wanted to see it all together. We tried to go last year when they were here, but it was pouring rain. It was the perfect weather this time and I was able to get a few beautiful shots, although not of people.

Shipwrecks Beach

Spencer was on-call while I went to Shipwrecks to take pictures for our friend's wedding. He had never been to that beach before, so we decided to head south to see it with my parents and the little girls. It was the perfect day! Gorgeous weather, warm, and very sunny. The beach is called Shipwrecks because there used to be an old shipwrecked boat out in the water, but it is no longer there.

Menehune Fish Pond

We decided to show my parents the Menehune Fish Pond. It is this beautiful pond, right off of the Huleia River, which is where the filmed the plane taking off on the water in "Raiders of the Lost Ark'. It's maybe a mile from my house. I have driven by it about, oh a million times, and had never stopped to see it. I'm a little lazy about things like that, I guess. It is fun to take family to see all the beautiful things around us, to make me stop and take the time to truly appreciate the opportunity to live here.