Hawaii!!

Kauai was incredible!! Hawaii totally lived up to the hype. It was beyond beautiful, perfect weather, and no bugs! We can't wait to go back!

We found a place to get some good Hawaiian grub after our long flight and ate it at a park to take in the scenery!

We met up with Kent and Kenzie and baby Beau at the hotel pool!

Our first hotel didn't have A/C and we slept with the windows open and a fan going and the weather was PERFECT. It was so soothing! This is the view from our balcony right outside our door.

This is the Hanalei valley. I mean, come on!! That view!

Had Ahi ramen for dinner.

The real treat was the Bao Buns we had for an appetizer. I will dream about those forever. I can't even describe the unique flavor - it had pork, cabbage,  ginger, a pickle? Idk what it was, but it was amazing.

We did a 9 mile hike to a waterfall through the most gorgeous jungle landscape.

We hiked along the coast and had some amazing views.

Gorgeous coast!

The terrain was extremely varied. We had a lot of rocks, tree roots, mud.. it kept us busy!

More gorgeous coastline.

Lots of stream crossings where we had to jump rocks!

That was my favorite part!

Some parts of the trail were covered in these vibrant purple pine needles.

Is this even Planet Earth?!

Made it up to the waterfall!

The water was FREEZING, but Tyler convinced me to swim out to the waterfall and I'm so glad I did!

After my body turned numb it was actually quite nice! And the view looking up at the waterfall was incredible.

Tried to capture the whole waterfall. It was beautiful.

We played in the water and ate a picnic lunch on the rocks.

On the way back we stopped at the beach and waded in the water for a while.

We also had an interesting conversation with a German family who was there on holiday for 5 weeks!! Apparently you can take 3 YEARS of family leave in your child's first 8 years of life.

While we were waiting in line for breakfast one morning, a lady showed up with her bird on a leash.

She was extremely attached to it and talked about it like it was her child. I've never seen such affection for a bird. I asked her if I could take a picture with it to show my kids and she was very nice about it.

The most delicious breakfast we had! I wished we could have gone here more than once!

It was a great way to start our Anniversary! 12 years!

We took a stroll after breakfast. This is Hanalei valley.

Had to take a treacherous route down to the Queen's Bath.

It was very muddy and slippery.

The lava rocks were cool and we got to see 10+ turtles swimming right next to the coast!

Watching the waves crash up on the rocks!

We had to pick our way down to Hideaway beach using ropes!

Worth it! It was a secluded beach with shade and soft sand. 

We swam here for a while.

Drove to an outlook to see the lighthouse.

Beautifully lined road of trees going into Poipu.

Our bed! Fun!

We watched Beau one morning while Kent and Kenzie had to tear apart their room looking for their lost keys. Thankfully, they found them! 

We drove up Waimea Canyon and found this incredible lookout point.

The photos really don't capture the grandeur.

Then we did a hike with breathtaking views of the Nepali coast.

The trail was very slippery and steep in some places.

It was pretty fun to figure out how to navigate it.

At the end!

Stunning views!!

It reminded me a lot of Iceland.

Kenzie was amazing hauling Beau on her back.

There was a lot of tricky footwork.

This trail is actually illegal. There was steep dropoffs the whole time.

But so worth it!! (And there were plenty of other hikers, I think Kauai just doesn't want to be responsible for anyone's death.)

One with nature.

Tyler slowly morphed into a true Hawaiian tourist. Just need a fedora.

Sunset :)

Turtles!

About 10 turtles came up on the beach for the night.

We spent some time just relaxing at our resort pool.

Acai bowl for breakfast one day.

Went to a luau one night.

Last meal in Hawaii before we headed home. The Ahi tacos were very good!

And Tyler finally got his teriyaki burger with pineapple.

We ate a lot of fish and coconut that we don't normally eat as much of at home. Embracing the island life!

My mom took very good care of the kids at home and sent us lots of cute pictures of them playing happily!

Grandpa flew in for the weekend so we could all be together for Mother's Day!

We spent all Saturday at soccer games.

My Dad made us a tasty dinner for Mother's Day.

Kendall picked out this pillow for me :)

Got lots of fun gifts from Hawaii!

Grandpa also made us Swedish pancakes for breakfast. Our favorite!

I got me and my mom matching dresses to wear to church!

She is so pretty:)

So glad Grandma and Grandpa could come spend some time with us!