Hawaii

At the beginning of May we went to Kauai as a family to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday.  Seven of us went, Brandon, Ainsley, my mom, Susan, my dad, Steve, my sister, April, my brother-in-law, Scott, and me.  We had a wonderful time!  

The biggest challenge was the long flight.  It was Ainsley's first time on an airplane and she did really well.  But, she would have been happier if the flight was shorter about two hours into the second flight she shouted, "I done!" several times.  We brought a bag full of toys/distractions and had purchased a media player loaded with pictures and a few videos.  Both of those things helped a lot, but we were ready to get off that plane! =)

We stayed in a four bedroom house on the beach in a town called Anahola, about 15 minutes outside of Kappa.  Brandon & I had stayed in a house in Anahola when we visited Kauai five years earlier and so we knew it was a great location.  Anahola is a small town made up of mostly locals, so the beach in front of our place was fairly quiet, but frequented by locals surfing, fishing, or walking.  Here are some shots of our house and the view from our place:

 The path from our yard to the beach

 Sitting on our deck looking out at the ocean

 The view from our deck

 Our house from the back, Brandon & Dad BBQing

The front of our house

Our favorite part of the trip was just hanging out on the beach with the family.  Ainsley adored the beach and loved to run in and out of the water.  She also enjoyed playing in the sand.  One of her quotes from the trip was, "Pretty, water ocean!"  We agreed!!

Some of the highlights from our trip were:

Enjoying a luau as a family.  
The food was delicious, the setting was beautiful, and the company was fantastic.  Here some luau pictures:

 Mommy & Ainsley on stage learning the hula - Ainsley wasn't so sure...

Watching the show after dinner

Snorkeling at Lydgate Park & Tunnels Beach 
We started at Lydgate with it's calmer waters for those that hadn't snorkeled before.  Then we spent two days at Tunnels beach enjoying all the sea life.  Brandon & I even saw a reef shark.  Ainsley loved to play in the water & sand while we were snorkeling.

 Playing at Lydgate

 Family spot @ Lydgate

 Tunnels

 With Grammy & Grandpopz @ Tunnels

Headed out to sea @ Tunnels

Playing On The Beach  

Ainsley LOVED playing in the sand and the ocean.  Most days she would cry when we would have to head back to the house for a nap or dinner.  Here are some beach pictures:

The beach in front of our house

 Kealia Beach

 Hanalei Bay

 Back at "our" beach

Food 

One thing we (Brandon & I) love to do on vacation is enjoy the local food - especially going out to breakfast.  We mostly ate at the house, but went out to breakfast twice and enjoyed a couple of lunches out.  Here are some of our pictures of "dining out".

 Sampling some coconut water at a local fruit stand

Family breakfast at Olympic Cafe

 Olympic Cafe

 Grabbing a late lunch at an outdoor cafe - 
can't remember the name

Ono Family Restaurant for breakfast

Riding Bikes Along the Coast

The island has a fantastic bike path all along the coast from Kapaa to Anahola which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Getting Ready to Go

 Stopping on bike ride to enjoy the view

This was a terrific family vacation and we are thrilled that everyone could enjoy it together.  Happy Birthday Dad!!