Hawaii... So Grateful!

When we found out that my cancer had come back, we spent a few hours with our church pastor and his wife chatting about 'stuff'... Jolene said that we should try to go on holiday before things got crazy for us and asked me, 'if you could go anywhere, where would you go?'... I responded with a nice warm beach in Hawaii, not thinking anything about it... little did we know what would happen.

We got a call a day later saying... 'We have booked you a week in Kauai, Hawaii'!

So, our church all chipped in and paid for Kayle, Jason and I to have an 8 night trip to Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii. It was a dream trip for us. We had been talking about going to Hawaii for about 7 years but had just put it off again and again... well, now we were going!!

So, we got all packed up and headed to Seattle Airport. We got a flight from Seattle to Maui and then jumped on an inter-island flight to Kauai. The first leg of the journey went great, Kayle slept for over half the flight and that gave Jason and I a chance to watch 'Reel Steel' with Hugh Jackman... GREAT FILM! Highly recommend it!

When we got to Maui... it was a different story! We had to go out of the airport, get our bags and then check in again for our next flight... oh boy... little did we know what we were in for! The security line was insane! It was so long, we were worried that we wouldn't make it through in an hour and half!

But, we did.. and we got our next flight and made it to Kauai! Jason's parents met us there and arrived about an hour after us, so that gave us enough time to go and get our rental car and head back to the airport to meet them. We got a quick bite to eat and then it was time for bed!

We woke the next morning to the most beautiful views!

This is the view from our balcony!

Jason's sister, Jesi and her family were also able to join us, so while we were waiting for the call to tell us what flight they were on, we chilled out by the pool!

The water was a little chilly but we all had fun playing in the water... it took me a while to jump in, but I eventually got there!

We had fun warming up in the Jacuzzi after jumping in the cold swimming pool!

It was such a cool pool... the set up was perfect.

The Jacuzzi was set back in this cute little hide out.

It also had a section that was sandy bottom that Kayle loved and these great waterfalls.

Kayle had so much fun in the pool, swimming and jumping off the waterfalls!

We enjoyed a snuggle on the sunbeds to warm up!

In Kauai, there are chicken and cockerels EVERYWHERE! When the big tropical storm blew through in 1992, it destroyed a chicken farm... and the few chickens that survived managed to reproduce and take over the island! There is no need for an alarm clock, that's for sure!

Jason and I took a drive that the afternoon before Jesi arrived to check out the local beaches... there are so many everywhere!

Jason and I stopped at a few to take a look...

This is Hanalai Bay... this is where we spent all our time!

We found this cool beach. There was a sand bank that held the seriously big waves back while on the other side, was a lovely, calm lagoon that the kids could play in.

We had fun checking out all the spots!

When we got home from our little adventure, we went to the offices to grab our parking passes... they gave us these cool Layes (sp). Kayle loved wearing them!

We picked Jesi, Ryan, Jonah, Maverick and River up from the airport not too long after that and all Kayle wanted to do was hold and play with her new baby cousin River. She is adorable.

We all chilled out that evening. The boys went to Costco to grab some food and the girls took the kids home to bed. The next morning, we all got up and got ready to hit the beach! We went back to the cool calm lagoon so the kids would have somewhere safe to play!

Oh Boy... did they play!

They all had a great time playing in the water, relaxing on the lilos and playing in the sand. I enjoyed relaxing in the sun!

On the way home, we stopped and grabbed some yummy shaved ice!

We headed home in time to put the kids down for a nap, and adults too, because we were heading out to a Luau' that night. We got all dressed up and drove down to L'huie to the sugar plantation for a fun night.

When we arrived, there was s fun market to walk around while we waited for dinner to come and for the show to start.

Every opportunity she can, Kayle wants to hold River!

They served us dinner while they started the show with some warm up dancing... AMAZING!

The dancers were so good and so beautiful! Kayle spent the whole time with her mouth wide open in awe!

We had a yummy dinner and then the main show started! So good!

The show was wonderful to watch!

The following morning, Jason and I made a last minute decision to jump on a helicopter ride over the island. Jason's friend Jeff offered to pay for it for us so we got up and drove down south to the airport.

I was a bit nervous but had a great time!

The views were stunning! The pilot was giving us information as we flew around and it was so cool... there is so much of the island that is uninhabited. We saw where Lost was filmed, and where Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park were filmed too!

The island is so beautiful!

The next morning the kids got up and were just mesmorised by the little red headed birds that were flying around...

Ryan got to go surfing with Bethany Hamilton, the young girl who had her arm bitten off by a shark while surfing in Kauai. The company he works for sponsors her! Bethany let him borrow her board while we were there!

That day, we all headed to another beach... we went into the main beach in Hanalai Bay. It was so fun. The water was so warm... we spent all our time playing in the water! We also rented some paddle boards and some kayaks and spent alot of time playing around on the water!

I did manage to stand up on the board, but of course, no one got a photo of that one!!

Kayle was a bit nervous at first but she had a great time once she realised how fun it was! We spent a lot of time just paddling around the bay.

Kayle had such a good time playing on the beach!

It was so nice to just sit back and watch her play and enjoy herself.

After we finished kayaking the river, Jason got a fresh coconut. I think he had 5 or 6 sips and then Kayle took it and finished it for him!

Next stop on our adventure... zip lining!!

Some friends parents, Sue and Tom, offered to pay for me to do this, so off we went!

I am not one for heights! I hate heights! I don't like them at all... but this sounded fun, so we did it!

We arrived at the Princeville Ranch, got all our gear and headed out. The first zip line was easy... nothing to it... yeah right! It was still high and fast and scary, but it was a warm up run... preparing us for the huge ones that followed. With each zip line, I got more and more excited and so enjoyed them ALOT!

Right before we hit the last and longest zip line, we went down to this cool little water hole for lunch and a dip!

After lunch, was 'King Kong'!

The longest zip line of them all!

Argh!

In order to get to the start of the zip line, we had to climb up this HUGE bridge thing! The wind was blowing so hard, so the bridge was rocking like crazy, and then when I finally make it to the top, the platform is rocking side to side too. I was petrified!

But, I made it up... and then made it down! And it was AMAZING FUN! I had the best time ever... had to be one of the best parts of our holiday!

The following morning there was a crazy thunderstorm... the thunder and lightning was insane. It was so loud and so bright. It woke Kayle up and she was so scared... so we laid in bed and cuddled till she felt a little better with the storm.

It rained all day so we just had a chilled out day.

Ken and Sue also left today... our trip was coming to an end, but we were going to enjoy our last few days!

Bethany Hamilton asked Ryan if he could return her board that morning, so I hopped in the car and went with him... I got to meet her! She's so nice!

We took a drive that morning to the lighthouse...

... then, we went into town and got some lunch.

The sunsets while we were away, were just stunning... every night the sky was bright pink, purple, blue... all sorts of colours! Just stunning!

Jesi and Ryan left early the following morning... that was sad. Kayle was sad to say good bye to her cousin that she had so much fun with the last few days!

I had booked a manicure and pedicure to cheer myself up that another wonderful friend had paid for... so Jason took Kayle to hang out and get 'Breakfast'...

I'm not sure I should leave Kayle alone with him too often...

We hit the beach one last time before heading home to pack... I got to relax in the sun while Jason took Kayle for a walk to look at the crabs on the rocks.

We got a few last shots on the way home, and then it was time to pack!

Jason took Kayle to the pool while I got organised and packed.

We had the most wonderful holiday... it certainly was a dream holiday for us and we are SO grateful to every single person who helped us go! There are no words to truly describe how thankful we are...