Hawaii Day 11

The trip is coming to an end. Mommy and Cash needed some rest, so Brady and Daddy headed for the beach without them. We again made "mud" as well as "mudballs" which Boompa introduced to us. Brady also surfed for the first time. He stood and had all 4's on the board while the waves came in, then let the riptide take him back in. Even when he "ate it" he had a great time. We went to the pool and the hot tub and then met up with Mommy and Cash. Cash came running to Brady with his gap-toothed smile, both falling as they hugged. We ended the night with some Mexican food. (Mommy and Daddy were thrilled with the salsa--there's not enough Mexican food in Hawaii!) Brady and Cash sat side by side telling jokes and making one another laugh throughout the night. Goodnight moon, goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere....

*This blog is dedicated to Mommy, since she wanted Daddy to cut out all the nonsense and get back basics of blog life. Daddy guesses he'll retire after the trip and go back to coogfans.com!

Hawaii Day 10: "Zip" sliding away, "Zip" sliding away!

The day officially started at 7am, although Mommy says her day started at 2:20am, and then again at 3:45am, and then "he stayed awake from 5:29am on"! (Okay, we get the point!)

Daddy and Uncle Steve convinced a reluctant Mommy to join them on a ziplining adventure on the grounds of a former sugar plantation. Mommy was an old pro after the third zip. Her last two jumps were done in an impressive Superman style. She swears to return for the 3000' line currently in the works.

After our adrenaline rush, we headed back to the beach for some R&R. Yes, R&R, because Brady and Cash were with Boompa and Grandma. Daddy managed to sneak two Lava Flows down Mommy, who soon couldn't remember if her second son was Amex or Visa!

We rented a boogie board and watched Daddy bang up some killer waves before returning to check on the kids. Brady had been napping for a couple of hours beachside while Cash went with Grandma on an "adventure." Brady showed us how to make "mud" on the beach and raced the waves once again. Mommy let Cash come out and play in the sand and boy, did he have a time!

After all that excitement, Brady wanted to "chill" in the hot tub. Brady sat with his new "friend" Emily. She gave him a sweet hug and helped wipe sand from his face. Brady responded by lifting his shoulder to his chin each time she spoke to him (the gesture he makes when he's really happy).

We ended the night with Italian cuisine. Brady had the traditional cheeseburger topped with crackers (a joke to be explained later to those that care). Everyone else had "ham", which would be Cash. He was great, smiling throughout dinner and walking back to the room (approximately 125 yards--with Mommy by his side, of course).

Oh, did I mention that Daddy was asking for kisses on the beach from Cash and Cash was dispensing them like an ATM. Mommy's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Cash why don't you give Mommy kisses like that?"..... after which she asked Daddy to Purell my lips and cheeks for him to kiss again!

Hawaii Day 9

We started the morning with a photo shoot, all dressed in our Sunday best. I think we have roughly 1,200 pics to sort through. (Yes--1,200!)

We then set off for our new hotel in Lihue, Kauai's principal town. Before checking in, we satisfied a craving for Mexican food at Monico's Taqueria, a local favorite. (For loyal blog followers, this place was recommended by our 19-year-old chef from Kintaro's, the Japanese restaurant we went to on Day 6.)

We then visited a couple of waterfalls, although Kelley, who opted to stay in the car with Casharoo, saw most of the sites from our digital cameras. (Kelley: "Been there, done that.....it's water falling off a cliff.")

Once we were settled in our new digs, we took another 400 or so pics (yes--400!) of us dressed in our same Sunday best. As a reward for Cash's patience, Daddy took him for 3 laps around the enormous pool. He loved it again, and again Cash looked anguished when seeing Mommy coming towards with open arms. All he could do was grasp Daddy with all his might. "Don't take me from Daddy!"

Brady and Daddy ended the day in the hot tub (Brady's swavrite place these days) and Duke's for dinner. Tomorrow's adventure: Ziplining......

Hawaii Day 8

Splish Splash! Today was all about swimming and more swimming. Brady (or should we say SpiderBrady - the only way he has allowed us to address him on this trip) is becoming quite the little fish. Even more so, his imagination is booming. Today we buried Brady in the sand and he pretended that he was a rocket. He patted sand all around his belly -- he informed us that was his "seat belt"-- and after a loud countdown, he emerged from the sand yelling, "Blast off!"

Cash had quite the lazy tourist day. He 's getting two molars and has had a slight fever. He's obviously not an obsessive planner like his mommy. His first molar arrived the day of his birthday party and now he's growing two whoppers on our vacation. Talk about timing. Poor little guy!

By the way, Daddy has been fired from blog duty since he has passed out on the couch the last two nights. Sorry, loyal fans.

Hawaii Day 7

This morning, Brady made a popsicle picture frame and decorated it with sand art and seashells to give to Grandma. He was quite amazed how the sand stuck to the glue to spell out letters as you can see from the stunned expression on his face.

And now on to the big news of the day...

Lo Hicimos! Lo Hicimos! We did it! We did it! Cash FINALLY went swimming!!! For the first time, Cash entered the water today without screaming. Once we were in the pool, he immediately started splashing and giggling. Never mind the fact, we were totally "WT" swimming in his diaper because we weren't expecting to get in further than his toes. Mommy, how many embarrassing matching swimsuits do we have and you made me wear a stinking diaper (no pun intended) in the pool? Cash is still not a fan of the ocean, too many sound effects. Brady, on the other hand, makes so many sound effects in the ocean screaming and screeching at the top of his lungs in sheer delight that other people go running in the opposite direction. I think we are officially that family with annoying loud kids that everyone avoids. Oh well!

Hawaii Day 6 (Daddy, Take 3)

4:32am: Cash starts his day (not happy, I might add). 6:31am: Brady joins Cash and wants to "play". 7:14am: After a nudge from Mommy, Daddy agrees to get up and take the kids to other room. 8:03am: Daddy leaves Cash with Grandma and takes Brady for a walk on the beach. Brady was dressed in his "Sunday shorts and collared shirt". Little did we know that Brady would want to walk "in" the waves and then eventually, at 8:08am, want to walk "on top of" the waves. Well, we did just that and were down to our spider underwear, looking like we were at the KOA in Silsbee -- only Daddy was missing the jorts (jean shorts) and Old Milwaukee. After heading back for dry clothes, we drove to a beach on the southwest side of the island. The beach sits at the start of the Na Pali Coast, which, according to some, is the "windiest" place on earth. Unfortunately the weather had done wonders to the road -- it will be shut down for the next 3 months. We went to the Waimea Canyon instead, which was pretty darn impressive -- the Grand Canyon of Hawaii, if you will. Getting back late afternoon, Daddy joined Brady in his "swavrite" pool. This time Daddy was armed with a boogie board and snorkel gear. Cash loved the face mask, while Brady swam in the water sans muscles (floaties). Brady must have had a "sand"-wich while we were gone -- sand extended from his mouth to ear to right shoulder (not that he cared). We ended the night with a hot tub visit. The water was "just right", "not too hot", and "bubbly" enough for Brady, so we soaked our bodies in it for a good 20 minutes. Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Steve then dumped the kids off and scarfed down some food at a local Japanese joint. It was teppanyaki style, prepared with flair right in front of us by our 19-year-old Kauai native cook, who told us the island's highlights from a recent high school graduate's perspective. The food was surprisingly good -- but we were even more surprised when our "chef" changed into a tank top and joined the next table after cooking our meal. Tomorrow is off to the beach and snorkel time.

Hawaii - Day 5 (Daddy, Take 2)

Today started with a bang. Daddy kidnapped me and took me to some place called the "Spouting Horn." It was awesome. The water coming out of the lava rocks was unbelievable. We then went to an outdoor flea market and picked out two bracelets for Mommy. After that Uncle Steve, Daddy and me went to Grinds for breakfast. (Yes -- breakfast! We started early, unlike Mommy. Let's just say she slept in.) The joint was a local dive in some small town west of Poipu. Uncle Steve and Daddy lured me with the promise of lemonade. Uncle Steve had an omelette and Daddy and I had french toast, with syrup of course. Later in day, we had a water shootout. I found my second favorite pool, which was shaped like a CIRCLE! (My "swavrite" pool is still the one by the ocean.) Me and my brother ended the day with an hour long playdate with the jonandkateplus8 kids. (This gal had 3 boys in the playground and was pregnant with twin boys.) Cash was a ham and I was my normal loveable self. I played freeze tag, tag and 'push' tag with all the kids. Tomorrow we're back to the beach!

Hawaii Day 4 (written by Daddy)

Daddy started out the day with 5 straight pars, missed a birdie putt on 6, and 3 putted 7 at Princeville. Mommy crammed the stroller and Uncle Steve into the back hatch of our second rental car and headed up as far as they could to Kauai's North Shore. We all met up at Ke'e Beach, a scenic lagoon surrounded by incredibly steep mountains. Brady's first words when he saw Daddy were "I missed you Daddy", hugging him feverishly while looking back making sure Mommy wouldn't swoop in to grab him. Cash was one step behind, using his sign language and grunts to say the same thing. At the beach, we raced in the sand and hid in tree caves while Brady, Cash, and Daddy got hounded by paparazzi (Mommy). Brady "munched" on a chocolate shake as Cash chiseled down a grilled cheese sandwich. We ended the day with a visit to the Queen's Bath, a natural pool on a lava bench. To say the waves would make Mommy nervous would be putting it mildly. But Daddy swears we all need to go to take a family pic for our Christmas card this coming year, if we make it back alive from the "bath".

Hawaii Day 3

Well we finally did it! Brady discovered buried treasure on "Pirate Island!" He loved racing all over the island looking for X's. Other highlights included sightseeing Waimea Canyons, Salt Pond Park, and a Russian fort. Cash's favorite part of the day was sharing his snacks with baby chicks on the beach. Chickens are everywhere!

Hawaii Day 2

We started off the day painting a sun catcher at the hotel's daily kids craft. We hung it on the sliding glass door so people, mainly Mommy, would stop walking into them. Cash entertained us with his ball tricks and Brady made us laugh squealing in the ocean. The "Pirate Island" trip has been postponed until tomorrow because Daddy went on an all day golf adventure. Stay tuned!

Aloha!

Brady and Cash started our family vacation to Kauai in true Hawaiian fashion -- by making flower leis for Mommy! The boys have found lots of things to do at the hotel. Feeding the hotel's koi fish may become a daily tradition. (Brady likes to feed the polka dot fish, but Cash prefers to feed the fish food to himself!) Brady had a blast swimming in the ocean. Cash enjoyed playing in the sand -- getting in the water may take some time. Tomorrow, Brady is looking forward to adventures with Daddy on "Pirate Island!"

Happy Birthday Cash!

Cash's first birthday was full of family, friends, monkeys, and banana splits! Harmony the Clown and her monkey Abby entertained the kids with a magic show, balloon animals, and face painting. Everyone enjoyed clowning around at our little monkey's monkey party!

To see more birthday photos, click here: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=274587858/a=28493439/t_=28493439

Walking

Future Astronomer