Life after Hawaii

We loved Hawaii, obviously. and the second we got off that plane in Salt Lake real life came and slapped us in the face. hard. We were totally jet lagged on top of just not feeling good. Henry was so excited to see us (love) he decided he didn’t ever want us to leave, the room. Whenever one of us would leave he would become hysterical. It was wonderful feeling so loved, but kind of hard to do things like pee with a screaming baby pounding on the door. He also had a hard time sleeping. Mckay got sick but by the end of our first week home we decided to meet up with his parents and the Skousons for a weekend in Brian Head. The drive was pretty, it was so nice to be in the mountains and spend time with friends. But turns out I got sick too, and then Henry. So we had a super clingy, sick baby who couldn’t really sleep and who also just so happened to be getting in 8 new teeth at the same time. 8. It was rough but thing eventually calmed down. and somehow we lost the pictures from Brian Head.

Mckay and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on August 21! We spent the day together as a family. We shopped around Ikea and bought Hen a few things for his room. We ate at Pei Wei/Chipotle and then went and visited the Living Planet Aquarium for the first time. I am obsessed! I loved it so much I got a membership and can’t wait to go back. It was so fun to see Henry so into it.

 

 

 

 

That weekend Mckay and I celebrated our anniversary by taking a little weekend trip up to Salt Lake. We stayed at the Little America (family favorite) we ate at all our favorite restaurants, went to 2 movies               (Premium Rush, Paranorman) and slept in. Saturday we stopped by the farmers market for a pastry and some local fruit. Then we headed down to the farmers market at Gardner Village and browsed the cute booths and ate some of the best roasted corn on the cob we’ve ever had. We shopped a little and then headed up to the outlets in Park City. So much fun.

We’ve been filling our days with walks to the Library. After living in Provo for 8 years…I finally got a Provo City Library card and we have loved walking down there and letting Henry roam around the kids area. Oh how I love getting books from the library. I’ve been cooking a lot and we’ve been really enjoying football season and I’ve been putting up fall decorations here and there.

We took our annual fall trip up to the Rytting cabin a couple weekends ago and had a blast. We decided to stay Friday through Monday and really enjoy the weekend. We love it up there, it’s so relaxing and calm. Henry loves to be outside and the leaves were beautiful.

(he stole that pink barbie jeep from the Greenwoods and he literally takes it everywhere)

 

          

          

This last weekend was a lot of fun too. Mckay and I had a little date, we went to dinner and then to Abravanel Hall to the Utah Symphony’s performance of Pictures at an Exhibition. Mckay’s mom played harp. It was amazing! Afterwards we went to our favorite little downtown bakery La Gourmandise for some desserts. Saturday we drove up to Soldier Hollow in Midway for Mckay to run in the Dirty Dash with some mission friends. They ended up running the 10k and had so much fun. They were completely covered in mud and scratches. Henry and I hung out while they were running and shared a sno cone and cheeseburger. After the race we had a late lunch at Tarahumara. We were so pooped by the time we got home but we decided we had to go check out Chalk the Block. We’re so glad we went, it was incredible! We walked around the farmers market booths and then walked around to see the chalk drawings. Those artists are seriously so talented. The pictures don’t capture the sharpness and amazing detail these pictures had. And to top off the night we spotted the Waffle Love truck! What a pleasant surprise! and one that definitely did not disappoint.

 

 

 

 

 

                            

It’s been such a fun and busy August and September! I don’t think we’ve ever had this much going on ever. We’ve been gone almost every weekend for the last two months so I’m looking forward to a calm and lazy week and weekend ahead of us.

Kayaking the Wailua River

This is finally the last Kauai post. Friday was our last day but we didn’t fly out until 8pm so we had just enough time for one last excursion. We hadn’t made reservations or anything for kayaking until I think a day or two before. Me and JJ quickly browsed through a Kauai magazine and basically picked the first company that seemed good and cheap, Kayak Wailua. We seriously lucked out with them! Some of our group ended up staying home and they thankfully weren’t even charged a cancellation fee. We arrived at Kayak Wailua in Kapa’a early in the morning and drove a few minutes to the spot in the river where we started our tour. Our group was small, only our group and another young married couple. The best thing ever is that Kayak Wailua starts their tours early enough that you have the whole river to yourselves! It was quiet and beautiful. The river starts to really fill up with other Kayakers and even motor boats throughout the day so I can’t even tell you how lucky it was that we were literally a few of the first on the river. We kayaked to a little beach about a mile or two up river and docked our boats. Then we took a short but beautiful half hour hike to Hidden Falls, a place you can only get to by kayaking and then hiking in. While hiking our guide told us crazy stories about the original Islanders and their history.

 

 

         

       

Another amazing thing, we were also the only people at the falls and had the whole place to ourselves for almost an hour. We played around in the freezing fresh water, ate some island snacks and talked with our great tour guide. As we were leaving huge tour groups were arriving and within minutes the beautiful clear water we were just swimming in had turned muddy and choppy from all the people. So grateful we had such a good experience with our tour. And that was the final activity that topped off what was truly a trip of a lifetime. Mckay and I realized how lucky we were to get to experience such an amazing trip with my family, without having to worry about kids. We probably wont get that opportunity again for awhile so we definitely took advantage of our time there. This was a trip we will be dreaming about for awhile.

the end.

Kalalau hike and Hukilau Lanai

Another way to experience the Napali Coast is to hike. Thursday morning we once again headed over to Ke’e beach, this time to hike instead of swim. The Kalalau trail starts at Ke’e beach and after a few minutes of steep climbing you get to the top of the coast where you are rewarded with amazing views. After that most of the rest of the hike comes with an ocean view. The trail is 11 miles and is the most famous trail on the island. We chose to only do the first 2 miles of the hike which takes you to Hanakapi’ai Beach. The hike was a little tricky in places but I’m happy to say our whole group made it. The scenery was beautiful and the views were breathtaking. The hike took most of the morning and early afternoon.

(View of Ke’e beach from the trail)

 

 

                 

         

           

          

         

          

After the hike we relaxed for a bit at the house before heading down Hukilau Lanai, a restaurant famous for their fresh fish and amazing views, for a fancy pants dinner that was just too tasty for words. Lobster Bisque and the Mixed Grill (Spicy Grilled Spear Fish and Butter Fish with Coconut Curry Risotto and Sugar Cane Shrimp with Pineapple Mango Salsa). See, I still remember it perfectly. Definitely one of the best meals of my life.

     

After dinner we walked down to the beach and enjoyed the sunset. The beach was covered in driftwood and was incredibly pretty.

        

        

I love my fam.