Kauai!!!

We just got back from an incredible trip to the beautiful island of Kauai!  This vacation was courtesy of my amazing in-laws.  I can't thank them enough for the wonderful time we had.  

I debated how to post so many pictures-it's kind of overwhelming-but for lack of a better way to split it up, I will just do one really long post with descriptions after the pictures, so be prepared.

 We were lucky (spoiled) enough, thanks to Rob's parents, to stay at the Grand Hyatt Resort and Spa.  The hotel and grounds were absolutely gorgeous.  We received the royal treatment from the minute we stepped foot out of the rental car onto Hyatt territory.  We were greeted by hotel workers and given Hawaiian leis to wear.  We then got to go to our wonderful rooms.  The above picture is a view from the hotel entrance. 

Our first morning there, the kids graciously awoke us at 3 AM.  They apparently wanted to fill every hour with fun.  So we took advantage of the beauty of the early morning and took a stroll along the beach a few hours later.  

 These cute cousins absolutely adore each other.  Natalie couldn't wait to hold Kjerstin's hand.

 A beautiful view of the sunrise while on our walk.

 Rob and the cute boy cousins Brian and Blake-born only hours apart.

 A gorgeous morning at the beach.

 The early morning walkers-Brian and Kym with their kids, Grandma Bell, our family, and Rob's sister Chelsea.

 Our beautiful hotel and grounds.

 Another view of our hotel.

 This is what we got to enjoy for a week during our stay.  Pure paradise.  The hotel had the most amazing pool with a lazy river, lots of waterfalls into the pools, three jacuzzis, and a lagoon area.

 The hotel breakfast buffet each morning was a real treat.  I enjoyed filling my plate to the brim with fresh pineapple.  I'm already having withdrawals.  

  

 There were cute little and big birds that would just walk around the breakfast room and eat whatever food had fallen.

Almost every morning, we took the kids to a program at the hotel called "Parrot Talk" where we learned about parrots and then the kids got to hold one.

 Looking at Rico the parrot.

 The little girls loved wearing cute matching dresses each day.  Thanks for the outfits, Grandma!

 I even held a parrot.  It was only 3 lbs. at the most, but it felt a lot heavier on the end of my arm.

Natalie's turn to hold Rico.

 Digging in the sand-a must in Hawaii.

 The kids stood with their daddy and waited for the huge waves to come and wash over their feet when the tide was coming in.

 Complete gorgeousness!

 Rob's parents watched the kids for us one night so we could have a date-night.   I love my man! We went to dinner at the Tidepools Restaurant just down from our hotel.  It was literally situated on a tidepool, so we got to eat on a deck that overlooked the fish pools.  The food was incredible-especially the rolls and the chocolate lava cake for dessert (coming from a bread and sweets lover). 

 After dinner, Rob and I took a romantic evening stroll along the beach.

Rob bought me some souvenirs- a pretty wood bracelet and necklace made from a certain tree in Kauai.  You can see them better in the picture of us at the restaurant. 

 We discovered this cute little Gelato place after dinner one night.  I wanted to relocate it next door to my house.  It's that delicious.

One morning, we got a new Bell family picture.

 Most mornings, the kids got to go down by the restaurant and feed the fish.  They loved it.

 We spent a lot of time in the pool.

The perfect slide for Blake.

The waterfall cave in the lazy river.

Blake loved the lagoon.

 The beach right by our hotel had huge waves, so we went on a little drive to another fun beach and spent the day there.

 Blake cautiously testing out the sand.

 Building moats.

 The girls found a tree perfect for climbing.

The boys decided to climb too.

I don't have pictures of this, but on Wednesday, the guys plus Kerri all went scuba diving for the day.  They had a great time and saw some cool stuff.  The rest of us stayed back at the hotel and spent most of the day at the pool.  In the morning, I went to a fun water aerobics class at the spa with my sister-in-law while Grandma Bell and Chelsea took the kids to a lei-making and hula class.  

 At the luau!  They had roasted a pig, so we ate pulled pork, fruit, veggies, salads and poi (a really bland, kind of gross, Hawaiian staple).  And to make it even more appetizing, it's grey in color.  It's basically the equivalent of southerners' grits-they eat it just because that's what you do.  My father-in-law (with a smile on his face) ordered us all to at least try it if he was to pay for our dinner, so of course we obliged him and tried it.

 Because it was Rob's birthday, he was called up on stage and told to bring a guest (I was the lucky one).  We learned a hula dance and basically got to make fools out of ourselves in front of everyone :)

 Luaus are so neat.  I loved all the dances.  There was one where the Hawaiian guys came out and kept sticking their tongues out and making really loud sounds.  Soon after it started, Natalie went and sat on Rob's lap and told him, "I'm not scared, I just love you too much daddy".  :) 

 Blake was quite a little stinker at the luau, but I caught him at a sweet moment with his Simba.

Thursday was Rob's 30th birthday, which he was lucky enough to celebrate in beautiful Hawaii.  He chose to go to hiking and then his parents treated us to a Hawaiian luau in the evening.  The hike turned out to be quite crazy.  We were misdirected by some hikers coming back on the trail, so we hiked a long ways in the wrong direction before realizing it wasn't going anywhere.  Then we turned around, hiked back, and found the Falls Trail.  We ended up hiking quite a long distance-especially for having kids with us.  The kids were real troopers, although Blake had to be carried for a lot of it.  

The lookout point before driving up to the trailhead for our hike.

 After our hike we went to "The Blowhole"-a hole in the rock where the ocean washes in and shoots out.  It had been raining off and on that day, so we got to see a rainbow too while there.

 And then it was time to say goodbye.  A sad, sad day.  Natalie always cries when she has to leave a fun place and people who she loves.

Bye Grandpa!

Goodbye Grandma.  We love you guys!  Thanks for the amazing vacation.

Things I learned about Hawaii and myself from our trip:

1.  Poi is gross
2.  Gelato is awesome
3.  The Hawaiian people are so nice
4.  Roosters and chickens love paradise too (they wandered around everywhere on the island)
5.  Hawaii gets a lot of rain, but it's almost a mist most of the time, and it comes and goes so quickly that you almost don't notice.
6.  I could pretty much live off fresh pineapple
7.  I didn't notice any bugs there, at least not ones big enough to mention.  It really was paradise.  And there are no poisonous creatures in the wild, so we hiked without worry in the gorgeous Kauaiian jungles.
8.  Kiss straight hair goodbye in Hawaii. Yep-don't even think about it.
9.  I wish we main-landers could be as laid back as the Hawaiian people in some ways.  No one rushes for anything there. The speed limits are extremely slow and the people are just easy-going.