Summer Highlights: Part 3 of 3

ALOHA!

In July, my mom treated our whole family to an amazing week long adventure on the beautiful island of Kauai (my favorite island). Here is a marathon photo journal of our vacation : )

This was the view from our room the first morning of our trip. We were definitely in paradise!

Grandma Coco and Harrison exploring the resort grounds.

Poipu Block Party: games, food, and dancing!

Poipu Beach Day

Hike to the secret waterfall cliff jump

Making Lei's

Pool Time!

Ethan and Harrison bonded over conversations about and acting out all things "CARS!"

Puka Dogs and Hula Dancers
Love this pic. of Soph and Jaydie watching the show, sweet cousins!

Hanalei Bay, Caves, and End of the Road Day Trip

This is what Harrison and I were doing while they were exploring the caves!

Grandma Coco's Birthday Party!!

I think she liked it!

Although I was pretty sick for the majority of this trip, it will be one of my favorite family vacations ever! It was so wonderful to be with the family in such a spectacular place with so many fun things to do and see. The kids were all so good and Grandma Coco was "SUPER GRANDMA" with grandma prizes and sleepovers and planning our activities and spoiling all of us! I tried to narrow down the pictures for this post but there were too many precious memories I couldn't leave out!

Only a few days after we got home, I ended up in the hospital. When I got my PICC line placed, I asked them not to numb my arm with lidocaine because I thought I might be allergic to it. The doctor told me I could not find one grown man in the whole hospital go through that procedure without lidocaine. When he asked me how I could stay so still and calm while getting my PICC I told him I just transported myself to End of the Road in Kauai and visualized my family and I all back there at the beach. All I felt was gratitude and overwhelming love for my family and it was enough to take away the pain. I am so blessed to have people, experiences, and memories to help make the occasional setbacks more bearable, remind me how precious life is, and motivate me to keep going!

Aloha!

Summer Highlights: Part 2 of 3

Part 2: Water Logged!

The pictures in this post capture not only the love I have for where we live but also the absolute joy I believe comes from playing in water (and sand) with reckless abandon!

I love this sequence of photos that completely sums up this particular day at the beach!

Step 1: Walk down to the "wet sand"
Step 2: Scoop some up without letting the next wave get you
Step 3: Walk back to the bucket
and Step 4: Dump the wet sand in the bucket...
Repeat until Daddy says it's time to pack up and head home!

Splash Park with cousins!

Grandma Coco's Pool...more cousin time!

Could summer get any better than being water logged?! Loran Eisely said, "If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water." We had a magical summer!

Summer Highlights: Part 1 of 3

Part 1: Strawberry Pickn' and the County Fair!

I have seen this sign hundreds of times growing up in North County but have never been, so when Sanam invited us to go pick Strawberries with her and the girls, we were so excited! It was such a fun activity. You definitely pay more for the strawberries than you would at the store, BUT, the strawberries are absolutely delish! So sweet and good, and because you pick them, there are no bad or mushy ones in the bunch. Also, you have to take into account that you are paying for the experience. We spent about an hour there and Harrison loved it. Of course he thought the dirt rows in between the strawberry bushes were race tracks but he also slowed down and picked some himself. The challenge was helping him to realize we had to pay for them and wash them before we plopped them into our mouths : )
After our strawberry picking, we drove down the road to Cannon Park. We caught a new friend helping himself to our precious strawberries! Whenever I see a squirrel, I think of Lex. One of her nicknames was squirrel and I wondered that day if she was sending us a little message and wanted us to know she was glad we had such a fun day...

We debated this year about going to the Del Mar Fair but couldn't resist taking Harrison to see the monster trucks, animals and of course letting him ride a few of the kiddie rides. Ryan and I also allowed ourselves one treat apiece. I can't remember what Ryan indulged in, but I chose a cinnamon roll and my mouth is watering just thinking about it! We stayed away from the deep fried butter!

Harrison had such a fun day, the highlight for him was definitely driving the "big rig." Every time he came around the track, this is how happy he was!

He also enjoyed rocking out on the way home!

I think picking fresh strawberries and attending the Del Mar Fair will be annual summer traditions!