Second Day in Kauai

We woke up early again. Ollie is sleeping an eight hour stretch but unfortunately he is on Arizona time so his morning feedings are starting in the early am. We haven't quite adjusted either so it isn't all that bad and in a way I am grateful because it gives me a reason to get up. Usually I sleep in late on vacation and while the luxury of sleeping is nice it also means I give up the opportunity to enjoy a full day in a wondrous place. Hydee and Adam wanted to go to their favorite breakfast place before surfing. After breakfast the guys took off so they could catch some waves and Ollie and I jumped in with Hydee and the kids- Ollie is still trying to decide what to make of Emmie.By the time we got to the beach they were still in the parking lot, but at least they had their boards rented.

I was so grateful to have the stroller, we loaded it up with all our stuff, I even laid the two beach umbrellas across the carset with Ollie peaking out underneath (the car seat was supporting them not Ollie) and we made our way over to find a spot at Poipu beach. The stroller worked well through the short grass, but there was no way it was going to move through sand so we stopped under a palm tree where there was a picnic table so we could scope out the area and find a spot to settle into.

Macey and Colton were cracking me up because they were more interested in the chickens and baby chics than they were the beach, we couldn't even get them out of the parking lot because they disappeared to find them. Macey came back and reported that she found a chicken that had 10 chics following her and another chicken that only had one nearby, she thought that was cute because it reminded her of Hydee with all her kids, and me with my one. I love Macey and all her innocence!

While Hydee and I were trying to figure out what to do Colton had already decided he was going snorkeling so I watched Emmie and Ollie while Hydee escorted Colton down to where he could snorkel (which was quite a bit away from where we were) and laid out the rules for him. While he was gone Emmie got fussy, I was already holding Ollie but somehow I managed to her her out as well and I sat there under the tree holding both of them on my lap. It wasn't long before a nice guy, I don't know if you would call him a ranger or maybe a life guard (he wasn't in a red swim suit but he worked on the beach) showed up and told me that I should always look up before sitting under a coconut tree- he pointed up and the tree did have coconuts in it but they looked young and green so I wasn't too worried about them falling on us, but decided to scoot over anyway since he seemed concerned and I did have babies in my arms.

When Hydee got back we decided to move closer to where we could see Colton snorkeling. That was a bit of a task but we managed. As we pulled out the umbrellas we found that one of them was broken so we only had a little bit of shade. We also didn't have any beach towels so I decided to take Ollie on a walk back to the surf shop to get one. I was astounded by the prices! The beach towels were going for $48-$50! But it was the first real day at the beach and I knew we would use it the rest of the trip so I reluctantly settled on a big beach blanket that rolled up thin and had it's own straps and handle for carrying attached. It was still more than I wanted to spend at $42 but it was still something I was happy to have because it was much wider than a towel. So while Matt surfed I spent the day huddled under the shade of the umbrella with Hydee and the babies. I ventured out for a short walk to the beach so Ollie could touch the water. He is still a little scared of Emmie but we laid them next to each other and he is starting to be more curious than scared. She rolls over already and when they were next to each other she rolled over and grabbed his pacifier and tried to steal it from him, and then she grabbed his shirt and yanked it around trying to play with him. He doesn't roll yet so he just looked at her doing all of this and kicked around and got irritated. It made me laugh to see him so serious and Emmie so light hearted.

Ollie was a bit tired but was having a hard time falling asleep. He got into a crazy fit where he has his eyes closed but cries and stiffens up his whole body and is inconsolable. I picked him up and was doing everything I could but my best seemed to be doing nothing and it felt like he was attracting the attention of the entire beach! I'm sure listening to a baby crying is not how they thought they would be enjoying their Hawaiian vacation. When I was just about to give up and take him back to the condo he suddenly fell asleep and all was well after that.

When Matt came in I went snorkeling with Adam, Colton, and Macey while he took a nap with Ollie. It was amazing how many fish there were right under the surface. My favorite was coming across a school of needle fish. There wasn't much reef to look at but there were fish all over the place. The water was cool, I was fine in just my swimsuit but my dang ears will start hurting with the slightest bit of cold so they were starting to hurt more than I could bare so when Macey headed in I decided to get out as well. Adam and Colton stayed in to do some more exploring. Colton had found a few eels earlier in the morning so they were determined to find another one. When I got back to the beach Ollie was up and hungry so Matt was feeding him and then he decided to poop. I always laugh when it happens when Matt is holding him!

It was late in the afternoon and we were all hungry so we packed up (while Colton chased some more chickens) and headed out to lunch. Somehow even though we were following Hydee and Adam after parking we couldn't find them anywhere and couldn't get a hold of them on their cell phones so we browsed around through some shops. There were the cutest retro surf signs but again the prices were outrages so I just looked. Matt was anxious to find them so we started searching instead of shopping. It's funny that I can always spot Macey first. I caught a glimpse of a big hot pink hat in a reflection in a mirror and there they were- in a jewelry store. It's a little tradition that Hydee gets a piece of jewelry on their vacations so it made sense to find them there. After reuniting we found tropical burger and Puka Dog right next to each other. Matt wanted a teriyaki burger and I was intrigued by Puka Dog (a Hawaiian hotdog) so we split up and decided to meet at a picnic table out on the lawn. Just as we were pointing it out to each other a family walked from behind us and went and claimed it. Macey was sent out to find us another place to eat while Hydee and I ordered our Puka Dogs. I went with a sausage dog with pineapple relish. I'm not sure how they do it but somehow they get the dog and the relish in a bun that encloses the whole thing.

Macey was having no luck finding a place to sit so I set out to help her, in the end I ended up at a table and Macey and Hydee ended up sitting in an outdoor theatre type seating. I had the stroller and was tired of walking around so I stopped at the table and waited for Matt who was still getting his burger. Ollie woke up in the midst of this and started crying. I was in front of Starbucks and the worker came out of the store to throw something away (and probably to see what was happening) and said "Wow, he's got some lungs!" Hydee sent Macey over to see if she could help but nothing much to do other than pick him up and try and calm him down- somehow it is always when I am sitting down to feed myself that he needs attention! Shortly after Matt showed up with his burger. After we ate Matt went with Adam and gang to get gelato and I went for a stroll to see what I could find in the shops.

Matt caught up with me in front of a kids store, I showed him around the shop so he could help me pick out a sign for Ollie's room. While we were looking for a sign I saw a little stuffed shark (a great white), we showed it to Ollie and he grabbed it and put it in his mouth like he was attacking it. Matt said "I guess it's his now!" and we laughed as he kept playing with it.

We finally decided on a surf sign, I had narrowed it down to a great white shark sign and a retro surfboard. I asked Matt which one we should get and he simply asked how much they cost. The lady behind the counter gave us the $130 price for the shark and we both said "we'll go with the surfboard" at $40 it all of the sudden seemed like the perfect option! While we were ringing up Ollie continued to attack his new shark toy, I couldn't resist recording the moment so he could look back and see his first encounter with his shark. Souvenirs in hand we headed out of the shop and waited for Hydee and Adam.

Once we had all gathered we headed back to the condo. Macey, Colton, Matt, Ollie and I headed out to the pools for a swim. It was a bit windy and chilly for a swim but the jacuzzi felt great. The pool really was amazing. The entire pool and jacuzzi had a lava rock water feature surrounding one side, it was full of plants and had a huge waterfall. It felt exactly like what a pool in paradise should feel like. Matt was very impressed with it. Ollie was a little cutie. We didn't take him all the way in the jacuzzi but enough that he could get warm and a little wet. After the jacuzzi at the last hotel I was thrilled to find this one perfectly clean. It was in the jacuzzi that I realized for the first time that Ollie's hair was long enough to make a little spike. That was exciting because for one, he still doesn't have much hair, but it has been getting a little longer on the top and sometimes it looks like a Ceasar hair-do, and sometimes it appears to part in the middle so I was starting to wonder if I should buzz the top. But wetting my fingers and pulling his hair upwards I found that it made a cute little spike. Which of course led to me pulling out the camera. Macey and Colton were brave enough to get out of the warm water and go for a swim in the big pool, even taking a plunge under the waterfall. It's fun to see the two of them interact, they get a long great which really is a blessing. Sometimes siblings take far too long to figure out they like each other and I'm glad they won't have any wasted years, but rather fond memories.

After our swim we headed back and hung out in the condo just relaxing for a while, it's nice having no schedule. We all loved that the walls in the living room opened, with the breeze and the light from the sun going down it felt heavenly.

We all decided to take an excursion and walked down to the beach to see the sun go down. The boys put the babies in the Bijorn's, and we put Ollie's little glasses on him and we all got good laughs over it!

After our hike the adults got ready for a night out. Macey and Colton watched Ollie and Emmie while the adults went out to Roys. I really was enjoying the hat thing because not only were my roots coved, but it really cut down on my time to get ready because I had to do next to nothing to my hair. I love these pictures of Macey and Ollie- it might have been the only time he wasn't fussy for her all night but it felt easy to leave him with her when she was busy making him laugh!

Dinner was interesting. We had a Roys certificate that we wanted to use so we could cut down on the cost of food, but honestly it was a bit disappointing. The Roys was in a shopping mall that had really no view and the restaurant seemed a bit dated, so instead of feeling like we were dining in paradise it felt like anything we could have had back home. Which is surprising because the two Roys that I have been to back home are very modern and impressive, and the one in Phoenix feels like you are in the tropics because it is at a resort and half of the seating opens up to lush landscaping outside that feels like you are in the tropics. I also felt bad for Matt and Hydee that Adam and I spent so much of the conversation on work, and on top of that I ordered another spicy fish dish that was way too hot and not all that delicious. Which is very disappointing when my favorite fish dish ever is at Roys! Still, I was happy to be out and it was another great day in Kauai.