And FInally.....

This day we kayaked to " Secret Falls".  We kayaked several miles down the river and took about a mile hike to the falls, which is no longer a secret!

After lunch, we went on another hike to Kipu Falls. The boys took their first jump off the 20 foot falls (we know its that tall because some guy was measuring it). I refused to watch but they did it and loved it!

On our last full day, Ryan, Garrett, Natalie and Heather went on the zip line. The kids weren't old enough, so we stayed at the condo and swam. After dinner, we decided to have a fire on the beach and make smores. The stars in the sky looked incredible!!!  We spent our last day at Tunnels Beach, cleaned up, did a little last minute shopping and barely made our flight.  We had a great vacation! I was nervous about taking the kids, but they had so much fun and we made some great memories!

A Bit More....

Tunnels Beach. Probably our favorite! The kids had a great time making sandcastles, snorkeling and playing in the waves. We took frozen peas out snorkeling and the fish would surround us and eat out of our hand. Ryan went out further than the rest of us and came upon 4 turtles eating.

The next day we took a hike along the Na Pali Coast. This is an area of the island that is only accessed by boat, helicopter or on foot. It was incredibly beautiful! We hiked two miles in to a secluded beach where we explored caves and of course built more sandcastles.  The great thing about this beach is that there is a river that flows into a shallow pool of fresh water that the kids loved to play in!

Kauai day 2

Beach Day! We went to a great beach called Ke'e. It was the perfect snorkel place for the kids because it was protected by a reef so the water was calm.

Later that evening we went on a short hike to Queens Bath. It was on a cliff and when the waves came in it filled the rocks with water.  Johnny Depp was their earlier in the day filming Pirates of the Carribean 4.  My first thought:  another one?

Kauai Day 1

We spent the most fantastic week in Kauai! Ryan and I lived everyday to its fullest and every night when we got back to the condo, we were exhausted! The kids never complained about bedtime!

We went on a sailboat to the Na Pali coast where we went snorkeling out on a reef. It was so much fun!

We came face to face with a few turtles. It was amazing! We also had dolphins swimming and jumping all around our boat. Mekella was in heaven!

Ok, so life has been incredibly chaotic!!  The older my kids get, the busier life gets and as much as I can't stand the constant phrase of "I'm bored" during the summer I am happy that school projects and such are over.  So much to catch up on so here goes quickly:

* Kella has lost 2 teeth and stopped sucking her thumb. She is also officially a first grader and won't let me forget it!
* Taylor earned the Presidential Academic Award for his grades for the last two years.  Lets hope he can keep it up through high school!! I keep telling him that someday he will make his millions and support me!
* Matt is Matt. Trying to do cool tricks on the trampoline and playing hard! We often have 10 kids over playing and I love it!

We just got home from a fantastic vacation in Kauai. More to come on that after I sort through pictures.
Now we are deep into the heart of summer, hopefully filled with camping and lots of Cherry Hill!

Signs that he's an emerging teenager:

* He is soooo grumpy in the morning. No one is allowed to talk to him!

* On that note, he thinks he should be able to stay up until 10 on school nights and 12 on weekends.

* His new favorite must have item: Axe, the spray on kind!

* Thinks he knows everything!

* Girls are now "hot"

* He will ask me a question, I will respond and then he will look at me like I am an idiot!

* Needs a cell phone, wants a cell phone, MUST HAVE a cell phone!

At least he will still tell me that he loves me!

The Worst Night Ever!

Kella has her first loose tooth. She has been complaining for weeks that EVERYONE she knows has already lost a tooth. Last night, when Ryan was reading her a bedtime story, they made a deal to stop sucking her thumb. He told her that now that her baby teeth are leaving, if she continues to suck her thumb, her big teeth will grow in all snarley like a witch. Well, to Kella, that was the worst thing ever! She could not imagine having snarley teeth, so Ryan got a bandaid and put it on her thumb that she sucks. He "tacoed" her into bed and that was that. We waited knowing full well that she would come into our room and sure enough fighting back tears she said that she just couldn't fall asleep, but would not say why. Ryan rocked her a bit and put her to bed. She eventually fell asleep. In the morning she comes down stairs VERY grumpy and announces that last night was the worst night ever and she didn't sleep AT ALL! She swears she didn't fall asleep until "like midnight!" So now as we try to break the habit, (again), we are going to have to put up with a very grumpy, sad little girl!