Many of the beaches here on Kauai have rivers flowing to the ocean. Kalihiwai is one of them. And we found some of our treasured "Indian Burners." We normally go to Grandpa's beach to find them, so it was a bonus to find them at Kalihiwai.
After some boogie boarding and taking a nose dive in the sand, Ethan got in the river (fresh water) to rinse off. Sand was EVERYWHERE! Now you see him...
Now you don't. He really is a fish!
Kalihiwai has a cool rope swing.
Ethan didn't want to let go.
Aloha!
Ethan is on Spring Break for two weeks, so we have been doing some "touristy" things. Sasha, this may look familiar to you! ( :
This is Wailua Falls, the falls from the TV show Fantasy Island, I know, I am really dating myself...
Izzie is fascinated by waterfalls. And why wouldn't she be...
they are awesome!
We watched Mamma Mia! the other night and this is what happened with EVERY song...
Enjoy.
Aloha!
About once a week we find a new house guest...some of them are welcome, like this little guy...
We have found several of these geckos, I think they are really cute. This one jumped from my hand onto Izzie's tummy right before their picture was taken..totally freaked her out, but it had to be one of the funniest things I had seen in a loooong time! ( :
And some of them are NOT so welcome...like goko buties...cock roaches. Pest control is a good business to be in here. We really don't see them that often, but we still keep those traps around and that seems to keep them at bay! (Not trying to scare any of you from coming). It is just part of the island life. I have yet to see a big centipede though, we have been warned they hang out in the coconut trees...
Aloha!
This is where we live...(minus the BMW)
This is the view of our back yard from the lanai.
This is our family room, no we have not taken up the Harp...(these picutres are actually the ones our landlord sent us when we were thinking about renting the house).
The dining area. I really love this house, you can see Bali Hai, and I feel like we are in a tree house...the trade winds are awesome, they really keep it cool!
The kitchen
The master bedroom
The kids bedroom
And for all you mainlanders that come to visit...this is YOUR bedroom!
Aloha!
We have a new hobby! Collecting these little guys..."Indian Burners."
I don't know what their proper name is, but looking online I think they might be "Sea Beans." They are so cool. Every time we find one it makes me happy, it is like finding a little treasure on the beach. My friend Caradyn introduced me to this fun pastime. It is becoming an obsession...I even have the kids looking for them! ( :
Aloha!
This little guy came to our house this morning...mayhem...and fun for the kids. Hope you all have the luck of the Irish!
Just a side note: Candi, I need your email address! ( :
Aloha!
I taught my first Gospel Doctrine class in Hanalei Branch today. I found out Friday night that we would be having a "visitor."
Yep, Gene R. Cook was in our class. I was so nervous, but as he made comments, I thought, "How cool is this, to have one of the Quorum of the 70 (emeritus) sharing his knowledge. After the class he came up and thanked me. It was really nice to meet him and his wife. They will be speaking in our Sacrament Meeting next Sunday. I am really looking forward to hearing them.
I am so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! What a blessing it is in my life! I love our Hanalei Branch and the spirit that is here!
Aloha!
The Hawaiian "Nene" Goose is found on Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui. It is the most isolated, sedentary, and threatened of all waterfowl. It is the sixth most endangered waterfowl species worldwide. There is an estimated 885 wild or free-ranging Nene in the Hawaiian Islands. They eat leaves, seeds, berries, and flowers of grasses, herbs and shrubs.
We live right off of the
Princeville Golf Course and there are a few of these Nene geese that live there. I hear them honking in the mornings and I saw one flying on my run the other day. They are Hawaii's state bird. Unlike most other geese, Nene are non-migratory, in that generally only island wide movement is known to occur.
Aloha!
I absolutely love the drive into Hanalei, it's so beautiful.
The Hanalei Valley is gorgeous!
I love the roosters and chickens, they really are everywhere. They don't wake me up at 3:45 AM anymore, guess I'm used to their cock-a-doodlings.
The Hanalei Bridge, this one lane bridge just makes me happy.
The Taro fields.
The Wai'oli Mission Church. I think they actually used this in Lilo & Stitch. ( :
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Hanalei
I wanted to show you where we are.
We live on the north shore in Princeville. If we need to go to town for anything, Costco, Home Depot, the DMV/Gov. offices, the airport, we have to drive down to Lihue. Going to town is an all day event. You have to plan...especially on a school day! Notice the section where there is no road...the beautiful Na Pali Coast...if only there was a tunnel through that mountain range...( :
It is a beautiful drive and the time goes by quick.
These are some of the beautiful sites to see on a trip to town.
Kilauea Town
Then you hit the metropolis of Kappa'a. This town reminds me of Lilo & Stitch.
We love this mural painted on one of the buildings.
This is part of the Royal Coconut Coast. In this field of coconut trees is a donkey that we always try to spot. "Where's Waldo?" Daddy always says.
This is the Nounou Mountain Ridge or "Sleeping Giant"
And of course, we see lots of these guys!
Aloha!
The girls did such a great job. 
The girls came out in several different costumes. 
Here is Caradyn playing the drums.
The girls chose people from the audience to learn the Tahitian dance techniques...Here's Erick moving his hips in a figure 8. hehehe. He wasn't as graceful as the girls, but he did great.
Coppin's Fire Dance was amazing!
