Kauai, Hawaii

Moon-set and Sunrise on the same morning.  So cool!

 We took our first family vacation with Landon to Hawaii...and we survived!  We had an incredible time.  We were in Kauai for a week with Shani's family and it was beautiful.  This was our first time to this island and the first time on a long vacation since before Shani was pregnant.  It was a much needed and wanted time away from the real world.  Did we really have to come back?  Enjoy all the pictures!   

Landon did great on the plane flight.  We were very anxious about this because it was a long flight, we had no distractions (Nonni, Poppa, Uncle Chris, Auntie Kat were flying in the next day), and there wasn't much space to move around.  There was one point about half way through the flight that we gave each other the "are we going to make it" face, but Shani took Landon on a "walk" and he calmed down...we survived 5+ hours on a plane with a 7 month old! Overall, Landon had a couple fussy moments, but no cries or screams.  Everyone around us thought he did terrific (thank goodness) and we were glad they thought it went better than we did. He was definitely the center of attention with his constant full-face smiles.  Everyone just loved him.  He only took 2, half hour naps (we were hoping for much longer).  If there is one thing from the trip we are glad to be through with, it is the plane flights. At the same time we couldn't be happier on how well they went (in hindsight).

We went on a couple of hikes while on the trip.  We wish we had time to do more, but were happy to see some of the island.  The first was a hike to Hanakapi'ai beach along the Na Pali coast that we did with Nonni and Poppa. It kicked our butts!  It was a beautiful hike, but it was a little tough on us.  We also hiked in Waimea Canyon to look for some native birds.  John got two new birds ('Elapaio and Anianau) and another that was new for Kauai ('Apapane) but not to his life list (both spotted by Shani).  We (mostly John) wish we had more time to spend on that side hiking and birding.  We guess we'll have to go back sometime to do that.

Hanakapi'ai beach along the Na Pali coast

Waimea Canyon

Kauai was also Landon's first time to the beach and swimming in the ocean.  The sand was quite fascinating and also very difficult to wipe off.  Someone mentioned the baby powder trick, but we don't have any and we didn't remember to pick any up.  It ended up not going too bad though.  No sand in the eyes...that bothered him at least.  Landon didn't really like the waves much.  He loves the water, but having the waves splash on him was a different story.  He didn't cry, but he definitely held us tighter and he didn't smile at all.  We then went to Queens Bath which is almost like a pool made by the rock formation and Landon loved it.  He also loved the salty taste of the water. We tried very hard to keep him from purposely drinking it.  Landon also had "Shave Ice" for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We didn't add any syrup, but it was still a treat for him.

Barking Sands

John also took us on quite an adventurous drive.  He heard about a good sea-birding spot (turns out not that great for the time we were there) near a lighthouse that we decided to check out.  We entered the destination in good ole Garmin....oops. We later learned from his book that there used to be two different entrances but now the road "doesn't connect."  It turns out the road does connect...but no one in their right mind would ever try.  Well Garmin took us on the road less traveled and it completely tested Shani's patience.  Thank God (no seriously, Praise the Lord) we made it safely and that Landon slept through it.  The road was a dirt road that was so uneven Shani had to hold Landon's head so it wouldn't bobble off!  The sugar cane (or whatever the plant was) literally lined the road to the point that it was constantly hitting both sides of the car at the same time--sometimes it almost went across the road completely. If we got a flat there would be no space to change it and there was no place to turn around. Oh yeah, did we mention this road was about 2.5 miles long? We drove 5 mph in the heat (jeep no top) and no air flow because of the sugar cane being so thick and high.  Yes, it was miserable.  We did see some guy fishing with an ol' school net, which was cool and the lighthouse was really neat.  Oh and the "real" road was a normal paved road that connected to a golf course immediately.  Yes, definitely an adventure. 

We were very fortunate that Shani's parents gifted us a helicopter ride to view Kauai.  It was so amazing!  The view from above was breathtaking.  We could not take enough pictures while up there.  We wish it could have lasted longer because it was the most beautiful way to see the island.  This by far was definitely worth it and we recommend that everyone try it out sometime. 

Here are some other pictures from our stay.

Landon trying pineapple, toasting Uncle Chris, and smiles with Nonni

Landon turned 7 months while we were there.  Pretty crazy.  He now has 2 teeth which we are reminded of every night.  Yep, every night.  Since about a week before his first tooth he has gone completely downhill when it comes to sleep.  His only getting up once a night has gone to getting up every 1-3 hours with maybe one 3 hour stretch...if we are lucky.  So much for a vacation to sleep in and relax.  Thankfully he seemed well rested because he did fantastic during the day.  Just mommy and daddy were extremely exhausted.  We do hope this time will pass soon, but until then we look like zombies.  We thought he would be moving forward a little more with the crawling, but he's kind of slowed down in that department.  He does get up on all fours and goes backwards.  Sometimes he'll go about an inch up, but mainly back.  He seems to have grown so much.  We thought for sure he put on a ton of weight but when we got back and weighed him he was 19lbs 6oz.  Yes, that's big but we figured he was over 20 lbs because it sure felt like it.  He does look like he's stretching out some so we'll have to see what his length is.  Otherwise our big boy is doing very well and as happy as can be--during the day!