Dad's 35th Birthday

The man of the family turned 35 on June 9th and I felt the need to do something special.  Other big birthdays have come and gone and we have always had a good time and enjoyed the days.  This time around, I planned early and decided to surprise Eric with an overnight trip for just the 2 of us to Kaua'i. I'm not positive, but I think this is the first trip we have ever taken alone together since our road trip to Sandusky, Ohio sometime around 2001.

Uncle Tom came to our house on Saturday for a "BBQ," and brought extra clothes to stay the night as we would have some adult drinks.  Little did Eric know…he was staying 2 nights so he could care for our children while we were gone!  I ended up surprising Eric Saturday evening as our flight left at 5:18 the next morning!

We had such a fun time!  Here is a little review in photos….

On the plane at 5 a.m.!!!

 And 27 minutes later….landing on Kaua'i.

First stop Waimea Canyon State Park. And then a little breakfast at a local cafe. 

 It's the Grand Canyon of the Pacific!

Got to take a look at Ni'ihau and Lehua off in the distance (17 miles off shore).

And we made it around the island and to the north shore to our hotel in Princeville by 11 a.m.  Thanks to our early start! 

We were unable to check in until about 3:30 so we made friends with the pool bar and watched some playoff bball for a while.  We later played pingpong poolside for a while and met lots of wonderful people!  So, so fun. 

Monday morning was another early start for Eric's actual present…playing golf at the The Prince course in Princeville, Kaua'i. 

Pretty fancy! 

 They even had a place for me to rest while Eric warmed up. :)

 The driving range was unlike Tower Tee, where I used to frequent.

 We experienced the full effect of Kaua'i weather…trade showers and all!

 Even rainbows!

 Pretty sure I took over 100 pics of this man golfing on his birthday. :)

 The natural waterfall was my favorite part!

 Kaua'i is filled with chickens.  So many more than on Oahu.  Apparently there are no mongoose on that island leading to the increased poultry population. 

 We cut it a bit close after a nap at the resort pool and a trip to Secret beach.  We were being paged at the airport, "Last call for Amy and Eric Selter!" as we were rushing through security.  We made it, sandy feet and all!

 This guy (and his wife) had an awesome b-day!

Hawai'i - The Big Island, Day 3

Time to go home!  It was a short trip, but the perfect amount of time for our boys….as they all came home sick!  We had plenty of time before leaving to swim some more…and on this morning, we literally had the entire pool to ourselves. :)

We dominated this slide for quite some time….

As we were leaving the pool, I realized we had gone the entire vacation without taking a family photo….so here it is!

Clearly, someone didn't like our family self-photo….and they offered to snap one for us.

Dad and the boys jumped on the tram to head to the car.  Mom had to run back up to the room as Jonah forgot his beloved turtle…a special gift from Bushie!

Back in the rental….headed to the airport.

While at the airport, Dad got the special treatment through security and went missing from the fam for about 10 minutes... 

Headed out on the tarmac to board the plane!

 Ready to head home!

Such a fun time.  I forgot to mention that Eric and I went out for a walk one night to view some stars.  If ever, I go back to Hawai'i island, I will be sure to visit the Keck Observatory for some star gazing.  The skies at night were awesome!

Hawai'i - The Big Island, Day 2

Day 2 we played at the resort. All. Day. Long. You could honestly stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village for an entire vacation, never leave the resort, and do something new/different everyday.

In the morning, we woke up to a nice view of the golf course.

After slowly waking and gathering our thoughts and swimsuits…we were off to explore! The lagoon, the pools, the activities…where to begin??

Jonah was okay with just hanging around the lobby areas.

These two needed action! 

So we started by the ocean pool nearest our tower.  Here they had several smaller slides for the kids (and mom and dad). 

After a while there, we headed for a walk around the lagoon. this was Dad's attempt at an awkward family photo. :)

They had a sandy beach there where you could swim, snorkel, SUP, kayak, etc.

Lots of cool wildlife to see including our favorite…the Honu (Hawaiian green sea turtles)! 

The also had a dolphin encounter in the lagoon.  We sat and watched these guys play and interact with guests for a while.   

Then we finally landed at the Kona pool where they had a huge water-slide for the kids…..and mom.

Jonah liked the suspension bridge over the water!

Noah and Caleb got to try out some new snorkel technology called SNUBA.  It allows for a better snorkel experience as you do not have to remain at the surface to breathe.  I believe he said you can use  it to dive up to 20 feet or so.

We just used it in the pool for some really LONG handstand contests…..I just caught the tail end of this one.

Poolside lunch and cocktails….always a winning combo!

 The boys are still talking about this blue dolphin drink...

It was such a gorgeous resort and clearly we came before the summer rush!

 There was a mini zoo-like area with lots of tropical birds to see.

 We jumped on the tram to head back to the room later.  The resort has a tram to transport guests throughout its grounds.  Later in the afternoon/evening, you can opt for a more leisure boat ride to get around.

With 3 boys, dinner at a pizza joint is the way to go!

They even indulged in a pizzookie (for my AZ folks), which was actually called an Ono cookie.  Too cake-y and not quite as ooie-gooie as the real deal.  But still a feeding frenzy ensued.

And then, the food coma!

A nice sunset viewing over the water….

…and the FINALLY a boat ride for Jonah!

Later, we all rode together, to nowhere in particular.  Just a round trip around the resort.