Kauai...Paradise!

We were so blessed to be able to head to Kauai for the first week of our spring break! After a few years without a real family vacation, we were ready!
The kids couldn't stop talking about it and were anxious to go. Zoe's vacation started off with a bang. While we were in a cafe in LAX waiting for our flight to leave, she spotted Paige, the latest contestant voted off of American Idol! Zoe couldn't believe it was really her, she is a HUGE fan of the show. Paige was very sweet and talked to Zoe and took a picture with her. What a fun way to start a trip.
Ready to take off...
Once we got to the resort, the kids immediately put their bathing suits on and were ready to jump in the pool. This was the view from our room...
One of my favorite parts of our trip was getting up early each morning and watching the sun rise from our balcony while drinking coffee, it was so beautiful!
We had such an amazing trip, way too many pictures and details to post. We went on several great hikes with breathtaking views. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera for one of the best ones, when we were all covered in mud and soaking wet (I know, I still can't believe it either). We saw more waterfalls than we can count, even hiking down a treacherous trail so we could swim at the bottom. We went to about 6 different beaches, we swam in the pool and hot tub, we explored some caves, we went sightseeing, went to a luau, ate a ton of shave ice and ice cream and did a little shopping. We got to snorkel a couple times and saw some beautiful fish. The weather could've cooperated a little better, and been a little warmer with less winds, but we all had a blast!

Here are just a few highlights...
At night the resort was lit up with tiki torches...just made me happy to see. :)
Joe wasn't feeling well the first day, so the kids and I took off to explore. It was very early in the morning, but we were so excited to be here!


We loved this infinity pool right outside our villa...we spent every evening sitting in the hot tub watching the sun go down.



Wailua Falls...simply magnificent to see!



More beach time. We actually snorkeled here for a little while, but the water got pretty cold, so we didn't stay in long.


This beach was on the south side of the island (we were on the north). It was sunny and warm, but pretty windy. The water was great though!

This beach was outside the St. Regis hotel and was really nice. There was some great reefs to see and the kids and I did some great snorkeling. The variety of fish was awesome!


At the luau...
These were the guys who pulled the pig out of the ground; they were so nice to the kids!
More pool time...
This lighthouse was beautiful in person!
This is the best ice cream on the earth! It is made on the Big Island, and there are very few places that have it. It is absolutely delicious and once we discovered it, we went back EVERY day! Joe wishes he could open his own store!

This isn't the best picture, but there were about 11 different waterfalls falling from this mountain after a heavy rainfall.
Last family photo before having to leave the island. :(It was an awesome trip, and hopefully we can go back some day! We have some wonderful memories to take with us.