Thursday's Kid: A Hawaiian Halloween

I lived a day of fear when Andy attempted to summit Mt. Whitney (14,000 ft.) last week. He left me and the kids at the base of the trail while he left at 3 a.m. to start the hike. People do sometimes summit it in one day, but it is not an easy task. Andy finally came down (after completing it) at almost 9 p.m. It was a LONG day of hiking for him, and a long day of waiting anxiously for me. I was very proud of him for completing a difficult climb, but never again will I sit at the base of a mountain waiting for him to come down. Way too scary.

A cool rock in Lone Pine, California.

Andy and the kids climbing in California.

Andy, BEFORE he destroyed his body summiting this mountain.

After that, we drove to San Jose, California. We were there for a couple days, and we wanted to find somewhere to get our R.V. repaired because we were headed to Kauai for a couple weeks and we needed an RV baby-sitter. We visited a zoo/theme park with the kids in San Jose, and by a fluke, we found out about a Halloween event at a nearby church. We only had a costume for Sawyer, so we tried to find something for Annika and the boys, but, turns out it is hard to find costumes for cheap prices on October 29th. So we did a trip to the Dollar Tree and scrounged together some pretty pathetic costumes. The Halloween party was a blast and the kids got quite the haul of candy.

Lame Halloween attempt.

The next day we boarded an airplane to fly to Kauai to meet up with my family. This was our first time flying with all four kids and it went fantastically. I tried not to feel guilty about the mom sitting behind me who was keeping her kid happy with reading, math homework, origami, and seaweed snacks. And there's me who's letting her kids inhale candy and zone out in front of a movie screen. Oh well, there will always be other moms who seem to cope with life much better.

Kauai is breathtaking. I have been to Hawaii many times, but never to Kauai. I had forgotten how much I love this state. The word 'lush' seems like an understatement, especially when all the green plants also seem to be flowering vines/bushes/trees.

Pool party.

Hawaiian foliage.

Annika's 1st time snorkelling...she was so blown away.

My family is all here (my parents, my siblings and their families) in Kauai with us, and it is the first time we have been all together since January, so it is a special treat. We spent the first three days visiting the beach, checking out Waimea Canyon, and waterfall hunting. I went for an amazing hike with my brother, mom, and brother-in-law and saw scenery that people put on their screen savers-complete with gorgeous rainbow. The kids and Andy are enjoying staying in one place and the house we are staying in has a hot tub and pool that is getting well-used. I am enjoying having my sister do all the meal planning and my brother do all the research/tour guide duties. A definite vacation in the middle of a vacation!