10 Year Anniversary!

Jacob and I went to Kauai for our honeymoon in 2004 and five years later we went to the Big Island to knock out the highest point.  Ever since our second trip together I have joked that I am on a five year Hawaii plan.  Back in March of last year Jacob and his family started planning a trip for us (without me knowing) to all go back to Kauai.  I found out the end of September after all of the plans had been made.  Jacob's dad graciously flew us all there, they rented a large house that slept 12 comfortably, reserved 3 Jeep Wranglers and Jacob's mom even purchased summer clothes for Sage since I wouldn't have been able to find any her size in December - all without a hint of my knowledge.  We had such a wonderful time and the kids did amazing on the flights and with the jet lag.  So maybe we had a few more people than we did on our honeymoon in 2004 but we love our family and enjoy the times we get to be together.

I crashed my blog the first time I uploaded our pictures so I had to reduce their size and break them up into days (hence the reason you are seeing this a month later than I had hoped).  We left Greenville on December 26 and returned on January 5.  The last few days are without posts because our camera was full by that time.  Oops.  Anyway, enjoy the following posts:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6
Day 7

And speaking of 10 year anniversary - I love my husband.  We've had such a blast over the past decade and  I look forward to so many more adventures and blessings as a family.  He's perfect for me, I'm perfect for him and we love life together.  We're Solemates and God has been good to us.

Hawaiian Adventure - Day 7 - Jan 2

As I mentioned on another day's post, Jacob and I were able to hike the Napali Coast.  This particular trail is considered one of the greatest hikes in the world (I think, I could be exaggerating).  It's 11 miles in one direction and most people camp at the beach and return the next day.  We figured we would knock out the whole thing in one day, despite being told we couldn't do it.  Heck, I didn't just train for a marathon (that was cancelled) for nothing.  It was absolutely breathtaking (literally and figuratively!) and I'm so glad we were able to have this day to ourselves.  On our honeymoon, we toured the Napali Coast by boat and I was seasick the entire time (romantic, I know) so even though the hike was more strenuous, at least my lunch stayed down.

 11 miles in, enjoying a picnic lunch.  That is until the couple showed up and took their clothes off and started fishing naked.  We decided not to stick around too long to see what else they had planned.

Hawaiian Adventure - Day 6 - Jan 1

The first day of 2014 was a fun day of exploring.  We took a trip to the North Shore, visiting Princeville and Hanalei (think Puff the Magic Dragon - if you know what that song is about, you can figure out what type of town it is).  It was a full day but we got to see some amazing sites.

 They let anyone drive in these parts.

 We really wanted to go to this lighthouse but since it was a national holiday it was closed.  When Jacob and I came here in 2004 for our honeymoon I was almost attacked by a ne'ne' (Hawaiian goose) and it has sort of been a joke since then.  We'll just have to imagine the geese were still temperamental since we couldn't go see them.

 Where do you hide your hooters??

 I was busy feeding Sage and Jacob was boogie boarding.  I couldn't get a good picture but the waves were awesome here since we were as far north as you get.

Hawaiian Adventure - Day 5 - Dec 31

New Years' Eve was spent playing on the beach during the day and then enjoying a pretty spectacular fireworks show.  Seriously, they were the most magical fireworks I've ever seen, they were right above our heads as we lay on the perfect shore of Poipu Beach.

Hawaiian Adventure - Day 4 - Dec 30

We visited Waimea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific Ocean on Day 4.  It's awesomeness pretty much speaks for itself.  We also visited Wai'lea'lea which is the wettest spot on Earth. The day was finished by watching Tahitian dancers and a beautiful sunrise.

 Sweet Cousins.  Sage had some reddish brown hand prints on her onesie after this one!

 This is as much of a view of the Napali Coast that you can get by car.  To see the whole thing you need to take a helicopter tour, boat tour, or hike it.  Jacob and I chose the latter, more on that in another post.

 These boys.  They are something else when they get together.

Hawaiian Adventure - Day 3 - Dec 29

On Day 3 we went to another secluded beach that required a dirt road to get to.  It had a great area for the kids to boogie board.  You can't beat a place that has both mountains AND beaches!

 oops.  She's a trooper.