Holy smokes am I behind on posts here. I went to work on our Christmas post only to realize I haven’t even shared anything about our Kauai trip. In fact, it’s been quiet on this blog for five months with nothing, zilch, absolute no posts. How dare I? But maybe you follow me on my other blog, Raising Tacoma. Hopefully some of those posts tied you over for the time being (like the Visiting Kauai with a Toddler post). Well, here I am now! Let’s share Kauai times…

Our 2018 Kauai Trip (…mostly in pictures)

At the end of September we had the most wonderful opportunity to visit the Brown grandparents in Kauai. They are living it up there for the year and we just had to join in on the fun. We took up every parent’s worst nightmare (or one of them anyways) and took an almost six hour flight with a toddler and the mama being 30 weeks pregnant. Caleb went the longest span of time ever being awake as the little sneaker didn’t want to nap on the plane. The return flight Caleb had croup and was terrible until he finally fell asleep for a good nap. We survived and it was all very much worth it because we are left with precious, sweet memories of our time there with Mimi Nada and Papa Don.

Ready for the Flight & Trip

Return Flight, Precious Nap

Catching a Ride Home

Beach Time

You don’t go to Kauai to sit inside. The fun is outside especially at the beach. Caleb found his own little heaven at the beach. There was sand to play and run in, water to boogie board and splash in, and “crabbies” in the sand. I’m pretty sure if we stayed longer, Caleb would have basically learned to surf.

Fun in the Sand at Hanalei Beach

Lounging at Hanalei Beach

30 Weeks Pregnant and at the Beach

Papa Don and Caleb at Hanalei Beach

Boogie Boarding at Hanalei Beach

Look Crabs! Water! at Anini Beach

Nada and Heather at Anini Beach

Family Fun at Anini Beach

More Boogie Boarding at Anini Beach

Boogie Boarding at Anini Beach

Beach Running at Lydgate Lagoon

Mama & Caleb at Lydgate Lagoon

The Train at Gaylord's at Kilohana

Another highlight of the trip was the train ride at the Plantation Railway at Kilohana. Caleb has a love for trains, so this was quite the thrill for him. Not to mention, a stop halfway through to feed the pigs.

Chuga-choo-choo on the Train

Feeding the Pigs

Sitting with Mimi Nada on the Train

Goofy Faces after the Train Ride

All Aboard!

The Train Engine, Whoo Whoo!

Grand Hyatt Hotel

We enjoyed two nights at the the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort down in Poipu and had a complete blast. The best part: the pool. The pool there is absolutely amazing and we really loved the lagoon-style pool and floating around in the inflatable tube.

We also enjoyed a memorable and delicious meal at Tidepools to celebrate Don’s birthday. We felt so honored to get to spend time here at this beautiful resort.

Kilauea Lighthouse

It was so humid the morning we went to the lighthouse, but we still enjoyed the tour into the lighthouse even though we had to bow out early given a noisy toddler and a nearly fainting preggo mom. But the views were gorgeous!

Family Times

The beauty of the island cannot be described, but the family time is where it’s really at. It’s the best part of the trip, in fact. We had some awesome times just hanging out with Mimi & Papa and each other for the week.

Dining

Food was consumed, of course. Some favorites were the shaved ice, juice and kombucha, coffee, and donuts. Not pictured were some delicious hamburgers and pizza and the best meal of all was at Tidepools at the Grand Hyatt to celebrate Don’s birthday.

And that face Caleb is making…it’s “why do we have to take this photo, I just want to eat the shaved ice!”