More Hawaii Pics!

We bought this umbrella stroller at Babies'R'Us before we left. I didn't want to travel with our big stroller mainly because I worried that the airlines would trash it. I missed all the storage that our big stroller has but I LOVE the hot pink color!

Daddy and Ems at Hanalei Beach. I had a bit of a nervous breakdown here. Everyone wanted to take Emersyn into the ocean. Everyone but ME! We should have gotten her a life vest but we didn't and Brett wanted to take Emersyn out in the ocean to enjoy the waves. I was SO nervous, I literally tied one of those pool noodles around her waist which looked ridiculous but I wanted her to have some floatability. Anyways, the waves were really mild but then when my mom was holding her, a big one came over our heads and I just had this paralyzing fear of Emersyn being torn out of my mom's arms by the ocean and I have never been more scared in my adult life. The wave went over us and it was fine but I told Brett that I had had enough and he walked Ems and I back to the shore, where I proceeded to start bawling because I thought my baby was going to be swept out to sea. Accidents can happen and I can't believe I even let her get as far out as I did. The ocean that we swam in outside our hotel was really mild and had virtually no waves, but Hanalei was NOT the same. Ems and I hung out on the shore while my parents and Brett enjoyed diving in the waves.

This pic turned out blurry but I had to show off Emersyn's patriotic bikini. :) She only wore it once when we took her to the pool at night. I worried that she would get burnt if she wore it during the day. I got this on clearance at Old Navy for $.97. Even though she only wore it once, I feel like I got my money's worth!!! :)

This was a lighthouse that Brett and I saw on our first "exploring date" that we went on for a day. It was so weird leaving Emersyn behind but I was so glad to let my parents have time with her. This lighthouse was stunning. You could pay $10 to go see it closer but why? This view was good enough for us. That is the thing about Hawaii. Yes, it can be VERY expensive to do activities. But there is SO much to see, you really don't need to pay for much at all! And you can choose to pursue inexpensive activites too. For example, we rented snorkel gear for a day. It was a whopping $3.12 for both of us, including the mask, snorkel and fins! We just took our gear down to a beach and went snorkeling! Cheap fun!

Hanalei Bay, one of our favorite spots. I loved the contrast of the green mountains against the blue ocean. Kauai is known as the "garden island". It really is magnificent.

Our lunch spot in Hanalei. My handsome hubby waited for the food so that I could sit and take pictures. :) We had teriyaki burgers...yummy!!!

In so many ways I hope we have a son next for Brett to take on little adventures. (Although if we had a girl, we would need to buy ZERO in the clothing department, hee hee) Brett is such a kid himself still and it is something I love about him. We stopped on the side of the road where some cars were and Brett hiked down to a beach while I waited by the car. This is him, coming back up and begging me to go with him. I agreed of course. It turns out, the beach we hiked down to was the beach where the famous love scene in "South Pacific" was filmed, you know the one with the people kissing on the beach?? We didn't know this until AFTER we left so I failed to get a picture. Rats! Next time! It was amazing though. The only bummer was, we had to hike down through this rainforest, where I proceeded to get bitten by mosquitos. I spent the next part of our drive counting all the bites and welts. Very romantic, hee hee.

This is where Emersyn and Riley, my best friends little boy, are going to get married. I am thinking around 2030? And don't worry Lou, the bride's parents foot the bill so all you have to worry about is the tropical rehearsal dinner!! This is a church in Hanalei.

Taro fields.

On Wednesday we drove up to the Waimea Canyon. It was breath taking. I couldn't even begin to describe it. I stood there and just stared, trying to soak it all up because no words or pictures could describe it.

I love these chubby legs!!!

View on the way down from Waimea canyon.

Poipou beach, where Brett and I snorkeled! It was incredible. I almost gave up on snorkeling because I was so scared to put my face in the water and breathe. It's like I didn't trust the mask or something. Brett insisted that I try, but in a loving way of course. :) He told me to just put my face in the water, which was only up my waist really and I did. I saw TONS of fish!!!! That got me pretty excited so I conquered yet another fear and snorkeled my heart out. It was so fun and intimate to snorkel with Brett. It is so quiet and you feel like you are in your own little paradise, even though you are surrounded by lots of people. We held hands under water and showed each other fish and even eels (eeeeek). Amazing memories.

Spouting Horn geiser. Brett took like 300 pictures of it. I love him.

Brett took this pic while my dad was driving so it turned out a little blurry but this is known as the tunnel of trees. So pretty.

Emersyn was such a great little traveller in the car. As long as her monkey came along for the ride, which he always did!

Stay tuned for part three..... :)