I'm getting a little bored with posting about Hawaii, so I'm going to post a few more pics and call it a day. If anyone who went on the trip wants copies of any of these, or other photos you know I took but haven't posted, just let me know!

This was a waterfall you could literally just drive up to. Wailua falls? I think.

Waimea Canyon. "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific"

Devan and her Great Aunt Corinne


Look! I really was there! Our little family.
Our big family.



A local Hannalei shave ice truck



John and Devan

Kipu Falls. These pictures are not the best, mostly because I couldn't get that close. I was also trying to balance on two rocks in the middle of the river. We found this waterfall in our book and it said there was a rope swing there. It also said it was a five minute walk from the main road. Well, there was a rope swing but it was hardly a five minute walk. It was a hike, through wet slippery mud and crazy jungle like foliage that you needed a machete to get through, and then you had to climb over wet slippery rocks and then you got to either jump in the falls via the rope swing or you got to hang out on the rocks, which is what I did. It was probably the worst possible place for a two year old. I was fortunate to be with Tim and John or I never would have made it Carrying Devan, a big beach bag, and my camera bag. Tim took Devan and waltzed over the rocks holding her like he does it every day.

Anyway- here is a shot of Tim. The falls were actually pretty big, even though you can't tell from the photo. And the locals were climbing up in the trees and jumping in off the branches! Crazy.

Adrienne



John



Hilary
Here's a shot of one of the many geckos we found in our house. Devan loved these guys. But she couldn't stand to be too close to them. If you told her there was one on the floor she would bolt for higher ground, usually the couch.

And one more. The house across the street had this beautiful plumeria bush and I got some great shots. This one is my favorite.

That's all for now! Thank you SO MUCH to my amazingly generous in-laws!! It will be years before we can afford to take a trip like this on our own!

RAISE YOUR HANDS IF YOU ARE A CHEATER <---- Click

Kauai has beautiful beaches, but they are unfortunately not the easiest to get to. That and the fact that it rains a lot meant that we only had one "official" beach day. We found this great beach in Hannalei that you could swim and snorkel at.


The sand looks beautiful but don't let it fool you. It's the hottest freakin' sand I've ever walked on. And I consider myself to have a high tolerance for pain. Don't believe me? I have a blister on my foot to prove it. It was THAT hot.

So according to those that went snorkeling, there were quite a few pretty fish and also sea turtles! Tim and Adam even said they were able to rub the turtles shells and swim with them. I was too occupied keeping an eye on Devan, but next time I will go out for sure.

John
Grandpa

Dev

Adrienne

Tim and Adrienne
Devan and Daddy building a sandcastle

Hilary, Tim, Adrienne and Grandpa

And one last favorite of Devan and her crooked smile
BTW, the water temp was perfect. It wasn't freezing cold like CA and not super warm like Miami. It was just right for a refreshing dip. Also, I used little to no photoshop on these photos. The beauty of natural light!

They had all kinds of island treats and fruits. We bought a pineapple and I'm a little dissapointed to say that it wasn't that much better than the pineapples I buy at my local grocery store. I think the distribution of fruit is pretty good these days, and you don't necessarily have to to all the way to Hawaii to find a good pineapple.

That's it for now!

And in case you were wondering where Grandpa was during all this madness, he was right there, chilling in the spa. Even the crazy jump contest and pool fights aren't enough to phase him. Doesn't even come close the madness he deals with at work every day. Thanks for everything, Grandpa!!

It looks like I'm going to have to post about this vacation in segments, because there is too much to post all at once. I'm going to start with the house we stayed in. My mother in law spent hours online looking for the perfect house that would fit all 10 of us comfortably. She definitely found it!

Upstairs:

The downstairs:

The view of our street from the upstairs patio:
The house was huge, and had amazing views from every angle. John's parents were generous enough to give us the master suite because we had Devan and needed a bathtub and a king size bed. She loved bathtime in her huge bath tub!

Renting a house is totally the way to go. I loved not having to get out for housekeeping, being able to do laundry and not having to share our pool with a whole hotel of strangers. Also, there were amazing sunrises every morning and I had a pefect view from our street.

Check back later for more!

I may have mentioned this before, but Devan totally has John's sense of humor. Tonight Devan and I went to In-N-Out for dinner with my Mom. When my mom finished ordering, the cashier read the order back to her. When he was finished he said "Is that all?" Devan replied "And Poop!"

So this morning Devan woke up super early, and I was anything but ready to start the day. So I popped in some Backyardigans, and took a seat at my computer. I was doing my usual web surfing and decided to check out Whip Up. It's been months since I last visited this site, and I was thrilled to find so much cool stuff! Here are only a few things I found:

Paper Downloads. LOVE these. I always have lots of cardstock on hand, and its perfect for these FREE downloads.

link
link
link

Also-

matchbox books


necklace rack (So excited to try this one!!)


mason jar lights




Okay, so the mason jar lights require a little more than the stuff you have lying around the house, and also an electrician. But I love them!

Home Depot. Can't live without it! I recently discovered a little corner at my local Home Depot that I never knew existed before. A shelf where they put all their returned or messed up paint cans. You can purchase these paint cans they call "Oops" quarts or gallons. An Oops quart is only a buck! And the gallons are only 5! Such a good deal.

I bought this can for fun. The color was nice and I knew I could find something to do with it. Heres what I found:

I found this picture frame along with another I bought at the Salvation Army for a few bucks and painted them.

This frame contains a few sentiments from our recent lifes experiences. A few months ago when we didn't know where we were going to be living, working, etc, John happened to get these fortunes that seemed to give us some hope for the future, even though we didn't typically look to fortune cookies for advice or comfort. And the card is from the bouquet of flowers John's company sent me on his first day. Just a little reminder for us that things always work out, no matter how bleak the future looks!

I like to have pictures and decor that means something to me in my home, rather than a generic picture or artwork that I just bought at a store. I've also framed a poem John wrote when we were dating, his missionary tags, diploma, wedding certificate from the temple, an amazing painting of myself, done by my good friend Jo, and much more. (BTW- I wouldn't have framed a picture of myself for fun. This is actually a portrait, and Jo is such an amazing artist it would be silly of me not to frame it. It really deserves it's own post and hopefully will get it soon!) Back to my post-

Heres my most recent endeavor. Before:



This is a drawer from a nightstand that is currently in my Mom's house. It is part of a whole bedroom set that belonged to my grandmother. My mom wanted to get rid of it and buy new furniture. I took it off her hands. Well, one drawer at a time, at least.


After:

I really like the end result, however I'm afraid I may have bitten off more than I can chew with the entire set. The hardware is going to be the most expensive part- the handles I chose are $3 each. I think I've got 12 drawers total, which sure beats the cost of buying a brand new bedroom set which would probably cost me $1000+.

Look for me at Home Depot. I'll be there a lot until this project is finished!

She has no idea how lucky she is!

Oh, and Devan wasn't the only one who got gifts this weekend. I got a little gift myself. I asked my Dad if he could get me a lens for our camera and he did. He got me this one. For under $60! I get it in a couple days, just in time for our vacation. I am so excited! Thanks for everything Dad!!

See you there!

I discovered this wonderful little surprise one day when making this recipe.

This is probably a common ingredient for more advanced chefs, but I had never used it or heard of it before. It's like chicken bouillon, only better. It's perfect for things like chicken pot pie, or chicken noodle soup, when you don't want to sit around unwrapping twenty little bouillon cubes or use 4 cans of chicken broth.

Everyone in our house has officially caught a little summer cold and the other night I whipped up a batch of chicken noodle soup from scratch and I used the Better Than Bouillon. It was a hit. Devan ate two bowls, including the vegetables! That's rare. And John even said it was the best chicken noodle soup I've ever made. Which is a compliment from him because he has a very "discerning palette" as he likes to say.

I should comment that it is very strong, so if you do use it, make sure you use it to taste. And in the above mentioned Paula Deen recipe, she calls for 1/4 cup of it, which I think is too much. Aside from that, the recipe is great. And you can find Better Than Bouillon in any grocery store. Give it a try!