From Poi pu to Ke'e beach!

or in other words a lovely drive up the east coast of Kauai!


I realize this first photo isn't all that special but I thought you might like to see the tunnel of trees... through a dirty windshield from the back seat is the only way I could really show you. Isn't that cool??


Sure wish we had time to hike down to a few waterfalls. That would have been amazing. This was the first waterfall we stopped to look at :)


We ate at a little place called "Tropical Taco". It was pretty dang good. As opposed to "Puka dogs" Which makes you want to puke-a. Hot dogs with coconut sauce? Blech! Pass me the Ketchup. Except don't because per my facebook status I've gone half vegan.

{ tell ya later what brought that on }


There was this truck we were driving behind, it was loaded up with surfer dudes and boards. They stopped suddenly in the middle of the road and one of them jumped out with his surfboard... exactly how you imagine when dreaming of what it's like in Hawaii. Couldn't resist the urge to snap a picture of this guy. He screams Hawaii!


Though one thing I bet you don't think about when dreaming of Hawaii is wild chickens! Chad used to have this shirt (in fact I bet we still have it somewhere, I can't imagine getting rid of it) anyway it was this shirt that had a picture of a dog wearing a sombrero, the caption on it read...

leashes? We don't need no stinkin leashes!

He got it in mexico. I've heard theres tons of dogs roaming the streets of mexico.

Kauai has a similar issue except instead of dogs its chickens! And Lucy loved to chase them!!

( the tour guide for our zip line adventure said they're not so good to eat... tough and chewy I hear )


All the way up as nothernly as you can drive in Kauai, you will come to a beach called Ke'e...


There are things here I thought only existed in cartoons and storybooks.


Tarzan style vines! Thick and long and strong enough to swing on! I was in total amazement!


Did you know that was real? Am I the only one that didn't know??





In Kauai they have along the northwest side of the island some cliffs known as the Na pali coast. We were supposed to take a helicopter ride the next day to see them but it was cancelled due to weather conditions. Luckily I snapped this photo of them as seen from Ke'e beach. They look amazing. There are no roads there so you have to see them via helicopter, a boat, or you can hike into them. I would LOVE to hike into them someday!!




My dad's outfit cracks me up here! Sorry dad it's just the tropical shirt + the camo shorts + the scrunchie socks + the tennis shoes (at the beach!) haha!!









WISH I WAS THERE RIGHT NOW!


I think I took like a thousand photos of this sunset. It was the best I've ever seen! So beautiful! I just loved watching the sky just keep changing colors till finally the sun was gone!



I love you Kauai! Even if you are the wettest place on earth, atleast you have sunshine to go with!

Sing loud and proud

Woke this morning to the most glorious sky ever!

However it was hours and hours until I had a chance to photograph it...


still pretty but i wish you could have seen the 9AM sky rather than the 1PM sky.

seems to be the way of it these day. if conditions are ideal for photographing I am stuck in a car staring out the window in awe of the beauty I'm missing!


It rained here for 4 days straight. We are gushing with wet here. You can see how high the lake in my parents back yard is. Full to the brim... not often we see it get this high.



a view from the rooftop on my parents house... don't you tell on me!

Sing with me now!

"CLOUDS GLORIOUS CLOUDS..."

It' s all just so darn CHEEKY

Lucy looked adorable today. Just thought I'd share.

Lipgloss hair and WIND.

Today has just been one of those weirdo days. You know the ones I mean?

like for example...

at first my hair was going the normal mundane way it usually falls...

But it's chilly today and I spotted a hat on the floor where it didn't belong. I could have put it away but instead placed it on my head.

hours later i find myself needing some things from the grocery store. Bottles of water and fresh milk. ( I smelled the milk before I left and found it smelled too milky... i don't like that)

Wouldn't want people to think I'm crazy coming in the store with a big silly wooly hat and so I take it off.

and then my hair was going the other way. I tried to make it go back, but it insisted!

hat head I guess.

Stepping out of the car I find it to be far more windy than expected. And guess which direction my hair is going now?!

All directions at once. Pretty neato. Good thing i didn't want to look silly in the store. Taking that hat off really helped :)

and also as I was sitting on the bathroom counter attempting to dry the bottoms of my pants with a blow dryer for the second time today... I was reminded of something.

Something from my childhood. Made me laugh a little to think of it. It's so insane.

We used to have this little red playhouse on our side yard. Once when it was cold and rainy (much like it was today) my sisters and I fetched an extension cord, hooked it to a blow dryer and plugged it in... through the rain we carried the blow dryer into the little red playhouse. It was our heater.

WE ARE BRILLIANT

No matter what I do the bottoms of my pants keep getting wet. This started Saturday at the reunion, it is now Thursday.

I just want dry pants!!! Is that so wrong?



That cake is just waiting for Stacey to come sit on it.

Top 10 reasons :

(I haven't got Wendy's wedding posted or started my photog blog or done anything else really)

10. We're remodeling the girls rooms.

9. constant stream of photo editing.

8. Got sick, lost voice, gained 2 pink eyes.

7. Laundry that just won't quit.

6. I can't remember the names of those photog books I wanted to read. (blasted memory)

5. ran out of cookie inspiration.

4. dance dance and more dance. Hooray for dance!

3. staring blankly at computer.

2. Lucy needs a drink (again)

and the number 1 reason...

1. Spending waaay too much time blow drying the bottoms of my pants

:)

if I say "cheerio" is that British or Canadian?











P.S. ~ I heard on facebook theres a tornado watch for Scottsdale. I get all my news from FB.

P.S.S ~ I thought we didn't get tornados here??

Don't you think my G-PA is cute?

Meet gramps. Cute little fella eh?


now meet grams... (that is if you haven't already, I swear to you i run into so many unlikely people that somehow know my grandma and grandpa... it's amazing)

really.

they're very popular.

Grandma is VERY silly... always laughing { as you can very well see }

She is turning 85 this year! You'd never know it though. You couldn't meet a more peppy upbeat fun loving woman. Always on the go. Grams... if you're out there... I think you're incredible and wonderful and I love your happy silly personality with all my heart.



When I look at this picture I have a few things come to mind.

1. Kassidy, no need to wave at the camera.
2. sea spray + my hair = wonkiness, and also 4 shirts might be a bit much.
3. What a cool bunch of yay-hoos :)


I will admit right now, at first I had no intention of attending this shin-dig.


I am from AZ. it is hot and dry here. Something I've sorta grown to love... the beach in January doesn't sound that appealing to me. I've been to the beach in July and if I remember correctly it was freezing and windy... sand everywhere... and my kids were cold and wet and well it was all just a little bit miserable. So January? yeah. I dunno.



And as much as I did want to see the fam, had it not been for Chad working a long week we probably would have missed this.


and that would have been sad because we had SO MUCH FUN!

My kids were in heaven :) and i was right there with them!


Lori and i had some fun times taking pictures of each other taking pictures of each other... does that make sense? There's more where this came from but I will save them for a later post.


actually I am doing this in 2 parts.

This post will be of the actual reunioning and the next will be more personal photos of us enjoying our weekend at (or near) the amazing beach house we were staying at (thanks to dad!)



This is my cousin Lindsay (whom I used to pen pal with as a child) and my aunt Cathy.


Sue and Jack... so sweet together :)


and little Kimmie.


Erin holding her littlest one, Will. It's Will right?


oh yes and Shannon. I <3 her. She is super duper fun, a lovely person in every sense of the word!







kids in heaven.


lots of photographing going on. Could my aunt Cathy be any cuter?


SO glad I didn't let a little thing like the word JANUARY keep me away


the weather was actually really quite lovely... it was sunny and warm in the mornings and it cooled off a bit in the evenings but even so it was never freezing.


I never even knew of Gavins existence. Lindsay, we really must keep in touch better.


He's kinda adorable!


this little girl is only supposed to be like 5! What happened there!


Savannah #1


Savannah #2

{ and if you scroll back up to the little one in the colorful stripey hat you will see Savannah #3! }

apparently we are quite fond of the name Savannah!


When Chad sees these he will say (as usual) there you go trying to shoot straight into the sun again!


and I will say, because I love it so.


The sun in magical. it kisses us with its glowing lips of light and I can't get enough.


no the easiest exposure to get but easily the most rewarding when you do!


don't even get me started on my infatuation with reflection!


this is one of my favorite images of the day. Lolo and Savannah #2


I also really liked this one photo of the girls at the tippy end of the day. one of the last, if not the very last snap taken. It has some interesting natural vignetting on it. Whilst I am not a huge fan of vignetting I did take a liking to it in this photo.

Perhaps because it is as captured?

I'd like to say thanks again to all my family who put thought and effort into making this reunion happen! It was awesome, I loved everything about it.

be sure to check out Lori's take on the reunion here!