just because...: Aloha!

We're home. Bittersweet. Well, okay, mostly bitter this time! Ha ha ha. We had a FANTASTIC trip and didn't want it to end!

This was our third time in Kauai (THANK YOU TOM AND PAT!!). Can you believe Jasper is only 7 and has already been to Hawaii FIVE times?!

Anyway, tried to do different things this time. ;)

Here we are in front of Waimea Canyon. Gorgeous vistas. Very windy! Hold on to your hats.

Jasper giving me a "look." Not sure what it means, but I liked it. I think he's just experimenting with his face... ANYTHING to avoid having to smile for my camera AGAIN. LOL. He told me on this trip, "Mom, I think you should stop being a photographer." Hee hee.

Kathryn slipped and caught herself with her hand. I was secretly sad she didn't face plant in the muck. Would've been a hysterical (funny) picture, but probably a hysterical (upset) little girl.

Pretty nutty terrain... lots of tree roots and slippery mud! Jasper thought a lot of the impressions in the trail looked like dinosaur footprints.

Standing on the edge of the world. Wow. This hike was very surreal... the vegetation was totally prehistoric looking and the views were outrageous! Add a little fog for effect and viola... sensational! I can see why they filmed "Jurassic Park" here!!

I could've spent an ENTIRE day taking pictures of flowers and foliage! Seriously! I love love love it. This is a fiddlehead fern (thanks Anne for telling me the name!). I love them the best.

Hard to tell from this viewpoint, but if I went sliding off the side of my perch, I'd be heading straight down for a very, VERY long time. My heart was racing as I sat here, but I really wanted the shot.

And now onto the helicopter ride... INSANE fun. John wanted to go on the "budget helicopter tours" but I said "UN UH, NO WAY." Isn't that like "budget heart surgery?" No thanks. So instead, we opted to spend half a fortune (worth it) and go for this ride. Note there are NO doors on the 5-person helicopter! We THOUGHT that was a good idea so there would be no window to get in between me and my camera, but on second thought (a little too late! LOL!) I think doors may have been nice so my foot and butt cheek wouldn't have been HANGING out the side! Notice how I'm leaaaaaaning as far to the left as I could get!

I will admit this was far more scary than skydiving! I did NOT enjoy the first 15 minutes, until the girl next to me realized I was frozen stiff with fear (so frozen I couldn't even force myself to let go to take any pictures! She said, "What a shame to have all that camera gear and not take any pictures!") and took her arm and looped it through mine and held on to me for the rest of the flight! What a sweetie! Her kind gesture made a tremendous difference in my enjoyment! I was finally able to pry my fingers off the handle to snap some photos. Now granted, I still wasn't willing to lean out at all, so that's why I got part of the door and my feet in nearly every shot! Bwahaha. Win some, lose some. ;)

Oh, hmm, look at this, my friend Vicki isn't looking as relaxed all of a sudden... perhaps it's cause we were being knocked around by strong winds as we descended INTO this crater! ACK. It's hard to judge how far you are from the sides (SURROUNDED by waterfalls!). John was even nervous a few times when we'd come up over a ridge... wasn't sure if we'd clear it or not!

After the flight, our shuttle driver snapped this for us. The yellow things around our waists are inflatable life preserves. Good thing we didn't need them. Oh, just a note... if you ever go on a helicopter tour, do NOT drink coffee that morning! About halfway through the ride, I had to pee so bad I thought I'd die... and it was RAINING and there were gazillions of waterfalls and crashing waves and well... you get the point. ;)

The children were happy we survived the ride, although Kathryn admitted she was a teensy bit disappointed she wasn't going to inherit my laptop and iPod Touch.

Getting ready for Date Night. THANKS Tom and Pat! Tom sent us to the Beach House where we sat oceanside and enjoyed a bottle of red wine, macadamia nut crab cakes, seafood chowder, watermelon salad, Ahi tuna (which John ordered "rare as you dare"), Portobello mushrooms and roasted veggies, banana's foster and yummy port.

This is where I spent most of my time... sitting in this spot on this beach (Poi Pu), lost in the pages of this book. :) PARADISE found!

Kathryn's lovely freckles made their reappearance on this trip. I love them. They are sprinkled all across her nose and cheeks. I think they make her look younger. She's suckin' on a See's butterscotch sucker. Tom always brings them to Kauai and the kids LOVE them!

In the jungle, the wild jungle, the lion sleeps tonight... come on, sing it with it! :) These leaves were ENORMOUS! Bigger than people! So super cool. Oh, note the difference in color between John and Jasper. Ha! I guess I did a pretty good job slathering up Jasper with SPF 50. He actually came home still pale, although not quite as white as the white Crayon he matched the week before. John was on his own and well, we call him "Lobster Boy."

This photo was taken a split second before that incoming wave crashed over these three dummies! I saw it coming... and was kinda mean cause I said, "Okay wait, just ONE more!" and CRASH... they were drenched! Snicker!! I'm sure they'll get me back someday, somehow.