A Hawaiian Family Vacation!

It was early on a cold fall day as the MEYER FAMILY made their voyage to Sea-Tac Airport with their eyes set on a final destination of KAUAI!!!!

Griffin tried to get all his energy out before his 1st ever airplane trip....pushed his stroller, did laps with papa, and more! (Mama and Papa thought we were in the clear until their was a 2.5 hour delay on the tarmac).  Traveling with an almost one year old can be unpredictable....

The flight might have had a few more ups and downs than we expected, but we made it to the sunshine and were ready for our Hawaiian Vacation to begin!

ALOHA KAUAI...Rich and I have missed you!  Plus, we are excited to introduce you to our newest family member, Griffin!!!  We couldn't think of a better spot to spend his 1st birthday!

First stop, Wal-mart....yes, I said it!  Hey, we needed the "baby" essentials!

Thursday morning, we got up at sunrise to head out and go on a fishing excursion!  Rich has always dreamed of catching a Peacock Bass and Kauai is one place in the world that has them. 

All aboard! Griffin's 1st boat ride! 

Fish ON!!!

It was a barracuda...and turned out to be the only fish that made it on the boat during our excursion...but it was such a fun day fishing!  G told us we MUST buy a boat because he loves to fish.

A rough day on the river....

If you get a chance to watch this...it's hilarious! It captures our little Cheese-doodle PERFECTLY!!!

After a day on the water, we decided to spend the afternoon on a beautiful hike!!!  Here are G and I at the trailhead...such a little trooper!

About 30 minutes in and G was already passed out! He missed out on some beautiful sites!

Enjoying the view!

Hiking with 20 plus pounds is a lot harder that I was willing to admit...but I made it and it was worth it!!!

We made it to the end...and headed back down!

A little reward from all our hard work!

Griffin's 1st trip to the beach!!!!

Watch out...the waves are coming in! We were at a protected swimming area that had a reef built for safety! 

G loved the beach...it had his favorite things: dirt aka sand, water and mama & papa!

He got a little braver and decided he was ready to crawl out to mama and go for a swim!

It's official...all our hand prints in the sand!

Playing with my little man in the ocean!

My boys!

Time for lunch...and a little something fruity with an umbrella!

Condo living with a little "nudist"...he preferred to have no clothes on whenever possible!

Saturday morning, we met up with some family friends (Mike and Donna) and went to the farmers market and some local beaches to check things out!  So much fun!

Another day...another hike! This one was to the top of a mountain that overlooked Hanalei and gave a 360 degree view of the island! 

It was steep and slick...but Rich did great with G on his back.  G logged a few more napping hours in the Kelty.

Amazing view at a vantage point on the way up!

Family Selfie...just a little sweaty!

Huge TOAD...huge!

And WE made it.  TAKE IT IN!!!

The family at the TOP! Such an awesome experience!

The entrance/exit to the hike...this was at the completion!  It was a strenuous, but well-worth-it journey...both physically and emotionally!  WE DID IT!

To celebrate...we headed to The Dolphin!

Best sushi in town...G thinks anything on chopstix is AWESOME!

Another day...another adventure!  This time to the Kilauea Lighthouse and Bird Refuge!

Sunny skies...breathtaking views...amazing family adventures!

Some Hawaiian Geese even hung out with Rich for some of our trip!

Griffin got his first souvenir...and it was a Hawaiian Goose!  Shocking, right!

It was time for some Monday night football...and G assumed his position!

We attempted another hike on another day...but ended up at the beach instead!  Too many bugs and slippery trails for this family!

In my book, a great vacation destination has PUTT-PUTT GOLF....and Kauai did not disappoint!

We came. We saw. We golfed. We both got a hole in one!  G even played a little!

The coolest thing about this Putt-Putt place is that it is also a botanical garden...G is in the MEYER LEMON below!

Toward the end of our trip, we took a road trip to the south end of the island down to Poipu and the Waimea Canyon!

Here is G and R at Spouting Horn...

and then the family selfie!

We ended up the road trip with a little fishing in the Nawiliwili River...

Thursday, OCTOBER 31st, we woke up and we had a ONE YEAR OLD!  We spent the day at the beach playing...and went to the furthest North East point on the island!

The Meyer Family footprints...love those little ones in the middle!

Another beach...more birthday fun!

Learning to fish with PAPA!

And one more beach!  Hey, it's what G wanted to do to celebrate!

Birthday time...and a Cougar football game during happy hour!

To end this lucky little boy's 1st BIRTHDAY in Kauai we did a Mango-Mac Cake!!!!  

What a great end to an amazing trip!

We did it!  First Airplane Trip! First Birthday! First of Forever!

The Meyer Fam had a blast...and loved every second of our little trip!  So many more family experiences on this trip and special time with the 3 of us! Aloha!