I have something like 175 photos from our trip, so please enjoy this extremely truncated version. I tried to pick a sampling of our best and happiest moments! We booked this trip back in September and I’m so glad we had some post-holiday, warm-weather family fun to look forward to in January. Joey, Lori and I had all been to Kauai already, back in 2016 and stayed on the northeast end of the island, but it seemed like the Poipu/Koloa area on the south end of the island would be a good spot for kids, so that’s where we were for this trip. I found it to be more populated and with lots more shops and restaurants but we did end up traveling to the other side of the island a good number of times, so maybe it doesn’t really matter where you stay, as long as you’re willing to drive all over. Highlights definitely included Waimea Canyon, the turtles at Poipu Beach, the most beautiful day at Anini Beach, the fire knife dancers at our luau, Fern Grotto and a tour and chocolate tasting at the Botanical Gardens. I miss it all!

That being said, I just want to be real and say “out loud” that traveling with a two and four year old is not without its difficulties. It is still a production to get dressed and out the door, to chase them around the mini van each and every time you drive someplace, to get them to actually eat a meal and it is definitely a lesson in putting aside your own expectations. You know, like when you think they are going to love seeing a giant turtle but they just want to dig in the sand instead or when you think you’re going to do a chocolate tasting but your daughter eats all your chocolate instead 😂😂 It’s frustrating in the moment, but it’s actually very funny and cute when I think about it later 🤍

We had an EARLY flight, like up at 2:30 AM and out the door by 3:30 AM 🥱 But they did so good on the plane and both slept. And it was nice getting into Kauai early enough to get our rental car, unpack a little at our condo and still go to dinner at a normal hour. Dempsey was loving his ramen at Friendly Waves. Post-dinner shave ice, of course!

We had a little bit of a rocky start on Saturday. Dempsey had woken up at 3:30 AM and by breakfast time, he was such a mess. How we eventually got him dressed and out the door to go get food is beyond me. Luckily, we took a drive to Waimea Canyon and he passed out on the way and woke up in much better spirits. Beside that, the kids slept like a dream on this trip 🙌 We did a very kid-friendly hike and the views were so nice!! We stopped for lunch at Island Taco afterward and it hit the spot. Made it Poipu Beach at sunset and watched the turtles come in from the ocean. I was not expecting them to be so big! It was so cool to see! There was also a little playground, so once the kids lost interest, we took them over there. Had dinner at Holoholo Grill afterward and both kids were soooo tired and fell asleep in the car on the way home!

Joey, Lydia and I started Sunday at Java Kai, which was just a few minutes from our condo and ended up being my favorite coffee shop of the trip. A macadamia nut latte just hits the spot! Afterward, we had breakfast at home then loaded up and made our way to Poipu Beach. Turns out there were still a few turtles hanging out on the sand! Dempsey is not an ocean guy but he was happy to build sandcastles and “ghost snowmen” on the beach and Lydia really loved it in the water. She has no fear, for better or for worse 😅 We grabbed lunch at Puka Dog and the actual hot dog was very good (I love that they make a round bun!) but after standing in the sun with the kids while we waited in line, I was feeling overstimulated and ready to go home afterward. Maybe made everyone watch the Golden Globes once Lydia was down for her nap and I gotta say, it was kind of nice watching them at 2 in the afternoon. Andrew Garfield forever 🤍 Later on, we had dinner at Mucho Aloha Brewhouse then back home to bed.

Our plan for Monday was to drive to a beach on the other side of the island, wear the kids out playing in the sand/ocean then let them sleep during the drive home so they would be well-rested for our luau that night. Go figure, neither of them fell asleep until we were fifteen minutes from home and even then, it was just Dempsey! Joey dropped us ladies off and drove around with our boy and Lydia got about half an hour of sleep in Grandma Lori’s arms 🤪 What can you do? Anini Beach on the north shore was SO BEAUTIFUL though!!! Calm, peaceful and not too crowded. I loved it! We had lunch at some food trucks in Kapa’a on our way back and at 5, we made our way to the Sheraton for the only beachside luau on Kauai. I had read really good reviews but I honestly thought this luau was just okay. Felt cramped, not very private and the food left something to be desired. We had also been talking up the flower lei to the kids and then only the premier package included it 😩 I do think the kids had fun though and the fire knife dancers were pretty cool.

We started Tuesday at Little Fish coffee shop, which was just down the road from us and had a line out front every time we’d driven by. I would say it wasn’t really worth the wait, but Lydia did have fun spraying the chickens while we waited for our order. We had a tough time deciding what to do that day but ended up splitting up between those who wanted to hike the Nā Pali Coast and those of us who wanted to ride the boat to Fern Grotto with the kids. I was in the latter group and we had a good time. The kids acted sort of insane on the boat on the way there — Lydia is not just a Stage 5 Clinger, she’s a Stage 10 Clinger and sometimes Dempsey chooses her clingiest moments to also hang on me and then she is screaming because she doesn’t want to share me and he is screaming because he wants her to and it honestly feels very stressful and also embarrassing when we are in public 😬 — but the grotto was beautiful! I have a four minute video of us walking the trail back to the boat taken by Lydia and my favorite part is when she starts sprinting away 😂 We walked up the street to the golf course and had dinner at Paco’s Tacos that night and even though it was pretty drab inside, the food was very good! Lydia sat next to Uncle Wayne for most of the meal and I didn’t know what to do with myself at the other end of the table 😂

We decided we wanted a real sit down breakfast on Wednesday, so we drove over to Kalaheo Cafe & Coffee. I thought it was very good! A bit later, half our group headed out to zipline and the rest of us headed over to the pool inside our complex. It was a bit rainy but sounded (and looked) like everyone had fun ziplining and our time at the pool was very relaxed. Dempsey may not be an ocean guy but he loves the pool. I would’ve loved if the pool had been heated but what can you do? 😅 We hung out until nap time then headed back to our condo to wait for the rest of the group to return. We had dinner at The Cabana Bar & Grill that night and I had such a good burger! There was also a little toy area for the kids and a few local cats for Lydia to chase around. Why is a pĩna colada so good??

One last full day on the island and of course it was a wet one where we had a 3-hour outdoor walking tour scheduled 😅 Wet but at least warm still! The Princeville Botanical Garden is off the beaten path and I felt like the tour was such a hidden gem. I’m glad my mom found it for us. It was a toss up between who had it harder between Joey, who had to carry our 4-year old THE ENTIRE TIME or me, who had to sometimes carry and lots of times chase our 2-year old as she ran around in places that were wet or high up or just not the direction we were supposed to be going. She literally sprinted down a path and ended up tripping over a tree root and hitting her face on the ground at one point 😨 Anyway, I thought our tour guide was great, the plants were AMAZING — like how does that leaf look so beautiful?? — and we got to sample some delicious stuff, lilikoi, apple banana and rambutan among them. We also did a chocolate tasting and I was straight fighting for my life to hear a single thing our guide said or get a bite of the chocolate from Lydia but what I did taste was really good! We grabbed lunch at the Kilauea Fish Market not far from the garden, then drove home and Lydia promptly passed out because, as my sister said “it’s tiring being crazy” 🤣

Spent the second half of the day, watching a hula performance and doing a little bit of shopping before heading to one last vacation dinner at Keoki’s Paradise. We waited a LONG time but I think it was worth it because we had a really delicious meal and the kids were very well behaved. I joked while we were waiting for our table that “Mama needed a drink” and Joey delivered, so that’s my pineapple full of pĩna colada in the picture 😂 So bittersweet going back to pack and say our goodbyes to my parents, my sister and Wayne since they would be leaving on an earlier flight the next morning but I think we had a really good trip overall. I miss being all together and being warm so much!