Kauai was wonderful!!! It was gorgeous,
so green,
full of darling girls (at least according to our documentation),
lots of rivers,
and sunsets on the beach!
the view from our room
they had a great kiddie pool that was just the right size.
especially Emma--she really embraced the water and LOVED the pool--enjoying doing it all by herself
The water slide at the kids pool kept Riley entertained for hours. She's giving a thumbs up sign here. She easily made friends with other kids. Riley never asked their name, apparently the only introduction needed at that age is, "Hi, I'm 4. How old are you?"
The sandy beaches were fun,
and chasing the waves with Grandpa was on Riley's Hawaiian to-do list.
This was my first time boogie boarding because we usually don't get the right waves. But we did this time!!
BBQ with an ocean view.
the whole gang! Thanks Ron and Karen for a fabulous trip and a chance for us to all be together!
One of our new adventures was ziplining! what a way to see the island. on the right is us before, and this video I took during our ride on the longest zip line on the island. It was a tandem one too!
We loved it! It's not even scary at all, just totally fun!
Karen was kind enough to watch the girls, so the rest of us could go ziplining. This is what they were up to!
This is Riley's first Hula Hoop experience and she has been obsessed with them ever since.
Riley being the photographer, took this picture of Grandma and Emma. Pretty good job, I think.
The other adventure we enjoyed this trip was a catamaran cruise around part of Kauai.
We were able to see parts of the island that no road can reach. There are some crazy beautiful mountains, caves, & waterfalls on Kauai.
I'm so glad we got to experience this beautiful place and kick back and enjoy time with Michael's family.
being nervous birds
and taking a bow.
the performers even got flowers, they were so excited!!
She has tons of moves that I know she didn't get from her parents (we so can't dance).
so green,
full of darling girls (at least according to our documentation),
lots of rivers,
and sunsets on the beach!
the view from our room
they had a great kiddie pool that was just the right size.
The water slide at the kids pool kept Riley entertained for hours. She's giving a thumbs up sign here. She easily made friends with other kids. Riley never asked their name, apparently the only introduction needed at that age is, "Hi, I'm 4. How old are you?"
The sandy beaches were fun,
and chasing the waves with Grandpa was on Riley's Hawaiian to-do list.
BBQ with an ocean view.
the whole gang! Thanks Ron and Karen for a fabulous trip and a chance for us to all be together!
This is Riley's first Hula Hoop experience and she has been obsessed with them ever since.
Riley being the photographer, took this picture of Grandma and Emma. Pretty good job, I think.
The other adventure we enjoyed this trip was a catamaran cruise around part of Kauai. 
We were able to see parts of the island that no road can reach. There are some crazy beautiful mountains, caves, & waterfalls on Kauai.
We had a special breakfast, Riley's favorite, waffle's with chocolate chips!
Then more cupcakes and presents
She loved her new boots Michael picked out for her!
So did Emma!
Riley and her buddy, Kallie (born 1 week apart), wanted to celebrate their 4th birthday together. When they choose alphabet theme at first I was clueless, but eventually we really got into it. They are pretty proud of knowing all their letters and doing letter puzzles, etc.
Something you should know about me: hosting a party is in my genes (thank you mom & Grandma Mathews), but creativity usually escapes me, I usually have to steal/borrow others' ideas. But this time I had tons of fun coming up with ideas for decorations and activities. I couldn't believe my brain was actually working. It ended up being pretty easy because we already had a ton of ABC stuff around the house and I have some alphabet stamping stuff just waiting to be used. Then one trip to the dollar store and I was supplied and inspired. Not that anything I did was terribly new or unique or perfect, but just plain fun and cute and close enough!
All the party guests! Aren't they darling?!?
We made necklaces with cereal and alphabet pasta (I love Trader Joe's!)
Then ABC Bingo (note: using edible bingo markers, like Starbursts, was not the best idea, the younger ones only wanted to eat them).
The presents! The birthday girls were soo excited over each gift.
yummy cupcakes!! they had to win them in an ABC cupcake walk. (Thanks Shellie, they were so beautiful & delicious!)
The final game was Find that Letter! Riley and Kallie LOVED helping with the decorations and placing lots of lettesr all over the walls of the community center where we had the party. Then at the end the kids liked running all over to get them. All I said was "Find all the A's and bring them to me!!" and off they ran! Little did they know they were helping us clean up!
We love you Riley, our letter-loving, singing & dancing, do-it-all 4 year old!