Kauai Girls Trip

--written by Rachelle 

A few months ago I got a phone call from my friend Becky Platt.  She had just recently moved from Hawaii to Alaska (life of an Army wife) and was really having a terrible time.  No sunshine, too cold for kids to play outside, kids running around the house stir crazy...she needed a break and she needed to go somewhere sunny to recharge her batteries.  We decided we should head to Hawaii and we decided February would be the perfect month...wait for all the holiday buzz to die down.  We invited a bunch of our friends to join us but only Jody Dean was able to make it work, so the 3 of us spent a week together in Kauai enjoying the sun (and the rain...there was lots of rain) and had a great time!

At the Kilauea Lighthouse.  It was closed the day we went to check it out but it was still a beautiful spot to visit.

My beach body:)

Such a gorgeous day at Hanalei Bay.  Look at that blue sky and the great mountains...so gorgeous!

The pier at Hanalei Bay

Love the shave ice!

Heading down a very muddy trail to the Queen's bath

Last time I was in Kauai Hyrum and I were swimming in that pool of water...not this time!  You would have been swept out to the ocean!

It was sunny when we left our hotel in Princeville to drive to Waimea Canyon.  By the time we drove to the first "lookout" it was pouring down rain and we couldn't see a blasted thing!  We ran out of the car...took this photo and ran back into the car and we were all drenched!

Yay for rental cars with good heaters!

Absolutely no view!

We decided to get out of the rain and head over to Glass Beach

We explored around this cool old cemetery near Glass Beach.  There were a lot of factories on this part of the island and most of the workers were from Asia so the cemetery had a bunch of cool headstones with Chinese or Japanese written on them.

Really cool to see how the ocean has worn these pieces of glass into smooth shapes

We made a stop in Hanapepe.  We wanted to go across the old suspension foot bridge but it was closed due to some boards missing.  I hope they get that fixed, it would be sad for such a landmark to be closed forever.

We went to the Spouting Horn blowhole.  Yeah, that's me in the bright green shirt down by the ocean.  I didn't mind there were signs posted everywhere to stay away from the blowhole...I wanted to see it up close!  It was really cool!

Yeah, I'm a rebel!  It was super neat to stand near the blowhole and the spray from the ocean would hit my face

Rainbows in Hawaii...what a life!

We found a sea turtle at Poipu beach

'Opaeka'a Waterfall.  This was a fun stop while driving around, this is just from a lookout on the road, no hiking required for this view:)

The Wailua River...we would be kayaking down this river in a few days but it was kind of cool to see it from above

Wailua waterfall.  Again, this was just a lookout point you could drive to.  It was amazing the amount of water pouring over the falls, this picture doesn't really show how tall the falls are but it was a long way down...173 feet down

Last time I was in Kauai I had this pie and I was determined to have it while I was there again.  It's from "The Right Slice" and it's called blueberry pina colada...super yummy!

Jody relaxing at Poipu Beach...with a rooster:)  I love all the chickens that run around Kauai!

Another sea turtle sighting...they really like Poipu Beach

Kauai's famous "tree tunnel"

Yes, I'm an angel...

...Jody, not so sure

Walking along the beautiful Kapa'a Shoreline trail

Kayaking the mighty Wailua River.  We kayaked 2 miles and then hopped out for a fun hike to the Secret Falls.

Hiking to the Secret Falls...this part of the trail was fun.  Mostly it was a slippery, muddy mess!

Secret falls

Did I mention the trail was a 'bit' muddy?

Looking good after the hike!

We kayaked over to the Fern Grotto.  We were lucky to just miss a giant tour group as they were leaving just as we were coming so we had the place to ourselves.  It was very pretty and peaceful

On our last day we did an 8 mile round trip hike up to Hanakapi'ai Falls.  This is a great hike but also pretty strenuous.  I was totally spent by the time we got back to the parking lot!  But, on the plus side, the trail is just beautiful and the scenery is spectacular!  

Is this even real?

Just part of the trail...we thought this hike wouldn't be as muddy or wet as Secret Falls...we were wrong!

Taking a little lunch break...the roosters gotta eat too!

Just a little stream crossing...no big deal

This waterfall was spectacular.  We were planning to swim in the little pool below the falls but it was pouring over with such force the wind and mist from the falls was quite overwhelming

We found a great swimming hole on one of the river crossings on our way back out of the canyon.  It was super refreshing and nice to get my aching muscles cooled off for a bit

There was a cool bunch of bamboo on part of the trail.  This stuff is so much taller and thicker then you would expect.

Yep...the trail was muddy, muddy, muddy!

It was a tough hike but look at this scenery...totally worth it!

After the hike...I was done with life.  I told Becky, "I lost my Aloha on that damn trail"  Not to worry, I found it again once I got a bite to eat and some water (I ran out of water 2 miles before the end of the hike!)

Overall it was a fantastic week with friends.  We ate yummy food, saw amazing things, laughed and had a blast together.  When's the next trip ladies?

Yukon Quest dogsled day

Depending on how cold it is usually determines if we are going to spend the day outside or not. With our birch hill ski season pass, if it’s too cold to be open, then there are other activities for free to use our pass on. We can play one game of bowling, laser tag, or go swimming at a lap pool here on FT. Wainwright. Usually it’s enough for entertainment for the day and then we “warm up in front of the TV”—Says Ben. Netflix, amazon prime and Disney+ have become our friends in the evenings ;)
This Saturday we got all our cold weather gear to watch the start of the Yukon Quest 1,000 mile dogsled race... I had to remind the kids that this type of event is NOT something you see everyday- so “when in Rome...” you just gotta go!
It was a beautiful sunshine day- but a bitter -22 degrees. For the most part the kids did great, every so often a dog team would drop in and we’d get to cheer on the musher and check out the athlete animals- they all look surprisingly thin! Brielle somehow was running around and fell in some icy slush, so her gloves and the bottom of her snow pants were frozen solid. When I got to her she was starting to cry because she was so cold.
My friend Angela was walking along the frozen river not far from where we all were, but was in a more slushy spot she fell  into a hole up to her chest of icy river water. Right after she crawled out she said she could feel her toes begin to harden/freeze. She quickly ran up to the building to take off her gear and try to warm up. She was so bummed to miss all the action! After the dogteams were all gone we went up to the building to check in on her. She was wearing some different clothes that one of the workers had gone home and picked up for her and she didn't have on any socks. The staff was giving away some candy and selling hot chocolate or coffee. I finally suggested we go to our house and warm up and the Jones family gladly accepted the offer. I grabbed Angela my hair dryer, a heater, and a blanket to get her all warmed up. We had hot rolls with jam, hot chocolate, and any other snacks that I could pull out of the cupboard for our "lunch".
I want to add pictures from this day, but they are on Ben's phone.

Grandpa Gordon Bowers

I was able to fly back to Utah to be with my family to celebrate the graduation of my grandpa to the his next life. It is nice to see family and hear stories from uncles and aunties. I really need to write those memories down. 

After retirement My grandpa took art classes and expanded his talents with oil painting. It was always fun to see his new projects and pieces when we would come to visit every so often. When we were in Germany I asked my grandpa to paint a picture for me... I’m so glad I that I did- I just wish I would have had him paint me another...

Thankfully my grandma Denise has her old high school yearbooks so we could look at his younger version of my grandpa. 

 My brother Dusty and I both love this landscape painting... I should ask Jan 

Senior picture in the yearbook for excellence in art

My grandpa loved irises -his grandfather taught him to garden and his landscaping was a joy for him to work outside.

This is the painting I had my grandpa paint for me... the flowers reminded him of his grandpa Levi and many of the bulbs he had in his yard were from him.

Start of 20/20

Over the Christmas break we were able to spend a lot of time with our buddies- THE FRYS. Ben and Brooks were good friends from high school so it is always a good time when we all get together.  Bowling, ice skating, and laser tag, as well as hitting the slopes on our Birch Hill, and hanging out for dinner and games at our house.

Connor and Brecon were part of the cross country ski club from school. Here is Connor with our two neighbors, Eva and Gwen Bangerter. They said it was pretty fun, but sometimes very cold!

THE TEMPERATURES... burrrrrrrrr!!!

THE BOYS from Church. These 4 young men were ordained to be priests in the Aaronic priesthood in January. Beckett Eames, Bradley Burkholtz, Cael Platt, and Chase Powell

I am uploading these pictures from my iphone so I don't really know which ones I need to flip before I load them up. And I don't know how to flip them the right way!

Christmas Day

LOTS OF PICTURES from our happy morning (and 1 grumpy teenager)

Matching PJs from Grandma/pa Hoopes

Sleds, Candy, cereal, toys, and gifts of love

December fun

UPDATE of adventures

Ice Skating at the rink down the road has become one of the favorite activities to do out of the house! Brielle really has a good time skating around and trying new tricks. The boys are always coming up with different games to go fast, crash, and chase-- STEAL THE TREASURE is fun, but I am always afraid someone is going to hurt me, but it is also very entertaining to watch.

Grandma/pa Hoopes sent us matching pajama set for the whole family, but sizing correctly was an issue! Here's hoping that we will fit into them this year.

There are always so many parties and music concerts in December. Brecon had his beginning band concert to showcase his trombone skills with the other students. It's fun to watch them get better and better each year.

Our ward church party was on a very cold -33 night, but the place was packed. There was food, singing, and a short nativity re-enactment. I tried to put together a photo booth, but not very many people were interested in taking their picture, I guess. SO I started calling up people to join me or taking pictures of random kids together. My friend Jen Aiton was a good sport and joined me for a quick pic. And I have to get a pictures of my kids... but the biggest kid was off wandering around with his friends- oh well!

I tried cross-country skiing near my house at the golf course, which was a nice trail through the forest and snow, but it was so bitter cold that day I didn't really enjoy the adventure by myself. The next day I went with some friends, it was still cold but we were moving fast and the trail was different- up hill and down- so some more variety on the trail. I thought I was going to be late picking up Cannon from his preschool, and I was the last parent to arrive for the "mommy and me" craft.

I went with Connor's class to a field trip for the Nutcracker ballet. I was laughing that we were all bundled up to ride the bus there and sit in an auditorium for an hour. I was impressed with the amazing bodily skills of the dancers, but the show seemed very long... I prefer the nutcracker-short and sweet!

FIELD TRIP AND FRIENDS FROM CLASS

Me and my buddy

HITTING THE SLOPES

We have been trying to make the most of our season ski pass and trying to get on the hill as much as we can. It is always a production loading up all the gear and getting everyone dressed up, but for some fun and time out of the house it is worth it! Cannon has really been getting better and graduated to the "big" hill-- and all the other kiddos are able to go up and down as much as they want.

XC Ski with some ladies

Remember that time I went cross-country skiing by myself? It was okay... but really cold and I didn't like it. The first picture shows how I feel... It was a pretty day and nice pastel lighting on the sparkling snow...

...So the next day I went with some friends up to the Birch Hill Ski trail... and it was better. But my friend Angela Jones was keeping a fast pace and so it was hard to keep up when I ran  I lost my speed. There was some variety on the trails, uphill and down which was a little weird being used to downhill skiis that respond better to turning and stopping. It was fun to be out with friends!

I can't figure out how to rotate the pictures on here...

So Cannon was a his preschool and I rushed to make it back to the building for a little craft time with Ms. Karen and the kiddos. I was worried when I saw all the glitter and confetti all over the table, chairs, and floor. The craft was a clear x-mas tree ornament and the kiddos were putting in fluffy "snow" and the glitter and confetti. I was a little later arriving than the other moms, so I felt I needed to stay and help clean up.