Kauai beach day and a weekend update

The first day we were in Kauai we decided to hit the beach for the day. There was a free shuttle that ran from the ship to a shopping area and the beach was right behind the shopping area. The beach was also in front of a resort so rentals (chairs, umbrellas and such) were available and nice clean bathrooms and food were easily accessible. Needless to say... we were set!

They spent a lot of their time digging and constructing this...
It had many reincarnations as they were building it in the area where the waves kept washing ashore. At one time it was a castle and by this time I think it was a volcanic crater.

After they gave up on that project, they decided to bury each other...



They were sooooo covered in sand. It was funny, their pediatrician found sand in their ears at their check-ups on Tuesday. She didn't even know that we had gone to Hawaii so it's safe to assume that there really was sand in there!

After our full day at the beach it was time to go back to our ship to get ready for our big night out... the luau! I'll work on those pics next!

Now... on to our weekend. It was a total blur!

Saturday Clara had dance as usual from 10 to 12... but instead of being done at that time and going to lunch, we headed straight for her martial arts belt test. It had started at 11, so Alex was already there. This was our first test so I had no idea what to expect. Wow! It lasted from 11 am until after 2 pm. It included peace exercise and martial arts instruction by the "master" instructor at the school. It was amazing to see him in action.

The kids seemed to do okay on their belt tests, we'll know on Tuesday or Wednesday if they passed or not. By the time the kids chatted and changed, we didn't get out of there until nearly 3pm. So we went straight out for lunch and then straight home to relax. The kids were wiped out. That night was family wii night.

Yesterday was church. When I came into the kitchen in the morning I was greeted with hugs and cards from the kids and Jeff. I received a My Funky Camera camera strap and rain boots (but I had to pick them out myself since Jeff got overwhelmed with all of the choices on Zappos.com... lol). We headed out to church on a beautiful Mother's Day morning with gale force winds and driving rain. Jeff dropped us off at the front of the church before he went to park so we stayed relatively dry. The kids both sang at the 11:00 service, so we stayed for a bit of that service as well to hear them sing... then we were off to brunch.

There was actually something really nice about it being yucky on Mother's Day. It forced us to stay in and relax, it was WONDERFUL! I did some online shopping when we first got home (our groceries, my new rain boots and Alex's foot locker for camp - did I tell you that Alex is going to sleep-away camp for 13 days this summer???). After that we decided to curl up together in front of the TV and have a family movie afternoon. We watched The Apple Dumpling Gang. The kids enjoyed it. For dinner we ordered Indian food... yum... my favorite. I love that we always have leftovers which means I'm set for lunch today as well.

Well, now I've got to get going. We're testing this week for school so I need to get at it, plus our groceries are coming today and Alex's piano teacher is coming to the house for a make-up lesson!

Happy belated Mother's Day and have a great Monday!