What a week!

Around this time last Friday we were getting out the door and leaving for the airport, and it seems as if we've been on that pace since we returned Monday. My rockstar, super software-selling sister earned a well-deserved trip to Kauai for a corporate event. Family from California were all heading out (plus good friends who just happened to be vacationing there at the same time), so I jumped in and took the boys over. Celebrated a bunch of birthdays, and overall had fun in a condo near Poipu Beach. Funny thing about having fun and being blessed with such great friends and family - the good times make the days pass too quickly. Monday afternoon found the three of us back at home. I did feel pretty bad that family had one more long leg to get back to California. I figured I had unpacked and finished my laundry just as they were deplaning in the Bay Area.
On Sunday morning we treated the boys to the Kauai Plantation Railway train ride. It was our second time on the train; the pics here are from last November. It's a nice ride through a former plantation turned orchard and luau grounds. They make a scheduled stop outside a fenced area where pigs and a few other animals roam. Yes, it's a bit weird. I remember someone asking during our first go-around about the pigs becoming a luau centerpiece. They quietly admitted that they do allow hunters to come in when the population is a wee bit overcrowded. But to tell you the truth, I can't remember if they're actually served at the luau or not.
The rest of the week had me studying (catching up on assignments and homework for my programming class) along with sitting at the satellite City Hall one morning, again cramming for another test. I'm now officially a licensed Hawai'i state driver! Add a birthday to that mix and you can understand why I'm looking forward to slowing way down this weekend.