Our last days were the perfect end to our vacation: laid back, easy, full of lounging and playing and of course soaking up sunshine and heat and endless hours to be together. I hope my kids realize how amazing their daddy is—he played in the water with them every single day and just hung out with them helping them learn to jump and dive and swim, dive for rockets and hold their breath longer. He always had at least 2 kiddos clinging to his arms while he was playing hide and seek or marco polo with the others. I am just not that fun but he certainly is! I had lots of time to take pictures of my family, read here and there, watch all the commotion, chat with my mom, and snuggle bodies who wanted to rest from all the crazy times in the water.
Photo bombing cute Cares. She was not happy they did that once she turned around and saw them :)
Crazy, brave Luke. He is such a fish! And he cried every time we had to leave the pool.
Shave ice was usually an acceptable consolation prize!
Prettiest Livs! And those classic Ko Olina waterfalls.
Random collection of pics from our stay. Grandparents just make everything so much fun!
Feeding the koi in the resort ponds. I adore all those colors and lovely orange tones and Luke is a huge fan of "goldpish" so this event was really fun for him. It inspired the colors for his new bedroom and a special watercolor Joseph painted of Luke's Hawaiian koi.
Cutest group of boys! These dudes (minus Luke) were snorkeling adventurers and had some great discoveries out in the ocean. As the waves got huge on the north shore, they also picked up a ton down by us on the opposite side of the island. It stirred up the water so the clarity got pretty bad and the last few days weren't good for snorkeling. Earlier in the week they did snorkel with turtles over at Paradise Cove:
A shot from their hike over to "turtle town."
Cares became quite the pro at posing with the hang loose sign :)
On our last day we lucked out with the weekly mermaid visit! We saw her the day we checked in just as she was leaving and she told us she'd be back. When she arrived on Friday the kids were way mesmerized. Luke was obviously very curious too but also pretty shy. He wanted to see her but not be very close. She was driven around on a little golf cart bed gathering kids up and then she brought the to the water's edge, read the kids a story and then swam with them for a bit. It was fun but waaaay too long and drawn out (I think her story telling lasted like 20 minutes and my kids were getting cold just sitting there in the water listening!) Her mermaid costume was awesome though—so pretty and intricate. What a cool/random job right? Resort mermaid in Hawaii...someone's gotta do it :)
Sometimes I play in the water too :)
This picture. One of my very favorites.
All too soon it was time for our last dinner and last sunset and last view of the ocean.
Saw this gorgeous plant at dinner (oyster plant). So vibrant and one of my favorite colors!
Joseph and I packed up while the kids hung out with my parents—total life saver (they flew home the following day). We worked so quickly that way! Luke had napped at his normal time in the day and when we left for the airport he was getting really sleepy but I kept him awake by tickling him and entertaining him the best I could. Once we checked in Joseph had to return our rental car so I kept the kids in the empty check-in area (it was nearly 10 pm and no one was around) and let them run and run and play tag and get all worn out while we waited. Once we were on the plane everyone settled in for a long slumber and miracle or miracles we actually slept! Of course sleeping on a plane is hardly comfortable but we packed in some hours and I was so relieved. Luke slept for 2 hours in his car seat but then woke up fussing until I unbuckled him and let him lay like a koala on me and we both fell asleep for the rest of the flight—nearly 4 more hours. We landed in Seattle, had an easy connection one gate away, and made our way home (during which most of us slept again—thankfully Luke was out once we put him back in his car seat for the last leg home). Sweetest travelers!! Now I should just take them to Europe since they are such rock stars on planes ;)
Joseph took great care of the girls on our flight home. After our red-eye and connection home we were all surprisingly spry. We landed in UT about 11:00 am and once we were home only the baby napped and the rest of us got back to everyday life. At 6:30 pm though, the crazy night caught up with these girls and they crashed during scripture reading :)
Such an amazing trip all around. We feel so blessed and grateful to have had that experience with my parents. They are so generous and good to us! I hope my littles will forever remember those good times with their grandparents and keep them as a special bond and closeness that will always tie them together. I love and adore my family with all my heart and just felt so much happiness and joy being together in our beautiful Hawaii. Caroline and Livs love to request "I Miss You, My Hawaii" as one of their bedtime songs and I often just play it on my phone while we listen together and think back to our incredible time on Oahu. Thank you mom and dad for such an awesome adventure and all the fun and laughter and beauty we enjoyed together!!
Random/silly highlights:
* "Drive with Aloha" on the street signs...so Aloha can mean just about whatever they want it to over there, huh?
* Seeing Elizabeth Williams and her hubby Jessie while playing on the Ko'Olina beach. Small world!
* My dad running into a Kahuka High alumni at Matsumoto's who was in his grade and remembered him from 50 years ago! He ages so well :)
* Kids' song about pee and poo on the long drive home from the north shore
* Luke exclaiming "dolphins!" every time we went out to the pool (the carpet at the door to exit the building had dolphins on it)
* Going to Target with Luke and he said "Yay! Target!" when we pulled in. And then added "find Ceccie?"
* Dipping bananas in the coconut PB
Any more that I should add mom? Joseph?
2 comments:
coconut PB?! yum
That mermaid day is way funny and cool. That must be a newer thing.
Love all your colorful pics and happy memories
I love seeing all of these and savoring the great memories of our trip. Really, there wasn't ever a bad moment, it was all such fun and happiness. We loved the one on one time with your delightful children, so much laughter and hugs and joy. Their curiosity and willingness to try new things was commendable, and they were sweet companions to each other and us. Oh, we love you all so much and had an amazing, Aloha time together! (I can't remember any other sayings but will think about it.)
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