Hawaii

The end of August we took an amazing vacation to Hawaii!  It will always be a special place for Johnathan and I since that is where we met and fell in love.  We all had such a fun time, the kids loved swimming in the pool and going to beaches.  And it was actually really relaxing for us even with the boys.  Kieran learned how to swim on his own without floaties, and snorkeled every where we went.  He asked if we could live there, and he didn't want to come home.  Rhys loved every minute of it too.  It was enjoyable seeing all the places we used to go and the memories we have there.

 

The view from our hotel room

 

 

The first couple days Johnathan had to work so we mostly just hung out by the pool or went to the beach across the street.  After that we rented a car and went all over the island.

I had forgotten about the wild chickens that are everywhere in Hawaii.

Pali Look Out.  Every where we went Asians wanted to take pictures of our blond boys!

Lanikai beach.  This is probably our new favorite beach.  I had never been there before and it was beautiful with soft white sand, perfect weather, and warm, clear water.  No wonder Pres. Obama bought a beach house here.

 

This is Pres. Obama's favorite shaved ice, near Lanikai and I will have to say they are better than Matsumoto's.

Ted's bakery!  A North Shore favorite.

Rhys LOVED shaved iced and finished every bite of his.  Kieran on the other hand would not even lick his.

Turtle beach(Lanikia).  There are hundreds of turtles that live here, three were up on the beach resting.  Kieran and Johnathan went snorkeling and saw some in the water as well.  Rhys built this sand castle while Johnathan and Kieran were swimming.  He spent a lot of time on it, even topped it off with seaweed and was very proud when he was done!

 

 

Huki'lau beach.  This is a small beach near the college, that Johnathan and I spent many hours at while attending school.

Laie Temple

Polynesian Cultural Center.

A must have when visiting Hawaii!

We went back to Lanikai since we loved it so much the first time.

This was the house I lived in while going to school there, it was called the junk yard house:)

This is the beach Johnathan and I met on, also where Johnathan proposed to me one year later.

That's where they get the license plate from.

Walking around in Waikiki.

Duke's restaurant, we had our first real date here 8 yrs ago.

spam musubi! 

Shark's Cove.  Kieran and Johnathan went snorkeling. (zoomed in cell phone pic)

Relaxing in the water at Wiamea Bay with my big belly.

Look at those little white bums after a week in Hawaii!