Hawaii

We were so excited to go to Hawaii! We bought Evelyn a new pair of toddler headphones and they were just perfect! They were so cute and PURPLE too! :) She was excited!

It was finally the morning of our trip and we all woke up SUPER early and headed to the airport.

The girls actually did really well on the 5 hour flight. They read and ate snacks and watched movies and asked how much longer (a lot). :) They were wonderful travelers.

Bubba Kiwi came too, of course!

Maddy was the first one to spy Hawaii. She took this photo out her window to show me. So beautiful!

We didn't waste a second! We threw on our bathing suits and went to the beach! It was (of course) a perfect Hawaiian day! So sunny and warm. The water was perfect. We realized this was the first time Evelyn has been able to swim/play in the ocean. The water here is so cold in Oregon and she was too young for much when we were in NZ. She LOVED the beach!

Right next to the beach was the Hilton Lagoon. It was wonderful because the girls could play and swim there without too much worry from us. We could just watch them from the shore as they had fun because it wasn't too deep and there are no waves to smash them. The girls LOVED the lagoon.

The lagoon has fish in it so Maddy was determined to catch one. We kind of figured she wouldn't be able to because they were so fast. Well ... she was faster! She caught one!!! Very proud of herself. Love it!

We showered and walked to dinner that night. The girls did a WONDERFUL job walking all over town. There were not complaints at all. I was super impressed. Maddy found some hibiscus flowers on the ground that still looked nice so the girls put them in their hair. So sweet.

We went to the store and grabbed some supplies. The best thing we got was fresh pineapple. It was so sweet and smelled amazing. We gobbled it all up!

Enjoying the view. So silly.

 

Maddy really wanted to ride one of the water bikes in the lagoon. We finally said yes one day. Nick went to find out the price and we said no way. Clever Maddy asked if she could use some of her bday money for it. Well ... you can't argue with that kind of independence ... so she got it!

Here is a video of Nick, Maddy and Evelyn on the water bike. It was a lot of fun!

Most afternoons we would head to the pool for a swim. The girls loved playing in the pool with their daddy.

We went out to a Japanese steak house for dinner one night. Three of us LOVED it. One of us ... well ... one of us was Evelyn. (She actually had a great time but feels the need to make faces in photos. She looked at this photo later and said "my no smile in picture." I asked why and she simply said "my no want to." So there you go! She loves looking at the photo and making the same face again. It is really funny.)

I felt all kinds of guilt taking Maddy out of school for a few days so the poor kid had work to do while we were there. I tried to make it a little better by letting her do it outside in the wonderful Hawaiian air. :)

We found a great burger place just down the street for dinner. The girls are at such fun ages right now that it is hard not to be silly all the time. Nick is no longer able to smile the regular way. He tries to smile like his EM.

Love

The girls drinks came in tiki shaped cups. Here are their best tiki smiles.

We have Cheeky Tiki ...

and No Teethy Tiki

Mommy couldn't go to Honolulu and not go to the pink hotel (the Royal Hawaiian). It is SO beautiful!!

The girls were tired of pictures but are so well behaved that they at least game me a half smile. :)

We promised Maddy a coconut smoothie. She didn't like it in the end but loved the pineapple one (luckily mommy likes coconut smoothies!). She and Evelyn drank it all! So good!

We took the bus to the Royal Hawaiian - it was pretty far. My kids LOVE public transportation. So funny. Here we are on the way home.

I sat next to a Hawaiian grandmother. She thought our girls were just the cutest and gave them each a flower that smelled so good (I think it was called a puakenikeni - it is named after a penny (the keni) because they used to sell them for a penny). They are pretty cute kids!

We found a cart perfect for carrying groceries in the closet (long after we hauled all the groceries home sadly). But the cart made a perfect stroller for Bubba Kiwi and George. We walked them around the halls one afternoon.

A little solitaire and a bowl of fresh pineapple. Perfect quiet afternoon in Hawaii.

These are pix from our last day at the beach. I didn't take that many during the trip because we were always playing. Here is Nick waiting still as can be to try and catch a fish. Seriously.

Washing her beach baby's hair.

Maddy was building a river to the lagoon.

 

More baby washing.

Maddy and I went to the ABC store while Evelyn slept. She was allowed to pick something for herself and she chose a pink ukelele. We went downstairs to try it out.

For our last dinner we went to Duke's right on the beach. It is a  famous old Hawaiian restaurant. Our reservations were for 4:45 (only choice!) so it was still super sunny out.

We all got a fun beach drink. Yum!!

Daddy and E

And Maddy and mommy and mommy's hair. 

Yes. It gets a mention in this photo as it takes up most of the frame. Wow. Just wow.

I looked at all the reviews before we got there and everyone mentioned the hula pie for dessert. It was a huge slab of ice cream with an Oreo cookie crust, hot fudge and whipped cream. It was so much fun seeing the girls faces when it came out. It was WONDERFUL!

We rushed home to get our last few moments in the pool before it closed. It was our last night and we wanted to use every second of it!

 

It was a beautiful end to a beautiful trip.

The next morning we woke up and waved goodbye to the view from the balcony.

This trip was perfection and so needed. We had lots of time together, laughed, played and slept. We ate great food and really enjoyed every moment together. We realized this was the first vacation we have taken all together. The whole trip exceeded my expectations. 

Aloha Hawaii ... we will be back soon, I'm sure!