Well 2011 has been a very good travel year for Javan and I. We have been able to do a lot of really fun things, and feel very fortunate and blessed for our experiences. My sister Amber and her family have been stationed in Hawaii for the last few years with her husband Steve being an orthodontist for the Army. They were getting out of the military this summer and so in April we decided to take one last trip to Hawaii to visit them while they were still there. And we decided to take the kids this time. They were so excited. My mom and I took them a few years ago, when Amber and Steve first moved there, and Ethan and Ally have talked about it since. We had a great time.
We got to Hawaii, picked up our rental car, got settled in at Amber's house and went straight to the beach. I guess I didn't take any pictures that day. We had a great time and wore ourselves out. That combined with the time change and jet lag and we were all wasted come evening time.
The next day we went to North Beach. It is on one of the military bases on the island. It was a good place for snorkeling and catching sea life. This is Cole, Steve, and Ethan, on the hunt. (I'm not sure what for though.)
Ally and Havyn playing in the sand.
Grandpa Craig getting ready for a snorkel.
Javan and Ryan playing in the waves, and the girls playing in the sand.
A view of the North Beach Coast. So beautiful.
A little hermit crab we caught.
The next day we went to a different beach, this one is called Bellows Air Force Station. It was nice to be with Amber and Steve, they could get us into all the best beaches. This was a great place for boogie boarding/body surfing and playing in the sand.
Havyn and Ally jumping the waves.
Ethan catching a wave on the boogie board.
Javan and I trying to catch a big wave.
Grandpa and Grandma soakin' in the sun.
All the kids buried in the sand. Ryan didn't take well to being buried all the way to his neck. What was funny was that people walking by stopped to take pictures of our kids in the sand. Why do you want pictures of other people's kids at the beach.
Hanging out at the beach.
Ally (and Javan) got stung by a jellyfish while at the beach. We took her to the life guard stand and they sprayed something on it to help soothe the sting. She was pretty sad, but she was a tough girl.
Our next adventure was a visit to the Laie Temple. The grounds and temple are so beautiful.
Ally and I with flowers in our hair. Even though you can't really see them in the picture.
Grandpa Craig at Laie point.
Then on to the Polynesian Cultural Center. The kids enjoyed the hands on parts of the PCC, some of the presentations weren't their favorite. Here's Javan and Ethan trying to start fire by rubbing two sticks together. We couldn't do it.
Showing off their "tattoos"
Some of the dancers in the parade.
We made some fish out of palm fronds.
Ethan eating sushi at the dinner buffet.
Feeding the fish while we waited for the show to start. The kids absolutely loved the show. The hardly blinked their eyes the whole time. They loved the parts with fire in it. We were seated right in and aisle and there are several parts where the dancers run up and down. They thought it was really cool that they got so close to us.
The next day we went on a couple of hikes. The first one was called Likeke Falls. The jungle was dense and thick
.
Ally at the falls.
Ryan loves to throw rocks into any body of water.
Ethan climbed out onto a branch that was hanging over the water.
Amber and I at the falls.
A family picture by the Likeke Falls.
The kids hanging on a vine.
After Likeke Falls we took the kids home and we went on another short but very steep (for me) hike called Lanikai Pill Box. I think I almost died. The thing we are sitting on is an old bunker type lookout thing that the Army used to use.
A view from Lanikai Pill Box.
After some lunch and a little rest the kids were ready to head back to the beach. We went to Lanikai beach, the one we could see from the Pill Box. Ally and Havyn made this sand cake.
Ryan buried Ethan in the sand.
Grandpa made a sea turtle out of sand.
Another day in paradise.
Nothing like being in paradise with your family.
Ethan and I built a swimming pool out of sand. We were trying to make it so it would fill up with water when the waves came in. It worked once!
Our next adventure was scuba diving. I had been feeling a little iffy for a few days and Steve always gets sea sick so we were a little worried about how we would do. It was kind of a stormy day so the seas were a little rougher than normal, which made for a very rocky boat ride. We all held it together, barely, and had a couple great dives. We saw lots of turtles, and some really cool fish. And we even got a picture with everyone smiling and happy.
After scuba, the boys went fishing and the girls went shopping. Ryan caught this little fish.
Go get 'em boys.
Ethan checking out a crab.
The next day we visited the Honululu Zoo. Everyone was getting a kick out of the monkeys.
The kids in the fish pond.
Checking out the goats in the petting zoo.
A cool lizard. It only took me about 10 tries to get the shot of that neck thing.
After the zoo, you guessed it, we headed back to the beach. This time to Kailua Beach Park, where I found some cute little mermaids.
That night we headed to Lanikai Beach to go crab hunting. We decided that building a human pyramid would be a good way to start us off.
Ethan digging up a crab.
Amber and Havyn catching a crab.
The big daddy. Everyone screamed when javan finally unearthed him and he came scurrying out of his hole. It was pretty funny.
Our catch. We probably had 100 crabs in there of all sizes.
The next day we had to go home. We had such a fun trip. Amber and Steve were great hosts and tour guides. The trip was unforgettable, we are all still talking about the good times we had. Thanks Amber and Steve for a great vacation.
We could hardly get them to leave.
They all just ran around like crazy people.
And had a great day with their cousins.
Grandpa Craig, Michele, and Nate having a great time.
Michael was having a great time too.
After the bouncy house we headed to Michael and Michele's house. We had a delicious dinner and then Michele put us all to working assembling teacher appreciation gifts for the school. Even the guys got to help.
We did a little wrestling.
Nate and Ledger were having a good time.
The WHOLE family.
I can't believe I didn't get a picture of our guest of honor all by herself. Anyway, we're so excited to have Jackie as part of our family. Hope you can handle us. Welcome to the family Jackie!
