Hawaii

So we are back. After unpacking, editing over 500 pictures, and six loads of laundry, I am finally ready to post about our trip. This is going to be a big post so stick with me, please.

Where else can you skip with your girls except in Waikiki? Ok, so maybe you can do that anywhere, but it was more fun in Hawaii and was also a way to keep them from whining all the way to the Waikiki Aquarium for our first stop on our week long adventure...Jamie even held a hermit crab and touched an anemone...
Another adventure was Pearl Harbor. Really, if you are ever on Oahu, you have to go see the Arizona Memorial. It is a very humbling experience.We took the shuttle boat to the memorial and I got the "posing" eyes from the boy...We decided to take our own tour of the island. I thought it was amazing watching the kids while we were checking out the different beaches and stops along the way...

Blow Hole...

Chinaman's Hat...

Hanauma Bay...

Checking out the statues with my hula girls...
We decided when we were planning this trip that we were definitely going to make time to fly to the Big Island to see the volcano. We did just that and stayed at the Volcano House which is just outside of the crater rim. Our first stop off of the plane was Rainbow Falls outside of Hilo...

There was the huge banyan tree where the kids explored for a bit... Then it was off to see the volcano. We stopped at the steam vents first...
Then off to the crater rim of Kilewea... Due to some gas leaking out of the volcano, we couldn't go the entire 11 miles around the crater rim. That also means that the actual lava that was flowing from the volcano was unable to be seen from where we were. Even as disappointing as it was to not be able to see the lava, it was still pretty cool to see the live volcano.

We drove to the Lava Tube. It was a place where lava had once flowed to create a tunnel that you could actually walk through...

It was also very green at the volcano. That was surprising to me... We also went to the Dole Plantation.

Jacob was pretty fond of the little ones...

This place had it all. Mango trees, coffee trees, lots of pineapples (of course), and also banana trees...

and chocolate trees...

We hopped aboard the Pineapple Express to tour the plantation. Jacob was all about telling everyone, "All Aboard", at the top of his lungs...

We had lots of beach time too...
The girls loved that they could get into the ocean without it freezing like when we lived in Redondo Beach...
Jacob was telling the girls to be careful or to bring back his bucket (I don't remember which)...
Gotta love a warm night with a beautiful sunset...

There was also plenty of pool time too...

I love these two handsome men...

I think the highlight of the entire week was the night we went to the luau. The kids were in awe for the entire show. Before the dinner and show, the girls tried out the poi balls...

They also went with the hula girls for some instruction on hula dancing...

Jamie told me after that she was trying really hard to not show how nervous she was. I told her that she fooled me because she didn't look nervous the whole time. She seemed pretty pleased that she pulled it off! Dinner was kind of a hit and a miss. Mazie (who is typically my biggest eater) picked at everything. Jamie liked the chicken. Jacob ate the pork. I really didn't know what to expect but I was pleased that they at least ate some of the meal. Then it was on to the show...
Jacob was quite fond of the girls...

The highlight was the "fire part". This kid was 9 years old. Mazie thought that was pretty cool...

As many of you know, Jeremiah and I also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. Since Pop Pop was kind enough to come along on our little Hawaiian adventure, he watched the kids (read: fed them supper, treated them to ice cream, and put them to bed) so we could enjoy some time to ourselves for an evening. We had a lovely date.

It has been an amazing 10 years together. As Mazie points out, "that is a decade, you know" and quite a decade it has been. We lived in Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, and Colorado. We have two beautiful girls and a handsome boy who fill our lives with joy and keep us busier than we ever thought possible. I love you, Jeremiah, more than I could have imagined. I can't wait to have many more tens of anniversaries with you!