We purchased a trip to Hawaii for our family as a surprise Christmas gift. Hyrum bought a "shave ice" maker from Amazon so we put a little note inside the box that said, "We hope this Shave Ice gets you excited for a trip to Hawaii at the end of January!" We thought the boys would be super excited. I didn't expect Emerson to run and jump on my lap, bury his head on my shoulder and say, "I don't want to go to Hawaii, there are Tiger Sharks in Hawaii!" So, I guess all those nature books he checks out from the library are sinking in:) We also bought Oma a ticket so she joined us for our trip to Hawaii. We had a lot of fun and great weather (except the very last day when it rained all day long!)
We flew into Hawaii on Wednesday, January 29th. It was raining off and on but after we got our rental car we decided to hit the beach. I mean, even if it's raining it's still Hawaii, right? We weren't sure whether or not we were going to go swimming, that's why the boys are still wearing their clothes in this photo.
We finally decided to brave the little rain drops and head in the ocean anyway. Attack Daddy!!!
Hyrum and Julian in the ocean
Hawaii has lots of Banyan trees that are great for climbing. Lots of places to put your feet and grab onto with your hands.
My two monkeys in the tree:)
We left our mark on Hawaii
Thursday, January 30th was by far the best weather we had all week. We decided to head over to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling.
This was the first time any of us had tried snorkeling. It only took the boys a few minutes to get used to breathing through a tube. Julian could only manage for about 2 minutes, but he did get to see some fish under the water so he thought that was cool.
Daddy and Julian learning to snorkel. I went out a few times but I didn't love it. I felt like I was hyperventilating. But, I did get to see a sea turtle. I think Townsend and I were the only ones that got to see a sea turtle:)
Great photo of Oma.
The whole family with Hanauma Bay in the background.
After snorkeling we took a drive around the island. The boys got out and explored on some of the rocks.
And, of course, we had to stop and see the famous Halona Blow Hole. It's pretty amazing how far up that water shoots when the waves create just the right amount of pressure.
Friday, January 31st was another sunny, beautiful day. We headed over to Matsumoto's shave ice on the North Shore for some yummy breakfast. (Shave Ice counts as breakfast when you are visiting Hawaii)
Of course we couldn't try just one shave ice spot, we had to also stop at Aoki's shave ice stand:)
After our yummy breakfast we hit the North Shore beach. The boys absolutely loved playing in the big waves!
Julian got pushed around in the waves a bit more than his brothers but he still had lots of fun.
The beach also had great sand dunes for jumping...go Emerson!
Townsend jumping in the dunes.
Friday was also the day we visited the Polynesian Cultural Center. (We packed a lot of things into our day...maybe that's why the boys were so cranky by the end of the evening!)
The boys liked watching the guys climb the coconut trees and the twins even tried it once but they decided Banyan trees were a lot easier to climb!
Julian showing off the "Stick Game" you get to play in New Zealand. My father served his mission in New Zealand and so I have been playing this game since I was very young. It was fun to share this with my boys.
We got to take a little canoe ride around the canal
You could buy some fish food to throw into the canal to feed the fish. Well, it turns out the birds really like this food too. I'm not sure if any of the food actually made it into the canal but the boys sure had lots of fun having the birds come and eat the food from their hands.
Hyrum and the twins at our Luau feast.
The performers were lots of fun to watch while we ate our dinner
We even got a little fire show with our meal. We went to the big stage production after dinner where you get to see dancers from all the different countries but we don't have photos of that because you weren't allowed to take pictures. We almost didn't make it to the end of the show because Townsend was so cranky and Julian actually fell asleep on my lap. I guess we wore those kids out!
Saturday, February 1st we took our time leaving our house. I think the boys appreciated one morning where they could just watch movies and hang out and not be immediately drug off to some adventure. In the afternoon we made our way over to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. The boys had some birthday money they wanted to spend and they got some souvenirs for their teachers. It was lots of fun walking around and looking at the stuff for sale. Most things were "Made in China" but that was just fine because it suited the boys budget.
The boys showing off the necklaces they purchased. They look pretty hot, tired and sunburned!
My little ukulele player:)
After the market we went to tour the Dole Pineapple Plantation. This is Julian inside a giant pineapple:)
The twins and Daddy went through the "Pineapple Maze" They found all 7 clues inside the maze. I think they had lots of fun.
I didn't think Julian would be up for that much walking so we decided to take the train ride with Oma. It was about a 20 minute ride that took us out to see the plantation where the pineapple and other crops grow.
Oma and Julian on the train.
And THIS is how pineapple grows. I had no idea! The leaves are super pointy and sharp, the people who harvest pineapple have to wear special gloves and eye protection.
This rooster was strutting his stuff outside the entrance to the maze while we waited for Daddy and the twins to emerge. There were chickens and roosters of all sorts of colors and sizes walking around all over the island. The boys loved chasing them whenever they got the chance.
The view from our patio on Sunday, February 2nd. Another beautiful day. The house we rented backed right up to the ocean. It was wonderful to sit out on the patio and listen to the waves roll in.
We attended Sacrament meeting at a nearby church house. Instead of attending the other two hours of church we decided to visit the Temple. It was so beautiful. I loved the water running in cascades from the temple to this pool (pictured).
We were in Hawaii at the same time our friends Scott and Melissa Ashby were there. They were staying in a resort with a swimming pool so we headed out there to have some fun with friends and the boys practiced snorkeling some more in the pool.
After we left the Ashby's we went to Turtle Bay to play in the waves. These were some of the biggest waves the boys had played in. Do you see Julian standing on the rock? The twins put him there to "protect" him from the giant waves:)
This wave almost took Townsend down!
Oma found some cool coral to take home with her. She didn't mean to get her pants soaking wet...one of the sneaky waves got her when she wasn't looking!
We went for a lovely walk through the forest to reach a Banyan tree that Hyrum and I remembered visiting when we were in Hawaii last time.
Isn't that tree amazing? There were so many little nooks for boys to hide in and try to climb into.
Emerson playing in the Banyan tree
I walked back to get the van because everyone was pretty tired out by this time. When I got back to the family the boys were working so hard at trying to break open this coconut. They worked on it for about 20 minutes and when they finally got it open it was all rotten and smelly inside...so sad!
Dinner at Ted's Bakery. The BEST hamburgers and fries we had all week.
Gorgeous sunset Sunday evening.
Then Monday, February 3rd...RAIN!!! Not just a little rain, a lot of rain. We decided, after waiting inside all morning for the weather to clear, that we should just take our chances and head to the other side of the island and see if the weather was better over there. We really wanted to hike Diamond Head.
We drove all the way to Diamond Head but it was still pouring rain so we headed into Waikiki for some lunch and to wait out the rain.
Cute little sculpture on Waikiki beach
It did clear up a bit so we went down the the beach to play in the waves. Unfortunately after about an hour the rain started pouring down again. We gave up on our plan to hike Diamond Head and headed home.
One last stop for Shave Ice before getting to our house.
Tuesday, February 4th. We returned the rental van and headed to the airport. Emerson and Julian got to visit the cock pit and Emerson even got to welcome passengers aboard over the intercom! It was a fun trip. I hope the boys have great memories of our time together as a family.
