We decided to take a little family vacation to the Big Island of Hawaii once the twins were back home from college. It was a great chance to reset as a family all together. This was the kids first time on the Big Island and there were lots of things I was excited to do with them.
Next stop...Hawaii! The kids love to all sit together in a row on the airplane. They don't seem to mind at all if Mom and Dad are a few rows away as long as they have their brothers:)
I love Hawaiian musubi...but I can't seem to get anyone else in my family to eat it. I guess that just means more for me!
The kids loved the pool and hot tub at our condo...
...I loved relaxing and watching them all have a fun time.
We went to Kailua-Kona to watch the fireworks for the 4th of July. It was cool to celebrate the 4th of July on the Island. The palm trees made it feel so exotic:)
First shave ice of the trip!
Boogie boarding in the ocean at Hapuna beach
Emerson chilling at the beach
We drove out to Ka Lae or "Southpoint" the southern most point in the United States
Enjoying the cool black sand beach at Punalu'u
Black sand beaches are created when fast moving lava hits the cold ocean and immediately crystalizes into tiny black lava beads...pretty cool
We got to meet some of the locals at Pulalu'u beach:)
We drove to Volcanoes National Park. This is the Kilauea volcanic crater behind us. Unfortunately there was no lava flowing at the park this time but this is such an amazing park to explore...with or without lava.
Cool steam vents at the park
This is part of the crater as seen from above. You can see a line cutting across this crater which is actually a trail that we hiked down to and across the crater!
On our way down to the volcanoes crater
The crater itself is such a unique landscape. It's amazing anything grows on this hard lava but there were some pretty hardy flowers and other little plants on the crater floor
After our hike through the crater we drove down to see the petroglyphs, stopping along the way for some amazing overlooks
On the hike out to the petroglyphs
When Hyrum and I visited the Big Island a few years ago it was super dark by the time we hiked out the petroglyphs so I was really happy we were able to see them so much better this time.
No one is exactly sure what this site was used for but it is clear the ancient Hawaiian's came here to celebrate life and leave their mark on history.
We hiked through the little lava tube in the National Park. At 8:00 PM they turn off all the lights so you can walk through in the pitch dark (or with just the light from your cell phone!)
After the long day of driving and hiking we took a "break day" and slept in and hung out at the pool. I love that we take the time to relax on our vacations. Sometimes we forget and try to cram in too much but we have learned over the years that just makes for grumpy kids so it's ok to take a break:)
Heading out on a boat to snorkel with the manta rays
Julian and I both took some sea sickness meds before heading out and they worked great, neither of us felt sick at all
At one point on the boat ride we were surrounded by spinner dolphins who put on a great show for us!
Watching the sun go down on the boat. We had to wait until dark to snorkel with the manta rays. Hyrum and I had done this when we visited the island before and we wanted the boys to experience the chance to see these amazing creatures in their natural habitat. Unfortunately the mantas didn't come super close to the surface but stayed pretty low on the bottom of the ocean so we didn't get a great view of them but I'm still glad we could all experience this together.
My favorite fish taco place on the Big Island, Shaka Tacoz!!
We went to Honaunau bay to see where Captain James cook first met the Hawaiian Islanders, and where he was killed just a few months after his first encounter with them
Pu'uhounua o Honaunau (or Place of Refuge) National Historic Park. This park preserves some ancient Hawaiian holy sites and explains what life would have been like before Hawaiian's met westerners.
Julian and Townsend trying to figure out this cool Hawaiian game they played with stones. Looked sort of like checkers.
We tried to open a coconut by bashing it onto a rock like they did in ancient times...no luck
Some friendly locals at the Historic Park
The pools of water were so clear you could almost walk right into them without realizing there was water in them!
Skipping rocks across the pools of water at sunset
Julian needed to be seen at urgent care so they could look in his ears which were hurting. We hung out at a park in Waimea while we waited. Townsend and Emerson are so good at climbing trees. They just find any branch they can reach and pull themselves right up into the tree!
I love the chickens in Hawaii...especially the babies:)
After Julian got checked out and we picked up some meds for his ears we left Waimea to drive over to Hilo. We took the route around the Northern part of the Island to see some of the rainforest areas. It's amazing how different the landscape looks once you drive to the wet side of the Island!
On our hike to Akaka Falls
Beautiful Akaka Falls. It's so hard to get the entire waterfall in a picture! It drops 442 feet from top to bottom!
I think Hyrum stood on a handrail to get this picture, but he did a good job of capturing the whole waterfall.
We stopped to admire Rainbow Falls in Hilo
The entrance to the Kaumana Lava Tube. This lava tube stretches for miles! It was so neat to explore with our flashlights. We were all very glad we had closed toe shoes as there were a lot of steep sections as well as places you had to climb over.
There is no artificial light in the tube and some places we had to slide on our bellies to get through!
There were roots hanging down from the ceiling from trees above on the surface of the lava tube
The lava tube is accessible where the ceiling of the tube collapsed years ago so you can access the tube in both directions. We explored about a mile in both directions. Each side had some unique features that were pretty neat to see.
This was something I hadn't done before and I thought it was super neat to experience this underground world. I would recommend a visit to anyone:)
The amazing view as we drove above the clouds on MaunaKea to see the stars from the top of the world!
We searched all around to find this elusive silver sword bush that only grows on the top of MaunaKea volcano. The stars were pretty amazing but you can't really capture the beauty of the stars on an iPhone so we just had to treasure this memory in our hearts:)
Hyrum and Julian and I went snorkeling at Kahalu'u Beach while the twins took surfing lessons
Not the best photo but those are the twins sitting out on the blue surf boards waiting with their instructor to catch a wave. They both were able to stand up and surf and they said it was a fun experience:)
Walking along Waikoloa Beach waiting for the sun to set.
Our little family enjoying a Hawaiian sunset together on our last night on the Big Island
Skipping rocks into the ocean...never gets old
Last shave ice of the trip:)
Heading back to Oregon on the plane. Aloha (goodbye) Hawaii (for now😊)
I know we are very lucky to take these sorts of vacations together. As our little family gets older I'm aware there will be a time in the not too distant future where my kids will not be around to vacation with us. They will get jobs and maybe families of their own. I cherish these times together more because I realize they won't last. I love that my boys are growing up and doing amazing things and turning into great adults but a part of me wishes they were little again and they would always be with me...I know that's not how life works so I will hold onto these family vacations while I can 💗
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