Oahu, Hawaii

God truly blessed us with an amazing family vacation this year- and I don't say that lightly. I could bore you with all the details on how HE presented this opportunity for us, but just know we give Him all the praise for this trip. When looking back, I have to admit, Hawaii was not my first choice...maybe it was because Jeremy and I had been already... maybe it was the flight (8 hours nonstop with an 8 month old)... maybe 8 month old on a sandy beach or in a pool seemed like a lot of sunscreen and work... but I reluctantly said "OK, let's do this," and the planning (or really a bit lack there of) ensued. Luckily for us, once we finally decided on an island and resort the rest literally fell into place. I had help as well- a friend from High School lives on Oahu and gave me tons of helpful tips, info, and places to go, and the research we did online definitely pointed toward Oahu for our aged children as the best island. In saying ALL that, we literally jumped on one of the first planes out of TX after school was out and escaped to an unforgettable island for a week, here is a glimpse at our week away...

Day one, we arrived around lunch and played all day in the pools at the hotel and got settled and then we were fast asleep fairly early, as there is a 5 hour time difference and traveling is a bit exhausting.

Do to our early bedtime and bit of jet lag, we were up early the next day and enjoyed the sunrise and Waikiki beach basically to ourself. This was one of my favorite mornings...

We played in the pools and on the beach all day, and then that night I took the opportunity dress and do my hair like the girls while they still think it is fun for me and them to match ;)

Then the remaining 8 days that we had left in Hawaii we still enjoyed our resort that we were staying at plus we rented a car and made sure to get all around the island.. here are some pics from those days...

Hanauma Bay
We snorkeled and we were so proud of the girls for learning how to snorkel. They were mesmerized by the fish (not going to lie, a little fearful as the fish were quite friendly and would swim very close), but for their first time snorkeling, they did so incredibly well. We enjoyed this gorgeous bay and its' shores. Ashton even made a friend with a future Aggie classmate ;) -an 11 month old little girl :) - They had fun playing on the shore.

Sea Life Park
This aquarium type park is similar to a Sea World, but on a much smaller scale. This is actually where some parts of 50 First Dates was filmed. This was another one of my favorite moments when the girls could play and feed the birds, to see the joy and amazement that they had would had melted anyones heart.

Kualoa Ranch
Another day we visited the Kualoa Ranch (this is where countless films and movies have been filmed including Lost and Jurassic Park). This is on the east part of the island and literally it is breath taking- tall jungle covered mountains in one directions with crystal clear blue water on the other side. We actually took the Private Island Beach tour one day and spent the entire morning enjoying the beach and activities (Kayaking, paddle boarding, beach volleyball, swimming, snorkeling, etc.).

North Shore and shaved ice
During the summer months the waves on the north shore are not as large as they are in the winter months, none the less, they were still impressive. Plus we stopped at the famous shaved ice location and made sure to get a snow cone :) I guess my only regret from the trip would had been, I wish we would had spent the afternoon on the beach, instead of rushing back for an Hawaiian show on Waikiki beach, but when we made that decision at the shaved ice location, we were all tired and had been at the beach all morning, so I think we were ready for a little rest.

Byodo-In Temple
On the way to the Polynesian Cultural Center we stopped at the Byodo-In-Temple. This Temple was built in 1968 to mark the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrant to Hawaii. It is a non-practicing temple on beautiful Hawaiian grounds.

Polynesian Cultural Center
Jeremy and I like to take in a bit of culture and teach the children about different cultures. I was told by a friend about the Polynesian Cultural Center which explores six of the different Polynesian cultures in a very fun manner, then you can choose the luau and show (Ha: Breath of Life) to watch after- that was a phenomenal experience (no pictures were allowed though).

Just hanging around our resort...

Our resort has a Friday night Firework show that were spectacular and a very fun way to end the week. At that point we just had one more day in Hawaii, so it was a nice little celebration.

Hope you enjoyed a glimpse at our week away. We love traveling together and experiencing new things and this trip was not any different. We were all so very sad to leave but we will cherish our memories for a lifetime- we just loved our time getting a new glimpse of God's imagination and wonder but as the pilot said as we landed... welcome back to reality, folks.