Aloha, We're Home!

I have no idea how I'm going to cram ten days of Hawaii into a blog....but I'm going to try.

When I met Mark 11 years ago, I had no idea that I would someday marry into his family, and in turn, inherit a vacation spot that is probably one of the most popular and beautiful on earth. And, we get to go for practically no costs! (Mark's parents live there, for those who don't know that already.) The first time I visited his family in Hawaii was our first married Christmas, and I was blown away. I still remember the scent of the flowers as we left the airport...the majestic mountains as we drove home...the Hawaiian language that I had to figure out the hard way...the wonderful food (well, most of it!)...and the absolutely breathtaking beaches and scenic views near his parent's house. And, I'm equally amazed by Hawaii's beauty each time we go back. While we were there this time, we added up our trips and discovered that I have now been to Hawaii TEN times, Kendyll has been SEVEN times, and Carlie has been FOUR times. That is amazing to me! And, we all feel so fortunate to have such wonderful family memories in such a beautiful place.

This trip was no exception. Pops and Grandma worked hard to make us as comfortable as possible in their two bedroom condo (while they slept on the floor and couch!). The girls had a blast swimming at the beach, going on a boat ride, learning hula (and doing a pretty good job at it!), seeing sea turtles, finding seashells, visiting the zoo and Sea Life Park, and seeing many of our friends who live there. We had every yummy local restaurant that we had been craving, and got to visit all of our favorite spots around Kailua.

Pictures say alot more than I can describe, so here is our trip:

Hawaii 2007

Arriving in Honolulu, we were greeted by Grandma and her beautiful leis for each of us. The girls did AWESOME on their 8 hour plane ride.

My trusty flying assistant was Pops, since Mark had a business trip in San Diego first. (He met us in Hawaii four days later.) Pops had no idea what he was in for---Carlie had him doing crafts, watching movies, and reading books. No sleeping for him this time around! Welcome to beautiful Hawaii! Our first night, we hit the town for dinner and Baskin Robbins, a longstanding tradition for these girls. You can't even tell that it's 10:30 at night (Texas time) to these two, can you?!Kendyll is already practicing her hula....Day two, we immediately hit the beach. The water was warm, the sun was shining, and the girls had a BLAST! Even Abby Kate got comfy in her UV protective tent. This is about as much of the beach as she saw the whole week.

As I said, we ate at many great restaurants in Kailua. A fun night at Pinky's to eat gave us a real prize! A balloon man who was better than any I have EVER seen. He made anything from a jellyfish to a fruit bowl hat to Dora and Ariel (see below). I begged him to fly to Dallas to do our VBS. :)

And, of course, plenty of Pops and Grandma hugs...and cute pictures!And, no vacation is complete in ANY state without a trip to the zoo. Of course, this is a zoo with some beautiful scenery!!Just a picture to prove that Abby Kate was indeed on this trip. :) She had fun too, even though we laughed that she saw Hawaii from her carseat and stroller. She seemed to be okay with that.

By the second beach trip, the girls were much braver (although they did get pretty crazy in the waves the first time around!) This time, I was running in after them more than I wanted to. And, Carlie made friends with every bird on the beach by feeding them her trail mix. Those of you who know me well, know that birds are NOT my favorite animal. And, we were surrounded by them. Carlie also found that she could sing into the sand buckets and get a microphone effect. It was too funny not to capture....And, sweet Kendyll ran out of the waves to tell me that the beach just wasn't as fun without her dad. (He was flying in later that night.) So, she made him a sign in the sand and that made her smile again. :) He eventually got to take them to the beach, and her "real fun" began. He ran, splashed, dove, and swam around with them on his back. He is SO much more fun than their beach chair lounging mommy. They also enjoyed "Shave Ice", the Hawaiian sno-cone once Daddy arrived. (Some things we HAD to save for him.) Yum Yum!!

Another beautiful spot on the island of O'ahu is at the base of the Ko'olau mountains, called the Beoda Temple. Check out that view! There are thousands of fish just waiting to be fed in the river there. They literally jump up out of the water for the little pellets we have to offer. And, we get a kick out of watching them do this over and over...and over and over....and over and over. Poor Grandma went broke buying those silly plastic cups full of food. And, here's Carlie making her best impression of a fish face.

One of my favorite nights was when we got all dressed up for dinner in Waikiki, and a hula show at the Moana Hotel (my favorite one!) which dates back a hundred years at least. The girls looked so sweet in their matching outfits, and we had a great dinner of fresh fish on the patio by the beach. It doesn't get any better. And, nothing is cuter than my little blondie with a Hawaiian flower in her hair...

Or my little dancers doing beautiful hula with a native Hawaiian who called them up on stage and taught them every move.Visiting so many beautiful spots, of course, gave us many opportunities for family pictures. I actually didn't bore you with every single one, but here are a few of our favorites. First, our favorite serious and posed family pic: Then, our crazy windy hair picture (minus Abby Kate) from a place called Pali Lookout, which overlooks the entire side of the island. BEAUTIFUL and fun to be blown away. Here's Pops and Carlie at the same place. Carlie wasn't so sure about that wind at first.And, finally, our "silly" picture, which has now turned out to be my favorite.

Of course, we also got beautiful pictures of our girls. Here are my favorites:

Kendyll and Carlie overlooking Lanikai Beach...Abby Kate in her traditional Hawaiian dress for church on Sunday...And, her three month picture, which we celebrated while we were gone...

Here's one more sister picture that must be explained. First of all, they look beautiful in their new dresses that Grandma bought. We saw them in a gift shop at the base of a huge hotel in Waikiki. Both Grandma and I loved them, so she begged Pops to buy them, telling him they were a "very special Hawaiian set of dresses". Mark teased her and said nothing could be that unique and special in a touristy gift shop. But, she won, and they were purchased. We put them on the girls for Sunday morning, and Pops said "What does the dress say on the skirt?" We pulled the skirt out to read it and it said "Isla Bonita" with a picture of a map that said "Perto Rico". So, our beautiful Hawaiian keepsake dresses were truly from Puerto Rico. What a special treasure we found!! Ha ha. We had a great laugh over that...and anyone who knows our family knows that poor Grandma has way too much laughter at her expense over things like this. I still think they're precious and they look "islandish" no matter what island they were meant to be for. :)

Anyway, on with our trip. Mark and I got the wonderful gift of a night away from the big kids (Abby Kate joined us so she wouldn't starve for 48 hours!) and stayed at our favorite resort hotel. We had a delicious dinner, two days lounging in the sun, and wonderful time with our baby girl, who we don't see ALONE very much at all. I think she enjoyed the peace and quiet too! She was all smiles the whole time.We got to upgrade our room (because my awesome hubby ALWAYS asks just in case...and it usually works) and this was our view. This really doesn't even do it justice...And, here it is again at sunset. I read two books in two days and slept on the beach. Needless to say, it was hard to return the next day! Kendyll and Carlie had fun while we were gone with a trip to Sea Life Park (similar to Sea World) and another visit to the beach. This time, they saw a rare sight---a white back turtle that was around 3 feet in diameter! Cheri said she has never seen one in 30 years of living there! I just wish they had the camera instead of us!!

Another fun thing about Hawaii being "home" to my husband and his family, is all the sweet relationships they have with friends who live there. One of the most special families is Judy and her children, who have been lifelong family friends. Many of you may remember Judy as the woman who did a hula dance for Mark and me at our rehearsal dinner. Mark bawled like a baby through the entire thing because hula dancing is something so special in Hawaii and it is a special family to us. We had our tradition of a REAL Chinese dinner with them and they got to meet Abby Kate. She has now held all three of our girls at this age, and I cherish the time we get to spend with all of the Hawaii friends. From the older ladies at Kailua Church who taught Mark in toddler Sunday School, to the daycare friends and kids of Cheri's, to the lifelong family friends like Judy, I am blessed to now know and love these people who represent Mark's childhood.

The last day, we fit in a trip on a glass bottom boat to see coral, fish, and turtles. It was amazing! And, a great last sight for our Hawaii vacation. It is such a beautiful, unique place, and I can't believe we've been able to share such an incredible vacation spot with our children at their young ages.

So, "mahalo" (thank you) to Pops and Grandma for another wonderful week. Your sweet hospitality, amazing tour guide abilities, and love for our girls and our family are never taken for granted. :)

Now, we're back home and trying our hardest to get adjusted to the Central Time Zone. The girls finally fell asleep tonight at 10:30. But, I guess I can't blame them. I'm still typing away at midnight!

I'm cracking up that the "post time" is 7:10...when I really finished this after midnight. Shows how long it takes to post this many pictures on blogger!!