Hawaii - part 1

March 15 - Flew to Honolulu, got our rental car (Tahoe) and went to Target for sunscreen.  Mike Moody (our friend from Guam) works next store so he came over and said a quick hello.  Went back to the airport and met the Gublers and Carriers.  After getting their car we went to Mc Donald's for lunch (it was the only place we could find with parking - it's busy near the airport).  Drove to the Laie (took longer than usual d/t traffic) and checked into our rooms at the Marriott.  The beach was across the street so we quickly changed into suits and headed to the beach. 

 Beautiful beach all to ourselves. 

Came back, rinsed off and tried out the swimming pool. 

 

 My kids pestering grandpa Rob. 

 Everyone was pretty tired from traveling and the time change, so we sent them to bed, and Noah and I went back to the beach to watch the sunset and search for Sea Turtles. 

 The sky turned everything pink.  Love my little (not too little anymore though) exploring buddy.

 March 16 - the next morning we were all up early, so we decided to try and watch the sunrise.  We walked along the road to Pounders beach. 

 

 We got there just as the sun was coming up.  So pretty. 

 Adam pointing out some sea turtles to the kids. 

 IMO the north shore is so much nicer than the south.  No crowds at all!

 

Saw lots and lots of turtles from on top of the rocks (where Adam was showing the kids in the photo above).  I could have sat there and watched them all day. 

 Grant found some sea glass. 

 Focused on finding sea glass.

 The rest of the crew met up with us at the beach and we played in the waves and beach for a couple hours.  Amelia and Noah built a ship and house out of driftwood and other beach finds.  All the kids had a blast playing with each other all week.  

It's so much better spending time with 1 family at a time, especially when it involves vacations.  :) When we were in Europe with Luke and Jana's family we thought the same thing.  You get to know the kids so much better when it's just our family and theirs.  Who's up for vacation???

 Picture perfect!  I think that's Adam, Amelia, Noah and Ava in the water down there. 

 Noah and Joe trying to get taken out by the waves.  Noah thought Joe was the coolest, mainly because he likes to armpit fart with him. :) 

 Joe with Jane mid-backflip. 

 Noah's in that big wave somewhere. 

 

We were ready to head to the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center), but didn't realize it wasn't open until 12. We loaded up and headed further north to Hale'iwa to where shaved ice was invented.  The shop is called Matsumoto.  It was as amazing as I remembered.  

 

 It took us a lot longer to get there because of construction, but the scenery was beautiful so it was fine with me. 

We ate lunch in Hale'iwa at a small Hawaiian place - rice and thin teriyaki meat.  It was cheap and yummy.  We made it back to the PCC much quicker. 

 

 Our first village we visited was New Zealand.  The kids were enthrolled with the Haka dancers.

 The kids got their temporary tattoos at the New Zealand village. 

 We watched a little bit of the parade, and then went to the village of Samoa. 

Jane was having a rough time, so Beth took her and Lucy back to the hotel for a nap. 

Meanwhile we indulged in a tropical fruit ice cream treat. 

 The Samoa village presentation was super funny.  The main guy was hilarious.  Afterward we learned how to make fish on a pole out of palm leaves, and watched a guy climb the coconut tree. 

 We did the boat tour and then went to the Fiji (I think) village where Grant caught a fish and we learned how to dance. 

 The boys getting their hula on. 

Beth and the girls came back and we went to dinner at the buffet at the PCC.  Who doesn't love a good buffet?! :)

 Beth, Noah, Amelia and I went to the movie they show at the PCC while everyone else went back to the hotel (the Marriott is about a 5 minute walk from the PCC - so convenient) for a quick rest.  We all went to the night show, Ha, at the PCC.  It was a good show.  Of course the fire dancers were the favorite.  Long fun day.  

 March 17 - Adam took Connie and Rob to some spot (can't remember the name) to show his mom where her parents were at on their missions. 

We loaded up and started our journey to Aulani.  We stopped at Sharks Cove to do a little snorkeling first though. 

 Amelia loved snorkeling.

We made it to Aulani in Ko Olina (south western part of Oahu).  We immediately saw Mickey and Minnie and the girls snagged a picture (the only character picture we got). 

 We tested out most of the pools and slides (the afternoon we got there quite a few of the pools and slides were closed d/t 'accidents' - I guess that's what you get with a Disney hotel), and then headed to the beach when most of the pools were closed. 

Cute little Lucy-goose.