Family Trip to Oahu, Hawaii

We just got back from a great trip to Hawaii. It was my first time so it was nice to finally see what all the fuss was about. Yep, it was my first time.

My friend Alli Cirac took us to the airport and took Aiden's car seat out with him in it. He just sat there next to the luggage like he was ready for whatever.

Aiden loved looking out the window

First we flew to Arizona to see Tally's mom's mom, Grandma Grampp. She's 95 years old and still lives on her own! She is very with it and loved having the great-grandbabies over. We had lunch with her and stayed for a few hours catching up and telling stories. We had a great time but it also made us miss Grandpa. 

Like having a bull in a glass house...I was nervous. She has so many beautiful things! What's funny is she has a label with someone's name on almost EVERYTHING in her home! She doesn't want the family to quarrel after she's gone! 

That night, we drove to Casa Grande - a midway point between Tuscon and Phoenix - to have dinner with Mike, Anna & the kids. We spent Cinco de Mayo at Ochoa's, a nice Mexican restaurant. Since neither of us had been to Casa Grande, we looked up reviews on our smart phones and both came up with the same place. I love technology. 

We stopped at Dairy Queen after for a Blizzard...yum

Early the next morning, we hopped on a plane to HAWAII!

The kids did pretty good on the flight. Tal and I both got to watch a movie and Aiden even took a nap. The DVD player had been left on so it only lasted a few minutes - could have been a disaster - luckily that had a personal TV screen in front of each seat. PHEW!

We walked from our Hyatt hotel through Waikiki to Cheesburgers in Paradise. YUM!!

Kels and Aiden chased the birds while we waited for our food

Peek-A-BOO!!

Cute girl - CHEESE!

Beautiful mural of a whale on the side of the building

Kels wanted to climb the trees - the trees there are so amazing!

We were sitting on the beach when suddenly a familiar red head came up and sat down. Whether we're on Malibu beach or Waikiki, JEFF AMMERMAN always seems to show up! So fun to talk to him and hang out.

We also caught up with Pat Smith, a high-school friend of mine, and we all went to lunch together at a yummy Mexican restaurant. Some people never change. 

We sat down on the beach and minutes later protesters came RIGHT to the spot we were at to protest a hotel remodel that would eat up a lot of the beach. They were there for an hour or more. It was fun at first, but quickly got old.

Aiden was deathly afraid of the sand/water but Tal finally got him to sit on the sand NEAR the water. He cried every time the water came close and said, "it's coming, it's coming!!" Poor little guy. He eventually warmed up.

Kelsey with a pretty flower in her hair and a fish made out of leaves that Pat made her. 

Mother's Day

This was my best Mother's Day yet. On vacation with my hubby and kids on Waikiki!? Perfect. 

Only after coming home did I realize I lost my phone on this morning. Dang. 

Oh well, time to embrace the future and get an iPhone. 

Aiden was so scared of the water AND the sand!

Such a great daddy!

My parents arrived on Mother's Day and we went to Duke's to celebrate

After Duke's we headed to the other side of the island to Ko Olina. We stay at a great condo by the beach. There were 4 coves and great pools that the kids LOVED. There was Shave Ice place and the kids ate plenty of them!!

Hanging out with Papa & Mimi

If you MUST nap, this is not a bad place to do it!

It was such a great idea my mom, Kelsey and I decided to join him. 

On Wednesday, my parents watched the kids while Tal and I went to Pearl Harbor. It was pretty haunting to see the USS Arizona Memorial, looking down into the water at the sunken ship. We also really liked the USS Missouri in all it's grandeur.

The USS Missouri

The USS Arizona Memorial

The memorial lies over the ship from starboard to port. It's eerie to look over the side and see parts of the ship protruding from the water. Gallons and gallons of oil STILL leak from the ship and thousands of gallons remain. It's so sad to me that so many men were killed by sinking one ship.

You can see all the names of those who died on the ship that day. Some of the survivors who have now died have chosen to have their ashes buried on board the ship. Their names like on the little foot wall on the bottom left-hand corner of the photo. Only a few survivors remain alive today. 

The contrast between victory and tragedy, the beginning and the end of the war.
This is the moor or dock where the Arizona once stood proud and now lies in tomb and the USS Missouri is in the background (wasn't at Pearl Harbor during the bombings), the place where the war was ended between the Japanese and the Americans.

A tour of the USS Bowfin - I felt tall inside the sub and Tally felt like a giant. We both remarked several times at how life aboard a submarine would feel claustrophobic!! 

We had a great visit, got a great deal on tickets today (park service day so the Arizona was free), and enjoyed our time with just the two of us! 

Later that day, we took a drive with the whole family. We went to a beach where there were supposed to be lots of sea turtles but there was only this guy, and like a MILLION people around it. Luckily we saw some while snorkeling, which was way cooler!

Hanauma Bay - what a gorgeous place! Tal and I did a lot of snorkeling here. They make you watch a video before hand and tell you DON'T TOUCH THE CORAL. Fair enough. Tal had us swimming really close to the coral at times, and then the tide would go out, and I was so afraid of scraping my body on the coral! Not to mention the thought of eels...creepy. I got so mad at him a couple times for leading me into those patches. He just laughed. Typical.

Our little family

Playing with Papa on the beach

I'm amazed my dad got him to get so far in the water!

Kels building sand castles

That night, my mom and the kids put on a puppet show in the window between their bedroom and bath. It was very cute and they loved it!

The PCC: We got free tickets to the Polynesian Cultural Center for listening to a spiel about the Marriott time shares. It was well worth it! The PCC was fun, I only wish we'd arrived a bit earlier, maybe 1 or 2 would have been perfect. We got to see a couple cool shows, had a mediocre BYU cafeteria-like dinner, and skipped out on the luau to go see our friends. 

Kelsey loved the canoe ride. She and Tal were on the front row.

My high school friend Seth Hannemann and his family live on Oahu again now and they opened up this AMAZING coconut shrimp shack/restaurant. If you're over by Laie or in Kahuku, you MUST stop by!!

Here is the LDS temple in Laie

On our last day, we checked out of our island retreat and went to visit "The Black Pearl." It is the actual Black Pearl they used in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. It was really cool to see up close!

Then we headed to Waimea Bay. HERE are the white sandy beaches of Hawaii! We rented kayaks and took our family (Tal, me & the babes) out to sea. I kept splashing Aiden when I padded and he got SO mad. He wouldn't stop crying so we brought him back and went out again with Kelsey. We saw some turtles so Tal jumped out and swam with them for a bit. Then he got back in and I swam with them some more. We convinced Kelsey to jump in too and she got to see the turtle up close. She loved it, and it's a memory I will always treasure. I love sea turtles after this trip. 

My mom comforting Aiden after his traumatic kayaking ordeal 

We had lots of leftovers at the condo so we decided to bring them with us. That's my kids, eating Mac & Cheese WITH THEIR HANDS out of a Ziplock bag. We're on vacation after all, right?

Kelsey wearing Aiden's life jacket

We also rented paddle boards and each took a turn on one. We got one that's big for women, but maybe a little small for the weight of Tal & my dad. They kept falling off and got frustrated. So when my mom and I got up, stayed up, and loved it, we decided we'd found our sport in life. Paddle Boarding. If ever I live by the ocean, I will take this up.

You can see the board is sinking beneath him, but he won the battle

See that speck? That's me, and I'm waving hi

Nice, warm water

Our rental VAN...almost made me want one. 

Here's a funny story. My mom & Kels went inside Ace Hardware to get string to make necklaces while the rest of us dropped off a Redbox. We had planned to meet at Matsumoto's Shave Ice (North Shore) but the line was too long so we just parked in front of Ace and waited. We saw my mom & Kels walk out. My mom looked right through us but didn't see us. However Kelsey saw us and smiled. We motioned to Kelsey to keep it a secret. She nodded like she understood and smiled again. Seconds later, Kelsey said something to my mom and my mom turned around, looking for us, then found us. She laughed and they got in the car. My mom told us Kelsey said, "Mimi, they're NOT here."

We had SUCH a great time, it was so wonderful to have warm weather, beaches and pools so close, and be together as a family. Our kids have been talking about Hawaii NON-STOP since we got home. They tell other people about what they did there and how FUN it was. SO glad we did it!