Hawaii

Now that Bryan finally has a well paying job and our kids are at a good age we decided it was time to make a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, just the two of us.  We haven't really done anything like this before other than a quick trip to Florida a few years ago, so it was such a great getaway.  It was so nice to get away from the stress of life for a while and to just relax.  I kid you not, we slept ten hours every single night we were there.  I think we are both sleep deprived.

This was the view we woke up to every morning.  So beautiful.  We watched lots of people golf and lots of different birds and wild turkeys.  I loved seeing the ocean beyond.  It was amazing.

 Every single day we went to this beach.  It's called Hapuna and it is my happy place.  My parents brought me here when I was fourteen and it has been "my place" ever since.  It is a perfect beach.  I think I convinced Bryan of the same thing while we were there.  We would spend up to four hours here each day just wearing ourselves out.  The days were filled with boogie boarding and whale watching.  I couldn't believe how close the whales were.  Perfection.

 I mean seriously?  It really is paradise.

 I think one of the greatest highlights for Bryan was this fancy car.  We decided to upgrade while we were there and actually did a lot of driving so I'm glad we did.  There was something about driving to the beach each morning with the top down and good music playing.

 We LOVE love to boogie board.  We loved it so much we actually wore our boards out.  The waves started pretty mellow and so it was easy catching.  They got a little crazy there at the end.  Those days we braved it as much as we could but also spent a lot of time watching the professionals do their thing.  They are crazy I tell you!

 We did quite a bit of snorkeling as well.  I cut myself of some coral or lava rock and had to take a picture.  My girls get super concerned every time they see this picture.

 The beach we snorkeled on was really cool.  There were lots of trees and lava rock.  The water was crystal clear as well.  I could sit at this beach for hours.  Especially because there was a little shade!  I don't know if it's a sign of me getting older but I'm kind of over the sun.  I slathered a whole lot of spf 50 while we were there.

 We made some jaunts around the island to some very beautiful places.  This was Polulu lookout.  It is spectacular.  The hike down and up is pretty intense but well worth it.

 This is the view from the bottom.  It was a little foggy from some earlier rain but it made it even more beautiful.

 I think this is the prettiest parking spot in the world.  It was also a little scary.  I mean you drive just a few feet further and down you go.

 More beach.

 We walked along the beach in Waikaloa at some of the resorts.

 This is when the waves were HUGE.  I don't think this photo even does it justice.  Bryan wiped out more than once.  He was far braver than I was.

 This is Waipio Valley lookout.  It was another gorgeous view.

 Those waves!  SO big.

 One night we sat and listened to a performance in a little shopping center and had some gelato.

 We made another trip to Akaka Falls.  It was so rainy this day but we braved it and hiked to the falls anyways.  There's something that isn't too bothersome about a tropical rain.

 Bryan didn't want to ask anyone to take our picture so this was the best "selfie" we could do.

 These are a little out of order, but these are more photos of Polulu Lookout.

 When we went to church we attended the ward in Waimei.  It is a farming community near Parker Ranch and it was so green and pretty.

 After church we headed to Akaka falls and on the way stopped at Tex, a famous spot for malasadas.  Malasadas are filled donuts they make fresh and they are DElish.  The view from the restaurant was so pretty.

 We stuffed our faces with way too much while we were there.

 And here's some more pictures of Akaka falls.

 Bryan really should be a waterfall model, don't you think?

 Here is our last day on the beach, or so we thought.

 Turns out we got all ready for our red eye, eye masks and ear plugs in hand, and as we were getting on the plane the flight was cancelled.  The plane was broken.  After many hours trying to reschedule and finally getting shipped to a hotel we were pretty annoyed and tired.  We were to wait twenty four hours before catching another flight home.  This was pretty stressful since Bryan had work to get back to, we had babysitters anxious to get home and we were getting pretty anxious to see our children.  I tried to get us on an earlier flight which only resulted in us sitting in the airport for ten hours and getting on the flight we were initially rescheduled to take.  Looking back I wish we would have just relaxed and enjoyed one more day in Hawaii on a beautiful resort but when you are prepared to go home it's difficult to relax.  Thankfully we had to learn some lessons in patience and we did make it home safely.  It was a pretty annoying way to end a perfect trip though!

We got to stay in the Hilton resort which was a gorgeous resort.

 We saw lots of dolphins which the girls would have loved.

 We also saw some sea turtles.

What a perfect trip!  I'm just so glad we took the time to go.  It is so great to be reminded at how much you enjoy one another and it is so great to be reminded at how much you love your children.  Win win all around!