Aloha!!

In a word, our family vacation to Waikiki was AMAZING. The last time we were in Hawaii was back when Maddy was about 4 months old. I had been so excited for this trip that I (read: Josh) was worried that I had set the expectations too high. (For those of you who don't know, that is usually what I do :)) Anyway, all I wanted was to get away to nice weather, spend time with the kids and Josh at the beach and pool. That's exactly what happened.

The flight there was long, but the anticipation of the vacation ahead of us pulled us through in one piece. Some of us were wearing completely different outfits than when we boarded but, that's a different story with details not appropriate for print! It was Ethan's first time on a plane and all morning long he kept pointing to planes and making a swishing noise, like when a plane takes off. Too cute!

Watching the plane before take off.

We arrived in Honolulu late at night, well late for us considering the 3 hour time difference, so it was off to bed straight away. Thank goodness we did that because the kids woke for the day at 3:45am! That first day we were at the beach playing by 6:45am and the sun was just coming up. Who cares, because we're in Hawaii and it's warm!! The kids loved the beach and we were lucky because our hotel was two blocks away from the protected surf break area of the beach. It was perfect and both kids could play without us feeling like we had to hover the whole time.

The first day, Ethan just loved to grab handfuls of sand and smile and laugh before tossing it for more.

Maddy loved looking for seashells on the beach.

While there, we rented a BOB double stroller. This was a life saver because there was no way to predict nap times as the kids would just pass out from exhaustion at random times. It was also good because Josh and I were able to walk around and enjoy our own time while they slept instead of being in the hotel. Everywhere we went, people would comment about what a sweet ride the kids had.

Here we are enjoying a pizza dinner while saving our spot for the Hula show. Ethan is intently eating his edamame beans.

Our basic schedule each day was beach in the morning until about 10:30am, then nap in the stroller. Back home for lunch before heading down to the pool for a swim. At about 3pm we'd head out again for a nap, mostly just for Ethan so the rest of us would enjoy a treat like a sno cone or ice cream. We'd usually head home again for dinner because the kids didn't really 'enjoy' eating out. After dinner and once the kids were over the jet lag, we'd head out again for a walk and sometimes a treat before bed. Ahhh...the sweet life. I miss it so much.

Nothing like a sno-cone to get the kids to pose in front of the Ohana sign! This was Maddy's 2nd sno cone and Ethan's first. Just look at his huge smile.

After a while, all that walking for naps became tiring for us, so we started to look for places to hang out. My favourite place was in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Centre. On the second floor just outside of Borders Books, they had the BEST. CHAIRS. IN. THE. WORLD. I'm not joking and you may think I'm crazy for including this in the blog, but I LOVED these chairs. They were just so comfortable for lounging.

Don't we just look so comfy?

We took the kids to the Honolulu Zoo one morning and of course a trip to Ala Moana Mall. The kids had a great time at the zoo, but a desperate need for a nap, cut it short. The mall, well that was more for me, but Ethan squealled with delight when we got some bubble tea.

Ethan learned many new words on this trip and "tur tl" was one of them.

One afternoon, we went down to the pool only to find that it was closed for cleaning because someone threw up. Instead we headed out for a walk and come across a place called Teddy Bear World. It's teddy bear museum that originated in Korea. Ethan loves "Bea Beas" so we went in. It turned out to be so much fun because of the kids' reactions. They were mesmerized by the moving bears set in different scenes.

Ethan was hugging this bear so much, he knocked the whole thing over! Watching him struggle to keep it from falling over was priceless.

The trip was filled with so many awesome memories that I could write for quite a while. Traveling for Josh and I has certainly changed a lot from the old days, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I love you Josh, Maddy and Ethan, thanks for a wonderful vacation and here's to many more!

So many smiles all week long!

I think even Ethan was in shock with how many treats we got to have. Sometimes even two in one day!

One blissfully happy family after 8 days in Waikiki.

Catching Up

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I'm happy to say that I've been able to catch up on a few and load some pics. Scroll way down and see our Christmas post. That's as old as they get.