We were so lucky to spend a week with my parents at the Marriott Ko olina resort in Hawaii. The resort was beautiful. This was the view we woke up to each morning and then the next picture is the view we saw at night. We enjoyed the pools and the beach that were located at the resort.
The first day of our trip we spent hanging around the condo. Haley wasn't feeling well and we didn't want her to miss anything that we would be doing. The second day was Sunday. After attending a meeting at a nearby church we went on a drive to see a few sites. The first was the Pali Lookout. This lookout had a beautiful view, but was fun because the wind was blowing so hard you could almost lean into it and have it hold you up. We couldn't help but laugh at how strong the wind was.
The next place we went to see was the Punchbowl National Cemetery. It was nice for our kids to see this and get a little more history of what happened during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The third and most important stop for Haley was the King Kamehamaeha statue or more importantly the Hawaii 5-0 Headquarters. She was so excited to be there in person. We also climbed the Banyon tree that was in the parking lot. After that we headed down to Waikiki Beach so the kids could see what it was like. It was so busy and run down we left in a hurry.
The third day we went to see the sites at Pearl Harbor. We had to wait for our tour of the U.S.S. Arizona so we went to see the U.S.S. Missouri where the treaty was signed to end World War II.
After that we went and watched the movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor and then went to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. We still had some time so we toured the submarine "Bowfin". It was a great day and a highlight to our trip.
Tuesday we went on a dolphin, snorkel trip. Our kids had never snorkeled and they all did very well. (Too bad there wasn't much to see.) The waves were big that day and stopped us from going to the good snorkel site. We did see a lot of dolphins jumping and spinning in the air.
After we were done snorkeling we headed to the North side of the island with a stop at the Dole plantation for some Dole Whip and a trip through the maze.
After the Dole Plantation we headed to the North Shore so the kids could play on a beach with waves. We ended up at Waimea Beach where they enjoyed the waves and brought lots of sand back with them. Next stop was Matsumoto's for some shaved ice. Yummm!!! I am not a big fan of snow cones, but this shaved ice was so good. They serve it with ice cream in the bottom. This is a must for anyone going to Hawaii.
Wednesday we drove back up to the north of the island to the Laie Temple. My parents were able to do a session and the kids did baptisms for the dead. This was Chases' first time to do baptism's. What a great memory he will have. After that we headed over to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the rest of the day. It was a great day, we loved everything about it.
Thursday (the last day:( ) We headed over to do some snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, but got there to late in the morning, they were already full. So we headed on around the island to Kailua beach and spent more time at the beach. This beach was so beautiful. The water was turquoise and the sand was white and fine like flour. They were also doing parasurfing at this beach which was fun to watch.
The next day we got up early and headed to the airport to come home. Even though it was hard to come home, I am so grateful we had this opportunity to be together as a family before Kyle leaves in two weeks for Texas.
