Vacation in Paradise!

 Ashleigh and Brynn were so excited to be on the airplane to HAWAII!  They had lots of fun activities and treats in their backpacks to keep them busy.  They did great on both flights to the Big Island.

 Connor loved watching the plane wing.  He loves airplanes.  He was very busy on both flights and we survived!  We were glad to get there.  Coming home was much easier because it was a red eye flight.  We would do a red eye all over again because he slept most of the way.  We didn't create too many enemies on the way with him kicking the chair in front of him.

 We just landed and we were all very tired but we made it and loved the sunshine right away.  Let the vacation begin.

 The kids were all so happy to see a rainbow on the license plate.

 I love Waipio Valley.  We walked a steep hill down to get a closer look at the valley.  It was so peaceful.

 We went and visited several waterfalls.  This was our favorite.  It was a beautiful walk through a rainforest.

 Akaka Falls

 Ashleigh and I fell in love with all the different flowers.  My favorite were the orange flowers.

 We went to the Tsunami Museum.  It was very small but educational.  The two older kids learned the most about what happened years ago to the people in Hilo.  It was so sad what happened but a good lesson to listen to the warning signs.

 Yum, we took a macademia nut tour and loved trying all the different kinds.  The kids had fun cracking the nut.  I loved eating them.

 Family Reunion photo day and shirt day!  The kids love their new shirts Aunt Kayci designed for them.  We loved the colors.

 We went to a farmers market with their girl cousins.  We didn't find much there but it was fun to look at.

 Ashleigh and Lauren connected right away.  They've always had a special bond.  We went for shaved ice several times.  It was always hot enough to have a cold treat.

 The kids loved playing in the pool at the rental home.  Grandma gave them lots of fun toys to use.

 On Sunday after church we went to visit the king Kamehameha statue and this beautiful lookout.  After Sacrament meeting we were all given crocheted leis to keep.  They even sang us a song.   We felt so special and loved.

 On Sunday after church we celebrated their cousin Bren's birthday.  Kam was so nice to help Connor try and hit the pinata.  All the families took turns sharing their talents.  Grandma had a present for everyone!

 Sand Castle Day.  The cousins had fun building them together.

 Connor was as happy as can be sitting in a chair underneath the umbrella watching all the action at the beach.  He didn't go swimming very much.  He loved the sand more.

 We went with several families to Tex Drive In where we tried the famous malasadas.  Yum!  I loved the cream filled one.  They are better than donuts.

 We also tried fresh fruit smoothies.  We ate and ate and ate the whole entire 10 days.  Time for a diet after the trip.

 We loved the yummy bananas and papayas each day.

 Grandma and Grandpa took all of us to the Astronomy Center in Hilo and had lunch there.

 Have you ever seen a real yellow pineapple?  I haven't!  We always see the brown ones at the store.  This was fresh from the garden at our rental house.  It tasted amazing.

 We had a fun girls day out.  We learned to hula and then went out for smoothies and shopping.

 Every night we looked at the unique sunset.  Every night it was so different.  So beautiful!

The dad's had fun with the kids while the women went out and they made a castle for the girls.  The boys had fun in the tunnels.

Kam loved climbing the lava rocks and finding crabs wherever we were.

 We visited our first rainforest zoo.  It was so beautiful to walk through and just the perfect size.

 Uncle Kurtis bought lots of games to play.  The cousins were always enjoying the games in the evening.

 Place of refuge was a cool place to visit because it taught us more history of the Hawaiian culture.

 We all loved seeing the sea turtles.  We went to many beaches watching them in the water but we loved watching them on the sand resting.  Brynn and Ashleigh are in the background.

 The kids gobbled down the famous hawaiian sweet rolls.  The guava rolls were yummy too.

 The was one of Kevin's favorite places to visit.  Laupahoehoe lookout.

 We visited our first black sand beach.  It was so cool.  It wasn't that soft to walk on as white sand.  The waves were pretty rough to go in the ocean and very rocky.

 We loved visiting the active volcano of Hawaii.

 We were actually able to walk in the crater.  The hike was so lush with green.  We pretty much carried Andrew and Connor on the hike.  It was worth the view.  We also went to the lava tubes which was so cool.

 We decided to wait until it got dark so we could see the "glow" from the lava of the active volcano.  It was an amazing site.

 Andrew didn't go snorkeling but everyone else did.  This was Kevin's favorite thing to do.  There were some really bright colored fish to look at.  It's very peaceful in the water.  I got nervous of sharks!  We saw some sharks but they were breeding so they don't bother us.

 We went to Spencers Beach, Mauna Kea, Beach 69, Hapuna Beach, and several others.  All of them were so beautiful.  We got burnt several times even when he put sunscreen on every 2 hours.  The sun is a lot hotter and closer.

 We love Hale Makai.  We stayed here for 10 days.  Thanks to our parents!  They spoiled us with lots of yummy treats and food.

 Our last day we got to hang out with grammy and grampy at their house.  It was so nice to have time with them.  Hang Loose!

 Every night the kids were so tired from the events that day that they just conked out on our bed.  We had to put them in their own beds when we went to bed.  The girls did have a few nights sleeping over with cousins.  They loved that.

 

This was one of the highlights of the trip for the boys.  Grammy bought tricyles for the little ones to use.  They road them every minute they had.  Their favorite was racing down grammy and grampys driveway which had a slope to it.  They would do this over and over until we said it was time to eat or leave.  They brought us a ton of smiles!

 We are sad to leave Hawaii.  We enjoyed our time as a family.  It was a once in a lifetime experience.

 Andrew loved being with his cousin Tyler.  They loved boogie boarding in the water.

 Kamren really connected with his cousin Trevor.  They loved snorkeling and boogie boarding together.

 We had a big luau towards the end of the 10 days and all the girls got flower leis and flowers in their hair.  They also got grass skirts.  It was so cute.  The boys got shell necklaces and us ladies got hawaiian skirts and plumeria leis.  They smelled so beautiful.

 

When we landed we decided to visit sweet cousin Clara who had surgery the next day in hopes that her seizures will stop.  She is a precious spirit.  

Hawaii is such a relaxing place to be.  We loved the culture and the people.  They are so kind and friendly to us.  We loved being with family and getting to know them better.  We loved watching the kids connect once again with their cousins.  It was like they just continued on from the last reunion two years ago.  God truly blessed us with safe travels and a special ten days.  We are grateful for family!  Mahalo and Aloha!