Time seemed to slow down as we waited for our trip to come. We had Camp on the Tramp to keep everyone busy but after that, they kept asking if it was time to go.
FIRST DAY (KINDA): Finally the day came! We met Nana and Papa at a restaurant near LAX and handed off Macie. She cried a little but was also tired. After we dropped her off, Caleb started to cry realizing he wouldn't see Macie for a week. Asher got upset too. But that soon ended after we got to the airport and headed inside. They were so mesmerized by everything. The huge planes, how they took our luggage, everything! After we boarded, we had to wait for 1.5 hours due to plane trouble. Thankfully the boys watched movies and played on their Nintendo DS's so they didn't mind.
The flight was good. They did better than I anticipated. I really only needed to pack their DS's and headphones. Thats all they used besides the plane's TV. We got to Hawaii later than planned because of our delay and they were tired. We were greeted by a man with lei's. On the bus, traveling to our hotel, both Asher and Caleb fell asleep. It was dinner time but everyone was so tired, we just went to bed. The boys stayed in a room right next door to us so Fred and I had a room to ourselves. It was awesome. I hope we can do that on every hotel stay that we do!
FIRST (REAL) DAY: We got up early (since Hawaii is 3 hours ahead) and had some breakfast. We were starving. After that, we went straight to the beach. After swimming all morning, we got dressed and walked around Waikiki and grabbed lunch. Lunch ended up not making us feel good. Both Fred and I felt sick later on. While the boys had screen time, we had a nap. After that, we got dinner. It was a pretty relaxing day. The water was so warm and seeing Waikiki, immediately brought me back to our honeymoon.
SECOND DAY: This was probably our biggest day. We started off renting a car and driving to the Dole Plantation. We did the maze, toured the gardens and of course got our Dole pineapple whips. Good thing we got there early because by the time we were leaving, it was so busy and packed. The boys loved seeing all the insects and little animals around the plantation. We found huge frogs, lizards, butterflies and tadpoles. The flowers were beautiful too. After that, we went to Ted's Bakery. Jake recommended it to us. We had the chocolate-haupia cream pie (which is what they are famous for) and it was really yummy. Little did we know how much we would appreciate that big(ger) meal.
We wanted to do a hike while in Hawaii and Jake said we should do Laie Falls. I thought he would factor in that we had the boys and needed a hike that was fun and not crazy hard... I will never listen to Jake again. After getting a bit lost, we finally found the hike around 2pm. It took us 1 hour and 45 mins of straight uphill to get to the waterfalls. It was brutal. We didn't have a sufficient amount of water so we had to ration. Fred and I were dripping wet in our clothes. I have never sweated so much before. I had to stop a couple times because I was so out of breath. It was long, tiring and HARD. While hiking, we saw a lot of people coming down. Most seemed worried for us. They would ask us things like, "Are you sure you're up for this?" and "Do your kids hike often for long periods of time?" We were determined to do it and kept pushing on. When we FINALLY got to the top of the ridge, we then had to go down into the falls. We only had ropes for our stability and safety. This is not a hike I'd recommend to kids. Once we got down into the fall, we realized the trail ended at the middle level. We saw another rope that lead up to the bigger fall and pool. It was wet, slippery and you had to be so careful going up and down. I'm so thankful Fred was there. Once we got there, we all quickly got changed and went swimming in the freezing cold water. It was SO cold but felt so refreshing. Asher was feeling a bit left out, not swimming, so after a while of coaxing, he finally agreed to swim with Fred over to the fall. Fred said Asher was holding onto him so tight, he had a death grip! I was so proud of Asher for being brave enough to go out. I was so proud of all my boys with all the hiking they did. It was not easy at all.
While swimming and going up and down the rope to the big pool/waterfall and our stuff, we kept saying "Hold onto the rope. Trust the rope." We started realizing how this relates to the Iron Rod, mentioned in the scriptures. While at the Falls, we talked with the kids about that and how they needed to have faith in Dad and in the rope to help them and keep them safe. It was a powerful lesson for everyone and I'm glad we had that teaching opportunity. It's something I won't ever forget.
After about a good hour and 15 minutes of swimming, we quickly got dressed because we needed to head back down and soon! It was starting to get late! We ended swimming at 5pm! we hustled and even though going back was a little easier, it still took us about 1 hour and it was still hard. The boys, especially Asher, were just done. He was in tears at the end. And we were FLITHY!! Again, we missed dinner and once back at the hotel, we just went to bed. It was such a long day. If given the opportunity again, most of us decided that we would not do that hike again but agreed that it was worth it. I got massive bug bites, a cut on my elbow and was so sore for the next 2 days.
THIRD DAY: On our third day, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. I didn't remember much from Fred and I's first trip there so I was excited to go again. The kids enjoyed the Island of Samoa and made little fish out of leaves. We went on a canoe ride, watched a video about Hawaii, got tattoos from Fiji, tried freshly cooked bananas in coconut milk, drank from a fresh coconut, went to the luau, saw a parade, toured BYU-H from the tram and walked around the temple grounds. After that, we watched their big show: "Ha-The Breath of Life". During the luau, they called all couples up who are and were going to be celebrating an anniversary soon. So Fred and I went up and slow danced. Of course he twirled and dipped me. The announcer told us how fun we were. It was so sweet to come back almost 11 years later with 3 of our 4 kids and celebrate. Then they asked for August birthdays! Caleb was so excited to come up! They taught them all a little dance and then they danced on their own. He was thrilled! While watching the people of Samoa, Ethan and Caleb got cool headbands made from leaves. During the parade, I again, sweat like crazy. I sweat a lot this vacation. The boys tried poi during dinner and pork from the pig they cooked in the ground. The Laie Temple was so beautiful and peaceful. The PCC was so much more fun experiencing it with our kids. We got home late that day but I'm glad we were able to ride the PCC bus to and from. We were able to all rest on they drive back.
FOURTH DAY: After two busy days, we wanted to do a more relaxed day. We rented a car again and drove over to a beach on North Shore. After we looked in some tide pools and swam, we walked over to Turtle Bay that was just down the way. We saw so many turtles! While I was swimming, one just swam right next to me. It was amazing. The water was so clear and warm. I could have stayed there all day. We had to leave though because we had a scheduled time to see the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. We watched their short video before taking the boat to the Memorial. While we were only there for a short time, I'm glad we went. The kids seemed to understand how sacred and special this place was and were pretty reverent and respectful. It was a nice change of pace after two busy full days. The day left me feeling blessed and thankful. After dinner that night, we went night swimming in the hotel pool. It was great and so fun.
FIFTH DAY: Our final day we went to Hanauma Bay to take the boys snorkeling. We did it through a service that picked us up, dropped us off and let us use their equipment. The boys loved seeing all the fish. You didn't even have to go far at all to see the fish which was perfect for Asher. He did okay snorkeling but would only go out a few times, a little bit each time. But when he would see a fish, he would scream into his snorkel mask, which then let in water and make him come up to fix it. It happened every time he saw a fish so it pretty much happened the whole time. It was hilarious. There was a fish that Fred and I saw that eyed me and then charged at me! It was scary! I quickly left him alone after that. Besides seeing fish, we also saw sea cucumbers, anemones and a little snake. On the way back, Caleb fell asleep. I think the week was catching up to him. Our driver was awesome and mentioned this place where they served the biggest and best shaved ice. He wasn't kidding! We stopped by there after and The Coconut Cafe certainly didn't disappoint in both flavor and size. Afterward, we went to dinner and did our last swim in the ocean. While we swam, we watched the sun go down and it felt like the perfect ending to our Hawaii trip.
SIXTH DAY: Fred and I had to get up at 3:45am. Wow, was that hard to do. We got the boys up at 4am and we were on our bus going to the airport at 4:15am. Our flight was at 7:15am. During the flight, I sat next to a huge man who was very very fat. He was on the end, I was in the middle and Caleb was by the window. I ended up having to sit on half of Caleb's seat because the fat man took up so much room. He also kinda smelled and ate constantly. I felt bad for him. I also felt bad asking him to get up so we could go to the bathroom but thats life. It definitely wasn't roomy. But I watched some good movies so that helped. We got some dinner on the way home, got unpacked and went to bed.
It was a great trip and so much fun. I'm so thankful for Fred and that he has a job that can provide this kind of stuff for our family. If someone had asked me if we were going to do a big trip like that this year, I would have said no. But, you know, we did it, spur of the moment really and it was something none of us will forget. I'm thankful for my parents who watched Macie. I never worried about her once. I felt such peace of mind knowing they were with people I trust. They love Macie and I knew they'd have a lot of fun with her. School starts soon and while I'm ready for the kids to go back, this vacation was a dream and made this Summer fantastic.
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