Hawaii Day 8 - Pipemasters

It just happened to work out that while we were in Hawaii the Billabong Pipe Masters were happening on the North Shore. TG has long wanted to see the big surf in Hawaii in the winter, but a major surfing event was just the cherry on top.

Before TG and I headed out to see the surf finals, we said goodbye to my seester, niece, and her hubs who were flying out that day. We all gathered for a family photo. It's not the best quality since I flagged down a random passerby and basically thrust my camera into his hands, but it's better than nothing! It makes me a little sad to see us all so tan and happy. I wish I was there right now.

From left to right...(the newlyweds!) STG and Tata, Sassy, Gammy and Gampy, Uncle J, Eva and Seester, Cam, Tutu, TG and me.

Before I grabbed the "photographer" to get the final pic, I took a couple test shots.  This one just made me laugh.  It's so my family.
Hahahahaha.

Seester asked me to take a few quick pics of Eva for their Christmas card and after that I persuaded them to take a family shot by the bougainvilleas.  We got so many cute ones, but this one of the four generations of women is one of my favorites.  I was running toward my niece and then stopping and taking the photo which made her laugh.  She is signing more in this shot because she wanted me to do it again.


After we gave hugs goodbye, hubs and I hopped in the car and drove to North Shore.  We honeymooned on that side 8 years ago and we absolutely love visiting there.

The drive was lovely, but once we hit the split for Haleiwa and Kahuku, hubs informed me that he didn't know exactly where the pipe was.  So we made a few stops along the way.  One of them was at this beach where a lot of people were gathering to see the sea turtles.

We made a pit stop at Waimea Bay to try and google info on the surfing event before jumping in the huge line of traffic to continue towards Ehukai Beach.  Eventually we found it, but the parking was insane.  After 30 minutes we found a spot, 1 mile away, and hoofed it to the water.

We got there just in time to see Kelly Slater win his quarterfinal heat.  The surf wasn't the highest ever, but it was still breathtaking.  I couldn't believe how big some of swells were and it was crazy watching the surfers charge the waves.  We saw a lot of awesome, high scoring rides.  It was fun to check that off the bucket list.  Sadly TG's iphone battery died after just one picture, but here's the proof, we were there!

By the time we decided to leave we were starving so we headed back west to Haleiwa town for a late lunch.  We went to Haleiwa Joe's, a restaurant we visited on our honeymoon.  We sat out on the patio, looking out over the harbor and ocean.  I had the most delicious Kalbi ribs and hubs had a mouthwatering pulled pork sandwich on punaluu bread.  It was so good and the perfect way to end our day on the North Shore.

We headed back after that to relieve Gammy and Gampy of their babysitting duties.  They graciously insisted on hanging with their grandkids for the whole day so TG and I could enjoy a mini getaway together.  We returned to find them freshly bathed, eating snacks and relaxing with Gampy.   They had a wonderful day swimming and eating lots of ice cream cones.  I'm beyond thankful that my parents are willing to spend so much time on their vacation helping TG and I enjoy some time alone together.  If you're reading this, THANK YOU GAMMY AND GAMPY!

Every Friday night the Hilton Hawaiian Village puts on a small fireworks show on their beach.  We took the kiddos down for some sand play and fireworks.  They made sand angels.

Then oohed and ahhed over the waterfront fireworks.

And so ended day 8 in paradise.

 

Hawaii Days 6 and 7 - Snorkel, Swim, Shop, Swim

There are zero pictures of day 6 and 7.  I know, what? Clearly, I'd settled into relaxation mode and the panic of our impending departure wasn't creeping up on me yet. But here's two pics of the little man enjoying his Hawaiian vacation for you to enjoy.

Hanging at the beach while the girls got their nails done.


TG got him all ready for the wedding and went to take a shower.  When he got out he discovered our poor little guy passed out on the bed in his wedding wear.


On Wednesday we spent most of the morning at the beach. Gampy rented lounge chairs and an umbrella and we hauled all our towels, blankets, sand toys and snorkeling gear down there. Everyone but Tata and STG were hanging out there at one point during the morning. The water was the coldest it's ever been, but that didn't seem to bother the kids. We splashed around and played on floats for a while and then played in the sand. When they were done Gammy took them back to our hotel room for a break and TG agreed to venture out deeper with me to snorkel. Sadly there weren't many fish to see, but we had fun swimming around. After snorkeling, TG and Uncle J threw the football around while I relaxed in the sun (wearing my 50 spf sunscreen of course).

On Thursday we made the trek to the NEX. It's a highlight of our trip every time! TG decided to stay back with the kiddos so I was able to go and enjoy shopping with my parents, Tutu, STG and Tata. As usual whenever Tata is involved we had fun and bought too many cute things.

That afternoon everyone went swimming with the kids at the hotel and we bounced back and forth between the big pool and kiddie pool. We all (kids and adults) preferred the kiddie pool though for it's proximity to the beach and bar!

That evening I got to enjoy a lovely dinner with the newlyweds and a sweet friend of theirs over in the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We had delicious food, huge drinks, a gorgeous view of the water and lovely conversation. I got to try opakapaka - Hawaiian pink snapper, and it was delicious!

Hawaii Day 5 - Our Hotel Room

The kids were so sick while we were in Hawaii - hacking coughs, slight temps, very snotty noses, and fussy fuss.  By this day I'd had enough of listening to them both cough up a lung all night long so by 6:00 am I rounded everyone up and headed out for the Waikiki Urgent Care.

It was dark when we left the hotel and I was mad as a hornet to have them sick on our vacation so it was a tense 1.5 mile walk to the doctor we had visited the year before - made worse when we finally arrived and discovered they no longer take our insurance.  Their best suggestion was to take the kids to the ER which I wasn't going to do so I found another urgent care a couple blocks back toward the hotel.  God bless Google.

Trouble was this office didn't open until 8 am so we rerouted to Denny's.  Breakfast improved all of our spirits (especially mine).  Then we moseyed up to the office and confirmed my suspicions of an ear infection for Riley.  Surprisingly Camden didn't have one.  They filled Riley's prescription right there in the office so we left with our meds and headed back to the hotel.

By this time it was 9:30 am and after the long day before and the horrible night of sleep I suggested the kids take a nap and then we could enjoy the rest of the afternoon.  Little did I know by nap I meant half a night's sleep.  I woke up when Riley started moving in her bed, looked at the clock, wiped my eyes and did a double take, and realized it was 2:30 pm.  I know, who spends a whole day in Hawaii sleeping, but clearly we needed it.


Turns out TG had checked on us more than a few times during our sound slumber, but once he realized we were seriously asleep, he spent the day shopping in Waikiki and hanging out poolside with my family.

We joined them and spent the rest of the day soaking up the sun and ocean air.

  

Hawaii Day 4 - Seester Got Married

I laughed.

I cried.

I laughed some more, and sobbed through my matron of honor speech.

On the fourth day of our trip I watched my baby sister and best friend marry the amazing STG.   Which just to clarify stands for Super Tall Guy, but on that day I'd agree, he was Sexy Tall Groom.  ;)

It was a long, but absolutely wonderful and beautiful day.  From breakfast in bed with the bride to my collapse on the lobby couch talking about our favorite moments of the day with my mom, dad and older sister after the reception.  It was perfect.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day Tata and STG.  We love you!


 

Hawaii Day 3 - Pampering Day!

When we left home Riley was already sick, but by Sunday both kids were down with a hacking cough,   fussy tempers, snot faces and pink eye.  They were up and down all night coughing and we finally gave in by 5:30 and got up for the day.

I decided not to waste the early morning and hurried my family, along with Gammy, down to the beach to watch the sunrise.

It happened slowly and while we waited my loves splashed their little feet in the ocean.






They always love the ocean, but they especially love the Pacific in Hawaii.


I am NOT a morning person, but hello, I might become one if we lived there.  The sunrise over Diamond Head, I just can't get it out of my mind.  I wish I was there right now.

Besides cleaning the beach, which Gammy always does when we're there, she happily played photographer and photography subject.


We made our way down the beach and out on the walk way to watch the sun finish it's ascent to the sky, and spotted a tide pool when we were there. The kids loved watching the little fish and crabs swimming around. Riley was a bit perplexed by how they would get out of there. Camden just wanted to get in and touch them all.

We had worked up an appetite after our walk so we went the extra block down to our favorite breakfast spot, Denny's!  The rest of the day was spent getting nails done, doing some last minute shopping at Ala Moana, and sitting poolside at the hotel in an attempt to get some sun before the big day.

 

Hawaii Day 2 - Rehearsal Time

With only 2 days before the wedding we had to hit the ground running. The kids slept until about 7 am which is pretty good for the 5 hour time change.   At this point I can't remember if we had Denny's that first day or not, but it was either that or Happy's Cafe at the hotel.  I got everyone dressed in their best Hawaiian looks and we were on our way to the Ko 'Olau!

 While we waited for the officiant Gampy showed the kids all the Christmas decor at the wedding site. Someone took this cute picture of the cousins.

Gampy showed Camden a nutcracker. He loved them.

Everyone finally assembled and we headed out to the ceremony site to practice for the big day. There were a lot of laughs and a lot of instructions to keep in mind!

Gampy helped keep the flower girl and ring bearer entertained after they finished their part of the rehearsal.

I do not wear heels on a regular basis, (heck I wear sneakers, Uggs, and flips), so I brought my 5 inch wedding wedges to wear for the rehearsal just to make sure I wasn't going to fall on my face.  Of course, I took them off as soon as we were done and Camden wasted no time in putting them on. He actually could walk in them better than I could.

It wasn't long before Sassy wanted a turn too! Uncle STG offered a helping hand.

On the way back to the cars I snapped this cute pic of the men in my life. I love them in navy!


Tata and Uncle STG already have the cutest son ever, but looking at this adorable photo I hope they have a girl someday too!


The rest of the day was spent enjoying a massive lunch (hangriness was on the rise) at the food court at Ala Moana Mall, making a necessities trip to Wal-mart, and hanging out by the baby pool enjoying cocktails and the Waikiki sunset.

Hawaii Day 1 - Traveling

My baby sister, and the last of 3 daughters, got married in Hawaii two weeks ago. We have been looking forward to the wedding the whole year and we were so thankful to be able to take our entire family, kids and all to Oahu, to celebrate!

Day 1 was spent traveling. Our departing flight to Honolulu was a direct flight, over 10.5 hours on the plane. I'll admit I was a little nervous in the days leading up to our trip, but it really wasn't that bad. The plane was a 767 with big seats and tvs with plenty of show choices and video games to keeps us all entertained. The other plus side was the flight was pretty empty so we were able to spread out. The first five hours were spent playing with new toys I packed, playing iPad, and watching movies. After a sketchy dinner, meals on flights now are a whole other issue, Camden finally passed out.

I made sure to bring his pillow, blanket, and monkey so he was pretty comfortable.


While he slept I was able to close my eyes for a bit too.  Riley and TG on the other hand...


Despite a time change that went way over her usual bedtime Riley stayed awake the whole time.  I woke up from my snooze and discovered her eyes glued open watching TG playing iPad.  I wasn't thrilled that she wasn't sleeping, but she was maintaining okay so I let it go.

When we arrived we found Gammy and Gampy waiting for us at the baggage claim with fresh orchid leis for the girls and kukui nut leis for the boys.  It was 7 pm Hawaii time so Gammy sat with the kids eating their dinner while Gampy and TG wrangled our bags.  I can't believe how fresh faced Riley looks in this photo - she was going on 16 hours of no sleep at this point with at least 2 more before she finally passed out at the hotel.