Hawaii

We're back! Back to work, back to school, back to Texas, responsibilities, life . . . But who cares about all that? Let's talk about how we got to spend half of August in gorgeous, sunny, blissful 

Hawaii!

Seriously, it doesn't get much better than that.

And if half the fun is getting there, than I guess we were pretty lucky to start off our trip with 9 dreamy hours of airplane sitting, plus a layover in L.A. I was suuuuper dreading the 6 hour flight with always-on-the-go-Henry, but he surprised me and did great! And Lilly's already earned her wings many times over, so she performed like a seasoned pro.

Our flights went by so fast, that we beat not one, but TWO hurricanes to the islands. Of course, they were big wusses anyway, because one ran out of steam and turned into a tropical storm, while the other got lost and missed the mark completely.

We bravely went to the beach.

We also took advantage of the day or two of *slightly* cooler weather, to visit some sights and hike.

I took Lilly to see Punahou school, where I attended K-5th grade. I especially wanted to show her the awesome banyan tree we played on during recess, but there was nearby construction so we were only allowed to take a picture, and then we had to move on to the Lily pond.

We also took Lilly to hike Diamond Head with my dad, brother, and about a trillion tourists.

She was so energized after being piggy-backed to the top, that she decided to do some more climbing:

  

The 5 hour time change meant a lot of early mornings, so we got to enjoy Waikiki before it got too busy.

And by enjoy, I mean sit on towels or be carried to the water, 

because both our kids think that sand is evil and should not be walked upon.

Seriously, we need to work on this before we go to the beach again! :)

 

Lilly and I got treated to a zoo trip with Grandma and Grandpa.

 

And I got to visit the beautiful Hawaii temple with my grandma and brother. 

(Both of whom I hadn't seen for over 2 years!!!)

I know everyone talks about Matsumoto's, 

but on this side of the island we swear by Waiola Shave Ice. Ah-mazing!

But the best part of Hawaii was just getting to spend so much time with family! Lilly loved being spoiled by her Aunts. Henry spent hours sitting outside playing in the sprinkler with Grandpa. And we all enjoyed lots of time in Tutu's pool.

 

The Matriarch. Tutu. My 2nd mother. The smartest, spunkiest grandma around. 

And the real reason we went to Hawaii.

 

Love you Grandma!!!

And all the rest of the family, too!

I especially love this picture of all the grandkids. Amanda is there in spirit on the far left. :)

AND, if all that wasn't enough, we were treated to this spectacle on our final evening.

Mahalo Hawaii!!! Until next time. . .