Saturday, July 5, 2014

Island Time!

I can say without a doubt that Hawaii is my favorite place to be. I feel so at home at the condo, we always have loads of fun, and there isn't a more relaxing and beautiful place on this earth. It is that good. Even with three days of rain, our vacation was epic as always on that wonderful island.
I always have a ridiculous number of pictures but I really tried to scale it back for the blog and pick my very favorites...
First stop, Bellows Beach. Just north of Waimanalo, this beach was the go to for Tucker's family. In fear of rain, we headed here as it isn't too far from Hawaii Kai. We set up camp, played for a half hour or so, and then it started to rain. So much for our planning! We decided to try the aquarium the next day which was a hit. My kids love seeing any and all sea creatures...as long as they are behind glass! Haha! Actually, if there is anything they can touch such as sea stars and sting rays, they are all up for that. Once we were done, we decided to walk to the International Market Place for the kids to pick out a souvenir. It started to rain down on us once again, but we bore through it only to find out that the Market Place was closed down! I was starting to get really discouraged by that point. We only had a five days left and I really didn't want the trip to be a waste!
Thank goodness we had better luck the next day. Normally we would never go to Sandy Beach as it is a rough beach with big waves, a strong riptide, and all locals. Today, however, this beach was sunny and I wasn't going to risk going anywhere else. I didn't think the sun would last so I didn't even put on sunscreen. Big mistake. We ended up playing in the sand, along the shore, and in the tide pools for over three hours. I got fried, but it was such a successful day at the beach that I couldn't complain.
Just look at the fabulous memories we made that day...

Grandpa took Karoline to the tide pools and she was loving it! Finding teeny tiny fish and exploring the black rock.
Look at this stud. Love him and his awesome hat he found at the condo.
Daddy was a hero yet again. He found some crabs for the kids to play with as pets for the day.

Everyone was busy, busy, busy!
Even Clara. Don't you love the suit? I think the great big polka dots flatter her figure. ;)
And here's my mermaid...
...and my sea star. I think they are both pretty cute!
After a long day at the beach, it's customary to come back to the condo for swimming and hot tubbing.
We started out the following day at the Honolulu Zoo, a great zoo with a park and fabulous kiddie zoo. No rain. Hallelujah. What was even better was the fact that as soon as we were done, the sun came out. Since we were already downtown, we beached it right at Waikiki. It's such a fun beach because they have created a perfect little bay for kids. No waves, just a big pool with a sandy shore. It's awesome! The kids loved it so much, we went a second day. Too, Waikiki is on the dry side of the island so we knew it would be a better chance for sunny skies.
These kids are too cool for school. Just check out those shades...
So many favorite exhibits, but I think their favorites included the African savannah, the tigers, and the flamingos.
After the zoo, the sun had come out and it turned into a beautiful beach day. We spent hours at Waikiki, playing in the "pool" of warm shallow water. The kids loved floating on the boogie boards out in the middle of the bay. We saw fish swim around us and Tucker found a sea cucumber along the wall. Clara loved sitting right at the waters edge and all of us played in the sand. We spent the following day there as well, a great couple of days...
Roman the octopus!
My parents were such a big help and they made the trip that much more fun!
Roman in meditation:
 Clara loved the sand...she loved playing in it and eating it!
 Thank goodness the water was a distraction!
Karoline never stopped. She was in the water swimming, running along the shore, or busy in the sand!
Building sand castles:
The twins having fun on the boards... 
There was quite the mixup in the condo reservations which landed us out of a place to stay for the last three nights in Hawaii. We found a vacation rental in Kailua, right near our favorite beach, Lanikai. There is a reason this beach is named #1 in all of Hawaii. It is simply beautiful. The finest white sand and crystal blue and turquoise water. There is a reef about a mile out, so it's very calm with little or no waves. This is my heaven...

Finding crabs...a must for my kids. Thanks to Daddy for finding this big one!
Look at these girls looking at their new pet Chomp.
Roman loved catching a few small waves on the boogie board!


This girl loved her sunglasses. She would put them on and then look at everyone to make sure they saw her cuteness.
Matching swimsuits for my three little girls!
So happy together...
Thanks again Mom and Dad!
Doesn't get any better...
...until next time!