^Can you tell we were all pretty excited to go to Hawaii?^
So in case you didn't see on instagram, we were in Hawaii with my family last week. It was an incredible vacation. We seriously were all over Oahu! I still can't believe it's over! Maybe because I'm still on Hawaiian time... But I had to capture the memories here (cause this is like my mini photographic journal). So without further adieu- here's our the first half of our Hawaiian vacation folks:
Day 1:
^Leaving from San Francisco for Hawaii!^
^WE MADE IT! YEAH!!!!^
^So when you enter the Aulani, they give everyone a lei. They also hand the kids a necklace with a menehune (picture a little tiki man) on it. They tell the kids that menehune are little pranksters and that the necklace will show the menehune that they are friends. Disney has also hidden a million of these little menehune statues around the resort, so it became a constant game to spot all the menehune! And just in case you're wondering, pictured above is the view of the pool that you get when you enter. AMAZING. Seriously, Disney does such an incredible job making sure every detail is absolutely perfect.^
^Oh hey gorgeous view from our balcony!^
^One of the best parts of being in Hawaii was we got to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary on our first day there! It was so perfect - a day in the pool/on the beach, a gorgeous sunset over the lagoon, and then Clark and I went out to dinner at Monkeypod Kitchen right across the street from our resort! Talk about a perfect anniversary!^
^Our dinner at Monkeypod was easily our favorite meal this trip to Oahu! Clark got some tasty fish tacos and I got macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi. Delicious! Another thing that made the evening wonderful was the live music. This incredibly talented singer/guitarist/loop artist serenaded us during our meal and it was absolutely magical. If you're ever in Ko Olina, definitely give Monkeypod Kitchen a try. Oh and for dessert - get the haupia chocolate cream pie. You won't regret it.^
Day 2:
^BEACH DAY!^
^Just so you know - the lagoon water was warm and clear. AND you can see a million cool fishies if you swim by the "exit" of the lagoon^
^Just monkeying around the lagoon!^
^You could rent all sorts of fun gear to use in the lagoon! Paddle boarding was definitely a favorite^
^Cute Grandma and Grandpa! We were so happy they came our our Hawaiian adventure!^
^Andrew is totally going to be an architect. He should be at least, because this boy LOVES building sand castles/villages/cities^
^Yay for paddle boards!^
^Just hanging out. Pardon the puns. And my horrible photo-editing. There was a pile of picnic stuff in the background... now there's a blur. That's better right?^
^For Clark's 25th I arranged a tee time at the fantastic Ko Olina Golf course. He definitely enjoyed his present^
^On the lazy river after going down the super fun tube slide! Disney had two really great waterslides! One is totally dark the whole way down, with lots of unexpected twists and turns, and the other is open air with a raft! And both are super fun!^
^After pool time/tee time we got cleaned up for the Aulani Luau... technically it wasn't a luau cause there wasn't any food, but it was awesome.^
^Girl pic!^
^At the "luau" they called all the keiki (kiddos) up to learn a hula!^
^Performing their newly learned hula dance^
^Post luau they had a dance party. Not authentic hawaiian, but still awesome. Especially because Grandpa swing danced with me!!! I wish I had a picture of it. Luckily we have a video^
^Family pic!^
Day 3:
^Wednesday morning we went to the character breakfast. We got to see Surfer Mickey, Goofy, and Hawaiian Minnie. AND the food was insanely good. Best breakfast buffet I've ever been to^
^Grandpa doing the "hang loose" sign was probably my favorite moment!^
^Following our tasty breakfast we went to Makua beach for some body surfing & boogie boarding. When we got there the hawaiian lifeguard ran up to us and told us to go to a different part of the beach cause the waves were really big. So we went to the "smaller" 10 foot waves. And although we were terrified at first, we had the BEST time! It was hands down Clark's favorite day.^
^Adventurous Grandparents^
^Notice how the beach has a shelf of sand, and the waves are powerful enough to go all the way up the sand shelf.
^My Dad is 6'3". The waves towered over him. Just for perspective^
^ I know this photo is dark, but the joy in their faces is priceless!^
^And on the way home we found a cave! So of course we had to check it out!^
^ We make pretty awesome spelunking team if you ask me!^
Day 4:
^On our fourth day we went up to the north side of the island! It was so neat to be able to see the Laie temple. We loved visiting^
^This incredible tree was on the temple grounds!^
^I am so grateful we are an eternal family!^
^One of our favorite memories from our honeymoon was snorkeling and then going to Kahuku grill. The food was incredible! And so when we knew we were going to Oahu, and that we were going up to the northshore we just HAD to go back! Boy did it live up to our memories^
^We love Kahuku!^
^Then we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center! Which for my brothers was a dream come true. Because my dad served in New Zealand my brothers just LOVE anything related to the Polynesian culture. We started off our tour of the islands with a canoe ride!^
^We learned how to throw spears in Tonga!^
^And we met the fierce Fijian warriors!^
^And then we went to Samoa and were entertained by Kap! The best was when he called William up on stage to try coconut water. As soon as William got up on stage he said "you looked a lot shorter from down there. I wouldn't have you called up up if I had known you are so tall"^
^Oh and they climb giant palm trees in Samoa. Totally amazing!^
^For this picture he told David to stand below the step. He didn't want to feel short again^
^Tiki men!^
^Then we went to the amazing Ali'i Luau^
^We even got to have some luau pig!^
^And at the Luau they called all people celebrating their anniversaries up on stage to dance!^
^We ended day 4 by watching the new Ha breath of life show. It was wonderful! And I love this picture so here you go :) ^
Stay tuned for the second half of our trip!
