Starting with Part 2 of our Hawaii trip! Gosh, if I thought I wanted to go back the first time I posted about Hawaii, looking through these pictures REALLY made me want to hit rewind. I really can't believe how perfect our family trip was. We had so much fun together and I really miss them! I'd say leaving behind my family is the worst part about moving to NYC. Luckily Skype exists :) And lots of fun pictures to look back on! So here they are:
Day 5:
^I couldn't get over how beautiful the lagoons just outside of our resort were. I mean look at that crystal clear warm water! We spent the majority of Day 5 hanging out by our pool and adjoining beaches.^
^The hotel next to us had 3 huge pools filled with all sorts of neat fish. One housed a variety of sharks (all pretty big!), another various sting rays, and the final one held lots of tropical fish and baby hammer head sharks!^
^Lava Flows are the best!^
^After our day by the pool, we drove to Waikiki for souvenirs and to eat at the famous Duke's! Here we are with the King of Surfing!^
^Diamond Head makes a very pretty backdrop :) ^
^Ok aren't my grandparents the cutest? They joined us on our Hawaiian adventure and it was SO much fun. I am so glad they let us drag them all over the island to go exploring^
^Warrior Andrew with his Hawaiian battle axe!^
^If you ever go to Duke's, you HAVE to get Hula Pie. A delicious ice cream pie, with thick chocolate fudge, macadamia nuts, oreo crust, and coconut whipped cream. Divine!^
^We just had to snag one goofy pic!^
^Another must visit in Waikiki - the Westin Moana Surfrider Hotel^
Day 6:
This day's adventure brought us deep into the Hawaiian jungle, where we used our lucky machetes to hack a path to a mystical waterfall and defend ourselves from the native warriors.... Ok not really. On Day 6 we hiked through Waimea Valley to see the falls! And there was a path, so no machetes were used. But if you look closely you'll see some "native" islanders :)
^Ginormous leaves!^
^They make pretty good Tarzans!^
^The falls!^
^The water has a lot of iron in it, so when you look down at your feet through the water, you look like an oompa loompa! It was pretty funny^
^William!^
^Clark & I climbing into the falls!^
^Brie & Emily!^
^Ah! It's a hostile native warrior! Oh wait, that's just Andrew, running wild in the jungle^
^William also makes a fierce warrior.^
^The boys had so much fun climbing through the trees, pulling "Maori warrior faces"^
^After our hike we went to BYU Hawaii! We visited the campus and went back to the Polynesian Cultural Center so the boys could get some airbrush tattoos^
Day 7:
On our second to last day in Hawaii we started off our day by going to church! I have to say, I always love being a visitor in Hawaii and getting to say "aloha" at the beginning of every talk! Attending other wards, and realizing that the same lessons are being taught and the same standards are being upheld all over the world really testifies to me of the truthfulness of our church. I'm so grateful we got to go in Hawaii! 
^Following church, we drove to the northeast side of the island and visited the Byodo In Japanese temple! That side of the island is gorgeous!^
^They had hundreds of HUGE koi fish in a moat around the temple. And we got to feed them. Here they are swarming for some fish food!^
^Making our best koi face!^
^Turns out feeding the resident birds is much more fun than feeding fish. And much more of a challenge! Andrew was definitely the master bird feeder^
^I just have the best family!^
^We then made our way to one of the top 10 beaches in the country. However, said beach was very busy, and very windy. So after a few minutes, and one or two sandcastles, we went back to our hotel beach :) ^
^Sand castle master!^
^Hawaii really is the rainbow state. We saw so many this trip!!^
^Another beach = another sand castle. Or you know, a whole kingdom of them!^
^My siblings are awesome. And looking at this picture, I realize it's not too long until I am officially the shortest member of the family. Brie and Andrew are totally going to pass me up in the next few years!^
^The HULL family!^
^My adorable parents. I love them so much!^
^This is a tradition for my family. Every time we go to Hawaii, we take a picture of us all holding hands and watching the last sunset.^
^It was a pretty good one to leave on!^
Day 8: Last Day!
Luckily for us, our flight did not leave until 9pm on Monday. So we checked out of our hotel room first thing in the morning, and spent the rest of the day enjoying all of our favorites at the Aulani! Mom even went down the lava tube slide! And we used our snorkeling gear to see TONS of fish in our little cove. It was a super awesome day and a perfect one to end our trip.
^I spy with my little eye....a fish!^
^Hawaiian tradition also dictates that you have to throw your flower lei into the sea when you leave, to promise the islands of Hawaii that you'll be back someday. We all definitely wanted to make that promise!^
^I spy with my little eye... another fish!^
^And a monkey!!^
^We also rented a kayak. The only bummer about renting a kayak from the Aulani, is they make you stay inside the cove! Next time we'll rent it for the day from someone else so we can go out into the ocean a bit more :) ^
^After a long fun day at the beach, we made our way to the airport, and bid "aloha oe" to beautiful Hawaii ^
