12-9-2012 -- Sunday

Sunday morning after family prayer, Jim drove into work early. The Honolulu Marathon was taking place around here, and he wanted to be sure he made it to work on time, as many of the roads were blocked off for the runners. Since we didn't make it to church I taught the kids a lesson from a church manual. It was on being kind to animals. After our church "service" we decided to go enjoy God's beautiful creatures by looking for them on the beach. We saw little fishies in the water, heard birds chirping in the trees, and even shooed away some curious pigeons off our beach mats.

While at the beach, Tralee had a long conversation with some fellow tourists. They were from Japan, and after talking with them for a while, Tralee excitedly ran up to me and said, "Mom, they taught me some words in their language!" When I asked what she learned Tralee responded, "Cold is Coh and hot is hah." It made me smirk a little bit.

We also watched as marathoners finished their jaunt and walked right from the finish line and into the water, stopping only to take off their shoes. I gotta hand it to those runners, they're pretty amazing! I've gone jogging a few times since we've been in Hawaii, and give myself a pat-on-the-back if I make it close to three miles! I can't imagine running for more than 26! Bravo to those that can do it!

Anyways, Sunday was lovely!

Saturday 12-8-12 Zoo Day

Our apartment is right across from the Honolulu Zoo, so the kids and I decided to check it out on Saturday.

When we arrived I decided to buy an annual family pass so the kids and I could go whenever we wanted, and maybe even take Jim when he's done with work.

I'm glad we got the zoo pass. The Honolulu Zoo isn't the biggest or fanciest zoo we've been to but the grounds are beautiful with lush greenery, and there's a fun playground on the property. It also wasn't too overly crowded, which was nice. There were just enough animals to give us the full zoo experience, and my kids were happy with what they saw.







The biggest Banyan tree I've ever seen greeted us pretty much right through the gates. The wee ones and I decided to stop and play hide-and-seek in the tree's root system before exploring the zoo some more. As we hid and counted to ten, the many birds who call this tree home chirped and peeped hints to us. It was magical.

 

 



 

 

 



After our day at the zoo, we crossed the street back to our place and relaxed for a bit. After dark Tralee reminded me that we "didn't even go to the beach" that day. So, on went our flip-flops, and out the door to the beach we went to dip our feet in the water.

There was a band playing at a bar across the street, so the three of us decided to dance. As I moved and swayed with my little lovelies, the three of us marking the sand with our rhythmic steps, I picked Tralee up, held her close, and whispered in her ear, "I want you to always remember this moment." She told me she would and I believed her. I told Hunter the same thing, but I'll have to really hope his three-year-old brain can tuck that memory away for safe keeping.

I know I'll never forget that moment. There was something about being the only three people on that section of beach, having our own private dance party with the ocean as our guest of honor. I don't remember the song that was playing, but I'll always remember Hunter's crazy spin moves, Tralee's graceful hula mimicry, and then coming together, hand-in-hand, to create a dance that was all our own. We were having fun, being free and wild on a dusky beach in Hawaii, and feeling lucky and blessed. Nope, I won't ever forget that moment in the sand.

Waikiki - December 7th, 2012

On Friday Hunter was feeling better, so the kids and I decided to cross the street and play at the beach.

 

 

We came back to the condo for lunch, changed our clothes, and hit the bricks to explore the streets of Waikiki. We stopped for ice cream when the kids' feet needed a rest, and then meandered on home. . .well, home for the next few weeks.

 

 

Around 5:00pm the munchkins and I went up to the sun deck to watch the sun set over the ocean. It was beautiful.

 

Later that night we heard some noise down on the street below, and decided to check it out. Turns out there was a parade commemorating the events that transpired at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. We cheered for war veterans, clapped for Mrs. and Ms. Hawaii, watched native Hawaiian warriors doing their pound-on-chest-and-knees-stomp-around war chants, and saw all the other trimmings of a parade of this calibre.

On the way back to our apartment we stopped by the ABC store (think 7 Eleven and they're on just about every corner) on the main level of our building, grabbed some drinks and snacks, and came back up to our apartment to await Jim's arrival from work.

I was so happy little Hunty was feeling better so we could go play. I'm sure there will be many more days just like this.  

Oahu Days One an Two

Our first full day was spent catching up on sleep, playing at the beach, and getting settled. We took a trip to Costco, bought some food for our apartment, and wandered the streets of Waikiki.

Hunter at Waikiki beach

Tralee dove right in!

 

Day two was Thursday and was Jim's last day before starting to work 18 days

in a row. We wanted to take full advantage of the weather and our time together as a family. The only problem was Hunter woke up with a bad fever. All he wanted to do was sleep. So Jim and I took shifts staying in the room while the other parent ventured to the streets and/or beach with Tralee.

 

Poor little dude was not feeling well.

Later in the afternoon Hunter woke up and seemed to be doing better, so we drove out to Makapu'u Beach where Jim's dad (I think) was married and where his lil' sis Cammi also said, "I do" not too long ago. It was a beautiful beach covered in wave-kissed lava rocks. We saw a light house, some pretty nice waves, and brave surfers ignoring the "no swimming" and "strong current" signs. Tralee would have dove in if we let her. We let her get her feet wet, but much to her dismay, that was it. Hunter started feeling sick while we were there, so we left soon after we arrived. Poor lil' dude fell asleep as soon as he was back in the car.

On the drive home, we stopped to check out a blowhole, and cool scenic overlook. Both were gorgeous. When we got back to our apartment, Hunter went right back to sleep while the rest of us watched Elf , and hoped and prayed that everyone would be healthy the rest of our time in paradise.

He just wanted his mommy to snuggle him.  I felt so bad for him.  I'm so happy he's better now!!

More to soon to come. . .

Our Elf on the Shelf arrived in Hawaii the same time we did.  The kids named him Teddy Kidbid Cool.  He goes by Kidbid or Teddy and his keeping his eye on us while in Hawaii.

 

 

Flying

On Tuesday, December 4th our little family woke up at too-freakishly-early-o'clock so we could catch our first flight of many to Honolulu, Hawaii.

This kids at the airport at 5:00 A.M.

We flew on three airplanes, and it took us all day long, but we finally made it to paradise! Now we have 30 days to play here. Well, the kids and I get to play. Jim has to work for the first few weeks. He'll get to play for a week-and-a-half when he's finished with work.

Our little studio apartment is quite nice and is equipped with all the comforts of home. . .just on a smaller scale. A really kid-friendly beach is across the street. There are shops and restaurants all around us, the zoo is across the other street, and there's an aquarium down the road. The bus stop is right around the corner, so if the kids and I need to go explore, and Jim has the rental van for work, we can still hitch a ride.

Hunty and me on flight number two:  The long one!

I included some pics of our day of flying. I'm not sure where they'll show up and in what order since I'm writing this on my phone. Just know that they were taken between 5am Idaho time and 5pm Hawaii time.

At the Maui airport.  Waiting to catch our plane to Honolulu.

I can't wait to see what adventures await us! Stay tuned!

Tralee with all our luggage in Honolulu

Disney on Ice

A few months ago Tralee came across an ad for Disney on Ice.  She watched over and over and over and over again getting more and more excited as she watched.  She wanted to go SO BAD!  We told her if it came to town, we would be sure to take her.  I checked online and didn't see any performances in our area, and got a little disappointed.  Then, miracle of miracles, I put on the TV (we just have regular free television and hardly ever watch it. . . we're Netflix people) and the first thing I saw was a commercial for Disney on Ice. . . COMING TO OUR TOWN!!!  I think I was just as excited as Tralee!

Here's a commercial for what we couldn't wait to see (one of our favorite parts of the show was the Tangled part. . . especially when her and Flynn Ryder flew through the air on her "hair"  AMAZING!!!):

I didn't wait, but went out the very next day and purchased our Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream tickets at the box office.  We got pretty good seats, and then we just had to wait for it to come to town!

This last Thursday was the day!  Jim and I took the kids out to dinner, and then made our way over to the performance.  The place was packed with lots of little princesses awaiting the magic.  We found our seats, and watched the magic unfold.  I actually had more fun watching Tralee than the show.  She giggled, smiled, clapped, and danced right along with the show.

Here's a video of Tralee at Disney on Ice:

After it was over, Tralee kept saying, "Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you for making sure I could go to this!!"  Thank you!!"  Jim and I beamed with how grateful and appreciative Tralee was.  Hunter was asleep at this point, but seemed to enjoy the show up until his snooze.

Overall our Disney on Ice experience was totally worth every penny!  I hope things like this keep heading in our direction!!

iphone photo plop

1. My friend Janessa and I trying hats on at an antique/vintage store.

2.  Tralee lost another tooth

3.  I voted!

4.  Tralee had playgroup at our house

5. The kids snuggling Corky

6. The wee ones got their hair cut

7.  Tralee keeps putting her stuffed animal by the dog food, because it's favorite food is dog food.

8.  Family bowling night

9.  Hunter working on his letters

10.  Tralee had to draw a certain number of any item she chose for her homework.  She chose body parts. . . eyes, mouths, hands. . . noses.  The number 18 were her noses.  Jim and I had a good laugh about how her noses look very similar to another body part.

11.  I was room mom during Tralee's Thanksgiving feast at school.  Lil' Turkey!

12.  Being goofy with Stinks

13.  Chihuly glass ceiling in Vegas

14.  Hunter and Brody. . . aren't they cute?