Tuesday, April 18, 2017

our last aloha 2017.


we've been home from hawaii for a week now, and i'm still finding sand in places that make me laugh. brooklyn begs to go back to the beach and kendall talks about a turtle at turtle beach every day. needless to say, they had the time of their lives! i tried keeping a journal while we were there so that i wouldn't forget the good stuff, but i totally failed. so this post will be pictures with a few captions, some bullet points, and hopefully i'll do it justice so that when the girls go back and read this years down the road it will bring back some great memories!


let's go to the beach...


the beach was a favorite! adalyn ate buckets of sand and couldn't get to the water fast enough. brooklyn and kendall loved building castles, jumping the waves, and looking for crabs. 







adalyn was a good girl and took a nap one day. james played in the water with the other two and i got to read!





they got a kick out of burying their dad in the sand, and then having a turn themselves!









we only got to do one beach day with gary and lisa. the girls were in heaven having them there!




- Kailua Beach
- Lanikai Beach
- Bellows Beach
- Waimea Beach



eats!...


the last time we were getting ready to go to hawaii, i asked my cousin's girlfriend for some recommendations of places to eat while we were there. she highly recommended boots and kimos. it became a fast favorite! those macadamia nut pancakes and macadamia nut syrup fluff can not be beat! we made sure to hit it up on our very first morning on the island.


the farmer's market in kailua had a bajillion things i wanted to try, but we settled on honolulu burger and aloha fries. holy cow! those taro buns are too good! 


we made sure to stop at the dole plantation for a refreshing dole whip! the whole family loved this!



we stopped at ted's bakery for the pie but ended up getting a huge meal. i give their shrimp five stars!


my SIL tori worked at lanikai juice where delicious acai bowls are made. we definitely got these more than once! but don't ask me to choose a favorite!



a highlight for the girls was the free hot dogs and snow cones at an easter egg hunt we went to at koko head elementary.


we were spoiled with gobs of delicious food at a luau my in law's ward threw for them. my goodness there was some delicious food! pig included!






what we did...


nana and papa spoiled the grandkids with a character breakfast at aulani. my girls were in heaven getting to eat mickey shaped waffles and hug minnie mouse!




 




there were chickens all over the island at every stop we made. brooklyn and kendall were convinced every one we saw was hei hei from moana.


the girls cheered loudly while they watched their papa crack open coconuts in their backyard. 


james's grandma was there while we were and kendall became her little shadow. she loved talking her ears off and helping her 'clean'.


we hiked hamama falls in a downpour. the waterfall at the end made it worth it. the girls loved it!




turtle beach//they got to see one large turtle. kendall wouldn't take a picture with it because she refused to have her back to it!


waimea falls hike is totally worth the money. a nice easy hike up to the waterfall and it was so fun to swim in fresh water.



we scored some goodies at the swap meet and kept the girls cool by bringing some squirt bottles for them to spray on themselves.


the reason we went out this time was for my FIL's air force retirement ceremony. it was awesome! we were so glad that we were able to be a part of it.




on our way to the temple we found 'the big swing' in hauula and had to stop and take a picture. 


james and i did initiatory at the temple after we walked around the grounds with the girls. tori had some friends that willingly watched them for us so we could all be in the temple together.





on saturday morning james helped his parents load a huge trailer of their stuff, so i took the girls (so they'd be out of the way) to an egg hunt twenty minutes away. they loved it! tons of eggs, free face painting/snow cones/hot dogs.


that night was the luau put on by the ward for my in laws. it was a beautiful evening with so much good food! the girls loved sliding down the hill on cardboard boxes.

since my in laws were goin to miss easter, we brought the dresses my MIL bought them so they could wear them to church. they looked so cute! 


cute, but not thrilled in this picture. 


that night they got to dye eggs...


and hunt eggs the next morning before we left.


we got adalyn's hawaiian name bracelet at the dole plantation just like the other two. i love seeing all of them together!


our rental was a subaru forester that was fun to drive and got great gas mileage. we brought our moana soundtrack and blasted it every time we got in the car.


not pictured:

- musubi
- the cake at my FIL's reception (i ate more than i'll admit of that delicious stuff)
- our visit to my cousin kristine's in laie. she and her husband tom have lived there while going to school. it was so fun to see them on the island!
- maui mike's chicken sandwiches
- haupia pies @ mcdonald's
- our long flight there and back. the girls literally slept the whole way from honolulu to denver. so nice!
- multiple trips to the various ross's.
- time spent with extended family who also made the trip out for my FIL's retirement.
- out of our 3 trips to oahu, this was definitely our sunniest!
- the tons of sand i vacuumed out of our rental car.

my in laws lived in kailua for four years and we got to go out three different times to visit, adding another girl to our family every time. we made so many great memories there over those visits. oahu will always hold a special place in our hearts. we hope it's not too many years before we get to go back again!



past posts on our trips to hawaii here, here, here, here, and here.


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