Aloha

We did it. We took a vacation together to celebrate making it 4 whole years of parenting. Okay, maybe that isn’t a good enough of a reason, but we made it one anyway. We have been trying to get to Hawaii for a couple years to visit KC’s sister Camille, and being in Colorado made that more possible. Babysitters are closer, flights are cheaper/shorter, and well, after a big move, and the kids starting preschool, I just kind of felt like a good time.  So we excitedly bought the tickets, mid-November came faster than I thought it would. The kids were settled with my mom and dad at our house,  and in a couple of days they’d swap with the other grandparents. Oh, how wonderful it feels to leave knowing they’d be in such good, loving hands. I’m going to make these Hawaii posts as concise as possible, otherwise I’ll never get them posted. So here is our amazing, luxurious, absolutely beautiful vacation to paradise in a nutshell.

The flight was long, but without kids, who can complain.

Denver and Oahu. Hard to tell which is which…

We settled in at Camille’s lovely place where we were staying. Loved getting reacquainted with our beautiful little niece Stella.

Vietnamese for dinner. The waiter said everyone was ordering the pho because in the cold weather everyone wanted soup. A low of 69 degrees. Ha!

The first round of local treats.

Our first stop was Waimea Bay. They weren’t letting people swim because of the high waves, but it was so wonderfully relaxing just sitting there as long as I wanted on that warm , overcast day.

Sunset Beach

Stopped at Ted’s Baker for Chocolate Haupia Pie, and Coconut Macadamia Nut Cheesecake. A delicious second breakfast.

A great day for Diamond Head.

Awesome hole-in-the-wall sushi.

Pali Lookout. Just breathtaking.

Loved going home to Stella and Camille every night. She just loved her uncle KC.

The next day we started with a hike to Manoa Falls. Scenery was unreal.

We made the lovely drive to the Halona Blowhole. We didn’t see it spray, but we took advantage of the nearly empty beach below.

Tried to go Kayaking on Kailua Beach, but didn’t find the place. No matter, we hung out there for a long time enjoying is gorgeousness.. Heavenly. Had the most amazing burger, fries and shake after.

Went on an evening walk with the fam. They live right by all these resorts with the coolest lagoons they can just play in.

There were also ponds with sharks and sting rays.

I’m just getting started! Next half coming up!