Our past week

This past week has flown by but it has been so wonderful and relaxing. Sean took us to Aloha Stadium last Saturday so that we could experience the swap meet. The boys thought it was pretty boring once they got some t-shirts and some shaved ice. I was glad to do it and see everything but for the most part each booth was pretty much the same. I do wish that in Seattle we could buy bathing suits for only $15 and that include both the top and bottom. Something we can say we went and did while we were here.

Sunday was the best day of the weekend by far. We started the morning off by heading to Diamond Head Crater to hike up to the top lookout. We have never taken the boys on this big of a hike and we were curious how they were going to do. It is .08 of a mile and the terrain is steep but the boys did awesome and the view from the top was spectacular. I enjoyed seeing the reefs off of Waikiki and then turning around and see the city. Then we headed back to our condo for lunch and after lunch we decided to head the other way to the rainforest to hike up to Manoa Falls. This time we stopped and bought some bug spray and I can say that the hike up Diamond Head was dry but up Manoa Falls it was very muddy. I think we all enjoyed the view at Diamond Head but we enjoyed the hike through the rainforest much better. Sean and I got a kick out of how much fun the boys were having and we couldn't believe how muddy they got. It was a nice way to enjoy the weekend with Sean and the boys.

The rest of the week has been nicely mellow. We haven't had a car so we have spent a lot of time walking down to the beach after lunch. We have met a family down there last week and they are here for the same amount of time and they have 3 girls. The girls are ages 10, 7 and 5 and the boys are in heaven. The girls play so well with them and I know the boys look very forward to the afternoons playing with them.

Friday we did get up and get going early so that we could do the zoo before lunch. The walk to the zoo was just across the street so that was very nice. We had a good time and I can say that the Honolulu Zoo is very nice. We saw elephants, alligators, lions, giraffes, zebras, turtles, lemurs, orangutans, flamingos, hippos and every kind of beautiful bird you could think of. The zoo is very clean and easy to navigate and see everything. Then off to the beach to play for a while and after dinner we decided to walk along the beach down to see the fireworks that are let off every Friday night. The boys enjoyed the fireworks and then we got some ice cream and walked back along the main street. There were lots of people out providing entertainment. Brayden enjoyed listening to the two young boys playing the piano and singing "Piano Man". Hunter was completely taken with a guy dressed in an outfit made from paper and painted silver. He couldn't quite figure out if he was a statue or if he was a real guy. We saw a few more people painted doing shows along the sidewalk and Hunter's face was wonderful. I loved just watching him knowing his mind was busy working trying to figure out if these were real people or robots as he put it to me.

Today Sean worked for part of the day and the boys and I spent the morning cleaning up the condo. Then we walked into town to get a souvenir for Lotus and some sunglasses for Hunter. After lunch the boys and I headed to the beach to soak up some sunshine and dig in the sand. While we were there we ran into another woman we met when we were first here with her cute little son who loves playing in the sand with the boys. Then we headed home to relax for a while and then Sean and the boys cooked some hamburgers for dinner. Tomorrow we are heading to Hanauma Bay to try to do some snorkeling along the reef. I am very excited for this and hope the experience is good for the boys!

*Update* Sadly shortly after we came home my computer crashed and I lost everything on my hard drive. I hadn't moved our last photos from our trip so I lost the last few days. I know that I can't share them with everyone but I will cherish the memories of this trip forever. I am at least thankful that I did move most of them so I am able to share at least those :-) We did have a fantastic time at Hanauma Bay and the boys looked adorable in their shorties and masks. Sean amazed me the most by his excitement at snorkeling and we enjoyed all the beautiful sea life that we got to see! Then we got to fly home all together as a family!

Dolphins, dolphins and more dolphins......

Oh yeah and penguins, sea lions, fish and turtles. We spent yesterday at the Sea Life Park which is about 30 minutes from Waikiki. It is over past Hanauma Bay and the drive was beautiful watching the waves crash into the rocks. Sean wanted me to take this time to swim with the dolphins for my birthday. As we got closer to it he told me that the boys should do it too. I was thrilled about this since Hunter had seen me looking at it and started to cry when I told him that I was the only one to do it. When I called to set up the appointment they informed me that each child under the age of 8 has to have an adult accompany them in the water. So it now became a family event!

Right before we got in with Kaleo

I set up our time for 9:30am because the park opens to the public at 10:30am. Once we got all set up with life vests we headed down to the water with our group and instructor. We got in the water along the edge of the pool and got introduced to our dolphin Kaleo. He is a 37 year old male dolphin and she explained that in the wild they only usually live to be 30 but in captivity they can live to be 50. Kaleo was very sweet and we got to touch his back and belly and they are so soft. This was my dream come true! Then we each got a turn letting him kiss our cheeks, then we got to kiss him and then he jumped up out of the water and danced with us. Sean was holding Hunter and I was holding Brayden. Hunter was so excited the last few days about the idea of touching and kissing a dolphin and Brayden wasn't too sure about it. Well Brayden surprised me and was smiling the biggest smile and was so giddy about this whole thing. He was so excited to touch the dolphin and I was so happy that this turned out to be so delightful for all of us.

The best part was the fact that we got there so early and we got to do the dolphin encounter and we had enough time to shower and change before all the shows. We then went to watch the sea lion show which was hilarious, from there we went to have lunch then went to see the afternoon dolphin show that was absolutely amazing. For me these are the most beautiful agile mammals in the sea and they put on a great show! From there we went to the play pirate ship so the kids could get some energy out and then we went in to look at our pictures and video. We decided to buy just the video since it showed everything. They did edit the tape and we were laughing because they edited Hunter throwing a fit when he first got in the water because he couldn't touch :) As parents we wished they would have left it in so we could show it when he gets older. Sean is an incredible dad and husband and he bought some turtle food (broccoli and lettuce) while I had my back turned and out we went to go feed the turtles. The kids got the biggest kick out of this because they came swimming over so fast. Then we checked out the penguins and made our way over for another show at this big tank. We got a show with the penguins, sea lions and dolphins and it was a great way to end our day. On the way out we stopped by the touch tank and got to feel some star fish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers that were different than we have at home. They also had a 7 month old turtle that we got to watch swimming around.

I am so thankful that I got to have this experience with my family!!

My 33rd Birthday

So it's been a few days since I posted and I can say that we made it to the North Shore this weekend with Sean. We had quite the adventure that Sean is sick of me telling people but I find it amusing.

We headed out Saturday morning with the car packed with snacks and all our beach stuff. We drove for a little while and got to one of the beaches and we walked out and it was breathtaking. Very different from Waikiki beach. The sand was different consistency and there were a lot of rocks in the water. The best part was that the turtles loved the rocks and were out swimming around everywhere. The boys had a blast getting buried in the sand. Then they got the great idea to bury mom in the sand and Sean took a picture. I am a little claustrophobic so I wouldn't let them bury me up to my neck but Brayden was down for that. Then Sean decided to go into the water to try and catch one of the turtles and he realized once he was already in that he had the car keys in his pocket.

Well we are driving a 2012 Jetta and they have these wonderful smart keys. But they don't do well in water. So we had to dry the keys out in the sunshine which didn't take too long but we were ready to move on to another beach. Every time Sean would put the key in, the car would start and then die and it would say that there was no key. Finally it said that the key needed a new battery. Now of course it's not a typical battery it was one of those flat round specialty batteries and Sean and I looked at each other with knowing looks. So out of the car we went with reapplied sunscreen and off on our adventure. We started down this bike/walking path in the direction that everyone was going because we had no idea where we were. Long story short the kids did awesome on our 3 mile adventure into the town of Wailua where we found a Long's drugstore. Then we rode the bus back to the car and we continued along our journey.

We stopped at some more beaches (I held onto the keys) and we saw such amazing sights. Huge waves that didn't look that big until you saw a surfer in them, waves crashing into the rocks, we climbed out on some of the rocks and saw beautiful tropical fish swimming in the pools. It was a fun day with all my boys and I was so happy to see my husband relax and act like he was on vacation. The best part is that we will have our little family adventure to always laugh about together!

So during our drive we passed the Dole plantation and I took the boys back to that on Monday. First on Monday we went and tried out some lagoons over by the Disney resort and had a fun time playing in the water and having lunch. Then we went to the Dole plantation and took the train ride and learned about all the history of Dole. We saw how pineapples grow, saw bananas growing on the trees, saw mango trees, cacao bushes, sugar cane, breadfruit trees and lots more I don't remember off the top of my head. Then we headed inside to have some Dole pineapple soft serve ice cream. On our way in we got to sample some fresh pineapple and my oh my that was the BEST pineapple I have ever had! The part that cracked me up is when Brayden ate his banana today he recognized the Dole name on it :)

Now today is my birthday, my 33rd birthday and we just laid low today because yesterday we moved condos. We are a little closer to Waikiki beach and the walk is much shorter. The boys and I spent the day down at the beach which seems to be where they want to go everyday. Then Sean called because he was almost back to the condo and he wanted to take me to dinner for my birthday. It was great to be able to walk a few blocks in the warmth down to a restaurant and then walk the food off on the way back. I had a yummy pomegranate margarita and some divine shrimp tacos. Probably one of my best birthday experiences!! Tomorrow we are off for my lifelong dream which I will post about later. Aloha!