Hawaii Part II

Hawaii Part 2

Alicia is forcing me to blog, so here is my input. The Dole plantation was fun, seeing all the different kinds of pineapples were cool. There were big ones, small ones, and some as big as your head. Overall the place was really cool, but the train ride was a scam. In the words of Cameron Cunningham, "It was a teenage waste land of pineapple pollution." The plus of the whole trip was the fresh Pineapple Dole Whips which we ate with haste and were sad to see disappear so fast.

Alicia like the cute baby Pink pineapple. She loves everything that's small and pink.
Helena and my sister Rachel making faces in the cut out.
The next adventure we embarked on was a Catamaran and snorkeling extravaganza. The boat was totally awesome and to much of my surprise Alicia had so much fun and I was so proud of how brave she was fro snorkeling for so long and by her self even. We're slowly getting over that fear of the unknown. She's so rad!

This is Courtney and Cameron (aka; Brigham) on the Catamaran.
At one point the crew members passed around a Conch Shell and had us blow in it and try to make a horn sound. It was through this shell that most modern ship's now have that unique loud horn sound that they use to let other boats aware of where they are.




This was the main lagoon at the resort. It was really nice to sit in and lounge the day away, but for me I was sad that there were no waves to body surf on.
One night thanks to Alicia's Island obsession with virgin Lava Flows, we decided to make our own. Thanks Rachel for making these delicious drinks.This is us or me at Lani Kai Beach. In the background you can see two little twin Islands I forgot the name. I so wanted to swim all the way out there, but we ran out of time. The water was so nice and warm.
This is the back yard of the Cloward's House. The Cloward's are family friends that we connected with by way of the singles ward. I met Kelly and Kim when I got back from my mission and our families have connected and are so grateful to count them as our family friends. While we were there Kerry (their Dad) and Kelly took us out on the local break to surf some waves in their ocean kayak's. I also paddled out with Kerry but soon found myself far out and caught in a strong current so I paddled back in a grabbed a kayak to join Kelly out there. It was so much fun just being in the ocean. Truly this place is paradise.


The next day we went for a drive up the coast to see Sunset and Waimea Bay. Along the way we stopped and saw the turtles laying on the beach. It was so funny to see them army crawl up to the shore and then flop down and pass out almost instantly. It reminded me of watching my dad sit down to read his scriptures on Sunday afternoon.
At Sunset Helena got a face full of sand and it didn't even phase her. Rachel on the other hand did not find it as funny as Helena.
Ahhh...the sand was as soft as a cloud.


The Laie Temple was so rad, the missionaries were awesome and I think Alicia and I know where we want to serve one of our missions when we get older.
There's a special Spirit at that Temple. It always brought a smile to our faces.
On the way back from the temple my mom and dad where talking about when my Mom use to live there and how they ate at this one place 30 years ago. So thanks to James (Our GPS) we were able to find the same restaurant that they were talking about and had a late dinner there.
Upon our arrival home Alicia and I were in morning to have to leave that beautiful place and return to bitter reality.

Hawaii Part I

Oahu, I wish I could start and end this post with just that one word but that wouldn't be enough for those that read this blog. (If there are any) Our trip to Oahu was so much fun. We stayed at The Marriott Resort at Ko' Olina beach Resort. Here is an aerial picture of the resort:

The first morning we went to breakfast at the hotel beach shack. Helena loves to eat dishes. What makes it especially hilarious is that the cup is clear and you can see her chowing down. She looks so cute in her sunglasses.

The first day we went to Costco to load on food for the week. Loading up is an understatement. It's way to easy to go overboard (which we did)
This is the view from the lanai. We had two beds and two pull out couches. Helena had her own little bedroom nook. Rachel slept in the pull out couch closet to Helena. Courtney, Cameron, Drew and I would take turns swapping between the pull out bed and the nice comfy bed. Rachel, Lynn, Helena and I all went and got or nails done.=)
Later in the day we hung out in the pool and that night we went to a little Luau sneak peak on the grass of the hotel.
Day two Drew and I spent the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I could not wait to take Drew there because he most days thinks he is Polynesian. This is what Drew thought about it "The PCC was amazing, I felt like my skin turned brown by the end of the day. I love my Poly's" When we visited the Island of Tonga they asked for a couple of Volunteers. Guess who was chosen to go up and preform? Yes that's right Drew was the best one up there.

He also learned to throw spears. Instead of arguing this specific island I can't remember which one would have a spear throwing contest.

So Drew and I are watching the canoe pageant and who should appear but my friend Esther! It was such a fun surprise we met up later that night. Her daughter is so adorable. It was nice to catch up with her.



My extremely happy husband at the end of a very fun day!!!