We started our third day in Hawaii off with a run to Starbucks. We are still getting used to the prices in Hawaii. For a drink and a treat for each person in our family, our bill came to $60.00! Whoa! Yesterday, Damien was able to book surfing lessons for Michael and Claire. What was going to be tough was telling Matthew that he wasn't going to be surfing. He loves to relate with the big kids so much and when they talked about wanting to surf, he was right there with them.
We thought that maybe a conversation about surfing while enjoying a hot chocolate and chocolate croissant would be good. Turns out, there was no way to let this little guy down softly. HE WAS CRUSHED. However, the show must go on. Damien, Michael and Claire left to take the walk down the beach to their lessons, and I was left with Emily and Matthew who was now reduced to a puddle of tears.
In trying to make the best of the situation, we went to the ABC Gift Store to get both Matthew and Emily a prize. While this didn't totally cure him of his sadness, it certainly did help. Matthew got this awesome water skipping ball while Emily opted for a Hello Kitty bag. Done and done. We also picked up some sand toys for what I promised was going to be the best time at the beach!
The three of us had a lot of fun. We toured the property and said hi to the Penguins (Emily called them Puppets), the flamingos, the beautiful koi fish, and the parrots. The two little kids loved the slow pace of the morning as we had our fun. We changed into our suits and then built sandcastles on the beach! It really was a wonderful time with my two littles!
About half of a mile down the beach- Damien, Michael, and Claire were in a completely different world than we were! Michael and Claire were learning how to surf! Damien rented a surf board and surfed on his own (he's done it a few times) and was able to snap some amazing pictures of the kids surfing (with our waterproof camera).
They both had personal instructors and were able to pop up on waves almost immediately! There were even a few times when they both got up on the same wave! Once they were more confident, they started doing funny poses on their surf boards and made sure to give the
Hang Loose sign. By the time they came back to the hotel they had permanent, but tired, grins on their faces.
Once we were all back in the room, we changed, packed up, and headed out to go to the International Marketplace. We decided to take a cab because we had a lot of tired legs in our group. The kids were really excited to go to the Market and find a special treasure. There is so much to see there! It is incredible how many different kinds of arts and crafts.
Both Emily and Claire opted to get these cool rainbow leather bracelets with their names inscribed on them. Matthew chose to get a small tiki statue while Michael chose to purchase a miniature surf board. I love their different likes and styles!
After a Hawaiian shaved ice, some yummy lunch, and a lot of tired whining (these kids were tired)- we headed back to the hotel once again. Emily, Matthew, Damien, and Michael went down for a nap while Claire and I went for a coffee and a walk on the beach. Such special time with my sweet Claire. We even walked out to a really cool jetty and watched people surf and enjoyed the perfect view.
Once the rest of the group woke up, we went on the water slides once again. The greatest thing about these water slides, we could see the kids at all times. We paired one big kid with one little kid and the rule was that they couldn't separate. Would you know that the rule worked? It was amazing!!! Damien and I looked at each other and agreed that finally, we have arrived. It's been a lot of years of always needing to be in the pool with the kids. That is a different thing than
wanting to be in the pool. We needed to . . . until this trip!
They were hilarious in the pool. They all loved the slide with the tube and loved going from pool to pool. They loved jumping to one another from the side and played a lot of fun games together. It was a beautiful thing to watch them
figure it out.
We were going to go up to the room and get dressed again (for dinner), but it seemed so repetitive! HA! That is what vacation is about! There was going to be an amazing firework show on the beach once the sun went down. We decided not to go out for dinner but instead went out and got some Cokes, a bag of chips, and an Extra Large Round Table Pizza and ate dinner on the beach. It was the best!
No sooner did we eat the last piece of pizza did the firework show start. There I sat next to my beautiful children and my best friend. It was so emotional to watch the bursts of color reflect off of their beautiful faces. It was this moment that I might remember most from this trip. The kids squealed with delight as each firework popped. I am not sure they have ever seen fireworks so close up.
What a day! And to think we'll be here for another two days. We are so blessed.
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