Day Four in Hawaii: Breakfast, Boogie Boarding, and Benihana's

We had breakfast at a great restaurant on the beach.  It was the same one where we had dinner on the first night.  The morning was perfect.  While Damien was making table reservations, I was busy taking more pictures of the kids.  How they still smile for me, I don't know.  They are patient kids for sure.  Or, maybe they just know how much I love pictures of my sweet babies.  Can you blame me?  These pictures make me so happy.  Just look at them!

Breakfast was going great.  We had each ordered our drinks and meals and were enjoying the tropical weather.  Some of the kids ordered pancakes and waffles, but Matthew ordered All Bran cereal.  I tried to tell him that it wasn't going to be too sweet but he still went with it.  Once breakfast arrived, everyone dug in.  Everyone was pretty quiet and just eating when Matthew grabbed my arm and said, "Mom, I'm going to barf." 

We sprinted to the bathroom and as soon as I opened the bathroom door, Matthew got to the toilet and did his thing.  Poor guy.  But at least he made it.  I cleaned him up and walked with Matthew through the restaurant as if nothing had happened.  Even Damien believed we were in the clear.  When we got back the table Damien said, "So we are all good?"  I shook my head no and said, "He threw up everything in his stomach."  I looked around at the palm trees, felt the sun on my skin, and listened to the waves crash on the beach.  Surely, we aren't going to be dealing with the stomach flu in Hawaii, right?

Matthew seemed to be feeling a lot better after his episode in the bathroom.  I kept asking him if he felt okay and he said he was fine.  I chose to take his word for it and press on!  We didn't have a lot of things on tap for today.  We wanted to do more swimming and boogie boarding in the ocean.  The kids wanted to make sure we got over to the swimming pools and hit the water slides again.  Matthew wanted to go to the Lagoon and skip his new water ball around.  All of these = no problem.  After hours of fun, we opted to head over across the street and off the hotel's premises to the one and only McDonalds. It wasn't a good sign that Matthew wasn't feeling like eating anything.  We were now on operation NO SHARING in our family.  Poor Matthew.

The kids really took a nose dive in terms of being tired at McDonalds.  We decided to just go back to our rooms and rest for a while.  Sun, swimming, and possible stomach bugs can really take a lot out of you! 

So, when I am feeling sick to my stomach- the last thing I want to do is eat.  Too bad for Matthew that we had reservations at Benihana's that night!  The rest of the family was so excited!  Yummy!  Dinner actually was great.  The kids did well and loved all of the fanfare that comes with that place!  The waiters in the vicinity kept messing around with Emily by pointing a red laser and having it hit her hands, her drink, and her food.  The whole time she had no idea who was doing it!  Pure comedy.

We were almost through with dinner when I stopped mid-story telling to Damien.  "Oh my gosh!  We never went back to the pool after lunch and got our things!" I said.  When we went to McDonald's, we had left our things on a poolside chair.  We didn't want to carry everything over there and the chair we had was in prime waterslide viewing position.  When the kids got exhausted at lunch, we completely forgot about everything that we had left!   We walked back to the hotel with urgency after we realized all that we had left sitting there up for grabs.  We had left Matthew and Emily's life jackets, two boogie boards, two sandcastle kits, two blow up rafts, our swim bag, all four sets of goggles, and the kids clothes that they had worn down to the pool that morning.  Seriously?  How did we not remember to go back for it?

When we got to the concierge and explained our predicament (it was now 9:20 p.m.), they called the pool area and told them what we had left.  I am not kidding when I say that in a matter of minutes, a young man brought all of our things to us in a nice tidy bag.  And that, my friends is one reason that staying in a nice hotel rocks!!  Once we had our things in hand, we rolled our full bodies back up to the rooms and everyone crashed.  Man, this vacation thing is exhausting!  One more full day before we go home.  The kids are already dreading it.

Day Three in Hawaii: Surfing, Shopping, and Sparklers

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. 

Day Two in Hawaii: Hanauma Bay and Luau

We all woke up refreshed this morning.  It was a good feeling because we were all exhausted at bedtime last night.  We all got dressed and decided to go to the restaurant with the yummy breakfast buffet.  Damien and I love a good breakfast buffet but the kids are obsessed!  As most people at a buffet, their eyes were bigger than their stomachs. 

With a fresh glass of pineapple juice at their sides- I watched the kids inhale pancakes, omelets, fresh tropical fruit, breakfast pastries, and so much more.  We let them go for it.  Either they would eat just enough to satiate themselves, or they would learn the most valuable lesson when eating at a buffet.  Most times, you eat until your heart is more than content and then you feel sick for an hour.  The second lesson seemed to be more what they were dealing with!

After breakfast, we decided to take a nice walk along the beach.  There were not a lot of people out and about so we almost felt like the beach was ours!  The kids started collecting little shells, they scoped out some good body surfing areas, we saw a few places which offered actual surfing lessons (Michael, Claire, and Damien had this as number one on their list), and just enjoyed the beauty that surrounded us in every single direction.

Later in the morning, we body surfed and played in the ocean which was a blast!  Matthew and Emily had life jackets on and were pretty independent in the ocean.  There wasn't an undertow so we felt safe to let them float around and ride the swells.  Michael and Claire were more daring and we had to tell them to come in closer to shore every five minutes or so.

We booked a shuttle early this afternoon to go to Hanauma Bay to do some snorkeling!  The day was absolutely gorgeous.  The three older kids wanted to snorkel.  Emily . . . not so much.  Although she is pretty darn capable, the concept of breathing only through your mouth and not being able to breathe through your nose sent her over the edge.  Damien and I took turns snorkeling with the older kids while the other person tried to keep an eye on Emily.

We saw a lot of beautiful fish today.  Snorkeling is best done in the morning before the sand gets kicked up and clouds the water.  We knew that but the early afternoon worked best for us.  Michael and Claire would have snorkeled all day if they could.  Matthew had about an hour of snorkeling in him.  I could stay out there as long as necessary as long as I didn't see any eels. 

Damien and I loved the view from the Hanauma Beach and reminisced a little about our honeymoon almost thirteen years earlier.  We snorkeled back then, too but I did much of my snorkeling on Damien's back as the eels were all over the place!  Damien had purchased fish food and we didn't realize that there was a hole in the bag which was in his pocket!  I practically drowned Damien that day but no eels or fish bit me.  Yes, I have issues I need to work on.

We played in the sand and the surf at the beach and ate whatever snacks we brought with us.  Then it was time to high tail it up the hill to catch our shuttle!  When we got back to the hotel, the kids still had energy to swim.  How they do it, I don't know.  We swam some more, hit the water slides and pool and went back to the room for some rest before the big Luau that evening!  In the midst of all of this, Damien realized he left his credit card back at Hanauma Bay.  Lucky for him, he concocted this awesome plan to get it delivered back to the hotel before the Luau.  Crisis adverted!

The hotel has a fantastic Luau on their premises.  We didn't realize people were lining up over an hour before it started to get good seats.  Turns out that showing up right on time still afforded us a great view of the stage and the kids were still able to join in on all of the children's activities.

One activity was to knock a pineapple off a pole with a ball, another was to get tattoos from some of the Luau dancers.  Basically, they asked the kids what they wanted and then drew tribal drawings on their arms with Sharpies.  The kids loved it!  We did have a little jealousy afterward based on some kids thinking other kid's tattoos were better than theirs.  There is always some type of argument based on who has the best!  Michael opted for a tribal drawing of the tattoo artist's liking, Claire got a tropical flower, Matthew got a shark, and Emily got a dolphin.

The kids absolutely loved the show.  My girls loved the hula dancers and even got up and did their own version of the dance.  My boys loved the dancers wielding fire.  What boy wouldn't love that?  The whole show was great.  The sunset, which set right behind the stage, was absolutely amazing. 

After another full day, we were all ready to go to bed . . . only to do it all again in the morning.  Life is good.  My family is the best.  We are loving this vacation.

Day One in Hawaii: Puppies and Pineapples

Once we were settled into our hotel rooms, we decided to check out the hotel and see what was in store for us for the next five days!  We decided to have some lunch poolside because, well- why wouldn't we?  We were in Hawaii!!!

The lunch started out with a bang when Emily said, "Look!  It's a bunch of little puppies!"  We looked all around and there were no dogs in sight.  Then she said, "The puppies are flying!"  Our little table erupted in laughter.  She was talking about the pigeons.  "Sometimes I like to call pigeons, puppies!" she said with some serious sass.

After lunch and a few yummy fruit smoothies, the kids did some swimming in the ocean.  They loved the waves.  Not big enough to surf on, but big enough to bring on tons of laughter, body surfing, plently of choking on the salt water, and lots of fun.

We went back to the room, showered, and headed down to dinner on the beach.  While we were waiting for our table, Matthew kept complaining that his shirt was really big.  Then he looked at me with a knowing look and said, "I think I am wearing Michael's shirt.  THAT means, Michael is wearing MY shirt!"  I look over at Michael and my handsome son is wearing a way too short, way too tight shirt.  How Matthew realized it and Michael didn't- I'll never know.

We were seated at a table right on the edge of the sand.  The sun had yet to set, the air was still so warm.  It was amazing.  We didn't want to remind the kids of the time change so they kept saying, "It's so weird.  We feel so tired but it is only dinner time!"  One of the funny parts of dinner was watching Damien jump as the rock wall behind him lit up in flames.  He couldn't see it (his back was to it), but the heat hit him and he rocketed out of his seat and drew a lot of funny looks.  Of course it didn't help that when it lit up, I said "Oh my gosh!".  He heard me say that, then felt the heat and freaked out as if something really bad was going down.  We all got such a kick out of this moment.

Damien was insistant on getting the kids a pineapple drink at dinner.  His goal (mine, too) is to make this trip as memorable as we can for the kids.  We don't normally splurge and buy them the frilly drinks at restaurants.  But since we were on vacation in Hawaii, I guess frilly wins out.

We practically had to carry the kids up to the room because they were so tired by the time dinner was finished.  We got them home, threw them into bed in the clothes they were wearing (Michael and Matthew still wearing one another's shirt), and the three older kids were out cold within minutes.  That would leave little Miss Emily.  Surprise, surprise.  Although she was dileriously tired, she was still raring to go. 

We finally made Emily a little bed on the floor. (She's still too wiggly to share a bed with her older siblings and is used to getting the shaft anyway, so sleeping on the floor is no biggie.)  She had just fallen sleep when an unexpected firework show started going off right outside our balcony.  I am serious when I say right outside out balcony.  It was the most gorgeous firework show I have ever seen.  Each boom shook the hotel and the sound was so loud!  It lasted about fifteen minutes and it was spectacular!  We tried to wake the older kids up, but they were passed out.  I have no idea how they slept through it!

Emily was beside herself.  She kept saying how pretty the fireworks were.  See, it pays off to be pesky and not go to sleep!  Maybe she was onto something.  Damien, Emily and I went outside on the balcony to watch the show but it literally was hurting our ears.  We went back inside to enjoy the rest of the show.

To say that our first day in Hawaii ended with a bang is just too perfectly put.  This is going to be an amazing experience for all six of us.  Now let's get some sleep!