Our Trip to Hawaii!

Just to warn you, this is a pretty long post!

Sometime after our 9th Anniversary in February, Jared and I began discussing what we should do for our 10th anniversary coming up that next year.  We have never been on a trip longer than a couple of days together and when we’ve done that, it’s been in conjunction with seminars and conferences for Jared’s work.  Even our Honeymoon was only a two-day jaunt up to East Canyon, UT.  Because I am pregnant, we knew that we wanted to do something before our actual anniversary since, it takes me a while to be able to leave my babies.

Sometime in June or July, we learned that Jared’s Uncle who is the temple president at the Laie Temple on Oahu was going to be released at the end of October.  Jared called his aunt and asked if there would be sometime that would be good for them for us to come down and visit them and see Hawaii.

I was super nervous about this trip for months and months.  Frightened to leave our kids, concerned over the cost, petrified to fly over the ocean…you get the idea.

Thankfully, my sweet friend and neighbor, Bernadette, offered to take my kids so that we could go and I could have some peace of mind.  She’s an amazing friend and I really love how picky she is about the things she exposes her kids to so I felt very safe leaving them with her.

My friend Christina was a sweet heart and dropped us off at the airport early the morning that we left.

The flight was pretty long for someone who is 6 months pregnant.  But it wasn’t too terrible.  This was my first stop inside the airport once we arrived and I had to laugh.

It was beautiful rainy weather when we arrived and it was really beautiful driving up to the northern part of the island.  Our flight had been delayed by three and a half hours so we missed some of the activities that Jared’s aunt and uncle had planned for us to do that day, which was a bit of a bummer but we were able to meet them for dinner at the Polynesian cultural center in their fine dinning restaurant.  It was very fun to be their guests since many of the employees knew them and we got to meet quite a few people.

Here is Jared’s cute aunt Kaye (somehow, Ross escaped every time I pulled out the camera).  The décor in there was absolutely amazing!  I couldn’t believe the size of the place.  The amazing torches and murals were incredible.

Jared, ready to start packing it in at the all-you-can-eat buffet.

After dinner, we were able to go to the “Ha: Breath of Life” show.  It was amazing and beautiful and I was so happy and thrilled that I could experience the show in real life.  We bought the DVD because I just wanted to remember the powerful feelings I felt as I watched this show.  It really affirms how beautiful life is and how precious our children are.

The next day, we attended the temple in the morning and were excited to be able to go back to the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center) again for the tour since we missed it because of our delayed flight.  I wish we could have spent even more time there, it has such a fabulous atmosphere there.

On the tour we watched a few shows, and sadly, my camera was flaking out so most of these photos are from my phone.  Thank goodness that cell phones have cameras!

This guy was amazing and he was able to milk a coconut with his bare hands!

This is a man who climbed the coconut tree….you’d have to be so strong!

Here’s this cute guy I was enjoying my experience with.

I loved watching the various styles of dancing that each group of islands displayed on the parade of colors that goes past in canoes.  As you can tell, it was pretty crowded.

My favorite section of the PCC was Tahiti and how they showed their marriage ceremony.  It was kind of romantic and I loved the symbolism in the ceremony.

After our tour, we had fun talking to our tour guides and I learned that one of them is a cousin of our good friends.  It’s certainly a small world!

After a busy day at the Temple and PCC, it was nice to go back to Kaye and Ross’s to just spend some time visiting with them.

The next day we had a new adventure that I’d never experienced before….we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay!

Here is a photo as we walked down the bay…you can see the reef from up the hill.

I actually hate this photo of me…but at least it does prove that I really was there.  I was so nervous about going snorkeling…poor Jared was super patient with me.  I used to be so fearless…that is until I became a mommy.  Now, I either know how mortal I really am, or it’s that I know that my kids need me but doing things that I used to think were fun adventures (like climbing up the face of mountains, snorkeling, flying over the ocean,…etc.) make me nervous.  Too bad for Jared that I was less nervous about things before we got married, he was the one that was considered the more cautious one when we met.  How time and experience can change things.

Anyhow, I convinced Jared to get me a floatation device for around my waist…which now I think I should have thought twice about….I was so buoyant with my pregnant belly that I kept being pushed back to shore.   Poor Jared.  We kept going pretty far out and then suddenly a big wave would come up and push me back to the beach.  Thankfully, we were able to see some fish.  The water probably would have cleared up a bit if we could have gone out a little further.

Here’s one of the best photos we got with the little underwater camera we got.

Jared’s looking confident in his snorkeling gear!

This photo of me cracks me up because I was trying to keep my head and body in the water enough to be in the photo I was just so floaty.  The weirdest thing about snorkeling when pregnant is that when I was watching a school of fish I suddenly felt like that’s what was in me…causing a little wave of nausea that I didn’t expect.

After our snorkeling adventure that day, we had planned on going to the swap meet, but for some strange reason (called a game), they had decided to close it for the day.  Too bad, because I was really looking forward to going.

We decided to head up around the island the opposite way that we came down and stopped at the Dole plantation just to look around at the gift shop and the pineapples growing around the front.  We decided to pass on the maze since we wanted to see some other things on the North Shore as well.

Jared was laughing at me as we drove along and I was amazed at the red iron-rich dirt they have there…especially that I kept taking photos of the dirt. On the North Shore, Jared and I stopped to have some of Matsumoto’s famous Shaved Ice. It was pretty good, though I have to admit, I’ve come to the conclusion that coconut “flavoring” is not my favorite.  I like real coconut but if it’s fake it’s yucky to me.  Luckily, Jared didn’t mind and enjoyed the rest of mine while I enjoyed the rest of his.

After our little treat, we went on a little hike and wondered around the Botanical garden by Waimea Falls.  It was simply GORGEOUS there, and one of my favorite things that we did (okay, who am I kidding…I loved most everything we did but this was one of the most beautiful).

Here we are in front of the falls.  They were beautiful and there were lots of swimmers there even though it was going to close in about half an hour.  I really enjoyed our walk there more than the falls themselves I must admit.

The next day was Sunday so we decided to walk over to the Temple’s Visitor Center and take some photos as well.  Jared’s uncle and aunt also spoke in a two wards that day, which we got to attend and that was fun.  I am amaze that they can speak so often and not run out of interesting things to say.

I had fun chatting with the sister missionaries there…I guess I’m just young at heart (or just immature), but I tend to get along really well with younger unmarried people…probably that’s why I loved teaching teenagers in high school (though I have to say that those who are junior high age are really difficult for me to be around…they are a little too emotional for me).  I thought it was funny/interesting that all the sisters at the Hawaii Temple Visitors center wear matching dresses and it’s the color of Hawaii….and the background for the Christos there is that same Aqua-Teal color.

 

Just a disclaimer, it’s so windy in Hawaii that my hair never looked great outside—even if I had it in a ponytail.

The next day, Monday, we went to Pearl Harbor.  It was really interesting and I would have loved to spend more time there.  We walked around looking at all the plaques by the water and then only went to the free Pearl Harbor Museum there, the Arizona Memorial and the Bowfin Submarine and Bowfin Museum.  By the time we had done all of those things oddly enough my left ankle was really swollen and I didn’t want to walk anymore.  I wish we had more days to spend there because it was really interesting there.

Here are some survivors of Pearl Harbor that we got our photos with.

The “Tree of Life” art piece that was on both sides of the Arizona Memorial.

Here are some photos of Jared on the Bowfin.

So glad that the doors at houses are not this small.

Both Jared and I on the Bowfin.

After our Pearl Harbor visit, we decided to try to go and see if we could spot a turtle on this beach that Jared’s aunt and uncle called “Turtle Beach”  we were excited to see this big guy.

The area around this turtle was roped off and there were people all around.  It’s so cool that we could be so close to such a beautiful creature.

The next morning, we prepared to leave for home.  We really wanted to watch the sunrise so we woke early and walked down to the beach (it wasn’t really much of a feat since I still hadn’t adjusted to their time zone and was waking at 4am every morning).  The sky was pretty cloudy so it wasn’t the best sunrise but it was still beautiful.  As most everything there did, it made me wish I had a better camera with a better lens that could shoot wider.

Here we are waiting for the sun.

A runner came past us and offered to take our photo which was much appreciated.

 

I had seen this idea on Pinterest and thought it was really cute idea…I wasn’t expecting the wave to wash away our names right before I took the picture though.

Here is the sunrise that we got…a little obscured but it was still magnificent.

I love this plant…so I thought I’d share a photo.

We went back to the house and then got ready and attended the Temple for a session.  We got to see Jared’s aunt Kaye one last time and enjoy the peace the temple brings. Afterwards, we had a little time until we needed to head to the airport, so we took a walk above the Temple where there is a beautiful garden and an old graveyard with a beautiful view of the ocean and mountains on the opposite side.

At the bottom of the hill about to ascend on our walk.

Jared was cracking me up with his obsession with the coconuts on the trees.

I, myself was a little obsessed with the gorgeous plumeria flowers.  Their fragrance is so AMAZING.

After our walk, we packed up the car and drove to the airport, we did take one detour past the Macadamia Nut Outlet Store to get some treats.  It was pretty much a tourist trap but it was an interesting place to stop.

The airport was insanely busy and I was so homesick for my kids I was wishing that Scotty really could beam me up.  I wore the Lai that Kaye gave us at the airport so it wouldn’t get crushed and got a ton of attention from that….not exactly what someone who’s six months pregnant wants but it was okay.

 

All I wanted was to see my babies but I was really thankful for the time that Jared and I were able to spend on a new experience together.  I think it really has helped to strengthen our relationship to have spent some time alone together.  I’m so thankful that we were able to go see a place that I’ve always dreamed of going to.  I’m even more grateful that Jared is my best friend in the whole world and that I’ve been able to know him these past years and married almost ten years to him.  He’s a great man.

4 Months Along + Sugar and Spice

On August 18th, I got to have a very fun experience…we had our 18-week ultra-sound.  The coolest thing about it is that my OB recommended we have this guy who comes to your home and makes a DVD along with the full-diagnostic report do it for us.  My Dr. said that this was the most cost-effective way to have it done and the people love it.  I was a little apprehensive about the whole idea of someone coming into my home and doing it, but they guy who does it comes and does a fabulous job.  He has all the equipment and tells you everything you’re looking at, and on top of that, everything is recorded on the DVD.  Because we did it this way, the kids were all able to watch, Jared was there without having to get off from work, and my two good friends, Bernadette and Jenny were able to come too.  Jared was designated the camera man and that was a problem because as soon as all that neat equipment came out, Jared completely lost focus on what he was supposed to do.  So this is the only photo we have, Vivian trying to  retain the spot on the sofa for herself when I needed to lay down to have my ultrasound down.  Once the kids saw the baby up on the screen though, they were so excited they were really quite good.

The guy who did our ultrasound said that he has never been wrong on predicting the gender of a baby so if he’s wrong, he will reimburse us 100% what we paid and give us a months supply of diapers.  So far, he’s never had to do that and he’s been in the business since 1978.  So I’m happy to announce that we’re having another girl.  Christian was not very happy about this, and watched the video a couple of times afterwards to make sure it really was a girl.  I figure, for our family, a girl will be good.  She will be a good friend for Vivian as well as a roommate and since Vivian’s room is the largest, it will be easier to add one more bed in there.  Christian will be almost seven by the time the baby comes and that’s a pretty big age gap to be sharing a room…especially when the big brother loves choking hazards like Legos.

Later that week, I realized that I had never taken a photo of Vivian in the pink dress my mom brought over that used to be mine.  I need to find of photo of me in this but I know she has TONS more hair than I did at the same age.

I love how her smile just sparkles.

This photo shows her entourage that follows her pretty much wherever she goes.  It consists of her two princess babies, her unicorn and a sippy cup.  That day, she had added the pink bear too.

On Sunday August 26, Jared realized that he hadn’t taken a photo of what I looked like at 19 Weeks with my belly so I obliged.  It’s not a very flattering photo.  Sadly, I don’t think I’ll ever be one of those women who look really cute pregnant.  I’m just not shaped right for it or something and I just look chunky.  Oh well, I have to say, despite my lack of cuteness while pregnant, I sure make cute kids!

They’re Climbing the Walls!

Both Christian and Vivian are very tough children who are very good at climbing.  I never realized that putting Vivian into swimming lessons would help her ultimately be able to climb up anything she wants to.  Because they taught the kids to pull themselves up out of the pool and then jump back in, Vivian now can pull herself up on to the counter or anything else she wants to.  Here she is, my two-year old, climbing the door-frame!

I love that Christian is plugging his ears in the background, afraid that she might fall!  Christian can climb the door frame too and hang out at the top but the photo was too blurry to post.

These kids are such monkeys, I feel very blessed that they are so strong but it does worry me just a bit.

Lydia’s Princess Party

The first weekend of August we got to spend with my friend Sherrada’s family as we celebrated her little girl, Lydia’s 4th Birthday.  It is always so much fun to see what cute things Sherrada will come up with for her kids’ Birthday parties.  This year it was a princess theme, so each activity was from a Disney princess movie.  When the children first arrived at the party, they were each given a crown and various accessories to make them into a prince or princess.   The most clever activity (at least to me) was pin the lips on the frog.  From “The Frog Princess”.  It was so cute.  I love how even though you can’t see Vivian’s face, you can see how excited she was to play this one. The other cute one, was the “Musical Magic Carpets”  Played like musical chairs of course, but with less danger of kids falling into chairs…Brilliant!  They also had, build a sand castle for Ariel (in the yard).  Here are a couple of photos of Princess Lydia opening her gifts.

Christian looked almost as excited as she was!

Princess Lydia having a discussion with the Queen.

Prince Christian letting his sister sit on his lap during presents.

But even with all those activities and presents, the best part of a party is….the cake!  At least to Vivian!

Nothing better than a pink cupcake with sprinkles!

Open wide!

Now that is something to grin about!

Touring the Fire Station

The same day we got Vivian’s haircut, was the same day that we picked up the van from the shop.  We also had a birthday party to attend that day.  We stopped by the Library and Vivian was excited to get to hold the gift in her lap while we waited in the car for Jared to get the book he had placed on hold.

As we were sitting there, Christian spotted this car out in the parking lot and he kept saying how cool it looked.  I had to laugh…I guess it was so different from what he is used to seeing that this looked really neat to him.  I asked him what he liked about it and he commented that the shape was so nifty.  I remember when most cars were this shape.

He didn’t understand why I thought it was so funny that he thought this car was cool but I can’t help it.  I would have called this a “Grandpa Car” when I was a kid.

After our errand, we finally got to go tour the Fire Station!

Here is a photo of Jared holding Vivian and Christian staring at the TV in the Firemen’s lounge area (the Olympics were playing that week).

Here’s Vivian, happy to perch on top of the Fire Engine.

The kids were very excited to see all the gadgets the Firemen showed them.

Christian was happy to sit in the drivers seat and Vivian was a happy co-pilot.

Here, Jared was trying to get our kids out of the front!

The Fire Fighters were really nice and let the kids play on the paramedic truck.  Christian enjoyed playing wounded on the gurney with all the kids pretending to resuscitate him.  I kept a close eye on that, I was a little nervous about the CPR skills of the other kids.  

Here are all the kids that came to the party!  It was really cute how excited they all were about the tour.  I think this photo is pretty funny too,as you can see my own kids little personalities shining through in their postures.

Vivian’s First Haircut!

After some debating about it, we decided to get Vivian’s hair cut.  Because of how her hair had grown in as a baby she had a long ponytail in the middle of her head with short hair all around it—kind of funny looking, but I was waiting for the sides to get long enough to get the middle part cut.  Vivian was also seemingly terrified to get her hair cut.  Every time I’d mention it, she’d scream in terror.  This may have to do with an interesting ordeal that have happened when a certain big brother decided to do surgery with the scissors on her sweater a while ago.

When we did finally take her though, she was actually pretty well-behaved.  I think that she was excited when she saw how many other women were at the salon and seeming to enjoy getting their hair played with.

Vivian, watching some other girls get their hair cut too.

Getting the cape put on her.

I’m not sure she liked the cape too much.

Discussing what to do with her hair.

Watching the beautician.

Holding super still.

Almost done.

What do you think?

All done!

Thank you!

Happy to get a sucker for good behavior!

She was so proud after her haircut, she had to tell everyone all about it all day…especially about the sucker!

Christian’s First Day of First Grade

On July 23rd Christian headed back to school.  That’s how it is here in Arizona.  You start school when it’s really hot so that you can have longer breaks when you can actually be outside without getting heat stroke.  Last year, Christian was so excited to start school.  This year, he was still excited but apprehensive about who would be in his class.  This year has seemed so hot, I just didn’t even feel ready to go school shopping or worry about supplies, I still did it, but I really dragged my feet.  Thank goodness for my sweet mom, who sent us some nice shorts she had found that were his size which was really what we needed.

Here he is lining up in the school-yard with all the kids.  He was super excited that his favorite little girl (who’s standing in front of him with the blonde hair) was in his class again this year.  Isn’t he handsome?

I’m so proud of my little 1st grader!  I can hardly believe that he’s getting so old!