E Komo Mai

After months of planning it was finally time to get on a plane and head to Oahu for a much anticipated family vacation.  Because this vacation primarily centered around water we decided to leave the non-swimmers at home with Grandma Brenda.

Bright and early Saturday morning we boarded a plane to Hawaii.

We booked a two bedroom villa at Aulani in Ko'Olina.  It can accommodate 9 people.  In addition to Jim, myself, Lilliana, and Mark we had my dad, Mark, and Jim's mom Kathy come with us.  Also my sister Whitney who attends BYU-Hawaii came to spend a few days with us when she didn't have class.  The resort is on the southwest part of the island.  It's about a 40 minute drive to Waikiki and a 20 minute drive from the airport.

After arriving safely in Honolulu we tried to stop at Walmart to pick up some food.  We saw one from off the freeway but couldn't figure out how to get there.  We managed to find a Kmart and picked up some snacks for the room.  Little Mark found the Hawaiian shirt section and picked out 2 shirts.  He also got a pair of Locals "slippahs" (or what you mainlanders like to call flip flops).   I tried to tell Mark that in Hawaii they are called slippahs, he kept insisting it's pronounced slippERS.  In the parking lot at Kmart was the famous Leonards Bakery truck making fresh hot malasadas.  Jim got 3 dozen to take back to the hotel.  They were ok…Whitney said they normally taste a lot better.  I think maybe they just used old oil or maybe the oil wasn't at the right temp and it made them too greasy.  Maybe we will have to try it again when we go back in a few years.  We rented a minivan, but failed to take into account that each of us had a suitcase and a carry on.  There was barely room for us at this point, but then we had to try to get the groceries to fit too!  Somehow with my magical packing abilities we fit all of us and our bags.  With the car literally packed to the brim with our luggage and the groceries we headed out for the resort.

The resort is in a beautiful community with a 2 other hotels (the JW Marriott, and a Marriott timeshare). There is also a golf course and a luau place called Paradise Cove.  When we arrived at the hotel we were given a traditional lei greeting and the kids were given a necklace with a menehune charm.  They have an online check-in that you can do 60 days prior to arrival so we were given our keys right there and were sent up to our room.  We booked an island view room, but after doing some research I discovered that if you request it right you can get an room with a partial view of the ocean without the ocean view price.

Looking straight out from our balcony

If you turned your head to the right...

After getting settled the kids and grandparents went down to the pool and beach.  Jim and I took a little road trip to the northshore to pick-up Whitney.  I hadn't been back to Hawaii since I went to school there many years ago (no I will not say how long it was).  Not very much had changed.  After picking up Whitney we headed back to the hotel for dinner.  We decided to try Ama Ama there at the hotel.  The food was very good, but the view was even better.

Sunday we got ourselves dressed and ready for church.

Jim and Mark were rocking the Aloha spirit with their new shirts.

A little story about the flowers in our hair.  The day before we had walked around the resort a little but most of the trees I saw didn't have flowers.  The trees that did have flowers were really high up.  So the next morning when my sister and I were out for a walk I spotted a plumeria tree with some flowers that were KINDA reachable.  Being the resourceful person that I am I thought it would be a great idea to use one of those chairs for the handicapped to use the pool to use as a boost up to reach the flowers.  Those things are not steady at all - I was sure I was going to come crashing down into the pool.  Luckily I stayed dry and I got my flower.

 The next day was Monday and I had booked us a helicopter tour of the island.  At first I told Jim there was NO WAY I was going to go, but they wore me down and I consented.  I did however tell Jim before we boarded that if anything happened to us he was stuck with me forever and he was going to get a talking to on the other side.  After a safety briefing our helicopter arrived and we were off.  Our pilot was a former army helicopter instructor for over 20 years (that did make me feel safer).  Each of us had headset and a microphone.  At first Mark and Lilliana were to afraid to ask any questions, but after a few minutes it was hard to get them to stop. :)  It was a beautiful clear day and we could even see sea turtles in the water.

Mark got to be co-pilot

Chinaman's Hat

Sacred Falls (you can no longer hike to the base of Sacred Falls).  Apparently there was some sort of rockslide or landslide and people were killed.  It took a few days to get to them because the valley is so narrow.  My mom and I were able to hike it when she brought me out to college.

We survived!

Towards the end of the tour we even flew right over the USS Arizona, but I was starting to feel a little sick to my stomach so I didn't get any pictures of it.  Thank goodness we landed shortly after that or I think I would have had to use one of those "convenience" bags they provide in the seat back.  See those yellow squares we are using - those are life vests in case of a water landing...

That afternoon the kids and grandparents got in some quality time while Jim and I headed to the spa.  Jim got a traditional massage, while I got something called the Kilikili.  They give you a body scrub, followed by a massage, and then a moisturizing treatment all while warm water is showering down on you.  Seriously it was AWESOME!  The spa there is incredible.  

Tuesday morning was spent at the beach and swimming in the pools.  Around 12 we cleaned up and headed to the north shore to take a quick tour of BYU-Hawaii (we are starting now to encourage Lilliana to go there) and then to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the rest of the afternoon and evening.  First stop was the temple.  It recently went through a major renovation inside and was closed for a few years.  I really wanted to go inside, but alas we just didn't have time.  Next time though :)

A view from the top looking away from the temple.  At the end of that street is the ocean.  The beach is called, "Temple View" beach.  When I went to school there I was told the beach had been dedicated so that baptisms could be performed there.  I don't know if that's true or not, but it's cool to think about.

Right next door is BYU Hawaii campus.  Whitney showed the kids around a bit and then we headed to the PCC.  We decided to go all out and stay for the luau dinner and then the night show.

At the PCC each of the main islands that make up Polynesia is represented.  We got there a bit later in the afternoon so we only had time to check out Samoa and Aotearoa.  In Samoa they showed us how to make fire with two sticks.  Mark and Lilliana tried it out - no luck.

Also in Samoa they do a little mini show demonstrating how they open and use the coconut.  Mark volunteered to come up and try the coconut water.  (I was dying laughing inside because I knew he would hate it - if you've never tried it it tastes like dirt water).  Mark's expression when he tried it was priceless.  The guy who gave Mark the coconut tried to get him to finish it, but Mark wasn't about to drink anymore.  I was however very proud of Mark for volunteering to try it, he is my pickiest eater.

They also have some canoe rides you can take.  Somehow Mark lost his seat and got to sit on the front of the canoe.

After the canoe ride it was time to head to the luau for dinner.  It was buffet style with a traditional luau foods served.  My favorite thing they have are these taro rolls that are literally bright purple.  I'm sure they probably add purple food coloring, but the taro root does already give it a purple color.  I didn't get a pic, but if you google taro rolls you will get a bunch of images.  After dinner we went to see the night show, Ha.  It was a very well done show with a nice story to it.  My kids favorite part was the fire dancers.

Wednesday was the day my Dad was flying out.  I thought it would be fun to hike Diamond Head together so we got up early to make the hike before his flight.  We left the hotel around 8a and got to Diamond Head around 9a.

 You would think the kids would have been more enthusiastic about hiking in a volcano, but no, pretty much the entire hike they complained that they were tired and wanted to take a rest.  Roundtrip the hike is 1.5 miles.  This summer we did a hike of the Stanford dish which is about 3 miles, most of it straight up hills and the kids RAN it.  I knew they were perfectly capable to do this hike.  Granted the hike to the top was all uphill but it's really not that difficult.  The last little bit gets you sweaty, but that's it.  After lots of "are we there yet," we finally made it to the top.  (I asked my Dad if my brothers and I were like this when he would take us somewhere and he said, "YUP!"  I guess it's payback time...

About 3/4 of the way up there is a split in the trail and you can either take this stairway up or go around and take a short hike.  We opted to take the hike around, but to take the stairs going down.

On the way down the kids were racing each other trying to be the leader.  Can you guess what happened?  At one point they were jostling for position and Mark managed to bang his head on the metal handrail that goes along the length of the trail.  He was fine, but not without some tears.  Down at the bottom of the trail in the parking lot is a lovely man selling shave ice among other snacks.  We sat on the lawn in the shade and enjoyed our refreshing treat.  It was around 10:30a and it was time to get Grandpa to the airport.  After we dropped Grandpa off at the airport Mark, Lillie and I headed to the Aloha stadium for the swap meet!  They charge per person (12 and under are free) so it only cost me $1.  The swap meet encircles the outside of the entire stadium.  We were there for about 2 hours and didn't even make it 1/4 of the way around.  The prices here are probably the best you would find on the island.  For example Lilliana wanted a shark tooth necklace.  We saw one the night before at the PCC for about $12, at the swap meet it was $1.  We bought t-shirts, some jewelry, a cute beach bag, dresses for Camille and Allison, and Mark picked out one of those ridiculously impossible 3-d wood puzzles.  I also picked up the accessories for Allison's Halloween costume.  We finished our shopping and headed back to the hotel.  It was time for some relaxation by the pool and the beach.

It was so nice to have that quick option of the beach or the pool.  They even had food and drink service on the beach.  Also down at the beach you could check-out boogie boards, and sand toys.  I think there was more, but I can't remember what it was.  You could also rent paddle boards, and kayaks.  We tried those out later in the week.  The beach is in a nice protected lagoon with very almost no waves which is really great for little kids.

Earlier in the week I failed to mention that we found a Target so I bought each of the kids a snorkeling mask and snorkel.  They figured out how to use them pretty quick and off they went into the lagoon in search of fish.  The first two days you could hear them yelling, "FISH, FISH!" through the snorkel.  The fish in the lagoon weren't all the colorful, but it was a nice calm safe place for them to learn.  Next time if it's the right season we will take them to the north shore and we might see some sea turtles.   At one point Jim's mom Kathy said she saw an eel!  I didn't spend anytime snorkeling as I really really really don't like the thought of fish swimming close to me.

Mark especially enjoyed snorkeling.  As you can see he was ready.  We had just left the room and were waiting for the elevator.

On Thursday I signed Lillie and I up for surfing lessons.  I found a company called Hawaiian Fire and they did an absolutely wonderful job.  I would totally go back to them and highly recommend them.

Jim and Mark got to spend some quality 1:1 time with the boys.  Later in the afternoon I took Lilliana to the spa to be treated to a pedicure.  It looked like she hated the whole thing, but afterwards she said it was one of her favorite parts of the trip.

I left Friday totally open and we spent the day lounging by the pools and the beach.  Lilliana really wanted to try paddleboarding so we rented one for an hour.  Once she figured out how to switch her hands with the paddle she did great.

Mark came and joined us at the beach and he wanted to kayak.  So we rented 2 kayaks with Lilliana in one and Mark and I in the other.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well Mark could paddle.  I barely had to do any work.

Aunt Whitney got to come play a few of the days we were there!

One of the afternoons (I think it was Thursday) they offered a hula class.  So Kathy and I went.  Towards the end of the class Minnie showed up to hula with us.

Even though we were on vacation I did get to a few fitness classes.  They had a sunrise yoga class that was surprisinly pretty good.  It was really fun to be able to do yoga right on the beach.

They also had a beach workout class where you did a circut of cardio and weight training.  It too was on the beach, but this one had the added "benefit" of being in the sand.  Thank goodness the class was only 45 min.

On Thursday morning for breakfast we went to the character buffet.  The food was delicious and the entertainment was a lot of fun too.  In addition to the characters coming around to your table they also had some activities for the kids to participate in.  Mark was willing to be a part of the fun.

Throughout the week we would happen upon a Disney character and the kids loved getting their pictures taken with them.

This truly was an incredible trip.  It was hard to be away from Camille and Allison for that long, but they will get to come when we go in 2015.  We had originally planned to take the family to Walt Disney World in 2015, but we loved Aulani so much we decided to put that trip off for a few more years and take everyone back to Hawaii.  Aloha!