Hawaii Part 2

First off...Happy 6 months to Jack!! I can't believe he is half a year old!! Time just goes faster and faster and faster.

Lets see...Monday we went with some friends to the Zoo. Claire always enjoys the zoo. It was actually a lot bigger than I thought it would be for being in Honolulu.

Monday night, Brian was nice enough to let Rachel and me go out to dinner. We looked up some buffets online and decided to go to one in the Pacific Hotel. Well the one we thought was there was out of business but they had another one. We didn't even think about calling for a reservation but there was space at the bar so we sat there. It was the first time I've ever sat at a bar and I felt a little bad for the bartender since neither of us were drinking lol. They had some of the best fish I've ever eaten. The sushi bar was good too, the crab legs, everything.

Then Rachel and I walked back along the water.

Tuesday we went back to Laie and went to the temple.

We had lunch at BYU Hawaii. One the way back we stopped at a Macadamia nut farm. One of the workers there absoulutely LOVED Jack. We bought a coconut and Claire had fun pounding nuts with a rock.

Wednesday we went to Pearl Harbor. It was a very special place. We watched a video about it and then went onto the USS Arizona memorial. I don't know why it affected me as much as it did but I had a lump in my throat and stinging eyes the whole time. I just can't imagine how it was that day. I can't imagine what those men must have been thinking when they knew they were trapped. It's a horror I can't imagine. I hope America never ever forgets what happened that day.

Since Rachel has a military ID since her husband was in the service, we were able to go onto the military base and see the USS Utah. I think 40 men are still onboard it. We met two old men who were there holding a flag for their buddy who was passing on a boat. It was the 4th anniversary of being told that he had Agent Orange cancer. I love talking to old service men. They were very nice. It was great to be able to see something that a lot of people can't since the Utah is not open to the public. I'm so glad that we went to Pearl Harbor.

Wednesday night Rachel watched the kids so Brian and I could go out to dinner with the other adults that were there. We went to a hotel resturant that was right on the beach. We were sitting under a tree. I had crab avocado encrusted mahi mahi and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Thursday we went Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling. It was beautiful. Unfortunently it was very windy. I watched Claire and Jack while Rachel and Brian went snorkeling and then she watched the kids so we could go. Claire had a lot of fun entertaining some Japanese ladies sitting behind us. They LOVED her. They asked if they would take her picture. Claire would hold up a peace sign. They gave her cookies. haha. She of course ate it up. It would have been much more enjoyable had it not been so windy but it was still fun.

After we got back we put the kids down for a nap and Rachel went and did some surfing lessons.

That night we all got together and had a Thanksgiving dinner.

Friday Brian and I had a scuba diving lesson at a hotel pool. I think I would like scuba diving with more practice. I would have canceled a dive if we would have scheduled it though. I need more practice clearing my mask. I freaked out a few times and stood up before I could do it.

Rachel left Friday night. It was sad to see her go. We had a lot of fun. She was so much help with the kids...Claire adored her.

We left Saturday and got to Seattle late Saturday night. We left Seattle early Sunday morning and got back home around 2. And there you have our Hawaii trip in a very very small nutshell..

Hawaii Part 1

Okay, I've put this off long enough!

We left for our vacation Wednesday the 17. Our flight left around 1 for Seattle. I have to admit we were a little stressed out after getting to the airport. It was a new experience for us flying with two kids. We had them, 3 suit cases, 2 car seats and a double stroller. Even with both kids in the stroller you don't have enough hands to take everything! We decided that getting the carts is the best idea...even if they are 4 bucks. (Seriously??? So overpriced) However, we got through it and it wasn't as stressful again since we got a routine down. The kids did great on the flight. I didn't break out anything new for Claire on the plane and of course Jack is a sweet heart. That flight was really nice because it wasn't even 1/4 of the way full.

We got into Seattle around 2. It was kinda weird being back. Looking at all the trees and the water from the airplane made me miss it...until Brian reminded me to look at all the clouds, lol. We made it down to the baggage claim and got our bags when a guy by us had a heart attack. It was no good. A woman started doing chest compressions on him. It was scary. We left after the paramedics got there and we *think* he was okay because the lady doing the compressions kinda smiled and they didn't rush him out too fast. It was my first time to ever see it in real life and it looked violent. It didn't help that he had a really big tummy. Ugh, I hope I never have to see CPR again.

Anyway, we met up with some friends in Seattle and went to dinner. I was going to straighten my hair and stuff at the hotel but decided it was best to get a good night's rest. Thursday was a lonnnnnnnnnng day. It was a 6 hour flight to Honolulu. The kids did AMAZING for the most part. Unfortunelty Claire only fell asleep on the descent so she was pretty grumpy when we landed. But that was the only bad part. We had to go pick up our rental car. They only got us a car which didn't fit all our stuff so we had to give our bags to some other people to take for us. That stressed me out. That meant we had to go to the hotel and drop everything off before we could pick up my friend Rachel.

This year we were able to bring someone to help us what our kids. It was kinda hard to find someone, our moms teach school and can't take off, Brian's cousin teaches school, some of my other friends are in college and work full time. Rachel was able to take off work and come and it was great.

Traffic in Honolulu is TERRIBLE. We just pulled into the hotel when Rachel called and said she was here. So we threw our stuff in the back of a friends car, turned around and headed back out into the traffic. We got Rachel and found a walmart. Got some groceries and tried to find our way back to the hotel and made it about 4 hours later after getting lost and lost and lost some more. Everyone's stress level was pretty high. Luckily, we got there, checked in, and went to bed.

Friday we went back to the car rental place and upgraded to a Tahoe because a car was just not working for us. Then we headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Brian had to get into the New Zealand program.

Samoa was fun too.

The best part was that the Prophet Thomas S. Monson was there visiting too. How cool is that? Just seeing him made my heart start racing.

We went to the dinner and it was yummy.

After dinner we wandered around a while waiting for the show to start.

After the luau was the Ha: Breath of Life show. It was AMAZING. Seriously cool.

After the show President Monson stood up and the cast sang to him.

Saturday we went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

Not much to do there but we took the little train ride.

Then we went to see the koi pond. There were some psycho fish there. Claire loved it.

We had to get some pineapple icecream too.

Sunday we hit up the beach.

Claire actually liked it this time...that is till we got back to the room and took off her swim suit. The sand in her suit had rubbed her poor little thighs raw. :(

Jack laughing at Claire. He LOVES her....especially when she jumps. He laughs every time.

Claire singing Happy Birthday...kinda