Aloha!!

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving this year, with the opportunity to spend it in Hawaii with my brother's family.  I can't put into words how much I enjoyed this trip, but I will try and let some of the pictures do the talking as well!!

We made it on Wednesday afternoon and headed to Costco immediately to stock up.  Would you believe we saw our first rainbow in the parking lot!

That Hawaiian Pineapple really is the best!!

 The ride to the north shore was beautiful,

 We even saw the misty mountains and a hobbit house!

 We were pretty tired after the travel day, but stopped for some burgers at Seven Brothers.

 Brian and I went for a run in the morning.  I was feeling a little guilty for leaving everyone else, but they didn't mind. In fact, this was the note we came home to!!

 Thanksgiving morning on the beach is pretty awesome.  Lots of boogie boarding, splashing in the waves and laughter.  Lots of laughter!

Our perfect beach was called Kokololio, within a mile of the house we rented.  We always ended back up here!!

We went home and got ready, then decided to go see if we could catch the surf competition at Sunset Beach.  It wasn't an official competition day, but we saw lots of surfers and beautiful sand!  This was a great picture taking spot!

 We had planned to do Thanksgiving on the beach, but opted for inside the house we rented when I big windstorm started about dinner time!!  Turkey, potatoes and all the trimmings.  IN HAWAII!  It was great!

 An after dinner hike in the rain!

Friday we woke up and headed back to Sunset Beach to try and catch surfing again.  No luck, but another rainbow and some beautiful views!

 We decided to try out Turtle Bay.  Man, these kids had so much fun playing in the water!

We decided to catch some waves at our beach again,

 then on the Polynesian Cultural Center for some amazing fun!

 There was a water parade,

 delicious ice cream,

 men climbing trees,

 some toy weaving,

 stick games,

 A luau,

 fresh smoothies,

 our kids providing entertainment,

 and this great shot of some of my favorite people!!

 NO picture of the fire dancing, but it was pretty great!

Saturday morning we found another great beach.  Hawaii is full of them :)

These little crabs were all over the place!

I have such handsome boys!

 We decided to splurge on surf lessons for the boys.  At first I was not convinced it would work out for them, but the teachers were awesome and with a little instruction (and some big pushes) they were able to sail on in to the beach!!  It was a lot of fun to watch!

 Maholo Sunset Suzie!

We worked up an appetite for some famous shaved ice!!  Loved it!

And one more beach before bed. These kids had so much fun together!  Truly something to be thankful for.

Sunday morning we woke up and went to church in the ward where some friends of ours live in Laie.  We stopped to see the Beautiful temple.  Wow!  What an incredible place!

 

We love vacationing with some of our favorite people!

 On to Pearl Harbor, which was a learning experience for all of us.

 An amazing hike, Manoa Falls

 Another great day in paradise!!

Our last day on the island was snorkel day!  Love this picture!

 We started at turtle bay,

Took a break for Jacob to go surfing with a family friend Talmage,

 then ended at Shark's Cove!  I LOVED snorkeling a lot more than I thought I would.  Once we all got some functioning equipment, we spent a lot of fun time exploring. 

 I did not take this picture, but it was my favorite fish to see.  So cool!

 We had to try one more shaved ice place.  It was pretty delicious!

 Ah, we ended the day at our beach, Kokololio, one last time.

 As we got home and started to get organized, I found this little guy in some apple jacks that we left on the counter.

 Cambree, our resident animal whisperer, appropriately named him Mahalo. (the frog she found the first day was Aloha)  And Mahalo it is.  Thank you Hawaii for such a wonderful week in paradise.  We are truly thankful for the family time we were able to spend together in such a beautiful place!

 Not quite as excited to be at the airport this time around.

 Micah saying good bye and a hope to see you again!!