Hawaii Three-O

We came, we saw, we loved every moment of this years Hawaiian adventure.  Again this year I will talk as if we will go over every year of our lives on a wonderful family vacation to Hawaii just because I have to dream that I'll be back next year.  Our trip this year took us to the Big Island where we stayed in the same resort near Kona as we did two years ago on the kids first trip to Hawaii.  The weather wasn't as windy this visit and the kids were older.  Both were huge positives for us and allowed us to spend as much time as possible in the water.

Two years ago the obsessive topic of our trip was "why dirt, why dirt?" which McKenzie asked over and over as we drove by lava, lava and more lava.  This year the obsession came from Ben and it centered around our rental car.  His conversation would start out with a statement which we soon learned just to agree with and not engage around.  He would say "This is not our car."  Which for the first few times led into a long discussion about airplanes being too small to bring our car and then about where we got the minivan we were driving and on and on.  After the long flight, missing naps and conversation that was going nowhere we were glad to check into our condo and then hit up the pool to enjoy the last of the sunshine on our first day.

We had big plans to check out a lot of different beaches on this trip but after our day at Hupuna beach we only made it to one other beach.  Everything just lined up perfectly for us at Hupuna and we went back nearly everyday.  The beach has lots of parking, a nice clean beach area perfect for sand castles and our number one requirement for a good beach - decent sized waves.  Here's Grandma Z and the kids heading down to the beach.  This was the last time they walked calmly down the hill - every trip after this they ran wildly down the hill to the beach. 

We experienced an overwhelming amount of kindness from strangers on this trip from the other vacationers we ran into.  On our first night at the condo we were stopped by a lady who asked us if we needed beach toys.  She gave us the ones they had bought for her daughter since they were leaving in the morning.  Almost everyone we met at the pool shared where they were from and recommended other locations on the island to visit or things to try.  It was so nice to meet so many friendly, helpful people - a good reminder to keep paying that forward with others even back at home.  

Here are the kids working hard to gather sand before the next wave comes in.  It's so nice that they get along so well most of the time. 

Once we got to the beach we didn't leave until the sun was gone. The kids are running into the sunset - enjoying every last minute they can.  

Water bug Benny loved to run from the waves and then chase them back out and crash into the next wave coming in.  He was impossible to get out of the water.

The kids also learned some new tricks on the boogie board on our trip to add to their list of dare devil activities.  Their smiles were so big while they were on the boards I was worried they would drink a lot of salt water.  

Short videos of them on the boogie boards.  ** If you only read my blog via email you have to visit the site to see the videos. 

The other beach we visited was the small secret beach that you need a parking pass to use.  It's a secluded lagoon perfect for splashing around and playing in the sand.  Due to our kids love of extreme activities I think that may be our last trip to this beach unless we go back just to look for turtles.  Here we are braving the lava with our bare feet to check out the tide pools. 

Our shadows still look pretty good in bathing suits!

The kids being adorable as we headed back to the car.  (Note: It is not our car, just the rental car.)

Grandma Z took Matt and Aunt Annie on a deep sea fishing adventure hoping to catch some fresh fish to enjoy while we were there.  Grandma Z's dreams came true when she landed a 33 lb mahi-mahi which we enjoyed all the different ways that Grandpa Z prepared it.  Now she has a big fish story and pictures to prove it!  

We have a couple of favorite places to visit while on each of the island. For the Big Island Cafe Pesto definitely makes the list.  We discovered it on a trip with my work and have been back every chance we get.  Here's Kenzie with a new friend she met on the way to the restaurant.  

We started a new routine towards the end of our stay, after we coaxed the kids out of the ocean once the sun had set we'd head to the Queen's shops to watch their nightly show and enjoy some ice cream... before dinner!  Yes, you heard that right, we were very clear to distinguish with the kids that this was a vacation only idea.  

We also discovered a new breakfast location right by our resort and it was a hit with everyone.  Ben though gets a special mention because when he saw his plate of giant pancakes coming towards him he said, "Wow!!!"  This boy does love his pancakes no matter where he is.  I thought their sweetbread french toast was something more worthy of the excitement but to each his own.

McKenzie has really been picking up new games quickly of late and she learned two great new games on this trip - Dominoes and Go Fish.  Once she learns a game she wants to play again, again, again please!  Grandma Z loves to play games as well and they enjoy quite a few sunny games out on the patio.  You can't beat the views we had - right on one of the greens.

One of the things we love about this resort is the animals that are on the property.  Our favorite is the turkeys who come around everyday to see if you have anything they could eat.  The kids ate lunch outside one day and were a little slow with their sandwiches and almost lost them.  This was the first trip that Ben could interact with them and he thought they were so much fun.  

There is also quite a collection of cats on the property and most should be avoided but there was one really nice one who came and hung out at Grandma and Grandpa Z's unit and the kids loved to visit with him. 

We also saw quite a number of geckos which the kids call "yeckos" and I will never tire of hearing them say that word.  I really need to capture that on video for the future so Matt and I can listen to their little voices and remember these times.  We had one who got into our condo somehow and left just as mysteriously.

We had a fantastic trip that seemed to slip away too fast.  We enjoyed every minute while we were there.  None of us were ready to come home but home we are and at least we had our few days in the sun to fill our tanks up until Springtime rolls around.  The temperature shock after getting off the plane was a bit much for the kids - good thing they had their blankets handy!