Aloha! Part 1 - Our First Couple Of Days In Hawaii

Our suitcases are unpacked, laundry has been washed, folded, and put away, the house have been stocked with groceries, our souvenirs have been carefully unwrapped and placed around the house, and we are rested and adjusted back to our time zone.

Part of this ritual makes me sad, because in a blink of an eye our vacation passed, and we have been tossed back into the harsh realities of life - Nate went back to work today.

We have missed all our travel adventures in Europe so much since moving back to the States, and adjusting to our new life here, also living in the middle of nowhere makes traveling a little more challenging. It felt so good to go back to a little part of our roots.

We have always wanted to visit Hawaii, and have been toying with the idea since Nate's sister and her family moved there a few years back. Thank you for being such a sweet and generous host guys! After a crazy first few months in paramedic school, and a big school break, we decided it is now or never... so we took the plunge - bought the tickers and left two weeks later. It was by far one of the best decisions we have made.

Our transition back to the States and particular West Texas was and have been an extremely hard adjustment, and a little trip far away is just what we needed.

Some quality family time, in a exotic location was and is so good for the soul.

We spend a beautiful thirteen days on the island of Oahu - Hawaii, and have created some of the best and most beautiful memories.

*** I will probably have to break this post up in several posts to accommodate all the pictures. Yes, once again I amazed myself at my capability to take a TON of photos.

***

Nate and I were super excited for this traveling experience since our last big travels we needed strollers, and baby carriers, and diapers, and all sorts of baby necessities.

This time around we were able to pack in two bags for all four of us, the kids each had a small backpack with a few small books, coloring books and crayons, and drawing pads to keep them content on the flights, and Nate and I each carried a small carry on bag. It was super amazing and so surreal - I am so motivated for more adventures.

We left super early one morning and caught out first flight, and then our second, and then finally our third and final all the way to Honolulu - the kids did great and loved every single minute of it - we all survived our twenty hour travel time.

We were greeted at the airport with these beauties.

We did light sight seeing on our first day to help with the time zone transition.

uss missouri:

The USS Missouri battleship rests in the heart of Pearl Harbor, and is best remembered as the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan, which ended World War II.

I have to admit that my knowledge on the Pacific part of World War II was very limited - seven years in Germany we were pretty sharp on the European theater and all the events that took place there.

It was a very neat experience roaming on this massive ship, and learning about all the events that took place.

Ian loved it - the boy in him, battleships, guns, and action what is not to love?

We had fun, but it was a little rough on everyone as jet-lag started to kick - being hungry and tired if not a good combination.

Aren't they the cutest?

The snack shop.

Library,

Officer's lounge.

Bakery.

I would so not survive living like this.

Post Office.

I am still shocked and in awe of the magnitude of these battleships, I had no idea how enormous they are. It is one of the best preserved museums and memorials I visited.

Leave it to my Hayleigh to find rogue flowers instead - she is so my daughter :)

Lunch at Teddy's to feed everyone and make the grumpiness subside. It was delicious!

Ko Olina Coves:

In order to assist with the time transition we decided a beach day would be in order, that way we can play and if all else fails we can nap in the sun.

This is were Hawaii gets me, beautiful beaches with clear blue water. It is absolutely breathtaking.

It was the perfect introduction for the kids, since they were so little last time we went to the beach at Cannon Rocks (you can see read about it here, here and here) and there is no such thing as calm water over there.

The kids loved it, we loved it. I call that a win.