Hawaii

Doug & I decided to make the trip to Hawaii to visit my parents who are serving an LDS work mission at BYU campus. Sure there may be opportunity to travel to the islands in the future when we could truly afford it, but my parents wouldn't be living there. This was an opportunity we both didn't want to pass up. So we joked with the saying from Dan In Real Life, "Put it on my tab." Haha! We've had the trip booked for what feels like forever so when Christmas day arrived and the gifts were opened & everyone left to their families it hit me. We're going on a trip......ALONE! No kids? What is this going to be like? I'll tell you what....bliss, pure bliss. Doug & I are so blessed that we were able to leave our boys with his parents for an entire week. And thank goodness Grandma & Grandpa Shaw were excited about it, cuz I wasn't so sure how they would survive my crazy energetic children. :) 

We booked our flight from Las Vegas because it was so much cheaper then from Salt Lake. Which turned out perfect because my brother Hyrum & his family were in Vegas for the holidays with Anne's family. They were gracious enough to let us stay the night before catching our flight to Hawaii. It was a lot of fun seeing Hyrum, Anne & the girls. Sure makes me realize how much I miss my family around the holidays.

{December 26th}

And we're off! Flying without kids really is a world of difference. I read, listened to music, slept, but the best grown up act....drinking from a cup without a lid & straw. Haha! 

As we were approaching the island I couldn't stop looking out the window. The water was so blue & so beautiful. I was pretty pleased with my photo taking on this one. Picture perfect.

Once we landed we quickly ran into the airport to change out of our winter clothes & then headed out to be picked up by my parents & Laura.

We were given a traditional Aloha greeting will gorgeous leis from my parents. They smelled delightful & oh so sweet.

After hugs & hellos we jumped in the car & headed out to start the fun. Since we were already in Honolulu we decided to stick around for the rest of they day. We started off at Pearl Harbor. We'd all done the USS Arizona memorial in the past so we decided to tour the 'Mighty Mo' USS Missouri. 

 Our not so suave replication of the famous kiss. I still enjoyed it though. :)

 This battle ship was HUGE!

May day, may day! Calling all reinforcements!!

Beautiful view of the USS Arizona Memorial

Mom & I being silly. :)

After Pearl Harbor we headed for Waikiki. We had dinner reservations but had some time to kill walking around the beach. The view of the city & ocean was gorgeous!

Me & my pops. Sure love this man lots!

We ate dinner at a Japanese place (can't remember the name) while having the perfect view of the sunset on the ocean. The food was really good! I've never been a huge fan of seafood in general & never of raw fish. But I've grow'd up over the past year or so & have had a much better experience with seafood. And even some of the raw sushi wasn't so bad. :) We definitely had a feast & were sooo full by the end. Our server was the cute & tiny Japanese lady & at one point I over heard her quietly say, "So funny. You all so funny." haha! We got a good laugh many a time over the course of dinner as we tried to figure out what we were eating or trying to understand what she was saying etc. Good times.

We got to my parents place late & well after dark that night. We were excited to get a good nights sleep that wouldn't be disturbed by any chillins. :)

{December 27th}
We woke up & got ready for the temple. I was really excited about attending a session at the Laie Hawaiian LDS temple. Not living near a temple makes it near impossible to go these last few years. While we were getting ready, Doug went outside & snapped some pictures around my parents community at Turtle Bay.

When we arrived at the temple & were getting ready to show our recommends Doug whispered to me, "When does yours expire?". I turned around with, "Not for another year. When DID yours expire?". His expired a few months prior & never realized it. The thing is you see it in your wallet & think to yourself, "Ya I got it." But rarely do ya pull it out & look at the expiration date with the new every 2 year interview thing. We were all really bummed, especially Doug that he wasn't able to attend the session with us. But thankfully we were in the most beautiful place ever & he had a pleasant & peaceful time walking the grounds & going to the visitor center.

I loved being in the temple with my parents & sister. It really is a wonderful place to escape the world & be reminded of the promises our Heavenly Father has for us. I love this beautiful world that He created for all of us to enjoy. The love & peace I felt while there was just what I needed to fill me up with happiness & gratitude for all the wonderful blessings I have in my life.

Doug has some serious photography skills. :) I love all these photos he took.

After our session we headed over to the visitor center. A family friends daughter is on her mission there & we wanted to see if she was there to say hi to. We lucked out as she was there so we had to snap a picture to send to her momma. Sister Inna Richardson is a doll & was so sweet to visit with.

After the temple we were starving so we hit up a fun local burger joint.

  

As you can see, the burgers were HUGE & oh soooo delicious! Yum.

 We spent the rest of the day at the PPC (Polynesian Cultural Center) And I'm sure it's not hard to guess where our first stop was.

 Yep. Samoa. Doug was in heaven. Took him back to the good ol' mission days. It was fun seeing that side of him come out.

 After one of the shows he went up to speak with the performer in the native tongue. It was great. Doug could have stayed with him all day long. :)

Samoans climbing palm trees.

If my memory serves me well this was the Tongan show. And it was awesome! We were all laughing & loving it. 

Visiting all the villages was fun & learning about each country a little more. In the Hawaii village we learned that what is advertised as the 'hula dance' with the girls in grass skirts & coconut bras shaking their hips in actually not the Hawaiian hula. That form of dance comes from Tahiti. True Hawaiian hula is story telling with hands & feet. I thought that was pretty interesting. :)

We had dinner at the buffet & stayed for the night performance in the big theater. We weren't allowed to take photos which was a bummer. There was some really cool stuff in the show. Our favorite was the fire dancing for sure. Such a fun day!

{December 28th}

We got up early & headed for the ocean. Dad has a friend that has a 42' sailboat that we were going to sailing on for the morning. We were stoked! Neither of us had ever been on that kind of sailboat. We laid around soaking in the sun for the first little bit. Quite the view wouldn't you say?

 The captain started explaining things to us & giving us tasks to do while aboard. It was fun learning the basics of sailing. Not that any of it really stuck with me, but in the moment it was pretty freaking cool. It's a TON of hard work to sail.

 

 Love this picture of my Marmee! She's not a huge fan of the water because she gets nervous & motion sickness. But with a little Dramamine she was great & had fun too. Love that sweet lady right there!

Yep, that's right. That is me at the helm. He asked who wanted to be first to sail & I just couldn't resist.

 

 It was a pretty cool feeling to be in complete control of this beautiful boat & using only the wind to move us & navigate us. Another friend commented nicely that I was making a beautiful 'S' shape in the wake of the boat. Haha! Let me tell you...it took all my strength to keep that steering wheel held in place to keep us going the right way. And as you can see in the picture below, I even needed help from my strong husband at times. Haha!

It was quite a rush & I will always remember my first time sailing.

We sailed to a sandbar/reef & anchored. We all got suited up for snorkeling & spent a couple hours exploring the ocean life. Mom held down the fort on board. :)

It always take me a little bit to get use to snorkeling. Only being able to breath through your mouth is weird. I kinda panicked for a bit & was breathing real fast, but after about 20 minutes, I was fine. And was loving it!

Putting our new water proof camera to the test. It wasn't very colorful down there & everything looked brown. As I was swimming along checking things out I spotted a friend. Not going to lie, I began to freak out. In a good way though. I started screaming trying to get anyone's attention to come over & see, but clearly no one could hear me. Haha! So I just began waving my arms around to get everyone to come see this massive turtle.

 He was pretty darn friendly too. He came out & started to swim around us. We even touched his shell without it bothering him. So cool!

  Not the most attractive get up, but still fun to capture pictures submerged in the ocean. :)

 Mr. Turtle even made an appearance by the boat so Mom could see. :)

We drove around more of the island after lunch & stopped at this view point to overlook this side of the island. I used the panoramic setting on my phone. Pretty cool.

I just love how green everything is.

 Group 'selfie'!

We drove up to the look out at the top of the 'punch bowl'.

We drove some more of the island all the way to the west side. Needing to get out & stretch our legs we stopped at Kanelio Point & walked out to edge of the rocks. It was fun watching the waves crash. There were quite a few blow holes to watch out for. In fact across from us (behind Doug) were some people getting drenched. We were laughing about it as we started walking back. Our bad, because right then, a HUGE wave crashed & got us. Well just me & my mom. She was ticked. She had already changed her clothes so she did NOT want to be getting wet. Haha!

 {December 29th}

 Sunday morning my Dad took me & Doug on a long hike/walk around the area. There were lots of little beaches that we found along the way. 

In this picture you're looking at Turtle Bay Resort.

We weaved in & out of the trees & along the beach. It was breath taking how much beauty we were surrounded by. We came to this bunker which made for a great view.

And no surprise here that Doug had to play pretend inside the bunker. Haha!

We made our way to this HUGE well known tree called a Banyan. It's a fig tree whose branches make roots that will eventually become like trunks. So it looks like lots of trunks, but there actually roots! They can get so big that they can cover several acres. 

 We had fun climbing around in the tree. Lovin the stance Dad! :)

Me, Doug & my mom went to church at the Samoa ward. Doug was super excited about it & was hoping the whole sacrament meeting would be in Samoan. My mom & I on the other hand were pleased to find out that a family was speaking that day & everyone gave their talks in English, except the father. :) It was a neat experience. They sang their hearts out I tell ya. Really brought the spirit to the meeting.

Laura was flying out that night so we drove into Honolulu to grab dinner at PF Changs before dropping her off at the airport.

 

Dad chillin on a really cool bench while we wait for our table.

Finally figured out a way to help mom out with her chopsticks. I used my hair elastic & a piece of paper to keep her sticks together. She was thrilled. However she still only used them for a minute or two. :)

{December 30th}

Monday morning Dad & Doug had an early golf game. 

 So the perfect thing for us girls to do was to go....SHOPPING! We hit up the outlet mall & pretty much went into every single store. :) It was just sooo much fun having some one on one time with my sweet mom. And we just couldn't resist stopping at Godiva to treat ourselves to this tasty treat.

Chocolate drizzled banana & strawberries. Yum!

We grabbed some lunch & chatted the hours away. It brought back lots of memories of doing the same exact thing back home. I've been shopping with my mom since I was a tot. It's great because we love the same things. She is the best shopping buddy for sure! I couldn't help but get a little emotional while out with her. I miss her like crazy!

That afternoon Dad had to go into the office so Doug & I hit up the beach. Can I just say how amazing it was to just lay there. No keeping one eye open at all times to make sure your kids aren't drowning or wandering off. Doug actually fell asleep for a little while. :) It was bliss.

We walked out the cliff edge to explore around. We found a pretty big blow hole that I made Doug climb in for this picture. Good thing the tide was low. :)

The one bad side to going places alone, having to take individual shots of each other at the same place. Haha! It's almost like we're standing next to each other right? :)

And I simply could NOT resist this next picture. The second I saw this guy & knew I need a photo to send to Stephanie. *Back story: Every summer in Buffalo at Crystal Beach we would see an old dude sporting a speedo or thong & would take a pic/photo bomb in reverse?**

How awesome is that? Hands behind his head taking it all in. Haha! I was dying.

{December 31st}

Doug & I started off celebrating the last day of the year by going to Waimea Falls. We had a blast exploring & walking the trails in this beautiful park.

While walking around we just kept commenting to each other that it looked a lot like the scene in Catching Fire with the clock games. Haha! In fact, after walking around thinking that we were talking to an employee who told us that some scenes were indeed edited with this park into that movie. Haha! 

 We found some 'nightlock' berries of our own. Haha! We're such dorks.

So weird to see a plant growing on a tree.

This Rainbow Eucalyptus tree was so pretty & so cool. It looks like it's painted, but that is the actual bark.

I just love peacocks!

  We made it to the falls & sat to ponder whether we really wanted to get in that FREEZING cold water.

 Well we couldn't come all this way & not get in. So we did it! We used surf boards to float on because it really was that cold that swimming was painful. :) We are such wimps.

 And by the time we were ready to get out we noticed that we were the only ones in the water. I totally felt like I was on a date from the Bachelor. Haha!

After getting dry & trying to get warm he hit up the famous Ted's Bakery for lunch. We got the mahi mahi sandwich & the pulled pork sandwich.

 Both were really good, but I like my pulled pork the best. Yum! And you can't eat at a bakery without having some dessert. We tried the pumpkin haupia pie. Haupia is the creamy coconut pudding layer. Oh my goodness!

 Check out the pole of the umbrella on our table. Apparently it's the thing to do with your Ted's labels? Weird, but pretty neat too.

That afternoon Doug & I headed off to a smaller beach near by to soak up the sun.

 So peaceful to be by the ocean & listen to the sounds of the waves.

 Getting excited to ring in the new year here on this gorgeous island! We stayed in that night with my parents. Dad & Doug made steak & shrimp for dinner. It was nice having some good home cooking. :)

 After dinner we played a couple rounds of some serious UNO. I musta had all the luck because I won every single round. :)

 We rang in the new year with the east coast around 7pm & then stayed up late watching movies.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!!!

{January 1st}
I can't think of a better way to start off the new year then by trying something for the first time. Doug & I attempted surfing at Turtle Bay. I was way nervous as we were getting ready to get in the water. Watching everyone out there it looked so easy & effortless. Boy is that the farthest thing from the truth!

Getting some last minute instructions from Dad.

 Hang loose dude! Here we go!

So you're probably wondering where all the pictures of us surfing right? Well that the thing, it was rough out there. Paddling alone about put us out. Our necks & shoulders were killing us & we hadn't even attempted to catch a wave. Haha! I got squashed & beat by so many waves it was ridiculous. But I was not about to give up. After taking a break & getting some serious advice from Dad we attempted again. I got a lot farther out & almost made to past the break, but it was tough. I did manage to catch a wave & got up onto my knees for a bit. Doug did really good, but he too didn't ever stand up. It was a hard pill to swallow, but we were both so proud of ourselves for trying it. And it most definitely will not be the last time either.

That afternoon while everyone napped I hit up the pool to read & relax.

 More pretty flowers along my walk.

We went to the resort restaurant for dessert that night after having dinner at home.

 Me & Mom

 We sat out on the patio & enjoyed the sunset & band that was playing.

 I ordered the checker board haupia ice cream cake. It was heavenly!

 And the others got the chocolate souffle which also was heavenly.

{January 2nd}
We spent the morning getting a tour of campus from Mom. It sure was a lot of fun seeing where they spend their time day after day & meeting the people we hear them talk of. They are a true asset to that place & I know they will be greatly missed when it comes time to leave.

Dad & Mom with one of the other contractors outside their office.
Below is a video my dad made of the time lapse construction of one of his buildings on campus. The Heber J Grant Building.

Time Lapse photography of Heber J Grant Building from JoelMadsen on Vimeo.

Dad had a few meetings that afternoon so we only had a small window to go get some lunch. We hit up a local fish taco place that was super tasty!

We spent the afternoon hanging out, packing up & then decided to go hit a bucket of balls at the golf course.

It had been years since I've done so & I had a blast.

It was fun doing something that I know Doug enjoys. I loved spending time with him doing just that.

That evening we had to head for the airport. But before doing so there was one thing we had yet to do.

That's right. We had to get our Hawaiian shaved ice in Haleiwa.
They sure were tasty & it was the perfect ending to such a sweet vacation.

Hawaii was good to us. It was just the vacation that we needed. We are so grateful for my parents & there willingness to let us stay with them & visit them. We are also so grateful for Doug's parents & the aunts & uncles for taking care of our sweet boys while we were away. The memories made here will last a life time!

ALOHA!