They say your attitude can make anywhere "paradise". I have to say that being in paradise helps the attitude.
I'm sorry about not sending the "Wish you were here" post card, but my camera wouldn't download on the laptop. (user error I'm sure).
Where to start???
Jake: spent a lot of his time on the sandy beach. He loved having all the sand he wanted to build sandcastles, dig tunnels, throw...(of course not at people)
Being buried in it.
The other half of his time was spent catching...
"Come on Jake, let us see what you found."
LIZARDS, LIZARDS and more LIZARDS
All found in the lizard and frog paradise. I'm so sad I don't have a picture of all the frogs(camcorder). Jake and his cousins spent the evenings catching as many frogs as they could. I think they said the total was 22 frogs!!! Of course, it was catch-and-release.
Dallas: lived the dream of being CAPTAIN of the ship. (actually a boat that took us out snorkeling, but who can tell the difference when you're 5). He introduced himself to the crew, but he wouldn't pose for a picture with the captain.
He loved the food. Especially the way dad put the cream cheese on the bagel. (mom did it once and it was WAY wrong and he wouldn't eat it, so mom was off duty for the cream cheese spread)
Unfortunately, Dallas caught the flu-type bug that 21 of the 55 Hill's caught. We think it was the swimming pool. He spent this day throwing up and sleeping on the beach. Poor kid.
And the other half of our time was spent finding Dallas.
In the cupboards...
In the stow-and-go of our rental van. This was a scary one because we were at the airport getting the car, all packed up ready to go, but no Dallas anywhere.
Dallas is a wanderer. That is why his parents thought ahead and got him a dog-tag to hang around his neck with our cell phone numbers. We taught him his room number and showed him the front desk. It came in handy when he was lost several times, and each time he was found by an aunt at the front desk.
Dallas wanted to be two things in Hawaii: a diver and a surfer.
How perfect that some kind folks gave him this boogie-board as they had finished their vacation and didn't want to take it on the airplane (back to Idaho of all places).
Both dreams were fulfilled. And as an added bonus we were on the top floor (9Th) of our hotel. Both Jake and Dallas were in heaven seeing whose spit would hit the ground first. (Yes, they tried throwing other stuff off, but that was put to a stop the first day. :)
Katie: enjoyed the pool. Ocean waves were a little intimidating, but the pigeons were fun to feed.
Katie spent a lot of time swimming in the pool. She came home with a nice tan.
She did have fun in the ocean waves after a few days of seeing them.
All (55 1/2) Hill's wore our matching t-shirts that said "The Hills Are Alive" on the airplane and to a Luau. (People thought we were a singing group-we did make a lot of noise).
This is Katie at the Luau. I think she enjoyed it the most.
She loved the dancing and joined in. (Again, I have it on the camcorder). It was so funny. She had her own show going on in the audience.
The rest of the trip when she heard music she started shaking those hips.
Natalie: had some moments like this. Which was expected from a 4-month-old on a hot, sandy, sunny beach.
But she was mostly like this...
Sleeping beach baby.
Mike: had one dream that he dreamt for months before we left on this "fishing" trip.
To catch or spear a REALLY big fish!
It's too bad this picture didn't turn out. Mike has his fishing spear in hand with his gloves, and snorkel gear. He's headed out into the big blue ocean to catch (spear) hopefully something big, but just about anything will do at this point because it is the last day.
Poor Mike. He didn't catch the cooler full of fish he hoped for, but one thing is for sure, the fish are still in the ocean, and "He'll be back". And the catch on his lap is a pretty good catch, don't you think.
He did catch this eel. Again, not a very good picture, but hopefully you can see that that is an eel. He cooked it up, said he caught it just for me. I didn't try it, but he did and he said it wasn't good. If Mike says something isn't good. It isn't good.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY
He didn't catch the big one, but he got to spend Father's Day in Hawaii. He does have 4 precious prizes right there. Mike loves being a daddy, and we love him and all that he does for us. Thanks honey.
As for me, Cassie: enjoyed moments like these
And these...
And it was especially nice to leave our room for a day of play and come home tired, to a clean place, floors mopped, bathroom clean, vacuumed, beds made with clean sheets and clean towels and I didn't have to do it. It was like magic. Microwave meals and kids-eat-free restaurant at the resort made it a wonderful vacation for mom.
Other highlights:
This Navy ship was cool.
Haleakala (volcano)
The airplane
This is how everyone looked on the way there even though it was 5am.
This is how everyone looked and felt on the way home. It was an all-night flight. We left Hawaii at 9:30pm on Friday night and arrived home on Saturday at 9:30am. (4 hour time difference, a layover in San
Fransico)
And here are the folks that made it all happen!!! Thank you, thank you Grandma and Grandpa Hill. It has been Mardi's dream for a very long time. Even with a big scare three days before we were to leave. She had a stroke. She got out of the hospital the day before we left. She is amazing and a trooper. And she is doing well, thankfully. It gave the trip a lot more meaning. We love you Grandma and Grandpa Hill.
And that folks is Hawaii in a nut shell. If I got to do it again I would have taken a photographer and a nanny. Photographer to take better pictures than me and to get those moments that can only be captured if you have your camera ready. I do wish I would have taken more pictures. And a nanny for the evenings when our kids crashed at 6pm, for evening walks along the beach.
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