Hawaii {Part 1}!!!!

We've been back from Hawaii for a few days, and I'm so excited to document and share our adventure! We spent almost a week in Oahu with Brent's parents, specifically Honolulu in a resort on Waikiki Beach - we walked out of our hotel directly onto the beach! We had a lot of adventures and overall a vacation we'll never forget {okay, I'm not sure Paige will remember but the rest of us sure won't forget}!

We flew out at 9:00 AM on Sunday morning and with the time change, landed in Oahu at 1:30 after 8.5 hours on the plane. The plane ride wasn't that bad - we rotated between 1 hour of activities and 1 hour of screen time with a nap in the middle. The first thing we did once we got to the hotel was head down to the beach! What surprised me the most was HOW MUCH Trent loved it! I forgot to pack goggles so we bought some, and he had a BLAST seeing all the fish in the water.

We ate an early dinner at the hotel restaurant {which was outside overlooking the pool so the kids were able to swim and eat} and were in bed by 8:00 PM {midnight local time}.

Monday morning, our family went to Pearl Harbor and did a small tour of top sites in Honolulu - Punchbowl Cemetery, the Palace, and a statue of King Kamehameha {the first King of the united Hawaiian islands}. Our tour guide was a native Hawaiian and was so knowledgeable and fun. A great experience!!

Pearl Harbor was incredible, and I could have spent a lot more time there, but the kids hit their limit after about 90 minutes. It was so powerful and there is a self-guided audio tour that was super interesting. The memorial was very moving and impactful - no one was surprised that I teared up!

Headed to the USS Arizona

The Memorial over the USS Arizona

This list of the dead is overwhelming. Also, there's a Gurley on there!

Snack break!

Punchbowl Cemetery

I forget this statue's name, but I *think* it's a goddess of grieving mothers.

Yes, I teared up again thinking about that when I learned it!

King Kamehameha

In the afternoon...you guessed it...we headed back out to the beach! While we were at Pearl Harbor, Brent's parents did some walking around Honolulu {they had already been to Pearl Harbor} and got the kids snorkels and little tube floats, yay! Janet, my MIL rented 2 chairs and an umbrella - she LOVES the sound of the ocean. The kids had so much fun with the water stuff my in-laws bought, and I enjoyed sitting and visiting with her.

Monday night we had dinner at a restaurant within walking distance - there was a little outdoor mall with stores and restaurants {Waikiki is very touristy, but hey, we are tourists!}. We had another early night because we had an early morning expedition planned for Tuesday!

More ice cream? Sure!

We got up super early to meet our van about 7:00 AM for a snorkeling tour! It was supposed to be to find dolphins and sea turtles BUT...we freaking saw WHALES!!! IN THE WATER WHILE WE WERE IN THE WATER!!!! FIVE OF THEM!!! INCLUDING 2 BABIES!!!! I'm having trouble downloading the pictures from the photographer {stupid computer security I'm sure}, so I'll have to do a post of just those pics {you're welcome}, ha.

Sweeties

What a view to start your Tuesday off with!

Good morning, sunshine!

Happy kids - who thankfully didn't get sea sick!

Of course Paige made a friend! {grin}

I have no pictures of the dolphins or whales but will get them once my computer cooperates, but Brent got some great pictures of the turtles at the boat dock - how cool are these guys??

We all took a nap on the van ride back - it was a busy morning - but pepped up to get a giant Hawaiian snow cone. 

Paige's face cracks me up here.

I could not get enough of the sunset! Forgive all the pictures!

I love this picture with Diamond Head in the background!

With that, I'm going to end Part 1 - this is a lot of pictures and information ha. I feel like we did more in the first few days, so hopefully the next post isn't quite as long.