Our week at Waikoloa part II

I had been wanting to swim with a sea turtle, but hadn't been snorkeling by the waterfall where they like to hang out because Eva was afraid to go in that deep area. So one evening when we had the whole lagoon practically to ourselves, Max and Lucas stayed with her in the shallows so that Marc could show me where they were. I saw two of them and was so excited! I swam with them for a few minutes, but it was a little bit difficult because they are protected and you aren't supposed to touch them, and they were getting so close, it was hard not to!

The next morning, this one swam right up next to the shore. I quickly called Eva over, and we followed it for about 100 yards or so. It was amazing.

Mim with two of her great-grandchildren. I can't imagine knowing my great-grandmother!

Mim swimming with Genevieve. 

Eva playing in the sand with Genevieve, whose swim cap kills me with its cuteness.

Marc and Lisa, having a rare (mostly uninterrupted) chat.

A view from the boat canal.

The tiniest wedding chapel in the world! We saw a wedding in progress while we were there.

The kids enjoyed feeding bread to this swan, but we all agreed it was very sad to see its wings clipped.

The view right below our room.

I left Hawaii two days before everyone else so that I could go to Emily's wedding, and on my last day, I realized that I hadn't taken a boat ride (mahogany boats take you around the resort). I had just enough time to squeeze one in before leaving for the airport, and Marc and Max joined me.

African Crest Crane

Max documenting.

And this is what my hair looks like in Hawaii. Fabulous.

Another island sunset!

People are always sabotaging our self-portraits.

Incidentally, when I told Eva that I was leaving for the airport soon, she raised her fists in the air and shouted, "Yeah! Party!!" I was completely unsurprised by this blatant show of disregard.

On Friday, after I was gone, everyone went to this beach, which Michelle informed me was the greatest beach in the world. Rats, I missed it! Eva and I had both gotten pretty bad sunburns on Thursday, so Marc had to buy her the very expensive, but very cute, rashguard and shorts. I'm told there was boogie boarding and fun galore.

On Saturday, everyone had to check out at noon, but the flights weren't until 9:30 p.m., so I guess they spent most of the day playing games in the lobby. Marc was on his own with the kids on the red-eye flight home. Ouch. (He told me that a fellow traveler complimented Eva on being so well-behaved on the long flight. What that person didn't realize was that Marc was conversing with her the. entire. time.)

To sum up: the Hilton Waikoloa was amazing, by far the nicest resort we've ever seen. It was even more fun to be there with so many family members. I can't believe the things we have experienced this summer and hope my kids will always remember the memories we made. Definitely the trip of a lifetime!

Our week at Waikoloa part I

Our niece Michelle. (There are a lot of Michelles in our family.) Can you believe she has three children?

A long shot of most of us in the lagoon.

Grandma chatting with Eva before dinner.

Lisa is a grandmother to three, yet has her own one-year-old, Sophia!

Cousins have fun even if they're just hanging around chatting.

(How Lucas could stand to wear jeans, a sweatshirt, and a hat is a complete mystery to me. I, of course, was a sweaty mess the entire time.)

Michelle with her two darlings, Nicole and Kristen.

We actually got a family picture! A true rarity around here. (Jill extracted a promise.)

I love this photo.

One day when we were all at the lagoon, some people approached us and said that they had been watching our family (not in a creepy way!). They had a family pass for as many rental items as they wanted for the week, and they offered us paddleboards, kayaks, etc. when they weren't using them. So nice! The rentals were expensive, so we had been sticking to snorkeling and swimming. Everyone was thrilled, and even Grandma and Grandpa gave it a whirl.

This is the card you put outside your door if you want to be undisturbed. I thought it was a nice touch.

Lucas and Sam in one of the resort's many pools. (Six, if I'm not mistaken.) Lucas decided that he wasn't having any fun if he wasn't with his cousins.

Reading by the pool! I didn't get to do it as much as I had hoped, but I enjoyed every minute.

Another pool. Tied with the lagoon for the kids' favorite. They even have a shallow sand pool for younger kids! (Eva loved not having to wear her lifejacket.)

I was sitting by the pool with Michelle, reading. Nicole came over to get her book out of the beach bag, and at first I thought they were sharing a library book! I wondered how that was working out, and then I realized that they both had a copy. Cracked me up.

Rob and Lisa's family. (Oops! I caught some of you eating! Sorry about that.) These are the generous benefactors that took us all on the trip of a lifetime. How do you say thank you for something like that??

All of Rob's side of the family. We also got a photo with Lisa's side added to the group, but I don't have a copy of that one. All together, it was nearly 40 people that they brought on this amazing vacation!

Sunday on the Big Island

{I had planned on finishing my Hawaii posts before we left for our trip to California, but it didn't happen. Boo.}

The best part about being at a resort with cousins is that you get to do everything with them! Including eating meals together. This restaurant, Boat Landing Cantina, was the closest to our rooms and we ended up eating there several times.

Marc and Michelle

We went into Kona to go to church. The speakers were youth and leaders freshly returned from Trek. We also heard a really great Tongan a cappella choir.

(Rob & Lisa's kids were so jealous that we left after sacrament meeting. When traveling, we usually don't stay for all 3 hours of church. I hate to make my kids go to Primary and Young Men's classes where they don't know anyone, and I don't really enjoy it, either.)

Beautiful grounds!

After church, we wandered around the resort some more. I love the sea turtles!

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For dinner, we went to a delicious pizzeria, where we had Korean beef pizza, Kahlua pork pizza, Peking duck pizza, and plain cheese for the little ones.

Bob and Mim ended up coming to the same restaurant!

We watched the sun set while we ate. Al fresco dining at its finest.

Honolulu to Kona

On Saturday, we said goodbye to beautiful Waikiki. We went from a week of being in a city, where the kids had the constant attention of their grandparents, to a week at a quiet resort, where the kids had near-constant access to cousins. They were very different, but both great.

 Lucas modeling one of the two new hats he bought.

We had to leave behind the beach mats and boogie boards we bought. I hope someone on the housekeeping staff took them home to enjoy.

Stripes peeking out of Eva's backpack.

(Traveling with children old enough to carry their own supplies and/or suitcases is so nice.)

It's always good to have grandparents around — they are endlessly entertaining.

Also, as they were sitting there chatting and laughing, a woman who works in the condo came up to Mim & Bob. Of course they knew her. They have friends everywhere they go. She excused herself for a moment, went to the souvenir shop inside, and came back with two t-shirts for Eva! So nice.

Just one of the many brides we saw in Hawaii (most were on the beach).

Our flight to the big island was SO short! From the time they told the passengers we could use  electronic devices to the time they asked us to turn them off, Lucas listened to exactly one song! Crazy.

This is the cute little airport in Kona.

As we drove from the airport to the resort, I marveled at the strange, volcanic terrain of the Big Island. We were told the air is filled with a volcanic ashy fog, called vog.

Movable graffiti: people are constantly rearranging the white coral rocks on the side of the road to spell out different messages.

As we got closer to the shore, we started to see the beautiful tropical vegetation we had come to expect.

We were a bit shocked when we checked in and the man at the front desk told us to take the monorail 3 stops to get to our room! We had certainly never been to a resort like the Hilton Waikoloa before. (Our shuttle driver told us the locals call it Disneyland because it has a monorail and dolphins.)

We walked around the resort for a bit (it is 64 acres, after all) and admired the lagoon, where you can swim with sea turtles and tropical fish. We could see immediately that this was going to be a fun place to be!