I have been waiting to do a post about our Hawaii trip this summer before I start back with life in Korea.. but was overwhelmed by the amount of pictures I have - and realized that if I wanted to really be thorough about it - I would probably need to write 10 posts. So - here is the abbreviated version.
Hawaii was definitely a highlight of the summer.. of the year.. of our marriage.. really, of my life. ;) Ok, there are some things I can think of that were better... like getting married, having babies, graduating high school.. and college... and grad school.., but THIS was probably the best vacation I have been on. Ever.
Why? Because I can't think of any thing about it that was bad or went wrong... it was relaxing, refreshing, great family memories, and full of new experiences, learning about our nation's history, and sunshine. This kind of vacation doesn't come around very often (our wallets couldn't handle it!) but we were so glad to be able to celebrate our 5 years of marriage/30th Birthdays/3rd baby "babymoon" in Oahu.
So the details:
We arrived on Oahu early in the morning on June 8 and left late in the evening on June 18th. Our rental condo at
Beach Villas at Ko Olina was fantastic and let us check in as soon as we arrived (instead of the normal 4 o'clock) which was really nice since we were traveling with jet-lagged kids, and they let us check out late (instead of the normal 10am) so that we just went straight to the airport in the evening and Emmalyn could have one last afternoon nap there. We highly recommend our condo for families with young kids!
(click pictures to enlarge!)
We spent a lot of time - at least some part of every day- at the (semi-salt water) pools and at the beach lagoons just outside our resort gates.
One day we took a tour around the island, hitting up Turtle Bay at the North Shore, and back down the Eastern "rainy" coast. We are glad to have seen that side of the island, but were thankful for our relentless sunny days on the Western side of Oahu.
After our tour of the island, we headed to the airport to pick up Jarrod's parents to enjoy the rest our Hawaiian vacation.
We went to the Dole Plantation, Pearl Harbor, and Waikiki:
We were able to visit with some of our friends, Nick and Naomi, from our small group in Korea that moved to Oahu. Nick works as a helicopter mechanic and test pilot, so one day we went up to Wheeler Army Airbase to get a tour of the Blackhawks that he works on. It was great to see them both at the base and at our resort!
We celebrated Jarrod's actual 30th birthday (and my 30th to come..) with a gift from Jarrod's parents: a
Luau at Paradise Cove.
Jarrod's parents went the night before us so that they could babysit for us. We were thankful!
Our beach villa was next to the Disney Resort, so - of course - we headed over there to check it out and meet some of Marc's favorite characters. :)
Did I already say that we went swimming?
A lot?
And snorkling?? Jarrod got us all to go out with him!.. He even took Marc in a floaty with his goggles so that he could look down into the water. :)
And then.. just like that.. it was time to leave.
So long, sweet Hawaii...
...until next time??? ;)
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