Hawaii

We had planned a trip to Germany/France this summer, but through a strange and obviously God driven circumstances, that trip was cancelled and we ended up going to Hawaii ( to the island of Oahu) with some of our good friends, Same and Erin Martin.  Sam spent 4 years in the Navy stationed at Pearl Harbor as a submariner and when he and Erin got married, she lived there for 3 years.  So they knew all the places to go and people to see.  We went for 10 days without kids!!  The kids stayed with both my parents and Sean's parents and we are so thankful for those amazing grandparents who were willing to give us a little vacation.  Sean has been in seminary for the past 2 years and we both felt like we needed a little time to ourselves to relax and reconnect and it doesn't hurt if that time is spent in paradise!  I cannot explain to you or show to you just how beautiful the landscape was there.  I even got a new camera before we went but it doesn't come close to capturing just how perfect and deep the colors were.  There were flowers that I have never even imagined and the water was the most pure colors of blue and green I have ever seen.  We flew through the night to get there and after a short nap, we headed to Waikiki Beach through the gardens of the Hale Kale motel.  It was quite a walk since there wasn't any close parking, but the scenery was totally worth it.  I loved this purple bush so I made Sean take a pic with me by it.

The second day we were there was cloudy and rainy but it didn't bother us since it was still warm.  We headed all the way across the island to the North Shore and made a short stop at the Dole Pineapple plantation.  The fruit there was amazing and Erin and I also found some pearls in some oysters.  Sean is a pineapple lover and was in heaven!  Then we went to the beach where we body surfed and got covered in sand.  For 2 weeks after that day I was still finding sand in my hair!  But it was totally worth the dirtiness to have a chance to feel the power of the ocean.

The next day was Sunday and we went to the church that Sam and Erin were a part of when they lived there.    It was a great church and they especially enjoyed meeting up with some of their old friends.  We even went over the the pastor's house for supper that night and we all enjoyed hearing about the ministry they have there.

Monday was Pearl Harbor day and I took so many pics that I will have to do another post for that day.  Tuesday we mostly spent indoors and resting.  That 4 hour time change is hard on a person!  Wednesday we went on a dinner cruise which was a ton of fun!  I love getting dressed up!  It was a beautiful night to be out on the water and we also got to enjoy some Polynesian dancers after dinner.

Sorry this pic is so tiny but it is a 180 degree view of Honolulu from the top deck of the ship.  It was just before sunset and the city was beautiful.

We went to this little known rock formation which I cannot remember the name of and the boys jumped off the cliffs and Erin and I watched the waves and took pictures.  I loved the way the waves rolled in against the rocks and made impressive splashes!  God has made some simply stunning creations and the ocean is certainly one of them!  It is so powerful and we are completely unable to control it.  It just reminds me how big the God is serve is!

 We were blessed to stay with a couple who are part of the church the Martins used to go with.  At first I thought it might be a little strange staying with them as none of us had ever met them before, but it turned out to be one of the best things of the whole trip!  They are about my parent's age and they were so hospitable and friendly!  We had a ton of fun getting to know them, hearing their testimonies, sharing food with them, and watching movies.  They were kind enough to let us borrow their beach things and they will be lifelong friends.  Anyway, all that to say they told us about a beach that quickly became our favorite.  It was huge and there weren't many people there compared to the other beaches we went to.  We were there twice and saw 4 weddings taking place!  That's how pretty it was!  This is a panoramic view on the first day we were there.  It was a bit cloudy but then it cleared up and we did some serious tanning and swimming!  The only drawback was the beach had a ton of Portuguese Men Of War on it and we had to be careful not to step on any of them.  Thankfully none of us got too close though we did get some good pics for the boys who were fascinated.

Then on Friday night the boys decided they needed tattoos to remember the trip by.  This is what Sean got.  It says, "Glory to God" in Greek.  It think it looks pretty good!

On Sunday we headed home, but not until 10:20pm so we got to go to church one more time.  This is us with Bob and Cindy, the amazing couple we stayed with!

And then we went to the beach one last time before leaving.  The waves were much bigger that day than the previous days, but since the men had tattoos, they couldn't get in the water, so we just soaked up the sun one more time and got a little nap in before traveling all night again.

These are memories I will cherish for years to come and I am so thankful for the time we were able to spend there.  One of the nicest things was that we didn't have a schedule and did whatever we wanted whenever we wanted.  As much as I love being a mom, it was nice not to have to worry about the kids while we were there.  We ate when we wanted even if it was at 10 pm and nobody whined about it!  It was wonderful just to be a wife and a person for just a little while.  But I was pretty excited to see those little boys when we got back!  Though I had a wonderful time, I missed them very much.  There is nothing quite like the hugs of my little boys!