Hawaii

Mike and I got home from our Hawaii trip yesterday! We were happy to find Grandma and Grandpa and all our kids happy and STILL ALIVE. Here is a little bit about our trip:

Our Hotel
We stayed at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa. We managed to get two upgrades to a room on the 19th floor overlooking Waikiki Beach. It was amazing! We would just open up the balcony doors and you could hear the waves and smell the warm Hawaiian air. Here is the view from our room--it doesn't do it justice (and the sun wasn't out when I took the picture).



Waikiki
If I wasn't so white, I would have spent the entire week laying out on the beach! But, since after only an hour in the sun, my skin was red, I couldn't spend as much time laying out as I would have liked. We visited the International Marketplace (where I got my beautiful lei), and ate at a lot of great (but expensive) restaurants in Waikiki.



Polynesian Cultural Center
We had a great time at the PCC (thanks to Selai for our discount tickets!). We went around and learned about all the different Polynisian islands. We then enjoyed a delicious luau and attended the imax movie and night show. My favorite part was the Tahitian dancers. The fire dancers were pretty cool too!



Dole Plantation
This was one of my favorite things that we did in Hawaii (maybe because we finally got a "Dole Whip" that I had been dreaming about). We got to learn all about growing pineapples (I even got to plant one), and all the other plants and fruits that grow in Hawaii. It was really cool!



North Shore
On the way to the PCC we stopped by this famous shaved ice place. It was cool, but not my favorite frozen treat--and boy was it messy to eat.



Honolulu Zoo
Mike practically had to drag me to the zoo, because I insisted it was for kids. But it was actaully one of the best zoos I have been too. We got to see turtles walking around, two huge rhinos, zebras, giraffes, and all the usual animals. The great thing about this zoo was that you could get so close to the animals!





We did a lot of other fun things too. We went snorkling at Hanauma Bay (we usued a disposable water proof camera (thanks Gin), so we haven't developed the film yet), shopping at Aloha stadium, I got my very first real massage at the hotel spa, saw SpiderMan 3. . .

It was a magical week that I will remember my entire life. I am happy to be home with my babies now though--I really did miss them!