Erma
Bombeck wrote a book entitled
When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home. We might have hit that
critical point...
In all reality, though, we were not ready to come home (I even teared up a bit and Annika full on cried). We love the freedom from schedules that vacation provides. This was our first vacation that we have taken as a family of four that did not involve visiting friends or family. Though we love our friends and family dearly, we enjoyed just staying in one place and only worrying about what we wanted to do. It made the days feel long...which is extra nice when they are spent by the pool in the sun...
As I mentioned in an earlier post...we visited the
Wiamea Canyon...the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It should be renamed the
WHINEamea Canyon after we visited. Driving up windy canyon roads made our girls whine. Plus the 3,000 feet elevation gain gave me a major sinus headache so I wasn't too jolly either. Poor Jason. He who loves a good canyon "put up" with us willingly...and it was breathtaking...
An equal amount of time was spent at the beach as well as the pool. There was a water slide and the girls were crazy for it. They must have gone down it 200 times if they went down it once. Here Lena instructs her little sister on the perfect way to slide...
Jason's marathon training did not rest even though we were in The Land of Awesome. He
diligently got up and going in the mornings. Of course it helps to run along the ocean with warm weather on your face...
Vacations are also awesome because you get to do fun things like eat breakfast in bed. Mama doesn't care if you spill on the sheets because it's not her job to change them.
Mahalo housekeeping...
Though Hawaii is fabulous, it is also fabulously expensive. Tours are very expensive. Tours for four are very expensive. Instead of shelling out the cash for guided tours, Jason started the Daddy Adventures. It took some prodding in the mornings, but eventually there was at least one willing participant most mornings...
In her youth Mama would have
actually jumped off this waterfall. However, now it would have required getting on her bathing suit, getting her hair wet, ruining her make-up, and that just seemed like way too much hassle...
Sunset
grillin' by the beach makes everything taste better...
In fact everything by the beach at sunset is better...
One day we kayaked up a river, hiked to a waterfall, ate lunch, swam, hiked back, and kayaked back home. On the way home we were facing a headwind the entire trime. My arms were about to pop off from exhaustion, but we had to keep going or we would just be blown backwards. Only for you Hawaii...only for you! Fording the River Mild...
There were a lot of new and interesting sights and sounds in Hawaii. Many things to discover and contemplate. Including where coconuts come from...
Or what was up with this crazy tree...
Or why palm fronds make us want to wear flowers in our hair...
There was one thing I didn't need to contemplate...I just knew it was true. Hawaii made us smiley...
Oh so smiley...
And we loved every single minute of it...
I also know that we want to go back...like right now. Not only because it is raining and yucky outside (and that it was actually snowing as we drove home), but because we have baskets of laundry to do, work to accomplish, school to attend, and errands to run.
Wha wha wha. The Kauai Marathon is in September and I have already started trying to talk to Jason into doing it. Positive thinking, right? We shall see.
Mahalo Hawaii!
In all reality, though, we were not ready to come home (I even teared up a bit and Annika full on cried). We love the freedom from schedules that vacation provides. This was our first vacation that we have taken as a family of four that did not involve visiting friends or family. Though we love our friends and family dearly, we enjoyed just staying in one place and only worrying about what we wanted to do. It made the days feel long...which is extra nice when they are spent by the pool in the sun...
As I mentioned in an earlier post...we visited the Wiamea Canyon...the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It should be renamed the WHINEamea Canyon after we visited. Driving up windy canyon roads made our girls whine. Plus the 3,000 feet elevation gain gave me a major sinus headache so I wasn't too jolly either. Poor Jason. He who loves a good canyon "put up" with us willingly...and it was breathtaking...
An equal amount of time was spent at the beach as well as the pool. There was a water slide and the girls were crazy for it. They must have gone down it 200 times if they went down it once. Here Lena instructs her little sister on the perfect way to slide...
Jason's marathon training did not rest even though we were in The Land of Awesome. He diligently got up and going in the mornings. Of course it helps to run along the ocean with warm weather on your face...
Vacations are also awesome because you get to do fun things like eat breakfast in bed. Mama doesn't care if you spill on the sheets because it's not her job to change them. Mahalo housekeeping...
Though Hawaii is fabulous, it is also fabulously expensive. Tours are very expensive. Tours for four are very expensive. Instead of shelling out the cash for guided tours, Jason started the Daddy Adventures. It took some prodding in the mornings, but eventually there was at least one willing participant most mornings...
In her youth Mama would have actually jumped off this waterfall. However, now it would have required getting on her bathing suit, getting her hair wet, ruining her make-up, and that just seemed like way too much hassle...
Sunset grillin' by the beach makes everything taste better...
In fact everything by the beach at sunset is better...
One day we kayaked up a river, hiked to a waterfall, ate lunch, swam, hiked back, and kayaked back home. On the way home we were facing a headwind the entire trime. My arms were about to pop off from exhaustion, but we had to keep going or we would just be blown backwards. Only for you Hawaii...only for you! Fording the River Mild...
There were a lot of new and interesting sights and sounds in Hawaii. Many things to discover and contemplate. Including where coconuts come from...
Or what was up with this crazy tree...
Or why palm fronds make us want to wear flowers in our hair...
There was one thing I didn't need to contemplate...I just knew it was true. Hawaii made us smiley...
Oh so smiley...
And we loved every single minute of it...
I also know that we want to go back...like right now. Not only because it is raining and yucky outside (and that it was actually snowing as we drove home), but because we have baskets of laundry to do, work to accomplish, school to attend, and errands to run. Wha wha wha. The Kauai Marathon is in September and I have already started trying to talk to Jason into doing it. Positive thinking, right? We shall see. Mahalo Hawaii!
1 comment:
*sigh* Looks like you guys had the most wonderful time! I am so happy for you even though I am insanely jealous :)
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