Aloha- Days 4 and 5

On Saturday we went to Hanauma Bay. It rained off and on but we still had fun. We relaxed on the beach, snorkeled, saw some awesome bright fish and 2 sea turtles.

Our hotel was right next door to the International Market Place. Later that evening we went shopping and after some negotiating we got a turtle made out of a coconut. I love it!

We spent the rest of the night walking around Waikiki. A hula dance group was performing so we stopped to watch. We checked out shops and the other street performers. It is a fun city to spend a Saturday night in.

Sunday morning we took the bus to Diamond Head. We hiked to the top with mucho effort. It's only .8 miles to the top but man it is tough. The sign says it's a strenuous hike and it's not kidding.

It was worth it, though. The view was spectacular. We were even lucky enough to catch a double rainbow!! As much crap as that poor "double rainbow guy" got, he was right, they are pretty awesome.

After our hike we headed back to the hotel, showered, and headed to the airport. It was so sad to leave. We really fell in love with Hawaii. We missed the kids though and were ready to get back to them. Next time we go, and we will be going again, we're taking the kids. I was surprised at how many young children were on vacation there, but really there is so much for kids to enjoy. We didn't make it to Pearl Harbor like we wanted to, so that's on the list for next time, too.

**As a side note, do not buy food at the Honolulu airport. It's so expensive. We paid $9 for a Burger King Value Meal, and that was the cheapest thing. Yikes!

Aloha- Day 3- Dolphin Excursion

On our third day in Hawaii we got up early and went out on a dolphin excursion. We went with the company EO Waianae tours. It's run by an LDS family and they were so fun. They even took all of these pictures and sent us a USB as part of our package.  I would highly recommend them to anyone that's going!

We headed out with our group early in the morning.  When we got to our snorkeling spot, I was nervous. I haven't been real snorkeling really, and I didn't know what to expect.

Then I got in the water and looked down. This is what I saw!! My worries were gone and I was amazed. We were surrounded by a huge pod of dolphins. They are the Spinner Dolphins. They are called that because they like to jump out of the water and spin.

Here's Ryan and me out in the water. We swam with them for a little over half an hour, and they started showing off. They would come around to say Hi then jump out and show off their spins. It was so incredible. I didn't want to get out.

Then we loaded back in the boat and went to a different area to visit the sea turtles! There were 5 turtles here. They come to this area because the fish eat the junk off of them. . There is a law against harassing sea turtles in any way. So, you're not supposed to touch them but they really were not shy at all. We had to keep dodging them because they swim right at you.

The company also had a kayak and paddle board. We didn't use them because I was feeling gross. We swam with the turtles for a while, but then I had to get out of the water.

This is a picture of us just after swimming with the turtles. I am trying not to throw up. I had to sit at the edge of the boat for a while. The crew kept telling me to just throw up and I would feel better. It didn't happen. I eventually felt better.

On our way back we had lunch, worked the Titanic pose (they had everyone do it, I promise!! We aren't that weird), learned some hula, and enjoyed the breathtaking views.

It was such an incredible experience. Really one of the most amazing of my life. I can't wait to do it again some day!!

Nauvoo

While my mom was here, we decided to take a trip down to Nauvoo. It's about 5 hours from my house and my mom hasn't been in over 20 years. It wasn't too bad of a drive. I love the greenness of Illinois and saw plenty of it on our drive. We did have to stop on the bridge going over the Mississippi while a ship passed through. That was not fun. I discovered that I'm not a fan of huge bridges. I don't envy the toll collector stationed in the middle of the bridge.

We spent one night in Nauvoo and saw a ton in the 24 hours we were there. My mom and I took turns going to the Temple.

We checked out some of the pioneer homes. We made sure to stop at the Heber C. Kimball house, because he is Ryan's great great something Grandfather.

We went on an oxen ride, visited the horses, saw a couple shows, and played pioneer children games.

We had a great visit and enjoyed feeling the spirit of Nauvoo and the faithful saints who lived there. I'm so thankful for their faith and perserverence. What great examples they are of truly faithful disciples of Christ.

A few days before we headed to Nauvoo, we went to the Strawberry Festival in Long Grove, a historic town near our house. We went with our friends, the Cottrells, and enjoyed looking in shops, getting and losing multiple balloons (yes, each loss was accompanied by a fit), and eating some festival food.

We had so much fun with Grammy. We kept her busy and we all loved having her. It made such a huge difference to have her here while Ryan was gone. Thanks for coming Grammy!!

4 Year Old Princess

Hayden turned 4 last month and was beyond excited. The picture above is from the morning of her birthday. She got the outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Woodland. She HAD to wear it that day. They were smart to get her a skirt because she wants to wear a skirt every day! Grammy and Grampa got her princess light up shoes which she has been dying to have for months now. Ryan and I got her a Repunzel baby doll and Goldie the Unicorn.

This year she wanted to have a princess party with a castle cake. The cake didn't turn out as nice as I wanted it to, but Hayden loved it!

All of her girl friends came dressed as princesses and her boy friend came as a super hero. We played some princess games, hot slipper (like hot potato) and pin the crown on the princess. Then it was time for cake and presents.

She was definitely spoiled by all of her friends this year. I love that she has such great friends. She got dress ups, ponies, barbies, markers. All the usual 4 year old girl stuff.

She had a very happy birthday! Thanks to all of our family and friends who made it special. She sure missed Daddy that day but luckily she got to talk to him on the webcam and tell him all about her day.

We love you Haydie babe! You'll always be our little princess :)

Grammy Time

Ryan went to China for just over 2 weeks in June. While he was gone he missed Hayden's birthday, Father's day and my birthday. Major bummer!! But while he was gone Grammy came to play, and play we did.

We went to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. It has been 5 years since I've been there. I forgot how beautiful it is!

The kids loved the adventure and Grammy and I got our workout in for the day!

These purple ball flowers (I can't remember what they are actually called) were our favorite. We had a great day enjoying the beauty of nature.

We also went strawberrry picking at Stade's Farm.

The berries were tiny but the kids really enjoyed picking them.

Cole insisted on wearing this hat, even though it is obviously too small for his head!

After sweating in the heat for a while, we ended up with about 4 pounds of strawberries. We ended our excursion with delicious apple cider donuts!

On my birthday, we headed to the zoo. I love the zoo and so do my kids, so it was the perfect place to go.  My kids were so close to the grizzly bear I was getting a little nervous, even with the glass. I decided I would never like to meet a grizzly bear in the wild. But It was pretty cool to get a close up view.

My kids are so lucky to have a Grammy who will be silly with them!

Of course we had to end the day with another picture on the Brookfiels Zoo lion. Good times!