I left my HEART in HAWAII

*click on the photos to read the caption!*


Arighty friends, I promised you great things to come and I am now rested and ready to chat. So strap in, grab a cold one and let's talk all about my trip to Hawaii. This might take a while.

While in Hawaii, we visited the Island of Oahu for 3 days & then flew to Kauai for 7. Oahu was so much fun. We stayed in an amazing house right on the beach with G & I, Ty, Jennie & Makayla and Erik & Heidi. Some of the fun things we did during our 3 glorious days there:

-Ate the biggest banana pancakes I have ever seen in my life at the Cafe made famous by "5o first dates"
-Visited the Temple
-Went to the PCC
-Watched the surfers on the North Shore (biggest waves I have ever seen!)
-Swam in the ocean in our backyard.
-Snorkeled in Hanauma Bay
-Ate shrimp sold on the side of a road from a trailer and did not die.
-Went to Pearl Harbor
-Ate lots of food
-Went to a swap meet (and I managed to only make one purchase)
-Watched the sun rise

On Sunday, we flew to Kauai to meet Margaret & Geir for the rest of our trip. Oh my, is Kauai beautiful! You have to see that place to believe it. It is insanely lush & green; pretty much my idea of paradise. I loved Kauai for several reasons, but partly because there are wild chickens everywhere you turn, firds (funny birds, dubbed "firds" by G & I), the juciest pineapple you can imagine, road-side pineapple freezes & whales all over the place!!!!

Anyone who knows me, knows I am terrified of whales. I don't know what it is, they just scare the crap out of me, so it shocked my entire family when I informed them that I would be going on a whale watching tour. And yes, we saw whales. Tons of them, in fact. All over the place. You couldn't escape those freaking things. We saw them from our kitchen window, at the beach, on the boat. I about peed my pants when one swam right in front of us during the whale watching tour. They are so huge & so scary, I seriously cannot fathom how people swim with them or scuba dive with them, how can you get that close to something that could swallow you whole!?!?!

Anyways, the whale watching tour was terrifying. And thrilling...and terrifying.

The coolest thing we did was take a helicoptor tour of the Island. Tyler had his heart set on this & was nice enough to get it all arranged. It was pretty amazing & if you check out my slide show you will see why I am saying that. The Island of Kauai is breathtaking and seeing it from a helicoptor was just unbelievable. I even got to sit right next to the Pilot & watch him fly the plane. I am 92% positive I could fly a helicoptor now. 92 PERCENT! (name that movie)

We spent a few more days snorkeling and visited the beach as much as we could. I love the beach so much. It was always hard for G to get me to leave, I just can't imagine a more perfect place. We body surfed, which is always a blast & had fun taking Tyler, Jennie, Erik & Heidi for their first time. Everyone got the hang of it quickly and caught plenty of waves.

The house we stayed at was incredible. I can't describe it and the pictures don't do it justise, but you should take a look anyways. We could see the ocean from our backyard (whales and all) and had the most beautiful view.

Other than that, we spent lots of time relaxing, swimming, shopping, eating, playing cards & basically just being in Heaven. I am so sad to be home. I want to move immediately. Preferably to someplace where it is always 80 degrees and sunny.

It was the trip of a life-time and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to go. Thank you Margaret & Geir!!!!