We got to go to Hawaii and visit my parents on their mission! It was a trip we had anticipated for many months and we finally got to go! The thing I was most worried about before the trip was us staying healthy. We stocked up on the vitamin C and Elderberry and hoped for the best. Heavenly Father was SO gracious to allow us to be healthy. I had a cough but other than that we were perfect! Such a blessing. The airplane rides wen't okay on the way there. The long flight we assumed would have TVs in front of each seat like they used to but apparently airlines are done away with that since everyone travels with their own devices. UNLESS you have lots of children...Cade and I gave our phones to the kids to keep them entertained and we sat and did nothing for many hours :). I didn't mention but Grandma and Grandpa Close stayed back at home with Benson and Jane so we had a wonderful trip with minimal crying and tantruming :).
We drove first to the PCC and met up with Grandma Bleak in her ukulele store. It was so fun to see her! And then Grandpa came just a bit after from his work office. Then we drove to their house and got to see their amazing views from their home. They live in a little peninsula called Laie Point and many people go there for the views. What a beautiful place to live!!
Afterwards we went to the PCC for quite a few hours. We only had time for 3 of the 6 villages (which was more than Lucy could handle) but we had a great time learning about the cultures and people. We also did a ukulele lesson with Grandma at the ukulele store. After dinner we had a great time swimming at the Marriott's pool.
Of course Reese was SO excited about all the cows we saw on the tour...hahaha.
Then during the day we went back to Pounders beach and played in the ocean some more. Grandma had borrowed some boogie boards for us to try. This time the girls weren't as excited after the bigger waves pulled them under too many times. They struggled with the taste of salt water and getting it in their eyes and hair. We still had a great time.
At night we ate dinner at the PCC buffet with Grandma and Grandpa and then watched the show called "Ha! Breath of Life." I love this show and was reminded about the power of missionary work without being "preachy". The whole show is about life and our ancestors who went before us and life after this life. It is a beautiful show and we enjoyed it so much!
This is the railing at the PCC that was built after Grandma walked right off of it in the dark after a shift at work. She could have broken lots of bones but instead was miraculously okay with a few scrapes and bruises. This is how she literally "left her mark" on her mission :).
Sunday was beautiful with first going to their small BYU Hawaii student ward for sacrament meeting. Then we went on a walk around the temple and stopped at Grandma and GRandpa's favorite spot under these HUGE amazing trees for some scripture study.
Then we ate tacos at Gma and Gpa's house and got packed up and ready to head to Aulani. On our way we went on a hike at Manoa Falls. It was SO pretty and not a super long hike. The first part of the hike where it opened up to these amazing trees was my favorite. We got in the water at the falls for a bit and tried not to step on the little sucker fish. Reese's favorite part was feeding the chickens in the parking lot.
Then we checked into our rooms at the Aulani Disney Resort and went night swimming for a while and then watched Moana with Gma and Gpa.
Monday morning we started off with walking about 10 min away and going snorkeling. We saw lots of fish and 4 sea turtles!!! They were so cute- just swimming right around us! The girls LOVED it! Emma did not stop for a couple hours straight. That was her favorite part of the trip.
Later on Monday Cade and I and the girls went to the Sea Life Aquarium. We got to get in the water with the dolphins and learn about them and feed them. That was definitely a highlight as well. The dolphin show was really fun as well as feeding the love birds.
Tuesday we checked out in the morning but we were able to use the resort all we wanted throughout the day until our flight at night. We must have been having too much fun all day because I never got pictures the last day. I have one of Cade and I from the evening before but that's all. The resort was super fun. Most of girls had had enough ocean water by the last day that they just wanted to swim in the pools and hot tub and go down the lazy river and water slides. Emma still snorkeled that last day but there wasn't a ton to see. The resort was super fun. It was surprising that it is a "Disney" resort but it didn't feel Disney like at all. There were a couple Disney characters at one point and a Mickey Statue in one lobby but other than that it was just Hawaii themed.
Getting back home ended up being kind of a nightmare. We got to the airport late at night and around 10:00 pm they started boarding our flight. But half way through boarding they announced that the flight was cancelled due to not having enough crew members. So we had to stand in a super long line until about midnight and finally get our vouchers for hotel and breakfast and shuttles. The girls fell asleep while waiting and waiting. Then we had to wake them up and go in another line to get a shuttle (girls fell asleep again while waiting). Then we finally got to our hotel around 1:30 am and stood in another line while the girls fell asleep in the lobby. Each time we woke them up Lucy would cry and scream and have a melt down. But cade and I had too many things to carry and pull. It was pretty rough. I felt so bad for the girls. WE finally got to sleep and slept for maybe 5-6 hours. In the meantime Cade was working on a plan to get us home sooner. We would be able to fly to Phoenix but would have to sleepover in Phoenix for ANOTHER night before being able to get home to Utah. But Cade bought us connecting flights so we wouldn't have to stay another night in Phoenix. We got to the Phoenix airport and had to run as fast as we could to catch the flight from a separate airline. We luckily made it and got home to our beds around 1:30 am. The girls woke up for school at 6:30 am and did a full day of school! It was so exhausting but overall I am SO glad we went. Other than the crazy fiasco of getting home the rest of the trip was absolutely perfect. We LOVED getting to see my parents. It had been too long. I love them so much and am grateful for their service. What amazing people.
I was worried Jane wouldn't forgive me after leaving her for that long but luckily Grandma Bleak sent some suckers and that made it all okay:). She and Benson did amazing for Gma and Gpa Close and they were healthy and slept well at night! What more could I ask for??
