This vacation was such a dream. Definitely one of my favorite vacations, ever. We've been wanting to take the girls to Hawaii for a while, and it happened like this. On a Saturday last November I found out I was pregnant. Sunday, Paul says "let's do some vacation planning for next year." I tell him Kate has a week off school in February. He looks up airfare for Hawaii, finds a good deal, and buys it 30 minutes later! And then girls ran through the house squealing "We're going to Hawaii!" They were so excited. I guess he realized we would probably be home bound this summer with a new baby, so we better go now! The girls are the perfect ages and were great travelers.
It's a different kind of trip traveling with kids. A bit slower paced, easier hikes, more time playing on the beach and watching cartoons in the bed in the morning, but we loved it all. It was fun to have them with us and share such a beautiful place with them. They are easy to please and get excited about small things. And sometimes don't care about the big things (A waterfall? Mom, you'll have to carry me. Can we go get shave ice now?)
The first half of our trip we stayed in a condo on the north shore that the girls called our "tree house" because it was upstairs. We did more sightseeing and outings while we were there. We hiked around turtle bay to a secret fort and secluded bay, visited the temple, went to the Polynesian Culture Center, the Dole Plantation, hiked Wiamea Valley Gardens and Falls and watched sea turtles at turtle beach. We ate banana-macadamia nut waffles (the best!) and delicious Thai food. We played Uno, read books, watched movies, listened to the rain fall in the early morning and enjoyed the sunshine in the afternoon.
The second half of our trip we stayed in Ko Olina at the Disney Aulani. It was amazing. We mostly stayed at the resort for 5 days and had plenty to do. We played at the beach, at the pool, on the water slides, and in the lazy river. The girls loved the kids club and Paul and I loved having a date night and some quiet time on the beach! We learned to hula, went on an interactive scavenger hunt around the resort, had a dance party with Chip and Dale, watched the sunset from the biggest jacuzzi ever, snorkeled with fish, listened to live music and storytellers, and searched for menehune (little wooden mystical statues hidden everywhere). The resort is perfect for families. Probably the nicest place I have ever stayed. The snow cones were delicious, the water was warm, the sunshine felt so good, it was green everywhere. We all slept 9-10 hours at night--why can't I make myself go to bed early at home!? It made such a difference.
It was fun to see random Disney characters around the resort, although we liked that it was pretty subtle. You didn't feel like you were at Disneyland and if you weren't looking for it, you might not notice you were at a Disney resort. The girls can't stop talking about it and wonder when we can go back. The week after we got home we found out that a baby SISTER will be arriving the end of July. We're so excited and feeling very grateful for three little girls.
