a surprise trip to an island in August

 It was a surprise because I totally forgot that we were going to Hawaii, and, as a result, I didn't really tell anyone we were going.  We had planned the trip so far in advance and there were so many other things to think about that it was only at random moments--up until a couple of weeks before the trip--that I actually thought about it.

After a nearly seven-hour plane ride, on which our children were fairly well behaved, we landed on Oahu late at night and drove about an hour to the other side of the island to the house we had rented with our good friends the Skinners.

The place was beautiful, but stuffy, as none of those legendary trade winds had moved through the sealed windows.  We opened everything that would open and had a screen and eventually cooled off enough to sleep.  

The next morning we hit the beach.  Here's Simon:

And Amelia...

Our kids actually got in the water because it wasn't too cold and the sand, which was made of much larger grains than we are used to in California, didn't stick to much of anything.  And it brushed right off it did.  

We discovered that it wasn't any good for sand castles, but when you can actually play in the water all day without freezing your tail off, who needs a sand castle?

(Below is evidence of my genes running through these two...those double jointed elbows are a product of my DNA and mine alone.)

Here's Simon with Todd.  

He was one of the very few people with whom Simon would venture into the water.

When the kids were tired of the water, they just dug holes.

Pizza and funny faces after the beach...

We met up with our friends Ban and Lorena Fung and their five awesome kids. Ban is a professor at BYU Hawaii and it turned out that they only lived a few minutes down the high way from where we were staying. So, we were able to get together a few times with them.  This was Monday night having dinner and eating ice cream and being generally nutty together. 

Our kids loved the Fung kids for a number of reasons; here are just a few:

1. They are immediately engaging 

2. There was at least one child the same age as each of our kids

3. They are as obsessed with Ninjago as our kids are
4. True to their Hawaiian lifestyle, they are about as easy going as you can get

 Bonus: their first two sons are named Kai and Jay, just like two of the Ninjago characters (of course their names predate the show) 

Here are Todd, Evan and Ban who are all currently serving as bishops.

And Lorena with Ban, me with Evan, and Kathleen with Todd...

More beach pictures...

It is evident in this photo below how much Evan's skin loves the sun.  He was sooooo tan when we got back.  And because of vigilant sunscreen application, I was still sooooo white.

In fact, I had a couple of people look at me kind of funny when I got back and then they asked, "Didn't you just get back from Hawaii?"  

My reply was repeatedly, "Yes, but the sun hates me."  

I didn't need to explain anything to my Whitey McWhitey friends, though.  They get it.

Shaved ice, which is perfect on a humid day...

And the turtles at the secret beach...

Apparently, only locals know about this beach, so we were fortunate to have Ban as a guide*.  

*I really don't remember where it was anyway as I have a tendency to completely check out on a car ride if I am not driving or navigating, so if someone tried to pin me down and get the location, they'd be sorely disappointed. 

I'm just saying.

The perspective of this photo looks as though we were a great deal closer than we actually were.  We made certain to stay clear of these lovely creatures.  They were all over in the water, but this guy was taking a nap on the beach in a little tide pool.

We visited Pearl Harbor the last day, but the pictures are chronologically out of order here, and I am not switching them because I am lucky that I even managed to post them.

More beach pictures...I used two cameras apparently on the same day, so we have somewhat scattered pics here.

Oh that tropical climate frizzed my hair...

The temple in Laie

Here's the inside of the house.  Amelia was watching, what else? but Ninjago episodes.

The back view from the house...

And the front...It was huge and surprisingly cheaper than staying in a hotel.

The sunset off the back

We also visited the Polynesian Cultural Center on one of the days...here's Simon at the Luau.  We bought this dolphin for him in an attempt to entertain him because he did not particularly care for much of anything at the luau. 

Amelia and Dylan were more interested.

And Evan and I were glad to be sitting down and not sweating.

The Tongan Princess (or at least the college student playing that role...)

Evan trying to console the grumpy three year old...

Poor Simon.  

The first night we arrived and the kids were trying to go to sleep in their stuffy room Simon looked up at me with huge tears in his eyes and said, "Mom, I want to go home."  He was a trooper as this was not an easy trip for him and he likely won't remember any of it.

We visited the royal palace downtown the last day.  Todd volunteered to stay outside with Simon because anyone under six wasn't aloud on the tour.  It would have been beyond boring for him...more like torture.

So he ran around outside with Todd while the rest of us wore booties over our street shoes and listened to head phones for a guided tour.  I wasn't sure how Amelia and Dylan would do, but they were really interested.

Here's the palace from the back.

The PCC again...this was the steamy boat ride that I wish we hadn't taken...It was slow and hot and not very informative.  It was the first thing we did and we were sticky with dried sweat the rest of the day.

Simon watching Evan who was pulled out of the audience with a few other dads to do some island dance...

Hawaiian games...

 I guess this is where I say, "Aloha."