Say Cheese!

So the other day at dinner I told Lilly to say cheese and this is what I got.

She was doing the funniest smiles everytime I said to say cheese. How can you not love it?

Just a Little Attitude!!

Lilly has really started saying a lot of words and phrases. In fact Aaron and I have to watch ourselves and what we say because one day Aaron said the word "crap" and Lilly immediately said it too! Oops! Anyway in Church on Sunday we asked her to fold her arms for the prayer, she turns to us and says "No Way!" Wow! where did that come from, and where did she learn it!?! Anyway, Little Miss Attitude is getting a little mouthy and of course my parents just laugh about it, Thanks a lot mom and dad! I guess now we are really going to have to work at not laughing when she says something that she shouldn't. Half the time we are just so surprised that she said it, so we can't help ourselves! Wish us luck!

Day 8 - The Final Day and Pearl Harbor

Well the day finally came that we had to go home. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to see Lilly, but we had a really great time, and you really can't beat the weather! My Dad had a few more appointments and so the rest of us decided to go to Pearl Harbor. We didn't have a lot of time and so we only made it to the USS Arizona. It was really cool and you could still see little bubbles of oil being released from the ship. The guide mentioned that they estimate it to leak oil for about another 10 years! After Pearl Harbor we went to a Hawaiian store called Hilo Hatties. It has everything Hawaiian that you could ever want. We bought a few souvenirs and headed to pick up my Dad. We went to dinner, went to the airport and we started flying home by 9:15 pm that evening. Aaron and I got home on Wednesday evening at about 5:00 pm. It was a great trip, but we are happy to be home. Thanks again mom and dad. We really appreciate it!

Day 7 - Ihilani Resort

On Sunday afternoon we flew back to Honolulu because my Dad had some more business to take care of on Tuesday. We flew into Honolulu, had a wonderful dinner in downtown Honolulu and went to our next hotel. It was a Marriott Resort and it was awesome! It was dark when we arrived, but we saw enough to know that we wanted to spend more time than we had left. On Monday we were supposed to go reef walking with a client of my Dad's but the resort was so cool that we decided just to hang out, go snorkeling and swim all day. Unfortunately when we returned to Honolulu it was also the beginning of Jelly Fish season, so we all opted not to go into the cove for snorkeling. instead we spent the day enjoying the pool and just hanging out. We had an awesome time! The weather was perfect! That evening we also hung out, walked on the beach, laid in a hammock, and played some games with my family. We were totally bummed that we didn't have more time to spend at this resort. I would highly recommend it to anyone! The next morning Aaron and I had a great breakfast on our balcony and just explored the place. We found a little path that led to a small public beach (obviously not a lot of people go there!) it was beautiful and led right to the ocean. We also found a lot of crabs and I managed to get a picture of one before it ran and hid. The resort also had these pools of animals. On one side were a bunch of small hammer head sharks. On the other side was a bunch of Manna Rays. It was really cool to watch them.

Days 3-6 - Hilton Waikoloa Resort

On Thursday we flew to the Big Island of Hawaii. We then drove 30 minutes to the Hilton Waikoloa Resort where a friend of my dad's made it possible for us to use a condo there. We loved it. It was just really nice to be able to cook your own meals and not have to eat out all the time. On Thursday we explored Kona and found the temple there. Once we got checked into our condo we spent some time in the pool and spa. On Friday we decided to spend the day at the beach. We swam, snorkeled and had a great time. Then we went back to the resort and decided to do a little exploring. The place was huge! We walked around a lot of it, but by the time we were done walking and swimming in the pool, we were too tired to walk back, so we took one of the trams that they have. It just takes people around the resort because it is so big! They also have some pretty cool little boats that will also take you around the resort. On Saturday we were all a little sunburned from the previous day so we decided to go and find the other pool at the resort. It was awesome. We took a tram ride to the other side of the resort and eventually ran into the pool. It had 4 waterfalls that ran into the pool, so you had to swim under or around them to go to different sections of the pool. It also had a big water slide, which we even got my mom to go down. Only once but she eventually admitted that it was pretty fun! At the other end of the pool is a little kids swimming area that has a little beach and shallower water so it is easier for the kids. It was an awesome place! After we were done swimming we just relaxed the day away, lounging around and reading books. That evening Aaron and I also went back to the resort so that we could relax in one of the hammocks that they had right by the ocean. It was so beautiful with the whole resort lit up with tiki torches and hearing the sound of the ocean. On Sunday we were leaving so Aaron and I did a little more exploring. We found some pretty cool stuff. They have a Dolphin Lagoon and we just sat and watched the dolphins. There was even a baby dolphin that was always swimming with its mom. It was so cute. The have a really cool bridge that goes right over the swimming pools. They also have a Flamingo preserve and also a duck and tortoise preserve. Anyway, we had a great time and can't wait to go back to this place!

Day 2 - Pineapple and Polynesian's

On our second day in Hawaii my dad had some meetings to go to so we were on our own for the first part of the day. We got up and went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. It was a lot of fun. We took a train ride around the pineapple fields and learned all kinds of interesting facts. We also got to try some fresh pineapple ice cream. It was delicious. After the pineapple plantation we made a stop at the temple. The sister missionary that we met was from Provo Utah. She was definitely loving the warm Hawaiian weather. Then we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was just Aaron, Amber, and I (my mom had to go back and pick up my dad for the luau.)We had a great time and enjoyed the different shows that we watched. We also learned how to make fish out of Palm Tree Fronds. We had a great time. Then we went to a luau and ate some really yummy food. After that we all attended an evening show. It was amazing. The funny thing is that at the Luau Aaron ran into a girl who used to live in Santa Barbara, her name is Kirsi and they haven't seen each other in a really long time. It really is a small world.

Day 1 - The Punch Bowl

We arrived in Honolulu on Tuesday, March 25th at about 1:00 pm. We immediately walked off the plane and wanted to go and change our clothes. It was a huge difference between 50 degree weather and 80 degree weather, but we couldn't complain. We picked up our car and went to the hotel. For the first 2 nights we were staying at a local place called The Pagoda. It is really just for local business travelers and locals coming back for a visit. It was in the middle on town and not the greatest place. I didn't care because it didn't have any bugs and it was clean, that is all that matters! After we changed we went for a drive. We drove through Waikiki and then over the The Punch Bowl. It was beautiful and you could really feel a peacefulness about the grounds there. we loved it. Then we started driving, took a wrong turn and ended up lost on top of a mountain with what looked like a bunch of jungle outside. It was a great place to get lost! We eventually made it back to Honolulu. My parents had a dinner appointment so Amber, Aaron and I went to the mall and ate there. Then we walked around the mall, and past all the places that I would never be able to even step foot. This mall was filled with places like, Gucci, Armani, Coach, Tiffany's and more! It was a fun place to window shop! Anyway, by 9:00 pm we were exhausted and just wanted to go to bed. So we made it an early evening and went to our hotel.

ALOHA!

Well Aaron and I just got home from our wonderful vacation to HAWAII! I couldn't say anything on our blog about it before because this trip was a huge surprise to my little sister Amber who thought that we were going to my grandma's house in California to do yard work and spring cleaning for a week. The surprise was awesome and worked better than any of us could have imagined. We were actually on the plane to Honolulu before she figured it out! (we were in fact about to taxi when she realized). Anyway, it was pretty funny. When she started to figure things out she would ask "where are we going Heather?" and I would say Sacramento. She just kept asking the question and I kept trying to talk over the captain on the loudspeaker, hoping that she wouldn't hear how long the flight really was. She eventually did and we told her where we were really going! She cried on the plane, but was so excited to hear that she wouldn't be pulling weeds and doing yard work for her spring break vacation! We had a great trip (pictures to follow). Thanks again Mom and Dad we had an awesome time with you and we really appreciate the trip, AND Lilly didn't punish us too much when we got home, so it was all totally worth it!