First Day in Paradise

Never have we been to a vacation spot in which the time zone was behind ours.  We usually lose some of the day because it takes us so long to adjust.  In Hawaii, some of us woke up at 3:30 am because children don't understand time changes.  Thankfully we had plenty of entertainment for them in the room and after 'The Hubs' and I had each gotten a quick workout in, we headed to the pool at 8:30.

The resort had three pools and the one near our building had an awesome little lagoon that was perfect for 'The Littles'.

My mom and I took a little stroll around the resort grounds with 'Mister' so he could get a little snooze in.  Ko'Olina is made up of four lagoons; one for the marina, one for our resort, one for private residences and one that is shared by the Disney Aulani and the JW Ihalini hotels.  Each cove is beautiful but I think ours had the best snorkeling.

 

He was so tired.  Best nap in an umbrella stroller ever!

'Mister' woke and we ate an early lunch before heading to a different pool for more swimming.  'The Littles' also heard a story and got to swim with a mermaid.  A "real" mermaid.
 

 

 

 

We headed to the beach later in the afternoon for about an hour just to check it out.  The water was perfect.

Sandy pineapple.  He ate the whole thing.

We took a little pre dinner stroll to see the other lagoons at sunset.

 

 

'Mister' was so sleepy.

'The Boy' fell asleep on Daddy's shoulders.

And 'Munchkin' passed out before we ordered.  Not a single kid ate dinner.

 

 

 

 

Hawaii Here we Come

It had been a rough few weeks.
 

 'The Boy' came down with, wait for it...Scarlet Fever.  I know...I didn't know people actually got this anymore either.  Of course one of my kids would get it.  I was terrified that all of  'The Littles' would get it with only a couple of weeks before our vacation.  Thankfully, they didn't. 

Then, with less than two weeks before we left for paradise, we all got the stomach flu.  It was awful!  'The Hubs' was out of town (of course) and 'The Littles' and I got hammered.  I feel like I should get the highest badge of Mommy honor for that one.

'Munchkin' had it the worst.  She slept for nearly 48 hours straight. Broke my heart.

 

Once we had all recovered, it was crunch time.  So little time, so much to do.

 'Mitser' go his first haircut.  He hated it and cried the entire time. Now he looks like such a big boy.  I can't stand it!

'Munchkin' got some new shoes.

She accompanied me on a last minute trip to the mall.

The night before we left, 'The Hubs' and I stayed up packing until after midnight.

I managed to get three whole hours of sleep.  I was tossing and turning with worry and anticipation.

The day that we had been planning for nine months finally came.  We made it to the airport right on schedule and the wonderful people of Hawaiian Airlines helped me and 'The Littles' up to the check-in counter while 'The Hubs' parked the car.

These guys were so excited and on their very best behavior.

 

   We had a little bit of a rough time boarding the plane.  'The Boy' had an absolute meltdown.  He panicked and screamed that he was scared and didn't want to go on the plane.  For a minute, I didn't think we were going to be able to go. 
   Again, Hawaiian airlines to the rescue.  They helped 'The Hubs' with the other two while I tried to calm 'The Boy' down.  I eventually had to pick him up and carry him to his seat.  A super nice flight attendant came over and engaged him in some guy talk and he finally calmed down.

Take off was a breeze.  'The Boy' squeezed the heck out of my hand and as soon as the plane leveled off he said, "Mom, this is awesome." 

'Mister' took a snooze for the first hour.

 

'Munchkin' was totally entertained by the Ipad and movies on the laptop.  She didn't get out of her seat for the entire 5 and a half hours.

 

'The Boy' listened to airline music and drew, did some homework, watched a movie, colored, played with a sticker book.  It was more difficult to keep him from being bored but I was very well prepared.

 

Such good 'Littles'.

'Mister' was so good but hard to keep entertained.  He just wanted to move so badly.  We walked him up and down the aisles over and over.  He made so many friends on the flight.  He took a second nap with 'The Hubs' just before we landed.

When we landed, we were in paradise.  Even in the terminal of the airport.  From there on, everything was easy...getting our bags and rental car.  I want to remember that for the next time I plan a trip.  This was not as difficult as I thought it would be at all.

We drove about 40 minutes from Honolulu to our resort in Ko'Olina.  'The Hubs' had some Starbucks for the drive, all three of 'The Littles' napped and we just enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
 

Entering Ko'Olina.

The view from our balcony.

My parents had stayed the week before in Maui and were meeting us in Oahu but had a later flight.  They checked in a few hours later and were only a few rooms away.  We all went out for a quick dinner.  'The Hubs' took 'The Littles' back to the resort and I went grocery shopping with my parents. 

By the time I got back to the resort and got in bed it was 11 o'clock Hawaii time.  I was so beat.  Still, just so happy to finally be in paradise.

One Last Disney Day

Our Disneyland passes were set to expire and we wanted to get just one more visit in before we took a break.  That's right...a break.  'The Littes' were beginning to enjoy the parks less and less and so were we.  We will be back for the holidays.  It just wouldn't feel like the holidays without Disneyland.

We ended up spending the day at California Adventure and never left the park.  It was so relaxing and not too crowded.  A perfect Disney day. 

'Mister' held onto his Daddy's leg for dear life on the ladybug ride.  Not a huge fan.

I took 'Munchkin' to see The Muppets in 3D while the boys took a rest. 

She loved it!

I am already missing Disneyland but I know that we will love it even more after a few months off. 

A Little Rehab

 We're only about halfway finished with our huge downstairs remodel but we completed so much in the last month and a half, I just had to document our progress.  I wish that I could find the before pictures I took when we first moved in but they are on some external hard drive somewhere.  When the remodel is complete, I'll post sided by side before and after pictures. 

In the mean time...

We had a professional come in and finish the paint job 'The Hubs' started six months ago.

My very white (for now) kitchen.

Demolition of my ugly floors. Squeal!

And my new beautiful hardwood floors in progress.

This is the final product for now...

Coming soon are granite countertops, crown molding, new window treatments and appliances.  Honestly, the list is endless.  We are taking a break for the moment because I started freaking out that we were basically bleeding money.  Which is funny because as soon as we decided to press pause on the reno, 'The Hubs' went out and bought a new truck and trailer.  We will get back to it soon.  In the meantime, I am just thrilled with the look so far.