Mele Kalikimaka

I shouldn't have complained last week because Mike and I just spent the weekend in HAWAII!!! He got a couple of free airline tickets at work and they had to be used by the end of the year plus it's almost our 8 year anniversary, so Thursday morning we headed out to Oahu and spent 4 beautiful days on Waikiki beach. It was sooo fun and so needed. Honestly, I could have done 4 days alone with Mike anywhere, but it didn't hurt that we were in Hawaii. I'll apologize in advance for all the cheesy pictures, but since this is also my personal journal, I'm including them. My parents were so amazing and kind to come out and watch the kiddos for us--they are the best and the kids had a great time; hardly even missed us.

On Thursday we had a 6 hour flight next to Lavonda who was afraid to fly and talked a lot. Amazingly we still got some good reading in. That night we stayed with our GREAT friends Troy and Molly and spent time with their cute kiddos. Molly cooked us a yummy dinner and it was so good to reconnect.

Friday we stopped at the Hawaii temple, but it was closed because of a power outage, and we spent all day at the Polynesian Cultural Center; it was such a great experience. Every island was so interesting and we learned so much. We had our own personal tour guide named Lisa who was the cutest little girl from New Zealand. It was pouring rain all day, so it was the perfect day to go to the PCC. We got fake tatoos, learned the hula, can say hello in many island languages and are really great at twisting these cool balls around and around. The one down side-- the food was disgusting!! Even the hula dancers and decent music were not enough to take away the bad ward party taste, but it was fun.

Saturday morning we took a walk along Waikiki along with the million runners who were there to run the Honolulu marathon. We think marathon runners are great but really a little nuts. Apparently every person in Japan came to run the marathon because the streets were flooded with millions of super skinny Asian tourists who practiced their meditation and stretching on every free inch of sand (Mike joined a little stretching group for a minute!!)

After our walk we ate a yummy breakfast and then headed to a less crowded spot to snorkel. The water was cold but the tropical fish and coral were well worth the less than Phoenix temperatures. I even took a nap on the beach. Mike actually sat still and read a book for a good hour. Pretty amazing. I also had a quick teenage moment and decided not to put sunscreen everywhere so I could come home tan. Seriously? Do I think I'm 15? Not such a great idea for my pale little body. Luckily it looked worse than it felt after a shower.

After the beach we shared my favorite meal of the trip and juicy cheesburger topped with pineapple, avocado bacon and some great sauce. Yum! We then checked out some local artists hanging their stuff on a zoo wall. I found a guy who does nature photos that I love and I can't wait to get my hands on one of his pieces. We then shopped the rest of the day and got ourselves lost in a 3 floor maze of duty free items we were not supposed to look at (apparently it's only for people who live outside the US). You should have seen us--just like little rats in a corner trying to get out of an Hermes and Prada confine. We were laughing so hard by the time we got out and decided we'd had enough shopping. We went back to the hotel (which was awesome, by the way. Right on the beach) and got ready and headed to dinner. We met Troy and Molly there and closed down the place after we sat at our table for 4 hours (don't worry, no one else was waiting).

Sunday morning we slept in, ate a yummy breakfast overlooking the ocean, went to church, checked out Pearl Harbor, which was really neat. Then walked along a more secluded beautiful beach owned by Marriott. It was so nice to just relax and breathe in Hawaii. The best part was all the time we got to spend with each other. I'm really sappy, I know, but my husband is THE greatest. We always have such a great time together; he is my best friend, makes me feel so safe and loved all the time. I am so grateful for him. Sunday night we passed the late hours with Troy and Molly and headed to our 11:55pm flight. With the help of a couple Tylenol PM we slept the whole way home. Monday morning, when we walked in the door, real life hit us right in the face and our kids were so excited to see us. We were glad to get back to them. You feel like you can do anything after 4 great days with the love of your life. Lucky me!