Friday, August 01, 2008

Trip to Paradise, Part 1

I don't know how to even start this one. Wow. Seven days of SO much fun, including exploring an island, action-packed water sports, and the necessary relaxing on the beach. And more importantly- hanging out with each other without any added stress (Hmm mmm... jobs, bills, kids...) and remembering how it was when it was just the two of us. We knew the kids were having so much fun camping and being spoiled rotten by Grandma and Grandad (THANKS A MILLION!) and we were free to retreat into our own selfish vacation mode.
First off, we had to say the big "goodbye"... kind of tough, but no tears were shed.

We left these guys in good hands and they were excited for their adventure.

Then it was time to head to the airport. We were giddy like little kids going to Disneyland.

We had to do something to make us feel "islandy", so we started our love affair with tropical drinks before we even left the Phoenix airport. Ah, I may as well skip ahead and show you a selection of our lovely liquids (as I start to salivate.)




Yummy! We finally arrived after a delirious time on a couple of planes, and Ro was very excited when he upgraded our economy rental car to a Jeep. It was so much fun to ride around the island with the top off and dance to our Ipod tunes while we stared at the ocean.


The condo we rented was on the North shore of Oahu and absolutely perfect! There were NEVER more than five people on the beach out back and they were always at least 20 yards away. It felt like we had our own private beach (and pool, too- seemed like nobody ever used it but us.)




The next day we explored the Polynesian Cultural Center. We had an awesome time and Ro enjoyed reminiscing about some of the cultures he was exposed to on his mission to Australia (New Zealand, Samoa, etc.)



(Mase wanted to know why Daddy was with "GIRLS" in this picture... hee hee)


We took a tram tour to the temple and it was beautiful. This is the view from the front of it and you can see the ocean out in front.

That made Ro pine for the ocean and he was tempted to take a dip in this fountain.

The luau was delicious and the night show was AMAZING. The cultures of all of the different islands are so diverse (Fiji, Tonga, Somoa, etc.) and it was awesome to learn about. Uh, not to mention the guys who were sitting on and eating fire. (:

The next morning we took a breakfast sail on a catamaran. So fun! We sailed for two hours out into the BLUE waters and we got to see sea turtles and flying fish. It got going really fast when the wind picked up and it was fun to get sprayed with a little water. (And fun to watch some others get soaked.)



There was even a net where you could sit down or lay down and be directly over the ocean. (We finally snagged a spot from one of the kids who was hogging it... funny how you feel about kids on vacation when you had the sense to leave yours at home. J/k)


We also went to a water park that day because it was free with something we purchased. A couple of waterslides later, we left, knowing that the ocean was nearby and MUCH more inviting than teenagers and a fake wave pool. We ended up driving all around the island that day and just exploring. Our day came to a close eating fresh mango and watching the sunset on Waimea bay. Beautiful.



More adventures to come! (A million pictures, I know...We had been looking forward to this vacation for SO long that I have to keep it detailed so we can remember it.)

9 comments:

Brandon and Mandi Hemming said...

How fun! It looks like you had an amazing time and you looks so pretty!!

The McEwen Family said...

Looks like you guys had a great time. Hawaii is such a beautiful place, we got to go before we ever had kids and it was great! You look so great too!

Muffin Cake said...

I am SO jealous!!! You look like you had an amazing time!

leinbachfamily said...

You look awesome Nat. I'm so glad you guys went, it is always great to have some alone time. Let's get together this week sometime.

kristal said...

You look so hot! Seriously didn't it make the trip that much better knowing that you're the hottest girl there?! Lucky Ro. Um, and Ro looks really scary in the picture with his tonge out. Ha! K, hurry up and get to Part II!!!! Oh, and I ALMOST bought that same luggage last week. SO CUTE! Jason said it looked like me, so I wanted to break out of my box...ours is boring...blah!

PEHNelson said...

Oh...I NEED TO GO BACK!

Anonymous said...

That looks and sounds absoulutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!

Angela said...

A beach house on the north shore is the only way to go! We loved ours too. You guys are so cute! Glad you had such a good time.

Burgess said...

How fun! And you look so skinny and cute!