Hawaii

We went to Laie Point before the PCC opened.  It was really stormy so the view wasn't that great but the kids still had fun.  We had a picnic in the trunk of the car which the kids thought was awesome

Laie Point

 We took the kids to dinner and they both decided they didn't like their food.  Carter was upset that his meat had already been taken off the bone and Will decided he didn't like his alfredo.

Carter at dinner

 So they switched!  What a relief to the parents.  Will loved Carter's boneless ribs and Carter devoured Will's pasta.

Will at dinner

Me and Brianna

I didn't care for my meal much.  The butterfish (which is a method not a species) had the texture of raw fish which I didn't care for.  In my opinion Will got the best meal by trade.

Brianna

Charlie

At the PCC Luau

We debated about going to the PCC because the kids would be out late plus the 3 hr time difference of Seattle, plus a lot of sitting and watching but they really had fun.  The award-winning buffet and royal procession was lame.  Just a big ward dinner in my opinion.  The evening show, however was great and we liked seeing the villages.  Brianna loved watching the show.  She started doing the hula in the middle of the aisle and would check over her shoulder to make sure I was doing the hula too.  Will loved the fire  dancers or eaters and Carter said his favorite part was the story.  Specifically how the father was always with the son even when the father had died.  I had previously explained the meaning of the show by telling him we are all a culmination of our ancestors and they or their experiences are a part of us and we pass that on to our children.  I liked the dancers from Tahiti--Boy can they move their hips!!

Carter and the Royal Procession

Sweet Will

Waiting for the show

It was pouring buckets of rain the day we went.  At first they were selling rain ponchos but they just started handing them out in the end.  Carter loved his.  We had to tie up the sides so the boys could walk.  Brianna just sat in the carrier under my poncho or splashed in the rain.  (Maybe being born in Seattle makes her ambivalent to the rain?) Carter wanted to wear the poncho every subsequent rainy day including to school when we came back.  We told him that it was just for emergencies and we really shouldn't wear giant plastic ponchos on the school bus.  I think he was disappointed and consoled himself with the thought that if he left the poncho at home it wouldn't get ripped.

North Shore

We headed to the North Shore for Turtle Beach supposedly swarming with Turtles.  The road the guide told us to take had huge signs on it saying "Private Drive! Do Not Enter!"  I thought no way it was a private drive considering it has a government provided road name and sign but Charlie didn't want to drive down there anyway.  So we ended up on the wrong side of a huge deposit of giant boulders.  We started climbing over them and exploring the tide pools looking for turtles.  Charlie clambered ahead to see if he could spot any turtles to make the kids' boulder climbing efforts worthwhile.  He spotted 4 turtles and motioned for the rest of us to keep coming but it was slippery and near impossible to haul little kids.  By the time we got there (and heard Will screaming) they swam away.  I saw one shell, maybe two; but not really worth the effort.  We headed back to the sand with a few new scrapes, bruises and a soaked video camera. Oops.  Oh well, that's what adventure is all about, right?

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Burying kids in the sand.

The sculpture the kids and I made together.

Carter's floppy snorkel walk

Brianna and me playing together.

Every night at dinner, on vacation or at home, we ask the kids what their highlight of the day was.  Every day, no matter what we had done, the kids said their highlight was playing on the beach.  So we tried to cut out the excursions and extra stuff to just lounge on the beach.  

Resort at night. Carter loved the tiki torches.