ALOOOOOOOHA!!

Jake and I had an amazing week last week. We had the opportunity to go to Hawaii with Jake's family. We rented a beach house on the island of Oahu on the North Shore in a town called Laie. The house was right across the street from the Polynesian Cultural Center, BYU Hawaii, and the temple. The house was right by the water with a beautiful view of the ocean from the back yard. The week was chalk full of awesome activities. We started the trip off with our red eye flight from Las Vegas (where we met up with the fam) and flew to Honolulu. We arrived in Hawaii at 5:20am and the whirlwind started right away. After we got the cars, we found a local breakfast place and had breakfast. From there we went to a place called the Punch Bowl. It is an amazing cemetary and memorial for the men and women that fought in WW2 and other wars between now and then. It was incredible to see all the names engraved on the marble. It made me so thankful for the freedoms that we enjoy from their willingness to die for it. The rest of the day we went onto the military base and went on a supermarket sweep for the groceries for the week. I'm pretty sure that the team that I was on (Jake, Sue and myself) killed everyone else. Our mad skills are nearly unbeatable though. After shopping we made our way up to the beach house. The house was pretty nice. It looked like it had been newly remodeled with new tile, kitchens, and bathrooms. The house was 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2 kitchens, and 2 living rooms. Jake and I were able to snag the master bedroom. It rocked! After dinner, we were all sooo shot that we all passed out for the night.
The next morning was a little bit of a late start, but still productive. We went to this beautiful snorkeling spot called Hanauma Bay. The water was gorgous. The swim was a little rough with a few war wounds amoung the group with Jake scratching his back on the coral and a few of us scratching other parts like knees and arms. The water was so warm and clear. We even saw a sea turtle while we were swimming. Since we started a little late, we had a short day...but I don't think any of us were too upset since we were all still a little jet lagged.
On Tuesday we had a very early morning with leaving the house at 4:45 to get to the Dolphin swim excursion. IT WAS THE BEST PART OF THE TRIP! We went out on a boat with a guide in search for the wild dolphins. During the early hours of the day they come in near shore to play....and boy where they having a good time. Once we found them, and were able to get close enough, we slowly slipped into the water and snorkled with them! They were beautiful! We were able to get about 6ft away from them as they swam right below us. After the dolphins they took us to a spot where sea turtles go to have their shells cleaned off by these special fish. They would just sit at the bottom of the ocean, and then would come up every now and then to get some air. They were a lot bigger than I thought they would be. Next, they took us to this area where there were fish galore! They were all so bright and colorful. Some people had some fish food that they were feeding them, which made the fish go wild. They would swim so close to you and so fast. The whole experience was amazing. After the excursion we went on a short hike up Diamond Head Crater to a look out point at the top. It felt like you could almost see the whole island. The scenery was gorgous.
On Wednesday, we went to Pearl Harbor where we saw the USS Arizona, the USS Bowfin, the USS Missorri, and the Aviation Museum. All of it was great. It is truly amazing how large those ships are! Going onto the USS Missorri, and seeing how big the guns are and the length and height of the ship was just insane. Then seeing what was left of the Arizona poking above the water was heart breaking. It was so sad to look at it and know that there were hundreds of men entoombed inside. And after going onto the submarine...the USS Bowfin...I know that I could never be in one for longer than a few minutes...especially submerged! The Aviation Museum was pretty sweet, especially being there with Jake's two brothers and sister that are going into the Airforce. It makes me proud to have military in my family.
Thursday was a girls and guys day. All of the guys woke up early to go golfing down on the military golf course, while us ladies woke up late to have a fun day of shopping on the North Shore. The guys all got their butts kicked by the newly returned missionary that hadn't played in 2 years...haha. They tried not to let that bruise their egos, but they had a good time anyways. The girls, on the other hand, had a wonderful time going to all of the little shops on the North Shore. We probably all spent a little bit more money than we needed to, but there was just so many cute little knick knacks that we all "had" to have. After shopping and golfing, we drove down and met the boys at a beach called Sandy Beach. We went there with the hope of going boogieboarding, but it ended up not being a very good beach for beginers. Sadly enough Kit, Jake's brother, found this out the hard way by getting flipped off his board and smacked into the volcanic rocks that were hiding under the water. His back got really beat up, but he survived. I think we learned our lesson, because we didn't go swimming there again.
Friday was another late start with us going to the Laie Temple for a 9:00 temple session. The temple is beautiful! There are waterfalls in front of it and palm trees that line the driveway up to it. Being there with all of Jake's family was truly a speial experience (even though I'm pretty sure most of them were asleep during all of it but Grandma, Tyson and Me). Afterwards we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. That was lots of fun. Seeing how all of the islands are different and special in their own way was really neat. I loved seeing all of the bright outfits and the beautiful dancing. The show at the end of the day was sweet. It went from island to island showing the different dances of all of the islands. I think the fire dancers were my favorite dance.
Saturday was the last day that we were in Hawaii. :( But, we did make the most of it by going snorkeling at Sharks Cove. Once again, the water was so warm and beautiful. We didn't see nearly as many fish as we did on the excursion, but it was still amazing. It was pretty cool to see how much better all of us got at snorkeling as the days went on. After snorkeling we went and got these icees that we heard were amazing.....and they were. And it is a good thing that they were because we stood in line for them for at least 10-15 mintues! They were snowcones with icecream at the bottom of the cones. I got mine as a shake and it makes my mouth water thinking about it. After getting our treat, we finished the trip with going home and making dinner and then making and eating smores.
Overall, I would have to say that it was one of the best vacations that I have been on. If you ever get a chance to go....GO! (and don't forget to take me with you!!!)

These pictures are for the most part in order as I mentioned them above. ENJOY! :)