It all started with a business trip Derek had to take to American Samoa. He would have to fly to Hawaii to catch the next 6 hr. flight to American Samoa, so he asked his girls if we wanted to vacation in Hawaii while he was working. Um, YES! It just happens that a dear friend of mine, from boarding school, lives in Oahu, Hawaii. She and her husband have two boys, one is 4 days younger that Cassidy. What fun we will have!
We flew out on Friday morning around 10:00 Eastern arriving in Hawaii at 4:00 pm their time (9:00 pm for us). The girls were angels on the flight, but never slept a wink! Derek insisted on giving them a little Benadryl which seemed to backfire. We were hoping they would get a little nap in, so they could stay up and meet the boys, Quaid and Finn. Christy gave us the traditional Hawaiian lei greeting at the airport. Although Christy and I had seen each other over the years, she had not met Chamberlain or Cassidy. It was wonderful to finally introduce her to my girls!
The girls made it to Christy and Paul's house, met Mr. Paul, Quaid and Finn, ate a wonderful dinner and were ready for bed. I think it was midnight at home before they went to bed. Truly amazing without any meltdowns! They slept all night, but decided to get up at 2 am since it was 7:00 am at home. Oh boy, Mommy just got to bed! I stayed up late catching up and having too much fun with Christy, Paul and Derek. We let Daddy sleep since he and Paul were out bike riding all night and managed to blow two tires and dent a few rims. Boys will be boys. After a nap, the girls were completely adjusted to the Hawaii time zone. I was so proud of them. Saturday and Sunday was spent mostly on the beach enjoying our friends, the beach, the view and the warmer weather.
The view from Christy and Pauls veranda
The Gang: Chamberlain, Finn, Quaid and Cassidy
Teamwork
Daddy and his girls
Love the view (Derek and the sunset)
Mr. Paul and his boys
Plane!
Such joy!
Cassidy and Finn
Christy, Paul and Finn
Daddy and Cass
Paddle Boarding or as the girls call it "surfing"
Boogie Boarding
Daddy heading out Kiteboarding
Monday, we went for a hike up the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail while Quaid was in school. This was a paved trail that we could take the strollers. Derek was able to join us before he had to fly out to American Samoa. We didn't see any whales, but the view was breathtaking.
Hiking Makapu‘u Lighthouse Trail
Tuesday, we went to the beautiful Botanical Gardens while Quaid was at school. We were attacked, in a friendly manner, by the ducks. The kids were thrilled, fed them cheerios and chased them around the lake till they were ready for a nap.
Trip to the Botanical Gardens
Wednesday morning, we went for a long walk on base but Finn wasn't feeling good and the school called saying Quaid needed to come home. Paul was able to come home from work to watch the boys and Christy and I took the girls to Sea Life Park. The first item on Chamberlain's "To Do in Hawaii" list was swimming with the dolphins. Unfortunately, Chamberlain wasn't old enough to swim with them but was able to do the Dolphin Encounter! She was a little disappointed at first, but ended up making memories that she will never forget. We also watch a Seal beauty pageant, the ballerina was Chamberlain and Cassidy's favorite and she won! When we got home that night, the boys were still not feeling good, so I researched places for us to stay for the rest of the week. The last thing I wanted to do was to leave from my girlfriends house where we loved and spoiled, but I couldn't risk the girls getting sick. I packed the girls while they slept, Paul loaded the car, I loaded the sleepy girls and Christy graciously drove me across the island to a resort where the girls and I could stay. I hated to leave especially since I needed/wanted more time with one of my best friends. We didn't have enough time together, but I guess we will have to plan another trip!
Sea Life Park
We had a beautiful suite in the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki Beach. The girls slept all night for me and woke up refreshed Thursday and ready to see what the next phase of our adventure entailed. The resort had great food, wonderful shopping, exotic animals, and beach. There was no need to ever have to leave.
Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort
The girls spotted a beautiful rainbow!
Friday, Daddy arrived back from American Samoa with plenty of time left to play. We played on the beach all day and planned to go see the Hula Dancers and Friday night fireworks. It rained a bit while we were watching the show, but it stopped just in time to see the fireworks. The girls had a perfect day with Mommy and Daddy.
Daddy's back to play!
Sand Angel
Sandy Angel
A little rain before the fireworks
Goodnight after an amazing day
After lunch on Saturday, we packed up and headed to the airport. Cassidy was ready to go home, but Chamberlain insisted on staying. Our flight left at 5:45 pm. The girls again were angels. They ate dinner and then dosed off to sleep (thanks to a tiny bit of Dramamine- bad parents) for almost the entire 8.5 hr flight home. Chamberlain woke up with 1.5 hrs left to go and was mad because she wasn't comfortable and wanted her bed. She went back to sleep in 5 minutes but woke up Cassidy in the process. Cassidy, one who NEVER likes to be woken up, screamed for an entire hour! I changed her, walked her, offered her milk, offered her the iPad, Daddy walked her...nothing helped. She kept saying "home mommy, home". It was so sad. Then, a lovely gentleman just a few rows up turned around and said "hey, why don't you get up and walk THAT KID around". Normally, I would of shot back a very fast and sharp blow right back at him, but I was almost in tears already so I just focused on Cassidy. Derek, on the other hand, pointed his finger toward his face and told him to turn around. We didn't hear another word from the nice gentleman. Cassidy finally got settled and went back to sleep in my arms. Wow, stressful hour but we made it. The girls were amazing the entire trip. They had a blast with Quaid and Finn, they were little angels for me when we were at the resort, and the most well behaved children for all 19 hours they were stuck in a seat on the airplane. Thank you Steve Jobs, the girls iPads were the golden ticket and allowed it to be an enjoyable flight for hundreds of people (minus the lovely gentleman in 14C). The girls speak of Hawaii daily. Cassidy will throw the word "Hawaii" in many sentences daily. Most of the time I have no idea what she is referring to, but I get a kick out of it anyway. The girls will never forget the experiences!
Last day in paradise
Flight home
