Hawaii Five-Lowe Part VII

Our last full day in paradise!

We planned on making it special!  We left our home early and headed to Hanauma Bay to play and go snorkeling at that beach.

The Big Guy Lowe and I initially were disappointed when we realized that good snorkeling wasn't as accessible as when we were in Maui, but through a bit of research we found that Hanauma Bay was supposed to be the best spot to snorkel in Oahu.  We were excited to give it a shot!  Looks promising, eh?

It was fun hearing stories from my mom and dad about the time they had been there back in the mid-80s.  They talked about walking out in the water and seeing tons of brilliantly colored fish.  They also talked about feeding the fish pieces of bread and that Uncle Steve was bit by a fish when he reached in the water trying to retrieve a large piece of bread that had fallen into the water.  None of that is allowed these days, but it was fun to think what it might have been like back then.

I'm so glad that Grammie Lowe decided to take pictures this day, as I didn't get my camera out once!  Things started out a bit rough with the little boys.  D was irritated with just about everything--after almost a week of being on the go can get most kids frustrated, haha and parents too!  We got down to the beach, found our spot for the day and then tried to get the kids situated!

G wasted no time in getting ready to snorkel!

J decided to sit on the beach.

D was still struggling though!!

Gratefully, he calmed down with a little love and some quiet time with Mommy.  The Grammies then told The Big Guy Lowe, G, Grandpa and me to head out snorkeling and between the two of them they would take care of the little boys.  We didn't hesitate to take them up on their offer.  Thank you so much!!!

We had a great time snorkeling!  The biggest difference we noticed from what we had experienced in Maui was the size of the fish--THEY WERE HUGE here!!  It was nice to be out snorkeling when we could actually see something!

The Grammies found what worked for the little boys and they all ended up having fun too!

Give a boy a bucket + fill it with water = Happy Boys!

After we were finished snorkeling, we decided to head out back towards our beach in Kailua.  This is when things got interesting...in a not-so-fun kind of way.  Up at the parking lot J took a fall and hit his head on the rough blacktop.  There was instant blood, and lots of it!  I picked him up and headed over to a grassy area where I poured water over his head trying to discover the extent of the injury.  There was just so much blood.  Two kind on-lookers came over with ice and other first-aid items.  We discovered that the injury wasn't as bad as the blood had made it look and we were able to calm J down, get him cleaned up, and head back to Kailua.  Whew!

We decided to pick up some Happy Meals for the boys on the drive back and for the adults we picked up some Fish Tacos from Maui Tacos.  Soooo Good!  Maybe we'll check out franchise opportunities in Washington/Oregon.  Hmmmmm. 

After getting home, everyone was pretty tired.  All the boys either took naps or had some quiet time.  Looking around, The Big Guy Lowe and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go to the beach for a bit of time while all the boys were down.  Grammy HB said she'd keep an eye on things so we could head over.  Thank you SO much Mom!

I don't have any pictures of the hour and a half that we spent at the beach, but it was truly AWESOME!  We were in the water the entire time, body surfing jumping waves and just enjoying how wonderful everything was!  We had decided to check out the beach a bit farther north than we had all been together the other days.  Ahhhhhhh, just thinking about that time makes me smile and I feel instant relaxation.  We were so grateful for that last bit of ocean appreciation we enjoyed. 

When we knew we should be heading back to the house, we left the beach with such good feelings and good memories.  We will definitely be back to this area many more times in the future!  What a wonderful place to have such incredible family memories.  We are so grateful!