Hawaii Five-Lowe Part VIII

We are back in our home.

Our time in Hawaii has come to a close, and all we do is exclaim our immense gratitude at having been able to share such a wonderful time together.  Such a beautiful place with the people we love.  There's just not much better in this world.

A few loose ends to mention before it's all over...

Did I mention I lost my ID?  As anyone knows ID is necessary in order to travel.  Yep.  I realized on Sunday that I didn't have my ID in my walet.  The last I remembered having it was when we were traveling to Hawaii.  I felt sick!  After saying a prayer and asking for help locating my ID, I felt pretty strongly that I didn't have it in my possession.  I had already looked through everything and couldn't find it.  I started making calls--to Hawaiian Airlines, PDX International Airport, Honolulu International Airport.  I was on the phone for a few hours total.  As of Monday night I had no ID.  We continued to pray that things would work out--however that might be, so that we would all be able to get back home together.  Tuesday morning came and at 8AM I received a call from the Honolulu Airport stating they had found my ID and it was available for me to pick up that day prior to our travel.  SO GRATEFUL!  It's always comforting to see the Lord's hand in our lives.

Traveling that day ended up being a wonderful experience.  The flight back went well.  Grammie Lowe was back in First Class, Grammy and Grandpa HB were sitting together in their own area, and The Big Guy Lowe and I were sitting with our boys.  It was sad leaving, but we were leaving with wonderful memories.  We are so grateful for the time we shared with eachother.  Was it perfect?  Of course not, but we weren't expecting it to be.  Was it wonderful?  COMPLETELY!  We are extremely grateful and look forward to many more trips in the future.

Mahalo

Hawaii Five-Lowe Part I

Earlier in the year, The Big Guy Lowe and I had the wonderful opportunity of going to Maui together.  We had a wonderful time and came home with a strong desire to go back with our family.  The long and short of it was we found a vacation rental that looked great, good deals on plane fare and we decided to do it!  Oh, and we also decided it would be great if we could share this time with Grammy and Grandpa HB and Grammie Lowe, so we invited them to join in the fun!  After months of waiting, the day finally came!

Now, backing up a bit.  Traveling with a family is definitely a different experience from traveling as a couple, so to start things out, we didn't talk about our vacation very much before we left.  Kids don't always understand time, just try reasoning with a three year old about waiting three months...nope, it just doesn't work.  So other than a few discussions with the grandparents, we pretty much didn't worry or think about things until it was pretty close to the time we would be leaving.  Because of this, I have to say, I was so excited and surprised when it was finally time for us to head to the airport!  The night before, all the suitcases were packed, the house was cleaned (I can't stand coming home from a vacation to a messy house!!), the boys were bathed and in bed and we were ready!

Our airport experience was great!  The boys were so excited to get on another plane!  J kept Grandpa busy pointing to the planes out on the tarmac and then there were laps completed on the moving sidewalks!

Can't you just see the excitement in The Big Guy Lowe's eyes to get on the plane?  How could we not be excited for a 5.5 hour flight?  Hmmm, there might have been some anxiety involved, but we were excited too!

Originally we had planned on everyone sitting together during the flight.  The day of travel Grammie Lowe decided that flying in First Class would make the flight easier on her physically (rough life, eh?) and somehow Grammy and Grandpa HB's seats had been changed to the other side of the plane (interesting).  That left The Big Guy Lowe and I alone in our travels across the Pacific.  There was good reason for a little anxiety to be in those crystal blue eyes of the man I love! 

Still, we had two large carry-on bags filled with treats and many activities (thanks for all your work ahead of time mom!!).  We were optimistic as we sat on the plane!!

 

Our seating arraingment actually turned out to be The Big Guy Lowe sitting with D, G had a row to himself when Grammie Lowe went to first class, and I sat with J.  We were all buckled into our seats and the plane took off!  We were on our way!

I can't express my great gratitude for how well the boys each did on that long flight!  They were amazing!  Now, it's true, The Big Guy Lowe and I weren't sleeping or watching movies at our leisure, we were playing with our boys and helping them stay occupied...and it worked so well!  Whew!

After locating our luggage, picking up ou rental cars, and making a stop at Costco for some food, we were on our way to our vacation home in Kailua.

The house was beautiful!  I simply loved the pineapple chandelier in the foyer!  Does that not tastfully say Aloha on entry??

 

A view into the kitchen while standing on the stairs.

A view standing at the kitchen island looking out onto the lanai and pool.

Looking back inside from the lanai.  Both The Big Guy Lowe and I are in this shot!

For more photos or info on the house you can check out the listing by clicking HERE.

After quickly getting everyone situated into their rooms, we had to try out the pool!  Notice the clothes hanging up in the background?  Yep, our boys just couldn't wait to get their suits on before testing out the water!  Hey, we're on vacation!

After much fun in the pool and a tasty dinner we took a stroll over to the beach.  It was a bit dark by that point and unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me.  The moon was one day past full and it was breathtaking as it shown over the ocean and beach.

What a wonderful first day in paradise!

You want me to eat that?! YES!!!

Our oldest son is very particular when it comes to what food he allows to enter his body. Is it because he is keenly aware of his health? Maybe...not! Gratefully he is very healthy and growing like the handsome weed he is. While being particular regarding his food intake, he was positively influenced at school during a recent world food week where the kids were able to taste foods from different cultures. Some he tried, others he didn't. One of the foods he surprised us with trying was sushi. Now before you think he completely turned the corner on food choice, he did let us know that he took out all the veggies and anything else that he found other than the rice and seaweed "wrapper". He was so proud of himself, and truly, we were too!! Because of this we recently went out for sushi and made a special request for our oldest son--a rice and seaweed roll. We did have to explain it a few times and motion to our son for them to actually make it, but without waiting too long a dish of "special sushi" was sitting in front of him. Now I don't know if this actually counts as being sushi, but we were thrilled that he was eating food similar to what we were eating. We tried not to make too big of a deal of it until after he had eaten, but we did have to get at least one picture to commemorate the event. We've talked about traveling to other countries and that has always brought up the fact that we will be eating the food of the country that we are traveling in. While our oldest is very interested in other countries, eating food of that country has always slammed the brakes on the discussion. We consider this to be a big step!! Yea for progress!!