Hawaii Five-Lowe Part III

The Big Guy Lowe and I take vacations very seriously.

Really, we do.

We seriously believe that vacations are there to be enjoyed and not over-scheduled.  We recognize that there are many things that can be done...things that are great and talked about by lots of people,  We just have no desire to try and race around checking things off of a list.  We kept reassuring grandparents that all we were really planning on doing was playing at the beach and the pool.  We wanted to do one or two other things, but we weren't planning on venturing out much past that.  We did let them know that we had no problem if they wanted to go and do things without us though.  Everyone has their idea of how they want to spend vacations, and we say "more power to you!"  ENJOY!!

With that being explained, the grandparents decided to drive into Honolulu Thursday to do some shopping.  While they were shopping, we had a great day at the pool with the boys.  It was very low-key.  The boys took much needed naps and The Big Guy Lowe and I even had some quiet time--who would've known that could happen on a family vacation!

Later in the day, a few puzzles were brought out.  What better place than a beautiful lanai to work on a puzzle?  The first was completed by D and grandpa.

Success!

I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the other puzzle.  It took a few days and was pretty tricky.  I'll see if someone else has a picture.  Why did we do puzzles?  You can't spend every minute in the water--or can you?  Hmmm.  Seems that the boys were ready to get back in!!

Love these boys!

Eating outside in Hawaii really is the perfect way to eat.  We had so much fun cooking all the foods that we liked. The house was so well appointed with everything you would need.  It made cooking a lot of fun.  Never before has watermelon, pineapple or "candy apple" bananas tasted so good!  Hmmm, maybe I should also add Filet Mignon, Chinese noodles, Eggs Benedict, Marinated Flank Steak, Hamburgers, Grilled Chicken...the list goes on.  Good food always makes vacations better! 

After dinner it was time to play once again!

Another wonderful day in paradise!

Hawaii Five-Lowe Part II

Have I mentioned that Hawaii is three hours different from our home?  That was wonderful when we arrived, because it meant that even though it was 4:00pm back home, Hawaii time it was just 1:00pm giving us half the day to still enjoy!  Well, that time change comes back to bite ya when morning arrives!  7:00am home time is only 4:00am Hawaii time!  Oh well!

That first night we were all woken out of sleep to a very loud sound.  It was so loud that it took The Big Guy Lowe and I a few minutes to realize that the noise was caused by a torrential downpour!  The boys were woken up and we went into their rooms to help them get back to sleep.  I'm still amazed when I think at how hard that rain was!  It happened one other time that night.  That time though, the boys slept through it.  By morning the rain was gone and the sunshine was out!

After a nice breakfast, we were out to explore the beach.  Because Grammy HB was still asleep she missed out on our morning stroll, but after the week that she had just experienced she definitely deserved it!  What started out as a stroll, ended up swimming and building sandcastles.  How glorious!

Just look at that water!

We headed back to the house so we could get all our beach gear and so we could have the Grammies join us.  Everyone got in the water!

The Big Guy Lowe, G and D all had their snorkeling gear on to see what was under the water!

For the first day, both D and J were more comfortable playing in the sand.  Up the hill we had beach chairs set up and our food and other things.

Unfortunately, Grammie Lowe was stung by a Portugese Man of War, which is a type of jellyfish that the windward side of the island gets quite often.  You can see the faint red line from the sting. 

Here's a picture of one of the jelly fish we found washed up at another beach.

While they can get very large, we only saw little baby guys that were about the size of a dime.  Both The Big Guy Lowe and I also got stung later in the week and realized that it wasn't too bad.  We were able to continue playing in the water without any problem--we just knew better what to look for!!  Interesting stuff though!

After our first day at the beach, I wasn't too sure if Kailua was a place that I would choose to come back to.  I couldn't help but compare it to the beaches in Maui, and as far as snorkeling, there was no comparisson.  The Big Guy Lowe and I realized that there wasn't anything realy to see at the beach when snorkeling, and with Grammie Lowe so concerned about her sting, we just weren't convinced by all the guide books that raved about Kailua.  Sometimes it takes a few days to realize how good things really are...boy did we ever!

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!

Happy 4th Birthday D!!

Today D turns 4 years old!!  Yahoo!  If you ask him how old he is, he will answer by saying "I'm one, two, three, four!"  I can't believe it's been four years since he has been in our home!

Four years ago, I was a happy new mom of our second boy!  What a happy day!

Our little D was such a mellow, good natured baby.  What a little joy!

His older brother, G, was so excited to be a big brother. 

His daddy was so excited to have another son to love.

And today he is 4 years old!

Happy birthday D!!

To start off his day, we had a breakfast of a cereal of his choice.

He was pretty happy with his choice before he started eating them.

But he didn't finish them after a few bites.  Only J liked them, the other two boys didn't.  I couldn't help but be kind of happy about that.  Good bye Fruity Pebbles.

After breakfast, we headed out to church as this birthday landed on a Sunday.  We would be celebrating at dinner time.

Every time I would ask D what kind of a birthday he wanted, he would give me a different answer.  It seems he is at an age where he is very easily influenced by his older brother!  He finally decided on a Star Wars/space theme.  His cake reflected that with a StarWars ship flying by a few planets.

We had Lahp for dinner and invited all our family and Gary and Sue over to celebrate.

It took two tries, but he got the candles blown out!

He was a pretty happy 4-year-old.

We divided the cake by what color planet the kids wanted to eat.

I made a few blackberry crisps for the adults to eat.  We used the blackberries that the boys and I picked a few days earlier!!  Mmmmm.

Presents started out with a strange gift from Grammie and Grandpa HB.

It was a vase of flowers...until the flowers were taken off the top and a beautiful fish was revealed!

We added the new fish to our aquarium.

A beautiful Beta fish.  We had researched what fish are compatible with this fighting fish, and luckily all of ours were.  The only questionable tank-mate is the aquatic frog.  I couldn't find any info on that combination!  We'll see how they do!

Then it was on to the rest of the presents!  MANY LEGOS!!!

Transformers from Gary and Sue!

And fun all around!

Then the kids were able to go outside and play with some squirt guns.

We love you D!  Happy 4th Birthday!!