We are back home -- a bit tanned; full of pineapple and yet, craving more; working to wash the sand out of all the laundry; and sorting through the more than 1,100 photos I took! (And I haven't even looked at Claire and Cate's yet!)
 |
| My little surfer girl... |
Cate and I were reluctant to leave. The surf seems to call our names a bit louder than the other Shraders. But lest you think the week was completely perfect...I should probably share that:
* We had seven people in two adjoining rooms with four stinky wonderful guys and three girls who need more than their fair share of bathroom counter space. Enough said.
*There was a complete absence of the beach wheelchairs that were in abundance at this resort when Wade and I visited it a few years ago.
* And, uh, one Mama's makeup bag knocked under the bathroom counter AT HOME so never making it to Hawaii....coupled with that same Mama not wanting to be high-maintenance so going with only mascara all week. Hmm...
 |
| Little sister "urging" big brother to get wet... |
 |
| Uncle Lenny getting revenge for the "urging"... |
 |
| Got her! |
But family vacations are not about being perfect. Family vacations are about making memories -- good, bad, and funny!
 |
| Sisters learning to paddle surf... |
 |
| Our friend, Mrs. Erika, teaching Mason to paddle surf... |
 |
| Erika even let me take Benjamin for a ride on the surf board...and then I learned to paddle surf. I won't share those photos here (smile) but I have to say that I loved it! Definitely something I want to do again!! |
 |
| The hotel's Luau had some amazing entertainers even if the food was a bit lacking... |
 |
| Cate and a real hula girl! |
 |
| Needing further hula lessons after the Luau! |
 |
| The boys came to WATCH...but when Cate told Mason that if he would take hula lessons it would "make me smile." He couldn't say no... |
 |
| King Kamehameha statue.... |
 |
| Swinging from the Banyan Tree! |
 |
| Silly Daddy.... |
 |
| The enormity of the roots of the Banyan Tree were awe-inspiring! |
And because we are who we are...we took some time to visit the still-under-construction Disney resort on Oahu -- Aulani. We desperately want to travel and show the kids so much of the world....but honestly, Disney takes such good care of us. So we wanted to see if a Disney resort in Hawaii would solve some of the struggles we had this trip...
 |
| The lobby at Aulani. |
 |
| The Hawaiian style quilt in the rooms -- can you find the hidden Mickeys?! |
 |
| Benjamin is fairly certain this little guy would make Hawaii even better! |
From the looks of the resort -- and the adaptations the staff assured us are already in place and even more coming soon -- I think this would be a great place for the Shraders to enjoy Hawaii next time...
So while the sun has set on this Hawaiian visit -- we'll be back. Cate and I can't resist the call of the surf for too long....and really, family vacations (even if they aren't perfect) are such a blessing to us! Such a blessing!
1 comments:
so jealous ... we LOVE Hawaii ... would love to go back to my Hilton Hawaiian Village!!! If i think hard enough I can almost smell that airport and all the flowers! Glad y'all had a wonderful trip!
Post a Comment