Hawaii

Jess and I had been talking about going to Hawaii every since we got married. We always said that we wanted to go together before we had kids. Last February we finally decided to book our trip and two days later we found out the I was pregnant. We ended up going to Hawaii over Spring break and Jess parents decided to come with us. We flew out of SLC on Sunday afternoon so that had us land in Oahu around 7pm that night. We went and got our rental car which ended up being a 2011 jeep wrangler. After we checked into our hotel we headed down to Waikiki beach to walk around. The weather was great the entire time! It was around 83 degrees everyday.

On Monday we decided to go drive around the island and just look at everything. Our first stop was a Nut Farm. We stopped and had samples that they package right there.


We stopped at China mans hut as we are going around the island.

Mark and Judy in our rental car. It was so much fun to have the jeep!

We stopped and had some Hawaiian shaved ice at Angels. It tasted great.

Next we went to the Temple grounds. Everything was gorgeous! All of the ground we amazing.

For lunch we stopped at ate a Romi's shrimp shack. It was a little resturant on the side of the road. The shrimp pond is right behind the shack so they catch the fish and then cook them in the little building. Everyone eats outside under a tent on a picnic table. The food was really good.

We drove up to the Dole Plantation. While we were there we all had some pineapple ice cream. I usually like pineapple but this ice cream was really strong. Everybody else really liked it though.

Jess and I went snorkeling for about a hour on Monday night. It was getting dark and hard to see so I am glad I got to go back during the day.


On Tuesday we started the day by heading to the beach. Mark and Jess went boogie boarding and I just swam around and soaked up some sun on the beach with Judy. Just as Jess and Mark were coming in so we could get ready to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center I started swimming towards Jess. When I was almost there, Jess stands up and points right next to me and says "what is that?" Well that scared me so I jumped towards him and I landed on his boogie board. When I turned around I could see a dark shadow in the water. Just then I could see a huge shell. It was a giant sea turtle that had be swimming right next to me.

Jess and Mark after they went boogie boarding.


The Polynesian Cultural Center was a lot of fun. It was cool to walk around to all of the different countries and see all of the shows. The weather was awesome (like it was everyday), the food was great, and the show at the end was really well done.

On our boat ride through the Polynesian Cultural Center.


Jess and I at the Luau and the food was great!


Mark and Judy at the Luau.

All of us after the Luau before we went to the show The Breath Of Life.

After we left the Polynesian Cultural Center we went around the corner to see the Temple at night. The ground and the Temple are amazing.




On Wednesday we went to Pearl Harbor. We spent the morning walking around and looking at all the memorials and old weapons there.

Mark and Judy on one of the huge guns.




The memorial at Pearl Harbor.

Jess and I on the boat.

We ate a Marks drive Inn before we went shopping at the flee market. The food wasn't the best but it was fun it eat at a local place where I am sure that nobody but my father-in-law was named Mark.

It rained hard for about 10 minutes on Wednesday night. It was the one and only time it rained the entire trip. We put our jackets on for about 5 minutes and then we decided it was still to warm for a jacket.



Thursday was my birthday and to celebrate Jess and I decided to take surfing lessons at Waikiki beach. I was a little nervous at first but it was actually easier that I thought it would be. When we signed up we were suppose to be in a group lesson but it just ended up being Jess and I. We had an awesome surfing instructor. He had lived in Hawaii his entire life and he was a really good teacher. We spent about 10 minutes on the beach just learning the basics and then he took us out into the water for over an hour. It was easier than I had anticipated but its not like we were surfing some huge waves but I didn't fall once! Jess was a natural of course. I was really surprised how far you could surf the waves in and you were moving pretty fast. About 15 minutes after being in the water Jess leaned over and said something like I was doing okay for a pregnant lady. When the instructor found that out he started surfing in behind he and pulling me back out so I didn't get tired paddling. Paddling out was the hardest part so it was great to have a free ride back out and then I just got to surf in. That is defentally the way to go!

Jess surfing in. He just looks so relaxed standing there.


This is me just as I stood up on the board. If you look close you can see our surfing instructors head right behind me.

Jess riding in while I am paddling out. This is one of the only times that I had to paddle back out. I had to put this picture in to prove I paddled out a least once.


I was really surprised that the boards were so big. This board was just like the one Jess used. His was wood because he wasn't wearing a rash guard so he had to wax his board before he started to help his feet stick. My board was the same size but it was blue and it had some grips on the top to help your feet stay positioned where you wanted it.

After we finished surfing and playing on the beach, we headed back to our hotel and got ready to go do a session at the temple. We ended up doing a session and sealing. To finish off the night we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a great birthday.

On Friday we decided to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. I loved this!! There were so many fish everywhere. It was amazing to see all of those fish and sea turtles up close!

Mark getting ready to go snorkeling.

Mark and Judy looking for a good place to see some fish. Jess is the one swimming behind them.


Jess and I and Hanauma Bay. This was one of our favorite places!

Saturday was our last day in Hawaii. We got up that morning, checked out of our hotel, and then we headed to the flee market again. When we were done at the flee market everyone wanted to go back to the north shore at eat a Romi's shrimp shack again. We were about an hour away from the restaurant and it had been a long time since breakfast. I knew I wasn't going to be able to last so I made them stop and get me a Subway sandwich (pathetic, I know but I was starving). It was a good thing I did because when we got there the line was so long that they ended up waiting for over an hour for the food, but they all said it was worth it.
When we finished eating we headed over to Waimea beach. It was so nice to sit and relax at the beach one last time before we headed home to snow. We stayed there as long as we could before we had to head back to the airport. We flew out at around 10:30 that night.

All of us at Waimea beach.

Jess swimming at the beach. This was a really cool place because you could lay really close to the shore and the waves would push you into the shore and the pull you back out.

Right before we headed to the airport we took one last picture at sunset. The sunsets in Hawaii are so pretty over the ocean.


We had a great time in Hawaii and I would love to go again!