Hawaii

At the beginning of June Ryan and I were able to take our very first real trip together since our honeymoon (which was only to San Diego). We were lucky to get to go to Hawaii thanks to my very generous Father-in-law and to my wonderful mom and sister-in-law Ashley who took care of the kids for us. Ryan had been to Hawaii twice before but I had never been. When we arrived at our beautiful hotel we were greeted with these leis and a great view of the ocean.

Our hotel was awesome and was just right across from the beach. We had a nice kitchen, a fantastic bathroom, a comfy bed, and a spectacular view. Every day the hotel staff would clean our room and leave us delicious treats and then later in the day they would come and turn on beautiful music, set out bathrobes and slippers, and turn down our bed. I really enjoyed every minute of it. Since we had a kitchen with everything you could possibly need I was able to eat delicious pineapple and kiwi every morning for breakfast and we could save whatever leftovers we had from eating out and eat it later. I would definitely stay there again.





Now to what we did while we were there. We hiked up to a lighthouse and had a spectacular view and an enjoyable time looking at the ocean during the whole hike.

Here we are at the top. Isn't the view beautiful.

We were able to visit a few food places Ryan had seen on the food network and travel channel.

We did a session at the Laie Temple. It was so fun to see how different this temple is inside compared to other temples I have been in.

After the temple we went to another food destination. The Shrimp Shack food truck was so delicious and probably my favorite meal in Hawaii.

We went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation and I learned a lot about how pineapples grow.

The pineapple plants were so beautiful and I loved all of the different varieties of pineapple they had growing.

We went to Pearl Harbor to see a part of our American and World History.

I enjoyed walking through the museum and reading all of the accounts of what happened that day. I can't even imagine what is was like to be there. I really appreciated this quote and it really made me think about how I take our freedom for granted sometimes.

We didn't take the boat out to the U.S.S. Arizona but we did look at the pictures.

While we were in Hawaii they were having the Pan Pacific Festival right by our hotel. During the whole weekend they had tons of celebrations, performances, and a parade. Here are a few pictures from the parade. I loved seeing the different cultures all in one parade.

We went to BYU-Hawaii to check out their campus and bookstore. It was beautiful and hard to imagine going to college right next to the beach. I learned a lot about the history of BYU-Hawaii and about the students who go there.

Then we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. This was the highlight of my trip. We spent all day there and I was amazed at the talent of the students and other people who work there. I am definitely going back when we return to Hawaii someday.

Here are some dancers from Tahiti. I loved the dancing from this Island.

Here I am learning to do the hula. Dancing is definitely not my strong point.

Here is Ryan learning to do a Tahitian dance. So fun to watch.

Here we are before the luau. I loved the beautiful leis they gave us.

Here is the pig that we ate. It was tasty.

We also went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. I had never been and am a bit afraid of going too far out in the ocean (I almost drown in the ocean when I was 8) but I still enjoyed it. Ryan wished he had a more adventurous partner but he was so nice to stay with me the whole time.

It was such a fabulous trip and I am so glad we were able to go. I can't wait to go back and take my girls to see all of the beautiful things Hawaii has to offer (when they are older that is!).