Hawaii: Week Three

This week was a pretty laid back week for us. We relaxed on the beach, went to the Children's Discovery Center, Michael golfed, we went shopping and to a movie. That's it! Very relaxing!

Michael bought himself a surfboard and gave surfing a try:

The kids love playing in the waves:

Children's Discovery Center:

There were some really big waves this past week!

On Saturday Michael golfed Makaha Valley golf course:

Hawaii: Children's Discovery Center

Yesterday morning the kids and I went into Honolulu to the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center. The boys had a great morning playing and learning. There were 3 levels of really fun activities!

Life sized Lite Brite:

Driving "The Bus":

The cutest little diner, everything looked real - only smaller:

Zack was the chef:

Our little Hawaiians:

Evening news: 

Judge Jakob:

Opa Hermann would be proud of Levi:

Driving a firetruck:

Mini grocery store:

The boys favorite place was the airplane. It was like a real mini airplane, very cool.

Zack was a pilot;

Then he served meals and drinks:

Then it was Jakob's turn:

Another favorite was the boat. There were pulleys and flags and all sorts of interesting things on the ship:

After we went out for some rainbow Shave Ice:

A really fun morning! The kids loved it and said that it was "sooo fun" :)

Hawaii: Week 2

Another great week in paradise!

Again we spent most of the week at the beach. We have checked out quite a few beaches, but mostly go to our beach because the boys love the big waves.

One day when we arrived at the beach, there was a huge sea turtle sunning himself on the sand.

On Monday the boys met a friend at the beach and played for hours.

Zack has a nap every afternoon, he is exhausted after a morning in the sun. While Zack has a little sleep, the boys do their school work.

On Wednesday the waves started getting bigger and bigger.

Thursday the waves at our beach were way too big for us to swim. So we drove over to Ko Olina. In Ko Olina there are 4 lagoons protected by a reef, so the water is calm and good for swimming.

Since the waves were so big that night we went to the North Shore to check them out.

Friday morning the waves were even bigger, so the kids and I went on a "picture safari", we walked around our yard and neighborhood taking pictures of interesting things. I gave each of the boys a camera and let them take pictures of whatever they wanted.

Saturday morning we went to Kualoa Ranch. It's a huge area of land on the east side of the island that lots of shows and movies have been taped at - Lost, Hawaii 5-0 and 50 First Dates were all filmed there. 

Saturday afternoon we went to Kailua Beach. The beach and water are amazing! Powder soft sand and calm turquoise water. The beach was packed, way busier than any other beach we've been to. 

It was fun to float around in the calm water.

Building sand castles with super soft sand.

Hawaii: The North Shore

Last night we drove to the North Shore. The surf report was that the waves were going to be 25-35ft, so off we went to check it out. The waves were huge, but it was hard to tell how big they really were. The boys thought it was pretty cool!

It was pretty windy and the sky kept getting darker and darker. We left just in time, by the time we got to our car it started to rain.

We went for dinner to Luibeuno's, a really great mexican restaurant. Too bad it's an hour drive away from us, otherwise I would be there every night! It was really good food!

Deep fried ice cream for dessert.

Our First Week in Hawaii

Our first week in Hawaii has been pretty amazing! We have spent most of our time at various beaches and the boys are loving it.

The house we rented is right on Makaha surfing beach. To get to the best spot on the beach, we only have to walk about a block from our house. It's the perfect location!

Makaha Surfing Beach:

Pokai Bay: a beach that a local told us about. It has great waves for learning to surf or boogie boarding:

Zack learning to boogie board:

Jakob and Levi have got it down:

Back at Makaha surfing beach with this hottie!

There are some pretty big waves at this beach. This one is pretty average sized:

On Saturday morning we went to a local farmer's market and bought some yummy produce. Then we headed north of our place to Yokohama Bay. By far the nicest beach we've been to so far. I loved it. The waves were perfect, the water clear blue, hardly anyone around and the kids had a great time playing together.

Sunday we went to the Aloha Stadium Swap meet in the morning, then out for lunch in Waikiki and then onto the Sony Open PGA golf tournament at Waialae. It was really cool to see all the pro golfers close up. We walked around a bit and then sat down at the 18th hole to watch everyone finish. It was really, really hot on the course and there wasn't much shade, so we all were very hot. 

Overall, it was a really fun day!