A Little R&R

Aloha! Listen to this video to hear the sound of paradise.  I filmed it on the North Shore of Oahu three weeks ago. 

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You are now in the frame of mind to enjoy the rest of the pictures.

Josh got to go to Hawaii for a conference and I met him there when his work was done.  We spent one night on busy Waikiki Beach and had dinner with his coworkers at a nice surf and turf restaurant, then we rented a red Mustang convertible and headed up to a condo with a private beach on the North Shore near Laie.  It was quiet and calm and so relaxing!   We even saw Becky and Brent in Waikiki for pineapple smoothies!  They were on their own vacation on Oahu! 

 Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head mountain/peak

  

The view from our condo.  We were so tired we got a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for dinner and stayed in watching "Sleepless in Seattle" on t.v.  It was raining anyway.

 

Here's our ride.  We had to buy sunscreen and sunglasses!  The fun really began when we headed out in this baby for the day, driving all along the coast.  We were literally just feet away from the ocean. 

 
Here's the view the other direction from the condo.  It's near where they filmed LOST and we were so excited about that, being the fanatics that we are.

Waimea Bay Beach  They wouldn 't let us in the water the waves were so big.  The sand was not dusty or rough, it was like tiny pearls.  All polished stones.  It was clean and soft and luxurious!  We sat here for an hour or so, talking to the kids on the phone!

Then we hiked up to this waterfall in the Waimea Canyon Nature Preserve.  They actually filmed a scene from LOST here but we cared more that we were swimming in the cold, refreshing tropical water than that Kate and Hurley woke up here after they woke up from the crash returning to the island in the final season of LOST.    A little bit more, anyway.

I thought the break from home would fill me with resolve and analysis about my life, but it turns out that on a real vacation you don't think about those things.  You just rest and see the beautiful world around you!


MEANWHILE . . .

The kids were cozy in the snow in Seattle!  With Josh's sister and her husband and their DARLING girls!

We went up the Space Needle and I think the boys loved it.  They talk about how we could see everything we'd never seen before from up there.  We even splurged and ate on the rotating restaurant, with seven kids.  There were plenty of fries and pancakes, so everyone was happy. 

 

The cousins had so much fun together.  We can't wait to visit them again, but we'll give them a few months to recover first.  

 The boys felt at home after only a short time.  Good thing, we stayed nine nights!  They had their own bedroom with their names on the door and space sheets on the beds.  Every morning Josh and I were away, Aunt Sarah put a surprise in a treasure chest for them to discover.  Army men, glow in the dark dinosaurs, they hardly had time to miss us.

I make cupcakes with the girls Sunday afternoon.  Here are three of them in the aprons I made them.

The boys are threatening to go back there if I am mean.  Hum.  Maybe we can work out a deal on the weekends?  Just kidding .  They do have fun cousins, snow, AND a basement so I know it's a strong pull.

 Anna missed us the most but had a great time with Aunt Sarah and the cousin nearest her age.  She keeps pretending to talk to her on the phone now that we're home.

We are so thankful they would watch our kids and let us have that fun trip to Hawaii!