Hawaii Photos!

Here's a quick photo recap of our trip to Hawaii. There were some spectacular sunsets, and we stayed very close to the beach and were able to just sit and watch them. Saw some surfers, and some decent size waves. The days the really big ones (20+ ft) were supposed to be on the North Shore, we weren't on that side of the island, so we didn't get to see the really big ones. The morning of the day Little Miss Sunshine and I left, we got up early and went looking for shells. When we stepped outside, there was a full double rainbow. As we drove, we passed where the end of the rainbow hit the water. I've never seen the end of a rainbow before. Pretty cool!

On one of our trips to the other side of the island , we stopped by Matsumoto's grocery store for shave ice. They have the BEST shave ice on the island. Yummy!

We also went to the Pearl Harbor/USS Arizona Memorial. Very sobering to visit. LMS and I were still in Hawaii during the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. A shot of the flag from inside the memorial.

Memorial at Punch Bowl Cematary. A lot of those killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor are buried there. It was a very peaceful place. Other than the wind: it was very windy.

We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and had a great time. LMS loved the dancers, and wanted to get up and join them.

My Army Guy's aunt and uncle's ward (how's that for confusing?) had a temple night while we were there, and we were able to do a session. It was really good to be able to go to the temple together- it's been a long time since we've been able to go together. And our timing was just right, too. At the end of December the temple will be closing for a year and a half for a complete remodel/expansion project.

We went to Pali lookout, which is on top of a ridge, looking from one side of the island to the other. It's on the old route that went through (rather than around) the island, which was a twisty, curvy, dangerous route. There's now a wider, straighter, safer route close by.

Up on the ridge was VERY windy. Check out our hair! LMS had a death grip on me because she was afraid of getting blown away, which it was almost windy enough to do. She didn't enjoy it too much.

LMS had fun figuring out how to use chopsticks. She managed to get the positioning right, but couldn't actually pick up any food with them. The adults were all doing it though, so she wanted to also.

We all enjoyed the beach, but I think it's safe to say that LMS had the time of her life. The first day we went to the beach, we hadn't planned on going into the water. LMS had other ideas, though and had a blast. Her face says it all: She loved running in and out of the water, and it was so funny to watch her. She always seemed to be sticking her tongue out to one side or the other, like ballast. We also noticed that she can't walk or run in a straight line, which is also funny to watch. This was at Waikiki. We hadn't planned on going in (we were told the beach is dirty and overcrowded), but once again LMS insisted on going in. We stripped her down and she had a great time. Luckily the beach wasn't too crowded or too dirty. Though we did see an older, overweight woman walking down the beach wearing a nude colored bra and granny panties. That was scary! As we walked back to the car, we found some pretty plumeria blossoms on the ground, and I couldn't resist taking a picture of LMS with one.

We went to Costco (the place to go to buy big bags of macadamia nut Hershey's Kisses), and I made the mistake of stopping in the candy aisle to dig in my purse for something. LMS was walking beside me and noticed the boxes full of bags of M&Ms. She managed to wrestle a bag out, and was so pleased with herself about it! I decided to let her keep it (snack time later on!), and caught her hugging the bag while sitting in the cart. I couldn't resist whipping out the camera.

We had an awesome time with my Army Guy and all had a lot of fun. I hoped to avoid making LMS's separation anxiety worse again by meeting my Army Guy in Hawaii instead of having him come home, and it seems to have worked! She loved spending time with her daddy, but she didn't have too many problems when he left. I think it really helped that we were in an unfamiliar environment. Can't wait for him to come back for good...